Parallel Memory

Zero only gives a slight nod to Mia.

"Please be careful in the future!"

Mia said in a tone filled with worry.

*SIGH!

She only understood now why there had been no sign of Zero for the past two years. No wonder that despite her best effort to find him, she has yet to stumble upon a single clue about his whereabouts.

( That also explains his insane growth! )

Mia thought. Greater the risk, the greater the reward. By putting yourself in constant danger, you can grow stronger but it is also very risky. That's why Mia had to reprimand Zero.

( I will have to keep my eyes on him all the time! )

Mia thought.

She was sure that Zero will again go into some dangerous situation. The incident here with the church was a prime example of that.

So, to keep Zero safe, she believed that she had to look after him all the time. Otherwise, she fears that he would once again disappear and get himself involved in something dangerous.

Saintess Amelia, who had been listening to the entire conversation, also gained insight into how Zero had become so powerful.

"Which floor did you reach?"

Saintess Amelia asked curiously. The Tower Of Obelisk was potentially dangerous if you were to climb the floor which is beyond your limits. As long as one knows their limits, one would not die unless they are careless.

Rank-A could easily go into the Tower Of Obelisk and just fight on the lower 10 floors and he would survive easily. Though there would be no gain in doing that.

The treasures on those floors are worth nothing to Rank-A Explorers and it would also not be considered training as the enemies are very weak.

That's why Saintess Amelia asked which floor Zero reached in order to assess how difficult his training was. Looking at his progress, she obviously knew that Zero wouldn't have stayed on the lower 10 floors.

"Guess?"

Zero said.

"20? Maybe 25?"

Saintess Amelia replied. Looking at Zero's current strength, she thought that there was a possibility of Zero reaching Floor-25. Though she thought it would be difficult.

It might be easy if he had a team with him with similar power but alone, she didn't think that Zero could climb higher than Floor 25.

"Try higher!"

Zero said.

"27?" asked Amelia, her eyes widening in surprise. She was already impressed that Zero had made it to Floor 25, so reaching any higher would be nearly impossible.

"Close, but no," Zero revealed. "I actually made it to Floor 31 before leaving."

Amelia and Mia were shocked and exclaimed, "What?"

Amelia and Mia were both astonished by Zero's achievement. They had never heard of anyone climbing that high in the tower alone. Even if 10 people of Zero rank went, they would have hardly been able to reach that floor.

"Really???"

Amelia said. She couldn't believe that Zero managed to reach such a high floor in the Tower Of Obelisk.

This was something that even the Gold Graded Guild struggled with. Even if an elite team from the Gold Graded Guild were assembled, they would not necessarily make it past Floor 30.

Floor 30 was very dangerous compared to other lower floors because it's the floor that has Rank-S - monsters roaming around. Not to mention, the boss should have the strength of Rank-S or above.

Even Mia and Amelia had never reached such a high floor. They were only at Rank-B when they entered the Tower Of Obelisk and the floor that they managed to climb is Floor-24 and 23 respectively.

"How did you manage to reach Floor 31 by yourself?"

Amelia asked, her curiosity piqued. She was certain that she would not reach that place with her current strength even if she brought 9 other similar people with her.

So, she was naturally curious as to how strong Zero was to be able to reach Floor 31 on the first try.

Zero smiled, "Just like other people!"

Zero's response left Amelia and Mia puzzled. They couldn't understand how he managed to climb that high on his own.

"Can you elaborate a bit more, Zero?" Amelia asked, thinking that he might have done something unusual for him to reach that floor.

She already thought that Zero's claim was impossible but she knew that Zero didn't have any reason to lie. So, they never suspected that Zero was lying.

"Well, I just kept climbing," Zero said, shrugging. "I fought the monsters, avoided the traps, and kept going. There's not really a secret to it."

"But how did you deal with the Rank-S monsters and the boss on Floor 30?" Amelia asked, her curiosity getting the better of her.

