บท 3: Chapter 3. Smashing the First Test
[Isaac's POV.]
Watching the short man search through his backpack, Isaac recalled that at the beginning of the story the Protagonist Bam received a spherical device that's used inside the Tower, and it turned out that it was a very high grade one and was extremely rare for a newbie to have.
Following the normal route, it seemed as if he himself was destined to have a newbie-level Pocket just like everyone else, but it appeared that perhaps not.
Eventually, the short man pulled out an item from his pocket with a sigh. It was a gray marble-like tablet.
'Hm, what's that?' Isaac slightly narrowed his eyes.
To his knowledge the device that Bam received was a sphere.
The woman snatched the graytablet from the man's hands, then extended her hand to Isaac with a sincere and encouraging smiled, and then said something. {###### #####.}
[She said it's for you.] For some reason, Mordred was able to understand the language of the Tower, so she translated.
Isaac could guess what was said even without Mordred's help, but he was still confused as he slowly took the item from the woman's hand.
The moment he touched the strange tablet, he felt a very curious sensation while with a sudden flash of white light, numerous engraved flake-like gray marble fragments that formed the table disassembled and began to momentarily swirl around while shining, before reuniting to form a tablet-like structure again.
At that time, the tablet began to float near Isaac at waist level. Its surface turned pitch black with white markings on its surface that appeared like lines of code on a computer screen.
"So, can you understand me now?" The woman probed as she gently smiled, looking at Isaac expectantly.
Isaac turned from looking at the tablet to the woman and nodded. "I can understand you. So it's something like a translator…"
As Isaac glanced at the tablet again after murmuring, the woman replied, "Yep. It's called a Pocket. It has many different functions in the Tower, but one of them is to translate various languages into Macsethian."
'So this thing is also a Pocket? But shouldn't it be a sphere?' Isaac thought to himself, feeling a bit confused.
Was it a strange parallel Tower of God world that he came to or something?
The woman smiled and continued, "By the way, the Pocket you got is A-grade, and it's even a customized one. This thing's pretty expensive and way above a beginner's level! Say thank you."
"Hm, a customized one?" Isaac asked, noticing this tidbit.
"Yep. Most Pockets are round like a ball, but this one's different," the woman explained.
The short man at the side spoke up, "This A-grade Pocket is customized for video calls and for office work. I just didn't have anything else."
The man shrugged his shoulders. He had already given out the more ordinary A-grade pocket he had to Bam, so he only had this one left.
"Ah, I see… Thank you," Isaac uttered a grateful reply to the woman in front and smiled. "Big sister."
It seemed that the Pocket he got was actually quite amazing!
At first glance, a tablet-like device would be far more comfortable and intuitive for him to use than a sphere. And it was A-rank as well.
"Haha, no problem!" The woman smiled deeply and strangely chuckled, seeming quite happy. 'Hehe, he called me a big sister.'
Evan watched Yuri's silly expression and rolled his eyes. 'I'm the one who paid for it though…'
Having calmed down after a moment, the woman placed a hand on her hip and said, "By the way, my name is Yuri, and the short guy back there is called Evan."
"Hello, newbie." The short man at the back raised his hand in a greeting as Yuri turned to look at him, though his face remained rather expressionless and detached.
"What is your name?" Yuri then asked Isaac.
"... I'm Isaac. Nice to meet you two." Isaac gave a courteous smile to the two.
Yuri brightly smiled as she saw that pretty smile. "Isaac? That's a nice name. Say, Isaac, how come you ended up in the Tower?"
At this, Evan's ears also perked up, since it was still kind of a mystery on how Irregulars enter the Tower from the outside.
"Well…" Isaac thought for a moment, before slowly saying, "It's hard to explain. I just really wanted to explore an interesting new world, and then I was suddenly here."
"Ah, I see. So you want to go up the Tower?" Yuri thoughtfully asked, seeming to have accepted that explanation quite easily.
"Yes," Isaac answered without hesitation.
Yuri then turned toward the cage with the huge White Steel Eel. "Do you think you can complete this test?"
"I think so," Isaac smiled. Intuitively, he glanced at Clarent and gripped it tighter.
