As the day brightened, the area in front of Modras's Tower started to get crowded with students who didn't have morning lectures.
"Hey, can you give so room upfront? Caroline has a morning lecture, and I promised to record it for her."
"I'm recording it too. I'll send it to you as well."
"Sounds good."
Since there were no morning lectures, the majority of students had co, creating an overwhelming crowd. In Dian
ne's case, the atmosphere was such that climbing higher floors was expected of her, so she wasn't mobbed by students like this. However, with consecutive challengers reaching the 20th floor from the sa grade, it had beco quite an issue.
"Did you cough, Your Highness?"
"Oh, yeah. Good morning."
A slightly sluggish Mynus Mohaim appeared in casual clothing as he greeted with a yawn.
Since Adrias cleared the 10th floor two days ago, he had remained at the academy without leaving.
Mynus' slightly disheveled hair seed to bother him, so he kept running his hand through it. As he did so, Denard approached him.
"Your Highness, Lord Yunor Hufak will be visiting today."
"Yunor Hufak? What's this about the martial prodigy showing up?"
He said so, but a smile played on Mynus's lips.
He might have spoken that way, but there was a twinkle in his eyes, resembling that of a mischievous child anticipating sothing fun. Seeing him like this, Denard rubbed his temples.
"Lord Yunor Hufak isn't the only one. the Third Princess Mikaela, the Fourth Prince Odell, and even Lady of the Agnes Magic tower are also coming."
"Wow, what are they hoping to gain that they're all rushing here?"
It was different from Dianne, who was a part of the Duchy of Arkadien.
Currently, Adrias Cromwell held the title of Count, which was a relatively unremarkable position in the nobility.
Because of that, he was a low-profile individual without much burden or pressure.
From the perspective of recruiting talents, there wasn't anyone else who possessed better conditions and prospects than him.
"Lord Yunor Hufak seems to be visiting just out of curiosity."
"That makes sense. He's a simpleton who doesn't care about worldly matters."
The problem was the other individuals.
Moreover, this might not be the end.
If he managed to conquer up to the 20th floor here, it was certain that a different kind of disturbance would stir within the Empire, different from Dianne.
'I need to make a decision soon.'
Mynus rubbed his chin and looked at the screen.
On the screen, Adrias was preparing to ascend to the 20th floor, tidying up his area where he had stayed.
Even Denard, who had been montarily here to see him, wasn't able to keep Adrias within the academy. Adrias's actions and movents were so forceful that even Mynus, who had returned to the academy to watch for fun, felt his heart waver.
'He might hate the Emperor for it, but it's not like he's been caring about that from the start. Should I poke him a little?'
He had a younger sister too.
She was quite lively, or rather, excessively lively, but she was almost the sa age as Adrias.
Even if it was a princess or a prince who had their eyes on her, there was no bond as strong as the blood ties they shared.
"Denard."
"Did you call, Your Highness?"
"Bring Greita here."
Denard hesitated at Mynus's words.
To think he had called her. From that action alone, Denard could guess what Mynus was thinking, and he lowered his head.
"I will fetch her imdiately."
"As soon as possible, if you can. It'd be nice if she could co quickly. Good things are ant to be shared. It'd be a waste to see it alone."
Seeing his master twisting his words like a fox, and Denard promptly left the scene.
A while later, Denard returned. He stood by Mynus' side.
"She said she would co right away."
"Good job, Dainard. She probably didn't agree to co at once."
"No, She didn't."
His sister, who shared a similar personality with him, was quite the troublemaker.
She would often cause trouble within the territory, and her strong-willed nature made it difficult for Mynus to manage her properly.
"Good thing. I was worried about how it would turn out. What do you think?"
"If I may express my personal opinion, I also think Adrias Cromwell is quite promising."
"Yeah, I'm looking forward to it. Now that Adrias is about to be eliminated soon, let's wait leisurely. By the way, Denard, you also reached the 20th floor, right?"
"Due to my insufficient skills, the 20th floor was my limit."
As Mynus and Denard chatted lightly, outsiders arrived at the scene in perfect timing.
The students who were watching, fascinated by the splendid and glamorous appearance of the outsiders, started to murmur.
"Lord Yunor Hufak!"
"Princess Mikaela is here with Prince Odell."
"Lady of Agnes Magic Tower! The Burning Fla, Lexi Mahos!"
While Rodren Magic Tower was the most influential Magic Tower within the Empire, Agnes Magic Tower, which was like a company spreading its influence throughout the continent, was also considered one of the strongest. Establishing Magic Tower branches in various places, the Agnes school prioritized skills over everything else, and even the position of Magic Tower Lord was based on skill alone.
Lexi Mahos was the current Lord of Agnes Magic Tower, bearing the title of Burning Fla. Shee had been famous even before becoming the Magic Tower Lord.
The four individuals seed to have greeted each other in advance, and they naturally approached the scene.
Mynus stood up from his seat and greeted them lightly.
"Lord Yunor Hufak, it's been a while."
Seeing him attend to the Marquis so openly, the expressions of the princess and prince weren't particularly pleased.
However, considering the situation, they could sowhat understand, so they didn't show any overt reactions.
Jaden Yunor Hufak was a prodigy worthy of such treatnt.
"Shouldn't you greet the prince and princess before ?"
Fortunately, Lord Yunor Hufak took care of the Emperor's children.
As they were still children by the age of laws, they sent their thanks through their eyes, then confidently raised their heads.
"Oh, I made a mistake. I often ss up because I sold my manners sowhere when I was young. It's been a while. Princess Mikaela, Prince Odell."
"Not at all. It's a pleasure to et you, Lord Mohaim."
