Genius Chapter 126: First and Second Floors

Chapter 126: First and Second Floors

Translated by Karai of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Addis

ScarletFruit saw that a teammate had died, and immediately used a resurrection skill to bring ClearWind back to life. “Dude, weren’t you on the seventh floor? This is too funny!”

“I got ambushed by a monster!” ClearWind said as he climbed back to his feet. He turned his head and saw the chaos on the first floor, with monsters swarming everywhere, and he took a couple of steps back. “Whoa, it’s really lively down here on the first floor.”

All the murals were now lit up, brightening the entire floor.

ScarletFruit asked, “Did you look at the murals too?”

ClearWind replied, “I didn’t even get the chance! I got ambushed first.”

ClearWind was barely holding on with a sliver of health, so ScarletFruit quickly healed him up. “Run quickly, something’s not right here.”

Watermelon had just finished off a small monster and took a few steps back, seeing the horde of monsters swarming towards them. He glanced around, “Do we have enough people? Can we clear these monsters?”

“We can’t clear them!” Cantaloupe, who was closest to the monsters, shouted as he ran and healed himself. “If all the monsters from the murals come out, there won’t be enough space on this floor for them to stand.”

He had the clearest view since he was closest. He had only glanced at four or five of the murals, but there were at least six or seven hundred monsters depicted. If all of them came to life, there wouldn’t be enough room on this floor to even stand, let alone fight—they’d be crushed to death by sheer numbers.

Apple was on the second floor, with the chaos of a major battle happening above and teammates being overrun by monsters below. “You guys are having way too much fun,” he remarked.

As the murals lit up, he stood on the edge and looked down, seeing everything much more clearly. He could faintly make out the patterns on the murals, which seemed to be moving, almost as if they had come to life. The flames on the candelabras next to the murals on his floor also seemed to be affected by the murals below, growing brighter and illuminating the opposite side. “Whoa, your first floor lit up, and it looks like my side is getting brighter too.”

“Don’t start looking at those murals!” Cantaloupe warned during a brief pause, “I don’t know what’s going on up there, but these murals are definitely suspicious.”

He regretted ever looking at the murals. Who would have thought that after just a glance, so many monsters would spawn? If he hadn’t quickly applied a healing buff, those monsters might have taken him out in one wave.

Apple then noticed something strange. “Wait a minute, look at the stairs—the lights on them just turned on.”

This remark immediately drew everyone’s attention. The players on the first floor looked over and noticed that a few candles had indeed lit up on the previously dark staircase, allowing them to see the steps more clearly. They realized that the stair treads were unevenly spaced, and without the lights, someone could easily miss a step and fall.

ScarletFruit remarked, “So the murals are connected to the stairs too…”

Watermelon surveyed the surroundings, noticing that more and more monsters were emerging, far outnumbering their group of five. “Head to the stairs, let’s move to the second floor.”

The surrounding candle flames flickered even more intensely as countless small monsters began to pour out from the murals, their pace quickening. This forced the players on the first floor to move closer to the central staircase. As they reached the vicinity of the stairs, ready to ascend, they suddenly noticed that one of their teammates was nearly overwhelmed by the horde of monsters.

Bitter Melon shouted, “Go on without me, don’t worry about me!”

The players on the first floor were left speechless.

They suddenly realized that they had almost forgotten about Bitter Melon, their only warrior. Could they really just leave him behind? That was out of the question.

Yu Zhen, listening to the chatter in the group, understood that this split situation was part of the challenge’s difficulty. They could either all jump down to help those below or wait at the top, but jumping down wasn’t wise. The full scope of this tower quest was still unclear, and they hadn’t fully explored the murals on the middle levels. ClearWind’s fall had already left them in the dark about the situation on the upper floors, and there could be unknown dangers lurking below.

“The people above won’t be coming down to help you,” Yu Zhen said quickly. “You’ve got one tank, two healers, and two DPS—your setup should hold for a while. Healers, save one person at a time and then move on. After rescuing someone, keep pushing upward.”

ZenSlasher glanced at Yu Zhen, “Should we look at the murals?”

Yu Zhen turned to examine the complex murals behind him. “Yes, and we need to study all the murals on this level.”

