"Let's find a place to rest, guys."
Tobias, as the strongest member of the group excluding Ken, acted as the group's leader.
"We can clear one of those rooms and sleep inside. We can take turns and keep watch."
Daisy's suggestion was accepted by everyone, and they entered the last room of the corridor. On the second floor, the monsters were now equal to intermediate Core Formation disciples.
"Those monsters are quite powerful. They could compete for a spot in the top 1000 even in a top sect like ours. If they were in the same stage as me, I could handle only up to two of them at once."
Adrian remarked as they settled in the room after finishing off the 4 monsters that lurked inside. Unfortunately, there was no prize inside and all of them already killed 10 monsters, so they didn't earn anything in that room.
"I could handle three."
Daisy instantly took the chance to show off her higher rank. Ken already noticed that Adrian and Daisy were quite competitive with each other.
"King-size bed? You sure know how to live!"
Tobias laughed when Ken took out his bed from his storage ring. Other than him, only Tiara brought a bed, and it was a simple one. The others all slept in sleeping bags on the floor.
"I don't like sleeping on the floor, it's uncomfortable."
"Well, be too comfy and you might lose your edge. You don't want to sleep too deeply in here and miss an incoming monster."
"I will be fine; you guys are having my back."
The group exchanged meaningful looks behind Ken's back when the latter lay down, and they all wore contemplative expressions as if they were considering a new option.
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"Hey, we got to the final door of the second floor. It didn't take that long."
Nothing of importance happened last night. In the morning, or at least what they considered to be morning since it was when they got up, they continued their journey in the labyrinth.
They already explored much of the second floor the day before, finding a few fourth-grade pills to boost bloodlust, a few free BP, and more. Hence, they didn't take long to get to a large double door, similar to the one that led to the final room on the first floor.
"This labyrinth isn't that scary. There aren't any traps and other than the inability to conceal ourselves from the monsters, there isn't much danger."
Bryce said as they prepared to open the door. Based on the mechanics of the former floor, they guessed they will fight a high Core Formation monster, so they weren't too afraid of it.
As soon as they opened the door, the same platform surrounded by arched pillars waited for them, and in its middle was a monster with distinctive facial features. This time, there were ears, and everything seemed more realistic. The monster's bloody red skin also turned into a darker shade of red, resembling brown.
They both outnumbered the monster and each one of them was stronger than it, so in a few moves, the monster turned into a puddle of blood and splashed on the floor.
"Congratulations on clearing the second floor. You earn 5 BP each, and there are a few prizes you can choose from."
3 stone pedestals rose from the ground, each carrying one type of prize.
The one to the right was Ken's favorite, the Twilight Apple. They amassed an impressive number of those, and it'd be nearly impossible to gather that many Twilight Apples outside. This time the price tag was lowered, costing only 80 BP per apple.
The second prize was the same one he always rejected, the Bloodlust Boost Pill, albeit it was only fifth grade, making it equal to killing 50,000 people. The pill was more expensive and cost 150 BP per pill.
The third prize was a fifth-grade talisman for 200 BP. Its name was "Terror Talisman", which was a single-time attack that radiated a powerful bloodlust, making the target cower in terror and unable to attack, assuming their own mind and bloodlust wasn't strong enough to resist.
"I will get one of the pills."
"Me too, it seems that bloodlust is important here, and it'd be too hard to kill 50,000 people otherwise."
Most of the team agreed to get a pill other than Ken and Tiara. Ken purchased all five apples again, while the rest purchased one pill each, excluding Tobias and Tiara; the former bought 2 while the latter didn't buy any.
"Junior Sister Tiara, I've bought a pill for you; it will give you a better chance in this labyrinth."
He smiled at her, and the pill hovered from his palm to Tiara.
"Thank you, Senior Brother. I won't decline this gift then."
Tiara gave a short smile, encouraging Tobias to believe he did the right thing. Everyone sat down to ingest the pills' effects, while Ken ate the apples. So far, he ate 18 of those apples and his core expanded to the size of 2.8 in a span of a single day.
In every substage, the core was stronger than before, making it harder to expand. However, Ken's progress was extremely fast with the aid of so many natural treasures.
Ken noticed the covetous eyes of his team members as they watched him purchase 5 more apples. His nonchalant attitude toward BP made them suspect he had an extremely high number of points. It wasn't a secret that his bloodlust was high; he displayed a lot of it during his fights on the volcanic mountain.
"Before we leave, I think I will also buy this talisman. Who knows when it can be useful."
Tobias smiled and purchased the Terror Talisman before placing it in his storage ring. Ken only spared him a single glance before returning to focus on ingesting the apples.
Once the group was well rested, they headed to the new door that appeared on the ground and descended the stairs to the next floor.
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