The conversation with the aristocratic man ended with Damian getting information regarding the tenth floor. It became his goal, a place he wanted to visit and see with his eyes.
But doing that would require skill, time, and, more importantly, leaving the Skyfall Tower; there were still a few days. So Damian returned to his regular training, mastering a few spells like the Life Drain he wanted, and a summoning one, a winged horse called Nightmare.
Two spells in that short period weren't bad. Damian was happy with his result, but being locked there became boring, and no one could train well while bored.
'Should I go see how the girls are doing?'
It was the last day before the Skyfall Tower allowed them to leave, and Damian wanted to see how things were on the other resting floor; his resting floor still had few people.
No one had completed the third floor yet, so Damian was still the first-ranked player, which was nice. Yet, he knew that would change once the tower spread and everyone went there to explore it, especially the powerful superhumans still leagues away from Damian.
He used his ring, the one the tower gave him, and teleported to the other resting floor where the girls were. Everyone gazed at him when he arrived, and some even shook with fear.
They knew about him. Damian's reputation increased significantly after what he did to Radagak and the others, turning him into a mysterious person unafraid of killing others.
No one wanted a person like that as their enemy, so everyone acted friendly, offering him drinks and food and giving him the best table in the main hall.
Silly things, but things that showed how much they wanted him on the good side, and Damian saw that with good eyes. He still ignored everyone and continued his task of finding Alanna, Lucy, and Luna.
Damian first checked their rooms, and no one was there. He then asked the people on the floor; no one had seen the girls he described.
'What happened?'
He did not think they were dead; the girls made it clear they would not explore the tower levels, at least not now, and nothing could make them change their minds.
But despite that, something did happen, and Damian could not find them anymore, not on that resting floor or any other. He continued on his search during the remaining hours that the tower was still open and nothing.
The giving up part was hard, but Damian couldn't do much. His ring activated on its own, creating a power that sucked him into it, and when he opened his eyes next, he was inside that hidden cave.
'Back here, huh.'
Damian wanted to find his friends and share everything that happened, but he was almost certainly still doing their tasks, and he had a duty to do, which required him to go to the fourth floor of the dungeon.
So he got right at it, but now, it was not his Telekineses that would be his mean of transportation, but his winged horse!
With the help of his Necromancy Book, chanting, and concentration to not mess up with the flow of the spell, Damian cast one called Nightmare, which basically summoned that horse.
A portal opened on the ground, and a dark horse with two deep red wings got out of it. Damian noticed the creature's red eyes and size — way more prominent than an average horse.
Damian hopped on the horse's back and left the cave. He expected a slower speed than his Telekineses, but it would allow him to rest his mind and think about other things, but that was not the case! The winged horse was much faster than his Telekineses, which was marvelous!
He flew over the dungeon floor with his winged horse, seeing from above all the snow and the few living beings that dared to traverse.
Damian was not looking for a place to rest or remain on that floor for much longer. The way to the exit was carved inside his mind, and in no time, he was there, passing through the gate and riding his horse.
Despite being in the sky mounted in a massive creature, catching up the attention of everyone on land, Damian found no humans or other intelligent races that wanted to attack or speak with him.
'Are they scared of me, or is no one here?'
An impossible question to answer, so Damian put it at the back of his mind and kept moving forward, looking for the way out of that level.
He could see from afar the vampire castles and even passed through the place he met Serana, but he never did leave his mount or get close to the ground.
That would only bring him trouble, and it was best to avoid that. But there was still a problem, though.
'I have no idea where is the exit to this floor!'
Damian had to reach the third and fourth floors, where the beast he needed to kill for his mission was. But how could he find the portal to leave that vampire area?
'Kidnapping a few vampires! Yey!'
The first thing to do was look for some, and vampires were not hard to find in that place.
"So, can we win against that noble family?"
"We have to think that, or how can we sleep during the day?"
"But maybe," the vampire leaned closer, "we can escape. It's better than dying over a piece of land."
"Shhh!" the other vampire said, looking around to see if anyone had heard it, "are you insane? We will die if we do that!"
"We will die if we fight the next battle!"
The quick conversation made the two vampires enter a deep thought, and for a moment, running away did not seem bad. It was not like the leader of their noble family cared for any of them, so why risk their lives for someone who did not give a fuck about them?
The irony of destiny was that as the two were thinking about running away, speaking in private inside the woods, Damian noticed them, passing by, mounting on his winged horse, and using his Telekineses to drag the two to the back of the mount with him!
"What's happening? Who-Who are you?"
The vampires had no idea who Damian was. They never saw him in their lives and the fact he rode a massive black-winged horse and had a creepy look with that mask made the two uneasy.
"I have a few questions, and I hope you can answer them. But for now, shut up," Damian said.
The two vampires exchanged glances and were ready to form a plan to toss Damian out of the horse or at least do something, yet their bodies couldn't move!
Damian's mastery over his Telekineses was excellent, and weak vampires like those two could not go up against it. Once they realized the situation, both vampires remained quiet.
There was no way Damian would interrogate them in the sky near their family's territory. So he moved away from it a little and then started his interrogation.
He stopped mid-air, and the moment he did that, the two vampires couldn't help but shiver.
'Will he kill us now?'
The thought never left the vampires' minds. They were trying to leave their family just to survive, so dying there wasn't what they wanted.
"My first question is: do you know the portal's location that leads to the next floor of the dungeon? Any portal is okay for me," Damian asked, crossing his arms and staring at the two vampires.
There was more than one portal on each level of the dungeon. Damian knew that, and it did not matter what exit he took; all he wanted was to move to the next floor.
The vampires exchanged glances again, thinking about whether they should spill the answer. Damian noticed that and said, "If you know something, I think it is time to say it. Or I can kill you two and ask the next vampire about it."
Damian then waved his hand, and a massive black greatsword was in his hands, ready to execute the two vampires.
"No, no, wait! We know something!" one of the vampires said as they saw Damian grab the sword and enter a stance.
"That's better," Damian said, putting the sword down, "So? What is it?"
"We only know the location of one exit, a secret one we discover during our explorations. The only problem is that…"
"What's the problem?"
"It's the lair of a dragon!"
"What?"
Damian knew that dragons were beasts that lived inside the dungeon, but they did so in the deepest levels and not there on the second one!
'It will not hurt to go there to check it, considering these two weak vampires left the nest with their lives,' Damian thought.
He thought for a while and then said, "You two will lead the way!"
"But I thought you would let us go!"
Damian grabbed the sword again, and the vampire instantly said, "It's in that direction."
The source of this c𝐨ntent is fre𝒆w(e)bn(o)vel