Chapter 421: One Hundred Floors

Mina was already halfway out of the council chamber before Sage finished turning from the window.

The tower had captured her completely. From the Grand Guild Hall it looked less like an ordinary facility and more like a landmark planted in the center of the complex, rising far above the surrounding buildings until its upper floors seemed to cut into the sky.

By the time Sage, Pax and Boren caught up with her outside, Mina was standing in the plaza with both hands shielding her eyes, trying to count the levels again. The finished exterior made the task easier than it had been during construction, but not by much.

Each section of the tower narrowed slightly as it climbed, with broad bands separating groups of floors and enormous formation lines running vertically through the structure.

Sage could already see pedestrians beyond the Guild’s boundary stopping along Western Crownway to stare at it. From this height, there was no chance the tower was visible only from the Grand Complex.

Large portions of the Royal Capital would be able to see it.

"One hundred," Sage said before Mina could start counting.

She lowered her hands. "Exactly?"

"Exactly."

Mina’s eyes brightened. "I’m climbing it."

"That’s not how the tower works."

"Then I’ll use the stairs."

Boren gave her an approving nod. "I think you should let her try."

Sage looked at him. "You’re betting against her."

"Obviously."

Mina immediately pointed at him. "How much?"

"Ten gold you don’t reach the top today."

"Twenty."

"Done."

Pax quietly moved away from them, apparently unwilling to become involved in whatever had just happened. Sage followed him toward the entrance while Mina marched behind with the confidence of someone who had already spent her winnings.

The tower’s ground floor resembled another Guild facility rather than a simple stairwell leading upward.

A broad reception hall occupied the entrance, with registration counters, waiting areas and several secured passages leading toward vertical transportation formations. Large displays showed floor ranges, mana conditions, chamber availability and access requirements.

There were public cultivation halls, private chambers and specialized training rooms distributed throughout the structure. More importantly, the tower wasn’t designed around the idea that everyone should reach the top. It was designed to give every cultivator a level of mana density appropriate to their strength.

Sage opened the facility interface, and the tower’s structure unfolded before him. Floors One through Twenty formed the lower cultivation range, intended for ordinary adventurers, beginning Mages and warriors still developing their ability to circulate mana efficiently.

Mana density increased gradually with each level, allowing someone to move upward as their tolerance improved. Floors Twenty-One through Fifty formed the intermediate range, where the pressure became substantial enough that weak cultivators would gain little by forcing themselves higher.

Floors Fifty-One through Eighty belonged to advanced users, while everything above Eighty was classified as high-pressure cultivation territory.

The final ten floors carried additional warnings.

Sage selected the hundredth and paused when the System displayed the recommended requirements. Even with his Divine Grade Mana Veins and absurd mana regeneration, the issue wasn’t simply how quickly he could absorb mana. The concentration and pressure at the peak exceeded what his current body and rank could comfortably endure for meaningful cultivation.

That pleased him more than if the tower had already become uselessly easy. A B-Rank facility had given him something he could grow into.

"The hundredth floor isn’t meant for us yet," Sage said.

Mina, who had been reading a public display, turned suspiciously. "Us?"

"Especially you."

"We’ll see."

Boren held out his hand. "Would you like to pay now?"

She slapped it away and headed toward the first access formation.

Sage let her go. The tower had safeguards preventing visitors from entering floors beyond what they could safely tolerate, and the System monitored mana pressure throughout the structure.

If Mina wanted to wage war against architecture, he saw no reason to interfere. Instead, he continued examining the commercial functions with Pax.

Cultivation time could be purchased with gold or Guild contribution points earned through missions and service. Registered adventurers received preferential rates, while higher Guild ranks gained discounts, priority booking and access to better chambers.

Nonmembers could use designated public floors at higher prices, turning the facility into both a membership incentive and a source of revenue.

