Chapter 304: The Symbol of the Setter Family!

Chapter 304

The Symbol of the Setter Family!

"All the traps have been destroyed. Proceed forward with caution," Owen ordered them to move forward as everyone was marveling at this ability. It was as if he didn’t even notice their astonished expressions.

The hunters of the Setter family glanced at each other. Since the eldest young lord didn’t show any surprise, he must have known about the lady’s abilities beforehand. Or perhaps...because he knew, so it was why he allowed her to accompany them instead of forbidding her from getting involved.

Initially, many of the family’s hunters were not pleased with the petite woman tagging along. Some even said that Ellie might become a burden to their hunting operation. Given how the powerful eldest young lord looked after the young girl, it was believed that in this hunt, if Ellie was in danger, their eldest young lord would focus solely on her safety. Perhaps, the failure of the hunt might be due to Ellie’s participation.

Some opposed her because they thought Ellie was merely seeking fun and wanted to join to gain benefits from passing the floor. If that were the case, they wished their own children could join too, but the family head’s rules prevented them from participating.

However, after everyone witnessed Ellie’s true contributions—just the fact that she destroyed all the traps without any losses—it was clear that their assumptions were entirely wrong.

The seemingly weak and useless girl had achieved more than several of them combined! Every time they advanced to inspect traps, there were instances where the traps would activate afterward. This time, as well, although the mud figures had done their job, more than half of the traps remained hidden. In other situations, they would have to send people one by one to trigger the traps, with those individuals expected to "sacrifice" themselves.

This time, after the eldest young lord declared that all traps had been destroyed, the group who was ready to "sacrifice" themselves, who were quite fast, moved ahead of the entire force. Not a single person among the more than 20 vanguard members who entered the trap field got injured. This confirmed that Ellie indeed had disarmed all the traps!!

"Safe!" shouted someone from the other side. From here, they would face another stage, so everyone began moving forward slowly and cautiously.

Normally, numerous traps were buried in the initial stages of the challenge. It’s as if it’s a preliminary test to identify those truly capable. If one couldn’t get past these low-level traps, there’s no point in expecting to conquer the next stages that the Tower of Eternity had in store for visitors.

As previously mentioned, the 4th floor once served as a measure of a species’ potential to grow stronger. It’s no surprise that advancing to the 4th floor led to significant losses. If the 4th floor was considered a preliminary test, the 7th floor was a true measure of potential. Even higher-tier species took a long time to pass it. The vast number of corpses and treasures scattered around attested to the tremendous losses endured.

These treasures were merely remnants, left behind as history. Even if someone wanted to take them, they couldn’t unless they were part of the group that fought during that challenge. In other words...these remains represent groups that failed to conquer the 7th floor, signifying the failure of the “entire group!”

The bodies of numerous high-level species were strewn along the path like trash, exerting immense pressure on the Setter family hunters. At this floor, more high-level species than at any other level had perished, serving as a warning that those daring to challenge it would meet the same fate if unprepared...

“This is too cruel! In floors 1-6, we never saw this many corpses of challengers. Moreover...don’t these high-level species look almost human? If they, with all their power, failed...” one hunter murmured fearfully.

Looking around, there were countless bodies of “elves,” the only high-level species resembling humans that they knew of. Aside from the elegant, human-like elves, there were numerous other similar yet unknown creatures, whose histories they had never learned and that they had never known of. It was as if floors 1-6 couldn’t stop them, but floor 7 had completely halted their progress.

This showed that these races had a much stronger foundation than the “elves.” If humans, who were even weaker than elves and had suffered significant losses just to advance floor 1-6, could they ever hope to conquer this challenge?

“Can we...really overcome this?” As this question arose, the Setter family hunters began to drown in fear. Their previously energetic journey filled with fighting spirit diminished significantly, a change even the family’s elders noticed.

“If we can pass this floor, the following floors will surely be extraordinary. Otherwise, why wouldn’t these high-level species want to stay on the lower floors? Thus, our fight today will open a new door for humanity. It’s no surprise that we may face the strongest opponents we’ve ever encountered. Still...we were prepared for this, weren’t we?”

“Leaving our lives here, we still get to witness the growth of the human race. It’s much better than dying out there. So, I’m not afraid!”

“Haha, who would be worried? We’re the Setter family. If we’re scared of this, it would be a shame to our family bloodline!!” The prominent figures spoke loudly to boost everyone’s morale. However, the eldest young lord paid no heed. He simply raised his hand once, signaling everyone to be silent.

"There’s no need to talk about such bothersome things. If you’re scared, stay here..." Owen said indifferently, his gaze sweeping around. If even the little girl beside him wasn’t afraid, then what value was there in the Setter family members who always claimed to be brave but were now afraid of dying?

Many people were rendered speechless by his words. Their eldest young lord was always like this, unable to understand the feelings of others. Of course, he was incredibly strong, so strong that he had nothing to fear. But wasn’t his display also a confirmation that he was a true member of the Setter family?

The symbol of the Setter family was courage, and Owen exemplified it perfectly.

