Firia finished her Lightning Tribulation, and they went toward the group, helping them again. As expected, Firia's strength increased exponentially because she just leaped from Martial Monarch to Martial Saint.
Alex, on the other hand, was still the same as ever, struggling in the 9-Star Martial Monarch.
Three months later,
Nelson appeared before him as they were waiting for the next floor to come up.
"Young Master. I have grave news for you." Nelson hesitated for a second. "There is a change of schedule; it seems."
"Hmm?" Alex furrowed his eyebrows. "What do you mean?"
"I have once said that we might only reach the twentieth floor after six months, right?"
"Indeed. I do remember that information." Alex nodded with a solemn expression.
"However, we will soon deal with the nineteenth floor."
"Yeah. I am worried about this as well because I am afraid that the pillar has changed because of us. Just like the first time we came here, I don't want to fight something unknown like this."
"That's the problem. Because of the sudden change of this event, those kingdoms have moved up their schedule. Their reinforcement will come in a few weeks to a month. By that time, we might reach the twenty-fifth floor… And the moment the inheritance place opens up, we might reach the thirtieth floor."
Alex furrowed his eyebrows. "By the looks of it, it isn't necessarily bad for us. The problem is what those people will do because of this sudden change and what kind of huge phenomenon the pillar will show us for the last six months."
"That's what I am worrying about right now."
"Just inform me when the royals come and what they do later. I will respond in any kind." Alex nodded, thinking about his next move. "I will be able to reach the 10-Star Martial Monarch with the help of the twenty-fifth floor. If you are still unsure, you can sneak inside their reinforcement right now… But I doubt there will be much information you can get from them."
"True enough. They won't necessarily discuss anything important at a time like that." Nelson looked down and fell into deep thought. "I will be staying for now and go according to the Young Master's plan. I hope that Young Master can reach 1-Star Martial Saint in this place… Or even further."
"Haha, I hope that as well. But you know that I need to consolidate my power first, right? I don't have enough time." Alex sighed.
"Then." Nelson bowed to him and disappeared.
Alex sighed and opened his system.
[Gacha Ticket x3421]
[Premium Ticket x0]
[Dart x0]
[Gacha Card x1]
[Gacha Coin x0]
[Gacha Hammer x0]
[Summoning Ticket x0]
[Summoning Coin x0]
"Hmm… I have many Gacha Tickets right now. As expected, I can acc.u.mulate this much after killing more than two hundred thousand monsters, even though the rate has become lower and lower as I increase my strength." Alex wondered whether he should use it or wait until he returned from this place.
[This is not the first time you get this much. In fact, you have gotten this many Gacha Tickets on a single occasion. But you always used it twice, so it never reached a number this high. Though, you can open it right now and save some EXP Cards. Isn't it good to know how many EXP Cards you will have as an assurance later?]
What the system said was reasonable. If he knew he had some assurance, it might lift some burden in his mind later. "Sure. Use everything like usual."
[Processing.]
[Summoning Coin (R) x1]
[Super Cleaving Axe (UC) x1]
…
…
After opening his Gacha Tickets, the system immediately opened every single Summoning Coins he got from the earlier draw and to his surprise, he managed to get 93 Rare EXP Cards.
Alex wanted to be happy, but he also couldn't say he was thrilled by this number. This was probably the most EXP Cards he ever had. Unfortunately, he still remembered that the Spirits needed six to seven EXP Cards to raise one level. It couldn't even increase his spirits by two levels.
"Still… I shouldn't complain about this. It's still better than nothing. Anyway, the main way to raise their level in this place is by killing monsters." Alex shook his head and remembered another thing. "I almost forgot this one. How about the reward for completing this pillar? Don't you have it for me?"
[Mission: Beat the pillar
Reward: Gacha Hammer x5
Description: Show them who's the boss.]
He became speechless the moment he read the description. "What do you mean to show them who is the boss? Who actually do you want me to show it?"
[Plide Kingdom.]
"Wait. What?" Alex tilted his head in confusion. "I only have a problem with the Tiger Mercenary while I don't really care about the Kingdom itself. Besides, there is a possibility of me destroying them first before we enter the pillar."
[There is still that Guild Master. Once it's broken, it will never go back perfectly. Besides, the Earl was also annoying, so just slap them with your power.]
"Oi." Alex twitched his eyebrows. "Even if I beat the pillar, only Firia will make her appearance since I am not supposed to be here. If I show myself here and the other people realize, they might want to know the secret and other things, and the situation will become unpredictable."
[Just do your best. The real mission is to beat the pillar.]
As if losing in an argument, the system answered half-heartedly.
"You are running away." Alex rolled his eyes. "Anyway, I think it's time for me to regroup with the others."
He then walked toward the group and resumed their planning.
When he was on his way, there was a sudden movement coming from his body. The fire started gushing out, enveloping him in its embrace.
Two figures emerged from his body, taking the form of a fox and a phoenix.
