《Devil Fruit Powers In The Tower Of God》


 Chapter 1 - Prologue

    A young man wearing black sweatpants and a black hoodie entered what appeared to be an abandoned warehouse while reading something on his smartphone. Standing 1.87m tall with a lean build, he looked to be around 20 years of age. With black hair and brown eyes, he might not be the most handsome man ever, but he definitely catches the ladies attention wherever he goes.

    Music and the voices of people could be heard in the abandoned building. Step by step, he made his way throughout the warehouse, until he reached a group of people. There were more than a dozen of them drinking, smoking, and having fun.

    "What the hell are you doing here, you punk?" One of the people there noticed the young man.

    "Are you the so-called Moriarty Thugs?" Not even bothering to remove his gaze from his phone, the young man asked them.

    "We are, so beat it, before we beat the shit out of you." Threatened one of the thugs.

    "Great!" The young man put the phone in his pocket and finally looked at them.

    "Please die for me, so I can continue reading One Piece, thank you." He told them with a gentle smile on his face and pulled a gun from a pocket on his hoodie.

    Moments later, all the thugs were on the ground with a bullet in their heads. The young man maneuvered through the corpses until he reached their leader. He took a picture of the dead body to confirm his successful kill.

    "This is starting to bore me. Maybe I should find something else to do." The young man lamented and started leaving the building while reading on his phone.

    As he left the abandoned warehouse, he was greeted by a man in a black suit. The man had long black hair, and his facial features were obstructed by a weird shadow. The only thing visible on his face being a mischevious smile.

    "A p???sur? meeting you, Lumen Terminus." The man in the suit said with a bow. The long-haired man had a weird presence, and had he not said a word, Lumen would have not even realized he is there.

    Although surprised, he kept his composure. "It seems I''ve become famous. You know me, but I have no idea who you are."

    "I would be shocked if you knew me." The man in suit chuckled. "I go by many names, but I prefer Loki the most."

    "Loki as in the God of Mischief?" Lumen asked and put his phone in his pocket.

    "No, no, I am not a God. I am an Axis, but you could consider it as a God-like being." Loki answered.

    "And what does an Axis need of me?" Lumen questioned, while his hand was already gripping the gun in his hoodie.

    "I''m here to offer you a gift, and in exchange, you will be sent to a very special place," Loki replied with a grin.

    "And what''s that special place that you will send me?" Lumen asked while contemplating whether to shoot the weirdo in the face.

    "I can''t tell you that, but I can promise you, you will not regret going there. You will be able to experience the grand adventure that you always sought after." Explained the Axis with a giggle.

    Lumen didn''t trust a word from the weird man but decided to humor him. "And what about the gift?"

    "That I can. You seem to be fond of that One Piece manga, so I have prepared a very special Devil Fruit for you." Loki answered with another chuckle.

    All that laughing irked Lumen, and he thought the man was mocking him. He pulled out his gun and shot the Axis in the face. "I don''t enjoy being ridiculed."

    Just as the bullet was about to hit Loki in between his eyes, it stopped moving. The Axis pinched the bullet with his fingers and it disappeared. Afterward, he snapped his fingers and the gun in Lumen''s hand vanished as well.

    "But I am not making fun of you. I truly am here to give you a gift. Believe me, you will regret not taking my offer." Lumen was astonished at the supernatural powers that Loki displayed. After seeing that, he was inclined to believe the Axis.

    "So what is this special Devil Fruit that you spoke of?" Lumen questioned.

    "Well, it''s a combination of the strongest Paramecia, Zoan and Logia types. Unfortunately, you lost your chance of getting it the moment you shot me." Loki answered with another snicker and a tablet appeared in his hands.

    "Now, you will have to play the Lucky Roulette game. You can choose three different Devil Fruits from each type, and you will have to roll three times for each type. You don''t have to worry about eating more than one, and you don''t have to worry about being weak to water as well." Loki explained with a grin.

    "What do you mean I can eat more than one? Wouldn''t I explode if I do so? And how come they won''t have a weakness to water?" Lumen asked him.

    "Ahh, the laws of the One Piece world have no meaning in the place that you are going since Devil Fruits don''t exist there. I can give you a more detail explanation, but you wouldn''t understand it." Loki answered. " The important part is whether you would take my offer or not?"

    "Sure, why not." Lumen answered without hesitation. The moment he agreed, the tablet in Loki''s hands slowly floated in front of Lumen. After scanning through all the available Devil Fruits, he selected three from each type.

    Once he was done, the screen changed to a roulette with his chosen Devil Fruits. He couldn''t help but notice that there were other Devil Fruits that he didn''t choose on the roulette. The ones that he selected could be considered as one of the best, but the others there were one of the weakest. "Why are there other Devil Fruits here?"

    "Ah, repercussions for not taking my initial offer." Loki chuckled.

    "Tsch." Lumen smacked his lips and pressed the roll bu??on. A small figure that resembled him appeared and started rolling around the Devil Fruits.

    The figurine tumbled around until it landed on a Paramecia type after that all other Paramecia types disappeared from the roulette. The figure continued rolling afterward and landed on a Logia and Zoan type as well. Ones all the Devil Fruits were selected, the tablet vanished.

    "My, oh my. It seems you are quite unlucky. I spent quite a bit of time choosing the best of the best, and you didn''t roll a single one of them, how disappointing." Loki said with another chuckle.

    The Axis clapped his hands and three Devil Fruits appeared in front of him. All of them had weird colors and shapes on them. "Now before I give them to you, and sent you off, I will give you a day worth of time to say your goodbyes since you will be leaving this world."

    "No need. Just give them to me now and sent me to that special place." Lumen told him since he didn''t have anyone close to him. His parents had died to a bunch of thugs when he was 10 years old and he didn''t have any close friends that he cared about. He trained like a madman and by the age of 17, he became a professional ?ssassin. Since them, he has been going on missions or reading manga.

    "So be it." Loki chuckled and the three Devil Fruits swiftly flew into Lumen''s body. At first, he felt no different than a second ago, and he thought he was cheated, but then the pain hit.

    Lumen''s body started heating up and every single cell in his body was being destroyed and rebuild anew. He lost all of his senses and almost passed out, but he pushed through. He wanted to sleep through the pain, but he instinctively knew that if he did so, he would never wake up again.

    Lumen didn''t know how long the pain lasted, but to him, it felt like a lifetime. At some point, his body cooled down and he regained his senses.

    "I guess I forgot to mention the pain, huh." Lumen heard Loki chuckling in the background.

    "Now that we got that out of the way, it''s time to you open the door." Lumen wanted to ask what he meant by that, but then everything turned black and he heard a weird voice in his head.

    "What do you d?s?r?? Money and Wealth? Honor and Pride? Authority and Power? Revenge? Or something that transcends all of them? Whatever you d?s?r?, is in here!"

    "What the hell was that and where am I?" Lumen questioned himself after he regained his senses. He looked around and noticed that he is in a giant, archaic hall. Engraved on the walls were strange looking creatures and giant beasts.

    As he was observing the pictures, he heard a voice from behind him. "It seems irregulars are popping left and right these days."

 Chapter 2 - First Test

    Turning around, Lumen saw two humans, and a weird-looking creature walking up to him.

    The creature''s skin color was pure white, and he was wearing blue shorts and a blue sleeveless hoodie. His head resembled that of a rabbit, except that it didn''t have eyes. It only had a slit resembling a mouth on his face. The creature also had blue orbs embed in his hands and feet, and it was carrying a staff that had the same blue orbs on each end.

    The two humans with him were a female and a male one. The male one was very short and was wearing a green explorers jacket and green pants. He had white/silver hair and carried a backpack that was as large as him. Nothing that impressive, considering his short stature.

    The female human was exceptionally beautiful. Lumen had to admit that she is the most attractive woman that he has ever seen. She looked slightly shorter than him with piercing red eyes. Her hair reached her ankles and it was tied in a ponytail with a red stylized fascinator on the left side of her head. Her clothing consisted of a white long-sleeved jacket, black shirt, red tie, red skirt, and black leggings. She said something to the smaller human next to her while pointing at Lumen, but he didn''t understand a word she said.

    "I just sent off one Irregular, and another one pops out right after." The white creature chuckled, in the same manner, Loki did, annoying Lumen in the process.

    "Nevertheless, I welcome you to the Tower young man. My name is Headon, and I''m the Guardian of the First Floor of the Tower. What is your name young man?" Headon asked.

    "My name is Lumen." He responded to the rabbit-looking creature.

    "So tell me Lumen, why have you come to the Tower?" Headon questioned.

    "I came here since I was promised a grand adventure." Lumen said with a grin.

    "A grand adventure? Hahaha, that''s something I haven''t heard in ages. Well, I can guarantee you climbing the Tower is an adventure like no other." Before Headon could say anything else, he was interrupted by the beautiful woman. Again, Lumen had no idea what she said since he couldn''t understand her language.

    "Ah, you are correct, Princess. I almost forgot for the second time today." Headon chuckled and a black marble appeared in his hands. He flicked it, and the marble appeared in front of Lumen.

    "This is an E-ranked Pocket. It''s a device that provides a variety of functions that aid Regulars and Rankers in the Tower. One of those functions is to enable the owner to understand the different languages spoken in the Tower by translating them all into Macsethian." Hearing the explanation, Lumen took the marble with his hand, and he felt the Pocket binding itself to him. After binding to Lumen, the marble simply floated next to him.

    "You could also make it invisible by focusing on it saying ''Invisible mode''." Doing as told, the Pocket disappeared from view. Despite that, Lumen still felt it''s existence.

    "What an interesting little thing." Lumen said.

    "Now that we got that out of the way. I think it''s about time we get started with your test. Unless you want to get kicked out of the tower that is." Headon smirked.

    "Nah, I would like to see what''s so special about this tower." Lumen answered him back.

    "Haha, the Tower is definitely special. Whether you are looking for wealth, immortality or absolute power, you will find them all up there." Headon said while making gestures with his hands. Afterward, he walked up next to a wall.

    "We are missing one of our objects for the test, but we will make do with what we have." Headon tapped a wall with his staff. With a rumble, the wall slowly lifted itself revealing what''s behind it.

    There a cage stood with a weird blue substance inside it that almost resembled water. A giant eel with wings was swimming around in the blue substance. The eel''s body was red, and it had a steel-like armor covering it from the middle up until its head.

    "Wow! Is this what Sea King looks like?" Lumen questioned in surprise.

    "I don''t know what a Sea King is, but that''s a White Steel Eel. They live in highly dense Shinsoo environments, like the one you are seeing." This time it was the beautiful women that explained. She then turned towards Headon. "What are you going to make him kill it now?"

    "That''s exactly my plan," Headon replied while grinning creepily.

    "You really don''t like letting Irregulars climb the Tower. Even though this one looks a little bit more handsome and has a better physique, Evan said he feels no special power from him. Even Regulars from the 20th floor would have trouble killing a White Steel Eel." The black-haired woman complained to Headon.

    "I simply give suitable tests for Irregulars. It''s his choice whether he wants to take it or not, Princess Yuri. So what do you say, Lumen?" Headon chuckled.

    "So this substance is not water? And does the eel have any special abilities." Loki had told him that he wouldn''t have a problem with water, but Lumen didn''t want to experiment with his life to test if it''s true or not. Nevertheless, he was excited since this was an opportunity to test out his Devil Fruit abilities.

    "Despite being a Divine Fish, the White Steel Eel only has a strong physical body with no special powers. While Shinsoo is a substance that flows through and is produced by the Tower. In lower concentrations, its density makes the substance act like a gas, but in higher concentrations, it behaves like a liquid." This time the silver-haired dwarf answered.

    "Perfect!" Lumen exclaimed and started moving towards the cage.

    "Are you crazy? Why would you give your life away just for some stupid adventure?" Princess Yuri got in his way and stopped him.

    "Princess Yuri, I hope you are not planning to interfere in this test as well. You already did it once, and I can''t allow you to do it again. Please stay out of this." Headon told her with a friendly, yet threatening voice.

    Since Yuri was standing right in front of Lumen, he got a closer look at her. Observing her up close, she was by far the most beautiful woman he has ever seen. Her face was perfect and her red eyes made it even more alluring. She also had just the right proportions to her body.

    "Princess Yuri is it? How about me make a bet. If I pass this test, you will go out on a date with me." Lumen asked her with a smile. He was confident that he would be able to kill the beast since it didn''t have any special powers. Yuri is also exceptionally beautiful so it''s a win-win situation.

    The Princess was momentarily surprised by Lumen, but she responded with a wide grin. "You haven''t even entered the Tower officially and you are already courting a Princess of Zahard? You are just as daring as Urek. I like that, but what will I get if you don''t pass the test?"

    "If I don''t pass the test I will die or be kicked out of the Tower." Nonetheless, he didn''t think that he will be killed by the eel. After all, he has a Logia type of fruit.

    "So you have nothing to give in me, is that what you are saying?" Yuri questioned.

    "You can just say you are scared to lose." Lumen told her with a playful wink.

    "Me scared? You''re on. Let''s see what makes you so confident." Yuri pouted and moved out of his way.

    Before stepping into the cage, Lumen put his hand in to test out if he will lose his powers. Feeling no drain on his power, he stepped in fully inside the cage.

    Once inside, the Shinsoo felt like water yet not. Despite it being in a liquid-like state, it didn''t prohibit his movements in any way. Being surrounded by the substance, Lumen felt like a fish in the water. It was a very weird feeling for him, but he didn''t hate it.

    As Lumen entered the cage, Yuri turned to Evan."What do you think his chances are. What do you see?"

    "I don''t see anything. I believe he has no chance of killing the eel." Evan''s answer caused Yuri to frown.

    "What is this? Is a Princess of Zahard getting worried over a male?" Headon ridiculed her from the side.

    "Mind your own business rabbit." Hissed Yuri

    The White Steel Eel was angry that it''s previous prey not only injured him but also escaped as well. Seeing a new one entering the cage, it felt excited at the chance of filling its belly, and immediately rushed him.

    Since he was in an unknown environment, Lumen didn''t plan on showing all of his powers, unless it is necessary. With this in mind, he planned to use only his Logia fruit for the time being.

    The three Logia types that he had selected for the Lucky Roulette were: Goro Goro no Mi, Yami Yami no Mi and Pika Pika no Mi. The one that he received was the Pika Pika no Mi, granting him the ability to create, control, and transform into light at will.

    Seeing the White Steel Eel rushing at him, Lumen raised his hand in a finger gun hand gesture and gathered light in front of his fingers. Aiming at the eel''s head, he fired a light beam at it. "Pow"

    Unfortunately, since it was his first time using his Devil Fruit power, the beam missed its mark. Rather than hitting its head like intended, the beam hit the eel in it''s left-wing. The beam easily went through the wing like a hot knife through bu??er. The White Steel Eel screamed out in pain of nearly having his wing cut off.

    "Evan, didn''t you say he has no chance?"

    "Princess..."

    "Evan, didn''t you say you saw no special powers in him?"

    "This..."

    "What kind of a Guide are you, if you can''t even see that?" Evan felt like crying from Yuri''s bullying. He really didn''t sense anything special from Lumen and started doubting his abilities as a Guide.

    Headon was also surprised at seeing the light beam. He felt that there was something wrong with Lumen, but he didn''t know exactly what. The only unnatural thing is that he didn''t have a fate. "Ah, so that''s what it was. Even the previous Irregular had a fate tied to him, and yet Lumen doesn''t." Headon thought to himself.

    Since he didn''t kill the White Steel Eel, Lumen didn''t give it any chances and prepared a second attack.

    "Pow." He fired off another light beam and this time he didn''t miss. The attack landed right on its armored head and drilled a hole. The eel screamed in pain but didn''t die. Since it felt threatened by the powers of the human, it increased his speed to the max and rushed at him.

    Lumen was having fun using his Devil Fruit power and couldn''t wait to test out his other two Devil Fruits. Unfortunately, now was not the time since he had didn''t feel comfortable at showing them off here.

    He brought his hands together and focused even more light in front of his fingers. The White Steel Eel felt the power that was gathering in the human''s hands and tried his best to reach him. Just as it reached him, Lumen smiled said. "Boom"

    This time, the light beam was twice as large as the previous two. The moment the beam touched the eel, it disintegrated its head. The beam continued and hit the wall behind, causing an explosion. Small parts of the wall even crumbled and fell off.

    "What the heck?" The three spectators were all surprised at the power of the beam. The walls of the Tower are reinforced with Shinsoo so they are very hard to destroy.

    "Another monster has appeared." They all agreed on that comment.

    Lumen feeling pleased at his powers, turned around towards Yuri with a smirk. Just as he was about to say something, he felt something tugging him and disappeared from his spot.

 Chapter 3 - Second Floor (1)

    Lumen woke up laying on the ground, after blacking out and forcefully being teleported away. He picked himself off the ground and studied his surroundings.

    Lumen was in a grassy field surrounded by tall yellow grass. The place looked perfect for predators like snakes to thrive in. Just as he was thinking what the next test might be and what kind of creatures would he have to fight, he heard a voice from the sky.

    "Mic test! Mic test! One, two, three."

    "Hello, everyone! All the Regulars that made it to the Tower, we sincerely welcome all of you to the 2nd Floor, Evankhell''s Floor."

    "This Floor is also called the Floor of Tests because here we carry out the final test to see whether you are qualified to go up the Tower."

    "I will explain the details to you later. Now, let''s begin the 1st Test."

    "The rule for the 1st Test is as follows. There are 400 Regulars here, narrow that 400 down to 200. Try every possible means."

    Once the voice finished the announcement, Lumen heard a dying scream in the background. He thought that the Test would be like his previous one, and he would need to kill another beast, but he was wrong.

    On Earth, Lumen was a professional ?ssassin that took missions from one gang to eliminate other rival ones. His idea was to slowly kill them off one by one until only a single gang remained.

    Then he would eliminate the last one as well, removing the last ''evil'' and acting like a vigilante. But deep down he knew that he was doing it, because he enjoyed it.

    The first time he picked up a handgun, it felt like the most natural thing in the world. That''s why he used his Devil Fruit in the manner of shooting a gun. It simply felt natural to him.

    The first time he went hunting for wild animals, he loved it. The thrill Lumen experienced hunting was amazing, but he soon got bored of it.

    Since hunting animals became boring, he moved onto humans. That was a whole new experience. He had to pick his targets carefully, and he had to make sure that he didn''t get caught in the process.

    In the end, that started becoming dull as well. To escape reality, he began reading manga and various fictions. The abilities of the characters were fascinating to him. He wished for powers like theirs, but that was nothing but a dream.

    Lumen is a monster and he knew it, but he felt constrained by the world. Then out of nowhere, he got thrust into a world with supernatural powers.

    Here in the Tower, where he would have to step over others to climb higher, he felt at home. A peaceful smile formed on his face once he realized that he could finally be himself.

    As Lumen was appreciating the gift that he received, he saw someone rushing at him in the distance. A green-skinned, hulking creature was running in his direction with a pure red spear in hand. Around 20m away from him, the creature came to a stop and threw the spear in his direction.

    Lumen''s natural reaction was to get out of its way and dodge the attack. No normal human would wait to get impaled by a spear. However, he was no longer a normal human. He steeled himself and didn''t move from his spot.

    After receiving the three Devil Fruits, he instinctively knew how to use them. But just because he knew how to use them, that didn''t mean he had the practice to do so.

    Lumen transformed his body into light, and the red spear pierced through him. He felt absolutely no pain from the spear going through him.

    His transformed state was that of a pure white being, rather than a yellow one. His features were still the same and his clothes transformed alongside him.

    Feeling pleased with himself, Lumen decided to thank the creature for helping him test his Devil Fruit powers. "Thank you for your ?ssistance. I will make sure to remember you."

    He made a handgun gesture with his hand and fired a light beam at the green-skinned creature. The Hulk wannabe was still unable to comprehend how his spear did no damage to the human before his head got pierced by the laser. With a hole going through his head, the creature fell on the ground.

    "Now, let''s go and find some Regulars to take care of." Lumen said to himself. Before he could pick a direction to go, he heard a noise from the tall grass on his right.

    "Found my next target." Lumen said out loud and aimed his hand towards the creature there.

    "Please don''t kill me!" A voice pleaded from the tall grass, catching him by surprise.

    A small creature no more than a 1.20m tall walked out from the grass. Its head was just as big as its body with three big eyes on it. The dark-brownish creature was holding what appeared to be a long, black needle in his hand.

    "Please don''t kill me, I could work for you. The Test giver said that we have to reduce the number of Regulars to 200, but he didn''t say that we can''t team up to do it." One of the creature''s eyes opened up like a mouth when it was speaking.

    Lumen was surprised hearing the creature speak. He believed that the other Regulars would be humans like him, while the Guardians of the Floors would be weird intelligent creatures. It finally dawned on Lumen that there would be other races partaking the test.

    "So the big green guy I just killed was a Regular?" He questioned the small creature.

    "Yes." The alien being was momentarily confused by the question, but it responded nonetheless. If the green guy wasn''t a Regular than what else could he be.

    "Wonderful!" Lumen said with a smile on his face.

    "Thank you for clarifying that for me." Hearing him, the creature thought he had a chance to survive. But then he saw Lumen point his hand in his direction. It immediately took off running, but his short legs couldn''t take him far before it fell on the ground with a hole in his head.

    After traveling for a 100m, he had to stop and take a breather. His body was perfectly fine, but his head felt like exploding. Moving at his maximum speed put a huge strain on his mind. The amount of information was too much for his brain to handle.

    "This will take some time before I get used to it." He had just received his Devil Fruit and hadn''t fully adjusted to it.

    Since going at full speed was a no go at the moment, he experimented for a moment. After finding a comfortable speed where his brain wouldn''t hurt, he felt pleased with himself. It might not be the speed of light, but he believed this would be enough for now.

    With that out of the way, he continued in the direction he initially picked. After traveling for a few minutes he found two people fighting. Both looked human, but one of them had six eyes.

    The six-eyed alien was using a large needle while the human had a sword in his hands. Lumen observed the fight for a moment, to see how those in the Tower fought.

    Both of them looked to be stronger physically than humans from Earth, but they weren''t anything special. He was expecting more from then and wondered how they managed to pass the test from the 1st Floor.

    Then again, they did call him an Irregular and maybe they had a different test from him. He still didn''t know what''s the difference between an Irregular and a Regular.

    After a minute or so fighting, the six-eyed alien drove the needle-like weapon through the human''s heart. Since there was no point in watching anymore, he shot the alien with a light beam in the head and took care of him.

    Lumen picked up the large needle and decided to test it out. He wasn''t much of a close-range fighter, but that could change in the future. He picked another direction and continued on his way.

    With the needle in his hand, he pierced right through the six-armed alien. Before the green blood of the alien could reach him, he was already a distance away from him.

    "This is really fun." Lumen exclaimed while panting from the mental exhaustion of going at light speed. After a brief rest to calm his throbbing head, he continued searching for more Regulars.

    This time he found a group of them. Two human-looking men were fighting while two more women were watching on the side. The men had purple skin and were over 2m tall. The women, on the other hand, were no more than 1.7m tall and looked identical to humans. The only difference being that they had green and purple hair.

    The two men were nicely lined up for him, so Lumen took aim and hit them both with his light beam. They didn''t stand a chance and the laser easily pierce through them.

    Seeing the two purple-skinned men be killed by him, the women looked at Lumen in fear. They had tricked the two men to fight each other for their affection and planned to kill the victor. Unfortunately, both men were eliminated by Lumen.

    The two women had heard stories of Regulars and Rankers from the upper Floors, that have amazing powers, but they didn''t expect to meet someone so dangerous on the 2nd Floor.

    Lumen looked at them with a smile and aimed in their direction. Before he could fire his light beam at him, he heard the voice of the Test giver.

    "Mic test~! Everyone stay where you are. The 1st Test is over now. The remaining Regulars stop what you are doing and listen carefully!"

    "Any Regulars fighting from now on will be eliminated. The 200 Regulars who passed the 1st Test, congratulations to all of you."

    "It''s a bit of a rush, but a short 2nd Test will be carried out right away. The challenge for the 2nd Test is ''Getting Teammates''."

    "There are 200 remaining Regulars here. From those who remain, find two regulars to be your teammates. For your reference, we are giving you a 5-minute time limit."

    "Ok, starting now, make a team of three. If you don''t make a team in 5 minutes, you are eliminated."

    "Oh, and one more thing, to be considered a team, you need to be touching some part of your teammates bodies when the time limit is over. Then, to all of you, good luck!"

    After hearing the Test giver, Lumen looked at the two females in disappointment. Both of them did look like beauties and could easily be models on Earth, but Lumen didn''t discriminate when killing. There''s also the fact that they paled in terms of beauty when compared to Princess Yuri, who he met on the 1st Floor.

    He wanted to play around with his Devil Fruit powers a bit more, but the Test had already finished so he had no other choice.

    "Well, ladies, it seems we are stuck together." Lumen told the two and started walking in their direction. Seeing him move towards them, both ladies took a step back in fear.

    The next moment, Lumen turned into his light form and appeared in between them. He put his hands over their shoulders and brought them closer to him. "So what should I call you two ladies."

    /////////////////////////////

    In case someone of you had misunderstood me, I would like to clarify that Lumen received a total of 3 Devil Fruits. 1 Logia, 1 Paramecia, and 1 Zoan.

 Chapter 4 - Second Floor (2)

    Being embraced by Lumen, the girls were terrified for their lives.

    In their mind, he was a very scary existence.

    All they saw was a flash of light, and afterward, the two men that were fighting dropped dead. Now that scary existence is between them with a hand over their shoulders.

    Since Lumen didn''t take any further actions after asking for their names, the two girls calmed down a bit.

    The purple-haired girl introduced herself as Tiana. She was wearing yellow sweatpants and a blue shirt. Tiana was holding a large needle in her right hand and said she plans to be a Scout.

    The green-haired girl introduced herself as Fai. She only wore a yellow dress and didn''t look battle-ready in any way. Fai said she wishes to become a great Light Bearer in the future.

    Lumen''s first name means light, and he has the Pika Pika no Mi, making him a Light Human. So when he heard Fai saying she wants to become a Light Bearer, he though she is mocking him. But then, he noticed that she looked serious when she said that. He figured he would learn what Light Bearer is in the future, so he decided not to ask her what it is.

    With the introductions out of the way, the girls were not as frightened of Lumen. Nevertheless, Tiana wasn''t comfortable with being embraced by him and was little squirmish.

    Fai, on the other hand, was bolder. She put one of her hands behind his waist and snuggled closer to him. She was even brave enough to fill him out with her other hand.

    "Tsk, tsk, tsk. If only we had more than 5 minutes." Fai smacked her lips, and Tiana looked at her in disgust.

    After the 5 minutes passed, they heard the voice of the Test giver.

    "The second Test is over now! Hold together with your teammates for a while. The three people holding each other at this moment are considered a team!"

    "You will be sent to the next Test spot!"

    Lumen felt being enveloped by a weird power, and he blacked out for a moment. The moment he regained his vision, he was already in a giant room with a raised platform at one end.

    Looking around, he was surrounded by other Regulars who had completed the Test. There were easily over 100 people in the giant room.

    Lumen casually observed the Regulars and noted that there are a lot of different races amongst them.

    As he was inspecting them, a lot of them had their eyes on him. Most of them looked as if they came from a bloody battle, while he looked like someone going on a date with a girl on each side. The males in the room silently cursed him.

    A commotion started between two Regulars. A brown-skinned, red-haired guy was angry at another human-looking Regular.

    It seemed that the red-haired guy had lost his arm to him in the previous test, and he didn''t look happy about that.

    Just as a fight was about to start, Lumen heard the voice of the Test giver.

    "Did you not understand? No fighting during break time."

    "You didn''t take my words seriously, did you Regulars?" The Test giver asked with a smirk. He was a tall, human-looking individual with blonde hair and two black spots under his eyes. The Test giver was wearing a black formal shirt, a white lab coat over it, black trousers and gloves.

    "What are you?! You locust looking jerk! You wanna die, too?" The red-haired guy clearly didn''t recognize his voice, but a giant yellow bird did and tried stopping him from making a mistake.

    "I''m the Test Administrator, Lero-Ro." The blonde introduced himself.

    ''Test Administrator? So he is not the Guardian of this Floor. Weird.'' Lumen thought that only the Guardians of the Floors could give out Tests. Things seemed a bit more complicated than what he originally believed.

    "Test Administrator? Then you are a R-Ranker?" The red-haired guy started stuttering at the end.

    "Yes. I''m a Ranker of the Tower." Lero-Ro confirmed. Just stating that he is a Ranker instantly calmed down the red-haired guy.

    After calming the Regulars, Lero-Ro calmly walked onto the stage.

    "Mic test~ Regulars, over here! Please focus! I will explain the next round."

    "Before that, to give you some brief information about myself. I''m your Test Administrator, Ranker Lero-Ro. Nice to meet chu!"

    "Now, I guess you''ve had enough rest. Let''s go on to the next Test! But before that, there will be a little pre-Test."

    "Fyi, those who don''t pass this pre-Test, can''t take the next Test!" Hearing him, most Regulars looked confused and wondered what the Test might be.

    "Haha! Don''t worry! It''s a really simple pre-Test. Relax~"

    "Well now. The pre-Test begins~" Lero-Ro raised his hand and started shaking it from left to right.

    "Well~ like this~ like that~ this way~ that way~ ya''ll~" Suddenly he thrust his hand forward, with the palm facing the Regulars, and an invisible force wave was unleashed.

    To Lumen, the force wave felt very gentle. In fact, he even enjoyed the feeling of that weird power. Despite that, Fai, who was still clinging to him, was flung out of his embrace.

    The boy looked like a human with dark brown hair and golden eyes. He was wearing a brown long-sleeved shirt, a red vest, and beige pants.

    For all intents and purposes, he looked like one of the weakest amongst the Regulars. And yet, he was the only one beside Lumen that didn''t get thrown from the force wave. Both of them were on the left and right respectively and were out of Lero-Ro''s sight.

    "Is this Shinsoo?" A regular with blue hair asked.

    "Yep~ I threw a veil of Shinsoo. I instantly compacted the Shinsoo to make a veil, and then threw it to push you."

    "As you all know, Shinsoo is everywhere in the Tower, and it plays an important role because it allows us to breathe and provides us water. However, Shinsoo sometimes can be a powerful murder weapon depending on its use." Hearing that, Lumen got interested in this weird power.

    "Highly concentrated Shinsoo is so strong that it can break an arm. So all the contestants in the Tower use Shinsoo to fight. However, some people show adverse reactions to Shinsoo."

    "In other words, those who can''t deal well with Shinsoo are not appropriate candidates to be in the Tower. The people who can pass through the veil at least don''t have adverse reactions to Shinsoo."

    "The teams that pass through the veil, pass the test as well. And those that don''t, fail. Alright then, everyone please come through." Lero-Ro finished with a smile.

    The powers of Shinsoo were fascinating to Lumen. He wondered whether someone could hurt him in his Logia state. There must be a way to find out, because if he could be harmed with that power, then he won''t be as invincible as he believed

    "Wait! Did you say, team? What if one of your teammates can''t pass through the veil?" As he was pondering on the mysterious powers of Shinsoo, a Regular asked Lero-Ro.

    "Isn''t it obvious that team fails." Lumen cursed in his mind hearing that. He immediately found Tiana and Fai amidst the Regulars and hoped that they would be able to pass through.

    "That''s absurd! It doesn''t make sense!" Someone complained from the Regulars.

    "Absurd? What is?" Lero-Ro asked with a mocking smile.

    "It''s not fair to be eliminated because of a teammate! That''s just bad luck!" Thankfully someone said exactly what Lumen was thinking.

    "Hey! Do you know what''s the most important thing to go up the Tower?" Lero-Ro asked. Seeing no response, he continued.

    "It''s luck! The luck to have a strong body, the luck to be smart, the luck to be rich, the luck to escape from death, the luck to save a teammate, the only reason you have come so far is because you were lucky."

    "And now you say it''s absurd to test luck? Stop your jibbering and just take the Test, you Regulars." Lumen wanted to protest, but he stopped himself.

    Was he not lucky to meet an Axis? Was he not lucky to receive the 3 Devil Fruits from him? Was he not lucky to be sent to the Tower? The Administrator was correct. The only reason he was in the Tower is because of luck. Hopefully, his luck won''t run out here.

    "Um... I... I don''t know why, but I didn''t have a problem... Um... To take the Test... I should go out and come in again, right?" The brown-haired boy asked Lero-Ro.

    The Administrator looked at the harmless boy with a serious face. Feeling the pressure of the gaze, the boy turned around to go behind the veil. "I... I''ll go back out. It''s a Test after all."

    "No, Mr. Baam. You''re in. I think I made a mistake, but it''s also part of your luck. You passed Mr. Baam." Lero-Ro laughed it out, causing a commotion from the rest of the Regulars.

    "Guess I''m also pretty lucky." Lumen chipped in with a smile and the commotion grew even larger. Lero-Ro instantly focused his gaze on him.

    ''Did I actually made a mistake? No, that''s not possible. The boy looks harmless, but there is definitely something weird about him. This guy, on the other hand, looks too calm, too nonchalant about this. This one is dangerous. What kind of monsters are taking the Test this time?'' Lero-Ro thought to himself.

    "Indeed. You also passed the test Mr. Lumen. You seem to be just as lucky." Lero-Ro confirmed while Lumen shrugged his shoulders. He was confused about how the Administrator knew his name, but he didn''t question him.

    Since he passed the Test, Lumen walked up to the stage and plopped himself on the ground. Baam, the black-haired boy, seeing someone else who had passed the test, walked up to him and introduced himself.

    After that, the harmless boy sat down next to him in silence. Both of them didn''t have anything to talk about so they simply observed the rest of the Regulars.

    "Mr. Baam, Mr. Lumen, both of you looked quite bored. How about chatting with me for a while." Lero-Ro came up to them and sat down as well.

    "While we are waiting for the rest of the Regulars, how about playing a game? Let''s guess which Regulars will be the first to pass through the Shinsoo."

    "If you get it right, I will answer any questions you ask, in return, if I''m right, you''ll have to answer what I ask as well. What do you think?" Lero-Ro proposed.

    "I will pass." Lumen politely refused since he didn''t trust the blonde Administrator.

    "What? Really? Sounds good!" Baam, on the other hand, was more than happy to accept.

    "Then I''ll go first." Said Lero-Ro. "I''ll choose that green girl, I think her name was Anak."

    To Lumen it seemed unfair that the Administrator was the first to choose, but since he wasn''t playing he didn''t say anything.

    "Who will you choose, Mr. Bam?" Lero-Ro asked.

    "I... also choose the green girl." The harmless boy also chose the same person, which was weird in Lumen''s opinion. Was that even a valid option? Didn''t Lero-Ro select her already? Again he didn''t say anything though since it didn''t concern him.

    "Is there a reason you are choosing the same person?" Lero-Ro asked Baam with a judging gaze.

    "I have a feeling." The boy responded vaguely.

    ''Yeah, I have the same feeling that the Administrator would pick the correct one as well.'' Lumen rolled his eyes. Despite that, he also believed that she would be the first to pass the test.

    Anak was a small green-skinned girl with a lizard tail, wearing only a black and orange dress. Her small stature made her look like a harmless kid, but she carried herself with confidence. Lumen wasn''t sure what it is, but there was something special about her.

    Just as expected, she was the first to pass through the Shinsoo barrier.

    "It seems like a tie, but since I''m a Ranker, I will answer your question." Lero-Ro seemed like a nice guy, but Lumen was still suspicious of him.

    "Did a girl with light blonde hair and freckles pass by here?" Hearing Baam''s question, Lumen b?r?ly held himself from face-palming.

    After a brief pause of thinking, Lero-Ro said he hadn''t met such a girl in any of the Tests that he is in charge of.

    Lumen was already ignoring them and was looking at the Shinsoo veil, hoping the two girls pass through it.

    "Do you have any other questions?"

    "Could you tell me about the Irregulars?" Now hearing that, Lumen got interested in their conversation.

    "The Irregulars are those who don''t fit to the rules of the tower."

    "Don''t... fit?"

    "Yes"

    "As you know, this tower can be divided into three areas. The Residential Area called the Outer Tower, the Regulars Test Area called the Inner Tower, and then there is the Middle Area."

    "It''s normal for the residents of the Tower to be born in the Residential Area, and live on that floor for their whole lives. But some people of a particular class can go to other floors through the Inner Tower or the Middle Area, that''s for the Regulars, right?"

    "Oh... I see..."

    "What is that? You sound as if you never knew?"

    "N..No! Of course, I knew! Inner Tower! Outer Tower! And um... Yo Yo! Everybody''s Tower! Yay!" Lumen had to hold himself from face-palming since the boy was being way too obvious.

    At least he understood that Baam should be the Irregular who passed Headon''s Test before him. Still, it was a mystery how someone like him managed to do so.

    "Well, anyway... In the case of Regulars, they live in the Residential Area and when they show their talent to go up to the Tower, they get the right to enter the Tower."

    "There are some other cases too... but all of them are Chosen. That''s what they have in common."

    "The sorting of the Regulars is done by Headon, the Administrator of the Tower. And all the Regulars who have been sorted eventually gather here."

    ''So Headon is the Administrator of the Tower? Didn''t he introduce himself as the Guardian of the First Floor? Hmm, things seem complicated.'' Lumen thought to himself.

    "However, very rarely people who weren''t sorted get here. They are the Irregulars."

    "But then where do the Irregulars come from?" Lumen decided to enter the conversation and ask. He knew he was sent here by Loki, but what about the others like the boy.

    "This... I don''t know where exactly they come from, but it''s somewhere outside the Tower." This begged the questions if the other Irregulars are from Earth as well.

    "Are the Irregulars evil?" Baam asked.

    "No. It''s true that they violate the rules of the Tower, but we can''t say that they are evil. However, the Irregulars that came here Phantaminum, Enryu, and Urek Mazino were all so powerful that Irregulars became the symbol of fear."

    "Why do Irregulars violate the rules of the Tower?" That point confused Lumen, so he asked Lero-Ro.

    "Irregulars have opened the door themselves of their own will and their act goes against the Tower''s Laws." Lumen wasn''t happy with the vague response, but he didn''t push for more.

    "Is there a way I can meet them?" Baam asked the Administrator.

    "There is. Just go up. Everything exists there." Lero-Ro answered with another vague response.

    "DAMN IT! How can this useless Test eliminate me? I don''t know what this veil is all about, but I''m strong enough without any stupid powers! I''m the strongest of the Regulars here!" A big human-looking dude screamed out. The guy was over 2m tall and looked pretty buff.

    Lero-Ro stood up in silence and calmly walked up to him.

    "What? What more do you have to say? I''m sick of listening to your nonsense. You think you''re above us just because you are a Ranker? You just look skinny and weak! I can show you how weak you are!" The big guy screamed in Lero-Ro''s face.

    "This was your last chance, and you didn''t get that. How stupid are you?"

    "Fine then, I will teach you the harsh way so that you realize about the power that lies above, and why you can''t go up the tower."

    "There is no limit to Shinsoo. With Shinsoo, you can obtain Immortality or God-like powers. There are rumors that Enryu the Notorious can create a living being using Shinsoo."

    "However, as it is for every man, we each have our own limits." Power started radiation from Lero-Ro and Shinsoo started swirling around him.

    "When one faces an opponent with infinite possibility and discovers his limits, he falls into despair." The Shinsoo that Lero-Ro was gathering focused on the big guy and he started screaming in pain. He lasted no longer than a second before he fell on his knees.

    "The 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." Clutching his head, the big guy screamed even louder.

    "Feeling pain? The concentration of Shinsoo on you is routine above the 30th Floor. Do you get it now? The reason you can''t go up the tower?"

    "It''s not like you were not strong enough, or your effort wasn''t enough. It''s just because... you just weren''t one of the Chosen ones. Go back to the Floor you came from, you are not qualified to climb the Tower."

    Lero-Ro released the Shinsoo around the big guy and left like a total badass. Lumen was watching the spectacle in wonder. Seeing the show of power, he was excited to try and learn how to control Shinsoo. But that would most likely be after he learns how to use his own Devil Fruit powers first.

    The big guy, on the other hand, started crying and screaming why is he not a Chosen, but no one paid him any more attention.

    Lero-Ro walked back to them and sat down. "Isn''t God cruel?"

    "When he first shows you the World, it seems like you can have anything in this limitless world. But one day he appears again and tells you ''This is your limit'' although there are so many things that you still want to get."

    Hearing him, Baam hugged his knees and asked. "Mr. Lero-Ro... Do I deserve to go up the Tower?"

    "Well... I wouldn''t know. But I''m sure, there will come a time when you have to stop your journey, and I just hope that you find what you are looking for... Whatever that is."

 Chapter 5 - Second Floor (3)

    Lumen had a lot of questions on his mind.

    Is he actually an Irregular? Supposably, the other Irregular had opened the door to the Tower by themselves. He didn''t since he was sent here by Loki.

    Was it a misconception and the other Irregulars were sent by other Axis as well?

    Where do the other Irregulars come from? Are they also from Earth, or are they from someplace else?

    The boy Baam should be an Irregular, and he is searching for a girl. Is she also an Irregular, or is she the Axis that sent him here?

    So many questions, yet so little answers.

    "What are you thinking about?" A voice broke him out of his thoughts.

    Fai was looking curiously at Lumen while Tiana was watching him in disgust. It seemed that the two of them had passed the Shinsoo veil while he was lost in thought.

    Lumen didn''t answer her, and breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that he wouldn''t fail the test because of them. He would prefer if he could climb the Tower on his own, but he was stuck with the girls for the time being.

    More and more, Regulars passed the veil, and in a matter of minutes, the pre-Test finished.

    "Those of you who passed the Test, make a line! The next Test will be on a first come first served basis!" Lero-Ro made an announcement and left afterward.

    Lumen and the girls got a position around the middle of the line.

    When all the teams lined up, a blonde woman walked in. She had a headset on her head and was wearing black pants and a black and yellow shirt. Following behind her was a floating creature with a black and yellow shirt.

    "Hi! I''m the Test Guide, Yellowy." Cheerfully she introduced herself.

    "The Test will be conducted one team after another. The remaining teams, please wait and follow the instructions of the Guide Robot." After her instructions, the first team entered another room.

    Since there were at least 20 teams before them, Lumen decided to play around with the Pocket that he received. The device allowed him to freely communicate with the other races, so he wondered what else it could do.

    "Fascinating!" Lumen exclaimed after 30 minutes of playing with the small thing.

    It could act as a phone by storing contacts, calling someone or sending them a message. It also had a clock and a timer as well.

    It also had an inventory system with 2 cubic meters of space. If Lumen knew about it earlier, he would have stored a few of the weapons he got from the previous Test.

    All in all, the Pocket seemed like an incredible, and he wondered who created it.

    The line had shortened quite a bit, and a lot of teams had already entered the room. Despite that, not a single one exited afterward.

    From time to time, you could even hear screams coming out of the room.

    Lumen wasn''t scared of the screams, but the girls were another story. They were terrified of the unknown that''s awaiting them in the next room.

    As it got closer and close to their turn, the girls got even more anxious.

    "You two seem to be very worried." A girl with black hair and glasses spoke from behind them.

    "Are you not? We don''t know what''s in there. For all, we know it could be a terrifying monster." Fai answered her.

    "Maybe, but I have a clue that I could share with you." The girl with glasses said with a proud smile.

    "And why should we trust you?" Tiana skeptically questioned.

    "Well, I don''t want to brag." The black-haired girl said and pushed her glasses up. "But I''m extremely intelligent."

    "Stop acting cool and tell us the clue!" Fai demanded.

    "Fine, fine. From what I''ve deduced, the next Test has to be passed in 5 minutes. Every time we hear a scream from that room, the team was in there for over 5 minutes." Glasses girl said.

    "Really? We will see about that." Tiana was suspicious of the girl with glasses and didn''t trust her. Since another team was just entering, she could see if her clue is correct.

    7 minutes later, a scream was heard from the other room.

    "See, I told you so." Glasses girl had a proud smile on her face.

    "Hmmph." Tiana pouted in response.

    Another team entered, and the girls set up another timer, to see how long they would take.

    Lumen believed there is some credit to the clue given by glasses girl, but rather than focusing on the team that entered, he focused on the teams behind them.

    He noticed a member of another team walk up to a different team, and start a conversation with them. He couldn''t hear what they were talking about, but it looked suspicious.

    4 minutes later, the team that entered passed and another one entered. The girls set up another timer while Lumen focused on observing the teams after them.

    He found at least two people separating from their teams to go talk to another one. ''Interesting.'' Something seemed wrong about this, but he wasn''t sure what.

    A few more teams entered and it was finally their turn.

    "Next team please." Called out the yellow Robot.

    "The Test starts when you open the door beyond this one. I will open the door for you." Yellowy told them with a smile.

    Lumen and the girls entered a small hallway with a door at the end. After entering that door, they found themselves in another giant room.

    The room had a dozen doors at the other end and a blonde woman was sitting in the middle with a bloodied chinse panel behind them. The woman had her hair tied in a bum and was wearing a blonde and yellow robe. With yellow eyes and red lipstick, she looked like a beauty.

    ''This Tower sure has a lot of beautiful women.'' Lumen though, but then he heard a male voice coming for the ''women''. "Nice to meet you, Regulars."

    "TRAP!?!" Lumen exclaimed the second he heard the male voice. Looking closer, the trap had blood on his lips and not lipstick.

    "I''m sorry?" The blonde trap questioned.

    "Nothing, please go on. I apologize for interrupting you." Lumen scratched the back of his head, embarrassed from his action. The two girls were looking curiously at him but didn''t say anything.

    "Hmm, whatever. My name is Hansung Yu, your next Test Administrator. Usually, I''m just a Test Supervisor on Evankhell''s floor, but this time I will be directly in charge of this Test." Explained the trap.

    "This time the Test is simple. Do you see all those doors behind me? Within 10 minutes, find the real door and open it."

    "If you find the real door and open it, you will pass this test. However, if you don''t find the door in 10 minutes and give up, you will fail. And if you open the wrong door within 10 minutes, you will die."

    "How can you expect us to find the real door within 10 minutes if you haven''t given us any hints?" Fai anxiously asked.

    "We''ve given you all the hints. Now it''s up to you! The test begins now!" The trap said cheerfully.

    "Damn." Lumen silently cursed. He was prepared to deal with some kind of a beast, but not this.

    The fact that the trap said ''We''ve given you all the hints'' irked him. Did it mean that he viewed himself as both a female and a male? Or was it something else.

    While he was thinking, the girls started arguing about what to do.

    3 minutes passed and he wasn''t sure which is the correct door.

    ''F*ck it, let''s see how are you going to kill me if I select the wrong door.'' Lumen cursed and walked to a random door. Since the girls were arguing, they didn''t even notice him.

    Lumen opened the door and prepared himself to enter his Logia form. However, nothing happened.

    *Clap* *Clap* *Clap*

    "Congratulations, you''ve passed the Test!" The trap stood up and told them with a smile.

    "We did?" Both girls exclaimed and noticed Lumen had opened a door.

    "How did you know which door to open?" Fai questioned.

    "I didn''t. I picked randomly." He confessed.

    "Are you insane? If you had picked the wrong one, we would have died! Did you forget that we are a team?" Tiana was furious at his actions.

    "We are a team because we were forced to be one. I wouldn''t mind killing you now if I could get away with it and continue climbing the Tower alone." Tiana was stunned at his response.

    Lumen didn''t bother with them anymore and entered the door.

    At the other end, was another giant room with all the other teams that passed the Test. Baam and his teammates, a blue-haired young-looking man carrying a brown bag and a very large alligator-like humanoid with grey skin, were also there.

    Lumen found a free spot and sat there. The girls sat near him but kept their distance after his previous comment.

    Time passed by and more teams entered the room. In about an hour, Lero-Ro also walked in.

    "Did you have enough rest, Regulars?"

    "I came here with very good news! I talked with the top supervisor before I came here, and he told us to give you a bonus game!"

    "The bonus game has nothing to do with the Tests. It is up to each team to chose whether to play the game. There is no penalty if you don''t participate."

    "But the winner of this bonus game, get''s to pass the final Test of this Floor. They get the right to go straight to the next Floor."

    His words caused a commotion between the Regulars.

    "So, what is the bonus game?" Someone questioned him.

    "The game is called ''The Crown Game''. I will explain the details to you when we get to the game spot."

    "Now all of you, prepare yourselves."

    The second he said that Lumen blacked out for a moment. When he regained his vision he was in what appeared to be a cage. The cage only had a simple bench and a bu??on inside.

    "Now that you''ve all been transmitted to this spot, I will explain the Crown Game to you."

    "The Crown Game is in short, a Crown stealing game." Lero-Ro picked up a golden crown. "The team that holds this crown at the last moment, wins the game."

    "It looks simple, but the rules are a bit complicated. First is the time limit. The game consists of 5 rounds and each round is 10 minutes long. Only 5 teams can participate in each round, and the team that possesses the crown at the end of each round becomes the winning team to proceed to the next round."

    "In the next round, 4 new teams and the winning team from the previous round will compete for the crown. The true winner will be the team that has the crown at the end of the 5th round."

    "If you want to participate in the game, press the red bu??on at the entrance of each of your rooms. Only 5 teams can participate and it will be done on a first-come-first-served basis. If several teams press the bu??on simultaneously, the team that participated the most will get the chance."

    "But there is a way to finish the game early. That is to sit on the throne wearing the crown before 5 minutes have passed. The moment someone sits on the throne, the round automatically ends, and the sitting team becomes the winner of the round."

    "However, some movement will be restricted. If there was a winning team at the end of the previous round, that team may keep the crown. But at least one team member must stay seated on the throne, wearing the crown."

    "If the crown wearer comes off the throne or loses the crown, that team will be eliminated from the Test. And if another team takes the crown and sits on the throne, that team wins the round."

    "Well, although there are a lot of rules and limitations, the point is that the team with the crown at the end of the last round is the winner."

    "Don''t think too much, you just have to steal the crown."

    "Oh, and one more thing. Another team from another Test spot will be participating. Also, check the details in the instructions book next to the buzzer."

    "Now let''s start the game!" He announced and placed the crown on the throne. Afterward, he disappeared from the arena.

    A yellow, cube-like object floated at the top of the arena and the voice of Lero-Ro could be heard coming from it. "The crown game begins! I will count to 5. So the teams that want to participate must press the buzzer during the count!"

 Chapter 6 - Second Floor (4)

    After Lero-Ro''s count, only 2 teams decided to participate in the first round.

    Anaak, the green-skinned lizard girl, was a part of one of the teams. The two alongside her were a guy wearing a purple tracksuit and black-haired young man carrying two swords.

    Carrying a green needle-like weapon that ended with a hook, Anaak walked ahead of her teammates, planning to face the other team alone.

    "Don''t you dare cut in." She told her teammates.

    "What? Alone? Are you insane?" The other team wasn''t happy and though she is looking down on them.

    "Be serious! Do you think we are fools?" A guy with two swords from the other team exclaimed.

    "Serious, you said? Well, it''s up to you." Anaak cheekily replied.

    "Okay! I will be serious with you! Alone as well!" The dual-wielding swordsman walked up to face her.

    "You are going to regret what you just said! Now here I come!"

    Before the swordsman could even make his move, Anaak had already gotten in front of him. With a thurst of her palm, the swordsman was sent flying to edges of the arena.

    One of the swordsman''s teammates tried attacking her with a needle, but her weapon increased its length, and she easily deflected his attack.

    The last teammate tried sneaked in a hit and managed to punch her in the head. However, that didn''t even faze Anaak. Grabbing his wrist, she flung him into the walls of the arena, like throwing a sack of potatoes.

    The guy using a needle tried sneaking in an attack, but Anaak caught his weapon and threw him to the wall as well.

    Within a minute, Anaak manhandled the whole team on her own.

    Her strength and speed was beyond anything Lumen has ever witnessed. Just looking at her small stature, you would never expect her to have so much power hidden inside her.

    Lumen was getting excited and wondered if she would be able to survive one of his lasers.

    The other team, all slowly got up. Showing that although weaker than her, they had exceptional physical strength.

    Since they stood no chance in a direct confrontation against Anaak, they chose to beat her using the rules of the game.

    Each member of the opposing team made a beeline towards the crown that was sitting on the throne.

    Before they could reach the crown, Anaak appeared on top of the throne with a burst of speed. Using the ability of her green hook to extend its length, she sent the other team flying. She grabbed the crown afterward and wore it on her head.

    Since 5 minutes hadn''t passed yet, they automatically won the round.

    "Now give me the crown, Anaak. You two can fight while I''m on the throne." Said the guy wearing a purple tracksuit. He looked to be the weakest from the three.

    "I won''t. I don''t want to." Anaak denied him and found a comfortable position on the throne. Since the throne was too big for her, she was laying sideways on it, with her tail cutely dangling in the air.

    "What can we do with you in the chair, you dumbass?!?" Screamed out the tracksuit guy.

    "As Ms. Anaak sat on the chair before 5 minutes elapsed, this round winner is the team of Anak, Ship Leesoo, and Hatsu," Lero-Ro announced.

    Meanwhile, the tracksuit wearing guy started arguing with Anaak that he should be the one sitting on the throne. But no matter what he said, Anaak simply ignored him.

    "Now that the 1st round is over, a reminder for you! The one who sat on the King''s Throne with the crown, can''t get up from the throne until all rounds are over!"

    The tracksuit wearing guy wasn''t happy with the announcement and complained to Lero-Ro. However, that didn''t faze the Administrator at all.

    "I told you the details are written in the instruction book. I did tell you to read the rules next to the bu??on, didn''t I?"

    "Let''s begin the 2nd round of the Crown Game! Because there was a winning team in the previous round, only four teams can join this time!"

    "I''ll start counting now! Teams that want to join should press the bu??on before the count is over!"

    The black-haired swordsman was very impressive. He unsheathed one of his swords and sent it flying in the air. The other he held in his hands. Despite being attacked by two Regulars simultaneously, he managed to defend and push them back.

    The tracksuit wearing guy, on the other hand, had a lot of trouble with dealing with the other team. One of the Regulars from the other team was even covered with a blanket and peacefully sleeping while the other two didn''t look special in any way.

    The two fighting the tracksuit wearing guy didn''t have perfect teamwork, but they managed to tie him down. Just as he was about to be killed, the swordsman managed to beat the other team and save him.

    Now with the fight being a 2vs2, the other team''s odds looked low.

    "His teammates are risking their lives fighting, and he is sleeping? It''s a shame such a scum was chosen. The Administrator of the base floor can make mistakes, huh?" Annoyed by the sleeping guy, the swordsman sent his sword in the air, planning to go after him first.

    "I don''t like killing, but scums are an exception. If you don''t want to fight, wake up and get away. Or else, you will be the first to die."

    It seems that the sleeping guy heard him since he woke up from his slumber. Without even saying a word, he raised his arm up with light gathering around it.

    "What?" Exclaimed Lumen seeing his actions. That looked almost identical to the way he used his own powers.

    A laser-like attack was fired off in Anaak''s direction. The beam didn''t look to be as fast as Lumen, and the lizard girl managed to evade it while still being on the throne.

    The confusion caused by his attack, allowed his teammates to get past Anaak''s team and attack her directly. The swordsman and the tracksuit wearing guy snapped out of their confusion and rushed to help her out.

    As Anaak was dodging their attacks, the sleeping guy managed to sneak in another laser-like attack. This time the beam hit her straight on.

    "Give us the crown. I can attack you from anywhere." The sleeping guy said, thinking that he had seriously hurt her. Unfortunately, Anaak seemed to be fine, albeit with a little damage done to her dress.

    Nevertheless, the lizard girl seemed pissed. "The bait was not for you, you jerk. What do you think you are."

    Holding her hook, the look in her eyes changed to a crazy one. "Ignition!" As she said that, the weapon''s size changed dramatically. It grew so big that it could easily cover the whole arena.

    "I will kill all of you." The guy with a blanket was b?r?ly able to avoid being struck by that gigantic weapon.

    "Did you say, ''I can attack the throne wherever I am''?"

    "Then I can say ''I can attack everywhere from this throne'' you stupid jerk!" Anaak''s attention was focused entirely on the blanket wearing guy.

    Her attacks were fierce and unpredictable. The weapon was so amazing that it was even able to split itself. The situation looked dire for the other team.

    All of a sudden, Anaak froze mid-attack. The other team without even wasting a second, immediately used that to escape to their cage, forfeiting the round.

    Lumen wasn''t able to see what transpired there, but shortly afterward, Lero-Ro gave an announcement.

    "There are no other changes to the game which means Anaak''s team lost this round. So the next round starts without a winning team."

    "Well, let''s proceed with the next game again, Regulars."

    The next round, Baam''s team, and three others entered the game.

    Before everyone could take any action, the blue-haired guy from Baam''s team reached the stage in a matter of seconds.

    "Oh, now this feels better. The game would be over if I sit here with he crown, but that''s no fun." He cheekily said and put the crown in his brown bag.

    "Let''s not make this boring. Fight me, you weaklings." He pulled out a knife from the bag. "If you beat me, I will give you the crown."

    A guy using a sniper rifle caught Lumen''s attention. He took aim and fired at the blue-haired guy, but all the bullets were deflected by the brown bag. There wasn''t even a scratch left on the bag.

    "On second thought this is a bit troublesome, I changed my mind." He pulled out the crown from the bag and threw it on the ground. "You guys fight."

    The other teams, angry at his ???kiness, banded together to fight Baam''s team.

    A Regular who looked like his body was made of shadow rushed at the blue-haired guy. Before he could attack him though, his body got su?k?d in by the leather bag.

    Both the blue-haired guy and the alligator-humanoid looked like exceptional fighters. The two of them managed to take down everyone, except a very small Regular that looked like a squirrel.

    The Regular had managed to sneak next to the crown and was planning to sit on the throne with it.

    Unfortunately, the blue-haired guy picked out another crown from his bag and looked at the small Regular with a smile.

    "Abracadabra~ It''s the fun and amazing duplicating magic bag!" The crown in the small Regulars had disappeared as if it was nothing but an illusion. He gave the crown to Baam and made him sit on the throne.

    Lumen was very disappointed with Baam''s performance. Since he believed him to be an Irregular, he hoped he would show him something amazing.

    The next round began and only three teams decided to join it. A Regular from one of the teams tried gathering the teams under one banner to fight Baam''s.

    Unfortunately, not all of them were on the same page, and one of the teams eliminated the other two. After that, they all walked back into their cage, forfeiting the round.

    "The Crown Game is becoming more and more exciting! And now we only have the final round left! The count will start now, so any joining teams, please press the bu??on!"

    "One!" The moment Lero-Ro counted, Lumen had already pressed the bu??on to join.

    "What are you doing?!" The girls screamed out seeing that.

    "You don''t have to do anything. I will steal the crown on my own. Just don''t get in my way." Lumen said and stopped paying attention to them.

    After the count to 5, four teams entered the round.

    A woman wearing a black full-body leotard and a mask immediately took off. She was wielding a staff with great expertise. In a matter of moments, she easily dealt with two teams singlehandedly.

    Her two teammates focused on distracting the blue-haired guy and the alligator.

    After dealing with the two teams, she leaped and landed on the throne next to Baam. Lumen was planning to interfere just as she was about to attack, but a disc-like object got in the way and blocked her attack.

    The user of the disc was a young beautiful woman wearing a cloak. She had short brown hair, yellow eyes and a very small horn on the right side of her forehead.

    The woman was apart of the team from the other Test sport. For some reason, she and her teammates didn''t try going for the crown. Rather it seemed like they were protecting Baam. The cloaked Regular stood on each side of the throne.

    The fight between the leotard wearing woman and the brown-haired one seemed equal. That is until the brown-haired''s heel broke and she stumbled. The masked woman took her chance and maneuvered past her.

    The staff-wielding woman attacked one of the cloaked Regulars next to Baam. The cloaked Regular didn''t seem like much of a fighter and got hit in the face. This distracted Baam and he was about to leap off the throne.

    ''Now''s my chance.'' Lumen turned into light and rushed towards the throne. With speed far faster than any of the Regulars there, he managed to snag the crown from Baam''s head.

    The rest of the Regulars only saw a flash of light before Lumen appeared on the throne with the crown in his hands. He was mentally exhausted from his simple actions, but it was worth it.

    Cheekily he put the crown on his head and turned towards Baam. Only to find him lying on top of the cloaked Regular, about to be hit by the staff-wielding woman.

    Before the attack could reach him, Lumen instinctively felt danger. On pure instinct alone, he transformed into his Logia form again. An invisible force wave burst out from Baam.

    The leotard wearing woman had her mask destroyed and her eye ruined.

    Lumen also wasn''t scoff free from the attack. His forehead was bleeding after the shockwave that hit him. He was bleeding despite being in his Logia form!

    Lumen was very angry. He truly believed himself to be invincible with his Logia fruit but he was proven wrong. To top it off, he was proved wrong by what he considered the weakest person there.

    Raising his hand, he was prepared to pay him back for the wound. Light started gathering and just as he was about to shoot him.

    "STOP!" Lero-Ro stopped him.

    "The Crown Game ended. You''ve won the round, there is no need to take it further." Lumen cooled down and in a flash of white, the wound on his forehead disappeared. He stayed his hand but vowed to pay him back later.

 Chapter 7 - Third Floor (1)

    Since Lumen sat on the throne with the crown before 5 minutes had passed, his team, automatically won the last and final round. As the winners of the Crown Game, he and the two girls got sent to the next Floor.

    Before being sent to the 3rd Floor, they were each awarded 10 000 credits for successfully passing the 2nd Floor by winning the Crown Game.

    "I wish you luck, climbing the Tower, Regulars." The blonde trap said before sending them out. Lumen couldn''t even look at him in the face after he initially mistook him for a female.

    After experiencing the now normal blackout moment, the three of them got teleported to what appeared to be a town square.

    They were standing in front of a giant fountain that resembled a big Jasmine flower.

    As Lumen was looking around, he heard a female voice from behind him.

    "Eh, so you are the Rookies that I had to get up for."

    Turning around, he saw a very beautiful, pink-haired woman. She was wearing a blue tanktop with white dots on it and grey shorts with blue dots on them. She also had a grey sleeping mask on her head and bunny slippers on her feet.

    Her tank top only covered her big bosom and revealed her flat yet muscular stomach. Her shorts covered only a very small part of her th??hs, showing off her long legs. The shorts seemed to be put in a rush since you could see her blue p?nt??s sticking out to the side.

    "There''s only three of you, which is kind of odd, but frankly, I don''t care."

    "The name''s Diana, and I''m the Ruler of the 3rd Floor." She introduced herself with a yawn.

    "The test for this Floor is very simple. See that small tower to the North of you? All you have to do is register a team of at least 7 Regulars and beat it. To register a team, you have to pay for each member by using your Points. The small tower has a total of 3 floors, by winning on the last floor, you get the opportunity to get to the 4th Floor of the Tower." Diana lazily pointed at a grey tower in the distance.

    "On the first 2 floors, you would have to fight a 2vs2 battle. If a Regular fights on a floor, he won''t be allowed to fight in any of the other floors of the small tower. On the 3rd and last floor, you would have to fight a 3vs3 battle. So you better choose who to fight on each floor carefully."

    "On each floor, there is a Guardian team. If you lose to the Guardian team, your team will take their position, while they would get the chance of challenging the next floor of the small tower. Simple, right?"

    "Over here to the West of you, we have the Residential Area. Everyone can rent a room for the small price of 10 Points a night." She showed them 20 apartment looking buildings, that each had 10 floors. All the buildings looked identical to each other.

    "To the East of you is the Commercial District. We have restaurants and various shops that you could look through. All of the facilities are open 24/7. Those that have the Points to spare would usually go there." There were at least over 30 different shops in the Commercial District.

    "And finally, to the South of you is the Hunting Area. Those that lack Points can gather them there. There are a total of 4 creatures that you could hunt in the forest." Diana pointed to a path that led to a forest.

    "You have the Fruit Monkeys and their guardians, the Iron Monkeys. The Fruit Monkeys are small, brown, furry creatures that have a fruit growing on their back. Each fruit that you bring could net you 5 Points at the Commercial District. The Iron Monkeys are their bigger brethren. They have grey, metallic fur, however since they don''t have anything useful on them, you can''t gain Points from hunting them."

    "Then we have the Red Scythes and the Elder Red Scythes. They are basically big insectoid monsters with red scythes. They love eating the fruits from the Fruit Monkey, so they tend to hunt them and offer them to the Elders. You can sell a pair of normal red scythes for 50 Points and if you manage to hunt an Elder Red Scythe, you could sell their 2 pairs for a total of 400 Points."

    "You got any questions, Regulars? No? Great, I''m gonna go and take nap, please don''t disturb me." Before anyone could ask her a question, Diana disappeared from her spot.

    ''For a place that advocates stepping over others to climb higher, they sure like forcing you to make teams, don''t they.'' Lumen thought.

    Without even sparing a glance towards Fai and Tiana, he immediately started going in the direction of the Hunting Area. Despite needing a team to pass the Floor, he didn''t want them as his teammates. He simply didn''t trust their strength.

    Lumen really wanted to climb the Tower and see all it has to offer, but for the moment, that wasn''t his top priority. For the time being, the most important thing for him is to get used to his Devil Fruit Powers and increase his own strength.

    He still hadn''t gotten over the fact that he was injured, despite being in his Logia form. This reminded him of a phrase from One Piece ''Logia users who think they''re invincible tend to have short lifespans''. Since people could hurt him in his elemental form in the Tower, he had to do something about that.

    But right now, he just wanted to let out some steam. Exiting the small town, he entered the Hunting Area.

    The Hunting Area is a gigantic forest, filled with trees over 20m tall.

    After walking for around 10 minutes, he finally found a group of monsters. Two Fruit Monkeys were being escorted by four Iron Monkeys.

    The Fruit Monkeys were no more than 1m tall and had a Peach growing from their neck. While the Iron Monkeys were at least 3m tall with bulging muscles.

    Since Lumen wasn''t trying to hide his presence, they immediately sensed him. Two of the Iron Monkeys rushed towards him while the other two stayed near the Fruit Monkeys.

    Lumen raised his hands and gathered light in both of them. The laser from his right hand easily killed one of the Iron Monkeys, but the laser from his left hand missed its target. He wasn''t as proficient at shooting with his off-hand as he is with his main hand.

    ''This has to change.'' He thought to himself.

    Lumen quickly shot the other Iron Monkey and turned towards the rest of the group. Unfortunately, they had already ran off and were nowhere to be seen. He didn''t mind that much since he didn''t come here for points.

    Continuing his exploration, he found a few more groups of monkeys. Each time he found a Fruit Monkey, they would have at least two Iron Monkeys guarding them. Any time he killed a few, the rest would immediately scatter and run away.

    As he was exploring the Hunting Area, he finally found his first Red Scythe. They are basically big red mantises. They are over 2m tall, and their forelegs that resemble red scythes are 60cm long.

    Observing from a distance, Lumen watched as the Red Scythe decimated a group of monkeys. With every slash, the Red Scythe would either kill a monkey or sever a limb. Even the Iron Monkeys with their hard as steel fur couldn''t take a single hit from it.

    In a matter of moments, the Red Scythe killed four Fruit Monkeys and eleven Iron Monkeys. It plucked a Peach from a Fruit Monkey, and it was about to eat it before a laser beam went through its head.

    Using his light powers, Lumen severed it''s two forelegs and stored them in his pocket, alongside the Peaches. He continued his trek through the forest for a few more hours, before he exited the Hunting Area.

    Lumen made his way towards the Commercial District and found a building that purchased the monster parts.

    "Welcome to our establishment, customer! I haven''t seen you around so you should be one of the Regulars that recently reached the Floor. My name is Eli, how can I help you~?" A cheerful black-haired girl asked him.

    "I''m here to sell the monster parts I''ve gathered." Lumen curtly replied to her.

    "You already went to the Hunting Area? You must be a part of a strong team. Place everything here on the counter and make your Pocket visible. I would count the parts and transfer the Points to your account~" Eli cheerfully explained.

    Lumen pulled out 15 Peaches and placed them on the counter.

    "That''s a pretty good haul. You definitely are a part of a strong team." The girl commented, thinking that''s all he had.

    Lumen smirked in response, took out 5 pairs of red scythes and placed them on the counter. Seeing that, Eli momentarily froze.

    Usually, you would need at least 5 Regulars to properly hunt a Red Scythe. The Regulars would have to have good coordination, and one of them would need to have a strong weapon or an exceptional ability to be able to pierce the tough carapace of the insectoid. To top it off, Red Scythes would use their wings and fly away, if they feel endangered.

    Seeing a newcomer bring not only a good amount of Peaches but also 5 pairs of scythes, Eli didn''t know what to say.

    ''What kind of a monster team has arrived? I better report this to the higher-ups.'' She though.

    Nevertheless, she quickly got out of her stupor and handled the transaction professionally. Eli transferred 325 Points to his account, and he left the building.

    Lumen explored the Commercial District and found shops that sold weapons, clothes other items. He wasn''t interested in the weapon or clothing shops, but two others caught his attention.

    The first one being the Lighthouse shop. From what he gathered, a Lighthouse is a cube used for gathering information and emitting light. It had options similar to a Pocket, but it could do a few things a Pocket couldn''t.

    The ranks of the Lighthouses ranged from 10F up to 10E. Lumen purchased the highest grade he could find for 4 000 Points. The Lighthouse that he bought had an Inventory space of 2 cubic meters. Combined with his Pocket, he would have a total of 4 cubic meters of space.

    He wanted to play around with all of its options, and Points didn''t really matter to him since he could always go to the Hunting Area to gather them.

    The highest rank that he was found was again 10E, so Lumen purchased two of them for a total of 4 000 Points. The Observer was in the shape of an eye with wings attached to it.

    After he finished shopping, Lumen visited one of the restaurants. He ordered the most nutritious and expensive meal, which cost him 100 Points. The food was amazing so he was happy with the purchase.

    He circled around the Commercial District in case he missed something, but he didn''t find anything interesting.

    In the end, he left the Commercial District and made his way towards the Residential Area. All the apartment buildings looked the same so he entered the first one he saw.

    Lumen wasn''t sure how long he will stay on the 3rd Floor, but he decided to rent a room for a week. After paying 70 points, the staff linked a room to his Pocket. He could enter the room by just scanning his Pocket in front of the room he was ?ssigned.

    The apartment room was fairly simple. It consisted of a bedroom with a double-sided bed, a nightstand with a lamp on it and a wardrobe. Alongside that, there was a bathroom and a shower.

    After taking a quick shower, Lumen went to sleep for the night.

    //////////////////////////////////////

    So I pretty much made up the number of Points and Inventory space since I don''t remember them being mentioned as an exact amount. If anyone knows the correct numbers, please leave a comment so I can fix them.

 Chapter 8 - Third Floor (2)

    Opening his eyes to the unfamiliar ceiling, Lumen was half-expecting to wake up in his own apartment. The events from the previous day were so surreal that he was sure everything was only a dream.

    Meeting a God-like being, receiving powers from him, and then being sent to a weird place filled with alien races. His mind was delusional throughout the whole day, blindly rushing ahead, hoping to achieve as much as he could, before the dream ended.

    Now knowing that this is, in fact, his life, Lumen knew he had to prepare for the future. He was given three Devil Fruit Powers, but unlike the characters in One Piece, he had no experience in using them. And that simply won''t do.

    The scene of Anaak throwing a Regular 100m across the giant arena was eye-opening, to say the least. She looked like a small child, but her physical strength was through the roof.

    There''s also that mysterious power Shinsoo, that managed to harm him in his Logia form. That''s something that he would have to look into and understand it better.

    On Earth, he was always prepared for the worst situation, but here in the Tower that he knew nothing about, he wasn''t. Lumen had to change that, but his top priority right now was to increase his personal strength and get used to his Devil Fruit Powers.

    With that in mind, he left his room and made his way towards the Commercial District.

    After ordering the most expensive meal, he started planning how he would spend his time in the upcoming days.

    Once done with his meal, he quickly passed through a shop selling clothes and purchased a few black sweatpants and hoodies that resembled his. The clothes cost him a total of 150 Points.

    His last stop was the market where he purchased 10 bottles of water for 20 Points. Everything was neatly stored in his Pocket.

    With that out of the way, Lumen was ready to begin his training.

    On Earth, he preferred to use guns and keep his distance away from other people. Since no matter how good you are at fighting, a single lucky hit to the back of the head, could leave you unconscious. He had taken a few fighting courses, but they were mostly as a last resort, in case he couldn''t use his guns.

    Lumen''s physical strength was enhanced by the Zoan Fruit, but he planned to increase it even further.

    Stepping outside of the small town, he began his training.

    The first thing that he did is to use his Paramecia Devil Fruit, the Zushi Zushi no Mi.

    The Zushi Zushi no Mi allows him to manipulate gravity around a chosen location at will by sending gravitational forces. Using the powers of the Fruit, he increased the gravity around him by 2x. He was planning to use the added pressure to further increase his physical strength.

    The effects were immediate, and he felt himself becoming heavier and more sluggish. Lumen started running circles around the small town with the increased gravity.

    After his first ??p, he was already out of breath. Despite that, he pushed himself and continued running. Using what little breathing techniques he knew, he tried controlling his breaths to sustain his stamina for a longer time.

    His legs were burning, and his muscles were throbbing, but he kept running until his legs refused to take another step.

    In the end, Lumen managed to do 4 ??ps with the 2x gravity applied to him.

    Despite being done with his running, he left the 2x gravity on himself and started doing more physical exercises.

    The more he pushed himself, the more he started feeling the Shinsoo around him. Each time his muscles throbbed, he could feel it wash over them, cooling them down. With each breath that he took, he felt it enter his body, recovering just a little bit of his stamina.

    The power was very mysterious, and it dawned on him how little he knew about it.

    An hour later, Lumen was breathing heavily and laying on the ground, too exhausted to even move his body. He laid there for another hour, enjoying the feeling of Shinsoo washing over him.

    Once he recovered a bit, he stood up and began practicing his close combat skills. He had taken a few courses on Kickboxing and Taekwondo on Earth, and using that as a reference, he started practicing his punches and kicks.

    By the end of his training, Lumen b?r?ly had the strength to pass by the restaurant for his meal, and almost passed out before reaching his room. He initially wanted to practice his control over his Light powers, but that was quickly scrapped and rescheduled for the next day.

    Lumen was so exhausted that he fell asleep while taking a shower. He woke up in the middle of the night and moved himself over to his bed.

    The next day, he continued his training, but he wasn''t as exhausted at the end of it. That allowed him to practice his control over his Devil Fruit.

    So far, he has used the Pika Pika no Mi, to either fire light beams from his fingers or to enter his Logia form. He knew that the Fruit had a much higher potential than what he was currently doing with it.

    Lumen racked his brain and tried to remember how Kizaru used the Pika Pika no Mi.

    The Admiral was able to fire off lasers from any part of his body, and he was able to fire more than two at the same time. Kizaru would combine his fighting techniques with his Fruit, to attack at the speed of light. He also had a blinding technique where he would emit a powerful flash of light. And lastly, he remembered that he could create a sword made of light.

    With that in mind, Lumen planned to try and imitate his techniques. Despite having a reference, things weren''t going as smoothly as he would have liked.

    He was easily able to get the hang of the blinding technique, but everything else wasn''t as easy as it seemed. Watching someone do something, and doing that same action yourself, are two vastly different things.

    Shooting laser from his feet was uncomfortable for Lumen, to say the least. It just didn''t feel natural, but that didn''t stop him from trying. He also practiced firing more than one laser from his fingers and had some minor progress with that.

    Creating an armament out of his light was by far the hardest thing. Even with the Fruit granting him control over the light element, the best that he managed to do was a spear made of light, that dissipated the second he lost focus.

    Lumen didn''t even bother trying to combine his fighting techniques with his light speed, since not only were they lacking at the moment, moving at his maximum speed put an immense strain on his mind.

    On the third day, since Lumen came to the third floor, he didn''t feel as sluggish with the 2x gravity on him. That being the case, he decided to increase the gravity to 3x.

    He felt even more pressure than the first day, but he pushed through. With the increased stress on his body, he felt the Shinsoo around him with even greater clarity.

    In the next four days, he continued training like a madman and managed to increase the gravity on him up to 4x. He also progressed greatly with his Pika Pika no Mi.

    Lumen was slowly turning into a training lunatic, but the feeling of improving every single day was novel to him, and he loved it.

    His Points were quickly dwindling down since he didn''t go hunting, and ate the most expensive and nutritious meal, two times a day.

    After spending 70 Points to book a room for another week, he was left with 495 Points. His water ran out, so he had to buy another 10 bottles during the previous week.

    Today he had decided to go into the Hunting Area and see how much he had improved. He figured he might hunt down a few creatures to replenish his Points as well.

    It didn''t take long for him to encounter a group of monkeys. Three Fruit Monkeys and six Iron ones.

    Three of the bigger ones immediately rushed in his direction. Not letting them get the first move, he ran into them. With his increased speed and strength, he began his attacks.

    Lumen landed a kick to the side of the head on one of the Iron Monkeys and staggered him for a moment.

    He dodged a swipe attack from another and used a push kick to force his attacker away.

    After evading another swipe from the last monkey, he got up close and personal with him.

    With a hand behind the monkey''s head, he elbowed him in the face. Not giving him a chance to recover, he immediately followed up with a knee to the face, caving his skull in.

    By that time, the other two monkeys had already recovered. Their teamwork was surprisingly good, and they attacked him at the same time. One from the back, the other from the front.

    Before, he would have to use his Logia form to dodge the attack, but now it was different. He leaped in the air like an eagle starting his flight and evaded both attacks.

    Falling down, Lumen landed an axe kick on the monkey in front of him and pummelled it into the ground.

    Just to be sure, he stomped on the head of the monkey he hit with the axe kick, squashing his head.

    The gang of monkeys was terrified of Lumen''s performance and started running away. Before they could reach anywhere, three beams of light accurately pierced the heads of the Fruit Monkeys.

    Lumen continued deeper into the forest and continued fighting groups of monkeys, refining his fighting techniques in the process.

    On the way, he encountered a few Red Scythes, but he had to use his light beams to take care of them. He wasn''t confident to try and fight those monsters with his physical body alone. Their carapace was even tougher than the Iron Monkeys'' fur.

    He continued exploring the Hunting Area for the rest of the day until he started feeling hungry. A bit disappointed that he didn''t meet any Elder Red Scythes, but he was happy with his haul for the day.

    Lumen made his way towards the place he sold off the monster parts the first day. As he entered the building, he saw the cheerful black-haired girl at the counter.

    "Heya, customer~! I haven''t seen you in quite a while. How can I help you?~"

    "I want to sell the monster parts that I''ve gathered."

    "No problem~ Just place them on the counter like the previous time~"

    Lumen took out 31 Peaches and 13 pairs of red scythes. Eli was surprised at the large number of monster parts, but she believed that this was his team''s haul for the whole week. She didn''t expect him to have gathered them all in just one day, alone at that.

    After receiving 805 Points, he passed by the restaurant for a hearty meal and returned to his apartment for the night.

    His Points had increased to 1200, but he planned to enter the Hunting Area each day from now on. Lumen was thinking of fighting with the Iron Monkeys with 2x gravity on him so that he could further refine his fighting techniques.

    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

    A bit of a rant on how I picked his Devil Fruits.

    For the Logia I picked the 3 that had something to do with light and in the end decided on the Pika Pika no Mi since it seemed the most interesting to me.

    For the Paramecia I picked the Buki Buki no Mi since the MC was someone that uses guns. And since there are no gun fruits this was the closest thing to it. There''s also the question since he is in the Tower, would he be able to make weapons like the needle and the hook? Would he be able to make an Ignition Weapon? What about Living Ignition Weapon? Or would he be considered a Living Ignition Weapon? I had a few fun ideas with this one.

    The Kage Kage no Mi was picked since I couldn''t give him both the Light and Darkness fruit since both are Logia. So I went with the Shadow fruit. Now this Fruit is very interesting since he could increase his strength by taking the shadows of others. He could even make a shadow doppelganger and double team people if you know what I mean. He would also be able to make zombies and since there is no actual sun in the Tower, wouldn''t they be able to survive without a problem?

    Lastly the Zushi Zushi no Mi was picked since I wanted something OP, but I didn''t want to pick the Gura Gura no Mi. I also thought about picking Soru Soru no Mi or the Hobi Hobi no Mi, but I decided against that since they are in a way kinda similar to the Kage Kage no Mi.

    I went to a random number generator and rolled a 3 which was the Zushi Zushi no Mi... At first, I didn''t want to use it and planned to switch it since none of you would even know about it, but after writing *cough* copying *cough* Lero-Ro speech about luck, I said fu?k it that''s my luck, I''m going with that.

    That was a far longer rant than intended, sorry about that.

 Chapter 9 - Third Floor (3)

    Tun Drek is a dark-skinned humanoid with a bald head and green eyes. The only thing making him different from a human is the fact that he has only three fingers on each hand.

    Tun is a Ranker of the Tower and the only Test Administrator under Eurasia Diana, the Ruler of the 3rd Floor.

    Diana, like many others from her bloodline, carried the specific trait of the Eurasia''s family, being extremely lazy.

    Since she didn''t want to bother too much with the Regulars, she made the Test of the Floor in a way where she would only need to explain the details once and be done with it.

    The only reason Tun works for her is that she had to pick a Test Administrator for appearance''s sake.

    Every week or so, he would go through the various reports sent to him by Regulars on the floor. A particular report about a new Regular and his team caught his interest.

    The report came from a Regular working at the Monster Parts store. The shop is the only place where you could sell off the monster parts from the Hunting Area. Supposedly those guys have brought 15 Peaches and 5 red scythes as their first haul.

    "So it''s that time of the year again when new Regulars get sent to our floor. Let''s see what''s so special about those guys."

    Tun checked the information and found out that 3 Regulars passed the 2nd Floor by winning the Crown Game. The game itself is not something new to him, but he knew that only the best of the best would get to the 3rd Floor by winning it.

    What surprised him the most is that the report came on the same day that Regulars reached the Floor.

    He checked the names of the Regulars and found out that the team consisted of Fai, Tiana, and Lumen Terminus. The two girls had no family name, and he didn''t recognize the name Terminus.

    "Odd. None of them are from one of the 10 Great Families. It''s quite possible that Lumen is a genius from a branch family. Let''s take a look at the video footage."

    Tun checked and saw the three appear in front of the fountain. Diana shortly came, told the rules of the Floor, and left.

    After that, he saw Lumen walk straight towards the Hunting Area alone. A few hours later, he came out of the forest and explored the Commercial District.

    "Definitely a genius from a branch family. Now the question is from which Great Family is his branch."

    He checked Lumen''s footage from the next few days and saw him doing physical exercises like a madman. In his eyes, he was very weak physically, and his strength seemed to regress rather than progress.

    But what really caught his attention, is when he saw him shooting light beams. Yes, light beams, not light beam. He wasn''t even shooting one, not even two, but three!

    "He has already made a Contract with the Guardian of the Floor and can use 3 Bangs of Shinsoo already! He even has a quality applied to his Shinsoo. Such a genius must be from a branch family of the Eurasia. No other Family has such good control over Shinsoo. Such a shame his physical capabilities are so low."

    Normally, a Regular would have to form a Contract with the Guardian of the Floor, before he is allowed to manipulate the Shinsoo of said Floor.

    The only exception to this rule is Irregulars. They do not follow the rules of the Tower and can manipulate Shinsoo without forming a Contract with a Guardian.

    Tun didn''t think, for even a second, that the ability shown by Lumen, didn''t require him to manipulate Shinsoo. He also didn''t think that the young man is an Irregular since those guys are scary strong.

    "Since he is a branch member of the Eurasia Family, I would just escalate this report to Diana. She would probably look into this in a year or two."

    He continued looking through the various reports, but none were as interesting as Lumens.

    Four days later, Lumen had already been on the 3rd Floor for eleven days. He had managed to even increase the gravity on himself up to 5x. To top it off, he could easily fight against Iron Monkeys with a 2x gravity applied on himself.

    For the past four days, he went to the Hunting Area and trained like a lunatic. He could already shoot five lasers at the same time and managed to keep his Light Spear stable. He was currently working on making 2 Light Spears.

    Lumen even started experimenting with his Zushi Zushi no Mi. But that proved to be more difficult than he expected.

    Applying his ability to himself, easy. While applying it to something else is an entirely different thing.

    Let''s not even talk about changing the gravitational forces from a vertical one to a horizontal one.

    Nevertheless, he was pleased with his accomplishments, so he decided to explore deeper into the Hunting Area today.

    Since he visited the forest each day, he now had a stable supply of Points, and he currently had a total of 1580.

    Walking inside the forest, he had already killed six Red Scythes and just killed another one. This one he had managed to take down without blasting the insect with a laser to the face.

    Lumen might have cheated a bit and applied a gravitational force of 10x on the monster, but he killed it by smashing his head.

    He is aim is to be able to kill a Red Scythe without using any of his Devil Fruit powers. Only then would he feel confident in climbing to the next Floor.

    As he was cutting off the insect''s forelegs, he heard a buzzing sound moving in his direction, and he felt extreme danger coming from it.

    On pure instinct alone he entered his Logia form before a giant blade separated him in half. Had he been a second later, he might have lost his life there.

    His two halves joined together, and he blasted the giant insect with five laser beams to the face. The beams easily pierced through his head and killed the beast.

    The Elder Red Scythe, seeing his kin being killed off so easily, immediately decided to book it. It wanted to kill the stupid human that was hunting their children, but it didn''t expect the human to be so strong that their blade didn''t even work on him.

    However, Lumen had none of that. He was almost killed by an Elder Red Scythe so he wasn''t going to let that one run away.

    With speed far faster than what the beast could perceive, he jumped on its back. Forming a giant light beam between his hands, he destroyed the monster''s upper body.

    The Elder Red Scythe weekly fell on the ground with Lumen on his back.

    "FUCK!" He cursed out loud. That was too close for his liking. He had survived the sneak attack from the monster on pure luck.

    If he had entered his elemental from just a second later, he would have been dead!

    His plan of killing Red Scythes b?r?handed was scratched and he had a new aim now. Lumen wanted to be able to kill this monstrosity without using his Devil Fruit Powers.

    Nevertheless, he was angry at the beast and went around killing Red Scythes like a madman for the rest of the day. Every time he found one, he would shoot it with a laser, store their forelegs and move on.

    By the end of the day, he had killed a total of 20 Red Scythes and 2 Elder Red Scythes.

    "Heya Lumen~ You seem upset. What''s wrong?" For the past few days, he has been visiting the store daily so Eli got used to him. Most of the time he had a neutral look on his face. But this was the first time that she saw him visibly upset.

    "A stupid insect sneak attacked me and almost got me!" Lumen spat out. Eli observed him for a moment but didn''t find any injuries on his body.

    "Hey, at least look at it on the bright side. You managed to survive scot-free and learned to be more careful in the Hunting Area." Eli consoled him. Seeing him not respond she continued.

    "You know the drill~ Just place what you got on the counter and I will transfer the Points to your account."

    Lumen pulled out the 20 pairs of red scythes and placed them on the counter.

    "Wow~! That''s the most I''ve seen someone bring in! You must''ve had it tough killing so many." Eli was very surprised that a team had managed to kill 20 Red Scythes, but what she saw next, left her speechless.

    Lumen pulled out eight 2m long red scythes and placed them on the counter. Clearly, those were from Elder Red Scythes. Eli''s eyes nearly popped out of her socket and her mouth hung open.

    Looking at the 2m long blade, she didn''t know what to say. This was the first time she had ever seen one and there were eight at that. So Lumen''s team must''ve killed two Elder Red Scythes. How amazing is that?

    Eli didn''t even know when was the last time a team had hunted an Elder Red Scythe, but it was definitely over 100 years ago. She has been working at Moster Parts for the past 80 years and no one has brought such a thing before.

    After a moment, she regained herself and sent 1 800 Points to Lumen''s account.

    He quickly left the building, visited a restaurant for a hearty meal and went to bed. By the end of the day, he had a total of 3280 Points to his name.

    Eli, on the other hand, quickly sent an urgent report regarding this. Hunting an Elder Red Scythe was a big thing, and the higher-ups had to know about this.

    Tun was enjoying a glass of whiskey when he suddenly received an urgent report from Monster Parts.

    "What''s happening now? Did the rest of the Regulars from the 2nd Floor finally reached this one and are causing a commotion."

    He looked over the report and noticed that it''s regarding Lumen.

    "Him again? What did he do?"

    Tun had to read the report a few times to make sure that what he read was correct. He simply couldn''t believe it.

    Hunting an Elder Red Scythe was a big deal since it would mean that a group of monsters has appeared. But that wasn''t the case here. He knew better than anyone that Lumen went to the Hunting Area on his own.

    "This guy''s a monster! Lumen is from a branch family of the Eurasia Family, so if I don''t tell Diana she will kill me. But if I wake her up from her nap, she would also kill me."

    In the end, he decided to risk and went to inform her. Using his rights as an Administrator of the Floor, he teleported himself to a giant ship in the sky. The ship had a cloaking system, so the Regulars didn''t even know that it was there.

    Tun reached Diana''s room and mustered up his courage to knock on it.

    *Knock* *Knock* *Knock*

    "Diana, I have something urgent to report to you."

 Chapter 10 - Third Floor (4)

    The next day, Lumen was on his way towards the Hunting Area, when he got intercepted by a purple-haired woman wearing a blue tracksuit.

    Tiana seemed hesitant for a moment, but she mustered up her courage and asked him.

    "Can we talk for a moment, please? I promise I won''t take too much of your time. Please."

    Lumen didn''t know what she wanted, but he decided to listen to what she has to say.

    Tiana explained that after they arrived on the 3rd Floor, she and Fai didn''t know what to do and wandered around searching for a team they could join. The two didn''t have much success until they met the leader of the Guardian team on the 3rd floor of the small tower.

    He called himself Tench and told them his team has the highest chance of passing the Floor. Since they would only need to win against the next Challenger team.

    He offered them the opportunity to join their team, and in exchange, they would have to become his women and offer all their points to him.

    Tiana, disgusted by that offer, adamantly refused. But Fai, who had no problem with the proposal, immediately accepted. That caused a lot of problems for Tiana since Tench now knew that they had a lot of Points for newcomers.

    The Regular, greedy for her points, gave her an ultimatum that she would either become his woman and give all of her Points to him, or she will never leave the 3rd Floor alive.

    Since she constantly refused their offer, they had taken a more forceful approach. Luckily, she had escaped to one of the Apartment buildings, where fighting is prohibited.

    For the past few days, Tiana had b?r?ly managed to escape them, all thanks to the three Observers she had purchased.

    She was at her wit''s end and didn''t know what to do. In the end, she decided to look for Lumen and ask for his help.

    He might be cold-hearted, but she didn''t have another choice. Since you need a team of at least 7 to pass the Floor, she figured she might have a chance with him.

    "You are very strong, but you would still need teammates if you want to climb the Tower."

    "Please, help me become strong like you. I don''t want to rely on others to climb the Tower, I want to do it with my own strength. Please, I would do anything." Desperately she asked him.

    "Anything? What if I also ask you to become my woman?" Lumen questioned her.

    "Then, I would refuse. I would rather die than forcefully become someone''s woman!" Tiana answered with conviction.

    Lumen, impressed by her resolve, contemplated her offer. She was correct that he needed a team to pass the Floor, so he decided to give her a chance.

    "I will give you one chance and one chance only. Starting today, you will train with me every day. Should you quit even once, we will go our separate ways."

    "Thank you, thank you so much. I promise I will do my best!" Tiana was so moved that someone finally gave her a chance, that she almost teared up.

    "Follow me then."

    The two entered the Hunting Area together. With Tiana''s help, he was able to locate groups of monkeys far easier than when he was alone. Using her Observers, she was quickly able to scout them out and transmit their position to Lumen''s Lighthouse.

    Tiana was surprised at his decision of fighting the Iron Monkeys b?r?handed, but she didn''t question him.

    She tried helping him out, but her attacks b?r?ly scratched them. Her physical strength was not good enough to hurt them. She was nothing more than a distraction.

    They hunted monkeys for a couple hours and exited the Hunting Area, afterward.

    "We will be training our physical strength now. Just remember, if you quit, we will go our separate ways." Lumen reminded her.

    "I understand. I promise I won''t." Tiana ?ssured him.

    "Good. Then let''s begin."

    Tiana didn''t directly go to Lumen and ask for his help. She first used her Observers to spy on him for a few days.

    She saw him run around the town, but no matter how she looked, he seemed both slow and weak. Tiana wasn''t the only Regular to take notice of him, and most of them started calling him Weakfish. Since no matter how much he trained, he never improved.

    Despite that, Tiana clearly remembered him moving so fast that she couldn''t even follow him with her eyes. She knew something was wrong, but she didn''t know what.

    Now, after feeling the pressure on her body, she realized what he was doing.

    The two started running ??ps around the town, and after the first one, Tiana was huffing and puffing. This was a lot harder than what she initially expected. Nevertheless, she didn''t complain and continued running.

    During their second ??p, her legs couldn''t take it anymore, and she collapsed on the ground. She stood up a few times but fell down afterward. Try as she might, her legs just couldn''t take another step.

    Lumen watched her for a minute and shook his head. Seeing him, Tiana got desperate.

    "I can go on!" She stated and started crawling on the ground.

    Her resolve was amazing, and that really impressed Lumen. He walked up to her and picked her up.

    "What are you doing?" She asked him in fear, thinking that he might take advantage of her in her weak state. She let a sigh of relief when he placed on her back, giving her a piggyback.

    "I told you we will go our separate ways if you quit. You didn''t. You just reached your limits. Rest there on my back while I finish my ??ps."

    After being done with his running, Lumen instructed her on the physical exercises that he does. Other than that, he couldn''t do much else for her. He couldn''t help her with her fighting style since she used a needle, and he didn''t know the correct way to fight using one.

    Lumen also asked her about Shinsoo, but besides the basic explanation, she didn''t how to actually manipulate it. He would have to find someone else to help him with that and possibly teach both of them.

    After they finished their training, Tiana was beyond exhausted. Her legs were trembling from the running, but at the very least, she could walk on her own now.

    The two were walking towards a restaurant in the Commercial District when they were intercepted by Fai and a handsome black-haired man.

    The man was wearing a white T-shirt and black shorts and was hugging Fai with one of his hands. This was Tench, the leader of the Guardian team on the 3rd floor of the small tower.

    "So, Weakfish is the one you told me about?" He asked Fai.

    "Yes, he is the other Regular that came with us to the 3rd Floor."

    "Good. Listen here Weakfish, you either give me your Points and scram from my sight. Or I''m going to end your life right now. Same goes for you purple-head, but you also have to become my woman. Choose now."

    A small crowd of Regulars started gathering around them. Interested in what''s going to happen.

    Hearing his demand, Lumen burst out laughing with an amused expression on his face.

    "Did you just call me Weakfish? Fine then, I will give you the same options. Either give me all your Points and scram or die. Choose now."

    This infuriated Tench. His team is currently the strongest on the 3rd Floor. How dare this weakling ask for his Points and threaten him.

    "So be it. We will do this the hard..." He couldn''t continue talking since a beam of light pierced his head. Tench weakly fell on the ground with a hole between his eyes.

    "That was the wrong answer." Lumen shook his head.

    The Regulars observing them were terrified by what they saw. They only saw Lumen point a finger at the handsome black-haired man, and next thing they knew, he fell on the ground dead. All of them quickly ran away, leaving only Fai there, frozen in place.

    The two didn''t even spare her a glance and continued on their way towards the restaurant.

    When they sat on a table, Tiana was about to order one of the cheaper meals, but Lumen stopped her and made her order the most expensive.

    "With our training, we need to eat the most nutritious meal to supply our bodies with everything they need. That is unless you decide to quit." He explained his reasoning to her.

    "I already made my mind and won''t quit. But aren''t we going to run out of Points that way?"

    "When our Points get low, we will just go deeper into the Hunting Area and find some Red Scythes."

    Tiana didn''t question him further since she believed that wouldn''t be a problem with his strength.

    After eating a hearty meal, they passed by Monster Parts to sell off the Peaches that they gathered.

    Eli was more than surprised at seeing Lumen come with someone else.

    "Heya Lumen~ Is this one of your teammates?" She asked him and observed Tiana carefully. Eli was still under the impression that Lumen had hunted the Elder Red Scythes with the help of other Regulars. Never would she imagine that he actually did it on his own.

    "She is for the time being." Lumen answered her and placed 15 Peaches on the counter. Eli quickly took them in and transferred 75 points to him.

    Done with the activities for the day, they each went towards their rooms. Lumen didn''t forget to remind her of their schedule for the next day before separating.

    "Meet me here 6:30 tomorrow morning. We will eat breakfast, and train for the rest of the day afterward. If I don''t see you here, I will take it you''ve decided to quit."

    "I already told you, I won''t quit!" This was her only chance of gaining strength, so she was resolved to follow through with her choice.

    Lumen entered his room, took a shower and went to bed.

    *Knock* *Knock* *Knock*

    It was around 2:00 in the morning when Lumen heard someone furiously knocking on his door. He planned to ignore it and turned around in his bed.

    *Knock* *Knock* *Knock*

    Unfortunately, whoever it was, was adamant on waking him up. Angrily, he stood up only wearing his boxers and went towards the door.

    He started cursing the person knocking and opened the door.

    "Who the fu?k do you think..." However, he couldn''t finish what he was about to say since a foot with a bunny slipper on kicked him in the face.

    Lumen managed to recover and saw Diana, wearing her loose clothing, enter his room. The door behind her closed without her even looking at it.

    Diana didn''t even spare him a glance and walked past him. She laid down on his bed, tucked herself with the blanket, and stared at him without saying a word.

    Lumen was confused by the situation and didn''t have a clue about what''s happening.

    If it was any other Regular that did this, he would have already killed them on the spot. However, he didn''t dare do anything reckless like attacking Diana. He hadn''t seen her use Shinsoo, but he was sure she could use the mysterious power. Attacking her might lead to him losing his life. So he stayed his hand and waited to see why she is in his room in the middle of the night and what she wants.

    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

    Ranting at the end of the chapters is starting to become a habit of mine.

    I want to talk about Diana and how her character came to be. Initially, she was supposed to be a one a done character, but that changed.

    When I was writing her character, even I didn''t know she is from the 10 Great Families :D. Since we know nothing about the 3rd Floor, I had to make something on my own. So I just gave her a random quirk of being lazy and gave her more revealing clothing so I could entice you lot :D.

    Then I was like okay, what should her hair color be. At first, it was blue, but I didn''t want to make her apart of the Koon family. Red? That''s for Red Witches. White? Didn''t want her to be from the Arie family. Blonde? reminds me of the trap. Black or Brown? Boring. Green? I already gave it to Fai and didn''t want to reuse it so soon. Purple? Already gave it to Tiana. At this point, I was starting to regret making those two characters. In the end, I was, fu?k it, have pink. It''s a one and done character either way who cares.

    Next day, I was reading about the 10 Great Families so I can plan out a few OC characters in the future and I read through the Eurasia family. Sleepy and lazy, kinda like Diana is what I thought. Then I saw a picture of a family member who had pink hair, and I was like fuuuck didn''t I give her pink hair?. Then an idea struck me and Diana was no longer a one and done character afterward.

 Chapter 11 - Third Floor (5)

    When Tun informed Diana regarding Lumen, she figured she would at least check what this Regular is all about.

    Killing 2 Elder Red Scythes alone is impressive, but not impossible for a monster from the 10 Great Families. As long as that Regular is sufficiently prepared, they should be able to achieve the same.

    What caught her attention is that this Regular is supposedly not from the 10 Great Families. Unless he has faked his name, which is not impossible.

    The name of a Regular is linked to his Pocket, but there are ways to bypass that and change it to a fake name. But all members from the 10 Great Families are a prideful bunch and would never do such a thing.

    So she decided to check the footage of him killing the 2 Elder Red Scythes.

    Unlike, Tun, who could only use the Observers in the town, she had her ship. Which is equipped with High-Rank Observers and Lighthouses that could observer the whole 3rd Floor.

    Diana watched him enter the Hunting Area and saw him killing off Red Scythes pretty easily. The insects have a low Shinsoo Resistance, but he was killing them with one shot.

    Lumen''s aim was also very good. Each light beam would accurately pierce through the heads of the monsters.

    ''Not bad.'' She though and continued watching.

    He had just killed a Red Scythe and was removing its forelegs when she saw 2 Elder Red Scythes sneaking up on him. They were moving without making a sound, despite their large bodies.

    When the two insects reached 20m away from Lumen, Daniela wondered how he would even survive the encounter.

    Their bursting power is quite good and combined that with their wings, they could reach him in an instant from that distance. And that''s exactly what happened, one of the insects rushed in his directions.

    Just before the Elder Red Scythe''s blade could cut him in half, Lumen''s whole body turned into light. His body got separated into two halves, but they joined together afterward.

    "What?!" Although Diana had seen similar abilities, they were all used by Rankers and High-Rankers at that. She would have never expected a Regular that just started climbing the Tower, to be able to use such an ability, even if he was from one of the 10 Great Families.

    Five light beams were shot from his hand, and they disintegrated the insect''s head.

    "Didn''t Tun say he could only use 3 Bangs of Shinsoo?"

    The other Elder Red Scythe, seeing his fellow kin die, tried escaping. With speed far faster than the insect, Lumen appeared on his back and killed it in the same manner he killed the previous one.

    "Didn''t Tun say he is weak physically and that he is pretty slow?"

    Diana was slightly interested in Lumen, but now, he had her full attention. She reviewed all of his footage, starting from the day he entered the 3rd Floor.

    After watching his footage, she was more than astonished by what she saw.

    In the beginning, he could only shoot two light beams, but within 10 days, he improved that to five.

    "Some form of weird pressure? Is he using that on himself to train his body? That''s pretty smart."

    Diana continued watching, and a bit of excitement was building inside of her.

    She saw him take a red scythe from his Pocket and open a large wound on his hand with it. A white flame burst out, and the wound healed in a matter of moments.

    "Yeon Family''s flame? But the colour of their flame ranges from yellow to red, not white."

    Afterward, both of Lumen''s arms turned into wings made of white flame.

    "Is he a Canine Person? But he looks like a human."

    After he played around with his wings for a bit, his whole body turned into a bird made of white flames.

    "Definitely not a Canine Person. They can''t transform their whole body."

    So many abilities shown by a Regular that just started climbing the Tower? That seemed nearly impossible. There is absolutely no way he is a Regular with those abilities, but he was climbing the Tower. So there was only one option left. He is an Irregular.

    That''s when she realized that Lumen wasn''t manipulating Shinsoo at all. None of his abilities required him to manipulate it in any way what so ever.

    "Definitely an Irregular. Maybe, just maybe, I would be able to leave this stinky Floor in the future."

    Joy filled her at the small chance of finally leaving the 3rd Floor. It has been hundreds of years since she was banished here. Not allowed to take even a step outside the 3rd Floor.

    She stood up from her bed with not a single clothing on her body and started pacing around the room.

    "What to do? What to do? Bah, let''s go and meet him directly. Hopefully, he is not like Urek."

    Quickly, she put a few clothes on her n?k?d body and wore her favorite slippers, before teleporting in front of Lumen''s room. It was 2:00 in the morning, but that didn''t matter to her. Tun woke her up because of him, so she has the right to wake him up as well.

