CHAPTER 79: CHAPTER 79: THE OLD DAYS [1]

The sky was clear, without a cloud in sight.

The air was crisp and refreshing.

"It’s been a while since I’ve enjoyed something like this."

Erza said, filling his lungs with this fresh air.

"...I wish Darwin could enjoy these things like me."

The prince’s eyes carried an indescribable sadness.

It seemed like it would take him a while to completely let go of Darwin.

Kael glanced at Erza.

"How long have you been in that place?"

"Um... about a week?"

"...To be honest, I don’t think that place was that bad. Other than the fact that we were treated like slaves, everything was fine."

The prince sneered, lightly nudging Kael’s shoulder.

"You fool, try staying in there for a week like me. Then you will understand what hell is like."

Kael laughed.

"Unfortunately, I have no intention of doing that."

Yes, after killing all those nobles, they successfully escaped from the Silver Tower.

This was freedom.

And there were still a few minutes left until the end of the 22nd floor.

It was also the time when Kael’s group had to say goodbye to Erza.

Not a permanent farewell, because they would still meet again.

"So, what are you going to do from now on?"

The prince pointed to the East.

"You see? That’s the Dicathen Kingdom, and that’s where I’ll be heading from now on."

"..."

"It’ll be a long journey, but what can I do?"

Erza shrugged.

Then, he glanced at them.

"Then what about you guys? Shall we say goodbye here, or do you want to follow me to the Dicathen Kingdom?"

Kael then smiled kindly.

"We shall say goodbye here. But we will definitely meet again. Probably in a day."

He calculated in his mind.

Erza’s emerald eyes widened.

"Why don’t you come with me now instead of waiting for a day later? That’s strange."

Kael still maintained that smile.

"We have our own problems."

A moment later, a system notification appeared before Alaric, Hans, Kaede, and Kael’s eyes:

[Announcement!]

[The 22nd floor has officially ended!]

[Congratulations!]

"It seems like the time has come."

Hans walked up to him.

"Yeah. You’re right."

Kael nodded lightly.

[Calculating the top 3...]

Everyone, except for Kael, couldn’t take their eyes off the system notification.

Of course, everyone wanted to know who the MVP of this floor was.

But he already knew the results from the beginning, so he didn’t care much about it.

[Completed!]

[Top 1: Ranker - The Masochist.]

[Top 2: Ranker - The King.]

[Top 3: Ranker - Drifting Aurora.]

"..."

The moment those system notifications appeared, everything seemed to stop.

Alaric and Kaede’s results were indeed very good, but that wasn’t what they were concerned about.

[Top 1: Ranker - The Masochist.]

That was what they were paying attention to.

The guildmaster of the Shadow Viper guild looked at him with disbelief.

"Are The Masochist you, my disciple?"

Kael smiled, nodding lightly.

"...That’s crazy."

The King let out a helpless and surprised laugh.

"So you’ve become MVP once again. How did you do it?"

Kael’s eyes became more cunning.

"I’m Kael Draven, so this is normal."

It was an arrogant answer.

But he had every right to say that.

On this 22nd floor, the more work one did and the more influence one had, the higher their rank would be.

For that reason, it would be very difficult for all those who had chosen the door to the Voidveil Empire to enter this ranking.

Simply because there were too many people, thus, the amount of work and influence each person had would be greatly reduced.

Furthermore, most of them were clueless, not knowing what they should be doing.

But Kael, with his ability to know the plot, was a completely different case.

"Well then, I’ll be going."

Erza interrupted, pulling everyone back to reality.

"Goodbye."

Kaede said, nodding.

"Goodbye."

Alaric stepped forward, shaking the prince’s hand.

"Goodbye, Your Highness. We’ll meet again."

The protagonist smiled politely, then bowed deeply.

Just like that, the last person was Kael.

With a friendly, professional smile, he slowly approached the prince.

Then, under Erza’s watchful eyes, Kael casually placed his hand on his shoulder.

As if treating a friend.

"Don’t die until we meet again."

Clearly, the prince paused for a moment.

But very quickly, he regained his usual composure.

"Haha. Who do you think I am? I won’t die that easily."

With that, Kael’s group slowly disappeared into nothingness.

***

In a certain luxurious bathroom.

Drip... Drip...

Alaric, with a dripping wet face and hair, was staring at his reflection in the mirror.

"There’s no way I’m mistaken."

The King’s voice and gaze were extremely cold.

To the point that no one dared to get close to him.

"...The familiar feeling, that personality."

The image of that person kept lingering in Alaric’s mind.

"There’s only one person who can give me that feeling."

But...

"Why is he there?"

That was a question that The King needed an answer to instantly.

Yet unfortunately, no one could give him an answer.

Perhaps the only person who knew the answer was that person.

"...Wait, is he like me?"

His mind felt heavy.

"...Forget it."

With a heavy sigh, Alaric dried his face, then walked out of the bathroom.

"Sir, the captains want to see you to share the information they’ve gathered."

A man - The King’s assistant, appeared.

At the same time, he handed him an envelope.

It seemed like it was time to get to work.

"I’ll be there, tell them to wait for me a bit."

Alaric didn’t even bother to open the envelope.

"Yes."

The assistant retreated from The King’s bedroom.

After making sure that there was no one else in the room, he calmly approached a picture...

...No, a drawing placed on the desk.

It was a drawing of 7 people, and although it was just a drawing, one could tell at a glance that those 7 people were not ordinary people.

A smile involuntarily appeared on The King’s lips as he saw that drawing.

"The old days..."