34 Book 3 Chapter 30

The darkness beyond the haven dissipated like snow under the sun. It was only now when those blinded during the night began to search for prey. They had no choice. If they didn't hunt and kill to gain strength, they had no hope of surviving. Sadly, they didn't know their struggles were pointless – they would end up as food for demons in the end. At least, that was the paradigm for a long time. Not anymore. The floor of death had visitors.

Jason stepped out from behind the barrier and inhaled, his lungs immediately burning. The air here would incinerate an average person's lungs, so it did nothing to someone at his level. It was just unpleasant.

You are suppressed. All stats have dropped by 20%.

Your willpower and killing intent skill has allowed you to resist fully!

Unlike most of his companions, he was able to negate the floor-wide suppression. Jason was very familiar with the air here, so it didn't bother him, but his companions started coughing and crying as soon as they stepped out of the barrier. Only Shenlong, Ebba, and Sam's team remained calm.

"This is becoming more and more like hell," Amara commented in between coughing fits and drinking from her magic water bottle.

Carly took out a napkin to wipe her tears before looking at Amara worriedly, "Monsters here shouldn't be resistant to fire, right?"

Carly was concerned for her friend, who only used fire magic. She'd never seen Amara have a problem, but now she wasn't so sure.

"Hmph, I dare the monsters here to have fire resistance," Amara raised her chin to the sky, "my magic recently gained a defense penetration effect."

"Oh, that's good." Carly heaved a sigh of relief. As usual, she was a worry-wort.

At the side of the gathering, Sam checked over his equipment once more before leaving with his team. The remaining ascenders split into two parties. One group, led by Peter, consisted of over a hundred ascenders. The other had just seven members: Shenlong himself, Dubaku, Amara, Carly, Jason, Roy, and Olivia.

Before separating, Peter glanced at Shenlong with complicated feelings. Shenlong's team would become the spearhead of the alliance, and only the best of the best could enter.

The berserk division, as well as Cheslov, Ebba, and other talented ascenders in the raid division, were under Peter's leadership.

The reason for separating their forces was due to the mechanics of the floor. Demons, both strong and weak, would eventually come to destroy their haven, forcing them into a passive position. Based on Jason's experiences, fighting hordes was inevitable.

Shenlong's party would be responsible for killing the demons leading the horde. As such, they needed to perfect their teamwork.

"We're off," Shenlong nodded to Peter before picking a random direction to travel in.

Jason gave a glance at Peter, aware of his friend's emotions, yet left without saying anything. He was not in the mood to console him. Tank, on Jason's shoulder, squeaked at Peter as they went in different directions.

The haven eventually disappeared as Jason went deeper into the wasteland. He followed behind Shenlong, spotting patches of dried blood on the ground now and then. The atmosphere was tense. No one seemed to be in the mood to talk. Well, except for Roy. He spoke to Olivia, who ran at his side, "I really, really, REALLY hope this floor isn't all this dreary – that Architect or whoever needs a better color palette."

Olivia rolled her eyes and responded sarcastically, "Go leave a review."

"Oh, I wish I could. I have a journal chock full of suggestions and ideas," Roy laughed as he pulled out a thick diary full of unorganized bookmarks.

Amara scoffed and was about to comment when Jason and Shenlong abruptly stopped. Just ahead, a cave sat at the bottom of a small hill. Bones of various beasts lay at the entrance. All of them shared one thing in common: they were picked clean of any flesh.

As the party silently prepared for battle, the sound of bones shattering came from inside as an imposing beast emerged. Its body was too big to live comfortably in the cave, yet only a glance was needed to clear up any confusion.

An unknown creature lay half-eaten in between its jaws. Blood continuously dripped from the lifeless body, coating the matted hair of its killer. The monster towered over Jason's party when it left the confines of the cave. It had a humanoid shape, black skin, a bull's head, and two horns. Most striking were its tightly woven muscles. Even its bicep was larger than Jason's head.

(Mutant) Minotaur Kresh - Level 230

Health: 234,200/300,000

Wounds riddled the minotaur's majestic body. Across its torso was a deep gash stretching from its shoulder to its hip. Inside, yellow pus popped and bubbled. Most creatures would have succumbed to such a fatal wound, yet the minotaur seemed unconcerned.

Jason's face with grim. The first thing he searched for was the number of runes the minotaur had. On this floor, runes determined the outcome of a fight more than stats or levels. As for the minotaur, he counted six.

After several tense moments, the minotaur swallowed its food in one gulp before speaking in a deep, booming voice, "Not demon. No rune. Weak. Go now. Dangerous here."

Everyone's jaw dropped. Not only was the demonic creature intelligent enough to speak, but its expression was also full of pity. That was a first.

Shenlong sent Jason a questioning glance. He could only respond with a shake of his head. Even he never encountered something like this.

"Bah," Kresh grunted when a portion of flesh near his wound fell to the ground. It sizzled and popped before falling still.

Roy stepped forward when he saw the minotaur's health continuously drop. "Uh, sir, are you okay? I can heal you."

Amara hissed at Roy. "What are you doing?"

Roy gave his companions a look and pursed his lips. "Adapting."

Kresh blinked his large red eyes, now experiencing the same surprise he gave Jason. "Little creature. You no rune. How heal?"

"Err," Roy rubbed his cheek as he answered uncertainly, "I was born with it?"

Kresh nodded in understanding. It seemed he found the answer satisfactory. Thinking it over, Kresh tilted his head. ���If heal good, we trade. You weak. Me strong. Help each. Yes?"

"Great!" Roy's face flushed excitedly as he cautiously walked up to the fifteen-foot-tall minotaur. Looking up, he froze when he saw the minotaur's eyes staring down at him. Gulping, he raised his hand as a golden glow spread across the minotaur's wound.

Roy soon ran out of mana. The wound was still there, though thankfully, the poison was gone. The health pool of the minotaur was too large for Roy's mana to restore fully.

Roy stepped back, unsure if the minotaur would be angry.

Kresh let out a soft growl as he flexed his muscles. A rune on his side flashed, healing his flesh at a visible speed. He grinned, showcasing his white teeth. "Little creature. I shocked. Poison from pure demon. You good!"

Kresh continued to say, "You stay. I hunt. Short time."

Roy watched as Kresh charged into the distance, letting out a joyful roar as he did. Before he disappeared, Roy remembered something and shouted. "Leave it alive!"

Sadly, he wasn't sure if the minotaur heard him or not. If he brought back corpses, they wouldn't have to eat them, right?