    Diana knocked on his door and wondered how to greet him. That''s when she heard him cursing at her.

    ''You dare curse at me? You will see how I will deal with you.'' She thought.

    The moment the door was opened, she kicked him in the face and sent him tumbling back inside. Diana entered the room and made a bee-line towards the bed. Standing up is not her thing, so she laid down and tucked her self in.

    ''Just the right amount of warmth. Maybe I could forgive him for cursing at me.''

    Diana studied Lumen for a moment before breaking the awkward silence between them by asking him a series of questions.

    "You can''t manipulate Shinsoo, can you?"

    "Eh?"

    "All of your fancy abilities don''t require Shinsoo, right?"

    "Ah?"

    "You are not a normal Regular, aren''t you?"

    "Uh?"

    Lumen, still delusional from being woken up in the middle of the night, could only respond with weird sounds.

    "You are an Irregular, right?"

    Lumen was ready to turn into his Logia form and do something. He didn''t know what, but he was prepared to at least try and escape.

    "Be at ease. I''m not here to hurt you. I came to make you an offer." Seeing him tense up, she explained herself.

    "An offer? What is it?" Still, on his guard, he decided to listen to what she has to say.

    "It''s very simple. Since you don''t know how to use Shinsoo, I will teach you. In exchange, you will kill a certain man for me." Lumen did need someone to teach him about Shinsoo, but there was something off about the offer.

    "Who is it that you want me to kill, and why do you need me to kill that man?" Killing is his specialty, but he wouldn''t blindly agree.

    Diana hesitated for a moment but answered him.

    "I want you to kill King Zahard."

    "King Zahard? Isn''t that Yuri''s father." He questioned.

    "You know Yuri? That''s surprising. But no, he is not her father. Although Yuri is a Princess of Zahard, she is not his daughter."

    "There are numerous Princess of Zahard. Every hundred years or so, a woman is chosen to become a Princess. Once chosen, they are imbued with Zahard''s blood and gain a part of his power."

    "That doesn''t come for free, though. In exchange for that power, they have certain limitations on them. For example, they must not have a relationship with a man, and they may not have a child. They must not help an enemy of the Empire, and they may not enter the Floor of Death."

    "Those Princesses are also encouraged to fight each other and gather the 13 Month Series. They consist of an Arms Inventory and 12 sentient Ignition Weapons. If a Princess manages to get ahold of all the 13 Month Series, she would then become Zahard''s wife."

    "My sister, Eurasia Enne Zahard, is also a Princess of Zahard. Our father is Po Bidau Gustang, and our mother is Eurasia Blossom. Two heads of the 10 Great Families." The moment she mentioned her sister and family, her eyes started watering.

    "My sister was the strongest Princess at her time. She managed to get ahold of two of the 13 Months Series. From that point on, she changed. She became crazy, and sometimes she killed for no reason at all, especially members of the Zahard Family."

    "In the end, she was captured and sealed away. After that, they blamed the reason for her going crazy, on the fact that she had the blood of two of the 10 Great Families."

    "Marriages between their families were forbidden afterward, and I was banished to be a Ruler of the 3rd Floor. In order to limit the damage I could cause when I become crazy as well."

    "Yet, hundreds of years later, here I am still sane as always. Now, if the reason my sister became crazy is not that she had the blood of two of 10 Great Families, then what is it?"

    "The only difference between the two of us is that she had the blood of Zahard and two of the 13 Months Series. So I believe that one of those two is the reason she became like that."

    "I don''t know how or why, but I''m sure Zahard had something to do with it."

    Diana finished her story and looked expectantly at Lumen.

    "You didn''t answer why you need me to kill Zahard. Can''t you ask someone else to do it?" From her words, Lumen understood that she has been on this Floor for a very long time. So why didn''t she ask someone else?

    "Because only an Irregular could kill him. Zahard made a contract with the Floor Guardians. He is invulnerable to harm from anyone who came from the Tower. Only an Irregular could kill him since they are not bound by the rules of the Tower."

    "I would have liked to ask Phantaminum or Enryu, but I never got the chance to meet them. I met Urek once when he was passing through this Floor, but the lecherous bastard was too busy ogling me to even listen to what I had to say. I didn''t have much to offer him either way since he already had a good grasp on Shinsoo."

    "You, on the other hand, don''t. I don''t have much of a choice, and you might be my last chance."

    "I understand I''m not asking you for something easy, but since you are an Irregular, you will definitely cross paths with Zahard in the future. He doesn''t take kindly to Irregulars. All I want from you is to kill that lying bastard and free me and my sister."

    "I know you don''t have the power to kill him right now, but I believe you would grow strong enough to do so. Or at least I hope so." She silently whispered the last part.

    Lumen contemplated for a moment, before answering her.

    "That''s a lot to take in, but you will teach me Shinsoo, and I would have to kill someone that will come after me in the future... I will take you up on that offer."

    Lumen agreed to her offer since he needed someone to teach him about Shinsoo and about the Tower itself. He didn''t plan on risking his life, just to kill Zahard. If he could do it in the future, he would, but he wouldn''t give his life away to accomplish that.

    "Great! I will contact you on your Pocket and sent you my contact details. Now get out of the room."

    "What do you mean? This is my room."

    "I''m already nice and warm here, and I don''t plan on moving. I sleep n?k?d so you are going to leave the room now." Diana ordered him.

    "No! You leave my room!" Lumen was having none of that.

    His instincts suddenly kicked in and he felt danger. He transformed himself into his Logia form, but that didn''t change much. A beam of light resembling his, but not quite, pierced his shoulder.

    "You can heal that with your weird white flames. Now leave!"

    "Yes, ma''am." Obediently he left and booked another room.

    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

    My favorite part of the chapter, rant time!

    His Zoan fruit was revealed! Now I know all of you would go and say, but the Phoenix fruit''s flames are blue! Yes, I know. I''m aware of that. Blue is also my favorite colour, but I decided to change it to white. The reasons why are:

    1. Because I already made his Logia form white so I figure I could change this as well so it could fit him better.

    2. Why not? It''s a fanfiction after all.

    3. ????????

    Also, his Phoenix form is a bit different from Marco''s. If any of you had played Warcraft 3, you could imagine it like the Phoenix from the game.

 Chapter 12 - Third Floor (6)

    The next day, Lumen woke up on the wrong side of the bed. Getting woken up in the middle of the night, and then getting kicked out of your room left a sour taste in his mouth.

    The worst part is that he couldn''t do anything about it. Not only did he not see Diana making that attack, but it also pierced through his Logia form and did damage to his body.

    Lumen would have to learn how to use Shinsoo and learn it fast. The faster he manages to do so, the better he would be able to prepare for the future.

    In order to focus on something else, he increased the gravity on himself to 6x and fought the monkeys with a 3x gravity on.

    Tiana had some mild improvements, but it would take some time before he could increase the gravity on her.

    During their training, Lumen received a message from Diana along with her contact details.

    [Contact me when you are done training.]

    "Bitch..." He silently cursed, still mad at her for kicking him out of his room.

    When Lumen and Tiana were walking towards the Commercial District, a lot of Regulars pointed fingers at them, but none dared to talk to them.

    They ate their meal in silence, and Lumen gave her the Peaches that they gathered for the day. She went to Monster Parts to sell them while he messaged Diana.

    [I''m done.]

    Moments later, he blacked out and appeared on in a spacious room. Diana was standing in front of him and was silently observing him.

    "Now what?" He questioned her.

    "Now we start your Shinsoo training. In order to manipulate Shinsoo, without using an item, a Regular would need to make a contract with the Guardian on that Floor. However, since you are an Irregular, you do not need to make one."

    "Shinsoo can be used to enhance your physical abilities, to create various objects like barriers, or to attack an enemy using it."

    Diana explained and raised her arm with the palm facing upward. A small white sphere that resembled a flower bud appeared in her hand. After creating the Baang, Diana stared at Lumen expectantly.

    "Come on, it''s your turn." She urged him.

    "What? Is the Baang supposed to appear in my hand on its own?" Lumen was starting to doubt her teaching abilities.

    "No, silly. Shinsoo is everywhere around you, so you first need to feel it."

    Ever since Lumen came to the Tower, he had been able to feel the mysterious energy. After he started training with the increased gravity, he got even closer to that energy. It would wash over his muscles and enter his body with each breath that he took.

    "The next step after feeling the Shinsoo around you is to guide it towards your palm in the shape of a sphere. Don''t try to use force to do it. Be gentle, show it the path it has to take, and let it go there on its own."

    "Don''t forget to keep the mental image of a sphere, otherwise you wouldn''t be able to form a Baang."

    He concentrated and tried guiding the Shinsoo towards his palm. The mysterious energy, as if having a mind of its own, followed his directions. In a moment, he had a white sphere of Shinsoo in his palm.

    "There you go, you made your first Baang." Diana congratulated him.

    "I thought that''s pretty obvious," Diana answered with a straight face.

    Both of her parents are one of the greatest Wave Controllers in Tower. Her father, Po Bidau Gustang, is more on the technical side of controlling Shinsoo, while her mother, Eurasia Blossom, relied on her instincts to do so.

    Although Diana, had a better understanding of how is she is controlling Shinsoo, thanks to her father. She relied heavily on her instincts like her mother. Controlling Shinsoo and breathing were the same thing in her eyes.

    "Since you made your first Baang, now you have to learn how to manipulate it." Diana started juggling the white bud in her hands. After showing Lumen, she looked at him expectantly.

    Lumen rolled his eyes at her lack of explanation and tried imitating her. He tried making the Baang move around, but after a couple failed attempts, the Shinsoo dispersed.

    He formed another Baang in his hands and tried again. Remembering her words, "Don''t force it, guide it.", he tried coercing the Shinsoo to move around. He was successful, and the Baang danced in his hands. Diana watched him with a proud smile on her face.

    After playing around with it for a few minutes, he made the Baang fly in Diana''s direction. She let the Shinsoo ball land on her, but it caused her no damage.

    "Tsch." He clicked his tongue in annoyance.

    "Already getting ???ky, aren''t we?" Next thing he knew, he had a small hole on his shoulder. A white flame burst out and healed his wound.

    "The next thing I will show you is how to strengthen yourself with Shinsoo. After forming a Baang, you can absorb it in your body. You can focus it on only a single part of your body, or you can spread it across evenly. Both options have their pros and cons, but they vary depending on the circumstances."

    Diana showed him how to absorb the Baang in his body, and Lumen managed to succeed after a few failed attempts.

    "You Irregulars are so unfair. You are not even from the Tower, but the Tower loves you." Enviously, she shook her head.

    Lumen formed another Baang in his hand and wanted to try something out. He was interested to know if he could combine his Devil Fruit Powers with Shinsoo.

    He tried imbuing his light powers in the Baang, and it worked without a problem. It felt extremely natural doing so. His light powers felt complete when combined with Shinsoo.

    It was like adding the last piece to a puzzle that he didn''t even know he is missing.

    "Very good! You added a quality to your Shinsoo. I won''t be surprised if that is your main quality seeing how easy it was for you to combine it with your Baang. Unfortunately, I don''t have any device on me that could test your Shinsoo quality."

    Lumen played around with the light imbued Baang in his hand, and fired it off in Diana''s direction. This time, she didn''t let the attack hit her. A petal sprouted from the white bud in her hand and blocked the attack.

    "Hahaha." Melodious laughter left her mouth, and she sweetly smiled at him. "I will have a lot of fun helping you learn how to use Shinsoo better."

    Gustang is the one that spent most of his time teaching Diana and her sister how to manipulate Shinsoo. Blossom, on the other hand, always told them to do whatever it feels natural to them since that''s what she did.

    Diana made him do exercises that included shooting stationary and moving targets, maintaining a Baang while attacking him and various other.

    He did try throwing a few potshots at her, but she easily blocked his attacks.

    By the end of the "teaching" session, Lumen''s clothes were filled with holes.

    "I haven''t had so much fun in quite some time. Contact me tomorrow for our next session. Oh, and keep it a secret that you are an Irregular and that I''m teaching you how to manipulate Shinsoo." After saying that, she teleported him to his Apartment Building.

    After sending him away, Diana made her way towards her bed. She was away from her favorite place for far longer than normal, so she had to make up for it. She undressed and laid down on her bed.

    A couple of hours passed, but no matter how she turned around, she couldn''t fall asleep. Something didn''t feel right with her. The bed just wasn''t warm enough.

    She remembered how Lumen''s bed had just the right amount of warmth, so she made up her mind. Diana quickly put a few clothes on her, teleported in front of his room, and knocked on the door.

    Hearing someone knock on his door, Lumen felt a sense of deja vu. Cautiously he opened the door, and hid behind it, in case he gets greeted by another bunny flipper to the face.

    Diana entered the room, kicked him in the bu??, sending him outside, and went to sleep in his bed.

    "Ah, this is perfect." She exclaimed and fell asleep instantly.

    Lumen was fuming from being kicked out of his room for the second time. He wanted to do something about it, but Diana was currently stronger than him. In the end, he decided against trying to get her out and got himself another room.

    Days passed by, and Lumen had spent his days in the same manner. Going to the Hunting Area, training his physical body with Tiana and showing her how to use Shinsoo. Being taught by Diana how to manipulate the mysterious energy and getting kicked out of his room at night.

    Diana had told him to teach Tiana, how to form a contract with the Guardian and to help her out with manipulating Shinsoo. She told him the purple-haired girl would pick up on how to do it quite quickly.

    When he asked her why she believed so, Diana told him she sensed a connection with her. The purple-haired girl was most likely an orphan from the 10 Great Families or a branch family, that was abandoned in the Middle Area.

    Making a contract with the Guardian was a simple process. One has to make his Pocket visible and simply say: "Contract with the Guardian."

    If the Guardian of the Floor finds you worthy, he would give you permission to use the Shinsoo on the Floor. Very rarely, would a Guardian deny forming the contract with a Regular or a Ranker.

    Lumen asked Tiana what did the Guardian look like, but the only thing she told him is that it was big and looked very scary.

    Only a direct descendant from one of the 10 Great Families or an Irregular would be able to learn faster than her. Diana said that Tiana has more talent to become a great Wave Controller, rather than a Scout.

    A lot of Regulars had even asked the two to form a team with them or join an existing one. Most of them looked weak in Lumen''s eyes so he refused all offers.

    Two weeks had passed since Diana started teaching him how to use Shinsoo and Lumen''s control over his Devil Fruit powers had reached a new level.

    Practicing Shinsoo manipulation required a lot of mental control, which translated to his Devil Fruit abilities.

    His physical strength had also increased greatly, and he now could kill a Red Scythe by slightly strengthening his body with Shinsoo.

    All in all, Lumen and Tiana''s strength had grown by leaps and bounds.

    Lumen was very pleased with his progress, but he had to admit, that the best that happened to him, is that he was no longer getting kicked out of his room.

    It was a month after Lumen got to the 3rd Floor when the rest of the Regulars from the 2nd Floor finally arrived. He had a lot of questions for Baam, so he was anticipating their meeting. He also had to pay him back for wounding him as well.

    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

    Rant time!

    I have nothing to rant about... So I will ask you a question!

    Since Lumen killed possibly the strongest Regular on the Floor, the rest wouldn''t dare call him Weakfish anymore.

    So the question is, what should his sobriquet/nickname be for the time being?

 Chapter 13 - Third Floor (7)

    Lumen and Tiana were in the middle of training when he received a message from Diana.

    [The Regulars from the 2nd Floor have arrived just now. I''m quickly checking through their information before I go and greet them. There seems to be more than the usual amount.]

    [Okay, delay them for a bit. I will be there shortly.]

    [According to the information, there are two Princesses of Zahard. It might be worth getting them on your team. They won''t delay you climbing the Tower as much as other Regulars.]

    [Two?]

    [Yes, Anak and Adrossi Zahard.]

    [Good to know.]

    ''Anak? Wasn''t that the lizard girl?'' Lumen thought. She is one of the few that he remembered since her physical strength had left an impression on him.

    "The Regulars from the 2nd Floor arrived. I will go and pay them a visit." He informed the purple-haired girl.

    "I will come with you." Tiana took out a towel, wiped the sweat on her, and followed after him.

    When they neared the center of the town, they saw a large amount of Regulars gathering in a circle. Not every day do you see more than a dozen Regular reaching the 3rd Floor at the same time. There are definitely a few strong ones among them, and the gathered Regulars were hoping to get at least one of them to join their team.

    "Move." Lumen told a brown-haired Regular.

    "No way, buddy, this is my spot." The Regular didn''t even turn around to look at him.

    Lumen shook his head and tapped him on the shoulder. The Regular weakly fell down, pinned to the ground. He stepped over him and walked closer towards the newly arrived Regulars.

    His actions were witnessed by those around him, and they quickly distanced themselves from him when they recognized him. This caused another commotion between the gathered Regulars.

    "It''s White Star!"

    "Get away from him before he kills you!"

    Killing the strongest Regular on the 3rd Floor had not only increased his fame, but he also received another sobriquet for it as well.

    After that incident, all the Regulars on the 3rd Floor started calling him White Star.

    Diana, seeing that Lumen has arrived, asked the Regulars. "Any more questions? No? Well, good luck with the Test, Regulars." Not even giving them the chance to ask further questions, she teleported away.

    Lumen observed the group but noticed that the person he was looking for was not there. He frowned a little and asked them. "Where''s that black-haired boy, Baam?"

    Just saying the boy''s name, caused nearly the whole group to frown.

    After Lumen and his team won the Crown Game and advanced to the next Floor, the rest of the Regulars continued on with the Tests from the 2nd Floor.

    Their next test was the Position Test. They were separated into five groups consisting of Fisherman, Spear Bearer, Scout, Light Bearer, and Wave Controller.

    Fishermen are close combat fighters that mostly rely on physical attacks.

    Scouts are usually the fastest on a team, and their main objective is to gather information and deliver that information to the Light Bearers. They also ?ssist Fishermen with their offense since most Scouts are close-range fighters.

    Light Bearers store and deliver knowledge to their teammates while guiding them with the light of their Lighthouse.

    Wave Controllers are the directors of the battle, aiding their comrades by healing their wounds, annihilating enemy forces, or subtly changing the tide of the battle, all through the use of Shinsoo. There are many variations of this Position.

    After being separated into those five groups, they were ?ssigned specialized teachers that would show them the ins and outs of those positions.

    Depending on the performance of the Regulars, they would be given Points as a reward. Those with the highest amount of Points by the end would pass the Test.

    There were a limited amount of spots for each position, so only the best of the best were going to advance to the next Floor.

    They lived together, competed against each other and bonded in their own weird way.

    For the last part of the Position Test, the Regulars were split into two teams of 14 members. With the teams having an equal amount of Regulars for each position.

    The Test they had to take was Hide and Seek. Each team had to play Hide and Seek with a Seeker ?ssigned by the Test Supervisor.

    But the Seeker also had a badge, and if a Regular touches it, their team would win. The problem was that the Seeker was a Test Administrator, a Ranker. Of course, he had certain limitations on him, but that doesn''t change the fact that he is a Ranker.

    If a team wins the Hide and Seek game, they will be awarded 2 000 Points to each member, giving them a higher chance of passing to the next Floor.

    The first team displayed amazing teamwork and had an outstanding performance, thanks to their Light Bearer. They had managed to fool the Seeker, and victory was within their grasp.

    Unfortunately, the Seeker showed his amazing prowess of a Ranker, and came back from the jaws of defeat, managing to snag the team''s tag at the last second.

    The second team had terrible teamwork compared to the first. Two members of the team backstabbed the rest, planning to sabotage and injure the Regulars. Effectively guaranteeing themselves one of the spots for the Position test, since those who are injured were not allowed to advance to the 3rd Floor.

    All hope looked lost, but somehow they managed to win in the end. Baam and Androssi Zahard teamed up together and succeeded in touching the Seekers badge.

    Since the Badge colour was red, Androssi tricked the Seeker by making him think her lingerie is the badge. With Baam''s help, holding down the Seeker for an moment, she managed to touch his badge.

    Despite that, a lot of Regulars were bound to be eliminated, due to them being injured.

    They were feeling despair at not being able to climb higher when Baam came out, telling them he is an Irregular. With his right as an Irregular, he requested a Test from the Guardian of the Floor, in which all the Regulars had to participate.

    All hope looked lost again, but then Princess Yuri and her team came to the 2nd Floor and intervened in the Test as well, managing to stop the schemes of the Position Instructor.

    Despite all of that, they had failed the Test in the end, and Baam lost his life. But the boy had prepared for that and had agreed to a specific condition with the Guardian of the Flour.

    The condition was that if Baam died during the Test, the rest of the Regulars would get to pass to the next Floor. More than half of the Regulars got to advance to the 3rd Floor, all thanks to the black-haired boy.

    Of course, not all of them chose to do so. Since they bore witness to the cruelty of the Tower, some decided to quit climbing and returned to where they came from.

    Silence had overtaken the group of Regulars after Lumen asked about Baam until a tall, green-skinned Regular spoke out. "He died."

    "He died? That''s... very disappointing. I thought better of him." Lumen wasn''t sure how he planned to deal with Baam, but he at least wanted to ask him where he came from and how did he open the doors to the Tower.

    "Thought better of him? Pfhhh, aren''t you that guy that luckily won the Crown Game?" A pretty girl with brown hair and a small horn spoke out.

    "What were you even called? Was it Limen or Lemon? Or something like that? Not that it even matters, because Baam would have whooped your ?ss." Hearing her, Lumen burst out laughing.

    "What are you laughing at?" The brown-haired girl asked.

    "Normally, I wouldn''t hesitate to kill you right now, but I will spare your life for the time being, since I''m looking for strong Regulars to join my team."

    "But, should you turn out to be a weakling, today will be the last day of your life." Lumen told her with a dangerous glint in his eyes.

    This time it was the brown-haired girl that burst out laughing.

    "You actually dare call me, a Princess of Zahard, a weakling? You sure have guts."

    "I won''t even bother dealing with you. Anak, go kill him for me." Androssi ordered the other Princess of Zahard. The green-skinned girl didn''t respond to her, but she carefully observed Lumen.

    "Anak Zahard, is it? You are someone I planned on recruiting. Come, show me what you got." Lumen made a provocative gesture with his hand.

    Without saying a word, Anak dashed towards him. Her speed and explosive power were top notch for a Regular on the 3rd Floor. Despite that, Lumen was easily able to follow her movements with his eyes.

    But since he currently had 5x gravity on himself, he wasn''t able to block her attack, though.

    Anak landed a kick on his stomach, but in that split moment before he was sent flying, he managed to counterattack and hit her leg with his elbow and knee.

    "You hit like a little girl." Even though he was sent flying, Lumen had a cheerful smile on his face as he provoked her.

    "Tsch." Anak clicked her tongue and dashed towards him. She landed a punch to his face. Again, before he was sent flying, he counterattacked and kicked her in the stomach.

    While the two were fighting, Ship Leesoo, a Regular wearing a purple jumpsuit, moved closer to Tiana. He noticed that she looked calm while observing the fight.

    "He''s your teammate, right? Aren''t you worried about him?" Hearing him, Tiana couldn''t stop herself from laughing.

    "Me, worried about that jerk? Not a chance. If anything, I''m more worried about her."

    "Worried about her? How come? She seems to be beating him quite easily." Lumen was sent flying again while landing another counterattack on Anak.

    "It might seem like it, but he is currently having fun and taking it easy on her. He might snap any moment now, and the fight will turn around." For the past 3 weeks with him, she got to understand him a bit better.

    "I don''t believe that."

    "Just watch."

    After a few more exchanges, Lumen already had a grasp on her skills.

    Anak''s strength and speed are comparable to his, without the increased gravity, but her fighting skills are lacking.

    She is someone who relies on her superior physique to beat others. Despite that, she is nothing compared to Diana.

    For the past week, he had been sparring with her regularly. Diana is superior to him and Anak in terms of strength, speed, and fighting skills. And Lumen learned all of that through his body.

    "If you don''t take that fancy weapon of yours out, you won''t be able to beat me." Her hook had left an impression on him, and he wanted to test his strength against it.

    "I don''t need Green April to beat that ???ky smile off your face." Anak sped off in his direction again and landed another hit on his face.

    But the moment she made contact with him, a weird pressure enveloped her, and her whole body became more sluggish.

    "Really? Then let''s level the playing field and see how well you will do." Lumen applied 5x gravity on her body when she hit him.

    After that point, Anak stood no chance against him. With their physical strength now being equal, Lumen had the advantage in the fight.

    His fighting skills are higher than hers, and he had the reach advantage as well. After all, Anak is at most 1.55m tall.

    She could see his attacks, but her body didn''t respond as fast as it normally would. Lumen landed kick after kick on her, and she couldn''t even counterattack once.

    All the Regulars that just reached the 3rd Floor were astonished at what they were seeing. They had all witnessed how strong Anak is on the 2nd Floor, so they couldn''t believe the current sight. They would have never imagined that someone would be able to humiliate Anak in this manner.

    Lumen landed one final kick, and Anak weakly fell on the ground. Her body was bruised, and with the weird pressure on her, she couldn''t stand up again.

    "So... Anyone else wants a piece of me?" He asked the group of Regulars with a ???ky smile.

    \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

    Rant time!

    First of all, I would like to thank everyone that suggested a nickname last chapter. Since White Star was the most liked one, I chose it. Now that doesn''t mean I won''t use the others in the future since there were a lot of good ones.

    Currently, the Regulars on the 3rd Floor are calling him this since they don''t know his name and they wouldn''t dare call him Weakfish. I don''t know how long I will keep it. It could be just a few more chapters, it could 20-30 more chapters or until the end if you all really like it.

    Moving on. I know most of you have read ToG, but there are a few readers that have not. So I briefly summarized what happened on the 2nd Floor after Lumen won the Crown Game. But the Test that they were given by the Guardian was a lot more complicated than what I made it out. I just didn''t feel like explaining it all since it would have been the whole chapter, and I really wanted Lumen to fight at least one of them in this chapter.

    Also, the main reason why I made Lumen go straight to the 3rd Floor after the Crown Game is because the 2nd Floor is important for the plot and the growth of a lot of characters. With him there, he was gonna mess up everything. The whole original plot was gonna get destroyed and I kinda wanna keep that as a safety net there. So when I don''t know what to do, I could always turn to that. I also didn''t want him to meet Yuri again so quickly. I just thought it''s not the right time, but they will meet in the future. I have more to rant about, but I will save it for the next chapter, lol

    Sorry for the long rant.

 Chapter 14 - Third Floor (8)

    The whole group of Regular stared at him in silence. While the majority of them looked at Lumen in fear, there were a few that had a serious look in their eyes.

    Beating a Princess of Zahard is a big deal, Diana had explained that much to him, and yet there are a few that are already thinking of ways to deal with him. Seeing that, Lumen was more than happy.

    He mostly wanted to come and ask Baam his questions. After receiving his answers, he planned to either recruit the boy if he could, since he is an Irregular or pay him back for wounding him and go on his way.

    Lumen was disappointed that Baam died, but he thought that the trip wasn''t wasted since there are two Princesses of Zahard that he could potentially recruit.

    Now with those few other Regulars that carried themselves with confidence, he could potentially get a few more teammates that won''t tie him down.

    Lumen was carefully observing them when Androssi cracked her knuckles and walked forward.

    "That''s my niece, you just beat. As her aunt, I should punish you, no?"

    "I don''t know what you did to reduce her strength to your level, but even with that ability, you won''t be able to beat me," Andros spoke with confidence, her biggest strengths lie in her physical abilities and close combat skills. She didn''t think she could lose to Lumen.

    She just arrived on the 3rd Floor and still hadn''t made a contract with the Guardian, so she was unable to use Shinsoo right now. But that didn''t discourage her the least bit.

    "Don''t worry, I could beat you without it." Lumen removed the gravity on him, and prepared himself, as Androssi was already rushing at him.

    She was slightly faster than him, but he was able to read her movements easily.

    Moving with his maximum speed with his light fruit is very taxing on his mind. Initially, his brain couldn''t handle the amount of information it received from him moving that fast. But with each use, he got more used it, and his brain processed more and more information.

    That, in turn, increased the speed of his thinking capabilities. With a faster thought process, his brain can absorb and process even more information. Which also increased his reaction speed. And after his sparing with Diana, Androssi didn''t look that fast in his eyes.

    Her first attack was a punch towards his face, which Lumen dodged to the side and hit her rib area with a karate chop.

    Andorssi proved her fighting capabilities and shifted her body, not only to reduce the damage but also to use his hand as leverage.

    With his hand as a support, she threw a left high kick at him, which he b?r?ly managed to duck down under.

    Off-balance from the risky attack, Lumen tripped her, making her fall towards the ground.

    That allowed her moment where she was able to distance herself from him. That small exchange between them didn''t go the way she planned it.

    The surrounding Regulars were staring at Lumen in disbelief from what they saw.

    Wasn''t he slower? How did he manage to fight Androssi evenly in close combat without his suppression ability? The surrounding Regulars all had those questions in their minds.

    In that small exchange, the two looked they matched evenly, but Androssi knew she lost it. She didn''t land a single hit on him while he did. She even managed to shift her body to reduce the damage, but her side still stung her a bit.

    ''Which Great Family produced a monster like him?'' Ever since she became a Princess of Zahard, the only Regular that managed to match her strength was Anak, another Princess of Zahard. She just couldn''t believe that someone that''s not from the 10 Great Families could match her toe-to-toe. ''Is it that Ha family? Those guys are known to have immense physical strength.''

    "Since you are not coming, I''ll come to you." Androssi was just staring at him, so Lumen dashed towards her, starting another exchange of attacks.

    This time she was more prepared and didn''t let him get an easy hit on her.

    The two of them were fighting evenly. Kicks and punches were exchanged, and anytime someone left an opening, the other would punish the mistake.

    Lumen was having a lot of fun fighting with Androssi. He didn''t know when exactly it happened, but he had turned into a battle maniac after arriving at the Tower.

    "How did he get so fast?" Leesoo asked Tiana after he got out of his daze.

    "He could go even faster," Tiana answered him truthfully. She was under the impression that he was suppressing himself even now since she has seen him move even faster. Lumen hadn''t told her about his abilities, so she believed that he always had that suppression on him.

    "There''s no way." Leesoo didn''t think that''s possible for a Regular.

    "Just watch," Leesoo remembered Tiana saying those exact words during his fight with Anak, and shuddered at the possibility of him being able to go even faster.

    As their fight progressed, they were making fewer and fewer mistakes. The opportunities for strikes were lower, and they had to get more creative with their attacks.

    Androssi had a frown on her face, and was vexed looking at his smile. ''Why the hell does he look so happy?!''

    Lumen loved fighting with Diana, but since she is stronger and had more skill, she would always suppress him. Diana would completely control the flow of their fights, and he would have to adjust to her rhythm.

    Androssi wasn''t able to do the same, so he was able to go all out. He was putting all his close combat skills to use, and he was improving the longer the fight lasted.

    Despite that, he couldn''t get an edge over her since she was also improving during the fight. Androssi is truly talented at fighting at close range.

    "Let''s spice this up, shall we." He told her while preparing for a sidekick. Androssi was about to dodge his attack when it suddenly sped up immensely. The kick landed on her stomach area and sent her flying back.

    Androssi flew back a few meters, and landed on her but. A small amount of blood rose up her throat from that kick.

    ''He can go even faster?!? Was he playing with me? How is he so strong? Who is he?'' Questions plagued her mind while she stared at him in disbelief.

    She had faint memories of the Crown Game, but everything ended so fast, so Lumen didn''t catch her attention. She believed he won the game by luck.

    When he beat Anak, she though he managed to do so, only because of his suppression ability.

    After he fought with her equally, she ?ssumed that is his maximum speed and strength. But that last attack was so fast, she only saw a blur.

    "Don''t lose focus during a fight." Again, he appeared so fast in front of her, she only saw a blur. He stomped on the ground right next to her and created a small crater.

    "I have to admit you are strong. I''ve never had such a fun fight. Join my team." Lumen looked into her yellow-eyes and waited for her response.

    She stared at him for a moment before she opened her mouth. "Did you hold back during the fight?"

    "Then how did you get this fast if you weren''t holding back?" She was sure that he had not used Shinsoo to strengthen himself. There was no way he was able to create a Baang and enhance himself in a split second.

    "That''s a secret." He won''t just go around and tell his abilities to other Regulars for no reason.

    Androssi stared at him for another moment and contemplated her decision. "Fine. But I''m joining you so I can beat you in the future. The moment you lose to me, I''m kicking you out of the team!"

    "That''s fine with me since you would never beat me." He chuckled at her response, confident in his power.

    "We''ll see about that," Androssi answered with just as much confidence.

    She kept sitting on the ground and stared at him as if she wanted something. Seeing that he had no reaction to her, she couldn''t help but get angry at him. "Aren''t you going to give me a hand to pick me up?"

    "No, get up on your own." Lumen told her with a straight face.

    "You bastard." She lept of the ground and tried landing a sucker punch, but he sidestepped her attack. Androssi didn''t continue trying to attack him since she knew it''s pointless, due to his speed. But that didn''t stop her from staring angrily at him.

    Lumen ignored her and turned towards Anak. He had actually left the 5x gravity on her during his whole fight with Androssi, and he was proud of his control.

    "As I said previously, you are someone that I planned on recruiting. Will you join my team." Lumen asked Anak.

    "Of course she will join, she is my niece!" Androssi said from the side.

    "Shut up! I''m older than you!" Anak rebutted and stared at Lumen afterward. By nature, she is haughty and thinks of herself as the best. Lumen crushed her pride, and if his fight with her didn''t show how much stronger he is, his fight with Androssi certainly did.

    "Only a Regular as strong as you is worthy to be my teammate." Anak agreed on joining his team.

    Both Princesses joined his team, and Lumen was pleased with that. He turned towards the rest of the Regulars and addressed them. "Those that believe themselves to be strong can also join my team. As long as you prove yourselves to be strong, that is."

    Most of them had the d?s?r? to do so, judging by their expectant look, but a few that had caught his attention didn''t seem interested.

    One of them was the tallest amongst all the Regulars. He was wearing a cloak and had a metal mask on his head, that revealed his mouth, showing his red skin and red teeth. From all of them, he had the most intimidating aura. Unfortunately, he was already walking away.

    Another that didn''t seem interested was a giant crocodile man. He walked up to the green-skinned Regular that informed him of Baam''s death and grabbed him under his arm. "We are going to the Hunting Area, Padakkewl."

    "My name is Parakewl." The green-skinned Regular protested and tried escaping from his grasp, but had no success in doing so.

    "I SAID IT''S PARAKEWL."

    "Whatever Patel, we are going to the Hunting Area, that''s my kind of place."

    Parakewl let out a sigh and didn''t bother arguing with the alligator-like humanoid.

    The last Regular that had no interest was the blue-haired one with the special duplicating bag. He was arguing with a blonde-haired girl sitting in a chair. From what Lumen could hear, she wanted to come and try joining his team, while the blue-haired Regular was against that. Saying how they know nothing about Lumen and how dangerous he could possibly be.

    Since those three didn''t seem to have an interest in joining his team, he focused on those that seemed interested.

 Chapter 15 - Third Floor (9)

    Headon was tapping the ground with his staff in annoyance. In front of him was a floating mirror-like object that was showing Lumen. The Irregular was recruiting one of the best talents the Tower has seen in quite a while.

    Usually, it would be good if someone with the potential to become a Ranker appears from the Regulars that he had selected, but this time there was more than one that could do it. They could even become High Rankers unless they died prematurely.

    Headon had plans for some of those Regulars, and Lumen''s actions didn''t sit well with him. He already dealt with Baam and delivered the boy to FUG by faking his death. Now he had to plan how to deal with the other Irregular as well.

    "How should I take care of this unknown variable?"

    Headon questioned himself, but the moment he uttered those words, and invisible pressure descended on him. His whole body froze, and he couldn''t move a muscle. Even his ability to teleport anywhere in the Tower was suppressed.

    The Guardian of the 1st Floor heard the footsteps of someone walking towards him. Whoever it was soon reached him and started petting him on the head.

    "Oh, I see the cute rabbit is also interested in the little fledgling. The little bird is just about ready to soar in the sky, don''t you think so?" A voice chuckled next to him while continuing to pet his head.

    Headon b?r?ly managed to turn his head just a little bit to catch a glimpse of the being that intruded in his home. Long black hair, only a mocking smile visible on his face, and wearing a black suit. Headon couldn''t believe his eyes.

    The Guardian of the 1st Floor has existed since the creation of the Tower. The Tower''s full name is The Tower of God, not because a God owns it, but because you have to go through the trials of the Tower, in order to become one.

    Long ago, divine beings didn''t exist in the Universe, but one day, the Tower appeared out of nowhere in the center of the Universe. Since then, Gods and Immortals have emerged after passing through the trials of the Tower. Those that managed to do so are not allowed to return back to the Tower. That has been a rule that no one had ever bypassed.

    With the Tower''s appearance, another very special race appeared, Guides. They are born with divine-like abilities that have something to do with divination, be it seeing a small part of the future, or instinctively knowing what the correct path to take is. They are a race loved by the Tower, and as long as they know the path to take, they are allowed to traverse it freely.

    Every few million years, a special kind of Guide will get born, an Axis. Not only are their divination skills are leagues apart from a normal Guide, but they also have another special ability.

    They could link themselves and establish a connection with a chosen being. The stronger the being that they are connected to becomes, the stronger the Axis becomes in return. But ones they select their chosen being, they could never select another one. An Axis is like an author of a story with their chosen being the main character of that story.

    Headon knew Loki since he was someone that became a God after going through the Tower. So him being here, should not have been possible. The only option left is that Loki somehow had managed to artificially make himself an Axis. Seeing how he appeared when he was considering how to deal with Lumen, Headon realized who his chosen being is as well.

    The Guardian of the 1st Floor finally understood why he wasn''t able to see Lumen''s future. It''s not that he didn''t have one, it was simply hidden by Loki.

    "Why aren''t you saying anything little rabbit?" Loki chuckled.

    Headon felt like crying, hearing his question. ''You are suppressing me with your power, and you ask me this?''

    With the suppression gone, Headon could finally speak again.

    "I don''t know how you managed to become an Axis, but I understand your message. I won''t make trouble for Lumen, you can have my word." No matter how arrogant you are, when the other party could squash you like a bug, you will lower yourself if you value your life.

    "No, no, no. You misunderstand me, little rabbit. I don''t mind you sending trouble his way. In fact, I encourage you to do so. The more, the better." Loki answered with his trademark chuckle.

    Headon was surprised by his response. He thought Loki came here to threaten him for thinking of how to remove Lumen, not to encourage him to do it. Loki was either extremely confident in Lumen''s power, or he already knew the outcome.

    "What about the agreement? By breaking it, both of you would become their enemies. Aren''t you scared of facing their wraith?"

    The divine beings from the outside had made an agreement to not allow any more Gods or Immortals to emerge from the Tower. They sent 13 people to set base inside the Tower and stop anyone from leaving it.

    Headon wasn''t happy with that decision since it went against the meaning of the Tower, but he couldn''t force them out. He had been planning for quite some time on how to deal with them, but it seems he wasn''t the only one thinking the same.

    "Hah, those old fogies can come at me for all I care. You don''t have to worry about me." Chuckling he continued petting Headon. Although humiliated, the Guardian of the 1st Floor stayed there like an obedient little rabbit.

    "I won''t take any more of your important time little rabbit, so just remember to send as much trouble as possible his way." Loki gave out another chuckle and disappeared from his spot.

    Hatsu a dark-haired, dual-wielding swordsman, who although was weaker than the two Princesses, was almost as strong as them. His main role is a Scout, but he could also do the job of a Fisherman.

    Phonsekal Laure a green-haired, highly-skilled Wave Controller. He has the best Shinsoo control from that group of Regulars. He is also from a branch of the Eurasia Family.

    Aleksai Amigochaz a large, muscular, red-haired Regular. He is a good Spear Bearer with a very sturdy body. His accuracy with the spear was the best from the group.

    And finally, Ship Leesoo. A dark-haired Scout that has the weakest physical capabilities amongst those that joined his team. Despite that, they all praised his thinking capabilities. Androssi called him a very intelligent slave.

    With their addition, he now had more than seven members, so Lumen decided to go and register them as a team. Before they could go to the small tower, he was interrupted by a blonde girl with freckles. She was sitting in a floating chair and smiling at him.

    "Hey, Mister. Could I also join your team? I promise you won''t regret it."

    "You? No, you look useless. But I wouldn''t mind if that blue-haired Regular behind you wants to join me." Lumen instantly shot her down, making her frown.

    "Me? I''m sorry, but I already promised myself that I would help this poor girl climb the Tower. I would have to refuse your offer since Rachel here can''t walk on her own you see." Lumen was a bit disappointed by his refusal, but he didn''t mind it too much. He could always find strong Regulars on the later Floors.

    Since Lumen finished his business here, he brought them to the small tower. Entering inside, they were greeted by a brown-haired man with glasses.

    "We are here to register as a team."

    "No problem. It would cost you 500 Points for each Regular."

    "Points are not an issue." He currently had 12 645 Points. With the help of Diana''s ship, he could easily find Elder Red Scythes and farm them for Points.

    She even informed him of an even stronger insect called the Queen Red Scythe. Only three of them existed in the Hunting Area and Lumen planned to use them to test his new teammates.

    "Great, then I would need the names of the Regulars and the name of the team."

    After each member gave their name, Lumen named the team Light and paid 4 000 Points. When they heard his full name, they all had various looks of confusion on their faces. They were more than certain that he is from one of the Great Families, but it seemed that wasn''t the case.

    "All done. Now you are free to challenge the small tower. Please let us know when you plan to challenge the small tower and we will request the Guardian teams to be present for the Test."

    With that out of the way, they left the building. Lumen told the group that they would stay here for a week or two at most before taking the Test. He instructed the group and told them they would go to the Hunting Area once a day as a team. If he wasn''t happy with their performance, he wouldn''t hesitate to cut someone out from the team.

    Each went their own way for the day, and Lumen sent a message to Diana telling her he is done. In a moment, he was teleported to her ship. She was standing in front of him with a smile.

    "That was certainly a surprise, but it wasn''t the reason for my interest in them. There should have been another Irregular in that group, but he seems to have died on the 2nd Floor."

    "Another Irregular? And he died on the 2nd Floor? That doesn''t seem right. Are you sure he died?" Irregulars are those who entered the Tower on their own, she couldn''t believe that such an existence would die on the 2nd Floor.

    All Irregulars have unnatural powers, and they are the reason why the Tests in the Tower are made in such a way that you would need a team to pass them. Before the appearance of Phantaminum, Enryu, and Urek, very few Tests required teammates.

    But their existence scared those at the top of the Tower. They were forced to change the rules of the Tests, in order to try and suppress Irregulars from climbing to the top.

    "At least they said so, and he didn''t come with them. I could only presume he is dead." Lumen shrugged his shoulders. Since Baam died, he would have to find one of the other three and ask them where they came from.

    "Maybe there are exceptions even among Irregulars." Diana found the situation suspicious but didn''t have a way to confirm her doubts.

    "It doesn''t matter. Let''s start our training since I plan on leaving in a couple of weeks." That saddened Diana, even though she knew Lumen would climb higher at some point.

    Ever since she was banished to the 3rd Floor, she has been mostly alone for hundreds of years. Lumen was the first person to spend so much time with her, and it hurt her knowing that he would be leaving soon. She vowed to train him even harder in the next couple of weeks, to prepare him for the upper Floors.

    "Let''s go," Diana said, and they entered the training room.

 Chapter 16 - Third Floor (10)

    Lumen brought his team to the Hunting Area and was currently observing them as they were fighting two Elder Red Scythes. The group had already fought and killed three of the giant insects, but this was the first time they were fighting more than one at the same time.

    Their teamwork was good, to say the least. Anak was fighting one of them, while rest were tackling the other.

    It seemed she had lost her green hook on the previous Floor, so she couldn''t kill the Elder Red Scythe on her own. Despite that, she could fight the insect and distract it while waiting for the others to kill off the other.

    Ship Leesoo was acting as a distraction and was narrowly avoiding being sliced in two. Hatsu was using that as an opportunity to attack the Elder Red Scythe with his swords. The swordsman had already sliced off the insect''s wings and was working on its legs.

    Tiana and Laure were sitting in the back and sending blasts of Shinsoo at the insect. Whenever the Elder Red Scythe was about to slice Leesoo, they would shoot the insect and save him in the process.

    Aleksai had accurately pierced one of the insect''s eyes with his spears and was aiming for the other eye.

    And then there was Androssi. She was standing next to Lumen and continuously asking him questions. Androssi had already proved herself as she managed to kill an Elder Red Scythe on her own, so Lumen didn''t mind her too much.

    "So, you are not from one of the 10 Great Families?" She just couldn''t believe that a normal Regular had managed to defeat a Princess of Zahard.

    "No."

    "I''m not from the Ha Family."

    " A branch family then?"

    "No."

    "I don''t believe you! You can''t be that strong and not be from one of the 10 Great Families." Androssi had already met one Irregular that just entered the Tower, so she didn''t even think that he could be one as well.

    "Believe what you want. I''m not a member of the 10 Great Families." Lumen answered her.

    "Whatever. So, how old are you?" She was adamant about finding out more about him.

    "21."

    "No way! I don''t believe that!" That just didn''t make any sense to her. He is 21 years old and is already that strong? Then what has she been doing for the past couple hundreds of years?

    "Why? How old are you then?" Lumen questioned her back.

    "Lady? You look more like a teenage girl."

    "Teenage girl? How dare you look down upon me, I''ve already passed the 300 mark!" Her eyes widened when she realized what she said.

    "300? So you are an old grandma then."

    "You!! I''m not talking to you anymore!" Androssi''s face turned red from embarrassment and looked away.

    The group had already killed one of the Elder Red Scythes and were close to finishing of the other one. Suddenly, they could hear a loud buzzing sound moving in their direction.

    From the West, a group of a dozen Elder Red Scythes was flying towards them. Alarmed at the large number of insects, they all had a severe expression, while trying to finish off the one they were already fighting. Even Androssi had a serious look, seeing the dozen of Elder Red Scythes flying in their direction.

    Only Lumen had a calm look on his face while he was observing the reactions of the Regulars he had chosen to join his team. They understood how grave the situation is, but they weren''t running in fear like headless chickens. He was pleased with their reaction.

    Once the dozen Elder Red Scythes landed, he shot two quick bursts of five light beams. Each laser accurately pierced through an insect''s head, leaving only two of them alive.

    The whole group was astonished at what they just witnessed. Did he just form five Baangs of Shinsoo twice in a matter of seconds? Laure, their best Shinsoo controller, had just learned how to use two Baangs of Shinsoo, and yet Lumen was actually able to use five?

    But if he could actually control five Baangs with all of them having so much destructive powers, well, that changes things. Since he could control five Baangs of Shinsoo now, then what about the future? How many would he be able to control then?

    Androssi didn''t wait for his response and dashed in the direction of one of the Elder Red Scythes. "Leave that one to me!"

    The realization that Lumen had most likely just played around during their fight angered her. Had he used those same lasers on her, she would have been seriously injured. She isn''t just a normal Regular, she is a Princess of Zahard! Despite that, someone had beaten her without even taking the fight seriously.

    Androssi had to let some steam off, and the giant red insect was the perfect target. She started pounding the mantis and killed in a few minutes.

    They finished their hunting session for the day and left the Hunting Area.

    Lumen passed Monster Parts and sold off all the Elder Red Scythe forelegs for a total of 6 800 Points. Eli thought she had gotten used to him, but she was more than astonished when he dropped the large number forelegs off at the counter.

    After selling off the monster parts, the group separated. Lumen made his way outside the town for his daily training, and Tiana followed behind him.

    The rest of the group had decided to go to a restaurant, but surprisingly, one of them followed after the two. Anak was also walking alongside them.

    "Why didn''t you go with the rest?" Lumen questioned the green-skinned girl.

    When they began their training Anak, immediately noticed that something was wrong.

    "You are using that pressure to train yourself, right? Can you use it on me too?" During their fight, when Lumen had increased the gravity on her, she became both slower and weaker. She didn''t know exactly what he did, but she understood that the pressure could be used to increase her strength.

    Lumen wasn''t going to go around offering to help people out, but he didn''t mind helping the lizard girl. He didn''t know who would stay on his team, but Anak being a Princess of Zahard, could become someone very powerful in the future. If he could help her out and make her stay on his team, that would be good.

    Since Anak was almost as strong as him physically, he increased the gravity on her to 10x. He was also using the same amount on himself as well.

    Feeling the pressure that is twice as strong as the one during their fight, Anak looked at him with a serious expression but didn''t say anything. She is not the brightest, but she understood how easy he took it while fighting them.

    While the three were training, the rest of the group had just ordered their meals.

    "So, what do you think about Lumen?" Androssi questioned them.

    "He is very strong. We might not even know his full capabilities." Hatsu replied.

    "I agree." Aleksai had the same opinion.

    "What do you mean?" Androssi asked him.

    "The Shinsoo inside him flows in a very weird way. Even the Shinsoo around him is strange. It dances around him as if it''s happy to be in his presence. I haven''t seen Shinsoo act this way even amongst the Rankers in my family. The only time I''ve sene Shinsoo move similarly is with Baam."

    "Wait, are you saying Lumen is an Irregular?" Androssi exclaimed.

    "I don''t know if he is an Irregular or not, but Shinsoo definitely loves him," Laure answered her.

    "It doesn''t matter if he is an Irregular or not. Lumen will either become our greatest ally or our worst enemy." Leesoo finally spoke, and everyone turned their attention to him.

    "With us being on his team, we would have an easier time climbing the Tower. But if he was on an enemy team and we had to face against them... we might not survive the encounter."

 Chapter 17 - Third Floor (11)

    Nearly two weeks passed since Lumen formed his team. Each member had improved in various ways during that time.

    After Anak started training with Lumen and told the rest, they all followed suit. All, but Androssi and Laure, that is.

    Laure is a member of the Phonsekai family, which is a brach of the Eurasia Family. Diana had explained to Lumen that they read the flow of Shinsoo and get more in tune with it while sleeping.

    Tiana is already training with a 5x gravity on her and has been improving every day. Her fighting style was starting to form itself, and with the help of Lumen and Laure, her Shinsoo control has been steadily becoming better. She is on the grasp of learning how to use two Baangs. That shows how much talent she has when it comes to Shinsoo manipulation, considering she learned how to use Shinsoo a month ago.

    Aleksai started off with a 4x gravity on him and increased that to 5x. He learned how to control and use his strength better. His accuracy with the spear increased, and he started learning how to fight in close range with it.

    Hatsu already had a strong physique despite his frail appearance, but that didn''t stop him from improving. He began with a 7x gravity on him and brought that to 8x. His attacks were becoming sharper with no wasted movements in them. Hatsu could easily act like Fisherman with his strength, despite being a Scout.

    Ship Leesoo made large improvements, as well. He started off with a 2x gravity on him, and with great determination increased that to 4x. He pushed himself harder than the rest since he knew he was the weakest of them all. Genuinely impressed by Lumen''s hand to hand combat skills, he had started to imitate him and learn his martial art skills.

    Leesoo would have had the biggest improvements from the group, had there not been a green-skinned girl amongst them.

    Anak not only started off with 10x gravity on her, but she increased that to 12x. She was keeping pace with Lumen''s level of improvement. Her fighting style was no longer as chaotic as before.

    Since she had an extra limb in the form of her tail, she couldn''t learn his martial skills. But that didn''t stop her from taking inspiration from them and adapting them to herself. She is a monstrous genius when it comes to combat.

    The green-skinned girl had even started using Shinsoo not only to strengthen herself but also to shoot it at enemies. Making her attacks more unpredictable.

    If she were to fight Androssi right now, the fight would be in the green-skinned girl''s favor. But she had no d?s?r? to fight the other Princess of Zahard, her focus was solely on Lumen. Wherever he would go, she would follow him like a puppy and study his actions. When he asked her why is she doing that, she responded.

    "You are stronger than me, so I have to learn what makes you so much more powerful and different from the rest of the Regulars."

    Lumen was a bit at a loss on how to deal with her, but he just started thinking of her as a cute pet.

    Currently, the whole group had entered deep inside the Hunting Area. The forest is filled with trees of around 25m to 35m tall, but there are exceptions even amongst them. There are a few that are way taller than the rest, and the group had set up camp near one of those.

    Standing 150m tall and 45m width is the tree that a Queen Red Scythe uses a home. There is a giant hole at the base of the tree, where you could see normal and Elder Red Scythes going in and out of it.

    The group had purchased enough camping supplies from the Commercial District and had already been camping in the Hunting Area for a day. There are simply too many insects inside the tree for them to rush in and try killing the Queen.

    Their current plan was to slowly dwindle the number of Red Scythes in the tree until the Queen comes out of it, or is the only insect left in it. Leesoo had suggested using the Peaches of the Fruit Monkeys as a bait to lure and single them out.

    Lumen had given them a basic explanation of the capabilities of the Queen since he had already killed one of the three Queens. He had used the big insect as target practice for his abilities.

    His light powers are both stronger and faster when combined with Shinsoo. Creating armaments of light is also a lot easier with Shinsoo in the equation.

    His Pheonix powers could normally only heal wounds, but not recover missing limbs. Combined with Shinsoo, he was able to restore the missing limb of an Iron Monkey. Lumen hasn''t tested if he could recover his own limbs since he didn''t dare do it, but he at least knew that the possibility existed.

    His gravity powers are a little different from the rest since Shinsoo didn''t make them stronger. But that didn''t mean that combining them with Shinsoo is useless. Normally, he would need an object to apply his gravity powers, but he could replace that with a Baang of Shinsoo. That allowed him to be more creative and flexible with his gravity powers.

    The first technique he had created with his Devil Fruit powers and Shinsoo was modeled after something a fellow Irregular of his had done. Diana had told him Enryu had been able to create over 9 000 Bangs of Shinsoo, form them in the shape of red spears, and rain them down upon his enemies.

    Lumen can''t form that many Baangs, nor could he shoot that many light beams right now, but he found a way around it.

    Currently, he could shoot only ten light beams at the same time, each being shot from one of his fingers. Shooting more than that feels uncomfortable to him at the moment since he doesn''t have more fingers to shoot them from.

    With that in mind, he took a different approach. Creating only a single Baang, that has a higher amount and density of Shinsoo, he would infuse it with his light powers.

    The light-infused Baang looks like a miniature sun, and he could shoot light beams at a rapid pace using it as a medium. His accuracy is lower, but that is compensated with the number of lasers he could shoot at the same time.

    With a miniature sun shining over his head, he strolled inside a Queen Red Scythe''s nest. Not a single insect managed to get close to him before being pierced by a light beam.

    The group stayed in the Hunting Area for another day and had reduced the number of Red Scythes greatly. You could b?r?ly see any insects going in or out from the tree anymore.

    The group had set up a bunch of Peaches as bait, but there were no insects that were being lured out from the tree. Just as they were wondering if they should enter inside, a Red Scythe far larger than any they''ve seen so far exited from the hole.

    The mantis was nearly 20m tall and b?r?ly squeezed out of the hole. With four pairs of forelegs, that looked like the Reaper''s scythes, the Queen looked intimidating, to say the least.

    "Well, here she is. Time to see if you could handle her." Lumen commented, and the rest of the group sprang into action. Since they have been hunting together for the past two weeks, their teamwork had become even better.

    As usual, Anak was the first to rush in. Hatsu and Andorssi followed behind her, and Leesoo tried keeping up with them.

    Tiana and Laure were standing in the back, and Aleksai stood in front of them, acting as their bodyguard.

    The Queen was far faster and stronger than the rest of the Red Scythes, but Anak was able to dodge her attacks and avoid being sliced in two, while also keeping her attention.

    Androssi was hitting the Queen with her monstrous strength whenever she got the chance.

    A few normal and Elder Red Scythes would come out of the tree from time to time, but Hatsu would move in to intercept and kill them all. Leesoo would ?ssist him by acting as a bait and distracting them.

    At some point, mantises stopped coming out of the giant tree. Most likely, there were no more remaining insects inside it.

    The whole team could focus their attention solely on the Queen now, and the fight''s outcome was already decided.

    In the end, the Queen died with her giant head being crushed by Anak. The green-skinned girl was covered in the insect''s blood, but she looked happy. She was staring at Lumen in expectation, like a puppy waiting to be praised.

    He almost couldn''t hold himself from laughing, but managed to stop himself. Smiling, he nodded at her, and her face turned even brighter.

    "Good job. Let''s head back to the town now. We will be challenging the small tower tomorrow, so everyone should get a good rest."

    "Finally, I could sleep in a comfortable bed and take a hot shower!" Androssi exclaimed, happy that they would finally leave the forest.

    When they reached the town, the team separated. Lumen made his way towards Monster Parts to sell everything they had gathered. Points are after all the main currency in the Tower, so they will be useful in the future Floors as well.

    He left the shop with a total of 27 865 Points to his name. A sum that some Regulars on the higher Floors would find a hard time matching.

    With everything being done, he sent a message to Diana and was shortly teleported to her ship. After finishing his daily training with her, he took a shower on the ship.

    One week after she started training him, she had already gotten tired of waiting for an hour or so for him to warm up his bed. Vexed from the waiting, she made a bold decision.

    The next day after they finished their training, she had brought Lumen to her room.

    "From today on, you don''t need to use your Points, and you could sleep in my bed," Diana told him with a bright red face. She had never had a relationship before, let alone sleep with a man, but since she needed his warmth to fall asleep, she had no other choice.

    Usually, she would sleep n?k?d, but since she would be sleeping together with him, she had her und?rw??r on. Seeing her with only a blue bra and blue p?nt??s on, Lumen didn''t even need to say how beautiful she looked, since his body gave it away.

    "If you do something funny, I won''t hesitate to kill you!" Red from embarrassment, she got under the covers.

    Seeing her laying next to him, Lumen contemplated whether he should try killing her for what she made him go through. He might not get a better chance in the future.

    With her back turned towards him, Diana spoke out.

    "You know, you are not very good at hiding your killing intent? I''ve been alone for such a long time, that I wouldn''t mind dying. I just never had the guts to kill myself."

    "If you could promise me that you will surely kill Zahard and save my sister in the future. I won''t even try to defend myself." Diana turned towards him and stared in his eyes with her pink ones.

    She flashed him a bright smile before closing her eyes and falling asleep in an instant.

    Their first morning was a bit awkward since Diana had crawled on top of him during the night. She was using his ?h?st as a pillow when she felt something poking her between her legs. Realizing what it is, she threw him out of the room while calling him a pervert.

    Lumen didn''t know what to say about that. Every healthy man would usually wake up with morning wood. The fact, that a very beautiful woman, which was only wearing und?rw??r, was sleeping on top of him didn''t help that at all. Which man wouldn''t feel aroused by a woman like Diana?

    From then on, the two started sharing the same bed. Each day, Lumen would wake up with Diana sleeping on top of him or hugging his arm. The two had gotten used to each other''s presence.

    Since she had two sleepless nights, while Lumen was in the Hunting Area with his team, she couldn''t wait to go to bed.

    The second they entered the bed, Diana was already hugging his arm with a peaceful expression on her face, but she didn''t fall asleep.

    After a moment of enjoying his warmth, she opened her eyes and looked at him. Diana knew of his plans and understood that he would most likely advance on to the 4th Floor the next day.

    Knowing all that, she didn''t hesitate and made her decision. Diana crawled on top of him and sat up. She reached behind her back and unhooked her bra.

    "This will be my first time, so be gentle, okay?" Diana told Lumen while leaning in to kiss him.

    When such a beautiful woman is giving herself to him, Lumen couldn''t just deny her. Kissing her, he spun her around and got on top.

    In the beginning, she was a bit awkward since it''s her first time kissing someone. When Lumen used his tongue she didn''t even know what to do, but she followed his lead and their tounges got tangled in a tug of war.

    Before they knew it, they were already exploring every part of the other''s body. And soon, the p???sur?d screams of Diana filled her ship.

 Chapter 18 - Third Floor (12)

    Lumen woke up with a n?k?d Diana sleeping in his arms. The girl was hugging him so hard as if she was afraid he will disappear if she lets go.

    As much as he enjoyed the sensation, he had his own plans for the day. Gently, he woke her up, and with sadness in her eyes, Diana teleported him to the Residential District. "I''ll see you later."

    In a few minutes, his team gathered together.

    "Are you all ready? We are challenging the small tower today." Lumen asked his team.

    They all gave their confirmation except Laure, who was still sleeping while being tied to Aleksai''s back.

    The group visited the small tower and announced that they will challenge it today. Since the Guardian teams were not present, they had to wait for an hour for them to come to the small tower.

    The fighters from the Guardian team of the 1st floor were two brown-haired twins. The two guys were also wearing the same matching blue outfits. Both Regulars had needles as their chosen weapons, and they looked to be Scouts.

    Aleksai wished to fight them, and since Laure was sleeping on his back, he was his partner. With confidence, he stepped up to challenge them.

    The two twins were strong for Regulars on the 3rd Floor, but nothing too remarkable.

    However, their teamwork was something else. They were moving as if they were on the same wavelength. When one attacks, the other would support him.

    They were like a relentless stream, trying to pave its way through a mountain. The twins were sending nonstop attacks his way.

    Calmly, he dodged their attacks or blocked them, by strengthening his body with Shinsoo.

    Everyone from Lumen''s team had learned how to enhance themselves with Shinsoo. This is a mandatory skill for climbing the Tower.

    In a couple of minutes, he had already learned their rhythm.

    The next time, one of the twins attacked him, Aleksai caught his arm, alongside the needle the twin was holding. Pulling it with his strength, he ripped the brown-haired Regular''s arm from his arm socket.

    While the twin was screaming in pain, Aleksai threw his arm at the other twin. With the arm still holding the needle, it pierced the throat of the brown-haired Regular.

    The other twin didn''t even realize his brother had died, before Aleksai threw a punch at his face, caving his skull in.

    The red-haired Regular killed of both twins in a couple of minutes, while Laure peacefully slept through the whole process. The Guardian team was staring at Aleksai wide-eyed, unable to believe how easily he finished them off.

    Lumen''s team moved on to the next floor. Hatsu and Anak were the two that decided to participate in this round.

    Their opponents were tall blue-skinned Regular and a short green-haired Regular.

    Anak simply punched the green-haired Regular and made a hole in his ?h?st. While Hatsu reached the blue-skinned one in an instant and placed a sword on his neck.

    The swordsman does not find p???sur? in killing his enemies, so he left him the option of surrendering. The blue-skinned Regular wasted no time at all and threw in the towel.

    The fight ended, just as fast it started.

    Anak looked towards Lumen, and when she saw him nod at her with a smile, her tail started happily wagging behind her. She truly looked like a cute pet, that''s also a killing machine at the same time.

    For the third and last floor, Tiana, Leesoo, and Androssi took the stage.

    Their opponents were a black-haired guy, a blonde-haired girl carrying a needle, and Fai, the green-skinned girl that was on Lumen''s team during the 2nd Floor.

    Androssi just let out a yawn and addressed her two teammates. "You two take care of this."

    "Those two are mine! I have some unfinished business with them." Tiana said while staring at Fai and the black-haired guy.

    Had Fai not jumped on Tench''s offer, she wasn''t going to be targeted by him. She constantly had to be on the lookout, and nearly got r?p?d by the black-haired Regular.

    "Woah! I didn''t know you two are in this kind of relationship. You hid it pretty well from the rest." Androssi exclaimed and looked back at Lumen.

    Tiana didn''t respond to either of them and clenched her teeth.

    Leesoo was standing to the side, not knowing what he is supposed to do. He was about to open his mouth, but Tiana had already sprinted ahead.

    Androssi kicked him in the but, and send him after her. "You too go and fight."

    Unfortunately, Tiana had already reached the blonde-haired girl. She tried intercepting Tiana, but the purple-haired girl was too fast for her.

    After a quick dodge, Tiana lodged her own needle in the blonde-haired girl''s head and continued towards the other two.

    Fai had pulled out two Lighthouses and formed a barrier of Shinsoo with them. While the black-haired Regular was shooting Baangs of Shinsoo in her direction.

    While dodging the attacks of the black-haired Regular, Tiana continued moving their way. She passed through the barrier that Fai had set up, as if it wasn''t there, to begin with.

    Both her speed and strength have increased by leaps and bounds after she started training daily with Lumen. She was no longer the week girl that was lucky to pass the 2nd Floor.

    Before her two opponents could respond, Tiana had already punched the black-haired Regular a dozen times in the face, leaving him in a daze.

    Her next action caused all the males that were watching to shudder. Strengthening her leg with Shinsoo, she landed a kick on his family jewels.

    The black-haired Regular let out a girly scream and passed out from the pain. Without sparing him a second glance, she shot Baang of Shinsoo towards his head and continued moving towards Fai.

    The green-haired girl had pulled out a needle to try and defend herself, but her combat skills were lacking compared to Tiana.

    With just a single move, she disarmed Fai and took the needle from her. Tiana''s next action was to punch her in the face, breaking her jaw in the process. She was not going to allow her to surrender.

    Grabbing her by the hair, Tiana started throwing Fain around like a sandbag. This continued until the hair couldn''t take it anymore, and separated itself from Fai''s head.

    "Phgeage." Fai tried pleading, but Tiana was having none of that.

    "What did you say? I couldn''t quite hear you." The purple-haired girl asked while continuously shoving her head in the ground.

    "Pkefe." With her broken jaw, only blood came out of her mouth.

    Leesoo was staring at her in fear. Never would he have imagined that he purple-haired girl could be so cruel.

    Tiana spat on her face and left her to bleed out. She started walking back towards her team, but you could see her hand trembling. Her eyes had also started to water a bit.

    In a minute, Fai died from blood loss with the needle still stuck inside of her.

    With the defeat of the last Guardian team, Lumen''s team had successfully passed the Test on the 3rd Floor.

    Diana, as the Ruler of the 3rd Floor, appeared before them and shooed the other team away.

    "Congratulations, Regulars. You have all passed the Test on the 3rd Floor. Good luck, climbing the Tower." With that, she teleported everyone to the 4th Floor, except Lumen.

    With the two of them alone, her eyes watered up a bit, and she closed the distance between them. Tiptoeing, she raised herself and gave him a kiss. The moment their lips touched, she melted in his arms.

    Not only is Lumen, the person Diana had spent the most time with for the past hundreds of years, but she also gave her first time to him. Their previous night is something that she will remember for the rest of her life.

    They had a rough start, but they slowly grew up to each other. Diana had told him stories about the Tower and taught him what''s considered common sense here.

    On Earth, Lumen would be considered a psychopath. At the age of 17, he had already killed his first human.

    He didn''t think that there would be a female that would be able to accept him for who he is. Lumen would have never thought that he would have a stable relationship with someone else for that fact.

    Here in the Tower, psychopaths are the norm. There are b?r?ly any sane or kind-hearted people. Lumen didn''t think that he would find someone that he would like, but fate proved him wrong.

    "In the future... If by chance... you can''t kill Zahard for some reason... You could always come and visit me, you know? I don''t get many visitors... In fact, I don''t get any at all..." Without letting him respond, Diana gave him one final kiss and teleported him away.

    Had she delayed it any longer, Diana might have not let him leave at all. For someone that has been alone and emotionally starved for hundreds of years, Lumen was like the sun that illuminated her endless night.

    Diana wasn''t sure if he would end up killing Zahard in the future, but she dearly wished for that. That way, she would be able to reunite not only with him but also with her sister.

    Unlike Diana, her sister had been imprisoned and sealed away.

    Tears started falling from her eyes as she teleported back to her bedroom. Next to her bed, there sat a transparent sphere with a white flame burning inside it.

    Hugging the sphere and feeling Lumen''s warmth, she fell asleep while her tears stained her sheets.

    Lumen didn''t know his exact feeling for the pink-haired girl, but he knew he definitely was attracted to her. He had been attracted to other females on Earth as well, but it was mostly to their bodies.

    With Diana, it was a bit different. He wasn''t simply interested in her body, which was incredibly beautiful.

    During their time, they had connected as both of them are similar-minded.

    Did he love her? That was a question that he couldn''t answer. Lumen had never experience that feeling, so he wasn''t sure about that.

    Maybe he did, maybe he didn''t. That''s something that he will realize on his own the more time passed.

    Nevertheless, he had finally reached the 4th Floor.

    He was currently in a large room, and his teammates were next to him. In front of them was a human-looking person with cat ears on his head. He was staring at the group in interest.

    His team was staring at him in confusion at why it took him so long.

    "Hey, what happened? Why did it take you so long to come here?" Androssi questioned him.

    "That doesn''t concern you." Sharply he responded to her.

 Chapter 19 - Fourth Floor (1)

    Lo Po Bia Dan, the Ruler of the 4th Floor, received a notification that a new group of Regulars has passed the 3rd Floor. He enjoyed greeting and observing the ants that pass by his Floor.

    From time to time, a few of those ants would catch his attention. That''s already surprising considering he is a High Ranker. He might not be the strongest in his family, but he is definitely not weak.

    The biggest reason he is a Ruler of the 4th Floor is that he is more disposable compared to others. In case the ticking time bomb from the Floor below explodes, he would be able to delay her for a just a little bit.

    Dan hasn''t personally seen how strong Diana is, but he has heard stories about her. If any of them are to be trusted, only a handful of Rankers would be able to match her in terms of Shinsoo control. And of those few, two of them are her parents, showing how strong she is.

    Looking through the information on the Regulars, Dan saw two Princesses of Zahard on that team. ''Hah, this would be an interesting bunch.''

    Teleporting with his partner in tow, he appeared in the room that Regulars get sent to. His partner had already comfortably laid on the ground. Dan found his own comfortable position with his back against his partner.

    In a moment, seven Regulars appeared in front of him. ''That''s odd, my information stated there should be eight of them.''

    Dan wasn''t the only one that found the situation confusing since the group was also looking around for their last member. He kept quiet and used that chance to observe the group.

    Excluding the two Princesses, the others were carrying themselves with confidence. A strong aura was being emitted from them. ''A few predators in the making.'' Dan thought.

    After another minute or so, the last and final member of that group appeared. And when he did, Dan''s eyes were drawn to him. He instantly felt that the black-haired one wasn''t predator in the making, he already is one. Dan wasn''t the only one to sense that. His partner was also alerted to his presence.

    One of the Princesses question him why he was late, but he responded quite sharply to her. ''I already like this one.''

    Lumen carefully observed the cat-eared man in front of him. The man was as tall as Anak while only sitting on the ground. His arms and legs were extremely muscular and as thick as logs. Brown hair and brown eyes, his facial features were very sharp, and he had a thick brown beard.

    The man opened his mouth, and a deep and domineering voice came out from it.

    "Welcome to my Floor, Regulars. My name is Lo Po Bia Dan, the Ruler of the 4th Floor." Just sitting on the ground, he was radiating the aura of a beast. That of an apex predator.

    "You are currently on the first level of my ship, the Ursala. Since you have successfully passed the 3rd Floor, you are granted the privilege of having a free room and free food while on the 4th Floor."

    "The first level is where all the Regular could come and mingle with each other. There are a few entertainment establishments that you could go and explore on your own. Nothing too fancy, mind you since you don''t deserve that."

    "On the second level, you could find the various amount of restaurants where you could eat. As I said, food is free on this Floor, so the chefs would be happy to take your orders."

    "The third level is where you will be sleeping. Each team that has advanced to my Floor receives two rooms. How you divide them is up to you." Dan pulled out two keycards and threw them to the group.

    "Only two rooms? Shouldn''t you give me my own personal one as a Princess of Zahard?" Androssi arrogantly questioned Dan.

    "Pha, Princess or not, this is my Floor, and you will follow my rules like it or not. Get your own Floor, and set up your own Rules, or kill me and take my rights as a Ruler if you have the guts." Dan told her with a sinister smile.

    Androssi narrowed her eyes in anger but kept quiet. Dan seeing that she has nothing else to say, continued.

    After saying that, Dan finally stood up, and he was easily over 3m tall. Lumen and his team looked like little kids compared to him.

    Dan pulled out ten grey armbands from his Pocket and threw them at Lumen.

    "You need those armbands for the Test on the Floor. You could have a team with at most ten members and two at minimum. The Test on the Floor happens once every month. The team leader could give those armbands to his chosen team members, and they would have to select one of two teams. Should you happen to lose an armband or just want to get more to form your own team, you could buy them from the first level of the ship, for the low price of 1 000 Points."

    Androssi wasn''t exceptionally happy that Dan had thrown the armbands to Lumen, designating him as the team leader.

    "Hey, shouldn''t you have given them to someone else?" She said, raising her eyebrows and implying she should have received them.

    "Pha! Although there are a few strong ants, I mean Regulars amongst you, he is on another league compared to the rest of you." Dan said while staring at Lumen.

    As much as it hurt Androssi to hear that, she couldn''t deny it and argue with him. Princess or not, that guy proved he is way stronger than her in their fight.

    Since she didn''t reply to him, Dan continued his explanations.

    "Now, the Test on the 4th Floor is very simple, and I like to call it ''Bring back the Golden Bull''. One day before it begins, the armbands will notify you. Then you would have to select and divide your members. You could have one member in one team and everyone else the other team, or you could spread your members evenly. How you do it is up to you."

    "There is a giant castle on that mountain, the team''s task is to secure and capture that castle. In order to secure the castle, your team has to be the only one inside it."

    "If there is a member of another team inside, the castle will not be considered captured. If the castle is successfully captured by a team, the team''s name will appear on top of it, and they will be its owners."

    "The Plain team, will be teleported to, you guessed it, a plain area. The plain area is a lot larger than the mountain one, and it''s filled with various dangerous animals. The team''s task is to locate and capture the Golden Bull. The bull must be captured alive. "

    "Once they capture the Golden Bull, they have to bring it back to the castle in the mountain area. Unlike the Mountain team, the Plain team is allowed to move between the two areas, but only if they have the Golden Bull with them. Only the Plain team could be in physical contact with the bull."

    "Now, here''s the tricky part, Plain team members are forbidden from attacking the Mountain team members, but Mountain team members can attack them freely. The Plain team is allowed to enter the castle, only if it''s owned by the Mountain team from the same side."

    "Once the Golden Bull is brought back to it''s shed by a team, the Test will end, and they will advance to the 5th Floor. There has to be at least one member from each group alive otherwise, the Test will end in failure. If no team manages to bring back the bull within two weeks, the Test will end in failure. If the Golden Bull is killed, the Test will also end in failure, and the Regular that killed the bull will be penalized."

    "Those are the rules of the Test on my Floor. Simple and easy, I''m not reaping myself again, so consult with your teammates if you don''t understand something, don''t look for me." Dan told them with a grin. He gave Lumen one last look and teleported away.

    Once he was gone, Androssi spoke up. "Those Floor Rulers sure are arrogant." She didn''t forget that Dan had called them ants. Androssi really hated to be looked down by others.

    "They are Rankers, after all. There is nothing much we could do to them. They have already climbed the Tower and have proven themselves." Leesoo said.

    "Since we are lacking a Light Bearer, if you find anyone worth recruiting, send them to me. In fact, if you find anyone that you would consider special in some way, send them to me."

    Lumen wouldn''t even hesitate to replace some of his teammates, should someone better pop up.

    "Since we have two keycards, we will just go with one room for the males and one for the females." Saying that he threw one of the keycards to Anak.

    Andorssi narrowed her eyes in annoyance at Lumen. "Hello? Shouldn''t you have given it to me?"

    "The strongest one get''s to keep it. Just take it from her. If you can, that is." Before he could even finish his sentence, the two had already started fighting over it.

    Lumen smirked seeing that, and turned to the males. "Our room number is 44GF, we will gather there at 18:00."

    The guys spread out and each went their own way. While two Princesses continued to fight with Tiana observing them to the side. She didn''t know which number is their room, and they hadn''t set up a time to meet there. Tiana was forced to sit there and watch the two monsters fighting.

    The first level of the Ursala was filled with bars and casinos. Finding nothing of interest, Lumen moved on to the second level.

    There were so many restaurants there, that he didn''t know which to choose. Picking a random one, he entered inside and ordered some food. Compared to the 3rd Floor, the food was somewhat lacking, but it was for free after all.

    "Hiya there~ I''m Orange, an Administrator of the Floor." She cheerfully greeted him.

    "Orange?" Lumen questioned with a small laugh.

    "Yep~ Like the dress I wear." Orange twirled around, showing off her ''orange'' dress. "Either way, Dan said he''d like to meet you."

    "The Ruler of the Floor?" Lumen clearly saw he was interested in him but didn''t expect this.

    "Yep~ Dan invited you to his personal level! Very few Regulars get invited there. Come with me and I will bring you there." Hearing her, Lumen got his guard up. Something wasn''t right here.

    "Don''t worry~ Dan means you no harm. Otherwise, he wouldn''t have sent me, but Green. Green will bring you to him in pieces." Orange comforted him.

    "Is Green the big bear?" Lumen question her.

    "No~ Green is a girl that only wears green clothes, and has green hair." Orange cheerfully explained. Not wasting any more time, she snapped her fingers and the two disappeared from there.

 Chapter 20 - Fourth Floor (2)

    Two weeks passed before Lumen and his team, received a notification for the start of the Test. They were all on the first level of the ship and were sitting in an outdoor bar.

    A hologram in the form of a bear popped out from the grey armbands and asked them if they would like to participate in the Test. Everyone, including their new teammate, accepted.

    Lumen looked to the side, where their new member was having fun. A girl with grey hair tied into ponytails, pale skin and, and green eyes was clapping cheerfully. Just a tad bit higher than Anak, and wearing a black vest with a skirt underneath, you could mistake her for an innocent schoolgirl.

    But Verdi is anything but innocent. In front of her was her giant pink octopus that was holding a female with blonde hair on the right, and a male with red hair on the left.

    Verdi has a special position, different from the normal five. She is an Anima. Someone that can control Divine Sea Fish and other creatures to do their biddings.

    From what Lumen knew, this position is rare even amongst Rankers. Unless you are from the Lo Po Bia Family. The members of that Family have a higher chance of becoming an Anima than everyone else.

    "Yay, now kiss!" The octopus slammed the two Regulars into each other, and Verdi clapped even louder. "I officially declare you part of my collection!"

    "Please! I beg of you, please don''t do it!" The two Regulars tried begging for their life, but Verdi had already made her mind. In a matter of seconds, their lifeforce was drained from their bodies. The two looked like dolls on a string.

    "Good job!" She cheerfully skipped over to the octopus and patted it. "We have two new dolls in our collection, yay!"

    "That looks creepy, no matter how many times I see it," Leesoo said with a shudder.

    "Just ignore her, she is just having fun," Androssi commented, still haughty, but not as arrogant as before.

    Her fight with Anak didn''t go the way she wanted to, and in the end, she lost. Androssi had just started climbing the Tower, and she had already suffered two defeats.

    Her pride as a Princess of Zahard was damaged to the point that she had got in touch with Lumen in the middle of the night to ask him for help. Unfortunately for her, since there is no place where one could train in the ship, her request was denied.

    "Look, look. I got another family! Do you think they will be happier if I get them a kid or two?" Verdi asked Lumen while shaking the toy house in front of him.

    Dan had introduced Verdi to Lumen. He explained how the girl is from a branch family of his and how her teammates ended up dying. Well, more like becoming her puppets, but still, they died.

    Without teammates, she couldn''t possibly advance to the next Floor. And with her tendency to turn those weaker than her into her puppets, no one even wanted to be her teammate.

    When they first met, they had a short scuffle, but since then, she looked at him like a big brother and was happy to follow him.

    Lumen chuckled at her antics. "Just do whatever you feel like it."

    Verdi pondered for a moment, and a bright smile flashed on her face. "I got it! I will make them a very big family! I just need to find younger ones now!" She started looking around the Regulars on the first level, searching for a suitable target.

    "You do you, but let''s just choose the teams for tomorrow first, and then you can go wild." Verdi was a bit sad hearing that but nodded in the end.

    "So, are we going with what we previously decided on? You are going on the Mountain team alone, while the rest of us will be the Plain team?" Leesoo questioned him.

    "Yes, that should be the easiest way. With Verdi, as long as you find the Golden Bull, you shouldn''t have any problems capturing it. Just make sure you are the ones to get to it first, I don''t feel like repeating the Test." Lumen confirmed.

    "Lead my ?ss, you will listen to me!" Androssi exclaimed.

    "As you wish, Princess." He had no other choice and had to yield to her. Satisfied by his response, she turned towards Lumen. With a more gentle and respectful voice, she asked him. "You will be alone, so you won''t have trouble, right?"

    "I won''t exactly be alone, but either way, don''t worry about me. Just make sure to find the bull."

    The day flew by quite quickly, and Verdi had managed to find two new dolls to add to her collection.

    There was a countdown on the grey armbands, and when that countdown hit zero, everyone that was participating in the Test got teleported.

    An unspoken rule of the Test is that everyone will be teleported to a random location in their area. That didn''t matter to Lumen since he was the only one on the Moutain team, but the rest had to find where they have been teleported and gather together.

    Observers started filling the Plain area. Regulars were trying to find their teammates and the Golden Bull. Everyone was frantically trying to get a leg up on their opponents. Everyone, but Verdi, that is.

    Her octopus had shrunken itself to the size of a doll, and she was hugging it to her ?h?st. With a skip in her step, she was cheerfully looking for new dolls that she could add to her collection. The Plain area is also filled with animals, so maybe she could find a useful one to capture as well.

    [What''s your location?]

    [Plain area.]

    Her answers infuriated Leesoo, but he didn''t dare push it further, less he becomes one of her dolls.

    Unlike most teams, Lumen didn''t care about locating his teammates. He was teleported near the base of the mountain, but he didn''t care about that. In fact, this might even be better for him.

    Lumen pulled out a pure black jar from his Pocket, and opened the lid. A giant Saber-Toothed Tiger jumped out of the jar.

    The tiger is 4m tall and 10m long, with black stripes covering his body. The moment it was out of the black jar, it let loose a bestial roar, announcing its presence.

    Dan didn''t only introduce him to Verdi, he also gave him the black jar, which is a bowl. In order to control a creature, an Anima must use a bowl. Bowls are spaces that an Anima uses to control a subjugated creature. An Anima has to fill their bowl with their Shinsoo in a unique way, and then they can store their subjugated beasts inside of it.

    Dan also thought him how to fill the bowl with his Shinsoo. Since he had the potential to become an Anima, he didn''t have any issues learning it. But all of that didn''t come for free. In exchange, Lumen had to spar with Dan daily.

    The Ruler of the 4th Floor is someone that loves fighting. Sadly for him, the Administrators on the Floor had already learned their lessons and refused to fight him. The Regulars, on the other hand, are too weak.

    He was starting to get really bored until Lumen advanced to his Floor. He looked different from the rest, so Dan decided to trust his instincts. Even though Lumen didn''t use his light-based abilities in their fight, Dan was very impressed by his performance.

    His fighting style resembles that of a savage beast. With each attack, Dan is able to produce shockwaves and Lumen can''t even remember how many broken bones he had to fix using his Pheonix fruit.

    That''s what really impressed Dan. He knew for a fact that he broke his bones with his attacks, but Lumen stood back up in a matter of seconds, looking as good as new. To top it off, his body wasn''t as weak as those other ants on his Floor, so he wasn''t worried about killing him with a single attack.

    Dan had initially called Lumen to tell him about Verdi and to test him out once, but he ended up taking a liking to him. He wanted to teach him his fighting style, but that heavily relied on his monstrous physical strength. And Lumen still wasn''t strong enough to create shockwaves with his physical body alone.

    Since he couldn''t teach him that, he figured he''d test him as an Anima, and Lumen had the talent for that. Dan was so impressed by his talent that he started pestering Lumen to marry into his Family.

    He even gave him the Saber-Toothed Tiger, hoping that would change his mind, but Lumen still refused him. The little cat, as Dan called it, was still in it''s growing stage. According to him, it should reach around 10m tall and 25m long when fully grown.

    Lumen jumped on top of his Saber-Toothed Tiger and patted her on the head. "I bet you''re hungry, Saber. Let''s go and find some Regular for you to eat."

    Saber let out a roar in approval and after a quick sniff, she dashed towards a smell she picked up.

    In a minute, she had reached a group of Regulars that were fighting. The moment they saw Saber running after them, they all scattered. The tiger picked a few to chase after while Lumen sniped the rest.

    Try as they might, the couldn''t run away from Saber. She easily caught up to them and gobbled them down. Done with those, she returned to those that Lumen killed and ate them as well. He planned on killing every single Regular that chose to go to the Mountain Area, so they continued searching for more.

    The castle was ownerless at the moment, so the two sat down in front of it, waiting for Regulars to come to them. Saber had gotten full from all the Regular, so she was happy with taking a nap for a few hours to digest her food.

    Meanwhile, the Plain team had mostly gathered together and had been lucky to locate the Golden Bull. Leesoo had immediately contacted Verdi to let her know.

    [Verdi, we found the bull. Where are you?]

    [Plain area.]

    Leesoo wanted to pull his hair out, the girl only listened to Lumen, so he decided to use that.

    [Verdi, if we don''t capture the Golden Bull, Lumen will be disappointed in you, but if we manage to do it very fast, he will be very proud of you.]

    She stopped in place after seeing his message. After a moment of hesitation, she decided to go and get the bull.

    [Send me your location, I will right there.]

    "YES!" Leesoo celebrated with a fist pump and told her where to find them.

    As he was wondering if his teammates had managed to find the Golden Bull, a group of three Regulars wearing black cloaks came out of the forest.

    The three of them looked to be a bit stronger than the rest of the Regular he killed. A purple-haired man, who looked to be the leader of them, pulled out his Pocket and looked at a picture of a Regular.

    That caught Lumen''s interest since the Regular the man was looking at was him. That was definitely a surprise for him.

    "Are you the one they call White Star? I came here to make you an offer you can''t refuse."

 Chapter 21 - Fourth Floor (3)

    "You have an offer I can''t refuse?" Lumen asked with a laugh.

    The laws of the Tower are quite simple. The strong rule over the weak, and stronger rule over the strong. Lumen could understand a High Ranker or a Ranker telling him that, but a Regular? He found that quite funny.

    The purple-haired man, as if not sensing the ridicule in Lumen''s voice, continued on. "Yes. I''m here to extend you an invitation to join FUG."

    ''FUG?'' Lumen though. Diana had told him about this organization. FUG''s members have a grudge against 10 Families and Zahard, envy what they possess and want to change the Tower in some way.

    She also told him that should they learn that Lumen is an Irregular, they would surely try to recruit him. As an Irregular, he is one of the few that could actually kill King Zahard.

    ''What do they want with me? Have they found out that I''m an Irregular?'' Lumen would have normally killed them already but decided to wait and see what they want, before doing so.

    "FUG has a lot of agents spread across the Tower, be they Regulars or Rankers. You could find them on any Floor. You see, the person you killed on the 3rd Floor was part of FUG."

    "Tench was supposed to advance to this Floor and take my position, while I climb higher. Since you killed him, I will give that honor to you. Join FUG, take my spot on the 4th Floor while I will take your spot on your team."

    "Those Regulars are important for FUG, so we have to keep an eye on them. Replacing you is the perfect opportunity, should you refuse, I will personally kill you." The purple-haired man stared menacingly at Lumen after he finished his speech.

    "Why are my teammates important to FUG?" Lumen was confused. He thought they are here because of him, not because of his teammates. So if they are here because of them, what makes them so important then?

    "That''s something that you do not need to know. Now choose!" The purple-haired man raised his voice, trying to intimidate him.

    Lumen let out a sigh and shook his head. "Have you not made your homework about me?"

    The moment he finished his question, he was already standing in front of one cloaked Regulars with his hand clutching the other person''s throat.

    "I don''t like it when people give me the wrong answer." Lumen stated and snapped the cloaked figure''s neck.

    The purple-haired man was sweating buckets seeing all of that. ''When they said he is strong, they should have said that he is ''Do not approach'' level strong.''

    "Now, my dear friend. Why don''t we try again with you giving me the right answers this time?" Lumen told him with a smile, that to the purple-haired man looked like the devil''s smile.

    The FUG member hesitated for a second, before making his decision. Forming two Baangs, he applied his quality and turned them into purple string-like objects. He might die trying, but he will at least attempt to take down the one they call White Star.

    The two strings came from both sides and tried entangling Lumen. He was surprised seeing someone being able to apply quality to his Shinsoo.

    The only other person that he has seen doing it was Diana. Her main and preferred quality is a Jasmine flower. Although not an attacking type of quality, it''s extremely versatile. It could defend with its petals, capture an enemy by entangling it, force someone to sleep, or even entrance them with its aroma. The lack of attacking methods are covered up by the massive amount of Shinsoo she could control, or her other three qualities.

    So far, this is the second person that Lumen has seen applying quality to their Shinsoo.

    He dodged one of the purple strings and grabbed the other with his hand. The string was grinding at his palm and was slowly peeling his flesh away. ''It''s like a little saw. Nothing special other than that.''

    The FUG member was staring at him wide-eyed. ''He actually caught that without his hand falling off?'' No Regular has managed to survive being hit with one of his purple strings, but Lumen was even able to catch it.

    He was cursing himself ten times over. Why did he come up to this guy with so much confidence? At least, he had managed to send a message to his superiors. They would know that he has died by his hands.

    "Now, let''s play a game. Either you talk, or you die. Let see which happens first." Lumen crouched down next to him with a smile.

    The Plain team had already gathered together, and with Verdi''s help, captured the Golden Bull as well. Having an Anima as a teammate sure is convenient.

    "Now, we only need to bring it back to the Mountain Area. Hopefully, Lumen has taken care of things there." Leesoo told the group.

    "He is stronger than all of us, so he should have no problem with that," Tiana replied to him. She has been with him the longest from the current group and had full confidence in him.

    "Yeah, I know, but he is still only one man," Leesoo said.

    "But that one man could kill our whole group on his own," Hatsu commented from the side.

    "You should have more confidence in someone that beat me, a Princess of Zahard." Androssi complimented him in her own way.

    Leesoo let out a sight. "Yeah, you guys are right. Sometimes I forget how strong he actually is. Like, when you think of Irregulars, you wouldn''t think of someone like Bam, but someone like Lumen."

    Again, the group started their debate whether he is an Irregular or not for the nth time. Most of the time, it ended with the conclusion that it shouldn''t be possible for two Irregulars to enter at the same time. There has been a total of four Irregulars in the Tower counting Bam. And that''s for thousands of years. How unlikely is it for two to enter the Tower at the same time?

    That froze the group for a moment. They always asked if he is an Irregular or not. They never thought if that actually matters.

    "It doesn''t really matter, does it?" Leesoo asked with a laugh.

    "Let''s stop wasting time, he will probably get annoyed at us if he finds out," Anak told them.

    "He won''t get angry at us if he doesn''t find out!" Leesoo sneakily suggested with a goofy smile.

    "I will tell him." Verdi and Anak said at the same time. Hearing them, Leesoo smile disappeared just as fast at it appeared.

    "Let''s go, guys! Lumen is waiting for us! We can''t disappoint him can we?" Leesoo tried to usher the group to move faster.

    The group started moving towards the Mountain area. They were quite a distance away, so it will take them at least a few hours to reach it.

    Thankfully, they don''t have to actually carry the Golden Bull, since Verdi had stored it in her bowl. The perks of having an Anima on your team.

    During the time that they were moving towards the Mountain, they got attacked on a few occasions. Nothing that managed to prove to be a challenge, considering they have all trained with Lumen for over two weeks. Count in the fact that they have two Princesses of Zahard, and there shouldn''t be a stronger team than them.

    They had contacted Lumen to come to the barrier, but he just told them to go straight to the castle. Trusting him, they started moving in that direction.

    A few minutes later, a giant Saber-Toothed Tiger jumped in front of them. Seeing the beast, they all got ready to attack. There was a rule stating that they couldn''t attack other teams, not other beats.

    Just as they were about to attack, Verdi ran up to it. "Hello, Saber!"

    She jumped on top of her and started petting the tiger. "Did Lumen sent you?" Verdi questioned Saber, which roared in response.

    "Wait! That beast is Lumens? Why haven''t we seen it before?" Everyone was surprised learning that he has a Saber-Toothed Tiger and that he is an Anima as well.

    "Uncle Dan gave it to him. He was so surprised at how talented Lumen is as an Anima, that he tried using Saber as dowry to try and force him to marry into the Lo Po Bia Family." Verdi explained to the group while petting Saber. The tiger had started purring like a little cat.

    "Wait, wait, wait! Lumen is getting married into the Lo Po Bia Family?" Again, everyone exclaimed in surprise. They knew Lumen kept a lot of secrets from them, but marrying into one of the 10 Great Families is a big thing in the Tower.

    "Of course not. He refused him." Verdi answered them with a straight face, her hand not stopping even for a second as she continued petting Saber, who looked to be melting at this point.

    "Why would he refuse? Isn''t that a great opportunity?" Androssi asked.

    "Let''s go to Lumen! Saber will lead us there." Verdi exclaimed and they started climbing the Moutain.

    On the way to the castle, they noticed how silent the forest is. Not even a single scuffle between Regulars could be heard. For that matter, not even a single Regular could be seen.

    They half-expected for a team of Regulars to be waiting for them at the base of the Moutain, but they hadn''t seen even a single Regular so far.

    The realization hit them, as they understood that Lumen has already taken care of all the Regular in the Moutain Area.

    They finally reached the castle walls, when they saw Lumen sitting in front of the castle walls.

    Just as they were about to greet him, they noticed his serious look. He was staring at all of them and evaluating them one by one.

    "I''m happy that you got the bull, but before we could finish the Test, we are going to have a nice and long talk between ourselves." Lumen told them with a serious tone.

    After he tortured and interrogated the purple-haired man, he came to the conclusion that his team members are very important to FUG. Not one, not two, but the majority of them are important to FUG.

    That was a point of concern because he didn''t know why. No matter how he asked, the purple-haired man was adamant about not telling him anything.

    So now the question is, how do almost all of his teammates have a connection to FUG? And what makes them so important to that organization?

    Leesoo was scared out of his pants, seeing his look. He gulped down and asked him. "What are we going to talk about?"

    "We are going to talk about why more than half of my teammates have a connection with FUG!" Lumen was expecting to see some reactions here, but absolutely everyone looked confused at his statement.

    Not a single one of them looked surprised, they were all puzzled at why he thinks they have a connection to FUG.

    Either way, they sat down and after a couple hour-long discussion, they finished the Test, by bringing the Golden Bull back to it''s shed.

 Chapter 22 - Fourth Floor (4)

    Despite the couple-hour long discussion, Lumen couldn''t understand why a majority of his teammates are important to FUG.

    The group all met each other when they had to take the Position Test on the 2nd Floor. They hadn''t known each other before that, and that''s the only thing they had in common.

    They normally didn''t like talking about the events on that Floor, but Lumen forced them to spill the beans. From that, he understood that after he left, they had to go through a complicated situation, to say the least.

    Bam had revealed himself as an Irregular and requested a Test from the Guardian of the Floor. Someone tried ?ssassinating the two Princesses, Yuri had intervened, saved them, and then taken both Green April and Black March, two of the 13 Month Series, from Anak.

    Bam had died at the end of the Test, and that led to every other Regular to pass on to the next Floor, thanks to a deal he made with the Guardian.

    It''s definitely weird that an Irregular had died at the lowest Floor, but not entirely impossible. Diana had told him that he is the weakest Irregular she had seen, but Bam looked even weaker than him. Despite that, he was still an Irregular. So he shouldn''t have died that easily.

    That still didn''t answer why his teammates are so important to FUG. He could understand if Bam was alive, and they were somehow threatening him with them, but he died. The Guardian of the Floor had confirmed that otherwise, why would he allow everyone to advance to the next Floor.

    Unless FUG had somehow managed to fool the Guardian. But that shouldn''t be possible since Guardians are supposed to be omnipresent on their Floor.

    Had FUG somehow managed to strike a deal with the Guardian then? But what could they possibly offer to the Guardian?

    Lumen was at a loss. The situation was a lot more complicated than he imagined. At least he managed to confirm that none of his teammates are directly connected to FUG.

    He had his suspicions that Bam might be alive, but he didn''t tell that to his group. Rather he sent a message to Diana to see what she thinks about the whole situation.

    She, like him, had the same thoughts. But she wasn''t sure how FUG managed to fool the Guardian. Diana did advise him to be more careful in the future since he was most likely on FUG''s radar now. She also said she will be on the lookout for any Regulars that matches Bam''s appearance.

    Since Lumen would surely meet more members of that organization in the future. He would get to ask them his questions at that point. As long as no Rankers are present, he was sure he would be able to deal with FUG''s members.

    Since the discussion ended, it was time to finish up the Test.

    After the group brought the Golden Bull back to it''s shed, they were teleported back to the Ursala. Unlike the previous time, they weren''t sent to a giant room, but to a vast forest. This was the fourth and personal level of Dan. A place Lumen had visited quite often in his stay on the 4th Floor.

    Bright orange hair and wearing an orange dress. The woman''s facial features looked identical to Orange. She was looking at the group as if looking at prey. She licked her lips and said. "I''d bet you will all scream like little girls when I chop you up."

    Dan shot her a look and ordered her. "Green get out here. Bring out Orange."

    Green looked reluctant but complied with his order. They all saw her hair turn from green to orange in front of their eyes. She looked around for a bit and noticed the dress she is wearing.

    "Oh my, I''m wearing a green dress." She said even though she was clearly wearing an orange one. She instantly undressed in front of everyone and put on a green dress.

    Aleksai and Leesoo started drooling when they saw her figure with only her und?rw??r on. But a chop to the head by Androssi ended that. "Perverts!"

    "I prefer green a lot more." She cheerfully stated. Not only did she have a split personality, but she was also color blind.

    With that out of the way, Dan turned towards the group.

    "I didn''t expect anything less from you lot!" His thick voice filled the forest.

    "Lumen, two Princesses of Zahard, and Verdi. Had you failed with such a team, you would be nothing but an embarrassment!" He praised only those four without even putting the rest into consideration.

    Dan laughed out and walked up to Lumen. He put his hand over Lumen''s shoulder and nearly caused him to sink into the ground.

    "I''m sad that you are leaving so early, little friend. Never thought I''d have so much fun sparing with a Regular before!" With Dan being so close to him, Lumen felt his eardrums popping.

    "I know you already refused me, but do consider my offer. I''m sure you will become a Ranker in the future, so you will be able to get an even better position in the family! You could possibly even get more than one wife! I myself personally have six of them!"

    Hearing him, Lumen rolled his eyes. ''If they are anything like the ones you introduced me, I''d rather kill myself.''

    Dan had introduced him to a few of his wives, and Lumen wasn''t really impressed. Since all four of them were animals... Dan had a weird taste when it came to women.

    Lumen is not into beastiality, but he didn''t dare tell him that, though.

    "I''ll pass for now. I enjoy my freedom." Lumen answered him.

    "Don''t be like that, little friend. You could even consider Verdi. She might not have the Family traits, but she is definitely from a branch family of ours." Dan really tried pushing him, but Lumen shook his head in refusal. Verdi was more like the little sister he never had and not a love interest.

    "Such a shame, but you do remind me of my younger days when I was a wild and free beast! Make sure to visit me when you become a Ranker! We will have an amazing fight between ourselves! I can''t wait to go all out against you when you become a Ranker!"

    Dan was truly impressed with Lumen''s talent and had taken a liking to him. He was the first Regular that had taken more than one hit from him and survived after all. Dan was sure that Lumen will become a Ranker, and he couldn''t wait to see how strong he will become in the future.

    "Either way, congratulations on passing the Test, Regulars. You will all be awarded 3 000 Points." Dan congratulated the group and teleported them to the next Floor.

    "Wow, I understand now why you are so interested in that Lumen fellow." An Administrator with blue hair exclaimed. He was the one that monitored the Test on the Floor with his Lighthouse.

    Unlike Diana''s ship, the Ursala wasn''t equipped with High-Level Lighthouses and Observers, her ship is a very high class, since it was gifted to her by her father, Po Bidau Gustang.

    Since Dan had no way of observing the Regulars, he had brought a Ranker with a High-Level Lighthouse to observe the Tests for him.

    The blue-haired Ranker was watching Lumen kill off all the Regulars in the Mountain Area. "That has to be the fastest Regular I''ve ever seen!"

    "The fastest Regular?" That surprised Dan. He knew Lumen is strong, but he didn''t think he is the fastest Regular out there. His strong points were his tough body and his regeneration ability, alongside his talent as an Anima.

    "Definitely! Take a look, Dan." The blue-haired Administrator answered and showed him the footage starting from the start of the Test.

    Dan saw him summon Saber and get on her back. The two started hunting Regulars, and he saw him shooting light beams. That didn''t impress him much since he believed they won''t do much damage to him. But it seems he is also a talented Wave Controller.

    The two reached the castle and settled down in front of it. Any Regular that came afterward was killed by his light beams. That continued on until the three cloaked Regulars came.

    They talked for a moment, but Lumen suddenly moved so fast, he almost appeared to be teleporting. He easily killed off two of the Regulars and then started torturing the other one for some reason.

    "That little bastard!" Dan roared out.

    "He actually held back while fighting me!" He wasn''t sure what to think about this. A Regular dared to hold back while fighting a High Ranker. He didn''t think that it would have changed the outcome of their spar, but still, he actually held back!

    Dan was impressed by his guts. That made him like Lumen even more! He was dead set on making him join his Family now. They might be one of the 10 Gream Families, but this was something else. Such a talent, can''t be missed out on. Immediately he sent Lumen a message.

    [You sure have guts holding back against me! I will definitely make you join my Family, like it or not!]

    [I''m sorry, I enjoy my freedom.]

    [You don''t have a choice in this matter!] Dan tried sending him another message, but a notification popped up.

    [User has blocked you and can''t receive your message.]

    Dan gnashed his teeth but immediately sent a message to Verdi.

    [Verdi, listen to me. I don''t care how, but I want you to seduce Lumen! Get him to join the Lo Po Bia Family!]

    [But I don''t want to.] He knew she is a bit eccentric, so he sent her another message.

    Unfortunately for him, he saw another notification.

    [User has blocked you and can''t receive your message.]

    Dan stared at the notification for a moment, before he started laughing. Regulars had dared go against his words. That has never happened since he became a High Ranker.

    With a massive grin on his face, he contacted his Family. Asking for any Regulars that are currently climbing the Tower and letting them know about Lumen.

    "I''ve already decided you will become part of the Family, let''s see how you''ll get out of this situation!" Dan laughter echoed through the fourth level of his ship.

    Meanwhile, Lumen''s group was teleported to an empty room. The room was completely enclosed without a single window or door. They were all looking around in confusion, wondering what''s the deal with that.

    A few minutes passed before a blonde girl with glasses appeared. She was wearing blue jeans, a pink tank top and was chewing gum.

    "Welcome to Gregory''s Floor, Regulars. My name is Trixie, and I''m an Administrator on the Floor. The fat pig is stuffing himself like usual, so I will introduce you to the 5th Floor." She told them while blowing bubbles with her gum

    "The Test of this Floor is a Battle Royale, but before you are allowed to participate, you have to go through a pre-Test to prove that you are worthy."

    "Each one of you will be teleported to another empty room, and you will have to face off against five Regulars from this Floor. You will have to fight them one after the other. You either have to kill your opponent or make him surrender. How you do it is up to you."

