That night, many players were resting while warming themselves by the fire. Ethan turned his head and clearly saw that Leon had fallen asleep, snoring softly.

It wasn't just Leon. Many other players on the open field had also fallen asleep, with at least one person staying awake in each group.

There were seven campfires in total—meaning seven teams and seven people on watch. Ethan was one of those who stayed awake.

While sipping a warm drink from his wooden cup, Ethan opened his personal system panel.

He looked through his stats—attributes, base ATK, skills, even his soul servant, crystal spirit, and pet. If there was anything he could allocate or adjust, he would do it.

"Can I have some of your drink? I'm getting a little bored."

A man from a nearby team walked up to him, asking for a small favor. Ethan turned to look at him. The man smiled, showing no signs of aggression.

To Ethan, there was no harm in sharing a drink. Having someone to talk to through the night was more than enough company.

He pulled another wooden cup from his inventory and handed it to the man. Ethan poured some beer from the bottle for him.

"I'm Ulrich," the man said, introducing himself.

"I'm Ethan," Ethan replied.

"Using your real name as your username, huh? That's pretty bold," Ulrich said.

"Not many people know me anyway. Why be so mysterious?"

"Haha! You've got a point."

Without revealing his guild or level, Ulrich told him that he and his team had explored the eastern area.

Ethan listened closely—maybe he could pick up some useful information.

"So, no floor boss found?" Ethan asked. Ulrich shook his head.

"From what I've heard, the floor boss might be in the north or northwest," Ulrich said.

Ethan nodded. That made sense. Since both the western and eastern areas showed no signs of the boss, the north or northwest seemed most likely.

They didn't just talk about that. Their conversation drifted to lighter topics, without mentioning their guilds or personal details.

Ethan enjoyed the talk; Ulrich seemed to know what information could and couldn't be shared.

While they were chatting, Ulrich looked to the side and saw one of his teammates waking up in the middle of the night.

She always had trouble sleeping outdoors—lying on grass with only the campfire's warmth.

"Silva? You're awake again?" Ulrich asked. Ethan saw the woman named Silva walk toward their campfire.

"Hmm... I couldn't sleep well."

"The inn's full. We didn't have another choice," Ulrich said.

Ethan offered her a drink, and Silva smiled in thanks. She took out her cup and held it forward.

"So, it's just you and your friend, Ethan?" Silva asked. Ethan nodded while taking a sip.

"Not many parties run with only two members. You two must be quite reliable."

"Thanks. I just try to clear tower raids as efficiently as I can," Ethan said.

Silva smiled as Ethan and Ulrich went back to chatting. From time to time, she glanced at Ethan's face—he was rather handsome, at least more so than the men in her party.

They talked late into the night. Eventually, Ethan was the last one awake. Ulrich had passed out drunk, and Silva was half asleep.

As time passed, morning arrived. Ethan prepared breakfast for himself and Leon. Luckily, nothing had happened during the night, so he didn't have to stay on high alert.

Before long, Leon woke up. He saw Ethan sitting cross-legged in front of the campfire, roasting corn and meat for breakfast.

"You didn't sleep?" Leon asked. Ethan shook his head.

"It's too risky to sleep. We never know what kind of people might try to harm us," Ethan said.

Leon nodded. They ate their breakfast, put out the campfire, and joined the other teams preparing for a new day of exploration.

Since Ethan and the others had already explored the western area, he planned to head north this time.

If he was lucky, he might find the floor boss and challenge it directly.

Ulrich's team said their goodbyes. Ulrich and Silva thanked Ethan for keeping them company through the night, and Ethan said he didn't mind.

Ethan and Leon made their way to the west gate of the village, where they waited for Megan's team to arrive so they could explore together.

Leon turned his head and saw Megan and her teammates stepping out of the inn, looking refreshed and energized. Ethan turned around to see them too.

So they did get rooms at the inn.

"Where did you guys sleep?" Megan asked as she reached Leon.

Leon explained everything. Megan nodded in understanding—it couldn't be helped, since there was only one inn in the village.

"So, where are we heading?" Megan asked.

"I heard the floor boss might be in the north or northwest. We'll go there," Leon replied.

"North, huh? About time we checked that out."

"Let's go."

Leon and Megan started walking, leading their second expedition since arriving on the first floor of the Tower.

Ethan followed behind Leon, keeping watch over their surroundings.

As they moved along the northern path, they stopped when a group of Fire Horn Kobolds blocked the road.

There were seven of them, but Megan was confident her team could handle it.

Leon joined in to help—but Ethan didn't. He believed they could handle the kobolds just fine without him.

The battle began. Leon and Megan's team fought the monsters, coordinating their attacks and supporting one another.

Ethan stayed behind, observing. If something went wrong, he was ready to step in and save them.

After about thirty minutes, they managed to defeat the kobolds. The monsters' higher levels had worn them out, and some of Megan's teammates began looking at Ethan with irritation.

"You didn't help us. What's wrong with you?" one man said, pointing at Ethan.

"Yeah, you just stood there like a coward," another added.

"If I joined in and used my skills, you wouldn't have gotten any rewards," Ethan said flatly.

"You—!" the man shouted, angry.

Leon and Megan quickly stepped between them to calm things down.

"Relax. I'm sure Ethan has a reason for holding back. Don't judge him so quickly," Megan said, trying to reason with them.

"If he won't help, what's the point of this party? We might as well go on our own," another man said.

Ethan narrowed his eyes. Losing Megan's team wouldn't be a loss to him anyway.

For kobolds like these, he could easily take them down alone.

Leon approached Ethan, asking him to take things more seriously for this exploration. Ethan sighed quietly.

"Of course. I just didn't want to show my strength in front of them."

"Just show it. It's fine. They'll be amazed once they see what you can do. I'm sure of it," Leon whispered.

"I'll show them when we meet the floor boss."

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