"Looks like I have no choice but to dodge while recovering and tiring him out," Victor mumbled as he quickly formulated a plan and looked calmly at the man. He planned to use his Akasha Eyes to dodge the attacks and wear him down. Since they were at the same level, he was confident he could outlast him while recovering his mana in the meantime.
"Die," the man said with a smirk, lunging at him with his weapon.
Swoosh
Just as Victor was about to dodge the attack, his eyes widened in surprise as he saw the man's head separate from his shoulders and fly into the sky.
Victor raised his head and saw an extremely beautiful girl smiling politely at him, while beside her stood a man in a butler's uniform, watching him with narrowed eyes.
He then turned toward the middle-aged man who had just slain the attackers trying to ambush him.
"Uh, thank you, Senior, for saving me," Victor said hurriedly.
"No problem. Here, take this and heal yourself first," the man replied, tossing him what looked like a potion. Victor studied it suspiciously, then used his Akasha Eye to confirm. Once he saw it was just a normal healing potion, he relaxed.
Gulp
Victor felt his stamina return, and his minor injuries began to mend.
"Ah, I didn't catch your name?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Julian; you can call me Senior Julian," the man said with a polite smile.
"And what about you two? Do you need something from me?" Victor asked bluntly, turning to the girl and the butler. He was genuinely confused why the three of them would bother helping him—yes, the girl had been ready to strike the attacker, but Julian was the first to act.
At his words, the young woman looked amused, while the butler furrowed his brow in visible displeasure.
"Hey, talk to the young lady with proper respect if you don't want to get beaten. She is the daughter of the head of the Light Family," the butler said angrily at Victor's casual tone, radiating an oppressive aura laced with killing intent.
Gulp
'Fuck, I just spoke to her normally. Do you need to go this far? And hell, how many beings did he kill to gain such potent killing intent?' Victor cursed in his head, swallowing hard as sweat dripped from his forehead.
"Leon, enough. I did not feel any disrespect, and he might not even know me. Next time don't behave like this, or I will send you back to the family for re-education," the young woman said with a cold expression, causing the butler to shudder and hurriedly retract his aura.
"Y-Yes, I apologize. I won't repeat the same thing again. Just don't send me for re-education," the butler Leon said with a hint of fear in his voice.
"I apologize for his behavior. My name is Sarah Light, from the Light Family," the beautiful woman said with a smile, her earlier cold expression nowhere to be seen.
"Senior Julian, it's been a few decades since I last saw you. How have you been?" the young lady asked the middle-aged man.
"I am fine. How is that old man? The last time I visited him was a few hundred years ago," Senior Julian said with a smile.
'A few hundred years? Damn, these people must be from the top floors of the tower' Victor's eyes widened. He knew only high-rankers at the top and middle floors of the tower had lifespans of thousands of years and were ageless.
"Father is fine. You should visit him," Sarah said with a smile, to which Senior Julian only rolled his eyes.
"I see… Sarah, do you need something from me?" Victor asked curiously, noticing the butler's eyebrow twitch at his casual way of addressing her
"Yes, but before that let's isolate this place, Leon," Sarah said as she turned to Leon with an indifferent look. Leon understood what she wanted and waved his hand, and a thin barrier surrounded them.
'Huh, a barrier so that others can't hear our conversation, huh' Victor remained calm as he recognized the barrier and wondered what they wanted to talk about so secretly.
"Now, before we talk, shouldn't you remove your mask first?" Senior Julian said with a smile.
"!!!!" Victor's eyes constricted as his body immediately tensed while he looked at the man.
"What, this isn't your original appearance?" Sarah asked with a surprised expression, as she hadn't noticed at all. Even the butler looked shocked.
"How do you know this isn't his original appearance?" Sarah asked, turning to Julian, while Victor also frowned at him.
"The artifact you have should be at least Legendary rank, isn't it? Yes, most people couldn't detect it, but top rankers can, as some of them have very powerful items that can see through disguises," Senior Julian explained calmly.
"What! Legendary rank?" Sarah cried out, looking at Victor in disbelief. Even for her, such an item was extremely rare.
"So, can I get your name and see your real appearance?" Senior Julian asked again.
'Sigh, who knew I would meet a boss-level figure just as soon as I got this treasure' Victor thought. He didn't sense any hostility or greed from them, only curiosity, so he decided to show his face. He also had a feeling that if he refused, they would force him to reveal his true face.
"My name is Victor," he said as he removed the mask. Their eyes narrowed at the white mask in his hand as his appearance changed back to normal.
"You're younger than I thought," Senior Julian said.
"Hmm, you're much more handsome," Sarah said with a teasing smile.
"Of course I'm young, I mean, I haven't even participated in the Tower Trial yet," Victor grumbled. As soon as he said that, everyone's eyes widened in shock, staring at him in disbelief.
"Wait a second," the butler Leon hurriedly came in front of Victor. This time, Sarah did not stop him as he used some kind of device to scan him. After a moment, he looked at Victor in disbelief.
"It's true… he is Tier 0 even without suppression from the Records here," Leon said in a dazed voice. Victor noticed the looks from both Sarah and John becoming more heated.
'Heavens, I must have him. Such talent—I haven't heard this in millions of years' Senior Julian thought, but quickly calmed himself as he glanced at Sarah, who seemed even more excited.
"Victor, I want you to join my faction," Sarah said in a very serious voice.
"Faction?" Victor raised an eyebrow, and just as he was about to reply—
Rumble.
The ground started to shake, catching everyone's attention, as they saw a large silver tower appear.