Stopping her preparation of the things that the young man is usually buying when he is heading out to hunt for his sustenance, the shop owner trembles a bit before she turns around and look at this young man who appears the be quite proud with finally getting past the first floor as well, something she thought he truly deserves given how much effort he had put into ascending to the second floor of the tower.
"I see, are you saying your farewell now, boy?" looking at him with a hint of pride on her gaze as she reminisces how this young man struggles his best in order to catch up with the ones who had conquered the first floor with him, the lady asked, her voice clearly filled with reluctance as she was already used to this young man pestering her every single day.
"I will visit here every now and then…" seeing the expression on this older lady's face, someone whom he already treats as an older sister, the young man said with a modest smile on his face, his tone making the shop owner believe his words.
"You're healing potions are so much cheaper when compared to other shops after all…" not wanting the atmosphere between the two of them to become way too serious, the young man added, making the previously sentimental lady to feel quite annoyed, a vein popping out of her fair forehead as she clenches her fist almost as if she's ready to hit the young man.
'I better not…' controlling herself though, this lady's fist turns into a palm once again as she reaches out to pat Azrael on the shoulders, her smile encouraging and energetic as she replies once again.
"I see, then you should take your time descending to the lower floors to buy potions, especially healing potions from me, understand?" with the smile still on her face, the lady borderline ordered prompting the young man to nod in agreement, the two of them exchanging pleasantries and talking for a bit more before the young man leaves the shop, the lady knowing that her encounters with this young man would be less frequent than usual from now on.
"He's finally climbing up as well, I wonder how those other kids will react once they find out the news" sending him all the way out the shop, the lady looked at the young man's broad back, each step he treads seemingly filled with youthful vigor as he gets closer and closer to the Ascension Platform, her expression of someone who is looking forward to the havoc he will cause once he reached the higher floors as well.
"Not a thing for an old lady like me to think about too much though~" she mutters to herself before she returns back to her shop, deciding to clean up a little bit, not even noticing the sigh that escapes from her every now and then.
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Right in the heart of not only the Crimson Red City but also the seven other cities connected to the Initus Sanctuarium, a grand, yet modestly decorated and ornamented building stands, its completely dome shaped structure will make every beginner wonder what is the purpose of such building, the more experienced ascenders knowing that this is the goal of each and every ascender no matter what floor they are, the Ascension Platform.
While it is called a platform, the actual Ascension Platform is within this building, and said building is made with the purpose of facilitating an orderly manner of ascension, the building having powerful staff and personnel that handle the arrangement of the people who are going to ascend first.
"it's quite lively here today as well…" watching numerous people going inside the building, Azrael couldn't help but point out, the smile on these people's face similar to the one on his, with the only difference between them and him being the fact that the excitement he is feeling is way more intense than theirs.
He had been here for a long time after all, especially when the average amount of time that an ascender spends in order to complete the quests on the first floor is only a month or so, which makes his current excitement just reasonable.
"Your ID please…" eventually reaching the place where the staffs are gathered, the young man was greeted by a lady with a bob-cut wearing a proper uniform and a glass for her eyes, said lady not even taking a gaze at him as she continues to handle papers stacked in front of her desk, only leaving her gaze from this stack as he hands his identification card to her.
An Ascender Identification Card, a piece of card displaying the information regarding its owner, a system initially not a part of the tower but eventually integrated into it naturally. Being created by the Six Great Legia in order to combat the once rising cases of rogue ascenders killing and stealing from other ascenders, this identification card displays all sorts of basic information and is practically impossible to tamper, the information there being the ascender's name, age, as well as the actual floor they are currently challenging, and the duration of their stay in that floor.
Taking a quick look at his image and the name on it, the lady couldn't help but give a second gaze, not towards his identification card but towards himself, the lady feeling a bit surprised for a moment before she regains her original bearing, assuming a cold, detached face once again as she hands the card back to the young man and points to one of the platforms that wasn't all too crowded yet.
"Please move to Platform 4 on time and don't run around too much, the next schedule for ascension will be around five minutes later, don't be late or you have to wait for another hour or so" the detached lady reminded as she returns to her papers, her voice still quite authoritative despite being quite inaudible.
Following where this staff pointed, Azrael eventually arrives on Platform 4, where he is met by multiple ascenders who are similarly going to the second floor like him.