This next section is really building the tension well! I love the contrast between Zeke's ambition and Solomon's clinical, observant nature.
Here is the grammar correction for this part. I have focused on fixing tense consistency (shifting everything to past tense for a smooth narrative) and correcting minor punctuation errors while keeping your specific vocabulary and tone.
Grammar Correction
"Wow, what a fucking sight. Imagine if we were the ones there instead…" With a soft smile on his mouth, Zeke stared directly at the four amassing the attention of almost everyone around.
Throughout all of his years living in such a dangerous place, Solomon had managed to pick up the skill of reading people's intentions. And although Zeke had a confident posture and a somewhat endearing smile, Solomon knew that he was regretful and envious at the same time as he looked at the four centers of attention.
But as sad as he looked, it wasn't like he only had that look today. In truth, Zeke was a very ambitious man. Although he had great potential with an Epic Class manifestation, he wasn't able to become as great as those who were here, barely being in the strongest thousand. Due to an injury that was left untreated for too long, Zeke could only be healed through special means. Thus, he lived most of his life inside the labyrinth as an injured man. And Solomon wanted to remove that stigma from him—one of the goals of the mercenary guild.
"Let's go. We have a long walk ahead of us. Let's listen in on the strategy." Solomon stood up from his lying position and brushed some pieces of dirt and leaves hanging onto his pants. After which, he patted the back of his clothes to keep them clean as well.
"Since we're sure every single one of you talented and hardworking individuals knows the purpose of this gathering, we'll keep it short for everyone else." A well-kept man who was wearing a suit and tie started to speak up. He had long yet well-kept blonde hair that complimented his fair white skin. Furthermore, he was tall and well-built. It wasn't an exaggeration to call him handsome.
But despite his looks, he still oozed a friendly vibe. Most would attribute it to his smiley, foxy yellow eyes that shone brightest when he smiled. But of course, despite his friendliness, his strength on the battlefield was unfathomable: The Eternal Maleficent, James Cho.
"I'm tired of seeing this bastard. His face pisses me off." Zeke, who was watching intently, smacked his lips before crossing his arms in annoyance.
"You see him that much?" Solomon asked Zeke, wondering when he had gone to meet him.
"Nah, his annoyingly handsome and friendly face that you see in every newspaper annoys the hell out of me," Zeke explained.
Solomon noticed that there was something going on between the two, but he decided to put it aside. Whatever form of hatred Zeke might have for James, he had nothing to do with either of them—unless Zeke asked for help, of course.
In the middle of his explanation, James suddenly looked around from the front of the crowd all the way to the back. He seemed to be judging or weighing the total strength of the party.
"It's been quite some time since our last expedition at the District of the Fallen. And it was an expedition that was filled with sacrifices," James said with a sullen expression. His face was conflicted and his body language screamed anger.
Unless he was a great actor, Solomon found him to be genuinely kind and caring for the general populace. But of course, he didn't set James to that level strictly. He didn't know him personally, after all.
"However, what matters most is that the harbinger fell by our own hands. And now, humanity shall claim the strength it once feared. Although our manifester is still training to control the power of the harbinger, he's making serious progress," James added, his sullen face now a face filled with pride and hope.
Finding his speech useless, Solomon placed his hands inside his pockets and started to daydream. But just as he was about to fall deep into his own thoughts, he suddenly exchanged eye contact with James, sending him out of his stupor. James smiled and nodded at him before setting his gaze on someone else and continuing his speech.
'The hell? What does this guy want?' Solomon, weirded out by the sudden interaction, turned to look at Zeke, who didn't seem to notice what had just occurred. Although they knew each other, they weren't close enough to warrant a smile. Regardless, it was still just a simple smile. He wasn't certain of James's actual personality, but he decided not to give it much thought. If James needed something from him, he'll just approach him.
…
A few minutes later, after some briefing, they finally started to head down. A shifter who had a Legendary Tier Manifestation—specifically a Dungeon Core—led them down the hole. He made a platform that could house all of the members of the raid, as a few others helped him float the platform down the shaft at a steady pace.
He had the ability to create and manipulate structures that would normally be found inside dungeons, including massive stone walls, floors, structures, and traps. He could also summon creatures up to Epic class and have them fight for him. It was an incredible manifestation. But despite being among the top hundred, his sole purpose for now was to act as the elevator to the 61st floor.
Thanks to his hard work, it didn't take long for them to finally see the bottom. The labyrinth had a special way of blocking humans from diving any deeper than the floor they had cleared. An indestructible barrier stood directly just below the deepest floor they had cleared.
Clearing a floor is more complicated than simply killing the strongest creature inside. There are multiple steps and requirements, often giving everyone different roles in fulfilling the clear requirements. One squad could be sent to play politics with old elven royalty, while the other is sent to the frontlines to battle other kingdoms. Furthermore, the clear requirements aren't clear whatsoever. As you go about your life through the floor, there might be hints, but there's no major clue. That's what makes Mythical and Legendary creatures even harder to come by. Most of them aren't part of the clear requirements, and each floor is one entire country wide.
As they arrived at their destination, Solomon and Zeke jumped off the platform and landed directly on the barrier blocking the hole. In front of them was a massive stone gate, with inscriptions and ancient designs etched all over it.
