Ezra turned his head slightly to the right, his gaze landing on Nina, who was already glaring at him with clear irritation written all over her face.

Behind him, the crowd fell into a strange silence.

People leaned forward slightly, some crossing their arms, others whispering under their breath, all watching as if something interesting was about to happen.

"What?"

Ezra asked, his expression completely blank, his tone carrying no interest in whatever she wanted to say.

Nina flinched for a brief second.

It was small, but noticeable.

"Tsk... it’s like talking to a robot," she muttered, clicking her tongue as she folded her arms.

"I thought you would be used to reactions like this, since you’re always around her."

Ezra raised his hand slightly and pointed toward Vera without even looking at her directly.

Nina followed the direction of his finger.

Her lips parted.

"How dare you!"

Her eyes sharpened instantly.

"Lady Vera’s expressions are peak beauty... goddess-level beauty. That’s not something an ugly, lifeless lowline like you can compare to."

She lifted her chin slightly, her smug expression returning as if she had just said something undeniable.

Ezra narrowed his eyes a little.

Holy glaze.

The thought came naturally.

Ahh... this Vera minion is going to waste my time.

He turned back toward the door, clearly done with the conversation.

Nina noticed immediately and stepped forward, raising her hand to block his path.

"I said wait."

Ezra stopped, exhaled slowly through his nose, then turned back to her again.

His face remained calm.

"What do you want?"

Nina straightened her posture, as if preparing for something important, then she pointed directly at him.

"Ezra... I challenge you."

"To what?"

He asked without hesitation.

"Well," Nina began, her tone turning serious, "since this trial is about reaching the highest floor, we should compete and see who climbs higher."

She leaned forward slightly.

"So, you’ll wait until it’s my group’s turn, then we go in at the same time and compete."

"Okayyyy..."

Ezra stared at her for a moment dragging his word, then...

"Why should I compete with you?"

His question came out flat.

"You caused all this scene... just for that?"

He sighed lightly.

"Ehh... what do you mean by that?" Nina frowned.

"Of course, you should compete with me. I mean, you’ll at least get to score some points with my Lady."

She said it as if it was an obvious yes answer, as if refusal wasn’t even an option.

Inside her mind, however...

Seeing Lady Vera wave at him like that... it really pissed me offff... so much I almost attacked him right there.

Her fist tightened slightly behind her back.

That’s why I have to show her he’s not worth her time.

Her thoughts moved quickly.

Luring him in with the idea of scoring points with my Lady... that’s pure genius.

Nina’s thoughts moved more quickly as her fingers curled slightly at her side, her expression outwardly calm but her mind running ahead of everything around her.

I mean, who would resist that kind of temptation?

Her eyes narrowed faintly as she glanced at Ezra’s back.

Once we compete, I’ll crush him completely... wipe the floor with him so badly he won’t even be able to lift his head properly.

A faint smile almost formed on her lips before she forced it down.

And when that happens... my Lady will finally lose interest in his sorry self.

Her lips now curled faintly.

Ah... I really am a genius.

Outwardly, she remained composed.

"No."

Ezra replied immediately.

"Alright, let... wait... No?"

Nina blinked twice. "You said no?" Her voice carried disbelief.

"You really are wasting my time."

Ezra turned again and walked toward the door.

"Let me join."

Lyra suddenly appeared, jumping onto Nina’s back without warning.

Nina staggered slightly.

Ezra didn’t even look back this time, he stepped forward unbothered going to the door.

"I also want to compete with you, Ezra!"

Bale’s voice rang out loudly.

Ezra stopped again, Bale’s words catching his attention and turned.

He saw Bale being held back by Fay and a few others, who were clearly stopping him from rushing forward.

"Ehh... why is everyone suddenly trying to compete?"

Nina looked between Lyra and Bale, confused.

"LYRA!"

Page’s voice cut sharply through the noise as she stepped forward from her group.

"You still have the guts to show your face here?"

Her glare was ice cold.

"Well, well, well..."

Lyra jumped down from Nina’s back.

"If it isn’t the girl who got taken down by her own alchemy."

