章 9: Chapter 9. The pre-test
[Part of our luck, I don't know about that... I guess it was just the effect of your Magic Resistance, Master. But I don't know how that kid passed…]
Isaac didn't reply to Mondred's words and only smiled. That kid was born with Magic Resistance maxed out.
"Mr. Isaac, Mr. Bam, you can sit down over here." Lero Ro smiled at the two and began guiding them toward a bench at the side.
"Y-yes!" Bam stuttered with a timid smile and then let out a sigh of relief. 'Phew. So lucky… Did Sir Isaac do something to help me pass?'
Meanwhile, Isaac looked at Lero Ro with surprise due to him already knowing his name, but as he thought about it for a moment, it appeared that Headon must have registered him under this name, and Lero Ro had already memorized all candidates' names; he might have even observed him during the first test.
As Isaac and Bam sat down on a bench, the other Regulars slowly began approaching the Shinsoo barrier to touch and test it.
Lero Ro sat down next to the two of them and said, "Hey, while we're waiting, do you two want to play a game?"
"Uh, what kind of game?" Bam asked.
Isaac also briefly glanced at Lero Ro, before returning to observe people behind the veil while listening.
Lero Ro replied, "Let's guess which Regular will be the first to pass through the Shinsoo. If you get it right, I will answer any question you have to ask. In return, if I'm right, you two have to answer a question as well."
"What? Really?! Sounds good!" Bam replied excitedly.
Lero Ro smiled and said, "Then I'll go first. I chose that green girl. I think her name was Anak… Who will you choose?"
Isaac faintly smiled when he saw 'Anak' approaching the veil. After watching for a moment, he said, "I agree."
[Yeah, that green girl's the strongest among these small fries. And her weapon seems powerful; watch out for it, Master.]
"Hm…. I also choose her!" Bam called out quickly as he looked at Anak and went with his gut feeling. He really wanted to ask Lero Ro a question about Rachel.
"Good guesses!" Lero Ro smiled at the two mysteries.
Soon enough, all of their guesses proved to be correct as Anak passed through the barrier first as if it wasn't even there. After that, a teenage swordsman with two katanas followed her.
Lero Ro said. "It seems like it's a tie. But since I'm a Ranker, I'll still answer your questions."
Hearing this, Bam's face immediately lit up. "What? Really?! Um…"
Isaac saw Bam looking at him, as if politely waiting for him to ask his question first, and said, "You can go ahead first."
Bam was excited and turned to Lero Ro. "Um, okay! Did a girl with light blonde hair and freckles pass by here?"
While Bam began chatting with Lero Ro, and Lero Ro seemed to want to get some information out of him this way, Isaac focused on observing everyone behind the Shinsoo barrier.
Many Regulars passed on the first try after putting some effort into it, but among those that remained, he saw an ordinarily looking short-haired man in a lame-looking full-body purple tracksuit; the man desperately tried to exert pressure on the veil with his forehead, seemingly fruitlessly, while Anak and the swordsman stared at him from the other side, seeming to be his teammates.
At the side, Lero Ro began explaining about the Irregulars, the Inner, Outer and Middle Tower to Bam, while Isaac paid partial attention to it and watched the man in a tracksuit together with a black-haired woman shouting together while banging helplessly at the veil.
At that time, another man yawned lazily next to them, rolled up his blanket from the ground and simply walked through the veil, before plopping himself to sleep in the middle of the Shinsoo barrier.
'Another named character, the sleeping guy. Damn, I forgot his name because he doesn't have any presence in the Third Arc,' Isaac noted that person.
As Isaac kept observing the various Regulars, at one point a man behind the veil began shouting: "DAMN IT! How can this useless test eliminate me? I don't know what this 'barrier' is all about, but I'm strong enough without any strange powers! I'm the strongest of the Regulars here!"
"You eliminate me just because I can't pass this test? But those two passed just because they happened to be at the right place at the right time! This is nonsense! Why should I be eliminated when I'm much stronger!"
