“That tone won’t fool me, Tabitha… I know the Tsukonomi is also the dungeon… Jack and Mack created this whole camp with their Abilities and Mack’s ability is what could have created this whole dungeon,” Gustav explained.
Tabitha had a look of shock on his face again as Gustav explained everything. Calling it the original name, Tsukonomi was how he intended to confuse Gustav but he didn’t expect that not only would Gustav figure it out but he would also know the exact person among the duo who created this particular space within the camp.
“…CORRECT,” Tabitha voiced out with a tone of defeat.
A smirk appeared on Gustav’s face after hearing that.
“YOU HAVE ANSWERED ALL THREE QUESTIONS COMPLETELY SO I HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO GIVE YOU ACCESS TO THE NEXT FLOOR…” Tabitha voiced out and paused briefly.
Thhiizzzzhhhhhhhhh~
A bright door-sized opening suddenly appeared by the side. It glazed with light which made it obvious that it was a spatial gateway.
It seemed the next floor led to a different dimension or space.
“…BUT KID… I ADVISE YOU NOT TO GO INTO THAT LAST FLOOR BECAUSE WHAT IS DOWN THERE WILL END YOU,” Tabitha said with a strong tone of warning.
“Hmm? What is down there?” Gustav asked.
p-a- n-d-a-n-0-v-e-l、(c)om “I AM NOT ALLOWED TO SAY BUT ONLY THE RIGHT ONE CAN GO IN AND SURVIVE… ANY OTHER PERSON WILL DIE! YOU’RE A TALENTED KID, DON’T WASTE YOUR LIFE LIKE THIS,” Tabitha advised once more.
“Hmm, interesting… Thank you but I’ll have to see for myself,” Gustav voiced out as he slowly walked towards the spatial door while he squinted his eyes with a serious look.
Tabitha sighed as he watched Gustav walk towards the opening. He already knew Gustav was a hard-headed kid since they began speaking so he kind of expected this.
He could only hope Gustav would be okay.
As Gustav arrived at the opening, another opening appeared far behind this large space.
Commander Cilia and the guards were arriving at the same time and spotted Gustav walking into the opening from thousands of feet away.
“Stop him! Tabitha stop him!” She yelled out as she sped forward as quickly as she could.
Tabitha spotted them also at this time but it was all too late. In the next instant, Gustav walked into the opening and it disappeared before Commander Cilia could arrive at the altar area.
Bam!
She landed in front of Tabitha and looked up at him.
“Why did you let him go in!?” She voiced out with an immense look of worry.
“HE ANSWERED THE THREE QUESTIONS CORRECTLY,” Tabitha answered truthfully.
“What? Show me footage of the last thirty minutes,” Commander Cilia commanded with a look of disbelief.
“HMPH! AS YOU WISH,” Tabitha sounded disgruntled as he responded.
A small square-shaped cloudy screen appeared in front of her which displayed the footage of Gustav’s arrival on this floor all by himself.
Commander Cilia’s eyes widened as she finally saw his facial and body features properly.
“Gustav..? He cleared all those floors by himself?” She couldn’t believe what she was seeing.
Due to this footage, it was obvious that Gustav had been the one clearing the floors, not the so-called unidentified group they initially thought it was.
Commander Cilia was astonished but at the same time even more worried than before after figuring out it was Gustav.
“That is the most talented Cadet in the entire camp and you just sent him off to die,” Commander Cilia said with a look of disappointment.
“THAT KID? HMM, I KNEW HE WAS SPECIAL,” Tabitha voiced out with a slightly regretful tone.
“I HAD NO CHOICE, HE ANSWERED ALL THREE QUESTIONS CORRECTLY. HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO EXPECT THAT THE BEST YOUNGSTER UNDER YOUR TUTELAGE WOULD SUDDENLY APPEAR HERE AND RENDER MY HUNDREDS OF YEARS OF KNOWLEDGE ACQUIRED, USELESS! I TRIED BUT I WASN’T ABLE TO PREVENT HIM FROM HEADING TO THE NEXT LEVEL,” Tabitha added.
“Open the gateway to the last level. I’m going in to save him,” Commander Cilia commanded.
“I CAN NOT DO THAT! YOU VERY WELL KNOW THE RULES,” Tabitha replied while shaking his head.
“Try! we can’t lose such an important asset to the future of the MBO,” Commander Cilia had never looked so frustrated as she voiced out.
“IT IS IMPOSSIBLE UNLESS HE WALKS OUT HIMSELF,” Tabitha voiced out once more.
This was something Commander Cilia already knew but the situation was dire. How was she going to explain what happened to the higher-ups when Gustav was well known not just to them but to the whole world as well.
“YOU MENTIONED HE IS THE MOST TALENTED… WHO KNOWS, THE KID MIGHT SURPRISE US. WE HAVE NO CHOICE BUT TO BE HOPEFUL,” Tabitha stated.
Meanwhile, it was already circulating across camp that a group had managed to break the record and passed the 42nd floor so cadets were gathering at the dungeon from all across camp.
No one wanted to miss out on the revelation of this group.
–
Gustav found himself underneath a clear-looking sky after passing through the gateway. He looked back at the disappearing passageway with a slightly bothered expression.
“Who was that?” He voiced out after the passageway disappeared.
He had felt a presence appear and he also faintly heard a voice while he was walking through the spatial passageway. Gustav decided not to think much of it and looked forward at this space he had appeared in.
“Looks like I’m no longer underground… The last floor exists in a separate dimension?” Gustav was a bit surprised seeing this.
No rocky underground walls or weird structural setting suited whatever creature he would have to battle. Instead what he could see here was a large and finite space underneath a bright sky.
The first thing that would draw anyone’s attention upon getting here, was the multicolored square-shaped figure in the distance.
It looked like a glowing slanted square with two smaller slanted squares of different sizes within. Vermilion, Lilac, and the smallest slanted circle within, Amaranth.
This made it look like one was staring at glowing steps that led deeper into an unknown circle.
‘What is that thing?’ Gustav thought as he slowly walked forward.
