"Because they are all waiting."
A huge roar came from the top of the stairwell.
The walls shook.
Yan Cijin looked upward.
"Then let us make them wait a little less."
They stepped into the final stairwell.
The stairs went upward through a hollow central shaft.
The walls were covered in golden light.
Every few floors there were signs that something had fought its way downward.
Deep claw marks.
Broken stone.
Blood.
The farther they climbed, the larger the marks became.
Yan Cijin touched one.
"Those are fresh."
Bai Li nodded.
"Very."
They continued.
A level two creature dropped from above.
Bai Li caught it.
Yan Cijin finished it.
Another attacked from below.
Bai Li struck.
Another.
Then two.
They were close now.
The final stretch became a relentless sequence of battles.
Monsters attacked continuously, not because they wanted to kill them for food, but because they recognized them as competitors.
Every creature near the top had the same instinct.
