Gazing at the blue sky, Noah seemed to stare at something in particular, but that wouldn't be the case.

He was too lost in thoughts and memories to completely regard the individuals around him, who held different conversations.

It was time to go, but he couldn't stop replaying the events that occurred between him and Miranda.

'I just got laid by a tier 4 expert,' he chuckled outwardly, before lowering his eyes to focus on the series of figures around him.

He could sight elder Von in a quality-looking black and golden robe. The expert and his red hair seemed to light up the place as he spoke with the other individuals who were in charge of taking care of the contestants.

It would seem not one of the contestants who failed had been returned to their various guilds. And although only the groups attached to the various individuals in the top ten were present, that was enough to arrive at that conclusion.

From his point of view, they were high in the sky; on a building's roof. He desired to see what was below them, and maybe get an understanding of that area's location, but they had already been informed not to do such.

"You should at least talk to her before we leave," Williams's voice suddenly sounded behind him and he couldn't help but glance in the direction of his gaze.

Noah's eyes fell on Madison at that point and an eyebrow rose on his face when he got sight of her looks without the stains of a battlefield.

Her black hair was tied in a ponytail which allowed for an almost complete view of her face, and its features were far above average. She would be considered pretty in any world.

She only had two others beside her, and one of them was the lady he had decimated. It was a good thing they found a quick solution to her withering state. The other person was a male who had been eliminated on the second day.

Madison looked meek in her position, she occasionally raised her head to gaze at the sky while the individual in charge of her conversed with Elder Von.

She spoke with no one, and the other two did the same.

"Second place," Noah muttered recalling Miranda's words about the fruit and most especially the tour which would be happening in two months to allow for proper preparation.

Sure, he didn't like the long wait, but he understood the reasons. Apparently for them to even be allowed out of the country the higher-ups of their destination had to know their names and their connections with the guilds and the nation.

According to Miranda, they would even be required to come before the face of the royal family. Needless to say, that had made him tremble, both in anger and fear.

To those of the nation, that appointment would be a dream come true, but to him, he could only hope nothing wrong would occur.

They would tour the Papine nation the Nevaldine empire and move on to the giant continent. According to Miranda that would take no less than a year or more. A truth that had been shocking, to say the least.

But it made him worry greatly. It reminded him of his time limit, and that had almost put him in a bad mood. But rather than fret and begin to panic, Noah began to make plans.

He planned to undergo another dungeon drive to increase his power, but he didn't want to worry about the issue of his sudden increase in power drawing attention. His life came first.

He would need to make money first to purchase the 100 beasts required for the process, but that would be an incredible sum. He hadn't checked prices in almost four months, surely things had to have gone up.

Noah didn't want to worry about the issue of his time limit since it was inevitable and the only thing that could help him was gaining more power.

That had always been his priority, but other events had to occur if he wanted to gain importance.

His plan was pretty basic. Take on rank C missions, make a lot of money and go for a dungeon dive.

Returning his focus to Madison, Noah found himself suddenly walking towards her, and his actions caught the attention of everyone there, but they simply did their own thing while keeping an eye on him.

Madison noticed his approach and an eyebrow rose on her expressionless face.

"White-haired man," she spoke before he could, and followed by her words was a bright smile.

"Black-haired lady," Noah replied shaking his head in mild amusement.

"You look good," she commented taking a full scan of his figure, but he remained silent and limited himself to stare back.

"Which guild?" Noah spoke again, ignoring her compliment, and she went along.

"We would be considered the number 4 guild in our nation, The falling ocean guild," She replied with a slight smile.

"I see." he rubbed his chin with his fist. "Well it was nice meeting you even if our meeting was filled with annoyance," he remarked shooting a light glance at the other girl whose name he still didn't know and he didn't care. All he cared about was she looked older than Miranda, had brown hair, and a feisty pair of eyes.

Noah caught a glance of the male in the group and performed a slight head bow, after which the young-looking expert did the same.

"Well, this is goodbye for now," Noah spoke. "See you later for the whole tour thing," he commented, about to turn and leave, when Madison's voice reached his ears, and her words stopped him in his track.

"Don't you wanna know how my martial art works?" She said with a knowing smug smile, and Noah couldn't help but click his tongue inwardly. But she wasn't lying. He wanted to know how it worked.

He turned and nodded in response, catching sight of the widened eyes of both her guild-mates.

A cheesy smile shone on her face at that point and she parted her lips to talk. "Unfortunately I can't. You'll have to beat me properly before I even give you a hint," she announced and felt pleasure watching his mostly calm expression almost falter.

But he was good at his facial expressions. Too good.

"Hmm... okay. By properly you mean at your peak?" Noah responded quite calmly.

Madison nodded her head in affirmation and watched him walk away with a slight wave. However, she could almost taste his annoyance.

"Why did you have to make that promise? His martial art is superior to yours," the male in the group spoke with a tinge of worry in his voice.

"I know. But that's the best part. I'll have to step up my game until the next time we meet, or else it won't even be a battle."

He's a monster after all." She explained keeping her eyes on Noah's charming figure while excitement bubbled in her mind.

Like most of those that participated in the tournament, she had not only come to gain the best rewards but also witness the power of the individuals in the different guilds. And Noah fit her description. The young man although still at the beginning of the middle stage could defeat her who had peak middle-stage power.

"What if you cross over into the higher stage before the next time you meet?" The lady behind her spoke.historical

"I doubt even that would be able to guarantee me victory. You need to experience what I felt when he attacked me. His strength is none like I've seen. He shouldn't even exist."

"If I had been subjected to the full power of his technique I would have died without feeling pain," she explained as a shiver went down her spine at the thought.

Although it may have seemed as though she had been levelheaded during their battle. The truth was that she had been terrified all through.

The various elders of the guilds eventually focused on their junior members, and after a bit of chatting with Elder Von, the expert opened a rectangularly shaped portal. Miranda would arrive at the guild for him when the time for the tour had arrived.

"You will arrive at your different abodes in the city, so this is goodbye for now," Elder Von explained after making them hold blue orbs.

"It was nice knowing you all. Don't forget about our promise of going on a mission together," Williams spoke in a cheerful tone "I'll come visit sometime," he added focusing on Noah, before stepping through the portal and disappearing in its blue light.

"Bye. I hope we get a drink sometime," Liam said stepping through the portal and disappearing.

With only Illiana and Noah left, he expected her to simply leave silently, but a wave of surprise shook his mind when she suddenly embraced him.

Before he could return her hug though, she let go of him and walked through the portal. Leaving Noah fundamentally shocked and confused.

He caught sight of elder Von's sly grin and couldn't help but click his tongue.

"We thank you for your time" Noah spoke in a flat before proceeding to walk through the portal.

Space twisted and stretched then he opened his eyes in front of Elder Sarah's gate. The blue orb disappeared, but he didn't focus on that detail, since, to his surprise, she sat outside. Legs crossed in front of a fancy-looking table that featured another chair.