Chapter 52 - waiting for end of the floor 5

Chapter 52: Chapter 52 - waiting for end of the floor 5

We looked at the flag, and I glanced around the area before picking up a giant rock and throwing it toward the flag.

The rock landed on the ground and immediately sank slightly into the sand before stopping.

I grinned and looked at Nyx.

"It works. I have a plan now to get that flag, but I need you to help me."

Nyx nodded. "Okay. I’ll help you. What can I do?"

I pointed toward the ground.

"Can you freeze the floor so we can simply walk over there and bring the flag back?"

I grinned confidently.

Nyx looked at me as if I were an idiot before sighing and shaking her head.

"No. I can do that in a normal environment, but this forest is strange."

She continued, "The sun here is incredibly intense. If I create an ice path, it will melt before we can even use it."

I nodded thoughtfully.

"Then we need another way."

I looked around and suddenly got another idea.

I lifted a few more rocks and threw them toward the flag, creating a rough path of stones across the sand.

Then I looked at Nyx.

"Hey, you need to do one thing. Make a darkness tentacle like this."

I demonstrated by creating a tentacle from my Darkness element.

Nyx carefully observed it before creating an identical one.

"What do I do with it now?"

I put a hand on my forehead.

"Ah, think with your head. Just grab me tightly with it and make sure that if something happens to me, you can pull me back immediately."

She glared at me.

"Hey, you are the one who told me to listen to you. So I’m listening because we don’t have much time."

I nodded.

"Okay. Grab me and make sure you have a firm hold on me."

Nyx nodded and wrapped the darkness tentacle around my waist.

I trusted her completely.

I stepped onto the first rock and slowly jumped toward the next one.

The rocks sank slightly into the sand whenever I landed on them, but they remained stable enough for me to continue.

Nyx followed my movements carefully, keeping the darkness tentacle around my waist.

She was already highly proficient with her Darkness element, so controlling it wasn’t a problem for her.

I continued jumping from rock to rock.

One.

Two.

Three.

I kept moving forward while carefully observing the sand beneath me.

Finally, I reached the last rock.

The moment I landed on it, I felt it slowly sink into the sand.

"Damn."

I immediately created my own darkness tentacle.

I extended it toward the flag and wrapped it around the pole.

Then I carefully pulled.

The flag moved toward me little by little.

I couldn’t afford to make any sudden movements.

If the rock sank too much, I would fall into the sand.

And if my body got swallowed by whatever was beneath this place, getting the flag wouldn’t matter anymore.

I carefully pulled again.

The flag came closer.

A little more.

And finally, I grabbed the flag with my hand.

I looked at Nyx and gave her a signal.

She immediately understood.

Her darkness tentacle tightened around my waist.

At the same time, I jumped backward toward her.

Nyx pulled me with the tentacle while I pushed myself toward her.

In one smooth movement, I escaped the dangerous sand and landed safely beside her.

I immediately held the flag up.

"We did it!"

I grinned widely.

"We have all five flags!"

For the first time in a while, I felt genuinely happy.

Nyx looked at the flags as well, and a smile appeared on her face.

But her expression quickly became serious.

"We still need to survive until the end. We can’t celebrate yet."

I pouted.

"So what are you giving me after we win?"

She looked at me in confusion.

"What am I giving you? We’ll get a reward from the Tower."

I gave her a playful smile.

"Like a kiss, for example."

Her face immediately turned red.

"You scoundrel! You only think about those things!"

I laughed.

Oh, this feeling is addictive.

Her expression when I tease her is to die for.

I coughed and tried to act serious.

"Okay, okay. Let’s go find a place to wait until the end of the mission."

Nyx nodded, and we started walking.

After a while, I recognized a familiar place.

I pointed toward it.

"Hey, how about we go to that cave and spend some time with the spiders?"

I looked at her with anticipation.

"I’d love to see your face again when you encounter them. Come on, let’s go."

My eyes practically sparkled at the thought.

Nyx looked at me with annoyance.

"You only think about making fun of me."

I shook my head.

"No, no. I’m serious. When was the last time you saw a spider? That expression you made was so cute that I can’t resist. So, can we go? Pretty please?"

Nyx pushed my head away from her.

"No. That’s final."

My face fell like a deflated balloon.

She noticed my expression.

For some reason, a strange sense of satisfaction appeared on her face.

Then we continued walking.

Eventually, we found a small cave.

I looked inside before stepping in.

"Hey, let’s eat something after we get inside."

Nyx placed a hand on her stomach.

She was hungry too.

"Hmm. I’m hungry as well."

She paused before continuing.

"But don’t eat too much. We need to make sure we have enough food for the future."

I nodded as we entered the cave.

"We don’t know what the next mission will be."

Nyx sat down and continued explaining.

"According to what the old woman told us, after Floor Five, we can choose whether to continue all five floors at once or clear them one at a time."

"It’s much easier if we choose all of them at once because it lowers the difficulty."

I listened carefully to every word and nodded.

"Yeah. It would be a waste to spend all that time outside."

Nyx nodded.

"We also don’t have any family or people waiting for us outside."

Her voice became quieter.

"So it doesn’t really matter where we are."

There was something different in her voice.

A raw emotion slipped through her words.

I looked at her.

She had tried to hide it, but I could hear the pain behind those words.

She was still hurting.

Just as I thought.

I felt an urge to hug her.

So I did.

I wasn’t a coward.

I moved closer and wrapped my arms around her.

Nyx’s eyes widened in surprise.

For a moment, she didn’t move.

Then she simply stayed there.

I held her for a few moments before finally letting go.

Her expression gradually returned to normal.

She lowered her head slightly.

"Thanks."

I smiled and nodded.

"It’s just something I felt like doing. I hope you don’t mind."

She shook her head.

"No. Not at all."

She looked at me.

"Thank you. I needed that at that moment."

I smiled.

Then I took out several different foods from my storage ring and placed them in front of her.

"Okay, okay. No sad stuff now."

I grinned.

"Let’s eat. We have each other now, so we’re not alone in this world."

I paused before looking at her.

"As for me, I was always ready to be alone. But after I met you, I changed my mind."

I smiled.

"So you’re part of my life now. Don’t even think about leaving."

Nyx smiled softly.

"Hmm. I promise I won’t leave."

She looked at me for a moment before continuing.

"And thank you for always being there for me."

Her expression became thoughtful.

"I know all the sarcasm and jokes you make. You care about things deeply."

I immediately felt something was wrong.

She continued anyway.

"You just hide your pain behind that mask of sarcasm. It’s deeply ingrained into you."

"When I first saw you, I saw a massive loneliness in you. Your eyes looked like those of someone who had lived alone for their entire life."

My eyes widened.

"That was one of the main reasons I trusted you and got close to you."

She smiled faintly.

"You didn’t break when life treated you badly. You overcame all of it and became stronger than ever."

I stared at her.

I couldn’t handle this.

Serious words like these were dangerous to someone like me.

So I immediately grabbed a steamed bun and shoved it into her mouth.

"Mm?!"

She looked at me in surprise.

I nodded seriously.

"Hey, I usually have thick skin."

I pointed at myself.

"But when it comes to this, I have extremely thin skin."

I looked away, feeling embarrassed.

"So don’t say stuff like that. It makes me embarrassed."

Nyx stared at me for a moment.

Then a smile slowly appeared on her face.

She clearly found my reaction amusing.

And I immediately realized I had made a mistake.

She had discovered my weakness.

I sighed inwardly.

Damn it.

I should’ve kept my mouth shut.

—————

A/N:-

Thanks guys for power stone and support i almost dropped this novel if not for you guys 🫡