( Floor 23 of the Tower Of Ascension )


    Floor 23 of the Tower of Ascension was ruled by the dragons. It was a distinct and formidablendscape, reminiscent of Earth''s Grand Canyon, where vast chasms and deep gorges dominated the terrain, leaving only narrow, treacherous paths for those daring enough to walk.


    It was the perfect world for winged creatures who could navigate it with ease, however, a nightmare fornd walkers who often needed to take long detours to reach their destination.


    As such, there were no dungeons on this floor and the floor clear quests given by the administrator usually involved tasks such as transporting valuable goods or finding specific herbs.


    However, this quest was usually easier said than done, as the littlend area that was walkable was littered with powerful monsters, while the threat of aerial attacks was constant.


    All in all, ascending beyond this floor was not easy at all and it was sure to be even harder for Rocky and crew, given that ''Vorithra Sylithen'' would surely mess with them.


    As the team arrived on the floor. The first thing they did was to look towards the skies, where massive wyverns, dragons and other majestic beasts roamed.


    *Roarrrr*


    A distant dragon roar caused Erin to shudder in his boots, as he did not feel ready at all to potentially face such a formidable beast, should they attract the ire of one.


    Thankfully, the Dragon''s living here were only tier3 to tier4 in strength, as thisnd could only support dragons at that strength and did not have valuable enough resources to push them beyond.


    [ Adventurer party of four…What is your intention in visiting this floor? Are you here to adventure or are you here to seek ascension? ]


    A deep voice soon rang in the team''s ears, as the floor administrator seemed to have detected their presence.


    "We are here to seek ascension, honorable administrator–" Rocky replied, as he made sure to address the floor administrator with proper respect.


    [ Very well…. Will you be taking part in this ascension evaluation as a team or as individuals? ] The administrator asked, as Rocky replied this time as well.


    "As a team"


    [ Very well…..You will be given 72 hours to transport the package that I am entrusting you from your current location to the vige chief of Mordok.


    Inside the package are perishable items that will start to degrade after 72 hours.


    Your mission will be consideredpleted with perfect grades if you can reach your destination within 72 hours, and a failure if you reach it after 84, after which the items inside be useless ] The administrator said, as a sealed box suddenly appeared in Rocky''s hands.


    [ Inside this box is something alive. So it cannot be stored within storage rings.


    You must carry it in person and shall potentially face the danger of wyverns attacking you constantly for its contents.


    Good luck adventurers! I hope you seed! ] The floor administrator said, as he started the 72 hours countdown.


    Immediately after the Floor Administrator''s presence receded, Rocky ced the sealed wooden box on the floor and began rubbing dirt and mud over it, as he tried to mask the scent of the box as best as he could.


    Although Rocky had no idea as for what was inside the box, since the Floor Administrator mentioned that it had the potential to attract the ire of wyverns, Rocky decided to cover it in mud, so that its natural scent got masked.


    Once he was satisfied with the results, Rocky instructed Buhara to ce the box in his backpack since he was physically carrying one. While Erin transferred some of the contents of Buhara''s backpack to his storage ring, to make sure that they were not forced to leave some food supplies behind.


    "Erin…. Locate Mordok vige on this floor''s map and draw the best path towards it with a line….


    we better start getting a move on since this is a time constraint quest" Rocky instructed, as Erin pulled out a map of the floor from his storage ring and began plotting the shortest and safest path towards their destination, which moved through several shadynd bridges and trekking paths which saw them having to travel several kilometers to cover a few hundred meters in discement.


    After about 15 minutes, Erin came up with a route that he felt was the best and presented it to Rocky, who proposed a few small changes to it and finalized their route.


    "If we walk non-stop, it should take us about 1.5 days to reach our destination. However, this is not including breaks, potential time wasted on fights or the possibility of having to take a detour.


    If we lose time for any reason, this mission may prove to be difficult toplete and hence we will take as little rest as possible during the first few hours of this journey just to get a little ahead of the schedule and have some breathing room" Rocky instructed, as everyone nodded in agreement to his words.


    "Rocky, I think the rest of us should be fine, but we may have to carry Buhara on our backs mid-way through the journey since our Orc friend may still be feeling a little wobbly in his legs" Kronos teased, as Buhara instantly protested his remarks.


    "Buhara is NOT feeling weak in his legs! Buhara is the strongest and fittest orc in Goruk-Tor.


    You insult Buhara by suggesting that he will need to be carried.


    Buhara can carry two of you on his back, with no problems" said Buhara, as he began marching ahead of the group with his arms crossed, as if to prove his point that he did not need any assistance.


    Chuckling, the group followed behind him, with Rocky and Kronos constantly monitoring the skies for any signs of potential threat.


    Everytime that the two of them saw any beasts flying above their heads, they clutched their swords anticipating an attack, however, at least for the first couple of hours of their journey, they suffered no attacks.