Chapter 76 - Thirty-Second Floor (1)

The next day, Androssi was standing in front of a mirror in her room. She was wearing a golden dress with white light stripes that stuck to her body. Androssi did a few poses and checked herself out.

"I'm beautiful, right?" Androssi questioned herself and did a few more poses.

"Of course I am, he even said so!" Androssi exclaimed, but let out a sigh afterward. She removed the golden dress and threw it on a pile of other dresses on her bed.

Androssi was then left with only a pair of white pȧntɨės and a white bra. Her body was fit with the right amount of curves, making her exceptionally beautiful.

"My brėȧsts are big, so why doesn't he stare at them? Is there something wrong with them?" Androssi asked herself. She cupped her brėȧsts, which have grown noticeably larger and pushed them up.

Androssi looked down at her muscled and thin stomach and ċȧrėssed it with one of her hands. "I can't lose any more weight here. Otherwise, I would have to stop eating completely."

Androssi turned around and struck her bubble buŧŧ out. Her ȧss was fit and round, and any man would give their life away only to be able to touch it. "Is there something wrong with my ȧss?"

"Maybe he doesn't like my legs? Are they too short?" Androssi asked and looked down at her legs. They were fit and sėxy, and although she was only 1.67m tall, they were definitely not short.

"Is it the horn? Neither Yuri, Tiana, or Diana have one. It must be it!" Androssi touched the horn on the right side of her forehead. Before, she was able to hide it under her brown hair. However, during the past eight years, it had also grown a bit and was slightly sticking out.

"Should I ask for the horn to be removed as my reward for the next Test? GAH!" Androssi said, laid down on her bed, and covered her face with her hands. "What am I supposed to do?"

Meanwhile, Lumen was in the skeleton city with Boking and Rider.

"It's about time we leave and continue our climb." Lumen said, and Boking let out a sigh.

"I'm sad to see you leave, li... Rider, but if this is what you want, I won't try to stop you." Boking said.

"Don't be sad, Boking. I promise to come back in the future! I will tell you stories about all the creatures with skin that I will encounter!" Rider promised him.

"I will be waiting," Boking replied. It hurt him seeing the little one leave at such a young age. He was only two thousand years old and was still considered a child to the skeletons.

"Let's go." Lumen said to Rider, and a pair of flaming wings appeared on his back. Rider imitated him and created bone wings on his back. The two then flew up towards the Ghost Ship.

"This is so exciting!" Rider exclaimed. "I can't wait to watch over my new friends as they sleep!"

Lumen froze mid-flight when he heard that. "About that."

"What?" Rider asked.

"Um." Lumen thought for a moment on how to explain this.

"Women, those that have long hair and a bit more skin over here." Lumen pointed at his ċhėst. "They don't like it when others watch over them when they sleep. Unless they have given their permission."

"Okay! I will remember that." Rider said, and though. 'There is so much I have to learn about people with skin.'

"And also. Normally, only one person watches another as they sleep. For example, Tiana, the purple-haired woman, watches me when I sleep, and I watch her." Lumen told him.

"So you and Tiana are especially good friends and watch over each other?" Rider asked.

"Exactly." Lumen answered with a chuckle.

"Got it!" Rider replied.

"The rest would love to be watched over by you." Lumen told him with a laugh.

"Yay! I can't wait! I'm going to be the best friend I could be!" Rider exclaimed.

"I'm sure you will." Lumen replied as the two entered the Ghost Ship.

Once they entered the Suspendship, the Ghost Ship was teleported outside of Bonerakard's domain.

"I hope the little one will be fine," Boking said to the Guardian.

"Do not worry about his safety. Very few people could harm him." Bonerakard replied.

"I know," Boking replied and looked towards the massive bone tree that Bonerakard was perched on. The bone tree came out of the poisonous sea, and at the bottom, bone roots were entangled around an amber-colored sphere, which was slowly pulsating.

The orb would have looked like one of the most valuable jewels one could find if it wasn't missing a part of it. It looked like someone had cleanly chopped a part of it with a blade.

"But I can't help but worry about him. He is so young, after all." Boking said as he watched the Ghost Ship disappear from Bonerakard's domain.

Once the Suspendship was outside the Guardian's domain, Lumen messaged Agnis.

[We are ready to leave. Come to the Ghost Ship, I'm sending you the coordinates.]

Everyone from Agnis's team boarded his smaller Suspendship, and it flew towards the Ghost Ship. Hwa Ryung was also with them, but she didn't take the Test with them. Unlike Merrie, she didn't have an official position on their team. Hwa Ryung was only their Guide and nothing more.

Lumen and the rest greeted them, but they were surprised seeing Rider with them.

"Who or what is that?" Agnis asked in wonder. He had never seen such a life form before.

"Hi! My name is Rider, and I'm Lumen's friend!" The skeleton proudly declared and thought to himself. 'Okay, let's do this right.'

Rider then slowly started circling around them. He had an earnest expression on his face while doing it. Well, as earnest as a bony skull can make.

Agnis's team was looking at Rider in confusion, and they were wondering. 'What the hell is this skeleton doing?'

Lumen and his team couldn't resist laughing. Rider was very funny when trying to make friends.

[What is happening?] Agnis asked Lumen on his Pocket.

[He's trying to befriend you. Just play along and ask him to become your friend.] Lumen replied.

"Um, Rider. Do you want to become our friend?" Agnis asked the skeleton, and his group looked at him in confusion.

