Capítulo 33: Results
There was banter between Winston and Khun for a whole 20 minutes about the price Khun would have to pay for Winston's help.
Even Winston would admit without doubt that Khun was not an easy person to swindle anything of monetary value out of; but eventually, it seemed that the swindler potion won through it.
Winston looked at the time. 5:54 pm. He smiled and Khun as they both got up and shook hands.
"Pleasure doing business with you." Winston chuckled.
Khun nodded in agreement.
"I look forward to cooperating with you." He smiled.
At that moment, there was another knock on the door.
Knock knock~
"Hey! Come out!" Zarhan yelled from the other side.
"Mr. Winston! Let's go!" And along came Amon's voice.
Winston looked at Khun, "Ready to commence, I guess?" He asked.
Khun gave him a devious smirk.
"Of course."
With that, Winston, Amon, Zarhan and Khun headed for the main hall of the mothership, where the test results were to be told.
~~~
Two figures walked along a long hallway, both having a similar yellowish blonde hair. One of these figures wore a blue robe adorned with yellow embossing, while the other wore a white lab coat.
It was the test director, Hansung Yu and the test administrator Lero ro.
As they walked, Lero ro broke the silence.
"It's finally the time to give out the results for the last test. This time's regulars were really too good. Honestly speaking, I wouldn't want to drop any of them." Lero ro chuckled. "I suppose I've grown too fond of them." He smiled.
"Director."
"Yes?"
"The 'dangers of the tower' you mentioned before... are there any among the regulars here?" He asked. Hansung glanced at him from the corner of his eye.
"...Mr. Lero ro." He spoke. Lero ro looked at him, both continuing to walk still.
"Did I ever tell you about how tests were conducted before?" He asked.
Lero ro shook his head.
"The tests on this floor used to be conducted in a similar format to that of the other floors. A more complex testing format was adopted after the incident with Phantaminum."
Lero ro's eyes widened a bit, looking at Hansung Yu in surprise.
"You do know about Phantaminum's invasion of the Jahad Castle right? He massacred the best of Jahad's Rankers. Everyone in the tower was shocked by the overwhelming power he possessed, power that directly propelled him to the top of the Tower's rankings.
"And then, there was Urek Mazino. He also displayed monstrous powers, to the point that the group he created, Wolhaiksong, is so strong that even the ten great families fear them." Hansung Yu chuckled.
"At that moment, the Great rulers of the tower found out that the tower they cherished so much could crumble through the appearance of a greater power. If the individuals who were unsatisfied with the tower and individuals with mysterious power were to enter the tower... then the balance of power would crumble down." He shook his head.
"But what decides if someone is dangerous or not? If that someone needs to be weeded out at the test floor itself?" Lero ro questioned.
Hansung's smile widened just a tiny bit.
"That's what we determine here, Mr. Lero ro. What better way to do that than a life and death struggle. What better way to gauge someone's threat level than to put that person into a competition where their own life and existence is at risk? Don't you think that's fair? If they can bear all of that and emerge victorious, it can be said that they're chosen by the gods and hence, are fit to climb. If they die in between, they were better off not attempting to climb in the first place." Hansung laughed.
"In simpler words, the floor of tests is a massive sea wall, so save the tower from a turbulent tsunami." He said.
They both reached a giant red door, beyond which lied the main hall.
"...I don't really like that idea.." lero ro droned.
"Is it really helpful to sort those out who might pose a threat to the rules of the tower? Isn't everything in the tower subject to change in the first place?" He glanced at the director.
"An ocean without waves; isn't that just a pond?" He said. "Rather than to die in slow decay, isn't it better to live fighting the waves?"
Hansung was quiet for a moment.
"If you don't like it you can quit." He said, making Lero ro looked at him strangely. "The tests on the test floor will carry on. Whether you give your approval or not, whether anyone is dissatisfied with it or not. It simply does not matter what anyone thinks." He shook his head.
Lero ro narrowed his eyes.
"Then... test director?"
"Yes?"
"What say you? Who in the current batch is dangerous to the tower?" Lero ro asked.
Hansung chuckled.
"I can count a couple." He hummed, pinching his chin between his thumb and index finger.
"But if I had to name a few... I suppose Anaak Jahad, and that small miserably boy... what was his name? Bam?" He laughed.
