The stage two of the Workshop battle had finally passed without a hitch. However, due to its difficulty, only around a quarter amount of the teams participating in the test had managed to successfully pass it.

Although it was still a lot, considering the dark environment and the long, confusing tunnels that they had to traverse in such a little time.

It was actually more of a test of bravery near the end since Uno had made that after forty minutes mark, the water would start to be poured into the tunnels little by little.

Hence, as long as the regulars didn't miss the water and dared to pass the watered tunnels instead of avoiding them, they would eventually find the escape openings and survive.

True to his words, Uno gave each surviving team a million points. A huge sum for E-ranked regulars but wasn't that much for a ranker like him, so he didn't really mind giving them that amount from his own coffers to enliven the event.

It was important for him to keep his position as a host, and moreover, there were only four teams remaining so it really was only a paltry sum for him.

Getting such a huge amount of points was extremely helpful to cover the expenses in their climbing so the surviving regulars were feeling happy.

However, somewhere on the resting area for the regulars, three regulars who had just passed the test weren't exactly happy as it was clear from the frown on their faces.

"So, he's truly dead huh? It's truly a shame, he was a good fisherman with his resilient body." Ray spoke in a matter-of-fact without a slight remorse.

"Stop it, Ray! Although you have a bad relationship with him, you should at least give your respect for your dead companion." Listening to his remark, the pink-eyed girl couldn't help but to rebuke his uncaring attitude.

"Celia is right, you should give him the respect he deserved for the sake of his time with us. You are our leader in name, after all, so at least show a little sympathy." Rum spoke calmly with a hint of sarcasm.

"Rum!" Ray was about to attack his brother out of anger as lightning appeared in his hand, but a glare from Celia was enough for him to come to his senses and stop.

Seeing how Ray behaved, Rum shook his head.

Ray was a talented direct descendant of the Khun family. He had inherited the spear bearing talent, strong body, and lightning shinsu quality, unlike him who had come from an ordinary mother of the branch family and only inherited the good looks and sharp mind.

Just like the other Khun members, Ray was also decently smart, but he had a big weakness.

His big ego and prideful nature prevented him from becoming a good leader, especially if there was someone related to him that he deemed as "lesser than him" who had a better skill compared to him and the others acknowledged it.

"However, Ray is also right." Hearing his sudden remark, the two turned to him.

"He is a good fisherman, killing him won't be easy." Rum explained as Ray and Celia nodded in agreement, it was an undeniable fact that even Ray couldn't refute.

"I'm sure that he would have been fine even if he met those Lo Po Bia guys as long as it wasn't their leader, so there are only two possibilities left."

"One, he did encounter the leader or was surrounded by them, or two, he met the princess of Zahard." Rum raised his fingers as he spoke.

The two were surprised at his explanation, if there was someone who could make Ray act rationally, it was those monsters.

People who were beyond his league like the princesses of Zahard because he had personally experienced a painful experience with them, he knew better what to act and behave in those monsters' presence.

"You know that we aren't the one who escaped first right even with my correct deduction, right?" Celia nodded while Ray was silent.

"Who do you think got the first place after you consider everyone in the test?"

"Maybe the Lo Po Bia team? They have a great advantage with their Animas." Celia tried to guess but Rum didn't answer and merely smiled.

"From the look of your face, you already have your accurate assumption, don't you? Just quickly say it." Ray said impatiently.

"Sigh. Fine…." Rum let out a sigh. "I am certain that it's the princess of Zahard's team. Remember that I said that she has a flawless record?

"Even if she is unmatched among the regulars, the tests aren't all about fighting and hunting. However, the tests are also concerning things that need intelligence, observation, and reasoning just like this Tunnel Escape test."

"To have a flawless record, she's without a doubt… an incredibly intelligent person."

Both of them approved his statement. The tower was a place where the powerful reigned, but being powerful wasn't enough, they had to be resourceful as well.

"Although her reputation isn't well-known among the regulars' circle at the moment, when she reaches the higher floors, she won't be able to stay low and will definitely be noticed by many important people with her having incredible talent in both brain and brawns." Explained Rum patiently.

"Oh, and I finally found her name after a lot of surfing on the internet. It's not a secret but it's certainly hard to find, harder than even finding her record. Do you know what her name is?" He stopped his explanation and hung up on that question to tease them.

"Just spit it out Rum, don't make what's already bad atmosphere even worse." This time, even Celia couldn't stand it.

He shrugged his shoulder and spoke casually. "Alright, you guys really need to cool down a bit. Anyway, It's Adori Zahard, a princess chosen from common families, not from any of the ten great families."

"That's rare, usually only girls from the ten great families could win the competition. Didn't you fail the competition even with your flame, Celia?" Ray asked with perplexion.

"That's right, I can't ever forget that time. All of the participants were strong, however, that girl was on a whole different level. Even with my scorching flame, she still managed to beat me.

"However, she was still a member of the ten great families." Celia narrated her story with her eyes unfocused as she reminisced her past.

"That's exactly my point. The competition is full of talented girls from the ten great families, how could a regular girl possibly win it? It's impossible, unless… she is more talented than even those gifted descendants of the ten great families."

"That's why, if we meet them in the finals, let's just forfeit the match. Losing one member is already too much, there's no reason to lose another without anything to gain." Rum spoke solemnly.