"Have you heard of the new guy who's been storming through the tower as of late?"
"Yeah, the Dragon guy, I saw his scores, they're ridiculous."
"I'm curious what'll happen when he passes the tenth floor and gets to the main section of the tower."
"Every guild will want to hire him."
Within the main base of one of the tower's 5 great guilds, Constellia, random underlings chatted away.
One of the top executives of the guild happened to be listening.
Alice, an expert elemental mage.
She was on the cusp of reaching arch mage status, yet she was a few steps away.
As soon as the underlings noticed her, they stood up and saluted.
"M-miss Alice! Sorry for not noticing you sooner!"
"Be at ease... I found your conversation interesting anyway."
Their assumptions were correct... as many rumors were already spreading about him in the higher circles of the tower.
He had broken through previously unbreakable records in such a short time.
Of course, any other piece of information regarding him, no, it could also be her, were made up.
That person was currently in the beginner zone of the tower, which was inaccessible to those who had passed it, meaning that obtaining information was unbelievably difficult.
It was possible, through the use of several roundabout methods, to make communication with the beginner zone, but most guilds did not bother creating such a channel as there was little purpose in communicating with newbies.
Any prospective talents could just be recruited after they reached the tenth floor.
But this individual, going by 'Dragon' was completely different.
Breaking records, some of which had been around for hundreds of years, was no small feat.
No, it was something that caused a massive uproar in the tower.
Every guild wanted their hands on that person, yet they were yet to show up on the tenth floor.
The woman hummed to herself, deep in thought.
---------------------------
It did not take long for me to clear the 5th and 6th floors.
The 5th floor was a test of endurance, and could be cleared by climbing up a mountain.
The key piece was hidden in a cave that went deep underneath the mountain.
The 6th floor was a different type of test of endurance. The player was locked in a boiling room and would have to last for a minute.
The key piece could be obtained by lasting five minutes, well over the required time.
It was a painful experience, but tough skin was immensely useful.
Right now, I was in the cave of observation.
I did not wear my mask, as it was a floor trial which was challenged alone.
I was in a small cave, lit up by a few torches.
The light revealed piles of gold and jewelry.
A table was filled with several chalices and goblets.
An old knight stood near the table.
"...Your task.. is to choose the correct chalice."
The purpose of this challenge was to teach players how to sense mana.
Mana is an invisible source of energy that is present everywhere, gathering within the bodies of living beings and artifacts.
One of these artifacts would attract a large amount of mana, and it was the job of the player to find it.
Picking the wrong one would cause an automatic fail for the challenge, and send the player back to the 2nd floor.
It wasn't as easy as one may think, as every single chalice attracted mana, so it wasn't immediately obvious as to which chalice was the correct option.
I was already well acquainted with sensing mana, and the correct chalice was clearly evident to me.
...But that wasn't what I was looking for.
The hidden objective was to find the chalice that absorbed no mana.
This was far harder than finding the one that absorbed more mana as the others, as it required a superior comprehension of mana to search through the fog of magic that accumulated around the chalices.
-----
The old knight stroked his beard with interest as Zeon continued searching.
"Most of the challengers would have found it by now... but young man, I don't believe you're incompetent, so how come you've taken so long."
"...Old man, I'm searching for the hidden objective."
Zeon replied curtly as he meditated, closing his eyes and senses to maximize his magic sensing capability.
"Ohohoho! It's been a while since someone has tried to do that. So you've decided to walk down that path, huh? Well, I wish you luck... take all the time you need."
The knight laughed joyously, and focused on Zeon with more intensity.
...
After a while, Zeon opened his eyes, picking the correct chalice.
"It seems you've made a good choice... Congratulations."
"...Yeah, thanks."
"So, have you collected the other key pieces?"
"Wait, how do you even know about that?"
Zeon was confused by the old man's knowledge.
The old man's grey eyes twinkled, as he smiled cryptically.
"I know many things, such knowledge comes with age.... Just tell me, how many have you collected?"
"Uh... Well, this is the fifth."
"Is that the case? Well, I wish you the best of luck then."
"Thanks... old man."
Zeon was teleported out of the cave, and the old man looked above.
Obviously, the only thing above him was the cave's ceiling, but his eyes saw further beyond.
"So, what do you fellows think?"
[Several Gods and Demons are watching.]
[A communication link has been made.]
[A speaker has been chosen.]
A voice, seemingly coming from everywhere within the cave, began speaking.
It lacked a discernable gender, yet still shook the cave with might.
"He.. has been unresponsive so far."
"Strong people are like that, you know?"
The old man seemed unaffected by the gravity of the beings he was communicating with.
"Perhaps... but he is not just strong. Anyway... action has yet to be taken, we shall wait patiently."
"Something tells me he has no interest in you lot."
"He has yet to understand our power... He killed a pawn of Malphas, he felt no fear in doing so"
The old man could not help but chuckle at this.
He thought to himself that the kid he had met fully understood their power, he just didn't care.
Of course, he did not see it prudent to share such thoughts.
"Hah! I like him. I'll make sure to meet him again."
"Even with your position, you must not act in a favorable manner towards him."
"There's no need to lecture me on the rules. I know them well."
"..."
[The communication link has closed.]
[The current instance of the 7th floor will close.]