Ever since his reincarnation, the soul bound with Lucy vanished without any explanation, which made it harder for Arthur to locate his wife. Nevertheless, they'll surely find each other inside the Red Tower so he didn't worry that much. There were only a thousand participants so it shouldn't be that hard to locate her. The only problem was the floors, which were worlds of their own, unimaginably vast and inhabited by strong monsters and, supposedly, humans and other peaceful races.

Currently, at the top of the tower, the Joker helped Saly sit on an overly large chair before glancing at the quiet Leiu and saying:

"Who do you think will reach the top floor?"

It wasn't the youth who replied but the energetic Saly: "My parents, of course!"

"Don't be so sure. The tower was built by the two of us but we cannot control it so we cannot do anything if danger befalls on them."

Even after hearing that, the little girl remained cheerful while looking at the numerous screens displaying all the participants.

"Hm? Why can't I see mother?"

In response to this, the Joker and Leiu also looked at the monitors but found no signs of a silver-haired woman.

"Maybe she's didn't come or… in disguise."-Joker

Although Lucy couldn't be located, the two brothers weren't worried and were, in fact, more interested in Arthur, who was standing all alone.

"I reckon that 10% will reach the top floor."-Leiu

*****

"Welcome to the first floor, contestants."

The robotic voice spoke directly inside the 989 people's head the moment they appeared inside the Red Tower.

"To proceed to the second floor, please eliminate the Earth Cyclops, Fire Python, and Wind Drake."

The people who were grouped up before the competition got teleported into the same place, as for the loners, they appeared in a random place of the first floor.

Arthur was in a normal desert, where the temperature is higher than average and the sun was shining brightly. He didn't know how the tower functions and how could they possibly put a real sun inside, nonetheless, he didn't spend much time pondering over useless stuff.

The task seemed simple and as it's the first floor, it shouldn't be that hard. The moment the clearing goal was said, everyone started moving, some wanted to get rid of potential enemies as soon as the competition begins and others immediately started searching for the three targets.

"Master, Earth Cyclops are actually mutated versions of normal cyclops. They absorbed too much Earth Energy and adapted to their environment, they should not be too difficult to kill."

Arthur listened to his Quad-Spirit, which gave him a brief explanation about the Earth Cyclops and its unique abilities. He was in a desert, which is, most likely, where the first target is. Moreover, he isn't the only one here and there'll be more people grouping up to clear the floor. However, he isn't either going to disguise himself nor group up, he'll try to finish things quickly and, hopefully, meet with Lucy soon.

Three minutes after appearing in the desert, Arthur chose a random direction, possessed the body of a cheetah and started madly running.

As luck would have it, a group of second-generation, silver-spooned, young masters was also in the area. They were the same ones who mocked Zodiak before the competition starts and were shooed away by Losha.

There were three of them, one was an Overgod but his foundation was very unstable, indicating that he reached this stage only thanks to expensive elixirs. The other two were God-Monarch and, overall, they weren't really a threat to Arthur's, who just passed by them, unwilling to waste time on pointless talks or fights.

"Wait! What's that?"

A young man with long red hair pointed at the speeding cheetah, both excited and curious. He retrieved a staff and cast a spell in the form of long invisible wind blades, which were supposed to hit Arthur but missed the mark as their speed was a joke.

"I want it! Help me catch it."

The three tried to chase after Arthur, who was the cheetah, only for the ground under them to start moving. A wave of sand rose from the ground and literally engulfed the three, burying them under it for a couple of seconds.

By the time they got out, the cheetah could no longer be seen. The trio's troubles have not ended, however, as large snakes sprung from the ground and ganged up on them, leaving them with no choice but to fight.

A few kilometers away from the battle, Arthur stood atop of a sandy hill, confused about something.

'I definitely sensed traces of Dark Magic inside the three of them, but it's definitely not mine…'

"Master, maybe someone found Zodiak's hidden powers."

'No, it's different from the artificial one acquired by his followers.'

…

A woman with flashy pink hair stood near the edge of a canyon, gazing at large beast flying in the air, surrounded by violent cyclones, protecting it from all sides. This was a drake, a lesser version of a dragon but can still be considered a strong opponent. Lucy neither used Lonely Moon, Yin Power, or the Golden Crow flames, she opted for an easier solution which will not reveal her identity.

She jumped off the cliff, heading toward the Wind Drake like a bullet while forming a fist enveloped by magma. Her body left afterimages as she first entered the range of the cyclone, which couldn't stop her thanks to her unreasonable speed, then it spun in the air, evading the fangs of the beast that tried to bite her, before striking it with a monstrous punch.

The attack left a sizable hole in the target's abdomen, making a lot of blood gush out, and causing the beast to roar in anger and pain. Due to the inability to fly in this floor, Lucy made use of the countless expensive items handed to her by Arthur.

She took out a big white feather and used it to fly in the air, rotating behind the flailing drake, and unleashing a torrent of bubble made from Lava. The drake controlled the cyclone to get rid of the incoming projectiles but wasn't fast enough to defend against Lucy, who descended from above, punching it again, this time on its head, pulverizing it instantly.

The headless beast fell from the air and the cyclone vanished seconds after. As for Lucy, she landed back on the feather and swiftly left the area.

Right after she killed the Wind Drake, the robotic voice belonging to the Red Tower spoke again:

"The Wind Drake has been killed."