"Sherry, Kyle." Alex recognized these two and sensed their power had reached Martial Saint. "Congratulations, both of you."
"Thank you, Master." The two finally flew in front of him and turned into their human form, bowing their head politely.
Sherry had the same appearance as it seemed she had taken fancy of her current appearance. On the other hand, there was a qualitative leap in Kyle's appearance.
His previous teenage body turned into a young a.d.u.l.t, similar to Alex's current appearance. Alex felt that the image of him being his early twenties was the best, so he chose this one. That was why this sudden transformation blew his mind.
The wind swayed Kyle's long red hair as Kyle tried to fix it by tying it into a ponytail. His teenage body had become taller than Sherry's height and reached the same height as Alex. Although the muscle wasn't really apparent, the body felt very compact, and in fact, there should be some abs behind his clothes.
Of course, Kyle didn't forget to put on these clothes as he already felt his new appearance beforehand.
"Kyle…" Alex scanned him up and down.
"What is it, Master? Do you want me to do something for you?"
He hesitated for a second before he shook his head. "No. I just think there will be a certain person that can't wait anymore."
Kyle smiled gently and pumped his fist. "I know. I have made her wait this long… Master, can I request two things from you? I know that I shouldn't request this, but… Please. I beg of you, Master."
Kyle suddenly fell to his knees and placed his head on the ground.
Alex was startled by the sudden emotional scene as he could clearly hear his shaking voice. He immediately helped him get up and smiled. "Don't say it like that. Just say your requests; I will try to work it out."
"First of all, I have made her wait for thousands of years. Although I don't have the memory of being with her, I do have my current memory. After thinking for a long time, I have realized my feelings for her. To tell her that the past is the past and the present is the present, I would like for Master to lead our wedding ceremony."
"Oh?" Alex was amazed by this request.
"This wedding ceremony isn't like what you think. Because you have become our master, we only want you to witness our exchange of marriage oath. I learned this tradition back in that world…" Kyle looked down, wondering whether Alex would accept or not.
Alex patted his shoulder and smiled. "Sure. There is no way I have a problem with that. We can even do it now."
"Thank you, Master. However, I believe we can postpone it until we have finished our business here."
"Sure. I will let you choose the time. Just inform me later." Alex nodded. "What is the second wish then?"
"When Master becomes a God Stage Expert and can seal our cultivation as well. I would like for you to seal our cultivation, so we can visit Ellen. I am sure Stina is missing her, and I also want to tell her about this."
"Ah! There is no way I can reject something like this. You have been helping me this whole time."
"Thank you, Master." Kyle made the biggest smile he could have ever made before he flew to Stina.
Obviously, Stina couldn't endure herself any longer and leaped toward his embrace.
Alex and Sherry looked at this and smiled. "Maybe we will hold our marriage later when we reach Eulja? Together with Anna and Anya."
"Really?" Sherry widened her eyes and opened her mouth, feeling thrilled.
"Yeah. I promise." Alex patted her head. "Do you want something too?"
"I don't really have anything. I don't even need a big party like the one you held in the lower world. As long as people like Big Brother Leoz and the others come, I am already happy. Of course, we need to talk it out first with big sister Anna and Anya. I don't want my wish to make them sad after all."
Alex couldn't stop smiling, looking at this girl. "Let's go back then. Since Kyle has run first, the others must have known that we are on our way. We shouldn't make them wait."
"Un!" Sherry nodded with a smile, revealing her white teeth.
…
As soon as he returned, Alex had some talks with the group about the pillar. It seemed that the group decided to wait and see first until they got further information from the four kingdoms. Nelson accepted the request and kept a close eye on them.
Finally, after another month, one big thing occurred. It was the appearance of the grand one hundred thousand soldiers from the four kingdoms. They came together with all challengers to let them get used to the environment first.
Nelson immediately sneaked inside their army, trying to squeeze all the information they possessed.
According to them, the tower would undergo a huge change after the six months period, and monsters from five floors would come out at the same time, roaming around the world. Their mission is to get inside the pillar before the entrance is closed. That was why the reinforcement came with this timing.
They were planning to break through the enemy rank and entered the place before retreating a little bit and counter-attacking after reorganizing their rank.
Alex got a good grasp of their intention and planned to sneak inside with his Space Element before anyone could reach it. After all, they would be swarmed by monsters, so it would be a perfect cover for him and Firia to enter the trial. As for the spirits, they would try to kill as much as they could until Alex summoned them inside.
Although it was such a shame to let those many monsters pass, Alex's safety was their priority. Most of them had raised their level by one anyway, so they should have barely reached their target with the EXP Cards.
With that thought in mind, Alex kept hunting the monsters, killing as many as possible.
The moment they beat the twenty-fifth floor, Alex immediately fell to the ground, breaking through to 10-Star Martial Saint.
One month later, another big occurrence appeared as the pillar suddenly shone brightly as if it was going to transform.