Chapter 1901: Chapter 1901

Next, he planned to call for Magic Miss and Silver Flute Miss from next door. Together, they would escort Jessica home, and then see Dolores and Alexia back as well.

But at that moment, the cat dozing on his shoulder suddenly opened its eyes and stared out the window. Jenkins, a couple of seconds behind, also sensed that something was amiss. Then, ripples disturbed the calm surface of the water in a glass on the coffee table, and a violent earthquake once again rocked Nolan.

Casting all other thoughts aside, Jenkins rushed to the window and pulled back the curtains. In the distance, the metal black tower, standing tall in the thin mist beneath the twin moons, was visibly growing taller. Through the hazy fog, the dark spire looked like a slender, rising tombstone. It was like a clock ticking toward the end of the world; each time it grew, the final hour drew nearer.

The last time the black tower had grown, mechanical skeleton birds had emerged from the earth to attack the city. Worried that something similar might happen again, Jenkins left under the cover of darkness, taking a carriage to the base of the tower.

The Church was taking the appearance of the fifth floor very seriously. By the time Jenkins arrived, the surrounding blocks were already under a full lockdown. The carriage couldn't pass, so after identifying himself, he had to proceed on foot.

After passing through multiple security checkpoints, he finally met the contingent from the Inherited Sage Church at the base of the tower. The other Saint, Miss Strass, was also there, conversing with a Keeper of Secrets alongside Mr. Gilbert.

"Has Miss Bevanna not come?"

"Someone has to remain on guard at the church."

the Keeper of Secrets said, beckoning Jenkins over.

he asked, lifting the cat from his shoulder and placing it on the table. Chocolate immediately took an interest in the blueprints of the black tower under its paws, and Jenkins worried it might shred the paper.

"The tower stopped growing just ten minutes ago. We're currently surveying the newly appeared fifth floor. For now, no monsters have emerged."

the Keeper of Secrets explained, pulling a document from a stack on the table and handing it to Jenkins.

"Take a look at this."

Sketched in pencil on the paper were two crossed swords. Both were longswords, with no particularly conspicuous markings on their hilts or blades. Since melee weapons had largely fallen out of fashion in this era, Jenkins couldn't identify the origin of the weapons by their design.

"Shortly after the earthquake began, a message came from the Night Watchmen. They spotted a peculiar cloud formation in the shape of two crossed swords in the sky over the eastern outskirts of Nolan."

Jenkins said, instinctively wanting to go outside and look at the sky.

"No need to go out. It's only visible from a very small area."

Mr. Smith casually drew a circle with his pencil on a map of Nolan that was propped on a nearby stand:

"This is a sign of the B-06-2-4482, the 'Treasure Hunter's War.' It's a B-class Extraordinary event, and we've already dispatched people to handle it. The important thing isn't the event itself, but the fact that the 'Treasure Hunter's War' cannot appear just anywhere. For this event to manifest in a human settlement, besides meeting requirements for prosperity and population, the settlement must also have an arena—a formal one, not something like an underground fighting ring."

"An arena? Does Nolan have an arena?"

"Of course not. But given that it appeared at almost the exact same time as the earthquake, what does that suggest to you, Jenkins?"

Jenkins blinked. The answer was simple:

"If we rule out coincidence... does that mean there's an arena inside the fifth floor of the black tower?"

"It's the best explanation we have at the moment."

The Keeper of Secrets nodded, stroking his chin.

"Why would it be an arena?"

Jenkins asked, still puzzled. He couldn't imagine the Difference Engine wanting a one-on-one duel to the death with him. While it certainly had the power to defeat Jenkins, it was far too cautious to do something so direct.

"No one knows why. We've been trying to connect each floor of the black tower to a Savior identity. An arena doesn't seem to relate to any of them, but if we were to force a connection, perhaps it has something to do with the 'Hero'."

the Keeper of Secrets explained, though he also admitted this was all baseless speculation.

