Collection 1 Chapter 53 591-600

Chapter 591: Breaking The Rules Of The Floor Of Partings

A week passed after the battle in the 9th Floor of the Tower of Babylon.

The Old Patriarch had tasked his right-hand man to handle everything and ensure that Xavier's succession would be witnessed by all the high-ranking members of the Main and Branch Families.

This also included the vassals, and retainers that served under them. The 9th Floor was a very spacious domain. It was the size of the Hellan Kingdom, and the Anaesha Dynasty combined.

During his speech, Xavier had openly announced that the Slave Trade would be abolished from his territory. Anyone who would dare to break this law would suffer the wrath of the Floor's Guardian.

Right after this announcement was held, the slaves were immediately freed by their masters, in fear of being subjected to punishment by the Administrator of the Floor of Partings.

William and Chiffon watched this festivities until its end. However, when Xavier invited them to join the celebratory feast, the Half-Elf politely declined the offer.

"I'm sorry, we can't stay here longer," William said apologetically.

Xavier nodded his head in understanding. He felt regretful that the people that helped him acquire his position were now leaving, but after seeing the determination of William's gaze, the new patriarch of the Tristan Clan didn't insist on delaying him any further.

"I guess, Ms. Chiffon will be staying with us for the time being then," Xavier stated. "Do not worry, Sir William. I promise to look after her until you return to the Floor of Partings."

William smiled, but the hand holding Chiffon remained firm.

"We will be ascending to the next floor together," William declared.

"I see, you will ascend to the next floor toge– what?" Xavier looked at William in a dumbfounded manner. "Sir William, this is the Floor of Partings. Even if you want to take her, the laws of this floor will prevent you from doing so."

William patted Xavier's shoulder, but didn't say anything else. He gave the dumbfounded patriarch a brief nod before heading towards the teleport gate that would allow them to proceed to the next floor.

Xod and Yves looked at this scene with genuine interest. They had thoroughly enjoyed the entertainment that they had watched on the 9th Floor.

Now that William and Chiffon decided to leave, the two Guardians eyed each other with a smile.

"Remember, a month's salary." Xod grinned. "You too, Oogwei."

Oogwei nodded its head as it continued to eat the cucumbers in its bowl.

Yves, on the other hand, was unfazed as it flicked its tongue towards the green-skinned guardian, who had a smug expression on its face.

"You took the words right out of my mouth," Yves said. "Make sure to pay it to me in full."

The two Guardians chuckled, while the little turtle between them ate the bowl of cucumbers with gusto. Oogwei was chuckling internally because it knew William's character. The Half-Elf was the type of person that wouldn't leave those important to him behind.

was just curious on how the latter would bypass the laws that Yves had placed inside its domain.

The floor of partings didn't have any kind of test. The moment the players arrived at this floor, they could proceed to the next right away. However, they would have to leave the people important to them behind.

This was the cruel condition that Yves had engraved upon the Floor of Partings, and no one had been able to break this law, since the time the Tower had arrived in the world of Hestia.

During the succession war, the teleport crystal had been disabled. Yves felt bored, so it forced those who wished to advance to the next floor, to pick one of the two brothers to support during the duration of their battle.

Now that the succession war was over, the portal was once again active.

William faced Chiffon and hugged her tight.

"Are you ready, Chiffon?"

"Un! I'm ready, Big Brother."

William smiled and raised his hand to touch the crystal. However, before he touched it completely, he sent Chiffon inside his Thousand Beast Domain first.

After making sure that the pink-haired girl was inside the Thousand Beast Domain, William sent her to the Undying Lands.

He didn't know how strong Yves' Law was, so he decided not to take any chances. The Undying Lands had their own set of rules, making it impossible for the Laws of the world to affect it.

Of course, if this method didn't work, William would return to the 9th Floor and think of a way to smuggle Chiffon to the 10th Floor with him.

The moment William's hand touched the crystal, the world around him was bathed in light.

A few seconds later, he stood in front of what seemed to be a temple, located on top of the mountain.

Before William could even do anything, the System confirmed that he was already on the 10th Floor, and Chiffon was still in the Undying Lands.

The Half-Elf hurriedly summoned the pink-haired girl to his side, and Chiffon appeared right away.

"Huh?!"

"What?!"

Xod and Yves who were looking at the projection couldn't believe their eyes. There had been instances in the past where people had done the same thing that William did.

Usually, powerful individuals were able to open their own domains where they could place living beings. Several individuals had thought that they could hoodwink the powers of the Tower and placed their comrades within their private domains.

However, it didn't take long for them to realize that this plan didn't work on the Tower of Babylon. This was why Xod and Yves were confident that William couldn't smuggle Chiffon even if he wanted to.

Oogwei who was watching this scene chuckled and raised its little head to look at his two friends.

"Remember, both of you will give me your monthly salaries at the end of this month," Oogwei said in a teasing manner. "We already made a contract, so the two of you can't make any excuses. Thank you for the gift!"

The little turtle chuckled before ordering a bowl of shredded carrots from the tower. He was very pleased with how the situation played out and cheered for William and Chiffon inside his heart.

Xod and Yves glanced at each other. Earlier, they thought that they were getting Oogwei's Monthly Salary for free. However, what they didn't know was that the little turtle had planned to get both of their salaries from the very start.

"W-We've been had." Xod stuttered. He didn't know whether to laugh or cry at this sudden turn of events.

Yves was feeling the same. It double checked the set of laws that it had applied on its domain, and a glance was enough to tell him that it wasn't tampered with. This proved that William had been able to bypass the rule of his floor in a "fair" manner, and was not subjected to any kind of punishment from the tower.

Xod and Yves left the little turtle alone as they hurriedly went to talk to their Guardian friends from the tower. Both of them felt bad about what William did, so they decided to get back at him by telling their friends to make things difficult for him.

Oogwei on the other hand just chuckled at the two's attempt to hinder a player who was climbing the tower.

'This must be Fate,' Oogwei thought. 'Perhaps, the stagnation that we have experienced for the past hundreds of years will soon be broken.'

Oogwei didn't have the power of clairvoyance. He didn't know how high William could climb the tower. However, he hoped beyond hope that William would be the one to usher a new Era.

Not only for the players climbing the Tower of Babylon, but for the sake of the Guardians, who had long forgotten their purpose for coming in this world, that was nearing its end.

Chapter 592: An Existence That Threatened Their Beloved

A month had passed since William had started climbing the tower of Babylon. He and Chiffon had faced many challenges along the way. Sometimes, they faced strong opposition from the ruling families on each floor, because of what they did to their "allies" on the previous floors they had visited.

While the two dealt with these troublesome situations, the world outside the Tower of Babylon was bubbling with excitement. Several prodigies from the Central Continent, and beyond its borders, had all congregated in the Kraetor Empire.

After many days of preparation, the Tournament of Champions was about to begin.

"A good day to all of you," Emperor Leonidas said with a smile. His voice spread across the arenas where the prodigies of the different Empires, Kingdoms, Sects, and influential families had gathered.

"On this glorious day, the fight for the title of the Strongest Prodigy among the young generation is about to begin," Emperor Leonidas scanned the surroundings with a confident expression on his face. "All of you that are standing here today, are not only fighting for your honor, but for the honor of your homeland.

"I will not bore you with a long winded speech, because I know that all of you are eager to start the competition. So, without further delay, I hereby announce the start of the Tournament of Champions! Goodluck to each and everyone of you!"

Resounding cheers echoed across the hundreds of arenas where the participants stood in preparation for their upcoming battles.

The total number of participants that gathered for the tournament was a whopping 428,069. All the leaders of the various powers agreed that the first stage of the tournament would be a royal rumble.

Among these participants only a few thousands would remain on the first day. The Kraetor Empire had prepared two hundred arenas. In each arena, two thousand one hundred and forty-ish fighters would duke it out, until only ten were left standing.

This was a brutal elimination round that had been agreed on by all parties. The fighters were asked to draw lots that would designate them to their respective arenas. If they got lucky, they would be among the ten fighters that would proceed to the next qualifying round of the tournament.

When the day was over, only two thousand warriors would remain.

Princess Sidonie and Ian sat in the VIP box that was designated for the Royal Family of the Kraetor Empire. Sitting not far from them was Princess Vanessa and her twin brother, Prince Rainier.

The two other Princesses of the empire, Princess Hannah, and Princess Amanda were in the next room, along with their servants and entourage.

The other Princes namely, Prince Maximilian, Prince Darren, Prince Kevin, and

Prince Jason, were participating in the tournament. As the hosts, and members of the Royal Family, they had the obligation to show the other Empires that the Kraetor Bloodline didn't shy away from battle.

Originally, Princess Sidonie didn't want to watch the tournament, but since she had nothing else to do, she decided to look for talented individuals that could possibly serve as her retainers.

The Princess who had been recognized as the most beautiful not only in the Southern Continent, but in the Kraetor Empire as well, had gained many admirers from the nobility, as well as the common people.

If it were the Princess Sidonie of the past, she would not bat an eye, and turn these admirers into her servants. However, after becoming William's lover, her purpose of finding her beloved had now been fulfilled.

