『Lizea Sky Tower』

The Sunset.

Orange-tinged light enveloped the Royal Capital and a sense of melancholy and excitement mixed in the city as the day was about to end. Particularly, in the Royal Library of the Lizea kingdom, no noise could be heard—aside from the sounds of pages being flipped.

"Oh..:? This might work." A girl declared.

The scenic glow of the sunset complimented her golden eyes. The intense focus could be seen from the girl as if everything else had drowned out—including time.

"Ah...! It's already almost that time?" The girl panicked, she has to mentally prepare herself for what happens next.

This was Marika, learning about the world of Zenia at the Lizea Royal Library. She had just arrived yesterday—though it seems she was already working as one of the practitioners of Soul Arts. Talent for this profession was quite rare—Soul equipment and Soul Inscriptions are not easy to make after all.

"I... It's a bit scary to go out but... I got this!" Marika hyped herself up.

For the past year Marika had lived as a shut-in—she had wanted to change of course, but the reality was quite harsh for her; so, she had lived cutting herself from the outside world. Although, after speaking with the divine figure before she went here, she had resolutely sworn to herself that she will start over—that she'll finally come out of her shell.

*Knock* *Knock*

"It's time, Lady Marika." Her personal maid announced.

It seems that each of the strays had been assigned a maid—for their own convenience.

"...! Y-Yes!" Marika said stiffly, nervous.

<<----------->>

"King Furball...!" Naoki [Blitz] to the side.

In front of him was the Floor Guardian of the first floor of the Sky Tower, King Furball. Its size towered more than 20x Naoki's—its lightning speed unlikely of its gigantic body.

"How exactly does that thing move so fast!?"

Naoki can barely dodge its attacks with the help of [Blitz]—craters were left behind where he stood moments ago. Even after he had reached the 5th node, his attacks were barely making a dent.

"The [Poison] node is too slow! I really have to improve it on the next floor—wait!" Naoki dodged again.

The first floor of the Lizea Sky Tower was mainly exclusive to Furballs—unlike the upper floors which had a variety of monsters. As to why that was, even scholars still do not know—After all, the Sky Tower had existed even before the kingdom's foundation.

"No choice...! I'll have to play a battle of attrition!" Naoki kept running circles around the Tower Altar.

It seems he could only retaliate if he kept his distance—throwing an arrow each time that was imbued with his [Poison] node. While Naoki was not immune to Soul Fatigue, his soul still recovers faster than normal—which is why he can still fight for quite a long time.

An hour later...

<<----------->>

"...finally!" Naoki panted, on all fours.

In front of him was an unmoving monster that was constantly chasing him—disappearing into a mist. In the Sky Tower, like domains, the monsters wither into mist after being defeated—only dropping their Soul Fragment and items. For normal furballs, they sometimes drop their fur or meat—though most people ignore it, aside from collectors.

"This is..."

Token of The FurKing.

It seems it was a Soul Armor that enhances speed—allowing Soul Nodes to efficiently use 20% more when it comes to speed-related actions. Naturally, this included his [Blitz] node as well.

"It's good but... it doesn't offer any protection at all!" Naoki protested, he had to discard one of his Soul Armors if he wanted to use this.

Naoki had three Soul Armors—which was the limit of his current cultivation. First, he still had his Soul Armor that boosted his luck, while the others were just for protection.

"Hah... well—It can't be helped. I have to prepare for the upcoming Quarterly Assessment Exam of the Academy..." Naoki could only sigh.

This was mainly the reason that Naoki had adamantly gone to the Sky Tower even if he was alone, it was because he had wanted to catch up to the two—he didn't want to be unworthy to be beside them, after all.

He began to absorb the King Furball's Soul Fragment, its essence seeping into Naoki.

"Hmm...? Surprisingly it's not that mentally exhausting." Naoki heaved a sigh of relief.

The monster only had a few days of memory—it seems it was artificially made by the tower. While that was the case, this had still unlocked half of his 3rd [Blitz] node, which was barely a tenth before he had absorbed it.

A grin forming on his face, he began to take the medicinal pills that he had created (poorly)—healing the wounds from the debris that hit him from the craters made by the monster. It was not advised to use Soul Fragments as a mode of healing, as it uses a lot of its essence and may impair its quality.

<<----------->>

"I leave the matter to you—to the student council."

"Yes~! I got it, principal." The girl yawned.

"Really, I don't know how you can accomplish so much with that personality of yours..."

The principal could only sigh at the lackadaisical attitude of the girl. This was the student council president Eira Hrothford. She is the daughter of the Queen's uncle, essentially making her the cousin of the ruler of the kingdom. For the lack of a better word, she was lazy; yet, when she puts her mind to it, she is comparable to multiple geniuses at once—this was the reason why she became the student council president in the first place.

"Well~ Little Lydia will be coming... so, I naturally have to give it my all~" Her tone indicated the contrary.

"Well, just take it easy—the competition between the neighboring kingdom of Quaint is coming soon. Although, with you around, I can rest at ease."

"Yes~"

Eira exited, with her eyes half open. Though that was the case, she was not to be underestimated—she was the strongest in the academy, after all.

"That girl... if she only exerted enough effort, she'd be able to conquer this world—though I guess that's part of her character that gives her strength." The principal peered outside the window, and a slight smile formed on her face.

The Lizea Royal Academy, Anize. A prestigious school that contains all of the top geniuses of the kingdom, from nobility to commoners—it was a school that offered an environment to become stronger, provided you had the talent. It is said that the influence and power of the school itself are equal to that of a dukedom—or even higher.

It was almost time before the next quarter to take in new enrollees, and for existing academy students to prove themselves and advance in the school ranking—though no one could come close to beating the prodigal daughter of the Hrothford family.

Who, at the young age of 20, occupied the 91st seat of the Lizea Soul Chart.