"Wow... The examinees this time are interesting, huh?" said that figure.

With a wide smile that showed its pointed shark teeth, the 30 cm tall figure flew high above the Conquerors. Even though it was that small, strangely the figure's voice sounded clear in their heads like it was using telepathy.

"Yahallo all~!!!"

"Let's get acquainted first~! I'm the 4th Floor Ascension Examination Examiner, Lilac Quizmaster!"

"Greetings, everyone~!"

All the Conquerors were glued to that small figure. They were thinking different things, but one thing was the same. None of them underestimated her just because of her tiny physique. Of course the reason was because, no matter what it looked like, it introduced itself as an examiner. None of the examiners were weak, plus all the examiners had the Tower's authority which made their rules absolute during the exam.

"So far, the only examiner you've met is Grosfier, right? Considering Montaizer has no intention of meeting you directly," Lilac laughed.

"Ah, Montaizer is 3rd Floor Ascension Exam Examiner. He's always at center and MC's boss, MC who likes to host events at Stadium."

Instantly people whispered in surprise. They had never expected that the 3rd Floor Stadium was under direct control of Examiner. That was why the Stadium was able to maintain its neutrality amidst the onslaught of the 3 Rulers. Now it was no longer surprising.

Lilac stopped flying around and sat on tallest man's head there. Although confused, people chose not to question it.

"I'm a busy person, you know! I also know that you guys don't like listening to small talk in speeches, etc. Plus, we'll also meet again at Examination site because I'll be monitoring you in person. So, get on with it guys~"

Lilac snapped her fingers. Instantly, sky displayed an image like an LCD screen. The image displayed was of an Opera House with a string puppet being controlled from above. The puppet that was talking looked just like her.

"As you know, 4th Floor is the Theater. One of the two floors that require acting talent from the Conqueror. Of course your test will not be far from that."

This time the screen showed two children. One boy and one girl.

"In this exam, you are required to act out the "character" given to you. How you portray character is up to you. I will only give you an outline character. Development character is free."

"But~ is that all?" Lilac's grin gave the Conquerors goosebumps.

"That's all the floor advancement exam is about! Hahahaha... You guys didn't expect that, did you?"

Honestly yes, Conquerors hoped that the exam wouldn't be as troublesome as 3rd Floor was.

The puppets controlled in the Opera circled each other. Little by little, the ornaments they wore began to get mixed up.

"In this exam... Don't expect your acting to go that smoothly. You will be acting according to my requests and... the acting will not be done in your real bodies," Lilac smiled.

The Conqueror, "!!!!???"

"Wait! Not in your real bodies!? What does that mean!??"

"A-Are we going to possess the characters we're portraying???"

"Our bodies will return when we graduate, right?"

"Woi! Isn't that abuse of power!?"

Bere, "Lia, this..."

Ophelia nodded, "True, it won't be that easy..."

Naeva, "........"

The cries of rejection and worry about the exam this time became a rhythm that sounded good in Lilac's ears.

"Okay, okay, shut up first!" Lilac exclaimed, causing an instant silence.

"I know you're worried, but it's none of my business! It's a test you have to face anyway."

Lilac didn't seem to care one bit. Her smile did not imply guilt or pity at all.

"Listen carefully to rules. Watch out if you protest later during the exam because you didn't listen!"

"Especially since there are special rules in this exam!" she enthused.

Naeva, who had been watching silently, had a bad feeling.

"Special rules?"

Lilac glanced at Naeva. Naeva thought it was just a feeling, but it was true that Lilac was looking at her.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

"The special rule~"

"You will definitely pass this exam."

The words that came out of Lilac's mouth made people even more confused.

"What the hell? Don't be confused. It's simple."

Lilac stopped looking at Naeva, she was acting dismissive of difficulty exam.

"You will be given a time limit of one year for this exam. After one year, exam will be stopped and you can enter fourth floor. No one will not pass."

Hearing that didn't put anyone at ease. Their hearts were even more restless. How could there be an Ascension Exam that had no risk. There must be a big price behind the certainty of passing it.

"Hoo~ looks like you guys aren't stupid fools. That's good. Don't worry, you'll understand what I mean after listening to the rules," Lilac smiled with satisfaction.

The Conquerors, "....... (distressed)...."

Lilac flew again, two also pointing at sky which became a screen like a teacher teaching.

"Let me start by explaining..."

"One! You will randomly switch bodies and must act according to the character of that body requested by examiner!"

The sky changed, showing two dolls embracing each other.

"Two! You can return to your original body if you hug your original body."

"Whether person holding body agrees or not, you can return as long as you hug successfully!"

Now the sky showed the dolls parting from each other sadly.

"Three! If you like your new body and don't want to go back, all you have to do is keep that body until the time limit ends."

