Immediately, Zack called out to the Keeper of Time in his mind. He needed answers. However, no matter how many times he called, no matter how he tried to reach out, that damn higher being—who was always around to nitpick every little thing he did—remained completely silent.
’Damn it! What is he busy with?!’
He had accepted the Keeper of Time’s offer because he wanted to continue breathing.
To continue existing.
To continue living.
That was the only reason he had agreed to come here.
But now...
Someone was telling him that his very existence might be nothing more than a lie.
How could that be possible?
Around him, Austin, Charles, Isaac, and Yuris were also lost. Max’s words had left a heavy impact on them.
The doubts he planted refused to vanish, lingering in their minds even after he had left. So, by the time Skyler finally returned with the blood, the first thing that greeted him was not relief or excitement.
It was a group of questioning eyes staring directly at him.
Skyler helped Riruru and the mermaid, who had already woken up, out of the space pocket before meeting their questioning gazes.
He frowned slightly.
"What happened?"
Yuris wanted to tell Skyler about Max so he could clear everything up. But Zack stopped him. Fear had taken root in his heart—the fear that his existence might not be real.
And he didn’t dare let Skyler know what Max had said. Skyler already carried far too many secrets. What if he actually knew the truth? What if that truth was something Zack could never bear to hear?
So, Zack forced those thoughts down and spoke.
"It’s nothing."
A strained smile appeared on his face.
"Where did you go?"
He asked.
Skyler noticed the strain in Zack’s smile. He also noticed the way Zack kept nervously scratching at his thumbnail. But instead of pressing him for answers, Skyler chose to let it go.
A faint smile appeared on his face as he raised a vial filled with blood.
"I went to get this."
He shook the vial before continuing.
"Now, all we have to do is plant a tree, and in five days, we’ll be able to reach the 52nd level of the Battle Royal."
Everyone’s attention was immediately diverted. Even Zack was momentarily lost in confusion. The doubts and worries that had occupied his mind were pushed aside as he stared at the strange scene unfolding before him.
Question marks seemed to appear on everyone’s faces as they watched Skyler take out a dark, unfamiliar seed. Without offering any explanation, he knelt down and planted the seed right in front of their eyes.
Then, he carefully sprinkled the blood from the vial he had shown them over the buried seed before covering it with more soil. His movements were calm and deliberate, as if he were carrying out a simple task rather than something that made absolutely no sense to everyone watching.
After finishing, Skyler turned his gaze toward the mermaid.
"Let’s water it."
The mermaid quickly nodded. Without asking a single question, she formed a small ball of water and poured it over the spot where the seed had been planted.
This only made the others even more confused.
They stared at the patch of soil, then at Skyler, as if waiting for him to reveal some hidden explanation. But Skyler simply stood there, watching the ground with a calm and patient expression.
So... planting a tree could actually lead them to the 52nd level?
Everyone exchanged uncertain looks.
Was this some kind of secret method that had remained undiscovered by everyone in the universe?
Yuris couldn’t help but mutter.
"What the actual hell?"
Finally, Skyler spared them a glance, but his words still made no sense.
"Alright, we are camping around the tree. From today until the next five days, all of us need to do just one thing: protect the tree!"
Isaac couldn’t help but speak up.
"But there’s no tree...?"
Skyler rubbed his hands together as he gazed expectantly at the spot where he had planted the dark seed.
"Soon, you will see it... very soon."
Seeing nothing sprout from the ground, Skyler felt dissatisfied and glanced at the mermaid again.
"How about watering it once more?"
The mermaid nodded and did as he asked.
Those watching could only stare in silence as the same scene repeated two more times. The more it happened, the more bewildered they became. Finally, Isaac couldn’t take it anymore and stepped forward to stop Skyler.
"Hey, hey, nothing is going to grow if you keep watering it over and over again. Look, the place where the seed was planted is already flooded."
Skyler frowned but eventually left the seed alone. However, he didn’t forget to shift the responsibility onto Isaac, who seemed to be the most knowledgeable about such things.
While Skyler rested, Charles suddenly brought up the matter of the blood.
"Whose blood was in the vial?"
The moment he asked, everyone’s eyes turned toward Skyler, silently waiting for his answer.
Skyler paused for a moment before letting out a quiet sigh.
"Just someone."
He didn’t dare tell them the truth—that the blood actually belonged to Yuris’ older brother, Argon Steel.
The strongest Light of their continent.
After Skyler had left the Battle Royal, he headed straight toward Argon’s guild in search of a suitable source of blood for the Dark Seed of Progression. However, when he arrived, he found Argon’s unconscious body inside the guild and realized that the man had already collapsed.
Seeing this, Skyler simply took a small amount of his blood without hesitation.
That’s why he came back so soon.
Anyway, not like anyone will ever find out.
Finally, everyone set up a camp around the place where the seed had been planted.
No one was sure whether Skyler’s words would actually come true. Could this tiny seed, along with a few drops of blood, really grow into something capable of sending them to the 52nd floor? With no other choice, they could only wait and see.
But for the first time, their confidence in Skyler’s words began to drop. Why? It was because even after four days of boredom, not even a single leaf had sprouted from the ground. The once hopeful atmosphere slowly turned into one filled with doubt.
Even Skyler himself looked panicked.