[Hey, Master, should we test him?]
Isaac chuckled at Mordred's joking words.
But at that point, Lero Ro seemed to have had enough of the man's complaints, as he began walking over to the troublesome Regular, an expression of tranquil annoyance on his face.
He passed through the barrier and approached the Complaining Regular.
"What? What more do you have to say?" The Regular taunted.
In front of him, Lero Ro remained expressionless and silent.
Isaac formed a wry smile at this scene.
[Eh, that guy's quite dumb.]
The Regular continued: "I'm sick of listening to your nonsense! You think you're above us just because you're a Ranker?"
[Nevermind, Master, he's dumber than I thought.]
Isaac's smile turned even more wry.
But, as if to prove that this man's stupidity exceeded all expectations, he didn't stop there and continued talking to Lero Ro: "You just look skinny and weak, and judging by how you're administering this kind of test, I can tell how weak you are."
"Heh, I gave you one last chance, but you didn't get it," Lero Ro chuckled as he finally spoke up.
Then, blue electric currents began to flow around the blonde man.
"Huh?" The Regular stepped back, seemingly not understanding what the Ranker was saying.
"How stupid are you, fine then, I will teach you the harsh way so that you realize…"
As Lero Ro momentarily paused, electricity started arcing around him like a thunderstorm.
Seeing this, Isaac's eyes slightly lit up, seeing a fellow lightning user. Perhaps Lero Ro could teach him some techniques related to lightning control in the future?
"... About the power that lies above, and why you can't go up," Lero Ro added.
The pressure from his Shinsoo then landed on the Regular, paralyzing him.
Lero Ro said, "There is no limit to Shinsoo. With it, you can obtain immortality or God-like powers. There are even rumors about the Notorious Enryu being capable of creating living things with Shinsoo."
More and more pressure seemed to be concentrating on the poor Regular.
Isaac remained expressionless while Bam next to him was looking at this scene in shock.
Lero Ro: "However, as it is for every man, we each have our own limits."
At that moment, the Regular started to buckle down from the pressure.
"When one faces an opponent with infinite possibility, and discovers his limits, he falls into despair."
"Aaaaaaaghr!" The affected Regular started screaming madly from pain.
Lero Ro continued speaking, unaffected by the man's screaming, "That veil of Shinsoo was my last show of mercy before you enter the Tower and fall into deeper despair. Those who don't qualify... get lost."
As the electricity danced across the upper part of the veil, the Regular started screaming even louder. "AAAAAAGHR!"
"Feeling pain?" Lero Ro asked sarcastically. "This concentration of Shinsoo on you is normal above the 30th Floor."
"This… is normal?!" The Regular spat out with an incredulous expression.
"So do you get it now?" Lero Ro asked as the Regular dropped to his knees. "It's not that you aren't strong enough or your efforts weren't enough. It's just because… You just aren't one of the chosen ones."
As Lero Ro finished his explanation, the pressure from the Regular seemed to have been lifted, as the man bent down and began throwing up onto the ground.
"Go back to the floor you came from. You're not qualified to climb the Tower." With those final words Lero Ro began walking away from the man.
After finishing vomiting, the Regular that was pushed down to his knees coughed out, looked up at the sky and shouted out in indignation: "Why, Why, WHY AM I NOT CHOSEN?! Do you know how hard I've tried to climb the Tower? I risked my life to train myself, and I gave up everything I had! There's nothing left for me when I go back! Not even my wife and kids..."
As he screamed, the sounds of his anguish soon turned into sobbing, but Lero Ro continued walking away, apathetic to the man's plight.
Isaac's expression gradually turned darker as he imagined what it would be like if he was someone in that man's position.
What if he trained hard his entire life with the dream of climbing the Tower, giving up everything… Only to be declined at the starting line because he was not 'The Chosen One'.
'Fucking bullshit…'
Isaac clicked his tongue inwardly, but then he shook his head.
He hated this kind of reality, but since he luckily did have talent and strength, he dropped the thought, since it didn't concern him.