"Oh, and I almost forgot." He shook his head.
"That fisherman. Winston Heath." With that, Hansung opened the doors and walked into the hall.
With a heavy expression on his face, Lero ro followed.
~~~
Winston walked into the hall alongside Khun, Amon and Zarhan.
His eyes wandered towards every regulars that sat around. Most of them held a nervous expression, some even chewing their nails.
Winston shook his head and walked to a free bench along with Zarhan and Amon. As for Khun, Rak and Bam seemed to have saved him a seat.
"Excuse me? Did the crocodile... grow smaller?"
Winston asked with a dumbfounded expression. His eyes were a bit unfocused as he looked on towards the chibi figure of Rak who had shrunk to one third his original size.
At that moment, Zarhan spoke up.
"That's right! He said the test director did this!" He exclaimed, which made Rak turn to him with a pissed snarl.
Then, Amon commented, "Though most regulars that are too big to move around comfortably will chose to willingly shrink themselves down through the Floor guardian's permission." He said.
Winston nodded in enlightenment.
As they sat down on their seats, the doors to the front, right beside the giant screen opened up, revealing two figure walking in. It was Hansung Yu and Lero ro.
Lero ro stood at the podium while Hansung sat down on a chair behind a table, calmly sipping tea from a tea cup he had managed to somehow conjure up.
"Good afternoon, regulars!" Lero ro began.
"Starting now.. I will announce the results of the position test!" He exclaimed. And with that, the screen behind him lit up suddenly, showing pictures of the regulars that had passed, based on their respective positions.
Among the regulars, someone gulped in nervousness.
Fisherman - Winston Heath, Anaak, Endorsi, Death Ryan(Injured; Failed), Cheonhwa Hong.
Spear Bearers - Ghost, Rak Wraithraiser, Zarhan Zulasekail, Paracule.
Scout - Shibisu, Hatz, Amon.
Light Bearer - Khun Agueri Agnis, Michelle Light(Injurer; Failed), Levin.
Wave Controller - Phonsekal Laure, The 25th Bam.
A wave of exclamations washed over the regulars.
Some exclaimed in happiness and relief that they had managed to pass, while the other exclaimed in regret and disbelief, some even in anger that they had failed.
One regular in particular was especially vocal about it, who was Paracule's acquaintance who had partaken in the 'Spear Bearer's Revolution' with him.
Because of that, the test director, Hansung Yu got up from his seat and walked to the center of the podium. Then, extending his hand, he called him to the stage.
The regular walked to the stage amidst everyone's stares. Winston activated his spirit vision, having a feeling that something interesting was about to happen.
As the regular climbed onto the stage, Hansung Yu challenged him to get off without losing his mind.
The price was him passing the test.
Just then, his shoulder snapped.
"Aaaarggggh!" He screamed in pain as he fell onto the ground, clutching his shoulder.
Winston's eyed widened as he felt the shinsu close to the test director roar and twist in unnatural patterns. The waves around him seemed to turn almost ferocious, relentlessly rushing into the regular's body, shredding it from the inside.
"Arrrgh! My leg!" The regular screamed again, crawling desperately to get off the stage, tears going down his cheeks.
"Aaarrrgh! My balls! Not my balls!" He yelled suddenly, before passing out from the pain.
Nobody spoke for a few moments. Winston's eyes remained wide opened, overlooking the strange waves that the shinsu moved. A smile was plastered on his face.
So this is the sliver of a ranker's power! He thought.
The hall was quiet for a moment before Hansung spoke.
"Is there anyone else dissatisfied with the results?" He asked, throwing a casual glance at all the regulars.
Every regular that hadn't passed the test suddenly felt themselves tremble unknowingly.
No one was willing to speak out, lest they met the same fate as the regular before.
"Damn..." Winston heard Zarhan mutter from the side.
Then, as Hansung was about to head back, a lone hand propped itself up, and a voice called out.
"I am dissatisfied with the test results!"
Everyone looked over towards the speaker, finding none other than Khun, the cunning young man standing in his seat. Khun held a smile on his face as his eyes met that of Hansung's.
Sigh!
A tired sigh escaped from Hansung's mouth.
"Please come up here." He said.
Amon who was beside Winston suddenly whispered to him.
