Return Of The Strongest Player

"Did you not know?" Arthur inquired, cocking his head. Judging by the fact that Eleanor seemed to have run into such beings before, the crimson-eyed man expected her to have adapted, and have discovered a way to destroy them once and for all.

But it seemed like she was even more clueless than him.

"I just rendered them unable to move and left," said Eleanor, shrugging her shoulders. "What's your name?"

"...Gilgamesh," said the crimson-eyed man, immediately realizing his blunder. He cursed internally, laughing uncontrollably at his choice of name. However, the deed had already been done.

Eleanor formed an expression of confusion. "That's your name? Ew…"

Arthur didn't respond, using mana to propel him up a tree. Squatting on one of its branches, Arthur activated [Mana Sense], sensing the presence of three people in the vicinity. At that moment, his expression turned sour.

Letting out a sigh, he sat on one of the branches.

"What is it, Gilgamesh?" Eleanor inquired, bursting into boisterous laughter as the words escaped her lips. Arthur remained silent, refusing to argue with such an immature girl. He still couldn't imagine her transformation.

Apparently, this little, immature girl turned into one of the tower's pillars in the future, inheriting the title of "Ruler Of The Dragons" from Bahamut. He simply couldn't imagine the changes she underwent.

In his former life, when encountering Eleanor, Arthur was impressed by her authority and influence over the tower. More importantly, her power utterly shocked him, which seemed to shake Heaven's Spire.

But this… it was pitiful.

"Three zombies," muttered Arthur. "To clear this stage, we have to eliminate a specific team… Why don't we eliminate almost all of the other team, and then move onto our own to gather more flags?"

"How are we splitting the flags? What about… 70/30 for me."

"100/0."

"I didn't know you were so generous, Gilgamesh."

"For me," said Arthur, narrowing his eyes. Eleanor's expression crumpled, and she extended her index finger, trying to warn the crimson-eyed man of the consequences of angering her. But before she could do so, Arthur's eyes flashed.

[Searing Gaze] was truly useful.

Eleanor felt as the world spinning as it seemed to revolve around the crimson-eyed man. His eyes seemed to contain both everything and nothing simultaneously as if they were the eyes of a god.

Shivers shot down her spine as she spaced out for a split second.

Within that second, Skofnung was brandished and now rested on Eleanor's neck. The cold sensation of its metal blade caused Eleanor's body to tremble with much intensity. She was fearful of what would occur if she continued to protest.

"So, what's the split?"

"90/10…"

"No."

"100/0."

"For who?"

"You."

"Good," said the crimson-eyed man, flashing a bright smile that Eleanor could not see. Only his eyes were occasionally visible since his face was hidden by the dark hood and robes draped over his body.

Eleanor, although having been wronged, could not protest. She was utterly powerless before the man, who seemed capable of killing her with a flick of his wrist. That–of course–was not possible, but [Searing Gaze] made it look like it was.

Sometimes, looking as if you're capable of doing something is worth more than actually being capable of it.

Arthur sensed the presence of the three zombies, using his heightened eyes to determine their affiliation. One of them seemed to be from the enemy team, while the other two were from their own team.

Arthur materialized a fist-sized rock in his palm using Earth Magic before using mana to throw it far, far away. The zombies, sensing movement in the distance, immediately approached the rocks.

At that moment, Arthur turned to face Eleanor.

"Let's go."

*

Arthur and Eleanor sped across the forest, arriving before the zombie that belonged to the opposing team. With a somewhat darker complexion and orange hair that fell down her knees, the zombie was considerably beautiful.

The only problem was that she was dead.

"Should we start?" Eleanor inquired, glancing at the crimson-eyed man who stood emotionlessly beside her. Ever since meeting him, she found Arthur to be an existence shrouded in mystery. She hadn't heard of someone like him in the tower.

The newbies that seemed to be excelling on the lower floors were Jenny, Lucas, Aditya, Arthur, and Ian. Those four were the only ones deserving of Eleanor's attention, as they had proved their excellence on the lower floors.

There were a few others, but none were as prominent as those four.

'So who is this?' Eleanor wondered. 'Is he some kind of person that likes to remain shrouded in mystery and hide himself?'

There were a few figures in the tower that preferred to mask their existence, usually because of their profession. Assassins, spies, and those who commanded from the shadows were examples.

There were also those who were masking their identities to escape pursuers.

'Is Gilgamesh being pursued by a group?' Eleanor wondered, her eyes flashing with unparalleled danger. 'If I can find out who's pursuing him, I can get rid of him… But that'll only happen after this floor is completed.'

A faint smile blossomed on her face as she imagined the crimson-eyed man groveling beneath her feet, begging for mercy.

"Get your head out of the gutter," Arthur's voice resounded in her ears. The crimson-eyed man smacked the red-haired woman's head, causing her to wince in pain. "Now, jump forward and act as bait."

Eleanor–although feeling wronged–didn't protest. She needed to relieve her frustration, and bashing a few zombie heads seemed to be the perfect solution. Using a movement skill, she appeared before the zombie in an instant.

The zombie sensed her presence, letting out a growl. 

"Come, bitch."

Eleanor spoke in a voice laced with annoyance. Arthur's mere sight irked her beyond belief, and she wanted nothing but to bash his head in. However, since she wasn't capable of doing that, perhaps cracking the skull of a few zombies would help.

Boom!

The battle soon began.