She smirked, clearly enjoying herself.

"Huhh?!"

Page’s face turned red immediately.

Around them, whispers spread again.

"Hehe... I knew this would get interesting." a candidate from Veda’s group whispered.

"Do you think something’s going on between Ezra and Lady Vera?" another voice echoed from another side.

"Blasphemy!" multiple voices rose.

"My goddess could never!"

"Lyra really betrayed Sir Felix..."

Voices overlapped, excitement rising like a wave.

"Lyra," Nina said, turning to her, "you know the rules. Two people from the same group can’t enter at the same time."

"Oh?"

Lyra tilted her head, placing a finger on her lips.

"But I’m bored."

Her expression said everything.

"Then wait for my turn," Page said, stepping forward.

"I’ll compete with you... and make you regret betraying us."

"Ehhh... you will?"

Lyra’s eyes lit up immediately, then suddenly she hugged Page.

Page froze for a second, then sighed not reacting or shouting, since she already understood how simple-minded Lyra could be.

At that moment, two candidates stepped out of the tower, both having failed at the fourth floor.

"Ah... it’s my turn next."

Nina pointed at Ezra again, her face bright as if she had won something.

"We can compete now."

Ezra didn’t respond, he just turned and walked toward the door.

"I will join you guys."

Freed stepped forward, adjusting his glasses calmly.

"We meet again, lowline."

Freed spoke as he adjusted his glasses again, a smug smile resting comfortably on his face as if he had already placed himself above Ezra without needing to prove it.

Ezra didn’t respond, he didn’t even look at him.

"Ignoring me... haha."

Freed let out a small laugh, though there was a slight stiffness behind it, before stepping forward to his door and scanning his card.

At the same time, Nina moved to her own door and did the same, her movements quick, almost eager.

"I wonder how you will feel," Freed continued, glancing sideways, "when I finish on a higher floor than you."

Ezra still gave no reply.

I really wonder why these people are so focused on competing.

The thought passed quietly through his mind as the three of them stepped into the tower together.

Behind them, the noise of the crowd rose, cheers and voices overlapping, excitement building as if they were watching a performance rather than a trial.

"There’s nothing to gain from that..."

Ezra muttered under his breath as he walked forward without hesitation, his eyes not even bothering to scan the surroundings of the first floor.

"I only have one thing to focus on."

He stepped onto the circle.

The moment his foot settled at the center, the platform beneath him shifted.

A deep red glow spread across the floor, and a strong gust of wind pushed outward, brushing against his coat and lifting the edges slightly.

Across from him, another circle lit up and an illusionary figure formed...

Reggie.

He stood there, unmoving, his eyes fixed forward, his gaze empty, lacking the subtle movements of a real person.

The two of them stood facing each other, their hands hovered close to their space bags.

Waiting.

The light below shifted slowly...

Then it turned green.

Both of them moved.

Ezra’s hand entered his space bag instantly, pulling out a steel bar and tossing it upward in a smooth motion.

Clap!

His palms came together.

Cognis surged between them, forming an alchemy circle in an instant, the lines glowing sharply against the air, then he slammed his hands downward at the exact moment the steel bar dropped.

The metal reacted immediately.

It melted mid-air, reshaping itself under the influence of the alchemy circle, compressing and reforming into the shape of a revolver.

Ezra caught it without looking...

Bang!

The shot rang out cleanly.

Reggie’s head snapped back before he could even fully pull his own material from his space bag.

The illusion shattered into dust.

Time taken...

0.44 seconds.

Ezra lowered the gun slightly, watching the fragments of Reggie dissolve without interest.

A door formed behind where Reggie had stood and he walked straight through it immediately.

"This trial is quite tricky..."

He muttered to himself quietly as he stepped into the next floor.

"But if you can understand the real tactic behind Akia, reaching the seventh floor should not be difficult."

Looking at that Novice version of Mr. Reggie, Ezra had already come to a clear conclusion.

The reaction speed of these so-called top ten, at least in these early floors, was noticeably lower than that of the candidates. It was not something difficult to notice once you paid attention to the details of their movements.

