[Bonus Chapter for 50 Golden Tickets ~ refer to the Author's Reward system.]
Leonhardt's question lingered over the table longer than anyone expected.
"Has anyone here ever seen ruins inside the tower… that felt too quiet?"
For a few seconds no one answered. The players sitting around the table exchanged small glances as if each of them was deciding whether to respond or simply let the moment pass.
Then one of the climbers—a broad-shouldered man wearing a guild jacket draped loosely over his chair—gave a short laugh.
"Quiet ruins?" he said. "You're talking about a dungeon, not a library."
A few people chuckled softly at that.
But Leonhardt didn't smile.
He simply lifted his glass and took a small sip before placing it back down.
"In several towers in Europe," he said calmly, "there were ruins where nothing moved. No monsters. No sound. Not even ambient mana fluctuations."
He paused slightly.
"And those places were the most dangerous."