'I guess, stopping these people here with this barrier would at least allow them to turn back and keep their lives.' Isaac sighed as he glanced at Lero Ro who was slowly walking back.
[Phew. I honestly thought this Lero Ro guy would kill him. I guess he's a pretty nice guy…] Mordred commented.
Isaac wanted to agree, but Lero Ro spoke up at that point.
"Isn't God… cruel?" Lero Ro asked, seeming to look at Isaac in particular. He then sat down next to Isaac, turned his head toward the Shinsoo barrier and continued, "When God first shows you the world it might seem like you might be able to achieve anything in this limitless world… But one day God appears again and tells you: 'This is your limit'. Even though there are so many things out there that you still want to have."
Isaac noticed Lero Ro looking at him, and Bam seemed to be lost in thought, so he slowly replied, "I don't know about God, but sure it's cruel. But I think what's even worse than failure or encountering a barrier on the way is… not even having a chance in the first place."
After discovering his supernatural abilities, Isaac too thought that he was special. It's only later that he discovered his limits and how insignificant his powers were as a Magus when compared to someone like a Caster class Servant.
No matter how he tried, he could only do so much; his limited talent for Magecraft hurt his soul.
But it is also a fact that he was still quite superhuman while he could have instead been born as an ordinary person, never being able to explore the mysteries of Magecraft and not even have the rights to participate in a Holy Grail War.
"... I think that's true," Lero Ro said thoughtfully.
Bam softly spoke up, "Sir Isaac, Mr. Lero Ro. Do you think… I deserve to go up the Tower?"
Lero Ro observed the two abnormalities, then said, "Well… I wouldn't know. But I'm sure there will be a time when you will also reach your limit. I only hope that you'll find what you're looking for before that… whatever that is."
'Rachel…' Bam thought.
'Hmm…' Isaac hummed inwardly. He could guess Lero Ro's thoughts.
In Lero Ro's eyes, no matter how talented, everyone had their limit.
Even if that limit was at the level of being a top 100 Ranker or even the strongest person in the Tower, one would still encounter their limit just like Jahad did.
Isaac then thought of what he himself wanted to find in the Tower.
Did he want to reach the top? Did he want immortality and absolute power? Did he want to polish his magical abilities? Did he want to surpass Jahad? Did he want an interesting life? Did he want beautiful women and love?
But then he dropped this thought, because, while he desired those things, what he learned was the most important was having an interesting and meaningful life in the now, and to follow his heart. The rest he can figure out on the way.
Suddenly, he stood up from his seat and began walking toward the veil.
In the distance, he saw the man in a tracksuit forcefully pressing his face against the rubbery Shinsoo barrier and repeatedly being bounced right back.
That man tried again and again while his face was being twisted, but he wasn't making any progress at all.
At that time, many people had already passed through the barrier while the rest mostly stood at the back with depressed expressions - it seemed as if they already gave up.
As Isaac came closer, the man in the tracksuit shouted out loudly to the sky, "Aaaaah! The chosen?! Whatever! Who chooses who?!"
The woman next to him smirked and also began pushing at the Shinsoo wall.
""Aaaaaaaagh!...""
The two then kept pushing against the barrier with their hands, trying their best to push through while shouting out.
Even though it seemed to have no effect.
Mordred commented in a low tone, [These two are desperate. I don't think it will make a change though.]
Standing in front of the two behind the veil, Isaac faintly smiled and called out: "You two, keep pushing! You can do it!"
[Huh?]
Shibisu and the woman momentarily stopped as they looked at him, then smirked and kept pushing at the wall while shouting even more loudly:
"I will go… up the Tower!"
"Handsome guys are on the other side, nothing can stop me!"
Isaac laughed back and then turned his head to the side where he saw that Khun finally decided to pass through the barrier.
Khun had no trouble walking through the barrier itself, but he clearly had some trouble pulling his suitcase through, before finally managing it.
"Hey, Isaac!" Khun first waved toward Isaac and walked over while also sending a glance toward Bam who appeared to be busy chatting with Lero Ro in the distance.