    "Most of them are greedy bastards like the Floor Ruler, so they can be swayed if you offer them Points. If you fail, you will be sent back to where you came from."

    "Those who pass will be allowed to participate in the Battle Royale. Only a total of ten Regulars will be allowed to pass for each Test. You don''t lose anything for failing the Battle Royale unless you get killed, that is." Trixie blew another bubble, but that was bigger than normal. It popped and covered her whole face.

    "Ahhh, not again! Whatever, I already explained all the details. Good luck in your pre-Test, Regulars. We will meet again if you manage to pass it." Trixie teleported away from the room.

    After that, each and every member from Lumen''s team was sent to an enclosed room like the one they were already in.

 Chapter 23 - Fifth Floor

    Lumen and his team caused a commotion on the 5th Floor with their arrival. Out of 45 Regulars that were chosen to test out the newly advanced Regulars, every single one of them died. That is something that hasn''t happened in years.

    An unspoken rule of the Floor is that even if you kill one or two Regulars during the pre-Test, you will work it out with the rest. You will make some kind of deal with the others by giving out some of your Points or even joining their team. After all, not everyone can fight five Regulars in a row. Trixie had also hinted at that.

    Unfortunately, Lumen''s team isn''t a conventional one. Every single member is the best amongst their position. They had also trained with him and grew even more.

    Without even improving their current strength, they could easily reach the 20th Floor without even trying. They are by far the best of the best, for being Regulars of the Lower Floors of the Tower.

    A lot of teams from the 5th Floor were unhappy with the newly arrived group. They had lost members from their teams, and they sought out revenge from Lumen''s team.

    They wanted some form of compensation for their lost teammates. Be in the form of Points or new members for their group.

    But every single Regular that approached them with that in mind had lost their life. This caused another commotion on the 5th Floor since they realized how strong that team is.

    To top it off, a Princess of Zahard was in that group. That made them even more dangerous. A Princess gets chose every hundred years, so one climbing the Tower is a big deal.

    Princesses of Zahard are considered the national treasure of the Tower since they carry the King''s blood. Every single Princess that has climbed the Tower has managed to reach the top and become a Ranker. The only exceptions to that are when a Princess kills another Princess during her climb.

    News about Androssi Zahard slowly started to spread not only on the 5th Floor but throughout the whole Tower as well. Regulars and Rankers started gossiping about her and her team. Each one impressed with the group she had gathered.

    Everyone was talking about how strong the Princess is and how much potential she has. How her team is full of top-level Regulars for being on such a low Floor. Androssi was being praised left and right for being able to gather such a group. They all had great expectations from her.

    But all of that was quickly forgotten, when a day later, the news that Androssi, is in fact, not the leader nor the strongest of that group reached them. And the Regular that is supposed to be stronger than her is not even from the 10 Great Families or someone famous. This caused another stir amongst the residents of the Tower.

    A Princess of Zahard is not the strongest in her team? She has the King''s blood, but someone unknown is stronger than her? They started talking about how Androssi might end up being an embarrassment for a Princess. How she might not be worthy of the King''s blood.

    Regulars from the 5th Floor tried challenging Lumen''s team yet again, but that ended terribly. They thought that since the Princess might, in fact, be weak, they could potentially gang up on her and her team.

    Over 200 Regulars had marched up to his team. Each seeking revenge, fame, or the chance to get a Princess of Zahard as their teammate.

    Every single Regular that approached them had died, and they were all killed by just a single Regular. The one that was supposed to be the leader and the strongest of that group.

    Without even moving a muscle, he had created a sun-like object with his Shinsoo. Every Regular that neared him or his team was shot down by a light beam from the sun-like object. The fight hadn''t even lasted for more than a minute, and more than 200 Regulars died.

    The residents of the Tower were astonished by his actions. Talks about him being the best Wave Controller amongst the Regulars from the Lower Floors were common between them.

    Some even believed his Shinsoo control might be at the level of those from the Upper Floors.

    Others even talked about how his Shinsoo control might be as good as a Ranker''s.

    They also gave him various monickers, as well. Very few Regulars are granted this privilege, but due to his actions and strength, he received a few nicknames. There''s also the fact they didn''t know his real name.

    The Light Terror for his terrifying control of Light.

    The Light Demon, for his demonic way of killing over 200 Regulars.

    But the most famous one being White Star, named after the technique he used to slaughter over 200 Regulars since it resembled a miniature sun.

    News about Lumen filled the whole Tower, and he was the hottest topic at the moment. There was not a single resident in the Tower that hasn''t heard of the bloodbath on the 5th Floor, and the one that caused it.

    The Ruler of the 5th Floor was unhappy with Lumen''s actions, but he didn''t do anything about it. Killing is allowed on his Floor and Lumen hadn''t broken any rules. Gregory couldn''t even kill him in secret since all eyes were currently on White Star.

    Two days later came another shocking news. The Lo Po Bia Family came out, claiming White Star as one of their own. They stated that although he is not someone from their Family, he is bound to marry into theirs. That has already been decided and is set in stone.

    Before the residents of the Tower could process that information, another surprising news was released from the Hendo Lok Family. The Family with the least amount of influence from the 10 Great Families.

    The Hendo Lok Family has the least amount of Rankers amongst the 10 Great Families, and that is due to a contract that Hendo Lok Bloodmadder, the family head, had made with a Guardian. In exchange for eternal life, everyone that carries his blood will be cursed with a short life span. Due to that, the Rankers that uphold the Hendo Family are all Bloodmadder''s adopted sons and daughters.

    The news from the Hendo Lok Family came from the family head himself. Bloodmadder stated that once White Star becomes a Ranker, he will adopt him in his family. And should he become a Ranker within the next 200 years, only Bloodmadder himself will have a higher position than him.

    The Tower was in an uproar that two of the 10 Great Families were trying to recruit a Regular that has just started his climb. But that showed how talented and how much potential White Star has.

    Gregory was more than happy that he didn''t do anything to Lumen after hearing those news. Although a Ranker, he didn''t have the backing of any of the 10 Great Families.

    Only a hundred Regulars may participate each time, and you have to sing-up at least a few months ahead, in order to get a spot. Thankfully since Lumen killed off so many Regulars, there were enough spots open for him and his team.

    If that incident hadn''t happened, they would have had to wait for a few months before they can take the Test.

    They had all signed up for the upcoming Battle Royale. The participants of the next Test were all scared out of their minds when they learned that White Star and his team will be participating. Had they had the option of not competing, they would have surely taken it.

    They were at least grateful that they had the choice of surrendering as soon as the Test starts. That''s something that they all planned on doing the first chance they got.

    Each participant is given a green badge before the start of the Test. Everyone that owns one will be teleported to a random location on a field on the 5th Floor. And you could pass the Test in two ways.

    In two hours, the Regulars would have to reach the middle of the stage and stay there for 15 minutes without dying. The first 10 Regulars that stay in the middle for 15 minutes get to pass the Test. This is the first way.

    The second way to pass the Test is by being the 10 last Regulars participating in the Battle Royale. Each Regular has the option of crushing the badge that they are given and forfeit the Test. They would then be teleported out of the stage for the Battle Royale.

    As soon as the Test started, every single Regular that was participating instantly crushed their badge. Not a single one dared to try going against White Star, the one that killed over 200 Regulars in less than a minute.

    Everyone except the lucky Regular that couldn''t crush his badge in time. Since only 10 Regulars were left in the Test, he got to pass the Test alongside Lumen and his team.

    They were all teleported to a spacious room with four people already waiting for them. One standing in the front, with the other three respectively staying behind him. Trixie was one of those three.

    Obviously, the one standing in the front was the Ruler of the 5th Floor. Gregory had a very obese appearance. He was as width as he was tall, and he was chomping on a drumstick while watching the Regulars that passed the Test with a hateful look.

    Gregory''s gaze was mostly focused on the one that caused all the commotion on his Floor. No matter how unhappy he was with Lumen''s actions, he didn''t dare do anything against him. Not only would his prestige as a Ranker drop, but two of the 10 Great Families were very interested in Lumen.

    His gaze also jumped to Androssi from time to time. Whenever he looked at her, he visibly started to drool but again, he didn''t dare do anything. She was a Princess of Zahard after all and her backing was even scarier than Lumen.

    Gregory took a bite of his drumstick and with a hateful tone spoke to them.

    "You passed the Test, yada-yada, you get 3 000 Points as a reward. Yada-yada, don''t come back to my Floor." Gregory didn''t want to waste any time with those detestable Regulars.

    His gaze lingered a bit on Androssi before he teleported the group away.

    The news of Lumen and his team advancing to the 6th Floor spread throughout the Tower. They had managed to pass the 5th Floor in record time. And the way they did it, added even more prestige to their name. Especially to Lumens.

    The residents of the Tower were telling stories about how Regulars on the same Floor''s as White Star didn''t even dare go up against him.

    Lumen''s fame reached sky-high levels and you couldn''t find a resident of the Tower that hadn''t heard about White Star, be it Regular or Ranker.

    After all, it''s not every day that you see an unknown Regular that''s even stronger than a Princess of Zahard.

    Had he been a member of one of the 10 Great Families, this wouldn''t have caused such a stir, but he wasn''t. To top it off, two of the 10 Great Families had already expressed their d?s?r? for this unknown Regular.

    All eyes were on him and his group, wondering what other commotion will they cause next.

 Chapter 24 - Sixth Floor (1)

    It''s been a few days since Lumen and his team reached the 6th Floor. They were granted a residence large enough to house thirteen people during their stay.

    The building was 3-story heigh, with plenty of rooms for everyone to have their own.

    Aleksai was in the kitchen, cooking something for the rest of the group. The big red-head was surprisingly a very good cook. Aleksai expressed his interest when they were granted the house, and since everyone enjoyed his cooking, he has been taking care of their food situation.

    Laure was in his room, sleeping like usual. Nothing much changes with the green-haired Regular.

    Hatsu was on the roof of the building, working on a new sword technique. He has been on the verge of some kind of breakthrough and has been pushing himself for the past few days.

    Verdi was in the living room, playing house with her newly acquired dolls. They might have been on the 6th Floor for only a few days, but she already had a dozen new puppets added to her collection.

    Lumen and Leesoo were also in the living room, but they were sharing a beer while watching television.

    The rest of the group were out exploring the 6th Floor and shopping. No matter where you go, women will always love shopping.

    Lumen took a sip of his drink and changed the channel in annoyance.

    "...Floor and I''m Poppie Gloriya. I''ve received some insider information from a member of the Lo Po Bia Family! I was told that the reason they are so sure that White Star will marry into their family is that he has already accepted a dowry from them."

    "It is a well-known fact that the Ruler of the 4th Floor is a High Ranker of the Lo Po Bia Family. White Star did recently pass through that Floor, so it''s very possible he had struck some kind of a deal with Dan."

    Lumen took another sip from his beer and switched the channel again, while Leesoo snickered from his actions.

    "...Lok Family is known for adopting Rankers and High Rankers into their Family, but such an offer has never been given to a Regular before! This just shows how much potential White Star has!"

    Tired from hearing the same thing over and over again, Lumen switched the TV off.

    He expected something to happen after the incident on the 5th Floor, but this was too much.

    Had Lumen killed over 200 people in public on Earth, he would go down as one of the worst serial killers of his time. In the Tower however, that is a whole different story.

    The residents didn''t label him as a serial killer. Rather, they glorified his actions and spoke how talented he is!

    Although he knew he is in a different place with different views, he didn''t think he would become a superstar from going on a killing spree.

    Lumen also didn''t think that over 200 Regulars could gather that easily to go after him and his team. Yes, on a Floor where there are thousands of Regulars, that number didn''t seem that big, but he had his suspicions about the incident.

    They had simply gathered way too fast. Someone definitely had a hand in that. Someone that had connections throughout the whole Tower, and could easily rally over 200 Regulars. Lumen could currently think of only one possible answer to this. FUG.

    Nevertheless, that incident that could have labeled him as one of the worst criminals on Earth was forgotten almost as soon as it happened.

    All the residents of the Tower were now gossiping about the two Great Families that are interested in him. To them, that was more important than him killing over 200 Regulars.

    Lumen could understand the Lo Po Bia Family due to Dan pulling some strings. It was a low blow from his part since he did gift Saber to Lumen in the end, just not in the form of a dowry, but he could understand that.

    The Hendo Lok Family was a whole different matter. He had absolutely no connection to them whatsoever. Bloodmadder had even given his ultimatum that if Lumen reaches the top of the Tower within 200 years, he would only be under him in the Family.

    ''200 years? That''s too much! I''m definitely going to reach it faster than that. I don''t even know if I will get to live for another 200 years.'' Lumen thought.

    Unlike the rest of the Regulars that come from the Tower, he came from Earth. Humans there don''t live past 100 that easily.

    Lumen didn''t even know if those that look like humans from the Tower are actually human since they could live for hundreds of years. He was granted three Devil Fruits from Loki, but Devil Fruit users in the One Piece world didn''t live for hundreds of years.

    Lumen didn''t know how him having three of them will affect his life span, nor did he know if Shinsoo could increase it as well. So he didn''t plan on taking hundreds of years to reach the top.

    In his mind, he was working on a time limit. He could risk it and try to take his time, but there was no guarantee that he would live past 100 years and look as young and healthy as he is now.

    "So, White Star, how''s the fame working for you?" Leesoo asked him with a laugh.

    "Fuck you!" Lumen''s response made him laugh even harder.

    "Did you seriously not expect this?" Leesoo asked him.

    "I was expecting something, just not this. Every news channel is talking about me and the two Families." Lumen answered him while letting out a sigh.

    "Really? Really!? Come on! The two leaders of those Families are from the 10 Great Warriors that climbed and conquered the Tower alongside King Zahard! Not only are they one of the strongest Rankers in the Tower, but they also possess the largest amount of political influence as well!"

    "Even if only one Family was interested in you, everyone would still be gossiping about you. But noooo, two of them have expressed their interest in you, a Regular that''s only on the 6th Floor of the Tower! That has never happened before! Your fame is even higher than Androssi, who is a Princess of Zahard!"

    "Yeah, yeah, I get it. 10 Great Families, woohoo, big deal. Do you have any strategies and plans for tomorrow''s Test?" Lumen had no d?s?r? to talk about his fame and just wanted to change the subject.

    "Well, I have a few things in mind, but that would depend on the terrain that we get. Either way, with the great White Star on our side, we don''t need strategies." Leesoo couldn''t resist teasing him, knowing how uncomfortable Lumen felt with his fame and monicker. With a huge grin on his face, he was b?r?ly holding his laughter.

    "You are pushing your luck." That statement alone and the small bloodlust coming from Lumen, made Leesoo''s smile disappear.

    In an instant, he was on his knees, with his forehead touching the ground. "I''m so sorry! Please don''t kill me!"

    "Just get up." Leesoo didn''t move from his spot and kept his head against the ground.

    "You won''t kill me, right?" Weakly, he asked.

    "Just get up!" As if having the Pika Pika no Mi, Leesoo got up with light speed.

    "Grab me another beer and tell me your thoughts on the Test." Leesoo obediently got him a beer from the fridge, and the two started discussing tomorrow''s Test.

    When Lumen''s team and the lucky Regular that passed with them reached the 6th Floor, they were greeted by the most disgusting being they have seen so far.

    Long dirty black hair that could have been any other colour if it was washed. Wearing a stained brown shirt that was once white and green cargo pants.

    The man in question was cleaning his ear with one of his fingers when they first saw him. He pulled his finger out of his ear, sniffed it, and licked it clean.

    "That''s the good stuff!" He exclaimed after eating his booger.

    He repeated the same action a few times when he finally felt satisfied. He turned towards the Regulars with a big grin on his face.

    "Ah, I know you!" He said while pointing at Lumen. "You are the guy that everyone is talking about!"

    "Either way, I''m Bob, the Test Direction on the 6th Floor. Zaza, the Ruler of the Floor, had some business to take care of, so I will be handling all the matters on the Floor for the time being." He straightened his shirt as if that would make a difference.

    "I officially welcome you to the 6th Floor, Regulars! Uhmmm, for successfully reaching the Floor, you will be granted a free radiance."

    "No, the word was refinance, I think. No, no, that''s not it, it was residence! Yeah, residence, that''s the one. You will get a free residence!" He pulled out a keycard and threw it to the group.

    "That will also include free food, but since we don''t have chefs on the Floor, you will have to cook for yourselves." Bob looked pleased with his speech and was about to go on his way.

    "Hey, aren''t you going to tell us about the Test on the Floor?" Leesoo questioned him.

    "Oh, yeah. I''m supposed to do that as well, aren''t I?" Bob answered while scratching his dirty hair.

    "So, uhmmm, the Test is called Tower Defence! You can challenge the test with a maximum of eleven members. You will have to face another team of Regulars."

    "Each Test takes place in a random location. Could be in a forest, could be in a rocky area. Every time it''s a different field. Each team of Regulars has its own half of that field."

    "Uhhmm, each team will have to be separated into three different groups. The Base team, which could only have only one member that will be chosen radomly. That member would be given a special badge, that when destroyed by the other team, will result in your team failing. Uhhmm, the Regular holding the Base badge is forbidden from attacking or defending. But can move around freely within their half."

    "And, uhh, the other two groups are the Tower team and the Minion team. You have to have an equal amount of members in each team."

    "Members from the Tower team can only be placed in their half of the field, and can only move around within a specific zone."

    "The members from the Minion team, can uhhhmm, move around anywhere. They can attack the other Regular''s Tower and Base teams. They could also fight with the other Minion teams as well."

    "That''s about it! Oh, and also, you have to sing up in advance to take the Test. I think the next free spot is in about two months, or something like that. I think that''s all."

    Bob picked his nose again and pulled out another booger. His eyes started shining when he saw it, and he ate the booger in delight.

    "I knew I had saved up one for later! I''m such a smart guy!" He exclaimed happily as he left the group of Regulars that were watching him in disgust.

    "Filthy animal,"

    "What a disgusting pig."

    Androssi and Tiana commented, repulsed by Bob''s actions.

    The unassuming brown-haired Regular was feeling a bit awkward and decided to introduce himself. He had the slightest hope of maybe joining Lumen''s team.

    "Uhm. Hello guys. My name.." He couldn''t even get to say his name since a giant pink octopus appeared behind him. One of its tentacles wrapped around the Regular, stopping him from speaking further.

    "New floor, new dolls, yay!" Verdi exclaimed while clapping.

    The Regular''s eyes widened in fear as his life force was su?k?d away. His facial expression soon turned blank, as Verdi happily stored him in her dollhouse.

    Lumen''s first order of business was to go and sign his team for the Test. He also wanted to see if he could potentially shorten the time needed since he didn''t feel like waiting for a couple of months.

    Surprisingly, that wasn''t a problem at all. Teams were, in fact, happy to give their position to his team. The chance of talking to him or even getting to meet him was more than enough for them. Some even tried their luck of joining his team, but he denied them all.

    Lumen didn''t expect to become so famous that Regulars would be happy to give their position away to him, but it wasn''t that bad. This way, his team could get to take the Test two months earlier than anticipated.

 Chapter 25 - Sixth Floor (2)

    Lumen''s whole group had gathered, ready to take the Test on the 6th Floor.

    His team had only nine members, so they were a bit at a disadvantage when it comes to numbers since the other team had eleven.

    Despite their current fame, the other team didn''t look to be afraid of them the least bit. The Regulars looked confident in competing against them. Each member had a smug look on their face while staring at Lumen and his team.

    The location for the Test was chosen, and it was underground. One of the rarer fields for the Tower Defence.

    They were shown the layout of the location. On each side, there was an underground cavern that branched out into five paths. The paths had twists and turns, but in the end, they merged into a single one. Which is in the middle of the field, the neutral zone. It''s also where the Minion teams would have to pass through to reach the other side.

    Both groups had their member for the Base team randomly chosen, and Anak was the one that was picked from Lumen''s team. With that out of the way, they selected the members for the other teams.

    Laure, Aleksai, Tiana, and Verdi were chosen as the Tower team. While Lumen, Androssi, Hatsu, and Leesoo were placed on the Minion team.

    Their plan was a simple one. Each member from the Tower team will guard one of the paths, and since they were lacking two members, Leesoo would also act as part of the Tower team.

    But just in case, Hatsu would be staying with her, acting as her bodyguard.

    Lumen and Androssi, on the other hand, will be the ones attacking the opponent team.

    "With you two going after them, I don''t see us losing this game." Leesoo confidently said.

    "Hmpf, I could do it alone." Androssi smugly said and turned towards Lumen.

    "Want to make a bet at who would get the other team''s badge? The winner gets one wish from the loser. How does that sound?" She asked.

    "Sure, let''s do this." Lumen replied, confident in his speed. Having the Pika Pika no Mi, he didn''t think someone could be faster than him.

    "Haha, yes! Just remember the bet when you end up losing!" Androssi laughed out with a smile. Lumen just rolled his eyes at her childish antics.

    In a moment, they were all transported to the underground cavern. Since each member of the group already knew their role, he didn''t bother staying with them even for a second.

    Transforming into his Logia form, he disappeared from his spot and made a b-line towards the other side. Androssi was wide-eyed as she saw him rush towards the enemy direction.

    "Fuck, you''re cheating!" Screaming out, she ran after him.

    It didn''t take Lumen long to reach the place where the paths converge. And he soon reached the middle of the field, the neutral zone.

    Just as he stepped foot there, he felt something off. He wasn''t sure what, but the whole place felt empty and different.

    It took him a moment to realize what was wrong. Shinsoo basically didn''t exist in the neutral zone. There was so little flowing there, that it didn''t even make a difference.

    Alarm bells were ringing in his head, but Lumen didn''t know what to look for. With his guard up, he slowly stepped inside.

    Two steps in, and he felt like someone was watching him. Someone was observing him like a predator eying his prey. That feeling annoyed him to no end since he wasn''t used to be in the position of prey.

    When he reached near the middle of the neutral zone, he felt a tremor. Walls were erected on both sides, blocking off the exits. The small amount of Shinsoo that flowing through the tunnel soon disappeared as well.

    "Ha! I got you now!" Lumen heard the voice of Bob, but he couldn''t pinpoint where it came from.

    Suddenly, a hole opened up on the side of the tunnel, and the Test Director showed himself. He casually walked in, with a finger up his nose.

    "You know, uhmmm, I had to go through a lot of trouble to set this up. But the higher-ups are really displeased with your actions." Bob told him while ???k?n? his finger.

    "So, you''re part of FUG? What''s so important about my teammates, that you are going so far them?" Lumen asked him while thinking of ways that he could deal with him.

    "Obviously, they are hostages. But, uhmmm, I shouldn''t tell you that." Bob carelessly replied.

    "Hostages? Who is being threatened with their safety?" Lumen was trying to find out more about the whole situation, while also trying to form a Baang. Unfortunately, he had no luck with the second part.

    "��hhhh, I can''t tell you that we are threatening an Irregular with his friends. That''s top-secret information, you know." Bob replied, not even realizing what he had just said.

    "So, Bam actually didn''t die." Lumen commented.

    "What?! How do you know that?!" Bob''s eyes widened in surprise. "Uhmm, are you also a member of FUG? But even if you are, the higher-ups want you dead."

    Bob didn''t waste any more time and ran towards him. He moved extremely quickly and reached Lumen in a second.

    Lumen was extremely confident in fighting him in an environment with no Shinsoo. He planed on letting the attack go through his element form, but something didn''t feel right.

    At the last moment, he managed to bring his arms up to block the attack. Despite being in his Logia form, he was sent flying and crashed into the walls of the tunnel. Both of his arms were badly damaged and twisted at a weird angle.

    Right before he was sent flying, he managed to shoot a blast of light beams at Bob. Sadly, a purple round shield appeared in front of the Test Director and blocked the point black lasers.

    To top it off, he had an Armor Inventory as well. An item that is not only able to store other equipment but can also serve as a protection tool.

    Quickly getting up, Lumen used his Pheonix flames to heal his injury.

    "Uhhmm, how are you doing that? There should be no Shinsoo here." Bob looked puzzled. First, he shot him with a laser, then he healed his wounds with a weird white flame.

    He was only told that Lumen is an extremely proficient Wave Controller, and there was no mention of those weird abilities.

    "Uhmm, guess I just need to punch you until you die." Bob dashed towards him once again.

    Unlike before, Lumen was prepared this time. Despite that, he still let Bob''s attack to hit him. The moment they made contact, Lumen applied the maximum amount of gravity he could use on him.

    Bob felt pressure like never before. It felt like the whole world was crushing him, and he could b?r?ly move his muscles. "Uhh, what did you do?"

    He actually had a similar ability, but he couldn''t use it due to the lack of Shinsoo. Bob was beyond confused at how Lumen was able to use all those abilities without Shinsoo.

    Lumen didn''t respond to him. He stood up and healed his wounds again.

    From his shoulder blades sprouted two white flaming wings. Something that he recently picked up on. Transforming his hands into wings felt a bit awkward to him, so he figured out a way around it. This also allowed him more options when attacking someone.

    "Now, we can play by my rules." With a grin, he sped off towards Bob.

    With his speed and wings, he would attack him from any direction. From the front, back, sides, or from the top as well. Lumen was pushing himself to the limit, but the purple shield would always pop up and block his attacks.

    He would mix in his light beams with his attacks, but even that didn''t break through the shield. But during that time, he noticed that Bob was actually following his movements, despite him going at max speed.

    Lumen knew that he couldn''t move at the actual speed of light, but he was disappointed that the other party was able to follow him. He also had to figure out a way to deal with him as soon as possible, since he was feeling him resist the increased gravity.

    Bob, proving that he is a Ranker for a reason, was struggling to break free of the pressure that Lumen used on him. He knew that with just a bit more time, he would be free. All he had to do is block his attacks until then.

    Lumen was struggling what to do when he remembered one of the first ways he learned to use his Pika Pika no Mi. He made sure that Bob was looking in his direction and snapped his fingers.

    Light illuminated the whole tunnel, blinding Bob in the process. Pushing himself to the limit, he sped off in his direction.

    He kicked, using his maximum speed and his leg landed straight on to Bob''s head. The upper half of his head completely disappeared while his body crashed into the tunnel''s wall.

    Letting out a sigh of relief, he cursed at him. "Damn, filthy bastard."

    Had it been any other Regular in his situation, death was a guarantee. With no Shinsoo flowing in the tunnel, the Regular won''t have a way of defending himself. Thankfully, Lumen was an Irregular who had three Devil Fruit powers as well.

    Lumen made his way to Bob''s corpse to confirm his kill and to loot him as well. The purple shield gave him a lot of trouble, so he was definitely going to get that. Surprisingly, he found two of them.

    Armor Inventories are extremely expensive, so Regulars normally don''t own one. Now, Lumen had two of them. He didn''t know how strong they are, but he will test it out in the future.

    With the disgusting Test Director dealt with, he planned on letting out some steam against the opponent team. They definitely knew that Bob would interfere in the Test, considering their smug and arrogant looks.

    He was taking his time when he realized he was starting to run out of breath. ''Shit, I better hurry.''

    Lumen reached the exit leading to the opponent''s field and saw the wall blocking it. Charging his light powers, he blasted a hole big enough so he can pass through it.

    Since he knew the appearance of the badge holder, he went for everyone else first. In a dozen minutes or so, he had gone through all the tunnels on the other side and killed everyone he met.

    The last Regular was staring at him in disbelief as he watched Lumen walk towards him. "But how?!? You shouldn''t be alive!"

    "Turns out, I''m a lot harder to kill than expected." A laser pierced the Regular''s head, and he fell on the ground. Lumen walked up to him, found the badge, and crushed it.

    With that, his team was teleported out of the underground area. In front of them were two Test Administrators that were looking around in confusion. Bob had told them that he is going to the toilet, but he hadn''t come back yet.

    Despite that, they''ve been Test Administrators for a long time, so they quickly snapped out of their confusion.

    "Congratulations, Regulars. You have successfully passed the Test on the 6th Floor. As a reward, all of you will be granted 4 000 Points, and you will be teleported to the next Floor shortly." A brown-haired woman told them.

    His teammates looked as that is the most natural thing ever. With Androssi and Lumen working together, they didn''t even think they could lose the Tower Defence.

    Androssi, on the other hand, was staring at Lumen with hateful eyes. "You cheated! You had a head start, and you even blocked my way! The bet doesn''t count!" She was definitely a sore loser.

 Chapter 26 - Sevent Floor

    At an unknown Floor in the Tower, a group of cloaked individuals had gathered around a round table.

    "We''ve lost contact with Hobo Catfish from the 6th Floor. His last report was before he went to deal with White Star." Sighed one of the individuals. Bob had the monicker of Hobo Catfish due to his dirty and scavenging habits.

    "We provided him with a step-by-step plan on how to deal with the situation there. All he had to do was follow the damn plan. What do you mean we lost contact with him?" Another member questioned while slamming his fist on the table. Clearly unhappy with what he was told.

    They had given Bob a detailed plan on how to deal with Lumen, and how to avoid the sight of the Guardian of the Floor.

    They had specifically sent him an item that could filter out the Shinsoo in an enclosed area. Without Shinsoo, the Guardian would be unable to see what''s happening in the tunnel. Leaving Bob, a Ranker, to easily take care of Lumen, who is a simple Regular.

    "We don''t know what happened, but we haven''t been able to contact Hobo Catfish since then. White Star has also been reported to have reached the 7th Floor." The first individual, that spoke, explained to the rest.

    "So, you are telling us that a Regular from the 6th Floor, somehow managed to take down a Ranker, when the conditions were in the Ranker''s favor?" Another member asked in wonder. He couldn''t understand how that''s possible.

    Not a single member there was willing to believe that a Regular was able to deal with a Ranker. Especially so, when the area they should have been fighting, was void of Shinsoo.

    In order to become a Ranker, you would have to climb to the 134th Floor of the Tower. While climbing your body would be molded by the Shinsoo on each Floor. The higher you reach, the denser the Shinsoo becomes, and in return, the stronger your physical body becomes.

    Yet, despite having a foolproof plan, something had gone wrong. The problem was that they didn''t know what went wrong. No matter how they saw it, Bob should have killed Lumen as easily as crushing an ant.

    "There''s all that talk, that the Lo Po Bia Family had already given him a dowry. It''s possible that''s true, and he could have been given an incredibly strong creature." A member that had been quiet until now spoke up, and the others turned their attention to him.

    "They were the first to express their interest in him. Maybe he is an exceptionally talented Anima as well, which could be the reason they want him in their Family." He gave his reasoning.

    "Then why hasn''t this been made public already? Why hasn''t White Star confirmed that he will marry into the Lo Po Bia Family and that he had received a creature like that? Why hasn''t he came out and told everyone about what happened on that Floor? Won''t that make him even more famous than what he already is? Killing a Ranker as a Regular is an amazing prestige, even if you had the help of a creature." Someone questioned him.

    This was starting to get out of hand. They could accept that White Star is an exceptionally good Wave Controller since he most likely had spent his entire life working on his Shinsoo control. But now, he could also end up being an especially talented Anima as well.

    Then what''s next? Would he end up with an extremely strong physical body, as well? How many special traits would just a single Regular end up having? That didn''t seem likely to the gathered individuals since they would have known about such a person in the Tower.

    "Whatever the case may be, White Star is someone that we need to take care of. The best thing would be if we could replace his position on that team with someone of ours." That''s something everyone in the room agreed with.

    "Have we received any information about him from Headon? Usually, he would give us a heads up on Regulars like White Star." One of them questioned.

    The moment the last word left his mouth, another cloaked individual entered the room.

    "I just now received information about him from Headon." The member that just entered sat on the table and massaged his temple.

    "That''s some pretty good timing. What did he say?" One of the members eagerly asked. They practically had zero information on White Star. He was an enigma that appeared out of nowhere.

    "Do you want to hear the bad news or the worst news?" That question momentarily froze everyone in the room.

    "Give us the bad news first." Someone finally answered.

    "Bad news is, he is another Irregular." Everyone gulped hearing that. That was just the bad news.

    Two Irregulars had just entered the Tower, and that''s an unprecedented event in itself. One of them was very knowledgable about the Tower and understood it very well.

    The other one was a very unrefined diamond with a lot of potential. They were planning on refining that gem and molding him to their d?s?r?.

    Now, there is a third one as well, which seems to have more potential than the ones they currently have. This is just when comparing them at the moment.

    If Bam had to fight over 200 Regulars, he would surely lose his life. While White Star was easily able to kill them off in less than a minute.

    Should the two increase in strength at the same pace, White Star would end up being stronger than Bam for sure. They might have ended up with the short end of the stick.

    "Another Irregular?! Are you joking? The Tower has a total of five Irregulars if we count the two that we have. And now you are telling us there is a third as well?"

    "If we count White Star, that means the Tower has a total of six Irregulars. Half of them had entered the Tower at the same time! What does this event signify?!?"

    The whole situation sounded absurd to the gathered individuals. Irregulars were an extremely rare occurrence, and each time they appeared, they had created chaos, and their presence alone has caused the Tower to change in various ways.

    Now there are three of them at the same time. What kind of chaos would they end up causing?

    But at least, they could understand White Star a bit more, knowing he is an Irregular.

    They understood why he was given so much attention from everyone else. The others might not know that he is an Irregular, but they were all drawn to him in some way. He had that type of aura about him, as the one other Irregulars have.

    "I don''t care what that means! What''s the worst news if this is the bad new?" An individual that has stayed silent throughout the whole conversation asked.

    The one that told them about Lumen being an Irregular let out a short chuckle. The kind of laugh where despite knowing how bad the situation is, you just laugh it out.

    "Headon said, I quote him: You can do whatever you want, but it won''t change a thing. Yo..." He couldn''t continue since a member slammed his fist into the table, breaking it in the process.

    "What the hell does that mean?!"

    The cloaked individual that was speaking let out a sigh and continued quoting Headon. "You can throw whatever you can think of at him, but it won''t make a difference."

    "It won''t make a difference? Is that stupid rabbit looking down on us?" The member that broke the table was fuming with anger.

    "You do remember how strong Urek was when he came into the Tower, right? What if he is just as strong, but simply hiding it? Don''t forget that Headon was the one that gave him a Test. He must''ve had his reason for telling us this." Another individual gave his reasoning.

    "I don''t care about that!" He yelled out his response and turned towards a particular member. "Karaka, go and deal with White Star. Either make him join us or kill him. End of the discussion!"

    Meanwhile, on the 77th Floor, at the Wolhaiksong base.

    A tall, handsome, blonde man with red eyes was sitting on a couch and watching television. The man was wearing a black hoodie and sweatpants similar to the clothes Lumen usually wears.

    The blonde man was switching through the channels at lightning speed when he finally got tired of that. Turning off the tv, he threw the remote at a wall. The small device broke through the wall as if it was made of paper and flew away.

    Unfortunately, when the remote made contact with the wall, it hit one of the bu??ons on it and turned the tv back on.

    The man then turned in annoyance towards a woman that was in the room. Pink hair, with a childish face, the woman was wearing a red zentai while communication with someone on her Pocket.

    "White Star this, White Star that. Why are they all talking about a Regular from the 6th Floor, when they should be talking about me!"

    "Shut up, Urek. When you climbed the Tower in a record time of 50 years, absolutely everyone had you in their mouth. And not in the way you wanted it." The pink-haired woman responded to him.

    "But, baby, I''m awesome! Everyone should be talking about me! Look, baby, I''m a hundred times more handsome than him!"

    "More handsome than who?" A woman''s voice came from behind him, and Urek turned around just in time to see Princess Yuri and Evan walk into the room.

    She had just returned from reporting that she now owns two of the 13 Months Series and from visiting one of her adopted sisters.

    "Yuri! Please tell her I''m better looking than this White Star everyone is talking about, baby." Urek told her while pointing at the television.

    "Hey, Evan, isn''t that Lumen?" Yuri asked the Silver Dwarf.

    "Yes, that''s definitely him. We did miss him on the 2nd Floor, but he seems to have gotten quite famous already." Evan replied to her.

    "Wait, baby, you know him?" Urek asked Yuri.

    "Can you stop calling me baby? And yes, I know him. I also owe him a date." Her answer caused Urek to stare at her in surprise. His pride was crushed, hearing that a Regular managed to score a date with Yuri, while he couldn''t.

    "But, baby. You don''t even want to go out on a date with me. Why would you go out on a date with a Regular?" Urek asked her with a trembling voice.

    "He is not a Regular, Lumen is an Irregular. And I owe him a date because Evan here failed to see his strength." Yuri answered while staring hatefully at Evan.

    "Princess, I told you already that he looked like as normal as the previous one. Please, stop bullying me." Evan replied, embarrassed that he couldn''t see through Lumen''s strength. He was supposed to be one of the best Guides in the Tower, yet he couldn''t see what''s so special about Lumen.

    "Wait, that White Star dude is an Irregular? Is that what you are saying, baby?" Urek jumped from his seat when he heard that. At least it''s an Irregular that scored a date with Yuri and not a simple Regular. He felt relieved.

    "Yes, I was there when he entered the Tower," Yuri confirmed.

    "That''s good! Now it''s more understandable why everyone is talking about him! I will forgive him for that." Urek looked very excited that there''s another Irregular.

    "Got it! I made up my mind. I''m going to go and see my little bro. Evan, you are coming with me." Urek had already grabbed Evan and was carrying him under his shoulder.

    "Show me the fastest path to the Lower Floors." With a grin, he commanded the Silver Dwarf, who looked extremely unwilling.

    "Princess, please help me!" He called out to her, hoping she would come to his rescue.

    "You''re going to see Lumen? I''m coming with you then. I do owe him a date, after all. I''m not going to go back on my words." Yuri''s response, made Evan start crying.

    The poor Guide was being used and abused for his special abilities without his consent. Despite him being one of the strongest High Rankers, he couldn''t do anything about the situation.

    One is a Princess of Zahard, and Evan is her personal guide. The other is one of the strongest existences in the entire Tower. There are no more than a handful of Rankers that could even compete against him. Urek could probably kill Evan before the Guide could think of a way to defend himself.

    "Evan, show us the fastest way to go to Lumen!" Yuri commanded him as well.

    "Yes, Princess." With tears in his eyes, he complied. He had just recently guided Yuri to the Lower Floors, and now he would have to do it again. Incidents like this are the moments he regretted being born as a Guide.

    While all of that was happening, Lumen was sitting on a table in a coffee shop and talking with a Regular from the 7th Floor.

    "So, Vespa, you call yourself the fastest Regular from the Lower Floors?" He asked a short girl with luminous blue-grey hair. She was wearing a blue fur coat and had bee-like wings coming out of her back.

    "Yes, no one can compete with me when it comes to speed." Confidently she replied.

    "We''ll see about that. I also heard you are a very talented close combat fighter using a needle." Vespa''s ruthlessness was quite famous on the 7th Floor.

    With more than a dozen stories about her expertise way of handling a specialized needle and her deadly poison. No one has been able to survive after being poisoned by her.

    "No one on this Floor can match me in close combat." Arrogantly she replied.

    "Then how about having a spar with me? If you are strong as the Regulars say, I will let you join my team. But should you end up as a weakling, you might die during the spar." Lumen asked her with a grin.

    "Ha! Arrogant human. The same goes for you! If you end up being weaker than what is expected from your fame, you might end up dying by my poison. If you can''t at least force me to transform into my ?du?t form, then I can guarantee you will definitely die today." Vespa answered with a grin of her own.

    "But if you prove to be stronger than me, I will join your team and follow your commands." She finished with a more respectful voice.

    "Then it''s decided. Follow me." Lumen stood up and Vespa followed suit. The two exited the coffee shop and made their way towards an open area, where they could have their spar.

 Chapter 27 - Seventh Floor (2)

    A white and yellow-blueish blurs were flying past each other. The two were moving at such a high speed, that no normal Regular from the Lower Floors could even follow them. The two blurs clashed with each other a few more times, before separating.

    Lumen watched with a smile the curvaceous woman in front of him. He was holding a spear made of light in his hand, something that he started practicing with recently. Combining his light ability with Shinsoo, allows him to keep the shape of the spear stable, and he enjoyed fighting while using it.

    Vespa had transformed into her ?du?t form, and she looked exceptionally beautiful. No longer was she a small girl, but she was now a stunning lady who looked in her twenties. Her yellow bee-like wings have grown alongside her and were even bigger than her body.

    Vespa was holding a specialized needle that resembled a wasp''s stinger. Around her were floating two smaller needles, that she would use to shoot golden Shinsoo blasts from.

    Her clothes were torn apart in a few places, revealing her pale skin. A drop of blood was flowing from her mouth, as she was staring at Lumen with her dark-blue, nearly black, eyes.

    Vespa couldn''t believe that only was he able to match her speed, he was also faster than her. Not once had she managed to land even a single hit on him during their fight. While he had hit her on more than once occasion. She had the faint feeling that he wasn''t even going all out against her.

    Lumen created a purple like Baang of Shinsoo, absorbed it in his left hand, and pointed it at her. Vespa didn''t know what''s the deal with that and was about to jump away from her spot.

    Before she could do that, she felt a weird suction force coming from Lumen, and she was pulled towards him. Try as she might, she flapped her wings to escape from the weird ability, but she didn''t succeed. She flew like a kite, straight towards his hand.

    Lumen grabbed her by the throat, and an immense pressure descended upon her. Vespa couldn''t resist and weakly fell on her knees. Barely, she lifted her head to look at him. Her eyes were filled with astonishment as she watched him smile at her.

    After a moment, she hung her head and admitted defeat. He was stronger, faster, and had weird abilities to go with that. Maybe if she had managed to hit him once and poisoned him, the fight would have ended differently. But she hadn''t landed even a single hit on him. Never had she suffered such a defeat before.

    Vespa felt shame at being defeated so easily, but she was grateful at the same time. Finding teammates that are as strong as she is not an easy task. She would be happy to join his team, knowing how strong he is. That''s if he doesn''t decide to kill her, that is.

    "That was fun. I think you will a fine fit for my team." Hearing him, she brightly smiled as she transformed into her girl form. Staying in her ?du?t form for long periods of time tires her out, and she prefers staying in her smaller form.

    "We should also find you something else to wear." Lumen told her while looking at her shredded fur coat.

    Looking down, she noticed her damaged clothing. Without a shred of embarrassment, she removed the coat, revealing she is only wearing und?rw??r beneath it. Throwing it on the ground, she pulled out another one from her Pocket and put it on. "There is no need."

    "That''s one way of dealing it with that." Lumen chuckled. "Let''s go and introduce you to the rest of the group."

    Vespa nodded without her previous arrogance and followed after him. On the way, she asked him questions about him, trying to get to know him better.

    Which is one of the reasons why Lumen sought out Vespa. His group had nine members, so he decided to find one more, and split it into two teams.

    In the Test, you will have to face off against another team of five, and each member will be randomly matched against another member from the opposite team.

    In order to pass, your team needs to win at least three of those matches. Killing is allowed, but if even one of your teammates dies, you will automatically fail the Test.

    Which is what happened to Vespa. She had easily taken care of her opponent, but one of her teammates had ended dying. Annoyed by her weak team members, she had killed off the rest. And later killed off the team that stopped her from advancing to the next Floor.

    After that, there were very few Regulars on the 7th Floor, that wanted to team up with her. To top it off, all of those that wanted her to join their team were weaklings in her eyes. Knowing that Lumen and his team should be exceptionally strong for the 7th Floor, she happily followed after him to meet the rest.

    After they got the introduction out of the way, the group had split into two teams.

    One team consisted of Androssi, Hatsu, Laure, Aleksai, and Leesoo. While the rest of the group was on the other team.

    Looking at his teammates, Lumen couldn''t help but think that they look like one very dysfunctional family. With him and Tiana as the parents and the three cute girls as their kids. Who despite their looks, are small killing machines.

    "Hey! Let''s make another bet! Whoever advances to the next Floor first gets a free wish from the other!" Androssi exclaimed. Without even letting Lumen respond to her, she was already urging her team to go and take the Test.

    "I knew the fearsome White Star won''t shy away from a challenge." Androssi''s voice was heard from a distance away.

    She really wanted to get back at Lumen, since she believed he is the one that erected the wall that blocked the tunnel.

    He hadn''t told them that Bob had interfered during their previous Test and that he had killed the disgusting Test Director.

    "Should I go and kill her?" Vespa asked, fully knowing that the other party is a Princess of Zahard.

    She had trained with the group for a week and knew the capabilities of all the members. Lumen was the only one she wasn''t confident of being able to kill.

    All the members of his team had improved during their stay on the 7th Floor. Verdi had also revealed that she has a special flower, which is able to unlock the hidden potential of those that wear it. Everyone had received a boost in their strength from wearing it.

    Everyone except Lumen, since the flower didn''t work on him for some reason.

    "Just leave her be. Androssi is just a sore loser." He answered her, and Vespa nodded in response. She had accepted him as their leader and would follow his commands.

    Lumen''s team signed up for the Test, and they were shortly matched with their opponents. Each member was transported to a sealed-off room to face their opponents.

    Verdi''s opponent was a stunning beauty with long blonde hair. The woman looked more like a supermodel than a fighter. The moment Verdi laid her eyes on her, she smiled cheerfully.

    "You will be a perfect match for a doll I recently got!" Happily, she exclaimed. Before the blonde woman could even comprehend Verdi''s words, she got entangled by a pink tentacle. Moments later, the cute grey-haired girl had another puppet in her dollhouse.

    Anak''s opponent was a giant of a man with four arms. Holding clubs in each hand, he was staring menacingly at the green-skinned girl.

    "Ants like you shouldn''t even be trying to climb the Tower. I will crush you like the bug you are." The man threatened her with an evil grin.

    Anak smiled in response and with a burst of speed, appeared on his shoulder. Taking a page from Tiana''s book, she crushed the man''s jaw, stopping him from surrendering the fight. Tearing his arms away, she beat him to death with his own limbs. It took a few minutes before his dying gurgles stopped.

    Vespa''s opponent''s eyes widened in fear when he saw her. She was quite famous for her ruthlessness on the 7th Floor. Before he could surrender, she appeared before him with a hand against his mouth.

    "Shhh," Vespa told him with a finger next to her mouth and stabbed him with her poisoned needle afterward.

    "I promise the pain will last for only five minutes. Afterward, you will never experience pain again." Vespa whispered in his ear as she continued holding his mouth.

    The man tried to escape her grasp, but despite her small stature, her strength was leagues higher than his. His struggles continued for exactly five minutes, and he weakly fell on the ground.

    Tiana''s opponent was a bald-headed green-skinned man. A long black tongue was flowing out of his mouth, which was filled with teeth resembling that of a shark.

    "Ahhh, you look so tender! I wonder if you will taste as tasty as you look." The man said while drooling.

    "Of course, I will get the creepy one." Tiana shook her head in disgust.

    "Don''t worry, sweetie. You won''t find me creepy after I digest you." He replied with an evil laugh and dashed towards her.

    Before the green-skinned man could reach her, Tiana used a technique that she recently managed to learn, thanks to Lumen''s help.

    Taking control of the surrounding Shinsoo, she used Reverse-Flow Control and stopped the man in his tracks. Forming another Baang of Shinsoo, she threw it at the man''s head and obliterated it in the process.

    Tiana has been training her Shinsoo control with great intensity and had managed to learn how to control two Baangs by now. With her potential unlocked by Verdi, she had been making great progress recently.

    Her talents in controlling Shinsoo are exceptionally good. Very few could manage to use both the standard Flow Control and Reverse-Flow Control at the same time.

    Lumen''s opponent was a tall, dark-skinned woman with a curvy body. She had long curly black hair and brown eyes. Wearing only a tight black spandex suit, you could easily imagine what''s beneath it.

    "My, my. If it isn''t the great White Star. You are not as handsome as they describe you, but you are a definitely pretty one." She licked her lips as she stared at Lumen.

    "As beautiful as you are, I don''t like going out with s?uts." He replied back, causing her to laugh.

    "Aren''t you a feisty one." The woman chuckled.

    "Too bad, I like my men when they are bound by my chains and submissive to me." She laughed out and formed two Bangs of Shinsoo around her, which transformed into black chains.

    The two chains shot towards Lumen, trying to bind him. But before they could reach him, he disappeared from his spot. Appearing behind her, he had already formed a purple Baang in his hand. Pushing it inside her body, he watched gravity infused Baang do its work.

    The sounds of a screaming woman and bones being crushed filled the room as her body started to compress itself. In less than a minute, the woman had turned into nothing but a small ball of disgusting meat.

    The five of them were teleported to another room, where a green-haired woman congratulated them for successfully passing the Test. After awarding them with 5 000 Points each, the Test Administrator teleported the group to the next Floor.

    Once the group was gone, the woman used her Pocket to contact someone.

    "White Star''s group had just advanced to the 8th Floor." She received a response and answered back."Yes, the other five had also passed the Test. They did it a few minutes earlier than his group."

    As soon as Lumen''s group appeared on the 8th Floor, he saw Androssi staring at him with an extremely proud face, and with her hands folded under her growing bosom.

    "I win this time! With this, both of our wishes cancel out each other!" She proudly exclaimed.

    "I don''t remember agreeing to another bet with you." Lumen told her with a straight face. Androssi''s smile instantly disappeared after she heard him.

    "Nooo! That''s not fair! You cheated on the previous bet!" She started pouting like a little girl.

 Chapter 28 - Eight Floor

    While Androssi was pouting like a little girl, a man dressed in a white suit with a red tie walked over. The man had long brown hair and a curly mustache.

    "Hello, Regulars. My name is Raphael, and I''m an Administrator on the 8th Floor." He greeted the group with a bow.

    "The lovely miss over here." Raphael pointed at Androssi. "Said that all of you are part of the same team. Is this correct?" He questioned the group, which nodded to confirm.

    "Lovely! Then I will register you as Androssi''s team for the 8th Floor!" Raphael exclaimed, and Androssi snickered while watching Lumen mischievously. Unfortunately, she didn''t get a reaction from him.

    "With that out of the way, I will explain to you the rules of the Test on the Floor," Raphael told them while twirling his mustache.

    "The 8th Floor is a bit larger than the previous Floors and is filled with all kinds of creatures. Your Test will have something to do with those creatures, but what exactly, is still to be decided." He pulled out a crystal ball.

    "You see, there are over a hundred different types of missions that you could receive for the 8th Floor. It will all depend on your luck. A member of your team just has to touch the crystal ball, and a mission will be generated for you." Raphael presented the crystal ball, waiting for someone to touch it.

    Andorssi boldly marched up to it. "Since the team is named after me, it makes sense that I would be the one to do it." Holding back her laugher, she was glancing back at Lumen''s reaction. Sadly for her, he had a blank look on his face.

    "Tsch." Clicking her tongue, she touched the crystal ball.

    The crystal ball started flashing madly. Like a slot machine, the missions were appearing and disappearing, until it settled onto one.

    [Obtain the egg of a Spinosaurus and keep it for a day.] Seeing that, Lumen had a confused look on his face.

    ''Isn''t that a dinosaur?'' He wasn''t a dinosaur specialist or something like that, but that name definitely sounded like one. He didn''t expect to get to see a real dinosaur, but nonetheless, that sounded exciting.

    "Oh my!" Raphael exclaimed. "That''s probably the toughest mission you could get. Should you have gotten a mission regarding the Tyrannosaurus Rex, Giganotosaurus, or the Carcharodontosaurus, you would have had an easier time." Hearing all those names, Lumen was sure that they are all Dinosaurs. The Tyrannosaurus Rex is especially famous on Earth.

    "Although all of them are extremely dangerous for F-Rank Regulars, you could still handle them. But the Spinosaurus is a bit different from them. Not only is it faster and stronger, but it''s also the smartest one out there. On the 8th Floor, the Spinosaurus is the King of the Beasts." Raphael explained while showing them a picture of the beast.

    The Spinosaurus was a large quadruped dinosaur with a sail on his back and a long tail. Long, narrow crocodile-like head, filled with extremely sharp teeth, it could easily swallow a human with it. The beast''s body was covered by scales that closely resembled feathers.

    Raphael was expecting the group to look scared and frightened from seeing the Spinosaurus, but everyone looked calm and collected. Not a single one had fear in their eyes.

    ''Well, it''s White Star''s group, so this should be expected, I suppose.'' Raphael thought. Lumen''s face was known throughout the whole Tower, so he was easily able to recognize him.

    "Now, you will be teleported to a random location on the Floor. From there, you will have to locate your mission objective and complete it. In your case, you will have to obtain the Spinosaurus egg. Once you have it with you, you just have to keep it for a day, and you will pass the Test." Raphael explained to them.

    "Well, then. Since we have your mission chosen for the Test of the 8th Floor. It''s time to send you off, but before that, you will all be given a gift!" Raphael pulled out ten Lighthouses from his Pocket.

    "Every Regular will receive an E10-Rank Lighthouse filled with supplies to last you a month. Since we are very generous, we will even let you keep the Lighthouse!" He exclaimed and presented a Lighthouse to everyone.

    "Oh! And also, the time limit for your Test is one month. If you can''t complete it within that time frame, you will be teleported back here. And you will have to choose another mission, but you will not receive any further supplies from us." He smiled at the group as he teleported them away.

    They all arrived at what appeared to be a small hill. Surrounding them was a giant mangrove forest. You could see the pools of water that the trees were coming from, and you could smell the putrid scent of the water. Mosquitos the size of an arm were flying around.

    Everyone was observing their surroundings except Androssi. She was slightly trembling with a distressed look on her face. After a moment, she let out a girly scream. Instantly, the whole group focused their attention on her.

    "Androssi, what happened?" Leesoo asked in worry, thinking that she was attacked or saw something dangerous.

    "What do you mean, what happened?! How am I supposed to live for a whole month here! No hot baths, no warm and comfy beds. This is pure torture!" Androssi crouched down and silently started sobbing.

    She b?r?ly had survived the two days that Lumen had forced them to camp in the forest on the 3rd Floor. Now she would have to stay in this environment for maybe a month. And should they fail the Test, they would have to stay even longer. This was like the worst nightmare to the Princess of Zahard.

    Not a single one of the group tried comforting her. They gave her one last look, like looking at an idiot and continued observing their surroundings.

    Lumen was thinking that this would be a suitable place for him and his group to train and increase their strength. But he also had another thought on his mind. "I wonder how will dinosaurs taste?"

    "I heard they taste like high-quality chicken. But I never cooked, nor tasted one so I might be wrong. Either way, they should be tasty." Aleksai answered him.

    "That''s good! Well, then. This hill doesn''t look so bad, so let''s make it our base of operation for the Floor." Everyone, except the distressed Androssi, followed his commands and started setting up their tents.

    A week passed since the group had since they came to the 8th Floor. All of them had made some kind of progress in their abilities, be it small or large.

    Lumen had expected the dinosaurs to be strong, due to the information he knew from Earth, but they were truly something else. Those beasts lived in an area with Shinsoo, and that made them a whole different kind of monster. Each dinosaur he had encountered so far could easily shatter rocks with their jaws or tear them apart with their claws.

    Lumen was exploring the mangrove forest with Saber when a group of five dinosaurs resembling velociraptors had surrounded them. Despite looking like velociraptors, those five were way larger than that. They were nearly the size of Saber.

    The five dinosaurs started floating in the air, after being shot by his Baangs. It didn''t cause them any damage, but they were rendered immobile while floating in the air. Without ground under their feet, they were nothing more than sitting ducks.

    Lumen chuckled, watching the five dinosaurs move their legs in the air helplessly while trying to reach him. He watched their performance a bit longer before he shot a laser at each of them.

    Saber was more than happy to gobble those five up. Her bottomless stomach easily devoured the five beasts that were almost as large as her. She had slightly grown, but nothing too major. She was now 4.20m tall and 11m long.

    The two continued exploring the forest for another hour while dispatching dinosaurs left and right. Lumen has been searching for a suitable beast that he could potentially tame, but he hadn''t had any luck so far. He was also on the look for a Spinosaurus, but he hadn''t seen the King of the Beasts either.

    Returning back to their camp, he smelled a delicious scent. Aleksai was cooking a giant T-Rex that Anak had hunted.

    Lumen didn''t know the exact sizes of the famous dinosaur, but the ones on the 8th Floor were at least 8m tall and 16m long. They also had extremely tough bodies, and their scales weren''t easy to penetrate.

    One of them could easily feed them for at least a month if the black hole named Saber didn''t exist.

    The food they received from Raphael was ration packs, and they tasted like garbage. Knowing that Aleksai was a very good cook, everyone would bring whatever game they hunted to him. Dinosaurs tasted heavenly, and the group had gotten slightly addicted to the taste.

    Androssi was sitting to the side and looked extremely miserable. She had begged Lumen numerous times to go and find the Spinosaurus egg and end the Test as soon as possible. Sadly, he rejected her every time. Had it not been for the incredibly tasty food made by Aleksai, she would have gone crazy already.

    Lumen, Androssi, and Anak were all training with 15x gravity at this point. Their physical strength was completely monstrous when compared to other Regulars.

    Androssi despised training in an environment where she couldn''t take a bath, but she had no choice. Watching both Anak and Lumen improve didn''t sit well with her. She is a Princess of Zahard! She couldn''t accept others being stronger than her.

    Androssi was granted the blood of the King of Tower, and despite that, she could only match Lumen in physical strength. When you include his special abilities, he is far stronger than her. That fact was eating her from the inside, but there was nothing she could do to change that.

    Anak was just happy to be able to keep up with Lumen''s physical strength. To the green-skinned girl, he was already family. If she could keep up with him and help him out, then she would be glad. That was more than enough for her.

    Hatsu had improved to the point where he could train with 10x gravity on. Vespa was the only one that was able to match him, despite that, she was by far the fastest one in their group, not counting Lumen.

    Everyone else had increased to 8x gravity. Except for Leesoo, he was still stuck on 6x. He was pushing himself as hard as he can, but everyone else from the group was a pure monster. Nevertheless, his main strength was his intellect, not his physical prowess.

    Leesoo already had an understanding of the habitats of almost all the creatures on the 8th Floor. Using that, he was easily able to determine the location of the Spinosaurus, since there were four places where all the creatures avoided.

    Lumen was currently on his way towards one of those locations. He didn''t plan on completing the Test yet, but he wanted to check out the beast.

    He was casually walking through the forest when he heard a monstrous roar. Picking up his pace, he reached the location from where the roar came from.

    The Spinosaurus looked at him and let out a roar. Lumen just smirked and started manipulating the surrounding Shinsoo. He applied Reverse-Flow Control on the beast and shot a purple Baang at the King of the Beasts.

    Without being able to resist, the creature fell on the ground. Had Lumen used only one of those techniques, the Spinosaurus would have been able to resist. But he had combined both techniques, and the beast didn''t stand a chance.

    Its beady eyes stared hatefully at Lumen. It was a beast that rampaged through the 8th Floor, and no creature dared to stay in its path. It wanted to chomp on the small creature in front of it, but it couldn''t move a muscle. That hateful stare slowly turned into a fearful one.

    The Spinosaurus is by far the apex predator on the 8th Floor, but it finally met its match. The one in front of it was predator even stronger, despite his small stature compared to the beast. As much as it wanted to chomp on the small human, it knew that it stood no chance.

    Lumen walked up to the Spinosaurus and placed his hand on its head. He started infusing it with his Shinsoo and slowly subjugated the beast. It took him a minute, but he successfully tamed it. Releasing his suppression techniques, the dinosaur could finally move his body.

    It slowly stood up and stared respectfully at Lumen while awaiting his commands.

    "What should I call you? Hmm... How about Berserker?" Hearing its new name, the Spinosaurus let out a roar of approval. Berserker was a male one, so he didn''t even bother searching for an egg. He also didn''t want to end the Test just yet.

    Lumen jumped on top of his new creature and ordered him to go towards his group''s camp.

    Although the group was surprised for a moment, seeing Lumen on top of the Spinosaurus, they quickly understood that''s his new subjugated creature. He had complained a few times that he hadn''t managed to find a good one, so they knew he was searching for a creature to tame.

    Androssi looked beyond ecstatic at the prospect of leaving this place. Her clothes were dirty, her hair was dirty, she was dirty, she just wanted to take a nice and hot shower.

    When they reached the location, they were easily able to locate the beast. They had to team up to take it down since Lumen didn''t participate. He just sat to the side and observed them.

    Unfortunately for the group, the Spinosaurus was a male one, so they just wasted their time. Androssi was on the verge of crying since they had to travel quite a bit to reach the other one''s location. She badly wanted to leave this Floor already.

    They had to travel for another day before they finally reached the other location. Thankfully, they had two more days left before the end of the Test.

    With their teamwork, they easily took the Spinosaurus down but finding the egg wasn''t as easy as they thought. It took them nearly half a day before they finally found it.

    Leesoo had luckily stumbled and fell down exactly where the Spinosaurus''s nest was. He had hit the egg with his head, but thankfully, the tough shell didn''t brake.

    Having acquired the egg, Aleksai cooked the giant dinosaur as they waited for the end of the Test. Once a day passed, they were all teleported out of the mangrove forest.

    "Congratulations! You have successfully completed one of the..." Raphael couldn''t continue since Androssi interrupted him.

    "Shut up! Just send us to the next floor already!" She screamed out. Raphael looked at her, but after he saw her appearance, he understood her plight.

    "I''m awarding you 10 000 Points for completing the hardest mission on the Floor. Good luck climbing the Tower, Regulars." With that, they had reached the 9th Floor.

    ///////////////////////////

    Quick trivia over here.

    6 years in the Tower equal to about 1 year outside the Tower. Also, each year in the Tower has 13 months. The date system was brought by Zahard and the 10 Great Warriors. If any of you talk about there being more than 10 Warriors, Zahard would like to know your location.

    Due to the fact that everyone lives for so long, those in the Tower are judged by their appearance. For example, since Lumen looks like someone in his twenties, he is considered a young ?du?t, despite being only 21. Which is a very young age for someone in the Tower.

    Anak, on the other hand, looks like a kid but is over 300 years old. She is considered a child due to her appearance. So even though she is over 300 years old, she is not a legal loli :D

    Also, racial traits, like Vespa''s wings and ability to transform into her ?du?t form, are highly viewed by the inhabitants of the Tower.

    Regulars usually take around 500 years to reach the top. Yuri did in 200 years and is considered a genius. The fastest recorded time is 50 years by Urek. No one knows how long Zahard and the 10 Great Warriors took to reach the top.

    After becoming E-Rank Regulars, which is after the 20th Floor, some of them spend around 3 to 40 years before even taking another Test. Passing the 33th Floor makes you a D-rank Regular.

    Someone had commented that time flows differently in the three Tower Areas. But as much I searched for that, I couldn''t find any confirmation on that info. If any of you know for sure, please leave a comment.

 Chapter 29 - Ninth Floor

    The 9th Floor was a lot like the 3rd Floor, in the sense that it was a small town. As the group was looking around, a woman with a spiky, blue mohawk walked up to them. She was wearing a black leather jacket, leather pants, and knee-high shoes.

    "What up, Regulars. The name''s Moxie, and I''m your Test Administrator." She greeted them while waving her hand.

    "Here on the 9th Floor, we like playing games! Every few years, we change up the Test, but it''s always in the form of a board game. The current game on the Floor is something we like to call Sky Chess." Moxie explained while pointing towards the sky.

    Up in the air, you could see squares that were spread out. Each was a distance away, where you had to jump quite the length to be able to reach it.

    "Cna you please hurry up? I really want to take a bath!" Androssi begged the punk-looking woman.

    Moxie smirked at her and deliberately started talking in slow motion. "The special thing about this game is that it''s played by four teams of eleven Regulars, unlike the normal chess where you have only two teams. Each team starts in the middle of each side of the board. The board is 11x11 squares." She spelled out each word, letter by letter, driving the Princess of Zahard crazy.

    "Each team has five Pawns, a Rook, Bishop, Horse, Queen, and a King. Pawns can only move one space forward. Rooks can move two squares, either vertically or horizontally. Bishops can only move diagonally two spaces. Horses can move in an L shape, two squares forward and one to the side. Queens can move three spaces in any direction, and Kings can move in any direction without limit."

    "You can only attack enemy pieces if you are on the same square as them. Each turn a piece has to be moved. You can not pass a turn without moving one."

    "Each team has to have one Player, who will choose how the pieces move. The Player can be chosen by the team, but all other positions are randomly ?ssigned before the game starts." Moxie explained the rules.

    Leesoo raised his hand and asked a question. "What if a Regular can''t jump to the square they are sent to?" Each square was quite a distance away from another. Some Regulars might not even be able to jump that distance.

    "Well, that''s not our problem, Regulars." Moxie laughed out. "Those are the rules, and if you can''t play the game by the rules, you will have to wait until a new game is chosen, or you can go back to where you came from."

    Moxie pulled out ten black cards and flicked them towards the group. "Each Regular gets a free room ?ssigned to them. The card will point in the direction of your room."

    The moment Androssi caught the card, she was already running towards her room.

    "There are a few facilities on the Floor, but you can go and explore them on your own. If you have any questions... I won''t answer them. So good luck, Regulars." Laughing out, Moxie left them by teleporting away from there.

    "Guess we need one more Regular in order to attempt the Test," Leesoo commented.

    Lumen sighed, but there was nothing he could do to change the rules of the Test. If he is lucky, he could find someone useful. If not, he could pick a random Regular just for the Test.

    Their group was still missing a Lightbearer, so it would be good if they could find a good one here.

    "Either way, we might end up staying here for a bit. Let''s go and see what this Floor has to offer." Lumen told the group.

    Just a few minutes after they started exploring the Floor, they heard a sonic boom. Before they could realize what''s happening, they saw a blonde man standing in front of them. Dressed similarly to Lumen, the man was holding a Silver Dwarf under his arm.

    Almost everyone from the group was able to recognize the Silver Dwarf as Evan. The silver-haired Ranker looked very miserable and was silently sobbing. The blonde man roughly dropped Evan on the ground.

    Before anyone could even react, the blonde man appeared in front of Lumen and gave him a crushing bear hug. His bones cracked from being hugged by the blonde man.

    Despite having his guard up, Lumen couldn''t even react to the man''s movements.

    "My dude! I''m so happy to see someone from the outside world!" Lumen didn''t recognize him at first, but after hearing his words, he realized the man that hugged him is Urek Manzano. An Irregular just like him.

    The group was momentarily frozen from the incredibly fast movements of the blonde man, but they quickly got out of their stupor. They were about to attack the man, and Lumen was able to sense that. "Stop. Attacking him would be pointless."

    Urek is one of the five strongest people in the Tower. Their attacks would only tickle him.

    "Oh, man! I don''t know why you are here, but I''m really happy to see you. Let''s go somewhere more private." Just as Urek finished the sentence, the group heard another sonic boom, and the two disappeared from their spot.

    The whole group was puzzled about what happened. The situation was very confusing, but Leesoo was the first to comprehend Urek''s words. "Wait, did he say outside world?"

    As the group was pondering on those words, another person arrived. Princess Yuri looked around and didn''t see either Lumen or Urek. "Damn it, Urek. Why did you steal my date?"

    The situation was getting more and more baffling by the minute. The blonde guy they just saw take their leader away was Urek Manzino? Princess Yuri had a date with Lumen? He was also pretty much confirmed to be an Irregular by Urek''s words as well.

    Bombshell after bombshell was delivered to them in such a short time.

    As they were trying to comprehend the situation, Urek and Lumen appeared in a remote place on the 9th Floor.

    "Little bro! I don''t why you''ve come to the Tower, but I''m glad to see someone from the outside world. You don''t have to stand on ceremony and treat me like royalty. Just treat me like your big bro!" Urek told him with a satisfied smile.

    "Um, sure. Whatever you say." Lumen was confused by his words. He didn''t plan on treating him like royalty in the first place.

    Urek looked at him for a moment and uttered. "You actually don''t know who I am?"

    "I know your Urek Manzino, an Irregular just like me. One of the strongest people in the Tower and the fastest one to climb to the Top." Lumen told him all the information he knew about him.

    "Wait, you really don''t know who I am. Wow! What kind of backward place are you from, if you can''t recognize the Great Prince of the Manzino Empire?" Urek asked him with wide-eyes. He comes from one of the biggest Empires in the entire Universe, so he didn''t expect someone from the outside world not to be able to recognize him.

    "I''ve never heard of that place. I''m from Earth, we don''t have such an Empire there. In fact, Empires don''t exist there." Lumen truthfully answered him. There are a few countries that could be considered Empires, but he didn''t think of them as ones.

    "Earth?! Hmmm. I''ve never heard of that place. Which Galaxy is it from?" Urek asked while scratching his chin.

    "We call it the Milky Way." Lumen answered. He didn''t expect that this would their first conversation, but it was better than nothing.

    "I''ve never heard of that as well. That''s odd. But you truly haven''t heard of the Manzino Empire? The Empire that spans over five Galaxies. One of the biggest in the entire Universe. With Amory Manzino, the God of Power and Destruction, being the Ruler of the Empire." Urek explained his origin, expecting to see some kind of response.

    "Never heard of it." Lumen replied. The people from Earth only speculated that there could be other intelligent beings in the Universe, but they didn''t have any proof for that.

    "Damn! You really are from a backward place. Then how did you even come to the Tower?" Urek questioned him.

    Lumen hesitated for a moment. After thinking about it, he decided to tell him about his story.

    "Well, I was promised a grand adventure by a weird man, and I was sent to the Tower to have said adventure." Before he could continue, Urek stopped him.

    "Impossible! You can''t be sent to the Tower. The Tower has to open its doors for you. You were tricked by him. Just like how I was tricked by that bastard Phantaminum. He promised the same thing to me! Now, I have to find a way to get out of this place without making trouble for my old man." Urek denied him immediately.

    "But that''s the truth! I didn''t even know about the Tower''s existence. If it wasn''t for that Loki guy that called himself an Axis, I wouldn''t even be here. Hell, he was the one that gifted me my powers!" Lumen didn''t mind telling that to Urek since he didn''t believe he could steal them away. From his first impression of him, he didn''t seem like that kind of a guy.

    "Impossible! There is absolutely no way for someone to send you into the Tower. It''s also impossible for him to be able to grant you your powers. Axises might be the only naturally born divine beings, but they can''t grant powers to others. In fact, no divine being can grant someone powers. Otherwise, the whole Universe would be filled with people like you." Urek''s words made sense, but that''s what happened to Lumen.

    "If you didn''t look so convinced that that''s the truth. I would have killed you already for lying to me." Hearing that, Lumen didn''t know what to say. That was the actual truth, and exactly what happened.

    "But that name Loki, it sounds familiar." Urek scratched his chin with a thoughtful expression.

    "Ah! I think I remember now. Loki is from those drifter Gods. Yes, that right! Those guys are pretty famous. No one knows from where they come from, but they are a pretty strong bunch."

    "From what I remember, they once said that the place they come from has extremely weak and stupid monkeys. They tried helping their civilization improve, but didn''t have much success. Annoyed by the stupid monkeys, they started roaming around the Universe and didn''t have a territory for themselves."

    "At one point, they took over a Galaxy, but all the divine beings were angry at their actions. They banded together and forced them away from that Galaxy. However, that''s all they were able to do, just force them away. That group had incredibly strong Gods amongst them like Zeus, Odin, Thor, Jupiter, Amun, Indra, and a bunch of others."

    "Due to their strength, the divine beings formed a pact with them. They would be allowed to roam free around the Universe, as long as they do not attack the territory of other divine beings."

    "Whenever they were asked where they came from, they would always curse how stupid and weak that place is. I heard they are a fun group when you get to know them, but I never got to meet any of them."

    Lumen was amazed at hearing stories about the Gods that were only myths on Earth. Never would he though that all of those incredible stories would actually be true. The Gods from Earth were even famous across the entire Universe.

    "That''s amazing, but Loki called himself an Axis, not a God. What''s the deal with that?" Lumen asked Urek, trying to understand his own situation better.

    "That shouldn''t be possible. I''m 100% certain that he is a God. Although Gods and Axises are both divine beings, you can''t be both at the same time. You can become a God, but you can''t become an Axis, you have to be born one!" Urek''s explanation was starting to confuse Lumen.

    "Then how do you explain my situation? I was a normal 20-year old human a few months ago. I had absolutely no special powers until Loki granted them to me and sent me here." Lumen asked him. It''s not that he was unhappy with his powers, but he at least wanted to know more about how he received them.

    "That... I don''t know. It''s shouldn''t be possible. As I said, no divine being can grant powers to someone else. It doesn''t matter if it''s a God or an Axis. That''s simply impossible." Urek resolutely told him.

    "Take me for example. Both of my parents are Gods, so I inherited some of their powers. I might not be immortal like them, but my lifespan is greatly increased. I also had my powers since the moment I was born. They weren''t given to me by a divine being."

    "What you are saying, just doesn''t make sense. Damn!" Urek started massaging his temples. "I didn''t expect to have this kind of conversation with you. I just wanted to ask you how my father had reacted to my disappearance."

    "Neither did I. I just wanted to know more about the other Irregulars. Can you tell me more about Phantaminum and Enryu?" Lumen asked, hoping to get some hints from hearing about the other two Irregulars.

    "Phantaminum is a shitty, cheating, lying scum. If you meet him, never listen to a word he says! That''s all you need to know about him. Enryu, on the other hand, I''ve never met. I don''t know anything about him, other than that he killed the Guardian of the 43rd Floor. Which is pretty impressive." Urek''s explanation didn''t help him at all, but Phataminum did sound a bit like Loki.

    "Well, that was mighty useful." Lumen sighed.

    Urek thought for a moment and pulled out an alcohol beverage from his Pocket. He took out two glasses, filled them up, and presented one to Lumen.

    "Tell you what. You tell me about your whole life on Earth before you met Loki, and I will tell you about mine before I met Phantaminum. Sounds good?" Urek asked.

    "It''s better than nothing." Lumen accepted the alcohol-filled glass, and the two sat down, sharing their stories.

 Chapter 30 - Ninth Floor (2)

    Princess Yuri stayed with Lumen''s group for a bit. Her little niece was a part of that group, so she wanted to see how she is doing.

    Anak was surprisingly pleased with being in his team. Yuri was happy to hear that. She remembered how her niece was angry at the world and hated everyone the last time she saw her on the 2nd Floor. This was a pleasant change in her eyes.

    Yuri asked his other teammates how they met and what they''ve been through so far. She was waiting for Lumen and Urek to come back, but things were getting out of hand at this point. She had waited for over four hours, and there were no signs of the two. She was at the limits of her patience.

    "Evan, lead me to Urek and Lumen!" Yuri''s command, teared up Evan. The Silver Dwarf was always bullied by Urek, and Lumen is the reason he gets bullied by Yuri. He didn''t want to see either of those two Irregulars that cause him so much trouble.

    "Yes, Princess." Letting out a sigh, he started moving in the direction, he couldn''t see clearly. Even though his senses of a Guide couldn''t see through the two Irregulars, he was able to pinpoint their location. Evan could easily read the whole 9th Floor, except for a single place that was sticking out like a sore thumb.

    With their abilities of Hign Rankers, the two were able to reach the location of the two Irregulars pretty quickly. However, what they saw wasn''t quite what they expected.

    Bottles of liquor were littered around the place, and it wasn''t just any kind of alcohol. They were bottles of Fire Throat, a drink that even High Rankers can''t take too much of, and there were over twenty bottles on the ground. Both Lumen and Urek were holding a bottle in their hand while facing each other.

    Urek was laughing as he sent a punch in Lumen''s direction. He didn''t reinforce his attack with Shinsoo, and he didn''t need to. His physical strength is through the roof, and even High Rankers won''t dare take his punch head-on.

    Yet, Lumen didn''t even try to dodge the attack. His body turned into a light, and Urek''s punch went straight through him.

    "Ha! I hit you! Drink!" Urek laughed out, and Lumen drank from his bottle.

    "Wait! That didn''t hurt me, though. You drink!" Urek''s eyes widened, and he sagely noded.

    "You''re right." The blonde Irregular took a drink.

    Now Lumen sent a punch towards Urek, and the blonde man let the attack hit him.

    "Drink! I hit you!" Lumen said, and Urek took drank from his bottle.

    "But that didn''t hurt me! You drink!" Lumen gasped and took a sip from his bottle.

    This kind of exchange continued until they both had emptied their bottles. Urek took out two more, handed one to Lumen, and they proceed to do the same thing.

    Evan and Yuri looked at each other and wondered. ''What the hell is going on here?!''

    Urek was having a lot of fun. He wanted to know what has happened in the outside world since he was tricked into coming to the Tower. That didn''t happen since Lumen had absolutely no knowledge about that, but he got to know someone from Earth. The place where those drifter Gods came from.

    And there weren''t just a dozen or so Gods. No, there were hundreds of them, with a lot of powerhouses amongst them.

    Together, all of them were so strong, that every faction and power in the Universe, had to band together to drive them out of that Galaxy. They couldn''t kill them, so they had to make a contract with them, to let them roam free around the Universe. The scariest part is that they all came from the same place, yet no one even knew where that is.

    The Gods from Earth scared everyone so much that all factions in the Universe made another contract. One that forbids from people entering the Tower. No one wanted to see another incident with over a hundred Gods coming out of nowhere and taking over a Galaxy again.

    Urek has heard a lot of stories about them, but he never got to meet one. Now, he got the chance to meet someone from Earth, and he was starting to get scared of that place.

    Lumen was adamant he didn''t have any special powers before Loki had appeared, and Urek was sure that he is truthful. However, that meant that he had his powers for less than a year, and yet he already has a good grasp on them.

    That''s another thing that confused him. Urek was born the child of two Gods. That''s an extremely rare event since his parents have been together for over a million years, and he is their one and only child.

    Since the moment he was born, he had his abilities. Urek had spent years to learn not to crush things with his immense power. He entered the Tower when he was over 200 years old, and he was already a powerhouse. Lumen is 21 years old and has had his powers for less than a year. ''Is everyone from Earth a monster? What the heck?''

    Lumen was born as a normal and weak human, and received his powers, right before coming to the Tower. He was starting to believe Loki did end up granting him his powers somehow, but that''s just impossible.

    Urek thought that maybe Lumen was Loki''s child, and he had locked his powers, but that didn''t make any sense as well. Why wouldn''t he train him from a young age? Why would he wait until now, and sent him to the Tower right after he received his powers?

    He wasn''t the smartest out there, so he stopped thinking about that. He found someone similar to him, so he embraced the moment. Maybe in the future, Lumen could even help him out with escaping the Tower.

    He could always march up to the last Floor and take the challenge, but should he do that, he will face the wrath of all the factions in the Universe. That would cause a lot of trouble for his father, so he was trying to find a way out of the Tower without becoming a God or Immortal.

    Yuri and Evan observed the two for some time, but the Princess was starting to get annoyed. They weren''t hiding their presence, but the two didn''t even turn to look at them. They were just throwing punch after punch while drinking and laughing like idiots.

    "Damn it, Urek! Why did you steal my date?" Yuri yelled at Urek and sent a kick his way. He flew away but stood with only a bit of blood flowing down his mouth. Yuri might be one of the strongest people in the Tower when it comes to physical abilities, but Urek is on a completely different level.

    "?nd you! I came from the 77th Floor just to go on a date with you. How dare you stand me up!" Yuri turned towards Lumen, prepared to hit him as well, but he was already passed out, sleeping on the ground.

    Angered by that, she turned towards Urek. "Look at what you did! Now, I can''t even go on my date!" She started punching and kicking him, but Urek laughed it out.

    "You could always go on a date with me." He suggested, but Yuri shot him down.

    "Fuck that! Who wants to go on a date with you?!" She continued beating him since Lumen was already sleeping.

    The next time Lumen opened his eyes, he was sleeping in a bed. Looking around, he was in an unfamiliar room. The last thing he remembered is drinking with Urek and sharing stories. He had no idea how he ended up in this room.

    "Well, you are finally up." Turning to where the voice came from, he saw Evan sitting on a chair.

    "Where am I? And why are you here?" Lumen questioned the Silver Dwarf. He did remember seeing him when Urek arrived, but he didn''t know why he is waiting for him.

    Evan let out a sigh. "You better take a bath and get ready for your date."

    Confused by his words, Lumen asked him. "Date? What are you talking about?"

    "Your date with Princess Yuri! She came here from the 77th Floor just for you. Let me tell you, she is pretty mad at you for standing her up." Evan explained to him. He personally knew how hot-tempered the Princess is.

    "Yuri?" Lumen had nearly forgotten about his date with her. It happened the moment he arrived in the Tower, and that whole experience felt like a dream to him.

    "When did I stood her up?" He didn''t remember such a thing happening. He didn''t even remember seeing her after the 1st Floor.

    "Yesterday, when you went to drink with Urek," Evan told him with a frown. He wasn''t the biggest fan of the two Irregulars.

    "What? I didn''t even know she is here. How did I stand up her up?" That didn''t make sense to him.

    "Ha, she doesn''t care about that. In her eyes, she came specifically to have her date with you, and you didn''t show up. Princess Yuri had never gone a date, and she got stood up on her first one, trust me, she isn''t happy about that. You better hurry up and prepare since I already told her you are up." Evan told him with an evil smirk.

    Lumen got up from the bed and made his way towards the bathroom when he heard Evan from behind him. "She said you have half an hour at most before she gets really angry."

    After getting cleaned up and putting on some clothes, Lumen exited the room. Only to find Yuri standing in front with her arms crossed under her bosom. Dressed in a white bu??on-up shirt and a red skirt that didn''t even reach her knees, exposing her long legs, she was looking at him with an angry expression.

    "You are beautiful, but you would look so much better in a dress." Yuri''s response to his compliment was to send a punch towards his face. Thankfully, she didn''t reinforce it with Shinsoo, so he was able to avoid it by turning into light.

    "You''ve got guts complimenting me after standing me up yesterday! And what''s wrong with my clothes?" Yuri looked down. What she wore is considered formal wear. She thought that''s appropriate for a date.

    "Nothing''s wrong with your clothes. You look good in them. I just think a dress will make you even more beautiful. Keep that in mind for our next date." Lumen winked at her.

    "Pah! Who says I will go out with you again. I''m doing it this time because I owe you." She threw another punch at him, but it easily went through him. "Tsch."

    "This time, you''re going out with me because you owe, while next time you will do it voluntarily. Let''s go and see what this Floor has to offer." Lumen winked at her and presented his arm to her.

    Yuri looked at him, wondering what is he doing. "Why are you holding your arm like that?"

    "When two people go on a date, they usually link their arms." He explained to her.

    "Oh, yeah?" She questioned, and he nodded in response. "Yeah."

    Yuri linked her arm with his, but she applied force, intending to punish him for standing her up. Without even letting out a sound, Lumen healed whatever damage she caused with his Phoenix flames.

    Yuri was surprised seeing the weird white flame. It didn''t burn her, nor cause her any pain. It felt pleasant and warm. It also healed his arm in an instant. ''So, besides his light abilities, he also has a weird flame ability that heals him.''

    "So, do you have any preferences on where you want to go?" Lumen asked her.

    "You haven''t even chosen a place for us to go to? Tsch, tsch, tsch. This is my first time going on a date, and I''m already disappointed." Jokingly she laughed out.

    "I still haven''t explored the Floor, and I didn''t even know you will be coming. You could have given me a heads up." Lumen shrugged his shoulders.

    "What? You''re the one that asked for a date, I thought you would be prepared for it." Yuri teased him

    "I was hoping to have it right after the Test on the 1st Floor. You could have told me more about the Tower, but who would have taught that I will be sent to the next Floor immediately. You could have warned me about that, but you didn''t say a word." Lumen replied with another shrug.

    "I figured since you are going on your ''Grand Adventure'', you would know more about the Tower. Guess I gave you too much credit." Yuri responded with a smirk.

    The two continued on with their playful banter as they explored what the 9th Floor has to offer.

    Without even realizing it, the two had spent the entire day while traveling between shops and restaurants. At one point, they had stopped teasing each other and started sharing stories about themselves.

    Yuri was interested in hearing stories about Earth, and the lifestyle of the people there. She was greatly surprised that the people there had no special powers. She thought all off them are monsters like Lumen and Urek, with weird abilities. Turns out, they are all weak humans with no power.

    Lumen, on the other hand, got to learn more about Yuri and her time climbing the Tower. She told him how she is a part of the Ha Family, one of the 10 Great Families. How she was chosen to become a Princess of Zahard due to her incredible talents and how she climbed the Tower in only 200 years.

    The two had enjoyed talking with each other and had sat on a bench in a park. Without even realizing it, they had spent the entire night sharing stories about themselves. Their date would have continued on even longer, had it not been interrupted by Urek at the end.

 Chapter 31 - Ninth Floor (3)

    "Little bro! Let''s go!" Urek yelled out, interrupting Lumen and Yuri.

    "Go where? What are you talking about?" Lumen asked, but Urek had already grabbed him.

    "Sorry, Yuri. I have a promise to fulfill." The blonde Irregular turned towards the Princess and jumped away with Lumen.

    "Damn you, Urek. I never said that the date is over!" Yuri cursed him in annoyance.

    [Next time, wear a dress.] She received a message from Lumen on her Pocket. The two had exchanged their contact numbers during their date.

    "Next time? Tsch! You don''t decide if there will be a next time and what I will wear." Yuri said out loud but didn''t send it as a message.

    Urek arrived with Lumen in a remote place on the 9th Floor.

    "Dude, you gotta teach me how you pick up girls! How did you even manage to get a date with a Princess of Zahard? I''ve asked out all Princesses, and they have all refused me!" Urek complained about his misfortune with women.

    "I got lucky." Lumen answered with a straight face.

    "Bah! If you don''t want to tell me, just say so." Urek replied with a frown. He really wanted to know how Lumen scored a date with Yuri. He''s been trying to get one with a particular Princess for quite some time without having any success so far.

    "Whatever. I have a promise to fulfill, so let''s get started." Urek said while cracking his knuckles.

    "Get started with what. What promise are you talking about?" Lumen had no idea what was Urek on about.

    "You don''t remember? We made a bet, if I can''t hurt you with my full strength without using Shinsoo, I will train you for three days. I punched you, but my arm went through your body. That was a nasty trick that you pulled, but you did win the bet." Lumen didn''t remember making such a bet, but that must have happened after he drank too much of the alcohol that Urek gave him.

    "Each day, I will teach you a different thing. For the first, I will teach you how to read the flow of Shinsoo better. For the second, I will show you a Shinsoo strengthening technique. And for the last day, I will show you a Shinsoo manipulation technique."

    "Everything that I will teach you has been shown to me by my parents. And I will teach you the way they taught me! So put this on." Urek pulled out a futuristic-looking black helmet and threw it to Lumen.

    "The helmet will block your sight, hearing, and sense of smell. While wearing it, you will have to really on the flow of Shinsoo around you to see." That explanation sounded a lot like observation Haki to Lumen.

    "The way my father taught me is, by attacking me while I wore a helmet like that. Every time I didn''t dodge his attack, he will hit me and nearly brake my bones. His excuse was that if I don''t feel pain, how would I know that I made a mistake." Yep, definitely like observation Haki.

    "His training was quite effective, so be prepared to face the same," Urek told him with an evil smirk.

    The moment Lumen put on the helmet, he felt as if he was in a void. The feeling of losing three of your main senses was incredibly weird. However, with the loss of three, all others were enhanced.

    His brain constructed an image of his surroundings using the flow of Shinsoo around him. Sadly, it was only a hazy picture since he wasn''t that good at it yet. Nonetheless, he had a vague idea of where everything is around him. He was even able to see a blurred image of a man.

    As he was trying to get used to the feeling of using Shinsoo to see, the blurry image of Urek disappeared. He had a very faint sense of where the attack would come from, but he knew he couldn''t dodge on time. Knowing that he tried to use his elemental form to let the attack go through him.

    Sadly, Urek had strengthened himself with Shinsoo and punched him in the shoulder. With a nasty crack of bones breaking, Lumen was sent flying. Standing up, he quickly tried healing his shoulder with his Phoenix flames.

    Lumen wasn''t even able to heal his wound before he felt Urek moving. The blonde Irregular was moving as fast as him when he was going at top speed.

    This time, he was going to kick him in the stomach area. Unfortunately, he couldn''t dodge this one as well, since he sensed the attack too late. Knowing that his Logia form would be useless, he used his Phoexis flames. He might not be able to avoid the attack, but he could start healing the injury as soon as it happens.

    This continued on, and attack after attack, he would get sent flying over and over again. After the 100th attack, he started letting some go through his body by using his elemental form and creating a hole right where the attack would hit.

    He was getting better at that, but that wasn''t enough for him. Lumen wanted to be able to dodge his attacks. He knew he could move as fast as him, so he knew he should be able to avoid his strikes by dodging them.

    Without even realizing it, the surrounding image was no longer as hazy as before. He could even faintly see Urek''s facial expressions. He could even anticipate some of his attacks and knew exactly where the blonde Irregular would aim at. He didn''t know when, but he started predicting his attacks at some point.

    Lumen didn''t know how many times he was sent flying before he managed to dodge an attack, but he finally did it. He was b?r?ly able to move out of the way, right before he punched him. He actually avoided a hit from Urek.

    ''Little monster! It took me over a month to even dodge one of my father''s hits, and he does it in a day? I''m starting to regret that I promised to teach him.''

    "Not bad. Of course, you are nowhere near as good as I was, but you are getting there." Urek would never admit that someone is better than him.

    "You know what? Since you are my little bro, I will let you keep the helmet." He threw it back at him, and Lumen stored it in his pocket.

    "Meet me here tomorrow, so we can continue our training. Now, I will go and try to find some chicks to go out with." In an instant, Urek disappeared from his spot.

    On his way back, Lumen had closed his eyes, trying to continue his training from earlier. Seeing by reading the flow of Shinsoo was a novel feeling, so he enjoyed viewing the world that way for the time being.

    While walking, he sensed a Regular that was being chased by a bunch of other Regulars. They were a distance away, but they were disturbing the flow of Shinsoo, so he able to sense them.

    The one that was being chased was moving exactly towards Lumen''s direction. As the Regular got closer, he opened his eyes.

    In front of him was a beautiful and voluptuous woman with long red hair that reached her waist and charming red eyes. Just a head shorter than Lumen and dressed in a purple dress that stuck closely to her, he watched as she walked right next to him. Since he felt no danger from her, he didn''t do anything to stop her.

    She stood on his right side without saying a word and turned towards her six pursuers. All six of them were wearing black cloaks. Five of them were lined up next to each other, while one of the Regulars stood in front of them, clearly the group''s leader.

    All of them had their hoods on, so he couldn''t see them with his eyes, but he was able to see them by reading the flow of Shinsoo. Surprisingly, the group consisted of only women and beautiful ones at that. All of them had alluring figures that could put supermodels on Earth to shame.

    "You might be famous, but you shouldn''t stick your nose where it doesn''t belong. If you leave now, you might get to keep your life. Otherwise..." The leader of the group hissed out with a male voice.

    ''Another trap?'' Lumen wasn''t sure if the person used some kind of device to make her voice sound male, or if it was a male that had gone through an operation to look like a female.

    "Are you threatening me?" He laughed out. Lumen was punched around by Urek for the whole day, and no matter how much he wanted to punch him back, he couldn''t do it since the blonde Irregular was faster than him. Now, those six popped up and threatened him, they looked like the perfect targets to let out some steam.

    "Yes! You have ten seconds to leave this place." Hissed out the leader with a male voice. Being able to see the female figure underneath the cloak and hearing the male voice, really bothered him.

    Lumen formed a purple Baang in his hand and threw it at the group. The six were able to dodge the attack and were about to jump towards Lumen and the red-haired woman next to him.

    However, a sudden pulling force stopped them. The purple Baang that Lumen shot didn''t explode, but floated in the air between all six of them. The group of Regulars was helplessly su?k?d in towards the Baang infused with his gravity powers.

    Screams echoed out, as all six were slowly being ground together. In a matter of moments, there was only a giant blob of meat that was left from the six Regulars.

    Lumen didn''t even bother to look at them as he continued on his way towards his room. The red-haired woman followed after him and was right behind him. He stopped and turned towards her.

    "What do you want?" Lumen asked the woman.

    "In 30 minutes, I will be attacked again. My fate tells me that as long as I am with you, nothing will happen to me." The red-head replied.

    "Your fate? Are you a Red Witch?" Diana had told him about that species of Guides. Red Witches have the ability to see the fate of people.

    "Yes, I am a Red Witch. I have already completed my pilgrimage, and I''m currently climbing the Tower as a Regular." She truthfully answered him.

    "And why are you so sure that I will help you?" He asked her.

    "Because my fate says so. It is my destiny to follow you right now. Unfortunately, that''s all I can see when it comes to you." The red-head answered him. She is considered one of the most talented Guides, but for some reason, she could b?r?ly read the fate of Lumen. She had never experienced something similar before.

    "Hah. So you are saying that someone will definitely attack you in 30 minutes?" Lumen wasn''t sure what to think of that. Being able to see the future sounded so farfetched, but also being given incredible abilities and being sent to a place like the Tower, sounded just as improbable.

    "Yes, exactly 29 minutes now, until they attack me." She confirmed with confidence.

    "We''ll see about that. Until then, what should I call you?" Lumen asked.

    "Marrie." She responded.

    Like Marrie said, exactly 29 minutes later, a group of five cloaked Regulars arrived. They all stopped a distance away from them. With hesitance, one of them asked. "Can you please step away from her? We need to capture her."

    If they didn''t have the FUG symbol on their cloaks, he would have stepped away. However, that organization had already attacked him before, so he wasn''t going to let them do as they please.

    Without responding, he shot five quick lasers, killing them all, and turned towards Marrie. "So, what does your fate tell you now?"

    Her eyes widened in surprise as she uttered. "Nothing."

    Marrie''s vision of the future was blank. She had no idea if she would survive or die. Red Witches never feared their death even when they foresee it, as that is simply their destiny. What they feared the most is not being able to see their fate and the fate of others.

    Her current situation was terrifying, for that matter. The only other time she had the same feeling is when going through the Floor of Death.

    "Now, little lamb. Would you mind telling me why FUG is after you?" Marrie gulped down as she heard him and faintly nodded.

 Chapter 32 - Ninth Floor (4)

    Diana had shown Lumen how traditional Wave Controllers handled Shinsoo. Rather than forming it into Baangs, they would take over an area of Shinsoo and control the flow of whole battlefields. Combining that technique with his aura of an Irregular, he was able to block the Guide''s ability to see the future.

    Diana had speculated that would be the case, but they weren''t able to confirm it. Testing it out on Merrie, Lumen now knew that her theory was correct.

    With her ability to ability to see the future being blocked, Merrie felt extremely uncomfortable. As much as she hated the feeling, she didn''t plan on escaping. Her fate brought her to him, so there must be a reason for it. She managed to calm down a bit and started her explanation.

    "We, the Red Witches, have a connection with FUG. Years ago, one of our Elders had a prophecy about a boy that would bring great changes to the Tower. In that prophecy, the Elder saw a Red Witch that was guiding the boy. That Red Witch is currently in the custody of FUG." Merrie was speaking about Hwa Ryun, the leotard wearing woman from the 2nd Floor, that got her eye injured by Bam.

    "However, around a year ago, the moment I was selected to climb the Tower, another Elder received a different prophecy. The vision was very unclear, and the Elder only knew that it had me in it, and a very bright being made of white light. Since the being was made of white light, the Elder didn''t even know what the being looked like."

    "Everything else about the prophecy was shrouded in darkness. That also got the attention of FUG, and they have been after me since then since they wanted to know who that being is."

    "Ever since that moment, the path that I was following had changed. FUG had attempted numerous times to capture me, but following my new path, I was able to avoid them every time. My destiny simply doesn''t lie with them. In the end, my path led me to you. I believe you are that being made of light that the Elder saw.." Merrie finished her explanation.

    Lumen frowned, hearing that. "Is there anything else about that prediction. The first prophecy sounded a lot more complete, while the second one was vague, to say the least."

    He wasn''t sure if someone had actually been able to predict that he would come to the Tower. Around a year ago, he was still on Earth. Lumen wasn''t sure if he trusted what Marrie had told him. He wasn''t completely sold on the ability to see the future. Because of that''s true, then isn''t anything that will happen already set in stone?

    Lumen was more in the mindset that the future is weaved by the present. That the future isn''t something that is already decided and unable to be changed. It is entirely depended on the actions of those in the present, and no one should be able to predict the actions of millions or billions of different kind of beings.

    "That''s the biggest problem. Not only did the Elder have a very vague prophecy, but she also died after telling everyone else what she saw. That has never happened in the history of the Red Witches." Merrie answered him.

    "Hmm." Lumen narrowed his eyes, not pleased with her response. "And what do you plan on doing now."

    "Follow you until you prove if you are that being or not. Which wouldn''t be easy, considering how much my sight is obscured when it comes to you. However, that is another reason why I believe you are that being." To Merrie, that was the obvious thing to do. An Elder had a prophecy about her with a being made of light. Lumen is able to manipulate light, and her path led her to him. She was almost certain that he is that being.

    All the signs were pointing in his direction, she just couldn''t confirm if he was the one, due to the way he was controlling the Shinsoo in the area.

    "I really don''t trust you." Lumen told her. Merrie could always be a member of FUG. She did say that the Red Witches have a connection with that organization. This could all be a ploy to get her in his group so that she could easily sabotage him.

    "You don''t need to. Just allow me to follow you, and you could ask about my advice whenever you need it. You don''t even have to listen to me, but you could always take my words into consideration. I''m a Guide after all, and I take pride in my abilities. You are a unique case, and I can''t see anything about you, but I could always be useful in seeing the fates of others." Merrie replied.

    Lumen though how his team needs another member for the Test on the Floor. He decided to give her a chance. Depending on how she performs, he will either dispose of her or let her stay on his team. She might end up being useful in the future.

    "How good are as a Lightbearer?" He asked her.

    "Lightbearer? I''m average, but my skill lay in being a Guide." Marrie answered him.

    "Average isn''t good enough. From now on, start working on your Lightbearer skills if you want to follow me. At the very least, you should be able to do both positions at a high level if you want to be a part of my team." Merrie was stunned, hearing him.

    A team of Regular would be extremely happy if a Guide is willing to join them, but this guy was telling her that being just a Guide isn''t good enough. She also has to take on the role of a Lightbearer and has to be good at it as well. That was not what she expected from meeting him, but she was willing to put up with it. At least until she has confirmed whether he is the being that she is meant to follow or not.

    Lumen turned around and continued going towards Leesoo''s room. His teammates had already gathered there and informed him about that. Merrie quietly followed after him without saying a word.

    Once he entered inside, all eyes were on him. They didn''t even pay attention to the red-haired beauty that entered after him. Silence filled the room, and no one dared to say a thing.

    "Why didn''t you tell us you are an Irregular?" Androssi was the first one to break the ice with a straight forward question.

    "Because you never asked me." Lumen already knew that he was exposed as an Irregular thanks to Urek. Leesoo is smart, so he was definitely going to piece it together.

    "What?!" Androssi exclaimed. That wasn''t the answer she was expecting.

    "You were going to tell us if we had asked you?" She asked in wonder. Androssi believed that he will definitely keep it a secret.

    "No." Lumen simply replied.

    "..." Androssi just wanted to punch him in the face, but calmed down and asked him. "Why? Do you not trust us?"

    "Even if I did tell you, it would make no difference." Lumen also didn''t trust them completely, but didn''t say that and kept if for himself.

    "Me being an Irregular or not doesn''t change a thing, but do make sure not to spread that information. Now, let''s focus on our new teammate for the time being." He said and pointed towards the red-haired beuty.

    "That''s Marrie, and she is a Guide. She will join our team for the duration of the 9th Floor. Depending on her performance, she might end up being a permanent member." Lumen introduced her to everyone else.

    The whole group sat down and started discussing how they would handle the Sky Chess game. With Marrie in the team, they had a pretty good understanding of how they would deal with the Test.e

    Lumen left Leesoo''s room and made his way towards his own. After taking a quick shower, he was prepared to go and grab something to eat when someone knocked on his door.

    Opening the door, he saw Yuri there dressed in a black dress that stuck tightly to her body. For a moment, he was mesmerized by how beautiful she looked before she sent a punch his way. "Who told you, you could stare?!"

    Yuri felt uncomfortable wearing a dress. It didn''t allow her the same set of movements as her normal clothes do. She was also self-conscious about wearing a dress and had questioned herself over a hundred times already how she looks.

    Normally, she wouldn''t even care how she is dressed or how others perceive her, but Lumen''s comment about how she would look even more beautiful in a dress stuck to her.

    Yuri felt giddy and happy when she saw how stunned Lumen was after seeing her, but she didn''t tell him that.

    "Come on, let''s go. We still haven''t finished our date!" She pulled him out of his room and linked her arm with his voluntarily. "You still haven''t told me how the story about Naruto ended!"

    Lumen had even forgotten about his promise with Urek until the blonde Irregular interrupted them.

    "Again?!?" Urek exclaimed as he saw them. He grabbed Lumen and disappeared with a sonic boom.

    "Dude, be honest with me. How did you get another date? You have to tell me! I''m your big bro!!" Urek told him with puppy-eyes. He is a Prince of one of the greatest Empires in the Universe, and he can''t score a date with a single Princess of Zahard, but his little bro got two in two days. He was actually jealous of him, and that''s the first time he had ever experienced that feeling.

    "I already told you. I got lucky." Lumen answered him truthfully. Had he not made that bet with her on the 1st Floor, this would have never happened.

    "That can''t be! You have to have some other advice, right?" Urek asked him with hope.

    "Other than being yourself, there''s nothing else I can tell you." Lumen replied.

    "But I am being myself, and they don''t want to go out with me! Am I simply too great for them? That must be it!" Urek came to his own conclusion.

    "Whatever, we will talk about this later. Now, let''s get started with your training. Today, I will show you the Mazino strengthening technique and how to increase your physical strength using it." Urek started teaching him how to infuse his body with Shinsoo, in order to permanently strengthen it.

    The most important part of that technique is the existence of Shinsoo. Should Lumen attempt to train with it on Earth, he would have absolutely no success. However, that doesn''t mean that it''s impossible to train with that technique outside of the Tower.

    So then why was there no Shinsoo on Earth? Urek had only one answer for that. The Guardian Spirit of the planet has died.

    Every planet in the Universe is like a Floor from the Tower. Each planet gets born with a Guadian Spirit that infuses the planet with Shinsoo. Like in the Tower, you have to make a contract with that Guardian if you wish to manipulate the Shinsoo created by it. Only divine beings and their offsprings don''t follow that rule.

    Every planet that Urek had visited in his life had Shinsoo in the atmosphere, but his father has told him stories about planets that had their Guardian Spirit killed. Usually, they would slowly start crumbling away, and all life dies off shortly after the death of the Guardian Spirit. Well, it takes around 10 000 years, but that''s a short amount of time for a divine being.

    By the end of their training, Urek was looking at Lumen with a complicated expression on his face. In a day, he got the hang of the technique and had some success with it. While it took Urek over a month to get it to the same level.

    "Well, your level could be considerate passable. It took me 1/10 of your time to master the technique, but you could improve in the future. Don''t be disappointed since not everyone is as great as me." Just because Lumen learned it faster than him, didn''t mean that he has to tell him that. It''s not like anyone would know about that.

    Urek walked up to him and put his hand over Lumen''s shoulder. "So, bro. I''m teaching you my family techniques. Are you sure you can''t give me some tips on scoring a date with a Princess of Zahard? Come on, I''m your big bro, after all!" Urek was dead-set on pestering Lumen until he learns his secrets.