"Frontlines! Get ready!" With everyone off the floating platform, James waved his arms, calling out the attention of everyone.
"Frontlines. That's my role. See you in the afterlife in case a massive laser obliterates me in an instant." Solomon extended his hands out of his pockets, waving to Zeke as he walked forward towards the front.
"Yeah right, if that happens, you'd probably be the only one to survive," Zeke scoffed at him.
With a small smirk, Solomon shoved his arms back in his pockets before finally arriving directly in front of the gate.
"You scared?" Suddenly, a voice ever so familiar to him came from his left. Solomon looked to his left and saw a burly man, nearly twice his height, staring at him from within his thick armor. No skin peered through his gear, and only his eyes shone from the light escaping from the gap between the gates.
"Ryan Sho. I'll attend your funeral." Realizing who it was, Solomon replied cheekily.
"Ha, even in the face of death, you're still so calm," Ryan scoffed.
"I don't die."
"Well, maybe that's w—"
As the two started to bicker, a loud sound suddenly echoed through the gates in front of them.
"What the…."
"What was that?"
The loud sound almost sounded like the screech of a massive bird. Almost everyone around had fought massive beasts before, and the sound from outside was no different. No one knew exactly what was behind those doors, but everyone knew it was not human.
"Scouts, can anyone see through the door?" Solomon, who now brandished a serious expression, held his satchels tightly as he called for the surrounding scouts to check the opposite side.
"Nothing here."
"Nope."
"None."
A continuous wave of denial filled the place, leading to an increase in nervousness and murmurs. However, there was one reply that put a stop to the murmurings.
"I see something…" The place grew deathly silent.
"I see a person?" One of the scouts had his eyes glowing blue. Sweat started to drop from his forehead, and it was clear from his expression alone that he was confused.
"A person? A humanoid?" one of the people beside him asked.
"No. It's an actual human…"
As he said so, everyone else wore the same confused expression he had. They had thought that they were the first group to ever touch the 61st floor. So how come there was a human behind the door?
"Was there perhaps a different scouting team who went ahead?" Solomon tried to make sense of the situation just like the others. He called out to the other trailblazers.
"No, there were a huge number of our guild members and some detection techs at the 60th Floor; no one should be able to be inside. Unless…" James, who had a troubled expression, held his chin, wondering what the identity of the person could be. "Does this district have human residents?" James flicked his head upwards, wondering if his hypothesis actually was possible.
"What?!"
"There's no way."
"You're telling me I have to kill other humans?"
"Wait, maybe we have to save them or something from an attack."
"But where did they come from? Is it Earth or another world?"
A sudden burst of questions flew all over the place. Although it was also a gamble on what they would get per section, they never expected for humans to be one.
"What do we do?" Not knowing what to do, one member of the party stared at James.
…
James, who still had his chin on his hand, stared at the stone gate wondering what their next step should be. In the next five minutes, everyone who had a knack for discussing strategies, Solomon included, started to form a plan.
First, they had Ron Circa, The Joker, perform a tarot reading. They made him predict whether the person outside was initially aggressive to them. Being broad, such as asking if he's aggressive to them or if there's danger outside, wouldn't work. Danger is always present even in Floor 0. As for asking if he was generally aggressive, it still wouldn't work, as that is changeable. What wouldn't change is if, the moment they opened the door, the person outside would kill them or not.
After a few seconds, the prediction seemed to directly tell them no. This provided relief to some of them, but for precaution, they prepared better. Frontliners stood up front, as they all held a resurrection stone. Resurrection stones are expensive items that were invented exactly three years ago by Lyn, the greatest engineer in the labyrinth. They are guaranteed to block any damage the holder receives. Although it doesn't actually resurrect someone, the ability to absorb ultimate moves—even from harbingers—granted the item its name.
Solomon thought it was crazy how the Trailblazers, particularly James and Ron, were just able to spend that much money in an instant. But as it was a matter of everyone losing their lives, it was a worthy investment.
After that precaution, Julius and his army of flying shifters were to hover directly just behind the frontliners, ready to lift them up the moment the stone broke. Finally, protected by the frontliners up front, the dungeon core shifter responsible for leading them down would raise the rest upwards in case of conflict. The rest who could boost their speed upwards would help the best way they could.
Solomon, who was among the people upfront, carried the stone with his right hand. Right now, he was contemplating whether he should just pocket the item there and then, since even if most of him got evaporated, as long as he had a decent portion left, he'd survive.
'Hmm… should I just stick with that gorilla?' He thought to himself, gazing up and down at Ryan who now had a massive shield directly in front of him. 'Hmm, I could do that. This guy's manifestation makes him massive, right? Wouldn't the protection area of the stone be big too?'
After a few seconds of further preparation, the entire party was finally ready to fight back. Solomon also decided to use the stone, since he really didn't know how harsh this floor could be.
"Let's go…" James waved, directly starting the confrontation. As he did so, vines traveled across the ground, starting from his feet and heading towards the massive stony gate.
In an instant, vines almost as thick as a human's thigh wrapped around the gate doors, contracting here and there, making the door screech from friction.
"I'll open it in 3…"
"2"
"1"
…
"Hello."