Chapter 76 – The Floor of Rain

The thirty-second floor quickly became one of the most annoying floors Team Snail had ever explored.
Not the hardest.
Not the most dangerous.
Just the most annoying.
Rain fell constantly.
Morning.
Afternoon.
Night.
It never truly stopped.
Sometimes it became a light drizzle.
Sometimes it became a violent storm.
But it was always there.
Everything remained wet.
Their clothes.
Their bags.
Their blankets.
Even their tempers.
Especially Mira’s.

On the third day, Mira slipped into mud for the fourth time.
Aerin laughed so hard he nearly fell beside her.
The result was immediate.
Mira grabbed a handful of mud and threw it directly at his face.
Aerin dodged.
Mostly.
The mud hit his shoulder.
Unfortunately, Kael happened to be standing behind him.
The remaining half struck her coat.
Silence followed.
Dangerous silence.

Mira slowly turned pale.
Aerin immediately stepped backward.
The mysterious man wisely moved away.
Far away.
Very far away.

Kael looked down at the mud.
Then at Mira.
Then back at the mud.
“Run.”
Mira ran.

For the next ten minutes, the entire floor echoed with laughter.
Even Kael eventually gave up trying to look annoyed.
The moment Mira noticed that tiny smile threatening to appear, she pointed dramatically.
“You smiled!”
“I didn’t.”
“You did.”
“I didn’t.”
“Aerin saw it.”
“I definitely saw it.”
Kael immediately regretted having companions.

Despite the rain, they continued training.
If anything, the difficult environment helped.
Moving through slippery terrain improved balance.
Fighting in limited visibility sharpened awareness.
Even gathering resources became more challenging.
And therefore more useful.
That was Team Snail’s philosophy now.
If something was difficult, learn from it.
If something was dangerous, understand it.
If something tried to kill them—
Kill it first.
Then learn from it.

Several days later they encountered another team.
Unlike most climbers they had met on higher floors, these ones were young.
Not much older than themselves.
Five climbers.
All around C-rank and B-rank.
Strong enough to survive.
Not strong enough to relax.

The encounter began awkwardly.
Mostly because one of them recognized Aerin.
Or rather—
Recognized the name Team Snail.

“Wait.”
The young climber pointed.
“You’re Team Snail?”
Mira immediately sighed.
Here we go again.

The young man frowned.
“You guys are actually real?”
Aerin blinked.
“What does that mean?”
The climber looked embarrassed.
“Nothing.”
A pause.
“People talk about you.”
“We know.”
“Most think you’re dead.”
“We know.”
“Some think you’re stuck below the twentieth floor.”
“We know.”
“Some think you’re secretly retired.”
“We know.”
The young man looked confused.
“Then why don’t you tell people otherwise?”
Mira immediately pointed at Kael.
“Ask her.”

Everyone looked at Kael.
Kael looked back.
Then returned to her map.
As if the conversation didn’t concern her.
The young climber blinked.
“That’s it?”
“That’s it.”

The conversation ended shortly afterward.
Yet before leaving, the other team offered valuable information.
Apparently strange monsters had been appearing again.
Not ordinary creatures.
Not boss monsters.
Something else.
The description sounded familiar.
Too familiar.

That night, Kael sat quietly while everyone slept.
Rain tapped softly against the shelter they had built.
The three joined shards rested in her hand.
Her thoughts wandered.
Again.
Toward the same questions.
The same mysteries.
The same frustration.

She was tired of not understanding.
Tired of guessing.
Tired of collecting clues without answers.

The Tower reacted differently to her.
That much was obvious now.
Not obvious enough for others to notice.
But obvious enough for her.
Sometimes paths revealed themselves.
Sometimes strange creatures appeared.
Sometimes she understood things she shouldn’t understand.
Sometimes—
The Tower seemed to guide her.
And sometimes it seemed determined to kill her.
Both happened often enough to make no sense.

“What are you?”
The question escaped her lips quietly.
The shards didn’t answer.
Of course.
They were pieces of stone.
Nothing more.
Nothing less.

Yet as she stared at them, something happened.
Not dramatic.
Not magical.
Just strange.
For a brief second, she thought she saw a reflection inside the crystal surface.
Not her own reflection.
Someone else’s.
A silhouette.
Standing very far away.

Kael blinked.
The image vanished.
Gone.
Leaving only darkness.

She stared for several seconds.
Then sighed.
Maybe she was tired.
That explanation sounded reasonable.
Unfortunately, she no longer trusted reasonable explanations inside the Tower.

The next morning they resumed exploration.
By now they had mapped nearly seventy percent of the floor.
A record for them.
Even Kael seemed satisfied.
Though she would never admit it.

Near midday they discovered the floor’s entrance test.
And immediately hated it.

The test wasn’t guarded by monsters.
Or puzzles.
Or traps.
Instead—
A giant lake blocked their path.
At its center stood a stone platform.
And floating above it was a crystal sphere.

Aerin stared.
“Looks easy.”
Mira immediately pointed at him.
“Every time you say that, things become difficult.”

As it turned out—
She was correct.

The moment Aerin stepped onto the water, he sank.
Immediately.

Mira laughed.
Then tried herself.
She sank too.

Even the mysterious man failed.
Which surprised everyone.
Including him.

Kael observed quietly.
The answer wasn’t obvious.
But something felt familiar.
The Tower had been testing more than strength lately.
More than intelligence too.

Eventually she noticed something.
The water reflected perfectly.
Not their bodies.
Their emotions.

Fear created ripples.
Doubt created waves.
Hesitation caused sinking.

The realization took time.
And practice.
Several embarrassing failures.
One argument.
Two accidental swims.
And many complaints from Mira.

Eventually they succeeded.
By calming their minds.
Not perfectly.
Just enough.

The crystal sphere disappeared the moment all four reached the platform.
The lake parted.
A path opened.
And the entrance to the thirty-third floor revealed itself.

Before stepping through, Kael looked back one final time.
The rain.
The lake.
The endless gray sky.
A difficult floor.
A useful floor.
A floor that taught them something important.

Mira stretched dramatically.
“Please tell me the next floor isn’t raining.”
Aerin nodded.
“Please.”
The mysterious man smiled.
“You’re asking the Tower for mercy.”
Mira paused.
Then groaned.
“Good point.”

Together they stepped through the entrance.
Unaware that somewhere far above them, on the thirty-fifth floor, a dormant shard had already begun responding to their approach.
And for the first time in years—
It was glowing.