Gabriel called the Infernal King to help him, but the Infernal King refused. Instead of wasting even more spiritual strength to force the Infernal King, Gabriel went to fight alone, using subtle manipulation as well to influence the Infernal King subconsciously.
Fortunately, his plan succeeded as the Infernal King came to help him against the Headless Mage.
It was the first time that Gabriel saw the Infernal King fight, and it was l overwhelming. The attacks of the Infernal King were strong, but his defense was just as good. What was even more interesting was that his flames seemed to have a life of their own.
Moreover, Gabriel was also able to sense that the Infernal King's flames often changed colors along with their properties. The angrier he was, the darker his flames became.
Even the Headless Mage wasn't able to stop the Infernal King once he decided to help Gabriel. The Infernal King destroyed the Headless Mage, helping Gabriel.
As the Infernal King was summoned by Gabriel, it counted as his success as well. The door opened, allowing them to go to the next floor.
After killing the Headless Mage, the Infernal King walked back to Gabriel, who was still on the ground.
Gabriel stood up. "Thank you."
"One week..." The Infernal King let out a few words.
"What?" Gabriel looked confused. 'What one week?"
"I will help you clear this tower, but after that, you won't call me here for one week!" The Infernal King declared.
Now that he was here, he decided to help Gabriel once more, but he didn't want to come here every other day. He had his own business in the Realm of the Dead as well. For that, he decided to set a rule that if he helped Gabriel here, he was going to get one week unconditionally.
"One week it is." After a brief consideration, Gabriel agreed.
He accepted the request of the Infernal King as it was only one week. What was the worst that could happen in a week that didn't happen until now? Moreover, after that one week, he was again going to be able to call the Infernal King, and in that case, the Infernal King was going to be even more determined to his cause.
And thus, an unlikely deal was established with the Infernal King.
After confirming the deal, the Infernal King didn't speak much.
Gabriel took the lead, casting a purification spell on his clothes once again to rid him of all the blood. He also cast another Minor Heal at the same time.
After preparing everything, he went to the entrance of the next floor.
Gabriel and the Infernal King started climbing the tower together. The next few battles were even more intense than the ones with the Headless Mage, but fortunately, they weren't much disadvantageous to Gabriel. He was able to stand firm on his ground and fight back.
On the 95th floor, Gabriel didn't even need the help of the Infernal King.
The Infernal King was more like a spectator, just appreciating the skills of Gabriel. If Gabriel's courage had made him respect him before, his fighting skills impressed him even more, especially the way he used his Darker Element.
The Infernal King stood with his arms folded, watching Gabriel kill the enemies using his Soul Explosion and his Sword of Ulien.
The more spells Gabriel used, the more proficient he became in them. The Tower of Challenges was less of a challenge and more of a training ground for him which helped him master his skills and improve them.
Moreover, fighting with the Sword of Ulien, his physical fighting skills were also improving much. He was able to utilize his strength and speed boost much more, finding the styles that fit him.
Gabriel took care of most of the enemies all alone. The Infernal King only had to interfere once or twice to provide backup to Gabriel.
After fighting for three straight hours, the two tested for a little on the 97th floor. The door to the 98th floor was already open, but Gabriel didn't go there yet.
He was really tired after a long battle and needed to gather his breath.
Contrary to the constant phase of shock and intensifying chatter outside the tower, there was only silence here.
Fortunately for him, the tower also seemed impressed at his performance and provided him with more food and water.
Gabriel gazed at the food before him. "The Tower really doesn't discriminate between elements, unlike the outside world."
Even though he had an element similar to the element of Darkness, the Tower didn't force him out. Instead, the tower was being quite fair by allowing him to rest. There was no bias here.
"Do you eat as well?" he asked the Infernal King. He didn't know if the Infernal King ate anything or not since he was supposed to be dead. He preferred to ask directly.
The Infernal King shook his head. He was someone who never felt hungry. His body didn't need strength from food. On the contrary, his food was something else.
Only when he burned someone to ashes was he able to feel full as even if he didn't want it; the strength and energy of the ones he burned were automatically absorbed by his body, making him even stronger in the process.
That's why he was able to become this strong. That's also why he was able to fight for so long without getting tired. His energy reserves were huge.
After getting his answer, Gabriel didn't force the Infernal King. He simply started eating.
After half an hour, Gabriel finally stood up and did some stretching.
"Only three more floors."
He walked to the entrance of the next floor. He had already cleared 97 floors, leaving only three floors between him and clearing the tower.
Gabriel stepped onto the next floor with the Infernal King.
Outside the tower, his rank changed once again.
[11 Gabriel Light 98]
He was only one step away from entering the top ten.
Seeing his ranking climb more, even more, people started thinking that Gabriel was actually aiming for the top floor. They didn't want to believe it, but at this point, it was looking quite possible.
Was this Mysterious Person really going to enter the top floor?
For the next five hours, Gabriel's rank was stale, not going up even a little. It was as if Gabriel was having a really hard time on the 98th floor.
"Is that his limit?" Aster wondered, but he couldn't come to any conclusion that Gabriel was actually out.
He was someone who was rarely wrong, but only when it came to Gabriel, he was proven wrong again and again. That's why he didn't come to a conclusion right now.
Two more hours passed, and Gabriel's ranking finally moved to everyone's surprise.
[7 Gabriel Light 99]
"This... Impossible? He is on the 99th floor!"
There was great shock and excitement among the students, but the Head Council Members were really grim.
