Mist swirled around the edges of the clearing, thick and gray. Dozens of challengers stood frozen in the damp grass. Their weapons remained drawn, yet entirely useless. A heavy, suffocating pressure filled the air. Breathing required conscious effort. Daniel felt the hairs on his arms stand on end. He followed the collective gaze of the paralyzed crowd and located the source of the overwhelming dread. A man stood directly in front of the swirling purple vortex. He wore plain linen clothes. The fabric looked like cheap material a common farmer might wear, devoid of any metallic armor, leather padding, or magical artifacts. A heavy iron axe rested casually on his right shoulder. The weapon looked chipped and worn, bearing the dark stains of countless battles. Despite the tense atmosphere and the dozens of armed challengers staring him down, the man smiled. It was a relaxed, terrifying grin that reached his eyes. Daniel analyzed the sit

Mist parted near the edge of the clearing. A figure stepped out of the dense gray fog right behind Daniel.Daniel spun around and froze in place. Elian stood beside him, his grip tightening on his wooden spear, his body paralyzed by an invisible weight. Their eyes locked onto the new arrival. A man wearing a ragged brown robe stood on the damp dirt. A deep hood shadowed his features, hiding his face from the dim light. The posture and the distinct, overwhelming aura felt unmistakable.Enryu tilted her head to the right. She looked at Daniel, then at Elian, trying to understand their panic. She did not know this robed figure. She only saw an ordinary person wearing cheap cloth.Daniel knew better. This was not an ordinary person. This was the stranger from the beginning of the second floor.Memories flooded Daniel's mind. He remembered the exact moment they first arrived in the Ironwood Forest. The

Stepping through the purple vortex felt like a violent shove in the dark. Nausea rolled through Daniel's stomach. The fabric of space twisted around him, tearing away the damp, freezing mist of the Ironwood Forest. His boots hit solid ground. The transition lacked any grace. He stumbled forward, his iron gauntlet scraping against rough concrete to stop his fall. A dry, suffocating heat immediately replaced the cold forest air. Daniel opened his eyes and blinked against a strange gray haze. The environment had changed entirely. They no longer stood surrounded by towering roots and thick fog. They had spawned in the middle of a vast, ruined metropolis. Giant concrete towers crumbled into dust, their jagged peaks piercing a dark, starless sky. Piles of rusted metal and broken glass littered the streets. It looked like a war zone abandoned decades ago. Gray ash rained down from above. It drifted through the dead air

Oppressive weight pressed down on their shoulders. Heavy, rhythmic booming vibrated through the cracked asphalt, growing louder with every passing second. Daniel analyzed their grim condition in a heartbeat. Enryu looked pale, her magical core drained from executing the massive ice needle barrage. Elian leaned forward, his breathing ragged, gripping a wooden spear that groaned under the pressure. Deep splinters ran down the shaft, ready to snap at the next impact. Dark ghoul blood coated all of their clothes, emitting a foul stench into the toxic air. Fighting whatever approached meant pure suicide. Daniel met their eyes and gave a sharp, flat motion with his hand. Retreat. No words were needed. Elian and Enryu understood the command and mirrored his cautious movements. They backed away from the open street, placing their boots with extreme care to avoid crunching the fallen ash. They slipped into the dark, shattered doorway of an abandoned commercial building. Suffocating tension

Thick reinforced steel groaned under massive kinetic pressure. The heavy metal door hanging in the concrete frame bowed inward, its hinges screaming a terrible, metallic pitch. Another deafening crash echoed through the basement vault. The hinges sheared off the wall. The massive door tore away from its frame and slammed onto the dusty floor with a heavy thud, kicking up a cloud of debris. A towering figure stepped into the broken threshold. The Smoldering Sentinel filled the entire doorway. The headless suit of corrupted iron armor stood over ten feet tall. Dark, noxious smoke billowed from the jagged gaps in its heavy plating. It dragged a rusted greatsword behind its right leg, carving a fresh groove into the concrete floor. Intense heat radiated from its metallic body. The sheer thermal wave hit the room like a physical wall. The oppressive temperature slammed into Enryu's remaining blue defensive barrier. The elven magic hissed under the sudden extreme heat. The blue runes f