I couldn’t remove that image of the ranking from the back of my mind. To think someone would be talented enough to pull that off. I had taken around 20 hours away from the Tower to go back to Earth.
But... what that person had done was absolutely crazy.
’Who is he?’
I tried to think about my past life. But I had no recollection of a person with this nickname.
Maybe he had disappeared before I had entered the Tower, an unfortunate death.
Who knows?
All I knew was that I needed to be the first on that leaderboard. Luckily for me, that person hadn’t chosen the Hell Difficulty and was in the Hard Difficulty, which meant that as long as I kept up with him, I would be ahead of him.
After all, he was two floors above me, and our ranking scores were extremely close, which meant that I was still more impressive than him.
The third floor was different. It didn’t require you to kill monsters and advance mindlessly.
[Floor 3: Escort and Protect]
[Objective: Escort the Royal Princess to the Capital]
[Time Remaining: 72:00:00]
[Hell Difficulty Modifier: You can only attempt this floor once.]
When I opened my eyes, I was in the middle of the woods inside a small golden carriage. I remembered this mission well. I had almost failed it back then. However, I knew most of its intricacies.
In front of me sat a frail, beautiful woman with long blonde hair and pearly blue eyes, staring at me anxiously.
"A-Are you sure you’re going to be able to protect me from them?" she asked, her voice trembling.
Before, I hadn’t thought much of the princess, but with the new knowledge I had gotten, there was a chance that this world I had found myself in wasn’t exactly fake.
I’d have to keep this in mind for the rest of the mission.
"Of course, we will protect you flawlessly."
"We? But you’re alone."
[You have summoned ’Emma’.]
"A-An elf?! Is that your familiar?" Her eyes were wide open. "It’s the first time I’ve seen an elf with my own two eyes. You’re really as pretty as they say."
Emma just nodded nonchalantly as she glanced in my direction, awaiting my order.
Even if she had her free will, it seemed she still highly valued our master-summon relationship.
"Your job is to protect her no matter what. You can also talk with her as much as you want. It might help that memory of yours."
Emma nodded as I headed outside the carriage.
It wouldn’t take long for our first enemies to arrive, and I needed to be ready.
Even if I was overleveled for this Floor, there was a good chance the beings watching wouldn’t let me clear this easily.
In fact, just as I was thinking about it, a challenge came my way.
[AllPowerful has issued a challenge.]
[Challenge: Reach the end of the 3rd Floor in less than 24 hours.]
[Reward: Epic Skill and 3,000 Points.]
"24 hours? Is that even possible?" I asked out loud.
Immediately, donations began pouring in. I already knew that it was possible. However, I’d have to ditch the carriage and make the princess walk a different path, which would be a lot more dangerous.
[ShyFairy has donated 2,000 Points: Don’t accept the challenge, he’s just trying to trick you.]
[Anonymous has donated 3,000 Points: You can do it. It’s a good opportunity to become even more powerful.]
[Elf_Queen has donated 10,000 Points: You can definitely do it with Emma’s help!]
Just from the donations, it was starting to become clear to all the beings watching that the Elf_Queen was highly favoring me, especially since I had saved Emma.
My share came to 14,250 Points in less than a few seconds.
It was a good thing that I had signed that exclusive deal. Having this many points this early was unheard of, and I couldn’t wait to open the shop once I was done with this Floor.
’Let’s see how many Points I can gather by the end of this.’
"I’ll accept since the Elf Queen believes in me," I said with a smirk.
[Elf Queen has donated 50,000 Points.]
My eyes widened. ’She donated 50,000 Points just like that? Just how rich is she?’
I was starting to think that the favor I had earned might be even more valuable than I had expected. If she was able to drop over 60,000 Points casually like this... who knows what she would do to thank me for saving Emma.
[You have accepted the challenge.]
[Time Remaining: 24 hours.]
"Change of plans. We’re going to have to walk," I told Emma and the Royal Princess.
"W-Walk?! You want me to walk?"
"It’s either you walk or I pick you up in my arms. Your choice, Princess."
She frowned, a little annoyed. "I’ll walk then."
"Good choice."
I stepped out of the carriage and looked down the narrow dirt path ahead of us.
In my past life, I had followed the royal road. It was the safest route, filled with patrols, guarded checkpoints, and small villages where the princess could rest.
It had also taken almost three days.
There was no way we could clear this floor in under twenty-four hours if we followed that route.
"The Capital is too far," the princess said, looking toward the forest. "Even with the carriage, we would need at least two days."
"I know."
I pointed toward the dense forest to our left.
"The shortest path goes through there."
The princess’s face immediately turned pale.
"T-That’s the Blackwood Forest. No one goes through there. It’s filled with monsters, bandits, and cursed creatures."
Emma glanced toward the trees, her expression remaining calm.
"There is something inside," she said quietly. "Something strong."
I smirked.
"Perfect."
In my past life, the Blackwood Forest had been the reason I almost failed this floor. I had barely made it through with the carriage, moving slowly while getting attacked from every direction.
But this time, I wasn’t weak.
And I wasn’t alone.
"Emma, stay close to the princess. Don’t let anything touch her."
She nodded.
The princess looked between the two of us, clearly regretting her decision to walk.
"Wait, wait... You’re actually serious? You want to take me through that forest?"
"Yes."
"Do you have any idea how dangerous it is?"
"I do."
That was the reason I was taking this path.
If I wanted to reach the Capital in less than twenty-four hours, I had to take risks.
I began walking toward the Blackwood Forest without waiting for another answer. After a few seconds, Emma followed behind me with the princess at her side.
The moment we crossed beneath the dark trees, the system gave us another warning.
[Warning: You have entered the Blackwood Forest.]
[Danger Level: High.]
[Royal Princess Protection Status: Active.]
[If the Royal Princess dies, you will fail the Floor 3 Trial.]
[Hell Difficulty Penalty: You will lose the ability to challenge Floor 3 permanently.]
I stopped walking for a second.
Only one attempt.
That was annoying.
Still, there was no turning back now.
A few seconds later, the sound of branches snapping echoed from all around us.
The princess grabbed onto Emma’s arm in fear.
"W-What was that?"
I pulled out my [Blood Sword], a small smile forming on my face.
"It seems our first enemies have arrived."