 Chapter 33 - Ninth Floor (5)

    It''s been a month since Lumen and his group arrived on the 9th Floor. They were currently preparing to take on the Test.

    Urek and Yuri had left about two weeks ago, but Lumen delayed them a bit with taking on the Test. He wanted to get more experienced with the techniques Urek showed him. As simple as they were, they were all incredible in their own way, and his strength had increased a lot after he learned them.

    The Shinsoo strengthening specifically worked wonders for him. It had unlimited potential as long as you have Shinsoo to work with. Lumen''s physical strength had soared greatly after practicing it. The technique has a total of 7 levels, and Lumen was only on the 1st one. Despite that, he could easily train with 20x gravity on him now, and Anak and Androssi, who were able to keep up with him in that regard, had been left behind.

    Lumen has had numerous spars with them during that one month, and he had fought them each time with the helmet that Urek gave him on. He could easily distinguish people by just reading the flow of Shinsoo around them, so he had no trouble fighting them while wearing the helmet. They were more than surprised when they learned that he can''t see or hear a thing while having it on.

    Ever since he started practicing that technique, his vision of the world had changed. Being able to see how the Shinsoo flowed around everything, changed the way he saw the things around him. It felt like he was looking at a whole new world, with colors that he has never seen before.

    Lumen could more accurately judge people''s character and words, just by the way Shinsoo moves around them. It worked in a similar manner to empathy, and he could understand other people''s emotions. Which is why he was able to trust Marrie more after being in contact with her for a month. She didn''t have any malicious intent as far he could tell.

    He had his doubts about someone being able to see the future before, but after being shown this way of seeing things, that was starting to change.

    The more he was in contact with Shinsoo, the more he started believing in the phrase, Shinsoo has no limits. The mysterious power simply had unlimited potential.

    Urek was more than surprised when he learned he is capable of feeling the emotions of those around him. According to the blonde Irregular, people usually develop this technique in a manner that suited them the most, and that normally happens after years of training. Urek, for example, can''t sense the emotions of others but could predict the movements of others minutes before they happen.

    His Shinsoo control had also increased after Urek showed him his way of manipulating Shinsoo. Unlike Diana, whose style was more gentle, his style took a more forceful approach. Rather than guiding the Shinsoo in a particular way, he would completely seize the surrounding Shinsoo and force it to act in the way that he d?s?r?s. Something Lumen had been trying to emulate but had little success before being shown this technique.

    Urek said that the way Diana taught him how to control Shinsoo, greatly resembled the way one of his best friends, Baek Ryun, does it. Baek Ryun is the current head of the Wolhaiksong, co-founded by him and Urek, and he is considered as one of the most gifted Wave Controllers in the Tower''s history.

    Both styles had their pros and cons, and Lumen was trying to combine the two into his own personal style. He hasn''t had much success so far, but he had a goal to work towards. He believed that it''s only a matter of time before he manages to combine the two into his own personal style.

    Lumen hadn''t taught any of his team members the techniques that Urek showed him since he promised the blonde Irregular not do so. Those are his family techniques, so he won''t go around spreading them.

    Nonetheless, his team had also improved during their stay, thanks to Yuri and Evan. The two Rankers had helped them out during their visit to the 9th Floor. Yuri had especially spent a lot of time with Anak and Androssi, showing them a thing or two. She was quite fond of the two Princesses of Zahard.

    Evan, on the other hand, was interested in Leesoo and Merrie. The Silver Dwarf had hit it off with Leesoo from the start. The two constantly get bullied by their "friends", so they got along while sharing their plights.

    With Marrie, it was a bit of a different story. They were both Guides that had already completed their pilgrimage. They mostly shared stories about their journeys, and he gave her tips by telling her about his own climb to the top of the Tower. He was the personal Guide of a Princess of Zahard, so he believed that would be useful to her, considering her teammates.

    Merrie knew that Lumen was strong, considering how famous he got for being only an F-Rank Regular, but she was more than impressed when she personally saw how strong he actually is. His words that her being just a Guide isn''t enough were extremely arrogant in her ears. However, after she saw the rest of his teammates, that changed.

    Every single member of his team could easily take on at least two positions. Even their weakest member, Leesoo, is stronger than any other Regular on the 9th Floor. That was astonishing, considering they''ve all started to climb together less than a year ago. This was a group full of monster-level talents and would become a force to be reckoned with in the future.

    Other teams would be more than happy to have a Guide, while to them, that''s just a bonus. With or without a Guide, they could just as easily climb the Tower, it just might take them a bit longer to do it without one. Merrie knew that if she wanted to follow Lumen, she would have to pick up her slack and become a good Lighbearer. Otherwise, she would be left behind.

    Unfortunately for Lumen, he never got another date with Yuri during her stay on the 9th Floor. Since according to her, their first one hadn''t ended until the day she left. Every time they went out, she would adamantly state that they are just continuing their previous one. That didn''t matter to him since he simply enjoyed spending time with her.

    Her personality was straight-forward, and he liked that about her. The fact that she was beyond gorgeous, especially when wearing a dress that is sticking tightly to her body, showing off all of her curves, helped as well. She was by far the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

    Lumen got to hear about her own climb to the Top and had an even better understanding of the Tower now. She also showed him her own personal techniques, which he was able to learn from. Not as much as the ones shown by Urek since they were lacking compared to his, but he was grateful for her gesture.

    Yuri''s initial plan was to meet Lumen for her promised date with him and then leave to deal with her own problems. However, when she realized how much she liked spending time with him, her visit was extended by a couple weeks.

    Each day, she would look forward to when the two would go out together. Yuri had been complimented on her beauty numerous times during her life. However, when Lumen did it, it just felt different to her. She would giggle like a little girl and usually punch him since she didn''t know how to respond to his compliments. Nevertheless, she enjoyed hearing them.

    Staying with him, she felt like a woman for the first time, and not like a Princess of Zahard, an object meant to be glorified by everyone in the Tower. And that was a nice change of pace, another reason she liked spending time with him.

    Yuri was very happy that she accepted his bet on the 1st Floor. Had she not, this would have never happened. She was fortunate that she was able to meet him just as he entered the Tower.

    Lumen would never forget the parting gift he received from Yuri, and what she told him the day she left. "You better climb higher if you want your second date with me. And don''t make me wait too long, okay? Otherwise, I would come to find you and discipline you on how to treat a lady!"

    The higher he climbed, the more reasons he was given to climb even higher. He didn''t know what Loki was planning or why he sent him in the Tower, but he was grateful for being given the opportunity.

    As the Test on the 9th Floor began, Lumen''s team selected their Player, and Merrie was given that position. Since she is a Guide and the weakest member of the team, she was the best fit for that position.

    With that out of the way, they were all randomly ?ssigned their roles for the Sky Chess. Aleksai, Laure, Leesoo, Tiana, and Verdi were Pawns. Lumen was the Rook, Hatsu got Knight, Vespa was the Bishop, Androssi got Queen, and finally, Anak was the King. With their roles taken care of, they started the Test.

    Each team had their Pawns in the front, with the rest of the pieces were lined behind them. The Rook was on the outer left side, the Queen was on his right side, the King was in the middle with the Bishop to his right, and the Knight was on the outer right side.

    In order for a team to win, all other Kings and Queens have to be eliminated from the opposing teams.

    Each team was separated into four colors, yellow, red, green, and blue. The yellow team was the first to make a move, and they were positioned on the left side of Lumen''s, which was the blue one and the last to move.

    A tricky part about this Test is, that even if a team moves a piece to a square where there is another piece from a different team, the two would have to fight it out to decide who would be eliminated. However, the game won''t stop for them, and another team could send their own piece to that square as well.

    While the three other teams were trying to make sure their Queens and Kings are in a safe position, Marrie was seemingly moving Lumen''s team in a random manner. She would send a piece where it would seem to be in a useless spot, only to end up taking out an important piece three turns later.

    Her ability to see the fate of others was extremely handy in a situation like this one. Merrie would predict how the other teams would move their pieces and prepare in advance for their moves. She was perfectly able to decide what would be the best move for all pieces on her team.

    Her erratic movements had put the other three teams in a situation where all of their Queens had to fight on the same square in the middle, where she was able to send Lumen to take care of all three. While in the meantime, she was able to trap all other Kings and eliminate them six turns later with the rest of the group.

    Her strategic skills weren''t the best, but her ability to see the future made them look exceptional. Nonetheless, she did an amazing job as the Player and handed the win to Lumen''s team on a silver platter.

    All in all, in less than 30 turns, Merrie was able to win the Sky Chess with Lumen''s team. A game, which usually goes for hours before a winner is decided, was finished in half an hour, all thanks to her abilities. Moxie, the Test Administrator, was more than impressed with their performance since no other team has managed to complete the Test as quickly as they did.

    Lumen''s team was strong enough to pass the Test even without her help, but it would have taken them longer to do so. However, due to her ability as a Guide, they were able to complete it in a very fast manner.

    "I hope I didn''t disappoint you and that you will allow me to follow you," Marrie told Lumen as the Test finished. She was sure that he is the being in that prophecy, so she wanted to be a part of his team. That was her fate, after all.

    "As long as you don''t slow us down, you can have a spot on my team." Knowing that she is sincere, Lumen didn''t mind her joining. She has been trying her hardest to improve her skills as a Lightbearer while also training alongside his teammates.

    "I''m grateful for giving me this chance. I promise I will do my best to keep up with you. As hard as that might be." Merrie replied, fully knowing how hard it will be to keep up with his team.

    After Moxie congratulated them and gifted them 9 000 Points, she sent them off to the 10th Floor, also known as the Labyrinth Floor.

 Chapter 34 - Tenth Floor

    Arriving at the 10th Floor, they were greeted by a chubby looking man. He was wearing brown leather pants and a jacket with a white shirt underneath. On his head, he wore a binocle and an archeologist brown hat, and he carried a cane in his hand.

    "Greetings, Regulars. I''m the Ruler of the 10th Floor. Howard is my name, and puzzles are my game. Hohoho." He laughed out while hitting the ground with his cane.

    "The Test for my Floor is a simple one." Howard twirled the cane in his hand and pointed it at a gigantic black cube in the distance.

    "See that beauty over there. That''s my own personal labyrinth. It''s amazing, right?" Howard told them with a pleased smile on his face.

    "I wouldn''t call that a beauty," Androssi muttered, but Howard acted as he hadn''t heard her.

    "I''ve spent hundreds of years, perfecting it and making it as hard as possible. It''s separated into ten different levels, all filled with various traps. All of those levels are connected in some way, shape, or form so you could easily move through them as long as you know the path."

    "Once your Test starts, you will be sent to a random location in the labyrinth. All you have to do is escape from it. There is only one exit in the labyrinth, and it randomly changes at certain time intervals. Pretty cool, right? Hohoho." Howard explained the rules with a hearty laugh.

    "So, Regulars. Are you prepared to take on my Test, or would you like to go back to where you came from?" Adjusting his binocle, he asked them.

    Lumen''s group confirmed, and Howard looked pleased hearing that."Great! Then, I wish too many of you don''t die inside my masterpiece. Good luck, Regulars."

    Before they knew it, they were all transported to a dark place, surrounded by walls on their left and right sides. As soon as they were inside the labyrinth, they heard a dying scream echoing out.

    "What a way to start this off." Leesoo sighed to the side.

    "Well, Merrie, this looks like your time to shine." Lumen told her, and she stepped up to lead the group. As the Guide and Lightbearer, she is the most suitable for that position inside the labyrinth.

    "Trust me, I will find the exit as quickly as possible." Merrie confidently stated and had already used her Lighthouse to illuminate the darkness. Already having picked up the general direction that the exit is, she started marching towards it.

    After passing by a few turns, she stopped the group. "Stick to the wall on the right side here, there is a lava trap in the middle of the path."

    Merrie was the first to pass by, and everyone else followed after her. She stopped in place and told them. "After this point, there is a trap on the wall. We have to move to the other side."

    Whenever the group encountered more than one path, Merrie would confidently pick one without any hesitation.

    Merrie led the past quite a few traps before they reached a tunnel going up. However, there was no ladder for someone to use to go up, rather there were small platforms, where one would have to jump to, to climb higher.

    They had to go through numerous traps, while they were traversing the levels of the labyrinth. They seemed to have started somewhere near the bottom, as they had already climbed up four levels. With Merrie leading the way, they weren''t caught in a single one of the labyrinth''s traps.

    "Something''s not right here," Merrie said as they reached the next level. There was something off about the current level, and for some reason, she couldn''t see what it is.

    "I can feel it too." Lumen also felt something off about the current level. The place felt darker than even the previous levels, and that didn''t sit well with him. There was something weird about the darkness. He didn''t know if this is part of the Test or not, but he had a bad feeling about it.

    Merrie continued leading the group, but her confidence had dropped down, and she seemed a lot more hesitant than before. She will take a minute or two, just to decide which path to take. She also almost missed a couple of traps and detected them at the very last second.

    They were currently waiting for her to decide between three different paths when Lumen suddenly turned his head to the side. He felt a malicious intent from that place, but he wasn''t able to see anything there. Nonetheless, he was sure that there is something or someone there. Reading the flow of Shinsoo, he was b?r?ly able to perceive a figure in the darkness.

    "Quite perceptive, to be able to sense me in my domain." A voice came from that direction, as the group saw a yellow-eyed man in a scaled armor walk out of the darkness. Dressed in a black and red cloak with a white robe underneath, he stepped up with confidence.

    "Who are you?" Lumen asked as he narrowed his eyes. The person in front of him felt extremely dangerous, and he could feel the killing intent oozing out of him.

    "I''m Karaka, a FUG''s Slayer, and your worst enemy. The Elders want you to either join us or die, but I already made that choice for you." Karaka replied, and in an instant, formed a black colored Baang in his hand.

    "Die." Karaka sent the black colored Baang towards Lumen, but he was already prepared for that. Transforming into his element form, he dodged the blast of Shinsoo and appeared next to Karaka in a burst of speed. The armored man''s Baang exploded in the back and created a wall of darkness that blocked the rest of his team.

    Strengthening his leg with Shinsoo, he sent a kick towards Karaka''s head. The armored man, surprised by how fast Lumen was, wasn''t able to avoid the attack. Unfortunately, his armor wasn''t just for show, and when Lumen kicked it, he felt like he hit an unbreakable barrier.

    Nevertheless, Karaka was sent flying into the labyrinth''s walls and made a human-shaped hole. Being able to sense his presence there, Lumen charged up a massive light beam and shot it in the hole. Despite that, he was still able to sense the presence of the armored man.

    Leaving the human-shaped hole, Karaka didn''t even have a scratch on his scaled armor. "That''s a nice spell you got there. Too bad, my armor is spell protected."

    "As much as I would love to play with you, I''m working under a time constraint," Karaka said with an evil glint in his eyes. Seeing Lumen in his element form, he smiled in a sinister way.

    "Did you know that darkness is the absence of light? Let''s see how you will deal with that. Karaka Style: World of Darkness." Big black orbs started appearing and revolving around Karaka.

    In response, Lumen had created his own technique and created his miniature sun. Light beams were being constantly shot towards Karaka and the black orbs, but each laser was easily absorbed in the black orbs, without causing them any damage.

    Seeing the lack of success with his light beams, he shot the miniature sun towards Karaka, while avoiding his black orbs. Despite knowing how dangerous it would be to detonate his technique in a closed environment, he had little choice in that matter.

    Sadly, before the explosion could fully form, the miniature sun was surrounded by Karaka''s black orbs, and they easily absorbed the mini supernova.

    "Resisting is futile. Your fate has been decided. Black Goral''s Horn Whip." From the black orbs, whips made of pure darkness shot out towards Lumen. Karaka had created so many of them and sent them in such a way, that Lumen couldn''t avoid them.

    Four of those whips made of darkness pierced through him. For two of those, he managed to make a hole in his element form and let them through, but the other two pierced his lung and shoulder.

    Lumen jumped away from the whips and started healing his body with his Pheonix flames. "You are full of surprises, aren''t you? Why don''t you take back all of your surprises then? Damage Counter - Rain of Darkness."

    One of his black orbs flew to his hand and greatly swelled in size. In a moment, it was as large as Karaka. The technique converts all the accumulated damage absorbed by Karaka''s black orbs into one, and he shot it towards Lumen. The Shinsoo blast encompassed the whole tunnel, so he wasn''t able to avoid it and was hit by it.

    Despite that massive blast of Shinsoo hitting him straight on, Lumen was still left standing. His clothes were nearly destroyed, his body was bloodied up, but his Pheonix flames were working their magic and restoring it.

    Although surprised that Lumen survived that, he didn''t give him a chance to recover. More whips of darkness came out of his black orbs and pierced Lumen through all sides. In his injured state, he wasn''t able to avoid them. Looking like a porcupine, he couldn''t move an inch, with all of the black whips piercing his body.

    Two armored tentacles came out of his armor and stabbed Lumen in the heart and stomach. Karaka, using his armored tentacles, brought Lumen in front of him. "As I said, resistance is futile."

    "Fuck you!" Lumen cursed out and spat on his face. His body was bleeding all over, his heart was pierced, and he knew that he didn''t have a chance against the armored man. As much as he wanted to crush Karaka, he knew that he didn''t have the strength nor the time to do it. His Pheonix flames were trying their best to heal up his body, but without his heart, he wouldn''t survive for much longer.

    Karaka, unfazed from being spat on, created another tentacle from his armor and stabbed Lumen in the head. Seeing the tentacle flying towards him, time slowed down for Lumen, and he felt something snap within him before everything turned black, as he lost consciousness. Just as the tentacle pierced him, his whole body burst into massive white flames.

    The Pheonix flames that have always been warm and gentle suddenly turned extremely hot and destructive. The armor that Lumen couldn''t break nor pierce through, slowly started melting and forming a small metallic orb on the ground.

    Karaka, surprised and scared from those white flames, tried detaching his tentacles, but the flames had already latched onto him. Try as he might, he couldn''t remove those scorching white flames, no matter what he did.

    He couldn''t believe that Lumen had such a suicidal technique up his arsenal. He should have expected it, considering he has similar techniques he likes to use, but that''s due to him being able to revive himself. Karaka didn''t think someone else would work on suicidal techniques.

    As he was trying to separate himself from Lumen''s flames, he lost concentration, and the veil of darkness that was blocking the rest of Lumen''s team was dissolved due to that.

    The first thing they all saw Karaka being burned alive by fiery white flames. They could all feel the heat emanating from the white flames, and they saw how helpless Karaka looked while trying to stop them. However, they couldn''t see a sign of Lumen, and that frightened them.

    Slowly but surely, the armored man was being burned alive. With each second, more of his armor would melt off and drop on the metallic-looking ball on the ground. He tried using his black orbs to absorb the annoying flames, but even they were burned up by the scorching fire, melting into a black liquid that dripped onto the metallic ball. Seemingly, nothing could stop the fire that had engulfed him.

    Karaka knowing that he can''t do anything about the white flames, turned towards the group. With an evil glare, he sent off five Baangs of Shinsoo, aiming to kill a few of those Regulars. However, the Shinsoo blast only managed to severely injure them.

    If his heart wasn''t hidden away in his own dimension, he would have died on the 10th Floor, by someone who had just entered the Tower. Thankfully, he had managed to kill that person, so he won''t cause him any trouble in the future.

    Karaka would have preferred to have been able to kill a few of those Regulars that witnessed this, but he will surely meet them in the future and end them. Now, he would have to reconstruct his body anew.

    Within a moment, Karaka had completely disintegrated, and there were no signs of him or Lumen left. Except for the small metallic-looking ball on the ground, that was formed from his melted armor and black orbs.

    "What is going on here!?" A booming voice echoed out as Howard appeared in the labyrinth. Looking around, he noticed the destruction caused to his masterpiece, and that angered him greatly.

    "WHO DID THIS?!" Howard yelled out towards the group, but then he noticed the dejected and overwhelmed looks of the Regulars there. They were all wide-eyed, staring at an empty space, unable to believe what had happened.

 Chapter 35 - 21st Floor

    Hatsu, standing only on his left leg, since the other one was missing from the knee down, was wide-eyed as he stared at where Karaka disappeared. Lumen was the strongest Regular he had seen. Princesses of Zahard would have to struggle to be able to compete with him. He could move faster than most people could perceive and had all kinds of weird abilities.

    Hatsu had never even come close to beating him during their few spars. In his mind, Lumen was someone he would have never even imagined losing, let alone dying. That didn''t seem possible in his mind.

    Leesoo had a hole in his stomach and couldn''t even comprehend what''s happening. Lumen was one of the few that gave him a chance to prove himself. He, like Hatsu, taught of Lumen as an invincible figure. He had never seen him come close to losing even once. Leesoo had wanted to ask him about the outside world at some point, but now he couldn''t do it anymore.

    Aleksai and Laure were in the same situation. They had seen Lumen do amazing feats, but him dying, had never even crossed their minds. They knew that some of them might die during their climb, but they never taught that would be him. That just didn''t seem likely to them.

    Verdi was trembling as tears dropped from eyes. Lumen was nice to her, he would go around with her and find new dolls with her. He was her big brother, and she loved him dearly for putting up with her antics. Very few would be okay with her actions, and she knew that, but he allowed her to go loose.

    She was eccentric, and she understood that, but he had accepted her despite that. Now her big brother is gone, and she couldn''t even avenge him. She squeezed the octopus in her hands tightly as tears kept pouring out of her eyes.

    Tiana''s left side of the face was completely ruined as she silently sobbed. Lumen was the only one to give her a chance when she was at her lowest. He helped her improve herself and allowed her to turn her life around. He gave her hope for the future.

    She couldn''t deny that she had a crush on him for that, but Lumen was like a bright shining star that she could only look up to, but never have. He was illuminating the night sky while she was on the ground, only being able to stare at him from a distance. Now, that star has fallen down, and she would never get to see it again. Clutching her fists, she continued silently sobbing.

    Vespa had her bee-wings shredded to pieces, and she was dejectedly looking at an empty space. Lumen was the strongest and faster Regular she had ever seen. She was attracted to him like a moth to a flame. The man that she admired and was trying her hardest to catch up to had disappeared. She couldn''t believe it, and she didn''t want to believe it.

    Androssi just couldn''t understand what happened. Lumen had died? That didn''t make sense to her. He had even toyed with her, a Princess of Zahard, how could he die to a stupid FUG Slayer? She couldn''t accept that. She might have disliked Lumen in the beginning, but with time, she grew to respect him. Androssi recognized his strength, and she had grown fond of him. She loved bickering with him, but she just wanted to get a reaction out of him. She never meant him any harm.

    When she learned that he is an Irregular, she was sure that he''ll easily reach the Top of the Tower. It didn''t make sense for him to die here. In the end, even she dropped a few tears for him.

    However, Anak took it the hardest. She didn''t hear the Ruler of the 10th Floor, nor did she perceive the pain from her missing right arm. She was staring lifelessly at where the white flames last burned. With tears in her eyes, she was trembling as she couldn''t believe that Lumen was gone.

    He was one of the few that helped her and treated her fairly. Lumen gave her a chance to improve, and with that, he also gave her the chance to seek her vengeance. The more time Anak spent with him, the more she taught of him as family and as someone to look up to. And yet, another one of her family members was killed without her being able to do a thing about it. Was everything she cared about, meant to be taken away from her?

    Hearing her explanation, Howard shook his head. He couldn''t believe that a Slayer would appear on his Floor, but he didn''t think the Regulars could destroy his masterpiece in such a manner. He knew they weren''t at fault for what happened. With a sigh, he left, noting down that he has to repair this part of the labyrinth.

    Marrie walked up to where the white flame last burned and crouched down. Seeing the metallic-looking orb on the ground, she tried picking it up, but her hand got burned the moment she touched it. Using her Lighthouse, she was able to pick up the orb and store it inside the Lighthouse.

    "He''s not dead." Calmly, Marrie told the rest of the group. She could feel a faint presence inside the metallic orb, but she couldn''t perceive it fully. Something was blocking her sight as a Guide, and that ?ssured her that''s most likely Lumen. She had no doubt that he had survived.

    Hearing her, they all snapped out of their trance and turned to look at her. As much as they hoped that to be the case, they couldn''t believe her that easily.

    Anak was venomously staring at Marrie with killing intent flowing out of her. "If this is some kind of joke, I will slowly tear you limb from limb."

    Marrie shook her head, showed them the metallic orb in her Lighthouse, and explained her reasoning. "I can sense his presence from the orb. I don''t know how or why, but he is definitely still alive. He is not dead."

    They couldn''t believe that Lumen had survived and turned into that orb, but this at least gave them some hope. As impossible as it sounded to them, they at least had some faith to latch onto.

    After patching up the wounded, Marrie led the team through the labyrinth and quickly found the exit. Without anything blocking her sight, she was easily able to achieve that.

    With that, they successfully passed the 10th Floor and advanced to the 11th Floor, where they spend the following year, ???k?n? their wounds and learning how to fight with their injuries. They had hope that Lumen would somehow appear out of nowhere or exit the weird metallic orb, but no such thing occurred.

    Nevertheless, Merrie was adamant that he is alive and that she could feel his presence. That''s what kept them going.

    Getting used to fighting without an arm or a leg wasn''t an easy thing, especially when you were used to having those limbs. Anak, Hatsu, and Vespa''s strength had drastically dropped with the loss of their limbs.

    Hatsu had to learn how to move around with only one leg until they manage to find him a prosthetic. He had to change his whole fighting style due to the loss of balance, and he could no longer move as fast as before. Hatsu had to develop a whole new sword style for himself.

    Anak had to learn how to fight with only one arm. Her balance was a bit off, but not as bad as Hatsu''s. Thankfully, she had her monstrous strength to lean onto. Nevertheless, her fighting prowess have been weakened.

    Vespa had lost her wings and couldn''t move as fast as before. She couldn''t even transform into her ?du?t form anymore since she would experience tremendous pain from her shredded wings in that form. With the loss of her biggest strength, she had to learn how to rely on her poison and technique more.

    Leesoo had to recover for over four months before the whole in his stomach had healed. He still couldn''t move like before and had to take things slowly.

    Tiana, on the other hand, had lost the sight of her left eye. It had completely turned into paste, and she couldn''t see a thing from it. With the left side of her face completely ruined, she had trouble speaking, eating, and even breathing. Ever since that incident, she had completely stopped talking.

    They had all somehow recovered, and once everyone was ready, they slowly restarted their climb of the Tower. No longer were they able to rush past Tests without difficulty. Now, they had to take it at a slower pace, ensuring that they could pass each one successfully without losing a single member.

    Test after Test, Floor after Floor, they had to through many hardships while climbing the Tower in their current state. There were numerous occasions where one of them had nearly died, but they pushed through.

    Not a single member was left behind as they slowly climbed higher. A year had passed since they left the 11th Floor, and they had reached the 16th Floor.

    Another six months passed, and they had managed to reach the 20th Floor. This Floor is also known as the needle hole to heaven, as the 20th Floor has a massive increase in difficulty. More than 50% of the Regulars that reach it, never get to pass to the next one.

    From here on, Regulars could be found living on the Floors. Those who find it too hard to climb higher would usually end up staying on the highest Floor they could reach. They would live their daily lives, by doing basic jobs on the Floor that they are at.

    The metallic orb had again grown in size a bit, but nothing else had happened to it. At first, they had taught that Lumen might appear from it, but no such thing happened. Their hopes were crushed, but they still had faith that he is alive. Marrie made sure to remind them that.

    They stayed for another three months on the 20th Floor, before they all took the Test there and managed to advance to the 21st Floor, also known as the White Cichlid Floor. With this, they have all become E-Rank Regulars now.

    The 21st Floor is a Floor in the sky. The inhabitants there all reside in large floating towers. The group was given a small floating tower of their own, where they could stay for their duration on the Floor. Should they end up no taking the Test on the Floor within a year, they would have to start paying for their residence or get kicked out of it.

    They had all gathered in a room and were discussing when they should tackle the Test on the Floor. They had already stayed for three months here, and they had to consider what to do.

    Anak was sitting on a sofa with the metallic orb nested on her tighs. She was slowly ??r?ssing it and enjoying its warmth when they all heard a crack coming from it. Everyone turned their attention to the metallic orb and saw cracks forming all over it. After a few moments, the whole orb fell into pieces that turned to ashes, and a bird''s cry filled the room.

 Chapter 36 - Twenty-First Floor (2)

    After Lumen lost consciousness, the next time he opened his eyes, he was in a dark and enclosed space. Having no idea where he is, he tried breaking through but realized that he is in his Pheonix form, and couldn''t even change back to his human form. Another odd thing is that he felt he had more than one pair of wings.

    Lumen panicked, not knowing what''s happening to him, and tried to remember what occurred that led to this. His last memories were of him fighting Karaka, and the armored man was about to kill him. After that, everything went blank.

    Calming down, Lumen found out that he instinctively knew what had happened to him. He had been reborn and had gone through an Awakening. An Awakening that required a couple conditions to be met in order to be successful.

    One of them is that he needs at least 20 years of life energy stored. The more life energy he has, the faster his rebirth will be. Should he have had less than that, he wouldn''t have been able to go through this process.

    The second condition is that he needs suitable material for his body to be reconstructed. Even if he had the necessary amount of life energy stored, he wouldn''t be able to revive himself without having the substance to do so. Thankfully, his flames had refined Karaka and the armor that he wore and used that for the material for his body. That was a nice bonus, considering he felt a lot stronger than before.

    He also knew that it would take quite some time before he could escape his confinement. Knowing that he couldn''t break through the shell surrounding him now, he focused on improving himself using the techniques Urek taught him.

    Lumen, reading the flow of Shinsoo, knew everything that his group had gone through during the three years he was in his egg. His range of reading Shinsoo had grown tremendously during that time, and he could easily perceive other people''s emotions, even if they try to hide them. He was touched when he felt the emotions and feelings of his teammates, especially when they didn''t leave him behind and carried him up the Tower.

    He no longer needed to focus when reading the flow of Shinsoo, as it had become like an instinct, and he would subconsciously do it.

    However, that wasn''t the only thing he did. Lumen also focused on improving his body, with the Shinsoo strengthening technique. His body was already stronger than before after his rebirth, but being strengthened for three years with Shinsoo made it even more powerful.

    Like with reading the flow of Shinsoo, this was another thing he had started doing subconsciously without even trying. He would instinctively fill his body with Shinsoo strengthening it in the process.

    Every now and then, he would peck at the shell trying to escape it, but had no success with that. He had tried using his other abilities to break the shell, but for some reason, he wasn''t able to use them at all.

    However, exactly three years after being in his confinement, something snapped within Lumen. His Phoenix flames burst out and burned his shell to ashes.

    The whole group watched as a bird made of flames and with four wings appeared from the metallic orb. It let out a bird''s cry and flew a circle in the room, before landing on an empty chair.

    The bird''s main body was made up of white flames, and a pair of his wings was made up of the same white flames. However, the other pair was made up of black ominous looking flames.

    Lumen felt so much more powerful than before. He felt he could crush anyone with when it comes to physical strength alone. His body was filled to the brim with power, waiting to be unleashed on someone or something.

    He also felt the overwhelming emotions everyone had from seeing him. The emotions were so strong that he had to stop using his technique. He didn''t think that they would care about him that much, and that changed the way he looks at them. Before, if he had found someone that''s stronger and more useful, he would have replaced his teammates in an instant. Now, he didn''t know if he could make that choice so easily.

    After observing them for a bit, the flaming bird transformed into Lumen in his birthday suit. Immediately, he noticed something wasn''t right. Everyone in the room looked gigantic, and even the small girls Anak, Verdi, and Vespa looked bigger than him. He realized that they haven''t grown bigger, but he was shorter than before, way shorter.

    Before he knew it, the chibi Lumen was squashed between two girls. Anak was hugging him with one arm while rubbing her face against his while Verdi was on the other side, also rubbing her face against his.

    Anak didn''t say a word, as tears of happiness kept pouring out of her eyes. Exhilarated that what she considered her only family member, was still alive. She couldn''t even put into words how happy she felt seeing him. Anak kept sobbing and hugging him as tightly as she could, making sure that he wouldn''t disappear again.

    "Lumen''s back! And he loves me so much, he turned into a cute doll!" Verdi happily exclaimed, mistaking his small form for a doll. Nonetheless, she was extremely happy to see him again.

    "Finally, you decide to show up. It took you long enough." Androssi said with a smile on her face, happy to see him again.

    "I knew you were okay!"

    "Good to see you back!"

    "I told you all, he was just taking a nap."

    "I knew a random FUG Slayer couldn''t possibly kill you!"

    "I told you he was going to come back."

    Everyone else in the group, except Tiana, chipped in as well, expressing how relieved they are to see him again. They had gone through many hardships due to Karaka, but knowing that Lumen is back, they felt that everything will be okay. They also knew that with him here, they would definitely get their revenge on the group.

    After that incident, FUG had boldly proclaimed that they have killed of White Star, but that didn''t end up the way they expected it. The two Great Families that were interested in him hadn''t taken any actions, but Wolhaiksong was a different story.

    Numerous of FUG''s bases had been destroyed by Urek''s group. They had lost thousands of members to Wolkaiksong, as Urek had mobilized every single member of his group. A Princess of Zahard had also been a part of the murdering spree that the group went on.

    More than once, FUG had tried negotiation with Urek, and they had even sent high ranking members for the meetings, but each time, they were all killed. Two of FUG''s eleven Slayers had been killed by them alongside an Elder as well. All three of them were torn limb from limb and sent to back to FUG in pieces.

    FUG had gotten so scared of Wolhaiksong, that they had holed up themselves, not daring to show up in public. For the moment they make a move or an appearance, the grim reaper known as Urek would storm the Floor that they appeared on and annihilate them all.

    The most dangerous and secretive criminal syndicate in the Tower, that troubled all the Great Families, was crushed into submission by one man and his group. This event had bumped up Urek to the third place in the Ranking of the Tower, and Zahard, the King of the Tower, had dropped down to fourth. Since even Zahard himself wasn''t able to scare FUG to this extent.

    Despite his death, everyone in the Tower didn''t forget about White Star, or now more commonly known as Lights End due to his death. Not only were two of the Great Families interested in him while he was only an F-Rank Regular, but Urek Mazino, the now strongest active Ranker, had gone on a killing spree due to him dying. Everyone was gossiping what kind of connection did Lights End have with Urek, for him to have such a strong reaction to his death.

    A day had passed since he broke out of his shell, and Lumen was currently sitting on a chair, dressed in a black suit that Verdi gave him. Since she was the only one that had clothes his current size.

    Verdi was in front of him, taking doll after doll from her dollhouse.

    "How about this one? You would make a great pair!" She exclaimed.

    "Verdi, I''m not a doll!" Lumen told her.

    "What about this one? Look how cute she is?" Verdi took out a blonde-haired doll and presented it to him.

    "Verdi, I already said that I''m not a doll!" As if she didn''t hear him, she took out a black-haired one.

    "Do you like this one better? You would make a great pair!" Giggling, she said.

    "Verdi!"

    "Maybe you don''t like female ones? How about this one?" Verdi asked as she pulled out a male one.

    "Verdi, I swear if you don''t stop, I will go back to the egg." Lumen''s words immediately caused a reaction in Verdi. With panic in her eyes, she latched onto him in a second.

    "Noooo!!! I''m not letting you! I will come with you if I have to!" Verdi stated while hugging him tightly.

    "Then stop trying to hook me up with your dolls!" Lumen told her.

    "But I just want you to be happy," Verdi replied with tears already forming in her eyes. If he knew that she was playing around, he was going to scold her, but he could feel her sincere emotions. She truly wanted him to be happy.

    Lumen hugged her back. "Look, Verdi, I don''t need to marry one of your dolls to be happy. I''m happy knowing that I''m alive and that I''m with you."

    Verdi sniffed and uttered under her breath. "Promise you won''t go away again. I was very sad when you disappeared."

    "I promise you that won''t happen again." Lumen vowed not only to her but also to himself.

    "Now, could you give me some space, so I can try practicing with my abilities." He gently told her.

    "Mhm, but are you sure you don''t want to marry this one? I was saving the best for last." Verdi pulled out an azure-haired doll.

    "Verdi!"

    "I''m sorry! I won''t ask you again, but I''m not letting you leave my sight! Anak gets to watch you during the night, while I get to watch you during the day!" The two girls were taking shifts watching over him, making sure that something doesn''t happen to him.

    "That''s fine, just stay a bit further away from me. I don''t want to hurt you." She nodded to his words and stepped back.

    Seeing her a distance away from him, Lumen focused and summoned his Phoenix flames. Unlike before, where they were the warm gentle white flames, now they were an ominous black color and emitted tremendous heat. It only takes a single spark of the black flames to burn something to ashes in an instant.

    In a moment, the black flame in his hand turned back to the white one, but a few seconds later, it turned back to being black. The flame was fluctuating from black to white, and he had no control over it.

    Lumen had tried healing Hatsu''s leg yesterday, but he had ended up making his injury even worse. The black flame had nearly spread to Hatsu''s torso before he was able to absorb it back into himself. Now, the swordsman was out shopping for a new prosthetic since the previous was worthless.

    His Pheonix flames were out of control, and he was trying his best to learn how to use the two types of flames separately.

    His flames weren''t the only new thing that happened to him. Lumen also now had small control over the darkness element. He couldn''t transform his body into the element like with his light form, but he could create objects made of black mass and even infuse it in his Baangs. He still hadn''t had the time to test out all the capabilities of the darkness element he could now use.

    However, that wasn''t all. He had another new ability. He could create the same armor that Karaka wore. A black like substance would appear from his skin and form the armor around him.

    Lumen was also trying to adjust to his chibi form, but that wasn''t easy as well. Especially when he had grown a few centimeters during the night. Should he continue to grow in size like this, he would get back to his original size within a few months.

    He had so much on his plate, but his main priority at the moment was to learn how to control his Phoenix flames. Lumen wanted to heal his team as soon as possible.

 Chapter 37 - Twenty-First Floor (3)

    Four months later. Lumen had grown during that time and was now as tall as Anak. He had a small growth spur at the beginning, but that had stopped and he had to find a different way to help him m?tur? faster.

    Lumen was currently standing in front of Hatsu, who was laying on a bed. The rest of the group was behind him, waiting to see what will happen. The swordsman looked uncomfortable as he was squirming around in the bed.

    "Stop fidgeting." Lumen told him.

    "Easy for you to say," Hatsu replied back while wiggling in the bed.

    "Stop fidgeting, or I will burn you to ashes!" Lumen threatened him.

    "You almost did that once! Who''s to say you won''t do it again?" Hatsu responded, remembering how Lumen nearly roasted him the last time he tried healing him.

    "That''s it, I tried being nice." Lumen hit him on the head and knocked him out.

    During the past four months, Lumen has been practicing his control over his Phoenix flames. He had some success in that regard, but knowing how his last attempt at healing his teammates was a failure, he had some "volunteers" that he used as test subjects.

    They were also nice enough to help him learn more about his black flame. It had the attribute of harvesting life from enemies. The amount that it harvests is extremely low, and he had gotten no more a day''s worth from those "volunteers".

    However, that had helped Lumen with his growth. He had a growth spurt the first month, but since then, it had slowed down. Thankfully, those "volunteers" were happy to provide him with their life force.

    Taking a deep breath, Lumen focused, and summoned his Phoenix flames. Unlike before, the flames were no longer fluctuation between white and black. Now they were a constant white color, emitting a gentle warmth. He left them to burn atop his hand for a bit, making sure that nothing goes wrong. Seeing that the flames were stable, he felt ?ssured that the operation will go smoothly.

    Lumen formed a Baang of Shinsoo and infused it with the white flame. Confidently, he brought his hand on top of Hatsu''s missing leg. Just as the flame touched the swordsman''s body, he was instantly able to see an immediate effect. Slowly, but surely, his leg was being restored.

    "Aahhhhh!" Despite being knocked down, Hatsu had immediately woken up as soon as the white flame touched him. His leg was being regrown, but the pain he felt was like it was being slowly burned.

    The group hearing him scream, momentarily thought that the operation was a failure again, but they were able to see his leg slowly being grown back. It wasn''t a fast process, but it was definitely a sure one.

    Four hours later, Hatsu was quietly sleeping on the bed with his leg restored. After yelling his heart out, the swordsman had finally fallen asleep.

    Lumen let out a sigh of relief, he had to keep his concentration during the whole operation. Had he lost focus even once, the white flame could have turned into the destructive black one.

    "I''m all out of gas after this one, so I will heal the rest of you in the following days." Lumen looked towards Anak, Vespa, and Tiana, who each had their own injuries.

    The next day he healed Anak''s missing arm, and the green-skinned girl didn''t even let out a sound during the three-hour process.

    "Did that not hurt you? Hatsu screamed his lungs out when I healed him." Lumen asked her.

    Anak just smiled brightly at him and hugged him with her now regrown arm. "That was nothing. It hurt a lot more when you were gone."

    Lumen hugged her back, and the green-skinned girl passed out in his arms. He carried her off to bed and tucked her in.

    "You don''t want me to knock you out as I did with Hatsu, right?" Lumen asked her.

    "No..." Vespa replied back.

    "So stop fidgeting around." Lumen told the squirming blue-haired girl. Shortly, she calmed down, and Lumen began healing her wings.

    Like Hatsu, the girl started screaming the moment the white flames touched her wings. Vespa''s operation continued on for six hours, and the girl had passed out and woken up from the pain numerous time during it.

    Just as Lumen had finished healing her wings, Vespa had woken up. Feeling her wings on her back, she flapped them around to test them out. Seeing nothing wrong with them, she hugged Lumen by tackling him to the bed.

    "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Excitedly, Vespa thanked him and gave him a peck on his cheek before she passed out. Lumen covered her with a blanket and left her to rest.

    The last person on his list was Tiana. The injury was on the head, so Lumen had the least confidence in being able to heal it. He had a few "volunteers" that were badly injured on the head, he made sure of that, but just a single mistake could potentially end her life. He had to make sure not to lose focus even for a second. Otherwise, everything could go to waste.

    Tiana didn''t want to lay on a bed but rather chose to lay down on his tights.

    "Are you prepared? This might hurt a lot, but you have to endure it." Lumen asked the purple-haired, laying on his tights. Tiana nodded to him with eyes full of confidence.

    Taking a deep breath, Lumen concentrated, and gently brought his Pheonix flame to her injured side. He saw her clench her teeth in pain as the flame touched her, but he couldn''t stop now. Lumen watched, as slowly but surely, the left side of her face was being restored.

    Two hours later, she looked as beautiful as before. She had passed out during the operation, so Lumen was about to leave the room after he covered her with a blanket. Just as he was about to step out, he heard her ask him. "Do you remember what you asked me on the 3rd Floor?"

    "I''m not sure what you are talking about." Lumen had asked her a lot of things on that Floor but had a feeling what she meant by picking on her emotions.

    "Just know that whatever you ask of me, I will gladly do it," Tiana said as she fell asleep.

    A month later, they were preparing to go take on the Test on the 21st Floor.

    "There''s no way this works," Androssi exclaimed while looking at Lumen. He was wearing black shorts and a black long-sleeved shirt. He had a mask on his face that covered it from below the eyes down. The mask continued down his throat, connected to a tank top.

    "Trust me. I''ve seen it happen, but it would have been even better if my hair was silver. I should consider doing that on the next Floor." Lumen replied.

    "I don''t believe you." Androssi though he will surely be recognized since his face was as famous as a Princess of Zahard. The incident with him happened three years ago, but that to the residents in the Tower is a short amount. The news was still fresh in their minds.

    A short man with rosy red cheeks, thin eyebrows, and narrowed eyes approached them. He was wearing a red kimono with a red hat that had the yin-yang symbol on.

    "Are you the Regulars for the Test?" He questioned them.

    "Yes," Leesoo confirmed while the rest nodded.

    The short man observed them one by one and then stated. "Good. I''m Noma, a Test Administrator on the Floor. Follow me, I will lead you to your Test will take place." He led them a small flying ship, able to fit all eleven of them.

    Androssi was looking at Lumen wide-eyed as she mouthed. "No way." To which he just winked in response.

    Noma, controlled the ship to fly quite the distance, and they were currently floating over an ocean. The 21st Floor has a few places on it, where the Shinsoo density is extremely high, and giant pools of water like the ocean below them could be found throughout the Floor. The short man came to explain their Test.

    "Well, Regulars, this is where your Test will take place. More specifically, down there." Noma pointed towards the ocean.

    "Right under those water of Shinsoo lives a giant Iron Mackarel Shark. That one is as big as a mountain, so it''s impossible for you to kill, but your Test requires to kill at least one of its offsprings for each Regular on your team. The Shark would usually produce over a hundred children every year, so the place is filled down there. They, unlike their parent, are only as big as a five-story building." He showed them a picture of the Iron Mackarel Shark. The creature looked like a giant white shark covered with an iron-like armor covering its body.

    Noma pulled out disc-like objects that had a handle coming out of them, making them look like scooters. "You can use those to go down there. The ship won''t go any lower, in case the big one wakes up. It usually spends its time sleeping, but you never know."

    "So, we have to kill at least one Iron Mackarel Shark for each Regular on the team? We don''t all have to kill one as long as a team we have killed at least eleven, right?" Lumen questioned him.

    Noma felt the question is a bit weird, since even as a team of eleven E-Rank Regulars, they would find it very hard to hunt eleven Iron Macakrel Sharks. "Yes, so if one person kills five and another six, all of you will pass the Test." Nonetheless, he confirmed that to them.

    "That''s perfect." Noma was surprised by the confident tone of the masked Regular and was even more surprised when he saw him jump off the ship without the flying disc. E-Rank Regulars normally don''t have the ability to fly, nor can they fight in that area with an extremely high concentration of Shinsoo, like the water below.

    He walked up to the side of the ship and looked down, just in time to see Lumen mid-flight burst into black flames. Noma felt the temperature of the flames from where he was standing, and he a few drops of sweat on his forehead.

    "What in the hell?" Noma exclaimed, seeing those ominous black flames.

    The 21st Floor is ruled by the Yeon Family, who is known for producing powerful Flame users. It is said that members of the family are "flame" itself from the moment they are born. He had seen a lot of strong Flame users, but those ominous black flames were unprecedented. Their temperature was so high, that he was sweating despite his distance from them.

    Noma watched in shock, as he witnessed the black flames burning, and evaporating the water made of Shinsoo. He had never seen such a sigh in his entire life. As a Ranker, he felt scared of the flames created by an E-Rank Regular. He didn''t know what to think of this situation, so he immediately contacted the Ruler of the Floor.

    [Miss Jina, is there a Flamer user from your prestige Family that uses ominous black flames?] Noma only sent her a message, not daring to contact her directly.

    In a moment, he received a response.

    [No, I have no knowledge of such a Flame user. Why do you ask?]

    Just as Noma was about to respond to her, he heard an explosion come from the ocean and saw a giant black pillar made of fire. A massive part of the entire ocean had already been evaporated from the black flames. Noma couldn''t see a single Iron Mockarel Shark, even the gigantic one that even he didn''t want to deal directly with.

    [Well, Miss Jena, I think a Flamer user with flames like that, had just killed absolutely all Iron Mockarel Sharks on the floor.]

 Chapter -1 - Character Info

    Main group.

    Lumen: MC

    Aleksai Amigochaz: Big dude with red hair and tan skin. Has small devil wings and likes cooking. Main role Spear Bearer.

    Anak Zahard Jr.: Short green-skinned girl with a lizard tail. Daugther of a Princess of Zahard, so she has inherited a part of Zahard''s blood. Massive strength + green skin + tail = Puppy Hulk. Main role Fisherman.

    Androssi Zahard: A beautiful woman with short brown hair, yellow eyes, and a small horn on the right side of her head. Likes to cross her hands under her br??sts and push them up to make them look bigger. Main role Fisherman.

    Hatsu: Black-haired, handsome swordsman. Wannabe Zoro, but can only use two swords. Very honorable and would never betray his teammates. Main role Scout.

    Phonsekal Laure: Green-haired, green-eyes, tall human. Loves sleeping and always carries his blanket and pillow. Normally, Aleksai would carry him around on his back. Learned how to manipulate Shinsoo in his sleep due to circumstances. Branch member of the Eurasia Family. Main role Wave Controller.

    Leesoo: Purple jumpsuit wearing guy. Has short brown hair and dimples on his cheeks. The normal guy in the group, also Androssi personal punching bag. Main role Scout

    Merrie: Beautiful red-haired woman with red eyes and a curvaceous body. A very good Guide that was forced to be a Lightbearer as well, since being a Guide isn''t good enough. Main role Guide.

    Tiana: A purple-haired beautiful woman. Abandoned as a child in the Outer Tower. One of her parents is from the 10 Great Families. High aptitude for Shinsoo manipulation. Main role Wave Controller.

    Verdi: Short girl with grey hair, green eyes, and pale skin. Hates crowded spaces since they give her headaches from hearing other people''s thoughts. Due to that, she prefers playing with dolls. Branch member of the Lo Po Bia Family. Main role Anima.

    Vespa: Short girl with bee-like wings on her back, luminous blue-grey hair, and very dark eyes. Has specialized needles that look like a stinger. Can transform into a s?xy ?du?t form. Main role Scout.

    Urek Mazino: Most badass character in ToG.

    Eurasia Diana: Pink-haired beautiful woman. Daughter of Eurasia Blossom and Po Bidau Gustang, two family heads, and sister of Eurasia Enne Zahard. Banished to the 3rd Floor. Had snu snu with MC.

    Ha Yuri Zahard: A beautiful black-haired woman with red eyes. Has two of the 13 Month Series. High Ranker and is one of the fastest to climb the Tower. Doesn''t care about rules and does whatever she wants. Waiting for MC to climb higher, so they can go on another date.

    Lo Po Bia Dan: Furry.

 Chapter 38 - Twenty-First Floor (4)

    Jena watched as the black flames were burning the ocean made of Shinsoo. Even in her family, she hadn''t seen such an ominous flame. It was burning and evaporating Shinsoo itself. The flames looked scary even to her, a member of the Yeon Family, but she knew she had to stop them.

    Jena descended from the ship like a Goddess, as she slowly floated down, just in time to see a man in black shorts and a tank top that had a face mask, putting on a black long-sleeved shirt while trembling. Once he put on his shirt, she saw his bloodshot eyes as he looked at her while scratching random parts on his body.

    She loved animals, and not seeing a single of the Iron Mackarel Sharks made her extremely angry. That species lived in only two places in the entire Tower, and this was one of them. The giant Iron Mackarel Shark was also the biggest of its species and was one of a kind. It hurt her, knowing that such an amazing creature has been killed.

    Jena''s Family had nearly massacred a species to extinction, all for the sake of monopolizing a jewel. On the 21st Floor is where the last Zygaena in the Tower resides. A massive creature that resembles a tortoise without its shell, except for two blowholes in the center of its belly and back, a long stingray-like tail, two horns, and a mouth full of sharp teeth.

    A special jewel grows inside the Zygaena, which comes from the center of the Zygaena Flower. The jewel is extremely valuable, as it grows only inside of Zygaena and is considered one of the best jewels due to its beautiful color.

    However, this jewel is also the nutrition for Zygaena''s babies. To protect the value of the jewel, the Yeon Family stopped all babies from growing by harvesting the Flower of Zygaena, and at some point in time, they had made the flower their Family Crest.

    As much as she hated this, Jena couldn''t go against her entire Family, but the Regular in front was a whole different story. He had killed all of the Iron Mackarel Sharks on the Floor, and that made her furious. Jena needed to take out her anger on someone, and he was the perfect target. Regular or not, she didn''t care. Jena might end up being punished by her Family for killing a Regular, but she didn''t mind.

    Lumen initially planned to harvest a few of those Iron Mackarel Sharks for their life force. However, after he killed the first one, he gained a week''s worth of life force. Knowing that just the small ones could bring him so much, he immediately set his sights on the mountain-sized one.

    Shooting out an endless stream of black fire, he covered the whole beast in his flames. It didn''t take long for the Shark to die, but the amount of life force he received was a lot more than what he expected.

    He had harvested over ten years'' worth of life force from the giant Shark, and his body immediately went through a growth spurt. In a matter of seconds, he had grown back to his original size, and due to the sudden growth, his body was itching all over. He couldn''t stop scratching himself.

    However, that wasn''t all. Lumen''s body was filled to the brim with energy, and he felt like he had taken a dozen adrenaline shots. Without even being able to control himself, he had released a massive amount of his black flames that caused an explosion, and killed off all other Iron Mackarel Sharks. Which further filled his body with even more energy, due to the life force he had harvested from them.

    While trembling and shaking, he had managed to put on some clothes that he had already prepared in advance. Knowing that his black flames could harvest life force, he had a few spare clothes with a bigger size just in case. As soon as he was done putting on his shirt on, he saw a beautiful black-haired woman descent in front of him.

    "Do you even know what you just did?" Jena questioned him with a look of sheer fury on her face.

    "Oh, yes, I do. I do. I know exactly what I did. I just had the best meal of my life." With the amount of life force coursing through his body, he sounded like a crackhead. Combined with his mad look and with his scratching, he looked like one as well.

    Jena''s face distorted even more from his response, but she wanted to know who he is. "Who are you?"

    "Oh, missy, you don''t want to know who I am. No, no, no, you definitely don''t want to know. That won''t do you any favors." He replied in a maniacal manner.

    Jena''s question was mostly to figure out if he is from the Yeon Family, but judging from his speech, he was most likely from the Blitz Family. A special family, that is not part of the 10 Great Families but is notorious for producing Flame users. Most, if not all, members of the Blitz Family tend to possess maniacal temperaments. They normally have red hair and red eyes, but there are always exceptions.

    Had he been from the Yeon Family, maybe she could have talked it out with him and forgiven his actions. However, since he is most likely from the Blitz Family, she wouldn''t let him go scot-free from this. He would have to pay back the life he had taken.

    A blood-colored flame started spreading around Jena. Although it acted like fire, the flame resembled blood.

    "Bleeding-Fire Waterfall." Like a Goddess of fire, she sent a massive torrent of her blood-like flames toward Lumen. The stream of fire was large enough to cover up a whole mountain since Jena wasn''t planning on giving him any chance of survival. The fire engulfed him completely, and she kept the torrent going for about a minute.

    As her blood-like flames disappeared, Jena saw Lumen standing there, with black flames dancing around him. He didn''t even have a single injury on him from the massive torrent of flames that she sent his way.

    She couldn''t believe her eyes as she didn''t think a Regular could survive her flames, let alone without even a scratch on him. Even Rankers wouldn''t be able to take on her attack without receiving a single injury. This outcome just didn''t make sense to her. What kind of Regular is the masked man?

    "Missy, are you perhaps offering yourself as my next meal?" Lumen asked her with a maniacal look in his bloodshot eyes.

    "Although I feel full, I can always find some space for a nice dessert." He told her while ???k?n? his lips.

    A little bit scared from his look, Jena prepared to use one of her strongest attacks. A slit opened on her palm, and blood poured out of it. The blood transformed into the blood-like flame, as it formed a bow and an arrow. Combing her own blood with her Shinsoo flames is her most destructive style.

    "Bleeding-Fire Arrow." She pulled the string and shot the arrow towards Lumen. One of the properties of this technique is that it will lock onto its target and chase after it until the target dies. Another property is that since the flame was made of her own blood and Shinsoo, it''s nigh inextinguishable.

    Her eyes widened in fear as she watched the black flames that were dancing around Lumen, jump towards her arrow and consume it before it could even reach him.

    Jena kept shooting more and more arrows at him, but the ominous black flames consumed them all. She couldn''t understand how a Regular''s flames able to overcome the flames of a Ranker from the Yeon Family.

    Jena let even more blood out of her palms and two giant wings of blood-like fire formed above her.

    "1 000 Bleeding-Fire Feathers." The two giant wings split apart, forming thousand of feathers made of the blood-like fire. Jena sent all one thousand feathers towards him, and she watched in horror, as even the thousand feathers weren''t able to bypass the black flames dancing around Lumen.

    Jena was about to try and pour more of her blood out when she saw him disappear from his spot with extreme speed.

    Barely able to follow him, she saw a bright flash of white, as he appeared next to her with a hand grasping her neck. Jena was stunned and couldn''t believe what''s happening.

    She is a Ranker of one of the 10 Great Families for god sake. How did a Regular beat her so easily? She couldn''t understand the situation. He was faster and had more powerful flames than a Yeon Family member, which should be impossible. This all seemed like a nightmare to her.

    Staring at his bloodshot eyes, Jena was sure that she will die today, and there was nothing she could do about it. She had just accepted her fate when a man in a black suit appeared and grabbed Lumen''s arm. The man had a slightly effeminate look with short black hair, fair skin, and blue-grey eyes, and Lumen was able to recognize the man. His name is Yuje, and he is a member of Wolhaiksong.

    After Lumen had learned what Urek had done after his supposed death, he had contacted the blonde Irregular. Surprisingly, Urek had just arrived on the 21st Floor to do a request for Yuri, which she had asked him to do a long time ago.

    He had immediately rushed off to see his little bro, and he made sure to emphasize the little part when he saw Lumen in his chibi form. Urek had spent nearly half an hour just laughing at how small he is.

    Urek had come along with Yuje, and Lumen had learned that the man is working undercover as a Test Administrator on the 21st Floor. He didn''t know much else about him since he acted like Urek''s butler most of the time. However, he was very helpful when it came to finding "volunteers" to test out his Phoenix flames.

    After talking for a bit and sharing a few drinks, Urek had told him. "You better call Yuri as soon as possible. She is still out there searching for FUG bases because of you. If she learns that you are alive and you haven''t told her, she will definitely kill you next time you meet her."

    When Lumen contacted Yuri, she had started yelling at him for not reaching out to inform her that he is alive.

    "But I didn''t have a way to contact you." Lumen had tried explaining himself, but that didn''t work for Yuri.

    "If you didn''t have a way to contact me, you should have made one!"

    After yelling at him to her heart''s content, she calmed down and expressed how happy she is that he is alive. They talked for nearly a day before she made him promise to climb higher as soon as possible, so that they could meet.

    "Miss Jena, attacking a Regular won''t do well for your image, so let''s stop this here, shall we? Let''s just end this now, and sent the Regulars to the next Floor." Yuje told the Floor Ruler while he also sent a message to Lumen on his Pocket.

    [Jenna isn''t like most members of the 10 Great Families. There is no need for you to kill her. She is better of alive while continuing to question her Family''s methods.]

    Reading the message, Lumen had managed to calm down a bit, but still had that maniacal look in his bloodshot eyes. The life energy was coursing throughout his body, and he really needed to do something about that.

    "I''m sure that the Regular would be happy to end this scuffle, right?" Yuje asked Lumen, prompting him to remove his hold on Jenna.

    As soon as he stopped grasping her neck, she let out a few deep breaths and stepped back away from him. Jena stared at him in fear, unable to believe that a lowly Regular had completely overpowered. Seeing that she didn''t even know what to say, Yuje took over.

    "I believe you have successfully completed the Test. With this, you have received the right to advance to the 22nd Floor! As a reward, you will all be granted 15 000 Points. I wish you luck in your climb, Regulars." Yuje told Lumen and winked at him, as he teleported him and his group away.

 Chapter 39 - Twenty-Second Floor (1)

    The 22nd Floor was one gigantic forest, filled with trees as tall as skyscrapers. The residents of the Floor used those trees as buildings. They would hollow them out and change their insides to fit their needs, be it apartment buildings, stores, or entertainment facilities.

    The place was filled to the brim with Regulars, like almost any other Floor from the 21st and upwards. You could easily find hundreds of thousands of Regulars on those Floors, especially on the lower and middle ones.

    The Test on the Floor requires at least six members to participate, but you can have a team up to twelve Regulars. The Test is a team battle in an arena enclosed by massive walls, erected there, to stop Regular from interfering with the Test, and to outline the arena boundaries. The arena is separated into three areas, one for each team and a middle area, and is the size of a city like New York.

    Each team will have six cube-shaped holes, that could fit a dozen humans, on their side. In order to complete the Test, you have to fill all six holes at the same time. And the object that you need, the cube, could be found in the middle ground, where there are a total of eleven there. Each one a large distance away from the others, so teams would carefully have to decide where they will send their members.

    The Test has a time limit of four days, due to the large arena, so if neither team manages to complete the objective, both of them will fail.

    Despite the large number of Regulars residing on the Floor, only two teams would usually take on the Test every few days or so. That would mostly depend on how long it took the previous teams to complete or fail the Test.

    Three months had passed, since Lumen and his group arrived on the 22nd Floor.

    Due to the large amount of life force he had in his body, Lumen had entered deep into the forest, so that he could safely deal with it. For the first few days, he couldn''t do anything about it. He couldn''t fall asleep, his body was twitching, his brain felt like a CPU that was overclocked.

    Lumen tried training with increased gravity to tire himself out, but that didn''t work. He tried overusing his light powers, but that also didn''t work. Lumen also tried using his new darkness powers and was able to get a lot of practice done with them, but that didn''t tire him out as well. He had even tried using the Shinsoo strengthening technique that Urek taught him, by trying to use the life force inside him instead of Shinsoo, but that also didn''t work.

    When he had killed the mountain-sized Iron Mackarel Shark, he had released a massive amount of his black flames, and that had helped out to a point, but he had ended up killing all other Sharks in the are, which made the issue even worst.

    Lumen had thought of doing the same, but he didn''t want to cause another commotion, plus there were a lot of creatures living in the forest, so doing that won''t help him.

    He wanted to keep the fact that he is alive hidden for a bit longer. His survival from being attacked by a FUG Slayer would be a big deal, and reporters would flock to him if they learn about that. And from the 21st Floor and upwards, you could easily find hundreds of reporters on each Floor.

    Lumen was fine with them asking questions like that, as long as they didn''t bother him. Otherwise, with him being in the limelight, he would have a harder time baiting the rats out. He was under the impression that FUG had already lost three Slayers and an Elder since he believed Karaka had died on the 10th Floor.

    After what Urek had done to them, he didn''t think that they would dare sent another Slayer or Elder, considering they have lost so many already, but he was hoping to bait out a high ranking member. As long as FUG sends someone to check out the identity of the new masked Regular, he would be happy with that. After all, he had a nasty surprise prepared for them and was working on another one as well.

    When Lumen was at his wit''s end, he tried out his white Phoenix flames, and finally, he had some success. He was able to refine the life force coursing through him and strengthen his body with it, but the process was a painfully slow one. It would take him one day to refine a day''s worth of life force, and he had at least a few years in excess of it inside of him. He didn''t plan on spending years just to get rid of the surplus of life force, so he worked on ways to make the process faster.

    A month after they reached the 22nd Floor, he had managed to combine the strengthening technique Urek taught him, with the refining done by his white flames. By doing that, he was able to increase the speed at which he refines the life force by seven times. He could now refine a week''s worth of life force in a day. And after spending two months doing just that, he still had a surplus of life force in him, but he no longer had the same symptoms as before. He would need about three to four months to refine all the residue life force.

    Lumen was currently sitting in a relaxing manner under a gigantic tree. Saber, now looking like a small cat with two fangs, was peacefully snoring next to him. He didn''t know when, but she had learned how to resize her body, similarly to how Compression Licensers are able to.

    Normally, massive individuals can form a contract with the Guardian on the Floor in order to resize the size of their bodies, since their giant size makes it inconvenient for them to move around and do activities in the Tower.

    However, Saber was able to achieve that without forming a contract with a Guadian. That was a natural ability of hers, considering Berserker was unable to do the same. The big lizard had eaten a lot of the forest''s creatures, and Lumen had returned him back to his bowl.

    As he was sitting under the tree, he was able to sense two individuals that were fighting nearby. His range of reading Shinsoo was immense, and he could sense things up to 1km away from him.

    One of the Regulars that were fighting was a muscular man that was easily over 2m tall. The man had black hair and red eyes, and he was wearing black shorts, a black short-sleeved shirt with a green collar, and black and green sneakers. That was Novick, a branch member of the Ha Family, and considered one of the top 20 E-Rank Regulars, despite becoming one very recently. Like any other member of the Ha Family, he had an extremely strong physique.

    Both of them had incredibly strong physical bodies, but Ran was faster and more agile than Novick. The blue-haired boy was landing hit after hit on the muscular man, with each strike being enhanced with electric Shinsoo.

    Despite that, Novick was standing strong, he was a member of the Ha Family, so his durability was immense. While taking hits from Ran, he was trying to counter-attack with his own Shinsoo abilities. He would gather red-colored Shinsoo around his hands and punch, causing it to explode outwards in the form of a shield. Unfortunately, Ran was moving to fast for him to land a hit on him.

    Novick had gathered red-colored Shinsoo in both of his hands and was about to hit the ground with them, trying to use one of his techniques, but Ran appeared in front of him in a burst of speed before he was able to finish it.

    "Time to end this." Ran said and formed two electric infused Baangs of Shinsoo in his hands and fired them off point-blank at Novick. Being hit by the two blasts of lightning, the muscular man was sent flying from the attack, right towards where Lumen was sitting.

    Before the flying Novick could hit him, a shield made of black mass formed in front of him and stopped the flying man. Despite hitting the shield with his head, Novick stood up shortly.

    "What the hell did I hit?" He said as he stood up. Looking around, he couldn''t see the object that he hit, but he saw a masked-man that was staring at him.

    "Who are you?" Novick asked Lumen with narrowed eyes. Regulars usually wouldn''t come so deep into the forest, so he found the masked-man suspicious for being here. Maybe he was planning to take him and Ran out after they tired themselves, securing an easier time of passing the Test on the Floor.

    "You come flying towards me, but rather than apologizing, you ask me who I am? Has no one taught you manners?" Lumen replied and released a bit of killing intent.

    Feeling that, Novick took a few steps backward. The masked-man was definitely not ordinary, but like any other member of the 10 Great Families, his arrogance was sky-high, and it didn''t sit well with him to apologize.

    However, he didn''t know what to do and was conflicted. Normally, he would attack and kill any other Regular if they had told him that, but the masked-man felt extremely dangerous. Just as he was wondering what to do, Ran walked in.

    "Who are you?" The blue-haired boy felt the dangerous aura coming from Lumen and immediately focused his attention on him.

    "Another one that hasn''t been taught manners. It''s common knowledge that you have to introduce yourself first before asking for someone''s name." Lumen replied.

    "You don''t know who we are?" Novick asked in wonder. The two of them are from the 10 Great Families and are quite famous amongst the E-Rank Regulars, considering they are regarded as one of the strongest, despite recently advancing to E-Rank.

    "No, and I don''t care who you are unless you are members of FUG..." Lumen paused to evaluate their reaction of him mentioning FUG, and to read their emotions. Judging that they do not have a connection with FUG, he continued. "Or you want to join my team."

    "Join your team? Tsch. If you are good enough, I could let you join my team." Ran responded arrogantly. Despite sensing the dangerous aura of Lumen, he was confident in his own abilities. He didn''t think that just any E-Rank Regular could match his strength.

    Lumen lazily stood up and did a few stretches. "I haven''t fought in quite some time. You seem like a good opponent for a nice warm-up."

    His words angered Ran. How dare an unknown Regular look down on him, and think of him as nothing more than a warm-up.

    "I will teach you not to look down on me!" As he finished his words, he appeared in front of Lumen with a burst of speed. Ran sent a punch infused with his electric Shinsoo, but Lumen caught his fist without taking any damage from it.

    Both Novick and Ran were astonished at how easily Lumen stopped the attack.

    "Not bad speed and strength. Your Shinsoo control is also good. However, you would at most be considered sixth in strength in my team." Lumen told him truthfully. He could give Vespa and Hatsu a good fight, but the two should be able to take him down. Anak and Androssi were out of the question, as they would easily crush him.

    Ran jumped backward and studied Lumen carefully. Despite his arrogance, he was an intelligent one, and he knew that he picked a fight with someone who he shouldn''t underestimate.

 Chapter 40 - Twenty-Second Floor (2)

    Knowing that Lumen is a strong opponent, Ran planned on changing the battlefield to fit him better. The blue-haired boy created a small cloud of Shinsoo that had electricity coursing through it. The storm cloud expanded under his control and surrounded Lumen from all sides, and Ran disappeared within the storm cloud.

    Hidden inside it, he was planning to sneak attack Lumen. Jumping out from the left side, he sent a lightning infused kick towards Lumen''s head. Unfortunately, Lumen was easily able to perceive his location despite him hiding in his storm cloud, and he blocked the attack by simply raising his arm.

    Despite his attacking being blocked, Ran immediately reacted and jumped back inside his storm cloud. He tried landing a few more sneak attacks, but Lumen would block them just as easily as he blocked the first one.

    Ran jumped out of the storm cloud and sent another kick towards Lumen, who blocked the attack. However, this time, Ran was prepared for that. As he was kicking towards Lumen, he had already formed a Baang of electric Shinsoo. Forming it into a spear made of lightning, he threw it a Lumen at point-blank. "Maschenny Style: Lightning Spear"

    The lightning spear landed straight in his ?h?st, but it didn''t even budge him from his spot. As if his attack had no effect on him at all.

    "That tickled." Lumen casually remarked, not hurt even the slightest from the attack.

    Novick was staring at Lumen wide-eyed. Even he couldn''t take on that attack without protecting himself with his techniques. However, the masked Regulad took the attack head-on and didn''t even move from his spot.

    ''Who is this guy? How have I never heard of him?'' Novick asked himself. He knew all of the strongest E-Rank Regulars, but the masked man wasn''t one of them.

    Ran attempted several more sneak attacks on Lumen, but that was obviously not working for him. Knowing that he couldn''t beat the masked Regular in his current state, he decided to step it up a notch. He didn''t like using that technique, but he had no other option.

    Ran created a highly concentrated Baang of Shinsoo infused with electricity that took the shape of a pill. He threw the Baang in his mouth and gulped it down. Lightning visibly started coursing through his body, and a black cross-shaped marked appeared on his right cheek.

    Redan, or also known as Lightning Pill, is a technique that increases the user''s strength and speed by several folds, a technique that is only usable by a few selected members of the Khun Family. The technique also increases the strength of the user''s lightning-based attacks, as well.

    Although Redan gives a tremendous boost in fighting strength, it can only be used for a limited amount of time. Ran can use it for no more than 5 minutes and will be left incapable of moving after its effect expires.

    With the boost from Redan, Ran was more confident in being able to match the masked Regular. Very few could keep up with him in his current state.

    Lumen watched in interest as he felt Ran increase his strength after consuming the highly concentrated Baang of Shinsoo. This was his first time seeing Shinsoo be used in such a way, and he was half-expecting Ran to shout Godspeed, with the electricity coursing through his body.

    With his increased speed, Ran appeared in front of Lumen in an instant. With a confident smirk on his face, he sent a massive blast of lightning at Lumen. The blast covered him completely and drilled a hole in the giant tree behind him.

    "That''s a pretty good attack, little one." Lumen commented after the blast dissipated. He was still standing in the same spot since their fight began without a single scratch on him.

    ''This can''t be real'' Novic was thinking that this is just a dream. There is no way a Regular could take on that attack without defending himself.

    "DO!" Ran moved lightning fast as he appeared on Lumen''s right side while throwing a punch, which was easily blocked.

    "NOT!" This time he launched a kick from his left side but was yet again blocked.

    "CALL!" Ran appeared on his right side again but shot another massive blast of electricity covering Lumen entirely.

    "ME!" Appearing behind Lumen, he threw spear of lightning at him.

    "SHORT! Espada Grande!" Ran appeared above Lumen with a gigantic lightning sword made of several Baangs of Shinsoo. The attack that was larger than a five-story building landed on Lumen and caused a massive explosion.

    After the dust from the explosion scattered, Novick and Ran saw Lumen still standing in the same spot that he stood during the entire fight, without a single scratch on him. He was nonchalantly staring at Ran with an amused smile on his face.

    Lumen''s physical durability and Shinsoo resistance were immense. His body was strengthened from his revival, and Regulars would have a very hard time at even being able to injure him. To top it off, he trained with the technique Urek taught him and had combined it with his white flames to refine life force as well. In terms of body resistance, even Ha Family members would be jealous of him.

    Novick was starting to think that the masked man is, in fact, a Ranker and not a Regular. He just couldn''t believe that a Regular would be able to survive all of those attacks without a scratch. Novick himself would be left in a critical condition from them, and could possibly even die. Let alone just any random E-Rank Regular, they would get killed before they could even understand what''s happening.

    Ran was starting at Lumen in disbelief. He couldn''t understand how he wasn''t even able to make the masked man even move from his spot. He was the most talented member of his branch, and yet, he couldn''t even put a scratch on Lumen. The only time he had suffered such a miserable defeat was when he fought his sister once. However, she is a Princess of Zahard and a Ranker, while the masked man should be a Regular.

    The last technique he used took a huge toll on his body, so he was left panting after using it. Ran couldn''t even react as a giant hand of darkness formed next to him and caught him. He tried resisting, but he was unable to break free from the hold of the hand made of darkness.

    "Not bad, little one. You could give Vespa a run for her money with that speed. Maybe you could even beat Hatsu, but it seems you can''t keep that state for long." Lumen told him as he brought Ran closer with his hand made of darkness.

    "Vespa? Hatsu? Aren''t those two members of Androssi''s team?" Novick questioned to the side. Helping out Ran didn''t even pass through his mind. Novick personally witnessed how easily the masked man took him down without even moving, and he knew that he didn''t stand a chance against him.

    "Here''s where you are wrong. It''s not Androssi''s team, it''s my team." Lumen corrected him.

    Novick was astonished that someone unknown was the leader of that monstrous team, but then he remembered the story about White Star, or now know as Lights End. Supposedly, he was someone extremely strong that used to lead the team before. However, that guy should be dead, and he was known for using light-based attacks. Could he have possibly survived? Though that didn''t explain his darkness element.

    "So, little one. Are you interested in joining my team?" Lumen questioned Ran. He was impressed by his strength and knowing he isn''t a FUG member, he wanted to recruit him.

    Without even hesitating, the blue-haired boy immediately responded. "No!"

    Lumen was surprised at how quickly he was denied. Ran hadn''t even thought about it for a second, before refusing to join his team.

    "And why is that?" He asked him in wonder.

    "Because I already promised I will join A.A''s team when he catches up to me. If you want to join his team, I can introduce him to you." Despite being caught by Lumen, Ran kept his proud nature. He had already made a promise to Agnis, so there was no way he will go back on his words.

    "You are an arrogant little fellow, aren''t you." Lumen laughed out, and as much as Ran wanted to yell at Lumen for calling him little, he already knew that the masked man is on a completely different level from him.

    "I will pass on your offer, but should you change your mind and my team is still on this Floor, you could come to seek me out." Lumen was impressed by Ran''s performance. Had his team not trained with the increased gravity, Ran would have been stronger than almost all of them. And should he end up eating the Redan, he could have possibly even beat Androssi and Anak, if they hadn''t trained with Lumen that is.

    Novick was sitting to the side, hoping that the same offer would be given to him, but he was bound to be disappointed. Lumen was only interested in Ran and not him.

    "I''ve been in this forest for a few months now. So, mind telling me what''s happened recently?" Lumen asked Ran as he continued holding him in his hand of darkness while making his way towards the city on the Floor.

    "No idea, I don''t follow the news." Ran casually replied while being carried in the hand of darkness. He didn''t like it, but he couldn''t even move a muscle, so he had no other choice.

    "Hey, wait for me!" Novick called out and chased after them.

    After dumping Ran to Novick, Lumen entered one of the apartment trees. He walked up to a room and knocked on it. Moments later, Leesoo opened the door.

    "Hey, you are back! Come in! We were just planning to come and see you, but it seems that''s pointless now." Leesoo said as he ushered him to enter the room.

    As soon as he entered, Anak had already jumped him for a hug, happy to see him. She isn''t much of a talker and prefers expressing herself with actions.

    "Lumen, Lumen, look, look! I have a bunch of new dolls!" Verdi excitedly shook her dollhouse in front of him. He ruffled her hair, and she giggled in response. "Lumen loves me best!"

    After having a short greeting with everyone else in the room, he asked. "So, when can we take on the Test?"

    "We can do it in about in two weeks," Leesoo answered him. "We would usually sign up for the Test in case you come back, but forfeit it each time since you weren''t here. With you being here now, we have no need to forfeit again."

    "Good job." Lumen praised him, making Leesoo scratch his head in embarrassment.

    Leesoo entered the kitchen and shortly came out with few bottles of booze. "Since you are back, let''s celebrate!"

    Gin a man with orange hair, slit-eyed, and cat ears explained the rules of the Test, and teleported the group to the Test area.

    Since they knew the locations of all the cubes, they had a simple plan prepared for the Test. Their six fastest members would simply go after a cube and bring it back to the cube-shaped hole.

    Lumen, Androssi, Anak, Vespa, Hatsu, and Tiana each sped off towards a location where a cube is located. The Regulars from the other team didn''t even have a chance, as the six easily reached a cube and brought it back. Despite the large area, it didn''t take them more than half an hour to accomplish that.

    The hardest part of the Test for Lumen''s team was the part where they had to simultaneously place the cube in the cube-shaped hole. As they placed the cubes, they were all teleported out of the arena, successfully passing the Test.

    "That was fast." Gin commented as he looked at the Regulars that just completed the Test in half an hour. Which makes it the fastest recorded time anyone has passed this Test.

    "Well, congradulations, Regulars. You''ve passed the Test on the 22nd Floor and are granted the right to climb higher. As a Reward, you will all receive 20 000 Points. Good luck, Regulars." Gin congratulated them and teleported them to the next Floor.

 Chapter 41 - Twenty-Third Floor (1)

    At an unknown Floor, three FUG Elders were discussing how to proceed with the Irregular that they have captured. His training has been progressing as planned, so they were thinking about sending him up the Tower. They wanted to proclaim the existence of their new Slayer candidate, but they knew what would happen if they do so. Urek didn''t care if the individual is a Ranker or a Regular, as long as he is a member of FUG, he would happily kill them, especially if that member is a Slayer candidate.

    As the Elders were talking about their plans, a cloaked individual entered the room. Bright green hair could be seen sticking out under the person''s hood, and the tapping sounds of high heels were heard from the person''s steps. As soon as the woman entered, she immediately got on her knee and bowed in a show of respect.

    "Elders, I have something to report to you." The cloaked woman said while staying on her knee.

    "Stand up and speak." One of the Elders commanded.

    The cloaked woman stood up. "The Regulars that Lord Karaka had injured have been sighted without any injuries. They have all been healed up."

    "How? Healing their injuries should be impossible in the Lower Floor?" Questioned one of the Elders.

    "We do not know how, but that happened after their arrival on the 21st Floor." The cloaked woman explained.

    "Was it someone from the Yeon Family?" The Elders were aware that there are members of the Yeon Family that are able to heal others with their flame. Although very few of them have that ability, one of them could have ended up helping the Regulars.

    "We do not know for sure, Elders. However, there appears to be a masked Regular that has joined their team on that Floor as well." The cloaked individual informed them.

    "A masked Regular? What do we know about him?" An Elder with a horned helmet asked, already having a bad feeling about this.

    "We have no information on him. We do not know where he came from or who he is." As they heard that, all three Elders let out an audible sigh.

    They looked at each other and had the same thought in mind. ''Not again.'' They all remembered what happened last time when an unknown variable appeared in the picture. FUG had lost a few Regulars and a Ranker to that unknown variable. A Slayer had to step in and had to sacrifice his body in order to kill him.

    However, the consequences of doing that had cost them dearly. They hadn''t expected Urek to react in such a violent manner, and they were still recovering from their losses.

    "We are sure we have no information on him? And he is definitely not one of ours?" FUG had tried quite a few times to get one of their members to join the team, but with the Guide, Merrie, leading them, they''ve had no success with that.

    "No, Elders. The masked Regulas first recorded appearance is on the 21st Floor." The Elders stayed silent for a minute, contemplating on how to proceed.

    One of them let out another audible sigh and spoke. "Gather two more members, and contact the masked Regular. We need to confirm his identity and try to get him on our side if possible. Try to do this in a non-aggressive manner."

    "Understood, Elder. I will be on my way." The cloaked woman replied and left the room.

    Once he was gone, one of the Elders turned towards the helmet-wearing one. "Khel, what do you see? What is his destiny?"

    The addressed Elder answered after a moment of hesitation. "Nothing. The moment we decided to send her to contact the masked Regular, I was no longer able to see her fate."

    Silence filled the room as the other two contemplated his words.

    In the meantime, Lumen and his group had arrived on the 23rd Floor.

    The Floor was one massive mountain, filled with stone trees. Oval shaped buildings made of stone were littered everywhere. Despite their look, most of them had highly advanced technology inside them.

    The Test on the Floor takes place on the top of the mountain in a giant colosseum every three days. Five teams of five Regulars can take the Test at the same.

    The Test consists of five rounds, where each team would have to have a Regular participate. In order to pass, a team has to win at least three rounds.

    This would have been a problem for Lumen''s team, considering they have eleven members, but one of them was a Guide.

    "There is no need to concern yourselves with me. As a Guide, I do not need to pass the Tests to move between the Floors." Merrie ?ssured them.

    Splitting the teams was an easy matter for the group. Anak, without hesitation, had walked up to Lumen. Verdi, Vespa, and Tiana followed suit. The others didn''t even have a say in this.

    Androssi''s team would be the first to fight in two weeks, and Lumen''s team would participate three days later.

    Lumen and Verdi were exploring the shops on the Floor. There were a few quite remarkable items that caught his eye, but each one cost at least 5 000 000 Points. The most impressive shop was one that dealt with flying ships. However, the cheapest one was 7 000 000 Points, while the group could gather around 3 000 000 Points at most.

    Verdi suddenly stopped in place and looked towards the side.

    "Lumen, look! Those four there. They are perfect for my new collection!" She exclaimed, as she tugged on his arm and pointed with the other at four Regulars. Each one looked very unique, but they all shared the same point. They all looked like a humanoid animal, a boar, lizard, hippopotamus, and a lemur.

    "Well, they seem ownerless to me, so do your thing." Lumen gave her the green light, and Verdi exclaimed in happiness. "Yay!"

    She summoned her octopus, and before the four Regulars could react, they were all entangled by its tentacles. In a matter of seconds, all of them turned lifeless, and Verdi stored them in her dollhouse.

    This caused a commotion, and all the Regulars in the vicinity turned their attention to Lumen and Verdi.

    A brown-haired human Regular, followed by four more human Regulars, shouted. "Hey, what the hell do you think you are doing?"

    Lumen shot them an annoyed look. "If you value your lives, move on."

    His words provoked the brown-haired Regular, he pulled out a unique-looking needle that had spikes all over it and prepared to attack Lumen and Verdi. "This Floor is owned by the Ari Family, and as a member of the Great Family..."

    Before he could finish what he was saying, he and the other four Regulars were swallowed by a terrifying maw made of darkness.

    Lumen turned towards the crowd that was gathering around them. "Does anyone else have something to say?"

    No was willing to respond, considering what they had just witnessed. The Regular was a member of the Ari Family, but the masked Regular had killed him without hesitation. If he dared to kill a member of the 10 Great Families, what''s stopping him from killing them as well. With fear in their eyes, they all scattered from there as fast as their legs could carry them.

    "Thought so." Lumen uttered.

    Sensing the aura coming from them, he turned towards Verdi. "Hey, Verdi, there is something that I need to take care of. Why don''t you head off towards our residence?"

    Seeing her reluctant look, he ruffled her hair. "Don''t worry, I will be back before you know it. Trust me."

    "Okay~, but don''t be too late. We have to pair the new dolls I got!" Verdi exclaimed, and she started walking towards their residence.

    Lumen wanted to figure out who were the three individuals after. They didn''t make a move when Verdi left, so that answered his question.

    Since they were after him, he made his way outside of the city. The three individuals followed after him. On the way, he was able to learn more about them, by sensing the way Shinsoo moves around them. Lumen was sure that all three should be Rankers.

    Soon, he left the outskirts of the city and entered a forest of stone trees.

    The three individuals were following after him when one that had a visible bulge on their back asked the one that led them. "Shaya, he is obviously leading us outside the city. Don''t you find this suspicious?"

    "I do, Cecro, but we need to confirm his identity. That''s an order from the Elders." Shaya answered him. She was prepared to complete her mission, even if it costed her life.

    As they were following Lumen, they saw him go behind a tree, and they lost sight of him afterward. They were looking around in confusion when they heard a voice from behind them. "I spy three little rats with my eye."

    The person with a bulge on and the other cloaked individual immediately got on their knees. "Lord Karaka." The two said in unison.

    Unlike them, Shaya didn''t bow and questioned him. "Who are you?" She had seen Karaka personally and knew that there was something off about this situation.

    "Tsch, tsch, tsch. Who else can I be but Lord Karaka." Lumen answered with a chuckle.

    "Get up, you fools." Shaya hissed at the other two. "This guy''s an imposter!"

    "Answer me, who are you?" Shaya said in a threatening manner.

    "You don''t believe me? Well, I guess I have to take your lives for doubting me then. For I am the great Slayer of FUG, Lord Karaka!" Lumen replied in a teasing manner.

    Hearing ridicule in his voice, they understood that he is playing with them. Green water started flowing around Shaya. The person that had a bulge spread moth-like wings from his back that shredded his cloak. And the last individual pulled out a single-edge sword from his Arms Inventory. The sword had a white blade with a blue handle.

    Seeing them prepared to fight, Lumen let out a laugh. "What is it called. Ah, yes, I remember now. Karaka Style: World of Darkness."

    Lumen created twelve black orbs that surrounded him. He was already able to control up to 14 Baangs of Shinsoo at the same time, but two of them were already used to make the spear with a lizard head.

    Seeing Karaka''s personal technique, Shaya didn''t know how to respond. Not only did the person look like the Slayer, but he could also use his technique. The other two FUG members were also confused and didn''t know what to do. They were waiting for Shaya, their leader, to give her orders.

    "Now, what was the other one called. I think it was Black Goral''s Horn Whip." Whips made of darkness came out of the black orbs and flew towards the three FUG members.

    The man with moth-like wings was able to dodge the four going towards him, by flying in the air with a burst of speed. Shaya sent four torrents of green water to stop the ones that were aiming for her. Her attack broke through the whips of darkness and continued towards Lumen, but the four torrents were absorbed by the black orbs.

    "Ignite!" The third member shouted, and ice surrounded his blade. He slashed four times with it, sending four waves of ice to stop the whips of darkness. Like with Shaya, his attacks didn''t stop after destroying them and continued on, only to be absorbed by the black orbs.

    Knowing that they can''t deal with this without fighting, Shaya gave her orders. "Ned, take him head-on. Cecro, support him in the air, and I will attack him from a distance."

 Chapter 42 - Twenty-Third Floor (2)

    As Ned rushed towards Lumen, Shaya prepared her own attack.

    "Den of Snakes!" Twenty-one serpents made of green water formed in front of her and flew towards Lumen.

    Cecro, in the air, had grown five times bigger than before. Purple particles were flowing out of his moth-like wings and forming a sphere of highly concentrated Shinsoo in front of him.

    Ned bypassed the black orbs, reaching Lumen in a second, and wherever he passed, he left frost marks behind him. Even more, ice formed on Ned''s sword as he was about to attack when a sudden pressure descended on him, slowing his movements.

    He was standing between the black orbs, and Lumen had infused his gravity powers to them along with the darkness. Combining the two qualities was easier than what he imagined, but darkness and gravity were the only two he could combine in this way for now.

    Depending on the position of the black orbs, they could create a gravity field in between them.

    Two metal tentacles formed on Lumen''s back, and he entangled Ned''s arms. The control of his armor didn''t require him to manipulate Shinsoo, and it was an innate ability. The metal tentacle that caught Ned''s sword arm was slowly being covered in the ice, while the other one was fine.

    Lumen stabbed with his spear of darkness, and the lizard head at the top opened up, revealing its sharp fangs. It chomped on Ned''s left arm and shoulder, and its fangs managed to slightly pierce his body. Ned, as a Ranker, had a durable and Shinsoo resistant body.

    At that moment, eight of the green water serpents landed on top of Lumen while the others were absorbed by the black orbs. With his naturally high Shinsoo resistance and with the Shinsoo resistant armor, he wasn''t that hurt from that attack. However, he was covered by the green water, and it was slowly corroding his armor. A bit of the corrosive water had splashed onto Ned as well, and his skin was slowly starting to erode.

    Despite that, the attack from Cecro is the one that alarmed him the most. The purple sphere was made of an extremely high concentration of Shinsoo. From right above him, Cecro fired off a massive purple beam of light towards Lumen. "Sludge Beam."

    Two more metal tentacles formed on his lower back, and he used to those to push himself out of the way. At the same time, using the other two and the spear that was holding onto Ned, he moved the swordsman in the direction of the beam, using him as a shield. Lumen''s black orbs also flew in an attempt to absorb the massive beam of purple light, but they weren''t successful in doing so.

    The beam of purple light had hit Ned and disintegrated the left part of his body. Despite that, the swordsman was alive and staring daggers at Lumen, while a massive sword of ice was forming above his head.

    Cecro''s beam had also hit Lumen, and he was missing his right arm. A black mass bubbled out of his missing arm as it formed his armor. Under his armor, he used his white flames and the abundance of life force that he had to restore his right arm.

    Four of the black orbs flew up in the air, in an attempt to catch Cecro in a small gravity field like the one around Ned, but he was able to stay away from them.

    Unfortunately, one of them had come a bit to close, and Lumen grabbed one of the black orbs next to him while jumping inside another one, just as Ned''s giant ice sword flew past his location.

    The black orbs could act as gates among each other, and the user could move between them.

    Lumen appeared from the black orb next to Cecro and shot a massive whirlwind blast of Shinsoo. "Damage Counter - Rain of Darkness."

    Under the mask of the blast, he shot out his black flames and covered Cecro entirely. Being attacked by the accumulated damage that the black orbs absorbed and the black Phoenix flames, Cecro stood no chance even with the body of a Ranker. It took a few seconds, but Cecro disappeared without even leaving a trace.

    Receiving a few years'' worths of life force from him, Lumen''s eyes were already starting to redden, but since he had already experienced this before, he was prepared for it this time and didn''t lose control. He kept his cool since there were two more enemies left.

    Now the fight was a 2v1, and Ned was missing the left side of his body. However, Lumen didn''t have any more energy stored in the black orbs for another Damage Counter. Thankfully, he took care of the flying enemy. Now, he didn''t have to worry that one of them would manage to escape.

    Four black orbs flew in the air and formed a square, four more formed a square on the ground, and the eight together formed a cube with the two Rankers in the middle of it. The other four dissolved in the air and filled the area with darkness. "Gravitational Domain of Darkness."

    The entire area inside the cube turned into darkness, and a suppression force enveloped the two FUG members. They couldn''t see a thing, and their bodies felt heavier. Their fighting strength was greatly reduced inside the domain.

    Ned was looking around in vigilance, prepared to jump into action at the slightest movement, but he couldn''t see nor hear a thing in the darkness.

    Suddenly, he felt a maw chomp on him as its fangs pierced his body. There had been absolutely no signs of an attack coming, and yet, the maw was clearly chomping onto him. Ned slashed with his sword to where he presumed the attack came from, but there was nothing there.

    More and more similar attacks that came out of nowhere hit Ned and knew he had to do something about this. Massive amounts of ice started forming around him and covered him up as well. He was planning on freezing the entire area of darkness to break out of the domain.

    Lumen tried attacking the ice, but he wasn''t able to break it with his spear. "Tsch."

    He tried using his black Phoenix flames, but that had little success as well. Lumen dissolved his spear of darkness, and with an annoyed look, started gathering two Baangs of Shinsoo that he infused with the black flames. Forming them together into a black Phoenix, he sent it flying towards the ice. "Phoenix Wrath."

    The black Pheonix exploded and evaporated Ned''s ice. The FUG member was also caught within the blast, and the black fire covered him up. He tried putting out the fire with his ice, but the black Phoenix flames that were infused with Shinsoo melted his ice in seconds. In a moment, he was burned to ashes, without leaving a trace behind.

    Receiving another few years worth of life force, Lumen was on the verge of losing control. He was hoping he wouldn''t need to use the black flames to take the woman out. Lumen didn''t want to seclude himself again.

    Shaya had covered herself in an orb made of her corrosive water. The orb had at least a few layers of the green water. Cecro had died, and she knew that Ned was a bad condition. She didn''t think that he would be able to survive today.

    Shaya was starting to believe that the one that attacked them is, in fact, Lord Karaka. She just didn''t think there was another explanation for what happened. However, why had Lord Karaka attacked them? Had he betrayed FUG?

    Shaya just wanted to run away from this place at this point, and just report everything to the Elders. She had tried to escape the domain of darkness numerous times, but she had no idea where she is going.

    Shaya had great talent in reading the Flow of Shinsoo, but inside the domain, she had lost her ability to do so. She had never been in a situation where someone could block that ability of hers.

    Shaya didn''t even see the attack or where it came from in the domain of darkness. As quickly as the layer of the shield was destroyed, she recreated it anew.

    A few more attacks came at her, but they were all blocked by the layers of the shield covering her. Just as she was reassured that Lumen can''t hurt her, a fang of darkness came from inside her shield, catching her by surprise. The fang only managed to slightly pierce her throat, but then it suddenly started spinning like a drill.

    Shaya managed to cover it with her corrosive water, but the fang had already managed to leave a nasty wound. Before she knew it, two more fangs had attacked her in the same manner. They appeared out of nowhere, under her shield, and only slightly pierced her body, but then they would start spinning like a drill.

    Twenty minutes later, Shaya fell down, bleeding from holes all over her body. A maw of darkness formed around her and swallowed her, leaving no traces behind. The Gravitational Domain of Darkness dissolved, and Lumen in his armor was the only one left standing there.

    He looked up towards the sky, where he had sensed an Observer that was following behind the three FUG members. Grinning, he waved at the observer as a dozen fangs of darkness formed around it and destroyed it.

    Lumen didn''t remove his armor since he had sensed someone spying on him from a distance. Focusing in that direction, he was able to see a gorgeous blonde woman wearing a pure white outfit, and holding a blue needle that had a zig-zag pattern. He watched as she appeared in front of him with a burst of speed.

    "I was going after where a masked Regular was last seen. Who are you and what are you doing on my Floor?" Ari Leya, the Ruler of the 23rd Floor asked him.

    The armor covering Lumen''s face retracted, and his masked appearance was revealed underneath. "I''m just climbing the Tower like any other Regular on the Floor."

    Leya''s eyes widened in astonished seeing this. When she received a report of one of her Family members being killed by a masked Regular, she had briefly checked the information on him. Leya knew that he is apart of Androssi Zahard''s team, but there was no other information about him.

    When she arrived where he was seen last, Leya had seen a confrontation between four Rankers. She had witnessed the fight between the four and was more than sure that the armored person was a Ranker. Never would she have expected for him to be the masked Regular.

    "This..." Leya wasn''t sure what to say in this situation. This wasn''t what she was expecting.

    "It''s also quite convenient how you arrived right after I killed the three Rankers from FUG." Hearing Lumen''s words, she started feeling guilty.

    As a Ruler of the Floor, it''s her responsibility to stop such situations from occurring. Yet, she had failed, and a Regular was attacked by three Rankers.

    Yes, he had survived and even killed the Rankers, but Leya had failed at preventing the attack. She had also stood by and watched as he fought them, and she hadn''t ?ssisted him in any way.

    "Am I to ?ssume you are also a member of FUG." Lumen''s words caused an immediate reaction in the blonde woman.

    "No! Never! I''m Ari Leya, Ruler of the 23rd Floor and member of the Ari Family. Joining them would never even cross my mind!" Leya stated.

    "I see, I see. So, you stood by the side and observed as three Rankers from FUG attacked a Regular." His words hit her hard.

    "I-I didn''t know. Had I known that they are members of FUG, I would have stepped in." Leya responded while looking at the ground, not daring to look at Lumen from the guilt she felt.

    "So, you would only interfere if you knew they are members of FUG. Tsch. It seems members of the Ari Family have no honor." Lumen replied while grinning under his mask.

    "No!" Leya immediately denied that.

    "How come? You watched the fight for a bit, but you took no actions." Leya felt like crying. She thought that''s a fight between Rankers and not three Rankers that were ganging up on a Regular.

    "I... I''m sorry. I will compensate you for my mistakes." Leya b?r?ly uttered under her breath.

    "Now we are talking." Said Lumen.

 Chapter 43 - Twenty-Third Floor (3)

    Since Khel, the FUG Elder, wasn''t able to see the fate of Shaya, they had decided to sent an Observer to follow her. The Observer had a very good cloaking ability, so they weren''t worried about it being discovered.

    The Elder watched as the three FUG members followed after the masked Regular. He led them outside the city into a forest of stone trees.

    From up above, they saw a scaled-metal armor form and cover his body. They were astonished, as he looked nearly identical to Karaka, but that shouldn''t be possible.

    When they heard his disdainful tone, they are sure that''s definitely not Karaka. However, they saw him use the Slayer''s personal techniques afterward. It was a bit lacking compared to Karaka, but that was definitely his own way of manipulating Shinsoo.

    After he killed Cecro, they saw him form a massive cube filled with darkness. That was something they have never seen Karaka do. The worst part was that they weren''t able to see inside the domain of darkness even with their Observer. They had no idea what happened inside.

    Once the domain of darkness was released, only the person that looked like Karaka was left there. There were no traces of the other two FUG members.

    They were even more astonished when he looked up towards the Observer and waved at it. At that point, they didn''t know what to think. Very few would be able to sense the Observer, and Karaka was definitely one of those. As a High Ranking Scout, he would be able to sense the cloaked Observer.

    The whole situation was extremely puzzling to them. They were sure that wasn''t Karaka, but who else could it be?

    "Khel, what did you see?" One of the Elder asked the one wearing a horned helmet.

    "I...Nothing. I couldn''t get any information about that person''s destiny." Khel was confused at why is his ability failing like this. The only time that had happened was when he tried looking at the destinies of Lumen and Urek.

    "Contact Karaka and get him here as soon as possible! He has some explaining to do!" An Elder shouted, furious that they had no idea what''s happening.

    Meanwhile, Lumen had just returned back to his group''s residence. He had gotten quite a few goodies from Leya, plus he had also picked up Ned''s ice sword after he had killed him.

    "Lumen, you said you will be back in a bit! What took you so long? I was worried!" Verdi exclaimed with a serious look and her hands on her waist.

    Lumen walked up to her and ruffled her hair, and her serious look disappeared in an instant. "Sorry, Verdi. I was just out shopping for gifts."

    "It''s okay~ I was just worried." She giggled and asked in eagerness. "So, what did you get me?"

    Lumen pulled out a white triangle object from his Pocket. The item was big enough, so Verdi could hide behind it without being seen. He had bargained for eight B-Ranked Armor Inventories from Leya. That was a lot more than what he expected, but he had used her guilt in his favor and pushed to get as much as possible.

    Lumen initially wanted to get a personal flying ship from her, but she didn''t have one to give away.

    Normally, you would find a hard time finding a Regular that has such an Armor Inventory, but Lumen had gotten eight of them from the Leya. They were High Ranked ones as well. He also had the two Armor Inventories that he looted from Bob. They were C-Rank, but even strong Regular from the Higher Floors wouldn''t have one that rank.

    Verdi, happy with her gift, hugged Lumen. "Thank you~ You are the best!"

    Lumen gave the rest of his group an Armor Inventory, as well. The C-Rank ones were given to Anak and Androssi since they are the strongest beside him in the team. He, on the other hand, didn''t need one since he already had his armor. Plus, he had an incredibly high Shinsoo resistance and durability, thanks to the technique Urek taught him.

    The ice sword he looted from Ned was given to Hatsu, the only sword user in their group. It was an Ignition Weapon, but he didn''t need it. Lumen also wasn''t very proficient with swords and preferred spears.

    Two weeks passed by quickly, and it was time for Androssi''s group to take on the Test. Her participation was greatly anticipated by residents on the Floor.

    Since the Test takes place in the colosseum on top of the mountain, the residents would usually go and watch it. They had to pay a small price of Points to enter, but everyone could easily afford it.

    The colosseum was filled to the brim with people, Observers, and Lighthouses. Androssi''s fight was going to be recorded and watched by the whole Tower. Alongside her, the fights of her teammates would also be observed by the whole Tower.

    The moment Androssi appeared on the stage, the whole crowd erupted in cheers. The residents in the Tower respected the strong, and she was unquestionably powerful. She was considered the strongest E-Rank Regular. To top it off, she was also extremely beautiful.

    Androssi easily crushed the rest of the participants, and the crowd cheered even louder once she won.

    Surprisingly, when it was Hatsu''s turn to fight, the crowd had also erupted in cheers. They weren''t as loud as Androssi''s, but he was also liked by the residents of the Floor, especially the female ones.

    The five of them had easily advanced to the 24th Floor, and Merrie followed after them. As a Guide, she didn''t need to pass the Test to climb up.

    Three days passed, and it was now Lumen''s team turn to participate. The residents were already aware that the rest of Androssi''s team will be competing, so the colosseum was packed. Not as much, as when she participated, but there were a lot of viewers nonetheless.

    The first one to enter the stage was Anak. Three of her opponents didn''t look special in any way, but the last one had cat ears, clearly a member of the Lo Po Bia Family. He had short dark hair and wore a green outfit.

    Once the cat-eared Regular saw Anak, he brought his hand next to his neck and made a, you are dead, motion with it. To which she just smirked in response.

    As soon as the fight started, he summoned a massive black panther.

    "Kill everyone else and leave the lizard." The cat-eared Regular commanded. Before the other three Regular could react, the panther had rushed at them in a burst of speed and killed them in seconds.

    The cat-eared Regular looked at Anak with an evil glint in his eyes. "You have nowhere to run, ugly lizard."

    Without saying a word, she disappeared from her spot. Even though the panther was fast, Anak was even faster. She appeared right above its head and hit it with a Shinsoo enhanced punch. The beast slammed its head on the ground and didn''t stand up anymore.

    Before he could process that his beast had been killed with a single punch, Anak was already standing in front of him.

    "I don''t need to run." With an evil grin, she kicked him in his family jewels. Letting out a scream, the cat-eared Regular had bent down reflexively. Anak finished him off the same way she dealt with his panther. She enhanced her fist with Shinsoo and slammed it on his head. Unlike the panther, his head exploded in a shower of gore.

    The crowd loved it and erupted in a cheer. They only respected the strong, and Anak was by far one of the strongest E-Rank Regulars.

    The next one to fight was Verdi. She hated being in the limelight, but she didn''t have much a choice. As soon as the fight started, she summoned her pink octopus, and the creature immediately sprung into action.

    Verdi didn''t need to order it with words like other Animas. She was born with an extremely strong Telepathy, and she could communicate with the octopus with her mind.

    In fact, her Telepathy was so strong that she can hear the thoughts of other people. That was further enhanced by her special flower that unlocks people''s potential. Being in a crowded place gave her awful headaches, and is the reason why she had a blank look on her face most of the time. Verdi could also user her Telepathy to attack, but she usually chose not to.

    Her Telepathy was also the reason why she adored dolls so much. They, unlike people, didn''t give her massive headaches since they had no thoughts. That''s also why Verdi loved spending time with Lumen. She couldn''t hear his thoughts, and when she was around him, she couldn''t even hear the thoughts of other people as well. As long as he was close by, she was peaceful and happy.

