Chapter 312: Floor 30

The Chimera no longer tried to deal with both opponents at once. It relentlessly pursued the armored lizard. Even when the giant ape smashed into its back hard enough to crack its bone armor, it refused to turn around. Its two serpent heads restricted the lizard’s room to maneuver, while the lion head constantly pressured it from the front.

The armored lizard quickly ran out of space to retreat.

Its thick back armor blocked several bites, but it could not stop the scorpion tail from striking from the side. Once the stinger pierced its abdomen, it tried to use the giant ape’s attacks to escape, but its four limbs gradually began slowing down.

This time, the Chimera gave it no chance to break free.

The enormous lizard was flipped onto its back, and the lion head immediately bit into its abdomen, where the protective armor plates were absent.

By the time the giant ape circled around, the armored lizard on the ground had already stopped moving.

Looking at the final opponent, Zich finally relaxed his tense shoulders a little. Even with the potion, his mana was approaching empty. The Chimera had to finish the ape immediately.

Without the other beasts interfering, all three heads attacked simultaneously, and the giant ape quickly went from taking the offensive to barely defending itself.

It made one final attempt to charge toward Zich behind the Chimera, but the Chimera’s spread wings blocked its path.

A few moments later, the heavy sound of a body crashing to the ground echoed throughout the arena.

[Twenty Ninth Floor Trial Completed.]

[Trial Evaluation: SS.]

Zich ordered the Chimera to stop eating and recalled it to the Graveyard, immediately stopping its maintenance drain.

He stood where he was for a while to recover before lowering his gaze toward the single potion remaining at his waist. When he had first received them, they had seemed like plenty. But once the fighting actually started, they disappeared far too quickly.

Still, he had not been injured this time.

Iron and the others had also gained more time to recover.

More importantly, he had finally confirmed that this merged summon really could carry an entire battle for him when it mattered.

Zich turned and walked toward the completion portal.

...

Some time later, after fully recovering, Zich stepped into the Thirtieth Floor.

Before him was a vast, empty hall.

There was no rain of arrows and no magical beast immediately charging toward him. Holding his Frostgrave Scythe, he walked several steps forward before finally making out the seated figure at the far end.

It seemed to have been waiting there for a long time.

As Zich approached, it slowly raised its head.

The sound of dragging chains echoed through the previously silent hall.

[Thirtieth Floor Trial: Kill the Soul Devourer.]

The Ancient King Rank Soul Devourer stood up, the chains binding its body shifting with the movement.

A few minutes earlier, before Zich entered the Twenty Ninth Floor.

The teleportation light in front of the tower suddenly flared, and Jayden Smith stepped out from within. One hand was pressed against his ribs, and his footing was slightly unsteady, but before anyone nearby could reach out to support him, he straightened himself on his own.

On the stone monument, the name belonging to him dimmed, indicating that his challenge was over.

"Jayden..."

"I’m fine."

He accepted the potion handed to him but did not drink it. He raised his head and looked at the stone monument first. His gaze moved upward from his own name before finally stopping at the very top.

[First Place: Zich Grave, Twenty Eighth Floor.]

Jayden stared at it for a moment before uncorking the bottle and drinking the potion.

He had already done everything he could in that final trial. Continuing would not have increased his chances of victory. It would only have made his injuries worse, so he had chosen to withdraw.

He had not felt much when making the decision, but now that he was truly standing outside the tower and could see that Zich was still advancing, an uncomfortable feeling inevitably rose in his heart.

"Would you like to go back and rest first?"

Jayden shook his head and walked toward one side of the square.

"Wait a while."

He wanted to see just how far that guy could go.

The waiting continued, and Zich’s name remained on the Twenty Eighth Floor. After a while, the teleportation light lit up again.

This time, the one who emerged was Austin Locke.

He looked even more battered than Jayden. A large section of his sleeve had been torn open, and blood was dripping down the back of his hand. The members of the Locke family hurried forward to meet him, but Austin ignored them and looked at the stone monument first.

His own name had already dimmed. Among the names still glowing near the top were Nadia, Helen, and Zich.

Austin pressed his lips together tightly and allowed the people around him to treat his wounds without saying a word.

Some people nearby recognized him, and hushed discussions immediately began.

Even Austin Locke of the Locke family had come out.

Before this, everyone had simply watched the rankings and thought that those at the front were advancing extremely quickly. It was only now, as challengers began emerging one after another with injuries covering their bodies, that they finally realized the later floors were nowhere near as easy as they appeared from the outside.

Someone wanted to ask Austin which floor had defeated him, but after seeing his unpleasant expression, they swallowed the question.

"Young Master, let’s go over there first."

This time, Austin did not refuse. However, before leaving the teleportation area, he glanced once more at Zich’s name.

More time passed, and then Nadia Voss emerged as well.

Her steps were still relatively steady, but her face was visibly pale. Only after reaching the front of the tower did she slowly loosen the hand she had kept clenched the entire time. Members of the Voss family came forward to meet her, and she accepted a handkerchief, wiping the blood from the corner of her mouth.

"Miss, your injuries..."

"Treat them first. We’ll discuss everything else after we return."

Her gaze had already fallen upon the stone monument.

Seeing that Zich was still on the Twenty Eighth Floor, Nadia showed no surprise and merely asked, "How long has he been on this floor?"

The person beside her told her about the most recent updates.

After listening, Nadia nodded and asked nothing further.

Because the stone monument could not tell them what was happening inside the tower, spending a long time on a floor could mean someone was trapped in a difficult battle, but it could just as easily mean that the battle had already ended and the challenger was resting inside the completion chamber.

As long as the name was still glowing, there was no point in jumping to conclusions.

Nadia had someone find a place where she could clearly see the monument and sat down to have her injuries treated.

The attention across the square soon returned to the tower.

Now there were only two known young geniuses still inside.

Helen and Zich.