Chapter 222: Tier 100! Your lifespan has been extended by 1000 Years

Kaelen woke up feeling light and invigorated.

As absurd as it sounded, this was his first time sleeping in almost a year, and it felt better than the feeling after cultivating all night long.

He made a mental note to sleep more often now before he shifted his gaze from the ceiling to the room.

The first thing that caught his attention was the aroma of something sweet and spicy. When he sat up to have a better view of the room, he realised Lysandra was neither on the bed nor in the room with him. But on a silver platter to the side of the bed was a set of covered dishes.

He didn’t need to move any closer to know that was where the sweet aroma was coming from. That was when he heard a soft humming coming from the balcony, which was out of sight from the bed’s position.

He yawned and lazily got off the bed to find Lysandra sitting on a chest on the balcony and combing her hair while basking in the sunlight.

She seemed to have felt Kaelen’s gaze on her back and tilted her head to look inside the room, only to lock eyes with him.

She froze for a moment before smiling as she stood up and walked into the room.

"Good morning, Kaelen. Hope you slept well?" she asked as she arrived before him.

"I guess so," he replied as he scratched his neck. "What time is it? It’s looking too bright outside."

"Don’t worry about that. There’s still time. How about you take a seat and have breakfa... your first meal of the day?" she said and moved towards the platter to uncover the dishes.

"Oh, did your Herald treat you guys to something again?" Kaelen asked in surprise as he curiously examined the beautiful dish before him. He didn’t know what it was, but it looked tasty and mouth-watering.

"No. I prepared this myself from the resources here in my lobby," she said with a smile.

This confirmed Kaelen’s suspicion earlier. Lysandra’s lobby did have some resources he hadn’t seen the first time. Or they might’ve come from sponsors his lobby didn’t have, apparently because of him.

Not that he cared.

Just as he sat down to eat, he realised his throat was parched and took out a bucket of water before downing everything to the last drop in one gulp. Then he took the first spoonful.

A strange mixture of sweetness and sourness overwhelmed his taste buds, but just as the taste settled, his eyes widened in delight as he took a second spoonful and then a third.

In just a few minutes, he had wiped the plates clean when he turned to see Lysandra staring at him from the side, watching him from start to finish.

"Uhh... was I supposed to leave some for you?" he asked in embarrassment.

"Ah, no. I already ate mine. I prepared this just for you. How was it?"

Kaelen gave her a big thumbs-up. "Really good. Thanks. Now, what’s the time? I know it’s past morning already," he added.

Lysandra smiled sheepishly. "We’re a few hours away from nightfall."

Kaelen: "..."

Lysandra: "..."

"W-What? Are you serious? Are you saying I slept for a whole day?" he asked in surprise.

"I’m sorry. I wanted to wake you up sooner, but you looked like you were really enjoying your sleep, and... I didn’t want you to leave so soon." She mumbled the last part to herself.

Kaelen hurriedly stood up.

The cooldown for the Third Floor should be over by now, and he didn’t want to waste any more time.

"How many floors have entered the Third Floor since I fell asleep?" he asked.

"Not that many. But..." She hesitated and kept her eyes down.

"But what?" Kaelen pressed, curious.

He already had a bad feeling about whatever she was holding back from him.

"...A lobby has already entered the Fourth Floor," she said softly.

Kaelen almost screamed in shock.

There was someone already attempting the Fourth Floor?

Wait...

"What lobby is that?"

Lysandra hesitated once more, making Kaelen’s heart sink.

Without replying, she raised three fingers towards him.

"Lobby #3? Lobby #300?"

"Three... three lobbies have already entered the Fourth Floor not too long ago."

"W-What?!" Kaelen was dumbstruck.

"If you go now, you might still be able to catch up with two of them," she hurriedly said, now feeling bad for her selfishness.

Kaelen’s brows furrowed. "Why two of them? You just said three lobbies entered the Fourth Floor. Wait... don’t tell me there’s already been a party wipeout."

Lysandra slowly shook her head.

"One of those three lobbies is the lobby that first cleared the Third Floor and is made up of really strong candidates. I think their lobby number was #111. If they keep pushing like this, I think they’ll clear the first ten floors before anyone else—but you can still come second, then me third."

Kaelen stared at her blankly, making her press her lips together.

"So you also think she’ll clear the tenth floor before me, huh?" he asked coldly, making her flinch.

"I-I... that’s not what I meant. But I’m only speaking based on the results. If you want me to speak based on favourability, then you’ll definitely win by a far margin," she said and clenched her fists as if she were cheering for him.

"What the hell? Are you insulting me?" He glared at her.

"Ah, n-no. I’d never do that... I’m sorry."

Kaelen sighed. "Whatever. I don’t care what you or anyone thinks, but I’ll make it to the tenth floor before her—especially after she left me on read—even if I lose a limb in the process." Kaelen clenched his fist as the fire of determination burned in his eyes.

Before Lysandra could reply or refute him, he disappeared from the spot, leaving her all alone in the room with a shadow that seemed out of place.

She exhaled softly and turned to stare at her bed before plunging face-first into the spot where Kaelen had slept, her hair spilling across the entire bed frame.

Kaelen appeared in his room, and the first thing that reached his ears was the familiar sound of the angel’s gate sliding open.

He frowned and rushed to the balcony, only to see his party members walking inside with their gear, while the Herald spared him a glance before they ordered the gate to close.

The roles had been reversed.

Kaelen’s eyes widened.

His party should be entering the Third Floor, and it didn’t matter if they cleared it or died trying, because the moment those gates closed, that would mean another full-day countdown before Kaelen could enter the Third Floor himself.

Without waiting a second longer, he leaped right off the balcony and landed in a crouch before looking up to realise the gate was already halfway closed.

The scene made a memory from the First Floor resurface in his mind.

It was back when he was racing for the safe zone, and just as he was about to jump in, Melissa had teleported inside and taken his spot.

Back then, he was powerless and had to compromise. But now...

[You have reached the threshold for Tier 80 Lifeforms]

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...

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[You have reached the threshold for Tier 90 Lifeforms]

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...

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[You have reached the threshold for Tier 99 Lifeforms]

[Do you wish to Ascend?]

"ASCEND!"

[Congratulations! You have ascended the ladder of Immortality]

[Your lifespan has been extended by 1,000 years]

[GLOBAL ANNOUNCEMENT]:

[Kaelen Cross has become the first player to ascend the ladder of Immortality]

BOOM—!!!

A powerful shockwave exploded from his chest. The moment it came into contact with the cabin behind him, it was crushed to smithereens as the shockwave moved like the edge of the Sky Mountain God, decimating everything in its path as it swept across the glade.

The ground ten metres from Kaelen cracked as he pressed his heels against the earth. Just as the angel’s gate was about to close, he burst forward, shattering the sound barrier and appearing before the gate in an instant. He slipped inside just as it closed shut, leaving behind the stunned Herald and a ruined lobby that resembled the aftermath of a hurricane.

Kaelen’s lips curled up coldly.

That was his payback for trying to sabotage him—twice now. Because the funniest part about it all was that he could’ve simply shadow-stepped inside the elevator from the balcony, but he chose to reciprocate the energy.

After all, that would be his last time in that lobby, because his next stop... was the Ninth Floor.