At that moment, FireworksAndLanterns waved from the other side, “Have you figured out the murals yet? I think I found something over here.”

Yu Zhen frowned, “Let’s go check it out.”

The people upstairs were still examining the murals, while the bottom three floors were a scene of chaos. On the third floor, summoners and beasts were racing around, and the first floor was a complete disaster. Apple stood on the middle second floor, torn between joining the high-level players in analyzing the murals or staying put to play it safe.

The situation on the first floor grew more perilous by the moment. Bitter Melon, who had the highest health in all of Celestial Horizon, was down to just half of it. Seeing the encroaching wave of monsters, Watermelon made up his mind. As a leader of an elite team, he knew that in this situation, the only option was to charge forward, not hold back. “Cantaloupe, keep healing me. ScarletFruit, ClearWind, rescue Bitter Melon.”

Without hesitation, he charged into the horde of monsters, and the others quickly followed.

ScarletFruit exclaimed, “How are we supposed to rescue him? Bitter Melon is moving too slowly.”

Watermelon responded, “Pick him up and carry him!”

“Right!”

ScarletFruit and ClearWind dashed into the horde, flanking Bitter Melon. On their first attempt, they couldn’t lift him, so they had to muster all their strength to hoist him up and start running toward the stairs. Cantaloupe continuously healed Watermelon under heavy pressure. Seeing that Bitter Melon was successfully rescued, he shouted, “Watermelon, move out!”

Watermelon quickly broke free and dashed back to his teammates.

“Bitter Melon, you really need to lose some weight,” ScarletFruit panted, struggling to catch his breath. “Come on, keep moving, let’s get up the stairs.”

The group hurried onto the staircase, but as soon as they stepped on it, the previously upward-spiraling stairs suddenly reversed direction, spiraling downward instead. The speed increased significantly, as if trying to drag them deeper into the tower. They had no choice but to run upward against the staircase’s motion.

Apple, who had been giving a real-time update to the two commanders above, was dumbfounded when he saw the staircase reverse and his teammates desperately running against it. “What is this? A race against the stairs?”

As he watched, something massive suddenly fell from above, crashing straight down to the bottom floor.

ScarletFruit jumped in shock, “Holy crap! Why do you guys upstairs keep dropping stuff down here?”

Watermelon, pushing Bitter Melon forward, urged, “Don’t stop! Keep moving up! Those monsters are coming!”

A beast with glowing red eyes crashed to the bottom, letting out a deafening roar that echoed through the tower, merging with the surrounding monsters to create a terrifying atmosphere. If a player fell to the first floor, there was no doubt they’d meet their end.

Apple, witnessing this chaotic scene, looked up to the third floor and saw another massive figure plummet down, crashing onto the second floor before rolling down to the first. He quickly backed away, noticing the faint glow of skills being activated in the darkness of the third floor, indicating a fierce battle was unfolding. He had initially thought the big shots were only fighting a single beast, but now it seemed like they had unleashed all the monsters from his floor as well.

[[Senro Tower – First Floor] Strange creatures have emerged. Stop them quickly.]

[[Senro Tower – Third Floor] A rampaging beast has escaped. Stop it quickly.]

Su Mo knocked yet another beast down the stairs and, as he glimpsed at the quest challenge log’s updates, he continued to carefully analyze the current situation amidst the ongoing battle.”

The Senro Tower had ten floors in total, and both he and the first floor had triggered quest reminders, but the floor ClearWind was on had not. Based on the current situation, the murals on different floors seemed to present different challenges, and it was likely that the conditions in the upper five floors differed from those in the lower five.

A five-star quest was never simple; there was definitely some secret hidden in this tower. The first floor’s murals depicted humanoid monsters, while the third floor’s murals showed rampaging beasts. Without exception, these creatures were attacking their positions, though it remained unclear if their emergence was directly linked to viewing the murals. However, the task description in the quest log was clear:

“Stop them.”

To progress through the Senro Tower, the murals couldn’t be ignored—they had to be seen.

“Apple, go look at the murals on the second floor,” Su Mo’s voice came through the command channel. “Quickly, don’t waste any time.”

