Floor 6 was nothing like the others.
Gun stepped out of the staircase expecting another battlefield, another ruined landscape, another tower-carved death zone.
Instead, he got a city.
Not a camp.
Not a base.
A real city.
Stone roads stretched between tall buildings with glowing signs, open markets, lamp posts, and people moving around like they actually had lives outside of survival. There were inns, supply shops, food stalls, even street performers on one corner where a small crowd had gathered.
Gun stopped walking for a moment and stared.
"…No way."
Luna blinked beside him.
"This is inside the tower?"
Jack looked around with visible disbelief of his own. "Apparently."
Gun slowly turned his head from one building to the next.
The place felt too normal. Too alive.
After everything he had seen in the tower so far, this almost felt wrong.
A safe floor.
A rest floor.
A place climbers could actually breathe.
He clicked his tongue softly.
"Yeah. That's suspicious."
They moved through the streets carefully, looking for a place to stay. Other climbers passed by in small groups, some relaxed, some wary, some covered in obvious high-floor gear that made it clear not everyone here was weak.
Gun kept his eyes open the whole time.
Floor 6 might have been a rest floor, but a rest floor in a tower still meant danger could be hiding somewhere under the surface.
As they walked, he overheard a conversation passing by on the street.
Two climbers were talking quietly to their party while moving past a market stall.
"...heard there are people stealing from others here," one said.
The other frowned. "On a safe floor?"
"Yeah. Apparently valuables are getting taken from inns and public places."
Gun's eyes narrowed slightly.
Stealing from climbers.
That sounded stupid.
Which meant it was probably happening.
He filed it away in his mind, but didn't say anything yet.
There were more important things to worry about than rumors.
For now.
Eventually they found an inn near the center of the city.
It was clean, warm, and surprisingly well-kept. The owner behind the desk looked like he had seen enough tower climbers to stop being shocked by anything.
Gun paid for the room.
Jack got one bed.
Luna got one bed.
Gun got the third room key after a short pause and some awkward silence from the innkeeper, who looked like he was trying not to ask questions.
Gun just took the key and walked off.
The room they rented was decent. Not luxurious, but good enough. A small common room, a pair of private doors leading to the beds, and a locked chest for their gear.
For the first time in a while, Gun actually felt like he could rest.
He sat on the bed and set the [Slimy Boots] on the floor beside him.
Useful.
Very useful.
He looked at them once more before leaning back.
"Finally," he muttered. "A floor where I can breathe."
Jack was already half asleep in his room.
Luna had gone quiet too.
The inn settled into silence.
And Gun, despite himself, fell asleep.
He did not stay asleep for long.
A soft click broke the silence.
Gun's eyes opened instantly.
His body was already moving before his mind was fully awake.
Someone was in the room.
He sat up just in time to see five figures slipping through the door and windows.
Masked. Quiet. Fast.
One of them froze when they saw him sitting up.
Another looked down at the boots on the floor.
His eyes sharpened.
"Those."
Gun tilted his head slowly.
So that was it.
The rumors were real.
The intruders moved forward without waiting.
One of them stepped toward the boots carefully, reaching down with greedy fingers.
He never got the chance to touch them.
Gun's dagger flashed out of the dark.
[Avenger's Cut]
The thief dropped immediately.
No scream. No warning. Just a clean execution in the middle of the room.
The other four froze in shock.
Gun stood up from the bed, shoulders loose, eyes half-lidded.
"Really?"
One of them clicked his tongue.
"He's awake."
Gun yawned.
"Yeah, genius. You woke me up."
Another burglar laughed nervously and raised a weapon.
"Still only one guy."
Gun smiled faintly.
"Sure."
He vanished.
[Flash Step]
The room blurred.
Gun appeared behind another intruder and struck before the man even turned fully around. The burglar snapped his arm up and managed to block the first hit, but Gun was already reading the follow-up.
A burst of ice shot toward him.
[Ice Shards]
Gun's blade moved instantly.
Parry.
The shards shattered on impact.
He countered immediately, driving the attacker backward into the wall.
The thief recovered at the last second, barely blocking the strike.
Gun clicked his tongue.
"Not bad."
Then he noticed the problem.
