Leon placed the journal back into his inventory and stood up, his gaze hardening as he looked down at the white expanse below.
"Master... are you going back in?" Dusk asked, his voice laced with confusion.
"Yes... I need to find sothing," Leon replied with a neutral expression.
He then took in a massive, lung-expanding breath, centered his mind, and leaped back into the white abyss.
"HUP..."
...
*THUD*
The mont his boots hit the stone floor inside the room, his body reacted. The familiar, prickling sensation of his passive skill took over his eyes.
His pupils elongated into vertical slits, the golden irises flaring as his vision pierced through the heavy white shroud. The room, previously a wall of static white, began to reveal its skeletal structure once more.
"Well, would you look at that? Who’s back... Oh, it’s that human whose words hold no value," the mist’s voice drifted through the air, vibrating with a mocking edge.
"Don’t be so sad, darling... You aren’t the only bitch that I lied to today. Or yesterday, I don’t know, I don’t really have a grip on ti right now," Leon replied. His voice was muffled behind his sealed lips, but his tone remained flatly neutral as his eyes darted across the ceiling.
"I didn’t know humans were such lowly creatures, lying for their own benefit," she hissed, her tone shifting toward annoyance.
"They are the lowest of the low, Luv. Lying is like the first wrong thing they do after being born," Leon countered. Suddenly, his eyes locked onto a faint, erald luminescence.
High atop one of the six massive pillars supporting the vaulted ceiling, a small green glow pulsed rhythmically.
"The third crystal... How the hell did you even put it up there?" Leon asked, a sharp, cold smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
"Hey... That’s not yours to take," the mist warned, her form swirling aggressively around the pillar.
"That’s not yours to keep, either."
Leon didn’t hesitate. He coiled his muscles, sinking into a low crouch before exploding upward with the full power of his mana-strengthened legs.
He soared into the air, reaching for the pillar, but despite the enhancent, gravity claid him before he could cover even a quarter of the vertical distance.
*Thud.*
"Fuck it," Leon spat as he landed back on the floor, the impact vibrating through his shins.
"Hahahaha... What a failure you are! Couldn’t even jump properly," the mist cackled, her voice echoing off the walls. "Did your parents tell you that you are nothing but a disappointnt to them?"
"They did. They also said not to listen to a fucking white bong cloud. I need more montum..." Leon ignored the taunts, his mind working through the physics of the room.
He turned and started running back toward the exit of the chamber.
"Where are you running to now?" the mist asked, her voice tinged with genuine confusion.
Leon didn’t answer. He stepped out onto the clear stairs, took a fresh, deep lungful of air to reset his internal clock, and assud a professional sprinter’s starting stance.
’All this running around is making burn through my oxygen faster than I thought,’ he reflected, his heart hamring against his ribs.
’But I need that crystal to reach the seventh floor. I can’t spend the rest of my life in this stupid place. I have both quest items, getting out as fast as possible is the only wise move. I can’t even find the door to the third floor anyway.’
"Here goes..." Leon erupted into a sprint, his boots thundering against the stone.
*Step-Step-Step-Step-Step-Step-Step.*
He hit the threshold of the mist-filled room at full tilt, his montum building until he felt like a projectile.
"Where are you going ?" the mist shrieked, manifesting a ghostly face directly in his path. Leon didn’t flinch, he tore straight through the spectral image, the white vapor parting around his fra.
’Wait... Where am I going?’ The thought struck him mid-stride. He skidded to a halt, his boots screeching against the floor as a far more efficient idea sparked in his mind.
*SCREAACH*
"Hmm...?" The mist hovered nearby, her "face" twisted in a look of bewildernt.
’What the hell am I running for? When I can just do this...’
"Threads."
With a flick of his wrist, invisible strings of mana lashed out from his fingertips. They snaked through the air, climbing the pillar with supernatural speed until they reached the glowing erald.
The threads coiled around the crystal like a viper. With a sharp, practiced jerk, Leon ripped the stone from its perch.
*Catch*
He snatched the falling crystal out of the air. It was heavy, its facets obscured by a thick layer of ancient dust.
"You know, it’s not a good thing to steal soone else’s property," the mist spoke, her voice dropping back to a neutral, chilling calm.
*Fuuuu.*
Leon blew a sharp puff of air, clearing the gri from the surface before using his skill.
[Na: Checkpoint Crystal]
[Rank: S]
[Description: A special crystal that can only be found inside specific types of dungeons after killing monsters. These crystals have a drop rate of less than 15%, once dropped, they are bound to that floor as its checkpoint. They can be broken to instantly return to that specific floor.]
[Bound Floor: 8th Floor]
[Note: Checkpoint Crystal will not work once outside the dungeon.]
’Wait...’ Leon’s eyes narrowed. ’If these only drop when killing monsters on a specific floor, how did Oder have a crystal bound to this floor while he on the 8th floor ? Only the mist lives here. How did he get a checkpoint for a floor where there are no monsters.’ He pushed the inconsistency aside for now. There was no ti for a history lesson.
"Well... What are you going to do now? Go to the 8th floor?" the mist asked.
"Yes," Leon grunted, turning toward the exit without a second glance.
"Wait... I will make a deal with you," the mist’s voice suddenly changed. It was no longer mocking or annoyed, it was desperate.
"If this deal includes any part where I am supposed to breathe you in, then I am already out," Leon said, his pace never slackening.
"No... It’s not that. I want you to take with you."
"What?" Leon stopped dead. He turned back, his expression one of pure confusion.
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