"Wow…"

Alicia let out a breathy exclamation of awe, her eyes wide as she took in the horizon.

"It's beautiful."

Before us lay a vast, shimmering expanse. The ground wasn't made of dirt or grass, but of millions of translucent, jagged crystals. They reflected the artificial sunlight of the floor's sky, refracting it into a blinding, magnificent spectrum of rainbows.

We were standing outside The Prismatic Plains. The 18th floor of Celestial Spire.

It looked like a paradise forged from diamonds.

'Of course,' I thought, adjusting my sunglasses to block the glare. 'Its appearance is the only thing that's flashy. Underneath that shine is a death trap.'

****

After acquiring the [Rune of Vitality], I needed a testing ground. Slashing my own arm in a bedroom was one thing; taking a hit from a monster in a life-or-death struggle was another. I needed to know if my body could handle the trauma of combat while simultaneously repairing itself.

So, I came to the Celestial Spire.

Unlike the standalone dungeons, the Spire was unique. It was a massive, divine construct that are spread across the continent.

It had floors, how many? No one knows. Each with its own self-contained ecosystem. Jungles, deserts, oceans, and crystal plains like this one.

The lower floors were a playground for novices. The upper floors were hell.

Legend said the Spire was God's training ground, created to prepare humanity for the inevitable war with the Demon Realm.

But I had another reason for being here. According to Asteria Online, a hidden event—was supposed to trigger on Floor 18 around this time. It dropped a core essential for upgrading weapons.

However, given how much I had already derailed the plot with the Princess and the cultists, I highly doubted the event would trigger as scripted. But it was worth a look.

To get here quickly, I had brought Alicia—my capable manager and combat partner—and joined a temporary Hunter Party.

Why?

The Spire had a strict progression system. You had to clear Floor 1 to get to Floor 2.

But there was a loophole. If you joined a party, the portal recognized only the Party Leader's clearance. This meant newbies could skip the grind and teleport directly to higher floors if a veteran carried them.

I had hired a B-Rank party, The Iron Fangs, to ferry us up here.

But it seems it was a wrong decision.

*****

"Hey. Freeloaders."

A rough, grating voice broke my train of thought.

I turned around.

Standing near the portal gate was Tony, the leader of the Iron Fangs. He was a large man in scarred plate armor, chewing on a toothpick with a look of utter disdain.

"Stop staring at the rocks and get moving," Tony spat, pointing his thumb toward a dense forest of crystal pillars in the distance. "Go over there and check it out. See if there are any risk factors. We'll wait here."

I narrowed my eyes behind my sunglasses.

So, that's the game.

These guys had been ordering us around since Floor 1. Fetching water, carrying bags, setting up camp. They treated us like servants because we were "outsiders"—Academy cadets and civilians who hadn't "earned" our stripes in the mud.

But this order? This was crossing a line.

'How absurd.'

It was an instruction so blatantly malicious it almost made me laugh.

In any competent party, the Tank or the Vanguard scouted the entrance to a new zone. You sent your sturdiest fighter first because monsters often camped the entry points.

Telling two light-armored "freeloaders" to walk in first wasn't scouting. It was sending in live bait.

"No," Alicia stepped forward, her hand dropping to the hilt of the rapier at her waist. "With fully equipped front-liners right here, you want the support and the marksman to take point? What kind of ridiculous—"

"I am the Leader of this survey team," Tony cut her off, his voice rising. "You know what happens if you don't listen to the person with command authority on-site, right?"

"…"

Alicia's face contorted in anger. She opened her mouth to argue logic, but Tony smirked, stepping closer.

"I said go, didn't I? Are you deaf?"

He leaned in, his breath smelling of cheap tobacco.

"Useless freeloaders are only useful when used as meat shields. If you don't like it, you shouldn't have paid your way up here."

His intention was painfully obvious. He wanted to screw us over.

Technically, Alicia and I were 'contracted' members of this survey team. Under the Hunter Association's regulations, disobeying a direct order from the Party Leader in a danger zone was a serious offense.

If we refused, he could file a report for Insubordination.

As an Academy Cadet, I was exempt from the legal fines, but the mark on my record would be catastrophic. The Academy valued discipline. If rumors spread that Lucien Ashborne was a coward who disobeyed orders in the field, the recruiters who were currently drooling over me would vanish.

