CHAPTER 322: THE FINAL TOP FOUR

Although they hadn’t ascended to the next floor physically, the Tower had already recorded them.

Ragnarok took a few moments to watch the ranking before bursting into a fit of laughter. "Hahahaha! We overtook them! We actually overtook Olympus!"

’We really passed them...’

Evelyn’s lips curved up slightly. "To think we’d see this in our lifetime... Martial Palace ahead of Olympus."

One of her juniors clenched his fists in excitement. "We did it!"

Anna glanced at Gabriel.

He just stood there, eyes scanning the message, expression barely changing.

But she could see it—

The tiny flicker of satisfaction in his gaze.

---

On the other route, Jack Arefield barely escaped a blood spear and jumped some distance away from the duke who looked identical to the one Gabriel and Liang had just killed.

When Jack saw the announcement, he stiffened, shock flashing across his face.

He clicked his tongue. "I should have known... that guy again."

His jaw tightened. "Let’s get rid of this blood-sucker quickly. We can’t let weak Qi wielders and rookie guilds overtake us."

Aria nodded and began sending out orders.

---

From Floor 71 onward, the Tower began to show its true cruelty.

New mechanics appeared—floors that drained mana over time, floors that inflicted stacking debuffs if enemies weren’t killed in a specific order, floors that punished you for moving too fast or too slow.

Guilds started dropping off.

ChaosKnight wiped on Floor 53 after triggering a chain mechanic they didn’t understand.

In the end, IceQueen could only reluctantly return to Floor Zero with those who survived.

White Flame stalled at Floor 57 and never progressed further. Without their guild leader and with morale shaken by earlier rejection, their vice leader eventually called for a tactical retreat.

Crimson Star stubbornly tried to force their way through Floor 63’s adaptive enemy floor. They lost too many elites. Their guild leader finally ordered a withdrawal before they risked long-term damage.

The System did not give detailed exit announcements.

But the ranking told the story.

Bit by bit, names stopped advancing. Only a few kept moving.

Meanwhile, the alliance of Martial Palace and Broken Dawn kept grinding.

Their numbers shrank floor by floor.

Some NPCs died permanently. Some players hit multiple deaths and had no choice but to return to Floor Zero, rather than respawn at the beginner village and start all over again.

On Floor 73, one of Martial Palace’s senior disciples was decapitated by a blood-scythe trap.

On Floor 75, two Broken Dawn gunners were pulled off a ledge and thrown into a blood pit they couldn’t escape.

No one had time to mourn properly.

They gave simple, short acknowledgements and moved on.

"Don’t waste their deaths," Gabriel would say.

Between floors, Bunny called out updates.

"Current progression—Olympus at 76. Martial Palace and Broken Dawn at 75. Holy Church at 70. Adventurer Guild at 68."

"Adventurer is still pushing?" Sophie asked quietly, shock visibly in her voice.

"Yeah," Bunny said. "Their numbers dropped a lot, but Scarlet and the others are still going. They’re slower, but extremely stable. They barely get wiped."

"Typical," Sophie smirked. "She has always been like that... if my guess is right, she’ll want to push toward Floor 100."

On Floor 76, after the Holy Church lost over 100 members inside the Tower, mostly NPCs, the High Cardinal slammed his staff into the ground.

"Enough," he said, anger in his voice. "We’re retreating."

It was a very hard decision to make, considering he had sworn to restore the Holy Church’s lost glory in this event.

But there had been too much death already. If they continued pushing out of ego, they might end up wiping themselves entirely—something that would cripple the Church long-term.

His sub-leaders looked stunned.

"But, High Cardinal—" they tried to protest.

"Our role as a Church isn’t to wipe our entire roster for a single trial," he said coldly. "The Tower will return one day. The faithful must survive to see that day. Our losses are already worse than projected."

He turned to the nearest priest.

