System's POV
chapter-601

7th Floor of the Temple of Courage…

Siri had a discontented look on her face as she gazed at the Boss Monster that she and the Hero Party had killed.

Usually, she would have been happy defeating a Pseudo 6 Sovereign, even if she had the help of others.

But this time, she couldn't feel any joy in their victory.

The Three-Tailed Red Scorpion was a Rank 5 Sovereign, but its fighting ability made it as strong as a Pseudo-Rank 6 Monster.

The main reason why Siri and the Hero Party looked troubled was the fact that the Three-Tailed Red Scorpion was already injured when they fought against it.

However, despite its injury, the battle wasn't easy, and they even had a few close calls.

If not for Derek taking a risk to unleash a blow that staggered the scorpion, which allowed Siri and Roland to deal the decisive blow, they might have suffered casualties on their side.

The two Squads of Wanderers, who were part of their group, had fought the Rank 5 Alpha Scorpions, who were the bodyguard of the Boss Monster.

Even they found the battle difficult, given that the majority of them were just Rookies.

The only reason why they survived the battle was because each Rank 5 Scorpion was facing off against twenty Wanderers, all of whom were wearing Adamantine-Grade Equipment.

Erica was also helping the Wanderers from the sky, saving them from lethal blows from their enemies.

Even Roland didn't look that good as he stood on top of the lifeless body of the Three-Tailed Red Scorpion.

Arlo, who didn't participate in the battle, had his arms crossed over his chest.

Before the Wanderers faced the Three-Scaled Scorpion, the boy named Zion told them that he had cut off one of the Red Scorpion's rear legs before proceeding to the next floor.

And just like what the young man had stated, the Scorpion they fought indeed had one of its legs missing.

Although it was only missing a leg, it had heavily impacted its balance and mobility.

But despite all the Monster's disadvantages, the battle could have ended differently if wrong choices had been made.

Not only was the Scorpion's exoskeleton very tough, but its reaction time was also very fast, and very deadly.

After defeating the Boss Monster, the portal that led to the 8th Floor finally opened, making the two Squads who were following the Hero Party cheer.

"Let's take a rest for two hours before heading to the 8th Floor," Roland proposed. "Is everyone fine with that?"

"Yes," Shana answered. "We need to regain our strength and stamina before we get to the next battle."

The Saintess then embedded her silver flag on the ground, increasing the stamina regeneration as well as the healing regeneration of the people within its area of effect.

"What do you guys think about our recent battle?" Roland asked when the members of his party, including Siri and Stella, had settled down.

Stella, who had assisted the Wanderers in dealing with the Rank 5 Alpha Monsters, didn't attack the Boss Monster, so she just meditated at the side while listening to the conversation.

"It was harder than I expected," Derek replied. "The three scorpion tails have different roles. One is for defense, the other is for offense, and the third one is an all-rounder. It attacks and defends when needed. Its strikes are also incredibly fast, and they hit hard like a truck."

"My arrows also don't have enough penetrating power to pierce deeply on its exoskeleton," Mildred commented. "Even though I aimed for its eyes, it would raise its pincers like a shield to protect it."

"Zion has also given us the information about the attack patterns of its tails," Erica stated. "Although we knew what it was capable of doing, facing it in reality is really different."

"… If that Scorpion had been a Rank 6 Sovereign, not a Pseudo-Rank 6 Sovereign, we would have died fighting against it," Joshua sighed. "I don't know if I should thank Zion or not for severing one of its legs. If its mobility was a bit faster, I'm sure that we would have eventually been pushed back."

Everyone understood that the Boss Monsters they had faced on the previous floors had been weakened considerably to match their level.

It was as if Zion had made sure that their enemy wouldn't be too strong or too weak for them to fight.

The battles were always hard, but they were able to find a way to triumph over their enemies.

"It's as if everything has been calculated to perfection," Siri muttered. "I hate this feeling."

Roland and the other members of the Hero Party nodded in agreement because they could understand what Siri was feeling right now.

As much as Erica wanted to contact Thirteen, the teenage boy said that he was preparing for a battle against the Grievefoot and requested that they didn't disturb him unless he was the one who initiated the contact first.

Because of this, the Sorceress felt very restless, knowing that somewhere on the 12th Floor of the Temple of Courage, Zion was fighting a battle so that they would no longer have to fight it during their turn.

She didn't know if she should feel happy or sad about the teenage boy's resolve to pave the path for them, allowing their journey to be less bloody than what the Absolutes initially expected.

While Erica was thinking about this, the Monkeys of the 12th Floor started to move toward the East, where the nest of the Grievefoot was located.

They had no intention of fighting and were simply going there to watch the battle that was about to happen.

They stopped a kilometer away from the Grievefoot's nest and hung on top of the trees while waiting for the main fighters to appear.

"You've come, Harahon," Khan said in a teasing tone. "Have you come to help my foe? When did you suddenly become brave?"

The Apes started to laugh because they knew that Harahon wouldn't dare to fight against their Leader, much less wage an all-out war against them.

"I heard that a human boy challenged you and your people," Harahon replied, doing his best to sound calm despite the fact that he was seething internally. "I've come to watch a good show."

"A good show?" Khan chuckled. "Good. Make sure to watch it well. After all, who knows? One of these days, you might suffer the same fate."

Harahon clenched his fists but didn't say a word of rebuttal against the Grievefoot, who was stronger than him.

Suddenly, the ground that was dozens of meters away from Khan's throne started to shift and open up, revealing the teenage boy, who had come to challenge the Sovereign of the 12th Floor to a duel.