The thief who planned to sneak-attack Arthur using his Stealth didn't know that the parasite's Sixth Sense is constantly active and warns him of any incoming danger. Unless it's an opponent that can attack as fast as the rabbit on the 6th floor then Arthur will definitely react in time. His Agility is way above his peers and, only the ones who broke through the physical limit or using a skill or a technique that greatly boost speed can match him.

The thief did two things that were wrong, first, he attacked someone whose perception of the surrounding is very sharp, and, second, he engaged in a battle alone while being a squishy thief. With no one of important around, Lucy didn't need to hold back, especially after seeing some aiming for Arthur. Just as the thief's movements were slowed by the Time skill, Lucy quickly spun and kicked the poor assailant.

Her leg struck the side of his abdomen, sending him flying like a kite, however, before he could stabilize his body, his ankle was grabbed by an irritated Arthur, who smashed his body on the ground, breaking many bones in the process.

By now, the only thing the thief could do was groan as he tried to reach into his pocket to retrieve something but a sudden burst of Dark Magic invaded his body and forcefully stopped all his body functions rendering him paralyzed.

The parasite crouched next to the wide-eyed thief, who didn't expect it to go this bad, and said:

"We've got no enmity so when you attack me once because of the task given by the tower, I don't really mind but…" He took a deep breath and leaned closer, his eyes flashing with a cold glint: "Your persistent attacks on every floor are getting annoying. I've got enough things to handle right now so your childish attacks are really no fun."

Arthur's hand snatched a white flag from under the thief's clothes then he gripped his throat, about to kill him. The competition was never a fair one to begin with and keeping him alive would only complicate things later when he leaves the tower.

Just as Arthur was about to snap the thief's neck, a powerful Mana explosion came from out of nowhere and was about to hit him only for it to clash with a wall of golden flames. The flames completely blocked the Mana combustion and protected both Arthur and its caster, Lucy.

Dozens of meters away, there stood a robbed young mage with his staff out and ready to attack again.

"Stop!"

Tula was not a talkative person but when he saw his teammate half-dead, he was forced to open his mouth. Surprisingly, Arthur listened to the youngster as he stood up and lifted the weakened thief in the air.

The parasite stared back at the distressed Tula, who didn't dare attack again for fear of losing his friend.

"Spare him and we will leave the tower."

"Spare him? Don't you think your request is absurd."

The mage raised threw his staff on the ground and raised his hands. He had a distressed expression and didn't dare try anything sneaky lest Arthur does something heinous.

"I'll give you my flag and we'll use the Escape Ticket. There's no need to bloodshed."

Slowly, Tula marched toward the couple, his eyes leaving the thief suspended mid-air. When he got within a meter of Lucy, she pointed her index at his chest and released a blue beam which made him stop his walk. A freezing energy invaded his body and wrapped around his heart, making the young man cough some blood.

"Try anything and you're dead."

With a pale face, Tula nodded his head then glanced at the expressionless Arthur.

"Like you said, we share no enmity so please let it remain as so. We'll forget about all that happened here and won't cross paths again, hopefully."

Just as said that, a loud and unpleasant shout came from the side. A short figure engulfed in raging flames shot at Lucy, aiming at Arthur. It was the axe-wielding dwarf whom Arthur faced on the lower floor.

He didn't aim at Arthur but just wanted to separated the latter from the thief in order to save his comrade. Tula was about to stop him but a swift figure lunged at the incoming dwarf, stopping his crazy charge and pushing back a couple of steps.

The flames enveloping the short warrior was overpowered by Lucy's golden flames, which melted the massive axe and forced the dwarf to take out magical items that poured Holy Water that extinguished the suffocating golden crow fire.

"Hot hot hot!"

He spun around like a lunatic while trying to put the fire off, he didn't even notice that he worsened the mood by attacking out of the blue. Unfortunately, just as he got rid of Lucy's fire, a cold beam struck him and, just like Tula, Lucy's Yin Power invaded his body, rendering him unable powerless.

"So… three flags, is it?"

Arthur talked to the young mage, who's expression became much worse after the dwarf's unwanted and unsuccessful interference.

"Yes, please."

Tula bowed his head and begged, sounding very sincere. Though, Arthur didn't accept the plea immediately. Personally, he didn't want to keep such troublesome people alive, however, their leader can be more than problematic, especially if starts another revenge cycle.

"Maxine is one of the top players in the System Universe. I don't think we should take the risk…. Let's just drop it since it didn't escalate much."

Lucy telepathically talked to her husband, finding it better to accept Tula's request. Forne and the rest are more than enough to handle and, if Maxine also becomes an enemy, the couple won't be able to defend themselves.

In terms of strength, Maxine is above even the Black Seat and if she really puts her heart into it, she'll catch up to Arthur and fight him in no time.

Three minutes passed by and Arthur still has not made a decision. As for Tula, he was extremely nervous and apart from his heavy breathing, his expression wasn't so good either.

At last, Arthur let go of the thief, whose face became flushed due suffocating for some time. When he saw his friend safe and alive, the mage breathed a sigh of relief and walked up to him but before he do anything, Arthur stopped him and said:

"The flag."

The young man pulled a small white flag from under his robe's sleeves and handed it to Arthur, uncaring about the consequences. He forced the panting thief to chug a Healing potion then used the Escape Ticket to leave the area. The dwarf was the last and his unwillingness was apparent as he spat on the ground in anger and inaudibly cursed. While shivering because of Lucy's Yin Power, he threw the flag on the ground and used the Escape Ticket, his eyes glaring at the couple looking back at him.