The group materialized in the center of the city alongside other players.
There was no surprise in that. After three floors, the sensation of passing through a portal no longer carried any impact. What drew their attention was the environment around them.
The city was large. Truly large.
Wide streets crossed in clean, deliberate lines. Buildings of pale stone rose in multiple levels, some with balconies, others with flat rooftops occupied by people watching the movement below. There was noise. Voices. Footsteps. Vendors arguing over prices. Children running between players far too heavily armed for that kind of scene. A bell rang somewhere in the distance, marking something no one seemed particularly concerned with following.
"At least it doesn't look like a dead place," Jay commented, rolling his neck as he observed the movement.
"There are a lot of players on this floor," Sienna replied, already studying their surroundings carefully.
Before they could move any farther, the system interface opened before them.
No flashy effects.No soundtrack.No speech.
Just a short, direct notification, almost indifferent:
[New Feature Unlocked]Class Sigils
The message remained for a few seconds… and vanished.
Marcus blinked.
"Sigils… of what?"
"Class," Elenya repeated. "But that doesn't explain anything."
Jay quickly opened the menu, sliding his fingers through the air.
"No new tab. No tutorial. No description."
"Then we'll understand it later," Ethan said naturally. "The system usually works like that."
They began walking, blending into the city's flow. As they advanced, it became clear that this was not a starting point. There were many players. More than on previous floors. And they did not look like newcomers.
Equipment marked by recent use. Dent armor, torn capes, weapons patched with improvised repairs. Some groups whispered among themselves. Others seemed too exhausted to speak at all. On a nearby corner, two players helped a third sit down while another cast a visibly weak healing spell for the condition the injured player was in.
"They don't look like they just arrived," Sienna observed.
"Right. Nobody climbs up this battered," Ethan replied.
A nearby group caught their attention. Four players sat on a stone bench debating something with maps spread across the ground. One of them looked up as Ethan's group approached.
"You just got here, didn't you?"
"Yes. We arrived a moment ago," Ethan confirmed.
The man let out a short, humorless laugh.
"We thought it would be just another normal floor start."
Jay frowned.
"What changed?"
"Technically? Nothing," another player answered, a short-haired woman with an irritated expression. "In practice? Everything."
She pointed toward the city gates, where two NPC guards observed the flow of players coming and going.
"The monsters out there are… strange. It's not that they're bosses or anything. They're common monsters. They just don't go down."
"They take way too long," the first man added. "Magic works. Hits land. But it feels like something's missing. Like the floor is tuned to a completely different level than the previous ones."
Marcus crossed his arms.
"And these Class Sigils?"
The group exchanged glances.
"We saw the message too," the woman said. "Every monster defeated gives a few points. Very few. Ridiculously few."
"And what are they for?" Jay asked.
"Good question," the man replied with a shrug. "If anyone figured it out, they haven't told anyone yet."
Ethan remained silent, listening more than speaking.
"We came from the Third Floor," another player continued. "It was hard there, but you could still push forward. Here… killing a simple monster is a massive challenge."
"That doesn't make sense," Sienna murmured.
They parted ways with the group and continued on.
The farther they walked, the clearer it became that the city was a gathering point. Players who had managed to climb up… but were stuck there. Not by physical barriers, but by something more subtle.
"So Sigils appear when we defeat monsters," Jay said. "But no one knows what they're for."
"And the monsters are tougher," Marcus added.
"And there are too many people standing still," Elenya said. "That's never a good sign."
Ethan observed everything like someone analyzing code he hadn't written.
It didn't look like an error.It didn't feel like punishment.
It felt like a change in logic.
"Let's leave the city," he said at last.
"Just like that?" Sienna asked.
"Yes. Talking only confirms one thing: no one is progressing without testing. We need to see it with our own eyes."
They approached the gates.
Beyond them, the land opened into uneven fields, low hills, and natural formations that hadn't existed on previous floors. At first glance, the environment seemed normal. No monsters in sight at that moment. No obvious signs of immediate danger.
"Whatever this new feature is…" Jay said, staring at the empty interface, "it wasn't added for nothing."
Ethan nodded.
"The system doesn't introduce something without purpose. If it added Sigils now, it's because this floor was designed expecting us to use them."
Marcus took a deep breath.
"Then let's figure out how."
They crossed the city gates.
And for the first time since entering the Fourth Floor, Ethan had the clear impression that this place was not interested in testing strength, reflexes, or courage.
It was testing understanding.