CHAPTER 310: FLOOR SIXTY AND RIVALS

Gabriel wiggled his sword in the chest of the vampire knight of the 50th floor. The vampire screeched, its eyes bloodshot as it tried to claw at its attacker.

However, Gabriel pushed his greatsword, Crimson Judgement, deeper into its heart, causing it to shriek loudly and bare all its teeth.

Behind him, the others were exhausted and barely breathing. Some were leaning on the walls while others were sitting on the ground.

Floor 50 had been nothing short of a marathon for them. The monsters here were overwhelmingly powerful; it was either two or three people against one vampire.

Their overall strength and speed had doubled immensely. Even their blood attacks had become more violent and destructive.

During the clearing of this floor, many players had lost their lives and entered the circle of Respawn. A few native gunslingers were severely injured and were attended to by healers.

The gatekeeper of this floor was a Level 80 vampire, and it had been quite difficult for Gabriel to get rid of him swiftly.

If he had gone all out, the fight would have ended much earlier. However, he was conserving stamina and mana points.

"Let’s take a break," Gabriel said, dragging the body of the knight into a more deserted corner of the floor.

No one asked what his intentions were with it. They didn’t even have the strength to be curious—the exhaustion was that bad.

Most would have asked why the players didn’t simply log out and take a proper rest. Well, the Tower didn’t work like that. It didn’t give them the leisure of logging out at will.

Upon dragging the vampire corpse to a secluded place, Gabriel discreetly used Extraction on it.

[Ding! You have extracted 10 Stamina Potions.]

He had seen better options like Blood Bombs and even a treasure, but right now stamina potions were more important.

Their reserves were being depleted at a frightening rate, and he was subconsciously worried it wouldn’t be enough to hold on until the floor 90s.

Even after extracting the stamina potions, he didn’t leave immediately. He needed to catch his breath as well.

With what he had experienced on this floor, he wanted to be at full strength before proceeding.

While resting, he scrolled through the forums.

Player_ChaosBlade: Broooo why are there SO MANY vampires??

LunarKitten: My party wiped FIVE TIMES. FIVE. I’m losing my mind.

TankMain: They hit like trucks now. TRUCKS.

BloodBite: Blood attacks are two times stronger now. HOW IS THIS FAIR?!

DeadAgainLol: I died 7 times today. SEVEN. This is not fun anymore.

HealMePls: My mana is gone. My soul is gone. Everything is gone.

FireMage420: How is the average party supposed to fight LEVEL 70+ vampires???

DodgeThis: Even their minions are stronger than floor bosses.

It was just as he expected—the floors were getting more and more difficult.

In Gabriel’s last life, no one had truly gotten to Floor 100.

’Moments from now most would start giving up.’

Thinking about giving up, he pulled up the rankings.

[GLOBAL TOWER RANKINGS]

Rank 1 – Olympus (Floor 52)

Rank 2 – Martial Palace (Floor 51)

Rank 3 – Broken Dawn (Floor 50)

Rank 4 – Holy Church (Floor 49)

Rank 5 – Adventurer Guild (Floor 48)

Just as he expected, even the top guilds were having a tough time. Olympus’s pace had dropped drastically, and the difference between the top five was just one floor now.

When his health points returned to 100, Gabriel calmly stood and walked back to the others.

As soon as they saw the potions in his grasp, their eyes lit up. The potions were handed to the healers, adding them to the reserve—to the dismay of those who wanted immediate consumption.

"Before we proceed, I want to make something clear," Gabriel suddenly spoke. All eyes fixed on him, ranging from quiet determination to exhaustion.

"If you wish to stop here, you can still leave," he reminded them.

There was silence. Then, moments later, voices began to rise.

"Man, I know I said I wouldn’t give up, but damn... my body is breaking down!"

"Me too... I can’t proceed any longer."

Gabriel’s expression was neutral. Deep down, he was disgusted, but at the same time, he couldn’t really blame them.

He was disgusted that their determination could only carry them so far... but at the same time, this was normal. Human willpower had limits. Only a few were built for true endurance.

Slowly, one by one, the players lowered their heads.

"I’m sorry, leader... I really thought I could push further, but I’m done."

"I have three deaths left before I hit the penalty threshold. I can’t risk it."

"My hands are shaking so badly I can’t even reload properly..."

A few native gunslingers exchanged glances and nodded.

"We’ll return as well. The healers have worked nonstop. If we push further, someone’s going to collapse."

Gabriel didn’t respond immediately. He simply watched them, his expression unreadable.

"Alright," he said finally. "Use the exit portal. Floor 50 is the last checkpoint before the Tower increases its penalty curve. If you’re leaving, leave now and rest."

They bowed deeply—not because the Tower forced respect, but because his presence commanded it.

Several of them walked toward the glowing crimson portal at the back of the room—

A portal that led back to Floor 0.

Bunny watched them go with a tired sigh. "Can’t blame them. This floor drained even me."

Ragnarok clicked his tongue and snickered. "Hmph. Weak resolve."

"Not everyone is a battle freak," Sophie said quietly, adjusting her veil. She was one of those who perfectly understood them.

Perhaps it was because she was soft... or for another reason.

Gabriel watched as the exit portal flashed one last time when the final person stepped through.

When it vanished, only about 50 people remained in the hall.

From the hundreds... down to 50.

Only those with insane endurance, stubborn mentality, or sheer trust in Gabriel’s leadership remained.

There was a moment of silence, then he gestured for them to proceed.

The next couple of floors, though more difficult, passed in a blur. Upon arriving at Floor 60, Gabriel discovered that this time... they weren’t alone.

...

Next Chapter might dropa bit late