“Can you move?”

Archie nudged his way through the crowd, finding himself at the very back.

As soon as Archie witnessed the stairs descending from the wall openings, he had already made up his mind: ascend the stairs to the tenth floor.

His decision to climb was not driven by the ambition to achieve Graded Ethereal; he simply desired to scale the tenth-floor stairs. He was aware that not many would dare to attempt it, thus allowing him to avoid the crowd and not have to queue to climb the lower floors.

Archie found it challenging to navigate through the throng of students. Many students didn’t yield any space, forcing him to weave his way through them. Typically, students moved in groups, making it easier to pass through others, but in this massive crowd, a solitary, lean boy couldn’t see up front.

It took half an hour for Archie to reach the front, only to be met with students queuing up. The tenth-floor stairs stood parallel to the lower floors, with people obstructing his path.

The scene was chaotic, with students jostling each other and squabbling over who should ascend first on the lower floors.

Archie flashed a faint smile, feeling a sense of pride. He relished the chaos of climbing the lower floors. He had anticipated a situation very similar to this.

The only thing he hadn’t foreseen was that nobody had ascended above the seventh floor. Some attempted but quickly retreated after reaching halfway.

Archie mustered enough strength, pushed through the crowd one last time, seized the tenth-floor stairs, and began his ascent.

The metal stairs were sturdy enough for Archie's lean figure, but his hands trembled due to the absence of a handrail. Holding onto the steps was challenging due to the sharp edges, making it difficult to maintain a grip.

At first, nobody noticed someone was ascending, but a shadow cast on the people below the stairs made them look up. Seeing Archie climbing elicited gasps.

Students at the back wondered why everyone at the front had suddenly fallen silent since Archie was not in their view.

“SILENCE!” Suddenly, a profound silence enveloped the area. Everyone was in disbelief at what was transpiring.

A lean boy, resembling a lamppost, was ascending the tenth-floor stairs while others watched with a mix of awe and resentment, upset that someone seemingly weaker than them was climbing the stairs.

Unexpectedly, a loud cry echoed from behind everyone.

“ARCHIE!”

“Probably that’s his name!” People began to chatter and murmur.

“ARCHIE!” The same voice called out again, but Archie didn’t look back. He was barely managing to ascend the stairs without handrails, holding onto the steps as if it were a ladder.

Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

Others felt like he was disregarding them and looking down on them, as if they were insignificant. This infuriated them, making them feel humiliated and angry.

In their eyes, Archie seemed like some kid they had overlooked all their life, suddenly mocking them, which enraged and incensed them.

Even though they did not reside in a district where high clans dwell, they had the pride of fifteen-year-olds, believing they were exceptional, which helped them forget about the one thing they feared.

‘How could a nobody like him climb before us and look down on us?’

“Hey, move out.”

“Don’t block the way.”

Everyone began to push each other. Suddenly, they all started to ascend the tenth-floor stairs. The crowd became hostile, and fights broke out. People who had queued up pushed through the crowd, seized the stairs, and began to ascend. Others climbed on top of each other, forming a pyramid as people piled upon one another.

“Damn! Max, control everyone. Dispatch squads to halt them,” Justina commanded agitatedly.

“Did you anticipate this, Justina?” Max asked, fearing for the students’ safety.

“Absolutely not!” Justina retorted. She sprinted to the end of the room, pressed the elevator button, and said,

“I’ll reach the top floor to conduct that Archie kid’s test. You control the crowd, even if it means using sleeping gas. Ensure the ROT council doesn’t find out.”

“Why are they suddenly fighting now?” Max asked while typing orders for his men to move.

“It’s simple. A leader isn’t just someone who leads others. He’s someone who makes others forget their fear and believe they can do anything, even walk on hot lava barefoot. That Archie kid made them realize it’s just stairs, and seeing someone their age who was practically unknown climb to the top hurt their egos.”

As Justina responded, the elevator doors closed, and she departed for the tenth floor.

The students began to grab onto the tenth-floor stairs, which started to wobble and make crackling noises. Some stairs began to bend under the weight as a large number of students climbed simultaneously.

Max felt overwhelmed, like he was caught in a tsunami. With no way to control the students, especially those blinded by rage, his only option was to deploy sleeping gas.

“Quiet!” A thunderous voice reverberated through the area, causing everyone to quiet down and halt. Gradually, they began to calm down.

Students looked up to see a man standing atop the building, glaring down at them. The sunlight made it difficult to see his face clearly.

Even in that man's presence, their gazes swiftly turned to the tenth-floor stairs, searching for Archie, but he was nowhere to be seen. Panic began to set in.

“Calm down!” The voice echoed again, resonating in their hearts and minds. Gradually, everyone began to calm down, their hearts gradually returning to a normal pace. They felt tranquil.

Students couldn’t understand what had happened to them. They felt serene all of a sudden, as if their worries had completely disappeared.

“Form a line and climb in order,” the voice commanded. Swiftly, everyone formed four lines, aiming for the tenth floor.

“There’s nothing special on the tenth floor. Climb the others as well,” the man commanded, but no one moved out of line.

The man’s voice came again, anger clearly visible in his tone,

“You have half an hour. Anyone present after that will fail the ROT test.”

His stern voice made everyone move quickly. They began to divide the line and run toward another, pushing others to ascend faster but not as chaotically as before.

Soon, Max, his men, and the students' teachers emerged from the building, overseeing the students and maintaining order.

Students shifted their gaze towards their teacher running from the building for a few seconds, then looked up again to see that the man had disappeared.

But the students didn't care; their only aim right now was to enter the building within half an hour.

“Phew!” Max exhaled deeply, standing outside the building and ensuring everyone was standing in line properly.

‘Good thing Sir Bruno is here. Justina, we escaped this time.’

Max felt relieved as he looked at the tablet, checking on Archie on the tenth floor.

Including Justina, Max was also curious about Archie, but he was not the only one.

“What is he doing here?” Max was shocked to see the man standing at the top of the building before Archie and exclaimed,

“BRUNO!”