Apocalypse with my SSS Harem Beauties-Chapter 173: A Rift

The battlefield remained silent for a while. A gentle wind slowly drifted across the grassy field, brushing against their sweat-covered faces.

The cool air carried the faint scent of scorched metal from the burning armor scattered around them. After the intensity of the battle, the breeze felt refreshing, easing the heat and exhaustion from their bodies.

However, none of them relaxed completely.

Even though every armored warrior had died, the group continued scanning the surroundings carefully.

Their eyes moved across the open field, looked at the distant trees, and the quiet horizon.

They had learned one important lesson in this world. Nothing was ever truly safe. A surprise attack could come at any moment.

They waited. Seconds passed. Then a full minute. But nothing appeared.

No enemies rushed from the trees, or hidden soldiers emerged from the grass. The battlefield remained completely still right now.

Then suddenly, familiar glowing text appeared before their eyes.

[13th Floor Cleaned]

Another notification followed immediately.

[EXP Reward Distributed]

A surge of energy flowed through their bodies as the EXP points were absorbed.

One notification after another appeared showing how their levels began to rise rapidly.

Myles felt the familiar warmth of leveling up repeatedly inside his body.

Five levels. All of them had risen five levels.

Myles had reached Level 56. Victor had risen to Level 52.

Kade, Daniel, George, Clara, Ethan, and Samantha had all reached Level 46.

Without wasting time, everyone began assigning their newly gained stat points to the attributes they wanted to strengthen. Some focused on strength, others on agility, stamina, or their wisdom.

Once they finished, a soft fluttering sound came from above.

Lilian descended gracefully from the sky and landed beside them as lightly as a falling feather.

She had not participated in the battle at all. There had been no need.

The enemies they had faced were far too weak for her. If she had fought seriously, the battle would have ended instantly, leaving no chance for Myles and the others to grow stronger.

None of them had any complaints about that.

Lilian glanced around the battlefield before speaking calmly.

"You can start cultivating your Ether cores here before moving to the next floor."

The group nodded.

They immediately sat down on the grassy ground among the fallen armored warriors.

Fortunately, these enemies were not truly living beings. Their bodies contained no blood or organs, leaving the battlefield relatively clean despite the destruction.

However, just before Myles sat down, Lilian spoke again.

"I can feel something else."

Myles and the others looked at her with a serious expression.

"What do you mean?" Myles asked.

"There is a connection from this section," Lilian said calmly. "Another branch of this dungeon intersects somewhere ahead."

Myles’ eyes narrowed slightly. "Does that mean we might encounter another group soon?"

Lilian nodded calmly.

The others exchanged solemn glances.

If another branch connected here, that meant the possibility of meeting another force would rise.

"Alright," Myles said after a moment. "Let’s focus on nurturing our cores first." He looked at everyone. "We should absorb the Ether here and strengthen our cores before moving forward."

The group nodded in agreement.

Instead of worrying about what might happen next, they chose the better option. Which was to prepare and grow stronger fast.

Then they will be ready to face whatever awaits them on the next floor.

—

In a place that was actually not far from where Myles and his companions were cultivating, another group remained on the same floor of the dungeon.

Twenty warriors sat scattered across a wide patch of grass, their armor scratched and their bodies visibly exhausted.

Some of them leaned back with their hands supporting their weight. Some of them simply stared at the ground in silence.

This was the remaining group under Red’s command that he sent here first.

No one spoke. They had been sitting there for quite some time now. None of them were eager to move again.

The battle they had gone through on the 13th floor had pushed them to their limits. Physically, many of them were injured but already healed. Mentally, they were even worse.

The memory of those battles that they repeatedly did was still fresh in their minds.

One of the warriors wiped the sweat from his forehead and let out a tired sigh.

"We can’t keep doing this..."

Another man muttered quietly.

"But if we stop here, Red will kill us himself."

The name alone made several people stiffen.

Red’s reputation was not something anyone wanted to test.

In front of the group, Jack, the leader assigned to guide this team through the dungeon, sat silently.

Normally, he would already be pushing everyone forward, issuing commands and organizing their next move.

But this time he remained quiet. Even he did not know what to say.

He understood the reality of their situation very clearly.

If they moved forward, the danger would only grow worse. The trials on the 14th floor would certainly be far more brutal than what they had just experienced.

But turning back was not an option either.

Returning without results would only provoke Red’s anger. And Red was far more terrifying than the dungeon itself.

Jack slowly lifted his head and looked at his team.

Their expressions said everything. No one wanted to move or to fight again.

That was the worst possible situation for a leader. A team that had already lost its will could collapse at any moment.

Jack clenched his jaw slightly, trying to force himself to think of a solution.

But before he could say anything the space in front of them suddenly distorted.

A strange ripple spread through the air like a stone had been dropped into an invisible lake.

Then a crack appeared in the empty space. A thin, glowing fracture that slowly widened.

Several of them instantly stood up in alarm.

"What the hell is that?!"

The crack continued expanding until it formed a swirling rift in midair.

Dark energy flowed around its edges as if the space had been torn open.

By pure coincidence, Jack happened to be sitting closest to it.

He slowly rose to his feet, staring cautiously at the strange phenomenon.

The others instinctively stepped back. None of them knew what the rift was.

But every instinct in their bodies told them that something was on the other side of it.

—