Chapter 52 (LII) The Sixth Floor

"I knew you were holding out on me!" Victor laughed, reaching into his pocket, pulling out a device, and pressing it against Jackson's Climber Case as it automatically deducted the 100,000 credits from his balance, "There's no way a newbie would have this much money. How'd you get it?" Victor mused, staring at the display screen.

"Where's the portal?" Jackson asked coldly, ignoring The Jackal's jabs, trying to remain calm.

"You're no fun!" Victor laughed again, sliding a folded piece of paper on it, "It's in the basement of this building." Pointing behind him as he stared at the young man before pointing toward the note, "They'll show you where the elevator is. That's the code for the elevator."

Jackson reached forward, grabbing the paper, when The Jackal's hand slapped the table, "That's a nice shop you have in Duskgate, I'll send one of my men over there when I need to speak with you."

Jackson's eyes narrowed as they filled with rage as Victor laughed once more and removed his hand, laughing as the younger man stood and turned to leave.

The two men followed him down the stairs and through the apartment complex before stopping at an intersection and pointed down a hallway with the elevator at the end before he left and returned to the inn alone.

He grabbed a meal and drink from the bar and headed for his room, where he sat on the bed, calling forth Khione. The kitten appeared instantly and jumped onto his lap, purring loudly, her furry body curling into a ball in his lap as he stroked her softly.

"Time to finally leave for the sixth floor..." Jackson muttered under his breath, gazing out of the window at the night sky before carefully placing Khione on a pillow, "Stay here, I'll be back soon."

Khione gave him a sleepy-eyed glance, mewing softly before closing her eyes and falling asleep. He put on his shoes and left the inn, returning to Duskgate.

***

The following day, Jackson awoke with Khione asleep on his head, cuddled against his pillow. Dawn was just breaking over Ilasa Port, the sun's rays shining through the window, illuminating the small bedroom.

"How does anyone ever get used to this time dilation?" He yawned, rubbing his eyes. When he returned to Duskgate last night, the sun was just rising and up when he returned to the pitch darkness of the night of Ilasa Port.

He would be gone for a long time and needed to make sure that everyone had their tasks and goals, and preparations to set in motion for when he would next be able to return to Duskgate.

"Mew!!" The kitten stirred, then jumped off his head and hopped onto the bed, stretching and yawning as she woke up. She stretched again, arching her back and opening her wings, flapping them rapidly.

Jackson chuckled, rubbing the back of her neck gently, "Good morning to you too!"

He got up and walked to the bathroom, where he took a quick shower and washed his hair. Once he was done, he returned Khione to his body before getting dressed and went downstairs to the dining room, where he ate the complimentary breakfast and checked out at the front desk.

He only had one thought on his mind as he returned to the apartments from the day before, entering and walking through the long hallways before locating the elevator. He approached, opened the note Victor gave him, and entered the code onto the keypad.

The doors slid open, and he stepped inside. He pressed the only button on the panel and waited patiently as the elevator descended deep underneath Ilasa Port. The floors were made of metal and could withstand a lot of weight.

"How did Climbers even build all this..?" Jackson muttered to himself as he looked around the interior of the elevator. After several minutes, it stopped, and the doors opened, revealing a long, dimly lit corridor. The walls were lined with torches, giving the place a rather eerie atmosphere.

"Hello? Anyone here?" Jackson called, looking around the area. There was no response, so he continued deeper into the tunnel, which eventually came to an end.

The wall ahead of him slowly rose, becoming a large door covered with runes. The entire surface glowed faintly as he approached; stepping through the frame, a notification appeared in front of him:

[Modified Challenge Completed!]

[You've located The Syndicate and peeked behind the curtains of the three major powers at play within God's Towers! Keep your friends close and your enemies closer as you continue to climb The Tower! Hopefully, you've learned a lesson or two and are better prepared for the floors ahead...]

[Reward: 5/10 Modified Challenges Completed! Complete all ten to receive the reward!]

Jackson dismissed the windows and stepped into the dark room, the only illumination coming from the rotating yellow portal in the center of the room. It spun quickly, emitting a bright light that pulsated, increasing and decreasing the amount of light giving off.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, preparing himself for the next floor before he opened them and stepped through, reaching the next floor as he arrived on a massive island with large beaches along the coast and a gigantic jungle covering the rest of the sixth floor.

Jackson looked around the beach, taking a few steps away from the portal, when a voice boomed from above, causing him to jump slightly.

"About time you made it! I was starting to get a little bored with you!" Elissa joked, floating on her stomach behind him in the air as she rested her chin against her hands and kicked her feet back and forth above her.

"I'm not here for your amusement." Jackson replied, turning back toward the jungle and ignoring the Floor Guardian.

"I mean... Technically you are!" Elissa laughed, rolling through the air as she clutched her stomach before floating down next to him, "Anyways, why didn't you just kill The Jackal and go through the portal? You didn't need to waste your time doing all that tedious stuff!"

"Where's my challenge?" Jackson asked, annoyed, walking casually through the jungle as she floated alongside him.

"It's being prepared! You'll receive it soon enough! I'm not here for that! The other Guardians and I were quite impressed by that little Exhibition Match you humans cooked together! It was quite the spectacle and since we all enjoyed ourselves so much, we got you something!" Elissa explained excitedly as they passed through a thicket of trees.