The challenge sounded simple.
Make Slax Brimstone stop moving for 0.1 seconds.
No weapons.
Blindfolded.
That was all.
Yet every single one of the Divers knew it would probably be the hardest thing they had ever attempted.
Slax tied a black cloth over his eyes before stepping into the middle of the training hall.
He folded his arms.
"I won't use my weapons."
Gun narrowed his eyes.
"So you're just going to stand there?"
Slax smiled.
"If you can make me stop moving for one tenth of a second, you win."
Gun drew his sword.
"Let's see if the strongest is really that strong."
"Go!"
Gun disappeared.
Flash Step.
He circled around Slax faster than before and struck from behind with Avenger's Cut.
At the same moment—
"Flash!"
Jack's light exploded throughout the room.
Luna followed with Ashen Veil, covering half the arena in thick smoke while Waver raised walls of ice to limit Slax's movement.
For an instant, the entire battlefield belonged to the Divers.
Then the wind came.
Slax never touched a weapon.
A ring of emerald wind erupted from around him.
The smoke was torn apart.
The ice walls shattered.
Gun's slash missed by centimeters as Slax leaned slightly to the side.
Jack blinked.
"...He used an ability."
"I thought he wasn't using weapons."
"He isn't," Slax answered casually.
Gun frowned.
"You can cast abilities bare-handed?"
Slax chuckled.
"Only members of my family can."
The realization hit everyone at once.
That meant they couldn't even predict where his attacks originated from.
They refused to give up.
Again.
And again.
And again.
Jack attempted to chain Lightning Grab into Gun's Mirror Strike.
Failure.
Gun tried using pillars created by Waver to attack from impossible angles.
Failure.
Luna continuously changed the position of Ashen Veil, attempting to trap Slax inside its healing and burning field.
Failure.
Waver froze the entire floor.
Failure.
Gun even attempted to attack himself again like he had against Zann, hoping Slax would instinctively intervene.
Slax merely laughed before stepping aside.
"Creative."
Another failure.
Hours passed.
The floor was covered in cracked stone, melted ice, and scorch marks.
The Divers were breathing heavily.
Jack dropped onto one knee.
"I've... got nothing."
Gun clenched his fists.
"There has to be something."
Silence filled the room.
Then Waver suddenly spoke.
"...Maybe there is."
Everyone looked at him.
"Our abilities."
Luna tilted her head.
"What about them?"
"They're compatible."
Gun blinked.
"...Compatible?"
Waver nodded.
"Ashen Veil creates an area."
"It does."
"My Ice Prison controls an area."
"..."
"If we combine them..."
Luna slowly understood.
"A Conjoined Nexus..."
Gun looked between them.
"You think it'll work?"
Waver closed his eyes.
"I don't know."
"But we've never tried."
Slax smiled.
"Now that's interesting."
Luna stepped beside Waver.
They both raised a hand.
Their Nexuses activated simultaneously.
Ash filled the battlefield.
Ice spread through it.
For a brief second the two powers violently rejected one another.
Steam exploded everywhere.
The room trembled.
Jack instinctively stepped backwards.
Gun shielded his face.
The mana in the room became unstable.
Then—
Everything changed.
The smoke darkened.
Tiny crystals began floating inside it.
Instead of burning heat...
An unbearable cold spread across the arena.
A blue notification appeared before all of them.
Conjoined Nexus discovered.
Ability Mutation Created.
[Freezing Veil]
The veil expanded until it covered almost the entire training room.
Instead of burning whoever entered...
It continuously froze everything inside.
Even the air itself crystallized.
Slax's smile disappeared.
"...Now that's impressive."
Gun's eyes widened.
"It worked!"
"GO!"
Everyone attacked together.
Gun dashed in.
Jack disappeared into the frozen mist.
Ice spikes erupted from every direction.
Frozen daggers bounced through the veil while Luna continued feeding mana into the mutation.
For the first time...
Slax's movement slowed.
Only slightly.
But enough.
Gun watched carefully.
"...We got him!"
Jack laughed.
"We actually did it!"
The veil disappeared.
Everyone collapsed onto the floor from exhaustion.