    Verdi''s pink octopus easily managed to kill the rest of the participants, and she didn''t even have to move from her place. Happy that she doesn''t need to be in the spotlight anymore, she rushed out of the colosseum.

    Vespa was the next to take the stage, and the moment the fight started, it had already ended. She was by far one of the fastest E-Rank Regulars. Very few could contend with her monstrous speed.

    With that, Lumen''s team had guaranteed their win, but the Test continued on.

    Tiana stepped into the colosseum, and due to the performance of the previous three, the crowd had great expectations of her. And she delivered on those expectations.

    The moment the fight started, she had already formed four Baangs of Shinsoo. The crowd was astonished seeing a Regular control four Baangs of Shinsoo.

    They were even more shocked when all those four Baangs flew out like accurately hit one of the Regulars, and caused an explosion upon contact. Not only was she able to control four Baangs at once, but they all also had a high concentration of Shinsoo, as well.

    Tiana was definitely one of the best Wave Controllers amongst E-Rank Regulars and could outdo D-Rank Regulars as well.

    The crowd erupted yet again. Especially the male spectators, they screamed louder than everyone else. Tiana was a beautiful lady, and they made sure to let her know that.

    The last contestant to fight was Lumen, the masked Regular. The viewers didn''t know much about him, but considering he was on the same team as Androssi and the rest of those monsters, they had high expectations for him as well.

    Once he entered the stage, he noticed that one of the Regulars had cat-ear, another Lo Po Bia member. He looked at Lumen and stated. "You will pay for being on that lizard''s team. I will make sure to make it as painful as possible."

    Lumen paid him no mind. He didn''t care what a Regular has to say, especially one as weak as the cat-eared man.

    The gorilla took out one of the Regulars, while the cat-eared man went after the other two. He was skilled and was easily able to take them out, by firing two yellow-colored spikes made of Shinsoo.

    The cat-eared man and the gorilla focused on Lumen and slowly started moving towards him. "Now it''s your turn."

    Lumen looked towards the duo and summoned out Berseker. The giant dinosaur let out a beastly roar once he out of his bowl. Both the cat-eared man and the gorilla stopped in their tracks, as Berserker''s terrifying jaws, filled with extremely sharp teeth, and dripping with saliva, were right in front of their faces.

    The dinosaur''s body was slightly trembling with excitement for being released. He was happy that he was let out, and he felt even happier when he felt the gazes of the crowd of the colosseum.

    It was not the annoying cat that only sleeps that was released but him, but it was him that was given this chance. Berserker will make sure to remind that to the stupid furbal when he sees her.

    "Breakfast time." Hearing his master''s command, Berserker chomped on the two small insects in front of him. He''s sharp teeth easily pierced through the two, and he caught them between his jaws. One more bite, to make them easier to swallow, and he gulped them down.

    Looking around for the rest of the breakfast, he saw there was nothing worth eating. As he was wondering where his food is, he heard his master. "Good Job."

    Berserker was confused. That''s it? That''s breakfast? Berserker looked towards the large crowd that was watching them, wondering if maybe they are also part of the breakfast. They might be small, but they were a lot.

    The crowd cheered as they saw Berseker look at them. He was a large and terrifying creature, and they loved it.

    "Come back now. I will let you out on an upper Floor." Berserker was mortified hearing that. The small creatures were offering themselves to him, why was his master returning him. He gave the crowd one last, as his master returned him to his bowl.

 Chapter 44 - Twenty-Fourth Floor

    The 24th Floor was a massive grassland filled with hills, and small cities were scattered all over it.

    Due to the beautiful scenery, a lot of Regulars would stay on this Floor for long periods of time. Some even choose to stay and live on the 24th Floor for the rest of their lives.

    Besides the incredible landscapes, there were a lot of unique snakes living on this Floor. Like the Three-Headed Boa, the Scorpion-Tailed Python, the Horned Viper, and my more. They mostly fed on Black-Horned Sheep that lived on the Floor or Regulars that enter their territory.

    All in all, the 24th Floor is a very beautiful place, as long as you don''t encounter any of the creatures that inhabit it.

    The Test on the Floor takes place in three specific cities. Each one being overflowed with snakes. Amongst those serpents in the cities, one of them would have a special key in their body. In order for a team to pass, they have to gather all three keys.

    A team of Regulars would have to split into three groups, and each would enter one of the cities. Each group gets the chance to kill no more than three snakes. If they are unable to find a key within the three snakes that they have killed, they fail the Test.

    Lumen''s team would be taking on the Test in three weeks. The earliest possible time for them to do so. Since they had plenty of time, Lumen has been going out to the grass fields to feed his animals and to check out the creatures leaving on the Floor.

    Ben, an average-sized human with blonde hair, wearing a brown outfit, was walking alongside his partner. His companion, Rowan, was another normal-looking human with brown hair that wore a similar outfit to Ben.

    They were born in the lawless part of the Outer Tower and have lived as criminals for their whole lives. The two of them were quite the famous muggers amongst the E-Rank Regulars.

    They were walking through one of the cities on the 24th Floor when they saw a masked Regular leaving the city. Rowan tapped Ben on the ?h?st while looking at the masked Regular.

    "Hey, isn''t that the guy who was on a team with a Princess of Zahard?" Rowan asked his blonde companion.

    "Yeah, yeah, he is. He is from that team of monsters." Ben replied.

    "Let''s mug em," Rowan said with excitement, already getting pumped up for the goodies they can get of him.

    "Hold on, I watched his fight on the 23rd Floor. He summoned a dinosaur as large as the buildings here." Ben tried dissuading him.

    "Oh yeah, I watched that as well. The beast ate a white gorilla and a Regular with one bite." Rowan replied.

    "Exactly, yeah," Ben replied, relieved at his response.

    "Let''s mug em!" Rowan stated with even more excitement.

    "No, no. I heard he once killed a member of the 10 Great Families in an instant. The masked Regular had made a maw of darkness that ate him. He killed him without even blinking an eye!" Ben tried discouraging Rowan. The blonde man didn''t want to lose his life.

    "Oh yeah. The Ari Family member from the 23rd Floor. I heard that too." Rowan replied, and his face lit up in excitement. "Let''s mug em!"

    "I don''t think you are getting what I''m trying to say," Ben said with a serious face. "I saw him once go out in the grassland on this Floor. He was attacked by over fifty different kinds of snakes. Snakes that we won''t even dare go up against, and he killed them all within a second all by himself! He''s that powerful!"

    "Fifty different kinds of snakes? All by himself?" Rowan asked with wide-eyes.

    "Yeah!" Ben confirmed.

    "Let''s mug em!" Rowan exclaimed with enthusiasm.

    Ben shook his head with fear. "Oh, I don''t know."

    "There''s two of us." Rowan pointed at himself and Ben. Then he pointed at Lumen. "But there''s only one of him."

    "Yeah, well, there were fifty snakes that attacked him..." Before Ben could say anything else, Rowan stopped him and tapped him on the ?h?st.

    "Hey!" He yelled at his blonde companion.

    "What?" Ben responded meekly.

    "What are we?" Rowan yelled out.

    Ben looked around and replied hesitantly. "We are muggers."

    "And what do we do?" Rowan continued questioning him.

    "We mug people," Ben responded.

    "So," Rowan said, and the two continued in unison. "Let''s, go, MUG EM!"

    "Give us all your Points." The two yelled out as they both equipped a needle, and charged at Lumen.

    Before they could even come close to him, a black fang pierced through their stomachs, and they dropped on the ground.

    "Yeah, that was a mistake," Ben said while laying on the ground with a hole in his stomach.

    "I don''t understand. There were two of us." Rowan replied, confused at what went wrong.

    "Yeah, but he is apart of that team full of monsters, isn''t he," Ben responded while trying to stop his bleeding.

    "Yeah, but it was two against one." They had the advantage, and Rowan couldn''t understand what went wrong.

    "But he has the power to kill members of the 10 Great Families!" Ben said on the verge of losing consciousness.

    "But there were two of us and only of em!" Rowan replied as darkness overcame the two.

    Berserker let out a roar and looked at Saber. When he was returned back in the bowl, Berserker had bragged to Saber how he was summoned to fight their master''s enemies instead of her.

    However, Saber had acted as if he didn''t even exist, and had slept throughout his boasting. As much as he roared, the irritating cat hadn''t even spared him a glance.

    Berserker shot her an annoyed look, and he ran off searching for some food, not willing to stay around the stupid furball. He would prove that he is more useful than the annoying cat by bringing some tasty prey to his master.

    Saber shrank herself to the size of a small kitten and jumped inside Lumen''s hood. She didn''t need to go and search for food since the stupid lizard would do that for her.

    Berserker would always bring back a lot of prey as gifts to Lumen, but her master would give those to her. The foolish reptile can do all the work while she will spend time with her master by sleeping in his hood.

    Lumen strolled around the grass field and killed off any of the reptiles that dare to attack him. He had just dealt with a massive red python when he sensed that he was being observed from a distance.

    Looking up, he was b?r?ly able to spot a black dot in the air. Interested in what that is, he reduced the gravity on himself and floated up in the air.

    Before he could close in on the creature that he saw, the thing sped off flying with extreme speed. It was moving even faster than Vespa. Now, that really caught his attention.

    "Hold on, girl. We''re going to be moving fast." Lumen told Saber, who only let out a yawn in response.

    Saber was nearly thrown off his hood and had b?r?ly managed to latch herself on Lumen. She vowed to pay back the one that interrupted her nap by making her master fly at this speed.

    Once Lumen got closer to the creature, he was able to see it clearly. It was a small snake with black feathers and two wings. When the little snake saw Lumen getting closer to him, it turned around and shot several blasts of wind from his mouth.

    The attacks landed on Lumen, and the winged-snake wiggled in the air, proud at what it has done. Obviously, it was better than the stupid human, and it was doing its victory dance.

    However, it then witnessed Lumen still moving towards it without a single scratch on him. Terrified, the little snake turned around and tried its best to flee.

    Every now and then, it would turn around and shoot a blast of wind at the human that was chasing it, but the human was very persistent. No matter where the winged-snake went, the human was right behind it.

    Lumen had just caught up to the little snake when he saw it turn towards him. All the feathers on the snake''s body suddenly turned metallic and detached from its body. They then transformed into needles, swords, and spears, and the winged-snake sent them towards Lumen.

    Knowing how tough he is, the little snake also shot blasts of wind alongside his metallic feathers. It did its best to get rid of the annoying human that was chasing it.

    Before the attacks landed, Lumen had created a shield of darkness in front of him. The shield blocked the weapons and the wind blasts, but the snake didn''t see that.

    It only saw a massive explosion happen due to its attacks, and it started doing a weird wiggling dance in the air. It might have lost its beautiful black feathers, but they will regrow in a short amount of time.

    Suddenly, Lumen appeared in front of its face. "You are a feisty little one, aren''t you."

    It hissed in response, and Lumen was able to see that the little snake had no teeth. It started panicking since it had seen what the human had done to the serpents on the ground. Not a single one had survived after encountering him. It didn''t want to have the same fate as them.

    Just as it was afraid of losing its life, the little snake felt Lumen pat it on the head. His hand was warm, and it had a pleasant feeling to it. The little snake enjoyed it so much that it pushed its head against Lumen''s hand. The human no longer seemed as terrifying as before.

    When Lumen removed his hand, the little snaked stared at him with saddened eyes. It no longer feared him, but it longed to be pet by him. It was wondering what to do to trick the human into petting him more.

    As it was looking at Lumen with puppy eyes, the snake felt a weird pressure envelop him. It understood one thing from the pressure, it either has to submit to the human, or lose its life. The little snake liked living, so there was only one option.

    It decided to serve the human in front of it. Maybe the human wants him so that he can pet it all the time. Yes, that''s definitely it.

    "So, how about I call you, Archer?" The little snake heard the human. It didn''t care how it would be called, as long it gets to be petted. It nodded to the human''s words, and Lumen patted it on the head.

    The little snake started hissing in happiness. It now had a master that would pet him and give him warmth. That was the best feeling ever.

    Suddenly, it heard a threatening growl coming from his master. Looking up, it saw a small cat with two fangs sitting on Lumen''s shoulder. The cat was menacingly staring at the little snake.

    Saber was more than annoyed by the black snake. She growled at Archer, and when the winged-snake looked at her, she lunged at it. However, the little snake was very fast and easily dodged Saber''s lunge, leaving her to fall towards the ground.

    As she was falling, Saber was thinking that reptiles are the most hateful creatures that had ever existed.

    Archer shot her a questioning look, wondering why the cat is trying to fly but paid her no further mind. It pushed its head towards Lumen, hoping to get petted by his warm hand.

    When Lumen landed on the ground next to Saber, she jumped in his hands and chased away the little snake. Her master pets her and her alone. Not a stupid reptile, like the winged-snake.

    Archer flew around Lumen but didn''t know what to do to get rid of the cat in his hands. After circling him a few times, the little snake decided to take the cat''s previous place. It was able to feel it''s master''s warmth, so it was fine with staying there.

    Lumen walked around the grass fields enjoying the scenery and taking out a serpent here and there when he saw Berserker running towards him from the distance. He was carrying an uncountable amount of snakes in his mouth, preparing to gift them to his master.

    Once Berserker reached Lumen, it dropped all the serpents that it was carrying on the ground. Seeing that, Saber jumped from Lumen''s hands and transformed into her bigger form, ready to have her lunch.

    Before she was even able to take a bite of those snakes, she saw them all being swallowed by a massive black snake. She turned around, just in time to see Archer, who had transformed only his head to giant size. He quickly retracted it and turned back into a small cute little snake.

    Saber had only one thing on her mind, and it''s that reptiles are by far the most hateful creatures that had ever existed.

    Three weeks quickly passed by, and it was now time for Lumen''s team to take on the Test. They had split into two groups of five, and Lumen was in a group by himself. Merrie would lead one of the groups, while Verdi will lead the other.

    As a Guide, Merrie was bound to find the snake that had the key inside its belly, it was only a matter of time. It took her an hour, but her group had secured one of the keys by killing only a single snake.

    Verdi didn''t have Merrie''s ability, but she had her Telepathy. The snakes were a talkative bunch, so she was able to locate the one with the key very quickly. Her group had also secured the key by killing only a single snake.

    Lumen was alone, but he was also able to locate the correct snake very easily. With his technique of being able to read the flow of Shinsoo, the snake with the key was sticking out like a sore thumb. By killing it, his team had successfully passed the Test on the 24th Floor.

    They were all awarded 27 000 Points, and they were allowed to advance to the next Floor.

 Chapter 45 - Twenty-Fifth Floor (1)

    At an unknown Floor, the three FUG Elders and Karaka were watching the footage of Lumen fighting the three FUG Rankers.

    The Slayer was staring in disbelief, witnessing the fight. That was his armor, and those were his own personal Shinsoo techniques. How is someone else able to use them?

    Karaka could''ve understood if it''s just the Shinsoo techniques. Someone could have the same Shinsoo quality as him and have been inspired by the Slayer. However, the armor was a whole different case. No one but him should own it. It was one of a kind.

    The helmet part of it gives him Observer-like abilities. It gives him a massive visual range and allows him to process information extremely fast. That''s something that could be replicated, but the main body of the armor was a lot more unique than that.

    Not only does it grant him both physical and Shinsoo resistance, but it also has a very unique ability. It''s the reason why he has a form of immortality. The armor has the ability to create a special dimension, where Karaka stores his heart. A dimension in which very few could enter inside.

    In Karaka''s eyes, it was simply preposterous that someone else has the same armor as him. Had he not seen the spear made of darkness and the domain of darkness, the Slayer would have ?ssumed that what he is watching, is footage of him from his younger days.

    Obviously, the masked Regular is an impostor, but who is he? Who was able to not only replicate his techniques but his armor as well? The more he thought about it, the more impossible it seemed.

    After an hour-long discussion between the four of them, they couldn''t discern the identity of the impostor. However, they all agreed that the masked Regular is most likely another Irregular, considering Khel wasn''t able to read his fate. That would mean that four Irregulars have entered the Tower within a short time of five years. How many more will soon follow if this continues?

    They didn''t even consider that Lumen is the masked Regular since Karaka had ?ssured them that he had killed him on the 10th Floor.

    Having been unable to confirm the identity of the impostor, they switched on to another subject, their Irregular in training.

    "I believe that it''s time to send him up the Tower. He has the fake Thorn and has made great progress as of late." One of the Elders stated.

    "Really? Does he stand a chance fighting me then?" Karaka questioned the Elders. He knew that Bam was being trained by his master, Ha Jinsung, but the Slayer had fought with Lumen. That Irregular didn''t seem to have full control over his abilities, but in a suicidal move, he was able to destroy Karaka''s body. He didn''t believe Bam was capable of the same feat.

    "Of course not. He is still a Regular while you are a High Ranker. What kind of question is that?" One of the Elders asked him.

    "What a weakling," Karaka answered. "Do you remember the one you sent me to kill? He was able to put up a fight against me and even managed to destroy my body!"

    "..." The Elders stayed quite to Karaka''s statement.

    "Are you even sure that he is an Irregular? Because he doesn''t seem like one to me." Karaka hissed out, displeased that the Elders were putting so much faith into Bam.

    "He is! Bam had requested a Test directly from the Guardian of the 2nd Floor. Only Irregulars are given that right!" An Elder confirmed that Bam is indeed one.

    "Tsch. Pathetic. You are wasting your time with him. Just merge him with the real Thorn and give it to me! With the Thorn''s power, I will bring Zahard and the 10 Great Families to their knees!" Karaka stood up and left, not willing to discuss that weakling anymore.

    His words, however, left an impact on the Elders. They all contemplated what Karaka said, and considered whether that would be the better option.

    Enryu''s Thorn was a mysterious object that was found at the location where Enryu had killed the Guardian of the 43rd Floor. The Thorn was divided into four parts, and FUG had three of them. They were still searching for the last one, and they believed that it''s still on the 43rd Floor, also known as the Floor of Death.

    FUG believed that if the four parts of the Thorn are combined, it will grant the user the power to kill Zahard and the family heads of the 10 Great Families.

    "We really go the short stick, didn''t we?" Releasing a sigh, one of the Elders asked rhetorically.

    A few minutes after Karaka left, a cloaked individual entered the room and bowed to the Elders.

    "Elders, we have received a report that the masked Regular and his team have arrived on the 25th Floor. Two of Yama''s Mad Dogs are currently on that Floor." Reported the cloaked individual.

    "Get in touch with Yama, and tell him to control his dogs. They are forbidden from making any contact with the masked Regular and his team." Commanded one of the Elders, they didn''t want to lose any more chess pieces to him.

    The cloaked individual hesitated for a moment before speaking. "Pinto''s team have already signed for the Test, and their opponents are the masked Regular''s team."

    "Tell him to forfeit the match immediately! Pinto has the most potential out of the three Mad Dogs. We can''t lose him." Hissed out one of the Elders. They were planning to make Bam join Pinto''s team since it had one of the strongest FUG Regulars. Most of them were already over 500 years old and have delayed their climb under the orders of the Elders. They would be a suitable team for their Slayer candidate.

    "We can''t get in touch with him, sir." The cloaked individual meekly responded.

    "Then, get in contact with Yama, and tell him to stop Pinto!" An Elder replied with fury. If you can''t contact the dog, then get in touch with its master. It''s that simple.

    "This... We did contact Yama, but he said his rugrats could do whatever they want to." Replied the cloaked individual after a moment of hesitation.

    "Who does he think he is?! Yama is getting over his head. Ever since he captured Bayroad, he hasn''t even shown his face. We will have to teach him a valuable lesson in the future." An Elder yelled out in rage.

    "Get out of here!" The Elder shouted at the cloaked person, not willing to talk about this. Ever since they had killed Lumen, things have been spiraling out of their control. Disaster after disaster plagued them since then.

    "Yes, sir." The cloaked individual replied and left as fast as he could.

    Meanwhile, Lumen was sitting on a flying dolphin with wings, as he was traveling on the 25th Floor. In front of him was a man with black hair that was steering the Divine Sea Fish.

    The 25th Floor is a place where all the buildings are in the sky above the clouds. The Floor has gigantic structures in the air, and the people there use Divine Sea Fish, like the flying dolphin, to travel from one building to the next.

    While traveling, he was communicating with Diana on his Pocket. When the pink-haired girl first heard that Lumen had died, she fell into despair.

    Diana mourned as she regretted how little time they had spent together. She should have forced him to stay with her, why did she have to ask him to kill Zahard?

    Lumen was her one and only love, she regretted that she couldn''t go up with him. She didn''t have the guts to kill herself before, but she was on the verge of doing so after his death.

    Thankfully, he had contacted her before she did something stupid. Diana cried tears of happiness, knowing that her lover is, in fact, alive. Since then, she would make sure to contact him at least once a day to make sure that he is safe and sound.

    [I''m still having trouble controlling that technique.] Lumen told her.

    [Yeah, if I''m not careful, it could backfire on me.] He responded.

    [Just make sure you are safe, okay?] As long as he was safe, she would be happy. That''s all that mattered to her.

    [Don''t worry, I have to come back for in the future, right?] They had a rough start, but since he left the 3rd Floor, he realized how much he cared for the pink-haired girl.

    Lumen''s words made her giggle and blush like a school-girl.

    [A group of new Regulars is arriving, so I have to go and greet them. I''ll message you tomorrow.] Diana told him.

    [I will be waiting.] Lumen replied back as he arrived at his destination and descended the flying dolphin.

    "Thank you for using our services!" Called out the black-haired man, but after a black flash, he and his dolphin disappeared. A burp was heard under Lumen''s clothes afterward as something wiggled underneath them.

    Lumen continued moving towards his residence as if nothing had happened. He was peacefully walking when a woman with short blonde hair, eyes narrowed to slits, and white angelic wings on her back stopped him. She was wearing a yellow dress that reached to her knees and had a cheery smile on her face.

    "Hiya, there. You''re a member of Androssi''s team, right?" She cheerfully asked him.

    "You need something?" Lumen bluntly replied and felt she was displeased at his response. Despite that, there was no change in her facial expression.

    "My name is Ron Mei, and I was wondering if you would like to have lunch with me." She had seen his performance on the 23rd Floor, so she wanted to poach him from Androssi. Mei had just visited the Princess of Zahard and had wanted to make a wager with her. Sadly, Andorssi had refused her since she doesn''t make bets with weaklings.

    "Not interested." Lumen replied and was about to move past her when he sensed her anger at him. Her facial expression hadn''t changed at all, but he could feel the fury inside her.

    Mei was inwardly cursing him for refusing her. A beauty like her was asking him out, and he dared refuse? Who does he think he is?

    Using Reverse-Flow Control and increasing the gravity on her, Lumen froze her in place. Mei''s narrowed eyes opened up in fear and revealed her yellow irises. She hadn''t seen him make a move, and yet, he froze her in place in an instant.

    Lumen walked up to her and cupped her chin with his thumb on her mouth. He ??r?ssed her lips with his finger and leaned closer to her.

    "It''s okay to be angry, blondie, but should you end up angering me, I will end your life before you even know it." Lumen''s words caused an immediate reaction in her, as a yellow liquid trailed down her legs.

    "So make sure you don''t do anything stupid, okay?" Even if she wanted to, Mei couldn''t answer due to the pressure on her. At this point, she just wanted to get as far away as she could from the monster in front of her.

    "Good." He lightly slapped her on the cheek and continued moving towards his team''s residence.

    Lumen entered the building and was greeted by Tiana. She gave him a hug and asked him with a smile. "Are you hungry? I could make you something to eat."

    "Yes. The eel soup you made last time was delicious. I won''t mind eating it again." He answered her.

    "I will make it even better this time." Tiana kissed him on the cheek and entered the kitchen while he entered the living room and sat on the couch next to Androssi.

    "Damn, blonde bitch." She cursed out, causing Lumen to look at her. "What happened?"

    "An ugly blonde came earlier, asking me to forfeit the Test so that our team could fight hers. She wanted to make a bet with me. Whoever wins the match, they would get to pick any member of the loser''s team to join the winners." Androssi explained.

    "Oh, I think I met her outside." Lumen replied.

    "Really? Did you kill her?" Androssi asked in eagerness, hoping that he obliterated the ugly blonde.

    "I didn''t kill her." He shook his head.

    "Ah, what a shame." Androssi lamented before he could even finish what he was saying.

    "But, I did make her pee herself." Lumen said, and Androssi brightly smiled at that and gave him a thumbs up. "Nice one, you humiliated that bitch! That''s even better!"

 Chapter 46 - Twenty-Fifth Floor (2)

    A month passed on the 25th Floor, and Lumen''s team was about to take on the Test.

    The Test takes place in an open arena and is a team battle of ten rounds. Each round, a team would have to send out a Regular to participate. Regulars could fight in multiple rounds, but they can not participate in consecutive rounds. They have to rest at least one round before competing again.

    The two Regulars would have to fight while Observers would fly over them. Each Observer would have a different color, and the Regulars would have to shoot down the correct one. The first one to destroy three of the correct Observers wins the round. If a Regular dies during a round, the round will continue until the other Regular destroys the correctly colored Observer three times.

    Lumen''s team was on one side of the arena, while the other team was on the opposite. The other team had exactly ten members, and two Regulars were standing ahead of the rest, clearly the leaders of that team.

    One of them was a blue-haired woman with angelic wings attached to her arms. She had blue eyes and wore a purple outfit. The second Regular was a tall, muscular man that wore a weird white suit with black dots on it and a fedora with the same style.

    Red was chosen as the correct color for the Observers, and the Test began, as both teams chose their Regulars.

    "Go get them." Androssi kicked Leesoo in the but and sent him flying towards the stage.

    "Steve, take him on." The blue-haired woman said to a silver-haired man wearing a black outfit.

    Once on stage, Steve looked towards Leesoo in contempt.

    "You are considered the strongest E-Rank team, but I will show you how weak you truly are in the grand scheme of things," Steve stated.

    "We are considered the strongest E-Rank team? Really? I thought we were the best Team even amongst D or C-Rank Regulars." Leesoo replied back.

    "Weaklings like you should know their place," Steve responded in loathing.

    Leesoo shook his head when he heard that. "Who wouldn''t be considered a weakling when compared to those monsters?" He asked while pointing towards his teammates.

    No more words were exchanged between the two, and the first round started.

    The silver-haired Regular looked at Leesoo in surprise, not expecting him to avoid his attack and kick him back. He was about to jump towards him again when a red Observer flew over their heads. Steve formed a Baan and was about to shoot it, but before he could manage, the Observer was shot down by a light blueish laser from Leesoo.

    "And the weakling takes the lead." Leesoo mocked him.

    Amongst everyone from Lumen''s team, Leesoo was considered the weakest. He wasn''t from one of the 10 Great Families, nor did he have unique qualities to himself, besides his intellect. He had b?r?ly even passed the Shinsoo veil on the 2nd Floor.

    Leesoo knew that, and that''s why he pushed himself the hardest out of everyone else. With hard work and a bit of ?ssistance from Lumen, he had changed.

    Leesoo''s body, although not the strongest, was now comparable to branch members of the 10 Great Families. He didn''t have an amazing talent in Shinsoo manipulation, but he was now able to control up to four Baangs. A feat that the majority of the E-Rank Regulars are unable to replicate.

    Despite being the weakest in his team, he was one of the top 20 E-Rank Regulars in terms of strength.

    Steve realized that Leesoo wasn''t the weakling he believed him to be. He rushed at him again, but this time, he was prepared.

    The two were attacking and avoiding the strikes of the other when a red Observer flew over them. Before Steve could form a Baang, Leesoo had shot it down.

    "Two to zero, in favor of the weakling." Leesoo didn''t forget to mock him.

    Steve was furious that he was being outdone by what he considered a random E-Rank Regular. He hadn''t delayed his climb, and stayed as an E-Rank Regular for hundreds of years, just to be outdone by someone like Leesoo. Steve wanted to hide his Shinsoo quality and save it as a surprise for the others, but it seemed he had to use it now.

    The two continued exchanging attacks, but Leesoo martial arts skills, were very good. The martial art passed down in his family wasn''t something special, but he had combined that with the ones shown to him by Lumen, and had created his own personal martial art.

    As much he tried beating him without his Shinsoo techniques, Steve was unable to achieve that.

    A blue Observer flew over them, but since it wasn''t the correct one, they continued their fight. A yellow one followed afterward, again not the correct one.

    A few more exchanges later, a red Observer flew over them. Before Leesoo could even form his Baang, Steve made his move.

    The silver-haired Regular had already formed a Baang made of sand, threw it at Leesoo face, and followed up by punching with all his strength. He was then easily able to shoot down the red Observer with another Baang.

    "Oh, man. That was a dirty move, but your punch was lacking. Androssi hits me harder on a daily basis." Leesoo commented after cleaning the sand from his eyes.

    Androssi crossed her arms under her bosom with a proud smile on her face. "Yep, that''s true! I hit him just for fun!"

    Their fight continued, but Steve had decided to use his techniques. He could control a total of five Baangs at once. For hundreds of years, he had focused on honing his skills and increasing his Shinsoo control. One Baang was used to strengthen his body, and he used three Baangs to form sand around him.

    "Sand Whirlwind." Steve created a whirlwind made of sand and enveloped Leesoo in it. Wherever he went, the sand whirlwind followed after him.

    Each grain of sand was moving at tremendous speed and cutting through Leesoo''s body. However, his vitality was quite high after his training with increased gravity, so he was able to survive this for a few more minutes without any problems.

    While Leesoo was trying to escape from Steve''s technique, a red Observer flew above them, and the silver-haired Regular was able to shoot it down easily. With this, both of them had destroyed two Observers each.

    Being in the whirling was starting to take its toll on Leesoo. He was being constantly stuck from a nonstop onslaught of sand when he shook his head. ''I''m just not a good Fisherman...''

    ''Well, I better act my role and win this, otherwise...'' Leesoos shuddered at the thought of losing. The two scary devils, Lumen and Androssi, were watching this fight. Should he lose, he didn''t even want to think about what might happen to him later.

    Steve smiled when his opponent stopped moving. "It was about time."

    The silver-haired Regular knew how strong his Shinsoo technique is. He had developed it for hundreds of years. Even D-Rank Regular wouldn''t be able to handle it easily. Nonetheless, he kept the technique going just in case, Leesoo was still alive.

    A minute passed, and a red Observer flew over. Steve shot a sand Baang towards it, but a few meters before the attack could reach it, the blast of sand hit something else.

    In the next moment, a light blueish laser coming from the sand whirlwind, and shot down the red Observer.

    Steve turned towards where his own technique was still causing havoc and wondered how is Leesoo still alive. As the sand whirlwind dissipated, Steve saw a big white triangle wrapped around Leesoo as he had squatted underneath it.

    Since he wasn''t going to play around anymore, Leesoo had decided to act his role. He summoned his B-Rank Armor Inventory, as a high-rank item, it has a few additional qualities to it than lower-ranked ones. One of them was the ability to increase or decrease its size, and another was that it was very flexible and easy to bent.

    Once the red Observer appeared, he had maneuvered one of his own Observers to block Steve''s attack while he had created a single Baang with highly concentrated Shinsoo. The attack pierced through the whirling of sand and accurately landed on the red Observer.

    Leesoo stood up when the whirling dissipated, dusted himself off and made his Armor Inventory turn invisible. "And the weakling wins."

    He proudly walked back to his team since he won the round. Once he reached them, Androssi smacked him on the head.

    "What was that? Did you just lose two times? Why are you embarrassing us?" The Princess of Zahard started criticizing him.

    "He was tougher than I expected. I''m sorry. I thought I could act like a Fisherman... like most of you guys." Leesoo meekly apologized.

    Androssi had none of that. She immediately smacked on him on the head again and called out. "Laure, show him how it''s done. I want you to win without losing a single time."

    The green-haired Regular who was sleeping ground, didn''t respond. Laure was peacefully dreaming when someone grabbed him by the clothes, yanked him upwards, and yelled something at him.

    "Five more minutes." He uttered.

    "I said, show him how it''s done. I want you to win without losing a single time!" Androssi ?sserted as she shook Laure awake. "Now, go!"

    "Do I have to? Can''t you win without me?" Laure just wanted to continue sleeping. Why would he want to do anything else but sleep when he had a soft pillow and a warm blanket.

    "You will go!" Androssi stated and pointed towards the arena, and Laure slowly started moving towards it. He wore his blanket like a cape and carried his pillow with him.

    "Can I just forfeit? We don''t need to win all rounds, right?" He asked as he was walking.

    "If you lose a single time, I promise you won''t get to sleep for a very long time." Androssi was adamant. She wanted him to dominate his opponent.

    Dejectedly he walked onto the stage and looked at the Regular that was already there. He was a black-haired man that wore a black outfit.

    "Bates, make sure you win this." Called out the blue-haired woman.

    "Don''t worry, I got this." The black-haired Regular reassured her.

    Blue was the chosen color for their round, and the fight began.

    With extreme speed, Bates rushed towards Laure. Arriving in front of him, he sent a punch towards his face, but before it could reach him, a barrier of Shinsoo blocked the attack.

    Laure adjusted his blanket to cover him better, let out a sigh, and looked at Bates.

    "They can win even without me, but I was forced to fight. I also have to try and win every time, but all I want is to sleep," Laure said with a sad tone. Bates was attacking the Shinsoo barrier in the meantime, but there wasn''t even a ripple on it.

    Laure raised the pillow in his hand. "I have a comfy and soft pillow." He pointed at his blanket. "A nice and warm blanket, but I have to fight. Do you understand my plight?"

    "Shut up!" Bates, who was still unable to bypass the Shinsoo barrier, screamed out. At that moment, a blue Observer flew over them.

    Before Bates could even form a Baang, the Observer in the air got shot down. He turned to look in disbelief at Laure, who was letting out a yawn.

    "How much longer until the other two. Can''t they send them out together? I''d much rather sleep than do this. Don''t you agree with me?" Laure asked him in a sad tone.

    "Would you just shut up!" Bates screamed and placed his hand on the barrier of Shinsoo. A massive wave of Shinsoo exploded out and nearly destroyed Laure''s barrier, but he was able to repair the damage done to it as soon as it happened.

    "Impossible," Bates exclaimed. He had just used Flare Wave Explosion, a very destructive Shinsoo technique that is only taught to FUG members.

    Flare Wave Explosion allows one to transfer a shock of Shinsoo through vibrations from oneself to a targeted object, vibrating the target''s inner Shinsoo, and destroying it from within.

    However, the technique could be blocked if the target has high Shinsoo resistance or better Shinsoo control than the user. Laure had much better Shinsoo control than Botes.

    The moment Bates used the technique, Lumen was instantly able to recognize it. Urek or more like his butler, Yuje, had given him a detailed explanation of FUG and some of their techniques. Flare Wave Explosion was one of those techniques.

    "Laure." Lumen called out the green-haired Regular, and he turned around. He might disobey Androssi commands at times, but Lumen was a different story. That man could be very scary when he wants to, so Laure would prefer to be on good terms with him.

    "Kill him." Lumen stated with no further explanation.

    Before Bates could even realize what''s happening, a laser pierced through his head. Laure had formed a Baang in an instant, and it had a high concentration of Shinsoo. He had shot Bates in the head without the man being able to react to his attack.

    Lumen had an easy way of dealing with Laure slacking off. Whenever the green-haired Regular decided that it''s time to take a nap, he would shoot him with a light beam. Due to that, Laure learned to form Baangs of Shinsoo in an instant. He had to learn how to defend himself while napping. After all, there is nothing better than sleeping.

    "What a bother. Now, I have no one to complain to." Laure looked towards the sky with dead eyes while waiting for the last two Observers to appear.

    Lumen turned towards his team. "Kill your opponents every round."

    "FUG?" Androssi questioned.

    "Yes." He confirmed.

 Chapter 47 - Twenty-Fifth Floor(3)

    The third round of the Test was about to begin as the yellow color was chosen for the Observer. Both teams chose the Regular that would participate.

    "Hatsu, you are up next. Make sure you kill your opponent. Those guys are members of FUG." Lumen told him.

    Hatsu, despite being someone that doesn''t enjoy killing, nodded to Lumen. FUG had already made their stand, so he couldn''t simply spare them. He walked out of Lumen''s team and entered the stage.

    "Rok, you are up. Make sure you deal with that handsome guy." The blue-haired woman called out, and a 14-year old looking boy with dark green hair and green eyes walked on stage. He had a purple hoop around his waist.

    Once he was on stage, Rok smirked at Hatsu. "Even if you have the strongest attack power from your team, you still don''t stand a chance against me."

    Rok was confident in his defensive capabilities. He, like many other FUG members, was a child that had a parent that was from the 10 Great Families and was abandoned in the Outer Tower when he was young.

    He had the bloodline of the Hendo Lok Family, and was one of the members of that Family, that had survived the longest. Rok had lived over 300 years, thanks to FUG.

    Rok had to live through an uncountable amount of experiments, but he was at least given the opportunity to live a bit longer. He didn''t have much time left, but he was happy to ?ssist FUG in any way he could.

    Hatsu wasn''t much of a talker, so he didn''t respond to him. Rok smirked, thinking that the swordsman was scared of him.

    The moment the fight began, Hatsu unsheathed a katana with a silver cross-guard, a grey hilt, and a blue tassel hanging from its base. He infused it with Shinsoo and sent a wave of Shinsoo towards Rok. "Demonic Fish Wheel Dance: Single Annihilation."

    Rok wasn''t the least bit worried, seeing the attack that was flying his direction. "I told you, even if you have the strongest attack power from your team, you still don''t stand a chance against me."

    Rok created a black disk, that was bigger than him, with his right hand, and Hatsu''s attack was completely absorbed by it. "Yin of Protection."

    The boy let out a yawn and looked confidently at Hatsu. "I told you so."

    The swordsman didn''t respond and sent a few more waves of Shinsoo towards Rok. Each attack was easily absorbed by the back disk in front of him.

    Since ranged attacks had no effect, Hatsu decided to close in on him. He enhanced himself with Shinsoo and lept towards Rok.

    However, the moment he dashed towards the boy, a yellow Observer flew over them. Hatsu''s reaction speed was extremely fast, but the boy was even faster.

    Rok''s black shield disappeared, and a white disk formed on Rok''s left hand, and the boy shot a wave of Shinsoo out of it. "Yang of Destruction."

    Rok''s attack instantly reached the yellow Observer and destroyed it. He was about to taunt Hatsu, but the swordsman had already reached him. Since the yellow Observer was destroyed, Hatsu had continued dashing towards Rok.

    Hatsu had infused his sword with Shinsoo and powerfully thrust it towards Rok. A column of Shinsoo flew struck the green-haired boy point-blank. "Demonic Fish Wheel Dance: White Wave Devil-Tearing Single Slash Annihilation."

    The black disk that was on Rok''s hand enlarged and developed the boy within it. Despite being hit by one of Hatsu''s best piercing techniques, the disk was able to absorb it completely.

    "You have to try harder to break my defense." Rok chuckled from behind the black disk.

    Again, Hatsu didn''t reply to him and continued doing what he does best, fighting. With his katana infused with Shinsoo, he sent an attack after attack at the boy. All of his strikes were being absorbed by the black disk, but that didn''t bother him.

    "You are n..." Rok was about to taunt him when he sensed something is wrong. After each swing, the speed that Hatsu wielded his sword increased. He was slowly building his momentum when he found his chance. Hatsu did an upward strike and sent a massive wave of Shinsoo. "Demonic Fish Wheel Dance: Wave Building Annihilation."

    Each of the previous strikes was there to build up the potential of the last attack.

    Rok had strengthened his shield and managed to block the wave of Shinsoo, but he wasn''t able to absorb the whole attack. A part of the wave continued past him and hit a yellow Observer in the air.

    Rok clenched his teeth at the fact that he was tricked. "Why don''t you take back all of your strikes. Yang of Destruction!"

    Point blank, the boy hit Hatsu with a massive blast of Shinsoo, and in the next moment, a black katana materialized in front of him. The sword stabbed Rok in the neck, but it b?r?ly penetrated his skin.

    The katana was created by Hatsu''s Shinsoo. The swordsman didn''t know his Shinsoo quality, but he didn''t care about it. He knew exactly what he wanted, and he had a very easy time at creating. The katana was very sharp and could easily cut apart most E-Rank Regulars.

    However, Rok had the Hendo Lok Family bloodline. He had inherited not only their short lifespan but also their high Shinsoo resistance. Rok had also had his Shinsoo resistance increased due to the experiments he went thought.

    Rok grabbed the katana and removed it from his neck. With wide-eyes and trembling hands, he touched the spot the katana had pierced. Feeling the blood that was pouring out of the wound, something snapped within Rok.

    The purple hoop around his waist started shining bright, as his irises and hair turned purple.

    "Ahhh!" Rok screamed out, as two arms of purple fire flew out of the hoop around his waist. The two flaming fists of purple aimed at Hatsu, but the swordsman quickly jumped out of the way.

    Another purple arm made of purple liquid came out of the hoop, gently ??r?ssed Rok''s wound, and healed it in an instant. The only reason Rok had survived for so long was because he was turned into an incomplete Living Ignition Weapon.

    Purple flaming fist after fist was raining down upon Hatsu. The swordsman was jumping around avoiding the attacks, but while doing so, a yellow Observer had flown, and Rok had shot it down.

    As much as he didn''t want to, Hatsu had to try and use that sword. He pulled out a single-edge sword with a white blade from his Pocket. Hatsu tried igniting the sword, but it refused his commands.

    ''You are weak.'' He heard a wizened voice in his head.

    ''That''s why I train every day, to become stronger.'' Hatsu thought back.

    ''Your technique is lacking.'' The wizened voice stated.

    ''I will train until I''m strong enough to overcome my lacking technique.'' Hatsu had reached this far with training alone. Everything he had achieved so far was through hard work alone.

    The voice didn''t respond, and Hatsu continued dodging attacks. After a moment, the wizened voice spoke again. ''I will help you this once, but if you want to use me again, you will have to be a lot stronger than this.''

    "Ignite." Ice coated the sword, and the temperature around Hatsu dropped. With just a single slash, he froze both of the purple flaming hands.

    Hatsu infused the ice sword with Shinsoo and thrust it towards Rok. "Demonic Fish Wheel Dance: White Wave Devil-Tearing Ice Annihilation."

    Before he could succeed, Hatsu followed up with another attack. A downward strike from the swordsman sent a massive Shinsoo wave made of ice. "Demonic Fish Wheel Dance: Ice Annihilation."

    The attack cleanly cut through Rok and his purple hoop and annihilated everything in its path. Hatsu immediately had to drop the sword, as his right hand was starting to freeze. The power of an Ignition Weapon was not something he could handle right now.

    ''You are weak.'' The swordsman heard the wizened voice.

    ''Thanks for the help, Ryu.'' Hatsu replied, but didn''t receive a response from the sword, which was surprised that the swordsman knew it''s name.

    With Rok having died, Hatsu was able to shoot down two more yellow Observers without even needing to use his sword. Another victory for Lumen''s team.

    Hatsu returned back to the rest, and the participants for the next round were chosen after the green color was selected for the Observer.

    "Vespa." Lumen just called out her name, and the blue-haired girl walked out without asking questions.

    The blue-haired woman on the opposite end looked visibly angry. She couldn''t accept that all those guys are actually E-Rank Regulars. She was slowly starting to believe in Leesoo earlier words about the team''s strength.

    Nevertheless, the Regulars in her team were also extremely strong. She believed that they would be able to kill the blue-haired girl. Their whole team can''t possibly all be crazy strong, right?

    "Stella, I want to see blood!" The blue-haired woman called out.

    "And blood you shall see, Regina." Said an extremely muscular, 2.50m tall woman with blonde hair replied. She wore a grey tracksuit covering her whole body, but her muscles were bulging underneath it.

    Stella walked on stage, popped a pill in her mouth, and cracked her knuckles. "I will squish you little bug."

    "Keep quiet and wait for your death ugly human," Vespa replied back.

    Stella humphed and dashed towards with incredible speed. She punched towards Vespa, but her attack hit nothing but her afterimage.

    Vespa had appeared behind Stella and stabbed with her stinger-like needle. Before her attack could hit, a purple shield blocked it. Stella immediately turned and threw another punch at Vespa, but she missed again.

    Vespa tried attacking a few more times, but the purple shield would block her attempts. Stella had an Armor Inventory that was blocking each strike, but she also wasn''t able to hit Vespa.

    Both of them weren''t even trying to go after the Observers and were focused on killing the other. Vespa wasn''t able to go past the Armor Inventory, and Stella wasn''t able to match Vespa''s speed.

    However, Stella had only one Armor Inventory. Vespa took out five more specialized needles. She held one in each hand and the other four floated next to her.

    What followed was a torrent of attacks by Vespa. With all six needles, she would stab at Stella with incredible speed. Her attacks were nothing but a blur, and she managed to pass through the Armor Inventory, but they didn''t succeed at piercing Stella''s skin.

    "Annoying human." Vespa cursed out. She transformed into her ?du?t form and looked angrily at Stella. She felt embarrassed that she had to transform to kill E-Rank Regular.

    In her ?du?t form, her strength and speed were greatly increased. She can''t keep the form for long periods of time, but she didn''t need to now.

    Stella was staring at the beautiful blue-haired woman when a needle pierced her through the back. The Vespa she was looking at vanished since it was nothing but an afterimage. She had appeared behind Stella and jammed her needle straight through her ?h?st.

    That attack hadn''t killed her, but another one followed suit and pierced her head. Stella fell on the ground and Vespa transformed back into her normal form. She grabbed the purple shield that had annoyed her and stored it within her Pocket.

    With Stella dead, she was easily able to shoot down three yellow Observers and win the round.

    Regina was fuming with anger at this point. "If you want something done, you have to do it yourself." She cursed out and walked out on stage.

    Before Lumen could call out someone to fight, Aleksai spoke. "Let me handle this one."

    Lumen felt the d?s?r? in Aleksai to fight, so he didn''t stop him. The red-haired big dude walked up on stage and faced his opponent. The color chosen for the Observer was white, but no one cared about that at this point. They were all out for blood.

    "Fancy meeting one of you here," Regina said to Aleksai.

    "I will enjoy tasting your blood. Your race is the tastiest dish to those like me." Aleksai kept quite under her provocation.

    Their two races, Seraph and Devils, have always been hostile to each other. When the two races meet, the would always aim to kill the other.

    Regina enhanced herself with Shinsoo and a blue aura enshrouded her. The angelic wings attached on her arms turned metallic and sharp, and she dashed towards Aleksai. The redhead had a dark-purple aura, similar to one Regina had, around him.

    The two of them crashed and the blue aura was slightly pushed back. In pure strength alone Aleksai outclassed her. However, strength wasn''t her forte.

    With extreme speed, she appeared to his side and slashed with her wings, but Aleksai was able to anticipate her attack. Regina was fast, but she was nothing compared to Lumen or Vespa in her ?du?t form.

    He was able to block the attack, but the feathers on her wings flew out and pierced his arms. Aleksai sent a blast of Shinsoo and pushed her away before she could follow up on her attack.

    Immediately he formed a spear made of his dark purple aura and threw it at Regina, but she dodged it. He kept firing spear after spear at her, keeping her at a distance.

    "True Form." Regina stopped in place and the blue aura around her grew more intense. The wings on her arms enlarged and grew in size. A blue bow materialized in front of her, and a blue halo formed on top of her head. Her power tripled and she immediately went on the offensive.

    "Purification Arrows."Arrow after arrow materialized, and Regina shot them towards Aleksai. The arrows flew at such a speed that the redhead wasn''t able to avoid them.

    Despite that, he didn''t receive any life-threatening injuries due to his durable physique. His training with Lumen wasn''t just for show, and he had the increased toughness granted to him from his bloodline.

    Regina had transformed into her true form, but he could do the same. The small devil wings on his back grew in size. The dark purple aura around him liquified and started bubbling. Dark purple horns formed on his head and spear made of the bubbling liquid materialized in front of him.

    The aura emitting from Regina was nothing compared to his. The power radiating out of his was immense, but Aleksai was unable to stay in this form for more than a few minutes.

    The blue-haired woman''s eyes widened as she saw his true form. Regina couldn''t stop staring at him as there was something that captivated her gaze.

    Before she realized it, a spear made of dark purple bubbling liquid had appeared in front of her face. It exploded into a shower of bubbling liquid and covered Regina.

    "Aaaahhh!" The blue-haired woman started screaming in pain, as she was slowly being melted by the purple liquid.

 Chapter 48 - Twenty-Fifth Floor (4)

    After killing Regina, Aleksai was easily able to win the round by shooting down three Observers. The color for the next round was chosen, and it was blue again.

    The man with the white suit was visibly annoyed that his team had lost five rounds in a row. He looked towards the rest of his teammates, and for the first time since the start of the Test, he spoke.

    "I was expecting more of you." He said with a high pitched voice, sounding like a prepubescent girl. There was a reason why he didn''t like speaking.

    "They are stronger than what we expected, Pinto," Steve replied, relieved that he had faced probably the weakest member of that team. Everyone else that fought after that could have killed him, even if he used his Shinsoo techniques.

    Laure had better Shinsoo control than him, and he didn''t think he could destroy his barriers. Hatsu could have killed him without even using his Ignition Weapon. Steve couldn''t even follow Vespa''s movements and didn''t have an Armor Inventory to block her attacks. Aleksai''s purple bubbling liquid scared him, as he knew how strong Regina is, yet it had melted her down.

    "Or you are all just useless and weak," Pinto said with his high pitched voice and looked threateningly at Steve. "I will show you how it''s done."

    Pinto walked up on stage with confidence in his steps. He was the strongest of Yama''s Three Mad Dogs and didn''t fear any E-Rank Regulars, no matter how strong they were.

    Androssi seeing Pinto enter the stage, turned towards Lumen. "It seems they are sending their strongest member. It''s only fitting that we sent our strongest member as well."

    She crossed her arms under her br??sts, and confidently stated. "And that would be me!"

    Lumen shook his head and made a shooing motion with his hand. He was aware of her antics, so he had learned to ignore almost everything she says.

    Androssi proudly smiled and marched towards the arena. "Yep, that''s me. The strongest member of MY TEAM." She made sure to emphasize it''s her team.

    "I never got the chance to kill a Princess of Zahard before. Thank you for giving me this opportunity." Pinto threatened in his squeaky voice, to which Androssi responded by laughing.

    "Oh, man! With a girly voice like yours, I would be surprised if anyone takes you seriously." Laughingly she replied.

    "What did you say to me?" Pinto squeaked in anger, and that the last part of his sentence was nothing but a high pitched sound. He despised anyone that made fun of his voice and had killed everyone that had dared to do so.

    Androssi couldn''t resist laughing when she heard him, tears from laughter started pouring out of her eyes. "Please stop talking, I can''t stop laughing at your voice."

    "I will kill you!" Pinto screamed out in his squeaky voice and madly dashed towards Androssi, who was hugging her stomach from laughing at this point.

    Pinto focused a massive amount of Shinsoo in his hand and punched with all his might. Androssi while still laughing, caught his fist without any effort.

    Her body strength was through the roof. Even some Rankers might have a weaker body than hers. Not only did she have the blood of Zahard, but she had also trained with increased gravity, and had been shown the Ha Family''s Shinsoo strengthening technique by Yuri. The technique was a Ha Family secret and wasn''t supposed to be taught to outsiders, but Yuri never really cared about rules.

    "Not only do you speak like a little girl, but you punch like one as well." Androssi mocked him while laughing.

    "Since you are going down that route, let me show you how a woman punches." Dark red Shinsoo gathered on her free hand, and she punched Pinto with it. "Woman Punch!"

    The muscular man stood up and looked at her with hatred. His suit was shredded, and he was dripping blood from his ?h?st.

    "You will pay for this!" Pinto screamed at her, but that only made her laugh harder. She couldn''t stop herself from doing so. Just hearing such a high pitched voice from a muscular man was making her laugh uncontrollably, which angered Pinto even more.

    "Aaaahh!" Pinto screamed out, as his white and black Shinsoo gathered around his right hand. His suit was shredded to pieces as his right arm transformed into a massive white claw with black dots on it. "Stage 1 Partial Transformation: Dalmatine Claws."

    Pinto was a Canine person and had managed to unlock their special ability, Canine Transformation. It allows Canine people to transform part of their bodies to that of beasts. It makes the user more powerful, and some transformations even grant additional special abilities.

    Usually, the powers awaken purely by chance, and very few Canine people had ever managed to unlock it as Low-Rank Regulars. That was why Pinto was regarded as the strongest of the Three Mad Dogs since he was the only one to awaken his Canine Transformation.

    Massive amounts of Shinsoo gathered around his claw as he madly rushed towards the laughing Androssi. Pinto slammed his claw and caused a large explosion with his attack.

    In a moment, the dust cleared and Androssi was still laughing as she held his claw with one hand. Pinto was astonished that his attack was blocked just like that. Even a D-Rank Regular would be unable to stop it, how was she able to so easily block it?

    Androssi still holding on to his claw, flipped him over, and slammed him on the ground. She gathered dark red Shinsoo within her hands and sent a massive blast at the downed Pinto. "Chiffon Sword."

    Her attack caused a massive explosion in the arena. After the dust settled, Pinto was nowhere to be seen. The Shinsoo technique she used was something that Yuri had taught her, she had just renamed it.

    "I will kill you!" Androssi imitated Pinto''s high pitched voice and continued laughing at him. After she calmed down a bit, she shot down three blue Observers and exited the arena.

    With this, Lumen''s team had secured the victory since they won six rounds, but the Test would be over only when all rounds are finished.

    "You will pay for this!" Once she returned, she imitated his voice again and dropped down laughing while holding her stomach.

    The color for the next round was selected, and both teams had to choose their participants.

    "Verdi, it''s your turn." Lumen told the grey-haired girl that was holding onto his shirt. Verdi nodded to him and entered the stage.

    FUG''s team was visibly scared after five of their members died, and started arguing between themselves.

    "Steve, why don''t you go again?" One of them asked. He had long black hair and a feminine face.

    "Why should I go? I already fought once. You go, Maka." Steve argued back.

    "But you lost, you have to redeem yourself!" Countered back the feminine looking man.

    "Not a chance. You go." Steve adamantly refused. There was no way he is going out there again. He got lucky that his opponent was the weakest, so he didn''t plan on testing his luck again.

    Before the Test had begun, he was confident that his team would dominate them, but now, he didn''t want to face a single one of those freaks. Steve couldn''t understand how are they all so strong. Most of his teammates had delayed their climb and stayed as E-Rank Regulars for a long time, but everyone except him had died facing those monsters.

    "I will go." A man that had too much facial hair declared. The only visible thing on his face was his two beady black eyes. Everything else was covered by brown hair. Once he had seen Verdi on stage, he had made his mind to go.

    "See. Fabio wants to go this round. There is no need for me to go out." Maka stated.

    Once on stage, Verdi looked at him in annoyance. She could hear his dirty thoughts and that annoyed her to no end. To make matters worse, he was extremely ugly and would make for an awful doll.

    The moment the fight started, Fabio took a step forward to dash towards the grey-haired girl but was stopped in his tracks. With a blank look on his face, he weakly fell on the ground while his limbs lightly fidgeted.

    Verdi had sent a Telepathic attack combined with her Shinsoo and turned Fabio into a vegetative state. The scariest part of her attack is that it''s completely invisible. The hairy man didn''t even stand a chance against her.

    Verdi summoned her pink octopus and he grabbed Fabio with one of his tentacles. He squashed the hairy man, so he is easier to consume and threw him in his mouth. It then caught the three correctly colored Observers with his tentacles and destroyed them.

    She proudly returned back to her group and Lumen ruffled her hair.

    "Good job." He praised her, and Verdi giggled as she leaned in closer to him.

    After the color for the next round was chosen, Lumen turned towards Tiana, and she nodded to him without him saying anything.

    "You go, you gay bitch," Steve yelled at Maka.

    "What did you call me?" The feminine man asked with wide eyes, as his hair started floating behind me.

    "I said, go and fight, you pathetic excuse for a man!" Steve shouted at him.

    "I will show you how much of a man I am!" Maka''s hair immediately turned sharp and flew towards Steve, who had already created sand around him with his Shinsoo.

    The two began fighting each other, and in a few minutes, Steve was panting while Maka was lying on the ground, bleeding from wounds all over his body.

    "That''s what you get you, gay bitch!" Steve yelled and spat at the now-dead Maka, but then realized that with the feminine man gone, he would most likely have to participate.

    They had three more members left, and there were three more rounds left as well. Unless the next person survives the next round, all of them would have to fight.

    "Oh shit." He uttered as that dawned on him. He looked towards the other two on his team, Marco, a short dude with black hair, and Dustin, a tall guy with black hair. Both of them were threateningly looking at Steve, and he didn''t need to be a genius to understand them.

    "Come on, guys. We can talk it out." Steve said but instantly shot down by Marco. The short guy pointed his hand towards the stage and said. "Go."

    The two of them were brothers, so it was a two against one situation, and he didn''t have a choice.

    Steve hesitantly walked up on stage and looked towards the beautiful purple-haired woman that was staring at him expressionlessly. He was desperately hoping that Tiana was as weak as Leesso. Otherwise, he wouldn''t have a nice end.

    "Hey, gorgeous." He called out to her.

    "Look, we don''t need to fight. We can just..." Steve didn''t finish what he was about to say as he summoned his sand tornado, to try and sneak attack her. Unfortunately for Steve, both he and his tornado were frozen in place.

    Lumen had said that he wants all of them dead, and Tiana wasn''t planning on sparing her opponent. Not only was she prepared to kill him as soon as possible, but she was also able to sense him discreetly manipulating the Shinsoo. Her Shinsoo control was much better than his, so she was able to freeze him and his technique together with Reverse-Flow Control.

    Steve''s eyes widened in fear, as a green laser pierced him between his eyebrows.

    ''How are they all so strong?'' Were his last thoughts before dying. He couldn''t understand how E-Rank Regulars had obtained so much power. It didn''t make sense to him.

    Steve had spent hundreds of years to reach his level, so why was he weaker than them? What did they do to deserve their strength? Why was the world so unfair?

    Another larger green laser followed up and obliterated Steve''s body. With the grey-haired man gone, Tiana easily took down the three Observers.

    Seeing that, Dustin and Marco shared a look between themselves. Both of them understood that their survival chance was low.

    Dustin let out a sigh and walked towards the stage. It wouldn''t matter if he goes now, or later. The end result would be the same.

    "I''ll see you in hell, brother." He called out to Marco as he entered the arena.

    Before Lumen could say who to go, Merrie spoke up. "I would like to try fighting him."

    Merrie had already accepted that Lumen was the being from the prophesy, so she wanted to prove to him that she is not a piece of pretty baggage.

    He nodded to her, and the red-haired woman entered the arena.

    The moment the fight started, Dustin had materialized metal claws of Shinsoo around his hands. With a mighty leap, he dashed towards Merrie, who had taken out four red Lighthouses.

    Dustin swiped with his right claw, but Merrie had created a barrier of Shinsoo with two of her Lighthouses.

    Merrie wasn''t as skilled at manipulation Shinsoo, like Tiana and Laure who could create barriers of Shinsoo with a snap of their fingers. Those two were extremely gifted in that regard. However, with the ?ssistance of the two Lighthouses, she was able to erect the barrier almost as fast as them.

    A metal claw materialized behind Merrie, but it was blocked by another barrier. Dustin jumped backward to distance himself from her, but his path was blocked by yet another barrier. Before he could realize it, he was surrounded by barriers on all sides. "Lighthouse Prison."

    Dustin tried attacking the barriers but he was only able to cause light ripples to them. The barriers slowly started closing in on him, and his free space was getting smaller bit by bit.

    Try as he might, Dustin wasn''t able to destroy even one of them. In a matter of moments, he was squashed by the surrounding barriers. Merrie was then easily able to shoot down the three Observers.

    Marco had a sad look on his face as he watched his brother get killed. Dejectedly, he walked up on stage for the final round as he whispered his brother''s final words. "I''ll see you in hell, brother."

    Anak entered the arena without Lumen saying a word or even looking at her. She knew that he already had the strength to fight Ranker, so it was pointless for him to fight here. Regulars like Marco should be dealt with by her and the rest of the group, while he focuses on more important and threatening enemies.

    Marco looked at Anak with lifeless eyes. The aura she was emitting was even scarier than Pinto''s when he was using his Partial Transformation. She was a monster that he couldn''t take on, and he knew that.

    The moment the fight started, Anak had already appeared in front of him in a burst of speed. Marco didn''t even try to block the punch that was coming towards his head. Anak''s attack hit him and his head exploded in a shower of gore.

    With this, FUG''s strongest Low-Ranked Regulars had all been killed. They were planning to have Bam join that team and climb the Tower with them, but Lumen''s team had annihilated them all. FUG had suffered yet another loss to Lumen.

    Since they successfully passed the Test, Lumen''s team advanced to the 26th Floor.

 Chapter 49 - Twenty-Sixth Floor

    The entire 26th Floor was built underground in one gigantic cave system. All the buildings on the Floor were carved into the cave walls.

    Neon lights were scattered all over the cave system, but it was common for the residents there to travel with a Lighthouse, even if they weren''t Light Bearers.

    After all, the 26th Floor was owned by the Tu Perie Family, and all the Lighthouses sold there were created by them. It''s common knowledge that all the Lighthouses created by the Tu Perie Family have the highest quality.

    The leader of that Family, Tperie, had not only created the position Light Bearer, but he also created the Opera Lighthouse, one of the greatest Lighthouses of the Tower. A total of three have been made by him, and they extend the user''s Shinsoo field to near infinity.

    In theory, a person could observe the whole Tower if they have an Opera. The Lighthouse also has defensive measures that put even Armour Inventories to shame and higher attacking capabilities than Ignition Weapons.

    As soon as Lumen''s group arrived on the 26th Floor, a swarm of reporters had rushed them. Or more precisely, they had rushed Androssi.

    "Princess, you are regarded as by far the strongest E-Rank Regular. Could you tell us how you feel about that?"

    "Princess, all of your teammates are considered to be within the top 20 E-Rank Regulars. Could you tell us how you managed to gather all of them?"

    "Princess, your team seems to have no d?s?r? to spend their time leisurely on the Floors. You are entirely focused on climbing the Tower. How long do you think it would take you to reach the Top?"

    Question after question was fired at Androssi, and while the reporters were interested in her, the rest of the group slipped away.

    Once they were a distance away from Andorssi, everyone went their own way.

    "I''ll go and sign us up for the Test and find a residence for us afterward," Leesoo stated. He was the one that gathered information about the Tests, and he made sure to register the team at the earliest possible time for them to take one. Leesoo was also the one that dealt with their housing issues as well.

    "Merrie, let''s go and see if we can find you a better Lighthouse here." Lumen told the Red Witch. She had made great progress as a Light Bearer and deserved a reward.

    "Thank you." With a smile, she nodded to him. She had a few Lighthouses, but they were all Low-Ranked ones. Not a single one of them was higher than 5E. With a bit of luck, they might find a 1E or even a 10D-Rank Lighthouse that they could afford on the 26th Floor.

    "I''ll come with you~" Verdi exclaimed and held onto Lumen''s shirt. The Floor was filled with Regulars, so she didn''t want to stay away from him. With him around her, she wouldn''t experience those bad headaches.

    The rest of the group slipt up, all going to explore the 26th Floor to see what it has to offer.

    Exploring the Floors never ceased to amaze Lumen. Each Floor had a different environment with a unique atmosphere. He would have never got see such amazing sights on Earth. However, Urek had told him that, outside the Tower in the vast Universe, there were even grander places.

    As Lumen and the two girls were walking around, he would stop from time to time to look around.

    ''Again, huh?'' Lumen thought. Ever since his proficiency in reading the flow of Shinsoo had increased, he had felt a pair of eyes observing him. No matter on which Floor he was, he felt someone or something watching him.

    At first, he thought it might be the Guardian on the Floor that he was, but he had the feeling it that wasn''t the case. To him, it felt like it was the same pair of eyes that were always watching him.

    On the 123rd Floor, in a darkened room that was only lit up by a massive Lighthouse and over 100 smaller Lighthouses, a purple-haired girl was lying on her stomach and eating from a bag of chips. Her feet were raised in the air, and she was cutely dangling them while watching the video footage on the massive Lighthouse.

    This was Jaina Repellista Zahard, one of the owners of the Opera Lighthouse and the only Princess of Zahard that wasn''t a Ranker or a Regular since she had no d?s?r? to climb the Tower whatsoever. She was addicted to sitting in her darkened room in front of her Lighthouses while observing what''s happening within the Tower.

    The video footage that Repellista was watching was that of Lumen, who was currently looking straight at her. She giggled and waved at him, but unfortunately, he didn''t return the gesture as he was unable to see her.

    "Yuri sure found an interesting boyfriend," Repellista stated to no one in particular. "I wonder how much more will he grow?"

    Ever since Lumen had appeared on the 2nd Floor, she had been keeping an eye on him. The fact, that Yuri, had rushed to the 1st Floor a few years ago, hadn''t escaped her eyes. However, she didn''t know what had transpired there, as that was the only place in the Tower that she couldn''t observe with her Opera Lighthouse.

    After Yuri had rushed to the 1st Floor, two interesting fellows had appeared on the 2nd Floor. Bam was intriguing, but Lumen was something else. He wasn''t that exceptional at first glance, but he was able to use abilities that didn''t require Shinsoo. As incredible as they were, Lumen had very little control over them, which seemed weird to her.

    Repellista let out a cute giggle and said. "I hope you don''t disappoint me."

    Merrie, noticing that Lumen had stopped in place, asked him. "Is there something wrong?"

    "No, no. I''m just being paranoid, I guess." He replied, and then pointed at a shop nearby. "I have a good feeling about that one. Let''s check it out."

    Lumen gave one last look to where he felt he was being watched from, and turned to enter the shop.

    After spending about 20 minutes there, the three exited the store, and Merrie had a smile on her face. They were able to exchange the Armor Inventory Vespa had looted from the muscular lady and had gotten a 7D-Rank Lighthouse for the Red Witch.

    As soon as they were out of the store, Lumen received a message from Leesoo.

    [I''ve registered the Team for the Test and rented a residence for us. I''ve already registered your Pockets to the building, and the coordinations for it are...]

    [Good one. We just found a Lighthouse for Merrie, and we will make our way towards the house now.] Lumen replied back.

    "Leesoo already signed us up for the Test and found a residence for us. Let''s go and check out the place." Lumen told the two girls, and they nodded in agreement with him.

    Leesoo was in the living room, sitting on a couch and watching the news. He was holding a phone-looking device in his hand and was typing something on it. Once he noticed Lumen and the two girls, he jumped from his seat and showed them the device.

    "Look at this, guys," Leesoo exclaimed. The device looked like a smartphone and had a messenger-like app on the screen. Leesoo was chatting with someone about tips on dating women.

    Lumen and Merrie shared a look, as they both felt something off about the device. They didn''t exactly know what''s wrong about it, but the Shinsoo was flowing in such a way, that they couldn''t read it accurately.

    "What is this?" Lumen asked him.

    "This is Emily! An intelligent chatting bot that could answer all of your questions! It''s super popular right now amongst the Regulars" Leesoo explained.

    "It could answer all of your questions?" Lumen asked skeptically.

    "Yes, look!" Leesoo typed in a question.

    [What''s an important tip for dating women?]

    [Be confident. Confidence is attractive and enthusiasm will make you shine.]

    Leesoo showed them Emily''s answer and said. "See, it''s amazing."

    "Let me try." Lumen told him and grabbed the device. He thought for a moment and then typed in.

    [Is Lights End alive?]

    [Lights End is dead. He was killed on the 10th Floor by a FUG Slayer.] Emily replied back.

    Lumen showed her answer to Leesoo, and he scratched his head in embarrassment.

    "I guess it can''t answer ALL questions, but it can definitely answer most of them. The bot is extremely intelligent," Leesoo said with an embarrassed laugh, and he typed in another question.

    [Which Floor is Androssi''s team on right now?]

    [Androssi and her team have recently advanced to the 26th Floor. The Princess is currently being interviewed on channel 12.] Emily answered.

    Leesoo changed the tv channel to 12 and Androssi was talking about her progress as a Regular.

    "See? It''s very smart." Leesoo stated.

    "Can I try?" Merrie questioned and he handed her the device. After thinking about it for a moment, she typed in her question.

    [How is Hwa Ryun doing?]

    [Hwa Ryun is having a bit of trouble seeing, but she is mostly fine. She had just started leading her prophesied one. Hwa Ryun is wondering how Merrie is doing, and if she had found the person she was searching for.]

    "This..."Merrie froze from seeing the answer.

    "Can you please lend me the device? I have some things I want to test out." Merrie asked Leesoo with a tremble in her voice, still unable to believe the reply from Emily.

    "Sure, you can have it. The device isn''t that expensive, so I can just go and get another one." Leesoo agreed to give it to her.

    "Thank you!" Merrie thanked him and turned to leave the living room. As she was walking she felt Lumen''s gaze, and she turned towards him. "Don''t worry, I won''t do anything stupid. I only want to find out more about this device."

    Being able to read her emotions, Lumen knew that she was being honest. "Just be careful. I have a bad feeling about this Emily."

    "I got it!" Merrie nodded to him and made her way towards one of the empty rooms.

    Lumen sat on the couch with Verdi and asked Leesoo. "So, what can you tell me about the Test."

    "Any team no matter the number of Regulars could take on the Test. However, the more Regulars there are, the harder the Test is." Leesoo started his explanation.

    "Each Regular would be transported to a maze-like location. There is only a single exit to the maze, and it is locked. Each Regular would have to find a special key to unlock it, and only when all Regulars manage to escape the maze, would the team pass the Test. Each location is filled with Stone Bats, but we should easily be able to handle those creatures."

    "Our Team would be taking on the Test in three weeks. There is no earlier time than that." Leesoo finished his explanation.

    "It doesn''t sound like a very difficult Test for our team." Lumen stated.

    "No, definitely not. Not only do we have three Scouts, but we also have Merrie and you." Leesoo confirmed.

    Hatsu, Vespa, and Leesoo were all incredible Scouts. With the ?ssistance of their Observers, they should easily be able to locate the key.

    Tiana and Laure are exceptional Wave Controllers who could read the flow of Shinsoo. The two should also have an easy time finding the key.

    Verdi could obtain the location of the key from the creatures living in the maze.

    Merrie was a Guide and a good Light Bearer, so she would easily find the key. She could also give her Lighthouses to the other members and help them out as well.

    Lumen with his ability to read the flow Shinsoo would definitely be able to locate the key. Like Merrie, he could also ?ssist the others by giving them one of his Lighthouses or Observers. He still had the Low-Ranked ones he purchased on the 3rd Floor.

    "That''s good." Lumen stated. "Is there a place on the Floor where we could train?"

    "Yes. In fact, we could train in our house. The top floor has a large room perfect for training." Leesoo replied.

    "Well, what are you waiting for. Let''s go." Lumen told him, and Leesoo followed after him to the large room.

    Three weeks quickly passed by, and Lumen''s team took on the Test on the 26th Floor. With Merrie helping Anak, Androssi, and Aleksai everyone were able to easily locate the key for the maze and pass the Test.

    With that, the Lumen''s team advanced onto the 27th Floor.

 Chapter 50 - Twenty-Seventh Floor

    At Karaka''s personal hideout.

    The Slayer was sitting on his throne with a figure masked in a shadow standing in front of him.

    "So, Bam, or now known as Jyu Viole Grace, has started his climb?" Karaka asked the shadowy figure.

    "Yes, my God." Replied the shadowy individual.

    "How many of the Elders have agreed with my plan, Poken?" Karaka questioned him.

    "Half of them are in agreement with you, my God. The rest have put their faith in Jyu Viole Grace." Poken answered him.

    "That''s good enough. How many sleeper agents do you have as E-Rank Regulars?" Karaka inquired. Poken had the ability to grant others a part of his shadow. Those that have a part of his shadow are able to augment their power at the cost of destroying their bodies. An E-Rank Regular could become as strong as a B-Rank or even stronger with Pekon''s shadow.

    "Two, my God. Reflejo and Absorcion. Reflejo woke up a couple years ago, and he is currently gathering teammates on the 28th Floor. Absorcion woke up a few months ago, and he is still on the 27th Floor." Poken informed him of his sleeper agents.

    "Good. Make sure that Reflejo gathers strong Regulars. We need them prepared for the 30th Floor. The real Thorn is with Io and Punk on their Archimedes ship. They have already made the dissolving solution and are making slight adjustments to it." Karaka stated.

    Poken was about to answer him when he received a report on his Pocket.

    "My God, I was just informed that the masked Regular and Viole''s friends have just advanced to the 27th Floor," Poken told the Slayer.

    When Karaka heard him mention the masked Regular, he frowned in annoyance. Ever since he saw his fight with the three FUG Rankers, he couldn''t stop thinking who that person is. At first, Karaka thought that he might be someone like him, but that didn''t seem to be the case.

    The masked Regular''s identity has been bothering him for a while now, especially when it was confirmed that he is most likely another Irregular. The Slayer desperately wanted to know who he is.

    Karaka thought about it for a moment and said. "Have Absorcion contact him. Absorcion''s priority is to identify him, and if possible, get him on our side. His strength is incredible for a Regular, so he could be useful to us. We could deal with him afterward."

    "As you wish, my God." Poken bowed to Karaka and made his way out.

    The 27th Floor was owned by the Po Bidau Family, and it was a place that looked like it was taken out of futuristic sci-fi movie. The Floor was separated into two parts, a city on the ground and a city floating in the air.

    On the ground, the city was filled with skyscrapers and cube-shaped buildings. The layout of the city was never the same, as all the structures were constantly on the move. Each building had a special platform underneath it, which allowed the building to move around the Floor.

    The floating city was built on top of one gigantic platform that allowed it to float in the air. It was also filled with skyscrapers and cube-shaped buildings. Only Rankers were allowed to live on the floating city.

    As soon as Lumen''s group arrived on the 27th Floor, like any other Floor after the 20th one, a massive amount of reporters swarmed Androssi.

    "Princess, how long do you think it will take you to become a D-Rank Regular?"

    "Princess, with the speed that you are climbing the Tower, you could potentially be faster than Ha Yuri Zahard. What are your thoughts on that?"

    "Princess, there was Workshop Battle on the 30th Floor that just recently occurred. Will you be participating in the next one, or will you skip it and participate in one at a higher Floor?"

    As the reporters were interviewing Androssi, the rest of the group slipped away. However, a bunch of reporters followed them.

    One of them caught up to Lumen. "Excuse me, Sir. Can I have a moment of your time?"

    "What do you need?" Lumen coldly asked him. He had no d?s?r? to entertain them.

    "I just wanted to ask you, how do you feel about being on a team with Princess of Zahard?"

    "Like being on a team with any other Regular." Lumen bluntly replied.

    "Uhm..." The reporter didn''t except such an answer and was momentarily stunned. He was hoping to hear him talk about how amazing it is since most Regulars would do anything they can to get on a team with a Princess of Zahard.

    Seeing the reporter in a daze, Lumen started walking away, but the reporter ran up to him again.

    "Just one more question, Sir. You are the only new member to join the team after the death of Lights End. Do you think that you have some big shoes to fill in, considering how talented he was?" The reporter asked him.

    "His shoes fit me quite well." Lumen answered and continued walking away.

    However, the reported seemed to have something else to say. "Um, Sir, do you..." But before he could finish, Lumen interrupted him.

    "One more word and you are dead." Lumen threatened him and released a bit of his killing intent, freezing the reporter in place.

    This interview was later shown on the news, and it caused a big controversy about the masked Regular and who he is. Most people talked about how arrogant and ???ky the masked Regular is.

    "Lights End shoes fit him quite well? Who does he think he is? Lights End was someone even stronger than a Princess of Zahard. This guy is too full of himself." Is what most people said after they heard him.

    After Lumen dealt with the reporter, he explored the 27th Floor and what it has to offer. A lot of the shop on the Floor specialized in selling items that allow the user to control Shinsoo even up to the 60th Floor.

    When such an item is created, the maker has to form a contract with the Guardians of the Floors. Such an item can not control Shinsoo on a Floor that the maker hasn''t made a contract for.

    Most of the items on the 27th Floor were created by the Research Association. The members of the Association are chosen mostly from the males of the Po Bidau Family. They are the most knowledgable when it comes to how Shinsoo works, and the best in making items that allow the user to control Shinsoo.

    Lumen was interested in those items and had purchased two of them. One of them was a wand that allows the user to control Shinsoo up to the 30th Floor, and the other was a gun that lets the user control Shinsoo up to the 35th Floor.

    Lumen bought the wand because it was one of the cheapest and simply wanted to know how it works. However, when he saw the gun, he had purchased it immediately due to how much he loved using one on Earth.

    After testing out the two, Lumen was left bitterly disappointed. The wand allowed the user to form and control up to two Baangs, but they had a low concentration of Shinsoo and were slow to form. There were also a lot of limits on what he could do with those two Baangs. For example, he couldn''t apply any of his qualities to them.

    The gun, on the other hand, could form only one Baang with a bit higher concentration of Shinsoo, compared to the wand. The Baang could only be fired off only in the form of a laser, but it could quickly form another Baang. Despite that, it wasn''t that impressive.

    Lumen threw away the wand, but he kept the gun since it reminded him of Earth.

    As he was heading back to his residence on the Floor, he suddenly disappeared from his spot. Lumen appeared behind a cloaked figure with a black mask that had been following him for some time now.

    "Hello, little rat." Lumen said with his armor already covering his body.

    "You truly look like Lord Karaka," Absorcion told him after turning around.

    "That''s because I am Karaka." Lumen chuckled.

    "We both know that Lord Karaka has more important things to deal with than playing around with a bunch of Regulars." Lumen narrowed his eyes at his reply since it implied that Karaka is alive. He was under the impression that the Slayer had died on the 10th Floor.

    "And why are you following me?" Lumen questioned him with a cold voice.

    "My master, Poken, Karaka''s subordinate, sent me to contact you. The two of them believe..." Before Absorcion could continue talking, Lumen had created his Domain of Darkness.

    The moment his domain was released, Absrocion immediately activated the shadow that Pekon had granted him. He tried escaping from the Domain of Darkness, but he couldn''t even distinguish left from right.

    The FUG member tried to use the special powers granted to him by the shadow and absorb the darkness around him. However, that had no effect, as there was no change in the amount of darkness, no matter how much he absorbed.

    Absorcion equipped a black, ghastly needle and tried randomly attacking, but that had no effect as well. He suddenly felt a hand grasp his head, and before he could even make a move, a massive pressure enveloped on him.

    "Ahhh!" Absorcion started screaming in pain, as a single word kept being repeated in his mind. ''Obey. Obey. Obey.'' In a few minutes, Absorcion was left standing with a blank look on his face.

    Lumen had recently started experimenting with using the ability to dominate creatures on humans or human-like races. The creatures in the Tower had high intelligence, but they were able to be subjugated by Animas, so he applied that same principle on the human-like races.

    With his incredible Shinsoo control, he had created an ability that greatly resembled mind control. However, Lumen has to be in contact with the person he is dominating for it to take effect.

    After half an hour, the Domain of Darkness disappeared with no traces of Absorcion left. Twenty minutes after he had dominated Absorcion''s mind, the FUG member''s body had started decomposing. From what he learned, that was due to the shadow that was granted to him by Poken.

    Lumen got to know quite a few things from Poken. One of them being that FUG had something big planned for the next Workshop Battle. He didn''t know exactly what, since Absorcion wasn''t informed, but he knew that it was something major for the organization.

    ''It seems we have to participate in the next Workshop Battle then.'' Lumen thought. Initially, he had no d?s?r? to participate in the Workshop Battle. He didn''t think that he or his team could get something useful out of it, but knowing that FUG had plans for it, changed his mind. Lumen didn''t mind delaying his climb for just a bit, in order to deal FUG a major blow.

    He returned to his team''s residence and told them that they would be participating in the next Workshop Battle. Everyone was fine with that except for Androssi.

    "No! I already told the reporters that our team has no interest in the Workshop Battle since we have nothing to gain there!" The Princess of Zahard protested.

    "That''s not my problem." Lumen replied.

    "Come on! That would ruin my image! Please think about it." Androssi pleaded, she had an image to uphold.

    "Again, that''s not my problem." Lumen stated.

    "Arghh! You are the worst! I hate you, I hate you, I hate you!" Androssi starter throwing a tantrum like a little girl.

    "Love you too." Lumen told her and turned towards the rest. "We will continue climbing like usual, and we will wait on the 30th Floor for the start of the next Workshop Battle. Any questions?"

    "Nope." Came the response from everyone else except Androssi.

    A month later, Lumen and his group took on the Test on the 27th Floor.

    The Test was Capture the Flag, and it takes place on a floating arena. Two teams of five Regulars would have to fight against each other while trying to capture two flags in the middle of the arena. Each team would also have a flag on their side of the arena.

    In order for a team to win, they have to capture the enemy''s flag, but they are allowed to do so, only when the two flags in the middle are captured by them. To capture a flag, there have to be only Regulars from one team within 20 meters of the flag.

    Lumen''s group had split into two teams of five. Androssi''s team had already taken on the Test and advanced to the 28th Floor, and it was Lumen''s team turn now.

    Once the Test began, Tiana headed towards one of the flags in the middle, and Anak headed towards the other. While Lumen, Verdi, and Vespa found a comfortable place and sat down near their own flag.

    Lumen didn''t plan on doing anything and would leave the girls to complete the Test. Verdi didn''t want to stay away from him, so she also didn''t plan on doing anything.

    Vespa was just waiting for the other three to capture the middle flags before rushing towards the enemy''s one.

    A few minutes after Tiana arrived at one of the middle flags, a red-haired, red-eye Regular with a medium build confronted her. That was Quaetro Blitz, known as a talented Flamer User and Wave Controller from the Blitz Family.

    "You would look so much better if you are burnt to crisp. Hahaha." Quaetro maniacally laughed out.

    He created three Baangs of flame and was about to shoot them at Tiana when he froze with widened eyes. His mouth hung loose as he started at the five floating Baangs around Tiana. Quaetro knew no more than ten E-Rank Regular that could create three Baangs, but five? That shouldn''t be possible for an E-Rank Regular.

    Quaetro watched as the five Baangs merge into one, and a massive blast of Shinsoo was shot his way. He was blown away by the Shinsoo blast. Quaetro had managed to survive, although gravely injured. With that, Tiana had captured one of the flags.

    On the other side, Anak had just arrived at the location of the other flag. Since she didn''t rush with all her speed, someone had already arrived there, and the flag was captured by the other team.

    Sitting beside the flag was a tall, black-haired man. His right eye was closed, and he had a scar over it. This was Chang Blarode, one of the strongest E-Rank Regulars. At one point, he was considered in the top 5 E-Rank Regulars until the monsters from Androssi''s team appeared.

    Since then, not only had he suffered a major loss to a member of the Khun Family, but he was now not even considered within the top 10 E-Rank Regulars. Chang had chased after them for some time and finally managed to get to face against one of those members, thanks to the help of Emily.

    "They give you a lot of credit, but let''s see how good you truly are," Chang told Anak and strengthened himself with Shinsoo. He was about to dash towards her when Anak appeared in front of him with a burst of speed.

    "You are weak." She bluntly told him while punching. Chang was b?r?ly able to raise his hands to block the attack, but he sent flying away despite that. He roughly landed on the ground but stood up quickly. His left arm was loosely hanging since Anak had broken it with just a single punch.

    With that simple exchange, Chang understood that he was vastly outclassed. He had confidence in his abilities thanks to being a half-Canine person, but the green-skinned girl in front of his was on a whole different level. Without saying another word, he turned around and left.

    With the two middle flags captured, only the enemy''s flag was left. Vespa stood up and disappeared from her spot.

    The three other Regular from the opponent team were sitting near their own flag and waiting for the middle ones to be captured.

    "With those two on our team, it sure is easy to climb the Tower." One of them commented.

    "Yeah. They are monsters, but I heard there are even stronger E-Rank Regulars than them. Can you imagine that?" Questioned another.

    "Are you talking about Androssi''s team? Pff, those guys shouldn''t be E-Rank Regulars. They are way stronger than anyone on this level." The first one replied.

    "I bet they are all being carried by the Princess of Zahard. I don''t buy it that all of them are super strong." The third Regular stated.

    "There is no way all of the strongest Regulars have gathered on one team. I don''t..." Before he could finish, a needle that looked like a stinger had pierced him and the other two through their heads.

    With the three dead, Vespa had secured the enemy''s flag, and Lumen''s team had passed the Test. They have now advanced onto the 28th Floor.

 Chapter 51 - Twenty-Eight Floor

    On the 1st Floor, Headon was silently staring at a black-suited man whose face was being obstructed by a shadow.

    A few months after Loki had left the Tower, he had returned back. Headon wasn''t at his Floor at that time, but he had sensed there is an intruder there. Quickly he had rushed back only to find Loki silently standing there.

    Headon didn''t know why he had returned, and despite knowing that he couldn''t do anything to him, he stayed there to keep a close watch on him. He couldn''t prevent Loki from doing what he wished, but he at least wanted to know what he was planning.

    A few years had passed, and the two had stayed on the 1st Floor while silently staring at each other without saying a word. Headon was starting to lose his patience and couldn''t take it anymore.

    "Why are you here?" He questioned him.

    "I''m glad you asked," Loki exclaimed, and a table and two chairs appeared in front of him. A teapot and two cups appeared on the table, and Loki sat down on one of the chairs. "I came to see how you are doing."

    Headon wanted to rip his nonexistent hair hearing him. "Why didn''t you say anything then? We''ve been here for a few years!"

    "You are as sharp as a spoon, aren''t you? I was just waiting for the host to greet me." Loki casually replied while pouring some tea in both cups.

    Headon let a sigh while thinking how much he wanted to punch him in the face. He sat down and drank from the cup Loki poured him. Feeling the bitter taste of the drink, he nearly spilled it. Headon looked towards Loki in annoyance. "This isn''t tea."

    "Well, it''s alcoholic tea, but tea nonetheless," Loki replied while sipping from his own cup.

    "The other divine beings are onto your plan, aren''t they?" Headon questioned him in annoyance.

    "Nah, they still aren''t aware of what I''m doing," Loki responded. The rest of the divine beings truly didn''t know what he was planning. Well, there was one that possibly knew, but that one would definitely keep quiet about this.

    "Then, why are you hiding here?" Headon asked him. He really wanted the dreadful God out of the Tower.

    "I told you. I came here to see how you are doing." Loki lied. He was actually hiding here. There were a couple divine beings that really wanted his head right now, and he didn''t really want to face them. Loki had also already dealt with everything outside the Tower, so he was perfectly fine with spending his time here and annoying the rabbit.

    Headon was boiling with anger on the inside, but his face had no change of expression.

    "So, how have you been?" Hearing him, Headon really wanted to kill Loki at this point, but alas, he didn''t have the power to do so. Loki, on the other hand, could actually annihilate him. However, unlike the rest of the Guardians, Headon''s body will be reformed after his death, so technically, he was immortal.

    With gritted teeth, Headon replied. "Fine."

    "Aren''t you going ask me how I''m doing?" Loki asked with a mischevious smile.

    "No, I don''t want to know." Headon refused to play his game.

    "Well, I''ve been doing great recently, thank you for asking. Do you want a cookie?" Loki asked him, and a jar of cookies appeared on the table.

    Headon pulled a cookie out of the jar and put it in his mouth. Unfortunately, he nearly shattered his teeth from trying to eat it. Headon just wanted to cry at this point. Never in his life had he been treated like this.

    The 28th Floor was one giant wasteland. The residents of the Floor lived in tall, blue, thin buildings that rise up into the sky. The windows of all the buildings had similar dimensions.

    However, not everyone was able to afford to live in those tall buildings, and those that couldn''t afford it, lived in a residential area that was filled with tents.

    The Test on the 28th Floor takes place in the only area on the Floor that has flora and greenery. Two teams would compete in locating a key that is separated into three parts and use that key to unlock a box in the middle. The first team that does so gets to advance onto the 29th Floor, and a team could have at most eleven Regulars on it.

    Since the 28th Floor wasn''t owned by any of the 10 Great Families, there wasn''t anything that special about it. However, there were a few high-class hotels that had exceptional chefs working for them.

    Lumen''s team had been staying on the 28th Floor for about two weeks now and had to wait for two more before they could take on the Test.

    The whole group had gathered in an apartment. They were sharing drinks and having fun after a hard day of training. Lumen didn''t allow anyone to slack off and forced them to train every day. He wanted to create a group that''s even stronger than Urek''s due to a few reasons.

    One of them being, that he was competitive by nature, and wanted to outdo the blonde Irregular.

    Another was that he was planning on taking drastic actions against FUG in the future. Lumen already harbored a grudge against the organization, and he planned on taking out all the high ranking members of it. Since destroying FUG entirely wasn''t in the realms of possibility. They were more like a religion, so there will always be someone else to pick up their mantle.

    Lumen also planned on going against a couple of the 10 Great Families and Zahard in the future. The two family heads, Gustang and Blossom, had both abandoned Diana and her sister, and he was going to pay them back for that. He didn''t know if he would kill them, but that would mostly depend on Diana''s choice.

    Zahard, on the other hand, he was definitely going to kill in the future. Lumen had initially promised Diana that he would do it only since she was stronger than him and because she said he would train him. He didn''t actually plan on doing it, but after spending time with her and getting closer to her, he set his mind on killing Zahard.

    Lumen couldn''t accomplish all of that on his own, and that''s why he was pushing his teammates every day to get stronger. He had also ended up caring for them and not thinking of them as simple chess pieces that he could throw away at any point. They were his friends, and he wanted them to be powerful for what is to come in the future.

    The group was having a pleasant time when Lumen suddenly sensed someone observing them. Discreetly, he looked outside the window in the room and saw a man with black, curly hair standing on a building opposite of theirs.

    The aura he felt from the man was immense, and Lumen was sure that he is a Ranker. He gave his group an excuse and left the apartment.

    Lumen formed the metal armor around him and easily reached where the black-haired man. The man had a carefree smile on his face as he examined Lumen. There are very few in the Tower that could make him serious after all, he was Ha Jinsung, the grandson of Ha Yurin, the head of the Ha Family, and was within the top 100 Rankers in the Tower.

    "I just wanted to check up on my disciple''s friends, but I didn''t expect to meet someone like you here. Those old fogies sure like keeping secrets from me." Jingsung laughed out casually.

    "Who are you?" Lumen questioned him with a serious tone.

    "You don''t know me? Huh, so you aren''t from FUG then. Interesting." Jingusung replied. Just hearing FUG, Lumen had already prepared for a fierce battle.

    "Bah, don''t act so serious. I''m not here to fight. Like I said, I came here to check up on my disciple''s friends." Jingsung waved his hand.

    "But now... I''m interested in you. You have the same armor as another one of my disciples, but you aren''t a FUG member. Quite intriguing." Jingsung stated with a smile. "Almost makes me want to rip that armor of your face to see who you are."

    Jingsung didn''t receive a response from Lumen, and he felt him taking control of the surrounding Shinsoo. "Jeez, I said I''m not here to fight, why are you acting like this." He said while shaking his head.

    "Then why are you checking up on Bam''s friends?" Lumen questioned him.

    "Well, the boy is too talented that I ended up caring... You know that Bam is alive?" Jingsung said with narrowed eyes. That''s not something that he had foreseen. Very few knew that the Irregular had actually survived.

    "A lot of people survive when they were meant to die." Lumen vaguely responded, but Jingsung had a wide smile after he heard him.

    "You..." Jingsung already had an idea who the armored man is after hearing his response. "That''s an interesting set of events."

    "Would you look at that. Two Irregulars were confirmed to have died, yet both of them are alive." Jingsung laughed out, but Lumen didn''t confirm his suspicions and silently stared at him.

    "And Karaka was so sure that you died. Hah, I guess he has been slacking off lately. I did tell him that Bam would catch up and overtake him, but he didn''t believe me." Jingsung shook his head. Lumen again didn''t respond and kept quiet.

    "Well, then. I guess I have no reason to stay here any longer. I trust you could keep them safe in case FUG takes action against them. I don''t want to see my disciple sad, you see." Jingsung said.

    "Unless a Ranker comes after them, they will be fine. And if a Ranker comes, I will send him to his death." Replied Lumen.

    "Oh, I''m sure you will. After all, you even survived against Karaka." Jingsung chuckled. "I''ll make sure to keep your secret safe. Don''t want to ruin the surprise for those old fogies now, do we?"

    Before Lumen could even respond, Jingsung had already disappeared from his spot. He let out a sigh of relief, knowing that he didn''t have to face him. Lumen didn''t know who that man was, but he felt threatened just being in front of him.

    He had confidence in fighting Rankers and even Advanced Rankers since he had a secret weapon, but the man was definitely a High Ranker. Lumen wasn''t sure that he would be able to compete with him even with his secret weapon. He also was developing an extremely dangerous technique, but he didn''t know how well it will work against a High Ranker.

    Relieved that he avoided conflict with a High Ranker, he returned back to his group.

    Another week passed since the group had arrived on the 28th Floor.

    Lumen was currently walking towards one of the high-class hotels. Tiana, dressed in a purple dress that was closely stuck to her body, was holding onto his arm while walking beside him.

    She had wanted to ask him out for quite the time now, but she didn''t have the courage to do it. Lumen had sensed her frustration and asked her what''s wrong. After hesitating for a moment, Tiana had told him she wanted to go on a date with him. Lumen didn''t even hesitate for a moment, before agreeing to take her out.

    After entering the hotel, the two were escorted to their private booth. They had a very good time while sharing stories of their lives.

    Tiana told him about her life in the Middle Area. She was abandoned there as a child and had to live as an outlaw since she didn''t have a residential card. Tiana had a hard life growing up, but she was happy that she was now climbing the Tower with Lumen.

    Lumen, on the other hand, told her stories from Earth. He didn''t have much of them, but he told her how he grew up and ended up working as a hired gun.

    Their date was coming to an end when Tiana b?r?ly uttered. "I... I''ve booked us a room."

    Normally, she wouldn''t have the confidence to say that, but after a few drinks, she managed to muster up her courage to do it.

    "What did you say?" Lumen heard her clearly, but he wanted to tease her after seeing her reddened face.

    "I got us room for the night," Tiana said while her face turned as red as a tomato.

    Without saying anything, Lumen grabbed her hand and led her towards the elevator. Feeling bu??erflies in her stomach, she pushed the bu??on for the floor where the room she booked was at.

    After scanning her Pocket, the two entered the room. Tiana was extremely nervous since she didn''t know what she is supposed to do. She also didn''t want to do something stupid and ruin their relationship.

    Her worries were for nothing, as she felt Lumen hug her and bring her closer to him. He kissed her soft lips, and she melted in his arms. Tiana was very inexperienced since this was her first kiss, but she followed his lead.

    She felt his hands ??r?ss her body as they slowly moved from her waist, down to her perky bu??. Lumen squeezed her ample bottom, and Tiana''s body shivered in p???sur? from his touch. He picked her up and carried her to the bed.

    //////Lemon start\\\\\\

    Tiana felt him break their kiss and saw the hungry look in Lumen''s eyes. Before she knew it, he had torn her purple dress, and she was lying there with only her purple und?r??rm?nts. He ripped her bra and leaned in to kiss her while his hands were fondling her ripe br??sts. Tiana hugged him tightly, hoping this would never end.

    Lumen broke the kiss and saw the look of d?s?r? in her eyes. He kissed her slender neck and slowly made his way down her body. Once he reached her br??sts and su?k?d on her n?pp??, her body trembled in excitement as she let out a m??n. "Ahhhh."

    Tiana held his head and stroked his hair while her slender legs were hugging his waist. Lumen switched between her plump br??sts and continued moving down. He kissed her slim yet muscled stomach and finally reacher her lower parts.

    Tiana''s purple p?nt??s were torn apart like the rest of her clothes, and her moist and tight puss? was in his view. Once his tongue reached her wet v???n?, she clenched her toes in p???sur? and let out a m??n. "Ohhhhh."

    With her hands stroking his hair, she lightly urged him closer. She couldn''t even put in words how good she felt and could only m??n. "Ahhh."

    After pleasuring her by ???k?n? her moist puss?, he slowly stood up.

    "Take me," Tiana whispered, and Lumen had already removed his clothes. Before she knew it, his d??k had entered inside her, and she felt a slight amount of pain, but that was overshadowed by how much p???sur? she felt. "OHHHHH."

    Her puss? was tight, and she was squeezing her legs around him in ecstasy, as he kept pounding her over and over.

    Lumen kept going faster and faster, and Tiana screaming louder and louder, overwhelmed by how good it felt. "Please. AHHH. Don''t stop. AHH."

    It didn''t take long before Tiana had already finished once. Her limbs were convulsing from the p???sur?, but Lumen was yet to finish. They continued their act of love, and Lumen was throwing her around the bed, switching positions from time to time.

    Before he finished, they had spent a couple hours changing position after position. Tiana didn''t even know how many times she had finished at that point, but she knew this was the best experience in her whole life.

    Once they were done, the two took a shower and cleaned their sweaty bodies. When they got back into the bed, Tiana hugged him tightly and fell asleep with a bright smile on her face.

    //////Lemon end\\\\\\\

    In the morning, Lumen woke up with Tiana sleeping on top of him and using his body as a pillow. Seeing her n?k?d figure, he flipped her over and began another session with her. They took another shower together afterward, and they passed through the restaurant for a quick breakfast.

    Lumen might have ripped her clothes, but she always carried another pair of clothes in her Pocket. The two returned to where they were staying on the 28th Floor, and Tiana directly moved in his room.

    Two weeks quickly passed by, and it was time for Lumen''s team to take on the Test. Thanks to Emily, the opposing team was aware of exactly who they were up against, so they didn''t even bother trying. Lumen''s team was easily able to locate the three key parts and unlock the box.

    With that, the group had advanced onto the 29th Floor.

    *Edited by O''Brien, so blame him for all mistakes.*

 Chapter 52 - Twenty-Ninth Floor

    In the vast space outside the Tower, a meteoroid was drifting through space. Despite the small size of the astral object, the space inside it was compressed to an incomprehensible degree, with a massive city built inside it.

    The buildings in that city were made of pristine white metal. All of them were as large as skyscrapers, but the one in the middle of the meteoroid was the largest of them all. It connected both the bottom and top of the astral object and acted as the command center of the meteoroid.

    The majority of the population living inside the city were researchers. All of the scientists there were focused on researching only a single subject. Guides and Axises.

    The reason they were researching that topic in the meteoroid is that all the divine beings had made a pact to forbid studying them. Since Shinsoo only existed on planets with Guardians, divine beings would find it hard to locate the city within the meteoroid, because there was no Shinsoo for them to hone in on. Due to that, they had a safe environment to study those amazing beings.

    Currently, all the residents were in a state of panic and were frantically running around. All of them, except for a lone man dressed in a black cloak, that was slowly making his way towards the building in the middle. Despite a large number of people running around him, no one was able to notice the cloaked man.

    The man entered the building and made his way towards the office of Eric, the main researcher, and leader of the city. The man in question was staring at a blue screen that was floating in front of him. Eric was tightly clutching onto his white hair, unable to believe what he is seeing. All of the hard work that they have done over the course of hundreds of years was gone. It was all replaced with just a single word "Dick" that was repeated over and over again.

    As Eric was trembling while tears were falling from his eyes, the cloaked man entered the room. "Eric, what happened here?"

    The white-haired researcher looked up at the man with lifeless eyes. "Sir Phantaminum, I... I... I don''t know. I don''t understand. Everything is gone. Everything we achieved is all gone."

    "Eric, calm yourself and tell me exactly what happened," Phantaminum stated in an authoritative voice and sent some type of energy towards the researcher, calming him down.

    Eric took a few heavy breaths before looking at Phantaminum with tears in his eyes.

    "I''m not sure, Sir, but a few years ago, the entire city had fallen asleep. We have no idea why or how it happened. One of us had woken up a few days ago, and he woke up everyone else afterward." The only reason the residents of the city had survived for a few years without eating or drinking water, was due to the nanobots that all of them had. The nanobots allowed a person to live without taking any sustenance.

    Why would scientists waste their time eating and drinking, when they could spend that valuable time researching? That''s why they have created those nanobots, so they don''t have to waste their time on such mundane chores.

    "The entire city had fallen asleep?" Phantaminum questioned. This was obviously the work of a divine being, but he wasn''t sure which one. Knowing what the scientists were researching here, he would have expected that the divine being to have destroyed the whole city, not make everyone fall asleep.

    "Yes, Sir. All of our research data on Guides and Axises had also been wiped out and replaced with the word Dick. What are we supposed to do, Sir? They would come to wipe us all soon!" Eric stated while crying.

    "They would have already destroyed this place if that was their intention," Phantaminum replied with a sigh. "What''s done is done. Try to recover the data, but don''t despair about it too much. If you can''t recover the data, just focus on something else and do what you do best, research."

    "I-I understand, Sir. I will do my best." Eric responded with a dejected look, while Phantaminum left his office.

    Phantaminum was the child of two divine beings. Unfortunately, both of his parents had been killed by a group of Gods from one of the largest Empires in the Universe. He wanted to enter the Tower and become a God himself, but that path was blocked when all the divine beings made the pact that forbids anyone from entering it.

    Phantaminum had the power to enter the Tower and become a God, despite Zahard and the rest that were sent there. However, should he do that, everyone would turn against him ones he ascends.

    With the first part of his plan done, he had to trick a child of two divine beings in entering the Tower. However, it couldn''t be just any two divine beings. It had to be ones that had an incredible amount of influence in the entire Universe, and Urek Mazino was the perfect choice. Urek''s father ruled an Empire as large as the one that the Gods that killed his parents came from. He also was one of the strongest Gods in the entire Universe.

    However, Urek was smarter than he looked. Despite having the strength to become a God himself, he didn''t do it and was searching for another way out of the Tower. Thankfully, Urek had already missed out on that opportunity and had only one way to exit the Tower.

    Besides Phantaminum, there was only one being that knew of the research happening inside the meteorite, and that was Enryu. He was also the only one that knew how to exit the Tower without becoming a divine being.

    Phantaminum let out a sigh, knowing that there is at least one more being that knew of the research in the meteoroid. Thankfully, he had the slightest idea of who that might be. Especially when you consider the immature prank of replacing all the research data with the word Dick.

    Phantaminum left the meteorite and made his way towards the center of the Universe, where the Tower was located. He had recently heard about how Loki, one of the drifter Gods, had disappeared after angering a couple of his fellow divine beings to an unimaginable degree. That''s why he believed that he would be able to find his answers in the Tower.

    It took him some time, but he finally managed to reach the Tower and enter it. Phantaminum appeared on the 1st Floor only to be met with an unusual sight. The God in question was sitting on a chair while sipping from a cup while Headon was crouched in a corner. The Guardian''s skin was turned into an ugly brown color, and he was silently sobbing.

    Loki had sensed his presence and turned towards him with a smile. "Do you want a cookie?"

    Meanwhile, Lumen and his group had arrived on the 29th Floor. The Floor consisted of large grasslands surrounded by coniferous forests. All the Regulars on that Floor resided in houses in the countryside.

    The Test for the 29th Floor was the Battle of Cannons. It''s a team battle, and it takes place in a desolate area filled with trenches. Each team will have several cannons on their side of the field, that are constantly shooting towards the opposite side. The team that manages to disable the opponent''s cannons is the one that advances onto the next Floor.

