Chapter 507: The Final Floor, Closed Chamber
"You found us quickly!" Violet said with a smile.
"We could hear something explode in that direction, so we followed the noise until we found your arrows," Emilia explained.
"Good job."
With everyone reunited, Leon could finally distribute the remaining sub-talents.
He handed Celeste the A-Level soul-related scroll he had prepared for her, then gave Emilia the two B-Level [Soul Regeneration] scrolls he had obtained.
"Learn one of them and try to fuse the other."
"Thanks!" Emilia beamed before following his instructions.
She learned the first sub-talent, then poured her mana into the second scroll and began the fusion process.
Fwoosh... Ding!
[Fusion successful!]
"It worked!" Emilia shouted happily. "It’s A-Level now!"
"Damn," Leon sighed, slightly envious of her luck. "Well, that’s good."
Before heading to the third floor, Leon took out the [Soul Fragment (Ascendant)] from his Storage Space and handed it to Celeste.
"All of our souls have already been upgraded slightly, and yours is the only one left. That should help a little," he explained.
"Thanks!" Celeste beamed, accepting the small fragment before pouring her mana into it to consume its energy.
Fwoosh! Ding!
[Your soul grows slightly stronger.]
The effect was instantaneous, and Celeste could immediately feel the change within her.
Although the improvement was relatively small, her soul had become stronger even without relying on her [Darkness Ember], giving her another layer of protection against the dangerous abilities found inside the tower.
Now that all four of them had received their rewards, they were ready to proceed to the third floor.
With stronger soul-related sub-talents and better equipment, they stood a better chance of surviving whatever awaited them.
"Let’s go."
With everyone prepared, the group passed through the gate and continued their ascent.
As expected, Leon was separated from the girls upon arriving on the next floor, appearing alone in another enormous hall.
Ding!
[Floor: 3]
[The last floor before reaching the top, filled entirely with powerful monsters, the Soul Warden, an impossibly powerful entity, roams these halls looking for lost souls, do not let it find you.]
’Whatever.’
Leon was far more interested in the fact that this was the final floor before reaching the Lord of Souls.
Once he made it through, he would finally be able to complete his first hunt and potentially obtain the powerful soul-related items he had been hoping to find.
The warning about the Soul Warden was certainly worth noting, but Leon wasn’t too bothered by it.
Still, he was glad that he had given the girls their A-Level [Soul Fortification] sub-talents before entering this floor.
Even from where he stood, Leon could feel the overwhelming power radiating from the monsters scattered throughout the area, and he had no doubt that the creatures here would be considerably more dangerous than those they had faced previously.
The torches illuminating the halls remained lit this time.
’I guess the previous floor’s mechanic was the darkness, and this one’s is the Soul Warden.’
It reminded him of the Forsaken Minotaur back in the Forsaken City, which had relentlessly hunted anything unfortunate enough to cross its path.
The Soul Warden seemed to serve a similar purpose, although its ability to hunt down lost souls sounded considerably more troublesome.
Leon had the intention to find and kill it, as its items would likely be helpful.
He began moving through the halls, eager to reach the Lord of Souls as quickly as possible to complete the hunt.
The other two "targets" he needed to find, the Heretic King and the Abyss Wyvern, would require him to actively search for them, although [Divine Answer] had already provided him with the information needed to begin those hunts.
If everything went according to plan, he would be able to deal with all three targets within the months he was given.
There was only one other problem he needed to consider.
’My level.’
𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮
Leon was still the only member of the group who had to be careful about gaining experience because of the [Will of Nature’s Curse].
While the girls could enter the Eternal Battlefield whenever they wanted, he had to ensure that he did not reach Level 100.
If he reached that level too early, he would lose the opportunity to get rid of the servants of the gods within these domains, which was something he absolutely wanted to avoid.
’I’ll think about that after I get rid of the Lord of Souls.’
There was no point worrying about it now when he had more immediate problems to deal with.
Once he completed his first hunt, he could reconsider his options and determine how to proceed without jeopardizing his plans.
As Leon continued through the corridors, he gazed at the walls with a thoughtfull expression.
After using the Soulsworn Hammer repeatedly on the previous floor, he had discovered that its special attack could break through the seemingly indestructible structures.
The walls were incredibly sturdy, capable of withstanding his strength and hundreds of ordinary attacks, but they were not completely impossible to destroy.
Curious, Leon had already tried striking one with his sword, but even using Eclipse Annihilation had failed to leave a meaningful mark.
"Hm... I guess the hammer’s head focuses all its power on one spot, allowing it to break through, while a sword is just... a sword."
Either way, he had no reason to waste more time experimenting, and soon enough, he reached another chamber.
The moment he stepped inside, the doors behind him slammed shut.
BANG!
Leon immediately turned around, but before he could inspect the sealed entrance, he heard several heavy impacts coming from above.
He looked up.
The chamber was much taller than the others he had encountered so far, with a massive chandelier hanging from the ceiling and several additional platforms and openings built into the upper walls.
Shadows moved through those openings as multiple monsters descended toward him, their powerful presences filling the room.
Eye of Truth!
---
[Void Ravager]
[Level: 100]
[Talent: Soul Regeneration (B-Level), Weak Void Affinity (B-Level)]
[Combat Power: 19,600,000]
[Details: A powerful monster of the third floor, capable of launching numerous projectiles that attack both the body and the soul of its targets.]
---
Leon shifted his gaze toward another creature.
---
[TuskSpirit Bear]
[Level: 100]
[Talent: Soul Regeneration (B-Level), Supreme Spirit Enhancement (S-Level)]
[Combat Power: 20,400,000]
---
He glanced at the remaining monsters, quickly confirming that they were all around the same level of strength.
’So this is the strength of the monsters on the third floor.’
Leon was not particularly impressed by their individual stats, but their numbers made the situation more troublesome.
The creatures had surrounded him from several directions, leaving little room to maneuver, and their positions on the upper platforms meant they could attack from above as well.
’Around 20 of them,’ Leon noted their numbers.
The doors had locked as soon as he entered, suggesting that he would not be allowed to leave until he had dealt with every monster in the chamber.
On the other hand, the horde of monsters in the chamber didn’t stay idle either, all of them staring directly at Leon.
Though he felt like they weren’t glancing at his body, but his soul in his chest, all of them wanting to consume it.
"Fine. Let’s get this over with."
Leon raised his staff, gathering the power of his Spirit and Soul to use his skills.