It was a young, dark-skinned elf wearing a green cloak over light, silver armour. He emitted a light green glow, making him stand out among everyone present on the field.
A wooden arrow pierced the air, making its way towards the elf's heart.
Clang.
With speed faster than that of the flying arrow, an elderly elf appeared in front of the young elf, parrying the arrow with his dagger. He held an iron dagger, with numerous engravings, in either hand.
"You all right, Zelphar?" he shouted, turning his head behind to face the young elf, who was engaged in a duel with another human.
"Elrid!" shouted the young elf, sidestepping to get out of the duel, before spinning his entire body and throwing a dagger in Elrid's direction, which flew merely a few inches from his ears before piercing the shoulder of the human who was about to attack the elderly elf.
Turning back, Elrid swiftly sliced the human's throat before kicking her away.
From a distance, at the edge of the forest, three other elves wearing green cloaks, shot arrows at their opponents. They were led by Elrid's daughter, Elyon.
The young elf was exasperated as he finally slashed the chest of the human who he had been duelling with.
All of a sudden, a loud voice boomed throughout the battlefield, louder than the clashing of weapons and the screams of the dying.
"Concentrate your efforts on the elf!" the blue-haired man shouted, pointing at Zelphar, "We'll easily win this as long as we are able to take his crystal."
His voice carried a certain, unexplainable power, making his team members obey every word that flowed from his lips.
Leaving the individual duels and fights they were previously occupied in, his team rushed towards the young elf.
The three elf archers at the back kept launching a flurry of arrows, and even though they hit their targets, the enemy was far too great in number.
Zelphar and Elrid fought back to back, defeating the bulk of enemies who were able to reach them.
But, the odds were weighed against them.
Launching through the people engaged in battle, the blue-haired man sprinted at an unimaginable speed towards the elf.
Before they could even feel his presence, he was already beside Zelphar. His sword flew mid-air, a few inches from the elf's vulnerable neck.
Swish.
Cutting through the air, faster than a bullet released from a high-end pistol… a figure, emerging from the forest, flew its way across the battlefield, leaving only a blurry afterimage behind it.
Clang!
As the Asian man's sword barely sliced through the elf's skin, it was parried in the opposite direction by the sword of another man who had appeared before the young elf.
The dirt on the path that the masked man had run across blasted around the air, creating a muddy fog around the battlefield.
Clash!
Two swords loudly clashed somewhere in the middle of the battlefield, covered in the dusty fog.
By the time the dust settled and Zelphar took in just what had happened, the blue-haired man and the black-masked man interlocked swords.
The Asian man had gripped the blade's handle with both hands, using all his strength, while the masked man gripped his sword with a single hand.
Both of them stared into each other's eyes, assessing their opponents' strengths.
Biting his teeth, the Asian man jumped back, assuming a stance with his sword in front of his body.
**********
Name: Shin Ochida
Level: 49
Class: Commander
Title: Descendent of the greatest Commander (A)
Fighting Prowess: 81
**********
The man's class intrigued Menace. It was something that he had never heard of before.
"I have heard of you before," said Shin, tightening his grip on his sword before jumping a few steps back, "You were the only factor that could affect my victory… That's why I was somewhat relieved when you vanished."
Menace kept quietly and intently staring at him with his sword pointed at the ground.
"But," he added, frantically sliding his hand into his pouch, "I was ready for this."
Taking out a small red ball, he tossed it inside his mouth.
Menace intentionally allowed him to do so because he wished to see what a 'Commander' class was capable of.
A slight smirk appeared under his mask as he saw the man's stats rising.
[Fighting Prowess: 142]
His prowess had almost doubled, most probably a temporary effect of the pill he just put in his mouth.
"Come!" he exclaimed, firmly planting his legs on the ground with his sword pointed towards the masked man. The arcane surrounding him started to swirl around his body, making the arcanic pressure denser, which strengthened him even more.
The people around him, his allies and enemies, ran away from him. They had never sensed such a high concentration of arcane.
"This'll be interesting," Menace mumbled under his breath as he strolled towards the Asian man.
Shin's eyes emitted a blue glow as he buried his feet deeper into the ground before bending forward and launching himself at the masked man.