"What could he be trying to do?" He asked.
Winston shrugged his shoulders, shaking his head as he did so.
"I don't know. I can't tell what's going on in that devious mind of his."
Amon looked towards the stage again.
Khun slowly walked over to the stage, both his hands in his pockets.
"What were you dissatisfied about? You passed didn't you? Don't tell me you want me to fail you?" Hansung asked with a tired sigh.
Khun shook his head.
"No. What I have a problem with is Michelle Light. I want her to pass on to the next test."
"Michelle Light? But she's one of your competitors isn't she?"
"She's important to my friend." Khun smiled.
Hansung went quiet for a moment before he burst out into laughter.
"I'm sorry, I didn't take you to be able to make any friends." He said.
Khun didn't mind his comment, only looking on for his reply.
"But she's Injured." Hansung said. "By the rules of the tests, she cannot partake in the next test and hence cannot pass."
Khun's devious smirk seemed to widen at that moment.
"That's right. That's why I will take the administrator's test." He continued as a wave of surprise and horror washed over both the regulars and the position teachers who were seated to the right.
"I heard that although the supervisors carry out the tests now, the administrator has the Supreme authority over any test. The rules can be changed as per his discretion."
"That's right." Hansung nodded.
"So, I'll take the administrator's test and get permission for Michelle Light to join the test."
Hansung was quiet for a moment.
"Since you know all that, you must also know why everyone doesn't take that test right?" He asked.
"It's because the test is too difficult for everyone else. Though I don't think it'll be a problem for me." He chuckled.
"You're very cocky. But that's not the only reason people don't take the test." Hansung continued. "The real reason is because there is a requirement." As he said this, there was silence in the hall for a moment.
"Requirement?"
"The requirement for taking the administrator's test is that, like Jahad and Urek Mazino, you have to be an irregular." A large smirk made it's way onto his face as he whispered in a voice that echoed throughout the hall.
Winston cringed, seeing Khun's plan fall apart so easily.
Well, can't say he didn't try. He shook his head in disappointment. Too bad there's no way I'm going to reveal myself, or even... Winston's thoughts stopped for a moment. He looked at Bam from the corner of his eye.
Actually, he might just do that. He thought.
Hansung instructed Khun to go back to his seat, however just at that moment a voice boomed out in the hall.
"Wait!" Everyone's eyes turned to the figure of a young boy.
The 25th Bam.
"I'll... I'll take the test!" He yelled.
"Mr. Bam, did you not hear me?" Hansung raised an eyebrow.
However, Winston noticed a curious thing in his spirit vision. The test director... he seemed... almost happy?
What is this?
"It doesn't matter!" Bam yelled.
"Because I'm an Irregular!"
With that, Winston saw Hansung Yu's emotions turning, getting happier and excited.
He narrowed his eyes.
Something's... not right.
~~~
A/N: The last sub arc of the first volume has arrived finally!
Give me your stones!
Also, leave a review!
Capítulo 34: Administrator's Test
"I felt something was wrong with Bam... but I didn't guess that he was an irregular." Shibisu spoke, breaking the silence among the regulars that stood around the stage.
Bam's confession came as a surprise for everyone. No one had suspected him for being an irregular, except for Winston who had all but concluded the fact already.
After Bam's confession, Hansung Yu agreed for him to be able to take the administrator's test and sent him to meet the floor administrator.
As for the rest of the regulars, Hansung gave them a choice.
Either take the test with Bam, or take the next test separately. Even if one could pass the administrator's test, that would entail that they had helped an irregular go up the tower. If they didn't, it would probably result in Bam's failure as no one would be able to assist him in the test.
"Excuse me?" A small girl with a backpack raised her hand. "What's an irregular? And why is everyone so surprised?" She asked.
Shibisu replied, "An irregular is someone that isn't chosen to climb the tower. They open the gates by themselves and arrive into the tower. They are considered dangerous as everytime an irregular arrives into the tower, chaos has followed. They are all known to possess strength beyond that of any regular."
The small girl nodded in enlightenment.
Then, she turned her head towards the others and asked.
"Then! What should we do?!"
Paracule who stood quietly spoke up.
"Of course we won't help! We can't ruin our lives to bring some girl up! What has he done for us anyway!?" Paracule yelled, "Think about it! It'll be insane to help him! Don't you agree!"