Zero grinned, "I fought them, of course. It wasn't easy, but I managed to take them down."

Amelia and Mia exchanged glances. They knew that Zero was strong, but they had no idea that he was this powerful.

Yes, beating them and advancing was the way to go but could one person really fight hundreds and thousands of monsters which have Rank-S monsters as well? Even a group of Rank-A led by Rank-S Explorer would have a hard time, not to mention doing that alone.

It could be said that from what Zero said that he was more powerful than Mia. While Amelia wasn't sure, she could tell that Zero was stronger than Rank-S when using Dark Energy.

Amelia's heart fluttered as she gazed at Zero with adoration in her eyes. "You're amazing, Zero!" she exclaimed, unable to contain her admiration any longer.

Not everyone could climb to Floor 31. Even Diamond Graded guilds struggled to reach it.

Zero had already mesmerized Amelia with his strength. This story only helped further draw her admiration.

Mia was taken aback by Saintess Amelia's unusual display of admiration. She had known Amelia since they were young and knew that she rarely showed such emotion towards men.

She was always reserved in her praise and she would rarely show her real emotion in front of men but this time, Mia felt that Amelia was acting out of her norms.

But Mia believed that it must be because Zero saved her.

Zero acknowledged Amelia's words with a nod of appreciation. While he had embarked on his journey to becoming stronger for himself, the recognition of his hard work and achievements from someone like Amelia felt like a validation of his efforts.

"Yes, that is a real achievement. I think that none of the geniuses could ever reach your level."

Mia chimed in with her own words of admiration. She couldn't help but feel proud of Zero for achieving something that would be impossible by most.

Although Mia was concerned about Zero's safety and didn't necessarily agree with his decision to climb to such a dangerous floor, she couldn't deny the significance of his achievement.

The conversation between Amelia, Mia, and Zero continued for a while longer until the sun began to set, signaling the end of the day.

******

There was no spare room for Mia and the reason was obvious. So, she was to sleep with Amelia and they had a problem with it.

Amelia and Mia couldn't stop thinking about Zero and his incredible feat of climbing to Floor 31.

They talked and casually talked about Zero.

"Hehe... Zero was absolutely cool when he saved me!"

Amelia exclaimed, her eyes sparkling with excitement and admiration.

Mia listened to her friend. She felt that the change in attitude of Amelia was for the better. Rather than her friend fighting Zero, it was good that she understood Zero.

This was a significant improvement from the past, where Amelia would always try to make Zero looks like the bad guy. She never believed him and thought he was a danger to Mia because of his Dark Energy.

But now, her attitude had changed completely and she couldn't stop singing Zero's praises, which was weird to Mia, who had only heard Amelia cursing Zero before.

"…"

Then there was a brief moment of silence.

"Mia, I have to tell you something," Amelia said, her voice barely above a whisper.

Mia turned to her friend, noticing the serious look on her face. She thought that she must have something important to say.

"What is it, Amelia?"

Mia asked. She was ready to lend her ear to her friend and help her if the need arises.

"I…I think I'm in love with Zero," Amelia confessed, her cheeks turning red.

Mia's eyes widened in surprise.

"What?"

( Why Zero? )

Mia was taken aback by Amelia's confession.

She had never expected her reserved and stoic friend to develop feelings for someone, especially for someone like Zero whom she had previously been wary of. Amelia had never been in love with anyone and had rejected thousands of proposals from all kinds of men.

It should have been a happy occasion as her friend was able to finally feel love but Mia was not very happy. And the reason was obviously that she didn't like the thought of Zero dating Amelia.

Mia took a deep breath and tried to compose herself. "Why Zero?" she asked her friend, trying to understand the situation properly.

Amelia looked down, playing with her fingers. "I don't know," she admitted. "I used to hate him, but the more I got to know him, the more I realized that he's not a bad person. I just misunderstood him."