Isaac smiled at Khun who soon appeared next to him and said, "Khun, can you give me a handkerchief?"
"A handkerchief?" Khun showed a slightly confused expression.
Isaac smiled and added, "Or even better two."
"Hmm? Sure." Khun absentmindedly reached into his bag, rummaged through it for a while, then gave Isaac the first handkerchief and then the second one.
"Thank you." Isaac smiled as he received the two white handkerchiefs with a blue logo at the corner.
"What do you need them for?" Khun asked, seeing that Isaac didn't seem intent on using them.
Isaac coolly smiled as he said, "Ah, they're not for me."
As he pointed with his chin toward the Shinsoo veil, the man in a tracksuit and the black-haired woman just finished squeezing through the barrier while wearing twisted and pained expressions.
"Yay, I passed!"
"Yess!"
The two shouted out in unison while gripping their fists and expressing utter joy, their entire faces covered in blood.
Isaac stepped forward. As he attracted their attention, he grinned and said, "Want some help wiping that blood off?"
Chuckling, he threw a handkerchief to each of them.
The two showed awkward expressions at first, but then laughed it off, noticing that Isaac wasn't making fun of them, but genuinely wanted to help them.
"Haha… thanks!" the tracksuit guy grinned with a joyful expression as he wiped off the blood.
"Thanks… handsome guy," while the woman sent Isaac's teasing and flirtatious glance as she proceeded to do the same.
As the two wiped off most of the blood and let out sighs of relief and joy, Isaac stretched out his hand toward the man in a tracksuit, "By the way, I'm Isaac."
The man in a tracksuit smiled back and returned his handshake. "My name is Shibisu, nice to meet you."
"Serena." The woman smiled at Isaac while thoughtlessly giving the handkerchief back to him, this time covered in blood.
At this, Isaac smiled and pointed with his thumb to the side at Khun. "Ah, you can give it back to him."
Khun smiled wryly as he looked at the now blood-soaked handkerchief that looked as if someone blew their bloody nose into it. "... You guys can keep them."
…
After paying farewells to Shibisu and Serena, Isaac and Khun began walking deeper in, and soon Bam ran up to them to reunite with them.
Seeing Bam approach from Lero Ro's side, Isaac recalled that he could also ask Lero Ro a question, but he felt it would be better to save it for the future.
"Wow, Sir Isaac! How did you know these two would pass?" Bam asked curiously when he approached Isaac and Khun..
[Yeah! How did you know?] Mordred asked.
"It was just a guess." Isaac lightly smiled.
Khun looked at Isaac, secretly wondering whether it was really a fluke or not.
After all, these two Regulars were the very last ones that passed through the barrier. They had so much trouble passing through that it was almost a miracle that they managed to adjust to the pressure in the end.
But Isaac only shrugged his shoulders and began leading the way ahead.
章 10: Chapter 10. The Door Test
Soon after Shibisu and Serena passed through the Shinsoo veil, the Pre-test ended and all Regulars that remained were led to a spacious plaza.
A cute-looking girl in a gold-black outfit with yellow hair bound into pigtails stood in front of everyone as she cheerfully announced: "Those of you who passed the test, make a line! The next test will be on a first come, first served basis!"
"Hi, I'm the test guide, Yellowy. The test will be conducted one team after another. For the remaining teams, please wait and follow the guide robot's instructions."
Following that, the many teams present slowly formed a very long line.
With many Regulars pushing each other to be the first to take the test, most still avoided bumping into Isaac and Khun, and Isaac's team ended up somewhere in the middle of the queue.
Once the queue was in place, Yellowy announced: "Well, the test will begin. The first team may enter now."
After the first team entered the testing room, silence descended among Isaac's group of three for a good while.
Staying outside, they had no way to know what the next test was about.
Minute after minute passed.
At one point, Khun sighed, "Sigh... Too bad we hadn't taken an earlier spot. Waiting is so boring."