Just when the others were about to speak up, a singular comment shut everyone up.
"Yeah... I agree." Everyone's eyed turned to Khun to stood with his head lowered. His eyes couldn't be seen, hidden by his hair.
Winston smiled, seeing his calm and collected emotions.
"I feel sorry for Bam, but I can't help an irregular."
Oh Khun. Even now, manipulating people to your liking. Winston shook his head with a smile.
Hatz turned to Khun and snarled.
"Khun! You sick piece of crap!" He yelled. "How can you say that!?"
"I don't like it either okay?!" Khun yelled back. "But it can't be helped?! If it gets out that I helped an irregular, I'll be ruined! I might even get expelled from my family!"
Hatz gnashed his teeth in anger.
However, just as he was about to move, a rough sound rang out.
Crash!
Khun fell down onto the ground, his lip bleeding crimson. Everyone looked in surprise towards the small crocodilian creature that had smashed it's head right into Khun's face.
"What the hell are you doing, you crocodile?!" Khun yelled.
Rak looked down at him, his eyes filled with unbelievable contempt.
"Look at you turtles. Cowering beneath your shells in fear." He said. "That's why you're nothing but a turtle. You're too afraid to hold your heads up."
Khun propped his upper body up from the ground, taking support with his arms. "You don't know what you're talking-"
"I don't care! The Black turtle is my prey, so I'll follow him!" Rak declared, his voice echoing through the hall.
"You turtles keep cowering inside your own shell! I'm following him! I don't want to lose my prey!" Rak yelled and began to walk out of the hall. As he closed the doors behind him, Winston walked forward.
"I'm going with him as well." He said, making everyone look over to him.
His eyes scanned Khun, who was sitting on the ground with a guilty expression. Winston's eyes were clear as he said with a strange smile, "I don't think anyone would want to be with a cowering traitor that betrays his friends to keep his family name..." He shook his head.
Zarhan held his hands behind his head and turned his head.
"I agree. Let's go."
With that, all of three of them began to walk out.
As they did, many other regulars also followed.
Anaak, Shibisu, Hatz, Endorsi and everyone else that was in the room, even Paracule at the end.
Everyone left, leaving Khun laying on the ground at the end.
~~~
"..." Khun looked towards the ceiling, lost in thought.
His eyes were slightly glazed over, appearing a lighter shade of blue than normal.
Then, a voice sounded from the side.
"Hey... turtle."
Khun's eyes turned to the speaker, finding Rak standing with his arms crossed.
"Stand up. All the other turtles are joining the test." He said.
Khun, with a smile stood up and said, "You're pretty intuitive... Rak?"
Rak's maw adorned a strange smile that looked more menacing than happy.
"I'm the only crocodile... that knows what's inside the shell..." He said.
Khun smiled in response as he looked on towards Rak.
He could not help but reminisce about the moments they had spent together.
"You know... you just called yourself a crocodile." He said with a chuckle.
"W-What?! No, I didn't! I'm Rak Wraithraiser!"
Khun laughed, making Rak fume in annoyance.
However, as he watched on for a few seconds, he too began to chuckle. Then, both began to laugh together. A sweet melody of a deep friendship, reverberating through the test floor.
~~~
Winston stood alone in a hallway of the mothership.
His eyes were lying in wait, looking around the corner of the path where a door stood.
After some time, the door opened up and out walked a young man with short brown hair.
The young man didn't notice him and walked forward without issue.
"You should be more aware of your surroundings." Winston chuckled. The young boy jumped in surprise and looked back.
"Ah! Mr. Winston." He scratched the back of his head.
Winston smiled, "Everyone will be joining in on the test with you. You can rest assured."
Bam's eyes widened a bit in surprise.
"Really?! That's great!"
Winston walked towards him, prompting Bam to walk along. Their footsteps were the only thing heard in the hallway for a few moments.
"Everyone was pretty shaken up about you being an irregular." He said.
"Is that so?" Bam's face held a rare expression of regret. "What about Mr. Khun and Rak?"
"They were too in some ways. But they were the ones that didn't take any time to consider following through with you."
Bam heaved a sigh of relief.
Winston quieted down again for some time, before speaking out again.
