Chapter 73 – The Thirty-First Floor

The journey to the thirty-first floor took longer than expected.
Not because the path was difficult.
Not because monsters blocked the way.
But because Team Snail refused to rush.
That habit had never changed.
No matter how strong they became.
No matter how many floors they conquered.
They still explored.
Still mapped.
Still studied.
Still learned.
It was the reason people mocked them.
It was also the reason they had survived this long.
The moment they crossed into the thirty-first floor, all four of them immediately noticed the difference.
The air felt heavier.
Not enough to make breathing difficult.
But enough to be noticeable.
The trees were taller.
The rocks larger.
Even the rivers seemed wider.
Everything felt… bigger.
As if the floor itself had been designed for creatures larger than humans.
Mira adjusted her backpack.
“Please tell me I’m imagining things.”
“What?”
“The trees.”
Aerin looked around.
“They are big.”
“They’re enormous.”
The mysterious man glanced upward.
“You haven’t seen the thirty-fifth floor yet.”
Mira looked horrified.
“There are bigger trees?”
He nodded.
“There are forests where you can’t see sunlight.”
“That sounds awful.”
“It is.”

The first few days passed peacefully.
Surprisingly peacefully.
Almost suspiciously.
No major battles.
No strange creatures.
No dangerous situations.
Only exploration.
Training.
Learning.
The usual routine.
By now they had become incredibly efficient.
Without needing discussion, everyone knew their role.
Aerin handled frontline scouting.
Mira gathered herbs and medicinal resources.
Kael mapped routes and observed terrain.
The mysterious man handled whatever appeared unexpectedly.
Though lately he had been helping less in combat.
Mostly because Kael kept glaring at him whenever he ended fights too quickly.
The message had become clear.
Let them grow.
And surprisingly…
He listened.

On the third day, they found evidence they weren’t alone.
Not fresh tracks.
Not campsites.
Something stranger.
An entire monster nest had been destroyed.
Perfectly.
Not a single body remained.
Not a single resource remained.
Only the battlefield.
Aerin crouched beside a shattered stone.
“Strong.”
The mysterious man nodded.
“Very.”
Mira frowned.
“How strong?”
Nobody answered immediately.
Finally Kael spoke.
“Stronger than us.”
That answer made everyone quiet.

For the first time in months, they had found signs of climbers who clearly belonged on higher floors.
Not ordinary teams.
Not survival climbers.
Not gatherers.
Real climbers.
The kind who pushed upward relentlessly.
The kind who reached the fortieth floor.
Maybe higher.
The realization was strangely motivating.
For months Team Snail had existed in isolation.
Growing stronger without comparison.
Now they had proof.
There were still mountains above them.
Still people stronger than them.
Still goals worth chasing.

That evening they sat around a fire.
A large beast they had hunted earlier slowly roasted over the flames.
The smell filled the clearing.
Mira was already eating before it finished cooking.
Aerin laughed.
“It’s still raw.”
“I know.”
“Then why are you eating it?”
“I’m hungry.”
“That’s not how food works.”
“It is for me.”

The mysterious man watched them argue.
A small smile appeared on his face.
Kael noticed.
“You smile more now.”
The words escaped before she could stop them.
Everyone immediately looked at her.
Including him.
For some reason, Kael regretted speaking.
The mysterious man blinked.
Then smiled slightly more.
“Maybe.”
“Why?”
Aerin asked.
The man looked toward the fire.
For several moments he didn’t answer.
When he finally spoke, his voice was quieter.
“I don’t remember having people around me.”
The group fell silent.
“I remember climbing.”
His gaze remained fixed on the flames.
“I remember fighting.”
A pause.
“I remember surviving.”
Another pause.
“But I don’t remember laughing.”
Nobody knew how to respond.
Eventually Mira shoved a piece of meat toward him.
“Eat.”
The man looked confused.
“What?”
“When people get sad, food helps.”
Aerin nodded immediately.
“She’s right.”
“It does?”
“Usually.”
The mysterious man stared at both of them.
Then accepted the food.
And for some reason—
Everyone felt slightly happier afterward.

Three days later they discovered the first major obstacle of the floor.
A canyon.
Massive.
Stretching beyond sight.
The opposite side appeared hundreds of meters away.
The bridge crossing it had collapsed long ago.
Aerin stared.
“How do we cross that?”
Mira looked equally concerned.
“Can we go around?”
Kael studied her map.
“No.”
The mysterious man looked downward.
The drop vanished into darkness.
“Interesting.”
Mira immediately pointed at him.
“Whenever strong people say ‘interesting,’ bad things happen.”

For hours they searched.
No path.
No bridge.
No hidden route.
Nothing.
Eventually frustration began building.
Then something strange happened.
Kael sat near the edge, studying the canyon.
Thinking.
Observing.
The way she always did.
The wind shifted.
Only slightly.
A loose stone rolled across the ground.
Then another.
Then another.
Kael frowned.
The stones weren’t moving randomly.
They followed a line.
A path.
Almost as if something was showing her.
Her eyes narrowed.
Slowly she stood.
Without fully understanding why, she took three steps forward.
Then two left.
Then one back.
The air distorted.
A transparent platform appeared.
Everyone froze.
Mira stared.
Aerin stared.
Even the mysterious man looked surprised.
The platform vanished again.
Then reappeared.
Invisible.
Hidden.
A bridge.

Nobody spoke for several seconds.
Finally Mira pointed.
“What was that?”
Kael honestly didn’t know.
“I…”
For once, she had no explanation.
The invisible bridge stretched across the canyon.
A test.
A hidden path.
One that none of them had noticed.
Yet somehow—
She had.
The familiar unease returned.
That feeling she had been carrying for months.
The Tower reacting differently.
Watching her.
Guiding her.
Testing her.
Something.
She still didn’t know what.

Aerin stepped onto the invisible path first.
The bridge held.
Then Mira.
Then the mysterious man.
Finally Kael.
The crossing took nearly an hour.
One wrong step could have meant death.
Yet they made it across.
Safely.
Silently.

That night nobody talked much.
Not because they were tired.
Because they were thinking.
Especially Mira.
Eventually she sat beside Kael.
“You knew it was there?”
Kael shook her head.
“No.”
“Then how?”
“I don’t know.”
For once, the answer wasn’t an excuse.
It was simply the truth.
Mira studied her for several moments.
Then sighed.
“You say that a lot lately.”
Kael looked toward the dark forest ahead.
The same thought had crossed her own mind.

Far above them.
Many floors higher.
In a chamber untouched for years.
A crystal sphere resting upon a stone pedestal emitted a faint pulse.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
As if responding to something.
Or someone.
And deep within the highest reaches of the Tower—
A man with silver eyes slowly opened them.
For the first time in a very long time.
“You’re getting closer,” he whispered.
The empty chamber offered no reply.
Yet a faint smile appeared on his face.
And for the first time in years—
Hope returned.