"Hmph! Acting like he doesn’t value the weak? Just like the eldest young lord should!"

"Haha, let’s go, let’s go. If he doesn’t care, then he doesn’t care. Seeing the kid act like this makes me want to fight!"

"Tch, does this kid think we’re so afraid of dying? This is nothing!" Many didn’t even listen to the motivational speeches of the prominent figures, but after being looked down on like that, they became fired up instead. Ellie looked at the man beside her and sighed. She had sensed it since they entered the trap area, and she knew Owen felt it too.

The spirits trapped here must have turned into evil spirits. As if commanded, these evil spirits exerted pressure and fear on many people. If someone had a weak mind, they would be scared and hallucinate. It was right for the elders to boost morale and instill the will to fight, as it could bring some people back to their senses. However, Owen didn’t waste time on that.

He showed everyone, as he always had, how to face danger without fear. He wasn’t like other leaders, but his unique approach revived the fighting spirit of the Setter family without needing much effort. Aman gripped his sword tightly...If it were his former self, he would have had to devise complicated plans to bring the Setter family back to their senses. However, his not-so-gentle brother solved the issue with just one declaration.

When he said he’d "leave," he truly meant it. And when he said he’d "fight" alongside those who wished to move forward, he meant that too. With such sincerity and earnestness, it was no wonder he could permanently overcome the first obstacle!

How could he not deeply respect his brother?!

"Eldest Young Lord, there are over 1,000 stone golems ahead! Upon inspection, it seems these golems cannot be dealt with using magic power! They have the property of absorbing magic power."

Reaching just the second stage and encountering something impervious to magic power, everyone knew this was going to be a tough challenge! The Setter family excelled in using magic power. Even the eldest young lord used magic power to handle things. Suddenly facing enemies immune to magic power? No wonder the high-level species like elves took many years to conquer it.

"Grab your weapons and find their weak points," Owen commanded. The Setter family hunters nodded in agreement. Having passed the mental test, those who had reached the front were ready to die in battle. Thus, it was no surprise that upon hearing the order, they immediately lunged forward to challenge the 1,000 stone golems.

- Magic Absorption Gatekeeper Golem of the 1st Floor, Level 5: Attributes - Physically tough, resistant to physical attacks, and immune to magic power.

Action Panel: No action can be taken. –

Ellie squinted slightly after seeing this information. She retrieved a bow from her dimensional ring to join the battle. However, the description of the golem’s strength was accurate. Her arrows, upon hitting the golems, couldn’t do anything and merely bounce off their hard bodies.

"These are really tough to deal with." Hearing her mutters, Owen gently patted her head to comfort her.

Though he wasn’t skilled at consoling others, he did so naturally with Ellie. Fortunately, the other Setter family hunters didn’t witness this scene; otherwise, they might have vomited blood!

"Don’t worry, the Setter family isn’t that weak." Just as Owen spoke, one of the family members was sent flying. Fortunately, others used magic power to catch him in time; otherwise, it would have been a miserable fall.

Ellie chuckled softly. Owen really wasn’t good at comforting people. But...if there was something she couldn’t do, Ellie wouldn’t force it. She had already used spores to help them, tried shooting arrows, and even used her Empress’s Thread to attack, but none were effective. So...she chose to observe the golems’ attacks, hoping to discern their fighting patterns.

Although the spores couldn’t harm them, she realized they were neither weapons nor golems with spirits. Thus, their fighting patterns could be understood.

The Setter family members proved reliable, just as the eldest young lord expected. After battling for more than half an hour, over 100 were injured. However, their abundant resources kept everyone alive. Still, prolonging the fight like this would make reaching the next stage problematic!

Boom!!!

The massive body of a stone golem slammed into a Setter family hunter, who luckily dodged just in time. However, the scattered debris from the impact caused significant injuries.

The swift lightning power yanked the victim’s body out from the second wave of attacks, saving them from death in a split second. Naturally, where there was a first, there was a second. It was clear that the weapon-wielders were starting to tire, but the 1,000 golems remained unscathed!

“Damn it! How are we supposed to fight like this!? These things are too ruthless!”

“Argh!!! Magic power doesn’t work, and it seems physical attacks don’t either! No matter what we do, they seem unaffected!”

The hunters started voicing their frustration. Though the golems moved relatively slowly, their sheer number—1,000 of them—made them invincible despite all efforts. As the hunters began to make mistakes, the golems’ slow speed became their only minor weakness.

"I’m going to fight," Aman couldn’t hold back any longer. He told his brother and leapt into battle, ignoring everyone else. But his determination was fleeting. After charging in with his weapon and striking the enemies four or five times until his weapon broke in his hand, Aman returned with a deeply regretful expression.

"Brother! How can we defeat them? Look at my level 3 weapon!" The boy complained to his brother immediately. His childlike demeanor made Ellie laugh, earning her a scowl in return.

“What are you laughing at? Don’t you have lots of secrets? Well, now it’s time to use those trump cards,” Aman pouted at the girl. Even in such a dire situation, the two still managed to cause trouble for each other!