"Bam." Bam looked at him. "Are you really sure about this?" Winston's eyes met his, a strange smile still on his face.
Bam nodded in resolution.
"I am!"
"The tower doesn't take well to irregulars entering it. You could very well be in for a world of pain."
"It doesn't matter. Because I will take Rachel to see the stars." He nodded.
"But is it even worth it?" Winston asked, tilting his head. "Are the stars worth risking your life over? Is that girl worth risking your existence on? Is she worth all of that importance you place on her?"
Bam nodded again. "She is."
Winston sighed.
He looked at Bam again.
"...what if the stars aren't as beautiful as they say? What if what's up there doesn't satisfy you?"
"It doesn't matter. Because Rachel will be there with me."
"You're like a lost puppy. You wouldn't get anywhere with that attitude."
"Maybe. But I will make it work."
"How?"
Bam went quiet for a moment.
"I will. Somehow."
Winston's eyes narrowed at him. He was unsure of what to say next. He wasn't sure why, but the boy's over dependence on the girl was sure to cause some problems down the line. It didn't matter what, or how, but it was surely going to cause some, that was what Winston felt from his intuition.
And one thing was for sure, anything Winston's intuition told him, he would follow through with it.
Eventually, Winston nodded.
"Then I say good luck to you." He said, motioning Bam to keep walking.
Bam nodded and walked away without another word, except for a particular phrase.
"Thank you." He said.
Winston stared at his back for a few more moments, the same smile on his face still.
The stars... He remembered how Bam rushed towards Rachel in the Hide and Seek test, his face enveloped by confusion and fear. Fear of losing the person most important to him.
I suppose you already have your star. Winston reminisced about the sky. The thousands of colours, pale coloured dots littering the sky, covering the black canvas in an ocean of light through which occasional pieces of black space peeked through.
He remembered himself trotting through lands, barefoot for miles and miles, looking for a place to find food and shelter amid the watchful eyes of the stars.
He looked over again. Bam had already disappeared at the edge of the hallway.
Winston's thoughts were a mystery.
~~~
With Bam getting the permission of the floor administrator to take the test, along with the agreement of every other regular to take the test alongside him, the last test for the test floor was to be conducted 2 days after.
Within this day, the regulars were to recover and train for the test, getting ready for it.
Within this time, Winston got better acquainted with his mystical powers and the abilities shinsu provided him with, getting stronger overall.
He had already tried using ritualistic magic to pray to himself, and the results were also somewhat satisfactory. The first thing he noticed was the fact that Macsethian could indeed be used to trigger the power of nature around the user, and could be substituted for Hermes and Ancient Hermes, or any other mystical language in Lord of Mysteries.
The second thing he noticed, was the fact that ritualistic magic was made stronger through shinsu around him, allowing for an increase in efficiency and decrease the expenditure of his own spirituality.
And finally, the shinsu around him could be substituted for the spirit world of Lord of Mysteries.
He had already had some doubts about it from the moment he had first activated Spirit vision, but now, his doubts had been made clear after the use of ritualistic magic. But there were still obvious differences between the two.
Spirit world and Shinsu in the tower were completely different domains. One was a different aspect of reality that transcended the very concept of spacial dimension, while the other transcended reality in some forms.
Spirit world houses creatures of various forms and could be used to travel in the blink of an eye, while the shinsu does all of that and more pretty commonly all over the tower.
There were also a lot of differences to name, but all of them were crossed by the utilization of shinsu.
There was nothing the spirit world accomplished that the shinsu could not. The resource seemed almost omnipotent.
This made Winston conclude one thing.
The shinsu was not, in fact, synonymous with the spirit world; but only acted as such because he needed it to. It perfectly fulfilled the role of the spirit world in terms of both ritualistic magic and divination, along with the empowerment of even Mundane language like Macsethian, allowing it to blaze up with power of nature.
Shinsu truly was, a power source that could be described as 'limitless.'
It also made him conclude a very important question he had since arriving in the tower.
The difference between spirituality and Shinsu.
Honestly speaking, there was no conceivable difference, solely because shinsu could simply act as spirituality and more. In fact, his it had somehow managed to transform his spirituality to mimic it's own properties, making it stronger.
That was the reason there were no differences to name in case of spirituality and shinsu.
~~~
A/N: Throw me dem stonez.
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