When Apple heard the command, he didn’t waste any time worrying about whether the murals were haunted. He quickly turned and ran deeper into the area to examine the murals. The flickering candlelight illuminated the strange patterns within the eerie murals, but when Apple got a closer look, he couldn’t immediately make sense of what he was seeing.

The murals didn’t depict monsters, nor did they seem to form a continuous scene. Instead, each mural displayed the exact same image.

“My murals aren’t connected… and they all look the same,” Apple said, struggling to find the right words. After thinking hard, he added, “These things are weird. They kind of look like barrels??? Yeah, I think it’s a smoking barrel or something?”

ScarletFruit, still panting as they raced up the stairs, replied, “Has Celestial Horizon gotten so ridiculous that they’re using barrels as bosses now?”

Watermelon chimed in, “Boss? More like just a lowly mob.”

ClearWind was exhausted. “I feel like this staircase is more intense than a high-intensity treadmill workout.”

Bitter Melon responded, “Don’t talk while running; it wastes energy.”

Suddenly, Cantaloupe said, “Wait a minute, Apple looked at the murals, so why haven’t the monsters come out?”

The team paused, stunned by the realization.

“Yeah, we’ve all been attacked by the monsters in the murals after looking at them. But how come nothing happened when Apple checked his?” ScarletFruit asked.

“Yeah, Apple, what’s going on?” ScarletFruit added.

“How should I know?” Apple replied, baffled.

Watermelon hesitated for a moment. “Did you equip some lucky gear or something?”

Apple was speechless.

The other teammates were puzzled by the unfair situation, and even Apple himself was confused. Could it be that he had truly become the chosen one for this quest, uniquely favored and not attacked? Was it really that easy?

While the team discussed this, the two commanders also started talking.

Yu Zhen spoke up, “Momo, the floors we initially refreshed were 1, 2, 3, 5, and 7.”

“Yes,” Su Mo replied while using the bear to fend off the beasts in front of him. Holding his staff, he continued, “The only even-numbered floor is Apple’s.”

Upon hearing the two leaders discussing, Apple looked at the mural in front of him, which now only depicted barrels. He suddenly wondered if being the chosen one might not be such a good thing after all. He couldn’t help but ask, “Is there something even more terrifying on my floor…?”

Su Mo suggested, “Try touching the mural to see if there are any other mechanisms.”

“No way…” Apple said, as he turned his attention to the mural in front of him. He braced himself and placed his hand on the mural.

Instead of feeling the mural’s texture, his hand unexpectedly sank into it.

Meanwhile, patterns of his hand suddenly appeared in the mural, as if his hand had become part of the mural. Startled, he immediately pulled his hand back. “What the hell, my hand just went into it.”

“Like that?” Su Mo said, “Then try to see if you can get the burrell out.”

Apple was bewildered. “？？？”

The people on the stairs fell silent, unsure whether it was more fortunate to be running up the stairs or to be touching the mural.

The idea of something emerging from the mural was already frightening enough, but now the leaders were asking them to retrieve it?

At that moment, the creatures on the first floor grew even more frenzied. They surged toward the stairs in a relentless wave. Some of the monsters even climbed onto the stairs and continued to chase ScarletFruit and the others as they climbed upward. Additionally, the beasts that had fallen to the first floor had also arrived, their front claws tentatively probing the stairs as if they were very interested in the people climbing above.

The five people on the stairs were terrified. Not only were there monsters chasing them, but the beasts’ leaps made the entire staircase shake, as if it could collapse at any moment.

ScarletFruit trembled as he said, “What a brutal start. Weren’t we here to fight monsters?”

Cantaloupe wondered, “Is it just my imagination, or does it feel like the stairs are speeding up??”

ClearWind, running at the front of the group, suddenly regretted his choices. “I could have been enjoying the seventh floor in peace…”

Watermelon, pushing the exhausted Bitter Melon to the back of the group, said, “Boss, you need to put in some effort too!”

“Ugh,” Bitter Melon sighed, his face flushed, “I’m trying.”

The team was in chaos, and Su Mo, once again blocking a beast, saw that his health had dropped to 50% while his Flower Spirit ability was on cooldown. He urged, “Apple.”