Jenkins didn't know if this speculation was correct. The fifth floor, like the others, had no door, so there was no way to get inside and confirm if an arena was truly there. He wanted to offer his own opinion, but found he had nothing to contribute.

Fortunately, the Church wasn't simply sitting back and waiting. Acting on the intelligence about the Reverser of Fate ritual provided by the Believers of Lies, the twelve churches had joined forces and uncovered more information from ancient documents.

The appearance of the fifth floor had already verified some of that information. The Keeper of Secrets told Jenkins to be patient. By morning, the latest intelligence on the Reverser of Fate would be compiled, which should lead to a significant breakthrough in their understanding of the black tower.

The interval between the appearance of the fourth and fifth floors was shockingly short, something no one had anticipated. But for Jenkins, it was a clear sign that the final confrontation was not far off.

He returned home that night and spent a long time in his study, lost in thought, even ignoring Chocolate's demands for a midnight snack.

Standing at the window, gazing at the streetlights and the gray fog outside, his mind wandered through many things. He was so preoccupied that he almost forgot about the stool he had brought back from the Mysterious Realm.

He retrieved the stool from his spirit and placed it beside his bed. Curled up by the pillow with its four little paws tucked together, Chocolate opened one eye to glance at it, let out a soft meow, then remained still, apparently uninterested.

Every Mysterious Realm Jenkins experienced yielded a Bestowal, and the stool was the reward from this 'possibility' realm. As for what the stool did...

He hesitated for a moment, then gingerly sat on it. The stool immediately began to rise slowly, carrying him upward until it stopped just before his head touched the ceiling.

Chocolate's eyes were both wide open now. It stood by the pillow, watching the young author levitate on the stool, its amber eyes reflecting a distinctly feline mood.

"It's ridiculous, isn't it?"

He asked, looking down at his cat. Chocolate merely flicked its tail and lay down again, pointedly ignoring him.

The stool's function was simply to allow its rider to fly. It guaranteed that the person sitting on it would never fall off, but if that person was holding another creature—say, a cat or a woman—it offered no such guarantee for the passenger's safety.

The stool possessed an excellent flight speed, just slightly slower than a unicorn. Its maximum flight altitude was also quite suitable, just slightly lower than a unicorn. It was an excellent flying mount, just slightly inferior to a unicorn.

If one disregarded its appearance, it was, relatively speaking, quite outstanding.

"But I still prefer the unicorn,"

Jenkins lamented, sitting suspended in the air with his hand on his forehead.

Briny asked as she pushed the door open, dressed in her nightgown. The room was unlit, and the hazy moonlight gave her face an almost angelic glow. The ethereal-looking young woman closed the door behind her, watching as Jenkins descended from a height where his head could touch the ceiling.

"I heard you come back a moment ago... I thought you were going to stay with Miss Windsor—well, Jessica. What are you doing?"

"Just a simple experiment, testing a newly acquired item. As it turns out, it's not of much use to me."

He made the stool vanish and didn't bother explaining his purpose for going out that night, nor did he invite Briny to bed. Instead, he opened the window and whistled, and a unicorn burst through the barrier of space to appear just outside.

The pure white creature hovered outside, looking at its master, while Jenkins turned to Briny:

"Do you remember? In the Evergreen Forest earlier today, we were talking about unicorns, and I promised I'd let you see one tonight... I managed to borrow it from a friend again. Would you like to go for a flight... and see the moon?"

The blonde girl tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and, holding her breath, quickly walked to the window. She reached out and stroked the creature's back. The unicorn didn't seem particularly pleased, its eyes locked in a stare-down with the cat inside the room.

"Go for a... flight?"

"Of course. Even though it's still summer, it's quite cold outside, so a quick flight will be enough. We wouldn't want to catch a cold. But I imagine that when we return, the bedroom will be... very warm."

Briny covered her mouth, her face blushing as she smiled coyly. This update ıs available on novel※fire.net