They continued exploring north without stopping. Along the way, they encountered several monsters, but Leon and Megan's team were able to handle them well.

Still, the members of Megan's team remained cold toward Ethan.

Once again, he refused to help, even as the monsters they faced grew stronger the farther they went.

Ethan didn't care. His Ashura Mode and Tempest Mode were far too valuable to waste on weak monsters like kobolds.

Some of them whispered to Megan, urging her to end the partnership with LionArk.

Throughout their exploration, Ethan had done nothing to assist.

Leon could help them, but his contribution wasn't enough.

They needed someone they could rely on, and clearly, they didn't see that person in Ethan.

"Ethan's useless. We can't keep covering for him," one man complained.

"Without him, we could handle this on our own. They're just dead weight," another added.

One by one, the four members of Megan's team came to an agreement—they wanted to cut LionArk out of the guild partnership.

To them, Ethan couldn't be trusted or depended on anymore.

"I'll talk to Leon about—"

"There's no need!" one of the men snapped loudly.

His raised voice caught Ethan's attention. Both he and Leon stopped walking when Megan's team halted in front of them.

What are they trying to do?

"Ethan! We're sick of your arrogance!" the man shouted, pointing his sword at him.

"You refuse to help because you're weak, low-level, and a coward!" he barked.

"Excuse me?" Ethan asked, narrowing his eyes.

"I'm sure if we fought, you wouldn't stand a chance!" the man said again, his tone full of threat.

Megan stepped in between them, trying to calm things down. Leon quickly moved in front of Ethan to protect him—even though Ethan didn't need protection.

"Ethan, can we talk about this cooperation?" Megan asked.

Ethan raised a hand and patted Leon's shoulder, silently telling him to relax. As long as Ethan was there, no one would be able to hurt him.

Leon glanced back and saw Ethan nod. Understanding the gesture, Leon stepped aside and let Ethan handle the conversation.

"The point of a party-guild partnership is to help one another," Megan said firmly.

"During our exploration to the north, you haven't shown any sign of wanting to help us."

"Only Leon has," she added, gesturing toward him.

"We need a detailed explanation for your behavior."

Ethan stayed quiet, watching Megan's serious expression. She was clearly acting under pressure from her teammates. She couldn't do anything else but ask him directly.

"As I said before, I let you defeat the monsters so that you could get the loot. That's all there is to it," Ethan replied calmly.

"If you had helped, we could've finished them faster without so much trouble," Megan said.

"If I had helped, you wouldn't have gotten anything. Do you understand?" Ethan asked.

"ENOUGH WITH BULLSHIT!" another man yelled.

"He's just an arrogant, cowardly weakling! I'll prove it myself!" the man declared, drawing his weapon.

Megan couldn't stop her teammate from attacking. Leon tried to defend Ethan again, but Ethan pushed him aside, stepping forward.

The man slashed toward Ethan with a crimson strike—but it wasn't nearly strong enough to threaten him.

Ethan stretched his hand forward, summoning Bloodblade Ashura and gripping its handle tightly. A system panel appeared before him.

[Ashura Mode Activated!]

His black hair flared into a fiery red, and his eyes glowed crimson. A massive aura burst out of him, stunning Leon, Megan, and everyone present.

Ethan stabbed his sword into the ground, forming a powerful sword-shield barrier that shattered the crimson slash without even cracking.

BLAST!

An explosion erupted, sending up a thick cloud of smoke. Leon and Megan jumped back, followed by the rest of the team.

"W-What kind of power was that?" one of the men asked Megan.

Megan stayed silent, narrowing her eyes toward the dense gray smoke, trying to see through it.

Ethan pulled his sword free and swung it sideways—not using any skill, just enough to clear the smoke.

Now everyone could see what he truly was capable of.

"What kind of power is that? I've never seen anything like it," said the man who had attacked him.

Megan remained speechless, still watching the overwhelming energy radiating from Ethan.

Moments later, Ethan stored Bloodblade Ashura back into his inventory.

His hair and eyes returned to normal as the system panel showed that Ashura Mode had been deactivated.

"What was that, Ethan?" Megan asked.

"My ability," Ethan replied flatly.

"If you don't want to continue the cooperation, I don't mind," he said as he turned and started walking away.

Leon followed him. After witnessing Ethan's power, Megan and her team immediately began discussing among themselves.

"Did you use that same ability when you fought the Blood Tribe?" Leon asked.

"Yes. Thanks to it, you and the others got the antidote," Ethan said.

"What about Megan's team?" Leon asked again.

Ethan fell silent for a moment before sighing softly. "Their decision will depend on what they think after seeing my power."

"Looks like they'll stay with us," Leon said, glancing back.

There, he saw Megan and her teammates walking toward them. Megan ran ahead to catch up with Ethan and Leon, eager to speak.

"Leon, Ethan. About earlier—I'm speaking on behalf of the Twin Sun party. We're sorry," Megan said.

"We can still work together, right?" she asked.

Ethan stopped walking and looked over his shoulder at her and her team. After a long pause, he nodded.

"Sure. As long as none of you question my combat decisions again, you can stay."

"Thank you, Ethan."

The two parties were united once more. Ethan took the lead, walking along the dirt path that stretched north.

The monsters they encountered were much stronger than before, clearly different from the ones earlier.

Seeing this, Ethan recalled how things used to be before the Raid Tower system changed.

The floor boss area was always swarming with high-level monsters.

Since they were now facing such creatures along the way, Ethan was sure they were heading in the right direction.

He stopped walking when they emerged from the dead forest. His eyes locked onto a massive black castle standing on a wide stretch of red soil.

Megan and Leon looked in the same direction. It was obvious what they were all thinking—the floor boss was inside that castle.

They could see many other guild parties gathering there, entering through the front gates to explore the place.

"That castle… the floor boss must be inside," Megan said.

"Looks like it. Are we going in, Ethan?" Leon asked.

"Yeah."

"We've come too far from the east. If we don't challenge the floor boss now, all of this will be for nothing."

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