As the crowd continued to cheer for their respective group members, the white glow on the last window at the left side suddenly shifted...

It turned red.

The boy from Felix’s group stepped out of the tower.

His breathing was heavy, his shoulders rising and falling as sweat soaked through his clothes. Despite that, his body had no visible injuries, not even a scratch. That was the nature of the trial—it was illusionary. The attacks did not leave wounds, but the pressure, the speed, the fear... all of it felt real enough to drain the body, both physically and mentally completely.

"How was it?"

Keith suddenly appeared beside him like a shadow, leaning in with an exaggerated curiosity.

"Ahh...!"

The boy flinched, stepping to the side in shock before turning quickly.

"Oh... it’s just you," he said, his expression immediately turning displeased.

"So?" Keith moved even closer, his face almost invading the boy’s space, his grin wide and shameless.

The boy stepped back again, clearly uncomfortable.

"It was fine from the first to the second floor," he said, trying to keep his tone steady. "But the third floor... that was difficult."

"Oh?"

Keith narrowed his eyes, the grin on his face widening slowly.

"So... it was difficult for you."

"Yes..."

The answer came out too fast, then he froze realizing what Keith meant.

"...Wait," he tried to correct himself, reaching out slightly as if he could pull the words back.

But Keith had already turned away, placing both hands behind his head as he walked back lazily, completely satisfied.

Niki had already entered the tower the moment the boy stepped out and before a full minute passed, she had already reached the third floor.

Priscilla’s group erupted in cheers, their voices loud and confident, especially now that Zack, Tracy, and Cedric were still struggling on the fourth floor.

It felt like she might actually catch up to them quickly.

Vera stood with her arms folded, her gaze fixed on the tower lights.

Her expression was calm but almost bored like she was watching something mildly interesting, but not worth emotional investment.

Priscilla stood the same way Vera did.

Unmoved by the whole celebrating atmosphere.

"Copycat."

Nina’s voice rang out loudly, deliberately cutting through the noise.

She hid slightly behind Vera, peeking out with narrowed eyes directed at Priscilla.

Priscilla did not react, not even giving Nina a glance.

"She just mocked you," Mira whispered beside her.

"I heard her," Priscilla replied calmly. "But I simply don’t care."

Her eyes remained on the tower.

Nina leaned out again.

"Ignoring me now?" she said, louder this time.

She tilted her head, her lips curling.

"Wow... she thinks she’s cool. Isn’t that right, Gena?"

She grabbed Gena and pulled her slightly forward.

Gena stumbled, her eyes widening as she looked around for help, but the others nearby quietly stepped aside, clearly unwilling to get involved.

Priscilla still said nothing.

"Overrated. Fake. Copycat," Nina continued, her tone light, but every word sharp.

"Oh... I already said that, didn’t I?" she added with a small smile. "Calling you a beta version of my Lady is already too generous. Honestly, your entire existence doesn’t even qualify for that."

Her words came out smoothly, without pause, no hesitation nor restraint. She just kept firing insults at Priscilla.

Both groups watched Priscilla closely.

Everyone, thinking the same thing...

She’s really holding it in.

Priscilla’s fist tightened slowly at her side, the veins on her wrist became slightly visible, but she still did not react while Nina continued, commenting on every small movement Priscilla made, twisting each one into an insult, comparing her to Vera in a mocking way.

Gena finally slipped out of Nina’s grip and hurried toward Nathalia and the others.

"Why is she like this?" Gena asked, still shaken.

Nathalia laughed softly.

"That’s normal for Nina when it comes to Lady Priscilla."

She folded her arms.

"The relationship between Lady Vera, Nina, Lady Priscilla, and Lady Pamela... is quite complicated."

At the mention of Pamela’s name, Gena turned immediately.

Pamela stood within the group.

Her hair was messy, clothes slightly wrinkled. She looked nothing like her usual composed self, her eyes were fixed on the tower, unfocused, tired and detached.

She hadn’t been the same since the fourth trial even during the fifth wave, she made mistakes...clear ones, making others snap at her, although she didn’t respond.

Instead, she simply walked away and one more highly noticeable thing...

She and Vera had not spoken to each other since the fourth trial ended.

"Lady Pamela and Lady Priscilla are always clashing," Nathalia continued. "But Lady Priscilla usually wins...both in words and in action quite often."

She smiled slightly.

"And Nina... well, she uses Lady Vera as a shield whenever she wants to cause trouble and somehow, she always gets away with it."

Gena blinked, then slowly turned to look at Nina again.

"...That’s actually kind of funny," she muttered, holding back a laugh.

"And you already know how things goes when Lady Vera and Lady Priscilla face each other," Nathalia added, waving her hand lightly.

"Yeah..." Gena nodded, smiling.

The noise rose again due to Zack finally reaching the fifth floor.

"Is the fourth floor that difficult?" Spence asked Henry.

