96 Gathering Interest
A chilling silence enveloped the area in front of the Tower of Modras.
Despite the presence of numerous people, not even a breath could be heard.
And then, when the blinding white light covered the screen, the tense atmosphere reached its peak.
Gulp.
The sound of someone swallowing hard echoed loudly. Then, as the light subsided and the screen revealed the interior of the tower...
"Hehe..."
Someone let out a disbelieving chuckle.
And from that laugh onward, the crowd that had gathered exploded.
"Wow!"
"Is that even possible? No, seriously!"
"We saw it with our own eyes! This is insane, unbelievable!"
People shouted and cheered with excitement.
And as the atmosphere reached its climax, Adrias Cromwell turned his gaze toward the screen and started laughing.
"Ah..."
Someone fainted and collapsed, quickly carried away by the staff.
"Adrias is really something, huh?"
Lucia mumbled to herself as she watched the scene unfold, and Vivianne sitting beside her nodded in agreement. Her eyes gleamed with a strange fervor, and her cheeks were flushed with excitement.
"That's quite something to acknowledge."
Dianne, who was also present, offered her composed observation.
However, following Dianne's lead, Yurie sensed a restlessness.
'It's been a while since I've seen Dianne restless like this.'
Honestly, her memories were so vague that Adrias seemed incredibly formidable.
According to Yurie's perspective, what impressed her more than clearing the 10th floor with all team members surviving was the fact that Dianne seemed swayed.
"Dianne, are you okay?"
With a hint of mischief, Yurie raised an ominous eyebrow and asked, drawing the attention of Lucia and Vivianne who were with them.
"Are you okay?"
"You made a bet, remember? What are you going to do if Adrias wins?"
"What can I do? It's a bet, so I'll have to grant his wish. Besides, they've only cleared the 10th floor. It's not like I'm ignoring Adrias, but so far, I'm still winning."
Yurie also secretly believed that Adrias wouldn't be able to clear the 20th floor.
But driven by the desire to tease Dianne, she continued her teasing.
"And what if Adrias wins and asks for something absurd?"
"What? What weird demand?"
As the conversation flowed in an amusing direction, Lucia listened with keen interest. On the other hand, Vivianne's face stiffened gradually.
"Ugh, why does the already well-informed lady have to do this?"
"I-I don't even understand what you're talking about. And why do you keep saying that Adrias is going to win? I still have the upper hand so far. Why are you so insistent that Adrias will win?"
Dianne's bewildered expression was quite novel. Perhaps that's why the attention of the numerous people gathered there shifted toward Dianne.
"Hehe, just kidding. I don't think even for a second that our Dianne will lose. Ugh, our adorable Dianne."
Unable to hold back, Yurie, who couldn't stand Dianne's flustered state, pulled her into a hug.
Lucia covered her eyes with her hand, spreading her fingers to peek between them, and Vivianne mumbled to herself, still perplexed by the conversation from earlier.
"Adrias... I have to somehow do something before she takes away the first time...!"
Dianne, the winner of the tournament and the one who broke the Academy's 42-year record, Vivianne, the runner-up of the tournament, and Lucia, who had shown her exceptional talent among the third years, were all gathered together. Naturally, the gazes of the outsiders were focused on them.
Deos, the academy's headmaster, who occupied a seat among them, stroked his beard and let out a chuckle.
"Hehe, there are really a lot of talents in this generation. It's all thanks to the blessings of the Rodren Empire."
"That's true. But personally, I want to rate Adrias Cromwell even higher than the kids gathered over there."
The person who spoke was Surahan, the Head of the Knight Studies Department.
Since Berial, who was providing private instruction to Adrias, was also present, he watched Surahan with an intrigued expression.
"Can you give us a reason for that?"
"They've been exceptional from the very beginning. So it's only natural. However, Adrias is different. Of course, Vivianne Velocan, the runner-up of the tournament, has also shown unexpected growth, but does it stop with them? According to his record, it's hard to fathom how he grew so much. He came into the spotlight during the second semester of last year, not for his current achievements but for his reputation due to the Potion."
Deos nodded in agreement. He was one of the people who had directly realized Adrias wasn't ordinary.
At that moment, someone else interjected.
"Well, it's good timing since I've been curious anyway. Can you tell me more about that guy?"
Hector Kazaf.
The current Chancellor of the Rodren Empire and the head of the Kazaf Ducal family.
One of the four pillars of the empire, a prestigious family that had served the empire loyally for generations, unlike the other families that had formed independent power bases.
Duke Kazaf had long, chestnut-colored hair that flowed down to his neck. He habitually twisted his hair as he spoke.
"Quite literally. He suddenly invented the Everlast Potion last year, and since then, strange rumors have followed him. He was famous for being a bizarre magician who exercised every day. Of course, his exercise level was impressive enough for a knight academy student to gain fame. It's not common for magicians to exercise that way."
"Hmm, so you noticed he had a peculiar constitution since then."
"Without hearing it directly from him, it's not certain, but it's probably not the case."
"Hey, Lord Kazaf. What brings you here? Weren't you busy with state affairs?"