[Yep, we got this! This fish seems below your level, Master!] Mordred's confident voice sounded in Isaac's mind.
Meanwhile, Yuri happened to look at the sword in Isaac's hand.
At the side Evan's eyes also widened as he focused more on that sword, using his Guide abilities.
At first glance, it was clearly an Ignition Weapon and it even filled him with dread.
This weapon was not inferior to the Black March at all!
'His body is much stronger than a newbie for sure, but his weapon is way more terrifying!' Evan thought to himself, quite surprised.
Seeing Isaac after meeting an ordinary person like Bam was a breath of fresh air. This guy was a real Irregular, surrounded by mysteries.
This made Evan filled with curiosity and even more fear.
Meanwhile, Yuri stared at the unfamiliar red engravings on Clarent's blade while squinting and asked, "What's this sword called?"
"Clarent," Isaac answered shortly.
"Clarent... Never heard of it! I guess you're really from the outside!"
"..."
She looked back at the dwarf man and asked, "So, what do you think, Evan? Do you think he can complete Headon's test?"
Evan pondered for just a moment, then nodded. "Y-yeah. If he can ignite that weapon, he can do it."
He could only judge the strength of Isaac's body. He couldn't know the Irregular's skills or combat ability.
But with that alone, he could see that Isaac's physique was a level above even a Jahad Princess! Together with his powerful weapon and any special abilities he might have, he should be able to complete this test.
Most importantly, he might be able to pop that impossibly tough Ball by igniting his weapon.
Yuri grinned, then looked back at Isaac. She asked, "Isaac, are you a knight?"
Isaac hesitated for a while, then slightly smiled and replied, "Let's say… a knight in training."
"Haha, alright, then a knight in training!" Yuri smiled while staring at him. After a while, her expression filled with concern, as if she recalled something. "By the way, not long ago another younger boy also entered the Tower…"
Following that, Yuri explained in detail how a little boy had also gone up the Tower a while back, describing his looks and saying that his name was Bam.
The story was like this: Bam entered the Tower looking for a girl, and then passed the test by using her 'Ignition Weapon', ascending to a higher floor.
To Isaac, it was a very crucial piece of information, because it told him that he was in the same timeline as Bam when Bam had first entered the Tower, which was certainly good.
Yuri continued, "You're much stronger than Bam, so please find him if you can. Protect him and keep the Black March safe until I find you two. Can you do that for me, please?"
Seeing Yuri looking at him with a pleading look, Isaac faintly nodded. "Mm, alright, I'll do it."
He didn't see a reason why he wouldn't want to become acquainted with Bam if he met him or why he wouldn't want to have a good relationship with a nice and powerful High Ranker Princess.
Yuri smiled in satisfaction. "Cool. Consider it your mission as a knight in training."
Following that, she had left her ID on Isaac's Pocket and gave him some basic information on the Tower which, as she said, Headon should have given him along with a Pocket. Together with Evan, they also told him some information on how he could tackle the eel.
Yuri had treated him a bit too much like a kid, but he bore with it. She appeared to be very fond of young boys.
After some more talk, and after bidding his final farewells, Isaac walked into the eel's cage to finally take his first test for real.
…
Isaac walked into the cage, then looked toward the White Steel Eel in the distance and then started walking deeper in, sword in hand.
In the meantime, Evan and Yuri watched the test taking place from behind the bars.
"Do you think he'll pass?" Yuri casually asked while observing the giant White Armored Eel nearing Isaac.
Evan said, "Rather, it would be strange if he didn't."
"Hehe, yeah, he's like a real Irregular!" Yuri grinned.
"Princess, you shouldn't be so happy…"
Evan's sigh no longer entered Isaac's hearing, as he focused on the monster in front of him.
He already knew that with Shinsoo Burst, his strength and speed would double.
In that case, he felt he could crush this test with just his own strength. There's no need to use Clarent's special ability.
Deep within the cage, the giant eel began to make a beeline toward him.
Seeing the advancement of the humongous, bloodthirsty flying 'snake', Isaac willed and crimson electricity began to dance around his body.
Then, with an explosion, he shot out from his spot like a bullet, using Shinsoo Burst, beginning to advance at the eel.
