For the first ti since they gathered, the group had a social event to interact. This was what Arthur aid for, feeling like each of them followed him for different reasons, not yet a cohesive group that stood for each other.
Food of great variety was served, and Arthur paid the man with reward points. After all, he had too many for him to even use. Killing the ogres using his gate of wrath gave him a little over a million reward points, and his level soared as well. His current stats looked like this:
[Arthur Netherborne]
[Level: 99] [Max]
[Floor: 3]
[Reward Points: 950,763]
[Strength: 2000] [Max]
[Agility: 2000] [Max]
[Stamina: 2000] [Max]
[Perception: 2000] [Max]
[Mana: 2000/2000] [Max]
It sufficed to say that his reward points were overflowing. As the group dined and laughed about stories of how Sarohan fought a giant by stabbing its rear, Arthur rembered one item he obtained from Peter in the first floor.
"Ding, ding!"
Arthur tapped the plate with his fork, grabbing their attention. Sarohan stopped narrating his story with a smile, not offended that Arthur interrupted him.
"I have one final gift before we enter the fourth floor," said Arthur with a smile. "Stats within this tower are different from the outside, but they can help us unleash our true powers once we leave. I have this dal that I gained on the first floor."
Arthur took out the dal which had a tower engraved on it. It shone with brilliant light as it activated, prompting a notification from the tower in front of his eight comrades. Everyone stared at the notification with a daze.
[Quest: Final Dinner has been created!]
[Description: Arthur Netherborne has created a quest to have a final dinner with him, and those who complete it will receive the following rewards: 100,000 reward points!]
Everyone stared at the scene with dropping jaws, unable to voice out a word. These reward points were enough to make them gods in this tower, and Arthur was giving them as if they were a simple gift!
"Sir… is this the Trader dal you obtained on the first floor?" asked Whisker with surprise, knowing the origins of this item. "Why would you use it to give us these reward points?"
"You are my friends, and I would hate if soone from this group got hurt," said Arthur with a smile as he raised his cup and gestured for them to do the sa. "Have this dinner and seek this tower's end!"
"Cheers!" shouted the group and the nine talware cups clinked against each other. The dinner officially began, and it lasted for hours. Being as powerful as they are, they needed to eat like monsters. Thus, the group only stopped eating and laughing once the restaurant owner cried there was no more food.
The entire event was filled with joy, as Lian summoned a parrot to sing for them. The parrot sang the sweetest lodies with different voices, sotis even making them laugh.
Arthur recognized most songs to be from Earth, making him feel nostalgic. The dinner ended with everyone full, and Arthur was the first to rise from his chair. The rest followed as they began walking toward the giant monunt.
[Quest Completed!]
A notification appeared before them, and they were given the reward points. This added to the gratitude that the group felt as these points allowed them to grow stronger and obtain more skills after they level up.
"I would love to sleep a little first, but Dorian is waiting for us!" said Sarohan as he stretched his arms. "Let us go back once the fight is over, and have this dinner again with Dorian and the rest!"
"Agreed," said Whisker with a smile as he wiped the milk off his mouth. "First, we need to survive. No one is allowed to die."
"And that is an order," said Arthur as they reached the monunt. "Don't die even if they kill you."
"…that's impossible!" shouted Sarohan.
The rest snickered as Arthur turned toward them. Then, he nodded with a smile before turning and walking into the monunt. The challengers around them watched as the group entered the monunt one by one until only two were left.
Seraphine stared at the wall before turning toward the tar, Lian. She wanted to be the last to enter, just in case soone had other thoughts after Arthur's generous gift. As for the tar, he seed deep in thought as he patted the parrot.
"What are you waiting for?" asked Seraphine with a frown after noticing the tar had no intention to follow after them.
"It has been a while since I summoned this parrot," said Lian with a smile. "I wanted to spend a little more ti with him since I have neglected him ever since I beca a teen."
"Your first tad monster?" asked Seraphine with furrowed brows.
"Indeed," said Lian as he poked the parrot's chin, caressing it. "I had no friends as a child, and this parrot kept company. It has a lot of intelligence, so I had a friend after so training."
"You have all the ti you want to catch up after we are done," said Seraphine, and Lian sighed and returned the parrot to its spatial storage. Then, the tar turned toward her.
"You still don't trust ," said Lian with a sigh.
"Arthur has the ability to tell whether soone is scheming sothing, but I can't help but feel there are secrets you did not tell us," said Seraphine with a frown as she stared at him. "Jonathan was not that wrong about you, Lian the Tar."
"You are mad because I disappeared after entering the second floor," said Lian with a smirk. "Everyone in this group knows each other so way or another, but I beca the outsider because I was away for a few days."
"You should have talked to us before seeking the dragon."
"Soone else was known as the outsider back on Earth," said Lian with a smile as he looked at the demon. "Arthur is far from loved by the major powers in our world. The mont he leaves this tower, they will gang around him. At that ti, would you be useful?"
"What does that an?"
"You are powerful, but you know nothing about Earth like I do. I cannot force you to trust , but the next part of our journey will prove my worth."
After saying that, Lian entered the monunt, disappearing into it. Seraphine stood there before a smile appeared on her face. After all, the tar was not as loyal as they are, but he did not seem to harbor bad intentions. Seraphine followed after him, and the bustling market resud its life.
***
[Welco to the Trial of Heroes.]
[Those with great courage and abilities can pass this floor, but those with doubts and fear will be killed. There will be no revival past this point, and death will be permanent.]
[The fourth floor has three sections. One to test bravery, where you will be stripped of your stats and abilities. Another to test your strength, where you will be facing legendary monsters from around the universe. As for the last, you will face the hardest choices.]
Arthur stared at the notifications that had appeared, and then stared at the surrounding. He was standing atop an altar in the middle of a village, surrounded by people. Soone stepped forward from the crowd, shaking as he reached out.
"A hero!" muttered the old man with wrinkly skin as he reached out toward Arthur's shoes, touching them gently with tears in his eyes. "After so long, we received a hero!"
"The first test is to protect this village from monsters. These people are not an illusion, but an actual village sowhere in the universe. They have summoned a hero to protect them from monsters invading their village."
Arthur read the notification and then crouched to the ground, holding the old man's shaking hand as he removed them from his shoes. Then, he jumped down with a smile.
"Everything will be alright now," said Arthur with a smile, making the entire village cry tears of happiness. The old man hugged his hand tightly as he bowed his head.
"Please, hero, save us," said the old man as he looked into the distance. "Our village is facing a great threat from the nearby monsters. We are helpless to stop them, and we buried ten children just this morning!"
"I understand," said Arthur as he reached toward empty air and summoned his dagger, but it did not unleash a cry of wrath. Instead, it seed like a regular dagger. Arthur frowned.
"Our world does not have any mana, sir," said the old man as he noticed Arthur frowning. "All heroes are shocked to know this, but our world is just on the lowest realm."
"How do you know such information?" asked Arthur with confusion, since these details should not be known by simple people. The old man pointed toward the red altar, which had an inscription on it. A set of rules and an explanation for the people present.
"The altar allows us to summon heroes, as long as we give offerings," said the old man. "After we make an offering, we wait for a hero to save us. It usually takes monsters about a month to reappear after the hero defeats them, so we have to make an offering before then!"
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