Charles arrived on the 25th floor without a scratch on his body.

His mana had started to run slightly low, but when it did, he consumed some of the King Slime gel, knowing that it contained a small amount of mana.

It was disgusting and made him say a quick prayer in his head for Charlotte. The poor woman would have to eat more than he did.

He found himself thinking about her the more he climbed. Every thought made him more desperate to climb.

He imagined terrible situations, like her having been kidnapped by her brother or forced to fight against him at the top of the tower.

This only made him more desperate.

The 25th floor was home to the second boss fight.

Charles found himself standing in an arena.

The flooring was made from white marble, and at the centre was a pit that fell into a hole of molten lava.

As for the boss, it appeared shortly after he entered the floor.

A creature flew from the pit of flames.

It resembled a giant bird, but it was not a dragon. It looked more like an eagle, with red fur and a pointy black beak that looked as sharp as a rapier’s point.

The creature flew high up using its tremendous wingspan. It soared so high that Charles almost wasn’t able to view its system.

Eventually, he caught a glimpse of the translucent crystal above its head.

「Zeagle」

Grade: Veteran [3rd Grade]

Potential: Master [5th Grade]

Class: Bird

...

"Zeagle, huh? You’re still a veteran. That’s pretty weak for a 25th-floor boss. Are you about to break through?"

Of course, the question wasn’t answered.

Zeagle continued circling its prey, remaining high above the ground as it waited for an opportunity to strike.

Charles came to realise the importance of having a ranged fighter in your party.

It made him wonder: How would Prince Cain and his two allies deal with such a creature?

He had a feeling they might struggle.

Luckily, he could put it to the test.

Zeagle had nothing that Charles needed at the moment, which meant that he didn’t have to kill it.

All he had to do was make sure that it would let him through the door.

He looked up at the creature and waved at it.

As if Zeagle knew that it was being taunted, the bird suddenly dipped its head and came flying towards Charles with blinding speed. It was like a bullet being fired from a gun.

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

He contemplated what sort of order might be best to incapacitate a bird without using too much energy.

When it was only ten metres away, he made his decision.

"Flying near me is not allowed."

Immediately, Zeagle changed its direction of flight, soaring back up into the sky.

Charles had given no specific distance, but it seemed that was enough to prevent the bird from attacking him. This made sense, as dive attacks seemed to be the only method of attack it planned on using.

Sometimes, simple is best.

Charles ignored the bird that continued circling above and walked towards the door on the other side of the room.

He pushed it open and entered the 26th floor, leaving the boss for the prince to face.

...

On the 25th floor...

Prince Cain, Knight Ruth, and Knight Mary emerged onto the 25th floor.

They no longer knew what to think of this unknown powerhouse who had gone in ahead of them.

Up to this point, they had still been given no sign of the man’s death, and now they were facing the second major boss of the tower, still with no sign of him.

As the large eagle circled the air above them, ginger-haired Ruth pointed to the centre of the room, where the pit of lava was.

"Maybe the bird lifted him and dropped him in there?"

Blonde-haired Mary thought for a few seconds before shrugging.

"It’s certainly possible."

As Prince Cain looked at the eagle above, he thought deeply on the matter.

He thought that it was unlikely.

Whoever the powerhouse was, he had faced no trouble avoiding the King Slime.

It was clear that he had a method of bypassing enemies.

The King Slime wasn’t much weaker than the eagle, so it wouldn’t be that difficult.

The only issue with this was that an adept should have long since run out of mana. In fact, he shouldn’t have even been capable of tackling the second floor alone, let alone the twenty-fifth.

"It’s diving!"

Prince Cain looked up to see that the boss was heading straight towards them.

He was well aware of his allies’ lack of ranged attacks. Luckily for him, he didn’t lack such things.

Prince Cain stepped forward and drew his longsword.

"Step back. I’ll deal with this one."

For the next five minutes, he engaged in a brutal boss fight.

...

On the 50th Floor...

Charles stood with his hands on his hips, looking at the boss in front of him.

This was the third boss of the tower.

Along the way, he had only killed a few creatures when necessary.

He had obtained a Veteran Spirit, which would help him advance to Veteran when the time was right.

As for his mana, he had managed to harvest some items that could be used for replenishment.

He would be lying if he said that he wasn’t tired, but knowing that he was halfway up the tower gave him motivation.

Now, he was standing in front of a giant blue bumblebee, drinking nectar from a comically oversized flower.

The house-sized bee turned to face him. It was of the Elite Grade, which meant it did not have the capability to speak.

However, as an avid reader of the novel, Charles knew that 4th Grade creatures (Elites) could understand human speech.

"Look, we don’t need to fight. Regardless of what you plan on doing, I’m going to escape here without a scratch anyway. Why don’t we come to an agreement instead?"

The bee didn’t speak, but it didn’t attack either. It seemed to be interested in this agreement.