Awakened Talent: 10,000 Exp Converter!

"What? He's already in the top 100?" she murmured, disbelief evident in her voice.

Although she had been briefed slightly by Arthur and had faint expectations regarding Vincent's performance and talent, she never truly believed he would climb the leaderboard so quickly.

"Or perhaps he was able to climb so fast because of the tower's issue?" she thought, still skeptical about Vincent's performance.

As she stood lost in thought, a digital glow materialized nearby. A Tier 2 challenger emerged from the tower, visibly perplexed by the commotion outside.

After gathering information from a bystander, his expression shifted to confusion and disbelief.

"How is that possible? I just exited the tower, and Tier 2 items were still available…"

His words triggered a fresh wave of bewilderment among the affected challengers, deepening the mystery surrounding the situation.

Meanwhile, inside the Tower of Combat, Vincent stood lost in thought. Since all the Tier 1 challengers had left the tower, leaving him with no one to challenge, he felt uncertain about what to do next.

Even though he was curious about how his current strength would measure against a Tier 2 opponent, he had yet to meet the specific win requirements to ascend to the Tier 2 challenges. Hence, he had no choice but to wait for others to return to the tower.

However, Vincent believed that, with the tower's exchange stock depleted, no challengers would return for the time being. After a brief consideration, he decided to leave the tower.

"I want to leave the tower," he uttered into the air.

The tower's archaic voice responded:

[If you leave the tower now, you will be able to challenge it again after 3 days. Do you still wish to leave?]

"Three days…" he murmured.

"So be it... Others won't be able to challenge the tower during this time anyway."

With that in mind, he confirmed his decision.

Soon, his vision and surroundings blurred. When clarity returned, he found himself outside the tower, immediately met by the commotion of frustrated challengers.

A smirk formed beneath his mask as realization dawned. He was certain that his actions were the root cause of the uproar. Despite knowing this, he remained indifferent.

I'd do it again if given another chance, he thought, as Valyn's voice called out to him.

"Student Magnus!"

Her tone was neither weak nor loud, yet it was enough to catch the attention of those nearby.

"Magnus? Is he the one who just entered the top 100 leaderboard?"n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

"It must be him. Look, he's acquainted with her…" someone commented, referring to Valyn.

Valyn approached him quickly the moment he appeared.

"How are you? Are you all right?" she asked, concern evident as she scanned him for any injuries.

Vincent was baffled by her actions. He couldn't understand why she treated him so kindly. Even so, her concern touched him. But, of course, he wouldn't trust someone so easily.

"I'm all right, Big Sis Valyn," he assured her.

"Are you sure?"

Valyn was internally curious about how Vincent had managed to climb the leaderboard so quickly. When she noticed he was completely unscathed, she was momentarily surprised. This only meant one thing—his battles had been effortless.

"Yes, there's nothing to worry about."

"Anyway, what's happening here?" Vincent asked, feigning ignorance.

Valyn set aside her curiosity to answer his question.

"They're saying the items in the Tower's Exchange are all missing. Is that true?"

Hearing her response, Vincent confirmed his suspicions. While he subtly grinned behind his mask, he displayed no strange reactions.

"Ah, so that's what this is about. I thought it was normal. Right after I used my tower points to exchange for an item, the available stock vanished."

His answer sounded so natural that no one would suspect he was the cause of the problem.

Valyn furrowed her brows, wondering aloud, "What is happening in the tower? This has never happened before…"

Sensing her rising curiosity, Vincent quickly changed the subject.

"How about you, Big Sis? Aren't you going to challenge the tower?"

Her train of thought interrupted, Valyn considered his question alongside her plans. Initially, her intent was to challenge the tower while Vincent was occupied, per Arthur's request. However, the tower's current state made this impossible. Moreover, she couldn't leave Vincent unattended, especially with Garga nearby, her sharp glares a constant annoyance.

"Oh, right. Congratulations on reaching the top 100 leaderboard," she said, ignoring his question.

"Thank you."

"Did you leave the tower because of the issue?"

"Well, sort of, but mainly because I had no one left to match with."

Valyn was speechless.

If she were in the Tier 1 challengers' position, she would've left the tower immediately too. Yet, the boy in front of her wanted to fight more, even without rewards. Her impression of him changed.

"This guy… he's just like him," she thought, recalling a normally quiet man whose expression turned wild in battle.

Shaking off her random thoughts, she responded, "I'd love to take you to the other Fundamental Towers, but the nearest one would take almost a day to reach, even with Fenro's speed. I think your training ends here for today. Don't worry—I'll inform your Special Instructor about the situation."

Vincent nodded in understanding. While curious about other Fundamental Towers, he couldn't force Valyn to take him there. Those towers weren't going anywhere; he could wait.

"Okay, let's head back to your sanctuary," Valyn said as she moved toward her mount, the Silverwood Fox—Fenro. But before they could leave, Garga's grating voice interrupted.

"Where are you going, bitch? Are you leaving without challenging the tower?!"

Without looking back, Valyn retorted, "What's it to you? Are you my manager or something?"

She then turned to Vincent. "Let's go. Just ignore her."

Vincent nodded.

Garga, seething at being ignored, gritted her teeth. She had been searching for Valyn for weeks, waiting for a chance to fight her. Now, Valyn was leaving without even entering the tower.

Frustrated, Garga barked at her thrygian guards, "Stop them!"

"Yes, Lady Garga!" the two thrygians responded, rushing toward Vincent and Valyn.

"Foolish humans! Halt!"

Valyn, annoyed, was about to take action when she noticed the thrygians freeze mid-step, their legs trembling uncontrollably. Their fearful gazes weren't on her—but on Vincent.

Curious, Valyn glanced at Vincent, only to be stunned. For a fleeting moment, she saw the towering figure of a black dragon.

The vision vanished almost instantly, but its impact remained. The thrygians, like Vincent's previous opponents, quaked with terror, even wetting themselves.

"W-What are you?"

"Y-You're not human!"

The two thrygians stammered, still paralyzed by fear.