Now, her interest lay on finding candidates that would serve as her eyes and ears in the Central Continent. Princess Sidonie had thought long and hard on how she could support William in the Central Continent.

Since she had already had the experience in managing the underworld of her homeland, the Kingdom of Freesia, the beautiful princess decided to create a spy network that would extend to every corner of the world.

That way, she would be able to gather important information that she could analyze in order to understand the geopolitical structure of the new battleground, where she intended to become the Dark Empress that moved the strings from the shadows.

Princess Sidonie was looking lazily at the names of the prodigies from each faction, when she came across a familiar face in the records.

"Ian, do you remember this person?" Princess Sidonie asked as she pointed at the name and picture of a delicate looking teenage boy with silver-gray hair and blue eyes.

"Kenneth Xin Ashleigh," Ian's eyes widened when she saw the familiar name, and face of William's ex-roommate back in the Hellan Royal Academy.

"It says here that he is a representative of the Silvermoon Continent," Princess Sidonie pointed at Kenneth's affiliation, which put a frown on her beautiful face. "Is Will aware of his background?"

Ashe shook her head. "I don't know. However, Will and Kenneth were pretty close when they were still in the Hellan Royal Academy. He was one of William's most trusted officers."

The mermaid could still remember how William interacted with Kenneth several years ago. With a glance, one could tell that they had a good relationship with each other.

But, when the Continental Spell descended on the Southern Continent, and Chaos engulfed the Hellan Kingdom, Kenneth disappeared without a trace.

William had tried to look for him on several occasions, but his search came out empty.

The two girls exchanged a glance, before tweaking the settings of the projection crystal beside them.

Soon, the image of the 77th Arena came to view. It was the arena where Kenneth had been assigned. It didn't take long before they found the person they were looking for.

In the Southwest Corner of the arena, there stood a silver-haired teenage boy with delicate features. Although several years had passed, it was impossible for Ian to not recognize William's roommate, whom the boy took wherever he went.

'Just who are you?' Ian thought as she narrowed her gaze. 'Did you betray William back then? Did you betray us? Are you a spy of the Silvermoon Continent?'

Several questions appeared inside Ian's head, but she had no way of knowing the answer. Right now, she stared at Kenneth as if she was trying to read his every move.

Princess Sidone was someone that was good at reading the body language of people. Just by looking at Kenneth's stance, she could tell that the silver-gray haired teenager wasn't a push over.

"Let's go and talk to him later," Princess Sidonie proposed.

Ian nodded her head in agreement. If her hunch was true, and Kenneth had really been a spy of the Silvermoon Continent then it only meant one thing.

'He was targeting William right at the very start,' Ian thought as she clenched her fist. The thought of her lover being spied on by others left a bitter taste in Ian's mouth. If possible, she wanted to drag Kenneth out of the arena and interrogate him for answers.

However, now was not the time. The silver-gray haired boy was one of the representatives of the Silvermoon Continent, and causing trouble for him could turn into a diplomatic protest.

Even so, both girls would stop at nothing until they got their answers. They couldn't allow an existence that threatened their beloved to remain alive. Even if he used to be one of William's close friends.

Chapter 593: Finding Answers Without Resorting To Violence

"Fight!"

The referee gave the signal for battle, and the entire arena descended into chaos.

All the fighters were briefed that if possible, they should abstain from killing anyone in the arena. Unlike what happened in the arena of the Hellan Royal Academy, those who would die in the Tournament of Champions would not come back to life.

In order to prevent the other Empires, Kingdoms, Sects, and Influential Families from finding fault with the Kraetor Empire, Emperor Leonidas had issued a decree that all those who wished to participate in the tournament must sign a Death Waiver.

The waiver explicitly declared that the Kraetor Empire would not be blamed for the deaths of any participants, who planned to join the tournament. Everyone must take responsibility for their own lives, and their respective Kingdoms or Sects should adhere to the rules written in the tournament.

Alas, there were some prodigies who craved to take the life of others, so several deaths had transpired on the first day of the competition.

Majority of those deaths came from the hands of the Prodigies that hailed from the Demonic Continent.

Unfortunately for them, some of the geniuses of the Central Continent hated demons as well, so their acts didn't go unpunished. Out of the twenty fighters from the Demon Continent, only thirteen remained.

Two of them were killed by Prince Jason who happened to be in the same arena as them. Just like the other contestants, Prince Jason had a certain bias when it came to Demons, and Half-Elves.

It was quite fortunate that no Half-Elves stood in the arena where the Fifth Prince of the Kraetor Empire fought. If there was, their fate would have been the same as the Demons that Prince Jason had killed in battle.

The brutal tournament lasted several hours until ten survivors remained.

Princess Sidonie and Ian frowned as they watched the battle that was happening in the 77th Arena.

"This Kenneth is not as simple as he looked," Princess Sidonie muttered.

Ian who was seated by her side nodded her head in agreement.

During the entirety of the elimination round, Kenneth stood in place and didn't move from his location. However, everyone who was near him had been knocked unconscious, and laid on the ground around him.

Princess Sidonie and Ian didn't know how the delicate looking teenager did it. All they knew was that Kenneth didn't even move a muscle, nor lifted a finger, before those who tried to attack him fell down like puppets whose strings had been cut.

It was an eerie scene to watch.

Because of Kenneth's mysterious performance, the other candidates stayed far away from him, as they battled amongst themselves.

They would rather fight someone that fought back, rather than a person that only stood completely still, but still able to knock

everyone around him unconscious. For the players, Kenneth was the biggest threat in their arena.

No one tried to challenge him as they fought for the remaining 9 slots that would take them to the next phase of the tournament.

Kenneth simply remained standing, while holding a short silver blade in his hand. He didn't lower his guard, and paid close attention to his surroundings.

Princess Sidonie and Ian were very disappointed with this development. Deep inside, both girls wanted someone to beat Kenneth up because he lied about his true affiliations.

Three hours later, the battle in the 77th Arena ended and Kenneth was one of the ten remaining survivors.

The two girls didn't waste any time and left the VIP Room in haste. They wanted to confront Kenneth as soon as possible before he returned to the special guest residences that were assigned to the envoys of the Silvermoon Continent.

—-

Kenneth was on the way back to his room, when he noticed two presences that were headed in his direction. One of them held clear hostility towards him, which made the teenager frown.

'Are they perhaps some of the earlier participants that couldn't accept their loss?' Kenneth unsheathed his blade and held it firmly in his hand. 'To think that I would get into trouble on the very first day of this tournament. Master will definitely nag at me if she finds out about this.'

The delicate looking teenager sighed as he walked towards an alley where he would deal with his two pursuers. Naturally, he didn't plan to kill them, but only to knock them out.

Kenneth erased his presence and hid behind a barrel. The moment the two people walked past him, he would immediately strike and escape from this location.

As the sounds of footsteps drew closer, Kenneth prepared himself to attack, however, just as he was about to execute his plan, the sound of footsteps stopped.

Kenneth frowned, but he remained in place as he controlled his breathing.

'Why did they stop?' Kenneth thought. 'Could they have possibly detected my presence?'

Kenneth immediately denied this idea. He was quite proficient in erasing his presence and he was sure that only powerful individuals could find him, while he was patiently waiting for his next move, a familiar voice reached his ears.

"Kenneth, come out," Ian said. "We need to talk."

Kenneth's eyes widened when he heard the voice of the snot-nosed-pansy that William would often curse inside their room when they were still roommates.

The Half-Elf had not hidden his irritation for Est's retainer, who always bickered with him. Back then, Kenneth would chuckle internally as he watched William's depressed expression. Clearly, the red-headed teenager had no love for the annoying boy, who liked to butt heads with him.

Kenneth came out of his hiding place and confronted the two girls who stood in front of him.

To his surprise, he also recognized the girl standing beside Ian.

How could he possibly forget the beautiful Princess that had graced them with her presence during the war against the two Dynasties that threatened the Hellan Kingdom.

"What are you doing here?" Kenneth asked Ian. "Do you know where I can find Will? I need to talk to him. It is very important."

Princess Sidonie and Ian exchanged a glance, before shifting their gazes back to the teenage boy in front of them.

"If you want to talk, we can talk," Princess Sidonie. "However, this is not the place for that. Come with us."

Princess Sidonie turned around and headed out of the alley. Her identity was well-known, so she wore a veil to cover her face. However, the moment they made a turn to the alley, she had removed her veil as a means of self protection.

As long as she was able to look at her target, she would be able to charm them. However, the moment her gaze fell on Kenneth, she understood right away that charming him was not an option.

Since that was the case, they should sit down and talk. Perhaps by doing so, both sides would be able to find the answers to their questions, without resorting to violence.

Ian glared at Kenneth before turning around to follow Princess Sidonie.

Kenneth, on the other hand, sheathed his weapon before following the two girls. He could tell that both of them seemed to have grudges against him. The silver-haired teenager understood Ian's feelings, but he couldn't understand why Princess Sidonie felt the same.

As far as he knew, they didn't have any conflict with each other.