Isaac replied, "... Well, it's always better to not be the first. It can give us a chance to observe the others and perhaps figure out some clues before the test. That's why I wanted us to be somewhere in the middle."
"I suppose so. But just what kind of clues can we gain while standing in line?" Khun said, not looking fully convinced.
Isaac said nothing.
After a while, upon noticing Isaac and Bam curiously looking around, Khun broke the silence again and asked, "What's so interesting, Isaac?"
Isaac looked back at Khun. He slightly smiled and replied, "Well, it's my first time on a floating ship, just that. There's some interesting tech here. And the architecture is interesting too."
"Ah, I see… And what about you, Bam? Is it also your first time on a ship?" Khun then asked Bam, who appeared even more excited.
Bam turned from Isaac to Khun, gently smiled and said, "That too... But… It's just that I've never been in such a bright place."
'He's never been… in a bright place?' Khun looked at Bam again. What?
"Um, guys…" Bam then muttered as he looked up toward a window on the roof.
"Yes?" Khun asked.
"That blue thing… is that what's called the 'Sky'?" Bam asked.
Khun looked at him weirdly. "... Yeah. Why are you asking about obvious things? It's like you've never seen the sky before."
"Oh! So it is the sky!" Bam exclaimed excitedly.
"What?" Khun wore dumbfounded expressions at this reaction.
[What? What is that kid smoking? Had he really never seen the sky before?]
"Haha." Isaac laughed after hearing Mordred's comment.
Meanwhile, Bam continued in high spirits: "I know that if you keep going up into the sky, you can get to the bright stars!"
"What?" Khun looked at Bam. "What are you talking about, Bam? Stars are just a legend."
As Bam's expression dimmed down, Khun glanced at Isaac for his reaction, then looked toward the window and continued, "Even if you go up, the only thing you'll reach is this floor's roof. That blue sky was created by Shinsoo, and the bright thing at night is just a light ball."
Bam: "..."
Isaac thought to himself, 'So it's a fake sky… No wonder there is no sun here and instead seven light orbs. Well, it's good enough for me. If you reach the top, I don't see how you wouldn't be able to make your way outside anyway.'
Khun continued, "I heard there are stars in the outside world… but they don't exist, at least not here in the Tower."
"Oh… I-I see…" Bam looked down as his visage turned somewhat disappointed.
Khun glanced at Isaac again as he secretly observed his reaction.
"""Aaaaaarhhhhh!"""
Suddenly, a miserable combined shout could be heard, coming from where the test took place.
"?!"
"Hm?"
Everyone in the area quietened down as they looked toward the door in front.
"What… What was that sound?" Khun asked.
[This sounded… like the screams of the dying,] Mordred bluntly commented.
At the same time, the Guide Yellowy smiled and pointed with her hand toward the door, announcing, "Next team, please."
Finally, the Regulars started reacting.
"Wha… What? What was that scream?!"
"Are they… dead?"
"W-what is this test?"
"Is this test… perhaps… super dangerous?"
Meanwhile Isaac glanced at the door and quietly muttered, "About ten minutes."
"What?"
When Khun quietly asked, Isaac faintly smiled at him and lightly replied, "Nothing. It's just… about ten minutes passed since the first team entered. And then the scream happened."
"I see," Khun muttered half-heartedly as he watched another team enter the room.
Isaac continued, "Time is kind of the only thing that we can keep track of in this test, so I guess it would be good to set up a timer."
"Hm, sure. It won't hurt... Pocket Visible Mode," Khun casually started a timer while secretly appraising Isaac.
…
"This team finished after five minutes and thirty seconds. And they didn't scream," Khun quietly commented while looking at his Pocket's timer.
"So far only four out of ten teams didn't scream," Isaac added.
"If only the soundless teams passed, then the pass rate is pretty low," Khun murmured.
"One thing is clear though," Isaac said. As Khun looked at him, he quietly voiced out what they both began suspecting, "All the teams that didn't scream finished the test at around five minutes, but those that screamed took way more than five minutes, most often even over ten minutes."