The Conqueror, "!!!!"

"So that's what it means..." muttered Bere as she furrowed her brow.

Ophelia glanced at her friends. The last glance fell on Naeva.

"This is... going to be quite difficult..."

"Four!"

The screen changed again, now showing a large doll beating a small doll.

"Nova will not be beaten equally."

"Your abilities will not be sealed at all. Well... Fight you guys who are stronger than most participants~ reclaiming your original body must be more difficult than anyone else."

Naeva felt that Lilac was pointing that out to her on purpose. Right, just like the chibi creature said. This exam might be easy for most people. But for Naeva...

"........"

It would probably be one of the most difficult exams for her.

"Those are the rules. Basically, you can pass the test if you manage to return to your body or... if you manage to maintain your new body until the time is up."

"Ah, there are penalties too!"

The screen switched back to a horde of police puppets busy monitoring and chasing criminals.

"In this test, my children will observe the situation in detail. Anyone who is declared 'not acting' by them will be punished!!! Iyeayy!!!"

"The punishment will be broken down into five offenses. The first offense will be jailed for 1 month. The second offense will be jailed for 3 months. The third offense will be imprisoned for half a year. The fourth offense will be jailed for 9 months. The fifth offense will get you expelled from the exam and banned for 5 decades~"

"In addition, for those who intend to use new body, offense punishment will be added with the caption 'imprisoned in the same cell as the owner of the original body'~ so don't think about deliberately committing an offense in order to be in a safe place, okay?" Lilac's horror smile.

Lilac immediately changed her expression, becoming cheerful again as she waved her hand.

"Ah, btw guys. Before you came earlier, I already found the exam location! Your exam location will be a small replica of the 16th floor. Adjust your acting to that place, okay~"

"That's all! The rest, you'll have to figure out on your own!"

"Bye everyone~"

Bye... As usual, all the ascension examinees were suddenly teleported by the Examiner to Examination location.

Just before teleportation, Ophelia had coded her colleagues. They nodded at her in reply to the code.

"Don't forget to gather again at the point called Ruka."

"Okay!"

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4th Floor Ascension Examination Location

[ 16th Floor Replica (Mystic Nihon) ]

Before starting to explore or anything, Naeva took a good look at her surroundings first. 16th Floor (Mystic Nihon) is a world that combines elements of ancient Japanese culture with magi, spirits, youkai and other mystical powers. (If it's hard to imagine, just imagine Inazuma).

Naeva is teleported to a city full of youkai.

"........"

Feeling that something wasn't right about her body, Naeva tried to look at her own hands.

Although it didn't show in her calm expression, she frowned slightly. Because no matter how she looked at her hands... they were the child hands.

Naeva tried to find something to look in the mirror. Coincidentally, there was a small stream in the city that she could utilize. Naeva peered at her new body through the reflection of the stream.

"........"

Her face became slightly bent.

"........"

"Why... are these Calliopes everywhere?" thought Naeva after seeing her current form.

TIIIING

|Conqueror Naeva Winter. The role you will play is "Little Sister" and your identity is now Conqueror "Emily Calliope" |

In addition to the message that suddenly appeared next to her, Naeva's feelings became even more mixed.

"Imouto...? Seriously..."

"Well... This body is indeed very supportive of that role. But imouto is a bit..."

Naeva didn't want to do it.

Really... Didn't want to do it. However, even if she didn't want to, could she refuse the official rules of the Tower? Remember, the first and foremost rule of the Tower is that the rules of the Tower are absolute for all Conquerors.

Naeva sighed heavily. She glanced at her reflection in the river.

"Oh well, what the hell."

"..... Emily Calliope, huh... This girl... is still VII Red, hmm... Pretty good for an 11-year-old. She's not inferior to Ophelia in terms of talent."

"Just--"

Naeva took out a sword from the scabbard hanging on her dress. The sword was nice and pretty, typical of Calliope's weapons. But there was a symbol engraved on the blade. The symbol looked like this [ Ç ].

"--- Ç... This girl is from a branch family, huh. What a shame," Naeva thought.

"Her talent would have shone much brighter if she was from the Main Family."

"......."

"......."

"......."

Naeva again fell silent staring at her body. Various thoughts began to run through her head.

And one of those thoughts was quite extreme.

Naeva raised the sword in her hand slightly high in front of her. She pointed a small finger at the blade and deliberately scratched her finger on the blade.

TES TES TES

Of course that would hurt her. She did the experiment because there was something she wanted to make sure of.

"......."

".... Of course..."

Naeva smiled slightly.

"My wounds... don't regenerate."

"This body doesn't carry my immortality. If I kill myself now... I can finally leave this damn life behind."