Clangggg!!!! Click!! Clansh!!
He kept on attacking Menace, but all his attacks were either parried or blocked. Their exchanges were too fast for any other person on the entire battlefield to properly observe.
The only thing others could see was Nox standing entirely still, waving his sword around with a single hand, as bright and golden sparks flew around him.
'He's able to match my speed even after I took the 'blood pill'?!" internally shouted Shin as he finally came to a stop a few feet away from the man wearing the red cloak.
He exasperated loudly, struggling for air after working his body to its maximum limit. Steam emitted from his skin, which had now turned to a light shade of red, an effect of overheating.
He readied himself to lunge at Menace again but stopped, on seeing his enemy examining his sword in the midst of battle.
"No doubt, you're strong," the masked man commented, examining his sword, which now had small scratches and cracks all around it, which was fortunate, considering the number of potent slashes it blocked.
"Unfortunately," he continued, slowly slashing down his arcane-imbued sword, cutting the thin air and the Asian man's dense arcane, which had aggregated in front of him, making it hard to move like usual.
Instantly, faster than the blink of an eye, he disappeared from the spot he had previously stood in, making the dust fly around over where he stood.
"Fighting isn't your Forte… yet," he whispered, appearing behind Shin.
Before the blue-haired man could react, he dealt a powerful but non-lethal blow to the carotid artery in his neck, making him fall to the ground.
"Train more" was the only thing the falling man could hear before completely losing consciousness.
Even though killing the Asian man was easier, he decided against it. After all, a rare class like his can be seldom found in the Tower.
Even though Shin could become a powerful enemy in the future, Nox betted on the future where he would become an even more potent ally.
Bending down, he picked up the pouch containing the nineteen crystals still hanging on the man's waist.
He looked around the fields, before walking towards Zelphar and calmly extending an open palm towards the elf.
The young elf glanced at Elrid, who had been standing beside him.
"Even though I couldn't see it clearly, he's the only reason you're alive," said the elderly elf, nodding.
Zelphar looked at the man's black mask, then at the open palm, before sliding his hands inside his pockets and placing his green crystal on the man's palm.
[You have completed the Ninth Floor's Main Challenge!]
This was the message that every member of Nox's group could see.
But there were other system messages, which only he could see.
[You have obtained all the crystals in an unbroken state!]
[You have completed the Ninth Floor's Side Challenge!]
[A special reward shall be provided!]
[You have obtained the skill: Commander's Order(A)]
**********
Commander's Order(A)
All players lower in level than the user will feel a strong urge to obey him.
Only one order, which is specific in nature, can be issued.
Cooldown: 24 hours
**********
'This's useful,' thought Nox, as the screens disappeared from before his eyes and another screen appeared.
[Will you like to proceed to the Tenth Floor?]
He looked around the field, which had now calmed down. The people in the losing team had already been teleported back to the previous floor, and the only ones still on the ninth floor were the ones in his group, who were given the choice to move on to the next floor.
Although seeing their condition, it was pretty doubtful if they had barely any strength left to challenge the tenth floor.
Some of the ones still alive tended to those on the brink of death, while the others quietly rested on the ground, exhausted after the great battle.
"Excuse me," called out Zelphar from behind him, "I would like to… thank you."
Nox examined the young elf, who had changed considerably since the last time he laid his eyes on him. In just under a month, his muscles had gotten more defined, and his eyes held a strange fire within them as if he had found a goal he needed to focus all his energy on.
In brief, he had grown stronger.
And although Nox had completed the previous floors with unbelievable speed, he had still gotten sidetracked by the Zeroth floor's underworld, which allowed the young elf — who utilised every ounce of his energy only to climb the Tower — to catch up with him.
Menace nodded, accepting the elf's thanks, "You did well."
As soon as he heard the words, his eyes gleamed; shining brighter than the brightest star at night. To him, it was as if a figure, who he had never even dreamt of surpassing, appreciated his strength. It was an ecstatic feeling.
He opened his mouth to say something, but the masked man was nowhere to be found. He was too preoccupied with his thoughts to realise that Menace had already teleported away.
"He's almost as strong as your father was in his prime," mumbled Elrid, appearing beside the young elf, "Maybe even stronger."