Unedited chapter. It will be edited soon.

-

When Louis opened his eyes, he found Laura standing next to him, as the typical breeze of that mythical city blew against them like angry fans.

It wasn't his intention to come here so early, but since he had been sent, it was time to make a strong impression. Right now, he wasn't afraid. It was time to show how powerful and capable he really was.

Time to make himself known to the entire empire as someone beyond a "Talented Young Man."

Laura approached him and smiled. "It's a disgrace," she said suddenly.

"Disgrace?" He looked at her, questioning her with his gaze.

"Yes. This is clearly a huge disadvantage for us."

"Disadvantage?" Louis nodded. "Because of the group's injuries..."

"No." She shook her head. "I mean for the two of us."

Once again, he looked at her, quite confused as to why she was saying that.

"Mages won't have any problems here, nor will swordsmen and martial artists, because they can cast their spells without needing bullets. On the other hand, we had to use a lot of bullets in those battles, so now having to face the tower like this is really complicated. They didn't let us prepare."

"Ah, I see." Louis nodded.

Naturally, she would find that to be a problem.

But Louis didn't really see it that way.

He looked at his system; the update was progressing smoothly, so he would soon be able to use his store again. Although he would unnecessarily spend a fairly large amount, he would get higher quality bullets in good quantities, so it was fine.

He smiled a little. "Don't worry about the bullets for now. Can this test be done in teams?" he asked.

"Yes, a maximum of three per team. Although the results will be studied independently."

"Very well." Louis smiled. "Then let's get moving and start climbing. It looks like we have a long way to go."

She nodded. "All right, then. What mission does it ask of you? I already completed mine on this floor earlier, they were quite a bit easier than the ones on the 10th floor."

Louis concentrated to look at the map marked in his mind and the system opened.

In the background was something that said: System Locked for Update, please wait...

But in front of him was the map, which could be used.

The red and blue dots revealed different important things, but in this case, there was something different. Among those red and blue dots, there was one that was flickering between blue and red.

When he touched it to open it, it revealed what it contained: Mission to kill the Orangutan Boss of the Red Forest.

It seemed to be the only mission, but in reality there was another one hidden.

"Why are there hidden missions?" he asked suddenly.

"Did you get a hidden mission?" she asked, astonished.

He nodded.

She put her hand to her forehead. "God, what bad luck that you got that one right now when we want speed."

"What is it?" he asked, curious.

"A hidden mission means we have to find a person in this world who will give us the main mission. I'm sure you have a mission that flashes between blue and green, right?"

"No. It flashes between blue and red."

"A mission to kill a local boss?" She frowned.

"Is it dangerous?"

"Dangerous... with our strength, I don't think so. The problem is that we can't go kill that local boss on our own. We need to find the person who gave us this mission, to find out what they want or need from that boss, so that we can get it for them."

Finally, Louis frowned. Not because he was worried, but rather...

'Isn't this like those missions with NPCs in video games? Now that I think about it, this tower is very similar to video games where there were towers and we had to climb them hunting beasts, completing missions for different NPCs,' he thought.

The levels, the stat points that make you stronger, and now quests in a tower—all of this was quite reminiscent of some video game from Earth.

"Which boss do you have to kill?" Laura asked suddenly, pulling him out of his thoughts.

"To the Orangutan Chief of the Red Forest," he replied.

"Vampires again?" She took a deep breath and then let out a long, weary sigh. "Maybe we're destined to run into those guys." She scoffed and started walking through the city.

And yes, the Orangutan Chief was actually a Vampire Orangutan who ruled over a Forest of Blood.

"And it's quite far from here," Louis said.

"Yes, but it's easier to get there because it's not an area where many meteorites fall," she nodded.

Soon, the two of them headed to different key locations in the city under the curious gaze of several people who watched them from hiding.

"The top 1 and top 3 on the same team and floor... It's really going to be a tough battle," said one of them.