'No matter,' Kenneth thought as he followed the two girls with determination. 'I will know the answers soon enough.'

Chapter 594: Over My Drop Dead Gorgeous Body

Three people sat inside one of the private rooms reserved for the Royal Family of the Kraetor Empire in the Dancing Lady Pavillion.

What they were going to talk about required confidentiality, so Princess Sidonie decided to go to a High-Class Inn, that was not far away from Kenneth's accommodations.

The three people drank their tea in silence. It was as if they had agreed upon an unwritten rule that they would first finish drinking before they started their discussion.

Ten minutes later, the tea in their cups had been emptied.

Princess Sidonie smiled and decided to take the lead in the conversation.

"I believe that the two of us haven't introduced ourselves to each other," Princess Sidonie said. "I am Sidonie Val Freesia. Princess of the Kingdom of Freesia, and Granddaughter of Emperor Leonidas. I am also William's fiance. Nice to meet you."

Princess Sidonie didn't extend her hand in greeting, because there was no need for it. Since Kenneth was under suspicion of spying on William, the beautiful princess decided not to be too lax with the person in front of her.

"Kenneth Xin Ashleigh," Kenneth replied. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Princess Sidonie."

Kenneth also didn't exchange his hand in greeting. He could tell that both girls were very wary of him, so he decided to just stick to his purpose of coming with the two of them.

"Is William here in the Kraetor Empire?" Kenneth asked.

Ian frowned before answering Kenneth's question with another question, "Why are you looking for him?"

"… I can't tell you that."

"What a coincidence. I also can't tell you the answer to your question."

The corner of Kenneth's lips twitched after hearing Ian's reply. He could tell that the latter had no intention of telling him William's whereabouts until he stated his reason for looking for the Half-Elf.

"I really can't tell you the reason because it is a private affair," Kenneth replied. He needed to compromise to get some answers, so he faced Princess Sidonie who seemed to be less hostile than Ian. "I can only answer questions that I am able to answer. Aside from that, my lips are sealed."

Princess Sidonie nodded in understanding.

"Very well." Princess Sidonie pressed her palms together and rested her chin over them. She then stared at Kenneth with a scrutinizing gaze that made the latter feel uncomfortable. "Back in the Hellan Kingdom, were you spying on my fiance?"

"Yes." Kenneth admitted in a heartbeat. He had no reason to deny this point since everything was already over. "I volunteered to spy on him, to prevent others from spying on him.

"Know that while I was with William, I didn't divulge any of his secrets to others. I only reported what I thought would be overlooked, so that the Elders of my Family would not pay too much attention to him."

Princess Sidonie arched an eyebrow. She was a good judge in reading the body language of people and Kenneth's words, and actions told her that he wasn't lying.

"You came here to the Kraetor Empire to look for William, right?"

"Yes."

"Why?" Princess Sidonie asked.

Kenneth smiled as he tapped the table with his finger. "I think it is my turn to ask questions, don't you think?"

Princess Sidonie smiled sweetly because the person in front of her was someone that wouldn't lose to her when it came to negotiations. Since that was the case, she nodded her head and waited for Kenneth's question.

"Is William here?" Kenneth asked.

Princess Sidonie shook her head, "No. My Fiance is currently out on an errand, and is not present in the empire right now."

Kenneth frowned, but he still nodded his head. Although he wasn't as proficient with Sidonie in reading people, his gut instinct told him that the beautiful princess was telling the

truth.

"Were you with the Elves during the war in the Southern Continent?" Ian asked from the side.

Kenneth shifted his gaze to the snot-nosed-pansy before shaking his head. "No. I didn't join the Anti-Human Faction because my family is part of the Conservative Faction. Also, I didn't want Will to hate me, so I stayed away from the conflict."

After hearing Kenneth's words, the irritation that Ian felt decreased significantly. She hadn't seen him among the survivors of the Elves, which proved that he didn't take part in the war that almost brought the Hellan Kingdom to its knees.

"Then, where were you during the war? Don't tell me you were just watching from the sides?" Ian inquired.

"Yes," Kenneth replied. "I was watching from the sides. I gazed at the battle from far away, but I didn't expect that kind of outcome. William is really something, isn't he?"

Princess Sidonie grinned. "Of course he is. He is the man I chose, after all."

Ian wanted to say that she chose him first. But, since she couldn't possibly say that in front of a spy from the Silvermoon Continent, she allowed Princess Sidonie to take the spotlight.

"When will William return?" Kenneth asked. "Like I said earlier, there is an important message that I need to pass to him."

Princess Sidonie sighed before leaning back on her chair. "I don't know when he will come back. But, it had been a month since he left the Empire. I miss him terribly."

Kenneth ignored the part about the princess missing William terribly and only focused on the important information that she had just told him.

'He had been away for more than a month?' Kenneth thought. 'Just where did he go?'

A few minutes of silence passed inside the room. Both sides wanted to ask each other more questions, but they somehow came to an agreement that they had discussed enough for the day.

Princess Sidonie couldn't leave the Royal Residence for a long period of time, and she had only snuck out with Ian as her escort.

"We will come and find you again when the opportunity arises," Princess Sidonie said as she stood. She was about to leave when she remembered something important.

"By the way, did you also join the tournament because you are attracted to the prizes?" Princess Sidonie asked.

Kenneth smiled as he gazed at the princess that had declared herself as William's fiance. Although he still had doubts whether Princess Sidonie was telling the truth or not, he decided to believe her for the time being.

"The Emperor of the Kraetor Empire would grant a wish to the winner, correct?" Kenneth asked back.

"Oh, so that is what you are aiming for." Princess Sidonie smirked. "Yes. Grandfather plans to award the champion a wish. As long as he is able to fulfill it, that wish will be granted without fail."

Kenneth nodded. "So, that means that he can also break your engagement with William, right?"

Princess Sidonie's smile stiffened when she heard Kenneth's question.

The silver haired teenager chuckled before standing up. He then headed to the door in a carefree manner. However, before leaving the room, he glanced back at Princess Sidonie one more time and left his parting words.

"I may not have stayed long by William's side, but I know him well enough to know he would not make a girl his lover just because of her beauty," Kenneth commented. "That collar on your neck belonged to William. I also know the custom of the Kraetor Royal Family.

"I don't know what kind of trick you used to have William place that collar on your neck, but know this, I don't like other people taking advantage of his kindness."

Kenneth opened the door and left the room. However, before the door closed, he left a few more words that made Sidonie want to strangle him up.

"William is too good for you," Kenneth added. "I will free him from your clutches."

The door closed leaving a beet-red princess who seemed to be out for blood. Ian, who was standing not far away from her, lowered her head as she suppressed a giggle.

She had long accepted Princess Sidonie as William's lover, so Kenneth's words didn't bother her much. However, the look on her friend's face as she received Kenneth's one-sided banter was priceless.

Clearly, the scheming princess didn't want her engagement with William to be broken by anyone. What she didn't know was that an intense internal discussion was currently happening inside Princess Sidonie's mindscape.

< That boy wants to break our engagement with Darling? Over my drop dead, gorgeous body! Sidonie, let's have that person killed! >

Morgana was fuming. After having their first time with William on his eighteenth birthday, both girls had truly become his women both in heart and body. They would not allow their engagement to be broken, even if the one that decreed it was the Emperor of the Kraetor Empire.

'Don't worry, he will not win the tournament,' Princess Sidonie replied. 'I will not let him no matter what.'

< Hmp! That pretty boy bastard. Why is he getting in our way? >

As Morgana was raving, a sudden possibility appeared inside her head.

< W-Wait! Could it be that he is also… >

'He is also what?'

< He is also cursed like Ashe? Maybe he is a girl in disguise? >

'… Okay, let's kill him.'

< … >

Morgana wanted to protest that she had already proposed it earlier, but her other half had rejected it. Now that she mentioned that Kenneth could be a cursed person like Ian, Princess Sidonie switched gears in order to eliminate the silver-haired pretty boy.

< I don't mind if you plan to eliminate him, but do that after you find out why he is looking for William. Whatever he wanted to talk to him about, it seemed rather important. >

Princess Sidonie agreed with Morgana's advice, and promised that she would do her best to pry some answers from Kenneth on their next meeting.

She had worked hard to become William's lover, and she would not allow anyone, not even the Emperor of the Kraetor Empire, to get in the way of her happiness.

Chapter 595: Big Brother, I Want To Eat You Soon

Princess Sidonie kissed William's lips passionately. It had been a while since the two of them shared intimacy because William had been so busy climbing the Tower of Babylon.

As the two of them shared a deep lingering kiss, William's left hand rested on top of Ashe's head. The mermaid was busy kissing Little William, who was very eager for her attention.

A few minutes later, Ashe straddled William and lightly moved her hips. Princess Sidonie was not the only one who was eager to make love with him. The beautiful mermaid had also been looking forward to this moment.

Ever since she and Princess Sidonie had given their first time to him, the two had come up with a plan on how to share William between the two of them. The current set-up was something that the two beautiful girls had agreed on beforehand, which made William very happy.

