The air on the 11 floor was thin. So thin that every breath felt like sucking through a pinhole. Gun inhaled once, then twice, but the tightness in his lungs would not relent. Beads of sweat formed at his brow not from heat or exertion, but from the cruel dryness of the altitude. They had climbed ten floors straight, and now they were somewhere near the roof of the world. The sky above was an endless pale blue, the air shimmering in waves of distortion under the sun, and the ground below was nothing but a blur of cloud-white haze. Each step felt ten times heavier, as though gravity itself was pulling harder at this height.
Gun shook his head and slowed his march to a crawl. Jack and Luna, who had been running beside him, also came to a staggered halt. Even stoic Waver paused on the high stone platform that marked the beginning of Floor 11. The silence around them was eerie – there was no distant bustle of wildlife or rustling of trees, only the quiet whistle of wind through the few hardy spindly grasses that clung to the rocks here.
"Is… it just me?" Jack panted, one hand clutching his chest. "Or is the air actually getting thinner the higher we climb?"
"It's getting harder to breathe," Luna gasped, clutching her throat as she leaned against Waver. The normally alert mage looked pale, her ponytail drooping. "I feel dizzy… cold, even."
Gun frowned at them. He, too, felt strange: his vision was slightly blurred at the edges, his heartbeat was pounding faster than it should, and each breath was a chore. "Waver," he said softly, voice tight. "We both noticed this last floor. Why is it…?"
Waver's eyes swept the horizon. The landscape around them was changing rapidly: behind them lay the ruins of a jungle, but here the foliage had thinned to scanty clumps of hardy weeds. A strange quiet stretched in all directions. "Floor 11," he said after a moment, voice low and steady. "Judging by the sky, the air, and the height… we must be inside the upper troposphere. We are now roughly ten kilometers above sea level."
"Upper troposphere," Gun echoed. The word meant something: he remembered stories of mountain climbers reaching the "death zone" on the tallest peaks. Yes – that was it. "Death zone," he finished for himself in a whisper. The realization hit him. "So this floor is a high-altitude jungle or something?"
Waver nodded, jaw set. "It appears so. At this altitude, atmospheric pressure and oxygen levels are far below what a human body normally handles. Even suprahuman like us, we're feeling it. Our lungs and brains are starved for oxygen."
Jack looked at Waver as if expecting a solution. "What do we do, then? We can't climb in this without collapsing."
Waver considered for a moment. His eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "There is one way. We need someone who can manipulate air. A Swiftgale climber would be ideal – someone who can magically alter the pressure or summon wind to our aid. They could create a bubble of fresh air around us. Without a Swiftgaler, we suffer."
Luna's eyes darted around the empty platform. "There's nobody here. Are we alone? Did we miss an NPC? So high…."
Gun exhaled slowly. "We're alone." The truth settled over them heavily. No town, no rest point, just an open sky and the jungle ruin behind. A pang of panic twisted in his chest. If they collapsed here… they could die. They needed air, and fast.
He shut his eyes. Think, he told himself. Slax's voice echoed in his mind: "Keep it with you… you'll know when to use it." The mysterious item Slax had given him at the mansion – Gun had barely thought of it since leaving. It had looked like a simple dark cloth pouch, but inside it was an orb with faint emerald glint, which he'd kept unseen. Now, digging one hand into his back, he found it. Pulled out, the orb glowed a pale green. It looked almost like captured dawn light.
Jack noticed the motion. "What's that, Gun?"
Gun placed the orb gently in his palm. "This… is why Slax gave it to me." His voice was urgent. "Quickly, make some space!"
Waver and Luna parted for him. Jack and Gun scrambled back a few feet from each other. Gun held the orb out, concentrating. Focus your mana into it, he told himself, just as Waver had taught them. The air around him began to shimmer with the orb's glow. Slowly at first, then faster: Glow, then surge.
A faint hum filled Gun's ears. The surface of the orb rippled with air currents of its own. He whispered an activation word he hadn't known he knew: "Breeze…"
Suddenly, a shock of powerful wind erupted outward. The four of them were pushed back a step, bracing themselves against the force. When it passed, they blinked at each other. The air inside a hundred-meter radius around them now felt thicker, smoother. The haze in the distance seemed to clear minutely. Gun breathed in – it was instantaneous. The tightness released. He actually filled his lungs deeper than he had before since arriving.
