Finally, after two weeks, Ethan made it.

{Floor Twenty: Blood Grass Fields (D)}

It was an endless expanse of crimson terrain, where the ground itself seemed alive, shifting beneath his feet. Snake-like beasts slithered through the grass, while massive scorpion creatures lurked just beneath the surface.

’This place is fucked up.’

It was trippy, ominous, and dangerous.

But it was still far from enough to threaten Ethan, who was now officially a C Rank Titled with three C Rank Beasts at his disposal. Though the difficulty of floors increased slightly each time, it wasn’t overwhelming on the same tier.

As such, he explored confidently, finding the centre of the floor while destroying everything in his path. Then, when he found the Boss Beast, he handled this one himself.

’Partial Assimilation: Wolfy.’

’Predator’s Frenzy.’

’Cross Slash.’

’Cross Slash.’

’Cross Slash.’

Within a minute, Ethan completely overpowered the Boss Beast, spamming his Ulfen’s C Rank Skill.

{Congratulations on defeating the Boss Beast!}

{Would you like to acquire this beast as your own?}

Ethan didn’t even hesitate.

"No."

He folded his arms, glancing at the corpse.

"I’ll take my time choosing the next one."

He wasn’t in a rush and already had three beasts with varying abilities that also worked perfectly together.

{Beast Capacity: 3/4}

Seeing the additional slot, he couldn’t help but smile.

’I have an aerial beast that’s fast. A well-rounded land beast. And a flaming MP beast. What’s next...?’

He wasn’t sure just yet.

’I’ll figure it out, I guess.’

{The host has now met the requirements to ascend to Floor Twenty-One}

{Would you like to move to the next floor of the Tower Of Beasts?}

{Yes / No}

Ethan shook his head.

"No."

He didn’t want to be reckless and knew that the C Tier Floors would be different. Even though he hadn’t pushed himself on this floor, it would be best to return in peak condition.

The weakest beasts would likely be Elite D Rank, with most being C Rank.

And the Boss Beast would be...

B Rank!

"Yeah," he muttered. "That’s not something I can half-ass."

Even with everything he had, he couldn’t afford to underestimate that.

{Congratulations on completing the Objective: Clear all D Tier Floors}

{Reward: Race Crystal (B)}

Ethan’s eyes flickered.

A slow smile spread across his face.

"Now that’s what I’m talking about."

A B Rank Race Crystal wasn’t just good, it was incredible.

With it, he could potentially push one of his beasts even further and raise their ceiling. If it succeeded and he gathered enough Evolutionary Shards, we would gain something terrifying.

A B Rank beast.

’To put it into perspective, that’s like having my own pet Darius.’

Ethan clenched his fist slightly; excitement bubbled in his chest.

His gaze lifted to the higher floors of this so-called Tower.

"This is where things really start."

-

{Exit The Tower}

The moment Ethan confirmed his exit, the world of the Tower dissolved around him like mist being peeled away by an unseen force.

’I’m starting to get used to this.’

Ethan’s consciousness was ripped from one body and slammed back into another. It wasn’t gentle, and never was, but the sensation was becoming familiar after all this time.

His lungs filled sharply as if he had just broken the surface of deep water, his chest rising in a sudden, involuntary gasp.

"Hah-"

Cold air hit his skin, real air, and he immediately felt less on edge.

’I’m back.’

He slowly opened his eyes, and the first thing he saw was a pair of glowing red eyes staring directly into his. They were unblinking and unnervingly close.

Ethan blinked.

"How long you been looking at me like that?"

Elara didn’t answer with words.

She simply tilted her head slightly and smiled.

’Yeah... she’s definitely been watching me for a while.’

"Right," he muttered, pushing himself up onto his elbows. "Not creepy at all."

She didn’t even try to deny it.

Ethan let out a quiet laugh, rubbing the back of his head as he sat up fully, taking in his surroundings. It was the basement of the Black Howl, but noticeably different.

His eyes slowly scanned the space they had changed together over the past two weeks.

They now had two proper beds, replacing the makeshift sleeping arrangements. And they were positioned neatly side by side, which they hadn’t been when he went to sleep.

’She moved them again.’

Ethan glanced at Elara.

’What else is this weirdo doing while I’m in the tower?’

He recalled the system saying that he would receive an alert if his physical body was in danger. In that instance, he would receive a Return Token that could be used even while engaged in combat.

’But would it consider being touched up as danger?’

Ethan shook that thought from his mind, and as odd as Elara was, he somewhat trusted her now.

’I kinda have to at this point.’

She was still giving him an innocent smile, one that made it hard to be mad at her.

"We could’ve just gotten a double bed if you’re going to drag them together each night."

Elara nodded eagerly, clearly up for it, to which Ethan laughed.

"Let’s just leave it like this for now."

It didn’t really matter either way since he spent most of his "sleep" inside the Tower, so the actual bed was more symbolic than anything.

Still, the basement felt more habitable now.

There was a wardrobe against the wall too, its doors slightly ajar, revealing stacks of clothes - most of which had been "acquired" from the Association base.

On top of the wardrobe sat his stash of cigarettes, Ethan’s most prized possession. He walked over, opening it fully with a satisfied smile, picking out another sweatsuit.

The rest of the basement was cleared out, and Mark’s old storage items had been moved elsewhere to make space. They hadn’t changed much else, but compared to before, it felt like an actual place to live.

*Same today again?*

Ethan stretched his arms above his head, his joints popping lightly.

"Mhm."

Even after clearing all the D Tier Floors, he had no plans of slowing down and remained fixated on what’s next, sticking to the same routine.

’If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’

With that, he headed straight for the shower to begin his day...