Tap... Tap... Tap...
One step, two steps, three steps.
Victor easily climbed over ten steps without any effort and without breaking a sweat.
Eleventh step. Twelfth step.
'This was the step where the first guy got flung out,' Victor thought, pausing for a second before taking the next step.
Thirteenth stair.
Shing!
As soon as he took the step, a huge projection appeared. Everyone raised their heads to see screens displaying various names along with the number of steps they had managed to climb.
"Heavens, that's the ranking list of the top 100 people who've attempted the Staircase to Wealth throughout history!"
"Hah, I was wondering where the rankings were. I once heard a senior bragging that he knew someone who knew a guy whose cousin had made it onto the list."
"Today, I'm going to enter the rankings!"
"Hah, like you could."
"What did you say, bastard?!"
"Look at the top person—heavens, he reached 723 stairs!"
Excited chatter broke out as soon as the list appeared. Meanwhile, Victor squinted at the top name, and when he read it, his lips twitched.
'What kind of name is that even?'Victor was dumbfounded when he saw the top name: *I am very low profile*
[Ding Dong]
[Please enter the name you want to display in the rankings.]
Victor glanced at the sudden message, raising an eyebrow before looking at the other participants.
"Hah, of course I'll enter my name. If I put my real name and make it into the rankings, won't I become famous?"
"Hah, I'd rather use a fake name. If I get a treasure, people won't target me."
Victor noticed that half the participants—those who were confident, reckless, or had powerful backings—chose their real names, while the cautious ones picked fake names.
[You have chosen the name "I am even more low profile than."]
If I'm going to enter the rankings, and I make it into the top 10 with this name, wouldn't it be ridiculous? Victor thought with a smirk before resuming his climb.
[Name: I am even more low profile]
[Floor: Bottom Floor]
Victor narrowed his eyes as he saw the information floating above his head, including the floor he was currently on. Looking around, he realized that everyone had their chosen name and floor displayed above their heads as well. Shaking his head, he resumed climbing.
Fourteenth stair. Fifteenth stair. Sixty-ninth stair.
As Victor continued upward, he noticed most of those below the hundredth floor belonged to the lowest levels. Many had already been flung back, while others were still gritting their teeth, struggling desperately to step forward—but all of them were clearly at their limits.
His eyes shifted ahead, landing on two figures still climbing steadily. Soon after, he heard exclamations from the surrounding crowd.
A young lady with long black hair and ruby-colored eyes continued climbing the stairs, while the man following behind her gritted his teeth and eventually collapsed onto the steps.
Hundredth stair. Hundred and one stair.
This young lady drew the attention of everyone present, not only because of her beauty but also because of the domineering aura surrounding her as she walked upward without much resistance.
"It's really young miss Natasha Celestia from the Celestia Family, one of the top eight families in the lower floors. I heard their family has branches in the upper floors as well."
"Yeah, she just became a Ranker recently and topped the trial among the students of the Celestial Academy, one of the top three academies of the lower floors."
"I wonder how many steps the genius of the Celestia Family will take!"
"Hahaha, of course she's going to reach the 200th floor."
"200th floor? Isn't that a bit too high?"
"Too high? She has a very high-grade bloodline, and I also heard her potential is that of a high-ranker."
"High-ranker? Really? They're just a little below the peak powerhouses of the tower."
The participants spoke excitedly, cheering for her as though they were all very familiar with the reputation of this beautiful young lady from the lower floors. These cheer where from the people of the lowest floor, other than few of people from the top floors no one paid attention to lower floor insects.
Victor shook his head and continued climbing until he reached the 90th stair, where people began paying attention to him.
"Hey, look! That guy reached the 90th stair but doesn't look affected."
"No, I haven't seen him before. Does he belong to one of the top families?"
"He looks young, and by the ease with which he's climbing up, I'd guess he has a high-rank bloodline. If he were from the top eight families, he'd be well known."
"Could he be a genius from some hidden clan, or maybe even of commoner birth?"
"Hah, you filths sure love to imagine things. How could someone like him be a commoner? He must be from a noble family like me—maybe a secluded one."
"Heavens, look! He's just one step away from reaching the 100th floor, where the genius of the Woods Family, William Woods, stopped."
Victor ignored all the chatter and stepped onto the 100th floor, raising an eyebrow as he looked at the man.
'Wasn't this the bastard who just mocked me a few moments ago?' Victor clicked his tongue; the clicking did not escape the young man's eyes, and his expression darkened.
'How did this bastard get here? Didn't he fail on the first step? I won't let him get ahead of me, or it'll be a mockery,' William grimaced as he heard people comparing him to Victor. He couldn't confront Natasha because of her background, but he was confident he could threaten Victor since the latter didn't seem to belong to any noble family.
"Hey, bastard—don't you dare take a step forward. You're from the lower floor, right? I've seen your face. If you take another step, I'll make sure the Woods family hunts you down like a rat," William hissed in a whisper. Victor stopped, a smug look appearing on his face.
"Trash," Victor sneered, and continued up the stairs. He was sure he had just made an enemy of the Woods family—judging by William's red face—but was he worried? No. The appearance he was using wasn't even his real identity.
Even if it were his original face, he would still take the risk—between Sarah's offer to join her faction, their backing if he accepted , and Miss Amanda's presence, he was confident he would be safe and morever the opportunity was too important to miss.