Chapter 1007  A Single Enemy

The Knight of the Silver Rose explained what he meant by Dimensional Accommodation. According to his words, challengers from other worlds find it harder to use their powers inside the tower, even if they obtain them as a skill. In essence, the difference in dimensional levels between the two worlds causes a similar effect to humans climbing a mountain and getting tired. The difference in alt.i.tude makes it harder to breathe on the summit, with mana replacing air in this scenario.

"I was born inside the tower, so I experience no such thing," said Ramiel while sitting on the ground with his eyes closed. Jonathan glanced at him and then back toward Arthur.

"As he said, this is solely experienced by people from lesser worlds. The way to overcome this is to spend as much time inside the tower as possible, which makes rooms less beneficial than many believe," said Jonathan before he rose. "I will remove my armor and be back in a few minutes. We can then discuss our plans."

After that, Jonathan returned to his room, leaving Arthur and Ramiel in his living room. The half-demon seemed to be meditating, but Arthur could not help but feel that something was missing about the situation.

"How well do you know the knight?" asked Arthur, interrupting the demon from whatever he was doing. "In other words… how much can we trust him?"

"I worked with Lord Marshal my entire life but never heard anyone mention a misdeed committed by the knight. Although we grew apart after he imprisoned me, I once considered him a trustworthy comrade."

"What position did you have in the Xelorian Army?"

"For a demon, there are two possible positions: an a.s.sa.s.sin or an executor," said Ramiel with a sigh as he rose from the ground. It seems that Arthur made it impossible for him to focus. "I chose to be an a.s.sa.s.sin and carried out missions under his orders until he turned against me."

"Turned against you without cause?" asked Arthur with a smile. "There is no smoke without fire. Even if you did not harm his daughter, he has a reason to suspect you. What are you hiding from me, Ramiel?"

"Almost everything," said the half-demon matter-of-factly. "I barely know who you are and don"t even know your name. If I had to trust someone, it would be the knight, not you."

"You know the knight, but he doesn"t share the same fate as you do," said Arthur as he leaned forward and smiled at the half-demon. "We are both fugitives of the second floor. Your situation is even worse than mine, since the lord has a personal vendetta against you."

"I did not kill her."

"Then where is she?"

"I… don"t know."

"That pause said a lot," said Arthur before leaning back. "I don"t suspect you a single bit, Ramiel. I might be the only person who does not. However, if something that you hide harms me, I would not be as kind as I currently am."

"You are one arrogant man," said Ramiel with a frown. "What makes you trust that I did not commit that crime? You know me as much as I know you."

"I can tell the true nature of people. You are not a bad person and would not harm others out of your own will, despite the evil you committed. As for the knight, he might have never committed a wrongdoing in his entire life. However, for his goal, he would do anything."

Ramiel did not say a thing as he sat on the couch with a stone-cold face. The hardened skin was almost stone in nature, hiding his expression. However, Arthur knew that beneath his scary face was a soft man. The two remained quiet until the knight returned.

"You will be joining the army as a new recruit in the Newbie Division. If I admit you straight into the Golden Division, Lord Marshal will suspect us. You have to make a name for yourself in the skirmish battles against the nearby city, Zhen."

"Should I conquer Zhen in the process?"

"…that is the opposite of what we want to do. In a week from now, the next war event is going to be underway. You must rise in the ranks enough to join the Golden Division before that time without me having anything to do with it."

"And what are you two going to do?" asked Arthur as he glanced at the demon. Jonathan turned toward Ramiel, looking at him with a complicated gaze, before determination gathered on his face.

"I cannot trust you again like before, but I would turn a blind eye to your sneaking into the castle. You can find out what happened to the Young Lady on your own, but I would not help you. As for me, I will visit the other cities on various missions to learn about how to start our plans."

"I guess that means we each have a mission," said Arthur with a smile. "I will be the new recruit, Ramiel is going to prove his innocence, and Jonathan will perfect our plan before the war. If our paths do cross… we each look a different way."

Ramiel simply nodded, and Jonathan remained unimpressed. The half-demon then rose from his seat, ready to start his mission. Arthur watched as the hardened giant blended into the walls of the mansion and left, making him the perfect a.s.sa.s.sin.

The only two left now were the knight and Arthur, in a silent agreement that some things needed to be said. Arthur did not ask the knight directly but did not leave either. He waited for him to reveal what he was hiding ever since he returned.

"Lord Marshal… knows about your comrades being inside Xeloria," said Jonathan with a frown. "I never thought I would reveal secrets my lord gave me, but it has to be done, for the sake of everyone on the second floor."

"Is that the reason you seemed off, Knight of the Silver Rose?" said Arthur with a laugh, not surprised at all.

"Did you know about it?" asked the knight with confusion, his serious face collapsing. "How would you know of such a thing?"

"Before we came to Xeloria, we were at a Huntsmen Clan in the wilderness. I had an off feeling about their leader, so I expected him to sell us for a certain price to the lord of Xeloria. However, I could not feel anyone spying on us."

"Did someone accompany you to Xeloria?" asked Jonathan after a few moments of thinking. Arthur nodded, prompting the knight to conclude the following. "That means they are the spy."

"If that is true, I doubt he does it consciously," said Arthur with a shake of his head. "Although he is a mistrusting man, I sensed no malice from him. He might be doing things without his knowledge or is being spied upon as well."

"In any case, Lord Marshal has an eye on your comrades. I considered not telling you because you might warn them and make them leave Xeloria. It would make the lord suspect me because I"m the only person he told."

"It might be a trap to see if you are loyal or not. His most trusted ally would be a bigger threat than a few enemies in his city. It seems he started to mistrust you too, Jonathan."

"Because I told him what I truly believe," said the knight as he interlocked his fingers in front of his face. Arthur noticed his hands trembling as sweat gathered

 on his face. Then, he closed his eyes. "I know for certain that you are our only hope to conquer this tower."

"What about Lord Marshal himself?"

"As a lord, he took care of our city, but he will never be anything more than a lord," said Jonathan as he opened his weary eyes. "We need someone to end this prison and let us out. We need… a hero."

"If you think I"m doing this because I"m a hero, you are delusional," said Arthur as he rose from his chair as well and stared through the window. "I have a goal in this tower, and it"s not as n.o.ble as you imagine. If every citizen of Xeloria stood between me and a certain man, I would not hesitate to kill them."

"In that case, I just have to make sure those standing in your way deserve to be killed," said Jonathan after a moment of silence. "You are the Demon King, not the hero. However, I choose to roll my dice in your favor. I am… gambling with my life here."

"Would you still roll those dice even if I was against the G.o.ds?" asked Arthur with a smile. "You might know my allies, but you have no idea how terrifying my enemies can be, Jonathan."

"You said before that no one in this tower is your enemy," said the no idea how terrifying my enemies can be, Jonathan."

"You said before that no one in this tower is your enemy," said the knight as he rose, staring at Arthur"s back with intense belief. "The Demon King has a single enemy: Devaheim."