6th Floor

It came as a surprise to Sora that there was no boss room on this floor. In fact, as he explored the fifth floor, he realized it looked lessor like a dungeon and more like a city for monsters. There were no booby traps or trap doors or traps of any sort on the fifth floor. There were plenty of streets and monster residences but nothing to indicate this was a dungeon. (Note: not all monsters required residences)

Sora eventually found the stairs which led to the lower floor. The stairway to the lower floor was located in the center of the city. It curled in spiral around the circumference of the hole that lay in the central city of the fifth floor.

A pair of red eyes could be seeing seen descending into the abyss – it was Sora. Many monsters saw him descend. They considered him brave but foolish. Only the Gate Keeper knew if you were worthy of descending to the lower floors, to do so on your own was foolish. However, ever since Toketsu had been killed, there had been a swarm of monsters that had been descending into the lower floors and even a greater swarm which had been rushing up.

It was creating all sorts of chaos on the fifth floor. The natural order of power on the fifth floor had been disturbed. There were many ‘gang’ styled fights happening all over the floor for territory – residences. The weak became fodder for the strong who swiftly established control over the floor. Mizuki could have intervened and prevented all this but as long as her rules were not broken there was no need to. It was the Gate Keepers duty to determine the strength of the floor not hers. She wouldn’t lift a finger in this aspect.

Sora met many monsters on his way down the stairs. There were more orcs than other type of monsters. There were a few winged creatures which didn’t need to use the stairs – like a really colourful butterfly, these monsters flew straight up through the hole. To Sora it appeared like a mass migration.

Why? – He wondered. He had no idea that he was the cause of all this.

None of the Orcs paid the slightest attention to Sora as he made his way down. They were interested in playing skull-bowling however there were plenty of skulls on the fifth floor. There was no need for them to waste time on the stairway. If a new Gate Keeper were to appear, then the opportunity of reaching the fifth floor would be lost.

Likewise, Sora did not instigate any trouble as he crossed by herds of monsters. He would freeze up at times when he saw orcs suddenly emerge from around the dark corners – he was used to battling these monsters after all in Royal Road. It was hard coded in his DNA to attack on sight when surprised – so Sora had his hands full with controlling his instincts to attack.

After descending more than two thousand meters into the abyss, Sora finally reached the massive gates of the sixth floor. There weren’t any doors or anything of that sort. Just two huge stone slabs erected vertically and another horizontally that rested above the. Similar to the Stonehenge design. Sora walked into the room when he felt a sudden spike of ‘something’ in the air. That something was ‘malice’. It wasn’t just the air, Sora could feel each step of his had become lighter. The ‘burden’ that he carried also felt lighter – as if he had become a whole lot stronger than before.

Sora immediately checked his stats;

Status Window - SorachanNameSoraChanLevel11ProfessionNoneHealth1100+26500Mana-Strength44 + 375Agility4 + 375Wisdom32 + 375Intellect15 + 375Luck10 + 92Leadership104Attack25 + 1000Defense10 + 375Dexterity10Stamina121 + 10300Bloodthirst34 + 580Vitality85 + 10300Charisma3 + 8Endurance33 + 375Unused Stat Points45Monster Ranking11250

Slime Elasticity - 150

Slime Durability – 106

Slime Conversion – 8 litre / hour

Layering – 123

Compactness - 250

Stitching - 59

Fusion - 185

Sweat - 52

Cool Down - 52

Digging – level 23

Hunting – level 24

Moisture absorption – level 21

Moisture retention – level 20

Resistance to heat level – level 12

Stealth – level 25

Tracking – level 33

Titles Bestowed: "The Shame of the Empire", "Hero of the Alliance", "Lolicon-sama"

There was a difference between the two. However, Sora then recollected why he wasn’t referring to this menu in the first place – it was broken. His health just jumped by 500HP by descending to a lower floor. 500HP was something players, in Royal Road, would fight tooth and nail to achieve. Hence, there were certainly only two possibilities. First this game was too easy when it came to gaining stats. Second, the more likely one, his stats menu option was broken.

But still, Sora reminded himself; this ‘Malice’ was the equivalent of being on steroids. Even though he had inflated stats he had no idea what his base stats were without the effect of Malice. He also didn’t know how or why he gained these stats – there was always the possibility of losing these stats.

As Sora walked through the gates, torch lights flickered on in the chamber. They originated overhead and swept across the circular room; lighting up one after another. The cinematic effects were similar to those of entering the ‘boss room’. The howling of the wind could be overheard, as the temperature in the room fell a few degrees.

Sora was now standing in the middle of the chambers facing a beautiful woman.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Author's Note:

1. No, wargueul I won't stop writing. Don't worry. I just had massive internet problems and was busy at work.

2. So, this chapter is dedicated to Owlbear General for asking such detailed questions. Always entertaining to tackle those time paradox related ones. If anyone have some *good* questions on the plot or anything else please ask away. I will try my best to answer them.