Servant Jack the Ripper listened clearly to Aaron''s orders. He again disappeared into the thick white mist to arrive quickly above the gate of the Star Pir base.


    "We do respect you. But, we also need to maintain our integrity. After all, there are no members named Aaron or Isabe."


    "I won''t believe you until you let me search your ce!" he dered, insisting on sweeping the ce.@@novelbin@@


    From behind a mysterious thick mist, a man in a traditional medieval European suit appeared. Jack the Ripper''s arrival was apanied by strong energy fluctuations in the ce, making people instantly focus their attention on him.


    "W-Who is he?" asked the representative of the Night Liberator, Robert shook his head.


    "I don''t know."


    ''Is he Aaron and Isabe''s subordinate? If that''s the case, obeying them is better for me."


    "Ah, I just remembered!"


    "What?"


    "That is my friend''s confidant. He is indeed powerful, so it is no wonder people like him obey Albert."


    Robert gave a broad, confident smile, showing the lie covered by his stern face. The stocky man could see the people of the Night Liberator Group could not do anything about it.


    ''They have people that strong? How strong is this group really?'' asked the group representative, shocked.


    "So, how was it? Are you gonna try to search my base?" Robert defiantly asked.


    The representative of the Night Liberator Group visibly shook his head, not wanting to risk his death by sticking to his ego.


    "Just let my group know if you meet them. I''ll give you a big reward."


    The man leading the Star Pir smiled with satisfaction and relief; they had not searched the ce. One by one, the members of the Night Liberators group left the ce, followed by Jack the Ripper''s disappearance from the crowd.


    Robert noticed that the man had disappeared from the ce. He ran inside and stepped up to Aaron. Robert''s guess waspletely correct; the person turned out to be Aaron and Isabe''s men.


    Aaron looked forward, Robert and the two men with him stepped closer. Aaron asked Jack the Ripper to return to his body, it surprised Robert even more when he saw it.


    "H-He disappeared. Who exactly is he?" asked Robert, curious.


    "That''s Aaron''s soul servant. You kept your promise, Robert. Otherwise, he might have killed you and everyone else in this ce," Isabe emphasized, the look of sadness and fear no longer disyed on her face.


    "You have nothing to worry about. Your identities are safe with me."


    "Thank goodness, then."


    Aaron stuck out a hand, leaving Robert confused. The young man''s eyes were narrowed, looking at Robert with seriousness.


    "What?" asked Robert.


    "Give back all the coteral items. We didn''t betray you, did we?"


    "I''ll hand them over once you''re on the tenth floor. That''s the deal!" said Robert.


    "You?!" snapped Aaron, bringing out purple magic from his body. Everyone was shocked because it was the first time they had witnessed the power of the dark element.


    Now, it was Isabe''s turn to try to calm the anger in Aaron''s heart. The young man did not expect that Robert was this greedy, so unlucky to give him two A rank talent slips and an Arknoir sword.


    [ANNOUNCEMENT!]


    [Monster Raid in Dark Pir Tower will open soon]


    [All adventurers are requested to prepare]


    [Countdown until Monster Raid Gate opens]


    [00:11:59:43]


    Suddenly, a system panel appeared before them. Today, it was 2 pm Dark Pir time. That meant Dark Pir would open at 2am. What an inconvenient time to do a Raid -Wild monsters roam often at midnight.


    Realizing this information, Isabe smiled while crossing her arms with dignity.


    "Tomorrow, the Monster Raid will open. The guarantee is not that Aaron will get to the tenth floor, but it is a guarantee that we will sessfully pass through the Dark Pir on this floor."


    "The point is, we can''t betray until the second-floor boss is killed. That''s the agreement for the coteral," Isabe said.


    "Now, I''ll give you a choice. The branch on the tenth floor or those two items?!" said Isabe.


    Robert gasped at the deal. He looked to his right and left, asking for opinions from the two people beside him. Aaron rolled his eyes; he guessed Isabe''s offer had seeded in pressuring him.


    "Alright. We''ll choose to branch out on the tenth floor instead of those two items. But, you have to promise to set it up there," Robert exined, pointing forward with his assertive demeanor.


    Isabe cleared her throat. She promised to build the first branch of the Pir Star Group on the tenth floor. As proof, she would invite ra Ramirez to go up the floor together.


    "ra will be the first branch leader of the Star Pir Group. She will be the proof of my words!" Isabe emphasized.


    Robert turned his head and called ra''s name many times; the woman nodded while raising her hand. She came near Robert to fulfill the man''s call.


    "What is it, Chief Robert?" asked ra.


    "You''re going to go upstairs with them. You have to make sure that we sessfully set up a branch of our group on the tenth floor."


    "G-Going up floors? But my CP isn''t enough to do it. I''m afraid I''ll just be a burden to them."


    Isabe smiled. She stepped forward to ra, who was younger than her, maybe two years above Aaron.


    She patted ra''s shoulder gently as if a sister was calming her little sister''s anxious heart.


    "Don''t be afraid. With Aaron''s and my abilities, we can at least climb the floors safely until the tenth one."


    "You just need to do one thing: Stay close to us. Isn''t that right, Aaron?" Isabe nced back with a sweet smile, Aaron nodded without saying anything.


    ra was silent for a moment, took a deep breath and then exhaled slowly. She nodded her approval after thinking about the consequences she would receive. Robert and Isabe were relieved by ra''s decision.


    "I won''t trouble you guys. I promise."


    "Good."


    Robert sighed. He took out two items from his digital storage. Aaron epted them, especially the two A rank talent slips, since the young man needed them quite a bit.


    "You have to keep your promise, Aaron. I''ve been protecting you."


    "Of course. You have my word."


    ***


    The Next Day.


    Dark Pir Gate on the Second Floor.


    Aaron and Isabe arrived. She was ready for the Monster Raid on the second floor withplete preparation. That woman had no problem doing the Raid twice in a row.


    A notification panel appeared before Aaron and Isabe''s faces, showing the countdown for the Monster Raid gate on the second floor to open soon.


    [Countdown until Monster Raid Gate opens]


    [00:00:10:23]


    "Will the strength of the monsters inside be different from before?" asked Aaron, standing next to Isabe.


    "Probably, the higher the floor, the harder the monster will be, right?"


    "I hope I can fight it."


    "Aaron, Isabe!"


    A loud voice said from behind, Isabe gasped. She turned around quickly and saw that ra called her that. That made Isabe annoyed.


    She immediately covered ra''s mouth with her hand, asking what the woman meant by calling their real names out loud in public. ra was shocked and scared, just realizing her mistake.


    "Sorry. I forgot about that," ra said.


    "Remember. My name is Be, and he is Levi. Do you understand?"


    "I understand, Be."


    [ANNOUNCEMENT!]


    [The Dark Pir Gate on the Second Floor opens]


    [Second Floor]


    [Monster: Lv.34-37]


    [Monster Boss: ??]


    [Countdown for Closed Gate:]


    [00:09:59:59]


    Aaron got the notification panel, and so did everyone else. Now, Aaron was the leader of the small three-person team. Robert couldn''t send more due to the impossible situation, which disgusted Isabe.


    "It''s a good thing our number of CPs isrge. Otherwise, we couldn''t get past the first monster with three people," Isabe snapped.


    "Don''t think about that. Let''s go."