Everything seemed normal as Charles opened the door to the 99th floor and stepped through.

He wondered whether it would be the blue dragon Caarthanax once again, or a different final boss.

But when he stepped through the door, he saw something completely different.

There were humans and the sound of chatter all around him.

What...

He looked around. There were at least fifty humans, all in groups of varied sizes, sticking close to their groups.

There were no signs of enemies. Only a single door ahead of them that no one dared to open yet.

Charles immediately turned around to look behind him. The door that he entered through was now closed.

He tried to push it open, but it didn’t budge.

"Poor guy... He’s already trying to leave. Why do people even bother trying to tackle towers solo anymore? It’s not that hard to find a party."

Charles turned and saw a small group of four looking at him. When he glanced at them, they immediately looked away.

Then, he heard another party talking about him.

"Look at his gear. He isn’t armoured, and his sword looks... well, it’s not even a sword. It looks like crab shell."

"Wait a minute, look at his rank. An adept soloist?"

"He’s screwed."

Slowly, the room turned its attention towards Charles.

He understood what was going on.

For some strange reason, he had been dragged down to the first floor after the tower’s reset and was forced to climb from the beginning with everyone else.

The people around him were likely people from the Silverblessed Kingdom who wished to gain as much strength as they could before the three kingdoms attacked.

What better way than to attempt the hardest tower in the kingdom?

But why have I been brought down here? I should be on the 99th floor, fighting my way down from the top!

...

Wait, could it be him? That villain?

As soon as the idea entered Charles’ mind, he realised that it made the most sense.

Only he had the power to rewrite the laws of the world. Perhaps he knew that Charles had an alliance with a sister.

Then, Charles remembered something else.

Charlotte... She’s up there alone!

If "he" is trying to split us up, then wouldn’t he use this time to target her?

I need to get back to her. I can’t be wasting time down here.

Charles ignored all the eyes and chatter directed at him and headed towards the door leading to the 2nd floor.

He held his makeshift dragon-scale dagger in his hand.

As he headed towards the door, he knew how crazy he would look.

It was known that whoever tackled the tower first had the hardest task in front of them. None of the floors would be cleared out, and all the enemies would be there waiting.

Usually, only the strongest parties tackled the floors first. This was because they also had the chance to claim the best rewards for themselves.

For Charles, a solo adventurer who was only of the Adept Rank, tackling the floor first was absolutely absurd.

He arrived at the door and pushed it open slightly.

White light seeped through the gap in the door, blocking sight of anything beyond.

Before Charles could step through, he felt a hand on his shoulder.

His instincts almost made him turn and slash at the hand, but when he did, he saw three people standing there.

Two of the figures were completely unrecognisable to Charles, but he immediately recognised the leading figure.

This was a handsome young man with neat blonde hair, ice-blue eyes, royal white armour, and a black cape flowing behind him. On his back was a longsword.

This man... He’s that prince of the Silverblessed Kingdom.

Prince Cain.

Charles wasn’t sure how he had missed him. Then, he remembered that his eyesight was worse than it was before.

There was a simple rule when it came to tower clearing. If royalty was in the tower, they had the right to climb the tower first.

Yet he, a simple Adept soloist, had tried to enter first. This was seen as a great disrespect.

All the other parties in the tower gradually made their way closer to see what the prince would do to this young fool.

Charles didn’t know much about this prince, but from the way the young man was looking at him and the way his hand was gravitating towards his sword, he knew things might not end well.

"You must have a death wish," Prince Cain said stern and pridefully.

From the way he spoke, it was clear that he expected every word he spoke to strike complete fear into those beneath him; which was everybody.

Plus, with the tension in the kingdom, royalty would naturally be in bad moods. This left Charles’ fate uncertain if left in the hands of the prince.

He wouldn’t be surprised if the handsome blonde man decided to slice him down right there.

No, that can’t happen. Sorry, Your Highness, but someone is waiting for me.

﹂[Editor’s Authority Cast] ~ Awaiting authoritative words...

Before the prince could even open his mouth to speak again, Charles spoke first.

"Pride is not allowed when interacting with me."

The words were quiet. Quiet enough that only the prince and his two lady allies could hear them.

As they did, the prince scrunched up his face and opened his mouth. He prepared to speak, but for some reason, no words came out.

The two young ladies behind him, who were dressed in steel armour, looked at their prince and party leader with confusion.

"I guess you can go first. You’re likely to die anyway," the prince said, with no more smugness in his voice.

Even though his words were still harsh, they did not suit him at all.

"B-but Cain," one of the women said. She had ginger curly hair and a freckled face. But then, her words also stopped.

She was about to express that the man should be punished for his disrespect, but the thought immediately left her mind.

As for the final woman, who was blonde and beautiful like the prince, she had nothing to say.

With that sorted, Charles turned and headed through the door, leaving the parties to watch his back.

Those who watched the scene whispered amongst themselves.

They wondered why the prince had let the man through.

The conclusion they came to was that he pitied the weak man.

They expected to see his corpse on the second floor once they all travelled through.