Four against one.
No, five against one.
And they weren't weak.
These weren't random thieves from the street.
They were trained enough to survive the first few seconds of a real fight, and Floor 6 was high enough that even "side characters" could be dangerous.
Gun's expression sharpened.
He stepped back once, then again, reading the room.
Too many angles.
Too little space.
If they dragged this out, he'd lose the advantage.
And the inn would become a disaster.
"Wake up," he muttered.
He moved for Luna's room.
That was the obvious choice.
If he could get support, the fight ended fast.
One of the burglars saw him go and raised a hand.
A fireball began forming.
Gun saw the cast.
So did someone else.
A shadow dropped from above the hallway with shocking speed.
Jack.
Already awake.
Already moving.
His blade struck before the fireball finished forming.
[Thunder Bolt]
The lightning-charged slash detonated into the caster's side and dropped him instantly.
The remaining intruders spun toward Jack.
That was the opening Gun had been waiting for.
He abruptly turned back at the sharpest angle possible, baiting them into thinking he had fully committed to Luna's room.
One of them followed.
Exactly where Gun wanted him.
[Avenger's Cut]
The burglar crumpled before he could react.
That left three.
Jack came in beside Gun, his expression cold and focused.
The hallway became a blur of steel and light.
Jack triggered [Flash].
A burst of lightning blinded the two remaining thieves for a split second.
That was enough.
[Thunder Bolt]
He tore into one of them with speed so violent the man barely had time to scream before he dropped.
The last burglar staggered backward.
Then a fireball whipped out from Luna's room.
She had woken up too.
And she had noticed the chaos.
The fireball struck the final thief square in the chest and sent him tumbling to the floor.
Silence.
Gun stood in the hallway breathing steadily.
Jack lowered his weapon slowly.
Luna stepped out of her room a moment later, hair messy, eyes narrowed, clearly still half-asleep and annoyed.
"What happened?"
Gun looked at the bodies, then at her, then at Jack.
"Apparently," he said, "people are stealing on Floor 6."
Jack blinked. "You knew that?"
Gun nodded. "I heard rumors earlier."
Luna folded her arms. "And you didn't tell us?"
"I thought it was just gossip."
Jack stared at him.
Gun shrugged.
"Didn't think they'd try to steal my boots."
Luna looked at the Slimy Boots on the floor, then at the bodies.
"…Those boots really were the target?"
Gun nodded.
"Looks like it."
Jack crossed his arms. "So what now?"
Gun glanced out the hallway window.
The city outside was still quiet.
Too quiet.
If five trained intruders were willing to risk breaking into an inn, then someone had either given them orders or promised them something worth the risk.
He didn't like that.
Not one bit.
The scene shifted.
Far from the inn, in a dark modern apartment filled with expensive furniture and cold lighting, a tall man sat in a black suit with one leg crossed over the other.
His posture was relaxed.
His eyes were not.
Five high-tier climbers stood nearby like attendants, each one standing in silence.
One of the bodyguards stepped forward and lowered his head.
"Sir," he said carefully, "five of our people were defeated."
The man in black slowly turned his head.
A sharp side-eye cut through the room like a blade.
"…And the boots?"
The bodyguard swallowed.
"We didn't retrieve them."
For a moment, the room went still.
Then the man in black exhaled lightly and leaned back in his chair.
"It's alright."
The bodyguard looked up in shock.
The man's voice remained calm.
"But let it never happen again."
His gaze sharpened.
"Or you'll meet your lost subordinates."
The bodyguard's face tightened.
He lowered his head immediately.
"Yes, sir."
The man in black studied him a moment longer, then spoke again.
"James Jones."
The bodyguard straightened instantly.
The man in black continued, "You will personally take care of them."
James Jones nodded at once.
"Yes, sir."
He stepped away from the chair and walked out of the apartment.
As the door closed behind him, the light caught him fully.
He was tall.
Muscular, but lean in a way that made his movements look sharp instead of bulky.
A long sword rested in his hand.
His gear was immaculate, top-tier from head to toe, the kind of equipment only a serious climber or a serious killer could wear.
He looked like someone who belonged far above the people on Floor 6.
And he moved like he knew it.