After a few rounds of lovemaking, the three laid on the bed with the two girls resting their heads on William's chest. All three of them were very satisfied with their bonding session and were now talking about Kenneth's reappearance within the Kraetor Empire.

"He has something important to tell me?" William inquired.

Morgana nodded her head. After Sidonie had reached her limit, the seductive succubus finished what her other half started.

"At least, that is what she told us," Morgana replied. " What should we do next, Darling?"

William closed his eyes as he pondered what to do next. If he were to believe what his two lovers told him, Kenneth's purpose for coming to the Southern Continent was to spy on him on behalf of the Elders of his family.

The Half-Elf already had a hunch that this was indeed the case. Even so, he allowed Kenneth to stay close to him while they were in the Hellan Royal Academy. The reason for this was simple, for some reason, he felt that Kenneth had no intention of hurting him.

Even though he was a spy, he only reported what was on the surface, and not about William's deepest secrets. This had made the Elders of his family not pay too much attention to the red-headed teenager.

Their opinion of him only changed when they had read the reports of what had transpired in the Southern Continent. Because of this, they had changed their stance on him and delegated him a target that should be placed at the top of their priorities.

"Maybe he came to warn me that the Elves are going to target me from the shadows," William said after careful consideration. "What I did in the Southern Continent definitely ruffled their feathers."

Princess Sidonie and Ashe nodded their heads at the same time. If the Elven Race still thought of William as a pitiful Half-Elf in the past, now they regarded him as someone whom they

should pay extra attention to.

There were even talks about asking Arwen to be a negotiator in order to patch up the relationship between the Half-Elf and the Elves in the Silvermoon Continent. Not all Elves supported the Clans that had invaded the Southern Continent.

There were also rumors flying around that William had inherited his father's position as the Dungeon Conqueror. This brought another round of headache to the Elven Council because this was a threat that they couldn't ignore.

They had already seen what a Dungeon Conqueror could do. If they were to make one their enemy then they didn't have to wait for the Prince of Darkness to appear in the world. William was more than enough to raze their continent to the ground if he felt like it.

The other Guardians, especially Escalor and Zyphon (the Guardian Deer), were quite adamant that the Elves should send an envoy to make peace with William. Both had been on the frontlines of the war and experienced the might of William's Undead Army, which still brought them chills to this day.

Drauum had secluded himself in his domain and refused to come out. Sepheron's disappearance weighed a lot on the Ancient Golem's mind because the two had known each other for thousands of years.

Perhaps, due to the laws of the Silvermoon Continent, Sepheron's disappearance had triggered a phenomenon.

The sole Guardian that had remained to protect the Silvermoon Continent, while the others were away, had transformed into a Demigod.

The Ent King, Myrendor, was once a World Tree.

After living for thousands of years, a seed had been born from its body. This seed had taken most of its powers, allowing it to grow.

After losing its strength, the Elves thought that the World Tree had died, and did their best to care for the new sapling that would take its place. Hundreds of years later, the first World Tree broke out of its empty husk and was born anew as an Ent.

Now, this same Ent had been blessed by the Silvermoon Continent, and transformed to a Demigod, replacing Sepheron as the pillar of support for the Elven Race.

"Sidonie, Morgana, I will leave Kenneth in your hands," William stated. "Don't hurt him, okay? He's one of the few friends I have. In regards to his background as a spy, this is not a big deal. After all, the Elves have to think thrice if they want to mess with me again."

"Understood," Morgana replied. "Darling, what would you do if…"

Morgana didn't finish the words she wanted to say, because she didn't want to think of such a possibility.

William, who had been waiting for her to finish her sentence frowned.

"What is it?" William inquired. "Is something on your mind?"

"No. it's not important," Morgana replied. "Forget what I said, Darling."

Ashe, who had her eyes closed, slowly opened them to look at Morgana. The two ladies exchanged a knowing glance. Both of them had discussed the possibility of Kenneth being cursed just like Est, Ashe, and Isaac.

If that really were the case, they would stop at nothing to ensure that the silver haired teenager would not pose a threat to their beloved.

A few minutes later, William fell asleep with both girls in his embrace. The Tower of Babylon was unforgiving and even with his Trump Cards, the challenges proved to be quite difficult.

Although the Agnis Family had stopped sending High-Rankers to hunt William down, the other ruling families had taken notice of him and Chiffon. Because of this, the two had to always be on guard against possible attacks from every direction.

Princess Sidonie and Ashe watched William's sleeping face with gentle gazes.

After having their fill, both ladies kissed their beloved's cheeks at the same time before closing their eyes to sleep.

Chiffon, who was sleeping in the guest room in William's Villa, tossed and turned on her big bed. She had always slept by the red-headed teenager's side, and sleeping all by herself made her feel uncomfortable.

It was as if something was missing in her life.

Chiffon sighed as she covered her eyes with her left arm. She knew that William was spending the night with Princess Sidonie and Ashe. The pink-haired girl had insisted that she would sleep with them, but William's two lovers politely turned her down.

The two ladies told Chiffon that they wanted to be with William till morning, and humbly asked her to not disturb them during that time.

As someone who had never been in a relationship before, Chiffon was clueless why she couldn't join them on the bed. Even so, she respected her friends' requests because they had taken good care of her as well.

'I wish morning would come soon,' Chiffon thought as she sighed internally. 'Big Brother, I want to eat you soon.'

Chapter 596: The Rice Has Already Been Cooked

Two days had passed since the first Elimination Round of the tournament. The two thousand participants that survived the Battle Royale were given a day to rest in order to fully recover from their injuries.

Of course, they received proper treatment from the Clerics of the Kraetor Empire, so all of them had recovered from their injuries. The one day of rest was given in order for them to raise their performance to the peak condition, before fighting their next match.

The two thousand contestants were once again divided into the two hundred arenas that were prepared for the battle.

This time, each arena had ten people in it. There would be five one on one matches. The winners would proceed to the third phase of the tournament.

The Tournament of Champions was a grand event. It meant that almost all the merchants in the Central Continent were taking advantage of the festivities and doing business in the capital city of the Kraetor Empire.

Naturally, the Empire received a small percentage of their earnings. This was why Emperor Leonidas had drafted out a plan to control the pace of the competition, and secure more profits as the days went by.

The other rulers knew of this as well, but they decided to turn a blind eye on it. All of them decided to make the Tournament of Champions a regular event that would be hosted by the different Empires every three years.

Although they were quite envious of the current riches that Emperor Leonidas was raking in, they held back their greed in preparation for the time when it would be their turn to host the event in their home turf.

Kenneth stood in the arena and stared at his opponent. The one he was facing off against was one of the candidates from the Demon Race. Just like always, everyone drew a ballot to find their designated arenas.

It just so happened that Kenneth was paired up against a Demon who had gained infamy on the first day by killing many people.

"I guess this is your unlucky day, Elf." The Demon chuckled as he appraised Kenneth from head to foot. "Too bad you are not a girl. If you were, I would definitely bring you back to my room after I knocked you unconscious."

The demon chuckled lecherously, which made Kenneth frown.

The referee stared at the two fighters before raising his hand to begin the battle. As soon as he gave the signal, the demon disappeared from his location and reappeared behind Kenneth with a sneer.

As one of the prodigies of the Demon Race, the reason he had no qualms in killing people was due to his ability to control Space.

The Demon Lord saw his potential and decided to nurture his talents. Because of this, he was able to raise his rank at a very rapid pace.

The Demon

Lord had ordered the ten Demonic teenagers that he had sent to the Kraetor Empire to kill as many as they could. His purpose for this was two-fold. The first reason was that it was the most efficient way to show everyone that they should be feared.

The second one was to weaken the empires by killing off their young geniuses. There was once a popular saying in the Demonic Lands when it came to talented individuals.

A dead genius is no longer a genius.

Before the demons declared war on the Elves, the competition in the Demonic Continent was fierce. Now that the number of their talented individuals had decreased, they stopped killing each other, and focused on increasing their ranks as much as possible.

Slaves were a hot commodity in the Demonic Continent.

Slave merchants would go out of their way to travel there in order to share their wares, which they had captured from all over the world.

The Demon that controlled Space was one of the spawns that was birthed from the union of Demon and a lady that was born with strong magical power. It was quite unfortunate that she had been backstabbed by her rivals, and sold to the slave merchants, which in turn brought her to the Demonic Continent.

She was but one of the many people who were unlucky enough to be enslaved for various reasons and sold to the highest bidder.

When the Demon was about to stab Kenneth's back to end the pretty boy's life, he felt his body turning sluggish.

It was as if he was moving thirty times slower than normal even with his power of Space.

"Pay for your sins in the afterlife."

That was the last thing that the Demon heard before his head fell off from his body.

Kenneth flicked his short sword, sending the bloodstain flying towards the ground. He was someone that didn't enjoy killing. However, if faced with someone that deserved to die, he would not hesitate to end their miserable lives and send them to hell.

The spectators who were watching the match looked at Kenneth with dumbfounded expressions.

What they saw was the silver-haired teenager casually swinging his sword behind him. After that, the demon's head was cut off from its body, ending the battle in mere seconds.

