The descent toward Floor 60 vibrated with a tension none of them could shake. The staircase curled downward like a serpent's spine, lit only by faint strips of abyssal-blue light pulsing along the walls. Every breath echoed as if the dungeon itself were breathing with them.
Kael paused on the final step leading into the threshold.
"Stats window," he whispered.
A bright panel exploded to life in the darkness, illuminating the team with pale blue light. His numbers danced across the screen—blunt proof of how far they had pushed themselves. Ember stepped up behind him, her armored boots clicking softly.
"You've leveled again," she said, voice calm but edged with admiration.
Kael nodded, but his eyes were locked on a glowing red symbol at the bottom of the window.
[ALERT]
COPY skill has evolved to GLUTTONY.
GLUTTONY: Absorbs skills from defeated targets and makes them yours.
The word "GLUTTONY" pulsed like a heartbeat. Something deep inside Kael pulsed back.
He swallowed. "This… feels different."
A faint ripple of black energy flickered around his right hand. Ember's eyes narrowed.
"Your aura reacted. Are you stable?"
"I'm fine," Kael said quickly—too quickly. But the truth was: it didn't feel like an evolution. It felt like a hunger.
Behind him, the others activated their own stat windows—small sparks of light breaking the darkness in different colors.
A sudden hiss of air came from Amara. Acid-green sparks dripped from her fingers.
"ACID RAIN… it's hotter than I expected," she muttered, staring at the sizzling droplets on the stone floor.
Lyra raised her hands next, warm gold light circling her wrists. "REGENERATION… I can already feel my mana healing faster."
Thorne slammed his fist against his chest, and his skin rippled into metallic plates. "IRONSKIN is solid. This will be fun."
Arden blurred for a moment, almost vanishing into smoke. "ACCELERATION is… fast." He blinked, then corrected, "Too fast."
Malina flinched when her body half-faded into a misty purple outline. "PHANTOM STEP activates on instinct—great."
Elian's pupils turned sharp gold. His voice lowered. "EAGLE DIVINE EYES… The dungeon looks different now. There are signals everywhere."
Luminor opened his palm and a pale dome flickered to life. "DIVINE BARRIER. Perfect."
Zephyr split into three identical versions of himself—each one stretching like a cat.
The original grinned. "CLONING works."
Vex shook a glowing flask. "MANA BOMB… this one is dangerous. Don't come close."
Pallas's draconic eyes glowed as a grid-like hologram formed over the surroundings.
"AREA MAPPING active. But… there's interference ahead."
Ember quietly drew her sword and a scale-shaped light shimmered above the blade.
"JUDGEMENT SCALE responds strongly to Floor 60."
Behind them, Brown lifted his staff, skeletal fingers rattling as an invisible wave surged through his undead. Bones rebuilt, glowing brighter.
"UNDEAD ENHANCEMENT complete," he rasped. "My legions are stronger."
The group exchanged looks—fear, pride, excitement, awe. Everyone had grown. Everyone had changed.
Kael took a deep breath, letting the air settle.
"Let's move," he said.
FLASHBACK RUNDOWN OF FLOORS 17–59
Descending deeper triggered thoughts Kael didn't want to linger on, but the dungeon carved them into memory.
Floors 17–30 blurred in his mind in a haze of abyssal traps, darting kobolds, slashing undead skeleton warriors, and whispering abyssal spirits. They nearly died in Floor 24 when an invisible trap sliced through the air like a guillotine—but Lyra's healing saved them.
Floors 31–50 were worse. Giant snakes dropped from ceilings, abyssal corrupt monsters shredded anything in sight, and illusion magic twisted reality until they couldn't trust their own shadows. Twice, Kael attacked Zephyr by accident.
But Floors 51–59 were a nightmare.
Stone monsters with cores tougher than steel.
Fallen heroes screaming endlessly.
Mimic monsters copying their faces—fighting themselves.
A dead army stretching across an entire battlefield.
Kael's blade had cracked, reforged only by the divine fragments they collected.