    Lumen''s group had rented two houses for their stay there, and they had all gathered in one of them.

    "So, the next Workshop Battle is in three years?" Lumen asked.

    "Yes," Leesoo confirmed. "We also have to wait on this Floor until we receive an invitation to participate in the Workshop Battle. Should we advance onto the 30th Floor without receiving an invitation, we wouldn''t be eligible to enter the Workshop Battle." Leesoo explained.

    "The invitations for the Workshop Battle on the 30th Floor are usually sent a year before it starts to all the strongest E-Rank Regulars. Considering our strength, we will definitely get one as well." Information gathering was one of Leesoo''s roles on the team. He and Merrie were the most informed of the group when it came to knowledge regarding the Tests and Floors.

    "In that case, for the next three years, we will be focusing on improving ourselves here. We will not only crush the rest of the Regulars, but we will also ruin FUG''s plans for the Workshop Battle, whatever they may be." Lumen stated.

    "All of you could easily fight with even D-Rank Regulars, but we might end up facing FUG Rankers during the Workshop Battle. So, for the next three years, you will all go through hell. Hopefully, you will be able to face a Ranker or at least be able to escape with your life." Lumen told them his plan.

    Knowing their schedule for the next three years, they all did the most important thing for a resident of the Tower. They made their Pockets visible and said. "Contract with the Guardian."

    Before one makes a contract with a Guardian, they are very limited in what they could do. However, it is not impossible to manipulate Shinsoo without a contract. Simple manipulation of amounts below a certain standard is possible without forming one. Also, an innate resistance to Shinsoo, a body strengthening ability that utilizes Shinsoo or other similar skills are natural abilities that one can have and thus do not require contracts.

    Once he said that Leesoo was teleported to a vast space where a gigantic humanoid creature resided. The Guardian was so large that he was only able to see a massive head that had only one large eye. The first few times he met those gigantic creatures, he was scared out of his mind, but he had gotten used to it by this point.

    The Guardian stared at Leesoo for a moment, before he heard a booming voice in his head. "What do you d?s?r??"

    "I wish to manipulate the Shinsoo on the 29th Floor," Leesoo stated confidently, already done the same for the past 27 Floors.

    The Guardian stayed quiet for a moment, and shortly, Leesoo heard the booming voice in his head. "Permission granted. You are free to manipulate the Shinsoo on the 29th Floor." The Guardian allowed him to control Shinsoo without placing any restrictions on him.

    If this scene was seen by Regulars or Rankers, they would be left astonished. Normally, if a Regular wishes to form a contract, the contract would have several terms and conditions that they have to follow. They might only be allowed to manipulate Shinsoo during the Test on the Floor, and maybe once or twice outside of it. Members of the 10 Great Families were given contracts with fewer restrictions, but only Rankers were given a contract without any conditions at all.

    The residents of the Tower couldn''t even imagine that a Regular was given the same contract that a Ranker gets.

    The only reason Leesoo and the rest were allowed this was due to Lumen. The Guardian was able to sense the lingering aura of an Irregular on them and gave them the freedom to manipulate the Shinsoo on his Floor as they wished.

    This was one of the reasons why Leesoo had speculated that Lumen was an Irregular before. On the 2nd Floor, they had more than a dozen conditions they had to follow. Should they have broken any of them, it would make the contract null, and they would have lost the right to manipulate Shinsoo on that Floor.

    However, after they had teamed up with Lumen, all the Guardians had allowed them to manipulate the Shinsoo on their Floors without any restrictions. Giving them contracts that only Rankers are given.

    This was one of the main reasons that they all progressed so much in their Shinsoo control. Another one being the Shinsoo manipulation techniques shown to them by Diana and Yuri.

    With all of them having formed a contract, they began their torture under the guise of training.

    *Edited by O''Brien.*

 Chapter 53 - Prelude to the Workshop Battle (1)

    *The chapter content is an event that happened in the manhwa. Those who had read the manhwa, could skip this one without missing too much.*

    The 28th Floor, five months before the start of the Workshop Battle.

    Khun Aguero Agnis, a handsome man with cobalt blue eyes and shoulder-length silvery-blue hair. His bangs cut across his forehead and hanged just over his eyebrows.

    Agnis wore a white outfit and had a black cloak over it, he disembarked a vehicle that resembled a car but had no wheels underneath it.

    Following behind him were two Regulars that Lumen had met on the 22nd Floor, Khun Ran, and Novick. Novick wore a black cloak similar to Agnis while Ran wore a blue one.

    The three of them had left the residential area on the 28th Floor and had arrived near the slums, where the Regulars lived in tents. In front of them was a giant hand made of stone that reached towards the sky, with numerous stone pillars that were scattered around it.

    A very strong Regular, the Devil''s Right Arm, had recently been spotted here. A picture of a woman taking a selfie with him in the background had recently gone viral on the Box, an information-sharing community used by Light Bearers, where they can share and search for information. The most distinguishing feature of the Devil''s Right Arm was a small blue wing that was floating behind his left shoulder.

    Agnis had already made his mind on making him join his team, so even if the Regular refused, he would force him to join, as he has done with many other members of his team.

    "So, this is where he is hiding, huh?" Novick said and turned towards Ran. "The Devil''s Right Arm is mine! Don''t touch him, Ran!"

    "Shut up! Spear Bearers should just throw spears." Ran replied in annoyance. Novick hadn''t stopped following him ever since they fought that one time. Agnis had even recruited him in his team, and he had to bear his annoying antics.

    Ran divides people into six categories. Slightly bothersome. A little bothersome. Bothersome. Very bothersome. Too bothersome. And wants to kill. Novick was in the too bothersome category and was nearing the wants to kill category.

    "Then let''s see who catches him first and see who''s really number one in our team." Novick like always wanted to compete with Ran.

    "Stop bothering me. Go away." Ran had beat Novick so many times already that he simply didn''t want to bother competing with him anymore. His goal was to reach and surpass the masked Regular that had completely destroyed him on the 22nd Floor.

    "It''s time to hunt the Devil," Agnis stated with a cheerful smile, and the three made their way towards the stone arm.

    "The Hand of Arlene, I don''t know how it looked before, but it looks grotesque right now. It''d be better to just destroy it." Agnis said while looking at the stone arm.

    "Do you think he is in there?" Novick asked him while biting his finger. An annoying habit that he had.

    "Maybe. He''s hidden himself perfectly from others for such a long time. I don''t think it was a coincidence that he left a perfect clue like that." Agnis replied.

    "He''s showing his exact location if you just take a closer look. Also, a boring picture like that spreading so quickly in the Box is a bit suspicious. I think this is to invite someone to the Hand of Arlene." Agnis mused.

    "Of course, he didn''t mean to invite us." He stated afterward.

    "Which means people other than us might come as well." Said Novick, while Agnis was looking at his Lighthouse. Like all other items that he owned, the Lighthouse was stolen from his father''s, Khun Eduan, treasury, and it was a high-rank item.

    A map of the surrounding area appeared on his Lighthouse, and Agnis was able to see all the paths and the traps that were scattered around.

    "Ran, Novick, there are traps in the area. Eliminate them while I''ll support you." Agnis commanded the two.

    "Ok, let''s go, Ran." Novick turned towards Ran, but the blue-haired boy had already disappeared from his spot. Turning around, Novick saw him already dashing towards the traps.

    "Ran, don''t do it yourself!" Novick called out to him, but the blue-haired boy didn''t care.

    "It''s better if I do it alone." Ran replied while rushing ahead. If he couldn''t deal with some simple traps, how would he dare face against the masked Regular in the future?

    "Wait for me!" Novick yelled and chased after him, while a smaller Lighthouse followed after them.

    [2 meters ahead, there''s a trap in the front collum.] Agnis informed Ran.

    The blue-haired boy, wielding a blue hook that was given to him by Agnis, easily destroyed the stone pillar.

    "Ran, don''t go alone!" Novick continued yelling while chasing him.

    [One more trap in the right collum.] Agnis informed him, and Ran destroyed it.

    [5 meters forward...] Agnis was informing him of another trap, but Ran couldn''t hear him due to Novick''s screaming.

    "Be prepared just in case!" Novick yelled. "We don''t have a Scout. You, the Fisherman, should take that role."

    "Shut up! I can''t hear him from your yelling!" Ran attacked Novick with his hook without even looking back. However, Novick was standing right behind the small Lighthouse, and Ran''s attack destroyed it.

    Ran shot Novick and annoyed look and continued searching for traps afterward. "Whatever."

    "Ran!!!" Novick screamed and ran after him.

    Meanwhile, Kang Horyang, a black-haired, massive, brooding man, whose body was wrapped up in black bandages, and with a blue wing floating above his right shoulder had just arrived near the giant arm made of stone. He, like Agnis, was also searching for the Devil''s Right Arm, but for a different purpose since he personally knew who that man is.

    Horyang and the Devil''s Right Arm, or Casano Beniamino as he knew him, were both children that had been abandoned in the Middle Area and later sold to the Workshop, where they were raised and experimented on. They were the only two survivors out of 99 999 test subjects. At the age of 12, both of them were injected with a creature in the form of a substance that is known as a Devil. They each received one half of that creature and became the first pair of Living Ignition Weapons.

    They had been split apart afterward, and while Horyang was being escorted to a different location, he met with Headon and entered the Tower.

    Being a Living Ignition Weapon, Horyang easily climbed up to the 20th Floor, where he had spent years of doing nothing since he had no d?s?r? to climb higher. At one point, he took the Test on the 20th Floor and encountered Jyu Viole Grace and a bunch of other Regulars, who became like a family to him.

    Despite how much he cared for them, Horyang cared even more for Casano, as the two of them were like brothers. He wanted to meet him and learn what had happened with Casano after the two were separated.

    ''Did you call me here?'' Horyang questioned himself. He hadn''t managed to find any clues about Casano until a picture of him appeared on the Box.

    Horyang had just entered the field of stone pillars when a red eye appeared on two of those pillars. They transformed into two arms made of stone and punched towards Horyang.

    The wing on his back momentarily changed into a boot, and he easily dodged the attacks. The boot changed into a red fist, and he destroyed the two stone pillars with a punch.

    Horyang continued making his way towards the Hand of Arlene, but since he had no one to support him, he was having a tough time with all the traps. He had destroyed another couple of stone golems when he heard an explosion happen close by. A part of a stone pillar flew from there and landed right next to him.

    "Who''s there?" Horyang yelled out and saw a blue-haired boy covered in a blue cloak and wielding a blue hook.

    "Who are you?" Horyang asked him, but he didn''t receive an answer.

    "Are you the Devil''s Right Arm?" Ran questioned as he observed him. Horyang had a blue wing and black bandages, which matched the description of the Devil''s Right Arm.

    "You''ve gained weight," Ran stated and dashed towards him. He attacked him with his hook, but Horyang was able to block his attack.

    "Who are you? Why are you looking for the Devil''s Right Arm?" Horyang yelled out.

    "To fight. Do you need more of an explanation?" Ran replied arrogantly and jumped towards him again.

    "Of course. You are mistaking me for someone else. I''m not the Devil''s Right Arm that you are looking for!" Horyang tried explaining himself, but Ran wasn''t listening. He attacked him again, but this time he enhanced his attack with Shinsoo.

    Feeling the pressure, Horyang understood he has no other choice than to fight. The wing on his back transformed into a boot, and he disappeared from his spot.

    "If you block my way, I will crush you!" Horyang appeared behind Ran, and the boot on his back transformed into a red fist. His right arm turned red as well and grew larger. Horyang attacked Ran with his giant arm, but the blue-haired boy was easily able to dodge the attack.

    "I don''t know why you are looking for him, but I''ve got no time to play with you!" Horyang stated.

    Ran appeared in front of him with lightning coursing through his right hand. "If you got no time, I''ll be quick."

    Ran hit him in the ?h?st and followed up with more lightning enhanced attacks that Horyang wasn''t able to dodge. Ran used his momentum to form a lightning spear with his Shinsoo and threw it at Horyang. "Maschenny Style Lightning Spear: Electrica Perla."

    The lightning spear hit Horyang and detonated into a massive explosion. After the dust settled down, the wing on Horyang had changed into a shield with two small wings, and he was still standing there paralyzed from the attack, but with no injury on his body. As a Living Ignition Weapon, very few could damage his body. Ran also wasn''t giving his all while fighting him.

    "How did you survive that? Does your defense increase as the wing changes form? Interesting." Ran mused while observing him. Very few E-Rank Regulars are able to survive that attack, as simple as it was. He had gone through hellish training, in order to become stronger and be able to pierce through the masked Regular''s incredible defense when he meets him again.

    As Horyang was thinking of a way to deal with Ran, he heard something coming in his direction. Looking up, he saw a weird, spinning blade that was flying towards him. With his wing still in his shield form, he was easily able to deflect it. The parried blade flew back straight into Novick''s hand.

    "Who are you?" Horyang questioned him in annoyance. First, it was the weird blue-haired boy, now another strong one appeared.

    "Novick Grand." He answered Horyang with a lie. Novick enjoyed making many different family names and introducing himself falsely.

    "The Devil''s Right Arm, I''m here to catch you." Novick confidently declared to him.

    "Why are you interfering?" Ran questioned him in annoyance. He was already fighting with him, so why was the idiot stepping in.

    "I can''t let you have all the fun by yourself," Novick answered Ran and turned towards Horyang. "Nice to meet you, the Devil''s Right Arm. You''ve gained weight." He told him while biting his finger.

    "I''ve heard you have extraordinary powers, and I really wanted to fight you," Novick said.

    Horyang stayed quiet and wondered what to do. Both Regulars were extremely strong, and he didn''t know if he could take them down with his current power. His only option was to Ignite, but he had already done it once earlier when he had to fight Jyu Viole Grace. That was the only way to test out if Viole was a Living Ignition Weapon like him.

    As he was wondering what to do, he heard someone call out. [Ilmar.]

    Before he started calling himself Kang Horyang, he carried the name Ilmar Beniamino, and there are no more than a handful of people that knew that name. He was also able to recognize that voice.

    "Casano?! Where are you, Casano?!" Horyang screamed out.

    [Look behind you.] Horyang turned around and spotted an Observer there.

    [Follow the Observer.] His wing changed into a boot, and he sprinted after the Observer.

    "Are you running away?" Novick yelled at him, but Horyang didn''t respond.

    Novick and Ran weren''t planning on letting him go, so they dashed after him.

    "He is fast," Novick commented while chasing him.

    "He is troublesome." Ran agreed with him.

    Horyang was nearing the Hand of Arlene, while the two were right behind him.

    "Don''t follow him too far, Ran. It might be a trap." Novick told Ran, but the blue-haired boy didn''t care about that. Even if it was a trap, he didn''t care. If he wants to surpass the masked Regular, he needs to be able to deal with situations like this one. With a burst of speed, Ran left Novick and sped towards Horyang, who had just entered the Hand of Arlene.

    There was a small opening at the bottom of the stone arm, and inside it, the place was shrouded in darkness. One could b?r?ly see a few meters ahead in that place.

    "Casano! Where are you?" Horyang screamed but received no response. Ran appeared behind him and attacked him with his hook, but Horyan dodged it with the speed of his boot form.

    "You are getting annoying." Ran told him. "Stop running and fight, the Devil''s Right Arm."

    "Wait!" Someone yelled out, as Horyang was wondering what he is supposed to do with those two. The voice came from somewhere above, and all three looked up.

    "It''s not him. The Devil''s Right Arm that you are looking for is here." In the darkness, they were b?r?ly able to see a small, blue wing above them.

    "Casano..." Horyang uttered, as he was able to recognize that blue wing.

    Suddenly, the man above them jumped from his spot and appeared in front of Ran with a burst of speed. A large amount of blue Shinsoo gathered around his left arm, and he punched the blue-haired boy away before he could dodge. Ran flew and hit a wall, where he created a small hole with his impact.

    "You jerk." Novick cursed him and set a punch towards his way, but Casano jumped over his attack. With the blue Shinsoo still covering his left arm, he sent a punch towards Novick and sent him flying like Ran. However, Novick was able to block a bit of that attack and didn''t hit a wall.

    "Who are you?" Novick asked him while wiping a bit of blood that was coming out of his mouth.

    "Casano Beniamino, the Devil''s Right Arm," Casano replied back to him.

    After Ran was sent flying into the wall, he slowly stood up and stared at Casano and Horyang with cold eyes.

    "Casano!" Horyang exclaimed. "Why did you call me here? And what''s with those guys?" He asked, but received no response.

    "Casano! Say something!" Horyang yelled at him.

    "You''ll know soon enough, Ilmar," Casano replied and dashed towards Ran and Novick.

    "Are there two Devil''s Right Arm?" Novick question, wondering what''s happening right now.

    "Novick." Ran calmly called out to him. "Let''s change positions. I will throw the spears." Ran''s main position was a Fisherman, but he was ranked even higher as a Spear Bearer, thanks to the techniques taught to him by his sister.

    "So, you are finally being serious?" Novick asked him.

    "I want to end this as quickly as we can." Ran had no d?s?r? to spend any more time on these two. Horyang and Casano were strong, but the people he wanted to surpass were even stronger. His sister and father were two of the strongest Rankers in the Tower, so he had a long way before he could reach their level.

    However, the masked man was just like him, a Regular. Ran didn''t think that the masked Regular would have any trouble dealing with the two in front of him. After he suffered the crushing defeat on the 22nd Floor, he had been training like a madman, in order to have his rematch against Lumen in the future.

    "Alright," Novick replied and gathered red Shinsoo around his fists. "Hayeol Style: Crimson Soul Fist - Seal." He slammed his hands on the ground, and a spherical dome of red Shinsoo formed around them, stopping Casano in his tracks.

    Casano was surprised by the shield, and he sensed something extremely dangerous. Turning around, he saw Ran, who had moved behind him. The blue-haired boy was holding a massive sword made of lightning.

    "Take this, slim Devil''s Right Arm." Ran said as he threw the lightning sword. "Espada de la Luz."

    The lightning sword reached Casano in an instant. It pierced through him and carried him until it hit the wall behind, causing a massive explosion that anyone near the Hand of Arlene was able to hear. The wall collapsed into rubble and buried Casano underneath it.

    At the moment that the explosion happened, two individuals were making their way towards the stone arm. One of them was Xia Xia, a brown-haired girl with rabbit ears. She wore red robes and had a red Lighthouse in front of her.

    The other person was Jyu Viole Grace. He had long, brown hair with the bangs covering the upper part of his face and was dressed in a black outfit.

    Viole had come here searching for his teammate, Horyang. Xia Xia had told him that she saw a man matching his description that had went towards the Hand of Arlene. Since Viole was alone, she had offered to help him as she was a proficient Light Bearer.

    Hearing the explosion from the Hand of Arlene, Viole got worried about Horyang''s safety.

    "The explosion came from the statue!" Xia Xia exclaimed, but Viole was already speeding towards it.

    "Wait! Let''s go together!" Xia Xia yelled and ran after him, but he was a lot faster than her.

    "Hey, slow down a bit! I told you it''s dangerous out there. There might be a trap." Xia Xia couldn''t allow him to reach the statue right now, but Viole was ignoring her. The safety of his teammate was his top priority right now.

    Xia Xia was annoyed by that and thought of a way to slow him down. She purposefully stepped on a trap and triggered one of the stone golems.

    "Ahhh! There''s a trap here!" She screamed out, and that caught Viole''s attention.

    An arm made of stone was about to hit Xia Xia, but before it could reach her, it was destroyed by a Baang of Shinsoo that was formed in an instant.

    Viole reached Xia Xia and asked her in concern. "Are you okay?"

    "Oh, yeah. Thank you. So, why don''t you slow down a bit?" She asked him, trying to make sure she delays him as much as possible. However, Viole was worried about Horyang, so he had no d?s?r? to slow down. He wrapped his hand around her and dashed towards the Hand of Arlene. "Let''s hurry."

    "Why are you in such a hurry to find that man?" Xia Xia asked him in annoyance after her plan failed.

    "I guess he is a close friend." She stated afterward, testing him out.

    "I... Just know him." Viole replied back while rushing towards the statue.

    "He would be sad to hear that..." Xia Xia commented while being carried by him. Since she had no other option, she decided to help him out and show him the way. Well, she would lie from time to time, making sure Viole is delayed in reaching the Hand of Arlene.

    Meanwhile, Agnis was wondering what to do after Ran broke his Lighthouse.

    "What are those two doing right now? Urgh, this is why I didn''t want to bring only those two. How could everyone else be busy at the same time?" Agnis mused out loud.

    "Damn, I guess I got no choice. I hope they are not fighting against the wrong person." Agnis shook his head.

    Suddenly, the map that he was observing on his Lighthouse disappeared, and it was replaced with a message. [You are caught in a trap.]

    His eyes widened in surprise, seeing this message. Someone had actually hacked into his Lighthouse.

    Agnis turned around, sensing something behind him, but there was nothing there. As he was looking around, a long tongue that had a small mouth appeared from the ground. A small needle covered with poison was shot out of the tongue''s mouth and flew towards Agnis''s heart. The poisoned needle hit him in the ?h?st, and he weakly fell to the ground.

    A grey-skinned man with green eyes emerged from the sand afterward. He had two grey scales on his cheeks, and his lower body was that of a snake. The tongue with a mouth was flowing out of his mouth as he looked at the downed Agnis.

    "Huh? I thought he would be stronger than this. It was quite boring." The grey-skinned man commented and slithered closer to Agnis.

    "She''s paying me a lot of money for someone so weak. She''s got plenty of money, I guess. Well, good for me, anyway. With that money, I can get out of this place, all thanks to you, boy." He laughed out and reached towards Agnis''s face, to remove the blue earrings that he wore.

    "You won''t be needing these earrings anymore, so I''ll..." Before he could finish what he was about to say, Agnis grabbed his hand and questioned him with a threatening voice. "Who are you? And who paid you to kill me?"

    The snake man instantly slithered away from him. "You! How can you be alive? The poisoned needle went through your heart! How?" He asked him as Agnis slowly stood up.

    "It didn''t," Agnis replied to him while removing a blue and white cloth from underneath his cloak.

    "Armor Inventory?!? How can you have such pricey stuff as an E-Rank Regular?" The snake man asked in wonder. He had never even seen such an item, so he couldn''t understand how the Regular in front of him had one.

    "My dad gave it to me. Well, at least I believe so." Replied Agnis and looked at him with cold eyes. "So, who paid you to kill me?"

    "Hah, do you think I will answer that?" The snake man laughed out.

    "I don''t think you understand your situation, boy. I''m not some weakling who would lose to a Light Bearer in a 1v1 fight!" The snake man stated and was about to move towards him, but Agnis disappeared from his spot.

    "I think you got it wrong." He appeared behind the snake man.

    "I''m not a Light Bearer because I''m bad at fighting." Agnis caught him by the neck and stabbed him with a knife.

    "I''m a Light Bearer because I like giving orders," Agnis told him while the snake man was screaming in pain from being stabbed in the back.

    "Stay still if you want to keep breathing," Agnis told him with a smirk.

    "So, who told you to do this?" He asked him while pushing the knife deeper.

    "The...rabbit ears! A girl with rabbit ears! I didn''t see her clearly because it was too dark! But I''m sure! She said she would pay me if I killed the person sneaking around this statue!" The snake man spilled everything he knew, under Agnis''s threat, but that wasn''t enough for him. "What else?"

    "That''s all I know! It was the first time I ever spoke with her!" The snake man said while preparing to strike Agnis with his tail.

    "Please let me go! I told you everything I know!" The snake man pleaded as he was about to strike him with his tail.

    "You did? Then you should die now." Agnis replied while his Armor Inventory blocked the snake man''s tail.

    "Because you are useless." Agnis stabbed him again with his knife, and the snake man dropped dead on the ground.

    "A Light Bearer who can hack like this and a hired killer." Agnis mused. "Who are they trying to catch with the Devil''s Right Arm as a bait?"

    At that moment, he heard the explosion from the Hand of Arlene. He knew very few Regulars that could cause such an explosion, so he was sure that''s Ran''s doing.

    "It''s getting noisy over there. I guess they are also in a trap, but we were already prepared for that." Agnis calmly stated.

    "The Devil''s Right Arm is a good test to check the results of their training. And also my training." He pulled out a flash drive-looking device that had a pointed tip from his pocket.

    During the 2nd Floor, when Yuri and her teammates had arrived, one of them had hacked into his Lighthouse. That was the biggest shame to a Light Bearer, for someone to hack into their Lighthouse.

    Since then, he had pushed himself a lot in order to never suffer such humiliation again, and Agnis had learned how to track the hacking back.

    "I''ll get you by tracking back your trap." He stated and plunged the flash drive-looking device into his Lighthouse. After a few moments, he was able to find the hacker, but that left him astonished.

    It was Apple, a blonde-haired woman that was a Scout and a Light Bearer. She was also his teammate, but why had she betrayed him? Why had she set him up? What''s her plan?

    Agnis wasn''t sure, but knowing that this situation is a lot more complicated than what he imagined, he rushed towards the stone arm as soon as possible.

    At that moment inside the Hand of Arlene, Horyang was searching for Casano under the pile of rubble. "Casano! Casano! Answer me!"

    "It''s useless. Few could survive taking the sword of lightning through their ?h?st." Ran calmly told him. He knew of only one E-Rank Regular that could do it, and he wouldn''t be thrown like that. The masked Regular hadn''t even taken a step back when received his attack, so he didn''t think Casano had survived.

    "Bastard, I will kill you," Horyang declared with a cold voice. He had been searching for Casano for so long, and he was now killed in front of his eyes. He was enraged, so he decided to Ignite, even if his body wouldn''t be able to handle it.

    The wing on his back grew in size and was now a few times larger than him. The black bandages on his right arm got undone as his arm turned light blue.

    "Oh, so that''s the Devil living in your right arm?" Novick wondered while Horyang rushed towards the two.

    "It''s no use to just rush," Novick told him while slamming his fists on the ground, creating the spherical dome of red Shinsoo. He was confident in his defensive abilities, but he had underestimated Horyang, who had Ignited himself.

    His punch destroyed the spherical dome, and he was about to punch Novick. Thankfully, he had a teammate. Ran appeared next Horyang and blasted him away with a massive lightning blast. The two double-teamed him with Novick acting as the Fisherman and Ran as the Spear Bearer.

    In close combat, Novick was able to match Horyang despite him having Ignited himself.

    "You are tough." Novick complimented him while exchanging attacks with Horyang.

    "Take this, the fat Devil''s Right Arm. Espada de la Luz!" Ran sent another sword made of lightning towards Horyang, but the big man was able to block his attack thanks to having Ignited himself.

    Horyang was pushed back towards the place where Casano was buried. He was panting, exhausted from having to Ignite for the second time today when suddenly, a hand made of red Shinsoo pierced him from behind.

    "Casano?" He was b?r?ly able to utter that as he fell on the ground, bleeding from the hole on his stomach.

    "What the??" Novick questioned in surprise, not expecting this. He though the two of them were supposed to be teammates.

    "Mr. Horyang!" At that moment, they heard a scream from the entrance of the Hand of Arlene. Turning around, Novick and Ran saw a boy with long brown hair that was being accompanied by a girl with rabbit ears. Viole was staring a the downed Horyang with trembling eyes.

    "You... What have you done to Mr. Horyang?" Viole questioned in anger. That was his teammate, friend, and family who was lying on the ground while bleeding out of his abdomen.

    "Now, who is this?" Novick mused as he observed him.

    "He is not breathing... He is dead." Xia Xia lied to him, fully knowing that Horyang was alive. Being a Living Ignition Weapon, he could survive injuries that normal Regulars couldn''t. However, she wanted Viole to kill Novick and Ran.

    "Are you the ones who did this?" Viole asked them, already boiling with anger on the inside.

    "That''s..." Before Novick could respond, he was interrupted by the rabbit-eared girl.

    "Yes! It''s those two that attacked and killed that man! I saw it with my Lighthouse!" Xia Xia framed them.

    "It''s true that we attacked him, but he was killed by..." Turning around, Novick saw no traces of Casano since he was buried under the rubble.

    "Damn..." Novick cursed out while shaking his head and turned towards Viole. "Yes, we killed him. So, what?" As long as he wasn''t facing the masked man, Novick didn''t fear any of the other E-Rank Regulars.

    *Edited by O''Brien.*

 Chapter 54 - Prelude to the Workshop Battle (2)

    Hearing Novick confirm that they have killed Horyang, Viole was enraged. He rushed towards him and set a punch his way, but Novick was easily able to block.

    However, that was only a faint as Viole formed three Baangs in an instant and shot them towards him, sending Novick flying back a few meters.

    At that moment, Ran appeared above Viole and shot a blast of lightning, but that attack was blocked by a barrier created from a red Lighthouse. The barrier reflected the attack back, but Ran dodge it and landed next to Novick.

    "Damn, a Wave Controller?" Ran cursed out.

    "A Light Bearer and a Wave Controller. That''s a great combination." Novick commented while biting his finger. A Light Bearer plus a Wave Controller was considered the strongest combination for a two-man team. A skilled Light Bearer can increase both the attacking power and defensive capabilities of the Wave Controller.

    "There are very few E-Rank Regulars that could control three Baangs. This guy might be as strong as Quaetro." Novick stated.

    "Annoying, a guy with the strength of that crazy guy, but that''s something that we should be able to handle." Ran replied with confidence. "Let''s break the Lighthouse first."

    "Ok!" Novick agreed with him and equipped two of his spinning blades. He threw them at Viole and the Lighthouse, but they were nothing but a distraction. Ran appeared above him and had already formed a spear made of lightning.

    "Time to lose the annoying boxes!" Ran stated right before sending his attack. However, Viole formed two more Baangs of Shinsoo, making them a total of five. He blocked the lightning spear, the two spinning blades, and shot Ran and Novick at the same time.

    "Five Baangs at once? Is he on the same level as the masked Regular?" Novick asked in surprise. The masked Regular was a monster above all other E-Rank Regulars, but now a second monster had appeared.

    "I don''t know, but he is definitely weaker than him. The masked Regular would have killed us by now." Ran replied as he stood up. Lumen had taken all of his attacks straight on as if they were nothing. This guy was actually defending from his attacks, so Ran was sure that he is weaker.

    "But he is still a monster. Only a handful of E-Rank Regular could control more than three Baangs, and they are mostly on the same team. Where did this guy come from?" Ran mused, and Novick nodded in agreement.

    "Ran, how much more gas do you have?" Novick asked him, knowing that Ran uses a lot of energy with his attacks.

    "Still fine. I trained myself for the past three years to reach the masked Regular''s level. I''m not losing again. One shot is all I need." Ran replied confidently.

    "Good. I will block his movements, you throw the spears." Red Shinsoo formed around Novick''s fists as he dashed towards Viole. Like Ran, he had also gone through hellish training. He didn''t want to be left behind by what he considered his rival.

    Seeing Novick rushing towards him, Viole shot him with two of his Baangs. However, Novick took them head-on and continued moving towards him. As a branch member of the Ha Family, his body strength and Shinsoo resistance were very high.

    Novick reached Viole, and with his Shinsoo covered fist, sent an uppercut-like strike towards him. His strike caused a red shield in the form of a circle to appear and push Viole into the air. "Crimson Soul Fist - Crimson Bell Shock Seal."

    At that moment, Ran had already formed his Redan and ate it. He created four lightning Baangs of Shinsoo and merged them into one, creating a gigantic sword of lightning. The attack possesses extreme piercing abilities and is composed of such an incredible amount of Shinsoo that it can bypass defenses that are usually immune to electrical attacks. With all his might, Ran threw the sword of lightning towards Viole, who was in midair. "Grand Espada de la Luz!"

    Viole felt threatened by Ran''s attack. Even with his incredible Shinsoo resistance, he didn''t dare take it on. Three Lighthouses that formed a triangle appeared in front of him, and using them as an augmenter for his Shinsoo control, he created a barrier and applied Reverse-Flow control onto the sword of lightning.

    Despite all of that, the attack managed to pierce through the barrier and hit him. However, it was already weakened so much by then that Viole b?r?ly felt it with his high Shinsoo resistance.

    Both Novick and Ran were astonished at that feat. Before they could realize what''s happened, Viole had already dropped on the ground. Five Baangs of Shinsoo were sent in their direction, and the two were blasted into the wall.

    "Damn, I lost again!" Ran cursed out as he laid amidst the rubble. He had vowed not to lose to anyone after his crushing defeat to the masked Regular, but he had lost once again.

    "Why did you kill him?" Viole asked them while slowly making his way towards the two.

    "Mr. Horyang had a place to return to. He had people waiting for him. Now he can''t meet them again because of you! Why did you kill him? Why?" Viole yelled at them in anger. Horyang was his friend, and now he had died. He wanted to kill them, but he also wanted to know why did they kill Horyang.

    "I''m sorry to say this now... We did fight against him, but we didn''t kill him." Novick replied while laying amidst the rubble like Ran.

    "It wasn''t us, it was him." Novick pointed to where Ran had buried Casano. "The other Devil''s Right Arm, whose behind the fallen wall. He killed that guy. You''ll see if you can get under the rubble."

    "He''s lying!" Xia Xia screamed, and Viole turned towards her. "I saw it! Those two killed that man! He''s lying to buy more time for them to recover! Don''t trust them! So before they attack, you should kill them."

    At that moment, Agnis had just arrived and entered the Hand of Arlene. Seeing his two teammates laying in the rubble, he screamed at them. "Novick! Ran!"

    Viole was stunned, seeing Agnis. For the past six years and more, he had dearly wished to see his friends. However, he never dared to, as FUG had said they would kill them should he make contact with them.

    FUG had told him that they have sent a man to monitor his teammates. They have shown him footage of that man fighting against Rankers, and Viole didn''t think that even he would be able to defeat him. The masked man was a monster that could kill his teammates in a instant.

    Agnis was rushing towards his fallen teammates when Xia Xia stepped up. "Wait!"

    She held a small device in the form of a stick with a bu??on on top of it. "Don''t take another step, or everyone will die here! I''ve installed a bomb in the Hand of Arlene. If I press the bu??on, the hand will blow up, and we will all die. So don''t move unless you want to die."

    "Wait!" Viole called out to her. "What are you..." Before he could finish, he received a message on her Lighthouse. [If you don''t stay still, everyone here will die. Slayer Candidate Jyu Viole Grace^^]

    Viole instantly realized that Xia Xia is a part of FUG. Only members of that organization were aware of him being a Slayer Candidate. FUG had made sure to keep all information about him a secret.

    "Casano, come out!" Xia Xia called out, and Viole saw someone coming out of the rubble that Novick had pointed to. The brown-haired Devils Right Arm slowly stood up while carrying Horyang on his shoulder.

    Viole then received another message from Xia Xia. [If you follow us, I will let that man live. If you don''t, you will lose two of your precious friends. What will you do?]

    "Damn it! Who are you guys? Why are you doing this? Who is your target?" Agnis questioned her, trying to buy some time while he figures out a way to escape with his teammates.

    "We are ordinary Regulars who live in the tent village, but not this man." Xia Xia replied and pointed towards Viole. "His name is Jyu Viole Grace, and he is going to be the newest FUG Slayer in the near future!"

    They were all astonished hearing that. FUG had a Slayer Candidate that''s still a Regular? This news would shock the entire Tower, if the residents learn of it.

    "A while ago, an anonymous man came to me and said that man who will become our God will visit this place, and if I helped him, I will receive wealth and honor."

    "So I asked what should I do, and he said that the God wanted to eliminate the Regular who would become his enemies in the future. He wanted me to kill the outstanding E-Rank Regulars."

    "Yes, he came here to kill you himself, Khun Aguero Agnis!" Xia Xia declared while pointing at Agnis.

    "That''s why we sent a spy to your team, and we succeeded in bringing you here! This trap was to catch you from the beginning, !" Xia Xia proudly stated.

    Agnis was staring at her in disbelief, unable to comprehend how FUG had sneaked in a spy in his team.

    "That''s right, Khun''s son." Viole played along with her plan since he couldn''t risk it.

    "I tried to kill you, that''s why I laid this plan and waited for you. But my mind has changed as I''ve watched you despair. I''ll be the embodiment of your fear. I think It''ll also be nice to see you run away in fear. I will be merciful this time and let you go for my amusement." Viole tried his best to give Agnis a chance to run away.

    "Run away, Khun Aguero Agnis and never dare to meet me again." Viole turned around, prepared to leave this place.

    "Hey, Slayer Candidate!" Agnis called out to him. "I don''t know where you are from, but you should practice more to be an evil king. Your evil act is like right out of a lame novel. You really sound like you''re reading a line."

    "What was that? It''s so awkward and lame... You are trying to let me go on purpose, aren''t you? Why? Just be straight forward about it." Agnis confidently told him while trying to buy time for his teammates to recover.

    Viole didn''t turn back and replied to him. "I said it all."

    At that moment, Ran shot a bolt of small lightning that hit the device in Xia Xia''s hand.

    "You should be more careful," Novick stated as he was just about to grab the device.

    Sadly, his plan failed due to Viole. With the ?ssistance of the three Lighthouses, he used Reverse-Flow control and froze him in place, and Xia Xia was able to get back the device.

    "Let''s go. I will go with you." Viole calmly told her. "But if you play around with my friend''s life again like this... I''ll kill you all."

    Unfortunately, Xia Xia interpreted his words the way she wanted to.

    "My lord, Jye Viole Grace, said that he wanted to be nice and let you go, but you''ve ruined it with your own hands! He is furious now and he shall give you death! Apologize with your death, stupid fellows." Xia Xia said with a maniacal smile and pressed the bu??on on the device while turning towards Viole. "I felt it, you are my God from now on."

    "Damn it, what is this crazy girl doing?!?" Ran and Novick screamed out.

    "A new Slayer is being born! Rejoice this moment with pain in this fiery hell!" Xia Xia stated as a massive explosion enveloped the Hand of Arelene.

    "No, Mr. Khun! Run away, Mr. Khun!! It''s a trap!" Agnis was b?r?ly able to hear Viole scream at the end which momentarily froze him. There was only one person that called him Mr. Khun and that was Bam, but the boy had died on the 2nd Floor. What is happening?

    At that moment, a special stone golem that was designed to withstand this explosion covered up Xia Xia, Viole, Ran, and Novick. The golem ascended into the air and left the Hand of Arlene.

    "Phew, it seems that we are alive," Novick commented and turned towards Ran. "Hey, are you alive?"

    "Yeah," Ran responded from the ground, unable to stand up. He was exhausted after eating the Redan and using the Grand Espada de la Luz.

    "And Khun? Was he left in the rubble?" Wondered Novick.

    "Oh, my! I wasn''t expecting you to tag along." Xia Xia exclaimed with Casano standing next to her.

    "You?! Why are you doing all of this?" Novick asked her.

    "It''s to show off. It''s not easy to become a symbol of terror and worship. I''m making the story of the birth of the new Slayer. How will the people react when they learn that he destroyed Arlene''s Hand to kill a son of a Great Family? I think most will think it''s how a Slayer Candidate should be, rather than blame him." Xia Xia proudly declared.

    "Actually, this is just the beginning. Now we will make the best team and join the Workshop Battle to eliminate all the E-Rank Regulars. We''ll build his legend! Everyone will know he''s the strongest!" Xia Xia explained their plans.

    FUG had given Viole an ultimatum. If he fails to win the Workshop Battle, they promised him that the masked Regular on Androssi''s team will eliminate all of his friends.

    "Pff. That''s not even funny." Ran told her while laying on the ground. "Should you participate in the Workshop Battle, all of you will die."

    "I will tell you the same thing I told Agnis. This Workshop Battle already has a winner set in stone. Plus, that guy hates FUG, so he will make sure to annihilate you all." Ran was aware that despite his training, he was still weaker than Lumen.

    "Androssi and the rest might be monsters, but he is the true��" Xia Xia was getting panicked hearing him. She couldn''t allow Ran to reveal that the masked man was not on FUG''s side.

    "Casano, kill them!" Xia Xia ordered him, and he dashed in their direction.

    Before Casano was able to reach them, Viole appeared in front of them and blocked him by creating a spherical dome of red Shinsoo.

    ''Woah, that''s my Crimson Soul Fist �C Seal. How did he manage to learn it?'' Novick wondered.

    [Stop it! I don''t want to fight with Mr. Khun''s teammates.] Viole told Novick and Ran through his Lighthouse, as he had left his Pocket in the Hand of Arlene.

    [Ms. Xia Xia, I will join the Workshop Battle with you, but they are coming with us.] Viole told her.

    "Um... But... The problem is..." Xia Xia was then interrupted by Viole.

    [That''s an order!] Viole commanded.

    "Hmpf... Fine, I''ve got no choice." Xia Xia said and turned towards Ran and Novick. "Hey, you two. It''s annoying, but I will put you on my team."

    The two of them were about to disagree, but they received a message from Viole.

    [Follow us. Or would you rather die here?] Afterward, he sent another message to Ran that was only visible to him.

    [I''m not your enemy, trust me. Mr. Khun must be alive!]

    Meanwhile, four of Viole''s previous teammates had arrived at the now destroyed Hand of Arlene. They had followed the signal to Viole''s Pocket and were searching for him and Horyang there.

    "Viole!! Horyang!!" As much as they shouted, no one was responding back to them.

    "Wagnan!" A beautiful black-haired woman with pink eyes called out. She was Yeon Yihwa a member of the Yeon Family.

    "What''s wrong flame thrower?" A blonde man asked her.

    "Viole''s pocket is right underneath this rock. What should we do?" Yihwa asked him.

    "Obviously we break this rock to bits!" Wangnan replied and a small Weapon Inventory appeared in front of him. The Inventory contained only one type of weapon that greatly resembled a Pokeball.

    "Wait! It''s dangerous." Before Yihwa could even warn him, Wagnan had thrown the ball. It hit the rock and caused a small explosion. As the dust settled, they were able to see a blue-haired man covered by a white and blue cloth laying there. They brought him out the rubble but weren''t able to locate Viole or Horyang.

    They continued searching for a bit more but had no success. Dejectedly, they returned back to their residence on the 28th Floor with the injured man.

    The next time Agnis opened his eyes, he heard two people arguing next to him.

    "What''s this? Why did you set fire on the acupuncture? You will kill him." Wangnan screamed at Yihwa.

    "What should I do? Should I take it off?" Yihwa asked him in panic.

    "How can you take it off? It''s too hot! Bring water! Water, now!" Wagnan yelled.

    "My fire won''t go off with just water!" Yihwa argued back.

    "What?! Why is it so useless, but strong?!" Wagnan shouted.

    "Of course! I''m from the Yeon Family!" Yihwa stated.

    "That wasn''t a compliment." Before they could realize, Agnis had already extinguished the flame and grabbed the needle. With a swift motion, he placed it on Wangnan''s neck, prepared to kill him.

    "Who are you? Why are you taking care of me?" Agnis questioned with a threatening voice.

    "That''s something we want to ask you," Wagnan replied while trembling under the pressure of Agnis''s gaze.

    Twenty minutes later, Agnis was sitting in front of six Regulars.

    "So, you are the teammates of Jye Viole Grace?" He questioned them in disbelief. All six of them were so weak, he could easily kill them right now. He couldn''t understand how they were teammates of a supposed Slayer Candidate.

    "Yes, but�� maybe not anymore." A small girl with brown hair replied.

    "We followed Viole and went to Arlene''s Hand. When we arrived there, the statue was already destroyed and you were there with Viole''s Pocket. We couldn''t find any traces of Viole or Horyang. What happened in there?" Wangnan questioned Agnis.

    "I don''t know yet..." Agnis replied.

    "What?!" The six of them exclaimed.

    "And where is Viole''s Pocket?" Agnis asked them.

    "Well, it''s here." Wangnan pulled it out and threw it at him. Agnis activated it and saw that it''s an A-Rank Pocket, and he knew only one Regular that had such a high rank one. He stood up and started walking out.

    "Hey, where are you going?" Wagnan questioned him.

    "I''m going to get back my team." Agnis calmly replied and continued walking. Before he exited, a tall white-haired man, known as Hon Akraptor, intercepted him. "We are going with you."

    "I''m sorry but I think we should know about it as well. It''s about my teammates'' lives too." Akraptor stated.

    Agnis studied him for a moment, before asking them. "Are you qualified to go to the 29th Floor?"

    "Yes!" They responded in unison.

    "Then follow me," Agnis replied.

    Later they arrived on the 29th Floor at Agnis''s personal bunker.

    Agnis was leading the way, with Akraptor following behind him.

    "Actually, I finished my research on you when you were blacked out, Khun Aguero Agnis. You are famous amongst the E-Rank Regulars. You must be an enemy of Viole, the Slayer Candidate, considering your background." Akraptor told him.

    "Don''t worry about your teammates, I saw them escape alive." Agnis calmly replied.

    "Really?" Akraptor asked in surprise.

    "Yes, what I have to worry about is here," Agnis stated as he entered the bunker.

    "Gyetang! Michael! Dan!" He shouted his teammates'' names, but no one responded back to him.

    Meanwhile, Wangnan opened a door and saw a terrifying scene there. "Hey, come here! There''s someone over here!" He screamed out.

    Agnis rushed there only to see one of his teammates, laying dead on a bed, with another teammate laying on the ground while bleeding from his legs. On the wall above, FUG was written from their blood.

    Agnis stared at the scene frozen in shock, while the rest of the people with him carried away the man that was bleeding from his legs. Apparently, he was still breathing, so they brought him to a hospital.

    Later that day, Agnis was on the roof of the hospital that they brought the injured man. He was staring at Viole''s Pocket, wondering if his speculation was correct.

    "Jye Viole Grace is the 25th Bam." Agnis heard someone say that. He turned to the side to see a red-haired woman with a patch over her right eye looking at him with a smile.

    "Hwa Ryun? How are you here? I remember you failed on the 2nd Floor. How can you be here?" Agnis asked in wonder.

    "I can go anywhere because I''m a Guide. It was for my job that I took the Test as a Regular. I''m helping FUG at the moment." Hwa Ryun calmly replied to him.

    "FUG? Is all this orchestrated by you?" Agnis questioned in disbelief.

    "Yes, what you are thinking is true. FUG wanted the Irregular, 25th Bam, to make their wish come true, so they set it up as if he died on the 2nd Floor and change him as Jye Viole Grace, the Slayer Candidate. And the Guide who told him to go that way is me." Hwa Ryun explained to him. Hearing her, Agnis rushed out and sent a punch her way. However, his attack was blocked a staff that appeared in front of her.

    "Where did you take Bam?" He asked her with a cold tone.

    "I don''t know." Hwa Ryun replied.

    "What?!" Agnis exclaimed, not believing her.

    "This is done by a few Elders of FUG and some Slayers. They are interested in the politics and powers inside FUG. They want to have Viole under their control. That''s why they want to put Viole on a team they made." Hwa Ryun told him.

    "What? So... That means you also got stabbed in the back?" Agnis questioned her.

    "Correct. After the incident at the Hand of Alrene, FUG suggested to chose the winning team between their team and his original team. The victor at the Workshop Battle will be the final team for Viole. However, it''s impossible for either team to win the Workshop Battle."

    "What do you mean?" Agnis asked.

    "There is a group of monsters that would be participating in this Workshop Battle. In fact, you should know most of them. Those guys are stronger than most D-Rank or even C-Rank Regulars. It''s impossible for someone to beat them." Hwa Ryun stated confidently.

    "The Witch of Zahard''s team? I know they are strong, but are they that strong?" Agnis asked in astonishment.

    "They are stronger than what you can imagine. There is someone on that team that could annihilate all the E-Rank Regular before they could even realize it. He used to be quite famous, but people believe that his light had ended." Hwa Ryun vaguely told him.

    "Lights End?" Agnis realized what she is hinting at. "He''s alive?"

    "Correct. With a bit of help from him and his team, we could turn this Workshop Battle into one grand event, as long as we get in touch with them." Hwa Ryun said with a mischievous smile.

    "However, we have to keep your survival a secret for a bit. You shouldn''t contact them directly, as it''s possible it could be traced back to you." Hwa Ryun explained.

    "Then how do we get in touch with them?" Agnis asked her.

    "Well, we can use something that FUG had created against them." Hwa Ryun pulled a device that resembled a smartphone.

    "With Emily?" Agnis knew of the intelligent AI, but he didn''t think they could use that.

    "Correct. As long as you know what to write, you could share information with others very easily." Hwa Ryun told him with a smile.

    *Edited by O''Brien*

 Chapter 55 - Workshop Battle (1)

    The 30th Floor was one of the most beautiful places in the entire Tower. It was filled with incredible islands that floated on top of highly concentrated Shinsoo seas, and the mesmerizing beaches had a great variety of hotels that the Regulars could choose to stay in.

    Above in the skies, the Archimedes, one of the five great Suspendships of the Workshop, was floating in the air. The ship was almost as large as the islands, and the only reason it was able to float in the air was due to the two large chunks of Suspendium that were attached to its sides.

    Suspendium was mineral in the shape of a blue rock. The higher the purity of Suspendium, the better it will float in areas of high Shinsoo density. The purity level of Suspendium is also one of the factors used for the ranking and grading of items like Pockets, Inventories, and Lighthouses.

    A few months ago, Lumen and his group had received an invitation for the Workshop Battle and had easily passed the Test on the 29th Floor.

    Rather than staying in one of the hotels, they had rented a villa for themselves. It was in a more isolated place, detached from the rest of the buildings, but it had an incredible view of the island, and it also had a private pool.

    The villa had different owners before Lumen''s team advanced to the 30th Floor, but they had suddenly disappeared without leaving a trace.

    It was a couple days after the incident at the Hand of Arlene, and the whole group was taking a break while having fun at their pool.

    Leesoo and Aleksai were playing volleyball in the pool. Most of the time, Aleksai would slam the ball as hard as he could and sent it straight towards Leesoo''s head, who was b?r?ly able to dodge it.

    Hatsu was relaxing by swinging Ryu, his ice sword. Under the guidance of the sword''s spirit, he had made great improvements in his swordsmanship. Ryu even allowed Hatsu to Ignite him again, but only under the condition that the swordsman practices his swings every second that he could. Should he slack off even once, Ryu wouldn''t allow itself to be ignited.

    Laure was a dozen meters away from the pool and peacefully sleeping. Despite his distance from the pool, some water would splash towards him from time to time, due to the ball hitting the pool. Without even opening his eyes or waking up, a barrier would pop up and block the water for him.

    Saber was sleeping next to him and taking advantage of the shield that he would create.

    Vespa was also next to him, making sure not a single drop of water gets on her wings. She was working on making a new poison and mixing some ingredients she had purchased.

    Verdi was in the pool dressed in a cute pink one-piece swimwear. She was playing around with Archer, the small black snake while splashing water at it. The winged snake would gulp down large amounts of water and spray her with it.

    Lumen was laying on his front, while Tiana was sitting on his back while giving him a massage. She was wearing a purple top and bottom swimwear that matched her hair color.

    "Thanks for that." Lumen told her as he got up and sat on a beach chair. "Do you want me to return the favor and massage you now?"

    "No!" Tiana answered, and her face turned bright red. "Well, maybe later, when we are alone." She b?r?ly whispered the last part.

    At that moment, Verdi ran up to Lumen. She gave him a hug and started kissing him on the cheek.

    "Verdi, what are you doing?" Lumen asked her with a laugh.

    "I saw Tiana kissing you the other day, and when I asked her why, she said it''s because she loves you. So I''m showing you how much I love you now!" Verdi answered him and continued kissing his cheek.

    Lumen rubbed her hair and kissed her on the cheek as well. "I love you too, Verdi." After spending so much time with the cute girl, she had really grown on him. Verdi was like a little sister to him.

    "Yay!" She kissed him one last time on the cheek and ran back to the pool. "Lumen''s love me the most!"

    Lumen turned around, only to see Anak dressed in a black one-piece swimwear. She was looking at him expectantly while wagging her tail.

    "Come." He beckoned to her, and she jumped into his embrace. Anak kissed him on the cheek and offered her own. Lumen kissed her cheek as well, and her tail started swirling so fast, it looked like a helicopter''s rotor.

    Androssi was laying on a beach chair, dressed in pink top and bottom swimwear, while watching them in annoyance and a little bit of jealousy. She didn''t specifically envy that Lumen was giving them so much attention, but she was jealous that there was someone that cared for them that much. Androssi might be a Princess of Zahard, but she also craved the attention of others. She just didn''t know how to express that, and the only way she knew to receive that attention was through the interviews from the various journalists.

    Sensing her emotions, Lumen looked at her, but Androssi huffed in response and turned around.

    "What? You want a kiss too?" Lumen jokingly asked her.

    "Fuck off. No one wants your kisses." Androssi crossed her arms under her br??sts and looked the other way.

    At that moment, Merrie, who was also laying on a beach chair, dressed in a red one-piece swimwear, called out to the rest, while looking at her Lighthouse. "Hey, listen to this."

    Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned towards her.

    "Apparently, FUG has a new Slayer Candidate that''s an E-Rank Regular. He had destroyed the Hand of Arlene on the 28th Floor and killed a member of the 10 Great Families, Khun Aguero Agnis, with the explosion." Merrie read the information available on the Box.

    Everyone was surprised hearing that. To become a Slayer Candidate as an E-Rank regular was a great achievement. That person either has to have power equal to that of a Ranker or limitless potential.

    Lumen had a suspicion on who exactly might be the Slayer Candidate, but he was surprised that FUG was so open about this. They should be aware that he, someone who opposes them, was on the 30th Floor. Should he get to meet that Slayer Candidate, he would annihilate him. In fact, he would even go out of his way to do it. So why was this information released then?

    "What?! Khun is dead?!" Leesoo yelled in surprise. Agnis wasn''t on a team with someone like Lumen, who helped them grow so much, but he was extremely strong. He was the best Light Bearer amidst the E-Rank Regulars and had an incredibly tough body thanks to being a member of the 10 Great Families.

    "Well, the information states that he had been killed, but his body wasn''t found there. He could still be alive, but the chances are low." Merrie replied to him.

    "Lumen, we have to pay them back for this! Agnis was my friend! He was also a friend of half the group! We have to kill this Slayer Candidate." Leesoo pleaded.

    "I will go after him either way. I''m just wondering why they publicized this information. Urek killed off two of their Slayers, so they should be scared of him killing this one as well. They should also know that whenever I''ve met with FUG members, I''ve killed them all." Lumen replied to Leesoo and turned towards Merrie. "Is there anything else?"

    "Yes, it says that the Slayer Candidate is gathering the strongest team to compete in the Workshop Battle." Merrie informed him.

    "I see..." Said Lumen. He had learned from Absorcion that FUG was planning something big for the next Workshop Battle, but he didn''t know it will involve a Slayer Candidate.

    "Well, they will be participating in the Workshop Battle, so we can just smash them there," Androssi stated while cracking her knuckles.

    Seeing that, Lumen told her. "If you act like a man, no one will like you."

    "Hateful bastard. No one likes you! And no one will ever like you!" Androssi jumped from her beach chair and started swinging punches his way. However, Lumen was easily able to catch her fists and held them in place. "As a lady, you have to act more gentle, don''t you know?"

    "I will show you how gentle I am!" Androssi tried kicking him, but he tied her legs with a rope made of darkness. Another rope made of darkness appeared and tied her arms as well.

    "Let me go! This is not how you are supposed to treat a lady!" Androssi yelled at him.

    Everyone ignored her and started moving towards the inside of the villa, to start planning on how they will deal with the new Slayer Candidate.

    "Let me gooo!" Androssi yelled, but they had already entered the villa.

    A few more days had passed, and Merrie had gathered them all.

    "I have some new information to share with you. Apparently, Agnis is still alive." Merrie stated.

    "He''s alive?" Leesoo asked with wide eyes. "How do you know this?"

    "Emily told me." Merrie showed them the smartphone-looking device.

    "And you are sure that this is true?" Leesoo asked, remembering that Emily wasn''t all-knowing.

    "Yes, I have found a way to communicate with a friend using Emily." Merrie then explained how she was able to talk with Hwa Ryun by using code words. The two have been sharing a lot of information, and Merrie told them who the Slayer Candidate is.

    "So, Bam, is Jye Viole Grace, the new Slayer Candidate?" Androssi asked in surprise and turned towards Lumen. "We have to save him!"

    "I''m not sure about that." Lumen replied. He didn''t have enough information to make a choice right now. Bam might as well have joined FUG willingly, and he didn''t know for sure if that''s the case.

    "Are you planning on killing him?!" Androssi exclaimed.

    "They wouldn''t make someone they don''t trust a Slayer Candidate." Lumen answered her.

    "Wait, you are serious!? I won''t allow you to kill him!" Androssi stated. Bam was the first person that had actually cared about her, and that meant a lot to her. She knew that Lumen cared a lot about her and the rest of the group, but Bam had a special place in her heart.

    "There is no need to fight." Merrie tried calming her down. "Apparently, he is being threatened with the safety of his friends, you." She pointed at Androssi and the rest that had taken the Test on the 2nd Floor with her.

    "How?" Lumen immediately asked. His teammates were the few people that he actually cared about. At first, he thought it might be the person that has been spying on him, but that person was focused solely on him. The other one he thought about was the black-haired man he met on the 28th Floor. However, that man called himself Bam''s teacher and said he cared about him and his friends, so it wasn''t him as well.

    "With you," Merrie answered him. "FUG has told him that they have sent you, the masked Regular, to monitor his friends. They''ve shown him footage of you fighting and killing three Rankers."

    "What?!" Everyone exclaimed and turned towards Lumen. They have spent nearly 7 years with him, and they were sure that he wasn''t part of FUG, considering how many members he has killed from that organization.

    "Wait, you have killed three Rankers?" Leesoo asked in surprise.

    "Maybe." He replied to Leesoo and turned towards Merrie. "But that''s not the point. You said that he is not willingly a part of FUG?"

    "Yes." Merrie confidently confirmed.

    "Well, maybe we can consider saving him." Lumen told them, and Androssi quickly gave him a hug. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

    A few more months passed, and it was the day before the Workshop Battle is about to begin. Thousands of Regulars had arrived on the 30th Floor with an invitation to the battle. However, there were no signs of FUG and their new Slayer Candidate. Everyone knew that he would be participating in the Workshop Battle, but no one knew where he and his group were residing.

    The day passed like any other day until the clock turned to 00:00, and the next day began. All electronics then stopped working, and all Regulars heard a message.

    "Hello, E-Rank Regulars at the Workshop Battle. I''m IO, who will be in charge of this Workshop Battle." All devices on the Floor transmitted this message.

    "Are you having a good time in the beautiful nightscape of Sephia Island. The beach here is the most beautiful place on the 30th Floor, so don''t miss it. But no matter how beautiful this nightscape is, you must be looking forward to departing, so it might be a bit boring for you."

    "So, for your entertainment, we''ve prepared a game for you. And the price for this game is 248 tickets to ride on the Archimedes that will depart in two days!"

    "The ones with the ticket will ride on the Archimedes! And the ones who don''t have a one, can''t get on."

    Blue spheres of light appeared above each E-Rank Regular that was participating in the Workshop Battle.

    "Now, use the item we give you and get the tickets for the Archimedes!"

    The spheres of light descended into the hands of all the Regulars, and they transformed into a gun.

    "The rules of the game are, one shot, one oportunity!"

    "Use the gun that we gave you to shoot other Regulars. Then you will get a ticket and be sent to the Archimedes right away! But you only get one bullet per person. Unless you use this opportunity right, you will fail the Test right away."

    "If you want to have some fun, you can steal the gun from another Regular and get the bullet from it. The owner of the stolen gun will fail, and you have to use your own gun to shoot."

    "The chamber of each gun can hold up to six bullets. If you put in more than two bullets in a gun, you can use the control handle on the left side of the gun."

    "The control handle could be set to Dark or Light. The gun is normally in Dark mode, but if you switch it in Light mode, the Regular who you shoot will get a ticket and be sent to the Archimedes. However, you can''t shoot yourself with the Light mode."

    "But remember, no matter how many bullets you might have, you can only shoot one shot in the Dark mode. If you miss this shot, you will fail the Test!"

    "After the game begins, the first one to shoot gets the item Blood Tamara!"

    "The one that shoots the most Regulars with the Light mode gets the item White Heavenly Mirror!"

    "And one more thing. If you shoot Bong Bong, the fairy of luck that wanders around the island with the Light bullet, you will get a ticket for the Archimedes and a very special item. So try that one as well."

    "For your information, don''t shoot or hurt people who aren''t Regulars. If you do, you will fail right away. Then after a minute, the protection of the gun will be removed!"

 Chapter 56 - Workshop Battle (2)

    Lumen and his group were in their villa when the message for the One Shot, One Opportunity game was transmitted. A timer appeared on everyone''s Pocket, and it started counting down from 60.

    "Might as well get all the items while we are at it." Lumen told the rest.

    "Definitely! The White Heavenly Mirror would be the perfect item for me! Only a mirror with a name like that could show my beauty!" Androssi stated with a wishful look. If only she knew that the White Heavenly Mirror was, in fact, a knife.

    Lumen ignored her and created four humanoid forms made of darkness. Each one required three Baangs of Shinsoo, one for the body, one for the legs, and one for the arms.

    He created four more Baangs, which he imbued with his light powers, and he sent them towards the four humanoids made of darkness. A flash of white light enveloped them, and after the light diminished, the four looked identical to Lumen''s masked appearance.

    Lumen had greatly improved in using his light powers during the past three years and was a lot more versatile when utilizing them. Bending the light to create illusions was something that he had managed to learn how to do in that time.

    Combining that with his darkness ability, which allowed him to create objects, he was able to create a type of clone. As long as the clones were within his Shinsoo reading area, Lumen had perfect control them. The clones didn''t have the same power as him, but they were more than enough to deal with E-Rank Regulars. He didn''t need to command them, and they all dashed out of the villa.

    At that point, the countdown was already at 20 seconds.

    "Well, let''s go and get the Blood Tamara." Lumen grabbed Leesoo and disappeared with him in a flash of white.

    Meanwhile, Khun Aguero Agnis, who was now wearing a white mask, the six Regulars that were once a part of Bam''s team, and a small crocodile-humanoid were running towards Lumen''s villa.

    "Are you sure that they will help us?" Wangnan asked Agnis. He had never even imagined that he would get to meet a Princess of Zahard, let alone that she would actually help him.

    "Yes, trust me." Agnis confidently replied. He had previously met with Lumen and Leesoo, and they have already agreed to ?ssist him. Lumen was against bringing Bam''s previous teammates since he believed they were unnecessary baggage, but Agnis had promised that he will carry that baggage. They were Bam''s friends, and as heavy as they were, he will put them on his back.

    At that moment, Lumen and Leesoo appeared behind a group of four Regulars. The countdown for the game hit 0, and Leesoo instantly shot one of the Regulars with his gun. With that, he was the first to shoot someone else and the first to receive a ticket for the Archimedes. Blue light enveloped Leesoo, and he was transported onto the Suspendship.

    "What the hell?!" The other three Regular exclaimed in surprise. They hadn''t even sensed that Lumen and Leesoo had appeared behind them. They turned around, ready to shoot Lumen, but metal tentacles appeared from Lumen''s back and bound the three. He grabbed their guns and made his way back towards the villa.

    Meanwhile, Lumen''s clones were hunting Regulars. One of the clones jumped between another group of four Regulars.

    "You sure got guts coming here alone." A Regular remarked and prepared to shoot the clone. Before he could fire his gun, two tendrils made of darkness shot out from the clone''s body and captured him. They brought the Regular to the clone, and he was absorbed inside its body.

    "What kind of freak is this?!" The rest of the Regulars yelled out and aimed at the clone. However, the clone''s arms and legs also transformed into tendrils, and with the two that came out of its body, it captured the rest of the Regulars. They were also absorbed inside the clone''s body.

    One of Lumen''s darkness ability was that it could create a very small pocket dimension. It''s that very dimension that he uses when he travels between his black orbs. He could use it to store objects or even living beings inside it, for a limited time.

    Agnis and his group arrived at the villa, just as the four clones and Lumen returned. All the clones spewed out the Regulars and their guns, and Lumen dispelled them. All the Regulars were then bound by a rope of darkness that he created.

    "Since everyone is here, Androssi, you could start gathering their bullets and shoot everyone with the Light mode." Lumen told her, and she grabbed one of the guns.

    "I can''t believe I''m standing next to a Princess of Zahard," Wangnan said with a lovestruck expression.

    "A White Heavenly Mirror for a heavenly beauty like me, hihihi." Androssi giggled, as she placed a bullet in her gun''s chamber. She changed the gun''s mode to Light and was about to place another bullet inside when a small white object with tiny wings flew inside the villa.

    "Oh! Isn''t that Bong Bong!" Androssi exclaimed and shot the fairy of luck with her gun. Blue light enveloped her, and she disappeared from her spot. Since she shot Bong Bong, she was granted a ticket for the Archimedes.

    "That idiot." Lumen facepalmed. "Didn''t she want the White Heavenly Mirror?"

    "Knowing that brute, she would just force it out of whoever gets it," Agnis stated, and knowing her personality, Lumen agreed with that.

    "Whatever, Verdi, you shoot everyone." Lumen told the green-eyed girl. She nodded at him and started putting bullets in her chamber. Verdi changed the gun''s mode to Light and started shooting everyone there one by one. Blue light enveloped them, and they were all sent to the Archimedes.

    In the end, Verdi and Lumen were the only ones still there. By that point, the available tickets for the Archimedes had already been reduced to 201.

    "Just shoot one of the Regulars with a Dark bullet, and I will come right after you." Lumen told her and ruffled her hair.

    "Mkay~" Verdi replied and shot one of the bound Regulars. Blue light surrounded her, and she disappeared from her spot.

    Lumen turned to shoot one of the Regulars, but at that moment, the entire villa was enveloped in a dark-blue fire.

    Meanwhile, in an underground bunker, 200 FUG Regulars had been gathered. Bam and the team that FUG had gathered for him were among those 200 Regulars. In front of them were 200 more Regulars, that were all bound by ropes.

    FUG had made a deal with IO and Punk, the hosts for the Workshop Battle, and the operators of the Archimedes. They knew what the first game would be, so they had captured 200 Regulars in advance.

    The underground bunker was the place that all the FUG members resided. Usually, the members of the Workshop would do their more inhumane experiments in that place. So the bunker had a cloaking system that even the High Ranker who are incredibly skilled in Shinsoo reading, would find it hard to locate.

    Lumen had circled the entire Sepia Island numerous times, hoping to locate the place where FUG was hiding, but he had no success since they were hiding inside that bunker. Knowing that all the Regulars would have to board the Archimedes at some point, he had planned on dealing with them there. Unfortunately, FUG had prepared for that.

    The 200 Regulars shot the other 200. They were all surrounded by blue light and transported to the Archimedes. With that, the tickets for the Archimedes were reduced down to 0.

    On the Archimedes, all the teams were transported to different locations. Lumen''s group was all together. However, Agnis, the small crocodile-humanoid, also known as Rak Wraithraiser, and Bam''s previous teammates were sent to a different location.

    In the control room of the Archimedes, IO, a man wearing a black suit, white gloves, and a blue helmet that covered his entire head, sat next to his partner, Punk, who wore a similar outfit as IO, but he had a red helmet that covered his head.

    "All the tickets have been used. Might as well reward the Regulars who won the special items and congratulate the rest." IO told his partner.

    "I agree," Punk replied to him, and the three items in front of them disappeared. They were teleported to the Regulars that won them, Leesoo, Verdi, and Androssi.

    IO then picked up a microphone and cleared his throat before speaking.

    "The One Shot, One Opportunity game has ended! Congratulations to all the Regulars that received a ticket for the Archimedes and to those that won the special prizes!" IO''s voice was transmitted throughout the Suspendship.

    "The game ended?" Leesoo asked in surprise and looked around. "Then, where is Lumen?"

    "He said he will come right after me," Verdi said while looking around.

    "Then where is he? Why isn''t he here?" Androssi questioned while everyone was looking around in worry.

    "The Archimedes will now depart from Sepia Island and sail throughout the 30th Floor! The next part of the Workshop Battle will start in a few days. Which means you could all GAAGH." IO screamed at the end. While he was about to inform the Regulars of the Workshop Battle schedule, a black shadow had formed behind the two hosts, and two people walked out of it.

    One of them was a woman whose body was made of pure white flames, and she wore a grey helmet with three horns that covered her left eye. She was known as Death Lady, a loyal servant of Karaka.

    As soon as the two walked out of the shadow, Death Lady threw two white bandages towards IO and Punk. The bandages wrapped around the two hosts and bound them in place.

    "You two sure are good at making items." Death Lady laughed out with a sweet voice.

    The two bandages that she used were created by IO and Punk. They had only one ability, and it was to restrict someone. However, the bandages were still a high-rank item, and they could restrain even an Advanced Ranker. Not only could they bind someone in place, but they could also remove that person''s ability to use Shinsoo. They were the perfect item for capturing someone.

    IO and Punk were Rankers, but they were one of the weakest ones when it comes to personal power. Their biggest strength was the incredible items they have created. With the items they had, they could escape, defend, or even fight back Karaka''s servants. However, being bound by those bandages, they weren''t even able to use any of their amazing creations.

    "What are you doing?" Punk yelled at the two. He would have never imagined that FUG would backstab them like this. The Workshop was a neutral organization in the Tower and had worked with FUG on numerous occasions. It didn''t make sense for them to do this.

    "Don''t worry. We will let you live, but you will have to sit there patiently for some time. Our God has planned something big, and we need to take over the Archimedes for it." Death Lady told them.

    "Are you insane?! Is FUG willing to go against the Workshop? Do you even know what you are doing?!" IO shouted, but Death Lady laughed in response.

    "Yes. Yes, we do. Today is the beginning of the end. This day will forever be remembered as the day that the Zahard Empire started to crumble. You should be grateful for being able to see this." Death Lady answered them.

    "What are you talking about?" Punk questioned her in anger. He couldn''t understand the nonsense she was spouting.

    "We would have killed you normally, but you were the ones that created the Boiling Acid, so our God had decided to spare you. Our God would soon obtain the Thorn, and with its power, he will bring Zahard to his knees!" Death Lady stated in a maniacal manner.

    Hearing that, IO and Punk realized what they were planning. The Boiling Acid was a liquid capable of fully dissolving a Regular''s body. FUG was planning to use it on Bam and merge him with the Thorn.

    "Before you succeed, the Workshop and the Zahard forces will storm this place! You are out of your mind!" IO yelled at her.

    "Do not worry about that. It will take them at least a day before they reach here. By then, we would have already completed our objective and left this place." Death Lady laughed out.

    In the meantime, Gromm walked over to the microphone and picked it up.

    "I''m happy to announce that the Workshop Battle has ended!" His voice was transmitted throughout the Archimedes.

    "What?!" Exclaimed all the Regulars that weren''t a part of FUG.

    "Now, FUG''s lovely Death Game is about to begin! Hahaha!" Gromm laughed out and pressed a bu??on. All the lights in the Archimedes were turned off, and darkness filled the Suspendship.

 Chapter 57 - Workshop Battle (3)

    "The rules for our Death Game are pretty simple. You just have to survive until Jyu Viole Grace dies! Good luck, Regulars, and I hope you all die! Hahaha!" Gromm laughed out and turned towards Death Lady. "You keep those two safe and sound here, while I will go and make sure our plan succeeds."

    "Don''t worry, those two won''t go anywhere. Just go and make sure Viole gets melted with the Thorn." Death Lady confidently stated as Gromm left the room.

    Out of the 200 Regulars that FUG sent to the Archimedes, 196 were teleported to the first level of the Suspendship. The rest of the Regulars that weren''t a part of FUG were also sent to that level.

    Two of the Regulars that FUG sent were teleported to the third level, while the last two were teleported to the fourth level.

    Horyang and Casano, the two Living Ignition Weapons, were together in a dark room on the third level of the Archimedes.

    "Casano, what is the meaning of this? This was not the plan that we had prepared!" Horyang yelled at Casano. Viole was his friend, and he didn''t want to lose him. He was under the impression that he would be helping him and not killing him.

    "Some things have been set in stone for a long time now," Casano replied as blue Shinsoo covered his left arm. With a leap, he reached Horyang and punched him in the ?h?st. "Like our fight now, Ilmar."

    "Why are you doing this, Casano?" Horyang asked him while standing up. He couldn''t understand why would the person he believed to be his brother attacked him.

    "Both of us are incomplete, Ilmar. The only way for us to become a complete Living Ignition Weapon is to get the other half of our Devil. It''s either you or me, Ilmar." Casano stated and dashed towards him once again.

    Meanwhile, on the fourth level of the Archimedes, Bam was standing in front of Reflejo. The two were in an enclosed space, with only a small opening at the top.

    Reflejo was a man with long, brown dreadlocks, and he had an expressionless silver mask that covered his face. He wore a black cloak that concealed his body and held a scythe in his hand.

    "You should be grateful," Reflejo told Bam. "For your sacrifice will be the starting point of my God''s reckoning. Once my God obtains the Thorn, he will change the structure of this Tower!"

    Bam didn''t respond and got into his stance, prepared to fight with Reflejo. He knew that his friends from the 2nd Floor were on the ship, and he knew FUG planned on killing them after hearing the message. He wanted to go and help them, but first, he had to deal with the man in front of him.

    Five Baangs of Shinsoo appeared around Bam, and he shot them towards Reflejo. He wanted to deal with him as fast as possible. However, the FUG member was no pushover. Five black-colored Baangs appeared around him and blocked Bam''s attack.

    "You are a disappointment, Viole." Reflejo calmly stated. "Even with all of your advantages, you are only strong when compared to other weak E-Rank Regulars."

    Reflejo then dashed towards Bam. He swung his scythe at him, but Bam was able to block it with his signature Reverse-Flow control technique. Bam then tried counterattacking, but Refljo was easily able to block his attacks. They continued exchanging attack after attack, but none of them could get the upper hand on the other.

    While fighting Reflejo, Bam was slowly adapting to his fighting style and learning it at the same time. Bam''s unique power was Technique Replication. It didn''t matter if it was a martial art or a Shinsoo technique, he was able to replicate them all as long as he was given enough time.

    Bam found an opening and sent a Shinsoo empowered punch towards him. However, before the attack could reach Reflejo, a spear made of shadows came from the ground and pierced Bam through the stomach.

    Bam quickly jumped away from him while bleeding from his abdomen. A red skeletal-looking object emerged from his back and slowly started healing his wound.

    Reflejo watched this in indifference. Even if he healed himself with the Fake Thorn, it would make no difference in the outcome of this battle. In fact, Bam''s usage of the Fake Thorn was part of the plan.

    A part of the Real Thorn was sealed right under the room that they were fighting. And Bam''s activation of the Fake Thorn would awaken the Real Thorn beneath them. So far, everything was going as planned.

    Once Androssi and the rest heard that Bam is in danger. They immediately decided to rescue him.

    "We have to save him!" Androssi stated to the group.

    "I know that, but we don''t even know where he is!" Leesoo replied back to her. None of them had ever been on the Archimedes before, so they didn''t even know where they were sent to. They also had no clue where Bam was at the moment as well.

    "I believe I could help you with that." Merrie confidently told them. Throughout the time she had spent with the group, she had become an amazing Light Bearer. Merrie was also a Guide, so she was confident in being able to locate Bam with her abilities.

    "Then let''s go. What are you waiting for?" Androssi urged her.

    "Well, we will first have to deal with the Regulars that are coming for us," Merrie replied as she had sensed over 100 Regulars rushing towards them. She was currently observing them on her Lighthouse.

    "How many are there?" Leesoo asked her.

    "140 are making their way towards us," Merrie answered him.

    "Pff, only that much? Let''s just crush them and go save Bam." Androssi stated, and the group prepared to face the Regulars that were coming towards them.

    Agnis and his group were also in a similar situation. They wanted to go and rescue their friend, but nearly 70 Regulars were making their way towards them. And unlike Lumen''s group, their group wasn''t made up of monsters that could annihilate E-Rank Regulars with just their basic attacks.

    "Damn it!" Agnis cursed out. Using his High-Rank Lighthouse, he was able to see 56 Regulars rushing towards them. They had no way of dodging past them and had to fight them head-on.

    "Everyone, get in position. Scouts and Fishermen get in the front line. Spear Bearers stay in the middle and protect the Light Bearers, while they ?ssist the front line with their Lighthouses!" Agnis shouted and started giving commands to his group.

    Meanwhile, on the 30th Floor, there was another Suspendship floating in the air. However, the ship was invisible to the n?k?d eye, and even a skilled Shinsoo reader would find it hard to detect. That was Ghost Ship, it had an ability called Invisible Area, which can make objects in its area of effect completely disappear.

    The Ghost Ship was owned by Madoraco, a High Ranker, and owner of the Merchant Association. He was also a high ranking FUG member and had the sobriquet Grey Catfish. As the leader of the Merchant Association, he was one of the richest people in the entire Tower and had a great amount of influence.

    Madoraco was a very short man, with pale pink hair that is combed back and has a pair of black horns protruding from his head. His skin was pale, his eyes were yellow, and he had large marks near his mouth that made him seem to have a smile at all times.

    "As long as Karaka''s plan is successful. He will have my full support, and I will give him my part of the Thorn." Madoraco said to Pekon. The main reason FUG wanted to melt Bam with the Thorn was due to his unique skill. They believed that if they are successful, the Thorn would obtain his unique skill, and the owner of the Thorn would then be able to use it as well.

    "Do not worry," Poken replied. "With us being here, and the Elders preventing the Zahard and Workshop forces, there is nothing that could stop us. Viole will be merged with the Thorn, and with its power, my God will take over the Tower."

    The FUG Elders had already given up on Bam. He had great potential with his unique skill, but compared to the other Irregulars, he was weak. They also didn''t know if he would turn his back on them when he obtains the Real Thorn.

    Giving it to Karaka was the safer choice since he had an irrefutable grudge with Zahard and the 10 Great Family heads. With the power of the Real Thorn, Karaka would be able to slay the immortal beings that ruled the Tower.

    Bam''s teacher, Ha Jinsung, was a powerhouse that could interfere with their plans, but even he would struggle against the combined power of the Elders. Should push come to shove, they would deal with him as well. They have already prepared themselves for that.

    "And what about the Karaka impostor? He seems like someone strong." Madoraco questioned. FUG still didn''t know the true identity of the masked man. They only speculated that he is an Irregular, as well.

    "Unless he is hiding his power, the two Advanced Rankers that I sent should be enough to deal with him." Poken confidently stated. Earlier, he had sent Death Bird and Death Karambit, two of Karaka''s loyal servants, to deal with Lumen. The two of them were Advanced Rankers and had incredible teamwork. With their combined power, they could push back even High Rankers.

    "So, all the variables would be dealt with by the end of today. Excellent." Madoraco stated while observing the situation in the Archimedes and the battle that was happening on Sepia Island. Despite Poken''s reassurance, he was a little worried about that fight, so he kept an eye on the situation down there.

    However, the two weren''t the only ones enjoying the show. In fact, there was one more Suspendship that was on the 30th Floor. Like the Ghost Ship, it also had a similar ability like the Invisible Area, but it was an even higher rank than it.

    "The son of Arlene, my daughter''s lover, and a lot of little insects. I wonder how this will play out." Gustang said. Not only did he know of Bam''s true identity, but he also knew Lumen that had survived after the incident on the 10th Floor.

    Gustang was the one that gifted Diana''s Suspendship, and he was able to monitor her through it. He was also able to tap into her Pocket and see her conversations. Which is why he knew of her relationship with Lumen and that he had survived.

    "Let''s see if my daughter made the right choice." Gustang calmly stated while observing the fight on Sepia Island. Lumen was someone he was very interested in, especially after seeing his growth.

    Gustang knew that he had special abilities and that he didn''t even know how to manipulate Shinsoo before Diana taught him. But now, after about seven to eight years, Lumen was fighting equally with two Advanced Rankers.

    The most impressive thing was that Lumen didn''t even know his Shinsoo quality and was relaying on using his special abilities, which he combined with his Shinsoo. Gustang was fairly interested in what his Shinsoo quality is. Nonetheless, he was sure that with enough time, he could become someone on the same level as Urek Mazino. Only someone like that could catch his eye.

    When the dark-blue fire had engulfed the villa, Lumen had covered himself with his metal armor. The fire couldn''t actually hurt him, but it was better to be safe than sorry. He calmly walked out of the burning building and spotted two figures levitating in the air.

    One of them was a grey-skinned man with purple hair and white eyes. Dark-blue flames were being emitted from his body, and he held two blades made of the same flames. He was Death Karambit, Karaka''s loyal servant.

    Next to him was a woman who had the body of a bird and a human head. She wore a helmet with a beak that also covered her shoulders. She was Death Bird and another of Karaka''s loyal servants.

    "We''ve been sent here as your tribulation, heathen who dared impersonate our God." Death Karambit said in disgust while pointing his flaming blade at Lumen.

    "A painful death is the only outcome for someone like you." Death Lady stated, and Death Karambit slashed with his blade. A massive wave of dark-blue fire was sent towards Lumen, who casually walked through it without a single injury. His black flames were hotter and more destructive than the dark-blue fire of Death Karambit.

    "Using flames against me isn''t the smartest choice." Lumen told them while two pairs of flaming wings appeared on his back. A spear made of darkness with a large lizard head at the top formed in his hands, and he flew towards the two floating figures with incredible speed.

 Chapter 58 - Workshop Battle (4)

    Death Karambit and Death Bird were surprised seeing Lumen''s black and white wings made of fire. They were under the impression that Karaka''s impostor had similar abilities to the Slayer. His speed at which he flew towards them was also astounding, and most Rankers would find it hard to keep up with him. Death Bird was faster than him, but she was a Scout that focused on speed.

    But what really startled Death Karambit were the flaming wings on Lumen''s back. Those flames looked so similar to his and Death Lady''s, but they were also different at the same time.

    Death Bird flew away from there, but Death Karambit was momentarily dazed from seeing the flaming wings. He woke up from his stupor the moment Lumen reached him and attacked him with his spear of darkness. The lizard head at the tip opened up and was about to chomp on him.

    Despite that, Death Karambit was an Advanced Ranker*1 for a reason. Quickly, he brought up his flaming blades and blocked the maw of darkness. Lumen''s strength was incredible, but Death Karambit was able to match it.

    "Let''s see whose flames are stronger, shall we." Lumen stated, and a massive column of black fire erupted from the lizard head. Death Karambit was engulfed in the black fire, but he managed to counterattack and block with his own dark-blue fire.

    Despite that, he was forced to fly away from there since the black flames suppressed his own and were roasting him alive.

    Death Karambit was b?r?ly able to extinguish the black flames on his body with his Shinsoo and understanding of the fire element. This was the first time someone had managed to suppress Lumen''s black Phoenix fire.

    "Tsch." Lumen clicked his tongue. He was actually hoping to take him by surprise and possibly kill him with his first attack.

    "Be careful of his flames! They are even dangerous to someone like me!" Death Karambit warned Death Bird. His grey skin had turned pitch black from being burnt by Lumen''s black flames, and the worst part was that he felt weakened after getting touched by them. His prized flaming blades, which were B10-Ranked weapons and were tailor crafted for him, also had scorch marks on them.

    Death Karambit was one of the few natural Flame Users that weren''t a part of the Yeon Family. His body constantly emitted his dark-blue fire, and he had never feared other Flame Users. The only people that could actually harm him with fire were the High Rankers of the Yeon Family, the unsurpassed masters of fire. However, even they wouldn''t be able to damage him and his blades to this extent with just a single attack.

    "Got it!" Death Bird called out while numerous large, blue feathers materialized around her. Their tips were extremely sharp, and they resembled arrows.

    "Feather Rain!" With extreme speed, all the feather arrows flew towards Lumen. Their flight pattern was very tricky, and one couldn''t easily predict where they will hit. They would also split into smaller ones, making her attack even more unpredictable. As the feather arrows were flying after Lumen, Death Bird was already creating more of them around her.

    However, she was forced to stop, as she saw a vortex made of black fire surround him and incinerate all the feather arrows. Lumen hadn''t even bothered to dodge her attack and stood there in the air while watching her with indifference.

    "He is a lot stronger than what the information stated. We have to fight him seriously!" Death Karambit told Death Bird. They were only aware of his darkness abilities and believed that he was only slightly stronger than a normal Ranker.

    They also didn''t think that he could have possibly made major improvements in just three years. Due to the large lifespan of the inhabitant of the Tower, some could even go on vacations that last for a dozen years or even more. To them, it was simply unimaginable for someone to have a massive increase in strength in just three years.

    Nevertheless, they couldn''t be careless fighting with Lumen, and the two were about to take this fight seriously now.

    "Act as the Fisherman while I support you!" Death Bird said to Death Karambit. Although she is a Battle Oriented Scout*2, she didn''t want to go anywhere near the black flames after seeing that they were able to hurt her partner.

    Since they were planning on taking him seriously now, Death Bird summoned two Observers in the shape of falcons. One of them was black with razor-sharp wings, while the other was purple with a canon on each wing. Both of them were larger than Death Bird herself. The two were Ancient Observers*3, which were a lot more battle oriented than the Observers that Scouts currently used.

    "That''s easier said than done." Death Karambit replied. He also didn''t want to deal with Lumen''s black flames, but he didn''t have a choice. He was better suited for the job than Death Bird. He surrounded himself with dark-blue fire, hoping that would protect him from Lumen''s fire, and flew towards him at top speed.

    The two were in a deadlock, but the lizard head on Lumen''s spear twisted around and turned towards Death Karambit. Black fire gathered in its mouth and was about to shoot him point-blank. However, at that moment, a massive beam of purple Shinsoo shot from the Purple Falcon, blasting Lumen away.

    He quickly recovered from the attack and flew towards Death Karambit. The two were exchanging attack after attack, but the Purple Falcon would interrupt Lumen right before he could unleash a massive technique.

    During one of their bouts, the Black Falcon appeared behind Lumen and crashed into him. The body of the Ancient Observer changed shape and transformed its body into a liquid state. It surrounded Lumen and held him in place for a moment.

    "Get him now!" Death Bird shouted. She had materialized a massive amount of feathers, which took the form of a falcon. Death Karambit engulfed the falcon with his dark-blue fire, and the bird flew towards Lumen with astounding speed. "Combined Shinsoo Technique: Falcon of Hellfire!"

    The Combined Shinsoo Technique crashed into Lumen and caused a massive explosion of dark-blue fire, which covered the entire Sepia Island below them.

    "Did we get him?" Death Karambit asked as he wasn''t able to see or sense him in the explosion. Even High Rankers wouldn''t be scot-free from their Combined Shinsoo Technique.

    "No." Death Bird replied to him. As a Scout, she had incredible eyesight. Before the attack hit him, she saw that Lumen had transformed into a bird made of black fire. She didn''t understand what he did, but she was sure that he survived.

    Before Death Karambit could say anything else, he saw a massive bird, whose body was composed of black flames, fly out of the explosion. During the past three years, Lumen had learned how to change the flames of his Phoenix form from white to black. His Phoenix form had also grown considerably in size.

    Black fire materialized in front of him in the shape of an orb, which quickly grew even larger than him. Lumen flew towards them, and the orb followed after him.

    "Let me show you true Hellfire!" The giant orb of black fire suddenly compressed itself to the size of a peanut.

    "Damn! Run!" Death Bird shouted as she sensed the massive amount of Shinsoo that Lumen had gathered. She grabbed Death Karambit and quickly flew away at top speed as a massive explosion erupted from the orb of black fire. It covered the entire Sepia Island and removed it from existence.

    Unfortunately, Death Bird was a Scout that focused on her speed and was faster than even some High Rankers, so she was able to escape with Death Karambit. Otherwise, the two would have surely died in that explosion.

    "Marvelous!" Exclaimed Gustang seeing the explosion. He was truly impressed by Lumen''s technique. "His Shinsoo manipulation reminds me of Blossom. Violent and unpredictable."

    "Didn''t you say that the two should be able to take care of him?" Madoraco questioned Poken. The massive explosion that he witnessed could potentially even harm him. That guy was a lot more dangerous than what they imagined.

    Poken observed the Lumen''s Black Phoenix form for a moment and calmly answered him. "Such a massive attack should have exhausted him. Death Karambit and Death Bird are still alive. They should be able to finish the job now. Worst case scenario, I would jump in and take care of him."

    Poken was somewhat right. That attack would normally exhaust him, but it had also eliminated the entire Sepia Island and harvested the life force of anyone that had survived after the Combined Shinsoo Technique of Death Karambit and Death Bird. With that life force, he was able to recover his stamina and was as good as new.

    "So be it. I didn''t want to use it, but you forced me." Lumen stated and transformed into his human form. An Arms Inventory that only had a single weapon appeared in front of him, and he pulled the weapon out.

    Meanwhile, Androssi and the rest were killing of Regular after Regular.

    "Ten are behind that column on our left, Laure, you can handle them. A dozen Regulars are coming from the front, Anak, take care of those. Seven are on our right, Tiana, you snipe them." Merrie was calmly telling the location of all FUG Regular to the group while giving orders. Her Lighthouse would cover the FUG Regulars with light, marking their position and giving her group an easier shot.

    Tiana shot a massive beam of Shinsoo towards the seven on their right, and easily annihilated them.

    Anak dashed towards the group in the front. She was wielding a D10-Rank hook that could increase its size. With a single attack, she lopped off the heads of six Regulars while she formed six Baangs of Shinsoo and sniped the other six.

    "Two more are coming from behind us. Those two should be the last, Hatsu, deal with them." Hearing Merrie, Hatsu jumped towards them.

    The swordsman was about to slash them apart, but the two raised their hands and shouted. "Stop, friendly fire!"

    Novick and Ran were sweating. Had they not screamed, Hatsu would have killed right there and then. Thankfully, he was one of the few from the group that didn''t enjoy killing. Otherwise, if it was someone else, they would have killed them without hesitation.

    "Merrie?" Hatsu called out to the Red Witch. Merrie turned around and looked at them for a moment and asked. "Ha Novick and Khun Ran?"

    "Yes!" They both quickly confirmed.

    "They are Agnis''s previous teammates. They are not our enemies." Hearing her, the two let out a sigh of relief. They had witnessed how the group had annihilated over 100 Regulars in a matter of moments. They definitely didn''t want to be on their bad side.

    "What are you doing here?" Merrie asked them.

    "We were hoping to meet with Khun," Novick replied.

    "Agnis is somewhere else on the Archimedes," Merrie told them.

    "Damn, then the rest of the FUG Regulars are going after him and his group," Novick responded while biting his finger.

    "Oh, fu?k! We forgot about Agnis!" Leesoo exclaimed. "We have to help him, as well."

    Merrie thought for a moment before speaking up. "You and Hatsu go with them and help him. As Scouts, you should be able to locate him. He and his group should be somewhere on the Westside." As a Guide, she had a faint idea where Agnis might be.

    "Got it!" Leesoo replied and led the three towards the location Merrie pointed at. A small red Lighthouse floated after them. Once they locate Agnis and his group, Merrie would then lead them back to rest.

    After running at their top speed for a few minutes, the four of them were able to locate Agnis''s group thanks to the sounds of fighting. There were around 30 Regulars that were fighting against his group at that moment. The four jumped into the fight and helped them finish off the Regulars.

    Agnis and his group were able to reduce the number of FUG Regulars by half, but they had suffered heavy casualties in doing so. Out of the eight people that they were at the start, only four of them had survived the fight. Agnis, Rak, Yihwa, and Wangnan.

    Yihwa and Wangnan were teary-eyed from the loss of their friends. They had been together since the 20th Floor and had grown closer to each other. They couldn''t believe that their teammates had now died.

    [Quickly follow the Lighthouse. We don''t have much time!] Merrie''s voice came from the small red Lighthouse. Their group had already reached the second level of the Archimedes and were making their way towards the third one.

    Yihwa and Wangnan wanted to mourn their friends but now wasn''t the time. They had another friend that they needed to rescue. They followed after Merrie''s Lighthouse and made their way towards the rest of the group.

    Meanwhile, on the fourth level of the Archimedes. Bam was laying on the ground, crucified by spears made of shadow. The Fake Thorn was trying to heal him, but Reflejo would pierce him with spear after spear. At that moment, the Real Thorn below them fully activated.

    "Finally," Reflejo stated as his body was already slowly dissolving. He had activated the shadow granted to him by Poken, so he didn''t have much time left. Thankfully, he had accomplished his mission and forced Bam into activating the Real Thorn.

    Reflejo looked up towards the tiny opening in the ceiling and saw a small Suspendship there, which was being piloted by Gromm. The ship turned around and placed a container on top of the hole. A massive amount of blue liquid started pouring from the container into the enclosed room.

    //////Trivia\\\\\\\

    1.Advanced Rankers are within the top 10% strongest people in the Tower, while High Rankers are within the top 1%. Advanced Rankers are in no way pushovers and very rarely would one die. Of course, it''s even rarer for a High Ranker to die. Rankers are actually forbidden from ?ssociating with Regulars. Of course, FUG is a random bunch so they don''t care about the rules. Rankers can be a few hundred till a few thousand years old, for example Ha Jinsung is 5 000+ years old. We can only speculate how old is his grandmother, Ha Yurin, the head of the Ha Family.

    2.The Basic Scouts generally work on gathering information for the Light Bearers and keep watch whilst the Battle Oriented Scouts focus on backing up the Fishermen in close-range combat. Leesoo is a Basic Scout while Hatsu and Vespa are Battle Oriented Scouts.

    3.Observers were not always used only for reconnaissance. In ancient Tower history, Scouts needed all the fighting power they could get. As such, Ancient Observers were more battle oriented.

 Chapter 59 - Workshop Battle (5)

    With Merrie leading the way, the group reached the third level of the Archimedes. The Red Witch stopped in front of a wall and said. "If we break through here, we can reach the fourth level easier. Bear in mind, I can sense two people on the other side."

    "Let me." Androssi stepped up, and dark-red Shinsoo formed between her hands.

    "Chiffon Sword." She sent a powerful Shinsoo wave blast and destroyed the entire wall.

    On the other side of the wall, Horyang was lying on the ground unconscious, while a short boy with pale skin and blonde hair was crouching beside him. He was slapping Horyang''s cheeks, but the big man wasn''t waking up. Casano had already taken out Horyang''s Devil, and without it, there was no way for Horyang to wake up.

    The boy, also known as Beta, was wearing a black hoodie and black shorts. Like Horyang and Casano, he was a Living Ignition Weapon, but he had a multiple Devils inside him.

    Beta had also undergone and endured countless experiments, along with many other children, until only five remained. He considered these other survivors friends or even family.

    One day, a Workshop researcher gathered them into one place and told them all to kill each other. The survivor would become a complete Ignition Weapon and would gain freedom. That one word drove them all insane.

    In the end, Beta was the one who survived. However, his body became unable to get through a single day without the Workshop''s drugs. The freedom that he was promised was nothing but a lie.

    "Tsch, I got tricked again." Beta stated in annoyance and stood up to look at the people that had just destroyed the wall.

    "Are you also with that bastard Casano? Because I wouldn''t mind letting off some steam on you." Beta was very angry. He hated being lied to, and that''s exactly what Casano had done. He had tricked him earlier and stolen Emily under his nose. Yellow-like wings were starting to form behind him as he was about to Ignite himself.

    "Fuck off." Before he could even take any action, Androssi kicked him away and sent him flying towards a wall. Beta crashed into the wall and fell unconscious on the ground.

    "Who is this?" Aleksai asked while looking at the downed Horyang.

    "I''m not sure, but I will take him with us for now," Marrie told them and stored Beta and Horyang in her Lighthouse. "We have to hurry, I have a really bad feeling." She told them and continued leading them towards the fourth level.

    At that moment, they all heard the explosion caused by Lumen.

    "That came from the outside. Is Lumen okay?" Verdi stopped and asked in worry.

    "Don''t worry about him." Merrie calmly answered her. She believed Lumen would definitely deal with whatever is happening outside.

    "Yep, listen to Merrie. He is harder to kill than a ???kroach. Lumen is the one we should worry the least about." Androssi stated, confident in his strength. Lumen was by far the stronger in their group, and she knew that. Androssi trusted that he will survive no matter what.

    Verdi hesitantly nodded, and the group continued following Merrie''s lead.

    Meanwhile, on another island on the 30th Floor. Four people had gathered next to a small Suspendship that had a pointed head.

    "Are you sure this will work?" Lero Ro, the Test Administrator from the 2nd Floor, asked Khun Hachuling, a blue-haired, young-looking man. Hachuling was a Ranker from the Khun Family that had defected and is now ?ssociated with Wolkhaiksong. Hachuling was holding a Gameboy-looking device in his hands.

    Next to him was Yuje, the feminine man that had worked undercover on the 21st Floor as a Test Administrator. And the final member of that group was Quant Blitz, a dark-skinned man with red hair and red eyes. He was also a Test Administrator on the 2nd Floor, but he and Lero Ro, were fired from their jobs after Androssi and the rest had advanced to the 3rd Floor.

    Lumen had told Urek that FUG was planning something big for the Workshop Battle, so he had sent those four to ?ssist him. Yuje was a Wave Controller, Quant and Hachuling were Scouts, and Lero Ro was both a Light Bearer and a Scout. Their group was perfect for infiltration, but considering the big mess that was happening right now, there was no need for that.

    "There is nothing to worry about!" Quant laughed out arrogantly and slapped Lero Ro on the back. "After all, I, the great Quant Blitz, will be driving the Suspendship!"

    "That''s exactly what I''m worried about." Lero Ro responded.

    "Stop wasting time and go," Hachuling commanded them. Quant and Lero Ro entered the Suspendship, and it flew towards the Archimedes.

    Hachuling and Yuje then looked towards where Sepia Island used to be.

    "He is even stronger than the last time I saw him. Irregulars sure are a different kind of beast, but we should probably go and ?ssist him," Yuje stated.

    "Not yet," Hachuling replied while looking at the device in his hands. He was able to locate Madoraco''s Suspendship that was hidden in the air. "There are more variables here, and Lumen seems to have taken out that nasty weapon. I don''t want to be near it when he Ignites it. Let''s just wait out its Ignition period."

    "Yeah, I guess you are right." Yuje nodded and continued observing the fight.

    The weapon that was in Lumen''s Arms Inventory was a small spear made of stone. The tip of the spear looked like a snake head that was just about to bite something. All in all, the spear looked very unassuming, but the moment Gustang saw it, his eyes widened in surprise.

    "Urek gave him Chompapophis?" Gustang knew the name of the weapon. He also knew its previous owner. It used to be owned by someone that had climbed the Tower together with him and the rest of the 12 Great Warriors, or as they are now known as the 10 Great Warriors. However, Urek had challenged him and taken his weapon after beating him.

    "Only someone like Urek could give away an A5-Rank weapon like that." Gustang shook his head. Chompapophis was one of the strongest weapons in the Tower, and yet, Urek had given it to Lumen. If it wasn''t as unruly as it was and didn''t have the limitation of being used for only 10 minutes a day, it could potentially be an S-Ranked weapon.

    "Well, as long as he is able to control it, those two are as good as dead," Gustang said, knowing its capabilities, but he also knew that the weapon was very unruly. Even the previous owner had trouble controlling it.

    Poken and Madoraco were also surprised by seeing the spear made of stone.

    "I want it!" Madoraco greedily exclaimed. "If I get that weapon, I will definitely give you the Thorn part I have, no matter what happens today!" He was even willing to part with his Thorn part if he could get the spear.

    "Let''s wait for a bit," Poken replied. Even he was scared of that weapon when Ignited. Poken wanted to see if Lumen can Ignite it first, and if he did, he would prefer waiting out the Ignition time.

    The two of them were paying so much attention to Lumen, that they didn''t notice the Suspendship that was flying towards the Archimedes.

    "Ignite!" Lumen called out, and the stone spear started crumbling away. After the stone disappeared, only a black colored spear that was even smaller than before remained.

    *Chomp. Chomp. Chomp.* The snake head started chomping in place.

    "Kill them, Chompapophis!" Lumen commanded. The snake head extended itself and flew towards Death Karambit and Death Bird. Chompapophis could increase its size to the point that it could cover the entire 30th Floor.

    However, that wasn''t what Lumen wanted it to do. Death Bird was carrying Death Karambit while flying away from the snake head. Although Chompapophis was very fast, Death Bird was slightly faster.

    "No, don''t chase them. Just kill them!" Lumen commanded, but Chompapophis continued chasing them. It hadn''t been Ignited in a very long time, so it wanted to have some fun. Chompapophis liked chasing and playing with its prey.

    "Do what you are supposed to do, you shitty snake. Otherwise, this would be the last time I Ignite you!" Lumen called out to it, but Chompapophis ignored him. It was having fun chasing the little bird, so it had no d?s?r? to end it just now.

    "As expected, Chompapophis is acting like usual," Gustang said, seeing the snake head chasing the two around. That was a sight that he was used to. The previous owner also had to deal with this.

    Lumen continued cursing it, but Chompapophis completely disregarded him. He could have used his light powers and killed those two, but he was saving them as a trump card. Lumen knew that he was being observed by multiple figures, that he didn''t even know where they are, so he wanted to surprise them when they come out.

    Chompapophis continued chasing them for 9 more minutes, and it finally had its fun. Suddenly it stopped and chomped in place. Despite being nowhere near them, both Death Karambit and Death Bird were damaged from it, as two holes appeared on their bodies.

    "ARGH!" The two screamed as they were paralyzed. Anyone hit by Chompapophis would be left frozen in place.

    *Chomp. Chomp. Chomp.* After a few more bites, both Death Karambit and Death Bird were filled with holes. And right before the 10 minutes passed, chomped one more time with even more force. A massive shockwave erupted where Death Karambit and Death Bird were, and the two were entirely obliterated.

    Chompapophis shrank back to its small size, and stone covered its body as the Ignition time had run out. The next time Lumen could activate it, would be after 24 hours.

    "Stupid Pacman wannabe." Lumen cursed out. He would have preferred to have used it against the people that were hidden, but he had at least kept his light powers a secret. After all, during the past three years, the biggest improvements that he made was with them.

    "Go, grab me the weapon!" Madoraco exclaimed. "I need to have it!"

    Poken didn''t respond and disappeared from his spot. He was definitely wanted to get Chompapophis, but he was planning to give it to his master and not Madoraco. Now that its Ignition period was over, he would go and slay the impostor that dared impersonate his God.

    Meanwhile, Merrie had already led the group to the fourth level of the Archimedes. They were running as fast as they could and had nearly reached Bam''s location, which was just around the corner.

    As soon as they turned the corner, they saw Gromm standing there with his arms crossed. Behind him was the enclosed room that Bam and the Real Thorn were.

    "What do we have here?" Gromm arrogantly asked with a smirk.

    "Get out of the way!" Androssi shouted and shot a blast of dark-red Shinsoo at him. The attack hit him head-on, but Gromm only took a few steps back. Her strength surprised him, but it was nothing too special to an Advanced Ranker like him.

    "Oh! The little insects have learned how to bite. I will make you apart of me after I have some fun while ripping your flesh." Gromm had the ability to absorb the bones of others and strengthen himself. The stronger someone was, the bigger improvements he will receive from their bones.

    "Androssi, calm down!" Merrie called out to the Princess of Zahard. "This is not someone we could take on lightly."

    "Hahaha!" Gromm laughed out, hearing her. "You actually think you can take me on? What a joke. Learn your place, lowly Regulars!"