Princess Sidonie and Ian, who was paying close attention to Kenneth's battle, couldn't believe their eyes. They didn't see anything special about Kenneth's move. What he did was just a simple slash and the match ended just like that.

They didn't even see him use any technique or magical ability.

Kenneth sheathed his sword and left the arena with even steps. His Master had sent him to get real life experience in the world, so he decided to go to the Southern Continent to meet William.

Now that the Half-Elf had gone to the Central Continent, Kenneth decided to follow him. For him, it was his duty to look after William in place of his Master who couldn't leave the Silvermoon Continent.

He also didn't like the way Princess Sidonie tricked the Half-Elf into becoming her fiance. Kenneth despised these underhanded methods and vowed to free William from the scheming princess' grasp.

Unknown to him, William had already recognized Princess Sidonie as his lover and had even become her first man. Even if the silver-haired teenager managed to win the tournament, and ask Emperor Leonidas to break the engagement, the two had already been joined at the hip.

The rice had already been cooked, and it couldn't be uncooked no matter how hard Kenneth tried.

(A/N: Just in case you guys are not familiar with the term the rice has been cooked, it meant that the deed has already been done. This refers to having experienced sex, or losing one's maidenhood. Since it is already lost, it cannot be recovered again.)

"Should we go and meet him?" Princess Sidonie asked as she glanced at Ian who was seated by her side.

Ian pondered a bit before nodding her head. William had assigned them to try and get close to Kenneth, to find out the real reason why his Ex-Roommate was looking for him. The Half-Elf had also forbidden the two ladies to harm Kenneth and scheme against him.

The two reluctantly agreed to William's order and promised not to do anything reckless. However, that didn't mean that they would take things lightly if they discovered that Kenneth was lying to them.

"It will be best if we can pry some answers from him," Ian replied. "Will said that Kenneth isn't hostile towards him, but we need to confirm if this is really true. Our lover trusts people too much, and it worries me."

Princess Sidonie nodded her head in agreement.

The two of them once again headed towards the city where the Silver Haired teenager was already waiting for their arrival.

Chapter 597: Chiffon's First Fishing Experience

Chiffon and William were currently on the 20th floor of the Tower of Babylon. In order to proceed to the next floor, they would need to catch some rare fish in the lake and present it to the examiner.

This trial could be accomplished individually or as a group. The overall score would be calculated on the number and rarity of fishes that were caught.

William and Chiffon took their fishing lines and stood at the fishing area assigned to them. They were not alone in their fishing spot because several middle-aged men were there as well. These men had been living in the Floor of Anglers for many years.

They were the people who had a passion for fishing and decided to stop the dangerous climb up the tower, and just spend their lives doing their hobby, which was fishing.

Chiffon was the only girl in the group and she was very cute and adorable. Because of this, the friendly uncles befriended her, and decided to have a chat as they taught the little girl how to put the bait on her fishing rod.

William was just as clueless as Chiffon when it came to fishing. Although he had the Dungeon of Atlantis, he never tried catching fish using a fishing pole. This was the first time he was going to try traditional fishing, and he looked forward to it.

"Back in my younger years, they called me Master Baiter," a middle-aged man said as he instructed Chiffon how to place her bait properly. "No one can beat me when it comes to picking the best baits in order to catch the rarest fish in my hometown. I've been challenged so many times, but none of them were able to defeat me."

"You're amazing, Uncle," Chiffon replied. "I have never tried fishing before. However, it looks very fun!"

"It is." Master Baiter chuckled. "Don't worry, as long as I'm here, you can easily pass the trial. I have rare baits with me, I'll give them to you free of charge."

"Yay! Thank you, Uncle!"

"Hahaha! It's not a big deal."

One of the middle-aged men standing nearby snorted. "Don't believe this rascal, Sweetheart. He may have been good in the past, but that was because he hadn't met me in my prime. I go by the name Mr. Quickie.

"The moment I throw my fishing line, the fishes flock to me like bees to honey. If there is anyone here that can teach you to fish, that will be none other than me."

Master Baiter chuckled in a teasing manner, "Quick is not always good. The true way to fish is by taking the time to understand your prey. Even if you catch fish easily, what of it? The Floor of Anglers base the points depending on how rare the fish is."

"Shut up, old fart." Mr. Quickie glared. "You're just jealous because I'm quick."

Master Baiter sneered. "You are also an old fart. So what if you are quick? This is why you're still single. You can't even satisfy the ladies."

Mr. Quickie almost had an aneurysm because Master Baiter had stepped on his landmine. He had been in several relationships in the past, but none of them lasted long. They came as quick as he did, and left him just as fast.

"You really are asking for it," Mr. Quickie shouted. "How about we have a match. Right here, right now. Let's see who among us is the real deal."

"Hah! I'm not afraid of you. Chiffon, step to the side. See how I beat the crap out of this fool."

The other middle-aged men who were also on the fishing platform sighed and shook their heads. They were the friends of Master Baiter and Mr. Quickie, but they really hated it when the two started bickering.

"The two fools are at it again."

"Can't we just fish in peace and get it over with? Why must these two numbskulls bark at each other at every opportunity they get?"

"I told you we shouldn't have invited both of them at the same time. Now our day is going to be ruined."

"These poor players. How can they proceed to the next floor when these two bastards are scaring the fishes?"

Chiffon, who had just finished her preparations, looked up at the two middle-aged men who were looking at each other as if they were about to come to blows. She could tell that they were good people, and didn't want them to fight each other.

At a loss on what to do, she decided to change the topic and raise the prestige of her Big Brother to the two uncles whom she had met for the first time. She hoped that by doing so, the two uncles would stop fighting each other.

"My Big Brother is also good at fishing," Chiffon said. "He also holds a title that is similar to Mr. Quickie."

"What?!" Mr. Quickie tore his gaze from his nemesis before looking at Chiffon. "The same

title as me?"

Chiffon nodded her head. It was then when the corner of her lips rose ever so slightly. It was as if she was about to brag that she was the one that raised William to become the man he was.

Master Baiter who didn't want to lose to anyone also looked at Chiffon before looking at William who had also finished attaching bait to his fishing hook.

"Chiffon, is your Big Brother's title more awesome than mine?" Master Baiter asked.

"Just as awesome!" Chiffon replied.

"Is he as quick as me?" Mr.Quickie asked.

"Quicker than you!" Chiffon answered.

The two men glanced at each other because they couldn't believe what the little girl in front of them was saying.

"What is his title?" Master Baiter asked.

Mr. Quickie stayed silent and waited for Chiffon to answer the question. He didn't believe that there was someone much faster than him.

"My Big Brother's title is Quickshot," Chiffon patted her chest. "I heard him say it several times in the past."

William, who was about to throw his fishing line, almost fell off the platform after hearing Chiffon's words. More than anything else, he didn't want others talking about his main profession.

Master Baiter's expression softened after hearing Chiffon's words. He then walked towards William and patted his shoulder.

"It must be hard to be a Quickshot," Master Baiter said. "I feel sorry for you, Young Man. However, do not worry. Just do your best to hold it in, and you will be just fine."

The corner of William's lips twitched. He was about to explain that Chiffon was only joking when Mr. Quickie patted his other shoulder.

"You are indeed quicker than me," Mr.Quickie sighed. "You don't even last five seconds do you? Is this the reason why you're climbing the tower? Your wish is not to become a quick shot any longer, right?"

The other men on the platform also looked at William. Their eyes were filled with pity.

"It's okay, boy. You will find someone that will appreciate your… quick shots."

"That's right. There are many fishes in the sea. Who knows? You're quite good looking, so finding a partner won't be too hard. Since you can't satisfy them with your junior, use your hands instead. That way, they will be satisfied as well."

The other middle-aged men voiced similar words of encouragement to William. What they didn't know was that the Quick Shot was very close in unleashing his bazooka to blow them off from the face of the tower.

Master Baiter and Mr.Quickie had forgotten their feud and tried to cheer William up by sharing their stories with women. The two middle-aged men made sure to tell William how awesome they were, and the techniques they used in hooking up with women.

William tried to fight back and told Master Baiter and Mr.Quickie that he already had four lovers. Two of them were even princesses.

When the group of men heard William's words, all of them broke out into laughter. For them, it was William's last attempt to wash away the embarrassment he was feeling. After exchanging a knowing glance to each other, they all told William that they were willing to share more of their techniques in order to woo women.

William listened to all the advice that the older men gave him while giving each of them the middle finger in his heart. No matter what he said, none of them believed him, so the Half-Elf decided to just stay mum and continue his fishing.

They were only given half an hour, and he didn't want to waste them chatting with Master Baiter and Mr. Quickie.

Now that their moods were uplifted, the two middle-aged men instructed Chiffon how to properly throw the fishing line in the water.

The pink-haired girl followed their advice and her line drew a beautiful arc before landing on the water.

The two middle-aged men also threw their lines as well. Since fishing required patience, they chatted with Chiffon and told her about their adventures in the tower.

