「 Year 」

1 year later

The 12th floor is a beautiful place with a very friendly Shinsu concentration even for regulars who have low Shinsu tolerance. Although included in the low floor and have difficulty which is quite easy exams.

On this floor also usually the Regular stop for a moment to increase their weaponry, because this place is dubbed the " Floor of Armament ", Large-scale weapons industry is on this floor.

Various kinds of talented craftsmen from various groups settled in this place and made weapons for the Regular who would climb the tower whose difficulty was increasing.

In addition, this floor is also managed directly by one of the 10 Big Families, the Po Bidau Family and is the headquarters of their organizational branch, the Research Association.

Because the conditions are very comfortable that this floor is also a place where many regular give up on their dreams. Enjoy longevity after entering the tower as Regular, and settling in a comfortable place without the shadow of death lurking.

It might sound so absurd, why do people who have struggled so hard to climb so far have thought to stop climbing the tower and would rather stay silent enjoying their lives.

But people who have realized how tall the tower has finally decided to give up on their dreams, such people are blinded by mere pleasure and fall into that pleasure. They don't have enough motivation to push them forward.

These people are just losers hiding behind their shells.

***

"Please give me a chance, just this once, sir. I am fully convinced that if you want to publish my work, it will definitely be a big hit on this entire 12th floor!"

A young boy is currently seen begging a middle-aged man.

They are currently seen in a bookstore, or rather a book publishing company on the 12th floor. Companies like this have become commonplace on the 12th floor, because the family head of Po Bidau, namely Po Bidau Gustang has a hobby to write .

It would sound too condescending to say it like that, but Po Bidau Gustang is a well-known poet and writer who is also known as a playboy.

The works he wrote shook the whole tower, which is why many people became his fans after reading the works he wrote.

This caused the 12th floor, which is one of the floors managed by the Po Bidau family, to become the center of written works from all over the tower. And causing so many amateur weapon designers to appear and try to express their ideas, there are many motives for doing so, wealth, fame, or just as a mere satisfaction of desires. But clearly, people like blond-haired boy are pretty much on the 12th floor.

The blond-haired boy is about 160 cm tall, quite short when compared to the average height of the Regular in the Tower. He has blond hair, his hair looks sharp and spiky, as if if a balloon touched the tip of his hair, the balloon would pop.

Hearing the boy beg him, the old man looked upset.

"Franz, have you still not given up on pursuing your dream? The book you wrote is totally worthless, this is just an empty dream that will never be achieved, do you think that everything in your brain can be poured into a book about weapon mechanism? This book might never be touched if it is marketed "

Hearing that, the blond boy named Franz just clenched his fist hard, he gritted his teeth.

"But well, if you intend to write a novel, maybe I'll consider it, hahaha." The middle-aged man laughed.

Hearing that, Franz then shouted.

"But the book I wrote actually contained a weapon that would shake this entire tower ... if only my design could be seen by the Research Association, then it was certain it would at least be a Rank A weapon."

Franz looked very excited as he explained the contents of his book. Hearing Franz's words, the middle-aged man just put on a bored expression and said.

"Yeah, yeah, this is the 67th time you have bragged about it and disturbed customers."

Franz then looked around a little and felt the gaze of people who came to look at the books there.

Feeling that look, his cheeks turned red, but Franz insisted that his book could be marketed.

Franz is an amateur writer, well that's how people think it is, because he has never before had a publishing company interested in publishing his book.

But, deep in Franz's heart, he had complete faith in what he wrote. Since childhood, Franz has been a huge fan of various weapons, seeing the sparkle of a blades of a weapon is the most satisfying thing for him.

However, to make a weapon requires no small cost, that's why he can only daydream about it. He can only dream in his small village, that one day he will create a weapon that is very powerful and respected by others.

Initially it was only a dream, but everything changed after a certain creature promised him something.

[Whatever you want, everything is at the top of this tower. ]

And Franz, who was like seeing a god that day, decided to enter the tower to pursue his dream.

With only his wild imagination and a little motivation to climb the tower, Franz encouraged to continue to climb the tower. Before the motivation was destroyed when he realized the limits of his strength.

'How could I stop again like this ... all the time spent so far, do I have to go back to feeling the bitterness of seeing that limit !!! 'Franz thought.

Seeing Franz looking down while clenching his fist, the middle-aged man then opened his mouth.

"Franz, you have no talent in this matter, I have checked it before, all the weapons designs that you wrote in your book are just mere drawings, all of your ideas are very absurd and ridiculous. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings but, you have no talent in this field, just follow my advice and write a few novels, at least there are some people who will read it. "

Hearing that, Franz could only look towards the middle-aged man with a sharp look. Then said while pointing at him.

"Just look at you, old man, I will definitely win 'That' Competition and the weapons designs I use will definitely be glimpsed by the Research Association, at that time don't expect you to get a penny from my royalty, Hmph!"

And as he was about to walk out, Franz, who didn't pay attention to his way, bumped into a little girl whose height was only slightly higher than his waist.

"* ouch *"

But it was not the little girl who fell, but he himself who fell backward.

"Use your eyes when walking, can't you see me?" Franz said

When Franz said that while stroking his painful ass, he finally saw that the person he had hit before was a little girl.