[Just play along.] Agnis informed them on their Pockets.

"YES! I made new friends!" Rider exclaimed and ran over to Lumen. "Did I do good?"

"Yes, you did." Lumen replied with a laugh.

"I'm getting better at making friends!" Rider happily stated.

"We will stay here for a few more days, get you guys some extra practice, and we will advance onto the 32nd Floor afterward. Follow me to the training room." Lumen informed Agnis's group.

"Got it." They replied and walked after him.

Hwa Ryun, on the other hand, walked up to Merrie. "It's good to see you."

"You too! How have you been?" Merrie asked her as the two made their way towards the dining room.

During the night, Novick was peacefully sleeping in his room when he woke up, feeling a bit thirsty. He opened his eyes only to be greeted by an amber-colored skull staring at him.

"Hiii!" Rider exclaimed, and Novick stood up in a panic.

"What are you doing here?" Novick asked.

"I'm watching you sleep! That's what friends do, right?" Rider replied to him.

'I'm only dreaming, and this is not actually happening. I will drink some water, go back to sleep, and the creepy skeleton will be gone in the morning.' Novick thought to himself. He grabbed a bottle of water, drank it one go, and tucked himself in his bed.

The night passed, and Novick woke up in the morning.

"Hiii!" Rider happily greeted him.

'Damn it! It wasn't a nightmare!' Novick cursed and quickly got up. He put some clothes and exited his room while trying to ignore the creepy skeleton.

"How did you sleep?" Rider asked. "We skeleton don't have to sleep, so I wonder how does it feel? Like, do you stop functioning for half a day or what?"

"..." Novick continued walking without responding.

"Hellooo? Novick, answer me." Rider said.

"It's too early in the morning for me to answer questions. My brain still can't process what's happening." Novick replied.

"I see. So you do stop function for half a day, and then you even have trouble functioning after you stop sleeping. Lumen was right. We skeletons are a lot more special than people with skin." Rider stated.

Novick didn't respond and silently walked to the dining room with the skeleton following after him. Wangnan and Ran were already having their breakfast, so he made his way to their table.

"Morning, Novick." Wangnan greeted him and asked. "Why is Rider following after you?"

"Because..." Novick was about to tell them what happened but decided against that. "Because we are friends, right, Rider?"

"We sure are!" Rider confirmed.

"And they are also your friends, right?" Novick asked.

"Yes!" Rider confirmed once more, and Novick evilly smiled.

The next few days passed, and almost all the men on the Ghost Ship got to experience waking up to Rider's amber-colored skull.

"We are moving onto the next Floor." Lumen told them, and the Suspendship flew upwards.

The sky opened up, and the Ghost Ship advanced onto the 32nd Floor. The Suspendship passed through a Shinsoo sea, and an orange sky greeted the group.

Agnis's group and Hwa Ryung boarded the smaller Suspendship and flew out of the Ghost Ship, making their way towards an island on the Floor.

While Lumen made his Pocket visible and stated. "Contract with the Guardian."

Unlike the previous time, the entire Ghost Ship was straight up teleported with him to the Guardian's domain. A gigantic orb made of sand, which was continually moving, greeted them. The Guardian had a red jewel, which resembled an eye, and stared at the Ghost Ship with it.

"I've been expecting you, Challenger." The Guardian's voice boomed around them. Since he learned from Bonerakard that someone is taking on the special Tests, he had directly transported the Ghost Ship to his domain.

"Welcome to my domain, the Endless Desert. My name is Ret-Yodha, but you can call me Ret." Wherever the group looked, all they could see was sand, sand, and more sand. From time to time, they will see a massive tumbleweed, made of sharp objects, tumbling throughout the desert.

"I presume those are your teammates, who will be taking the normal Test from me." The Guardian observed his group, when his eye landed on Rider, the red jewel physically widened in surprise.

'Bonerakard actually did it? I can't believe that used a part of his core to create a creature. I know he creates all of his skeletons using his body, but isn't this too much?' Ret thought.

"What kind of skin is that?" Rider asked while watching Ret.

"That's not skin. That's sand, Rider." Lumen answered him.

"Ohhh! So does that make him special?" Rider questioned in wonder.

"Yes, yes, it does." Lumen answered with a laugh.

"The skeleton can't take the Test with them!" Ret stated.

"It's fine since he is my partner." Lumen replied.

"I can't allow him taking the Test with you as well," Ret said.

"It's okay! I just want to see more creatures that aren't made of bones." Rider stated.

"I have already prepared your special Test, Challenger," Ret told Lumen and looked towards Androssi. "But, I will need to know what you dėsɨrė before I can choose yours."

"I want an ability similar to Lumen's light powers!" Androssi instantly replied, and he turned his arm into light to demonstrate.

"Hmm. I can give you a sand quality, which will allow you to turn your body into sand." Ret replied.

"Uhg. I will pass on that." Androssi sadly replied. It seems she didn't have any luck with this Floor as well.

"That's your loss. I can sense your Shinsoo quality is an orb. I can enhance it as a reward, but the Test won't be easy." Ret stated.

"I'm fine with that," Androssi replied to him.

"And what about the others?" Ret asked.

"An increase in the amount of Shinsoo they can control." Lumen answered him.

"A fine choice. I can sense their Shinsoo limit has already been increased once. I presume that's their reward from the Test given by Bonerakard." Ret replied.

"Either way, I have decided on their Test as well. Prepare yourselves, for both Tests won't be easy." Ret declared.