"Amazing," Jack exclaimed, grinning widely. "It's like… breathing underwater before, and now I can just breathe."
Waver looked at him. "Air pressure and oxygen levels normalized." He smiled faintly. "Good. The gale core activated. We can breathe freely now." He nodded at Gun. "You're a lifesaver."
Gun couldn't keep a small grin. "Thanks. Guess Slax thought ahead." He looked at the orb in his palm as if seeing it for the first time: the Gale Core, an item capable of manipulating air quality and pressure at the cost of mana. Slax's words resonated clearly now: Gun had to carry it until the time was right. And here it was, saving them in a literal death zone. "We should thank Slax once we get out of here," Gun said.
Luna exhaled the deepest breath yet. "I owe you one. I was about to pass out." She grinned weakly. Jack clapped Gun on the shoulder. "Hell of a trick."
Gun smiled back. "We're not out of the woods yet. We should keep moving. And find someone with Swiftgale. We can't run on mana forever."
They all agreed. The Gale Core had bought them life today, but Gun knew they needed a permanent solution soon. Maybe they could trade for a Swiftgale's help later. But for now, they could breathe.
As the orb's glow faded and the breeze settled back to normal, Gun carefully tucked it away again. The orb had done its job. Around them, Floor 11 stretched out, an endless maze of emerald green. Not a city or building in sight – only jungle. Towering trees, dozens of meters high, rose from a carpet of vines and undergrowth. Vines as thick as a man's arm dangled from branches. Strange giant ferns spread fronds across the shadowy floor below. A humid haze clung to the ground. They were standing on a massive plateau of stone, but beyond it was pure wild jungle, rolling out to the horizon.
It looked like a continent-sized forest. The canopy above blocked most sunlight, causing the air to hang heavy with spores, mists, and the low hum of unseen creatures. Gun wiped sweat from his forehead – not from exertion, but from the strange warmth of the high sun filtered by forest moisture.
"This looks… endless," Luna said. She squinted into the gloom. "No towns. No villages. Just green."
Jack stretched his arms. "Guess we're going on a safari." He grinned. "Just hope it's not hunter season for us."
Waver ignored the joke, scanning the treetops with narrowed eyes. "The air is humid and stale. Unpleasant, but far better than the bite of altitude. Let us proceed."
The four of them moved into the jungle. At first, the ground underfoot was soft, carpeted with moss and fallen leaves. Soon they passed under arching tree limbs, the canopy high above. In the distance, they could hear the occasional roar or screech – wild beasts of this floor's jungle.
Despite the thick foliage, they made good progress. The monsters they encountered were nothing compared to what they had faced before. Gun casually used [Flash Step] to dash through a pack of spitting vine-snakes, slashing them easily with [Avenger's Cut]. Jack and Luna picked them off with flashes of light and orbs of flame. In one vine tangle he even saw a small pack of dog-sized lizards with thick scales, but a few lightning strikes from Jack's blade and they were down. Waver watched the edges warily for bigger threats, but nothing challenged them.
"Easy," Jack panted as they paused to rest under a broad-leafed tree. "Either this floor's monsters are ridiculously weak, or we're ridiculously strong now."
Luna laughed quietly. "Probably both.", "Not complaining, though."
Gun smirked. "We should be careful not to underestimate anything. But yeah, these are minnows."
Waver looked up through the leaves. "This jungle is vast. We should have a direction."
Gun nodded. "Jack, you saw something. Smoke was it?"
Jack stood up abruptly. "Yeah, I saw a column of smoke heading north-west about five kilometers from here." He shaded his eyes, but the smoke was already drifting in the wind behind trees. "It's strong – must be big. Anyone lighting a campfire? Doesn't look like any tree fire."
Gun's brow furrowed. A campfire at this size? Unlikely. "Let's check it out. Could be something dangerous."
Luna's face turned serious. "Flames in the jungle are usually...not good."
They headed in that direction. The forest grew denser as they advanced, the smoke column becoming a dark plume piercing the green canopy. Soon, they reached a hilltop with a view: a ruined city lay ahead, engulfed in roaring flames.