Lindyss squinted at the crowd of people. They were separated from her by the battlefield with Vur planted firmly in between. The cursed elf crossed her arms over her chest and leaned her upper body forward.

“What are you doing, Auntie?” Tafel asked.

“Counting,” Lindyss said. “The Lightning Lord’s over there. The Earth Lord is next to the Wind Lord and Ashley. The Frost Lord is by the Martial Lord and Water Lord. The Flame Lord’s already been knocked out of the fight.” The cursed elf straightened her back and tilted her head. “One of them is missing, the Shadow Lord.”

“That’s the person with the Shadow Cloak skill, right?” Tafel asked. “Weren’t you able to find Miranda even though she was using it to hide? Is the Shadow Lord that much better?”

“Oh,” Lindyss said. “There he is.”

“Where?” Tafel asked, turning her head to follow Lindyss’ gaze. She saw Vur lift his tail, and with a whooshing sound, it slammed on the ground off to the side. Like magic, a black mist rose from underneath Vur’s tail, and the outline of a crushed person gradually came into view, his arms and legs outstretched with his face pressed into the ground. Tafel raised an eyebrow. “Is that him?”

“Should be,” Lindyss said and nodded. “I wonder if he’s dead.” She raised her arm, pointing her palm at the fallen Shadow Lord, and narrowed her eyes. A silver wisp leaked out of the man’s mouth and flew towards Lindyss, stretching as if it were made of rubber. A frown appeared on Lindyss’ face as she lowered her hand, and the mist was slung back into the Shadow Lord’s mouth. “Nope, he’s still kicking.”

Erin crawled out of Lindyss’ hair and took a seat on the cursed elf’s shoulder. “Did you just try to pull that man’s soul out of his body?”

“Obviously,” Lindyss said. “If you see something valuable on the ground, you pick it up.” She exhaled and pulled a rocking chair out of her pocket, placing it on the ground behind herself. With a thumping sound, she fell back onto the chair, letting it rock back from the motion. “The lords of the tower were only on the level of SSS-ranked adventurers, huh?”

Tafel scoffed. “You say that like just anyone can become an SSS-ranked adventurer.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Lindyss said and took out a ball of yarn with knitting needles attached to it. “They’re the best of the best but still worse than Vur.”

Mary furrowed her brow. “I was told the tower could grant someone enough strength to slay a dragon if they climbed to the very top,” she said. “I did get a little stronger here and there from the floors I’ve cleared, but now I’m wondering if I was tricked.”

“Dragons aren’t hard to slay, so whoever told you that didn’t lie to you,” Lindyss said from her seat. “The strongest amongst the humans can defeat the weakest amongst the dragons. However, the strongest of the dragons like the veterans who’ve survived through the phoenix and dragon war, well, they’re in a different league of their own.”

Mary pursed her lips. “And Vur’s in that league?”

“See for yourself,” Lindyss said, gesturing towards the battlefield with her knitting needle.

The brown rune on Vur’s leg lit up, and the ground around the crowd turned into sand. Like the Earth Lord’s earlier Sand Trap skill, the grains of sand rose and wrapped around the guild members ankles and legs. The Earth Lord grimaced as he pressed his palms together and inhaled. The veins on his neck bulged, and the sand wrapping around the crowd’s ankles softened as he contested against Vur for control over the ground. With the added exertion from having to resist the increased gravity, the Earth Lord’s face turned red as sweat beaded on his forehead. “Ashley! Shoot him! What are you waiting for!?”

Ashley picked her ear and inspected the wax on her finger before flicking it aside. “No, that’s okay.”

“What do you mean, ‘No, that’s okay’!?” the Martial Lord shouted. “Aren’t you the queen of damage, the uncontested strongest ranged damage dealer? Stop standing around and help us! Do you think you’ll be able to defeat him on your own once he defeats us all?”

“Why would I have to defeat him?” Ashley asked. “You’re the morons who picked a fight with him. How are you going to beg me for help when you’re in the wrong?” The Light Lord picked up Puddles and walked through Vur’s field of increased gravity, heading towards Tafel. The other lords watched as Vur glanced at Ashley before turning his attention back onto the other lords, letting the Light Lord pass without an issue.

“No, when you think about it, he attacked us first,” the Martial Lord said, his voice barely loud enough to reach Ashley. “He ambushed Magnus for no reason.”

“No reason?” Vur asked. He blinked. “I have a very good reason. If I beat all the lords, then I’ll be the new lord of the tower.”

A dark expression appeared on Magnus’ face. “Let’s put aside the fact you’re treating us as stepping stones for now,” he said before pointing in Ashley’s direction. “If your goal is to defeat all the lords, why aren’t you attacking her?”

Vur glanced at Ashley before shifting his gaze back onto Ouyang Feng. “I already beat her,” Vur said. He sucked in a deep breath, and as he did so, the blue runes on his back glowed. The guild members yelped and exclaimed as water droplets condensed on their bodies. Their torsos, which were already near the ground thanks to Vur’s gravity magic, bent even further; some pressed against the floor without the ability to move.

“Hey!” Ouyang Feng shouted as Vur’s chest billowed outwards like a balloon. “Only a coward attacks people who can’t fight back! Shoot that breath at me!”

Vur ignored the Martial Lord and spewed an icy breath filled with icicles at the crowd. The lords were forced to confront the attack directly, lest they let their guild members be horribly maimed.

“Wait, stop!” Jasmine shouted. There was a dome of wind sheltering her and her followers, but even though she was diverting the icicles, the water droplets on her followers’ bodies were turning into chunks of ice. “I surrender! I’m sorry about the limerick!” She pointed in the direction of the Martial Lord. “Aim at those guys instead!”