Eventually, during the rest of the day, Christopher had managed to find his way to the 'elevator' that the man he met mentioned. At the end of one of the hallways, there was a set of bars that blocked the way to a small room - an elevator. Standing beside it was a humanoid figure, dressed in very fine black-silk clothes, wearing a top hat and holding a golden cane with his white-gloved hands. His face was featureless, as it was covered by the same sort of mask as the master of the palace.

"Hello?" - Christopher said as he approached.

"What floor would you like to go to?" - as the figure snapped his fingers, the bars disappeared.

"Uhm, 19th."

"Please, step inside."

And, as he stepped inside, with a flash of bright blue light, he immediately appeared in a different-looking corridor, with the same creature standing beside the elevator behind him. These hallways were designed completely differently from the plain black-wood from before, as most of the interior here was made out of white marble, occasional jades and golds, with golden statues, banners and carpets adorning the rest of the space. As Christopher was walking through here, he noticed a nearby streaking of water, and, looking around, he saw a small marble fountain, the holding mid-point of which was a statue of the 'Lord'.

And this place was much more busy than the floor from previous, as he also noticed multiple groups of three-four people in different attires trafficking around the area, chatting and laughing.

And even though he was dressed in plain home clothes, nobody seemed to pay mind to him, so he quietly blended into the crowd and continued on his way.

As he pushed past, the crowd started getting denser and denser, as the boasting laughter became louder, one could hear people cheering and screaming in the distant hallways. While being taken aback by the sudden change in atmosphere, he went with the flow of the crowd, eventually coming upon what seemed to be like an exit outdoors.

With the bit of warm sunlight coming through, the beautiful scenery stepped into the view of one's eyes: bright-blue cloudless sky, accompanied by a set of distant mountain ranges behind a gigantic field, filled with colorful flowers and blossoming trees, topped with a light warm breeze. Christopher rejoiced in his heart, as he sighed in excitement for things to come.

As he walked outside, looking back, he finally has gotten a view of the building he came out of - a large, hundred-story jade pagoda, adorned with beautiful weaving red silk banners, surrounded by cherry trees, gilded statues, and fountains.

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The crowd that has gathered around seem to be busy with an enormous amount of activities, some burly looking humans seem to be fist-sparring with each other with people placing bets on them, some seem to be enjoying a magical show on one of the further stages. The whole area around here has numerous amounts of tents, shacks and other makeshift buildings, symbolizing what looks like an event of some kind.

"Are you lost, young man?" - an old man in green robes came over with a bright smile on his face.

"Uhm, I am guessing this is the 19th floor, what where are the Pools of Tranquility?"

"Oh, you are looking for that place. It is not something anybody can enter as they please. Are you an outsider?" - the old man scratched his head.

"I am not from this place, yes, but can you tell me more about it, please?"

"Ah-hah, sure, young man, if you accompany this old man around"

"Alright."

As the two of them blended back into the crowd, the old man started talking about what sort of event is being held here.

"You see, this place is what we call the Jade Springs, which is a historical area that we built our Pagoda around, and it is one of many that the Great Yarford has to present. This is indeed the 19th floor, but the actual event that you are seeing here today is the Birth of the Gilded Serpent."

"Gilded Serpent, hmm." - Christopher seemed to have a guess what it might be.

"Historically speaking, many generations ago, the Great Golden Life has benevolently ruled over this place, but he was forced to sacrifice himself in order to defeat his elder brother, the Black Plague, sealing it away and restoring peace to this place. Some even say that his consciousness still resides in this place, looking over it and protecting it from the shadows. This story is one of the biggest motivations for people all around the continent to come and see it. The reason for it to be held on this day every year is that the master of this place comes out of the Pools of Tranquility to take in new disciples and experts with him. See that huge building a few miles back towards the mountains? That is the Ruby Pit, where many can prove themselves being worthy through their combat skills."

"Do you work here, then?" - Christopher curiously asked.

"No, no, I would not have the privilege. I've come around from a faraway place to see this great event. What is your name, friend?"

"Christopher."

"Christopher it is. You definitely have some foreign manners and posture. You can call me Yarkaf if you will. If you decide to participate in anything, I'll be glad to see what you can do. But for now, I'm going to enjoy myself." - the old man walked off and disappeared into the crowd.

"Some very interesting people around here... Should I try fighting somebody? Hmm..."

He walked over to the nearby scuffle, where there were two young men, maybe in their early twenties, bruised and bloodied, fighting each other with their bare hands.

Christopher became amazed at this moment, as he could not see a single trace of their movement, if anything, they mostly appeared to be stationary for him, but nonetheless, they reeled from pain as bruises appeared on their bodies. He simply could not keep track of their movement.

"So this is how strong I could become, hehe." - He rejoiced, but the idea of picking a fight dropped at the very moment.