"Ugh can't you two lay low for one damned floor?"

'X' grunted and retreated away from the sea of fire. He teleported hundreds of meters away and clicked his tongue, unhappy that he got forced out of a good spot, nevertheless, he didn't interfere in their fight and quickly resumed the hunt.

Ber Von Xin remained rooted in his spot, uncaring about the fire which did touch him but did close to no damage. He was admiring the fire bird stretching its beautiful and wide wings while releasing a wild screech which shook the whole forest.

The Divine Beast dived from the sky, flying directly at a pink-haired woman who counter-attacked using Earth. Using Lava against the Vermilion Bird's fire is a waste of Mana as it's vulnerable against special kinds of fire, still, Lucy managed to properly defend herself by raising a thick and tall wall that momentarily stopped the incoming beast.

A minuscule human and a massive bird clashed with each other but it ended up with Lucy being flung in the air then hit with an absurdly big flame tornado which turned the whole area into ashes. Arthur purposely made it this big and devastating so that the rabbits are 'caught' instantly.

In just a minute or so, the damage he did was enough for Lucy to reach more than half of the quota and force the other contestants out of the area. No one wanted to meddle into their affairs and very few had ample time to watch this flashy spectacle.

After staring at Arthur for ten or so seconds, Xyktia became uninterested. Her figure turned invisible and her steps became soundless as she merged with the environment and wandered the forest, not particularly in a hurry to reach the given number.

In the end, everything proceeded smoothly and as planned for the couple. Lucy caught the necessary rabbits and after a confirmation from the red tower, both the specter and the parasite were teleported to the next floor, however, right after they went up, another more brutal fight broke out.

It wasn't as destructive as what Arthur did, nevertheless, the two parties were top powerhouses and very famous in their Universe. It all began when Hach'ara stole a couple of rabbits from Maxine, which triggered the high-leveled player.

Even after half an hour, they were still going at it with the insect and poison master having a clear advantage. Even after chugging numerous potions to negate the dreadful poison of Hach'ara, Max was still unable to completely resist it and was ended continuously being attacked when her senses when weakened.

The ugly-looking old man never got close and controlled his various sized insects to hinder the relentless woman, who swung her sword around, unleashing one blast after another, killing hundreds of those small creatures at once.

*****

Unlike most of the mysterious floors of the Red Tower, the 7th floor was publicly known. Of course, they didn't know how the world looked but what's sure is that it's a battle royal to decrease the number of remaining participants.

Only a hundred people were needed from the 8th floor onwards so the goal of the 7th floor was to eliminate the extra ones. It is bound to be a bloody and difficult battle as not one of the contestants is considered weak and everyone will probably fight seriously.

As they were still in a party, both Arthur and Lucy appeared near each other and, like all the rest have arrived before them, the tower briefly explained what the 7th floor is all about.

It is called 'The Art of Stealing and the Beauty of Murder' and it was indeed a battle royal. Each contestant would have a small flag on their body and if you manage to steal someone else's flag, you get 25,000 points. If you kill another person without taking their flag, you get 5,000 points, and if you steal the flag of someone who has more than one, the value of each flag in his possession will be increased depending on the number of flags.

For example, you steal from someone who has two flags then you'll get 100,000 points, each gives 50,000, and if you steal from one who has three then you'll get 75,000 points for each flag.

In addition, the floor was kind of a massive chest board with white and black areas, each one has a width and length of 20m. When a player is on the black area, the number of flags in his possession will be shown above their head and his stats or cultivation will be increased by 20%, however, when they are on the white area, the number of flags will be hidden, including their own and they'll get no buffs whatsoever.

Basically, standing on the black areas is risky but advantageous, especially if you've stolen a considerable number of flags. The 'game' was complicated but the rewards are generous and with enough points, one can buy really good items from the Luxury Shop.

When only 100 participants remain, everything will end and they will be teleported to the 8th floor. Although not everyone completed the quota on the 6th floor, it didn't stop the event from starting, putting Arthur and Lucy in danger.

There appeared small white flags on their chest, near their heart, and since they were standing black area, their flags were openly shown. Before the couple could talk or think of a strategy, an invisible figure materialized behind Arthur.

It was the thief from Maxine's party, he was aiming at Arthur, precisely the back of his neck. He didn't want to kill him but stun him so that stealing the flag becomes easier. Right before the dagger could hit Arthur, the latter clicked his tongue and mumbled

"It's about time you're thrown out."

The parasite snorted and activated his Time ability, dramatically slowing down the thief's movements and rendering him defenseless.

******

"Teacher, why is the name of the floor so strange?"

The Joker chuckled and replied:

"It's the name of an old book I've read. I actually met the author too."

Saly pondered for a moment before asking again:

"So just because you read the book you created a floor for him?"

"Hahaha of course not! I've met that man. He was the best thief that has ever existed."

His hand, which was empty, was now holding a card sideways while grinning at his young student.

Saly curiously stretched her hand and snatched the card. When she looked at it, she saw nothing but a white flag, visually unimpressive.

"He was fond of flags and when stealing, his targets are always random. He would distribute the flags in an unorthodox way and the ones who got a white one got robbed. The few unlucky ones who received a red flag were killed too. I found his method quite interesting and overall, he wasn't a bad person… if you exclude his psychopathic actions."

"Ehmmm so why did you create this floor?"-Saly

"Each floor has a meaning for one or many people. This one is about Trickery and is perfect to see who's a good thief amongst those participants, who consider themselves noble and even righteous."