Vol. 1 - Ch. 20 - Fight! Red Tower 10th Floor [Second Act] Part 2

Ash and Clara had taken longer than they had expected.Dusk was falling, and the square in front of the tower was reddening.

Among the challengers who appeared exhausted after the hunt, Ash spotted a group led by a large man.

It was Darrion and his group.

(So they were waiting.)

Ash and Clara made their way to them.

"Sorry to keep you waiting." Ash said.

"A bit more and we would've written you off as goners."

"I hate to break it to you, but we're alive and kicking."

"So, what's the outcome?"

"The outcome? Isn't it obvious? We cleared it." Ash replied.

Darrion's eyes opened wide in surprise, but then he quickly sneered. He shrugged his shoulders, looking at his companion who was waiting behind him, then snickered like a fool.

"Is that the best joke you could come up with?"

"If you don't believe me you can ask the supervisor." Ash said in a loud tone so that the supervisor, who was observing the situation from a distance, could hear him.

The supervisor smiled and nodded.

"Fine with me. It'll become clear once I check your Marks of Passage." the Milma said.

Ash and Clara held out their right palms upward, and the supervisor took their hands. Sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ ɴ0velFɪre.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of nøvels early and in the highest quality.

Suddenly the Mark of Passage, inscribed with the number 11 in red, quickly emerged.

"Good, good... Both of you have reached the 11th Floor."

The supervisor's words finally made it clear that Ash wasn't joking. Darrion's eyes widened with a grim expression on his face.

Behind him, his friends scowled in an exaggerated manner.

"You've got to be kidding me! How could she clear it?!"

"And with just the two of them! I can't believe it..."

"That newbie must be a powerhouse..."

Ash's blood began rushing to his head as he heard the various derogatory remarks aimed at Clara.

After all, she had gone above and beyond her role to help them win.

He was just about to go out and express his thoughts when Clara stopped him by holding his hand.

"You're right. I was able to clear it because Ash was with me."

After saying this, she stepped forward and bowed her head.

"I have caused you all a lot of trouble because of my immaturity. I'm really sorry... But, but... I'm not the person I was back then."

She raised her head again, her face filled with courage.

Darrion's teammates were taken aback by Clara's change, but Darrion seemed unfazed as he looked straight at her.

They locked eyes with one another for a while, but, in the end, Clara buckled and said, "I can't!"

Ash chuckled as he watched her hide behind his back.

He'd waited for her to pull it through until the end but she hadn't been able to do it.

This too was very much like Clara.

"I'll keep my promise. I take back what I said about her being useless. But don't forget that what you cleared was just the beginning of the tower."

With that, Darrion left with his still stunned companions.

Ash sighed at the somewhat unsettling conclusion.

"I should've told him he had to apologize as part of the promise as well." Ash remarked.

"It's fine. If I complain too much, I'm just going to get glared at again..." Clara muttered.

Ash realized that he was the one that had started the fight, but it was Clara's issue to begin with.

If she was happy with the outcome, there was no need to push it further.

He exhaled and relaxed his shoulders.

"All in all, you held your ground well."

"I know, right? I can do it when it matters!"

(Where did the feeble girl from a few moments ago go?)

Ash thought as he watched Clara puff out her chest with pride.

"How can you say that when your legs are shaking?"

"I-Isn't that a given? I mean, did you see his face?! It's totally against the rules!"

Ash found Clara desperately trying to refute him very funny.

He thought that the word 'aide' fit her perfectly right now.

Ash laughed heartily and turned towards the way home.

"Let's go, Clara."

"What? Where are we going?"

"To eat, of course. We got a lot of Duri for killing the Lord. It's time for a victory party." Ash said, but Clara remained still.

"What? You're not coming?"

"N-No! I'm coming. I'm definitely coming!"

Seeing Clara nodding her head, Ash started to walk away.

Clara came trotting alongside and began to blurt out shyly.

"A-Actually, I've never eaten at one of the island's proper restaurants."

"Seriously?! You've been here for a year, haven't you?"

"I'm too shy to go into a restaurant by myself!"

(She should know there's a limit to being shy. I guess the fact that she met Darrion and his team is nothing short of a miracle.)

"Then we must have a blast today!" Ash exclaimed.

"Okay!"

Clara responded, her smile like a blossoming flower.

Although she had her quirks, her foundation was pure.

Unbelievably pure.

Ash couldn't imagine what life one would have to lead to turn out like her.

Or what had to have happened for someone like Clara to come to Dural Island.

Ash wanted to know, but, at the same time, he thought there was no need to rush.

He had the feeling that he and Clara were going to be friends for a long time.

(I'll just wait until she tells me herself someday.)

With this in mind, Ash called out to Clara, who was walking next to him with a spring in her step.

"Don't be shy and tell me if there's somewhere you want to go," he remarked.

"Really?! Well, there's this place that I've wanted to go to since forever. It's called Brinschrill."

◆◇◆◇◆

At the north end of the central plaza, inside the largest mansion in the vicinity, Venus was relaxing on a sofa, staring at the opposite wall.

The wall displayed an image of two challengers conquering the 10th Floor of the Red Tower.

The image was abruptly cut off as one of the challengers interrupted the Lord, allowing the remaining challenger to swiftly finish it.

"He's good. Unusually good for a newbie." The Milma, Iris, who was waiting in the corner of the room, commented.

She usually served customers at a restaurant in the central plaza, but her work was temporarily put on hold today.

"But that's all he is. There have been other challengers who've cleared it by themselves. I don't think it's something that you should be concerned about Master Venus." Iris continued, looking unimpressed.

Venus, in turn, chuckled and offered a different perspective on the matter.

"Would you say the same thing after knowing that he's conquered all of the Towers of Trials?"

"That's certainly impressive... However, from what I recall you only need to conquer one Tower of Trials in order to get the qualification to enter Dural Island. There's no point in conquering more than one. Besides, compared to the towers here, none of the towers are all that difficult."

"I told you, didn't I? He conquered all of them."

Iris didn't immediately understand what Venus meant and looked down, apparently thinking.

After a bit she suddenly raised her head and uttered, "Even the Abandoned Tower? The first tower to be built, but also the one that no one could conquer because of its high difficulty?  Which, in the end, led to it eventually being abandoned. You mean that he conquered even that?"

"That's right." Venus answered.

Hearing that, Iris got visibly upset.

"B-But there is a Dragon at the peak of that tower! Even on the towers here, on the island, a Dragon is a Grade 8 Monster! I just can't imagine anyone on the outside clearing something like that..."

There was nothing wrong with Iris' disbelief.

After all, even though the skin of the Dragon on the outside was inferior to that of the Dragon on Dural Island, its movements were not that different.

Venus remembered how she too had been as astonished as Iris when she'd first heard about it.

"About five years ago, two men challenged the Abandoned Tower and slew the Dragon that reigned at its summit." Venus then licked her lips and continued to speak, "That boy was one of those two men."