Tower of Heaven

The trio left the village in silence the next morning. They did not wait to see what the villagers' reactions were, as they no longer needed their validation.

It took some time to deal with the reality that Atlas introduced them to, but it was a valuable lesson nonetheless. In the end, when they came back to their senses, they realized that they were not focused on the jeers and hatred from the previous day.

Instead, in their minds was a solid belief that they took the right path. As Atlas said, they were cultivators who had their own views of right and wrong. They lived by a code that they would not break for any reason.

If others clashed with that code, they had to fight those people. If they saw something going against their code, they had to face it.

The world of cultivators was like that. Right and wrong weren't objective things. They were decided by the strongest, the victors.

The village people who saw the mountain of corpses and the blood altar had no choice but to accept that they were in the wrong. In their entire lives, they'd never met as many people as there were corpses hidden under their village.

But, the heroes who didn't want their acknowledgement were already gone. They'd lost their chance to apologize.

Leaving through the tunnel that they used to enter the village, the trio came face to face with the remains of the platforms they had been climbing before their short side adventure began.

It didn't seem nearly as difficult or exciting as it did before. Their teamwork improved by a step during the week they spent in the hidden village, and now, they were able to conquer the last two platforms without a hitch.

The 39th Floor seemed like less and less of a challenge as they progressed further through the dungeon.

The stage they aimed for now was higher.

The 40th Floor Cumulative Trial.

Who would have thought they'd reach it so soon?

***

Somewhere in a world attached to the Tower yet hidden from it entirely stood a facility that did not match with the rest of the world's atmosphere.

It was a place of death and misery, but the building itself was of a pristine white hue. It had to be, after all, as it was a place that was kept absolutely clean at all times.

Even within, the researchers who were tasked with various jobs needed to ensure that their bodies were entirely pure of any contamination multiple times a day. If they failed to do so, they would be killed.

The person who created these rules was extremely strict about impurities. He would not allow anything he did not permit to enter these sacred premises.

He was not known to be a kind being. As such, the lowly servant who was forced to give him the report truly did not wish to do so.

Nevertheless, as it was his job, he had no other choice.

"The blood altar has been destroyed," he said, his head bowed.

He stood in front of the one who controlled this facility, but he did not dare to speak of the man's appearance. If his thoughts were heard, he would face a fate worse than death.

"The blood altar…? Is it only the blood altar?"

The man's reaction was less severe than expected, allowing the servant to ease his nerves.

"Yes, Lord. It seems that a group of rogue cultivators discovered the hidden village and destroyed it. As only the blood altar was struck, it is almost certain that they do not have any involvement in the overall plan."

"I see…"

That man raised his head from his book and looked at the servant for the first time, though the servant himself did not dare to meet his gaze.

"Find a new location for the blood altar and proceed as planned. There is no need to pursue the matter of the past altar too deeply, however, find the ones who destroyed it. That village was hidden by a formation that I designed myself. It could not have been broken by ordinary Ascenders."

The servant bowed even deeper.

He did not question anything or have thoughts of his own. He only responded as he was taught, kneeling in submission.

"You're a new one, aren't you?"

His body trembled as his Lord began to entertain a conversation unrelated to the topic at hand. Attracting the interest of a person like him was never a good thing.

"Indeed, Lord. I have only just replaced the previous servant, as he failed to meet your expectations."

"Good."

A shiver ran down the servant's spine as he felt something akin to a finger on his cheek. It was cold and dense like metal, yet was truly something much more gruesome.

"I like your attitude a lot more than his," the man said, smiling at the servant.

"Now, go find those young Ascenders. If we are lucky, one of them will meet the requirements for 'that' project."

The servant suppressed his emotions and bowed once more.

"As you wish, my Lord."

Nothing more could be said. Nothing more could be done. If he cowered, he would die. If he said anything else, he would die. He lived his entire life in fear, yet he had only just become the man's servant.

Throughout the Tower, he was known by different names, but the people here knew him for what he truly was.

He was a man who shared the same name as the devil, yet one who was mistakenly called the Great Sage during his era.

He was a terrifying man, but he was no longer a man at all. He had become more than that, and his evolution was how the Tower knew him.

The Mad King, the Crimson Analyst, the Crazed Immortal, the Man Who Devours All.

He was a man whose given name at birth was Lucifer.

And he had just caught an interest in the young Ascenders who managed to break his blood altar.

***

"Hmm… I thought I'd feel more fulfilled when we made it back to the surface, but it feels a little anticlimactic now," Artemia sighed, rubbing her head.

As she said, they'd reached the surface of the 39th Floor. They had completed the trial of escaping the dungeon, but it didn't feel rewarding.

Nothing special happened except for their encounter with the hidden village, but even that was only a week-long stint. It didn't leave as much of an impact as they originally felt it would.

"You could say that our horizons are higher now," Horus said, looking into the sky.

"We are cultivators, aren't we? This floor is nothing but a step in our journeys. The real adventures are yet to come."

It felt unfulfilling because they all felt how much more excitement they could see if they were able to work together in more extreme circumstances. Their cooperation throughout the past five floors was amazing.

"The next floor is a Cumulative Trial, huh… Do you have any information about it?" Artemia asked.

Horus shrugged and shook his head. Atlas did the same.

"It is forbidden in the Tower to speak of Cumulative Trials to those who have not taken them. Even your clan cannot circumvent the rules."

"That's true… Still, I hope it's more like the 20th Floor than the 30th. Group tasks are always more fun." Read new adventures at empire

She didn't say it outright, but it was obvious what Artemia wanted.

An expedition location like the Forgotten Immortal's Tomb would be amazing.

'The theme of these floors has been not only treasure hunting, but also history. It has shown us ancient civilizations and the traces they left behind in the world, so that we not only looked for treasure, but also culture.'

It was entirely possible for there to be another tomb expedition approaching. However, Atlas didn't think it was likely.

'The 30th Floor was different from anything I've ever experienced. The Cumulative Trials are more than just trials with better rewards. I have a feeling that the 40th Floor will hold its own great surprises.'

Though, Atlas didn't entirely disagree with Artemia.

The 40th Floor's Cumulative Trial would be much more fun with these two by his side.

They could only approach it with confidence and see if their hopes could become a reality.