At that moment, a teasing voice was heard from behind.
Duke Mynus Mohheim was approaching.
Beside him was Denard Slay, the Vice Commander of the Mohheim Knights.
Dressed in a white suit, Duke Mohheim rolled up his tightly-fitted sleeves, revealing the tattoos on his muscular arms.
"Mynus Mohheim."
"You came here because you're curious about Adrias, right? Honestly, he wouldn't do something like that if he had a conscience. Even someone like me is shaking my head."
"It's an unnecessary comment. I find it fascinating. It's surprising how that a person, who never came out of his domain, suddenly stands out like this. Did you catch the scent of prey?"
In response to Hector's words, which were metaphorically comparing him to territorial beasts, Mynus revealed a fierce smile.
"Your Grace, treating me like you treat His Grace just because we have white hair is awkward. I'm not a hyena."
A mental skirmish took place between Mynus and Hector.
Unlike Mynus, who was close to being an Aura Master, Hector was merely an ordinary civilian. However, he confidently confronted Mynus without showing any signs of backing down.
As the tension escalated, Hector's bodyguards seemed ready to step forward, but Hector gestured to stop them.
"Enough. I've seen everything I need to. I suppose I should go back now."
"Please be careful. If you don't want to end up like someone else, be especially wary of your back."
Ignoring Mynus's words, Hector Kazaph, with his bodyguards in tow, left the scene.
Observing Hector's departure, Mynus, who was still simmering with anger, turned his gaze away.
"What's this? He already reached the 10th floor. Denard, why did you call me so late?"
"I apologize, Duke, no, Your Grace."
With a relaxed expression, Mynus sat in the seat Hector had left and asked Deos, the headmaster.
"Did you make a recording of that?"
"Yes, Your Grace."
"Then please show it now. Adrias has just cleared the 10th floor, and he'll probably be resting for a while."
Casually making a request, Mynus pressed his chin with his fist and stared intently at the screen displaying Adrias Cromwell.
"Is a new wind blowing through Rodren? It's getting interesting."
.
.
.
.
From the 11th floor onward, the difficulty level had increased drastically, resulting in a gradual occurrence of eliminations.
However, the morale of the team members was higher than ever before.
With the second place firmly secured, except for Dienne's team, and the unprecedented achievement of all members passing the 10th floor, their spirits were soaring.
"Well, that's a shame. I'll take my leave now."
As one member was defeated by the Shadow Jackals, there was only me left.
Currently, I'm on the 14th floor.
I've climbed quite high compared to an extra.
'But now it's my time to shine.'
If we were all going up together, it would have been better for me too. My physical condition was close to its peak. Although it was slightly uncomfortable for my team members to accompany me, they weren't completely useless, which helped me maintain my condition.
'I'll go straight up.'
There's no reason to delay.
I immediately ascended to the 15th floor.
I cleared the 15th, 16th, and 17th floors, and then the 18th floor.
Not a single break.
Among my current skills, none consumed a significant amount of mana, so my mana consumption couldn't catch up to my mana regeneration rate. My mana pool was always full.
'Should I use some potions?'
Since my physical fatigue had accumulated despite my mana's good condition, I decided to use some boosts.
Using Everlast Potions, Recovery Potions, and Regeneration Potions, I quickly recovered from fatigue.
19th floor.
Using the knowledge of monsters acquired from games, the terrain and traps specific to each floor, and other tricks, I was able to clear each floor without a scratch, even if it took some time.
"Now, it's time to start getting serious."
20th floor.
The boss floor.
Although I was tense, I didn't believe that victory was out of reach.
After all, my initial goal was the 30th floor.
Since there's a boss on the 30th floor as well, I didn't intend to struggle too much on the 20th floor.
Checking the time, it was already night.
For now, I planned to sleep and tackle the 20th floor ascent the next day.
[Adrias Cromwell's Talent: Evolution Potential of Elemental Magic (Universal)]
[Do you want to evolve?]
The potential of my Elemental Magic talent had reached 100%.
Part of me wanted to evolve right away, but I couldn't bring myself to endure the fatigue caused by evolution just to reach the 30th floor.
Even though I was myself, I had to remain cautious up to the 30th floor.
'How many times did I reload the save in the game to clear up to the 30th floor?'
I hadn't cleared it on my first attempt even once.
I probably reloaded the game five times or more. However, even those characters of that time seemed like low-spec compared to my current self. If I were to play as my current self, I'd have the confidence to clear it in one shot since I knew all the strategies.
There was just one exception.
'The 31st floor.'
A hidden stage that appears only when you clear the 30th floor for the first time.
It's a concealed space that no one knows about except for the creator, Modras.
If you clear the 30th floor, you get the reward of conquering Modras's Tower.
However, I had tried many times, reloading the game multiple times to attempt to clear the 31st floor, but it was an impossible stage to beat.
It wasn't designed to be cleared from the beginning; it was more like a stage to gauge your skills, similar to measuring punching strength on a punching machine. I had quickly given up, but...
'Now, maybe.'
Could it be possible now?
