Undaunted, Ozen jumped into battle. The blades of his axes gave off two menacing flames, the heat slashing its way through the air. A ferocious glee lit in his eyes as he brought them to bear, an unnatural combination of rage and satisfaction warring within him.

Serah and Erik looked at the battle-crazed man, then back at each other. They shook their heads ruefully. Erik snorted softly, before speaking to no one in particular. “He really is the image of a Rage Seed. It’s no wonder that he attuned to it. Really, the only mystery is that he acts this way without being under the effect of a berserk skill like most Rage Seeds. I’ve always thought there must be something wrong with him, somehow.”

Dharen glanced at the man in question. He was currently smashing his twin battle axes furiously against the metallic creature, bellowing along with his attacks. The worm-like monster was twisting and writhing, attempting to land a blow against its rage-filled combatant. Flames sparked off its surface with each strike, sending ephemeral lights and flashes into the hallway. Though it was a slow and tiring effort, Ozen’s strikes were finally beginning to show some effect on the fused creatures. There was a slight lack of solidity to the spheres now, as if the very surface was melting from the deadly combination of force and flame that Ozen was bringing to bear against it.

The others continued to watch with a relaxed air, displaying faith and surety in their companion’s capabilities. Dharen, taking his cue from them, allowed Ozen to have his fun.

In the end, the metallic monster had been reduced to slag. Yet, the adventurers couldn’t help but be dispirited after seeing the hardiness of the creature. No matter how Ozen cut and smashed, it managed to pull itself together again. Whether that be as a giant worm, a wolf, or any other variety of beast.

Without fail, the orbs breaking apart acted as merely a temporary stopgap in the assault. A few seconds later, it would reform and attack once more. Finally, after a long and drawn out fight, Ozen’s flame-covered axes managed to melt and shatter the metal orbs composing the creature with enough extremity that it was unable to reform and simply lay dormant.

Ozen’s breath came in heavy wheezes, the exertion of the battle taking its toll. It left behind a sway in his stance, a stagger in his step. Despite that, a satisfied grin was pasted across his face.

“Oh, shove off you smug bastard!” Erik exclaimed. “Don’t be looking so proud of yourself when you took so damn long to finish the thing off.”

After giving Ozen a few minutes to regain his breath, they continued on. It wasn’t long before they reached a split in the hallway. It forked into two paths. Though both appeared identical, faint rumbling noises could be heard from the left-hand side.

Erik separated from the group once again, explaining that he would activate his Hasty Nature and quickly return if he saw anything dangerous. He slunk onwards along the lefthand pathway, keeping his profile tightly pressed against the wall of the corridor.

As they waited, Ozen amused himself with boasts of his previous valor and strength. Serah let out a laugh, a smile finally working its way up to her eyes. Yet Dharen couldn’t help but notice how fleeting such genuine cheer seemed, as if it was ephemeral and prone to slip away at a moment’s notice.

Dharen, his curiosity stoked, sidled up to her. “So, what is it that is bothering the three of you? You certainly seem on edge.”

Serah started for a moment before responding quietly. “We normally wouldn’t challenge a quest of this difficulty with just the three of us. In fact, there should be four of us. Our de-facto leader, Tomas, was grievously injured in our last quest.”

Having expected something along those lines, Dharen questioned her further. “So, why are you fighting here then?”

“Tomas may have been our leader, but he was also our protector. He was a level 5 Steadfastness Seed. With his Vitality and Endurance at our head, it always felt like we could weather any storm. Not to mention his abilities. Yet, we grew overconfident. We bit off more than we could chew. In our last quest, Tomas was poisoned by the target and we were forced to retreat. So far, he has managed to survive due to his high levels and health. But his time is coming soon. He grows weaker by the day, and is no longer even able to maintain consciousness.” Serah paused for a moment, clearly upset. “Ozen has been taking it especially hard - he looked up to Tomas greatly.”

After taking a breath, she continued. “We can purchase an antidote to save him, but the cost in Contribution Points is staggering. We still need another 7,500 points in order to save him, and he is not long for this world. So we are forced to challenge a quest that we would normally be hesitant to approach. When the reward is a comrade’s life, what choice do we have?”

Dharen could only nod sympathetically. Though he certainly felt for their plight, he couldn’t help but be grateful that they were not attempting to guilt him into donating his earnings for their current quest to their cause.

It did put a few things into perspective, however. His mind was turned towards the general jumpiness and anxiety that he had detected from his new companions during the course of the day - the rush to accept someone into their party without proper vetting, the high degree of alertness, the jumping at shadows.

Still, the situation made him realise that Contribution Points could likely be used for a wider variety of purchases than he had expected. It also explained why Tower climbers would desire to stockpile a large number of them on this floor. They likely functioned in a similar manner to Tower Points, allowing for boosts to one’s power. However, the key difference was that quests that gave Contribution Points could actually be obtained while actually choosing some of the risks that came along with them. This made the Fifth Floor a great opportunity for those who wished to strengthen themselves safely - or even those who wanted to take greater risks for greater rewards.

As he mused over the possibilities, a loud rumbling began to form from the path to the left. He looked over, muscles tensing in anticipation. It grew ever louder, a rolling thunder of metal on stone. Soon, he spotted Erik peeling around a corner and scrabbling at the ground as he turned.

Erik sprinted with impressive speed, his legs tearing apart the distance between them. Blood flowed from his nose. It pulled from his ears. It formed tears, spilling from his eyes. His Hasty Nature was at full force, sapping his life essence in return for an increase to speed.

“Pull back!” Erik screamed. At that moment, a single Orbel turned the corner. And another. And another. Soon, a veritable army of Orbels rolled behind him, an animated wave of destruction and death.