"Signal withdrawal. All teams below Floor 75 are to retreat immediately. Those above are to fall back to the nearest safe chamber and exit through the return portal."

"Yes, Your Eminence."

The decision spread fast.

Some players cried in frustration, Others slumped in relief.

Minutes later, VR helmets were removed in the real world one after another, Holy Church members gasping for air as if resurfacing from deep water.

In Doodle’s studio...

[TOWER PROGRESSION – VALERIAN SECTOR (MAJOR UPDATE)]

Olympus – Floor 79

Martial Palace – Floor 78

Broken Dawn – Floor 78

Adventurer Guild – Floor 72

Holy Church – Floor 70 (Retreat)

Crimson Star – Floor 63 (Retreat)

White Flame – Floor 57 (Retreat)

ChaosKnight – Floor 53 (Wiped)

Doodle exhaled slowly.

"There it is, chat," he said. "We’ve officially hit the ’top four’ stage. Everyone else has given up or wiped. Only Olympus, Martial Palace, Broken Dawn, and the Adventurer Guild remain climbing."

His cohost added, "And look where they are—Floor 72 and above. They’ve already crossed the main mid-tier. The gap now isn’t that big. Olympus only has one floor on Martial Palace and Broken Dawn. Adventurer Guild is six floors behind, but compared to every other guild, they’re monsters."

Doodle zoomed in on the ranking.

"At this rate," he said, "it really will come down to who can endure the floors between 80 and 100. That’s where the Tower is rumored to stop playing fair and start playing cruel."

His cohost leaned toward the camera.

"And with guild leaders blocked, it means the people heading toward Floor 100... are vice leaders, elites, and outliers."

---

Back inside.

The alliance persisted up to Floor 78.

After that, they knew they had to split. Everyone wanted to reach the top and claim the reward for their guild.

Unlike the earlier floors, monsters didn’t respawn here, nor did final rewards magically repair. The moment any guild reached the top, the event would end.

On Floor 78, after clearing the monsters in the lobby, the Tower’s paths split into two branches leading to the next floor.

Martial Palace took the left route, and Broken Dawn took the right.

At the junction before Floor 79, the two guilds gathered one last time.

The corridor was quiet. No monsters—only corpses lying on the ground.

Bunny checked the board and reported, "Olympus at 80. We’re at 78. Adventurer at 73."

Ragnarok’s eyes widened. "Adventurer is still climbing."

"Of course they are," Sophie said softly. "Scarlet and the others don’t stop easily."

Liang looked at Gabriel. "From here on, our paths separate." He grinned and added, "Don’t die before Floor 100. I still want my rematch."

Gabriel stared back and replied casually, "You still owe me one."

"Debts can be repaid in fists too," Liang chuckled.

Despite the joking tone, the air was heavy.

They could all feel it.

One mistake now could send everything crashing down.

"Martial Palace," Liang said, turning to his disciples. "From here on, we move as if every floor is the last. No hesitations."

They bowed in unison.

"Yes, Vice Leader."

Gabriel turned to Broken Dawn.

By now, only about twenty remained.

Players and NPCs mixed together, every face tired but resolute.

"From here until Floor 100," he said quietly, "if you want to quit, quit now."

Silence.

"I asked once at Floor 50," he reminded them. "Last chance. Past Floor 80, the penalty curve spikes again. Death will hurt. A lot."

Ragnarok snorted. "If I quit now, I’ll be roasted by the forums for the rest of my life. No way."

He had a name to maintain, after all.

Bunny shrugged as if saying the same thing.

Sophie didn’t even answer. She simply adjusted her veil.

Cassie gripped her staff. To be honest, she would have preferred to turn back as well, but she was the only support left—and Sophie hadn’t given up yet.

"Fine," Gabriel said. There was a hint of something unreadable in his eyes. "Don’t die."

"You’re bad at emotional speeches," Liang laughed as he led Martial Palace left, while Broken Dawn went right.