Liam stared impassively at the corpse of the metallic centepede sprawled in front of him, minced into several chunks, bits and pieces frozen here and there. Its blood was a weird green in color and the beast possessed a deviant metal element core, wedged in between its pale flesh.

The creature had put up a good fight but ultimately it wasn't a match when Liam used [Arcane Frost Slash]. The only issue was this time as well Liam failed to conjure a proper nether field, good enough for him to achieve a breakthrough.

Liam wanted to analyze his mistake and see what went wrong. However, one of his soul minions already ran into a group member.

Liam's face turned grave. He sensed through the minion that it was Madan and he did not look good. Liam, Luna and the rest hurried to the location where the hunter was currently hiding.

Madan had used a Stealth skill but it was not enough to hide from the prying eyes of the ice elf soul minion who was well over level 500.

It took a few seconds but the group swiftly arrived at the spot. Liam immediately summoned a few of his soul minions who were capable of healing. Not so surprisingly these were all elves. Most of his army was composed of elves at this point or elves fused with some other creatures and he was yet to process many of souls he had captured in his trip to Tirnanog.

The elven minions got to work but Madan's condition did not look good. His body was covered in deep gashes and bruises, evidence of a brutal battle. His breathing was labored, and his face was pale, a stark contrast to his normally vibrant demeanor.

Liam watched closely as the elven soul minions gently tended to Madan's wounds, their hands glowing with a soft, healing light. Despite their skilled ministrations, the process was slow, and it was clear that the hunter had sustained serious injuries.

"What happened?" Liam asked.

Madan coughed, wincing in pain, but managed to speak. "I got my ass handed to me." The hunter then unexpectedly flashed a big smile. "But I am still here."

"Yes. I can see that." Liam smiled. It looked like the hunter's gains were bigger than his wounds as after a few minutes, the guy pushed himself to sit in a meditative pose and started going over his previous fight.

This was precisely what Liam hoped for when he brought his team into the Spire - growth through adversity.

Liam did not disturb him. His soul minions were still rummaging the forests, trying to make sense of this floor and what was the main objective that they had to clear.magic

As far as Liam could tell, to get back to his group, he could either find them one by one or simply finish the objective and hopefully the next time around they would be placed closer together.

Liam scanned the environment, his keen senses attuned to any clues or irregularities. The lush forest, with its dense canopy and vibrant undergrowth, seemed almost too serene, belying the dangers they had already encountered.

He knew that the key to progressing in the Spire often lay in understanding the nature of each floor's challenge. Was it a battle of endurance? A test of cunning? Or perhaps a puzzle that needed to be unraveled?

But he did not have to think hard. Not even a few seconds after they landed another metallic centipede appeared, bursting out from under the ground.

Liam swiftly killed the thing as he didn't want Madan to be disturbed but he did not like this development. Because this development probably meant that the quest on the floor had something to do with these creatures.

These metallic centipedes were bad news. They had sturdy bodies that someone weak couldn't easily damage and they had excellent sensing abilities as they could sniff out their position easily. They also seemed to be all over the forest.

Chances were that the others probably encountered the centipedes too and Liam did not have a good feeling about their chance of survival. Even if they had somehow survived the previous floor, their future was doomed because of these creatures.

"We need to move faster." Liam did not want his group to unnecessarily lose out on this opportunity. If Madan was alive then the chance of others surviving was also very high. They needed to clear this objective. Now.

Liam paused for a moment and looked around, wondering which was a good direction to explore. However, this gaze then fell onto the huge hole on the ground from which the centipede had popped out of.

The next second he directly jumped into the hole.

And just like he thought there was a vast network of underground tunnels stretching in every direction, a labyrinthine maze that seemed to have been created by the centipedes themselves. The walls of the tunnels were lined with the same metallic sheen as the creatures' bodies, and the air was thick with an earthy, metallic scent.

The key to solving this floor's challenge likely lay within these tunnels. If the centipedes were the main threat of this level, then there had to be something controlling them, or a central nest from which they were all emerging.

With Luna and the legendary beasts in tow, Liam began to navigate the tunnels. As they ventured deeper, the tunnels became more complex and intertwined, like a giant underground web. It was easy to get lost in these tunnels.

But the group did not have any issues as Liam instantly dismissed his soul minions and summoned them all in the underground network. After that, it was only a matter of minutes to figure out the layout of the tunnels.

One of his weaker minions even managed to stumble upon a part of the tunnel network that was teeming with an abnormally large number of centipedes.

Liam did not hesitate and switched places with the minion, instantly destroying it. Now it was not the minion, it was him staring at the messy bundle of metallic monstrosities.