Chapter 400 - 396: First Floor

"That's a tough question, but I have an assumption," Rale seemed uncertain as he answered.

"Interesting. Tell me your assumption itself then," Ryder asked the boy.

"Hah, I believe that you're at least as strong as the Dukes. That's my estimate while being conservative. You might even be as strong or even stronger than High Dukes. Yes, tough to know for sure since you never show your true abilities," Rale told Ryder.

' Hah, he is so wrong. I thought he would know by now that I'm a weak person who can get stronger faster. I guess his loyalty is so high, and he thinks of me as so great that his mind automatically believes that I'm much stronger than I let out,' Ryder thought as he smiled wryly.

He believed that it wasn't a bad thing. As long as Rale believed it, he wasn't going to say otherwise.

"You might be right, or you might be wrong. I'll leave it at just that," Ryder answered as a faint smile appeared on his face. 

"Are you really not going to help? It'll be finished much faster with you helping them," Rale asked Ryder as he saw Shu, who had killed seven orcs, but he was starting to look tired. There were twelve orcs still left to kill.

"Not yet. It's a good chance for him to get stronger. And we also divided our duties. I already killed more than I was supposed to. It's better if he kills the rest himself, or he'll feel like a burden when he's supposed to be the main lead of this mission," Ryder muttered as he shook his head. 

"Sometimes we must take a back seat for the better, just like I let Devilia take the lead in dealing with the missing Marquis matter. There are many things to reconsider," he continued.

"Your Highness is wise," Rale said as he nodded his head in praise.

The two of them continued watching the battle. As it progressed, Shu got more and more active. He was looking tired as well, but he kept getting fiercer as he showed more abilities.

His level also kept increasing.

By the time Rale had killed the Twelfth Orc, he had become a Level 45 player.

The Twentieth kill brought him to level 46.

After he finished dealing with every orc that was left, he dropped down to the ground, tired.

Ryder walked closer to Shu and placed his hand on his shoulder as he said, "You did well."

"Says the one that was finished in a minute," Shu answered wryly as he chuckled.

"No, really. If I weren't at such a high level, even I would be having a hard time. I can't say for sure that I would've done as well as you did if I was at the same level as you. You did really well," Ryder replied as he laughed.

" Even though you are saying that, you're only being nice, I guess I should still thank you," Shu let out as he smiled.

"Give me a minute to rest. I will be ready."

"Don't worry. Take your time. The Battle upstairs will be even fiercer. We need you in your best condition to be able to fight. You depleted all your stamina. Rest properly," Ryder shook his head as he answered. 

He also sat beside Shu with his back resting against the wall. Shu did the same.

After quite some time, Shu stood up as he stretched his arms. "I am ready to go. We can fight more."

" Alright. Let's go upstairs," Ryder nodded his head as he stood up with Dale.

The three of them walked towards the stairs at the end of the hall that led upstairs. 

Shu again took the lead, with Ryder and Rale following closely behind.

The three of them reached the first floor of the Tower of Orc.

There they could see even stronger orcs, but something was different.

There were three doors, and two Orcs stood in front of each of the doors.

All six of these orcs were level thirty Orcs. 

"They have seen us. Why aren't they attacking us?" Shu asked in confusion.

"None of them will attack until you go close to the door they are guarding," Ryder answered Shu.

"There are only six orcs. I thought that these floors would have a tougher challenge. Why are there three doors, though? Which door should we enter? Or all three doors lead the same place?" Shu inquired, wondering about the mystery of the doors.

"All three doors lead to a different place. The first door will lead to the chamber of orcs, where you will find hundreds of orcs. If you clear that chamber, a path will appear before you that will lead you to the lord of Orcs."

Ryder had entered this place before and that too as part of a big team. At that time, they had entered different doors by dividing into even smaller teams. That's why he knew which door led to where.

"The second door will lead to a place that will have half the number of orcs compared to the one where the first door leads. Even though the numbers will be less, the level of monsters will be higher. In the first chamber, we might face Orcs in level 25-30. In the Second Chamber, we will face Orcs that are in level 30-32," Ryder explained.

"The Third Chamber behind the third door will only have thirty Orcs, but all of them will be level Thirty-five."

"They all lead to the Orb Lord after you clear those chambers. So which door do you want to enter?" Ryder asked Shu.

"How do you know all this? Did you enter all three of them last time?" he asked the man.

"You can say that," Ryder answered vaguely since he couldn't say he entered with a big team. He was the top player. It would have been a big deal if he entered with a team, as someone might have mentioned it in one of the forums if it had happened.

"I think going in the first door will be the best choice. Even though the monsters are slightly lower level, the number is way higher. We would have an advantage when collecting exp compared to the other rooms," Shu answered Ryder as he selected the first door.

"Alright. Go and kill the guards that are guarding the first door. You will get access to open the door," Ryder answered as he smiled.

He could kill the enemies in one strike, but he let Shu do it.

"It's fine. I know you want to help me, but it's better if you do it yourself. I would have to spend a lot of energy to finish them; then we would need to rest. It's just a waste of time. You can finish them faster, so I have the energy to put in the right place," Shu rejected the offer, knowing full well why Ryder had told him to do it.

"Alright. If you say so," Ryder muttered as he raised his hand towards the orcs that stood in front of the first door.

"Shadow Ball," He muttered, firing a ball of Shadow towards one of the two Orcs.

Without waiting, he used another spell and fired a Flame Ball towards the second Orc.

Both these attacks landed on the enemies, destroying them instantly.

" So powerful. It must be really fun being such a high-level player on this hand. You're like the god in Divinity. No one should be able to face you," Shu praised Ryder as he saw how powerful that attack was. In a single hit, he had killed the Orcs that Shu had to fight fiercely to kill.

"I am strong? It's from his point of view that I am strong, but if he sees the world from my eyes, he would realize how weak I am. I am not even as strong as the weakest guard in the Demon Palace. If it is about beings that are like gods in Divinity, the High Dukes and Rale would be one of them. I am not even close to being able to be on their same level,' Ryder thought as a faint smile appeared on his face, hiding his true emotions.

"Let's go. A battle is waiting for us," he told Shu as he started walking towards the first door.

They reached the first door. Just like Ryder had said, the Orcs that were guarding the other doors didn't attack them even after the orcs guarding this door were killed.

Ryder opened the door and stepped inside.

As they entered, they saw close to a hundred orcs standing with clubs in their hands.

"Oh right. I forgot to mention. This time they will have weapons as well," Ryder let out suddenly.

"Haha, I can see now," Shu chuckled as he answered.

"Want to follow the same pattern? We both share half, or should I take more?" Ryder asked Shu.

Standing tall, Shu shook his head. "There is no need. I should be able to handle half of them."