    Gromm formed twelve bone spears around him and shot them towards the group. He was angered by Merrie''s comment. Gromm was initially planning on playing with those Regulars, but now he wanted to destroy them.

    Five red Lighthouses formed a pentagram in front of the group. Tiana and Laure jumped behind them and created a barrier of Shinsoo with the ?ssistance of Merrie''s Lighthouses. With their combined strength, they were able to block the twelve bone spears.

    Gromm''s eyes widened in surprise. Never would he have imagined that lowly Regulars would be able to stop his attack. He might have not used his full strength, but he was still an Advanced Ranker.

    "You''ve truly angered me now!" Gromm stated with clenched teeth. Over twenty bone spears were starting to form around him, but at that moment, a Suspendship with a pointed head pierced through the Archimedes''s walls and slammed into him.

    "Hahaha, take that you bone freak. You were just hit by the amazing piloting skills of the great Quant Blitz!" Lero Ro and Quant shakily walked out of the Suspendship, but the red-haired man didn''t forget to boast about his incredible skills.

    Androssi, without wasting any time, rushed towards Bam''s location. However, before she could reach it, a massive bone wall erupted from the ground and blocked her path. Androssi immediately shot a blast of Shinsoo at the bone wall, but she wasn''t able to damage it.

    "You will pay for this!" They heard Gromm scream.

    Everyone turned towards the Suspendship, and they saw it being lifted in the air. Bones had formed from Gromm''s body, and they had blocked most of the damage from the ship. He threw the Suspendship towards the group, but Lero Ro summoned three yellow Lighthouses. They formed a triangle, and the moment the ship neared them, it disappeared from there. Lero Ro had teleported the Suspendship away before it could reach the group.

 Chapter 60 - Workshop Battle (6)

    Poken appeared in the air above Lumen and stared at him disdainfully. He had to admit that the Karaka impostor was incredibly strong for a Regular, and he was sure that he is an Irregular. No other being could have so much power on the Lower Floors.

    Lumen could have been someone that they could have used in their plans, but death was the only outcome for someone that dared impersonate his God.

    "What will you show me now?" Gustang wondered with a smile when he saw Poken exit the Suspendship. He was impressed with Lumen''s strength and progress. However, that wasn''t enough if he wanted to kill the King of the Tower.

    Zahard''s strength was unmatched in the Tower, and Urek was the only one that had the power to kill him. Sadly, Urek was against that and refused to go after him no matter what, and Gustang didn''t know why. He did have some theories, but he wasn''t completely certain.

    Gustang pulled out an archaic book from his Pocket. Books weren''t uncommon in the Tower, but the one in his hands was made of materials that couldn''t be found inside the Tower. The book was his diary from before entering the Tower, and he opened it to its last page.

    ''I can''t believe it! I was one of the 13 people chosen to enter and conquer the Tower! I will be granted an Essences of Intelligence tomorrow whatever that is, and I am supposed to become one of the Kings of the Tower!'' Gustang read the last three sentences of his diary.

    "Why do I have no memory of this?" Gustang questioned himself for the millionth time. All the content inside the book was of his life outside the Tower. However, he couldn''t remember even a single event that was listed there.

    Gustang''s earliest memories were of him climbing the Tower, but even they were extremely vague. Something had happened to him, but he didn''t know what. He also didn''t remember being granted the Essence of Intelligence. However, for some reason, he believed that Zahard was the cause of his memory loss.

    Gustang had been able to find records of what an Essence is inside the Tower. He knew that they were the crystallized form of beings that had failed to become divine beings. Once someone obtains an Essence, he will receive that person''s memories and abilities. However, he wouldn''t be able to improve upon the skills he had obtained.

    Essences could boost someone''s power, but they would also limit that person''s improvements. Another drawback was that the person who absorbs an Essence, would no longer be able to become a divine being and exit the Tower.

    Gustang shook his head, stored the diary back into his Pocket, and turned his attention to Poken and Lumen.

    "I will give you a simple choice," Poken told Lumen. "We can do this the easy way, and you can die for me. Or we can..."

    Before Poken could continue, he saw Lumen disappear from his spot in a flash of white. The next instant, he had appeared in front of him. The speed at which he moved was something that even Advanced Rankers wouldn''t be able to accomplish.

    However, Poken wasn''t a simple Advanced Ranker, he was a High Ranker. He might be one of the weakest High Rankers, but he was still one. A blast of shadowy Shinsoo emerged from his body and disintegrated Lumen, but that was nothing but an illusion created from his light powers.

    The real Lumen appeared behind him and shot a massive blast of light at Poken. The attack completely enveloped the FUG member. All of that happened in less than a second, but despite that, Poken had managed to create a shield made of shadows that covered him. He then disappeared from his spot and appeared a distance away from Lumen.

    "You!?! How are you alive?!" Poken exclaimed in surprise. He knew of only one person that could use light powers like this, but he should have been killed by Karaka on the 10th Floor. Yet, he was sure that the one in front of him was Lumen, even though he was covered in his metal armor.

    Lumen didn''t respond and disappeared from his spot. He couldn''t waste time talking to him. During the past three years, he had managed to increase the speed at which he moved, but that came with its own drawbacks. He would experience terrible headaches that would make him feel as if his brain would explode.

    Using the moment that Poken was surprised, Lumen appeared in front of him and struck him with a kick. A massive shockwave erupted from the speed at which he moved, and the attack destroyed Poken body from the head down.

    However, that wasn''t enough to kill him. Poken was a being that was made entirely of shadow. He was like a Logia user on steroids.

    Poken disappeared yet again and appeared a distance away from Lumen. Shadows formed around him and reconstructed his body.

    Angered that he was injured by Lumen, Poken had decided to take this fight seriously and end it now. He will kill him and eliminate this annoying variable. No more playing games.

    "Shadow Realm!" Shadows bubbled out of Poken and covered an enormous area. He prepared to attack Lumen, but his body froze up. Hachuling and Yuje had arrived at that moment and used Reverse-Flow Control on him. They were Advanced Rankers and were able to hold him in place for a second, and that''s all the time Lumen needed.

    Lumen appeared above him with his extreme speed and kicked downwards with an axe kick. His attacked caused another shockwave, and a massive light beam was also sent out from his leg.

    Poken''s entire body was disintegrated, but even that wasn''t enough to kill him. He appeared a distance away, and shadows were already reforming his body. However, the Shinsoo technique, Shadow Realm, had been broken. Poken wasn''t able to cover the entire area with his shadow.

    "Wolhaiksong? Damn it!" Poken exclaimed in surprise and looked around. If Urek was also here, there was no chance of their plan succeeding, and he will surely die as well. Thankfully for him, Urek was nowhere to be seen. He knew that Urek was very arrogant and would never hide.

    "You okay?" Yuje asked Lumen, who was clenching his teeth from the headache he was experiencing.

    "I can handle this." Lumen replied to him.

    "You better be able to. We won''t be able to deal with him without you." Hachuling stated. He had already ?ssessed Poken''s strength and knew that he and Yuje wouldn''t be able to handle him by themselves. Even with Lumen, he wasn''t sure if they could kill him.

    "Act as the Fisherman, we will support you to the best of our abilities," Yuje told Lumen, pulled out a wand that looked like a microphone, and started singing a traditional folk song from his home floor in an atrocious voice.

    "I''ve got a little book with pages three~."

    "And every page spells liberty~."

    Yuje''s was tone deaf and couldn''t sing at all, but Lumen felt himself being strengthened from his voice, and his headache was somewhat lessened. Yuje was a Support-type Wave Controller. He can strengthen his allies with his ability. As long as they could bear his awful singing, that is.

    Hachuling''s entire body was covered in lightning. He was also holding a needle made of lighting in each hand.

    Lumen dashed towards Poken, and Hachuling followed after him while Yuje continued his singing.

    Madoraco was observing this from his Ghost Ship, with an evil smirk and a greedy glint in his eyes. "Yes, fight for me. Then I will swoop in and get everything for myself. The Thorn and Chompapophis will be mine."

    Lero Ro had summoned ten yellow Lighthouses. Nine of them were hovering around Gromm, while one was next to him and Quant. The nine Lighthouses had an electric current going through them.

    Merrie''s five red Lighthouses were in the form of a pentagram. Tiana and Laure were behind them, and using them as an amplifier, they were using Reverse-Flow Control on Gromm. With their combined strength, they were able to hold him down for a moment.

    Verdi combined her Telepathy with Shisnoo and sent a mental attack at Gromm. Further freezing him up.

    "Quant Style: Godly Fire Punch!" Quant had formed a massive fist of fire and punched towards the yellow Lighthouse. The flaming fist disappeared and was teleported out of the other nine Lighthouses. His attack was strengthened by them, and it was covered by lightning as well. The flaming fist covered in lightning hit Gromm head-on.

    Aleksai had entered his Devil form and had a massive spear of made of purple miasma in his hand. He threw it with all his might and pierced Gromm through the ?h?st.

    Vespa was in her ?du?t form, and she had six of her specialized needles floating around her. They formed a large yellow Baang of Shinsoo in front of her, and she shot a massive beam at Gromm.

    Androssi and Anak dashed up to Gromm and punched him with all their might. Both of their attacks caused a massive Shinsoo blast.

    Gromm flew and crashed into a wall. His body was nearly broken, but he was still breathing. Gromm was slowly standing up with bones forming around him.

    Hatsu seeing this, had pulled out Ryu. "Ignite!"

    "Ice Annihilation!" Hatsu shot a massive ice wave and covered Gromm with it. The Advanced Ranker was frozen in place, but the ice was slowly being broken by him.

    "Quant, do it again!" Lero Ro called out to Quant, who was already forming another flaming fist. He hit the yellow Lighthouse, and it teleported out of the other nine. The attack that was amplified by the nine Lighthouses hit the frozen Gromm and shattered him in pieces.

    The Advanced Ranker would have never imagined that he would die by the hands of a bunch of Regulars and two Rankers. However, he had greatly underestimated them. The Regulars were able to hold him down, while the two Rankers were constantly dishing out damage.

    During the past three years, the group''s strength had greatly increased. As a team, they were able to fight and kill a normal Ranker. Achieving a feat that should be impossible for a team of E-Rank Regulars.

    With Quant and Lero Ro backing them up, they were able to kill an Advanced Ranker. The two Rankers were the ones that actually killed Gromm, but they weren''t able to do it without the help of Lumen''s team.

    "Haha! You were no match for the amazing Quant Blitz!" Quant proudly declared. Quant by himself would never be able to kill an Advanced Ranker, but with Lero Ro constantly amplifying his attacks, he had accomplished that.

    The bone wall that Gromm had erected crumbled down. Androssi shot down the wall behind with a blast of dark-red Shinsoo and rushed inside the room.

    Meanwhile, outside the Archimedes, there was a massive lightning storm going on. A black figure was constantly clashing with a white and blue one. They were moving at such a speed that most people wouldn''t be able to see them.

    With the ?ssistance of Yuje, Hachuling and Lumen were able to fight Poken as equals. No matter how many times Poken tried to cover everything with his shadow, he will get interrupted by Hachuling and Yuje, while Lumen was constantly attacking him.

    Despite that, their fight had turned into a battle of attrition. Whoever gets exhausted first, would end up as the loser. And if this continued, Lumen''s group would be the ones to get tired first.

    As strong as Lumen had gotten during the past three years, he wasn''t on the level of High Rankers yet. Even with the ?ssistance of the two Advanced Rankers, he wasn''t able to overpower the FUG member. Poken knew that his victory was just a matter of time.

    Madoraco was observing that from his Ghost Ship and had decided it''s his time to act. He will deal with everyone there and collect the spoils of war. He spun the wand in his hand and appeared above them.

    "Time to end this." Madoraco laughed out and took control over Shinsoo in the entire area that they were fighting. Everyone there was frozen in place, including Poken.

    "Madoraco, what is the meaning of this?" Poken shouted at him. He had never imagined that Madoraco would betray him. With just a little bit more time, he was going to kill the three.

    "Don''t take it to heart, Poken. I just like being in control and owning everything precious there is." Madoraco was a very greedy person. With the Thorn and Chompapophis in front of him, he couldn''t resist and wanted to take them for himself.

    Four gigantic Baangs of purple Shinsoo formed around him. He twirled the wand in his and aimed it at four beneath him. Massive beams of purple light were shot from the four Baangs, but before they could reach them, they were dispersed in the air.

    Suddenly, Madorace lost control of the Shinsoo in the area and froze in place as well. He b?r?ly managed to look up and saw a handsome brown-haired man in a white suit staring at him with a smile.

    "That''s my son in law you are trying to kill, and I can''t let you do that, can I?" Gustang laughed out.

    Gustang was happy with what he had seen from Lumen. He had seen him go from a strong Regular to someone that could survive in a fight against a High Ranker, albeit with the ?ssistance of two Advanced Rankers. Nonetheless, that was an impressive feat for someone that has been in the Tower for only eight years.

    Gustang initially wanted to force Urek to go after Zahard, but he had changed his mind. He didn''t mind waiting for Lumen to grow strong enough to face the King of the Tower. He had already been in the Tower for thousands of years, what''s a few hundred more to him.

    Gustang was sure that Lumen had the potential to become someone as strong as Urek, and he would show him the right path and correct way of climbing the Tower.

    Everyone was looking at him in astonishment. They couldn''t believe that one of the 10 Great Family heads was actually here. They couldn''t understand why one of the rulers of the Tower was on the 30th Floor.

    "Begone." Gustang snapped his fingers. There were no flashy moves or massive attacks, but both Poken and Madoraco disintegrated without even being able to resist. Just a snap of his fingers and the two High Rankers were killed in an instant. There were very people in the Tower that could contend with Gustang when it comes to Shinsoo manipulation.

    Gustang ignored Hachuling and Yuje and calmly floated next to Lumen, who was staring at him in hatred.

    "Don''t look at me like that. After all, we will be family members in the future, son in law." Gustang laughed out while teasing him. "You should probably go and check up on your little team. We can talk after that, son in law."

    Lumen was angered hearing Gustang call him a son in law, but he wanted to check up on his friends. He also knew there was nothing that he could do against him.

    Gustang was an existence on a completely different level even when compared to High Rankers. Since he hadn''t killed him yet, he decided to listen to him. With light speed, he rushed towards the fourth level of the Archimedes.

    Gustang then looked towards the Ghost Ship in the air. "That should be a good dowry."

 Chapter 61 - Workshop Battle (7)

    After Androssi had entered the room, she wasn''t able to see Bam anywhere. There was only a giant red object in the middle. By that point, Bam had already been dissolved, and he had merged with the Thorn. Unfortunately for them, they hadn''t managed to reach him on time.

    Normally, the Thorn was a weapon that didn''t have an artificial soul like other Ignition Weapons. However, since it was combined with Bam, it had gained a soul.

    The moment, Androssi had stepped inside the room, Bam''s soul was able to sense her. The Thorn had immediately shrunk itself, flew towards her and latched onto her. Without Androssi even being able to resist, the Thorn had ?ssimilated with her.

    When that happened, a blonde girl on the 31st Floor screamed in pain. "Ahhhhh!"

    Rachel weakly fell on the ground. She was the third artificially created Axis by the researchers on the meteorite outside the Tower. Bam was her champion, and with him being merged with the Thorn, she had experienced the same pain he did while undergoing that process.

    "AHhhhhH!"Rachel had no idea what''s happening to her as she continued screaming in pain.

    All the power that she received from Bam left her, and she started crying tears of blood. Blood kept flowing out of her mouth as she writhed in agony on the ground. The pain she was feeling at that moment was unimaginable.

    Normally, if the champion of an Axis dies, the Axis will only lose the abilities gained from him. However, she was an artificially created Axis, and the outcome for someone like her was different. Not only did she lose the abilities gained from him, but she also experienced everything he did during his death.

    Rachel''s skin started bubbling, and she slowly dissolved into a disgusting pile of black goo. FUG had lost two of their Irregulars on that day.

    Lumen reached the room that Gromm had poured the Boiling Acid in an instant. The liquid had already evaporated by that point, and the only person in the room was Androssi. She had tears in her eyes and sadly turned to look at him.

    Immediately Androssi dashed towards him and embraced him while silently sobbing. Floating behind her right shoulder was an object wrapped in bandages.

    "I will never forgive you if you dare die on me as well. If you do, I promise to find you and kill you again!" Androssi weakly told him as she fell unconscious in his arms.

    The rest of the group rushed inside the room. Hearing her, they realized that Bam had died. Those that knew him had sad expressions as tears formed in their eyes. Like the other Irregulars, Bam had an aura to him that made people like him.

    Rak and Agnis both dropped on their knees, unable to believe that they had failed to save their friend.

    However, Yihwa and Wangnan took it the hardest. They had not only lost four of their teammates, but they had also failed to save Bam. Tears were dripping down their cheeks as the two were trembling in place.

    Lumen gently picked Androssi up and carried her outside the room. Seeing the unconscious Princess of Zahard, Leesoo asked in concern.

    "Will she be okay?"

    By reading the Shinsoo flow around her, she seemed stable, so he wasn''t that worried about her safety. "So far, she seems fine, but it would be better if someone examines her condition."

    "But who could do that?" Leesoo asked him, and Beta, who was still inside Merrie''s Lighthouse, called out to them. "I know a person that could it. As long as you let me free, I can tell you."

    "Who is that?" Lumen asked Merrie while looking at the blonde boy.

    "I don''t know, I picked him on the way." Merrie explained.

    "They call me Beta. I''m a Living Ignition Weapon. Your friend that you are carrying seems to have become one as well." Beta explained. "If you release me, I could point you in the right direction."

    "Let him free, and if he dares lie, I will kill him." Merrier released Beta from her Lighthouse. The blonde boy was, in fact, thinking of lying and escaping, but Lumen had applied his gravity powers on him since he had sensed Beta''s intentions. The blonde boy was grounded on the ground, enveloped in a massive pressure.

    "Stop. I promise I will tell you!" Beta shouted while struggling to stay on his feet. He was cursing his bad luck. First, he was tricked by the Workshop. He was then tricked by Casano. Androssi had knocked him out with a single hit. And finally, Lumen was pressuring him without even moving a finger. Things were definitely not going his way today.

    "Speak!" Lumen ordered and released the gravity on him.

    "Sophia Amae could help you examine her. She is a researcher in the Workshop and the only one that is still alive. Casano killed the rest, but he spared her." Beta immediately explained truthfully. He didn''t dare lie after knowing how strong Lumen is.

    "Lead us to her." Lumen told him. Beta seemed hesitant for a moment, but Lumen applied his gravity on him once again.

    "I will. Just stop doing that!" Beta screamed out.

    The blonde boy then led them towards Sophia''s location, and while they were making their way towards her, the lights in the Archimedes lit up.

    After Lumen rushed towards his team, Gustang had teleported inside the control room of the Archimedes, where Death Lady was holding Punk and IO hostage. She had seen the fight outside and knew that she was the only one that was left alive.

    Death Lady was planning on using the lives of Punk and IO to trade for her. However, that wouldn''t work on someone like Gustang. Before Death Lady could realize that he is there, she had already died.

    Punk and IO were then freed from the bandages that were holding them in place.

    "Thank you so much for saving us!" The two had recognized Gustang and immediately thanked him.

    "Oh, no. It''s not me, you should be thanking." Gustang responded.

    "What do you mean, Sir?" They asked him. They had just witnessed him killing Death Lady. If it wasn''t him, then who saved them?

    "I was merely passing by. The ones you should be thanking is Lights End and his team. They dealt with all FUG members by themselves." Gustang explained. He had a plan in mind.

    "Lights End? The one that died on the 10th Floor?" Punk asked hesitantly. How did a dead person save them?

    "Yes, but he didn''t die there. He is still alive. Make sure to reward him and his team." Gustang told them with a smile.

    Punk and IO looked at each other and replied. "We understand, Sir. They will greatly be rewarded."

    "Oh, and make an announcement. Make sure that the entire Tower is aware that Lights End and his team had saved the Archimedes and fought back FUG. I''ll be on my way now." Gustang stated and disappeared from there. He had a dowry to prepare after all.

    Inside a room on the Archimedes, Androssi was lying on a bed, while a brown-haired woman, wearing a white scientist coat, was examining her.

    Horyang was lying on a bed next to her, and his previous teammates, Wangnan and Yihaw, were looking at him in worry. After a moment, the two left to go and collect the bodies of their teammates.

    "Amazing. There is absolutely no problem with her health. This is simply incredible. We have spent hundreds of years researching this, and we have never managed to do something similar." Sophia exclaimed while looking at the report on Androssi''s health.

    "I have no idea how this happened, but she is the most complete Living Ignition Weapon I have ever seen." Sophia truthfully stated.

    "Fuck you!" Beta cursed her after hearing what she said. Sophia might have been the kindest of all the researchers that worked with him, but she had still made him go through countless inhumane experiments.

    "Beta..." Sophia sadly looked at him. She was an illegitimate child from the Middle Area but, thanks to being smarter than others, she was fortunate enough to become a Workshop researcher. She decided to take part in experiments like the Living Ignition Weapon experiment so she could make abandoned, illegitimate children like her, strong and able to protect themselves.

    "Don''t look at me like that, you witch." Beta knew her story but didn''t care about it. That didn''t excuse her for what she had done to him. He couldn''t survive even a day without the Workshop''s drugs.

    "I know that you hate me, Beta, but I promise you, I will find a way to give you your freedom. Casano and Horyang had found a way to survive without the Workshop''s drugs, so I''m sure that I will be able to help you!" Sophia promised him. She really wanted the boy to have his freedom.

    "Too bad. Horyang is dying over there." Beta pointed at the big man. "While Casano escaped with Emily! We don''t know how they managed to survive without the Workshop drugs."

    "I might be able to help with that." They heard someone state from the entrance of the room that they were at. Lumen had already sensed that person and was staring at him in hatred. He hated the fact that he was saved by him.

    "I thought we got over this already, son in law. We are going to be family in the future, there is no need to look at me like that." Gustang teased him and laughed out.

    "Son in law? Who is that?" Tiana questioned. She knew of his relationship with Yuri and Diana, but she didn''t care about that. To her, it didn''t matter if she was his first or last wife, as long as she was with him, nothing else mattered to her. However, both Yuri and Diana''s parents shouldn''t be aware of Lumen''s relationship with him, or at least that''s what she thought.

    Lero Ro and Quant, who were also in the room, stared at Gustang in astonishment. They didn''t even know what to say and were both frozen in place. Gustang calling Lumen son in law was also a big surprise to them.

    "That''s Po Bidau Gustang, a derelict person, who had abandoned his daughters." Lumen hatefully stated. Gustang might have helped him, but he still held a grudge for him abandoning Diana.

    "Po-Po-Po Bidau Gustang?!?!?" Everyone else in the room b?r?ly uttered his name. One of the 10 Family Heads was standing in front of them, and they hadn''t even recognized him. Just knowing who he is made them all freeze in place. Gustang hadn''t even done a thing, but his influence terrified them.

    "Haha, what an interesting team you''ve gathered." Gustang ignored Lumen''s statement and examined the people there.

    Lumen was the only one he was actually interested in, but he surprised that the lowly Regulars on his team had managed to kill an Advanced Ranker. Albeit with the ?ssistance of the two lowly Rankers.

    Anyone that wasn''t one of the 10 Family Heads, Zahard, Urek, or Lumen was like an ant in his eyes. Nonetheless, he was actually impressed by the rest.

    "Why are you here?" Lumen asked him. He was slightly afraid that Gustang might do something to his teammates. The worst part was that he couldn''t get a read on him. He couldn''t even sense his presence with his Shinsoo reading ability, and yet, Gustnag was standing right in front of him.

    "No need to be on guard, son in law." Gustang continued teasing him. "I''m here to help you and to give you your dowry. It''s waiting for you outside. Besides that, she had obtained something very interesting, and I wanted to check it out."

    Gustang walked up to Androssi and checked on her health. He placed his hand on her forehead for a minute and removed it after a minute.

    "Quite interesting. The Thorn has perfectly merged with her. To top it off, the Thorn has also obtained a soul. This is a huge breakthrough in making Ignition Weapons. Rather than creating an artificial soul made of Shinsoo, we can use a living person to replace it." Gustang stated. It took him only a minute to understand Androssi''s condition perfectly, and he didn''t need any equipment to accomplish that.

    "Well, once she gets the Thorn under control, she can try combining it with another piece. And as luck would have it, there is another fragment of the Thorn that is part of your dowry." Gustang told Lumen.

    "Why are you doing this? Why did you help me outside, and why are you helping me now?" Lumen asked him. He was suspicious of Gustang, especially when he couldn''t sense his emotions. Everyone else in the room kept quiet, no daring to say a word. They were all wondering how Lumen had the guts to question someone like Gustang.

    "I told you already. You are my son in law, of course, I will help you." Gustang teased him and turned towards Beta. "Now, you are an interesting one."

    Gustang walked up to him and examined him closer. "Your body is constantly breaking down. Hmm, I can think of a few ways to help you out, but you will have to come with me."

    Beta couldn''t respond under the pressure of being observed by Gustang and only managed to meekly nod in confirmation. As long as he could survive without the Workshop''s drugs, he was prepared to do anything.

    "Now, son in law. How about we go and have a talk. There is a lot we have to discuss." Gustang then told Lumen, and before he could respond, the two disappeared from the Archimedes.

 Chapter 62 - Workshop Battle (8)

    Everyone stayed quiet for a moment before Leesoo spoke up. "What the hell just happened? How is Lumen Po Bidau Gustang''s son in law? When did that happen?"

    "I might be able to answer that," Tiana replied explained his relationship with Diana to them. Lumen had told her about that and that she was Gustang''s daughter.

    "You are talking about that hot chick from the 3rd Floor? So, Diana is Gustang''s daughter? Damn. You, Yuri, and Diana, Lumen isn''t playing around." Leesoo exclaimed, which resulted in him being shot by Baang of Shinsoo. However, he stood his ground and didn''t even move an inch.

    "I knew about his relationship with her, but I didn''t know her background." Anak calmly said.

    "You knew?" Aleksai asked her.

    "Yeah, he always smelled of her every morning," Anak answered him.

    "Why didn''t you tell anyone about it?" Leesoo asked her.

    Anak tilted her head and asked. "Well, it didn''t matter, so why would I?"

    "Of course, it matters! Diana is a Ruler of a Floor, and our leader was sleeping with her. Damn, I''m so jealous of him. He has three incredible beauties all for himself." Leesoo''s words resulted in him being shot by another Baang of Shinsoo.

    Again, Leesoo took almost no damage from Tiana''s attack. Her Shinsoo control had increased to the point where she could harm even Rankers with her attacks, but Leesoo had activated his Blood Tamara.

    Earlier, he had ingested the item that was granted to him for being the first person to shoot in the One Shot, One Opportunity test. He could activate Blood Tamara and would receive a temporarily period where is nearly invulnerable. Only someone with the strength of an Advanced Ranker could damage him in that state. However, Leesoo could use the Blood Tamara only six times a day, and each usage would last him for ten minutes. He would also have to wait ten minutes before each usage. The Blood Tamara was an incredible item, but it also had its drawbacks.

    Meanwhile, with Gustang and Lumen on the Ghost Ship.

    "So, how do you like this?" Gustang questioned him while showing him the Suspendship''s interior.

    "Why are you doing this?" Lumen asked him back. He still didn''t know why Gustang was here and why he was helping him. He couldn''t understand why one of the 10 Great Family heads was ?ssisting him.

    "I have my reasons, but I mostly wanted to see your progress. If you didn''t meet my expectations, I would have killed you for daring to sleep with my daughter." Gustang calmly answered him.

    "You mean the daughter that you abandoned on the 3rd Floor? How convenient that you suddenly care about her." Lumen replied to him. He didn''t like the fact that he had abandoned Diana.

    Gustang let out a sigh and shook his head. "Look, we didn''t abandon her with Blossom because we wanted to. There was nothing we could do about it. Going against Zahard''s words is not something we can do."

    "Why? Is Zahard that much stronger than you?" Lumen asked him.

    "Zahard is indeed stronger than me, but not to the point where he could easily kill me. I just can''t... tell you why." Gustang replied back while looking into Lumen''s eyes. As much as he wanted to explain, he couldn''t go into more detail. There is a reason Gustang had been avoiding Zahard for the past thousand years.

    "You can''t tell me?" Lumen questioned him again. The way Gustang paused was a bit unusual to him.

    "Yes, I just can''t... tell you," Gustang confirmed. Lumen somewhat understood what he was hinting at, but he didn''t fully trust him since he wasn''t able to sense his emotions.

    "And have you tried before?" Lumen asked.

    "Countless times," Gustang replied.

    "So, the reason why you helped me is?" Lumen questioned.

    "Because I want you to fulfill my daughter''s wish," Gustang stated with conviction.

    "I still don''t fully trust you." Lumen responded, which made Gustang sigh.

    "Understandable, but I really want to see Diana happy and Enne being freed from her imprisonment. For that to happen, you need to be a lot stronger than what you currently are," Gustang stated.

    "Don''t get me wrong, your progress in the eight years that you have been in the Tower is astounding, but I can help you improve even more," Gustang told him.

    "And how would you do that?" Lumen asked.

    "Well, for starters, I can help you with checking your and your team''s main Shinsoo quality. There is a high chance it''s one of the elements that you use, but it could something else as well." Gustang stated. He was quite astonished that Lumen was able to control so many different elements.

    "In addition, I can give you and your teammates a Test for becoming a Wonsulsa or a Circle Ability User. A special position that circulates Shinsoo into a perfect circle, causing it to gain much greater strength while retaining the same Myun and Soo. You know what Myun and Soo are, right?" Gustang asked.

    "Yes, Myun refers to the size of a Baang. Specifically, it refers to the surface area that Shinsoo is spread out across, regardless of height. And Soo refers to the concentration or mass of Shinsoo within a Baang." Lumen answered him.

    "Good, Diana has taught you well. Becoming Circle Ability Users would help you and your team with your Shinsoo control. Normally, the more numerous the number of Baangs, the smaller the Myun and lower the Soo that can be managed, and the larger the Myun, the lower the Soo that can be managed." Gustang responded.

    "Sometimes, there is a special case in which the numbers of manageable Myun and Soo increases as the number of Baangs increase. This special case is known as a plus tendency, and that is an extremely rare talent. Which seems to be the case with you." Gustang was easily able to perceive this. The glasses that he always wore allowed him to read the flow of Shinsoo better and identify how much Myun and Soo one can control.

    "Another thing is, I could show you the correct way to climb the Tower since you have done it the wrong way until now. You are currently passing that Test that the Floor Rulers have created. Those Tests aren''t much of a challenge for someone like you, and the rewards are lacking. Plain Points is not something that you are in dire need of." Gustang explained.

    "I shouldn''t take the Tests that the Floor Rulers have designated?" Lumen asked him.

    "No, it''s pointless. The correct way of climbing the Tower for someone like you is by taking on the Guardian''s Tests. Their Tests are a lot harder, and their difficulty would increase even more, depending on the reward that you d?s?r?."

    "But the Guardians of the 99th Floor and lower, are limited in what they can grant you. On the other hand, the Guardians from the 100th Floor and upwards, have the power to award you with almost anything you d?s?r?. Bear in mind, if you pass a Guardian''s test, it is possible the Guardian may fulfill part or all of your wishes that you expressed before the Test," Gustang explained to him.

    "Can my teammates take those Tests with me?" Lumen asked him. There were very few people that he cared about, and his teammates were one of those few. He didn''t want to leave them behind.

    "Yes, but you have to request that from the Guardian. Otherwise, they wouldn''t be able to take the Test." Gustang answered him.

    "And what about the rewards from the Test, would they receive them as well?" Lumen questioned.

    "Yes, they should be awarded for passing the Tests as well. You should know that Zahard and the rest of the 10 Great Family heads are Irregulars. When we climbed the Tower thousands of years ago, we had the help of people that were born in the Tower. They took the Tests with us and received rewards from the Guardians. Back then, there were no Test Administrators and Floor Rulers. Those positions were introduced after we conquered the Tower." Gustang explained.

    "I see." Lumen said.

    "You should also definitely get on the Hell Train on the 35th Floor. That should be a priority for you. You could get on the Hell Train on a higher Floor, but I advise you to do it on the 35th one." Gustang stated.

    "Is there something special about it?" Lumen asked.

    "Yes. The Hell Train was created by the Great Father of the Workshop, Macseth. The reason why he made it and its Guardians was to help us with our training. The Hell Train Guardians are a different being compared to Floor Guardians. They are artificially created and don''t have the same powers as Floor Guardians. They protect certain areas of the Train and are a kind of system that protects the Hell Train. However, their strength is nothing compared to yours." Gustang explained.

    "There is a special Guardian amongst the Train Guardians, and he is called the God of Guardians by the rest of them, but that''s only because he is the strongest of them all. He normally guards a place that has a special Rice Pot." Gustang told him.

    "All of us, including Zahard and the rest of the 10 Great Family heads, had entered that Rice Pot, and we went through a Metamorphosis there. I don''t know how useful that place would be to you, but you should check it out. He could also teach you a very special Shinsoo control technique called Black-Hole Sphere. Now that would be something really useful to you." Gustang stated.

    "Can''t you teach me that?" Lumen asked him.

    "I can, but it won''t be the same. Although I''m proficient in using it, only the God of Guardians could truly teach you that technique. Also, the current way you are controlling Shinsoo has a small resemblance to that technique. How did you learn that?" Gustang asked him.

    He had watched his entire fight with the FUG members and was surprised at how skillfully he was controlling Shinsoo. Gustang knew Diana had taught him, but the Shinsoo control technique that Lumen was using was different from the one she showed him. It had some similarities, but the one he was using had a resemblance to the Black-Hole Sphere technique that is taught by the God of Guardians.

    Lumen hesitated for a moment but answered him truthfully. "Urek taught me a special Shinsoo control technique, and I combined it with the one that Diana taught me. I''m still just in the beginning stages and haven''t fully combined the two."

    Gustang was shocked by hearing him. "That''s remarkable, but I can see why it''s similar to the technique taught by the God of Guardians. Urek''s Shinsoo technique is on the same level as the Black-Hole Sphere technique. I''m surprised he taught you that. How did that happen?"

    "Honestly, I don''t know. We were drinking Fire Throat, and he said I won a bet that I don''t remember making with him." Lumen answered him.

    "Hahaha!" Gustang laughed out. "That sounds so much like him."

    "Either way. Besides the Rice Pot and the God of Guardians, there is another important thing about the Hell Train." Gustang stated.

    "What is it?" Lumen asked.

    "Well, you would have to clear the entire Hell Train and reach the end. There you will find it. Unfortunately, I can''t talk about it. However, when you reach that place, do me a favor and take everything you can from there. I promise you won''t be disappointed." Gustang explained and pulled out a key from his Pocket. The key''s bow was a wooden square, and its main part looked like a rose''s stem with thorns. This was the Master Key and something very important for those who wish to enter the special hidden Floor.

    Gustang wanted to explain more what the place at the end of the Hell Train is, but revealing that information would make him lose his memories of it.

    "This is something that you would need when you reach the end of the Hell Train. You will know how to use it when you get there." Gustang handed the Master Key to Lumen.

    "Why don''t we take a walk around your new Suspendship. There should be quite a few items left behind by the previous owner. I''m sure some of them would be very useful to you." Gustang said with a smile.

    "My Suspendship?" Lumen asked. He remembered that Gustang said something about a dowry, but he didn''t expect to receive a gigantic Suspendship.

    "Of course. This is a part of the dowry I promised. Let''s take a look and see what we can find. You can also tell me a bit about the outside world." Gustang replied. He really wanted to know more about the outside world, because he didn''t remember anything about it.

    "Aren''t you also from outside the Tower?" Lumen asked him.

    "Well..." Gustang scratched his head. "The thing is, I don''t remember anything about it."

    Gustang then pulled out his diary. "My diary from before entering the Tower is the only information I have about the outside world. Unfortunately, I don''t remember even a single event listed here."

    "However, this is a topic for another time. I want to hear about the place you came from." Gustang stated, and the two explored the Ghost Ship.

 Chapter 63 - Workshop Battle (9)

    The next day, Punk and IO were interviewed about the incident that happened the day before.

    "Can you tell us what exactly happened yesterday?" An interviewer asked them.

    "The Workshop and the Archimedes was attacked by high ranking FUG members. They interfered with the Workshop Battle and managed to capture the two of us." Punk answered.

    "They captured the two of you?" Another interviewer questioned in surprise.

    "Yes, we were caught off guard. If we weren''t taken by surprise, we would have been able to defend ourselves with our amazing creations." Although Death Lady captured them, they were confident that they would be able to defend themselves against her with their High-Rank items. Poken and Madoraco were a different story, and even with their items, they had no chance against them, but they weren''t willing to admit that.

    "If the two of you were captured, then who fought back FUG?" An interviewer asked. Punk and IO looked at each other before answering. They remembered that Gustang had specifically told them to announce that Lumen and his team had saved them.

    "We were saved all thanks to Lights End and his team! Those Regulars valiantly stepped up and fought back FUG. With Lights End leading the way, they fought against FUG''s Rankers! Their bravery was admirable. Despite the odds being stacked against them, they struggled till the end and never gave up! In the end, even the fearsome FUG Rankers were no match against them!" Punk declared.

    "I''m sorry, but did you say Lights End? The one that died on the 10th Floor?" An interviewer asked in surprise. Lumen being alive would be a big deal and would make for a great story.

    "Yes! That was nothing but a lie spread by FUG. And if it wasn''t for him and his team, we wouldn''t be doing this interview today! The Workshop is in Lights End debt!" IO stated. Gustang was the one that saved them in the end, but they had promised that they will give Lumen all the credit for that.

    "So, what you are saying is that E-Rank Regulars had not only fought against FUG''s Rankers, but they had actually won in the end?" An interviewer asked them in surprise.

    It wasn''t uncommon for exceptionally strong Regulars to be able to contend with Rankers, but they are usually at least B-Rank and above. Those Regulars would also hail from one of the 10 Great Families or would be a Princess of Zahard. Although Androssi was a Princess of Zahard, they were still only E-Rank Regulars.

    "Can you tell us a bit more about their fight?" An interviewer asked.

    "Certainly! Lights End fought against at least two Rankers on his own! He was astounding. All on his own, he fought Ranker after Ranker. While the rest of his team beat another Ranker!" IO answered.

    "Lights End fought more than one on his own?" The two were asked by an interviewer.

    At this point, the journalists were more interested in Lights End. The fact that he had survived after supposedly being ?ssassinated by a FUG Slayer was a big deal.

    However, not only had he survived, but he had also come back with a vengeance. His revenge against FUG would make for a great story.

    "Yes! We personally viewed the footage of his fight, and we can guarantee that he fought at least two of them on his own." The Archimedes was one of the greatest Suspendships in the entire Tower. Being able to record what''s happening outside of it wasn''t an issue for it.

    "Who did he fight? Was it someone famous?"

    "Can you describe the fight for us?"

    Question after question was sent their way, and they were all about Lumen. The more Punk and IO answered those questions, the more it dwelled on them how absurd the situation was.

    They were describing a grand fight. A fight that if no one knew the people, they would ?ssume that all of them were Rankers. However, that wasn''t the case. A Regular had participated in that fight, and he was the one that shone the most. An E-Rank Regular for god sake had bested two Rankers.

    Once this information got released to the public, it caused a huge commotion. People were excited that Lights End is still alive and even stronger than before. However, some of them started asking questions.

    "How did he survive after a FUG Slayer had confirmed his death?"

    "How did he grow so much in strength in less than a decade?"

    "Who is he, and where did he come?"

    The more people asked those questions about him, the more they realized how little they knew about him. The only information they had on him was from the time that he caused big commotions. So some of them asked something else.

    "Is Lights End an Irregular?"

    No one knew who was the first person to ask this, but soon this question was the most searched topic on the Box. Theories and speculations filled the Box, but they all leaned towards him being an Irregular. What other being could possibly be this strong while being only on the 30th Floor?

    Few speculated that he might be a bastard son of one of the 10 Great Families, but they were in the minority. Everyone else was sure that Lights End is an Irregular, but that brought a new set of questions.

    "What changes will he bring to the Tower?"

    "Will he become another symbol of fear like the rest of the Irregulars?"

    "Is this the second coming of another person like Urek?"

    No one knew the answer to those questions, but they were bound to find out in the near future.

    After Punk and IO finished the interview, their Pockets lit on fire. They had countless messages sent to them by high ranking members of all the 10 Great Families.

    All of them were asking how much it would cost for the footage of Lumen''s fight. They didn''t care about how much Points Punk and IO wanted, they were willing to give as much as they asked as long as they received the footage.

    Punk and IO looked at each other after reading through the messages.

    "Might as well make some free money," Punk said.

    "I agree." IO nodded. "We have to reward Lights End and his team, and we can''t just give them some Low-Rank Items. This way, we can get something in return."

    As much as they wanted to give some cheap items to Lumen and his group, they couldn''t. Gustang had made it a point that they should be rewarded properly, and the two didn''t dare go against his words. He was one of the 10 Great Family heads after all.

    "But what are we going to give them as a reward?" IO asked. They didn''t want to give them their best items, but they also couldn''t give them their cheapest ones as well.

    "I have one more Blood Tamara, and you have that sword that was recently given to you," Punk replied.

    "Uhg, I really don''t want to give Donghae away. I still haven''t researched it enough. And do we have to reward everyone?" IO asked.

    Donghae was a B-Ranked Ignition Weapon that allowed the user to wield fire. Weapons that allow the user to control an element were extremely sought out in the Tower. Most people didn''t have a quality that had something to do with an element, so they had to rely on items if they wanted to achieve that.

    "We can give those two items away, and depending on how well the footage sells, we could either give them low B-Rank items or high C-Rank ones," Punk said.

    "That''s still a lot," IO replied. Most Rankers have only C-Rank items and maybe a one or two B-Rank items. Giving something like that to E-Rank Regulars didn''t sit well with them.

    "I agree, but you remember what Gustang said, right?" Punk questioned him.

    "Yeah, yeah. Let''s see how well we could sell the footage and decide afterward." IO said.

    They began negotiating with the members of the 10 Great Families that had contacted them. In the end, they were surprised by how much they managed to sell the footage of Lumen''s fight. The lowest price they got was 5 billion Points and the highest 20 billion.

    "Well, now. We could definitely give them B-Rank items. With the money we just made, we could buy even higher-ranked items from our seniors." Punk laughed out.

    On the 59th Floor. A man wearing a butler suit reached a door that had the shape of a turtle''s shell. Before he could knock on the door, the doors opened up for him.

    "Did you get it?" Bloodmadder questioned the man. The moment, he heard that Lumen was alive, and even fought with Rankers, he had immediately told his servants to get the footage for him.

    "Yes, Sir." The butler replied.

    "Give it to me and leave," Bloodmadder demanded. The butler left a Lighthouse with the footage in the room and left afterward.

    "You two, leave me alone. I would call you later to my room." Bloodmadder told the two women, and they left the room as well.

    "Damn it. Why are you an Irregular?" Bloodmadder cursed out after seeing the fight. Lumen being an Irregular wasn''t part of his plan.

    "What if Zahard decides to eliminate him after he wakes up from his slumber? What am I supposed to do?" Bloodmadder started throwing food in his mouth as he was thinking about how to trick Lumen into joining his family and how to safeguard him from Zahard.

    On the 90th Floor. A black-haired woman entered a bedchamber where a man with long blue hair was playing around with three beautiful women. That was Khun Eduan, the Khun Family head.

    "Hubby, I have something to show you. Look at this." The woman called out.

    "Why don''t you join us instead, Iris? I think that would be better than showing me something." Eduan said.

    "I think you should at least check it out," Iris replied and showed him the footage of Lumen''s fight.

    "Uhg! He has good Shinsoo control, but why is he wielding his spear like that? He is just throwing it around with no skill behind! If he could wield the spear with a bit more skill, he would have easily handled those two! Why are you showing me this, Iris?" Eduan asked her. He recognized Chompaphosis, but he didn''t care that much about it. Eduan wouldn''t refuse the spear if it was offered to him, but he wouldn''t go out of his way to get it.

    "I figured that you would be interested, considering he is a Regular that''s only on the 30th Floor," Iris replied.

    "Oh? Now that''s a bit interesting. Only on the 30th Floor, you say?" Eduan asked.

    "Correct. It''s believed that he is an Irregular as well." Iris answered.

    "Well, then. He might be someone worth fighting when he reaches here. Notify me when that happens. Now, why don''t you join us?" Eduan responed.

    On the 69th Floor. A beautiful black-haired woman with pink-eyes was walking through a hall. She reached the end of the hall, where there was a grand entrance adorned with flaming birds. The woman knocked on the door and then said. "Godmother, I have something to show you."

    "Come in, Mina." A voice came from the room, and the doors opened up. Inside, two women were drinking tea while having a discussion. One of them looked like an older version of Yeon Yihwa. That was Yeon Ilarde or also known as the Godmother of the Yeon Family. While the other woman, could only be described as a kingdom-toppling beauty. That was Yeon Hana, the Yeon Family head and the most beautiful woman in the Tower.

    The members of the Yeon Family called Ilarde Godmother because all the members of the Yeon Family are her descendants. That''s because Yeon Hana, the Yeon Family head, had made a contact with a Guardian to become a female that cannot feel love towards the opposite s?x.

    "What is it, Mina?" Ilarde questioned.

    "I have something to show you. I believe you would be interested in this." Mina replied and showed them the footage of Lumen''s fight.

    "Impossible!" Both Hana and Ilarde exclaimed when they saw Lumen in his Phoenix form.

    "Mina, who is this? Why haven''t I heard of a Ranker that could use black flames?" Ilarde questioned. She was also able to recognize Chompaphosis as that is a weapon that used to owned by someone who climbed the Tower with her.

    "That''s because he is not a Ranker, Godmother. He is a Regular that''s on the 30th Floor. However, it''s speculated that he is most likely an Irregular. I thought that he would be suitable to sleep with you." Mina answered her.

    "I see, thank you for informing me, Mina, but you should leave us alone for now," Ilarde said as she noticed Hana was staring at Lumen''s Pheonix form with trembling eyes.

    "I understand. I will take my leave now, Godmother." Mina replied and left the room.

    "Hana, what do you think?" Ilarde asked after Mina left.

    "I... I don''t know. I thought I was the only one in the Tower. I didn''t think I would see someone like me again. I need some time alone." Hana replied with a trembling voice and teleported out of the room in a hurry.

    Ilarde sighed at that. The two of them were relatives, but Ilarde only had a bit of Phoenix blood. Hana, on the other hand, was a true Phoenix and should have been the only one in the Tower. Now, another one had appeared. This was why it is said that members of the family are flame itself from the moment they are born.

 Chapter 64 - Workshop Battle (10)

    About a week passed since the incident with the Workshop Battle happened. Unfortunately, Androssi had not woken up during that time. However, Gustang had ?ssured Lumen that she is fine and that she will wake up shortly.

    Everyone had mostly stayed on the Ghost Ship during that time since the Suspendship was large enough to house at least 50 people.

    The appearance of the Ghost Ship is V-shaped Suspendship, but the middle bottom "V" view is flat-wide instead of narrow. The Suspendship has two engines on the top of it''s each wings side that looks like commercial airplane turbines.

    Besides the high number of bedrooms, the Ghost Ship had a large kitchen and dining hall, a storage room, and a spacious compartment where everyone could train.

    Agnis, Rak, Ran, Novick, Yihwa, and Wangnan had also been staying on the Ghost Ship with them. They wanted to take revenge against FUG for what the organization had done to Bam. Lumen had decided to keep them for the time being since he needed people to deal with the day to day stuff in the Suspendship.

    They were too weak compared to the rest of his teammates, so they would form another separate team. They all had the potential to grow in strength and possibly join his team in the future, but for the time being, they would be a separate team that takes the Tests from the Floor Rulers.

    During that time, Gustang had given everyone, except the six new additions, the Test to become a Circle User. The Test was easy enough that almost all Rankers with an adequate Shinsoo control could pass.

    Everyone from the group passed the Test on the first try, expect for Leesoo. He was the only one that struggled and failed three times, but had just managed to pass it on his fourth attempt.

    "I don''t understand why Lumen hasn''t kicked you out of his team." Gustang looked at him in contempt.

    It was quite the achievement that the rest managed to pass the Test on their first try, but that was something that Gustang had expected from them.

    Otherwise, they wouldn''t be worthy of climbing the Tower with Lumen. Especially when he would be taking the Tests directly from the Guardians from now on. Those Tests would be more difficult depending on who is taking them and what they have requested for their reward.

    "You are by far the weakest in the group," Gustang told him in disdain.

    "You are not wrong. I am the weakest, but do you know that eight years ago, I b?r?ly even managed to pass the Shinsoo veil Test on the 2nd Floor?" Gustang raised his eyebrow at Leesoo''s reply.

    Growing so much in strength in just eight years wasn''t an easy thing. Leesoo might not be as strong as a Ranker right now, but in another eight more years, he would definitely be as strong as one. There''s also the fact that he didn''t even know his Shinsoo quality.

    "Lumen might be the only reason that I actually reached this far, but that still depended on me. You don''t know how discouraging is to see those monsters every day, but I put my blood, sweat, and tears into training every single day." Leesoo knew his strength was nothing compared to the rest, but he took pride in how far he had reached.

    With his current strength, he could fight against a team of C-Rank Regulars on his own. Other than his teammates, Leesoo didn''t know other E-Rank or D-Rank Regulars that could do the same.

    "I also don''t think that he would kick me out of the team. He might have done that before, but now, I don''t believe that he will do it. Hell, I was more scared of him killing me before if I didn''t meet his expectations. You don''t know how cold he used to be towards us." Leesoo stated before Gustang could say anything.

    "But after the incident on the 10th Floor, Lumen warmed up to us. Since then, he has been pushing us all to grow stronger, because he doesn''t want to leave any of us behind. We are the closest thing to a family that he has, and he cares for us. And we care just as much for him. All of us would gladly do anything within our power to help him. " Leesoo said confidently.

    "Now, with that being said. Please, don''t kill me for talking back to you. Lumen won''t be happy if you kill me." Leesoo meekly said with a trembling voice and slowly started backing away. All his confidence from his earlier speech was gone.

    Seeing that Gustang was staying silent, he booked it and ran as fast his legs could carry him from there.

    Leesoo ran to the dining hall, where everyone had mostly gathered. Aleksai had prepared a delicious meal, and everyone was enjoying his cooking.

    "Did you finally pass the Test?" Agnis asked him. He was annoyed that Gustang didn''t want to give the Test to him and the other five, but there was nothing he could do about it.

    "Pff, of course, I did. Did you doubt me?" Leesoo asked.

    "Yes," Agnis replied with a straight face.

    "..." Leesoo speechlessly stared at him.

    "What?" Agnis said.

    "That was mean, you should have more faith in me. I even dared talk back to Gustang, one of the 10 Great Family heads. I''m not a simple guy, you know?" Leesoo boasted about his earlier experience.

    "So? I''ve talked back to my father multiple times. I even dared steal from his treasury." Agnis responded.

    "Yeah, but Gustang didn''t even dare reply back. You should have seen his face, it was priceless, I tell you." Leesoo stated with pride.

    "Are you sure about that?" Gustang''s voice came from behind him.

    Before he had even finished his question, Leesoo had dropped on his knees. "Please, don''t kill me! I was only jesting around! I didn''t mean anything that I said!"

    "Pathetic," Gustang said and looked towards the rest. "Since the weakling finished his Test, I will check your Shinsoo qualities. Afterward, I will help you out with your Shinsoo control."

    "Where''s Lumen?" Gustan questioned as he noticed that he wasn''t there.

    "He left earlier to meet with someone, but he said that he should be back pretty soon," Merrie answered him.

    "Meet with who?" Gustang questioned.

    "What up four-eyes?" Before anyone could answer, Gustang heard someone address him. He turned around and saw Urek looking at him with a grin. Next to him were Evan and Yuri, who had her arm around Lumen''s arm.

    "Heard you are helping out my little bro. You are not thinking of doing anything stupid, right?" Urek asked him.

    "Do not worry, I won''t harm him. We do have the same goal after all." Gustang answered.

    Urek immediately understood what he meant and turned towards Lumen. "Hey! We talked about that before. Killing Zahard is not something that you should be aiming for."

    "You did advise me on that, but you never answered me why." Lumen replied.

    "It''s a bit complicated." Urek said. He didn''t want to tell him that the Gods from Earth are the reason why ascending from the Tower was forbidden.

    By killing Zahard, Lumen would allow for people to go to the 135th Floor. That Floor is currently sealed by Zahard. He had created a key that could open the way and split it into multiple parts. The 13 Month Series were one half of the key.

    "You are going after Zahard?" Yuri asked with excitement in her voice.

    "Yuri, please..." Evan muttered as he already sensed where this is going.

    "That sounds fun, count me in!" Yuri exclaimed.

    "Yury, think about it. That''s not a smart idea and definitely not something fun." Evan tried dissuading her.

    "Shut up, Evan. No one asked you." Yuri replied.

    "But, Yuri..." Before he could continue, Yuri interrupted him. "I said. Shut. Up."

    "I agree with Evan on this. That''s not a smart idea." Urek told her.

    "Are you scared of Zahard?" Yuri asked him a provocative manner.

    "I''m scared of no one in the Tower!" Urek declared proudly.

    "Then why are you acting like such a puss?? Don''t you always go about how you are the strongest in the Tower? Then prove it by killing Zahard with us." Yuri told him.

    "I am the strongest in the Tower! Killing Zahard is not a problem, the problem comes after that is done!" Urek replied.

    Even if he does manage to get out of the Tower without ascending, if he kills Zahard, someone will manage to ascend at some point. That someone will be hunted by the rest of the divine beings, and they will find out that Urek had entered the Tower and killed Zahard. That would cause trouble for him and his family, which he didn''t want.

    If he wanted to escape the Tower without the divine beings finding out that he had entered it, he would need Zahard to be alive. Otherwise, someone will ascend sooner or later.

    "I didn''t know you had such a side to you." Yuri shook her head disapprovingly.

    "Think whatever you want, but I''m not killing Zahard." Urek said.

    "That''s fine since I will kill him." Lumen stated.

    "Come on, little bro. We can find another way out of the Tower. I''m sure there is one. You don''t need to do this." Urek told him, but Lumen shook his head.

    "It''s not about getting out of the Tower. I''m not sure if I would even want to go out, but I am sure that I want to kill Zahard. I will definitely attempt it in the future!" Lumen stated.

    He had more people that he cared about in the Tower than the outside world. In fact, he didn''t have anyone that he cared about outside the Tower. If he couldn''t bring them with him, he might decide to stay inside it.

    "But Urek is right, it''s better if you don''t participate in fighting Zahard." Lumen turned towards Yuri.

    Gustang had told him that Zahard could control all the Princesses that have been injected with his blood. The only exception to that rule was Anak, who was the only second-generation Princess. She had never received his blood.

    Now that Androssi had received the Thorn, she might be another exception, but even Gustang wasn''t sure if that was the case.

    Either way, Lumen didn''t want Yuri to be near him when he goes against Zahard. Otherwise, Zahard could potentially end up controlling her and forcing her to fight him. Lumen would prefer to "fight" with Yuri in bed rather than the battlefield.

    "You too?" Yuri asked him with a frown. Fighting Zahard sounded pretty exciting to her. Yet, everyone here is trying to dissuade her.

    "Lumen is right, you shouldn''t fight Zahard. You might be unaware, but he can control all the Princesses that have his blood." Gustang stated. He was the one that suggested injecting women with his blood and the one that thought of the process to do it.

    "Bah, you guys are boring," Yuri replied and made her way towards Anak. "How are you doing, little sis? How has Lumen treated you?"

    "I''m great, and Lumen is the best. Look at the bracelet he gifted me yesterday." Anak nodded to Yuri with a smile and showed her an emerald bracelet waved in an intricate pattern.

    "He also picked me this needle, Anoph." Anak pulled out a black needle from her Pocket. The needle had a small opening at its tip, and its handle had two small insect-like wings.

    Anoph was a Compression Weapon that had quite a few abilities. In its compressed state, it''s only a C3-Rank weapon, but when decompressed, it is as big as the entire Ghost Ship and is a B8-Rank weapon.

    "He picked this for you?" Yuri asked and grabbed Anoph. She gave it a few practice swings and returned it back to her. "Not bad."

    "Yep. There weren''t any hooks from the items the Workshop offered us. And the only spear was more suitable for Aleksai. I didn''t know which to choose, so Lumen picked it for me." Anak explained.

    While the two were talking, Lumen sensed a distraught emotion from Androssi''s room. She had finally woken up.

    "Androssi is up. I will go check up on her." Lumen told them and made his way towards her room.

    "I''m coming with you." Yuri followed after him.

    The two quickly reached her room just as Androssi was exiting it. Without saying anything, she walked up to Lumen and tightly hugged him.

    "You are not going to leave me as well, right?" Androssi whispered. The first person that had ever shown her kindness had died. Lumen was her closest friend, and she couldn''t imagine him dying as well. Androssi would banter with him, but she never meant anything she said.

    "Don''t worry." Lumen replied and rubbed her back. "I''m not going anywhere."

    His words made her hug him tighter. "Promise me," Androssi whispered.

    "I promise I won''t leave you." Lumen said. "The others have also been worried about you. Should we go to them?"

    "No." Androssi refused. "I want to stay like this for a bit."

    Yuri looked at the two for a bit, raised her finger, and mouthed "First" to Lumen before she walked back towards the dining hall.

 Chapter 65 - What happened to me. Will be deleted shortly.

    So, let''s start with that I live on the third floor in a house with my cousin. We have our own rooms, a shared bathroom, and we are building a kitchen.

    And another thing is that something weird has started happening to me since 2019. My stomach would start hurting badly, and I would even have to walk slightly crouched from the pain.

    When that happens, I would go to the bathroom since it''s the obvious thing to me. The problem is, when I reach the bathroom, I would blackout for a moment and lose my balance. I would fall on the floor and stay there for a few minutes while I''m dizzy.

    Afterward, I would get up, deal with my business, and continue on like it never happened. This specific thing has happened to me two times, and both times it was exactly the same situation as the one I described.

    So, like 10 days ago, the same thing happened. My stomach starting hurting badly, and I got up to go to the bathroom. As I was walking, I thought to myself. "Ah, it''s this shit again." I kinda felt it that I would blackout again.

    I exited my room and the bathroom is literally four steps away from it. Sadly, right before I reached it, I felt myself blacking out. My last memories are of me desperately trying to grasp the door handle, which was just out of reach, in the hopes of keeping my balance, as I slowly fell backward. And that''s it. My next memory is of me waking in a hospital room.

    Apparently, I had fallen down on a pile of tiles that are meant to be placed in the kitchen that we are making. I had hit my head on the edge of one of the piles, broke it, and punctured my head. Unfortunately, no one had heard me fall.

    Thankfully, my cousin, who usually comes home pretty late, had found me lying on the ground while bleeding from my head. I had been pretty pale at that point and there was a puddle of blood next to me. I was also unresponsive and that had scared the shit out of him and everyone else.

    I was then brought to the hospital where they had to remove a broken piece of the pile from my head and then stitch up the wound. I also had to get a blood transfusion since I had lost quite a bit of blood, but I don''t remember any of that since I was unconscious for about a day.

    Since then, I''ve had a concussion with an awful headache. The first few days, I couldn''t even look at a screen for more than a few minutes since the headache would get even worse, but it has gotten better the past few days. I could stay for about 20-30 minutes before I have to go and hide under my bed covers.

    I will delete this chapter in a day or two. I just wanted to explain what had happened to me and that I plan on continuing to write one chapter a day when I get better. I would also try and do like a mass release for the days I missed.

 Chapter 66 - Workshop Battle (11)

    Two days later, Androssi and Lumen were in the training room.

    Four miniature suns were floating around Lumen, and they were shooting light beams at Androssi at a rapid pace.

    Around her, there were four shields in the shape of a circle, that were blocking the light beams.

    Androssi had already taken the Test for a Circle User and had passed it. With her Shinsoo control, which was also enhanced by the Thorn, she had no problem passing it.

    Her Shinsoo control wasn''t the only thing that was improved by the Thorn. Both her Shinsoo resistance and physical strength had also been increased as well.

    Androssi already had a physical strength that was even higher than Rankers, thanks to being a Princess of Zahard, but now, she was even stronger.

    With the four shields defending her, she dashed towards Lumen. By strengthening herself with Shinsoo, she was able to compete with him in close quarters combat.

    With each exchange between the two, she would learn and adapt to his style of fighting, which mostly relied on high-speed kicking. A few more exchanges later, she was imitating Lumen''s fighting style to near perfection.

    With Bam being merged with the Thorn, Androssi had inherited his special ability, Technique Replication. She can copy the opponents'' techniques, regardless if it''s Ranker-level or Regular-level, simply by seeing it or by being struck with the technique.

    However, Androssi wasn''t able to imitate Lumen''s light abilities. The moment he transformed his body to light, she wasn''t able to keep up with him.

    Lumen kicked out with light speed, and Androssi was launched into the room''s wall.

    "That should be enough for today." Lumen told her.

    "Just a bit more. I want to try copying your light abilities again." Androssi replied. She had already tried numerous times today, but she wanted to attempt it one more time.

    Being weaker than him even with the Thorn''s power didn''t sit well with her. Androssi wanted to be at least as strong as Lumen. So that she could fight beside him in the future and not drag him down.

    A sphere of dark red Shinsoo formed next to her, and it started shooting dark red beams towards Lumen. Androssi had managed to copy his technique, but without the light powers, it was lacking in power.

    Lumen didn''t even need to defend himself and allowed the beams to hit him without taking any damage from them.

    "Damn it. Why can''t I copy your light abilities?" Androssi cursed out. His light powers were something that she really wanted to get.

    "Try copying this." Lumen said and applied his gravity powers to her. Androssi tried copying them but failed. She could do something similar, but she would have to rely on her Shinsoo to do it.

    "No luck with this one as well," Androssi replied.

    "Hmm. Then let''s try this." Lumen shot a wave of darkness at her. He didn''t want to use his black flames since they were too dangerous for testing something like this.

    Androssi let the attack hit her and got blasted into the wall again. However, she was mostly uninjured from the wave of darkness.

    "Yes! I finally did it!" Androssi exclaimed. "Now, you have to teach me all of your darkness techniques!"

    "That''s fine with me, but not now. We have to check our Shinsoo qualities and see what we can do with them." Lumen replied.

    "Fine." Androssi frowned and crossed her arms. She wanted to spend more time with him, but she knew checking their Shinsoo quality is important for their progress.

    Just as they were about to leave the training room, the rest of the group entered it.

    "Are you guys finally done with your sparring?" Leesoo questioned. "Because we need to use the training room as well. We already had our Shinsoo qualities checked, so we have to practice manifesting them now."

    "Yeah, we are done." Lumen replied. "So, what are your Shinsoo qualities?" He asked.

    "Well, this is mine," Leesoo responded and gathered Shinsoo around a small device in his hand. A light-blue whip made of liquid manifested in front of him afterward.

    "Gustang was pretty surprised when he saw this. Since water-based Shinsoo qualities are inherent to the Po Bidau Family." Leesoo said.

    "Are you saying your family is a branch of the Po Bidau?" Androssi asked. "Because you are too weak to be a branch member of one of the 10 Great Families."

    "Hey! Stop being mean. I''m weak compared to you guys, not to the rest of Regulars! But no, my family shouldn''t be a branch of the Po Bidau one." Leesoo answered.

    "Then why do you have a water-based Shinsoo quality?" Lumen asked him, and at that point, Gustang entered the training room as well. "Because his family comes from a direct descendant of the Ancient One."

    "The Ancient One? What''s that?" Androssi asked.

    "The Ancient One was a giant being that was able to control all the elements. His power was unmatched in the entire Tower. At some point in time, the Ancient One had split himself into multiple beings for some reason. Each one was able to control a single element. Had I not know that you are an Irregular, I would have ?ssumed you are also a descendant of the Ancient One." Gustang explained to Lumen and Androssi.

    "Those guys sound pretty strong." Lumen said.

    "They are. A few of them even climbed the Tower with us. But they were later killed off by Zahard. Some managed to escape, but he placed a curse on them. I''m surprised Leesoo family had managed to bypass the curse." Gustang replied and turned towards Rak, who was in his compressed state and looked like a chibi crocodile-man.

    "I was even more surprised when there was a second descendant of the Ancient One. That one has a stone shield as his Shinsoo quality, but his Shinsoo control is even worse than the weakling." Gustang said and pointed at Leesoo.

    ''Stupid Glasses Turtle. Just you wait, I will hunt you down in the future.'' Rak thought to himself after hearing Gustang''s comment.

    ''Now, how am I supposed to use this stupid rock shield? Why didn''t I get a cool Shinsoo quality like the Blue Turtle''s ice spear?'' Rak cursed in his mind. He didn''t like his Shinsoo quality, but there was nothing he could do about it, other than getting better at using it. Rak then looked towards Hatsu.

    ''How is the Warrior Turtle already using his Shinsoo quality?'' Rak asked himself as he observed Hatsu, who had already manifested his Shinsoo quality, which was a simple black double-edge blade with no handle.

    Since Hatsu had just passed the Test for becoming a Circle User, he decided to take advantage of that. He formed a Baang in the shape of a circle and applied his Shinsoo quality to it. The Baang then turned metallic and started spinning.

    Hatsu then formed two more and made them circle around him. Not only could this be used as a way of attacking, but it could also act as a shield.

    "That''s good, but you shouldn''t limit yourself to just that," Gustang commented.

    "I know," Hatsu replied and formed two swords around him with ease.

    "Arie Family members would be jealous of how easily you can form swords with Shinsoo," Gustang said. He was actually surprised at Hatsu''s affinity with the sword. It was comparable to Arie Hon, but he was still not as good as him. Maybe in the future, Hatsu could reach his level.

    Hatsu wasn''t the only one who had an easy time with manifesting his Shinsoo quality, Aleksai also was doing it with ease. The big dude had a trident made of purple miasma floating in front of him. The trident split itself at the top and transformed into three spears.

    Aleksai played around with it a bit and dispersed the spears afterward. He then created a circle with his Shinsoo and applied his quality to it, turning it into a gaseous state. The circle started spinning at high speed and slowly filling the training room with his toxic miasma.

    "Hey, stop that!" Tiana called out to him, as a purple tulip in front of her su?k?d in all the miasma. Her Shinsoo quality was a bouquet of multicolored tulips, and each color had a different attribute.

    For example, the purple one had a detoxifying effect, the white one had a healing effect, the green one could spread at a very fast pace, and the blue one had a property similar to the Reverse-Flow control technique. Those were the only ones she could currently use, but she also had yellow, orange, pink, and red as well.

    Tiana''s Shinsoo quality was one of the most versatile ones out there. Once she learns what her other colors could do, she could become a force to be reckoned with.

    "Sorry," Aleksai said while scratching his head. "I was just testing things."

    Gustang had a complicated look while seeing Tiana use her Shinsoo quality since she was obviously a descendant of the Eurasia Family. He shook his head and turned towards Laure, who is a branch member of that family.

    A small tornado was in front of the green-haired man. Laure stared at it for a moment before he dispersed the tornado.

    ''And I''m done. I came with everyone to the training room, I manifested my Shinsoo quality, now it''s time to sleep.'' Laure thought and moved to the side. He found a comfortable spot, placed his blanket and pillow on the ground, and tucked himself in.

    Gustang sighted at that. Eurasia Family members were the laziest people in the Tower, and despite that, their Shinsoo control is the best in the Tower.

    Tiana is one of the few exceptions to that rule since she grew up in a lawless area where she couldn''t afford to be lazy and sleep around. She had to be constantly vigilant and on the lookout. Tiana normally had trouble falling asleep, but that wasn''t much of a problem after a night with Lumen.

    Gustang then turned towards the small grey-haired girl who was running up to Lumen.

    "Lumen, look! I have another octopus!" Verdi pointed behind her. A red aquatic animal with an elongated body, large eyes, eight arms, and two tentacles, was floating behind her.

    "Verdi, that''s not an octopus, that''s a squid." Lumen told her and ruffled her hair.

    "A squid? But it looks like Bubbles. Are you sure it''s not an octopus?" Verdi innocently questioned.

    "Yes, Verdi. I''m sure that''s a squid. An octopus has eight arms, while a squid not only has eight arms, it also has two additional tentacles." Lumen explained to her.

    "Ahh. That''s sad." Verdi replied and patted the octopus she was carrying in her arms. "Sorry, Bubbles. I guess you aren''t getting a new sibling."

    "Shoo, go away!" Verdi said to the red squid, and it dispersed.

    "What a stupid Shinsoo quality." Verdi then sadly said.

    "No, don''t be sad. Squids and octopuses are related. They are like distant cousins." Lumen quickly said.

    "Really?" Verdi asked with wide eyes.

    "Yes!" Lumen confirmed.

    "Yay! You hear that Bubbles? You got a new cousin!" Verdi patted the octopus in her hands and materialized the red squid again. She then threw Bubbles in the air, and it enlarged itself.

    "Now, hug!" Verdi commanded it.

    The two then entangled each other with their tentacles, but Bubbles squeezed it hard, and the squid dispersed. The octopus wasn''t happy that there is another tentacle monster that could steal his time with his master.

    "Bubbles, be more gentle! Don''t fight with your new cousin!" Verdi told him with her hands on her waist and materialized the squid again.

    "Now, do it again! And this time, be more gentle!" Verdi commanded.

    Bubbles hesitated for a moment but hugged the red squid without popping it this time.

    "Yay!" Verdi clapped when she saw this. "Good Bubbles!"

    "Now, what am I supposed to call you?" Verdi asked herself as she observed the red squid that was entangled with Bubbles.

 Chapter 66 - Workshop Battle (12)

    Merrie''s Shinsoo quality was a staff made of white metal. Like the rest of the group, she was able to manifest it with ease.

    Merrie held the staff with a frown on her face. Her Shinsoo quality looked bland compared to the rest of the group, and she wasn''t happy about that.

    "A staff isn''t a bad Shinsoo quality," Gustang commented. "It can ?ssist you with your Shinsoo control, and you can defend yourself with it as well."

    "It just looks dull compared to theirs," Merrie replied. Everyone else had something better in her eyes.

    "I don''t think so. I haven''t seen a Shinsoo quality with a white metal like yours. I believe it has a special property to it, but I don''t know what it is. That''s something you will have to find out on your own." Gustang told her. He was the most knowledgeable person in the Tower when it came to Shinsoo.

    "I hope it''s a useful property," Merrie said dejectedly.

    "That would depend on you as much as it would depend on your Shinsoo quality. Worst case scenario, you could try obtaining another one in the future. You will start facing Tests that are given by the Guardians of each Floor from now on. Being granted a Shinsoo quality is something you can receive as a reward." Gustang explained.

    There were various rewards you can request when taking a Guardian Test. Most of the 13 Great Warriors had received rewards such as increased Shinsoo resistance, increased physical strength, an additional quality, etc.

    "However, the difficulty of the Test would be increased. You would already have to face a challenging Test, considering how powerful Lumen is. Your group is also not weak. When we were climbing the Tower, we were slightly stronger than what you currently are." Gustang said.

    He was surprised by how strong they are. Considering they were all Regulars that came from the Tower. The people that are born in the Tower had a limit on how much Shinsoo they can control.

    Gustang theorized that maybe that limit could be increased by the boons granted by the Guardians. However, he wasn''t sure if that was possible since they never needed to make such a request.

    "Really?" Merrie asked in surprise.

    "Yes, Lumen is even stronger than most of us when we were on the 30th Floor. However, thousands of years had passed since we climbed up to the top. Right now, the Family heads could kill all of you in the blink of an eye. We''ve spent so much time training and mastering our Shinsoo qualities at this point." Gustang explained.

    "The most important thing for you right now is to master your Shinsoo quality as soon as possible. That would give you a boost to your strength. From there, you would have to rely on the rewards from the Guardians." Gustang told her.

    "I see," Merrie replied and looked towards the white staff in her hands. "I will try to master using it as soon as possible."

    "You should also know that a Shinsoo quality can be manifested externally and internally. Yours could possibly have a greater effect when manifested internally. We will work on that after your main group has finished practicing manifesting it externally." Gustang told her and looked towards the rest.

    Ran had a lightning spear as his quality, but that was something that he already knew about. His sister, Maschenny Zahard, had already checked that for him. Knowing that he has a lightning spear, she had taught him most of her techniques since she also had the same Shinsoo quality.

    Novick''s quality was a red fist. He was also already aware of his Shinsoo quality, so he didn''t need to check that.

    Yihwa, the black-haired girl from the Yeon Family, had a pair of flaming wings as her Shinsoo quality. However, she was someone that had trouble controlling her flames, to begin with, so she wasn''t able to manifest her quality.

    Agnis had an ice spear as his quality, but he was also having trouble manifesting it. Nevertheless, he had more success compared to Yihwa. He was able to manifest a little bit of ice and somewhat control it. His Shinsoo control was also better than hers.

    Wangnan had a golden crown as his Shinsoo quality. Gustang was able to recognize it as it was one of the qualities of Zahard, who had at least six Shisnoo qualities that he knew of. The King of the Tower might be hiding a few more, but Gustang wasn''t sure about that.

    ''I wonder how would Zahard react when he sees you, Prince of the Red Light District.'' Gustang thought to himself.

    Due to one of Zahard''s Shinsoo qualities, he was unable to conceive a child the normal way, and the Princesses of Zahard weren''t the only ones that had received his blood.

    Before they were even able to make the first Princess of Zahard, they had done numerous experiments. One of those was injecting his blood inside a pregnant woman. Most of those experiments failed, but a few had succeeded.

    However, all the kids that were born were male, which was something that Gustang wanted. He was hoping a child of his blood would be able to go against Zahard and possibly kill him.

    Sadly, Zahard had taken the precaution to this and killed them all. Well, almost all of them. There were two that had survived the purge, and Wangnan was one of those two.

    Gustang had spoken to Lumen about Wangnan''s identity, and that''s one of the reasons why he had accepted him in the team. He had also told Lumen that Wangnan carried a part of the key that was needed to unseal the 135th Floor.

    Unfortunately, Wangnan had not inherited Zahard''s incredible physical strength, nor most of his special abilities as well.

    Gustang shook his head at how weak Wangnan was considering the blood he had inherited and looked towards Anak. The only second generation Princess of Zahard.

    In front of her was a reel with a line made of green scales. The line extended and spread around her and looked like a snake floating in the air.

    In a moment, Anak applied her ability of a Circle User, and the line started spinning at high speed, creating a tornado of green hell.

    Anak then dispersed it and created a shield in the shape of a circle made of green scales.

    ''This is more like it. Someone who had inherited Zahard''s blood should be capable of at least this.'' Gustang thought.

    Anak dispersed the scale shield and turned towards Lumen, who was also observing her. She looked at him wanting to see his reaction at her display. Seeing him smile at her, made her tail spin wildly in happiness. The two didn''t need to talk to know what the other was thinking.

    "Well, then. How about we check your Shinsoo qualities as well." Gustang told Androssi and Lumen. He couldn''t wait to see what they would be.

    Androssi was a Princess of Zahard that had become a Living Ignition Weapon after the Thorn merged with her, and Lumen was an Irregular with powerful abilities.

    "Me first!" Androssi exclaimed, and Gustang tossed her the device for checking Shinsoo qualities.

    "I bet mine would be better than yours!" Androssi then told Lumen.

    "We will see about that." Lumen replied to her.

    Androssi then gathered Shinsoo around the device. A pink orb with a pink tail that looked like an arrow with a heart-shaped end formed in front of her.

    "Interesting," Gustang commented.

    "An orb is one of the best Shinsoo qualities as it''s one of the most versatile ones. However, your seems to be a bit different than what it''s normally supposed to look." Gustang explained.

    "You heard that? An orb is one of the best Shinsoo qualities, and mine is even special!" Androssi stuck her tongue at Lumen.

    "I suppose the Thorn had something to do with the way your Shinsoo quality looks," Gustang said.

    Androssi''s eyes trembled a bit hearing that, but she shook her head, and looked at Lumen with a grin.

    "Let''s see what you got." Androssi tossed him the device.

    Lumen gathered Shinsoo around it, and something he didn''t expect to see formed in front of him. It was a fruit that was constantly changing its shape and color.

    "What is this?" Gustang asked in surprise. He had never seen a Shinsoo quality that was constantly changing it''s shape before.

    "It looks boring," Androssi said and then noticed how surprised Lumen was from seeing it. "Do you know what this is?"

    "I do, but it shouldn''t be possible." Lumen replied. He couldn''t believe that his Shinsoo quality was a Devil Fruit, but he didn''t know why it was constantly changing.

    "So, what it is?" Androssi questioned, and Lumen explained to them what a Devil Fruit is.

    "So, you are saying this is a magical fruit that is supposed to give you special powers?" Gustang asked in surprised. He had never heard of such a thing before.

    "It should, but I don''t know how it will work as a Shinsoo quality." Lumen replied.

    "Try manifesting it," Gustang told him.

    Lumen tried doing so, but no matter what he did, he wasn''t able to create it with his Shinsoo. Every time he tried forming it, he would only end up creating a simple Baang of Shinsoo.

    "I... I can''t do it." Lumen told them.

    "You can''t? What kind of Shinsoo quality is this?" Gustang questioned. He knew how talented Lumen is at manipulating Shinsoo, so he never even thought that he wouldn''t be able to manifest his Shinsoo quality.

    Meanwhile, on the 1st Floor. Loki was observing this scene with interest.

    "My, my. This wasn''t something even I anticipated. I thought he would have inherited a Shinsoo quality from one of his parents, but this is something else." Loki laughed out and turned towards Phantaminum, who was bound by whips of made of darkness beside him.

    "Fuck you!" Phantaminum cursed out. "You will pay for killing Enryu!"

    "Ah, don''t be like that. Unlike you two, I didn''t want to take a chance with only sacrificing Guides. So I put an artificial Axis in the mix to make sure the process went smoothly." Loki replied to him.

    Loki had met Enryu outside the Tower, and he had tricked him into revealing that he had become an artificial Axis. He was known as a Trickster God for a reason. Knowing that it''s possible to become an artificial Axis, he hatched a plan of his own.

    At that moment, two fellow divine beings had successfully conceived a child. Loki had stolen that child and sealed his powers. He then hid him away on Earth, where his parents wouldn''t consider searching for him.

    "I will kill you, you fu?k?n? bastard!" Phantaminum threatened him. Enryu was his only friend and the only divine being that supported him. Knowing that Loki had used him as a sacrifice to become an artificial Axis infuriated him.

    "First, you would have to escape from your bindings to do that. And even if you do manage to escape, you don''t have the power to kill me. The only reason I''m keeping you alive is so that you can keep me company." Loki replied.

    "Second, I''ve heard this phrase numerous times from beings that are even stronger than you. Yet, here I am alive as always. If you were strong as that guy''s father, I might feel threatened, but you are not." Loki said while pointing at Lumen.

    "Thankfully, his parents are searching for me outside the Tower while I''m here growing in power thanks to my little champion," Loki stated with an evil grin.

    "You piece of shit. You will pay..." Phantaminum cursed at him again, but a whip of darkness emerged and bound his mouth.

    "Enough of that. You keep repeating the same thing over and over again." Loki said. He was starting to get bored with Phantaminun''s threats. If this continued, he might end up killing him, but he didn''t want to stay on the 1st Floor with only Headon. The Rabbit was also a boring fella in his eyes.

    "I have to admit, Lumen is as monstrous as his father. His powers were sealed for most of his life, but he managed to grow so fast after I unsealed them." Loki stated. He had never given Lumen any Devil Fruits. All of his powers were divine abilities inherited from his parents.

    Loki then tried manifesting Lumen''s Shinsoo quality, but even he wasn''t able to do it. He tried using his divine energy to form it, but even that didn''t work.

    "Interesting," Loki muttered and looked towards Lumen, who was also trying to manifest his Shinsoo quality without luck.

    "I did well by picking you as my champion. Depending on how your Shinsoo quality works, I might have to change up my future plans." Loki evilly said.

    ///////////////////////

    So, Lumen will receive a Devil Fruit. I will go into more detail about it soon, but for now, what''s important is to actually pick the Devil Fruit.

    Everyone could leave a comment with one Devil Fruit of their choice, I will then gather them all in a list, and use a random number generator to pick a few of them. Then I compile those in another list and use a random number generator to pick his Devil Fruit.

    I would prefer if the Devil Fruit you want is canon in One Piece since it would be easier for me, but if you have an interesting idea and give a few examples and explanations on how it works, I would accept that as well.

    ******* supporters can pick two Devil Fruits and theirs would be instantly placed in the final list.

 Chapter 67 - Workshop Battle (13)

    Later that day, Urek and Lumen were drinking together in the dining room.

    "You are really going to go after Zahard?" Urek asked him.

    "Yes, I''ve already made up my mind." Lumen answered, and Urek let out a sigh.

    "Look. If I want to get out of the Tower successfully, I need Zahard to be the King of the Tower. I need him to prevent people from reaching the last Floor." Urek told him.

    "Then, I would take his position and do his role if I have to." Lumen replied.

    "Why? Do you not want to leave the Tower with me? There is such a vast world outside. Why would you want to limit yourself to this small Tower?" Urek asked.

    "Because the only important people to me are in the Tower. I''d rather stay here with them." Lumen said, and Urek let out another sigh.

    "There is nothing I can say that can change your mind, isn''t it?" Urek asked him.

    "No. I''ve already decided on this. Unless the people I care about can exit the Tower with me, I would rather stay here. And since you need someone to prevent people from reaching the last Floor, I would do that for you." Lumen answered him. That was the least he could do for Urek.

    "I also don''t plan on leaving the Tower without my friends. I''m not going to let them stay here, and I would prefer it if you would also come with me." Urek told him.

    "I would also like to come with you, but I have to kill Zahard. Since I''ve made up my mind on doing it, and that would be an inconvenience to you, I would take his role to make it up." Lumen stated.

    "I''m not going to help you with that," Urek told him.

    "That''s fine. You''ve already helped me enough. I will do it on my own." Lumen replied.

    "You are too weak to kill him right now. You will need to be as strong as me to achieve that." Urek said.

    "I will start taking the Tests from the Guardians from now on. Gustang said that the boons from them could help me increase my strength faster." Lumen replied.

    "What? Taking the Tests from the Guardians would alert Zahard. The moment he wakes up, he will try to eliminate you as soon as possible. That''s his main role in the Tower." Urek informed him.

    "I know, Gustang told me that as well. I will pass them as fast as I can, so I can defend myself from Zahard when he decides to come after me." Lumen responded.

    Urek thought for a moment and let out a sigh. "Fine, so be it. You are my little bro, so I will act as your shield for some time. However, you have to promise me that you will prevent people from climbing to the last Floor when you kill Zahard and take his role!" Urek stated.

    "That''s a given. If you help me out, I will help you in return." Lumen confirmed to him.

    "Whatever, let''s change the subject. I don''t want to talk about this anymore. So... why don''t you give your big bro a few tips on dating? There''s this Princess of Zahard that''s really hot. She has beautiful light blue hair and s?xy blue eyes, but she refuses to go out with me." Urek told him sadly.

    "Do you know why she refused?" Lumen asked.

    "Yeah... she wants me to kill Zahard, but as you know, I can''t do that." Urek explained.

    "Then, I would just ask her out when I kill him." Lumen jokingly told him.

    "No! Don''t you dare! You already have Yuri! Garam is mine! You got that!" Urek got fired up from his response.

    "I was only joking. I already have my hands full. I don''t think I want any more women in my life." Lumen answered him.

    "Any more? You have women other than Yuri?" Urek asked with wide eyes.

    "Yes, two more." Lumen confirmed.

    "Damn you! How did you manage that? And who are they?" Urek asked, and Lumen explained his relationship with Diana and Tiana.

    "I see, so Diana, the chick from the 3rd Floor, is one of the reasons you want to go after Zahard. She was damn s?xy if I remember correctly." Urek said, which resulted in Lumen throwing a punch at him. The blonde Irregular took it without flinching and laughed it out.

    "That stung a little. As far as I remember, you couldn''t even hurt me the last time we saw each other." Urek told him with a grin.

    "That was just a friendly punch. I''m pretty sure I can make you bleed if I wanted to." Lumen responded with a grin of his own.

    "Oh, really?" Urek asked with a challenging grin.

    "Yes!" Lumen said with confidence.

    "You want to try me on right now?" Urek asked.

    "Anytime you want, I''m up for the challenge." Lumen replied.

    "You''re on, Mr. Confidence! Let''s go!" Urek drank a whole bottle of alcohol and stood up.

    "I will teach you why I''m the big bro, and you are the little bro!" Urek told him with a grin.

    "Enjoy it while it lasts, because our roles will change in the future." Lumen said with a grin of his own.

    "Oh, you are going to pay for this!" Urek said as the two went to the training room.

    A few hours later, Lumen was lying on the ground with every bone in his body being broken while Urek was looking at him with a complicated gaze. He hadn''t used Shinsoo during their fight, but Lumen had managed to injure him and make him bleed a few times. However, due to his recovery speed, all of his wounds had already healed up.

    Urek''s physical strength was the highest in the Tower, and very few had the power to fight him head-on, let alone injure him. It was quite the achievement that Lumen had managed to do so.

    ''Stupid people from Earth.'' Urek thought as he watched Lumen heal himself with his white flames.

    In a moment, Lumen stood up for the hundredth time and got ready to fight him again.

    "This should be enough for now." Urek said.

    "Oh, are you admitting defeat?" Lumen asked him with a smile, and before he even knew it, he was already flying towards a wall.

    "I have to admit, you are tenacious, and you have grown tremendously since the first time I met you. But you are still not on the level of High Rankers or the 10 Great Family heads. Once you are as strong as them, I would have to take you seriously, but now, you are still a little baby in my eyes." Urek told him.

    "We can end this for now. Once you are stronger, we can have another fight. Let''s just continue our drinking." Urek said.

    "So you admit defeat, then?" Lumen asked with a grin, which resulted in him being hit again by Urek.

    "I''m too sober for this. Let''s go drink!" Urek said.

    "Fine, we can call it a draw, so you can save some face." Lumen replied.

    "Don''t push your luck, little bro," Urek told him while pressuring him with his Shinsoo. This was the first time he used Shinsoo since the start of the fight, and Lumen got frozen in place.

    "Fine." Lumen said and muttered under his breath. "I still think it''s my win since I made you bleed."

    The two then returned to the dining room to continue their drinking. A few drinks of Fire Throat later, Yuri barged in. She was wearing a tight red dress with black leggings. With a frown on her face, she walked up to Lumen.

    "What are you doing? I''ve been waiting for you!" Yuri yelled at Lumen and noticed his shredded clothes. "What happened to your clothes?"

    "I sparred with Urek." Lumen answered.

    "What?!" Yuri exclaimed. "And you didn''t call me to watch? Whatever that doesn''t matter right now."

    Yuri grabbed Lumen by what little was left of his hoodie and brought him in for a kiss. His hands almost on instinct grabbed her bottom as he kissed her soft lips.

    "You and me. My room, right now!" Yuri said with a pant. With rosy cheeks, she stared at Lumen with hungry eyes.

    "You don''t have to tell me twice." Lumen picked her up by her bottom and squeezed it as she wrapped her legs around his waist.

    Urek watched with a sad face as the two of them left the dining room. "Now, what am I supposed to do. I hope someone will come and tell me the same thing as well."

    They entered her room, and Lumen threw her on the bed. Before he even knew, Yuri had removed her dress in an instant.

    ////Lemon scene\\\\

    Her br??sts were big, yet had the perfect shape. Her stomach flat and muscled. Her legs long and slender. Her small, pink cherry was cleanly shaven. Yuri''s perfect n?k?d body was in front of him, and he couldn''t resist it even for a moment.

    Lumen jumped her and kissed her soft lips. One of his hands grabbed her br??st and squeezed it, while his other slid down to her pink cherry.

    "OHhh!!" Yuri broke the kiss as she couldn''t resist m??ning. Lumen had rubbed just the right spot, and her body trembled from his touch.

    "Just like that, please!" Yuri told him and started removing his clothes. She grabbed his already hard p?n?s and started stroking it slowly.

    Lumen started kissing her neck and continued downwards. He reached her br??st and su?k?d on her n?pp??. He bit it lightly, and Yuri''s body let out a shudder. "Uuhh!"

    "Meanie!" Yuri said and bit him on the neck.

    In response, Lumen pushed one of his fingers inside her puss?, and she couldn''t resist not letting out another m??n. "Ahhhh! That''s soo good!"

    Lumen started fingering her and slowly increased his pace. "Don''t stop, please! Keep going, just like that!"

    Lumen slowly moved down while kissing every part of her perfect body. When he reached her pink cherry, she grabbed his hair and pushed his head.

    "Yes, yes, more!" Yuri exclaimed in ecstasy while Lumen was ???k?n? her ???t?r?s and fingering her at the same time.

    A few minutes later, Yuri jerked her waist as she had already ?r??smed. She pulled Lumen up and kissed him sensually. After a moment, Yuri flipped him over. She kissed every part of his body as she moved down to his hard p?n?s.

    Yuri grabbed it with one hand and kissed every part of it. After a moment, she put it in her mouth as she slowly started su?k?n? him off while staring at him with her piercing red eyes.

    Every now and then, she would alternate between ???k?n? his p?n?s, swirling her tongue around its head, or putting the entire thing in her mouth. Yuri was doing an amazing job, considering this was the first blowjob she has ever given.

    Lumen couldn''t resist letting out a m??n himself. "Ohh!" He grabbed her hair and pushed her head down.

    After a moment, Lumen pulled her by the hair and raised her head. Saliva was dripping from her mouth as the two stared at each other in hunger.

    Lumen flipped her on the bed, immediately put his hard p?n?s in her wet cherry, and started fu?k?n? her, while slowly increasing his pace.

    Yuri was a rougher girl, so one of his hands grabbed her br??st while the other grabbed her by the throat. She grabbed her other br??st with one of her hands and grabbed his arm with the other.

    "Yes, keep going. This is soo fu?k?n? good!" Yuri exclaimed in ecstasy. She grabbed his hand, brought his index finger to her mouth, and began su?k?n? on it as she stared at him in the eyes.

    A few minutes later, her body let out a jerk as she had experienced another ?r??sm.

    "Fuck, this is good!" Yuri exclaimed.

    They then changed position, and Yuri was on her knees with her bu?? sticking out. Lumen grabbed her by the hair and started fu?k?n? her d????-style. With his free hand, he slapped her perky bottom.

    "Ahh! Do it again!" Yuri exclaimed.

    Lumen continued slapping her ?ss as he fu?k?d her.

    "Faster!" Yuri panted out, and Lumen increased his speed.

    "This is fu?k?n? amazing!" She exclaimed in ecstasy.

    Lumen pulled her hair and jerked her body upwards. With his free hand, he grabbed her br??st and squeezed it hard.

    It didn''t take long before Yuri experienced another ?r??sm. She turned around and flipped him over.

    Yuri climbed on top of him and put his hard member inside her cherry. She started moving back and forwards while staring at him with her red eyes. She put one of her fingers in her mouth and asked him. "Do you like it?"

    "I fu?k?n? love it." Lumen replied back while enjoying the sensation of Yuri riding him.

    She leaned into his body and began kissing and biting his neck while he grabbed her ?ss and squeezed it hard.

    From time to time, he would slap her bottom, and she would let out a m??n every time he did it.

    This continued on for the entire night as the two had incredible stamina.

 Chapter 68 - Thirty-First Floor (1)

    A month passed since the end of the Workshop Battle. During that time, the team that Agnis had formed passed the test on the 30th Floor.

    Yihwa and Wangnan hadn''t improved significantly during that one month. However, with Agnis being the leader of the team and the strength of the other members, they passed it without any problems.

    They also had a new addition to their team, Beta. Gustang had managed to find a way for him to survive without having to take the drugs from the Workshop.

    Gustang, Urek, Yuri, and Evan had already left the group to deal with their own business.

    Everyone was gathered in the Ghost Ship as it flew towards the skies of the 30th Floor. When the Suspendship reached the highest point of the Floor, the sky rumbled. A split formed in the air, and the sky opened up like a gate.

    "It''s so amazing having a Suspendship for ourselves!" Leesoo exclaimed as the Ghost Ship passed through the sky gate.

    Every man in the Tower wished to have a Suspendship, especially a high-class one like the Ghost Ship. It was like owning one of the most expensive cars on Earth.

    "It''s not ours, the Suspendship is Lumens," Aleksai said.

    "Yeah, yeah, that''s what I said," Leesoo replied.

    The Ghost Ship passed the sky gate and reached the 31st Floor. Officially they were all now considered D-Rank Regulars.

    The 31st Floor had a green sky, and all the inhabitants lived on floating islands.

    Agnis and his team had gathered in a room at the back of the Ghost Ship. His own Suspendship, which was a lot smaller in scale, was stored there. Lumen and Merrie were there as Agnis''s team was preparing to leave.

    "Considering the number of Regulars on the Floor, it should take us about two to three months before we can attempt the Test," Agnis said to Lumen.

    "I don''t know how long our Test will last, but it would be better if you can pass yours in a shorter time." Lumen replied. "You can always, you know, ask the Regulars to forfeit their spot. And if they refuse, well, they might accidentally disappear."

    Agnis grinned, hearing him. "I like the way you think."

    "Don''t forget to meet up with Hwa Ryun. She can help you lead the way and pass the Test easier." Merri told him.

    "Yeah, yeah, don''t worry, I will meet up with her," Agnis replied as his team boarded his Suspendship, and he then turned towards Lumen. "Don''t make us wait too long, okay?"

    "You worry about your Test, while I worry about ours." Lumen replied to him, and Agnis entered his Suspendship. A door to the outside opened up, and it flew out of the Ghost Ship.

    "So, we are really going to do this?" Merrie asked him.

    "Yes, are you scared?" Lumen replied.

    "A little bit. All the Guardians that I''ve met looked threatening with God-like power radiating from them. I wonder what kind of a Test they give would us?" Merrie said.

    "Don''t worry. We will pass it easily. I''m sure of it." Lumen confidently replied to her.

    "I believe you," Merrie told him with a smile.

    The two then entered the dining room, where everyone had gathered.

    "Are you all ready?" Lumen asked them, and everyone confirmed with a nod.

    He then made his Pocket visible and grabbed it. "Contract with the Guardian."

    Lumen disappeared from his spot after saying that. He was then teleported to a place filled with darkness. There was only a single being in that place.

    It was a giant bird made entirely of bone. The Guardian was so big that Lumen wasn''t even able to see its entire body.

    The bone bird observed him for a moment before speaking. "You''re the one that opened the door to the Tower yourself? I''ve heard about you from Headon. Your true form even looks similar to me. Hmm. What do you d?s?r?, little fledgling?"

    "I wish to take your Test." Lumen confidently stated.

    "Hmmm." The Guardian then came closer to him. "You seem qualified. You can take on our special Test, or you can take the normal Test. Which one do you choose, little one?"

    "Special Test? What''s that?" Lumen asked the Guardian. Gustang hadn''t said anything about such a Test.

    "It''s a more difficult Test, and should you choose it, you would have to take on a special Test from the rest of the Guardians as well. You will have to pass a total of 100 of them before you receive your reward. And should you fail once, you will be turned into an Essence." The Guardian explained.

    "You will also not receive any rewards until you pass all 100 Tests. However, the reward will be greater than anything you can imagine. No more than twenty beings have ever managed to pass our special Tests. What do you think, little fledgling? Would you take our special Test?" The Guardian asked.

    "That doesn''t sound that special." Lumen replied, and the Guardian laughed out with a booming voice.

    "You have no idea, little one. If you pass the 100 special Tests, you won''t have any problems passing the 135th Floor. In fact, passing those Tests would qualify you to leave the Tower without even going through the Test on the 135th Floor. However, as I said, if you fail even once, you will be crystalized into an Essence." The Guardian said.

    "Can my teammates take the special Test with me?" Lumen asked.

    "No, but they can take our normal Test alongside yours. However, that would make yours even harder." The Guardian answered him. Normally, that wouldn''t be the case, but there was a reason why the Guardian allowed it.

    "If I pass all 100 special Tests, I will be awarded something very special?" Lumen asked him.

    "Yes, little fledgling." The Guardian replied.

    "Then, I will take on your special Test!" Lumen confidently stated.

    "Good!" The Guardian answered. "Since you will be taking on our special Test, you are qualified to enter my domain."

    "What do..." Before Lumen could ask the Guardian what it meant, he was teleported back to the Ghost Ship.

    Lumen then noticed his group was staring outside the Suspendship in wonder. He walked up and saw that the sky was no longer green. It was a dark purple color, and the bottom of the Floor was filled with purple liquid.

    In the distance, there was a gigantic bone tree coming out of the purple liquid. On top of it, a bird made of bones was perched.

    "What happened?" Leesoo asked Lumen, and he explained his encounter with the Guardian.

    "This is the Guardians domain?" Merrie asked in surprise.

    "There is an ancient lore that the Red Witches had passed down, stating that the Floors are separated into two. One place where the Tests are taken and another where the Guardians reside. We believed that''s only a rumor. I would have never imagined that it''s actually the truth!" Merrie said.

    "So, we are the first people to enter the Guardian''s domain since ancient times? This sounds amazing!" Androssi exclaimed.

    "What is this special Test about?" Leesoo asked Lumen.

    "I don''t know. The Guardian didn''t tell me." Lumen replied.

    "What? Then what are we supposed to do now?" Leesoo asked.

    "I''m not sure." Lumen answered.

    "Hey, look over there. It looks like there is a city over there." Anak said while pointing outside of the Ghost Ship. There was an island there that had buildings made of bone.

    "Should we go there?" Aleksai asked.

    "I don''t see why not. We might find a clue about the Test." Lumen replied.

    "I agree, I believe that''s the place we need to go to." Merrie stated.

    They were surprised when they found that the bone city was inhabited by skeletons. The skeletons were just as surprised when they saw the group.

    Lumen was on his guard since all the skeletons were at least as strong as Rankers. There was also a presence that was stronger than even High Rankers.

    "Outsiders?" A skeleton with exclaimed.

    "Outsiders have come? Sound the bone alarm! Someone will be taking the special Test!" Another skeleton shouted.

    "Someone will be taking the special Test? Oh, I''m so excited! The Test hasn''t been taken in... I don''t even know how long. Hahaha." A skeleton laughed out.

    In a moment, a screeching sound was heard throughout the entire bone city. One of the biggest buildings in the city suddenly changed its structure and transformed into a colossal skeleton. That was the presence that Lumen had sensed.

    The skeleton then started walking towards the group as it slowly shrank itself to their size.

    "Welcome to Boneapolis, outsiders!" The skeleton greeted them. The rest of the skeletons gathered around them. They were observing the group with interest as they were whispering to each other.

    "Look, all of them have skin. They look so weird." Someone said.

    "That one has red skin and tiny wings!" A skeleton pointed at Aleksai.

    "And that one has green skin and a tail!" Another skeleton pointed at Anak.

    "So weird. How do they even live with that useless thing on their bodies?" A skeleton questioned.

    "Must be hard. Poor outsiders, they can only wish they have our beautiful bodies." Another skeleton answered.

    "Can I smash them to pieces?" Anak asked Lumen while looking at the skeletons that are pointing at her in annoyance.

    "Don''t mind them. They are just excited to see outsiders. We haven''t had anyone come here for a very long time. Either way, I''m the mayor of this beautiful place. They call me Boking. I''m so happy to meet you." The skeleton introduced himself.

    "Bonerakard had informed me that you will be taking his special Test," Boking said while looking at Lumen. He had a mental connection with the Guardian, so he was able to speak in his stead.

    "While you will be taking the normal Test." Boking turned towards the rest.

    "That''s right." Lumen replied.

    "Good, good! Usually, the normal Test isn''t taken in this place, nor would the two Tests be taken simultaneously, but this would be an exception." Boking informed them.

    "I will be acting as your Test Administrator, so let''s go to my place and discuss the rewards that you wish for," Boking said and brought the group to a large mansion made of bones. He led them to a dining room that had a big bone table and a large number of chairs made of bones.

    "Make yourself comfortable while we bring you our special delicacies." Boking laughed out and sat on one of the chairs. "I guarantee you will love goodies we will serve!"

    In a moment, a few skeletons walked in carrying plates made of bones that had... bones on them.

    "They look so tasty!" Boking exclaimed, grabbed one of the bones, and started munching on it. "This is the good stuff right here!"

    Boking noticed that the group wasn''t eating and was looking at him strangely.

    "Is there something wrong with the food?" Boking asked them.

    "We... usually, don''t eat bones," Leesoo replied to him.

    "You don''t eat bones? Wow, you sure are strange, outsiders. Either way, that''s better for me since I can eat them all. Hohoho." Boking laughed out.

    "Now then, let''s discuss what kind of rewards you wish for. Just remember, the bigger the reward, the harder the Test will be. But I''m sure you already know that." Boking said.

    "Is it possible to increase the amount of Shinsoo they can control?" Lumen asked him.

    "Hmm. That''s possible, but the limit can not be removed. Their limit also can not be increased to the maximum, since they are not qualified yet." Boking answered and looked towards Androssi. "She also doesn''t need such a reward since she has no limit."

    "What do you mean?" Androssi questioned him.

    "Well, you are a bit of strange one, but aren''t you also someone that has opened the door to the Tower on your own? Either way, you have no limit to the amount of Shinsoo you can control. So, you can choose another reward." Boking said.

    Androssi looked at Lumen for a moment and turned towards Boking. "Okay! I''ve made my choice!"

 Chapter 69 - Thirty-First Floor (2)

    "I want an ability similar to Lumen''s light powers!" Androssi stated to Boking. She envied his light powers and wanted to be able to use them as well.

    "What do you mean?" Boking asked, and Lumen turned his arm into light to demonstrate.

    "Oh! What a unique ability! Bonerakard can grant you something similar, but it''s an even better ability!" Boking replied with confidence.

    "Really? What is it?" Androssi asked, and Boking pointed as himself.

    "What do you mean? He can give you to me?" Androssi asked as she didn''t understand what he meant.

    "No! Bonerakard can give you a body like mine! You don''t need that ugly skin that you have. You can have a body as amazing as mine!" Boking answered as he was munching on a bone. He was proud of his bone body.

    "Did you call my skin ugly? You will..." Androssi was about to attack him, but Lumen placed his hand on her shoulder and stopped her.

    "Don''t do anything stupid." Lumen told her.

    "But he called me ugly! Do you think that I''m ugly?" Androssi asked him.

    "No, I don''t think you are ugly, but you shouldn''t attack him. That wouldn''t be very smart." Lumen replied to her.

    "Then, do you think I''m beautiful?" Androssi asked him.

    "Yes, you are beautiful. So, just ignore his comment, okay?" Lumen replied to her.

    "Fine." Androssi pouted and crossed her arms. "What else can you give me then?"

    "Bonerakard offers to remove the foreign influence from your blood without suffering any drawbacks," Boking answered.

    "No!" Androssi instantly replied, thinking that Boking was talking about the Thorn.

    "You said there will be no drawbacks, right?" Lumen asked Boking as he understood he was talking about Zahard''s blood.

    "Yes," Boking confirmed.

    "Androssi, accept the offer." Lumen told her.