A minute after Chiffon had thrown her bait, the floating ball near the little girl's hook started to bob. It meant that she had caught a fish and it made her very excited.

The two old men also noticed it as well and told Chiffon what to do. After a bit of struggle, the pink-haired girl pulled her catch out of the water and made it land on the platform, which surprised everyone.

"A Silver-Striped Pupfish!" Master Baiter exclaimed. "Isn't this the third rarest fish on the Floor of Anglers?"

"It is," Mr. Quickie replied. "You're amazing, Chiffon. I've been fishing here for years, and I still haven't caught this fish. This is more than enough for you to pass the trial if you present it to the examiner."

"Really?" Chiffon asked in disbelief. "This little fish is enough to let us pass?"

"Yes," one fo the middle-aged men in the fishing platform answered. "It is enough for you to pass, but not your Big Brother. You need to catch at least one more Silver-Striped Pupfish in order for both of you to advance to the next floor."

"Okay!" Chiffon nodded her head with determination.

This was the first time she tried fishing and she found it quite enjoyable. After putting her catch on a pale filled with water, the pink-haired girl once again threw her line to the water.

William smiled from the side as he waited for a fish to bite his bait. He was quite happy that Chiffon seemed to be enjoying herself. In fact, he could faintly hear the little girl humming a song.

A minute later, Chiffon pulled out another fish, this time, it was a golden fish that was over a meter long.

"Crowned Golden Sturgeon!" Master Baiter cried out in alarm. "This is the rarest fish in this lake. Chiffon, you're amazing!"

The other men in the platform crowded around Chiffon and the Crowned Golden Sturgeon. They had only seen this fish in picture books, but had never seen one alive. Just like Master Baiter said, it was the rarest fish in the Floor of Anglers.

"I didn't think that I would be able to see this fish in my lifetime."

"Wait, we need to document this! Who has a recording crystal?!"

"I have one!"

"Okay, everyone, gather around!"

Chiffon stood at the center while holding the Golden Crowned Sturgeon in her hands. She was wearing her Devourer's Gauntlet, which locked the fish in place, preventing it from escaping.

William stood beside her and patted her head affectionately. The older men stood behind the two teenagers and smiled at the recording crystal. This recording crystal would soon be part of the Floor of Angler's Hall of Fame, so they were quite eager to have their faces shown in the recording as well.

By doing so, they could bask in Chiffon's glory and could brag to their children, in the years to come.

—–

"Big Brother, let's come back to this floor again," Chiffon said sleepily as she rested her head on William's chest.

"Okay," William replied and patted her head. "Let's come back here after we clear the 51st floor."

"Un!"

Chiffon closed her eyes and slept. She was quite exhausted. After taking their catch to the examiner, they were rewarded with ten thousand tokens. Chiffon was given an additional ten Thousand Tokens for catching the rarest fish on the Floor of Anglers.

After passing the trial, the two didn't leave right away. William thought that it would be a shame if they left the floor now. He could tell that Chiffon didn't want to go and wanted to continue fishing a little longer.

William thought that it was not a bad idea to continue fishing and let Chiffon enjoy a rare day of happiness in the tower.

They then returned to the fishing platform, alongside the old men that had accompanied them to the examiner. Chiffon had caught several other rare fishes, but she didn't catch another Golden Crowned Sturgeon.

However, that was fine with her.

For the first time since William had met Chiffon, the Half-Elf saw the makings of a smile on her adorable face. William wished that there would be more opportunities for Chiffon to have fun in the tower, and watch her face glow with happiness.

Chapter 598: Connoisseur Of Men

Two weeks passed since the Tournament of Champions started in the capital city of the Kraetor Empire, Azmar.

Out of the thousands that joined the event, only thirty one remained. Prince Maximilian and Prince Jason were the only representatives of the Kraetor Empire that had lasted until this point.

As for the Elves and the Demon Race, three remained on each side.

Kenneth was one of the three Elves that managed to get far in the tournament. Princess Sidonie, Ashe, and Morgana, weren't able to identify how the Elf had been able to deal with his opponents.

All of Kenneth's battles ended the same way, which made the three girls helpless. They thought that the silver-haired pretty boy wouldn't be able to survive until the end, but they had greatly underestimated Kenneth's ability.

Princess Sidonie and Ashe had approached several times during the tournament, but they were unable to get any more information from him. William's Ex-Roommate was tight-lipped, and was adamant that he would only pass his message to William.

< No matter what happens, he mustn't win! >

Morgana glared at the pretty boy from within Princess Sidonie's mindscape. Kenneth had said on more than one occasion that he would break William's engagement with the Princess of Freesia, which infuriated the two beautiful ladies.

Princess Sidonie nodded her head in agreement. She had promised William that she wouldn't do anything to harm the young man, so she was putting her hopes on the other contestants.

"After today's battle, the seventeen participants will be placed in different brackets until one of them remains," Ashe commented from the side. "The crowd favorites are of course, Prince Maximilian and Prince Jason. However, their opponents are not pushovers. I think both of them will have a hard time advancing to the finals."

Princess Sidonie once again nodded her head in agreement. All of the fighters that had reached this stage were the strongest fighters in the young generation that hailed from all over the continent.

Any one of them could become the victor in the tournament, but she didn't wish for Kenneth, or Prince Jason to be the last man standing. Both of them had the intention to break her engagement with William.

Naturally, Princess Sidonie wouldn't budge even if the Emperor of the Kraetor Empire really fulfilled their wish. She would rather return to the Southern Continent than break up with the Half-Elf that she had chosen as her future husband.

Thirty-One players arrived in their designated arenas. Since it was an odd number, they were asked to draw ballots because one of them would get a free pass and directly proceed to the next stage of the tournament.

Kenneth took out a golden ball from the ballot box, which made Princess Sidonie and Morgana clench their fist in frustration.

As if feeling their stare, Kenneth looked in their direction and waved the golden ball at them with a smile on his face.

< What a hateful bastard! Why is he this lucky?! Did he cheat? >

'No.' Princess Sidonie firmly shook her head. 'The ballot boxes have special runes embedded in them that prevent anyone from cheating. There's no way that he can bypass this rule.'

Morgana clicked her tongue in annoyance and stared daggers at the Elf whom she had marked as her mortal enemy.

After all the players had received their ballots, the matches began.

Less than an hour later, Seventeen contestants remained.

Prince Maximilian – Kraetor Empire

Prince Jason – Kraetor Empire

Kenneth Xin Ashleigh – Silvermoon Continent

Pearl McLean – Silvermoon Continent

Zach Knowles – Silvermoon Continent

Xanhast Valatieri – Demonic Continent

Alinska Lafitte – Demonic Continent

Eleazar Blackthorn – Demonic Continent

Ephemera Fortuna – Gunnar Federation (Edelweiss)

Luther Luna – Gunnar Federation (Quince)

Frederick Maslin – Zaleska Empire (Beastkin)

Jared Toussaint – Zaleska Empire (Beastkin)

Lilith Lynn – Ares Empire (Amazon)

Tasha Hayes – Ares Empire (Amazon)

Ged Walker – Tenser Empire

Allanon Mosley – Rincewind Empire

Silvanus Rahl – Halle Empire (Dwarf)

——-

After the final match

ended, Emperor Leonidas stood up and congratulated the contestants.

"It has been a while since I've seen how outstanding the young generation is," Emperor Leonidas said. His voice spread across the entire arena using a magical artifact. "The final phase of the tournament is upon us, and I wish all of you the best of luck. I look forward to your future battles!"

The audience cheered in unison because they, too, had been impressed on how amazing the final contestants were. The next battles would be held after a day, but before that, each of the contestants were once again asked to draw ballots so that they would be placed in one of the four team brackets, from which only one would emerge victorious.

The Elite Four would then fight in the semifinals. Even if they lost the match, they would still receive amazing rewards from the sponsors of the event.

After picking their numbers, a giant projection appeared at the center of the arena, showing the names of the contestants, and their respective divisions.

—–

Bracket A

— Prince Maximilian

— Prince Jason

— Pearl McLean

— Alinska Lafitte

Bracket B

— Kenneth Xin Ashleigh

— Jared Toussant

— Tasha Hayes

— Xanhast Valatieri

— Eleazar Blackthorn (Seed Player)

Bracket C

— Ephemera Fortuna

— Zach Knowles

— Frederick Maslin

— Silvanus Rahl

Bracket D

— Lilith Lynn

— Allanon Mosley

— Ged Walker

— Luther Luna

——

The Kraetorians groaned when they saw that their two princes were in the same Division. It meant that only one of them would be able to advance to the next round, to fight in the Semifinals.

The members of the Kraetor Royal Family also felt the same when they saw the final placement of the contestants in the last elimination round.

Majority of the audience was quite surprised because among those who had joined the tournament, the Elven Race had only sent four representatives. Three out of four managed to survive the competition, which proved that the Silvermoon Continent was still a force to reckon with.

The leader of the Elves, Zach Knowles was quite disappointed. He had heard the story of the Half-Elf that had fought in the war of the Southern Continent and wished to fight him in battle.

