Suji stared at the ring with cold eyes.

It was an item with a bound attribute.

Within the Hunter System, ‘bound’ meant that once equipped, it could not be traded or transferred.

However, it was possible to drop it on the ground. Others couldn’t pick it up, and after a certain period of time, it would disappear.

She had never heard of a bound item growing legs and chasing after its owner.

‘How ridiculous.’

She stared at the ring with disgusted eyes, then picked it up and threw it into her inventory.

She thought that if she tried to discard it again, it would only cause trouble.

After a brief discussion, it was decided that Suji would wear the boots and Saint would take the necklace.

Suji nodded her head in satisfaction as she equipped the .

The boots Suji had been wearing were also quite good, obtained as the first reward from the tower, but they were incomparable to a 10-tier item.

The advantage of being able to benefit from set effects was also significant.

Suji looked at her reflection in the mirror-like entrance of the 82nd floor, wearing both the wings and boots.

Even she thought it was truly magnificent.

Purple hair, armor adorned with golden decorations all over. She carried magnificent wings on her back, and now there were wing-shaped ornaments on her ankles as well. On top of that, there was a sparkling effect that appeared due to the set item effect.

‘The more magnificent, the better.’

She knew that visual factors were not the criteria for aggro.

Still, she liked the splendid colors that seemed to draw the attention of monsters.

As Suji nodded her head contentedly, Saint also came to stand next to her, ears perked up. A broad smile bloomed on Saint’s face, seeming pleased with the newly worn necklace.

“I like items that increase speed the most. I’m really grateful, Team Leader.”

“Is it okay?”

“It’s not just okay… It’s not even a main weapon, but a piece of jewelry with magic defense, and with these stats, it’s completely unfair.”

“I’m glad you like it. We need to go hunt EX-grade monsters with this equipped.”

At those words, Saint’s smile disappeared and she sighed deeply.

“The next floor won’t be EX too, right?”

“Who knows.”

“How on earth did they balance the power…”

“They designed it so that by the time you clear all the way to the top floor, you’ll be strong enough to block world-ending monsters. They probably don’t care about humans dying.”

Suji muttered coldly and looked around at her teammates.

Piece and Elaine, who had been maintaining their equipment, lifted their heads.

“Are we going to the next floor right away?”

“Equipment maintenance is finished.”

Despite the struggles they had just faced, everyone seemed full of motivation.

Rather, they seemed to have gained confidence from defeating an EX-grade monster in one go.

Suji nodded.

It would be better to rest a bit more since they had just cleared the 81st floor, but their strength and weapons were recovered for now.

It wasn’t bad to ride this momentum and ascend now.

“Yes. If it doesn’t work out, we’ll run away immediately.”

At Suji’s words, everyone got up from their seats and headed to the next floor.

The monster on the 81st floor was an invisible one. What kind of annoying and dangerous characteristics would be attached this time?

As the four of them, tensely on edge, entered the 82nd floor, the sound of a notification window rang out.

Ding!

The 82nd floor is a place of rest.

You can save and load, and use party items.]

It was an unexpected notification.

The party members, who had been gripping their weapons tightly, looked at each other in a daze.

It was a relief.

Until now, to reach the 80th floor, they had to start from the 50th floor and climb the tower again.

Having even one more save point would significantly reduce the burden. They could quickly retry, and if they felt it was wrong, they could just escape.

After a brief silence, everyone relaxed and smiled.

“It’s always like this. If you let your guard down, something really crappy is prepared, and when you’re fully prepared and go up, it’s nothing special. It feels like being toyed with.”

Piece grumbled, but the excited tone mixed in his complaints couldn’t be hidden.

Saint also sat down on the floor with a look of having shed a great burden, and Elaine looked around the room without saying much.

“Toyed with…”

Suji mulled over Piece’s words as she glared at the status window.

It was definitely welcome and a relief. But why did this suddenly appear?

It wouldn’t be strange to have a save point around now, but she kept getting suspicious.

Although it couldn’t be, why did it feel like a hastily prepared floor by the ‘great beings’ to appease her?

Suji narrowed her eyes.

‘After scraping people’s insides, did they think they should appease me a bit for the sake of the bet?’

