997 Chapter 997 Tower of Heaven (2)
The moment after Marcus saw the prompt asking him if he wanted to challenge the guardian of the Tower of Heaven, he jumped back away from the gate and did not stop until the image disappeared.
He then spread out his senses to check to make sure nothing else was happening and breathed a sigh of relief when it became clear that everything was still calm.
Of course, his sudden and unexplainable action caused every member of the expedition squad to look at him in confusion and worry.
"Marcus, what happened? Are you alright?" Mrazivy asked, her expression showing her concern for him.
She had already used her Dragon Eyes to appraise him but did not find anything wrong with his status. Still, it was clear that something had happened when he checked the Tower's gate.
"I'm fine. Nothing bad happened to me.' Marcus replied, assuage everyone's unease.
After that he told them about the message he had received from the system. Confirming that the tower was indeed a special dungeon, but in order to enter they would be required to face some sort of guardian first.
"Let me check if it gives me the same message." Cassius said, walking up to the gate confidently.
Naturally he was unable to enter just like Marcus and returned to confirm that he had received the same thing as Marcus.
Several more of the expedition squad members went up to the gate, but most of them actually received a slightly different notification.
Other than Marcus, Mrazivy, Miguel, Evette, Fianna, and Cassius, everyone else was told by the system that their statues were too weak to qualify for entry into the Tower of Heaven.
This had made all those that were rejected immensely upset.
All of them were among the strongest adventurers at their levels, and yet they were still being rejected. 'I wonder what criteria it judges people by. It's probably not just stats since it specially says that it rejects people off of their statues. But how would it quantify skills and race abilities?' Marcus pondered the mechanisms behind the Tower's entry conditions, but without more comprehensive data he could not come to a conclusion.
"Well, are we going to fight this guardian or not? Our job was to gather information about this place, so I believe we should continue. The higher ups of the guild will certainly expect to at least know what sort of creature is acting as a guardian for this newly discovered special dungeon." Cassius said impatiently.
"I don't agree. Whatever this guardian is will almost certainly be extraordinarily powerful. Only six of us even meet the criteria to enter after proving ourselves against the guardian. This is just too dangerous for us to continue. I don't want to see any of my comrades dead again." Fianna said, glancing over towards Ashton while wearing a pained expression. Even though he had been brought back to life, seeing his limp and dead body made Fianna want to avoid unnecessary dangers. In her mind they had already discovered what was at the center of the island and should report back to the adventurers guild. In the future a larger and stronger team could be put together to challenge the guardian of the Tower of Heaven.
"I never took you for a coward, Fianna. Our job is to take risks and succeed where others have failed. Isn't that why we were chosen to go on this expedition in the first place? We're all supposed to be the best." Cassius said, shaking his head and looking at Fianna like she was a fool. He could not understand why she wanted to backout after they had come so far.
"Coward, you say. I may be many things, but a coward is not one of them. There is a vast difference between caution and cowardice. That giant thing called a robot that we recently fought was strong enough to push us to our limits, and the guardian of this special dungeon is likely going to be just as, if not more powerful. We can always come back at a later time more prepared and with greater numbers." Fianna said, glaring at Cassius.
With two of the leaders of the expedition squad having stated their opinions, they looked towards Mrazivy and Evette for their input.
"Personally, I'd like to at least see what sort of creature we are up against, but I won't push the issue. Just as Fianna said, we can always come back and challenge the guardian latter." Mrazivy said, giving her opinion.
Evette, the last to answer, took a great deal of time to think about what the best option would be.
Among the leaders there was one strongly against fighting the guardian, one adamantly wanting to fight it, and another that was more neutral. This left the final decision squarely in Evette's hands.
"We will challenge the guardian, but not with the intention of defeating it. Our goal will be to quickly assess its abilities, and if it is clearly too much for us, we need only retreat." Evette said, making her choice.
"I realize that this is a selfish decision on my part, so I will not ask you or your party to participate Fianna. You may wait a safe distance away from the battle and flee if you deem it too dangerous to stay."
Cassius objected to Evette's proposal, but Mrazivy interjected and agreed. She mostly just wanted to use her Dragon Eyes to read the guardian's status rather than attempt to win if the entity seemed too powerful. The special dungeon, Tower of Heaven was not going anywhere, and the adventurers guild would undoubtedly call them back to take on the massive tower once more preparations had been made.
"Thank you, Evette. I appreciate the offer, but I can't sit back while all of you put yourselves in danger. My party and I will take up position at a distance and offer ranged support." Fianna said, coming to a compromise. She and her party would not be abstaining from the battle, but they would be ready to retreat immediately if things took a turn for the worse.
Now that the expedition squad had decided to challenge the guardian of the Tower of Heaven, another consensus had to be made on who would accept the prompt given by the special dungeon.
'Mraz, push for me to be the one to do it. I've already showcased my Light Speed Movement unique skill and can use it to get away if the guardian makes a sudden move and immediately attacks the one who challenged it. Plus, I am definitely the most durable out of everyone here. I can take a hit if need be.' Marcus said using telepathy.
Mrazivy was a bit hesitant to put Marcus in such danger, but she knew he was right. With his body just being his soul solidified he could take damage that would be fatal to others and shrug it off. In the worst case, he could even use his Supreme Skill, Ultimate Refresh to make a full recovery.
Her suggestion to let Marcus be the one to summon the guardian was met with some pushback, but Evette was the one to back Mrazivy up this time. She knew Marcus' true nature and power and was confident in his abilities. There was no doubt in her mind that he was the optimal candidate to take the risky position of accepting the Tower of Heaven's challenge.
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