Private cultivation chambers interested Sage even more. Instead of sharing ambient mana with an entire hall, a cultivator could rent a sealed room where formations concentrated and stabilized the energy around a single user or party. The tower could eventually configure specialized elemental chambers as sufficient resources and upgrades became available: fire-dominant environments for certain Mages, water, earth, wind and other affinities requiring controlled conditions.

Sage immediately imagined instructors renting chambers for students, noble families paying for private sessions, mercenary elites using the upper ranges before dangerous expeditions and independent Mages visiting simply because nothing comparable was readily available to them.

The numbers became ridiculous when he stopped thinking like someone from Greyvale. Evergreen had taught Sage to measure Guild facilities against a regional population.

The Royal Capital demanded another scale entirely. There were thousands upon thousands of warriors, Mages, mercenaries, guards, noble retainers, academy students and independent cultivators inside the city before he counted travelers arriving every day.

The Guild didn’t need all of them. If a fraction used the tower regularly, the revenue from cultivation fees alone could become enormous. More importantly, customers entering the Grand Complex for the Mana Tower would inevitably encounter everything else the Guild offered.

A mercenary might come to cultivate and later purchase equipment. A Mage might rent a chamber and discover the Guild Exchange. An adventurer could spend contribution points here instead of immediately converting every reward into gold.

The tower wasn’t merely a building that earned money. It was an anchor drawing people into the Guild’s economy.

A sharp chime came from the access display. Boren glanced over. "She’s reached twenty."

Sage looked toward the indicator tracking Mina’s temporary access token and nodded. They continued upward using one of the transportation formations, stopping periodically to inspect the different ranges.

The change in mana density was obvious even before Floor Twenty. By Thirty, Sage could feel pressure against his Mana Veins whenever he stopped circulating energy.

At Forty, the ambient mana was dense enough that maintaining concentration became part of cultivation itself. The rooms also changed. Lower levels emphasized larger shared halls and affordable chambers, while higher floors contained fewer public spaces and more private rooms designed for serious training.

They found Mina on Floor Forty-Seven. She was walking toward the next access point with considerably less enthusiasm than she’d displayed downstairs. Sweat clung to her forehead, and each breath came slower, but she straightened immediately when she saw Boren.

"Enjoying your climb?" he asked.

Mina told him she was doing perfectly well. Boren observed that she looked terrible, which earned him an immediate reply that he always looked terrible.

Pax coughed into his hand while Sage examined her condition and reminded her she could stop whenever she wanted. Mina assured him she knew. Sage added that going higher proved nothing.

She agreed again, then walked straight into the next access formation without another word.

Boren waited until she vanished before murmuring, "She’s absolutely going to hurt herself over twenty gold."

"The tower will stop her first."

It did.

Mina reached Floor Fifty-Three. When Sage and the others arrived, they found her standing before a glowing barrier blocking access upward. Her temporary authorization had been suspended after the tower determined that further exposure would exceed safe limits.

Mina had apparently attempted to convince the formation to reconsider. Sage informed her that magical safety barriers did not negotiate. Mina replied that this one should. Boren extended his hand without saying anything, and she glared at him before removing twenty gold coins from her pouch and dropping them into his palm one at a time.

She immediately announced that she was coming back.

Boren offered another wager. Mina promised sixty floors next time.

Sage left them negotiating future financial mistakes and examined the intermediate floor. Even here, the tower was impressive enough that he understood why it would become one of the Headquarters’ defining landmarks.

The hundredth floor no longer mattered merely because it was high. Every level represented progression.

Adventurers could return stronger and climb farther than before, making the tower itself a visible measurement of growth. Someone who could barely endure the twentieth floor one year might reach the thirtieth the next.

For ambitious warriors and Mages, that alone would create competition, goals and another reason to remain connected to the Guild.

Sage turned toward the next section of the Grand Complex.

Boren suddenly stopped. His joking expression disappeared as he lifted his head slightly and sniffed the air. Then he sniffed again.

Mina noticed and asked what was wrong, but Boren didn’t answer. He turned toward the distant buildings with absolute concentration.

"Food."

A second breath followed, and Boren’s face became solemn.

"Lots of food."