Especially from the first floor to the sixth floor...

There was a gap.

A very obvious one.

He walked forward at a steady pace, his boots making soft sounds against the surface of the platform as he approached the circle on the second floor.

If that is the case... then the top three should be Binder rank, judging from their status and how the difficulty is structured.

The thought settled calmly in his mind as he stepped onto the circle.

Immediately, the familiar sequence began again.

The platform beneath him shifted.

A red glow spread across the floor, and the wind surged outward, brushing against his coat and lifting the edges slightly.

Across from him, another circle lit up.

An illusion formed. 𝑓𝓇𝘦ℯ𝘸𝘦𝑏𝓃𝑜𝘷ℯ𝑙.𝑐𝑜𝓂

Elder Branthwaite...

But a bit younger in his late teens, standing still.

Watching.

Ezra’s gaze sharpened slightly as he studied him.

The real issue is not the opponent...

His hand hovered close to his space bag, his fingers already prepared to move the moment the signal changed.

It’s the choice.

The wrong gun... against the wrong opponent.

He had already figured it out.

Most of the candidates who failed on the fourth or fifth floor did not lose because they were weak.

They lost because they continued using the same approach that worked on the lower floors.

The revolver.

Which is fast and easy to create, but... predictable and lacks enough power output.

Once they reached a point where their opponent either chose a more suitable gun or simply reacted faster than expected, that small difference became fatal.

Basically, they got used to winning too quickly.

Speed-blitzing the lower floors gave them the wrong confidence.

In every Akia match, the first thing you had to do was study your opponent properly, not just glance at them and move, but actually take in how they stood, how their hands rested, how fast they might react once the signal was given.

Only after that could you decide on the right gun to create—something that would still be quick enough for you to form without wasting time, but also powerful and precise enough to end the fight in a single shot the moment you fired.

Ezra let out a small breath.

The light turned green.

Both of them moved.

Their hands shot into their space bags almost at the same time, their movements clean and direct without any wasted motion.

Bang!

The shot rang out.

In less than 0.42 seconds...

Branthwaite’s head snapped back, and his figure broke apart into dust before he could even complete his own action.

"Choosing the right gun... not wasting Cognis... and measuring your opponent’s strength before you even think of creating your weapon."

Ezra blurted what he thought before out quietly, his voice low as he stared at the revolver in his hand.

Thin smoke rose from the barrel, drifting upward before fading into the air.

The door appeared.

He stepped through without hesitation.

Third floor.

The sequence repeated.

Bianca appeared, they took their stance, no pause, no adjustment...

The light turned green...

Bang!

0.42 seconds again.

The shot landed cleanly, her illusion breaking apart instantly as if it had never been real in the first place.

Ezra lowered the gun slightly and walked forward, already moving toward the next door as it formed, leading to the next floor...

The Fourth floor.

Outside...

The reaction was no longer just excitement.

It had turned into disbelief.

"Wow... that’s the beast for you."

Tracy nodded slowly; her eyes fixed on the tower windows as the lights shifted faster than she expected.

"How many seconds has even passed... and he’s already on the fourth floor?"

Linda’s voice carried confusion, her brows tightening slightly as she tried to process what she was seeing.

"It doesn’t make sense... The gap is just too much..."

Nickolas muttered, wiping the sweat forming at the side of his face as he stared upward without blinking.

"Both Ezra... and Nina..."

Within just twenty seconds...Both of them had already reached the fourth floor while Freed was still struggling on the second floor and the other candidate remained stuck on the first.

The difference in ability was no longer something subtle.

It was clear.

Clear enough that no one could ignore it anymore.

Vera stood among them, her posture relaxed, her gaze steady as she watched the tower.

Her eyes flickered faintly with amusement, not loud, not exaggerated, but sharp enough to show interest.

Her lips curved just slightly, as if she had already expected this outcome and was simply watching to confirm it.

As expected, she thought to herself.

As for the trial, it had only just begun and from this point forward...

It would no longer be as simple as it looked.