From what Max could sense, each floor was vastly more luxurious than the one before it. The lower floors had a warm golden ambiance and relaxing music ant to calm newcors. The middle levels were extravagant, brimming with rare spiritual instrunts and waiters who looked more like sword cultivators than staff.
But the ninth floor—well, that was sothing else. From the base, he could already feel a refined pressure leaking from the top, subtle but real. Only those with strength, status, or terrifying potential could even dream of stepping foot there.
Apparently, Lyra had not only reserved a room on the ninth floor, but had done so without hesitation. Max couldn’t help but smile slightly.
"This woman really doesn’t play around." He straightened his back and made his way toward the glowing lift platform, ready to see what awaited him on the highest floor of the restaurant that was anything but just a restaurant.
"Look at this country bumpkin. It looks like this is his first ti in the Delight Craven Restaurant," a sneering voice echoed from one of the elegant lounges near the floating stairway platform, drawing a few amused glances from others seated nearby.
Max, who had paused montarily to take in the surreal grandeur of the interior, heard the words clearly. His senses were sharper than most, and he could easily pick out the mockery even if it was veiled.
But these weren’t even veiled—they were sharp, deliberate, and echoing just enough to sting.
"Looking at his strength, I wonder if he could even be allowed in the restaurant," another scoffed, his eyes lazily scanning Max’s figure. "Level 1 of Master Rank, and from the looks of it, he probably just broke through. In fact, he doesn’t even seem like a one-star genius."
"Doesn’t he know only star-status geniuses are allowed here? The Delight Craven isn’t so roadside vendor from the Outer Domain," a girl with jade-colored earrings said with a sneer, flipping her hair like she was warding off a foul scent.
"Forget about that," another chid in, chuckling. "He probably doesn’t even have enough PQ to order a single spirit drink here. Maybe he just walked in because he heard the na and wanted to say he’d been here."
The soft laughter that followed had a cruel rhythm to it—refined, polite, but venomous in its intention. They had clearly seen many like Max before. Low-ranked individuals who ca in out of curiosity or blind confidence, only to realize they were far below the standard required to even sit at one of the tables here.
Max heard the mocking voices loud and clear, but instead of responding with words, he smiled faintly—a calm, deliberate kind of smirk. Then, with a few casual taps on his holowatch, two holographic panels floated into existence before him, glowing faintly with flickering blue light.
The first screen displayed his identification: Max — Master Rank, 2-Star Genius, Registered mber of the Great Ruler Empire. It hovered proudly beside the second holographic display, which shimred with a distinct emblem and a rotating access seal: Authorization Key — 9th Floor Access: Valid.
He didn’t bother hiding it.
In fact, he made sure the glowing screens faced the direction of the group that had mocked him just monts earlier. Then he walked, not fast, not slow—just at a perfectly arrogant pace that let them all drink in what they were seeing.
"What the hell?! A Master Rank mber with 2-star genius status?" one of them shouted in disbelief, rising from his seat in a daze. "How’s that even possible? I thought only Champion Rank experts could get ranked that high!"
"L-Look at the second screen!" another gasped. "He has the key to the ninth floor! Soone actually invited him there!"
The girl with jade earrings had gone pale. "No way. That can’t be real. How could a nobody like him, soone we’ve never even heard of, be granted access to the top floor of the Delight Craven? I refuse to believe it..."
Max didn’t spare them a second glance. He simply let the silence, the gasps, the disbelief speak for themselves as he walked through the inner arch of the restaurant, toward the central floating platform that would take him to the ninth floor.
A futuristic scanner awaited him there—a floating, disc-like device rimd in glowing symbols. It buzzed to life and moved up and down, scanning his body with lines of azure light from top to bottom. As it reached his holowatch, it chid softly.
"Identity Confird. Access Granted to Ninth Floor. Welco, Max."
The words echoed in the air in a smooth, chanical voice, silencing everyone within earshot.
Max stepped onto the levitating platform. His silhouette gradually vanished from their view as the platform ascended, the holographic key still floating in the air beside him, glowing like a slap across every stunned face watching from below.
"Sotis... it’s good to flaunt," Max muttered with a smirk, the words barely audible as he reached the pinnacle of the restaurant.
A mont later, he stood before a tall, sleek door etched with elegant golden lines. He raised his wrist, letting the holographic key shine once more. The scanner on the door flickered, beeped twice, and let out a soft click, unlocking instantly.
Max pushed it open and entered the private room Lyra had booked, the soft ambient lighting of the ninth floor bathing him in quiet luxury.
The door slid shut behind him.
Inside the room, Max was taken aback—not because it was lavish, but because it wasn’t what he’d expected at all. Rather than a typical restaurant setting with polished tables and velvet chairs, the room resembled more of a high-end training and strategy hall.\
Massive floor space stretched before him, divided into areas that served different functions. One side had sleek tables with holographic interfaces embedded in them, perfect for planning or analysis.
Another corner had multiple sparring zones—complete with formation-inscribed floors clearly designed to withstand high-intensity duels. Plush couches lined the remaining side like lounges for warriors between battles. The walls were lined with trophies, flickering images of past duels, and floating holograms that displayed information about known champions.
Seated on those couches were six individuals. Max only recognized one—Lyra Shade, dressed elegantly in a dark combat uniform with silver linings and a relaxed smile on her face. She rose as soon as she saw him.
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