Chapter 81 – The Watcher on the Cliff

The entrance test to the thirty-fifth floor was unlike any they had faced before.
There were no giant monsters waiting to attack.
No puzzles carved into ancient walls.
No strange illusions.
At least, not at first glance.

The path led them toward a vast stone plateau surrounded by towering cliffs.
The area felt empty.
Too empty.
Even after months inside the Tower, they had learned to trust their instincts.
And all four of them felt it.
Something was wrong.

Mira looked around suspiciously.
“I don’t like this.”

Aerin laughed.
“You never like anything.”

“I like food.”

“Fair.”

The mysterious man shook his head with amusement.
Meanwhile Kael continued observing the surroundings.
The cliffs.
The ground.
The sky.
Everything.

Nothing moved.
Nothing attacked.
Nothing happened.

Which somehow made it worse.

Eventually they reached the center of the plateau.
A single stone pillar stood there.
Ancient.
Weathered.
Covered in familiar symbols.

The same symbols Kael had been drawing for months.

Before she could examine them further, the pillar suddenly lit up.

Mira immediately jumped backward.
Aerin reached for his sword.
The mysterious man narrowed his eyes.

Then a voice echoed through the plateau.
Not loud.
Not threatening.
Simply calm.

“Show your path.”

Silence followed.

Mira blinked.
“…What?”

The voice didn’t repeat itself.

Nothing happened.

Aerin frowned.
“That’s the entire test?”

No answer.

For several minutes they stood there trying to understand.

Eventually Mira sat down.
“Great.”

Aerin sat beside her.
“Now what?”

Nobody knew.

Even Kael looked confused.

Which, strangely enough, made everyone feel slightly better.
Because if Kael didn’t understand something immediately, it probably wasn’t obvious.

Hours passed.

They examined the pillar.
The surrounding area.
The symbols.
Everything.

Still nothing.

As evening approached, frustration slowly began building.

Then something happened.

Aerin accidentally dropped his notebook.

Several pages scattered across the stone floor.
Maps.
Notes.
Training records.
Monster observations.
Everything they had collected throughout their climb.

The moment the papers touched the pillar—
The symbols lit up.

Everyone froze.

Aerin slowly looked down.
Then at the pillar.
Then back at the papers.

“…I did that on purpose.”

“Sure.”
Mira replied immediately.

Kael crouched beside the scattered pages.
Her eyes moved across the notes.
Then toward the pillar.
Then back again.

Show your path.

The words returned.

Not physical.
Not strength.
Not intelligence.

Experience.

Understanding.

The realization arrived slowly.

This floor wasn’t asking whether they were strong enough.
It was asking whether they had truly walked their own path.

For the next hour they placed notebooks, maps, observations, sketches, and records around the pillar.
Everything they had gathered during their journey.

The pillar grew brighter.
Brighter.
Brighter.

Then the symbols shifted.

New words appeared.

“Accepted.”

The ground trembled.

A hidden pathway slowly emerged beyond the plateau.
Leading upward.
Toward the thirty-fifth floor.

Mira stared.

“That’s it?”

Aerin laughed.

“We literally passed because Kael forced us to write notes.”

Mira groaned.

“Don’t remind me.”

Kael allowed herself the smallest hint of satisfaction.

Just a little.

Maybe all those hours of mapping had been worth something after all.

The next day they entered the thirty-fifth floor.

And immediately noticed something different.

The air.

It felt heavier.
Not physically.
Almost… older.

The landscape stretched endlessly before them.
Dense forests covered most of the floor.
Ancient trees towered hundreds of feet into the air.
Sunlight barely reached the ground.

Even monster sounds seemed distant.
Muted.

The moment Kael stepped onto the floor, the shard reacted.

Not a faint vibration.
Not a gentle glow.

It nearly burned through her pocket.

She stopped immediately.

Aerin looked over.
“That strong?”

Kael nodded.

Mira’s eyes widened.

“The shard is here.”

“No.”
Kael corrected quietly.

“It’s close.”

Very close.

For the first time since beginning their search, the shard wasn’t guiding them across an entire floor.
It was practically pulling her forward.

Even so, Kael refused to rush.

The routine remained.

Explore.
Map.
Learn.
Train.
Survive.

Then find the shard.

Mira complained for approximately twenty minutes.
Aerin agreed with Kael.
The mysterious man looked relieved someone else was making decisions.

And so Team Snail continued deeper into the forest.

Three days passed.

The shard’s reaction grew stronger each day.

Something else happened too.

The Tower reacted again.

Subtly.
Quietly.
Only toward Kael.

While exploring one section of the forest, she noticed an old path hidden beneath roots.
A path none of the others had seen.

Not because they were careless.
Because it genuinely shouldn’t have been visible.

The moment Kael looked at it, a branch shifted.
Just enough.
Revealing the entrance.

She paused.

Aerin followed her gaze.
“What is it?”

Kael hesitated.

Then pointed.

The others looked surprised.

None of them had noticed it before.

“Good eyes.”
Aerin said.

Kael simply nodded.

She didn’t mention that the path hadn’t been visible a moment earlier.
Because honestly?
Even she wasn’t entirely sure she believed what she had seen.

The hidden trail led them deeper into the forest.
Further than any map.
Further than any obvious route.

Until eventually they arrived at a clearing.

At the center stood a massive tree.

Ancient.
Towering.
Unlike anything they had ever seen.

And resting among its roots—
Something glowed.

The shard.

The fifth piece.

For several seconds nobody moved.

Then Mira pointed dramatically.

“I found it.”

“You literally just saw it.”
Aerin replied.

“Details.”

Even Kael almost smiled.

Almost.

But before anyone could approach—
The tree moved.

A single branch shifted.
Then another.
Then another.

The entire forest trembled.

And slowly, impossibly, the giant tree opened two glowing eyes.

The guardian of the fifth shard had awakened.