Luna was breathing so heavily she couldn't even stand.
Waver looked even worse.
The mutation had consumed nearly all of their mana.
Gun grinned.
"We won."
Slax remained silent.
Then...
He smirked.
Gun frowned.
"...What's with that face?"
Before Slax could answer—
Waver sighed.
"...Calm down."
Everyone turned toward him.
"It was actually..."
He looked at the frozen marks left on the floor.
"...0.099 seconds."
Silence.
Jack blinked.
"...Seriously?"
Waver nodded.
"So we did not, in fact, beat the challenge."
Gun stared blankly.
"...One thousandth..."
Luna let out a defeated laugh.
"We lost by one thousandth of a second..."
Slax slowly removed the blindfold.
Then he smiled.
"So you figured it out."
He looked directly at Waver.
"I was wondering if anyone would notice."
Gun rubbed the back of his head.
"So... we lose."
"You do."
Slax answered honestly.
"But..."
He reached into his coat.
"...I'm giving you a reward anyway."
Everyone looked up.
Slax placed four smooth crystalline stone onto the table nearby.
It was shimmering with ancient mana.
"Blessing Stone."
Jack's jaw dropped.
"Seriously?"
"You didn't win."
Slax smiled.
"But you impressed me."
He looked around the room.
"You experimented."
"You combined abilities."
"You created something entirely new instead of relying on what you already knew."
He nodded approvingly.
"That's exactly the kind of climber this tower needs."
Luna smiled despite barely having enough energy to lift her head.
Waver simply closed his eyes in relief.
Even Jack couldn't stop grinning.
But in the end, the Divers were wondering about something; they never really thought about who should get the blessing.
After some talking, they decided that Gun, as their leader, should be the one to get it.
Gun carefully picked up his stone.
"So... how do these work?"
"You simply accept its blessing. And it will reward you with something unique to your nature."
Gun closed his hand around the crystal.
Warm light spread through his body.
The stone dissolved into countless silver particles before entering him.
A notification appeared.
Blessing Acquired.
Moon Blessing
The blessing of the eternal moon.
Effects:
The user no longer ages naturally.
Their appearance permanently remains at its physical prime.
Their lifespan is greatly extended.
Gun blinked.
"...I'm... never getting old?"
Slax laughed.
"Looks like you got something that maybe rivals even my blessing."
"But still having an enormous lifespan could become a curse of its own in the future, so be careful."
The following morning, it was finally time to leave.
The Divers stood outside the mansion.
Luna bowed politely.
"Thank you for everything."
Jack smiled.
"I'll definitely remember this."
Even Waver gave a respectful nod.
Zann smiled warmly.
"I hope we meet again."
Slax simply folded his arms.
"I expect great things from all of you."
The Divers began walking toward the staircase leading upward.
One after another, they disappeared onto the next floor.
Jack first.
Luna second.
Waver third.
Gun was the last one.
Just before he stepped onto the stairs—
"Gun."
He turned around.
Slax stood alone behind him.
His expression had become unusually serious.
He reached into his coat and produced a small black object wrapped in old cloth.
When Gun looked at it, only one thing appeared.
Item Name: [???]
He frowned.
Slax placed the mysterious item into Gun's hands.
"Keep it with you."
Gun looked back up.
"...What does it do?"
Slax smiled faintly.
"I won't tell you."
Gun raised an eyebrow.
"Why?"
"Because someday..."
Slax looked toward the endless tower stretching into the sky.
"...you'll know exactly when to use it."
There was something about his voice that made Gun stop asking questions.
He carefully stored the mysterious item inside his inventory.
"...Thank you."
Slax nodded once.
"No."
He smiled.
"Thank you for reminding me what young climbers are capable of."
Gun returned the smile before turning toward the staircase.
A second later, he climbed onto the next floor.
His teammates were already waiting for him.
Jack waved.
"Took you long enough."
Gun looked back one final time.
Slax and Zann stood in front of their mansion, watching them leave.
He gave them one last respectful bow.
Then the four Divers turned together and walked deeper into the Tenth Floor, carrying new blessings, new knowledge...
...and a mysterious item whose purpose even Gun could not begin to imagine yet.