"That seems to be the case…" Khun murmured.
Recalling how things happened in the manhwa, Isaac continued, "But we should probably also include the time during which the administrator initially explains the rules of the test, so we have to subtract up to 30 seconds. And then the administrator might also hold a short conversation with the Regulars afterward, extending the test time, so let's subtract 30 to 45 seconds. This would mean without a doubt that the teams that didn't scream all took less than 5 minutes to complete the test."
"That's true." Khun nodded as he looked at Isaac with an expression of admiration.
In their situation, the time that the teams took to finish their tests and the screams was the only things they could take note of.
And Isaac noticed it immediately. His reasoning and deduction skills were outstanding.
No other sounds came out from within, but the screams that seemed to be let out on purpose, so it was a clear clue for those outside. A clue that no matter what they had to do inside, they needed to finish the test within 5 minutes!
…
At one point, the team in front of them finished their test and it was time for Isaac's team to enter.
Isaac told Khun, "I think you saw this too. The previous team overheard our conversation…"
Khun nodded at this with a knowing expression and finished: "...Yes. And they finished within five minutes without a scream, confirming our theory. Well, let's go crack this test!"
[Yeah, let's go, Master! I'm excited!]
…
Isaac, Khun and Bam entered the testing room together when the door opened before them.
After entering the room and once the doors closed behind them, the first thing they noticed was that it was eerily pitch black, except for 12 glowing red doors and a person sitting at the center in front of a decorated paper screen.
Isaac raised his eyebrows as he looked at the person who seemed to be the test administrator. 'Right. I remember this person from the manhwa. She's quite pretty... But wasn't it actually a dude?'
[This person should be even stronger than the Pikachu guy...]
"Nice to meet you Regulars. My name is Yu Han Sung, your next test administrator," Han Sung introduced himself with a bow and charming and placid smile, speaking in a voice that definitely belonged to a guy.
"Nice to meet you." Bam politely bowed back.
"Hello." Isaac also cupped his fists, reflecting the administrator's gesture.
Meanwhile, Khun silently looked at Han Sung blankly as if wondering whether the administrator was a male or a female.
Han Sung maintained a placid expression as he continued, "I'm usually just… the Test Director on Evanhkell's Floor. But this time I will be directly in charge of the test."
'Just the Test Director?' Isaac thought to himself, raising his eyebrows in mild amusement.
He originally ignored it when reading the manhwa, but it was clear that this guy was here just to observe the Regulars during the test, and probably especially to observe him and Bam - the Irregulars.
Without a change in expression, Han Sung continued, "This time the test is simple. Do you see all these doors behind me? Within ten minutes… find the real door and open it."
"Ah, within ten minutes? Not within five?" Bam asked bluntly with a confused face.
At this question, Yu Han Sung's expression remained unchanged and he continued speaking: "You have ten minutes. There are 12 doors in total. And among them, find the 'real door' that will take you outside."
"Find the real door? Amongst all of those?" Khun parroted, faintly raising his eyebrows at the test administrator.
"Yes, if you find the real door and open it… you will pass this test. However, if you don't find the door in ten minutes and give up… you'll fail. And if you open the wrong door within ten minutes… You will… die."
"D-die, you said?!" Bam stuttered in fright.
"Then... What is the secret to finding the real door?" Khun asked.
"There aren't… any more hints," the administrator added slowly as he smiled in a mysterious manner.
"What? Aah, what is this test?" Bam panicked.
[Eh, what the hell is this bullshit test?!]
"Well, then… the test begins." Yu Hang Sun made a break sign with his hands, signaling that he'll no longer speak.
The test started.
Both Bam and Mordred panicked.
On the other hand, Khun and Isaac were calm and simply deep in thought.
Mordred saw this, then said, [... Oi, Master, do I get it right? Since there are no hints… We just have to open any door within five minutes, right?]
Isaac was a bit stunned when he heard Mordred immediately figure out the answer. Truly, being simple-minded was sometimes a blessing.
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