The bluish-white light diminished and we all returned to the mirrored chamber.
We stood there in silence for a few long seconds, a little baffled to the fact that the trial just ended.
I turned my head toward the shining mirror to our left.
[Climb the tower and save the world!]
[Main Dungeon]
[Floor conquered - 6 -]
The number on the conquered floor had turned to '6.' It confirmed the completion of the sixth floor.
Now that we were certain the mirror was not sending us back to the trial, we lowered our guard and loosened our shoulders.
Both confusion and relief were on my comrades' faces.
"Was that it? That was easier than I thought!"
Shanny remarked.
"You thought fighting 34 goblins was easy?"
I asked.
"Well, no. I was just expecting it'd be as hard as the fifth floor, you know?"
She had a point.
We did not even get the chance to use the health potions I had been working so hard to prepare. Not that I was regretful that everyone came out unscathed from the trial.
I also did not need my mana potions. Which was good since it was harder to make than health potions and I did not have plenty in supply at the moment.
"Since the sixth floor was easier than the fifth floor, doesn't it confirms the fifth was a special trial?"
Darius now asked, to which I nodded.
"It's likely. Though I doubt the fifth was the last of such challenge we'd have to face."
"When do you think the next special trial will take place?"
Jonah asked.
"My guess would be the tenth floor. Or the fifteenth. More likely the tenth. I'm leaning on the tenth."
I replied.
"So the special trials take place every five floors? 19 more of similar trial like the fifth till the 100th floor?"
Trudy stated, slightly hoping it was not true from the hint of her voice.
I nodded again.
"Since we're assuming they're taking place every five floors, let's rename the special trials to 'Quintal Trials.' Many things in the tower's trials are special. But we'd know how special a trial is if we address it as the Quintal Trial."
I proposed.
My comrades nodded supportively.
"Quintal Trial, I like that."
"It has a better ring to it compared to a 'special' trial."
"We never know how odd the rest of the trials would be. So using the term 'special' might get a little confusing as we climb higher."
"The sixth floor was also a special trial considering it had a new mission type to it."
Now that my comrades brought it up, I shifted the topic of our conversation.
"Regarding the sixth floor itself, there are things that we need to discuss. Let's gather the others and talk about it."
The others nodded to my request and we left the rift of space time.
It was barely noon after our trial, almost time for lunch.
Perfect.
While the rest were returning to the lodging, Trudy went up to the lobby's second floor and called up Party 2 that were training, as well as Jyrgil who used up the chance to practice there while Jonah and Shanny were absent.
Thankfully master did not call us for more trials for the rest of the day.
Party 2 had done their round on the fourth floor earlier in the morning before sending us to the sixth floor.
And Jyrgil had still not been assigned with more members to his party.
We used this time to tell Party 2 and 3 about the sixth floor trial while we were feasting our noon meals.
"Well it's nice to know the sixth floor isn't as hard as the fifth."
Zecht said after hearing our story.
"But the sixth floor was still comparably much harder than the fourth floor your party is currently frequenting. Not only there were three times the enemies, they were also stronger. And the trial's region was significantly larger."
I told him.
"You said the mission type was different, right? Exploration, you said?"
Norn asked.
I nodded to her.
"It was not subjugation. The trial won't end just because you kill the enemies. You need to pay attention to that moving forward. The trials are not just about fighting anymore."
I eyed at Jyrgil during my last sentence, to which he just shrugged unpleasantly.
"So? Why are you gathering us here and telling us what happened on the sixth floor? What's the point in this talk?"
The large man asked.
"Other than to warn you about how the trials have changed, I also need your help."
I told them.
"Help? What do you need our help with?"
"The mission this time is exploration. As you understood from the term, exploration means to gather information from unknown lands. There has to be some purpose as to why we're doing this."
I said.
Zecht turned his gaze to the rift of space time through the window.
"The Quintal Trial. Are you saying the sixth floor has got something to do with what will happen on the tenth?"
"It could be related to the tenth floor, or maybe the seventh floor. Or perhaps all the way to the one hundredth floor. What we all need to understand here is that everything that we found on the sixth floor will be important information later on. I just know it."
I continued.
"So far we've learned of the grand valley stretching to the east and west, the buried valley trailing to the north, the existence of goblins, the traces of black powder, and the imperial army ship sailing through the ocean to the north."
Mumbles filled the room as I mentioned the last sighting.
"Are you certain it was the imperial army ship?"
"Why would there be an imperial army ship in a trial?"
"Wait, does that mean the trials so far have been taking place in Dunia? I thought they had been happening in made-up places like this lobby."
I gestured toward that last remark mentioned by Tarran in Party 2.
"This is why I'm gathering all of you here. The sixth floor is revealing more mysteries to us regarding the forged land, especially regarding the trials we have been clearing so far. Any more information we could obtain from the sixth floor would be beneficial for our climb. And might be crucial for our survival."
I continued.
"And that is why I need your help. If master is sending Party 2, and maybe later on Party 3, to the sixth floor, please look for things that Party 1 might had missed. We could use the information."
Zecht and Norn nodded to my request.
"Norn and I have stopped gaining experience points now and the others are starting to plateau too. So it'd probably be soon when we climb to the sixth floor."
"We'll see if we can find anything new during our trip."