"But didn't they say that Miss Laura was on the 21st floor? Why did she show up here?" another asked.

"It's normal, idiot. In these tests, everyone is taken to the rest floors so that the teams can be formed properly. I'm on the 21st floor too, but here I am."

"Oh... you're right."

"Have you seen people from the other academies?" another one of them asked suddenly.

"I saw a couple earlier, they weren't that strong. Anyway, we can't even interfere with their missions or with them themselves, because of the rules."

They seemed to complain about this. There was a time when the Battle of the Hierarchies allowed interference in each other's missions.

That's why those from the same academy were almost always allies in order to win over the other academies, but the academics and leaders decided to change this when they received certain items that would help them predefine who had done best within the academy.

Then the rules changed, and now it's almost entirely individual, although you can get help from teammates.

"Stop complaining about the rules and get going." One who had remained silent suddenly scolded them and then looked at his two allies. "Let's get moving, we have two missions ahead of us, and the rest will be free to pass. The further we get, the better."

"Right, leader!"

They had been preparing for this for a long time, they weren't going to fail now. They had been fighting together for a long time just to understand each other, because they understood that this wasn't all about strength, it was also about strategy.

-

"A city near the Vampire Orangutan Boss? There's nothing like that around there." A man from one of the organizations that sold information about the terrain on this floor replied.

"I see, sir. Then, do you know of any place that is related to that area? Any town or something similar, with people living there?" Laura asked.

"A town..." The man frowned and leaned back in his office chair. He had realized that these two young people had been given complicated missions for this floor.

On this floor, missions that require the help of a third party are rare, because it is a floor where not many people live.

On the 10th floor, for example, there are people who have formed cities since ancient times. They are not natives of the tower, obviously, but they moved from the outer territories to the interior because they see it as safer. Those are the types of people who usually give these missions.

But what about the 20th floor, where meteorites fall continuously, as if it were the end of the world?

Such situations do not usually occur.

Even so, he was well aware of the situation, so he nodded.

"There is a village nearby, according to rumors," he replied.

"Where is it?" Laura and Louis immediately became interested.

"It's just rumors," he clarified, before continuing. "But I've heard that near the Red Forest there is a village with people living there. Those who have said this claim they have no idea where they come from or who they are. But even though we've sent people to investigate, we haven't been able to find anything. So, even though we have that information, we have no way of verifying it."

That was problematic, but it was all the information they could find on the matter. They paid the man before setting off to walk around the city.

They tried to find information elsewhere, but there was nothing more than that. In the end, they were forced to give up.

"It looks like we have to go there ourselves," she said.

Louis nodded. "Well, it can't be helped." He smiled and looked over them toward the distant shops. "Wait for me at the city gate, I'm going to buy a few things," he said.

"Shall I come with you?"

"No need, it'll be quick. I don't want to delay us."

"All right, then don't be long."

After parting ways with Laura, Louis walked toward the shops, but suddenly disappeared into the crowd and in a moment was in an alleyway.

"You've been following us for a while, so I'm curious to know what an information seller like you wants with us," Louis said suddenly, coming up behind a hooded man.

He was startled and tried to run away, but Louis' grip on his shoulder was too strong. Although he struggled, he ended up helpless seconds later and gave up.

His hood had fallen off his head, so an unfamiliar face greeted Louis.

"A man from one of the competitors?" he thought.

"I'm not what you think," the man in front of him suddenly declared.

"There's a high probability that you are what I think," Louis replied, joking a little.

"I heard that you want to go to the Red Forest and that you're looking for a village in its vicinity," he said suddenly.

Louis frowned but nodded. "Do you have any information? I can pay you whatever you ask."

The man nodded and pulled his clothes back further, revealing a little of his chest. There was a badge inscribed there, practically tattooed. It was like a bleeding iron ingot with a snake wrapped around it.

"I'm from the Iron Blood Village. I think it's the place you're looking for."