"Another plate to the table!"

Sol'khin snickered as he unleashed a freezing burst which extinguished the fire and pushed the quad-spirit, it then followed with a skill similar to [Absolute Zero], turning the whole area into a gigantic block of ice. Even Arthur was instantly frozen though he managed to break it in a few seconds. Zodiak wasn't as lucky as the flying cloud became sky-blue then crashed into the ground, no longer being in its untouchable state.

However, it wasn't that easy to defeat Arthur's spirit, which is proficient in more than one or two attributes.

It quickly got back up, pulled a golden spear from the ground before facing the blue phoenix again. A dark armor materialized around its flaming body and a grey crown appeared above its head, drastically transforming its appearance.

Sensing a bit of danger from the spirit, Sol'khin gave up the phoenix form and changed into a more ridiculous appearance. A golden and blinding brilliance emanated from his body, he seemed like an unshakable statue, motionless but extremely deadly.

"Buddha?"-Arthur

Seeing this ludicrous sight, Arthur's shock deepened, even feeling a bit of helplessness. He glanced at Zodiak and found him back on his feet but, strangely, he seemed to be in a not-so-good condition.

Buddha and the quad-spirit clashed with each other, shaking the whole floor and causing unprecedented devastating. A third of the Western part of the city was destroyed but there were few if no casualties thanks to the lord's quick evacuation.

It was clear that there's no room for normal soldiers to join this battle of giants so the city lord wisely ordered the retreat of all the forces to the royal castle, where most of the citizens were too. There's no telling what will be left of the city once everything ends and the safest area is the castle, which is protected by a tough magical barrier constantly being nourished by more than 500 mages.

Sol'khin continued to defend using Buddha's golden light, easily blocking the spirit's attacks of four combined attributes and, at some point, it retaliated, firing a thick blast from the heavens. It struck the unsuspecting spirit, pinned it on the ground and not only shattered the dark armor but also broke the crown in two pieces.

Before any further damage was done, Arthur intervened by conjuring two dark hands that appeared above the spirit and blocked the rest. Half-conscious, the spirit automatically returned to its owner consciousness after its best. If the floor didn't restrict the skills and techniques, it could have defeated Sol'khin but, unfortunately, it isn't the case right now.

The situation soon returned to the beginning with Zodiak and Arthur battling Sol'khin.

"He's going to change again as Buddha's magic is vulnerable against Dark Magic."-Zodiak

Who, after coughing a bit of black blood, returned to a healthier state, straightened his back and warned Arthur. Right after his warning, the ginormous Buddha statue vanished, leaving in its place a dense fog that blocked their visions.

A few seconds later, black wings that were, at least, 200 meters in length, rose high up in the sky, followed by a deafening dragon roar. Before Sol'khin's appearance was shown, the ground started heavily shaking and the gravity became ten times stronger, causing Zodiak's body to fall while Arthur managed to resist thanks his high affinity with Earth Magic. The skills were disabled attribute affinities are an inborn thing and, thanks to his race, he has a high affinity with all the basic attributes.

*****

"What the hell are they doing?!"

Celes, who was along with the others in the waiting room, looked at the big screen displaying the events happening on the 4th floor currently. Not only here but everyone who passed through the Sky Door was teleported here and waiting for the last two to come so the next task is given. Sadly, both Arthur and Zodiak showed no signs of passing through the door and only focused on taking down whatever that shape-shifting monster was.

"This isn't part of the plan."

Even the usually calm Forne was troubled, letting out a helpless sigh as he watched his friend Zodiak persistently attack Sol'khin.

"That one is fake, I don't see the purpose in even fighting it. If the Sky Door is destroyed then they'll be disqualified… is that even worth it?"

'X' also butted in, kind of feeling annoyed over Zodiak's selfishness. He didn't care about Arthur as he wasn't part of the plan but Zodiak was crucial to the success of their task, especially the cane in his possession.

G'am Tir maintained his usual silence while the Void Behemoth was growling while looking at the screen. Lucy stood to the side, her fists clenched, regretting not staying there to lend a hand even at the cost of exposing herself. If Arthur is out then there is no need for her to continue climbing the tower either, which is why she was so frustrated right now.

Dozens of meters away, in a corner filled with buzzing flies and crawling insects, Hach'ara enjoyed some of the presented fruits while enjoying the show. His eyes were glued on Zodiak and Arthur, wondering how they are related.

Their appearance may be different but their actions were oddly similar, though it takes a sharp perception to notice that.

"I see… hahahaha"

He started crazily laughing, not minding the weird gazes he was getting. The insect and poison master was not the only one who noticed the similarities in action and in soul.

Ber Von Xin sipped some of medicinal tea he just prepared while focusing on the grey-robbed old man. His serene eyes contained a deep glint as they jumped from one target to another, seemingly able to fathom everything.

****

"What's wrong, uncle?"

Saly, who was biting her nails, happened to see the pale-faced youth crush the chair's handle as he watching the fight happening on the 4th floor.

Only when he heard her voice did he snap out of it and dismissively wave her hand to indicate that it's nothing.

"Leave him be! He's just excited to see your father fight."

"Is that so?"

****

Wild and powerful sound waves reverberated across the whole area, splitting the ground and dramatically changing the terrain. Zodiak was shaken off balance as he was busy chanting a spell, causing him to fall and roll on the slippery and unsteady ground.

"What's wrong? No more Dark Magic?"

Seeing the weak state of the old man, Arthur became confused, not understanding why such an earthquake managed to get him.

In response, Zodiak grunted and held onto one of the rock, barely saving himself from falling into the abyss down below. Unfortunately, it was at that time that an absurdly massive black dragon showed itself, its golden eyes glaring at the weakened old man.

It opened its mouth and fired a strange black blast which was different from Dark Magic.

When it was about to hit Zodiak, several thick dark walls appeared in the air, stopping the blast while Arthur slid down and caught Zodiak's hand.

"Huh! Who would have thought!"

Seeing the hand tightly holding his own, Zodiak commented. Arthur snorted and pulled the old man while swiftly climbing the slope and landing on the steady ground.

"Is there any reason to save me?"-Zodiak

With his back facing the standing old man, Arthur stabbed his hands on the ground while answering:

"Is there any reason not to?"

Hearing this, Zodiak chuckled and removed his over-sized grey robe, revealing tight and black leather clothes fitting for a martial artist.

"In the end, we are very alike, don't you think?"-Zodiak

While listening to the other's rambling, Arthur smirked and manipulated the Dark Magic. Six hundred meters away, precisely where the Sky Door was, the ground turned jet black and countless black spikes sprung from within, stabbing every part of the door and corrupting it.

Within seconds, the enormous and opened door vanished, causing the previously given task to end, at last.

*All the contestants who managed to pass through the Sky Door will be teleported to the 5th floor. The restrictions will be lifted shortly.*