Natasha stepped onto the 102nd stair as effortlessly as she had the previous ones, without breaking a sweat .
"As expected of Lady Natasha! At this rate, she might even reach the 300th stair!"
"300th is too much. I think at most she'll reach the 200th stair—and even that would be extremely difficult."
The other participants were incredibly excited for Natasha, almost feeling as though they were climbing in her place.
A few moments later, Natasha reached the 150th stair, surpassing every bloodline user from the lowest floor in recorded history.
"Heavens, she really reached the 150th stair! The previous highest was 135 by someone just below Tier 1 rank. She's broken the record!" one of the participants said with a flushed face. The other participants were also excited seeing this.
Before long, she climbed to the 170th stair under the disbelieving gazes of the crowd. She had even surpassed and left behind a few from the higher floors.
However, after reaching the 170th step, Natasha did not immediately continue. She stood still for nearly a minute, catching her breath as the pressure began to weigh heavily on her.
Nearly a minute later, Natasha forced her way up to the 190th stair. Her body was drenched in sweat, her dress clinging tightly to her voluptuous figure.
"Ugh…" Natasha grunted, gritting her teeth, her face flushed as she stepped onto the 199th stair.
"Just one more step!" someone said nervously. Not only him but all the others from the lower floor were tense, silently supporting her.
"Haaa… haaa… haaa…" Natasha panted heavily, sweat dripping down her face as she tried to muster the strength to climb further.
While Natasha struggled against the crushing pressure, Victor, on the other hand, was casually climbing the stairs as though he were taking a stroll to school. Everyone's eyes were glued to Natasha, so no one noticed him until he quietly reached the 150th stair.
"Heavens, this guy is still climbing! I was so preoccupied with Lady Natasha's performance that I didn't notice he'd already reached the 150th stair."
"Yeah, I thought he would have stopped way earlier."
"Could this man be another genius on the same level as Miss Natasha Celestia?"
"Am I wrong, or does it seem like he's climbing faster than Lady Natasha?"
"No, you're right… it really does look that way!"
One hundred sixty, one hundred seventy, one hundred eighty…
Victor calmly continued his ascent under the astonished gazes of everyone, quickly closing in on Natasha.
One hundred eighty-eight, one hundred ninety, one hundred ninety-five…
"Huh?" Natasha suddenly felt someone rapidly approaching. Turning her head, she saw a man climbing swiftly behind her.
'Impossible!' Natasha's eyes constricted. She wasn't surprised that someone could climb casually faster than her—there were many from the higher floors who could—but what shook her was that this man clearly belonged to the lowest floor. Even more shocking was that he seemed completely unaffected by the crushing pressure.
"Damn!" Natasha cursed as her concentration wavered from the shock, causing her footing to slip. She felt the pressure hurling her backward.
"!!!" Her eyes widened in disbelief when the man suddenly grabbed her by the waist, stopping her from falling.
"Hey, you alright?" Victor asked with a slight frown when she didn't respond.
"…" Natasha just stared at him blankly, her elite body stiffening under his touch. Meanwhile, the crowd at the bottom, watching everything unfold, had their jaws practically hit the ground.
"Holy shit, this guy actually had the guts to touch her like this."
"Dammit, how dare he defile her with his dirty hands."
"You are exaggerating, he only touched her waist to help her from falling."
"Hiss, this guy must be ignorant, last time someone touched her there were rumors she had beaten the guy to death."
"Seriously? I thought that was just a rumor."
The crowd started chatting excitedly among themselves. Victor raised an eyebrow hearing this and looked at Natasha.
"Hey, are you alright?" Victor asked the girl in his embrace.
"I am fine, can you remove your hands?" Natasha looked at him and said in a cold voice. Victor calmly let her go and was a bit nervous as he saw her staring at him with an intense look.
"Hmm, you are from the lowest floor, aren't you? Can I ask if you are affiliated with any family or faction?" Natasha looked at his name and her lips twitched before looking back at him with a serious expression.
"No, I am not," Victor said. Technically he was part of the Light Academy, but that wasn't a faction.
"I see. Then I would like to invite you to join the Celestia Family. If you want, you can even marry one of the girls from the family." Natasha said calmly. Victor raised an eyebrow when he heard the offer.
He had read the basic knowledge of the power structure of the lowest floors. The Woods Family and the Celestia Family were among the top 8 families of the lower floors. The Woods Family was famous for their plant magic and healing magic, but the Celestia Family ranked higher because they were renowned for their light magic, which was stronger, and their healing magic, which surpassed even the only other family capable of using healing magic—the Woods Family.
The top 8 families had histories spanning several thousand years, and powerful rankers had emerged from these families, making them the most influential in the lower floors. Over the thousands of years, the rankers from these families also gained massive influence in the upper floors. Of course, they were still influential in the lower floors, but as they went higher up, their influence gradually decreased since there were families with millions of years of heritage and even more powerful factions.
The crowd that heard her offer went wide-eyed in disbelief.
"Heavens—he got an offer to join the Celestia Family!"
"Not only that, he was offered marriage into their family. Not many people get that."
"No wonder she wasn't angry about being touched—looks like she sees his potential."
The crowd looked up at Victor, waiting for his response.
"Sorry, but I have no intention of joining a family or, much less, getting married," Victor shook his head and refused. He knew that if he joined a family his movements would be restricted, and besides, he was more interested in Sarah Light's offer.
"Heavens, he actually refused her offer."
"Damn, I'm so jealous—why not me?"
Natasha blinked and looked at him in surprise. Few people would refuse an invitation to join one of the top eight families, especially when marriage into the family was offered directly—a rare opportunity. Most families hire outsiders as mercenaries, which is far less attractive than marriage.
"May I ask why?" Natasha asked curiously.
"Hmm, I don't want to be tied down or have my movements restricted," Victor explained. Natasha nodded in understanding. He wasn't the first to refuse—many who rejected offers later became powerful rankers. Of course, some families, unlike the Celestia Family, do not take rejection well; if the person has no backing, they might be made to disappear.
Natasha looked up as Victor kept climbing the stairs under her wide eyes. ' Heavens—he's climbing the stairs so easily. What kind of monster is he?' Natasha watched in disbelief as he reached the 219th stair without effort.
As Victor left, another person glared at him hatefully. "Damn bastard, you dared touch my Natasha—just wait. After we return, I'll kill you, bastard," William Woods hissed at Victor's departing figure.