When the elf had talked about special floors, Liam thought of many scenarios but this was one thing that he did not consider. Standing around him on this special floor were not numerous monsters but other people. If he was not wrong, other trial takers!
They had been whisked away from that creepy floor directly to a PVP round!
More importantly, deaths in this round can mean real deaths and not fake deaths like on the rest of the floors of the Spire. This was one of the more brutal trials of the Spire.
"Why are we here now?" Liam frowned. This kind of trial was only supposed to happen after the fifth segment which was considered the first major hurdle of the Spire. This was also why he never thought that they would be encountering a PVP floor any time soon.
Liam had never wanted anyone in his group to participate in this death trap. He was confident that none of them would cross the fifth segment so he did not worry about a situation or plan for it.
Until now a small part of him hoped that Rey would still be somehow hanging on but now he genuinely hoped that he had flunked out on one of the previous floors.
"Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Me and my accursed mouth." Standing next to him, Eldrin was chewing on his nails like there was no tomorrow. He had only jokingly mentioned that they would be fine as long as they didn't have a PVP trial but to his dismay, his words had immediately come true.
The elf's lament made Liam frown further. The only consolation was that Madan and Lan Deming had also appeared right next to him. However, Rey and Dante were still missing.
"Boss bro, what the hell is that elf talking about?" Madan had a bad feeling as he looked around nervously. Lan Deming was also on high alert. Everyone could instantly feel that something was amiss. The environment around them right now was simply too different. It was almost as if they were standing in the middle of a battleground.
To further solidify this feeling, an intense danger alarm blanketed the group. It was killing intent pouring onto them from all directions.
Sensing that even a moment of weakness could mean death sentence for the group, Liam acted quickly. His first reaction was to check his mana pathways and his heart fruit. The core was not locked for this floor.
This could be good or bad.
Liam continued investigating. Luna and the other tamed beasts were absent. So was his spatial ring. Thankfully, his weapon and the soul armor he had gained at the first checkpoint was still present.
Liam knew that their chances could have been better if all the items he had in his possession were currently available to them for use. But then again, that meant the others would have access to the same things. This sort of handicap might actually be a good thing for them.
Who entered the Spire?
Talented awakened beings from different parts of the myriad realms entered the Spire to push themselves and hone their foundation and skills. Just because they were beggars, hailing from a newly integrated world, did not mean that everyone else here was also in the same boat.
Many of the groups could be from established empires and aristocratic ancient families and clans who possessed millions of years of backing or perhaps even more. The items these people might possess could be at a completely different level when compared to what they have access to. Even in Tirnanog, Liam was only able to loot the insignificant elven guards who had entered the forbidden territory to scout ahead along with a few elites from the branch families. He still hadn't butted heads with any actual elites of these powerful families from the myriad realms and he had no intention of doing that any time soon. However, things were already set on a collision course and it was no longer in his hands to avoid conflict. They were already running out of time. Liam's mind raced as a dense fog started enveloping the area, obscuring their vision. The fog thickened rapidly, almost unnaturally. It was clear that this was not an effect of the environment. The trial had begun and someone had already targeted them!
"Stay close and be ready for anything," Liam instructed his group, his eyes scanning the fog for any signs of movement or danger. The eerie silence was unsettling, and he knew better than to let his guard down.
The next second a sort of weakness engulfed everyone. Several cuts even appeared on Madan's and Lan Deming's bodies.
"Our health is draining!" Eldrin swore as he looked around. He also unleashed several attacks to clear the fog but it was of no use. The fog was ever present and more dot damage started appearing on the group members.
"Damn it. My health is quickly draining. Why couldn't one of you be a healer?" Eldrin hurriedly tried to cast some sort of healing spell on himself and when everyone stared at him, he started casting the same spell on others as well.
But the problem was far from resolved. The dot damage was very concerning.
However, when the group looked at their leader, he still remained unmoving. Liam found himself wondering if he should even make a move or not. This was because while the fog might be worrying, there were other more troubling matters at play.
They had all been teleported to a densely packed battleground. Making unnecessary flashy moves might attract more attention to themselves. If he had understood it correctly, this floor of the Spire was a trial by elimination.
This meant that they didn't have to win anything. They did not even have to do anything. All they needed to do was survive. Survive until the required number of participants dies and they might just be able to walk off scot free.