"Challenge cleared. Clear time: 2 minutes."
"Proceeding to the seventh floor."
The tower's voice echoed through the void, and in the next instant, Aaron and his Pokémon vanished from the sixth floor and reappeared on the seventh.
...
Outside the Hidden Dragon Tower, the square was packed shoulder to shoulder.
Everyone was staring at the stone monument connected to the tower. More specifically, they were staring at Aaron's name.
Braveon's eyes burned with excitement, and even his voice trembled slightly when he spoke.
"Aaron... I knew I wasn't wrong about you."
His gaze stayed fixed on the monument, fighting spirit rising in his eyes.
"You're strong. So strong it makes me want to battle you even more."
Beside him, Blaze and Liora were watching just as tensely. Blaze clenched his teeth, looking as if his pride were already hanging by a thread.
"Aaron, buddy... it's fine if you pass Liora, but at least let me keep a little dignity. Don't take second place from me too."
He looked genuinely wounded.
"How am I supposed to impress girls if I drop again?"
Liora rolled her eyes at him.
Just then, someone in the crowd shouted.
"Holy shit! The rankings changed!"
A jolt ran through the square.
Everyone looked toward the Hidden Dragon Rankings at once.
On the stone monument, Aaron's name, which had been listed on the sixth floor, suddenly moved up to the seventh. At the same time, the rankings shifted.
First place was still Braveon, who had reached the eighth floor.
But second place had changed.
Blaze had been pushed down to third, and above him, a new name had appeared.
Aaron.
For a moment, the packed square fell completely silent.
Everyone stared at the rankings, shock written across their faces.
Then the list changed again.
Liora dropped to fifth, while Frost rose to fourth.
Normally, that alone would have caused a huge commotion. Someone overtaking Liora on the Hidden Dragon Rankings was no small thing. But compared to Aaron taking second place in one climb, Frost's rise barely registered.
Right now, no one was looking at him.
There was only one name in their eyes.
Aaron.
The same questions passed through the crowd again and again.
Was the ranking really going to change today?
Was Braveon's hold on first place finally being challenged?
Could Aaron actually take the top spot?
"Hahahaha!"
Just as the square was still stunned, Frost walked out of the tower with a smug smile.
"Well, I'm out."
He was in an excellent mood. As far as he was concerned, his ranking had definitely risen from fourth to third.
Then he saw the massive crowd outside and froze for half a second.
"Holy shit. Why are there so many people?"
When he noticed everyone staring at the monument in shock, the corners of his mouth lifted.
Perfect.
They had all seen it.
Frost flicked his long bangs back and said with deliberate casualness, "Sorry about that. Didn't mean to shock everyone."
His smile widened.
"Third place on the Hidden Dragon Rankings. Not bad, right?"
Unfortunately, no one responded.
Not a single person was looking at him.
The crowd had already exploded into excited discussion.
"That's insane. Aaron just passed Blaze and took second place."
"He came out of nowhere and threw the whole ranking into chaos."
"With this momentum, he might actually go after Braveon's first place."
"It's possible. This is getting way too exciting. Come on, Aaron! Take first!"
"Don't get ahead of yourself. The seventh and eighth floors are completely different beasts."
"Exactly. Braveon only cleared the eighth floor recently. That alone tells you how hard it is."
"Let's just watch. I don't know why, but I feel like today might actually become historic."
The voices around the square grew louder and louder, all circling around the same topic.
Aaron.
Frost stood frozen at the tower entrance, his smile stiff on his face.
One of the friends who had come with him waved awkwardly.
"Frost... stop embarrassing yourself and come back."
Frost's face burned.
For one horrible second, he wished the ground would open up and swallow him. He hurried back to his group, then raised his head to look at the rankings.
His eyes nearly popped out.
He had passed Liora, yes.
But he was still fourth.
Blaze was third.
And second place belonged to an unfamiliar name.
Aaron.
"Aaron?"
Frost's expression changed as he remembered the kid who had entered the tower with Braveon's group.
"Isn't that the guy who came with them?"
"That's him," one of his friends said, his expression grim.
Another swallowed before adding, "And he's even more ridiculous than Braveon. He crushed his way through the first six floors and already entered the seventh."
Frost's face darkened.
"You cleared the sixth floor," his friend continued, "but in the time it took you to do that, he went from the first floor all the way to the seventh."
Frost said nothing.
His expression only grew uglier.
The moment he had been so proud of had been completely buried under Aaron's spotlight. He had walked out expecting cheers and admiration, only to become background noise in someone else's legend.
He looked like a clown.
And there was nothing he could say.
...
Inside the Hidden Dragon Tower.
Seventh Floor.
Aaron and his seven Pokémon appeared in the new space.
"GRAAAH!"
A furious roar rang out as powerful Pokémon appeared one after another, each giving off an imposing aura.
The lineup was still identical to Aaron's own team.
But their levels had risen again.
The strongest among them had already reached peak Gym level.
They were only one step away from breaking through to Champion-class.
Aaron looked at them calmly, a faint smile tugging at his lips.
Now it was finally starting to feel like a real challenge.
...