The moment they stepped onto Floor Four, the Tower stopped pretending.
The ground split open.
Monsters poured out like the Tower had finally accepted that subtlety was wasted on these two.
Bladed wolves leapt first, their bodies half shadow, half bone, fangs screaming through the air. Fridge Sama did not slow his stride. He walked forward and snapped his fingers once.
Ice bloomed outward.
The wolves froze mid leap, shattered on impact with the floor, and vanished before their bodies even hit the ground.
Tatsu flinched."…Okay. That is Floor Four."
Fridge Sama kept walking.
Floor Five opened immediately.
Stone golems rose from the ground, fists the size of car engines slamming down in unison. Fridge Sama stepped between the strikes, cold coating his palms. He touched one golem's leg.
It froze from the inside out.
The second golem punched him.
Fridge Sama caught the fist.
The ice climbed.
The golem collapsed.
Tatsu ran behind him, breathing hard, eyes locked on Fridge Sama's movements.
"Touch points," Tatsu muttered. "You always start with touch points."
Fridge Sama kicked open the door to Floor Six.
Fire spiders swarmed the ceiling.
Fridge Sama raised his hand.
The temperature dropped violently.
Fire became steam.
Steam became frost.
The spiders fell like dead leaves.
"Area control," Tatsu whispered, scribbling frantic notes on a torn piece of paper he ripped from his pocket. "Control the environment first."
Floor Seven.
Undead soldiers charged.
Fridge Sama exhaled.
A cold wind passed through them.
Every undead collapsed at the same time.
Tatsu swallowed."Breath based activation."
"You are slow," Fridge Sama said without turning around.
"I am alive," Tatsu shouted back. "That is progress."
Floor Eight.
Twin ogres.
Floor Nine.
Poison fog and venom beasts.
Floor Ten.
A giant armored centipede that tried to coil around Fridge Sama.
Fridge Sama slammed his palm into the ground.
Ice erupted upward like spears.
The centipede was pinned, frozen, shattered.
Tatsu was sweating now. His hands shook as he wrote.
"Do not hesitate. Do not admire. End immediately."
"You are wasting time writing," Fridge Sama said.
"I am learning," Tatsu snapped.
"Learn faster."
Floor Eleven opened before Tatsu finished his sentence.
A wave of airborne monsters rushed them.
Fridge Sama did not even stop.
The air froze.
Everything fell.
Floor Twelve.
A giant with a hammer.
Fridge Sama stepped inside the swing, froze the hammer, shattered it, punched the giant once in the chest.
The giant exploded into frost.
Tatsu stared."…You punched it."
"Yes."
"That was not even ice."
"It was," Fridge Sama said. "Internally."
Floor Thirteen.
Shadow beasts tried to flank.
Fridge Sama spun once.
Cold erased shadows.
Floor Fourteen.
A beast screamed.
Fridge Sama screamed louder.
The beast froze mid scream.
Tatsu flinched."You screamed at it."
"It was rude," Fridge Sama replied.
Floor Fifteen.
Three bosses spawned at once.
Fridge Sama cracked his neck.
"This is inefficient."
He raised both hands.
The entire floor froze solid.
Everything shattered.
Tatsu stopped writing."…I cannot learn from that."
"Then observe," Fridge Sama said. "And survive."
Floor Sixteen.
Fridge Sama moved faster.
No wasted steps.No pauses.No commentary.
Ice formed, shattered, reformed.
Monsters died before they finished spawning.
Tatsu stopped running and started predicting.
"Left," he shouted.
Fridge Sama shifted.
A spike missed him by inches.
"Good," Fridge Sama said.
Tatsu felt something spark in his chest.
Floor Seventeen.
Floor Eighteen.
Floor Nineteen.
Tatsu's legs burned.His lungs screamed.His hands were numb from gripping his notes.
Fridge Sama was untouched.
Floor Twenty opened with a roar.
A massive horned colossus charged.
Tatsu did not wait.
"Ankle," he yelled. "You always start at the ankle."
Fridge Sama smiled.
He froze the ankle.
The colossus fell.
Fridge Sama walked up and ended it with a single touch.
Silence.
The Tower hesitated.
Then text flooded the air.
Floors Four through Twenty ClearedProceed Forward
Tatsu collapsed against the wall, gasping.
"I learned," he said hoarsely. "I learned or else."
Fridge Sama looked down at him.
"You are still weak," he said.
"I know," Tatsu replied. "But I am not useless anymore."
Fridge Sama turned toward the next door.
"Then keep up," he said.
Tatsu forced himself to stand.
His notes were soaked with sweat.
His hands shook.
But his eyes were sharp.
And for the first time since entering the Tower,Tatsu was no longer just running.
He was watching.
Learning.
Surviving.