As the rays of dawn fell upon Ferhill's shop, two cloaked figures stood before the destroyed structure. Fear was evident in one Ferhill's eyes as he gazed at his shop… he hadn't even realized the potential consequences.
He glanced at Arthur, feeling a sense of gratitude. The crimson-eyed man seemed indifferent, but breathed a sigh of relief, having predicted such an outcome before it even occurred to prevent losses.
Besides the few thousand tokens it had cost to build the shop, they had lost virtually nothing.
"Do we set up another shop and ally with another clan?" Ferhill inquired, massaging his forehead.
"Usually, we would have, but not this time," said Arthur, peeling his eyes away from the scene. "For now, we stay low and wait for the conflict to worsen. Not only is it harmful to start another business immediately after destroying the previous one, but our profits will also decrease significantly."
Ferhill nodded, understanding Arthur's words. During such a conflict, delivering to clans would become difficult, while there simply weren't enough solo players to amass a respectable profit from solely selling artifacts.
"Now, we prepare."
Three months passed in an instant.
*
As the rays of dawn squeezed through the cracks of the window, Arthur's deep, crimson eyes shot open. The light highlighted the sheer difference in his physique when compared to three months ago.
With slightly larger deltoids and a fuller chest, Arthur seemed more dominant compared to his former self. Not only was his gaze stronger, but it also seemed to convey a sense of danger… or more precisely, mystery with the possibility of evolving into danger.
As if his two pupils represented the eternal hellfire.
Arthur got off his bed, walking over to the massive window connected to his fairly vast bedroom. As he opened the blinds, a great deal of light assaulted his eyes while his vision adjusted to the rays of dawn.
Outside his window, one could clearly view the streets of the Outer District. The bustling streets were crowded with shopkeepers, players heading towards the First Floor, residents who simply lived in peace, and many more.
The ecosystem of the tower was usually quite peaceful on the lower floors, as the disparity in power was quite narrow. Only when one ascended the lower floors did one become eligible to be involved in conflicts such as wars.
Wars did not occur often and were incredibly significant and mostly harmful to the ecosystem of the tower. However, as conflicts arose, wars were certainly going to follow. Human relations were complicated, and no one was perfect.
'I can't get too involved, as that may hinder my progress,' thought the crimson-eyed man. 'However, as the conflict worsens further, it shouldn't be difficult to stick my foot in to test the waters.'
Too hot or too cold was not beneficial.
Too passive or too aggressive would not result in any benefits.
Over the three months, Arthur had managed to clear until the ninth floor and planned on attempting the tenth floor soon. With first place in every ranking due to a lack of competition, the crimson-eyed man received ten tokens.
The Aquarius Token, Aries Token, Cancer Token, Cassiopeia Token, Gemini Token, Sagittarius Token, Taurus Token, Ursa Major Token, Ursa Minor Token, and the Canis Major Token. With only three left, Arthur was quite excited.
'First place on the tenth floor might be a bit difficult,' thought the crimson-eyed man, letting out a bitter chuckle.
The process of collecting such tokens was introduced by a Ranker named Hugh Jacobs, who–coincidentally–managed to obtain twelve of the thirteen tokens by plundering the belongings of others.
When the current Divine Rankers were mere newbies attempting to make something of their lives, Hugh Jacobs was a renowned figure making waves on the middle floors, and was one of, if not the strongest Ranker at the time.
After stealing the tokens of many, as soon as he was planning on obtaining the last token, Indra cleared the Second Floor with the highest points. The Token vanished from Hugh's hands, appearing in Indra's.
Following that, Hugh attempted to steal the Aries Token from Indra but was penalized by the Guardians and eventually killed by the alliance of other Rankers, who were tired of his tyranny and abuse of authority.
The tokens were separated yet again, with no one aware of their location.
'Now, many of the Divine Rankers present at the time of Hugh's reign should have noticed what I'm trying to do,' thought the crimson-eyed man. 'With ten floors completed, they should know I'm only a bit away.'
Arthur was wary of any attacks. A single misstep would result in total annihilation.
Entering the shower, Arthur freshened up before slipping into a stark black compression shirt along with loose, grey sweatpants. Strapping Skofnung to his waist, Arthur exited his room before knocking on Ferhill's door.
There was no response.
Arthur let out a sigh. Although he wished nothing but to break the door open, he would unfortunately be kicked out if that were to occur. Swallowing his urges, Arthur headed to the ninth floor almost immediately.
Teleporting to the ninth floor's Residential Area from the central tower of the Outer District, Arthur was met with a bustling city, much like that of where he just came from.
With various shops and bustling streets, the ninth floor was akin to a hub for players who were too fearful or failed the tenth floor. It was renowned across the tower as the floor of failures and was condemned for its cowardly population.
Many of its residents were simply old people, since due to their age, they couldn't possibly hope to attempt the tenth floor.
But that was simply an excuse.
With sufficient willpower and perhaps a bit of knowledge, one could complete the tenth floor without obstructions.
Although, achieving first place was an entirely different matter, as it required much, much more effort than simply passing.
But that was beside the point.
Arthur was not planning on attempting the tenth floor. At least, not yet.
His reason for entering the ninth floor was completely different.
A very cliche reason.
