Ronan tore down a sheet of tangled vines and branches covering up the door to the next stairwell. They had fought about twenty foxes of varying levels, though all were either four- or five-tailed foxes. It had been more tedious than difficult.

What had been difficult was finding the door to the next set of stairs while tearing their way through this overgrown jungle of a tower floor. Ronan hoped the staircase might take them right to the top, but as they pushed open the door, those hopes were immediately dashed.

"It looks about the same height as the last one. So… floor fifty? If this is the pattern we will probably fight six- and seven-tailed foxes up there, then face a third floor with eight-tailed foxes, and finally encounter the boss on the last floor. How cliche," Ronan said as they began climbing the stairs.

For some odd reason, the staircases themselves were almost entirely free of vegetation. It was as though they had a protective barrier that prevented the plants from creeping inside.

As Ronan expected, the next floor they encountered was exactly twenty-five more floors up. There, they faced mostly six-tailed foxes. He still resisted their mental manipulations with ease. After experiencing the terror of Vulparis' illusory mastery, these foxes were child's play.

However, their physical capabilities did push him. While their illusions and mental attacks weren't much—though Keith struggled with them—Ronan found himself being forced on the defensive more than once.

By the time they found the exit to the next staircase, he was covered in claw wounds and a little drained. However, there was a silver lining to the increasing difficulty of their foes: he'd gained a level two-thirds of the way through the floor.

The extra health points and stamina let him keep pushing towards the exit. He was beginning to suspect he might even struggle to defeat the eight-tailed foxes before even catching sight of the boss…

Even if that ended up being the case, it wasn't a massive problem. Given the setup of the tower that was formerly the shard, Ronan knew without a doubt that the boss monster of the sector would be waiting for him at the top floor.

If he did fall to an eight-tailed fox, he would simply return in his next life, even stronger, and keep punching his way forwards until he could bring down the boss and claim the pillar of the sector for himself.

He put the three free stat points across strength, agility, and dexterity in the same way his class distributes them. It felt like the best way to do things right now. He was fully expecting to die a few times before he was able to defeat the boss, so increasing long-term stats such as regeneration wouldn't help much—at least in these small quantities.

As they entered the third staircase, Keith grabbed Ronan's arm and pulled him back. "Mate, are you sure we should keep going? There's nothing stopping us from coming back once we're a higher level," he said, eyes betraying the fear in his heart.

Ronan winced inwardly. Honestly, Keith had a valid point. If Ronan was facing this challenge in his first life, without any kind of safety net, he would have agreed with the man. However, he knew the reality of his situation. The only real way he could keep progressing was to face his challenges head-on, no matter the risk of death or level of danger.

Of course, it was important not to lose a healthy sense of caution—dying meaninglessly was stupid, even if he would return to life—but his heritage gave him the privilege to ignore a certain level of danger that others might not. And, it was entirely possible Keith would die along with him. Still, Ronan had the comfort of knowing they would both be alive again in the next iteration.

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He felt slightly guilty doing so, but he shook his head before replying, "It's too risky, Keith. If we leave the boss alone for too long it might find a way to claim the pillar. When that happens…" He left the implication unsaid, fully aware Keith knew what would happen.

They couldn't be certain what the function of the pillar was, but surely the one who claimed it would either gain some measure of control over the sector or a boost in their personal power. If the boss, which was already one of the strongest beings in the sector, gained that boost, it would spell their doom.

Actually, it might be an interesting experiment to let the boss do it once, if only to see what would happen, Ronan thought to himself. Maybe in the future, though. I'd rather defeat it and gain more strength for myself.

There was a little trepidation in his steps as he made his way up to what he expected would be the seventy-fifth floor. It was. When they reached it, Ronan paused with his hand on the door. "Are you ready? This will be the hardest battle we've ever had. Don't miss a beat, mate."

Keith nodded. He was clearly more worried than Ronan about what they were about to face, but despite that, he was prepared to put his life on the line. Ronan appreciated that. "Let's do it," Keith affirmed, readying his sword.

With that, Ronan threw open the door and stepped inside, getting into a combat-ready stance as his gaze swivelled around the room in search of enemies. He saw movement to his left, and stepped forward right as a fox leapt from a sturdy vine to attack him.

However, the moment he stepped forward he felt something sharp carving through his torso on the right. He pressed a hand to his skin, finding it blood-red as he pulled it away.

He briefly closed his eyes and took a deep, calming breath. He sensed a faint thread in his mind, tugged on it, then opened his eyes once more. When he did, he found there was no fox behind him, but there was one standing in front of him and another looking down from on top of a steel shelf.

The fox in front of Ronan had his blood on its claws. He took a step towards it, pulling his fist back. As soon as he did that, he felt a subtle shift in the world around him, but then it snapped away, his Eye of the Trickster flashing bright orange.

The first illusion had taken him off guard, the potency far greater than those of the lower-leveled foxes. However, now that Ronan both knew what to expect and had the protection of his amulet, they would not be able to pull off the same trick twice.

[Eight-Tailed Fox Lv.82]

[Eight-Tailed Fox Lv.84]

The higher level of the two foxes was the one perched on a vine, staring down at Ronan and Keith as though they were walking toys who'd wandered into its territory. It was the other one which was baring its fangs at Ronan, while his blood coated its claws.

"Alright. I'll take this little fucker on, Keith. You keep an eye on the one in the leaves. Let me know if it makes a move," Ronan said, putting up his fists and inching towards the level 82 fox.

He took a step forward, eyeing its movements the entire time. He wanted to strike first, but it was a little risky with the other fox observing him. Ronan would need to pick the perfect moment.

The fox was bending its legs slightly, lips peeled back to reveal its fangs. It was equally prepared to strike, or pounce on Ronan the moment he slipped up. With no obvious openings, it was up to him to create one.

Ronan stepped forward, bending his front leg and then whipping his back leg forwards. His intention was to make the fox think he was about to kick the living daylights out of it.

The beast's eyes narrowed the instant he moved. It pounced to one side, before crouching low to leap up and claw at Ronan. He had to suppress the grin forming on his face.

It had fallen right into his trap.

As the fox leapt to one side, Ronan pushed his foot down, creating a new pivot point rather than finishing the kick. Then, he twisted his core and threw his fist into the fox's new path. The creature saw the blow coming, but it was too late to dodge.

He felt the heavy impact of his fist against its chest. Something broke under the skin and the beast went flying. It screeched as it crashed against the ground, rolling away into the greenery and out of sight.

Ronan turned towards the level 84 fox, but kept half an eye out for the other beast, in the case it recovered and rejoined the fight. As he turned, he felt a sharp sting in his lower back, near his right kidney.

Crap! Did the fox– Ronan turned, worried he'd let the other beast get the drop on him. His eyes went as wide as saucers as he saw what had struck him. "Keith?"

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