But there was no way to know.

She didn’t want to ask directly either.

After watching the number of logs increase in real-time, she sat down next to Saint with her knees together.

“Since we have one more save point, it would be good to share it with headquarters.”

Saint quickly nodded.

“Then they’ll send a medical team and support team here like on the 50th floor, so that’s good.”

“How about we keep it to ourselves for the time being?”

But as soon as Saint finished speaking, Elaine, who had looked around once and returned, objected.

Suji twisted her neck as far as she could while sitting to look up at him.

As they climbed the tower, it seemed like he was increasingly asserting his own opinions. Was it just her imagination?

Since the time they decided whether or not to board the 〈Messiah〉.

“Why?”

“Wouldn’t it be dangerous if outside personnel came in?”

“Who? The outside personnel?”

“…Just, everyone.”

Elaine trailed off, unlike his usual self.

Suji blinked rapidly.

Outside personnel coming in would be dangerous, why?

She tried to think for a moment, but couldn’t quite understand. As Saint said, if a support team was stationed, they could easily deal with injuries and such, and if there were hunters trying to challenge above the 80th floor, they could help them.

“Is it because… it’s too high? You’re worried that beginners will come in recklessly because it’s too high and face humiliation?”

Suji tried her best to guess Elaine’s thoughts.

But he just shook his head as if that wasn’t it.

“Just, it could be dangerous for each other.”

She had no idea what he meant.

At that moment, Saint, who had been sitting and looking at the terminal, shouted in an excited voice.

“Nature says he wants to return to the party!”

Hearing the welcome name, Suji crouched down next to Saint.

How are our cute girls doing in these trying times?

Piece and Scrawny must be doing well too, right?

I broke up with our team after my last injury and am resting.

But watching your recent broadcast made my blood boil.

I also heard that Creusa and Knight are forming a team of public officials to respond to the crisis.

I want to participate wherever, so if there’s a spot, let me know~

From: Nature]

The timing was just right.

It was difficult to recruit new people while climbing the tower. That person would have to climb the tower alone to join the team, which was impossible.

But they had just found a save point, and now they had a volunteer.

“Having Nature join us at a time like this would be reassuring.”

“His weapon grade is different, so he’ll just get in the way.”

As soon as Suji finished speaking, her voice filled with anticipation, Elaine immediately countered.

Suji looked at him with an exasperated expression.

It wasn’t that she didn’t respect Elaine’s opinion, but today he seemed unfamiliar, opposing and arguing about everything.

“I know you two don’t get along, but now’s not the time to bring up personal feelings.”

“We’ve never had a bad relationship. There’s no need to worry about a relationship with such a half-baked guy.”

“Still, you shouldn’t say it like that.”

“Daphne, why do you insist on that kind of guy…”

Suji abruptly stood up from her seat and covered Elaine’s mouth with her hand.

As soon as her hand touched his mouth, he obediently closed it.

If they continued to argue back and forth, it would surely lead to a fight and they would only hurt each other’s feelings.

She had never had a verbal dispute with him like this before.

Elaine was the one she could trust the most, and he always respected her unconditionally.

She didn’t want to engage in a pointless argument.

Their gazes met in the air.

Despite the harsh words he had uttered, there was not the slightest agitation in Elaine’s calm eyes.

It was like looking at a lake without a hint of wind.

He seemed so composed that she felt like the only strange one, covering his mouth.

Suji slowly removed her hand from his mouth.

“I thought I was seeing a good scene… It ended too quickly.”

“Don’t act like an old man.”

“What’s wrong with acting like an old man when I have a daughter?”

The sound of Piece and Saint bickering could be heard faintly from one ear.

Suji frowned, dissatisfied that the situation seemed to end ambiguously.

She knew that the two of them had growled at each other like mortal enemies when they were on the same team as Nature. But the situation was different now. For the sake of humanity, we need to unite our strength.

“Try to understand, Team Leader. Elaine is also a territorial animal, so they don’t get along.”

“That’s right. But there’s no need to be so wary. If it’s a face-off, Elaine will win 100%. Don’t you think?”

As Elaine and Suji continued to stare into each other’s eyes, Piece and Saint consoled them with words they couldn’t even understand.