"That's weird How could she reach the seventh floor?" Ceres muttered as she looked at one of her subordinates who was secretly guarding her.

This person was hidden in the shadows and was barely noticeable to other people.

"According to the records that we have, Lexie doesn't have this kind of ability. She had always been weak in combat and was only sent here to gain experience. It was impossible for her to have a huge change in just a month of preparation."

Her shadow guard answered in a method that she was the only one who could hear.

"Then, what was going on? How could she reach the seventh floor?" Ceres asked in annoyance. This was beyond her expectations.

"Forbidden Art, Princess. It would be possible if she used a Forbidden Art inside the Tower." The shadow guard answered. However, he also had another suspicion, but he decided not to tell her.

Ceres' eyes lit up after hearing his reply.

"Then, there should be no problem disqualifying her in the competition, right?" She asked.

The shadow guard thought for a moment before nodding.

"If we could find some traces, then it should be possible. However, I suggest not to accuse her if we couldn't find evidence."

"Tsk Then, it might not be easy to do that. If she dared to use a Forbidden Art, she should be confident of hiding it from other people as long as she doesn't have a witness." Ceres faintly smiled as she thought that this would be an easy win for her.

It was a pity that the Forbidden Arts of the Holy Arts Faction were too obvious. It would typically change the caster's appearance, and it could last for days. There was no way she could use that to gain an advantage in this Tower Ascension.

Luckily, Lexie's advance halted at the 7th floor.

After staying there for more than 10 minutes, Lexie was soon taken out.

As soon as she appeared outside the Tower, her seniors and the medical practitioners quickly checked her condition.

They were all worried and excited to see the student who had reached the seventh floor.

However, she didn't seem injured at all. She only seemed weakened in her current state, but there were no wounds whatsoever.

Furthermore, she didn't accept the treatment of physicians as she quickly left the place with her classmates or seniors in the Academy.

Vale monitored their movement to eavesdrop on their conversation but realized none of them were talking.

Vale's eyes lit up as he realized what was going on.

'Ahh Are they using telepathy?'

Vale could only give up as he decided to forget about Lexie for now Although he wanted to know more about her, his turn was getting closer, so he had to stay here for a while.

The next student to enter the Ascension Tower was from the Transformation Arts Academy. The young man didn't even reach the third floor, but he was quite satisfied with the reward he obtained from the first and second floors.

Furthermore, no one was expecting too much about his result, so he wasn't worried about the result he made.

The next student was from Kildare, the Knights Academy. It was none other than Geraldine, the gorgeous red-haired lady who had a unique sword style.

The Knights Academy seemed to have been known for getting better results in this competition so the pressure around her was quite a lot.

Luckily, she managed to reach the fifth floor and lasted inside it longer than Susan. Her vitality was indeed quite incredible as a Knight.

"I wonder why it wasn't Amelia that was sent here" Vale muttered.

Geraldine had certainly left a deep impression on Vale after seeing her performance in the Clash of Champions.

However, it was Amelia who had truly caught his attention among the students of the Knights Academy. After all, Amelia had previously summoned a bolt of lightning during her performance in the Spectacles of Talents, which made his Stormbringer react.

Amelia aimed to be a Storm Knight, and Vale was curious how an apprentice knight could fare against the Ascension Tower.

Anyway, the competition continued, and there were four remaining Academies left.

The next student to enter was from the Combat Arts Academy, who had even failed to reach the fifth floor. His ascend halted at the fourth floor. He only sustained a few bruises on his body and quickly recovered, thanks to the physicians.

Then, it was finally Anya's turn.

Vale recalled how this young girl could use a Petrification Spell. It was a powerful Mystic Spell that he wanted to learn if possible.

She had shown it once in the Clash of Champions, and was unfortunately reflected by Ceres' unique Spell. It was a bad match. If she wasn't matched against Ceres at that time, she would've certainly advanced to the next round of the duel.

Whom~

As soon as she entered, a couple of officials arrived beside Ceres, informing her that it would be her turn next.

She needed to get prepared as she had to enter immediately once her name was called.

Naturally, Vale would be the last one to enter, and he didn't mind it at all.

***

As Vale was waiting for Anya to finish her ascension to the Tower, he suddenly heard the Headmaster's voice inside his head.

"Vale, do your best to reach the 10th floor. Even if you fail to clear that floor, you will still be rewarded, and I need you to give it to me. Then, I will return your shadow"

"Headmaster Are you that confident in me? You just saw the result of the other participants." Vale replied with a hint of surprise.

With regards to handing over the reward that he gets in the Tower, Vale didn't really mind it. With the System on his side, he could easily obtain something better, and it was just a matter of time.

Jean smiled at Vale's question.

"Yes However, I know that you'll achieve something big. I already asked the Dark Seer about it. It's probably related to your special physique, dark spirit, or your Malefic Branch Dark Spells."

"Got it I'll do my best, Headmaster." Vale replied with a helpless smile on his face.

Anyway, now that his piece of shadow was getting closer to him, he would certainly do his best to clear this old Tower.

'I wonder if this Tower will get destroyed after I cleared it' Vale thought to himself as he looked at the peak of the old and majestic Tower of the Roaring Summit.

Suddenly, an inexplicable sensation washed over Vale, causing him to freeze...

It was as if an unseen presence had fixed its gaze upon him, piercing through the layers of his being.

A shiver ran down his spine, sending a chill through his body, as he felt the weight of that stare from the peak of the Tower!