Once we cleared the Azure Tower, the ominous aura around it was significantly reduced. From thick, nauseating waves that distorted your sense to a slightly bothersome fog, like polluted air in the middle of traffic.
The difference was jarring.
And that was the proof that we needed to keep raiding these towers.
Because of the urgency of the situation, we had been travelling with a private jet between countries. Teleporters didn't have that wide a range and constant teleportation would exhaust us, so we used the flight time to recover ourselves and waited for Cedric to regain consciousness.
The next tower to open its door was the Diamond Tower in the west.
Just as its name suggested, the tower, created from diamond, shone brightly in the middle of the wrecked city. Its surface, reflected by the sun, gleamed with brilliance as if mocking its surroundings.
After Cedric woke up, we stepped into the tower and what greeted us inside was black and white.
Mountains covered with clouds were created from brush strokes along with the white sky and black land below us. It was a scene straight out of a chinese calligraphy painting.
"The sensation is weird, it feels like we stepped on a metal even though it's a world of painting."
The thing we were supposed to step on was a cliff, that's why we expected dust and dirt to touch our soles, but the clink we felt on our soles, was definitely not dirt. The world itself was a painting, that's why our surroundings felt light and unreal. Like a blend of a two-dimensional world and reality. The discrepancy between the two was certainly uncomfortable.
"There! The boss!"
A white tiger was jumping on the mountain range on the horizon. It locked eyes with us, baring its fangs as its low growl trembled the world.
ROARRR!!
A deafening roar surged through the valleys, shaking the ground beneath us. It was a roar stating itself as the ruler of this tower.
[If thou wish to gain my approval, show me your strength and courage.]
The low voice echoed in our heads as even rocks formed to create a path forward.
"Wait."
Patricia called out to us.
"Can any of you use your power?"
Her words made us alert. Cedric and Marcello were the first ones to move.
"I can't form my ice."
"Same here, I can't feel the time flow."
"Me neither." I said as I watched blood dripping down the small cut on my thumb to the black ground below. I couldn't feel the connection I usually had with bloods.
Patricia unclenched and clenched her fist, "I knew something was wrong the moment we stepped in here. The flow of energy running through my body suddenly gets blocked."
"Then… if you guys can't use your ability, how are we supposed to defeat the boss?"
Ilyas raised the billion-dollar question, which made all four of us shut our mouths.
"Wait, I don't feel anything different though?"
Xain opened his clenched fist, revealing a crushed stone that bent following the outline of his fingers.
So the test required us to use only physical strength.
Knowing we couldn't use ability meant less weapons to use against our enemies. Considering the power of previous tower's owner, this one wouldn't be easy either.
We stepped on the path leading to the mountain in front of us. Once we arrived, the terrain around us changed again. The cliff and the path we had just walked on vanished and were replaced with a valley with mountains behind us.
Then an attack came.
A claw-shaped wind, fast and sharp, immediately split our formation into two. Me, Ilyas, Patricia on one side and Marcello, Cedric, Xain on the other side.
Without wasting a single second, the tiger lunged toward Marcello's group, knocking them back with its sharp claws. Chasing the group relentlessly without giving them an opening to counterattack.
Cedric was a non-physical combatant so dodging around was already a handful to him. Marcello was still observing, he hadn't unsheathed his blade. But Xain decided to be bold.
In the split second the tiger focused its attention on the others, he dashed forward and tried to land a hit.
That wasn't a wise decision.
Bullets of concentrated wind locked onto Xain. Having no time to dodge, some of the bullets hit him, causing injuries to his leg, rendering him immobile.
Marcello jumped in, blade unsheathed. He slashed from below, the tiger's neck was his target, but the tiger tilted its body following the trajectory of Marcello's blade and agilely backflipped, kicking Marcello with its hind leg, launching him to the mountain behind us.
"Patricia, take care of Ilyas for me."
"Gotcha."
Seeing the situation was no longer under control, I jumped in.
You need to fight speed with speed, agility with agility.
I pulled out my dagger, locking eyes with the tiger. It walked toward me, slow at first, until it ran with frightening speed. Its gaze was that of a predator on a hunt.
It opened its jaw, revealing a big maw with large fangs. I propelled myself into the air, reversing my grip on my dagger, locking its defenseless back as my target.
What I didn't realize was the versatility of its tail.
Like a whip, it lashed toward me. Out of reflex, I cut its tail instead of its back.
'It would rather sacrifice a tail than its body. It's not just a mere animal, it's a seasoned warrior.'
I landed on my feet after reassessing my enemy. The attack didn't stop there as a claw-shaped wind was ready to welcome me. I nimbly dodged, creating a distance between us.
[Thou isn't bad.]
"Well, thank you for the compliment."
I flicked my dagger around and hurled it toward the tiger.
Then I ran.
Not toward the tiger, but toward Xain.
"Xain!"
I reached out my hand, noticing my gesture, Xain grabbed my hand, and we dashed away.
But I underestimated the tiger's speed too much.
It's already right behind, jaw opened wide, ready to pounce us.
"Tsk!"
With all my strength, I threw Xain in Patricia's direction and was about to dodge myself.
But I was a beat too late.
"Ethan!"
The tiger's fang dug deep into my flesh. I was using my left arm as my last resort to counter it. Though blood dripped down my face, I couldn't care less, because both me and the tiger were having a power struggle.
It was trying to tear my arm and I was desperately holding on with all my body weight.
"Ilyas! Wait!"
A name that shouldn't be shouted rang in my ear and before long Ilyas, holding the dagger I had thrown, entered my peripheral vision.
"Arghh!"
He swung the dagger but as expected, the tiger nimbly dodged.
"What are you doing?! Get back Ilyas!"
"Shut up Ethan! I know it's dangerous but my feet move on its own!"
That was the first time Ilyas raised his voice, though his voice was stern, his trembling body couldn't lie. Even then, he held the dagger tightly, heaving for breath under the tiger's intense glare.
[Answer me. Why would thou risk thy own life to save that human?]
Ilyas steadied his breath and directly faced the tiger's gaze, "He's important to me, I won't let him die."
The tiger scoffed, [What can thou do with such a weak body? Thou can't even reach me.]
But Ilyas didn't waver, "At least I could give him time to escape."
A low laughter echoed.
[So this is what human calls courage that comes from love? Amusing.]
The tiger walked slowly toward us, especially toward Ilyas.
I immediately got to my feet and pulled Ilyas behind my back, gripping his hand tight in case we needed to run.
But a shining white claw suddenly manifested in front of Ilyas and with that, the tiger's voice echoed again in our head.
[Decades of challengers and all of them focused on power as the measure of strength and courage.]
[That is why I put restrictions on those puny humans. With their strength taken, they immediately cowered in fear under my immense power.]
[But thou showed me the purest form of strength and courage, the one that comes from the heart, the one that could grow into countless possibilities, so I approve of thee.]
It turned its back toward us.
[Now leave, thou hast passed.]
Our vision wrapped in white and before we knew it, we were already standing in front of the diamond tower.