As Jenny trekked through the vast mountains and valleys of the fifteenth floor, her erratic breathing continued to worsen. Her face was flushed, while a certain, overpowering sense of fatigue settled in.
Sweat trickled down her skin, but was instantly frozen by the polar gusts that continuously assaulted her from all directions. Her eyelids drooped, and the urge to succumb arose in her chest.
Frost settled on eyelids, the only part of her body yet to be covered by clothing. A constant flow of mana prevented most colds from affecting Jenny, but such harsh winds could not be resisted through regular means.
"Flame," Jenny barely managed to utter, combusting the nearby oxygen to create a tiny spark of flame that levitated atop her palm. However, incapable of managing it, Jenny accidentally allowed the flame to be extinguished.
She tried yet again and was forced to expend a higher quantity of mana.
Once she finally succeeded in conjuring a flame, she hurriedly dropped her sack, retrieving the dry wood from within before entering a nearby cave. She trekked through the darkness for a few seconds.
Dropping the wood, she arranged it in the pattern appropriate to construct a bonfire. Then, hovering the flame over the kindling, Jenny allowed the flames to travel, igniting the wood. She then plopped down next to it, removing her gloves.
'Only a few more kilometers to go…' Jenny muttered internally, massaging her temples through the thick, wooly cloth that covered it. She was currently atop the peaks of Kunlun, the mountain range regarded for being the connection between Heaven and Earth.
The chilling colds were merely a tribulation one had to pass to enter the "Central City" of the fifteenth floor, Xuanpu.
Jenny had been preparing for this moment… The moment she arrived at Xuanpu, the residence of her late father, and the only memories she had of him. Xuanpu was a mythical paradise located atop the peaks of Kunlun.
If she could only reach there… Perhaps she could reunite with her father.
With that hope adding fuel to her flames of determination, Jenny continued. Once her body was warmed up, she extinguished the flames before slicing what was left of the kindling for future use.
She continued her trek, scaling several mountains. Each step may seem so small, yet it meant the world to her.
'Come to think of it, when Arthur arrives on the fifteenth floor, I have to tell him about my past,' Jenny muttered internally, recalling the promise she made several months ago. 'Although, before that, he will face something much more difficult.'
'A war revolving around him.'
'Several clans will be involved, all due to curiosity and the will to monopolize.'
She released a soft chuckle. 'I guess that can be considered a reward if he manages to survive throug such a calamity.'
Jenny continued to walk, and before long, she came face to face with a bear-like creature. The creature was massive, with a height of about three meters and a width of four meters. It possessed a thick, brown hide to shield itself from the harsh winters, and a pair of blood red eyes.
Frost seemed to coat its body, while its claws were as sharp as knives.
'A Novice Beast. 448 Beast Marks.'
A slight smirk appeared on Jenny's face, her palms itching uncontrollably. She unsheathed the sword which she bought when first entering the tower. A long, dark, sleek blade of her longsword escaped the leather sheathe, its tip pointing at the grizzly beast before it.
A growl escaped the bear's snout, its teeth jagged and rather unhygienic.
'So it doesn't have intelligence,' Jenny concluded, observing the beast. 'It seems like a middle-aged beast with an unknown affinity… probably earth. Also, its crimson eyes represent bloodthirst.'
'I've been meaning to try this out for a while,' Jenny muttered internally, smiling.
She rushed forward, prompting a response from the beast. Her steps were soft and seemed to leave no footprints, as if her body were as light as a feather. She left behind a emerald trail, which seemed to disappear soon after it formed.
Placing her weight onto her right foot, she conjured a vertical, levitating barrier, twirling her body sideways before utilizing the barrier as a foothold to burst towards the beast with maximum efficiency.
The barrier burst into particles before vanishing, leaving behind a puff of stale air.
The bear stood on its hind legs, releasing a deafening roar that seemed to shake the mountain range itself. A Beast was much different than a Devil, in the sense that the former was more inclined to the difficulties of the tower, rather than Hell.
Surviving was much easier in the tower, as there were fewer tribulations. That's why no matter the Beast Marks, a Beast was always weaker than a Devil due to those reasons.
Still, a beast with such power was said to be nearing the level of Elite Rankers and could wipe the floor with regular players rather easily.
Jenny gripped the hilt of her sword–Nightshade–with her left hand, swinging it outward while summoning a flame spell with her right hand. Nightshade collided with the bear's claw, creating shockwaves.
Jenny used those shockwaves as momentum, making her body weightless before utilizing the hook to burst upwards, twirling her body to where she was mid-air, upside down. Suddenly, a shower of flames fell upon the bear, drowning him in the voracious crackles of the effect of combustion.
The bear roared in pain, smashing the ground as the ground suddenly arose, forming a pillar before shooting towards Jenny.
The beast manipulated the snow, extinguishing Jenny's flames while preparing another attack, roaring yet again to display its sheer rage. Jenny's eyes widened, and she hurriedly sheathed her sword.
Extending her palm, she planned on resting her weight atop the pillar, as the tip seemed to be rather blunt.
However, noticing Jenny's plan, the bear suddenly sharpened the tip, placing Jenny in a precarious situation.
Jenny clenched her teeth, her eyes barely a meter away from the sharp tip of the earth pillar.
