Seated in a hall were the members of the paladins of Soleil and the Oracle, but something had changed—two more chairs were occupied this time. A woman with short black hair, whose height stood out even while sitting, was now beside a man completely covered in clothes and bandages on his hands. The little skin visible on him looked sickly green, and Uriel thought he saw boils and pustules. Normally, he wouldn’t have noticed such things, but in every small patch of exposed skin, that grotesque and disgusting appearance was there. He hadn’t said a single word since he arrived.

However, what caught Uriel’s attention the most was still the presence of the woman named Viviane. He had seen her many times in the news back on Earth, but he had never realized just how impressive she truly was. She had an athletic, beautiful body; her shoulders were broad, and her height was close to two meters—Uriel would bet on it. With all that, one would expect the face of a hardened warrior, but in reality, she had the face of an angel.

Her deep black eyes analyzed Uriel without missing a thing. Finally, she chose to speak.

Her first move was something Uriel hadn’t expected at all—Viviane lifted her legs onto the table, resting her feet on it.

"Why does everyone look so serious? I’m just here to talk."

The rest of the paladins didn’t seem to have any intention of protesting Viviane’s actions, even though they were a direct sign of disrespect. The one who took the initiative was Miguel.

"Uriel is now a member of the Round Table. Anything you do to him means you’re picking a fight with us."

Not only did he step in, but he was actively confronting Viviane. Uriel couldn’t tell whether this was meant to help him or if Miguel simply disliked this woman named Viviane—it could be both, honestly.

Viviane didn’t respond to Miguel. Instead, she kept staring at Uriel.

"Hey, do you know two people named Masson and Elijah?"

Uriel’s pupils dilated—a change imperceptible to most people, but Viviane noticed it immediately. She was used to dealing with people; she knew countless subtle details that revealed when someone was scared, happy, or even secretly angry.

Viviane didn’t even let Uriel answer.

"You see, I sent them on a mission in the first zone while I was busy breaking through floors to escape this place. But it turns out they both suddenly disappeared."

Viviane smiled. She wanted to savor Uriel’s reactions—she knew very well he had something to do with it. After all, the person sitting beside her was Elijah himself, who had been horribly deformed after merging a zombie’s soul with his ability, which affected his entire body. He had managed to survive, but now lived in a rotting shell, unable to feel anything—not even pain.

Viviane found it amusing, but she had also decided she wanted to interfere. On one hand, she could simply reveal everything and gain an excuse to wipe out these paladins of Soleil. At the same time, she felt a somewhat personal interest in the climber who had killed two of her men.

The paladins of Soleil had become a nuisance, but they weren’t weak. In their first clash against the floor boss, they had proven their worth, and Viviane believed that if she lost more forces, they might end up trapped until the tower brought in more climbers.

So today, she was here to decide what to do. She found all of this somewhat cathartic—a weekend away from the slaughter, a bit of free time messing with the weak.

Or at least, that’s what she wanted.

However, for the first time in a long time, someone’s response truly surprised her.

"Those two? Sorry."

Uriel looked at Viviane directly. A hatred he didn’t understand leaked outward. He didn’t know why, but the moment he remembered that fight, he felt nothing but pure rage.

"It turns out I killed those two dogs—sorry, I mistook them for the monsters of the tower."

Elijah, who was sitting beside Viviane, clenched his fists in fury, but he couldn’t move—Viviane had denied him that.

Viviane opened her mouth in shock.

"HAHAHAHA! What? God, hahaha—and people say I’m ruthless!"

Viviane couldn’t stop laughing. At some point, she had to lower her legs and clutch her stomach.

"I’m here, hahaha, trying to investigate a murder, and you just go and admit it! Ah, it hurts from laughing so much!"

The other members of the Round Table looked at Uriel with mixed expressions. Miguel didn’t know what to think—on one hand, he was glad someone as unpleasant as Elijah had died, but this meant trouble with humanity’s representative.

Althea, on the other hand, seemed somewhat satisfied; she liked that Uriel had openly acknowledged it—her opinion of him rose a few points.

Gabriel, however, was the most worried. Fighting Viviane meant certain defeat—a bloody, guaranteed defeat.

The Oracle remained calm and composed, as if nothing Viviane said mattered—and in her mind, that was probably the case. These were the intrigues of mortals compared to the power of Soleil.

After a few moments, Viviane finally returned to the conversation, tears still in her eyes from laughing.

"Well, that settles everything, doesn’t it? Uriel, you’re guilty of murdering two of my men."

Viviane raised her hand, pointing directly at Uriel.

"So, what are you going to do to compensate for my loss?"

Uriel’s eyes lit up.

That meant there was still a way to avoid ending things on completely terrible terms with Viviane—which was good. Now he had to offer something that would truly interest her.

However, Elijah could no longer remain calm. He had thought that today he would get justice for his condition, but all he had received was humiliation and defeat. Viviane had no intention of defending him.

"Enough."

Elijah suddenly stood up in anger, slamming his hands against the table and reaching for the cloth that covered his face.

But before he could do anything else, Viviane moved with supernatural speed and struck him in the stomach. She was much larger than Elijah, so when her fist connected, his body lifted off the ground.

Elijah’s body slammed into the floor. He couldn’t feel pain anymore, but he understood the message perfectly—if he spoke again, he would be a dead man.

"Hey, if you speak without my permission again, I’ll tear you apart and throw your corpse to the imps on the first floor. Got it?"

Elijah said nothing. He simply lay on the floor.

"Good. Glad you understand. Now, Uriel, as I was saying, I still need to be compensated for the loss of my two men. It’s not easy to find climbers, you know."

Viviane had made a strong impression on Uriel. She was violent—but also very intelligent. 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Unfortunately, Uriel didn’t have much to offer, so he found himself at a loss. But suddenly, something clicked. There was something everyone in this place wanted—something all climbers desired without exception. Uriel knew it, because even he wanted it.

He looked at Viviane with his single brown eye as seriously as he could. He needed to make her understand that he was serious about what he was about to say.

"If you let me go, I promise I’ll defeat the boss and make all of us return to Earth."

Viviane had been slightly annoyed by Elijah’s interruption—she hated being interrupted, especially when she was speaking.

However, Uriel’s proposal amused her again. How was this one-eyed man, covered in wounds and still at level one, supposed to fulfill such a grand promise? Was he just talking, or did he actually have a way?

Viviane hadn’t come just to see Uriel. She had also heard about multiple human groups with individuals chosen by the tower’s gods, receiving prophecies to find powerful artifacts that would allow them to destroy the first floor.

Maybe it was that. Did this man believe he could find one of those divine artifacts and defeat the first boss?

Viviane disliked that dependence on external gods. She found those people weak and bland.

But this Uriel—she had investigated him and found nothing. No information from other climbers. No one knew him. He was completely new here.

So his compensation for killing one of her men was escaping this shitty hole and returning to Earth?

Fine. She accepted. She would see what this complete unknown was capable of—and if he failed, she’d have an excuse to kill him very slowly, make him suffer for daring to look her in the eyes with those disgusting genes of his.

Viviane simply nodded.

"Fine. That’s enough. If you don’t keep your word, I’ll make sure you regret it. Goodbye, paladins of Soleil."

Viviane stood up and walked toward Elijah’s body, still lying on the floor. She grabbed him with one hand, lifting his entire body with ease, and walked out through the door.

Uriel didn’t know what the future held, but he was sure it wouldn’t be the last time he saw this woman. Uriel had to come back stronger, fast; he had to reach level 2.