The lowest level of stairs didn’t bother him, but the pain in his chest increased as he climbed. Along the outer edge of his Shield, the wood had petrified into stone. The higher he climbed, the more the stone consumed the wood, which increased the pain’s intensity in the center of his chest. Crow’s clothes were damp from sweating, and it felt like a force was resisting his climb. None of that slowed his steady pace but added pressure to his ascent.

The pain grew to the point his vision faded to the edge of unconsciousness. But he stubbornly refused to fail and refused to let his eyes shut all the way. It probably seemed like he was struggling, but in reality, he deliberately hovered between states of consciousness. Only in that state could he comprehend things like the Truths, and it was an ideal opportunity.

It felt like years had gone by, but he knew that not even a day had passed. His Shield was now a dark gray except for a tiny spot in the middle which proved difficult to convert. Only by using the pressure of the stairs could he keep compressing the wooden parts of his Shield.

At the last step, the grommets around his Shield began to glow. The brightest was fire, followed by wood and then stone. By traversing the Wood floors, the grommet related to it had become a rich brown color and brimmed with vitality. Now that he crossed into the Stone floors, the related grommet glowed a deep charcoal gray color and exuded sturdiness.

The fire grommet was a cheat because of his Night Fire, and it had mutated, so it wasn’t a bright orange but reddish-black. It had also crystallized and no longer looked like red metal. The Wood grommet was close to that point but hadn’t crossed the threshold. Crow didn’t know what it meant but was sure it probably had to do with elemental immunity.

Rubbing his hand across his Stone Shield, he smiled at his accomplishment. The surface felt coarse and solid and was colder and less pliable than his Wood Shield. He wasn’t sure if that had any significance, but subconsciously he couldn’t stop touching it. It was when he lost a tooth and couldn’t stop his tongue from exploring the gap.

“You going to keep standing there like a simpleton?” A boy about Crow’s age asked. He looked up to see a blond hair kid with a fat face sneering at him. He was tall and chubby, but based on his pig-like eyes, Crow knew the boy was a spoiled weakling.

Crow ignored him because it was better to ignore the idiots than antagonize them. Instead, he took note of his surroundings and tried to get his bearings in this new dark landscape. He stood in a massive, open cavern and a nearby city lit up the place with Moon Stones placed on the stalactites. It was enough to push back the gloomy atmosphere.

The air was damp and smelled of mildew, but the airflow was strong enough that ordinary people probably wouldn’t be able to smell it. The temperature was low but not at the freezing point. A cultivator at this level wouldn’t even notice it.

“Bitch, I’m talking to you,” fatty shouted.

Crow continued to ignore him and walked toward the town. There were no walls, which either meant this place rarely saw any danger, or they secured it in another way he hadn’t perceived yet. Guards did patrol the exterior, and he approached one.

“May I help you?”

“Yeah,” Crow nodded. “Where may I find the keystone?”

“New to the Stone floors, eh?”

“Uh… yeah? Why?”

“Starting from this floor onward, the keystones are all right near the western ascension—but most people just say the floor entrance. You won’t find them in the middle or end of the floor anymore. This floor also introduces subordinate Gates, which are portals linked to the keystone. After you sync your Shield to the keystone, you’ll be able to use them. Well, not all of them. There are hidden gates you’ll have to link up on your own.”

“Thank you for the information. Is there anything else I should note?”

“Moon Stones! Stock up on them here because there are several mines nearby, so you won’t find them cheaper than here.”

“Last thing, I’m looking for some people…” Crow described his wives, and the guard looked over Crow’s shoulder nervously. Crow turned to look at the fat kid behind him.

“Now you’ll pay attention to me, right? You son of a bitch!”

“What did you do to my wife?”

“I’m afraid she’ll be my wife this time tomo—”

Crow’s Astral Aura ignited, and Spectral Vines shot out of his body. Before the fat kid could squeal like the pig he was, the vines punctured his corpulent body through all his vital organs, destroying any chance of the boy surviving. It happened so fast that the guard couldn’t even respond before the kid died.

“Anyone who dares touch steal my wives has one fate—death,” Crow spit on the fat kid’s corpse before turning toward the guard. He hadn’t unsummoned the vines, and they tightly wrapped around the guard, preventing him from running. A few of them swayed in front of the man’s face in case he screamed for help. “Tell me everyone involved, and I won’t harm you.”

“Uh, y-yes. You see Harold—uh, the kid you just killed, his dad runs this city. N-not officially. There is a mayor, but he’s useless. Harold’s dad is Hank Rudder, and he owns Rudder Alchemy. Y-your wife—er, the dark-haired alchemist—opposed him, and he drugged your entire group. Except for the big guy and the one that looks like a little girl, no one knows where they went. Harold begged his father to let him have the strawberry-blond woman. Really, that old bastard only wanted that dark-haired alchemist. Hank captures all alchemists and forces them to work for him.”

“And the girl with the knives?”

“What girl with knives?”

“Haha,” Crow burst out laughing. “Hank fucked up. He let the most dangerous person in that group escape.”

Crow undid the vines and let the guard down. After thinking about it some, he stored Harold in his Vortex Pin. “This never happened, understand?”

“Understood.”

“Don’t worry. Tomorrow there will be no more Hank Rudder or Rudder Alchemy, and I won’t have to do a thing to destroy it. Do not doubt my words, or you’ll regret getting involved.”

“I got it,” the guard nodded furiously. As Crow walked away, the guard let out a long pent-up breath. “Fuck you, man. Who the fuck cares about a girl with knives? You are the fucking scariest bastard I’ve ever met. So fucking decisive it’s god damned frightening.”

After some time, the guard continued his patrol and tried to forget he had ever met that fucking demon. He didn’t give a shit about Harold’s death, and half the town would probably praise that man as a fucking saint. What the guard doesn’t realize is that what Crow had just done paled compared to the nightmare about to fall on Rockdrop City.

Before the guard could finish his patrol, a woman watching from the shadows appeared behind him. She knocked the man unconscious, threw a pill in his mouth, and dragged him into a dark corner of the cavern where no one would find him. She couldn’t risk anyone screwing up her plan, and Crow’s words were enough to tip them off if the guard spoke. Because her husband didn’t kill the man, she left him alive, but he wouldn’t wake up for a few days.

Still, her head tilted slightly as she watched Crow enter the town. She heard what he said, and a genuine smile crossed her face. Faelan knew Crow sensed her and even let her deal with the guard. She chuckled lightly and followed him from the shadows. “You are finally back, little bird.”