2nd Floor (4)

"Still... don't they know that I'm just going to get even more curious? Like, why me? There should be a particular reason." Matthew sighed helplessly.

"I mean... I suppose I'll just have to wait and get stronger to find out." He stretched his body, feeling the tension in his muscles.

"...."

"Who were you talking to?"

Stop...

'I didn't hear her... Did she use some kind of stealth skill?' Matthew's senses were always sharp, but this time, Stella managed to sneak up on him without a sound.

"Did you recover your powers?" He turned back to her, and his eyes widened a bit as he saw her appearance.

Now, Stella had a different outfit that revealed more skin.

She wore a tight-fitting top that accentuated her curves, and her shorts were barely long enough to cover her thighs.

Her chestnut-brown hair was tied up in a messy bun, strands of it falling loosely around her face.

"Yeah, I'm feeling stronger," Stella said, her fists clenched tightly. "Must be because of the new mana in this world."

"But forget about that," she continued, getting straight to the point. "What were you talking about? Why do you need to get stronger?"

"...."

Matthew remained silent at her words, and instead, his casual expression turned into a colder one.

"That's none of your business," he replied curtly, turning his attention back to the field of dandelions.

He could feel Stella's murderous aura, but he knew that she wouldn't attack him, because they are "teammates" until the tenth floor.

"Tsk, whatever," she scoffed. "Just die already.."

"If I died, you would die too, remember?" Matthew laughed at her words as he picked up a dandelion.

[The final wave is starting in 10 seconds...]

"Don't screw this up," Stella muttered before walking away.

"Pfff... first she tells me to die, then not to. Women, huh?" he sighed.

He stood up and took the scythe from the ground. From this small moments of using a scythe, Matthew felt strange.

He was not sure why, but he was too accustomed to using this kind of weapon. Something about using it felt right.

"Perhaps due to my class? Prince of Darkness, it goes quite nicely with a scythe."

[Lv.60 High Orc Chief (BOSS)]

[30.000 Health Points.]

"Oh... is this the boss? It's a pity that its just one." Matthew clutched his scythe as he was about to thrown it.

GROWWLLLL!

[The High Orc Chief has activated the skill—"Dominance"!]

[Your status will be temporarily decreased by 15%.]

"A skill? That's... interesting."

Swoosh!

Matthew charged at the orc, swinging his scythe toward its neck.

But the orc suddenly smiled widely as countered with two massive axes, deflecting Matthew's attack and sending him staggering back.

GROWWLLL!

The orc charged at Matthew, its foot slamming into the ground with such force that dirt was sent flying toward him.

Matthew blocked with his scythe, but the orc seized the opportunity to swing its axe toward his head.

Clang!

However, Matthew managed to block the blow just in time, the axe meeting the blade of his scythe.

"Ahh... just like I had thought. As the level goes higher, the monsters seems to be getting more intelligent."

"You can die now." He smiled coldly.

Fizzzle!

Splurt!

With a fast strike, Matthew cleaved through the orc's neck, its head rolling to the ground as blood gushed from the wound.

[You have killed a High Orc Chief Boss and received 240,000 + 120,000 EXP (Title Bonus)!]

[You have reached level 23!]

[You have completed the third wave!]

"Mhm... leveling up seems tougher than before. Is it because of the Chaos Difficulty?" Matthew wondered aloud.

"Can I even check?" He opened his status and clicked on his level to see if he could.

[Level 23 (20,000/230,000)]

"Ah... so it's 10,000 EXP per level," Matthew realized, furrowing his brow.

If he didn't face high-level monsters like this one, leveling up would be a very slow process indeed.

[Ding!~ The first wave has been completed successfully!]

A panel appeared before Matthew's eyes which meant that Stella had finished her part of the wave. He glanced over and saw Stella strolling toward him.

[Take notice that you can only leave the tower when you reach the tenth floor.]

"Ah... Whatever, I have an entire month to stay here before the academy is renovated, so," he shrugged nonchalantly.

THRRRUUMMM!

From the ground, something akin to a portal emerged, and without a word exchanged between them, Stella and Matthew stepped into it.

It was time to advance to the second floor.

.

.

.

.

.

[You have completed the 1st floor in the Chaos Difficulty...!]

[You have received 15.000 Star Coins!]

[You have received 25 random allocated stat points.]

[Your Physique has been increased by 25.]

[The "Livestream" function has been unlocked.]

'...Were those points really randomly allocated?'

"Oh... We've reached the gathering point." Stella commented, and with that, Matthew finally noticed where they were.

It was a huge place that contained quite a lot of players, however, each one had a number on top of their head.

[666]

"Our number is 666?" Stella turned to Matthew, who wore a puzzled expression.

With a small sigh, she explained everything.

"Every 'duo' of players has a group number above their head. It'll also appear in the rankings as we climb to the tenth floor."

"So, now we'll be competing with other players for ranking?"

"Basically, yeah. The rankings are crucial. If you maintain a high rank until the tenth floor, you'll earn fantastic rewards. A B-Ranker could easily rise to an S-Ranker with those rewards," Stella explained.

"I see..." Matthew nodded thoughtfully.

'That must mean that...'

Shine....!

'Stacy and the others should also be here...' Matthew finished his thoughts as he felt a shining light, and quickly noticed that it was Stacy herself.

[555]

'555... the same number as the order where she awakened her class. My number was also the same... quite the coincidence... right?'

[....]

(A/N: Now Matthew's system will be appearing in bold form.)

'Whatever... It also seems that her teammate is... who's that guy?' Matthew's gaze sharpened.

'Is he another male lead? Mhn....'

After briefly pondering, Matthew shrugged it off. There was no reason to dwell on those thoughts anymore.

[Ara~, it seems that the 3rd batch of players have reached the 2nd floor!]

Suddenly, an angelic-like figure appeared on the sky, wearing a brilliant white hoodie that covered her face except her golden eyes and loose golden hair.

[Why hello~!]

She greeted the players with a faint yet charming smile.

[I'll keep things short and explain everything! Firstly, the 2nd to 9th floors are together as one!]

[Basically, you'll be teleported into an open world. For three weeks, you'll gather points by killing monsters or clearing dungeons!]

[Depending on your points, your team's ranking will determine your rewards. The higher your place and personal difficulty, the better your rewards.]

[That's all, lil cuties! Also, the "Livestream" function is enabled, so show off your power to the constellations to earn Star Coins for the authority store and get stronger!]

[Good Luck~]

Snap!

With a delicate snap of her fingers, everyone found themselves in a vast green field, accompanied by a forest and a huge volcano in the distance.

[The ranking system has been activated.]

[Current Rank: Null.]