Chapter 404: Annoying

{Welcome back to the Tower Of Beasts!}

Ethan spawned into the Tower after having another rather riveting night with his partner. Considering everything that had happened over the past day, most people would have probably chosen to actually sleep.

He was not most people.

The moment his body materialised onto a small plot of sandy land, he stretched his arms and looked across the familiar landscape.

{Floor Thirty-One: Aquatic Expanse (B)}

The endless ocean greeted him once again.

Deep-blue water stretched toward the horizon in every direction, broken only by scattered rocky islands and chunks of floating wreckage. The entire floor was strangely beautiful, especially compared to some of the more hostile environments Ethan had encountered in the Tower.

But it was also becoming a massive pain in the ass, just like that Acidic Wasteland had been.

Ethan glanced around him.

Nothing.

Once again, he was alone in this place aside from the beasts within him.

Elara wasn’t here, obviously.

And judging by how exhausted he had left her, she had probably fallen asleep already, which was the case. But only after she had noticed that he had suddenly lost consciousness.

‘He’s in that place again.’

She sighed with a mix of concern and amusement before dozing off, barely having the energy to react.

Ethan, on the other hand, was going to do anything but rest.

His body in the Tower was refreshed and ready to go, but there were still so many things bouncing around in Ethan’s mind. He simply looked across the ocean and let the thoughts settle.

‘I’ve got beasts to hunt.’

He smiled.

“So let’s get to work.”

There was one thing that would make doing so much easier.

Acquiring an aquatic beast.

Unfortunately, his current situation made that impossible.

Until he was officially B Rank, he couldn’t acquire another beast, leaving him stuck with his current team despite knowing how useful one would be on this floor.

And that created a serious problem.

Most of the aquatic beasts on this floor were fast.

However, that wasn’t the main issue.

Many were perfectly willing to attack Ethan and his beasts, but the moment they became seriously injured, they would retreat into the colossal body of water. Once they were underwater, Ethan often couldn’t pursue them effectively, especially since the creatures were perfectly adapted to the environment while he definitely wasn’t.

Even Wolfy had limits, despite faring the best.

As for Storm, its lightning attacks became much weaker when dispersed through the water, and its physical attacks weren’t nearly as effective.

And while Talon’s Wild Whirlwind was useful in stopping larger creatures from retreating, it wasn’t nearly as effective against smaller, faster beasts. Those creatures could simply move around the growing vortex before it became large enough to properly trap them.

“Come back!”

Ethan watched another beast disappear beneath the water after dealing it a significant blow.

A fin briefly broke the surface before vanishing.

Ethan stared at the spot where it had disappeared.

‘Damn it…’

He sighed.

“This place is fucking annoying.”

Although he wasn’t completely helpless.

His previous visit had taught him a lot, and alongside his beasts, he always seemed to find a way.

And so he kept moving.

Hour after hour, Ethan crossed floating islands and flew over open water.

He used Beast Link with Talon to scout ahead, sent Wolfy into the water whenever something caught his attention, and kept Storm close by as the Lightning Dragonfly searched for signs of life beneath the surface.

All while remaining assimilated with Spark.

The Ember Wraith’s orange flames reflected against the ocean, creating a strange contrast between fire and endless water as Ethan travelled from one section of the floor to another.

But despite everything they tried, the floor remained frustratingly empty.

They fought one beast.

Then another appeared, only to retreat after Ethan damaged it.

Another escaped.

Another refused to engage.

Another disappeared so quickly that Ethan barely had time to identify it before it vanished beneath the waves.

Hours passed.

Eventually, Ethan landed on a small rocky island and sat down.

‘This whole time, I’ve only killed one Common Beast.’

He stared across the horizon, his expression slowly becoming more irritated with every passing second.

“This is getting tiring.”

Ethan instinctively reached for a pocket to pull out a cigarette, the filthy habit sticking with him in this place, only to realise he was completely naked in this place.

He laughed.

“Can’t you give me fireproof rags?”

The system ignored him, clearly picking and choosing when to respond.

He sighed and turned towards Wolfy, who sat beside him.

The giant Fenrir lowered his head onto the ground, its crimson eyes remaining fixed on Ethan.

“Don’t look at me like that.”

Wolfy gave a quiet huff.

“I know.”

Ethan leaned backwards and rested his hands against the ground.

“This place sucks.”

Wolfy looked toward the ocean, huffing again.

“But we’ll clear this place in no time.”

As he spoke aloud, he began to notice something strange.

His mouth felt dry.

Ethan swallowed.

“I’m thirsty…”

That was new.

He had never really experienced thirst inside the Tower before. The sensation itself wasn’t particularly concerning, but it was weird enough that Ethan couldn’t help acknowledging it.

The realisation was almost funny.

“It’s ironic.”

He looked at the water surrounding the island.

“I’m literally surrounded by the stuff.”

He wasn’t stupid enough to drink seawater, though.

Even with his iron stomach that had tasted the flesh of hundreds of beasts by now, Ethan wasn’t interested in discovering whether drinking magical ocean water would kill him.

He stretched his arms.

“Whatever.”

He had survived worse.

After resting up and using Beast Recovery, they continued.

The hours stretched on, and the sky never seemed to change. The Tower didn’t care about Ethan’s exhaustion or his growing frustration, silently watching as he continued moving through its endless ocean.

Then, sometime later, Ethan stopped.

He suddenly felt something.

Mana.

Even with Spark’s incredible awareness, he had never been able to sense anything beneath the unusual water. But whatever this was, it had such a strong presence that it pierced through the haze.

His expression immediately changed.

“Something’s there.”

It was still faint, but it was unmistakable.

And to add to the eeriness, the water was completely still.

Almost too still.

Ethan gathered his Ember Wraith’s flaming mana, ready to react to whatever it was.

A small ripple appeared.

Then another.

The ripples expanded.

And expanded.

Ethan slowly backed away as he watched what was happening.

“That’s…”

The ocean suddenly rose.

It wasn’t a wave.

The entire surface seemed to bulge upward, as though something enormous was pushing against the ocean from beneath.

Ethan’s eyes widened.

“No fucking way.”