Blitzing at his enemy, Isaac's body turned into a red lightning bolt.
"He's fast!" Yuri commented.
Evan was forced to nod with wide eyes. This kind of instant acceleration speed for a fresh Regular was simply monstrous!
Covering the distance of close to 100 meters in an instant while dashing at the speed of a bullet, Isaac arrived right in front of the eel.
On the other side, the White Armored Eel wasn't able to react properly and only slowed down slightly as if startled.
After approaching the eel, Isaac could instantly feel a connection with it. He immediately knew that it was the effect of his Anima skill.
Before this Isaac had already thought of using it against the eel, but he didn't feel fully confident in relying on just that, since he had never tamed a beast before.
He knew he had no way to bring the eel with him anyway.
The original plan was that he would rely on his [Instinct] and his instant acceleration speed to dodge the beast's first louse attack and then simply kill it in one shot.
But when Isaac arrived in front of the monster, another thought was born inside his heart - don't bother waiting for an attack, simply attack head on!
Feeling that it was the right thing to do without a doubt, Isaac found himself following his instinct.
He gripped the sword with both hands, concentrated lots of energy into it and into his body while using the Shinsoo Burst skill to the limit, then kicked off the ground.
"Aahr!" With a roar, Isaac shot upwards like a cannonball and slashed out with his sword.
As she cut upwards, his blade overflowed with crimson energy. At the tip of his sword, a thick white-crimson lightning gushed out, extending the range of his sword strike by a few meters.
As the thick blade of crimson thunder ascended, it cut across the Eel's throat from below.
With the sound of burning thunder, the front of the eel's giant head dropped down as it lost the support of his neck.
A huge wound became visible from below, but strangely little blood gushed out as if the thunder blade had already cauterized the wounds.
In the meantime, Isaac kicked off the air using Shinsoo Burst, and an explosion of crimson energy propelled him at an angle back to the ground.
As he landed and looked upwards, he saw the entire body of the eel begin to inertly sink and float down toward the ground like a corpse falling to the bottom of a lake.
Isaac slightly jumped back to avoid the eel's falling body.
Seeing how the giant monster's head was nearly separated from his body by his attack, he looked on in awe.
He was strong!
Outside the cage, Yuri and Evan also watched this scene.
"Look at this! He almost cut off the eel's head! Crazy bastard!" Yuri gripped her fists in excitement.
This is exactly what she wanted to see from an Irregular monster on the First floor! How cool! And he was super handsome too!
At the side, Evan also sighed with emotion. This knight's strength was outstanding for a fresh Regular. Isaac's speed and the feat of killing the White Armored alone might already qualify him to reach the level of a D-rank Regular, despite the fact that he was someone who was just about to start climbing.
But to let someone like that into the Tower, is that really what they should be doing? Although he had a good impression of Isaac, who knows what kind of chaos would follow.
Meanwhile, Headon looked on silently and only revealed a shark-like grin on his face.
[Nice job, Master! That was easy! What do you think of my Mana Burst skill? It can even extend the range of attacks. It's pretty cool, huh?]
Isaac chuckled as he heard Mordred's voice.
'Yeah, it's pretty cool,' he replied inwardly.
He sent one final deep look at the corpse of the White Armored Eel, then began to move toward the Ball.
After reaching the Ball that was nearly as tall as him, he raised his sword and did the same as before.
He overloaded his weapon with electric energy, then slashed down with full force.
As a result of his strike, his sword bore deep into the Ball's surface…
And it became stuck.
[What the hell is that Ball? Why won't it pop?!]
Isaac looked at the Ball that now held his weapon hostage, frowning. 'A normal full powered attack is not enough, even though I can kill the Eel with it in one strike... This Ball is purposely made to be ridiculously tough to pop...'
As Isaac was thinking, he heard someone's voice in his ear: "Newbie, try igniting your weapon! It's probably the only way to pop that Ball. It needs to receive a Ranker level Shinsoo attack."
Despite the distance of around two hundred meters, Isaac could clearly make out Evan's voice.
Yes, ignition. This is also what he was thinking.
'My sword is now stuck, so I guess there's only one thing I can do.'
In this situation, he could only use his ultimate move - his Noble Phantasm.