"Well, the opponent there is Mr. Stoke," Henry replied, his eyes fixed on Cedric’s progress. "So yes... the difficulty does make sense."

"At least Cedric hasn’t taken up to an hour yet," Bess added, tapping her watch.

"True" Spence nodded.

At that moment...The lights shifted again.

Tracy and Cedric both advanced to the fifth floor, Niki followed next, reaching the third floor.

Time continued to pass.

Zack advanced to the sixth floor, Tracy followed shortly after, breaking through to the sixth floor.

Later, Niki reached the fourth and Cedric remained on the fifth.

Two hours passed...

Then Tracy finally moved up to the sixth floor.

The blue light turned white...Then almost immediately...

Red.

She stepped out of the tower, her movements slow and loose, her arms hanging slightly as she swung them without energy.

Her breathing was uneven, and her brows were furrowed, not just from exhaustion, but from frustration that she couldn’t hide.

"If I had taken the risk... and switched to another gun earlier instead of sticking to the revolver all the way to that floor..."

She muttered under her breath, shaking her head slowly as if replaying the fight again in her mind, trying to find where she could have done better.

Keith stood in front of the entrance.

His eyes were fixed on the door.

To him, it didn’t look like a normal entrance anymore, it looked like something dangerous.

Like stepping into it would drag him into something he didn’t feel like dealing with.

"Move your lazy ass!" Fay shouted from behind, her glare sharp enough to cut through him.

Keith turned slightly, meeting her eyes.

He didn’t say anything, but he could clearly feel the pressure in her stare.

"Ahh..."

He rubbed his forehead slowly, as if trying to push away the annoyance building in his head.

Then, without any urgency, he walked forward with sluggish steps.

He reached the door, scanned his card, and entered.

At the same time, Tracy walked back toward Veda and the others.

They greeted her immediately, some of the highlines patted her shoulder while others praised her effort.

Their voices carried warmth, easing a bit of the frustration on her face.

At that exact moment...

Cedric’s window turned red on the fifth floor.

A few seconds later, he stepped out.

His expression was low, his shoulders slightly dropped, but unlike what one might expect...

No one mocked him.

Henry’s group welcomed him back with calm smiles and quiet encouragement.

"You did well."

"Fifth floor is already good enough."

Their words were steady, without pressure.

Almost immediately after Cedric exited, a regular member from Veda’s group stepped forward and entered the tower through the same door and like that, the cycle continued.

Minutes passed, with Keith moving through the floors fast.

Faster than most people expected from someone who always looked half-asleep.

He reached the fourth floor rather quickly, at the same time, Niki pushed forward and reached the fifth floor...

But that was her limit, the light turned red after a long minute passed.

She stepped out, her chest rising as she caught her breath.

Without wasting time, the only remaining member from Felix’s group stepped forward and entered the tower after her, while Zack continued advancing, when he reached the seventh floor...

Vera’s group erupted.

Their cheers were louder than before, filled with excitement and pride.

Vera herself did not react much still, she only watched, calm and quiet as if this was exactly what she expected.

Meanwhile...

The random member from Veda’s group failed at the third floor, then another member from Vera’s group entered immediately after.

Keith pushed forward to the fifth floor, while Zack remained at the seventh floor for a while...

Then finally...

Red.

He stepped out.

His expression didn’t show much, but there was a slight tension around his eyes.

Still, his group greeted him immediately.

"You were the first to reach the seventh floor."

"That alone is enough."

"Three hours, twenty-five minutes, seventeen seconds..."

The numbers were spoken clearly.

It was a strong result.

Yet...

More people began to glance toward the tower again, because Keith was still inside and the way he was moving...

It felt like he might quickly surpass that time.

In the meantime, another member from Priscilla’s group stepped forward and entered and more candidates followed like that later on.

One after another, but most of them failed early.

Third floor, fourth floor and some reached the fifth...

Only to lose immediately the moment they stepped into it.

The first line of difficulty became clear and clearer as the time passed.

Then...

Keith’s turn ended.

He first reached the seventh floor, that alone made people pause, because no one expected him to go that far, but after hours passed, he finally, lost in that floor.

When he came out, he scratched the back of his head, letting out a long sigh.

"What a drag..."

His voice was low, almost complaining.

He walked back slowly, his steps as lazy as ever, as if he had just returned from something mildly annoying rather than something intense.

Zack watched him, his face remained calm and expressionless, but inside...

"I can’t believe this lazy bastard almost beat my time..."

He adjusted his glasses slightly, his fingers tightening just a bit before relaxing again.

Keith’s spent time...Three hours, twenty-eight minutes, five seconds.

Just a few minutes behind him.

Too close for comfort.

Time continued to move.

More candidates entered the tower and more failed.

The cycle repeated again and again.

In that repeated cycle, Felix’s group barely participated with only two of them entering.

Because of that, the other five groups were able to rotate faster, sending more people into the tower without delay.

With no one caring why they weren’t even around for the trial.