And for Alicia, a civilian hunter, it could mean having her license revoked.

Tony knew this. He was banking on it.

He probably had a grudge against the Guild broker who set this up, and he was taking it out on us.

"..."

Alicia trembled with rage. She looked ready to draw her sword and take the insubordination charge just to wipe that smirk off his face.

"Well, go ahead."

I shrugged casually, stepping between Alicia and Tony.

I nudged Alicia's shoulder.

"Let's go."

"…Excuse me?"

Alicia looked at me with an expression of pure, unadulterated dumbfoundedness. The members of the Iron Fangs wore similar expressions—a mix of confusion and mockery, as if they couldn't believe the 'rich kid' was actually walking to his death.

I sighed, adjusting my gloves.

"I said, let's go. We're burning daylight."

"Boss, are you actually crazy…?" Alicia hissed, grabbing my arm. "That's a suicide order!"

She was about to launch into a lecture, but she stopped when she saw my face.

I wasn't panicking. I wasn't resigned. I was smiling. A faint, barely-there smile that didn't reach my eyes.

Alicia flinched.

"…Shall we?" I offered my arm.

"Ugh," she groaned, releasing her grip. "Fine. But if we die, I'm haunting you."

We began walking toward the towering crystal forest. Behind us, I could hear Tony and his crew muttering.

"Are those guys seriously doing it?" "They must have a death wish." "Well, saves us the trouble of baiting the trap."

They were the ones who gave the order, yet they were surprised we followed it.

I chuckled softly.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" I asked, glancing at Alicia. She was eyeing me sideways like I was a ticking bomb.

"Because you're making that face," she whispered. "The sinister one. The expression you make when you're cooking something incredibly dangerous."

"…"

"Was I wrong?"

"Shut up."

Anyone hearing us would think I was plotting world domination. I was just… utilizing the game mechanics.

We reached the entrance to the inner zone. A massive stone gate, easily thirty feet high, stood embedded in a cliff face of jagged quartz. Beside it was a mana-stone pedestal—the key mechanism to open the floor.

Normally, the moment you activated this, the monsters nesting inside would sense the mana fluctuation and swarm out.

Normally.

"Okay," Alicia breathed, drawing her rapier, her knuckles white. "So what's the plan? Flashbangs? Smoke? Do we run back the moment it opens?"

I ignored her. I placed my hand on the pedestal and pumped mana into it without hesitation.

VMMMM.

The mechanism hummed.

Alicia yelped. "What on earth are you doing?!"

"Opening the door. What does it look like?"

"No, I mean—if you just operate it without even explaining the plan—!"

"When did I say I had a plan?"

"…"

Alicia clutched her forehead, looking like she was physically in pain from the stress.

"…What on earth are you thinking, Boss…?"

Despite her words, she didn't run. She stood her ground beside me, blade ready. That was loyalty.

GRRRRR… THUD.

The massive stone gates groaned, dust falling from the archway as they slowly parted. A dark, cavernous maw was revealed.

Alicia braced herself.

Tony and the Iron Fangs, standing fifty meters back, raised their shields, grinning in anticipation of the slaughter.

The gates opened fully.

Silence.

The wind whistled through the crystal plains.

Nothing came out. No roar. No horde. Just an empty, dark corridor.

"…Why isn't anything coming out?" Alicia whispered, lowering her sword slightly.

"Captain! What is this situation?" one of the Iron Fangs shouted from the back.

I turned around slowly to face them.

I raised my hand and gave Tony a cheerful thumbs-up.

"Clear!" I shouted. "It seems safe here!"

"…"

The faces of Tony and his subordinates rotted simultaneously. Their plan to watch us get mauled had failed spectacularly.

They were probably hoping for us to beg for help, or to see us panic.

I smirked. I wasn't the type to fall for such a cheap trick. I was the type to pay it back with interest.

"...Tch. Lucky bastards," Tony clicked his tongue loud enough for us to hear. "Fine! Everyone, advance! Don't let them hog the loot!"

Tony signaled his team. The Iron Fangs lowered their guard and began to march toward us.

Step. Step. Step.

They took about ten paces.

ZRRRT!

The air suddenly vibrated. A deep, resonant hum shook the ground beneath their feet.

"C-Captain! Something's strange!"

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