Although William's name brought fear to the Anti-Human Faction, those who idolized the Human Hero, Maxwell, thought highly of him. It could even be said that Zach's reason for traveling to the Kraetor Empire was to meet the Legendary Shepherd.

He wanted to meet his idol, who stood against the Guardians of the Silvermoon Continent, and ask if he could become his Sworn Brother for life.

Lilith Lynn, the Amazon Princess, scanned the other contestants with a greedy look. She had come with the Amazon Empress to the Kraetor Empire to find powerful men that they could bring back to their Empire.

The Amazons were a race composed purely of women. Due to the blessing of their Goddess, they could only give birth to girls. Because of this, they were on the constant lookout for strong men, whom they would invite respectfully, or by force, to become their partners to give birth to strong individuals who would raise the prestige of their empire.

For them, the Tournament of Champions was the perfect place to find strong men. They didn't care what race they were. They could be humans, elves, demons, dwarves, beastkin, or any other races.

In the end, their offspring would always be human girls, so they weren't too picky with the race. All they cared about was strength. The stronger the men, the more they wanted him to become their stud.

The Amazon Empress looked down from her VIP seat with a smile. She had already chosen a few individuals among the finalists. Even if they lost, she would still give them an invitation to return to the Amazon Empire with them.

'Kenneth Xin Ashleigh,' Empress Andraste, the Sovereign of the Amazons mused. 'He will definitely be one of the Seeds that I will bring back to Ares after this tournament is over.'

Empress Andraste had noticed the irregularity of Kenneth and thought of him as someone who carried a very rare bloodline. The Amazons had the unique ability to be able to awaken the unique powers of their Father's bloodline.

Because of this, they prized those who came from Influential Families that have unique abilities exclusive to their bloodline.

For the Empress, Kenneth was like an apple that she wanted to take a bite of no matter what.

'Patience,' Empress Andraste thought. 'At most the tournament will be finished in two weeks. I need to make the necessary preparations beforehand to ensure that the Seeds we take back will not be able to escape our grasp. Too bad, that William boy is not here. I heard great things about him.'

Empress Andraste sighed. Due to her vast information network, she had already known William's name and the achievements that he had made back in the Southern Continent. If she were to choose between William and Kenneth, she would definitely choose the red-headed teenager as the ideal choice.

The Amazon Empress leaned back on the couch, as her gaze landed on her daughter, Lilith. Empress Andraste had no doubt in her mind that her daughter would become the champion of the tournament.

Her only concern was whether her darling daughter would become too greedy, and create a ruckus before the Semifinal Matches began.

As Lilith, who was standing in the arena, continued to scan the faces of the finalists, she was like a connoisseur that was looking for the perfect dish to eat. A frown appeared on her face when her gaze landed on Kenneth.

Kenneth had long noticed Lilith's uniqueness. He sighed in relief that the Amazon Warrior wasn't in the bracket where he belonged. The silver-haired teenager had his guard up, just in case the young lady staring at him tried to do something funny.

Lilith snorted, and ignored Kenneth. Although he was quite good looking, she was not a fan of delicate looking boys. For her, the ideal man should be imposing and carry himself with arrogance.

She was a girl that preferred badboys over gentlemen.

After taking a good look at the people around her, Lilith grinned because there were a few individuals that caught her interest. She knew that after beating them up into submission, they would gladly follow her to the Amazon Empire, where they would become her toy, until she found someone better.

Chapter 599: William Von Ainsworth, Launching!

A hysterical laughter rang out across the 25th Floor of Babylon.

Several Myriad Beasts were obliterated as a powerful laser beam bathed them in a golden light.

William sneered from inside the cockpit of a Giant Robot as he faced off against hundreds of Myriad Beasts that were out to destroy him.

It had been a long time since he had this much fun, and he planned to enjoy himself to the fullest

—-

Several hours earlier…

After several hardships, William and Chiffon had arrived at the Floor of Creation. Upon arrival, the Half-Elf saved a pretty girl who was being chased by men wearing some kind of imperial uniform.

After beating the crap out of them, a Young Master of the ruling family, who governed the 25th Floor arrived at the scene. The newcomer immediately reprimanded William for getting in his way.

"You must be new here," Xanhast Colton said while glaring at William. "Release my little sister before I ask the Enforcers to capture you and imprison you for life! How dare you take her hostage?!"

"Little sister?" William blinked as he looked down on the young lady that was latched on him like a leech.

The pretty girl with dark-brown hair smiled sweetly and looked at William as if she had found her Prince Charming.

"My hero," Marissa Colton, Xanhast's little sister, rested her head on William's chest which made Xanhast clench his fist in anger.

"You, bastard, let go of my sister now!" Xanhast roared.

William tried to detach the pretty leech that was clinging to him because he didn't want to add another ruling family to the list of those who were after his life.

The clash against the Agnis Family was troublesome enough, so if possible, he would like to avoid this kind of situation as much as possible.

No matter how William tried, Marissa refused to let go. The Half-Elf didn't dare exert force because he was afraid that he would hurt the girl, leading to a confrontation between him and the Colton Family.

"Are you deaf? I said to unhand my little sister!"

"Calm your tits, bro. Can't you see that it is your sister that doesn't want to let go?"

Chiffon who was watching from the side frowned.

Marissa was clinging to William and it was making her feel irritated. Due to her sensitive nose, she could tell that the daughter of the Colton Family was using perfume. The fragrance had already attached itself to William's clothes, as if marking him as her man.

Of course, this was something that Chiffon had assumed. In reality, Marissa was unaware of what was happening.

'Big Brother is mine,' Chiffon thought. 'Mine.'

The pink-haired girl stepped forward and forcefully pried the pretty girl, who had started to sniff the Half-Elf's clothes, off of William.

"H-Hey! Don't be too rough," Marissa cried out when Chiffon used her strength to pull her away from her Prince Charming.

Chiffon didn't care about the girl's nonsense and immediately pushed the thieving cat towards Xanhast, who hurriedly caught her in a firm embrace.

After dealing with the pest, Chiffon clung to William and buried her head on his chest. She then opened her mouth and devoured the fragrance that lingered on his clothes. The pink-haired girl would not allow a random girl to mark her Big Brother under her watchful eye.

William scratched his head because he didn't know what to do in his current situation. In the end, he decided to hold Chiffon in a princess carry and left the scene as fast as he could.

Little did he know that his episode with the Brother and Sister pair wouldn't end then and there.

—–

Marissa, who had been tossed aside by William, was in a very foul mood. She couldn't believe that someone would dare to reject her advances on the Floor that was ruled by her family.

Because of this, she went to the Trial Grounds, bringing along her maidservants, as well as her overprotective Big Brother, Xanhast.

"Marissa, what are we doing here?" Xanhast asked. "Don't tell me you plan to make trouble for those two players?"

Marissa

turned her head and glared at her Big Brother. She had been spoiled by her family ever since she was a little child. Because of this, she had developed a habit of always getting what she wanted, even if she had to brute force her way to do it.

She knew that no matter what she did, her parents, and her brother, would clean up her mess for her.

"What of it?" Marissa pouted. "Big Brother, that little girl bullied me. My hand still hurts because of her."

Marissa showed her reddened hand to Xanhast, which made the latter's gaze soften.

"It was your fault for clinging to that stranger," Xanhast replied. "Did you forget Grandma's warning? There is a chance that you might get pregnant if you hold hands with a boy."

The corner of Marissa's lips twitched when she heard her brother's reply.

"Big Brother, I am no longer a child that you can trick with such nonsense." Marissa huffed. "If you don't want to help me then get out of my way!"

Marissa angrily walked away. She knew that William and Chiffon had just arrived in the Floor of Creation. Because of this, she decided to head straight towards the Trial Grounds, where the tests would be taken in order to proceed to the next floor.

The Floor of Creation was a unique floor. On this floor, people would fight against each other. However, instead of a simple fight, each person was allowed to "Create" anything that they wanted.

Of course, there is a limitation to this law.

They could only summon things that they knew by heart. Marissa may not be a fighter, but she was a scholar. She had read many ancient books, and learned a lot from them. Because of this, she was hailed as the greatest obstacle that the players had to face in order to proceed to the next floor.

Whenever Marissa was in the Trial Ground, the players–who knew about her notoriety–would cancel their appointment and wait until she left the premises, before challenging the examiner that was assigned to the trial.

The moment Marissa arrived at the Trial Ground, she immediately saw William and Chiffon in the crowd.

A sneer appeared on her pretty face as she marched towards the examiner who was about to start the examination.

"I will take over from here," Marissa declared. "You may stand down."

"Y-Young Lady! What are you doing here?" the examiner stuttered.

"Are you deaf? I said I will take over here. Stand down!"

"U-Understood! I apologize for my mistake."

Marissa snorted and stepped on the podium. She then focused her attention on Chiffon who was looking back at her with a frown.

'You b*tch, I will teach you not to mess around with me.' Marissa cursed Chiffon in her heart.

After looking at the annoying pink bug, Marissa shifted his attention to the other players who were about to take the trial.