After exchanging greetings, the voices of the students echoed.
"He's going up!"
"The 20th floor! Really?"
"Why 'really'? There's no way he can make it."
With the news that Adrias Cromwell had reached the 20th floor, the greetings were postponed as everyone took their seats. Deos, the academy's principal, and the two departnt heads who had arrived belatedly greeted each other again and observed Adrias's activities.
"What do you think he's planning?"
"Exactly. Is he going to use so trick like he did when he cleared the 10th floor?"
When the boss of the 20th floor had eight legs and was as large as a giant, it was a colossal creature that looked like giants would ride it. Without being detected by the 20th-floor boss, Adrias moved around the room, which was filled with columns resembling temples, as if preparing for sothing.
And after about ten minutes, those watching the screen expressed their astonishnt all at once.
"Is that even possible?"
"What on earth did he do?"
Adrias was restraining the boss's legs and relentlessly striking it unilaterally.
As the boss with the most powerful mobility, just immobilizing it was already a significant accomplishnt. Even so, the boss's attacks were extrely threatening.
However, Adrias seed to predict and preemptively counter the boss's attacks as if he had clairvoyant abilities.
Though it seed like he was following a morized pattern and acting accordingly, for those observing from the outside, it was the appropriate response as if Adrias could foresee the future.
Using traps within the room, exploiting the boss's characteristics, and leveraging gimmicks, Adrias cleared the 20th floor with ease.
The spectators, who were witnessing this spectacle, couldn't grasp that it had been cleared and missed the timing to cheer, leaving them in a state of confusion.
"He cleared it?"
"What's going on?"
As the crowd was bewildered, Adrias continued to ascend the floors without hesitation.
There was no ti for rest.
21st floor.
Only after the number beca visible did people slowly beco astonished.
"So, that ans he..."
"He cleared the 20th floor?"
Adrias Cromwell didn't stop.
.
.
.
.
"Uwoaaah!"
Thud!
After defeating the last remaining Minotaur, he sheathed his sword.
Today, he decided to take a break here and retraced his steps through the labyrinthine passages.
'I might have overexerted myself.'
Even with plenty of potions, the difficulty had risen to the point where a slight misstep could lead to imdiate expulsion. His muscles were tense from head to toe due to the accumulated fatigue, and he was acutely aware of it.
The fatigue had accumulated to the point where he could feel it throughout his body.
Still, he had climbed from the 20th floor to the 25th in just a day.
He decided to stop here today; tomorrow, he would face the 26th floor.
He returned to the hidden device he had discovered in advance.
The location of the device was within a blind spot in the shared screen, so it couldn't be seen by those outside.
'Maxin probably didn't discover this device. Even if he had, he wouldn't have been able to climb anyway.'
When he touched the device hidden in the labyrinth, the labyrinth began to shift.
Without changing the labyrinth using this device, it would have been impossible to find the stairs leading to the next floor.
'Left three tis, right twice, left three tis again, up once.'
As if entering a command, he moved the device.
The labyrinth transford as he manipulated the device. Though it wasn't visible from here, there was probably a path leading to the stairs to the next floor.
'I worked so hard to figure this out, and now I get to use it.'
Life is full of surprises.
Back then, he was just doing it to enjoy the ga, but now it was coming in handy.
In truth, it wasn't enjoyable at all. It was pure grinding.
After manipulating the device and checking if it was connected to the stairs, he continued to touch the device repeatedly. It must have taken a long ti to figure out the correct command.
'By the way, chaos must have erupted outside by now.'
Perhaps more people gathered around than for Dianne's case.
I had broken a record that nobody expected.
And it wasn't just a minor record it was the first and highest title since the establishnt of the academy.
'I should have thought about it beforehand.'
Even in the ga, whenever I conquered the Tower of Modras, people were always curious and bombarded with questions.
Characters with prestigious backgrounds tended to experience this less, but when I played as Lucia or Louis, I made sure to keep a low profile.
But I am a Count.
Because I didn't belong to a prominent faction, I attracted attention from all directions as an easy target.
'The Emperor is an enemy, so I should probably make use of one of the other nobles.'
My current title ant nothing.
Being a Count with no territory, what kind of Count was I? Just a nominal one.
However, this ability would draw various forces to approach .
"Fortunately, I'm not a Marrquis, right?"
If the Cromwell family was a Margrave, just the thought would make my head spin.
Obligations and responsibilities were imnse, but all that ca back was the title of honor.
Of course, honor was a powerful force in this era, but personally, as soone who pursued practical results, it was more of a nuisance.
Among the Marquis, Patrick Bagras, the Marquis of the North, was born a soldier. He probably felt content with his position. However if, other nobles, including myself, had been bestowed the title of Marquis, we wouldn't willingly accept.
"Shall I start laying the bed?"
I spread my bed.
Although I felt uneasy sleeping alone, I had set up alarm magic circles around to alleviate my worries.
'I won the bet with Dianne, so I should think about what to ask for.'
What might Dianne be thinking at this mont?
It was regrettable that I couldn't see her expression.
With this pace, I would likely reach the 30th floor tomorrow and ascend to the 31st floor.
The 30th floor was undoubtedly breakable, and the key was the 31st floor.
'It's hard to gauge...'
Even if I managed to break through, I wondered if there would be rewards.
Still, I felt there might be sothing, but the mystery would be unveiled tomorrow.
'By the way, does the 31st floor show on the screen?'
I had been cautious since it seed to be subtly visible before.
But co to think of it, the 31st floor was a floor that wasn't shared on the screen.
If that was the case...
Could I use black magic?
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