[Master, leave it to me! Let's use Clarent Blood Arthur together and be done with it!]
'Okay. Got it.'
[Ready, Master? I'll do this so-called Ignition! I'll try to not melt your face off.]
Isaac formed a wry smile. He would rather avoid having his new face melted off…
[Just kidding! Master, let's do it.]
"Sure, let's do it," Isaac said, this time outwardly.
Boom!
In a split second, Isaac's body suddenly exploded with a burst of startling and wild energy while huge white-crimson electric currents crackled in an area several meters around him.
After the initial explosion, the energy quickly gathered into his sword, the visible part of the weapon becoming fully covered with wild white-crimson flames.
A light-red Shinsoo aura covered an area around him while small lightning currents sporadically danced around his body.
And in the next moment, a phantom of another young knight appeared behind him, wearing the same armor as him and taking up the same stance.
The only difference was that it seemed to be a woman.
'This should be the manifestation of the spirit of Isaac's Ignition Weapon! But… Why does it look so similar to him? Is it his ancestor?...' Evan thought as he watched this scene, feeling very curious.
Meanwhile Yuri watched the scene with an excited expression. This was the kind of entertaining power of a fresh Irregular that she came here to see!
As the energy seemed to be increasing in Isaac's sword, the two figures of knights overlapped and then two voices, one male and one female, were heard shouting out loudly in unison:
""Clarent. Blood. Arthur!!!""
Once the two finished, a beam of overwhelming white-crimson energy exploded around the sword, carrying with it a staggering sound that heralded destruction.
The energy of Clarent's ignition, exploded the Ball from the inside, causing it to burst.
However, what followed was that the Ball didn't simply pop or disappear. It began to emit black electricity and a dangerous aura.
[Oops…]
"What do you mean oops?!" Although Isaac sounded agitated, he already somewhat expected what would follow. "Ah!"
Isaac called out as in the very next moment the black energy suddenly sucked him in like a vacuum. From the outside, the ball disappeared.
Yuri said, "He popped it!"
"Yes, he did. And now he went up…" Evan muttered.
"Hehe, he didn't even need my help. I was about to lend him Kranos," said Yuri, smiling.
Hearing this, Evan's eyes nearly popped. Losing the Black March wasn't enough, she also wanted to lend out Kranos?!
"Let's go, Evan! We have to hurry to the Floor of Tests!" Yuri turned and began leaving.
With no other choice, Evan let out a sigh and ran out to catch up to her.
…
After seeing the Irregular disappear and the two High Rankers leave, Headon chuckled coldly in his heart.
The truth is that this Ball test is not the standard for testing Irregulars at all. He had especially prepared this test just for the son of V.
His test was supposed to be impossible to pass without a Ranker level Ignition Weapon!
And that's because rather than testing strength, what he was testing from the Bam boy was his Fate.
As long as his Fate was strong, and he was meant to climb the Tower, then he would pass his test regardless.
In the end, the Bam boy received an Ignition Weapon from a High Ranker and pulled through with a suicidal tactic, completing the test despite the outwardly impossible odds. Just as Headon had expected.
In other words, the Tower wanted him to go up. He was meant to go up.
As for the Rachel girl, she accepted his deal and also pulled through.
And although Headon kept up pretenses that he didn't want Irregulars in the Tower, in fact, it was just a facade. It was actually him who had indirectly informed Yuri Jahad of their arrival and purposefully didn't give them E-rank Pockets, offering them an opportunity.
Of course, he would never outwardly say that.
Whether these Irregulars would grasp this opportunity would also be up to their luck and ability.
But for this Irregular that arrived without any advance warning, he crushed this test with just his own strength.
'With that weapon, that much was to be expected. I'm really curious... Just what he'll bring to the Tower,' Headon thought.
***
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(AN: So the MC starts quite overpowered. On the First and Second floor, he is a true Irregular and is clearly stronger than a Jahad Princess. But the Tower scales up a lot and very quickly in terms of power. The strongest Regulars only on the 2nd floor already show physical strength and speed feats of stats at around C-rank in terms of Servants, so the MC is still far from the level of a Ranker without training and without mastering Shinsoo.)
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