Chapter 633: Objective - Find the Exit.

"Then what is the primary objective of this floor?" Thoren asked with a deep frown on his face.

The question came naturally after everything Kael had explained.

If there were no experience points, no ordinary method of leveling up, and no straightforward way to become stronger through killing beasts, then there had to be another purpose behind this floor.

The previous floors had always given them a clear direction.

There had been dangers, difficult battles, and countless unknowns, but there had always been something guiding them forward.

Here, however, everything seemed different.

Kael looked at him for several seconds before slowly answering.

"Leave this floor."

Hmm?

Thoren’s expression became slightly confused when he heard Kael’s reply.

Leave this floor?

For a moment, he wondered if he had misunderstood the question or if Kael was simply giving him an answer that was too obvious.

"Leave this floor?" Thoren repeated calmly.

"Yes."

Kael nodded.

"You don’t have to be confused," Kael continued slowly. "Since you arrived on this floor, your fate has been sealed like everyone else."

His voice was calm, but the words carried a strange heaviness.

"No matter how strong you are, it is meaningless if you can’t find the exit of this floor."

Thoren’s expression gradually became more serious.

Kael continued. "We are trapped, and the only way out is to find the exit. Thus, everyone is doing one thing."

He paused before looking directly into Thoren’s deep blue eyes.

"Search for the exit gateway."

The moment those words entered his ears, Thoren’s puzzlement deepened.

An exit gateway.

So that was the real purpose of this floor.

For several seconds, he remained silent as his mind began connecting everything he had learned since arriving.

Thoren’s eyes narrowed slightly as he thought about it and then, everything made perfect sense.

If the purpose of the third floor was simply to make everyone stronger through hunting, then the absence of experience points would make no sense.

But if this floor was designed as a place where awakeners had to survive, explore, and locate the gateway leading to the surface, then everything became much clearer.

The system was not asking them to conquer this floor through strength alone. It was asking them to find a way through it.

The more Thoren thought about it, the more his expression changed.

Compared to the last two floors, which had offered a relatively clear direction, the third floor did not seem to have a single direction at all.

There was no obvious path.

No visible destination.

The entire world seemed to stretch endlessly in every direction and above all of it was the Ash Tide.

The thought alone made Thoren’s expression become slightly grim.

With the Ash Tide dominating the surface of this world, how would it be possible for anyone to find the exit so easily?

The Ash Tide was not something that could simply be ignored.

And finding an exit gateway hidden somewhere within such a massive world would be even more difficult.

As for Thoren, he remained silent for several moments. The situation was grim and far more complicated than he had initially expected.

There was no guarantee that the exit even existed somewhere nearby. There was no guarantee that anyone currently knew where it was.

Yet despite the seriousness of the situation, Thoren quickly recovered his composure.

He had already experienced enough dangers inside the Abyss to know that despair would accomplish nothing.

If there was an exit, he would find it.

If the path was dangerous, he would deal with whatever stood in his way.

And if the people on this floor had been searching for the exit for a long time without success, then that simply meant the secret was more difficult to uncover than they had expected.

Thoren raised his head and looked at Kael.

"So, has anyone managed to find the exit?"

Kael and Lucien looked at each other before shaking their heads.

"How are we supposed to know?" Kael replied with a helpless expression. "We’re just some weak rookies assigned to guard this path."

There was no shame in his voice when he said it, instead, there was simply acceptance.

They were not among the strongest awakeners in Scarwind Camp, and they were certainly not important enough to know every secret surrounding the camp.

"As for the possible paths that might lead out of this floor, that will depend on the leaders of the camp," Kael responded.

Thoren nodded slightly.

"I see..."

He was not surprised by their response.

It made sense.

For anyone to know about a possible path that might lead out of this floor, they would need considerable power or an important position within the camp.

The leaders would naturally possess information that ordinary members did not.

After all, knowledge about the exit was probably one of the most valuable things on this floor.

If someone knew where the gateway was located, that information alone could determine the fate of countless people.

Thoren’s eyes briefly moved toward the deeper part of the cave. In every human settlement, there was hierarchy and politics. Even with the lives of many at stake, he was not naive to think that everyone in this camp would selflessly try to find the exit without plotting against each other.

Since even the lower member did not know anything about the exit, how were they going to leave?

With all this thought running in his mind, Thoren was already planning his cause of action.

"Now, we’ve told you everything about this floor," Kael continued, bringing Thoren’s attention back to him. "I believe our job is completed, and you can join our camp."

Kael’s expression became slightly lighter.

"I’m Kael, and this is my friend, Lucien."

He gestured toward the young man beside him.

"Welcome to Scarwind Camp."

"Thank you. I’m Thoren," Thoren said calmly.

Lucien nodded toward him.

"Welcome, Thoren."

The simple exchange marked the beginning of Thoren’s introduction to the strange underground settlement.

Kael stood and brushed some dust from his clothes before looking toward Lucien.

"Lucien will now take you deeper into the camp for registration."

Lucien nodded.

"Come with me."

With that, Lucien rose to his feet and gestured for Thoren to follow him.