The little girl has a beautiful and cute face with bob hair as white as snow, she wears a long black shirt with a red ribbon tie that matches the color of her skirt, she is also seen wearing stockings. Her red eyes looked at Franz who fell while crashing into her.

Seeing that he had just shouted at a little girl, Franz immediately looked down and apologized before leaving the store.

"What a man who has no manners, ... bumped into a cute girl like me and just left, hmmph ~,"

The girl is Arie Rea, it's been a year since she left the 2nd floor and her height doesn't seem to change at all, her appearance is still the same as last year.

"There are really a lot of people like that, don't you think Kira-bro?" Said Rea seeing a man beside her, that man was Kira whose appearance looked much different from a year ago.

At present his body rises up to 185 cm, his face also looks more mature and handsome than before, his posture is ideal thanks to the hard training he has continued to do for the past year. The aura that surrounded him also changed from a child to a fully grown man.

That might have happened because Kira was an Irregular, before he came to the tower he was still a teenager, and as time passed, his physical and mental health had also grown into a man.

Kira seen wearing a black shirt with a white blazer, and white trousers.

It's been a year since the two of them separated from the Aguero and the others, and climbed the floor with a team of just the two of them.

Kira and Rea's climbing speed was quite fast, they went up from the 3rd floor to the 12th floor in just a year.

And not long ago, they arrived at the 12th floor, a place where Kira was looking for a Blacksmith who could find out the truth behind his weapon, Apocrypha.

Going back to the previous event, the middle-aged man who saw Franz leave and even crashed into one of the customers who entered his shop, sighed.

"Young people nowadays are very stubborn, they are very difficult to advise," said the man.

The man then glanced towards Rea and Kira and said.

"Dear customers, I'm sorry for the inconvenience beforehand, please go inside and look at our book collection."

Hearing that, Kira instead approached the man's desk and seemed to pull out a piece of paper from his pocket.

The paper is shaped like a ticket, there are two numbers and has a blue color with 4 digit numbers on it.

Then Kira spoke to the middle-aged man.

"You are a ranker, right? I came here to take the 12th Floor Special Test," Kira said looking into the middle-aged man's eyes.

Hearing that, the middle-aged man then smiled and said.

"Special test, huh? It looks like the supervisor can't cancel the ticket distribution completely, or you two get the tickets too soon."

"What do you mean?" Asked Kira. Hearing the thought, the middle-aged man said.

"Well, I'm sorry, honorable regulars for our negligence, but the special test will not be held this year because the 'Submarine' which is used as an arena for testing will be will be converted into a place for another important event." Said the man, he once again apologized to Kira.

"Important Event?" Asked Rea.

"That's right, this is indeed still a secret for now, but because in the end it will be published in a few days, then it would not hurt me to tell you." their chat.

"15 days from now, the Research Association chaired by Po Bidau Gustang will open a special auction which is reportedly sponsored by The Workshop"

Hearing The Workshop, Kira's eyes widened, he then thought.

'The Workshop, so they really are here, on this floor ...'

Kira then asked the middle-aged man.

"About this auction, can you tell me more details?"

Hearing that, the middle-aged man smiled mysteriously and said.

"Sorry, but that's all I can tell you both, because if I tell you more, there will be injustice for other regulars."

'For other regulars, huh ... that means, the regular can also take part in this auction '

When Kira was thinking about why an event like this was held on the 12th floor which incidentally was a low floor, suddenly Rea's voice came from behind that seemed to be talking to the middle-aged man.

"Oi, what do you mean, there isn't any? So this special test ticket ia Useless?" Said Rea, who looked annoyed, because getting tickets for the special test was quite difficult.

The middle-aged man again apologized to Rea, before Kira stopped him and said.

"If you have this, don't the organizers, at least the testing ranker, have to compensate for their negligence?" Said Kira.

"There is no such thing, Mr ...?"

"Kira" Kira said curtly.

"Mr. Kira."

Kira then glared at the middle-aged man and said.

"Isn't that a bit irresponsible, Mr.Examiner?"

"Hmmm yeah a little bit, then what kind of compensation do you want, Mr. Kira."

Kira then tapped his fingers on the special exam ticket on the table, he then said.

"Can you exchange these two tickets for tickets to participate in the auction?"

The man smiled and said.

"Auction ticket huh? Too bad, I can't give it to you, even if you exchange this special test ticket."

Hearing that Kira then immediately stood up and said to Rea.

"Let's go Rea, it looks like the Rankers on duty in this floor are very incompetent."

However, before Kira came out, there was a voice from the middle-aged man.

"I really can't give you tickets to participate in the auction, but I can tell you ..."

"Hmm?"

The man then stopped smiling and said.

"... how to get the ticket, faster than other regulars."

***

In a very large room, seen someone standing in front of a very large iron ball.

That person is a woman with a beautiful face. No, beautiful is not the right word to describe her appearance, she looks very perfect as if it was deliberately made like that.

She had a flat expression on her face, and ahe was seen wearing a white lab coat and rimless glasses.

She then touched the surface of the iron ball while saying in a flat tone.

"Soon the world will see your true form, and you will be dubbed as strongest weapon in the tower."