BXBX NOVEL Chapter 37: Third Floor
Chapter 37: Third Floor
Adam walked down a hallway with his left hand inside his pocket and his right arm dangling by his side. He looked like he was occupied by some thoughts.
At that moment, he felt a touch on his shoulder, and as he turned to the side, he saw
Donald, walking beside him with a friendly smile on his face.
"Hello, Adam!" Donald greeted with.
"Donald." Adam replied and continued walking, waiting for Donald to speak about what he wanted.
"Which one of the Three Powers are you going to choose?" Donald asked with genuine curiosity.
"Why are you asking?" Adam asked with a raised eyebrow.
"I am curious." Donald said with a chuckle. "I have a hunch that you know about them more than we do."
"What do you mean?" Adam asked with a frown.
"You seem to be more knowledgeable than the rest of us." Donald said before waving his hand innocently. "I don\'t care how you know about most of these things; I am just curious about the Three Powers."
Adam rolled his eyes and said, "I haven\'t chosen yet. All of the Three Powers have their uses."
"Even Kiryoku?" Donald asked curiously. "It seems great to know just how strong the opponent is; if the opponent is stronger, you can decide the next course of action. That\'s pretty much it."
"You\'re wrong." Adam said casually. "You can also sense their intent, and by doing so, you can anticipate their next move and dodge it easily. It has even better defensive ability than Kraft."
"Dakota didn\'t mention that." Donald said in surprise and started thinking more about Kiryoku\'s abilities.
"She doesn\'t seem to be knowledgeable about Kiryoku." Adam said. "She is most likely a new teacher; this is perhaps her second year, her third at most. She knows plenty about Kraft and Magick, probably the ones she focused on while ignoring Kiryoku.
"What a shame, but it doesn\'t matter. The guilds you\'ll join will teach more about the Three Powers. The Coinfeeders don\'t have to know much yet."
"You seem to know a lot about Kiryoku and the other Three Powers." Donald said with a suspicious frown. "How?"
Adam stayed silent for a moment before chuckling and saying: "The forum."
"The forum?" Donald looked confused before realizing something and exclaiming. "You have an access to that place?"
"Yeah." Adam said with a smile. "However, I had the lowest access. The amount of access one has depends on their rank. Since I used the forum while I hadn\'t even played yet, I had Coinfeeder access.
"I managed to get a little bit of information about the Three Powers, etc. Nothing major, and nothing that helped me get this far."
"I see. How did you get into the forum in the first place?" Donald asked. "It is deep in the Dark Web, and getting access to that as an ordinary person should be impossible."
"That\'s right; ordinary people shouldn\'t have access to that, and only mercenaries should." Adam said. "How did I get access? Well, it is a long story."
Donald, realizing that Adam didn\'t want to reveal it, nodded and decided not to press further.
"Did you know about the Bloody Chaosbeing via the forum?"
"No," Adam replied. "Those details are locked behind Beyonder Access."
"I see..." Donald replied, understanding that some information was not meant to be shared with everyone.
He then touched his pocket, feeling the handkerchief that he had cleaned the spit off previously, and then said:
"Those players you angered in the cafeteria are coming after you on the third floor."
"Oh." Adam replied nonchalantly. "Is that so?"
After hearing the nonchalant tone and the zero change in his expression, Donald realized that Adam already knew.
"You knew?"
"It is obvious." Adam said and turned to him. "Did Ramon tell them?"
"Yeah, he did..." Donald\'s eyes widened. "How did you..."
Adam slipped his right hand inside his pocket as well, picked up his pace, and soon had already walked way ahead of Donald.
Donald came to a slow stop, his eyes shaking. "What is he planning?"
...
"The third floor is now open!"
An announcement came from the loudspeaker that echoed across the safe area.
Instantly, the mission boards were filled with players who took a mission and raced to the door that led to the third floor. However, this time, they were all gathered in a single group.
While Adam was doing his own thing, Donald and the rest managed to unite all the groups into a single one. It would significantly boost their survival capabilities, as everyone wouldn\'t be scattered and divided anymore.
Even Ramon and Hannibal were part of the group, as they had used Adam\'s tactic, they managed to squeeze information from one of the solo players in the other group, who had already experienced the third floor.
They realized that with just two of us, the third floor would be exceptionally difficult.
As the group of players started walking through the door, Adam came from the direction of the cafeteria, as he didn\'t eat in the morning, and wanted to fill his belly before the third floor.
As he was about to follow the group of players to the third floor, he glanced briefly behind him and saw scattered players in the distance, still finishing their dinner.
He managed to see a few of them glancing in his direction, and he recognized them as being part of Nick\'s group.
Adam\'s lips curled into a slight smile, and after the players in front of him stepped through the door, he followed right behind and stepped through.
...
After the bright light passed, Adam blinked his eyes rapidly until they adjusted to the dimly lit chamber.
In front of him, there was a chamber with plenty of room and a high ceiling. The walls, floors, and ceiling were made out of brownish rock, and at the end of the room, there were ten paths leading in different directions.
It looked like they were stuck in a cave and had to somehow find a way out.
\'The third floor is pain in the ass.\' Adam thought. \'There are ten paths first, but then at the end of the path, there are another ten paths. In total, there might be about a thousand paths, and only one of them leads to the Boss Room.
\'This is why it can take many weeks to reach the end. In my past life, it took three, long weeks.
\'Unfortunately, I can\'t remember the path! It was so long ago.\'
"Alright, everyone!" Donald shouted to catch everyone\'s attention. He was standing near the ten paths. "I have a plan!"
Everyone listened keenly, even Adam, realizing that if he did this alone, he would be in big trouble.
"We\'ll split up and search the paths in groups of two!" Donald said, drew his broadsword, and drew an "X" on the wall of one of the paths. "Draw an X on the wall of the path you take, so we know it has been cleared!
"We don\'t know if these ten paths are the only ones; there might be more!
"In about an hour, let\'s regroup here and see if anyone has found the way to the end!"
\'Solid plan.\' Adam said with his arms crossed.
"What if someone finds the Boss Room and decides to do it by themselves?" A worried-sounding player said.
"That would be suicide, whoever tries that." Donald said. "We\'re in this together now, and together, we\'re strong."
The players nodded in agreement and remembered the first floor\'s boss. They didn\'t think anyone would be able to clear it by themselves, except one person.
They almost instinctively hovered their gazes in Adam\'s direction, wondering whether he was going to be part of this plan. He helped them greatly on the second floor, but he still had the stigma of being a lone wolf.
After Donald saw those gazes, he looked over to Adam and asked, "Adam, are you with us?"
"I like your plan," Adam said. "However, I like to move alone, if that\'s fine with you all."
While most of the players didn\'t understand why, Donald did.
"Alright, then." Donald said and then clapped his hands. "Go into groups of two. If there are more than ten groups, just go down the same path as someone else. I hope most of you purchased the pocket watch from Flamekeeper so you can keep track of the time!
"See you in an hour!"