The next morning, Principal Liam was at Rocky''s door at 4am in the morning, banging on it without any regard for Buhara or Erin''s sleep.


    *Knock* *Knock* *Knock*


    "You, boy, time to go,e out-" he said, as Rocky who had barely slept four hours ago rolled over from his bed, picked up his packed supplies kit and groggily moved out.


    "Goodluck puny human, averaeushh *yawn*"


    "Goodluck Sir Rocky, may the *yawn* be with you-"


    Buhara and Erin said, as they wished Rocky good-bye.


    "Where are we going?" Rocky asked Principal Liam, who handed over a floor token to him with the number 54 on it.


    "Crush it," Principal Liam instructed as Rocky crushed the token in his palms, teleporting to floor 54 alongside the Principal.


    ************


    Upon reappearing, Rocky instantly found himself faltering to his knees, experiencing a feeling akin to his initial venture into the tower, where the sheer intensity of undiluted mana sent his senses into an overdrive.


    By this point, Rocky had grasped the truth that - ascending higher within the tower steadily improved the quality of mana, evident in the fact that spells cast on the first floor gained about 20% more potency by the time one reached the 40th floor, attributable to the enhanced quality of mana.


    The change in mana quality between floor zero where he usually stayed and floor fifty four where currently was, became too overwhelming for Rocky as for a solid minute after arriving he puked his guts out, expelling some impure mana from his body in the process.


    "Disgusting,e on boy, you''re embarrassing me here" Liam said, as he moved a little away from Rocky so that sshes of his vomit did not ruin his shoes.


    "Liam-, what brings you to my castle today? And with a weakling at that?" A feminine voice said, as it was only then that Rocky began surveying his surroundings.


    He seemed to be in a massive throne room, with marble flooring, high ceilings adorned with intricate paintings and expensive materials.


    Before him stood a snake-woman, with a massive stone embedded in her forehead and a crown over her head as she exuded an aura of regality and grandeur.


    "Nagini, I''m here to cash-in on that favor you owe me" Principal Liam said, as the snake woman immediately hissed.


    *HISSSS*


    "How dare you assume that I owe you anything? I owe you nothing ghostmancer, our debts were settled the moment I spared your life, when you entered this room" Nagini said, as Principal Liam scoffed at her words.


    "Spare who? I can make your soul my eternal ve within a minute-" Liam said, not backing down at all, as both entities flexed their auras.


    Rocky felt a suffocating pressure cover him as the two parties tried to intimidate each other with their auras, and while he was not even being directly targeted, he still felt like he would die should he be subjected to this power for too long.


    "Let me re-introduce the boy behind me, Nagini. That''s Rocky Yadav, Champion of Gemini" Liam said, as the moment he said those words Nagini receded her pressure.


    "Him?" She asked, sounding surprised as Principal Liam nodded his head in acknowledgement.


    "Gemini''s first known champion in centuries and it''s him?" Nagini reiterated as she sent an inspection spell over to Rocky, getting a grasp of his strength.


    " A SSS talent, quadra-elemental. Hard workingd" Liam said, as Nagini brought her reptilian tongue out in curiosity.


    Wriggling slowly towards Rocky, she paused right before him as it was only then that Rocky realized how massive she waspared to him.


    10 feet tall? Maybe 12, she was a giantpared to the tiny him-


    "Fear, anxiety, cowardice- hmmm, that''s all I see in his eyes" She said, looking into Rocky as Principal Liam moved behind Rocky and ced a hand over his shoulders.


    "He has too much attention on him, and no skills to back it up.


    Left alone he won''t survive a week within the tower, that''s why I need you to send him to your n''s holy chamber" Principal Liam said as before Rocky could even notice her movement, he found himself flying towards the wall as Nagini held Liam by his neck.


    *SLAM*


    Rocky felt the wind knocking out of his chest as his heightened senses suddenly numbed.


    "You think I would really send an outsider to our n''s holy chamber Liam? Have you absolutely lost your mind? If it were someone else suggesting this, he would have already lost his head-" Nagini said, sounding absolutely furious as she seemed ready to kill Liam at the slightest provocation.


    As Rocky tried to get back up, he felt the marble floor beneath him freeze up as the temperature in the room suddenly dropped.


    "Oh no-" Rocky said, as he knew exactly what this cold depicted-


    ''Specters'' Rocky thought, as thousands of ghosts covered every inch of the throne room as Liam faced off against Nagini.


    "I haven''t lost my mind Nagini. This is a deal which is profitable to you" principal Liam said boldly, as despite his neck being in the hands of a fearsome snake, he did not seem bothered at all.


    "Help him and I''ll consider our debt settled, reject it and I''ll run amok on your home turf.


    Help him and Shakuni will take notice of you, reject him and he won''t.


    Help him and you can perhaps beg Kartikeya to give you back the Snakemen gem, reject him and he won''t ever let you cross that floor.


    This is your shot Nagini, your shot to make it to the big leagues" Principal Liam said, as Nagini loosened the grip on his neck.


    She looked at Liam, then Rocky, then the floating specters within the room as she contemted the pros and cons of the deal that Liam proposed.


    Sophia was right, Liam was an absolute madman to have barged into someone''s home without even having a solid n, however, he had the guts to back his insanity up.


    Even in this situation he threatened to run amok on her floor if she refused to help him, as although Rocky felt like he was insane, he could not help but respect him as well.


    " The gains inside that chamber are not fixed and the strain it puts on the mind is too much for someone as weak as him. Even if I put him in, he won''t be able to make the most of it" Nagini said, as she understood the dangers of her family''s chamber, however, Liam remained adamant.


    "What he gains or doesn''t gain is his fortune, not something we should specte over, however, I personally think, this is the best time for him to enter, as if he makes the most of this opportunity, he can have a foundation that transcends everyone else" Liam said, as Nagini fell into deep thought.


    The snake-men were currently at odds with the Gemini Gods, however, going against Gemini was not something they could afford.


    It was true that helping their champion was a way to improve ties, and improving ties with Gemini was one of their main goals for the decade, however, it was still a big risk.


    Even if Nagini helped Rocky, Kartikeya might not give her back her ancestral jewel, and Nagini might suffer a double loss.


    This decision was definitely not easy for her to make-


    ---------


    /// A/N - There will be roughly 8 chapters uploaded tomorrow, but they will all be sent to privilege, expanding it from 2 to 10.


    The upload will be done in two batches, so please don''t be surprised when all chapters go into privilege, and enjoy the mass release ?? ///