They looted mana stones, skill enchantment books, class ruins, restriction-removal ruins, and core expansion stones—each one pushing them closer to the peak.
But none of it came easily.
None of it came clean.
FLOOR 60 – THE SEALED GATE
The staircase ended abruptly.
Before them stood a massive stone gate etched with abyssal symbols shifting like living ink. Red veins pulsed through it, sending a heartbeat-like thud through the floor.
Pallas shivered. "AREA MAPPING is useless. Something is blocking it."
Elian leaned in, eyes shining. "Something is alive behind this door."
Kael stepped forward, GLUTTONY humming in his chest like a whispering beast.
Consume…
He clenched his fist, refusing the voice.
Ember raised her sword. "No turning back."
The gate rumbled open, grinding like an awakening giant.
THE FLOOR 60 ARENA
They stepped inside—and froze.
Floor 60 stretched out as a colossal abyssal arena. Cracked pillars reached into darkness. Blue fire burned in floating lanterns. The air was heavy, oppressive, making breathing difficult.
A single figure stood at the center.
A towering knight clad in shattered armor, six abyssal wings grown from its back, a massive spear dragging across the ground.
Its voice scraped like metal on metal.
"Welcome… challengers. I am the Abyssal Fallen Knight—Guardian of Floor Sixty."
Kael's GLUTTONY roared inside him.
This one… consume it…
He bit his tongue until he tasted blood.
Luminor raised his staff. "Its mana… is ancient."
Thorne cracked his neck. "Perfect target."
Zephyr's clones spread out, circling.
The Fallen Knight lifted its spear—the air trembled.
THE FIGHT BEGINS
The knight vanished.
"MOVE!" Kael shouted.
A spear of abyssal energy ripped through where Amara had been standing a second earlier. She countered, raising her staff—
"ACID RAIN!"
Green droplets exploded downward, melting the arena tiles. The knight flickered through the storm unharmed.
Elian shot an arrow—gold light slicing the air.
"Divine Eyes—TRACKING!"
The arrow curved mid-flight, pursuing the knight even as it blink-stepped.
Arden moved like lightning, ACCELERATION turning his body into a blur.
He slashed at the knight from behind—
CLANG!
The force sent him spinning across the floor.
Pallas roared, turning half-draconic as AREA MAPPING detected weak spots.
"There! Two meters left shoulder!"
Lyra's REGENERATION glowed across Arden's body, healing him instantly.
Thorne charged, skin turning metal. "IRONSKIN—BREAK!"
He collided with the knight in a thunderous crash. The arena shook—
Then Zephyr's clone leapt behind the knight, exploding into smoke, distracting it as the real Zephyr slashed across its wing.
Cracks formed.
"Now!" Ember shouted, her sword blazing with Judgement.
"JUDGEMENT SCALE—SEVER!"
The blade cut a glowing arc across the knight's chest.
The Fallen Knight kneecled, damaged—but not defeated. Its six wings flared wide.
Kael stepped forward.
His right hand pulsed with black and blue fire.
Everyone turned to him.
"Kael…?" Malina called.
GLUTTONY whispered louder.
Consume it. Take everything.
Kael drew his sword.
The knight snarled and lunged—
Kael's blade met its spear, light and darkness exploding across the arena.
THE FINAL BLOW
With a shout, Kael activated everything. Strength surged. Mana roared. GLUTTONY awakened fully.
The moment the knight's core cracked—
Kael thrust his hand forward, and a swirling vortex of black-blue energy consumed the fallen knight's essence.
Light burst.
The arena trembled.
His party watched with shock—and a hint of fear.
Kael exhaled, shaking.
"I'm… still me."
For now.
A DOOR OPENS
On the far wall, a glowing gate appeared—leading to Floor 61.
Pallas smiled weakly. "A safe zone. Finally."
Ember nodded. "We'll rest. Analyze everything. Especially Kael's new skill."
Kael stared at his trembling hand.
GLUTTONY pulsed… hungry.
And Floor 61 awaited.