Apple responded, “…I’m coming, I’m coming.”

He immediately reached into the mural.

The mural felt like mud; Apple felt as though his hand was stirring in it. After struggling for a while without finding the burrell, he continued to focus on the pattern of his hand in the mural, enduring the strange sensation as he carefully moved his hand toward the burrell’s location. After about ten seconds of searching, he finally felt something. Grasping the edge of the object, he pulled it out with all his strength.

With a loud thud, something was pulled out and a burrell of similar height to him landed on top of him.

Su Mo heard the noise and asked, “Did you get it?”

“I got it, but what’s this burrell for?” Apple struggled to free himself and, once up, moved away from the bucket, keeping a wary eye on the smoke rising from it. “It’s still smoking, and I didn’t dare to smell it. It doesn’t seem to be of much use.”

Su Mo quickly dealt with another beast and said, “Throw the bucket down to the next floor.”

FireworksAndLanterns couldn’t help but comment, “The first floor is such a mess, everything is being dumped there.”

ScarletFruit added, “This isn’t right. Are you treating the first floor like a garbage dump?”

Apple, receiving the instructions, didn’t hesitate. Holding his breath, he picked up the burrell and tossed it over the edge. It landed near the stairs with a clunk.

Below, the monsters in the vicinity of the bucket seemed to have calmed down, creating a stark contrast to the surrounding chaotic creatures.

Apple stared for a while, and after careful observation, said, “The monsters next to the burrell seem to be moving slower…”

Su Mo said coldly, “Keep going. Get everything out of the wall murals.”

Apple immediately understood and quickly moved to another mural, reaching inside.

As the group climbing the stairs reached the second floor, they saw Apple extracting items from various murals. With each item removed, the murals on Apple’s floor lit up one after another. ScarletFruit asked, “Can we just jump down to the second floor?”

“It’s a bit difficult,” Cantaloupe explained. “The gap between the stairs and the edge of the second floor is about 3 meters. In theory, you could jump across with lightness skills, but don’t forget the stairs are constantly rotating downwards. There’s only a vertical pole on the outer edge with no horizontal bar to stand on. Celestial Horizon’s realism is very high. When you jump out, the rotation also affects you, and without any handholds in the air, it greatly increases the risk of misjudging your landing. If you misjudge the height or direction, you might fall straight down.”

ScarletFruit looked at the new teammate and said, “Wow, you’re amazing!”

Watermelon added, “Why not consider going to the third floor? The lights there are also on.”

After Watermelon’s reminder, everyone suddenly noticed that the third floor’s wall paintings had also lit up at some point, and the corresponding stairs had illuminated as well. At that moment, a figure leaped towards the stairs from the third floor, arcing through the air in a parabolic trajectory and landing with a loud crash.

The noise startled everyone, and they quickly looked up, spotting Su Mo in the staircase.

ScarletFruit exclaimed, “Big Brother!?”

ClearWind commented, “That’s quite a jump!”

Having illuminated all the wall paintings on the third floor, Su Mo decisively abandoned the confrontation with the beasts there. He carefully aimed and jumped onto the rotating stairs. He nearly got thrown off by the spinning stairs but managed to wedge his weapon between the steps to stabilize himself. He quickly climbed to the fourth floor, using his character’s rapid movement speed to keep up with the stairs’ rotation, and stepped up quickly to reach the area above the fourth floor.

At that moment, he made a decisive jump outward.

The others below watched in suspense as Su Mo indeed managed to jump to the fourth floor.

ScarletFruit looked at his teammates and asked, “Didn’t you say it was very difficult to jump?”

Watermelon kicked away a small monster that had climbed up from below and added, “He has a nickname, ‘The First Theoretical Master of Celestial Horizon.'”

Author’s note: In this team, Su Mo and Brother Wanderer’s teammates were:

• Functional Assassin: Watermelon
• Agile Assassin: ZenSlasher
• Slowest Warrior: Bitter Melon
• Top Lucky Charmer: ScarletFruit
• Ultimate Jinx Duo: apple, ClearWind
• Mascot: FireworksAndLanterns
• And now added: Theoretical Master, Cantaloupe.