The moment their eyes met, the players hurriedly left the place in fear of facing Marissa's wrath. Only William and Chiffon remained because they didn't know how difficult it was to pass the test when Marissa took on the role as examiner.

"I will now explain the details of this trial," Marissa said with a smile as she looked at William. "As you may already know, this Floor is called the Floor of Creation. Inside this domain, everyone is able to create something out of thin air, and use it to aid them in battle.

"In order to pass, you must defeat me and my Big Brother in combat. Don't worry, we will take it easy on you."

Marissa laughed internally. Even though she said that she would take it easy, she had no intention of giving William and the hateful pink bug any handicap. She would use her full power to defeat William, with the intention of showing him how powerful she was.

With a wave of her hand, Marissa activated the privilege granted to her family by the Guardian of the Floor.

William and Chiffon found themselves in a wasteland. The environment was quite desolate and dark clouds blocked the sky.

Marissa and Xanhast stood two hundred meters away from their opponents. The older brother pitied William and Chiffon because they had no idea what they were about to face. Even if he didn't assist her little sister, the two players wouldn't be able to beat her even if all the players earlier assisted them in battle.

"Allow me to demonstrate how this floor works," Marissa said with a smirk.

A few seconds later, dozens of giant beasts appeared behind her.

The corner of William's lips twitched when he saw this. The System had informed him that all of the Beasts that Marissa had created were all Myriad Beasts.

"Now that you have seen how this trial works, I'll give you a minute to create something that you can use to win against me," Marissa stated. She was overflowing with confidence because she had stood in this battleground countless times before.

The pretty girl was even looking forward to what William could do in this hopeless situation.

"Let me confirm something, I can create anything right?" William asked.

"Yes." Marissa nodded. "However, it must be something that you are knowledgeable about. You can't create something that doesn't exist."

"Okay." William grinned.

He had bought the information of each floor from the Merchant Guild and had a vague understanding about the Power of Creation that the 25th Floor specialized in.

In fact, he was even looking forward to going to this floor because there was something that he had missed in his previous lifetime. Growing up, William had dreamed of riding a Giant Robot.

The Half-Elf closed his eyes and let his imagination run wild.

The air trembled, and a Giant Robot that looked like a Gandamn appeared behind him. William held Chiffon's hand as a beam of light shot down towards them.

Immediately, the Half-Elf found himself inside a cockpit holding a PayStation Controller in his hands.

The cockpit was a two seater and Chiffon sat snugly behind him. William's eyes glowed with excitement as he pressed the button of his controller. The Gandamn started to move, which made the Half-Elf incredibly excited.

"Okay, let's do this," William grinned like a little boy who had found his favorite toy. "William Von Ainsworth, Launching!"

The Giant Robot's rocket boosters that were located on its back roared to life. It then charged forward like a rocket that was about to go to space.

Marissa and Xanhast looked at the unknown metallic creature in front of them. This was the first time they had seen such a thing, but for some reason, they felt that they would have to take this fight seriously if they wanted to win against William.

Chapter 600: The Smile Of A Devil

Chiffon couldn't understand what was going on.

One minute she was standing beside her Big Brother, the next second she was seated on a chair with a belt that held her in place.

William's chuckle reached her ears as the Gandamn charged fearlessly towards the dozens of Myriad Beasts that he was supposed to fight.

A monster that looked similar to Godzilla roared at the Giant Robot and released a firebreath.

William sneered as he moved the joysticks in his controller, and evaded the monster's attack with ease.

'System, tell me all the weapons that we have right now and how to use them,' William ordered.

< Understood. >

Right now, William was just testing the speed of the Gandamn as he maneuvered in the terrain. Several magical attacks flew in his direction, but he easily dodged all of them. Seeing that their attacks weren't working, the Myriad Beasts decided to engage William in close combat.

It was also at that moment when the System finished analyzing the Giant Robot that William was currently controlling.

< Finished Analyzing Gandamn's Weaponry >

< Beam Sabers >

< Plasma Beam Cannons >

< Railguns >

< Beam Rifle >

< Vulkhans >

< Chest Gatling Guns >

< Homing Missiles >

< Would the host like to synchronize with the Gandamn for maximum performance? >

< Yes / No >

William didn't think twice and agreed with the synchronization. Right after the System successfully established the connection between William and the Gandamn, the red-headed teenager felt like the entire Giant Robot had become his body.

He knew exactly well its capabilities, and the proper usage and range of its weapons. After that brief relay of information in his brain, the smile on William's face widened.

"I've always wanted to try this once," William thought as a seed seemed to sprout in his consciousness. It was some kind of awakening that it was hard to describe.

Immediately, his concentration drastically increased and his senses encompassed the entire battlefield.

The System had automatically "Locked On" the Myriad Beasts that were approaching him and just waiting for William's order.

"Beam Rifle and Railguns, open fire!" William shouted as he pressed the buttons on his controller.

Several laser beams erupted from the Gandamn. The Myriad Beasts had no time to avoid and their heads exploded like watermelons.

"I'm not done yet!" William took out the Gandamn's Beam Sabers and attacked the remaining Myriad Beasts in close combat.

With a slash, he cut off the head of a Black-Scaled Sabertooth Tiger that was five meters tall. The Sabertooth Tiger was fast, but it was not as fast as William's Giant Robot which had rocket boosters attached on its back.

Seeing that her Monster Army was decreasing at an alarming pace, Marissa hurriedly summoned more. She couldn't believe what was happening. In the past, a single Myriad Beast was enough to scare away the players who were unlucky enough to

have her as their examiner.

Now, she summoned over thirty Myriad Beasts in order to trample William's and Chiffon's chances of clearing the trial. However, the scene that was playing in front of her eyes was a far cry to what she had envisioned in her mind.

"T-This is not happening," Marissa stuttered. "What is that thing?!"

Xanhast was also in awe of what he was witnessing first hand. This was the first time he was seeing such a thing and it broke his common sense.

However, as the direct descendants of the Colton Family, they couldn't afford to back down. Their battle was being displayed outside of the Trial Grounds, and everyone was able to see the battle in real time.

The Players that had left earlier couldn't stop their mouths from opening wide. Some of them were even paying extra close to William's Gandamn, in the hope that they would be able to create it as well in order to pass their trials.

"Sister, focus on summoning Land Beasts," Xanhast ordered. "I will summon Aerial Beasts."

Marissa wasn't someone that liked being ordered, but right now, she was not in the right state to argue with her brother. She just nodded her head and summoned all the Millennial, and Myriad Beasts that their family had recorded for the past thousands of years.

Soon, over a thousand Beasts appeared on the battlefield. Half of them were flying in the air, and the others were on the ground trying to get as close as possible to the fast moving robot.

Oogwei, Xod, and Yves, who were watching William's and Chiffon's journey, couldn't believe what they were seeing. The cucumber that the little turtle had already bitten fell out of its mouth due to how shocked it was.

The other Guardians were also looking at the Gandamn with fascination. They hadn't seen anything like it even in their own worlds. Because of this, they gave the battle in the Floor of Creation their undivided attention.

If other people were to see the powerful beasts in front of them, they would probably faint. However, William just roared in laughter.

"Good! More target practice!" William pressed the triangle button on his controller and the homing missiles on the Gandamn's back, and feet flew towards their target.

Millennial Beasts?

Myriad Beasts?

So what?

How could they possibly win against high-tier weapons that could even destroy space colonies?

The Gandamn held the two beam rifles in his hand and merged them together, creating the Buster Cannon, which was as strong as a battleship main cannon. The two plasma beam cannons protruding behind the Giant Robot's back also activated and aimed at the monsters in front of it.

"Buster Cannons, Fire!" William roared and three powerful beams of light shot out from the tips of the weapons in his arsenal.

The monsters that the beams hit disintegrated, as well as those that were behind their back. William moved the cannons sideways, and the laser beams decimated everything it hit in a straight line.

Its firepower was truly unbelievable. Perhaps, if William had the Gandamn during the war in the Southern Continent, the Elves wouldn't have stood a chance, even if they had their Guardians with them.

Perhaps, the Immortal Phoenix, Sepheron, would be the only one to survive such destructive power and that was only a possibility.

Marissa and Xanhast had to cover their eyes due to the intensity of the light that almost blinded them.

When the light receded, only ruins remained. All the monsters had vanished leaving only the brother and sister standing in place.

Marissa and Xanhast watched as the Giant Robot landed a few meters away from them. The cockpit on its chest opened up, revealing William with a big smile on his face.

"Please, summon more!" William pleaded. "I still haven't played enough."

Marissa's eyes rolled up into their sockets when she heard William's requests. Creating beasts was no easy feat because it required strong mental power. After summoning hundreds of them, the pretty girl had reached her limit, and William's carefree words gave the finishing blow.

Xanhast hurriedly caught his little sister and sighed internally. He then looked up at the Half-Elf that was smiling down on them.

The eldest son of the current Patriarch of the Colton Clan hadn't seen the Devil Race yet. However, after looking at William's delighted expression, he believed that if the rumored Devil Race existed, they would definitely look like the Half-Elf, whose devilish smile made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end.

Chapter 53 - 591-600

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