    "Why? I don''t want him to remove the Thorn!" Androssi replied to him.

    "He''s not talking about the Thorn, but about Zahard''s blood. Zahard can control those that have received his blood." Lumen told her. That was something that he didn''t expect to be possible, but he was happy to hear that it is.

    "What?!" Androssi exclaimed. She wasn''t aware of that fact.

    "Now accept the offer. You can get an ability like mine from a later Test." Lumen said.

    "Fine. I will accept it!" Androssi replied.

    "Good. So you will be taking the special Test." Boking said while looking at Lumen.

    "You will take a Test to get your foreign influence removed." He looked towards Androssi.

    "And you will be taking the Test with her to increase your limit on how much Shinsoo you can control." Boking then looked towards the rest.

    "That''s right." Lumen confirmed.

    "Great! Bonerakard had already decided on what your Tests will be." Boking declared.

    "You will be facing seven of Bonerakard''s Bone Hydras! You have exactly one week to kill them! You know the consequences if you fail, so off you go now." Boking told Lumen and teleported him to a desolate island.

    The ground was red in color, and there were a few bone trees, but the Bone Hydras were nowhere in sight.

    "Kill seven Bone Hydras, doesn''t sound so hard." Lumen said to himself and looked around. "So, where are they?"

    Lumen used his Shinsoo reading ability and was able to sense something dangerous coming from his right side. Turning around, he saw a giant bone head emerging from the purple sea. Soon, another bone head followed, and in a moment, there were a hundred of them staring at him.

    Lumen gathered a large Baang of his black flames and sent it towards the Bone Hydra. "Hellfire-Nova!"

    The Baang of black fire erupted into a massive explosion of black flames, as it engulfed the Bone Hydra, which had just stepped on the island. In a moment, there was nothing left from the giant bone beast.

    "One down, six more to go." Lumen said and looked around for the other six, but then he sensed something wrong. He turned back towards the Bone Hydra he had just destroyed and saw it reform back out of nothing in a matter of seconds.

    "ROAR!" All of its heads let out a beastly roar, and they turned towards Lumen while gathering Baangs of purple Shinsoo. All one hundred of them then fired a breath of poison at him.

    He was about to fly up with Shinsoo, but something stopped him from doing so. At the last moment, flaming wings emerged from his back, and he managed to escape from the blasts of poison.

    Lumen fired another Hellfire-Nova at the beast and destroyed it once more. He then carefully watched as the beast reformed itself once again.

    "This will be annoying." Lumen said as he sensed something from behind him. He flew away just in time as another hundred poisonous breaths converged to his previous location.

    Another Bone Hydra emerged at that moment. All one hundred of its heads flew towards Lumen at high speed. At the same time, the other Bone Hydra started firing their poisonous breaths at him.

    However, even that had no effect as the heads quickly reformed afterward.

    "I guess there was a reason why there is a one-week time limit." Lumen said and watched as the heads of one of the Bone Hydra detached from their necks. They flew at high speed and started chasing him around as the miniature suns were shooting them down. Every time he destroyed one, another one will reform on the Bone Hydra''s neck, detach itself, and start chasing him once again.

    A few moments later, five more Bone Hydras emerged from the poisonous sea, and a total of seven Bone Hydras were trying to kill him. Three were chasing him with their heads, while the other four were firing poisonous breaths at him.

    Lumen pulled out Chompaphosis. "Ignite!"

    The stone covering the spear crumbled away, and the snake head started chomping in place.

    Seeing the large number of bone heads, Chompaphosis started chasing them in excitement. Each time it chomped down, a head would get destroyed.

    However, the destroyed heads would shortly reform. Even Chompaphosis wasn''t able to permanently destroy them.

    Ten minutes later, the Ignition time for Chompaphosis passed, and it turned back into a stone spear. Lumen returned it back into his Arms Inventory and continued trying to deal with the Bone Hydras.

    He pulled out his black jar and summoned Archer, the small winged-snake.

    "Archer, help me out!" Lumen called out.

    Archer saw its master dodging hundreds of bone heads and poisonous breaths while destroying as much as he can of them. It tilted its head to the side, wondering what it''s supposed to do.

    "Don''t look at me like that!" Lumen yelled.

    "Help me destroy them. Maybe try to eat one of them. Just do something!" Lumen said. He knew that Archer''s true size is as big as the Bone Hydras.

    The snake looked at the Bone Hydras and saw how their heads quickly reform after being destroyed. It immediately shook its head. There was no way it would eat one of those Hydras. What if it reforms back inside its stomach?

    "Archer, I said, do something! Attack and distract them while I think of a way to deal with them." Lumen told the snake.

    Archer flew higher in the air and detached the feathers from his body. They turned into massive weapons and flew towards the Bone Hydras. Archer''s weapons weren''t able to destroy the bone heads as easily as Lumen, but a few hits from them was more than enough for the job. The snake was able to safely use his weapons to intercept the Hydra heads since they were ignoring it and solely focusing on Lumen.

    With Archer helping him out, Lumen had a bit more breathing room to think about how he should deal with the Bone Hydras.

    So far, not a single one of his attacks had managed to destroy them permanently. No matter what he did, they will always reform a moment later.

    "While you..." Boking turned towards the rest. "You will have to find and destroy the Bone Hydras''s hearts within a week. Bonerakard''s Bone Hydras are immortal creatures that can only be killed if their hearts are destroyed."

    "What?!" They exclaimed.

    "Are you saying that Lumen won''t be able to kill those creatures unless we destroy their hearts?" Leesoo asked.

    "Correct. The Bone Hydras''s hearts are located somewhere in the poisonous sea. That''s the only hint you will get. You better hurry up, as your friend is already facing against them. Hopefully, he can survive until you find their hearts." Boking told them and continued eating his bones.

    Leesoo immediately sent Lumen a message on his Pocket.

    [The Bone Hydras that you are facing are immortal creatures that can only be killed if their hearts are destroyed.]

    [Damn, no wonder they reform even if I destroy them completely. Where are their hearts?] Lumen replied back while avoiding their attacks.

    [Boking said they are somewhere in the poisonous sea. Our Test is to destroy their hearts in a week.] Leesoo quickly replied back.

    [Fuck that. I''m going to do it myself.] Lumen replied and flew towards the poisonous sea. Since he knew where their hearts are supposed to be, he decided to go and destroy them himself.

    However, the moment Lumen reached the end of the island, he hit an invisible wall and was bounced backward. Bonerakard wouldn''t allow him to cheat and kill the hearts of the Bone Hydras, as that was the Test for the rest of his group.

    Lumen shook his head from the impact and flew away quickly from his spot as a large number of poisonous breaths were about to hit him.

    [I can''t leave the island. So, you better hurry and find the hearts!] Lumen sent a message to Leesoo.

    "Guys, we better hurry. Lumen''s in trouble." Leesoo informed the rest.

    "Let''s go, I will lead the way!" Merrie said and took the lead. As a Guide, she had the highest chance of finding the hearts of the Bone Hydras.

    The group then quickly left the bone mansion of Boking.

    "I wonder, will they succeed, or will there be a new Essence in the Tower?" Boking asked while munching on a bone.

    "Will they even be able to enter the poisonous sea without their bodies decaying? Honestly, I wouldn''t mind having some new tasty bones to eat." Boking said as he finished the bones on the table.

    Meanwhile, the group had reached the end of the island and were standing in front of the poisonous sea. Merrie had her eyes closed as she was trying to find the path to the Bone Hydra hearts.

    "Damn, this looks dangerous!" Leesoo said.

    Tiana created her purple tulip and tried detoxifying the poison from the sea, but the tulip shortly withered.

    "It is dangerous," Tiana confirmed.

    Aleksai walked up to the sea and covered his hand with his miasma. He plunged in the poisonous liquid, but quickly pulled it out. His red skin was bubbling and slowly falling off.

    Tiana created a white tulip and covered his hand with it. In a moment, his hand looked as good as new.

    "Thank you." Aleksai thanked her.

    "Got it. I found one of the hearts. It''s in that direction." Merrie pointed to where she sensed the heart.

    "That''s good, but how are we going to enter the poisonous sea without dying? Neither, Aleksai nor Tiana was able to deal with the poison." Androssi asked them.

    "I wonder if the Ghost Ship could enter the poisonous sea?" Tiana asked and, the group looked upwards to where the Suspendship was floating in the air.

    The next moment, the Ghost Ship disappeared from their view. Bonerakard had teleported it away from there. They had to use their own abilities to pass the Test.

    "Damn!" Androssi cursed out, she was slowly starting to panic.

    "Think of something! Aren''t you supposed to be the smart one?" Androssi grabbed Leesoo by the clothes and started shaking him. She knew that if they couldn''t find a way to enter the poisonous sea, Lumen would end up dying. There was no way she would allow that.

    "I''m trying. Stop shaking me, I can''t think like this!" Leesoo yelled out. He was trying to think of a way.

    Androssi stopped shaking him and turned towards Merrie. "Do you have any ideas?"

    "I...no, I don''t," Merrie replied. "But I''m confident we will think of something."

    "Damn it!" Androssi cursed out. If Lumen died because of them, she would never be able to forgive herself.

    "I think I know what we can do. However, we would have to work together to pull it out. If we make a mistake, we might end up all dying." Leesoo exclaimed.

    "Well, stop wasting time and tell us what it is!" Androssi yelled at him.

    "We could..." Leesoo started telling his plan to the group.

    *Quick note, I realized I forget to mention Vespa quality. I''ve edited the chapter, but it''s only one small paragraph, so you I will just leave here it as well. No need to go back just for this.

    Vespa''s Shinsoo quality was a thin stinger. She normally uses needles that look like a wasp''s abdomen with a large stinger. So she had no problem at all manifesting hers due to her familiarity with the weapon.

 Chapter 70 - Thirty-First Floor (3)

    Jaina Repellista Zahard was playing a video game while keeping an eye on her Opera, where she was observing Lumen. She noticed that he grabbed his Pocket and said. "Contract with the Guardian."

    "Oh!" Repellista exclaimed. "He is going to take a Test from the Guardian? I can''t wait to see what it will be like. I never got to see one before!"

    A moment later, the Ghost Ship disappeared from her view.

    "What?" Repellista exclaimed. She had never had a situation where she wasn''t able to observe someone with her Opera Lighthouse. The only exception was the 1st Floor, but that was Headon''s personal domain.

    "Where did they go? Did the Guardian kill them all? What happened?" She questioned in confusion.

    Repellista wasn''t the only person that was confused about the situation.

    A blonde man with weird irises was just as surprised. He had been keeping an eye on Lumen since the incident on the 30th Floor. Especially considering one of his old teammates had interfered in that fight.

    "Huh? I can''t see them?" He questioned, and an Opera appeared in front of him. Even with the best Lighthouse in the Tower, which was supposed to be able to see all of the Floors, he wasn''t able to locate Lumen and his group.

    "I really can''t see them? I wonder what did he request for this to happen?" The man questioned.

    Meanwhile, with the group.

    "Are you sure this will work?" Androssi asked Leesoo.

    They were all currently grouped in a bubble made of several Shinsoo qualities.

    The outer layer was made Aleksai''s miasma. His quality had the highest resistance to poison.

    Under that was Leesoo''s water mixed with Tiana''s purple tulip. Any poison that gets through Aleksai''s miasma would hopefully be purified by it.

    And finally, the last layer was made of Anak''s green scales. In case any poison gets through the other two layers, hers was the last line of defense.

    All four of them had to be constantly making sure that the Shinsoo bubble had no openings. Otherwise, they would all end up dying here.

    Merrie was using a blue B8-Rank Lighthouse to boost everyone''s abilities. While Laure would use his wind quality to push the bubble and make it move.

    "Definitely!" Leesoo lied, but he couldn''t tell her the truth. Otherwise, she would kill him. They also didn''t have other options considering they had to find the Hydra hearts as soon as possible.

    "We don''t have time to waste. The Hydra heart is a long-distance away." Merrie stated, and the group started moving in the direction she pointed at.

    The bubble entered the poisonous sea, and a bit of the poison go through Aleksai''s miasma. However, it was purified by the purple tulips mixed with Leesoo water.

    "It''s working!" Leesoo exclaimed and let out a sigh of relief.

    "What are you sighing for? Didn''t you say it would definitely work?" Androssi asked him.

    "Shh, I have to concentrate. Don''t disturb me!" Leesoo replied while sweating buckets.

    "You will see how I will disturb you after we are done with the Test!" Androssi said.

    They continued moving towards the direction of the Hydra heart, but a few minutes later, Merrie exclaimed. "Something is coming." She had sensed a presence moving towards them.

    "You''ve got to be kidding me," Leesoo exclaimed. Moving through the poisonous sea was hard enough, but now there was something that would be attacking them.

    A winged fish made of bones was moving towards them at high speed. In a few moments, it would end up colliding with them if they didn''t do something to stop it.

    The problem was that only Aleksai''s miasma had a chance at persisting in the poisonous sea, and that was with Merrie boosting its power with her Lighthouse. They had to think of something, and they had to do it fast.

    "Androssi, use the Thorn!" Merrie called out. That was the only option that she was able to see with her Guide abilities.

    "I got it," Androssi replied. The bandages around the Thorn unwrapped as the red object floated behind her shoulder.

    In its dormant state, the Thorn boosted all of her abilities, but when activated, those abilities were improved tenfold. Her Shinsoo control increased to the point where it was higher than a normal Ranker.

    A pink, heart-shaped arrow appeared in front of the bubble and flew towards the incoming enemy. The arrow decimated the bone fish, and Androssi immediately deactivated the Thorn since she couldn''t use it for long periods of time. The bandages wrapped around it as it returned to its dormant state.

    "Damn." Leesoo cursed. "Hopefully, there won''t be any more of those coming."

    Just as he said that Merrie sensed two more bone fish swimming towards them. "Two more are coming. Androssi, prepare yourself. You are the only one that could deal with them."

    "Leesoo, I will kill you after we are done with this Test!" Androssi said while activating the Thorn once more.

    Androssi created two heart-shaped arrows and shot the incoming bone fish.

    "Surely..." Leesoo got interrupted by Androssi before he could continue. "SHUT UP!"

    She was about to deactivate the Thorn when Merrie stopped her. "A dozen more are coming."

    Androssi created a pink orb while starring daggers at Leesoo. A dozen heart-shaped arrows flew out of the orb and destroyed the bone fishes that were coming towards them.

    The group continued journeying towards the Hydra heart in that manner.

    Aleksai, Leesoo, Tiana, and Anak would focus on keeping the Shinsoo bubble stable. Laure would push in the direction that Merrie pointed, while she would call out the incoming bone fish, which Androssi would deal with.

    Half a day later, they got closer to the location of the Hydra heart. The group reached a massive cave opening, where the poisonous sea was repelled by a barrier of some sort.

    They entered the cave and were finally able to release the Shinsoo bubble. By that point, the four that were keeping it stable were beyond exhausted. They had to keep it stable for a half a day, and that drained them.

    Androssi was also exhausted for having used the Thorn to destroy all the bone fish.

    There were multiple tunnels in the cave, and the group was looking around when Merrie called out to them. "Don''t let your guard down! Enemies are approaching."

    "Let me handle them." Hatsu stepped up. He was itching to fight since he couldn''t do anything while staying inside the Shinsoo bubble.

    "I will ?ssist you," Vespa said and stepped up with him.

    "Me too!" Verdi called out. Lumen was her big brother, so she would do anything she can to help him out.

    In a moment, hundreds of bone snakes popped out of the tunnels and slithered at high speeds towards them.

    Hatsu jumped to confront them head-on, acting as the Fisherman. He held Ryu and Donghae in each hand while multiple spinning blades were floating around him.

    With each attack from Ryu, he would freeze the bone snakes while burning them down with Donghae.

    The spinning blades around him would block the attacks from the bone snakes and grind them to dust.

    In mere moments, Hatsu was able to slay a big part of them on his own.

    Vespa was zapping pass the bone snakes while attacking them with her needles and stinger, but her attacks weren''t as useful as Hatsu''s. They mostly dealt piercing damage, which wasn''t that good against the bone snakes.

    After a few failed attempts, she got angered by that and started shooting Shinsoo beams at them. With that, Vespa had more success and started racking up kills.

    Verdi had manifested her squid and summoned her octopus. The two of them were smashing the bone snakes using their tentacles.

    Bubbles was in a frenzy, and he was trying to destroy as many as he could. He couldn''t allow the stupid squid to destroy more than him.

    Ten minutes later, the three of them had managed to destroy all of the bone snakes that came out of the tunnels.

    By that point, Merrie had already found the correct path that led to the Hydra''s heart.

    "This way," Merrie called out to the group and led them into one of the tunnels. They were tired from the journey through the poisonous sea, but they didn''t have any time to waste.

    The tunnel was long with a lot of twists and turns. Despite knowing the correct path, it still took Merrie two hours to lead them to their destination.

    The Hydra heart was located in a massive chamber. It looked like an orb made of bones and was situated on a giant pedestal.

    "There it is!" Merrie said as she watched the bone orb steadily throb.

    Their objective was right in their sight, but nothing was that easy. In front of the Hydra heart, was a giant alligator made of black bones guarding it.

    "ROAR!" The bone alligator let out a roar, and a black Baang of Shinsoo gathered in front of it.

    "Enna Core." Merrie stepped up with her Lighthouse in front of her. Splits formed on the Lighthouse and divided it into nine smaller parts. She frowned with a pained look on her face due to the difficulty of the task.

    The reason she used this was because of her next technique.

    "Mystery Sphere." In front of her appeared a blue sphere filled with hexagonal tiles that looked like a honeycomb.

    At that moment, the bone alligator fired off a black beam towards the group. The attack had such a high concentration of Shinsoo that a Ranker would surely die from it.

    The black beam hit one of the hexagonal tiles and disappeared. It then appeared out of another one and flew back at the bone alligator. It''s own attack hitting him head-on, but there wasn''t even a scratch on the alligator''s black bones.

    "ROAR!" Angered that its attack didn''t work and was redirected back at it, the alligator dashed towards the group.

    However, a blue blur flew past it at that moment. Vespa had gathered a large Baang of Shinsoo and was about to shoot the Hydra heart, but the bone alligator jumped back before she could do it. Its massive jaws chomped down on her previous location, but she had already flown away from there.

    "Hatsu!" Merrie called out with a pained look. Keeping the Mystery Sphere active was taking a toll on her mind.

    "I''m on it," Hatsu replied. "Ignite Ryu!"

    Ice covered his sword as he Ignited it. He slashed with Ryu and sent a massive wave of ice towards the bone alligator. "Ice Annihilation."

    The bone alligator got frozen from the attack, but that wasn''t enough to keep it down. Cracks started forming on the ice that covered it already. It will escape from its imprisonment shortly.

    Merrie immediately used her Mystery Sphere and sent it towards the frozen bone alligator. She trapped it inside and called out to Vespa. "Quick, destroy the heart!"

    "I''m on it!" Vespa was already in front of the Hydra heart with a massive Baang in front of her. She shot a beam of Shinsoo and the bone orb, but she wasn''t able to destroy it in one hit.

    "Vespa, hurry. I can''t keep it for long!" Merrie called out to her as a bit of blood flowed out of her mouth.

    "I''m trying!" Vespa replied and formed another two Baangs. She shot two beams at it, and the Hydra heart finally crumbled to dust.

    "Now, run!" Merrie called out and teleported the bone alligator to the end of the chamber.

    The group quickly made their way out of there.

    "Verdi, destroy the opening of the tunnel!" Merrie said and stumbled. She was dizzy from the technique she had just used.

    "I got it!" Verdi created her squid and made it destroy the opening of the tunnel. Rocks fell down on the squid, but it was only a Shinsoo quality, so she wasn''t worried about it. Verdi could always manifest it again.

    Vespa flew behind Merrie and picked her up. "Let me help you."

    Merrie gave her a thankful nod. "This way!" She then led the group to a location where they would be safe for some time.

 Chapter 71 - Thirty-First Floor (4)

    Since Lumen learned that he couldn''t deal with the Bone Hydras until their hearts were destroyed, he stopped trying to kill them. He was trying to save his energy as much as possible, but having to dodge the attacks of the seven immortal creatures for half a day straight, took its toll on him.

    At some point, he had transformed into his Phoenix form since it was easier to fly around with it, and he didn''t need to use his Shinsoo to create his flaming wings.

    Lumen had destroyed the Bone Hydras multiple times with his black flames, but he couldn''t harvest even a bit of life force from them.

    Thankfully, Archer was helping him out and giving him a bit of a breathing room. The snake was doing his weird dance in the air while shooting his weapons at the Bone Hydras.

    The immortal creatures were disregarding him, so Archer was having a good time while his master was trying his hardest to survive.

    Lumen had also tried using his gravity powers to ground and freeze the Bone Hydras in place, but the creatures were smarter than they looked. Whenever he increased the gravity on one of the Bone Hydras, another one would quickly destroy it. The creature would then reform without the increased gravity on it.

    While Lumen was fighting the Bone Hydras on the desolate island, an amber-colored skeleton head popped out of the sea.

    The amber-colored skeleton was having his usual swim through the poisonous sea when he sensed the fighting on the desolate island. That wasn''t a normal occurrence, so it had decided to check it out.

    The skeleton tilted his head sideways in wonder after seeing the situation on the island.

    "Someone is fighting the Bone Hydras? They usually don''t leave their caves no matter what. What are they doing here?" The skeleton questioned.

    The skeleton then noticed that the Bone Hydras were trying to kill a bird made of black flames while a black winged-snake was ?ssisting the flaming bird.

    "What are those two creatures?" The skeleton was surprised by their appearance. He had lived his entire life in Bonerakard''s domain, so he had never seen creatures that weren''t made of bones.

    "Do they not know that the Bone Hydras can''t be killed before you destroy their hearts?" The skeleton questioned. He swam closer to the island and observed the fight that was happening there.

    Lumen sensed the amber-colored skeleton when he neared the island, but he ignored it since he didn''t feel any malicious intent from it.

    A few hours later, one of the Bone Hydras stopped for a moment and twitched as it was charging its poisonous breath.

    Lumen then received a message from Leesoo on his Pocket.

    [We destroyed one of the Hydra hearts!]

    "Finally!" Lumen exclaimed and shot a Hellfire-Nova at the Bone Hydra that stopped his attack midway. His attack covered the creature with his black flames and erased it from existence.

    Lumen was hoping to restore his energy by harvesting the life force of the Bone Hydra, but he was left disappointed. He received only a minuscule amount of life force, which b?r?ly restored his stamina.

    [We need to take a break since we are exhausted from traversing the poisonous sea. Androssi is tired after using the Thorn, and Merrie can b?r?ly keep her eyes open after she used Enna Core. Without her, we won''t be able to locate the rest of the Hydra hearts.] Leesoo replied.

    [Try to do it as fast as you can. I don''t know how long I can keep this up since I didn''t receive any energy from killing the Bone Hydra with my black flames.] Lumen informed Leesoo.

    Meanwhile, Boking was communicating with Bonerakard.

    "It seems, they destroyed one of the Hydra hearts, and he killed the Bone Hydra before even one day passed. Too bad, they all seem exhausted already. Do you think that he will survive until the rest destroy the Hydra hearts? Will they even be able to do it within the timeframe?" Boking asked.

    "Maybe, maybe not, but with a bit of luck, they just might. The little one seems to have taken an interest to them. I bet he is quite surprised seeing creatures that are not made of bones." Bonerakard replied.

    "Indeed, but I still don''t understand why you gave him the special Test? He is strong and has the qualification, but the girl can absorb anything!" Boking said. He had never seen powers like hers. In his eyes, Androssi was more qualified for the special Test.

    "That little fledgling has parents that have already passed through the Tower. He has a small amount of divinity inside him from them. I also believe one of his parents had ascended while passing the special Tests." Bonerakard replied.

    "Stil... I don''t understand why you would choose him. The girl can''t replicate his abilities since they have a small amount of divinity, but if she ascends, she would be able to achieve that with enough time." Boking said.

    Androssi couldn''t replicate his abilities right now, but if she becomes a divine being and receives divine power, she would be able to copy them. It will take her a long time to do it, but it wasn''t impossible.

    "You are not wrong, but her powers rely on someone else. Without there being someone to copy from, she would hit a limit. He doesn''t have that limitation." Bonerakard answered him.

    "What do you mean?" Boking asked. He couldn''t understand his master.

    "I''m not sure myself, but I sensed an even greater power within him," Bonerakard replied.

    "An even greater power?" Boking asked in surprise.

    "Yes, I sense a power similar to us, the Guardians of the Tower," Bonerakard responded.

    The Guardians of the Tower were a very special existence. Like the Guardians of each planet, they could give boons that increase a person''s power. Of course, that person would have to go through a trial to earn that boon.

    However, the Guardians of the Tower could do something that those from the outside can not. They can open up a path for someone by granting them an affinity for a Shinsoo quality.

    Normally, a person is born with predetermined Shinsoo qualities. Through training, one could obtain additional qualities, but it would take hundreds of years to do so for the simplest of Shinsoo qualities.

    With the boon granted from a Guardian of the Tower, that time could be reduced hundredfold.

    Bonerakard had sensed a similar power in Lumen.

    "He reminds me of the Ancient One," Bonerakard stated.

    "The Ancient One? But he was an existence born with the Tower itself. The Ancient One was able to wield all the powers he could imagine. He was the true Ruler of the Tower! I remember the days when those that climbed the Tower modeled their powers after his." Boking exclaimed.

    "Indeed, the Ancient One was a being above all others. Sadly, he was also bound by the Tower like the rest of us." Bonerakard replied.

    "Such a shame that he sacrificed his power to split himself. His emotions were his biggest weakness." Boking remarked.

    The Ancient One had gotten close to a lot of the people that climbed the Tower. All of them either ascended or died during their trials. Despite that, he pushed through and continued his life.

    However, at one point, he fell in love with a female. The woman returned his feelings, but she also wanted to return to her home planet. The Ancient One, although saddened by that, understood her. He promised the woman that one day he will find a way out of the Tower and find her in the outside world.

    Unfortunately, the woman failed her last Test and was crystallized into an Essence. Had she not been turned into an Essence, he would have been able to revive her, as he had the power over life and death.

    The pain from losing his loved one was too much for the Ancient One. He couldn''t continue on without her and split himself into multiple beings, each having a small part of his powers.

    Those beings called themselves the Ancient Ones, and each one created a tribe of their own. A big part of them followed in their ancestor''s footsteps and ?ssisted the people climbing the Tower. The rest wanted to live a peaceful life and secluded themselves. The Guardians of the Tower took them under their wings and gave them a place in their domains.

    A few of the Ancient Ones ?ssisted Zahard and the rest in climbing the Tower. However, when Zahard became the King of the Tower and decided to stop people from climbing higher, they opposed him. They knew the true purpose of the Tower and were against his ideals.

    The curse that Zahard placed on the Ancient Ones had one of the following effects on them.

    First, most of their offspring will be born with a female and male side in the same body without any reproductive abilities.

    Second, the chances of them having a stillbirth was increased to an extreme rate even if they got pregnant.

    Those two effects guaranteed that the Ancient Ones will slowly die even if Zahard takes no further action himself.

    And third, their original power, of being freely able to control an element, was sealed off. This was something that could be overcome with hard work, but most of them were unaware of their heritage. Due to that, they never get to unlock their true potential.

    Boking and Bonerakard continued discussing whether they will pass or fail their Tests.

    After six hours passed, the group had mostly recovered their strength and were ready to go after the second Bone Heart.

    "Are you okay?" Tiana asked Androssi in concern, as the brown-haired girl looked visibly tired. She wanted to help her, but her quality had no stamina restoring effect. Tiana could only heal people with her white tulip.

    "I''m fine." Androssi was still tired from constantly using the Thorn, but she knew that they had no time to waste.

    They had travel for another ten hours while being attacked by the bone fish. Throughout the entire journey, Androssi had to use the Thorn to protect them.

    The moment they reached the Hydra''s cave, Androssi instantly passed out from overusing the Thorn.

    Merrie was the first one to react and managed to catch her before she fell on the ground.

    "Androssi!" Merrie exclaimed but received no response from her.

    "Tiana, can you do something about this?" Merrie asked.

    "I can try," Tiana responded and covered Androssi with her white tulip. Sadly, that had no effect since there was nothing to heal.

    "I''m sorry." Tiana apologized.

    "It''s okay. We can try to rest up a bit here since no enemies are attacking us right now." Merrie told the group. The Guide hadn''t sensed an immediate threat at the moment, so she decided they could rest up a bit here.

    An hour passed since the group reached the cave, when Merrie suddenly stood up.

    "Something is approaching us!" Merrie called out to the rest.

    Hatsu, Verdi, and Vespa got into position and prepared to take on the incoming enemy.

    From one of the tunnels, the head of a spider made of bones popped out. It was about to exit the tunnel when a massive beam of Shinsoo destroyed it.

    "I hate spiders!" Vespa cried out in disgust.

    More and more bone spiders started appearing from the tunnels, and Vespa tried destroying them the second they popped out. However, she couldn''t do it on her own.

    Hatsu didn''t like being left out, so he stepped up and started destroying them as well.

    Verdi manifested her squid and helped them out.

    However, no matter how many bone spiders they killed, just as many popped out of the tunnels.

    "We have to move," Merrie told the group and pointed to one of the tunnels. "That one leads to the Hydra heart!"

    Merrie knew that staying there was no longer an option. If they continued resting, they would soon be swarmed by even more bone spiders.

    Hatsu took the lead and acted as the Fisherman while Merrie pointed him in the right direction. Vespa and Verdi stayed in the back and protected the group from bone spiders coming from behind them.

    Merrie was trying to think of the best way to deal with the situation when she turned towards Anak. "How are you holding up?"

    "I''m okay." Anak was one of the four that were keeping the Shinsoo bubble stable, but she had the least pressure since the poison rarely got through the other two layers.

    "We might need you to deal with whatever is defending the Hydra heart," Merrie told her. Besides Lumen and Androssi, Anak had the highest physical strength in the group. She would be perfect for destroying the creatures made of bones.

    Two hours later, the group finally reached the chamber with the Hydra heart. The entire place there was filled with thin web-like bones that went from one side of the room to the other.

    A massive bone spider was standing in front of the Hydra heart, as it was staring at the group.

    "SHRIEEE!" It let out a screech and was about to make its way towards the group when a massive needle swatted it away. The bone spider flew and crashed into one of the walls. A few of its bones had cracks on them from being hit by the massive needle.

    Anak was holding Anoph, her black needle, and had decompressed the weapon to a certain extent. The chamber wasn''t large enough for her to decompress to its full size. With just a swing of her black needle, she had destroyed almost all the bone-like threads in the room.

    After swatting away the bone spider, Anak quickly punctured the Hydra heart with Anoph. The bone orb was destroyed with just a single one of her strikes.

    "Damn!" Merrie cursed out. She wanted to lead the group to a safe location where they can recover, but she couldn''t sense such a place.

    "Anak, do you think you can kill the spider?" Merrie asked her.

    "Yes!" Anak confidently replied.

    "Okay, do it! Verdi, please destroy the opening of the tunnel for us." Merrie instructed them. She had already sensed a large number of bone spiders that were coming in their direction.

    Verdi used her squid and made it destroy the opening of the tunnel while Anak focused on the gigantic bone spider. With Anoph in her hand, she started pounding the bone monster over and over again.

    As powerful as the bone spider was, it couldn''t even attempt to counter-attack. Using the massive needle, Anak bullied it for half an hour, until she finally managed to destroy it.

 Chapter 72 - Thirty-First Floor (5)

    After the group destroyed the Hydra heart, the heads of one of the Bone Hydra that was chasing Lumen froze mid-flight. He didn''t need to be informed that they had succeeded in destroying another Hydra heart.

    Lumen used his black fire and burned that Bone Hydra to nothing. He recovered a bit of his stamina, but it was nothing compared to what he had used until this point.

    For more than a day and a half, he had been avoiding the attacks of the Bone Hydras. Lumen had an incredible amount of stamina, but it wasn''t endless. He was already feeling tired and had taken a few hits that he should have been able to dodge. Fighting for such a long time wasn''t an easy thing even for someone like him.

    Lumen considered releasing Berserker and Saber from his black jar, but they couldn''t fly like Archer, so there was a high chance of them being hit by one of the Bone Hydras.

    "Oh! The bird killed another one!" The amber-colored skeleton exclaimed. "Someone must be destroying the Hydra hearts, but why?"

    The structure of the bones of the amber-colored skeleton changed, and it transformed into a bird of bones that resembled Bonerakard. It flew up in the air and moved closer to Archer.

    "Hey!" The skeleton called out to the snake that was wiggling in the air. "Why are you fighting the Bone Hydra?"

    Archer got surprised by the amber-colored skeleton and flew away from it quickly. The snake then stared at the skeleton, wondering if it should attack him.

    "Leave him be." Archer heard Lumen call out to him. Since his master said to leave him be, that''s what the snake decided to do.

    Lumen had sensed the amber-colored skeleton entering the island, but since he felt no malicious intent from it, he decided it would be better if they don''t attack the skeleton. He didn''t want another immortal creature ?ssisting the Bone Hydras.

    "Hiss!" Archer hissed at the skeleton, trying to inform him that they are taking a Test, and ignored him afterward. The snake then continued using his weapons to destroy the Bone Hydra heads.

    Archer was also tired from attacking the Bone Hydras for over a day, but he mostly floated in the air, so the snake wasn''t as exhausted as Lumen.

    The amber-colored skeleton looked at Archer with confusion in his empty eyes. "Why are you not responding to me?" He asked.

    "Hiss!!" Archer hissed out once again, thinking to himself. ''I did respond, what are talking about?''

    "Are you not going to tell me why you are fighting the Bone Hydras?" The skeleton asked.

    "Hiss!" Archer hissed with a tinge of annoyance. ''I already told you that!''

    The skeleton observed him for a moment and asked. "Can you actually talk?"

    "Hisss!" Archer responded. ''Of course, I can talk, I''m the greatest snake that ever existed.''

    "I see. You are still too young to talk." The skeleton stated.

    "Hisssss hiss hiss hisss!" Archer looked at the skeleton in anger. ''How dare you ugly skeleton bird call me too young to talk? Do you not see know how great I am? I would have taught you a lesson if I didn''t have to ?ssist my master at the moment.''

    "I see. "The amber-colored skeleton looked at Archer one last time and flew towards Lumen. He decided to try his luck with him since he heard him talk.

    "Hiss!" Archer hissed after the skeleton left. ''Yeah, that''s right. Go away, annoying skeleton.''

    At that moment, Lumen was dodging the attacks of Bone Hydras, but once the amber-colored skeleton neared him, the immortal creatures did their best to avoid hitting the skeleton.

    "Hey! Flame bird, why are you fighting the Bone Hydras?" The skeleton asked.

    "I''m undergoing a Test. I''m supposed to kill seven of them within seven days." Lumen answered and positioned himself, so the Bone Hydras are behind the skeleton.

    "A Test? Do you not know that the Bone Hydras can only be killed if their hearts are destroyed first?" The skeleton asked.

    "I know that, but there is a barrier that''s preventing me from leaving the island." Lumen replied while making slight adjustments to his position. He had noticed that the Bone Hydras were avoiding attacking him with the amber-colored skeleton standing in front of him.

    "Really? I had no problem entering the island." The skeleton flapped his bone wings and flew outside the island.

    Lumen followed after him, but when they neared the edge of the island, he hit an invisible barrier. While the skeleton flew out without a problem.

    ''Noo. Why did you leave?'' Lumen asked himself. He wanted to use the skeleton to his advantage. He had to figure out a way to trick the skeleton into coming back.

    "See! I have no problem leaving the island." The skeleton exclaimed.

    "I can see that. So why don''t you come back now?" Lumen asked while avoiding the attacks from the Bone Hydras.

    "Why?" The skeleton asked.

    "To continue our talk!" Lumen replied.

    "What are we going to talk about?" The skeleton asked while floating in the air outside the island.

    "Ummm..." Lumen was trying to think of something while dodging the poisonous breaths from the Bone Hydras. "Stuff?"

    "Uh! What kind of stuff?" The skeleton asked in excitement.

    "Whatever you want to talk about!" Lumen quickly replied, hoping the skeleton would enter the island again.

    "Truly?" The skeleton asked.

    "Yes!" Lumen replied. ''Just please come back.''

    "That''s awesome!" The skeleton exclaimed and then asked. "But, can''t we talk with me being here like we are doing now?"

    ''You bald, bone-headed shit.'' Lumen cursed in his mind and quickly said. "It''s common sense that when you talk with someone, you have to stand in front of them!"

    "Really? I''m sorry, I didn''t know that!" The skeleton apologized and flew back inside the island. The moment he was there, Lumen positioned himself, so the Bone Hydras are behind the skeleton.

    "So, what are we going to talk about?" The skeleton asked in excitement.

    "I don''t know." Lumen replied while trying to regain a bit of his stamina. He didn''t know how long the skeleton would stay here, so he planned to use it as much he could.

    "You don''t know? Then why did I come here?" The skeleton asked sadly and was about to fly away.

    "No, no, no. Stop, don''t go." Lumen called out to it. "Normally, people first introduce themselves."

    "Really? I didn''t know that." The skeleton replied and stopped in place.

    "I will start. My name is Lumen. What''s yours?" Lumen asked while adjusting his position.

    "I... I don''t have a name." The skeleton replied.

    "You don''t have a name? That''s odd." Lumen said. The skeleton looked important, so he thought it would definitely have a name.

    "I guess I can''t talk with you since I don''t have a name." The skeleton said sadly and prepared to leave once again.

    "NO! Don''t go." Lumen stopped it from leaving. "Here''s what. If you stay with me for the next few days, I will give you a name. How does that sound?"

    "You will give me a name? That''s awesome. I never had one!" The skeleton said in excitement and started flying circles around Lumen, which allowed the Bone Hydras to fire their poisonous breaths at him.

    "How come you don''t have a name? Has no one ever given you one?" Lumen asked.

    "No... Most skeletons that I''ve talked to will only bow their heads and don''t speak with me. Boking said I have to reach a certain age before I can get one." The amber-colored skeleton said sadly.

    Lumen already knew that the skeleton is a special existence, considering the Bone Hydras were avoiding him, but it seems the skeleton had greater status than what he imagined. He wondered what exactly the amber-colored skeleton is.

    "You must be quite special then." Lumen said.

    "I don''t think so." The skeleton replied. "Boking does give me bones, which he calls his special treat, but does that make me special?"

    "Yes, it does." Lumen replied, trying to make the skeleton feel good, so he stays on the island for a longer time.

    "Yay! I''m special! Are you also special? Considering you are not made of bones?" The skeleton asked. The fact that Lumen and Archer weren''t made of bones, made them very interesting to the skeleton.

    "I''m not made of bones, but I do have bones." Lumen answered.

    The skeleton looked him up and down and asked. "Really? Why can''t I see them?"

    "Let''s go to the ground, and I will show you." Lumen said and flew down with the skeleton following after him. He then transformed into his human form, and the skeleton looked at him in astonishment.

    "You are not a bird made of fire! But why can''t I see your bones?" The skeleton questioned, all the creatures he had seen had their bones visible.

    Lumen pinched his skin and said. "They are under my skin."

    "Oh, wow!" The skeleton exclaimed, and his bones restructured themselves. He turned into a human-looking skeleton and looked at his arms. "I don''t have that thing called skin. You must be even more special than me since you have it!"

    "Maybe." Lumen answered while circling around the skeleton, making sure that the skeleton was in the line of sight of the Bone Hydras.

    "Why do you keep walking around me like this?" The skeleton asked.

    "Umm..." Lumen tried thinking of an answer. "Because this is what people do when they like someone and want to befriend them."

    "You want to be my friend?" The skeleton asked in wonder.

    "Yes!" Lumen quickly replied.

    "I''ve never had a friend before! I''m so happy I made my first friend!" The skeleton exclaimed and then asked. "What do friends do?"

    "They spent time together, chat, and have fun." Lumen told him.

    "Oh, this is so amazing!" The skeleton clapped with his bone hands. "What are we going to do?"

    "Why not talk about what we can do? I can turn into a Phoenix, a bird made of fire. I saw you are able to change the structure of your body. Is there a limit to that?" Lumen asked.

    "Not really. I can change into whatever I want to. I''m also quite large normally, but I prefer staying like this." The skeleton answered.

    "Can you change into a house or any kind of structure?" Lumen asked, hoping the skeleton would be able to do so.

    "You mean like Boking? He likes making himself look like a building. But, yes, I can." The skeleton replied.

    "Do you mind showing me?" Lumen questioned.

    "Sure thing." The skeleton answered and grew in size. His bones then restructured themselves until he looked like a two-story house. Lumen then quickly entered inside.

    "Do you know what friends also do?" Lumen asked.

    "What?" The skeleton asked in eagerness to learn.

    "They watch over their friends while they sleep." Lumen replied.

    "Sleep? What''s that?" The skeleton had never slept in his life, so he didn''t know what that meant.

    "People that have skin on their bodies, usually have to lay down and rest after exerting themselves." Lumen explained.

    "Wow! I''ve never slept in my entire life. Does that mean that I''m more special than you?" The skeleton asked.

    "Yes, it does." Lumen replied. "Now that we are friends, you won''t mind watching over me while I sleep, right?"

    "No problem, friend! I will gladly watch you as you sleep." The skeleton confirmed.

    "Thanks a lot, buddy! Just make sure the Bone Hydras don''t come here since they are not my friends, okay?" Lumen said.

    "Sure thing." The skeleton replied. "Oh, boy. I can''t believe I''m going to watch over my first friend as he sleeps! This is so exciting!"

    "Archer, come here." Lumen called out to his snake. Archer quickly flew inside the bone structure.

    "I''m going to take a nap, so wake me up if anything happens, okay?" Lumen told Archer, who hissed in confirmation.

    Lumen then made his Pocket visible and contacted his group.

    [How are you doing?] He asked Leesoo.

    [We are hiding in a cave while trying to recover our strength. The situation looks pretty dire for us since Androssi passed out earlier from overusing the Thorn.] Leesoo replied.

    [Don''t push yourselves too hard. Just try to make sure you destroy one Heart a day, and everything will be fine.] Lumen messaged him.

    [What about you? Can you keep fighting for seven days straight? Aren''t you already tired?] Leesoo quickly questioned him. The group was trying to destroy the Hydra hearts as fast as possible because they didn''t think someone could fight for seven days straight without tiring. Even if that someone was Lumen.

    [I''ve found a safe place where the Bone Hydras can''t touch me. Don''t overdo it, but do make sure you destroy all the Hydra hearts within the time frame of the Test. My life depends on it after all.] Lumen informed him.

    [Okay. We will do our best. Just make you sure stay alive until that point.] Leesoo replied.

 Chapter 73 - Thirty-First Floor (6)

    Bonerakard and Boking were watching the scene of Lumen taking shelter inside the amber-colored skeleton.

    "Will you allow this?" Boking questioned. He wasn''t happy that Lumen was cheating by using the skeleton.

    "I don''t see why not. It''s my fault for not teaching the little one," Bonerakard replied.

    "But we never expected such a thing to happen! The little one is only two thousand years old. He is still so young we haven''t even given him a name yet!" Boking exclaimed.

    "And it seems there won''t be a need for us to do that since he will get a name within a few days," Bonerakard replied.

    "But it''s our tradition that skeletons get their name after they pass the five-thousand-year mark," Boking said.

    "The little one isn''t exactly a normal skeleton, so that tradition doesn''t really apply to him," Bonerakard told him, and Boking let out a sigh.

    "I only wanted us to be ones that name him," Boking sadly said. "I remember when you granted my name. I was so excited that day."

    "I remember it as well. It took me a long time to decide on your name, but I think I chose the best one possible." Bonerakard replied proudly.

    "Me too! You are the only one that has a better name than me!" Boking stated just as proud of his name.

    Meanwhile, the group was recovering their strength in the Hydra heart chamber, and about six hours had passed since they had destroyed the Hydra heart.

    Androssi was sleeping on Tiana''s th??hs when she suddenly sprang up and looked around in confusion.

    "Where are we? How long was I asleep? How much time do we have left?" Androssi asked Tiana a series of questions in a quick manner.

    "We are in the chamber of the second Hydra heart, and you''ve been asleep for around eight hours. We have about five more days left." Tiana informed her.

    "What about Lumen? He''s been fighting on that island for two days straight by now. Is he okay? How is he keeping up?" Androssi asked in a panic.

    "I talked with him earlier. He said he found a safe place where he wouldn''t be attacked by the Bone Hydras. Everything will depend on us from now on." Tiana answered her, and Androssi let out a sigh of relief. "Good, good, good."

    "Then what are we waiting for? Let''s go and get deal with the rest of the Hydra hearts!" Androssi exclaimed.

    "We are ready to move, we were just waiting for you," Leesoo said, and Androssi turned towards him with hatred in her eyes. Before he could even realize what happened, he was sent flying towards one of the walls.

    "You shut up. No one asked you." Androssi told him, as Leesoo weakly stood up while bleeding from his nose.

    "You broke my nose!" Leesoo yelled out, which resulted in him being shot by a pink Shinsoo beam in the stomach.

    "I told you to shut up!" Androssi said, and Leesoo didn''t dare reply to her.

    Tiana shook her head and manifested her white tulip. It covered his wounds and healed him up.

    Leesoo gave Tiana a thankful nod but didn''t dare thank her out loud.

    "We first need to open up the passage that we blocked," Merrie said.

    "Leave this to me!" Androssi confidently declared. "I will smash this in a second!"

    Merrie shook her head and stopped her. "It''s better if you save your strength as much as possible. You are the only one that could deal with the monsters in the poisonous sea."

    "Fine." Androssi pouted in response.

    "Anak, can you use your needle to deal with it?" Merrie asked.

    "Yes," Anak responded and walked up to the blocked tunnel with Anoph in her hand. She placed the black needle in front of the rubble and decompressed her weapon.

    Anoph enlarged itself and destroyed everything in its path without Anak even attacking. There were hundreds of bone spiders that were behind the rubble, but they were also destroyed by the black needle.

    "Done," Anak stated and returned to the group.

    "Let''s go," Merrie told the group and led them in the correct direction. Hatsu stayed in the front acting as the Fisherman and dealt with any enemies that they encountered.

    They quickly maneuvered through the tunnels and reached the poisonous sea.

    "I can sense two Hydra hearts. One is around six or seven hours from here, while the other is about eleven hours away." Merrie told the group.

    "Shouldn''t we..." Leesoo was about to give his suggestion when he saw the look in Androssi eyes and quickly shut up.

    "Let''s go to the closest one," Androssi stated.

    ''That''s what I was about to say.'' Leesoo thought.

    "I think we''ve rested enough to go for the one that''s further away," Merrie replied. She had a weird feeling about this.

    "Shouldn''t we deal with the closest one first, so we destroy them as soon as possible?" Androssi questioned.

    "I''m not sure. Something is blocking my senses of a Guide. I don''t know which is the correct choice here." Merrie said.

    "If you are not sure, then let''s just go for the closest one," Androssi said. "We can save up our energy like this and make sure we can deal with the rest on time."

    "What do the rest of you think?" Merrie asked the others.

    "You lead the way, and we follow. You and Leesoo are the brains of the team, while the rest of us are the brawn." Aleksai replied, and the rest nodded to his words in agreement.

    "Leesoo?" Merrie asked about his opinion.

    "Well..." Leesoo thought about saying that they should go for the one that''s further away since Merrie had a weird feeling about this, but he then noticed the look in Androssi''s eyes.

    "Let''s go for the closer one." Leesoo weakly said.

    The group created their Shinsoo bubble and proceeded towards the closer Hydra heart.

    "That might backfire on them. They might not have enough time to reach the last one with the current path they took." Boking said as he observed the group.

    "Maybe," Bonerakard replied and turned to look at Lumen and the amber-colored skeleton.

    Lumen was sitting in the bone structure while telling stories about his climb to the skeleton. Besides him were Saber and Berserker, who had both compressed their size.

    Berserker normally couldn''t decrease his size, but Gustang, as a Floor Ruler himself, had granted him that ability. That, however, had really hurt the dinosaur''s pride since both the annoying snake and the lazy cat were able to change their size without being granted that ability.

    "So, most creatures have this thing called skin, outside this place?" The skeleton asked in surprise as he looked at the animals around Lumen.

    "Mostly, yes." Lumen replied.

    "Wow! So does that mean that everyone there is special? Or are the skeletons here special?" He asked in wonder. The amber-colored skeleton loved calling everything that''s not normal to him, special.

    "I''d say that the people here are special." Lumen said with a chuckle.

    "But you are also special, right? Since you can transform into a bird made of fire?" The skeleton asked.

    "You can say so." Lumen replied.

    "So that makes us both special, right?" The skeleton asked.

    "Yes, yes, we are." Lumen answered with a laugh.

    "Wow! So my first friend and I are both special!" The skeleton exclaimed. "You will even give me a name in a few days! Meeting you was the best day of my life!"

    Initially, Lumen wanted to use the amber-colored skeleton to his advantage since the Bone Hydras avoided attacking him, but he started liking the gullible fellow.

    While the two were chatting, the group had reached the cave for the third Hydra heart. The moment they stepped inside the cave, hundreds of bone ants exited the tunnels and swarmed them.

    They''ve already gone through this a couple of times, so they all knew their roles. Hatsu jumped in the front while Verdi and Vespa ?ssisted him with killing the bone creatures. They quickly dealt with the swarm of ants, and Merrie led them towards the location of the Hydra heart.

    Two massive bone ants were guarding the bone orb. The two creatures looked terrifying, and power was radiating out of them. However, the bone alligator they met in the first chamber was a lot scarier than them.

    "Hatsu freeze them, and Verdi, use the cannon," Merrie said.

    Without a word, Hatsu ignited Ryu and send an ice wave at the two creatures. He froze them in place, but cracks were already forming on the ice around them.

    At the same time, Verdi had pulled out a cannon that was far larger than her. She propped it on her shoulder and aimed at the frozen bone ants. The rest of the group all had their hands blocking their ears since they knew what''s going to happen.

    In the next moment, a massive beam of Shinsoo erupted from the cannon, followed by a really loud noise, akin to the sound of thunder. The entire cave trembled from the noise, and a few rocks dropped from the ceiling.

    One of the ants was shattered and destroyed from the attack, and Verdi aimed at the other. Another massive beam of Shinsoo was shot from the cannon and destroyed the other ant.

    "THAT WAS FUN!" Verdi yelled out after she stored the cannon.

    The weapon she used was called the Roaring Thunder, a B8-Ranked weapon. It had amazing firepower but had the downside that it could only be used twice. After that, it would have to be recharged for five days before it could be used again. (ED: Well that''s awfully convenient.)

    The user would also have trouble hearing after using the Roaring Thunder. Which wasn''t a big problem for Verdi since she can hear other people''s thoughts.

    "Verdi, no need to yell, we are right here next to you," Aleksai told her.

    Verdi tilted her head in confusion and said. "BUT I''M NOT YELLING."

    Tiana walked up to her and patted her on the head. "You did a good job."

    "THANK YOU!" Verdi replied to her.

    Hatsu walked closer to the Hydra heart and sent a wave of fire with Donghae and destroyed the bone orb.

    "Three down, four more to go. Let''s take a quick rest and make our way towards the next one after that." Merrie asked and turned towards the gray-haired girl. "Verdi, can you block the tunnel, please?"

    "YES!" Verdi manifested her squid and used it to block the passage, by hitting the ceiling and filling it up with rocks.

    Lumen was chatting with the amber-colored skeleton when he sensed that one of the Bone Hydras froze in place.

    "Let me just deal with this, and I will be right back." Lumen told the skeleton and stood up. He walked out of the bone structure, send a blast of black fire at the Bone Hydra, and returned back inside.

    "That was Bone Hydra No. 734 that you just killed." The skeleton stated.

    "That''s its name?" Lumen asked.

    "No. I don''t know its name since it never talked with me. Apparently, they are too young to talk. Either way, I named it that since there are so many of them, and I had to differentiate them in some way." The skeleton explained.

    "How many have you met?" Lumen questioned.

    "I think the last one I met was Bone Hydra No. 5789." The skeleton answered.

    Lumen''s eyes widened in surprise when he heard how many of the immortal creatures lived in Bonerakard''s domain.

    "Wait, you said they were too young to talk. Do you mean that there are Bone Hydras that can talk?" Lumen asked.

    "Yes! They are way cooler than the others. They have a thousand heads, and they give me bones to eat when I meet them." The skeleton exclaimed.

    "There''s this one called Bonezunna. From time to time, we compete at who can swim faster. I''m the best swimmer here, and she is the only one that can keep up with my speed."

    "Bonemoke is also pretty cool! He goes out of his way to get me the best bones he could find!"

    "Bonezuk sometimes..."

    The skeleton started telling stories about the Hydras that have one thousand heads. Hearing them, Lumen was thankful that he had to face the ones that had only one hundred heads. He shuddered at the thought of having to face seven Bone Hydras, with each one having one thousand heads.

 Chapter 74 - Thirty-First Floor (7)

    For the next few days, the group continued destroying the Hydra hearts. They successfully dealt with three bone orbs within three days, but they encountered a problem after they destroyed the sixth heart.

    The last remaining Hydra heart was at least thirty hours away from their current location. They had no way of reaching it before the time frame for the Test ends.

    [Lumen, we have a problem. I don''t think we can reach the last Hydra heart on time. Merrie says it''s at least thirty hours away from us. We''ve are currently moving towards it, but we don''t know if we can reach it on time.] Leesoo sent a message to Lumen''s Pocket.

    "Shit! That''s bad!" Lumen cursed out when he read the message. He had been having a good time talking with the amber-colored skeleton and felt at ease. However, he started panicking after he saw the message.

    "What''s wrong, friend?" The skeleton asked him.

    "My teammates, the ones that are taking care of the Hydra hearts, have encountered a problem. The last heart is at a location where they won''t be able to reach on time." Lumen answered him.

    "What''s going to happen if they don''t destroy it on time?" The skeleton asked.

    "I will die..." Lumen replied and cursed out. "Damn it!"

    The amber-colored skeleton started panicking as well when he heard that. Lumen was his first friend, and he was going to give him a name as well. He couldn''t allow his friend to die. The skeleton looked towards the last remaining Bone Hydra and made his mind.

    "I know where the heart of Bone Hydra No. 4302 is located. I will go and get it for you." The skeleton told Lumen.

    "You will?" Lumen asked in surprise.

    "Yes! I can''t let you die!" The skeleton declared. "Now, would you please leave my body so I can transform back."

    "Do you think you will be able to bring the Hydra heart to where my teammates are?" Lumen asked as he wasn''t sure if it would count if they aren''t the ones to destroy them.

    "Not a problem! The last one they destroyed was the heart of Bone Hydra No. 2340. It will take me an hour to reach the location of Bone Hydra No. 4302''s heart and two more to get to where they are." The skeleton replied confidently and turned towards the poisonous sea. However, before he can jump in, Lumen stopped him.

    "I never gave you a name, right? So, how about I do it now?" Lumen said.

    "You''re going to give me a name now? I''m so excited my bones are going to fall off!" The skeleton exclaimed.

    "How about Rider?" Lumen asked.

    "Rider. Rider. Rider." The skeleton repeated the name a few times. "I like it! Thank you so much!"

    "Wait for a bit here, and I will bring the Hydra heart to your teammates. I won''t let you down, friend!" Rider declared confidently and jumped in the poisonous sea. His bones restructured themselves until his body resembled a marlin.

    With incredible speed, he swam towards the location of Bone Hydra No. 4302''s heart.

    While Rider was doing that, Lumen quickly sent a message to his teammates.

    [What? We won''t let you die without even trying!] Leesoo replied to him.

    [Trust me and return back! I''ve sent someone to deliver the heart to you.] Lumen explained.

    [What do you mean?] Leesoo asked in confusion.

    [Go back and wait at the cave. He will be there shortly!] Lumen stated.

    Leesoo read the message and informed the rest. "Lumen ordered us to return to the cave."

    The second Androssi heart that, she instantly sent Lumen a message of her own.

    [What the hell are you saying? You promised me you won''t leave! Now you want us to return without even trying? Why?] Androssi eyes started watering after sending the message.

    [Listen to Leesoo and go back to the cave. Trust me, I won''t leave you!] Lumen replied to her, and Androssi turned towards Leesoo.

    "Lumen said that he had sent someone to bring the heart to us," Leesoo told them.

    "He sent someone to bring us the heart? But who?" Tiana asked in surprise.

    "I don''t know, he didn''t say," Leesoo replied.

    "Let''s return then, and trust his words," Merrie said, and the group turned back towards the cave of the last Hydra heart they destroyed. They were quite close to it, so it didn''t take them a long time to return.

    Two hours passed, and the group was starting to panic.

    [Please don''t tell me you lied. Please!] Androssi sent Lumen a message.

    [Trust me! He will be there shortly!] Lumen replied and though. ''Or at least I hope so.''

    Another hour passed, and Merrie turned towards the poisonous sea. "Something is approaching us fast."

    The next moment, an amber-colored bone marlin, with the Hydra-heart on its back, jumped out of the sea. Mid-air, Rider transformed back into his normal skeleton appearance and landed in front of them.

    "Hello! You all have skin, so you must be Lumen''s teammates, right?" Rider asked them.

    "Yes!" They answered him.

    "Here, this is for you." Rider threw them the Hydra heart, and Androssi destroyed it before it even reached them.

    "My name is Rider!" The skeleton proudly declared his new name and thought to himself. ''Okay, they are Lumen''s friends, so let''s befriend them, the way he showed me.''

    Rider then started walking circles around the group. Verdi let out a laugh since she heard his thoughts, but the rest of the group looked at him in confusion.

    "What are you doing, Rider?" Leesoo asked him.

    "Umm, I''m trying to befriend you. This is how you make friends with people, right? Or at least Lumen said so." Rider answered.

    Verdi continued laughing while the rest looked at each other, wondering what has Lumen been doing for the past few days. Before they could say anything, they were all teleported out of there.

    The next moment, they appeared in front of Boking, who was looking hatefully at Lumen. Around them, hundreds of skeleton were gathered and looked at them in wonder.

    "They passed the Tests! I can''t believe they succeeded."

    "Look, look, it''s the little one. Quick, bow your heads!"

    "The little one is here? Quickly everyone, bow to him."

    "Hey, Boking!" Rider exclaimed when he saw his fellow skeleton.

    "Hello, little one," Boking replied to him.

    "You can''t call me little one anymore! My name is Rider!" The amber-colored skeleton proudly declared. He was really excited that he finally had a name.

    Hearing him call himself Rider, the skeletons started whispering to each other.

    "Did you hear that? The little one has a name!"

    "Has he already reached five thousand years old? I thought he was younger?"

    "I thought so too, and why is his name so much different than ours?"

    "He has a greater status than us, maybe that''s why."

    Boking didn''t respond and looked at Lumen with even more hatred. He and Bonerakard should have been the ones to name him, not someone else.

    Meanwhile, Androssi had rushed to Lumen the second she saw him. She reached him and started punching him in the ?h?st. "Idiot. Idiot. Idiot."

    Tiana walked up to him and gave him a lover''s loving smile. She was happy to see him after they spent seven days away from each other.

    "Well, I guess you all passed your Tests. Even though some of you cheated." Boking said while staring at Lumen. "Nevertheless, you passed them successfully, so congratulations are in order."

    "You passed your first special Test, and you have ninety-nine more to go." Boking gave one last hateful look at Lumen at turned towards Androssi.

    "You passed Bonerakard''s Test, so the foreign influence will be removed from your blood. There will be no drawbacks as promised." Boking told her, and a white light of Shinsoo flew out from Bonerakard, who was perched on his gigantic bone tree.

    Androssi was lifted in the air and covered by a white Shinsoo bubble.

    "It will take a day before she gets cleansed," Boking said and turned towards the rest.

    "You ?ssisted her in passing Bonerakard''s Test, so the limit on the amount of Shinsoo you can control will be increased," Boking said, and eight beams of white light descended on them. They were raised in the air like Androssi with a purple Shinsoo bubble covering them.

    A minute later, the Shinsoo bubble disappeared, and they slowly descended on the ground. All of them felt as if some invisible shackles were lifted off them. They felt freer and more attune with the surrounding Shinsoo.

    "This feels amazing!" Leesoo exclaimed.

    "I agree," Aleksai confirmed.

    "Lastly, Bonerakard has chosen to give you a special reward," Boking said while looking at Aleksai.

    "Me?" The big dude questioned in surprise.

    "Yes," Boking confirmed. "Bonerakard is pleased with your miasma ability. He has chosen to grant you a poison quality similar to the poisonous sea."

    A purple light descended on Aleksai and lifted him in the air, where he was covered by a purple Shinsoo bubble.

    As a Guardian, Bonerakard can choose whether to fulfill his promise or not. If he d?s?r?s, he can even grant additional rewards if he was pleased with the performance of the Test takers.

    "He will receive his poison quality within half a day," Boking stated. "The rest of you can stay in Bonerakard''s domain while you wait for the two to receive their rewards."

    "Now, little one, why don''t you join me in a feast of bones?" Boking asked Rider, who shook his head in refusal.

    "I told you, my name is Rider!" The amber-colored skeleton proudly replied. "And I want to stay with my new friends if they will be leaving soon."

    Hearing his answer, Boking wanted to cry, but no tears came out of his empty eye sockets. The little one had become rebellious after meeting with Lumen, so that made Boking hate him even more.

    "Little one..." Bonerakard''s voice boomed in the air. "I mean, Rider. Would you like to travel with your new friends?"

    "I can go with them?" Rider asked in astonishment. He never even considered leaving Bonerakard''s domain before.

    "If you wish so, yes." The Guardian confirmed.

    "Can I come with you, Lumen?" Rider asked him and thought to himself. ''Please say yes. Please say yes.''

    "Of course you can. That was part of the plan." Lumen replied to him.

    "You wanted me to come with you all along?" Rider asked.

    "Definitely! You''re my friend, so I can''t leave you behind, right?" Lumen replied. He had ended up liking the gullible skeleton after spending so much time with him.

    Rider''s abilities were also useful, and he sensed an incredible aura from him. He was probably as strong as an Advanced Ranker, but Lumen wasn''t completely sure about that.

    "You''re the best friend ever! I''m so happy I met you!" Rider exclaimed.

    ''And I hate myself for not preventing your meeting.'' Boking cried in his mind.

    "Are you really going to let the little one go?" Boking asked Bonerakard through their mental link.

    "Yes, he was created with the purpose of climbing the Tower. However, Headon had to follow the rules of the Tower and refused to accept him. With Lumen, he can freely climb to the Top. He might even get to see the outside world." Bonerakard replied.

    Since Lumen is an Irregular, he can bent the Rules of the Tower to his favor. Rider, who was an existence that wasn''t allowed to climb the Tower, would be able to do that if he travels with Lumen. Such are the perks of being an Irregular.

    "Do you believe that he will pass all the special Tests? Tens of thousands of people have tried, yet no more than twenty have succeeded. Do you think Lumen has what it takes to go the end?" Boking asked.

    "The Tower has received less than ten challengers in the past ten thousand years. We might never get another chance in the future with the way things have been going. Lumen is our best bet, and I''m willing to take it." Bonerakard answered.

    "I will trust in your wisdom," Boking replied and turned towards the Rider. "Litll... Rider, how about we go and have a feast together like we usually do. We might not get to see each other for a long time after you leave."

    Boking''s words made Rider realize what leaving here meant. He was saddened by that fact, but he was also excited at the possibility of seeing more creatures with skin and their customs.

    "Sure!" Rider confirmed, and the two made their way towards Boking''s manor.

 Chapter 75 - Thirty-First Floor (8)

    After Rider and Boking left, Lumen contacted Agnis and his team.

    [How is your Test going?]

    [I had to deal with a few prideful Regulars, but we will be taking it in two days. And If all goes to plan, we should be able to finish within a day.] Agnis replied.

    [Okay.] Lumen replied and turned towards Bonerakard, who was perched on his bone tree.

    Something caught his attention, as he saw orbs of bone growing on that tree. They resembled fruits, but from them, he was able to sense a small life force, similar to the skeletons around him.

    ''Is this how skeletons get born or created?'' Lumen questioned himself and noticed that Bonerakard was staring at him.

    "What is it?" The Guardian''s voice boomed in his head.

    "Would it be possible for us to stay a couple more days in your domain? This way, you would be able to spend a bit more time with Rider." Lumen questioned. He still wasn''t sure what exactly is Rider''s identity, but judging how Boking and Bonerakard treated him, he believed that the amber-colored skeleton is extraordinary.

    "I will allow this," Bonerakard answered in his mind.

    "Thank you." Lumen replied and wrapped his arm around Tiana''s waist.

    The two have been away from each other for seven days, so he was happy to see her. Lumen kissed her softly and asked. "How about we spend some time alone in our room?"

    "I would love that!" Tiana replied and kissed him back.

    Lumen brought her closer to him and prepared to fly in the air towards his Ghost Ship when he noticed that it was no longer there.

    "Where is my Suspendship?" Lumen asked in surprise. Before his Test, he remembered that they left it above the skeleton city.

    "It disappeared when I suggested to use it to enter the..." Tiana couldn''t even finish her sentence as the Ghost Ship appeared above them.

    "I guess it doesn''t matter." Tiana chuckled as Lumen carried her towards his Suspendship.

    ////Lemon scene start\\\\

    During their flight, she couldn''t stop herself from kissing her lover. Her small tongue wrapped around his in a tug battle, as his hands roamed around her body.

    "Ah." Tiana m??n?d. Lumen''s touch alone brought her p???sur?.

    The second they entered their room, Lumen had already removed her clothes and thrown them away.

    Tiana''s legs wrapped around him and continued kissing him as she slowly removed his clothes. Her hands roamed around his ripped body as she kissed every part of it while making her way down.

    Tiana reached his erect p?n?s and slowly started stroking it before putting it in her mouth. Her tongue moved around it as her head bobble up and down while she stared at him with her mesmerizing purple eyes.

    One of her hands gently grabbed his balls and lightly played around with them. While the other continued stroking his p?n?s.

    Tiana was very inexperienced at first, but after spending so much time with Lumen in bed, she learned what to do to please him.

    He gathered her purple hair with his hand and lightly pushed her head down. Lumen continued doing this until Tiana couldn''t take it anymore and gagged. A bit of saliva dripped from her mouth as she stared at him with hungry eyes and put his p?n?s back in her mouth.

    This continued until Lumen couldn''t take it anymore and pulled her head up by her hair. He flipped her over, started rubbing her ???t?r?s, and felt that Tiana was already dripping wet.

    "Just put it in. I want you inside me!" Tiana passionately said. They''ve been away for seven days, and she couldn''t resist him.

    "Ahh!" Tiana let out a m??n as soon as Lumen put his p?n?s in her small cherry. Her legs wrapped around his waist and her hands around his back as she pulled him closer.

    Lumen grabbed her round br??sts and started massaging it while kissing her neck as he pounded her over and over.

    "This. Feels. So good!" Tiana exclaimed while panting. She tried piercing his skin with her nail as she scratched his back.

    "OHH!" Tiana m??n?d as Lumen pinched her n?pp?? and started playing with it. "Don''t stop!"

    Rather than stopping, Lumen increased his pace, and her m??ns grew louder. "Just like that! Oh, God, I''m already about to ?um!"

    Tiana then jerked her head backward and applied more force with her hands, trying to pierce his skin. "Fuck!"

    Lumen flipped her over and pushed her back with one of his hands. Her fit ?ss arched upward, and he put his p?n?s inside her. He started pounding her and couldn''t resist slapping her gorgeous bu??.

    "Ahh! Ahh! More! Ahh! Ahh!" Tiana m??n?d in ecstasy.

    Lumen grabbed her arms and pulled her upward. Tiana''s back arched upward, and he increased his pace.

    "Fuck me just like that!" Tiana yelled out. "I''m about to ?um again."

    Tiana turned around and wrapped herself around Lumen. He dropped on the bed with her on top of him. Tiana then put his p?n?s back inside of her.

    "My turn." Tiana started fu?k?n? him cowgirl style while kissing him passionately. She left marks everywhere on his neck area and nibbled on his ears.

    "Do you like this?" Tiana asked him lovingly.

    "Yes, my Little Flower." Lumen whispered in her ear. His words made Tiana increase her pace.

    "Call me like that again, please! Please!" Tiana loved the way he called her and begged him to do it again.

    Lumen hugged her closer and whispered in her ear. "Little Flower."

    Tiana kissed him passionately and told him with affection. "I love you my, Shining Star."

    "I love you too, Little Flower." Lumen replied with just as much affection.

    The two continued enjoying each other''s bodies for the rest of the day and night in that manner.

    The next day, the purple bubble of Shinsoo covering Aleksai dissipated, and he slowly descended to the ground. He pulled out a small device from his Pocket and gathered Shinsoo around it.

    A purple trident made of dense purple liquid appeared in front of him. Purple gas, his miasma, was continually being emitted from the back end and the three tips in the front.

    "Not bad." Boking appeared next to him. "Your Shinsoo quality has evolved, thanks to the gift of Bonerakard."

    "Thank you," Aleksai replied.

    "No need to thank me. Thank yourself since Bonerakard was pleased with your miasma quality. Otherwise, he wouldn''t have granted you the boon." Boking replied to him and disappeared from there. The skeleton had returned to the feast he was having with Rider.

    A bit later that day, the white bubble of Shinsoo around Androssi dissipated, and she slowly descended to the ground. She clenched her fists a few times and looked at her hands.

    Androssi couldn''t find words of how she felt at that moment. It was like a parasite that she didn''t even know is there, was removed from her body. She felt liberated and free from a burden that she didn''t even know existed.

    "Your purification has been successful. The foreign influence from your blood has been removed without any drawbacks." Boking appeared next to her. "With this, you can now leave Bonerakard''s domain whenever you wish."

    Androssi didn''t reply to him and looked around, searching for her teammates. However, she couldn''t see any of them.

    Boking wasn''t fazed by her lack of response and teleported back to his mansion, to continue his feast with Rider.

    Androssi looked up in the air and noticed the Ghost Ship. Since she wasn''t able to see any of her teammates on the ground, she created a pink Shinsoo disc underneath her feet and floated towards the Suspendship.

    Androssi entered the dining room, where a majority of the group had gathered.

    "Glad to see you''re back!" They greeted her cheerfully.

    Androssi nodded in response and looked around for Lumen, but she wasn''t able to see him.

    "Where''s Lumen?" Androssi asked.

    "He''s in his room with Tiana. They''ve been at it for the last day or so." Leesoo replied.

    "Of course they have," Androssi said sadly and looked at the ground, as her face changed into a sad one with a tinge of jealousy.

    "Can you blame them? They hadn''t seen each other for a week." Leesoo stated.

    "He hadn''t seen me for the same amount of time as well," Androssi whispered, but Leesoo was able to hear her.

    "Yeah, but you aren''t his lover, right?" Leesoo asked.

    "No one asked you!" Androssi appeared in front of him and sent him flying with her Woman Punch.

    Leesoo crashed into the Ghost Ship walls, but he was mostly unhurt from the attack. He had kind of expected her to attack him, so he had activated his Blood Tamara in advance.

    After sending Leesoo flying, Androssi turned around and sorrowfully walked to her room.

    The next day, outside Bonerakard''s domain on the 31st Floor. Agnis and his team were preparing to take the Test.

    The Test that was given by the Floor Ruler was a Racing Game. Each team can have up to twenty members and at minimum two.

    Each team of Regulars would have to ?ssign one person who would carry the team''s flag. That person would have to reach a specific location as fast as he can.

    The rest of Regulars from the teams would have a team battle in the meantime.

    If one of the flag bearers reached the end within five minutes and the other within seven, the first one will obtain two points for his team, while the other won''t get any points.

    Once both of the flag bearers reach the end, the rest of the Regulars would have to stop fighting. Each team will be awarded one point for every standing man.

    "Ran, I trust it won''t take you long to reach the end," Agnis said.

    "I will finish the race before you even know it. You have to make sure you deal with those bunch of weaklings before I finish." Ran replied while observing the enemy team, who had the maximum number of members allowed.

    "Just because you are from one of the 10 Great Families and were one of the stronger E-Rank Regulars, doesn''t mean you can call us weak. A D-Rank Regular is not a simple existence!" The leader of the enemy team was angered by Ran calling them weaklings.

    "Weak Turtles, I will hunt you down!" Rak called out to them.

    "Pah! Look at that shorty acting all tough." A member of the other team laughed out since Rak had compressed his size.

    In a moment, a black-haired man wearing a grey uniform appeared between the two teams.

    "Are you two ready?" He asked them, but before they could answer, he said. "It doesn''t matter if you are or if you aren''t since we are beginning the Test. START!"

    Lightning wrapped around Ran and he dashed with incredible speed. The other flag bearer ran after him, but he was clearly slower than Ran.

    "It seems Ted is slower than their flag bearer." The leader of the opponent team said. "Guess we just have to make sure none of us go down. Shouldn''t be much of a problem."

    Five of the Regular from the opponent team dashed towards Novick since they recognized him from his fame of being one of the stronger E-Rank Regulars.

    Red Shinsoo gathered around Novick''s right hand. "Crimson Soul Fist - Fist Barrage."

    Novick punched out, and five red fists of Shinsoo formed above the five Regulars. They were all pummeled into the ground, and only a single one of them managed to survive the attack.

    "Tsch." Novick clicked his tongue in annoyance and threw his boomerang blade at the Regular that survived his attack. He was unhappy that he wasn''t able to deal with all of them in a single attack. Novick then turned around to see how the rest are doing.

    Three Regulars had gathered around Yihwa and were looking at the beautiful girl with ?ust in their eyes.

    "If you play around with us for a bit, we might decide to spare you, pretty one." One of them said.

    "We promise you won''t regret it." Another chipped in.

    "Look, she already has her eyes closed and ready for us." The third Regular said.

    Yihwa was ignoring the three and focusing on herself. ''I can do this. I can control my flames, just like Lumen controls his.''

    ''I''m a member of the Yeon Family! I can do this! I can do this!'' Yihwa pumped herself up and opened her eyes.

    A red fire with a tinge of black formed around her hands, and she thrust her hands towards the three Regulars. Her flames burst out of hands like two flamethrowers and covered the three Regulars. Within seconds, the three of them shrieked in agony, only to stop after they turned to ashes.

    "I did it!" Yihwa exclaimed in happiness. "I finally did it!"

    Four Regulars were slowly walking towards Rak.

    "You called us weak, but we will show you who is truly weak you, shorty." One of them threatened.

    "We will show you that me..." Before the other Regular could say his piece, he stopped himself as he saw Rak slowly grow in size.

    In a moment, he grew to 5m tall and overlooked the Regulars with a predatory look in his savage red eyes.

    Rak quickly pulled out a spear from his Arms Inventory and swiftly pierced the hearts of the four Regulars before they can even react. "As I said, you are Weak Turtles."

    Only two Regulars went after Wangnan since they perceived him as the weakest from Agnis''s team.

    An Arms Inventory appeared in front of Wangnan, and he quickly grabbed a Shinsoo bomb that looked like a Pokeball. He threw it at the two Regulars and dashed towards them.

    The bomb exploded into a smoke saturated with pepper powder.

    "Ahh! My eyes!" The two Regulars screamed out.

    While the two were scratching their eyes, Wangnan reached them, punched each in the head, and managed to knock them out.

    The other five Regulars from the opponent team had made their way towards Agnis. He was casually observing the rest with his Lighthouse floating in front of him.

    "Shit! The rest have already lost!" The leader of the Regulars called out. "That means we have to deal with everyone on our own. Let''s deal with this pretty boy as quickly as possible and go after the others."

    Agnis didn''t even bother to look at them as two large yellow hands came out of his Lighthouse. The giant hands pounded the five Regulars into meat paste within moments.

    At that point, Ran had already reached the end, and a few minutes later, the other flag bearer did as well.

    With that, Agnis''s team had secured their victory and successfully completed the Test.

    [We are done.] Agnis sent a message to Lumen.

    [Good! Be ready to leave when I message you tomorrow.] Lumen replied to him.

 Chapter 76 - Thirty-Second Floor (1)

    The next day, Androssi was standing in front of a mirror in her room. She was wearing a golden dress with white light stripes that stuck to her body. Androssi did a few poses and checked herself out.

    "I''m beautiful, right?" Androssi questioned herself and did a few more poses.

    "Of course I am, he even said so!" Androssi exclaimed, but let out a sigh afterward. She removed the golden dress and threw it on a pile of other dresses on her bed.

    Androssi was then left with only a pair of white p?nt??s and a white bra. Her body was fit with the right amount of curves, making her exceptionally beautiful.

    "My br??sts are big, so why doesn''t he stare at them? Is there something wrong with them?" Androssi asked herself. She cupped her br??sts, which have grown noticeably larger and pushed them up.

    Androssi looked down at her muscled and thin stomach and ??r?ssed it with one of her hands. "I can''t lose any more weight here. Otherwise, I would have to stop eating completely."

    Androssi turned around and struck her bubble bu?? out. Her ?ss was fit and round, and any man would give their life away only to be able to touch it. "Is there something wrong with my ?ss?"

    "Maybe he doesn''t like my legs? Are they too short?" Androssi asked and looked down at her legs. They were fit and s?xy, and although she was only 1.67m tall, they were definitely not short.

    "Is it the horn? Neither Yuri, Tiana, or Diana have one. It must be it!" Androssi touched the horn on the right side of her forehead. Before, she was able to hide it under her brown hair. However, during the past eight years, it had also grown a bit and was slightly sticking out.

    "Should I ask for the horn to be removed as my reward for the next Test? GAH!" Androssi said, laid down on her bed, and covered her face with her hands. "What am I supposed to do?"

    Meanwhile, Lumen was in the skeleton city with Boking and Rider.

    "It''s about time we leave and continue our climb." Lumen said, and Boking let out a sigh.

    "I''m sad to see you leave, li... Rider, but if this is what you want, I won''t try to stop you." Boking said.

    "Don''t be sad, Boking. I promise to come back in the future! I will tell you stories about all the creatures with skin that I will encounter!" Rider promised him.

    "I will be waiting," Boking replied. It hurt him seeing the little one leave at such a young age. He was only two thousand years old and was still considered a child to the skeletons.

    "Let''s go." Lumen said to Rider, and a pair of flaming wings appeared on his back. Rider imitated him and created bone wings on his back. The two then flew up towards the Ghost Ship.

    "This is so exciting!" Rider exclaimed. "I can''t wait to watch over my new friends as they sleep!"

    Lumen froze mid-flight when he heard that. "About that."

    "What?" Rider asked.

    "Um." Lumen thought for a moment on how to explain this.

    "Women, those that have long hair and a bit more skin over here." Lumen pointed at his ?h?st. "They don''t like it when others watch over them when they sleep. Unless they have given their permission."

    "Okay! I will remember that." Rider said, and though. ''There is so much I have to learn about people with skin.''

    "And also. Normally, only one person watches another as they sleep. For example, Tiana, the purple-haired woman, watches me when I sleep, and I watch her." Lumen told him.

    "So you and Tiana are especially good friends and watch over each other?" Rider asked.

    "Exactly." Lumen answered with a chuckle.

    "Got it!" Rider replied.

    "The rest would love to be watched over by you." Lumen told him with a laugh.

    "Yay! I can''t wait! I''m going to be the best friend I could be!" Rider exclaimed.

    "I''m sure you will." Lumen replied as the two entered the Ghost Ship.

    Once they entered the Suspendship, the Ghost Ship was teleported outside of Bonerakard''s domain.

    "I hope the little one will be fine," Boking said to the Guardian.

    "Do not worry about his safety. Very few people could harm him." Bonerakard replied.

    "I know," Boking replied and looked towards the massive bone tree that Bonerakard was perched on. The bone tree came out of the poisonous sea, and at the bottom, bone roots were entangled around an amber-colored sphere, which was slowly pulsating.

    The orb would have looked like one of the most valuable jewels one could find if it wasn''t missing a part of it. It looked like someone had cleanly chopped a part of it with a blade.

    "But I can''t help but worry about him. He is so young, after all." Boking said as he watched the Ghost Ship disappear from Bonerakard''s domain.

    Once the Suspendship was outside the Guardian''s domain, Lumen messaged Agnis.

    [We are ready to leave. Come to the Ghost Ship, I''m sending you the coordinates.]

    Everyone from Agnis''s team boarded his smaller Suspendship, and it flew towards the Ghost Ship. Hwa Ryung was also with them, but she didn''t take the Test with them. Unlike Merrie, she didn''t have an official position on their team. Hwa Ryung was only their Guide and nothing more.

    Lumen and the rest greeted them, but they were surprised seeing Rider with them.

    "Who or what is that?" Agnis asked in wonder. He had never seen such a life form before.

    "Hi! My name is Rider, and I''m Lumen''s friend!" The skeleton proudly declared and thought to himself. ''Okay, let''s do this right.''

    Rider then slowly started circling around them. He had an earnest expression on his face while doing it. Well, as earnest as a bony skull can make.

    Agnis''s team was looking at Rider in confusion, and they were wondering. ''What the hell is this skeleton doing?''

    Lumen and his team couldn''t resist laughing. Rider was very funny when trying to make friends.

    [What is happening?] Agnis asked Lumen on his Pocket.

    [He''s trying to befriend you. Just play along and ask him to become your friend.] Lumen replied.

    "Um, Rider. Do you want to become our friend?" Agnis asked the skeleton, and his group looked at him in confusion.

    [Just play along.] Agnis informed them on their Pockets.

    "YES! I made new friends!" Rider exclaimed and ran over to Lumen. "Did I do good?"

    "Yes, you did." Lumen replied with a laugh.

    "I''m getting better at making friends!" Rider happily stated.

    "We will stay here for a few more days, get you guys some extra practice, and we will advance onto the 32nd Floor afterward. Follow me to the training room." Lumen informed Agnis''s group.

    "Got it." They replied and walked after him.

    Hwa Ryun, on the other hand, walked up to Merrie. "It''s good to see you."

    "You too! How have you been?" Merrie asked her as the two made their way towards the dining room.

    During the night, Novick was peacefully sleeping in his room when he woke up, feeling a bit thirsty. He opened his eyes only to be greeted by an amber-colored skull staring at him.

    "Hiii!" Rider exclaimed, and Novick stood up in a panic.

    "What are you doing here?" Novick asked.

    "I''m watching you sleep! That''s what friends do, right?" Rider replied to him.

    ''I''m only dreaming, and this is not actually happening. I will drink some water, go back to sleep, and the creepy skeleton will be gone in the morning.'' Novick thought to himself. He grabbed a bottle of water, drank it one go, and tucked himself in his bed.

    The night passed, and Novick woke up in the morning.

    "Hiii!" Rider happily greeted him.

    ''Damn it! It wasn''t a nightmare!'' Novick cursed and quickly got up. He put some clothes and exited his room while trying to ignore the creepy skeleton.

    "How did you sleep?" Rider asked. "We skeleton don''t have to sleep, so I wonder how does it feel? Like, do you stop functioning for half a day or what?"

    "..." Novick continued walking without responding.

    "Hellooo? Novick, answer me." Rider said.

    "It''s too early in the morning for me to answer questions. My brain still can''t process what''s happening." Novick replied.

    "I see. So you do stop function for half a day, and then you even have trouble functioning after you stop sleeping. Lumen was right. We skeletons are a lot more special than people with skin." Rider stated.

    Novick didn''t respond and silently walked to the dining room with the skeleton following after him. Wangnan and Ran were already having their breakfast, so he made his way to their table.

    "Morning, Novick." Wangnan greeted him and asked. "Why is Rider following after you?"

    "Because..." Novick was about to tell them what happened but decided against that. "Because we are friends, right, Rider?"

    "We sure are!" Rider confirmed.

    "And they are also your friends, right?" Novick asked.

    "Yes!" Rider confirmed once more, and Novick evilly smiled.

    The next few days passed, and almost all the men on the Ghost Ship got to experience waking up to Rider''s amber-colored skull.

    "We are moving onto the next Floor." Lumen told them, and the Suspendship flew upwards.

    The sky opened up, and the Ghost Ship advanced onto the 32nd Floor. The Suspendship passed through a Shinsoo sea, and an orange sky greeted the group.

    Agnis''s group and Hwa Ryung boarded the smaller Suspendship and flew out of the Ghost Ship, making their way towards an island on the Floor.

    While Lumen made his Pocket visible and stated. "Contract with the Guardian."

    Unlike the previous time, the entire Ghost Ship was straight up teleported with him to the Guardian''s domain. A gigantic orb made of sand, which was continually moving, greeted them. The Guardian had a red jewel, which resembled an eye, and stared at the Ghost Ship with it.

    "I''ve been expecting you, Challenger." The Guardian''s voice boomed around them. Since he learned from Bonerakard that someone is taking on the special Tests, he had directly transported the Ghost Ship to his domain.

    "Welcome to my domain, the Endless Desert. My name is Ret-Yodha, but you can call me Ret." Wherever the group looked, all they could see was sand, sand, and more sand. From time to time, they will see a massive tumbleweed, made of sharp objects, tumbling throughout the desert.

    "I presume those are your teammates, who will be taking the normal Test from me." The Guardian observed his group, when his eye landed on Rider, the red jewel physically widened in surprise.

    ''Bonerakard actually did it? I can''t believe that used a part of his core to create a creature. I know he creates all of his skeletons using his body, but isn''t this too much?'' Ret thought.

    "What kind of skin is that?" Rider asked while watching Ret.

    "That''s not skin. That''s sand, Rider." Lumen answered him.

    "Ohhh! So does that make him special?" Rider questioned in wonder.

    "Yes, yes, it does." Lumen answered with a laugh.

    "The skeleton can''t take the Test with them!" Ret stated.

    "It''s fine since he is my partner." Lumen replied.

    "I can''t allow him taking the Test with you as well," Ret said.

    "It''s okay! I just want to see more creatures that aren''t made of bones." Rider stated.

    "I have already prepared your special Test, Challenger," Ret told Lumen and looked towards Androssi. "But, I will need to know what you d?s?r? before I can choose yours."

    "I want an ability similar to Lumen''s light powers!" Androssi instantly replied, and he turned his arm into light to demonstrate.

    "Hmm. I can give you a sand quality, which will allow you to turn your body into sand." Ret replied.

    "Uhg. I will pass on that." Androssi sadly replied. It seems she didn''t have any luck with this Floor as well.

    "That''s your loss. I can sense your Shinsoo quality is an orb. I can enhance it as a reward, but the Test won''t be easy." Ret stated.

    "I''m fine with that," Androssi replied to him.

    "And what about the others?" Ret asked.

    "An increase in the amount of Shinsoo they can control." Lumen answered him.

    "A fine choice. I can sense their Shinsoo limit has already been increased once. I presume that''s their reward from the Test given by Bonerakard." Ret replied.

    "Either way, I have decided on their Test as well. Prepare yourselves, for both Tests won''t be easy." Ret declared.

 Chapter 77 - Thirty-Second Floor (2)

    "You." Ret looked at Androssi and the rest. "Will have to track down an Ammos Fidi, obtain its heart, and bring it to me. There are a total of four of them that live in my domain. That''s the only clue you get from me. Now off you go."

    The Guardian was aware that Merrie is a Guide, so he didn''t provide the group with any more information about Ammos Fidi.

    "You can stay in my domain, but you are not allowed to help them with their Tests!" Ret said to Rider.

    "That''s okay! I only want to meet the creatures in your domain!" Rider replied to him.

    "And you." Ret turned towards Lumen. "Will come with me."

    The Guardian teleported Lumen to a place that was surrounded by giant sand walls.

    "Your Test will be a simple, but yet challenging one. For the next three days and nights, you will have to face off against the creatures of my domain. You are not allowed to take any brakes!" Ret stated.

    ''Not again.'' Lumen thought. He already knew that he couldn''t continuously fight for such a long time from the previous Test. But that was also because he wasn''t able to harvest the life force of the Bone Hydras.

    "A quick question. Those creatures will be living beings, right?" Lumen asked the Guardian.

    "Humph. I''m not like Bonerakard! All of the beings in his domain are created from his body! While the creatures in my domain are given life by the dense Shinsoo produced from me!" Ret responded with arrogance.

    "That''s all I needed to know." Lumen let out a sigh of relief. "I''m ready to start."

    "And start, we shall! Come forth, my servants!" The Guardian''s voice echoed throughout his domain.

    In a moment, around a dozen large yellow scorpions with rock-like carapaces came out of the sand. A green liquid was dripping from their stingers as they stared at Lumen. They looked terrifying, but Lumen had sensed that they are weaker than Rankers. They snapped their pincers a few times before letting out a screech. "Skreee."

    Quickly, they charged towards Lumen. He raised his hand, formed a Baang with his black fire, and shot it in a wave towards the incoming scorpions. The black fire engulfed and erased them from existence.

    ''This feels good.'' Lumen thought as he received the life force of the slain scorpions. Knowing that all the creatures that he kills would provide him with life force, he was confident that he will be able to pass the Test.

    Twenty sand golems emerged afterward. Their entire body was composed of sand, and they had a blue gem stuck in the middle of their ?h?sts. Without making a sound, they jumped towards Lumen.

    He could have killed them just as easily as he killed the scorpion, but he decided that this would be a good time for his pets to get some fighting experience since he had sensed that, like the scorpions, they are weaker than Rankers.

    Lumen pulled out his black jar and summoned his three pets.

    Berserker and Saber each let out a roar, trying to outdo the other, while Archer wiggled in the air.

    Swiftly, Berserker used his tail to strike the incoming golem. The dinosaur accurately hit the blue gems in their ?h?sts, and the golems crumbled to sand.

    After destroying them, Berserker turned towards Saber with arrogance in his beady eyes. ''It''s obvious I''m the stronger one.'' The dinosaur thought.

    However, Saber ignored him and licked her paws without a care in the world. Berserker''s antics didn''t disturb her the slightest.

    ''Stupid cat!'' Berserker stomped his feet in the sand and turned around, anticipating more enemies to come.

    Twenty-five golems and twenty-five scorpions emerged from the sand, but before Berserker or Saber could react, the golems were all pierced with a spear through their blue gems, while the scorpions were stabbed with multiple spears.

    "Roar!" ''This is my time to shine, what are you doing, you annoying snake!'' Berserker turned towards Archer with anger in his eyes, while the winged snake was doing barrel rolls.

    Seeing Berserker, Archer stuck his tongue out and did his weird wiggling dance.

    While the two were doing their staredown, fifty more golems and twenty-five scorpions emerged from the sand. Before they could react, Saber had already reached the enemies. Using her sharp claws, she was able to destroy the golems'' gems in a quick manner, while also swiftly dealing with the scorpions.

    Fifty golems and fifty scorpions emerged afterward. Lumen''s three pets immediately dashed towards them and started a competition on who can kill the most.

    Six hours later, over a thousand creatures emerged per each wave, and his pets were starting to get tired. They had already killed over thousands each. From now on, it was Lumen''s turn.

    "Good job. This is enough. Go back and rest now." Lumen told them.

    ''I''m the bestest snake ever!'' Archer started wiggling in the air since the snake was the one that killed the most amount of enemies. Unlike the other two, he could create hundreds of weapons and use them to destroy the sand creatures.

    Lumen brought out his black jar and returned his pets back to it as the sand creatures were charging towards him.

    ''I wonder, how much would I be able to increase my body strength with the amount of life force I can harvest here.'' Lumen thought as he formed a massive Baang of black fire.

    While Lumen was fighting the waves of sand creatures, the rest of the group was following after Merrie''s lead.

    The Guide had sensed the location of an Ammos Fidi and was leading them towards it.

    "Stupid sand," Vespa complained and fluttered her wings to remove the sand from them.

    The small girl had removed her blue coat and was wearing a blue tank top and a pair of blue shorts, revealing her pale skin. The desert was too hot for her to keep wearing her blue coat.

    "Let''s just deal with this as soon as possible," Androssi said. She also wasn''t a big fan of the desert. Like Vespa, Androssi was also wearing a black tank top and a pair of black shorts, revealing her stunning woman features.

    Very few could resist staring at her beautiful figure, but the men from the group knew better. Should Androssi catch them gawking at her, they would end up in a world of pain. She would allow only one person from their group to stare at her.

    The rest of the group had similar outfits, with the women wearing more revealing clothes, showing off their stunning features.

    "Just a bit more. I can sense that the creature is near." Merrie told the group.

    The Guide continued leading them, and they climbed on top of a sand dune when they were finally able to see Ammos Fidi.

    The moment the group climbed on top of the sand dune, Ammos Fidi''s head turned towards them.

    "ROAR!" It roared at the group and revealed its sharp fangs while spewing yellow saliva towards them.

    A wind barrier formed in front of the group and stopped the saliva from reaching them.

    Laure was still sleeping while being carried on Aleksai''s back, but he had sensed an attack coming towards them. His instincts kicked in, and he had created the wind barrier without even waking up.

    The yellow saliva was repelled, and it dropped on the sand, where it slowly started dissolving it.

    "Great, another poisonous creature," Androssi remarked.

    "Um, it''s actually venomous and not poisonous because it spewed it at us." Leesoo corrected her, and she turned towards him with narrowed eyes.

    "I don''t remember asking you," Androssi said while cracking her knuckles.

    "Guys, this is not the time to argue, prepare to face off against the Ammos Fidi. It doesn''t look like it will willingly give its heart to us." Merrie told the two.

    "Grow." Anak decompressed Anoph''s size, and the needle easily reached the snake.

    In response, Ammos Fidi bit down the weapon, stopping her attack. However, the B8-Ranked needle wasn''t a simple weapon.

    "Drink, Anoph!" Anak called out. From the opening at the tip of the needle, a proboscis came out and latched onto the flesh of Ammos Fidi''s mouth. Anoph then started su?k?n? large amounts of bloods from the giant snake.

    "ROAR!" Ammos Fidi roared out and started shaking its head. With its great strength, it managed to throw Anoph and Anak, who was holding the needle, high into the air.

    Anak jumped on top of Anoph, and the two insect wings on its handle started flapping.

    "Grow!" Anak commanded, and the needle grew even larger. She rode Anoph like a skateboard and drove it towards Ammos Fidi.

    The snake learned its lesson from the previous time and didn''t attempt biting the needle. It turned around and used its tough golden scales to defend from the attack.

    Anoph hit Ammos Fidi and pummelled it into the sand. However, it didn''t manage to pierce through the tough scales and only left a small scratch on them.

    "This won''t be easy," Merrie said as she observed Anak''s attempts at killing the beast.

    "We will have to work together to handle this one," Leesoo stated while already making plans on how to slay Ammos Fidi.

    "Well, start thinking about how we could kill it while we keep it busy," Androssi said and dashed towards Ammos Fidi, with Hatsu and Vespa following behind her.

    Meanwhile, Rider was walking aimlessly in the desert when he noticed a city made of sand buildings, and he quickly dashed towards it. When he neared the sand city, two humanoid-creatures made of sand walked out of it. They were both holding yellow stone-like spears in their hands.

    "Halt!" One of them stated.

    "Who or what are you?" The other asked.

    "Hii! I''m a skeleton, and my name is Rider!" He proudly answered. Rider loved telling people his name.

    "What are you doing here?" They asked while carefully observing him. They had never seen a creature like him.

    "My friends are taking on the Tests given by Ret-Yodda. But he said I can''t take the Tests with them and only allowed me to roam around his domain." Rider replied.

    "His name is Ret-Yohda, not Ret-Yodda! Remember that!" The sand humanoid declared, but he was also surprised that the Guardian had allowed this creature to just roam around its domain.

    "I''m sorry! He said his full name only once. I will remember it, I promise." Rider replied.

    "You are forgiven." They said.

    "What are your names?" Rider asked them.

    "I''m Shi Sha."

    "And I''m Sho Sha."

    The two answered him.

    "Shi Sha and Sho Sha. I got it." Rider replied and thought. ''Ok, let''s do this!''

    He slowly started walking circles around them, and the two sand humanoids looked at him in confusion.

    "What are you doing?" They asked.

    "I''m trying to befriend you! This is how people make friends. Don''t you know this?" Rider replied.

    "Really?" The two sand humanoids looked at each other and replied. "We didn''t know that."

    Afterward, they started walking circles around him as well, trying to befriend him.

    "Yay! I made new friends!" Rider exclaimed when they did that.

    "We welcome you to the Sha city, Rider. Come, let us, Sand People, show you around." The two told him and brought him inside.

    A few hours later, Rider had befriended all the Sand People in the Sha city.

    "It was good meeting you, Rider." Shi Sha told him as the skeleton was leaving the city.

    "You too, Shi. I''m going to visit the other three cities now. I can''t wait to befriend them as well!" Rider exclaimed and made his way towards another sand city.

    The Sand People of Sha had told him there are three more cities like theirs. Shak, Shroe, and Shri. Rider was planning on visiting all of them and befriending the people there. (ED: Author-san has a very good naming sense if you can tell)

    "I can''t believe we''ve lived all our lives without even knowing how to befriend others," Shi told his fellow Sand Person.

    "Me too. Thankfully, the nice skeleton told us how." Sho replied as the two watched Rider dash towards another sand city.

 Chapter 78 - Thirty-Second Floor (3)

    At an unknown Floor, five of FUG Elders had gathered for a meeting.

    During the Workshop incident, they had suffered major losses. They lost two of the three Thorn fragments that they owned. They lost Bam and Rachel, their two Irregulars. And they also lost two high ranking members of their organization, Poken and Madoraco.

    However, that wasn''t all. After Ha Jinsung, Bam''s teacher learned that hey had planned to merge the boy with the Thorn, he defected from their group.

    Since then, all the Elders had to care for their safety. Jingsung wasn''t a simple guy, and he was considered one of the 100 strongest people in the Tower. Although the Elders were also extremely strong, they didn''t dare face against him.

    However, Ha Jingsung wasn''t the reason they had gathered for a meeting. It was Karaka.

    "The last Thorn fragment had been stolen, and Karaka has disappeared since then." An Elder stated.

    "Damn it! What is he doing?!" Another Elder furiously asked and slammed the table.

    "The Thorn was something that he greatly d?s?r?d. We should have taken more care of the last fragment." Khel said.

    "We did! It was guarded by trusted and high ranking members of our organization." An Elder stated.

    "Karaka tricked us." Another one calmly said. "He fooled us by saying that he wanted to resurrect White while planning behind our backs. What do we even do with that Slayer? He is still hiding in the Hell Train."

    "Fuck him!" The Elder that slammed the table cursed out. "That pretty boy is still alive only because his sister spared him. We don''t need someone like him!"

    "He is still someone powerful that we can use. We can try to help him. Let us decide by voting." An Elder said calmly. "I vote to help him."

    "I''m against that!"

    "I''m also against that." Two of the Elders instantly refused to help White.

    "I vote to help him."

    "So, my vote decides the outcome?" Khel asked. "I vote to help him. Since Karaka had clearly betrayed us, we could use his help. White wasn''t a Slayer for no reason. We could ask him about the rituals and spells he used to make his soul immortal. That could be useful to us."

    "Fine, so be it! We can try to help him, but how we will get someone to enter the Hell Train?" The furious Elder asked.

    "I have an idea," Khel replied.

    Meanwhile, in Ret-Yohda''s domain.

    Androssi was flying around Ammos Fidi with pink wings made of Shinsoo on her back. A pink sphere was floating around her and was constantly shooting out her pink arrows at the massive snake.

    ''Damn it! Do I have to rely on the Thorn again?'' Androssi asked herself. The Thorn had amazing powers, but if she had to rely on it every time, she would never be able to catch up to Lumen.

    Hatsu had materialized ten spinning discs that were grinding at Ammos Fidi''s golden scales. He had also ignited both Ryu and Donghae and was sending waves of ice and fire towards the snake.

    ''You are still too weak.'' Ryu spoke in his mind.

    ''Your leader would have already killed this ugly monster. He should be the one to wield me, not you.'' Donghae told him.

    Hatsu ignored the two spirits and continued striking at the beast. Their words didn''t faze him as he knew he was weaker than Lumen. His weakness didn''t bother him and only served as motivation to grow stronger.

    Anak was flying on Anoph and attacking Ammos Fidi with the large needle. She had materialized her scaled line, which was spinning at a fast pace, trying to grind the golden scales of the beast.

    Vespa had entered her ?du?t form and was zapping around the snake. In one of her hands, she was holding a golden needle, and in the other, she held a stinger, her Shinsoo quality.

    The golden needle was the weapon she received from the Workshop. Ensign, a B9-Rank needle specialized in penetrating and poisoning enemies, which perfectly fit her combat style.

    Vespa was trying her best to damage Ammos Fidi with her attacks, but she wasn''t able to break through its tough scales.

    Aleksai had entered his Devil form. In one of his hands, he was holding his new trident, and in the other, he held a long, thin, red spear. Astra, a B7-Ranked Ignition weapon.

    Tiana had created her green tulip, which was spreading around the sand at a very quick pace. The flower was constantly trying to entangle Ammos Fidi, but the snake was able to destroy it with just a few movements of its massive body.

    Verdi, Laure, and Merrie were standing as far away from Ammos Fidi as they possibly could.

    Every time the snake would try to spew its venomous saliva, Laure would block it with his wind barriers.

    Verdi had the Roaring Thunder on her shoulder, and she had already shot Ammos Fidi with it once. The canon had managed to hurt the beast, but it wasn''t able to destroy its golden scales.

    Merrie had her Lighthouse in front of her and was ?ssisting everyone else with their Shinsoo control.

    Leesoo was running around the battlefield and trying his best to dodge the jerking motions of the snake. He was carefully observing the fight, trying to find a way to deal with the massive creature.

    Leesoo was hit a couple times by Ammos Fidi, but he had managed to activate his Blood Tamara in time. He had received another one from the Workshop and could activate it for longer periods of time. The second Blood Tamara had also increased defensive capabilities of each use.

    "Vespa, try to target its eyes," Leesoo called out. Ammos Fidi''s eyes were very small compared to its massive body, and one would even have a hard time noticing them.

    "I''m on it." In an instant, Vespa appeared in front of the creature''s eyes and swiftly stabbed it with Ensign. Before the snake could chomp down on her, she quickly flew away from there.

    "ROAR!" Ammos Fidi roared out in pain. Its left eye started swelling up, and in a moment, it burst into yellow goo.

    "Nice one. Go after the other one next." Leesoo told her.

    Vespa managed to stab the other eye with Ensign, and it also exploded into yellow goo.

    "ROAR!!" Ammos Fidi started jerking its body in pain. Both of its eyes were destroyed, but the beast didn''t need them to sense the location of the group.

    "Okay, we got its eyes, but now what," Leesoo said while watching Ammos Fidi swipe at them with its massive tail. "Doesn''t seem like he needed them in the first place."

    Leesoo then remembered how Anak was able to injure Ammos Fidi with her first attack. ''Hmm. This might work.''

    "Listen up, guys, I have a plan," Leesoo called out to the group.

    Meanwhile, in Shak, one of the cities of the Sand People.

    Rider was standing in the middle of the city with thousands of Sand People walking circles around him.

    ''I''m so good at making friends! I can''t wait to tell Lumen.'' Rider thought as he watched them.

    "Did we do it correctly?" The mayor of Shak asked.

    "Yes! This is exactly the way I thought!" Rider replied.

    Six more hours passed after Lumen returned his pets to his bowl. The entire arena he was fighting had sunken down, and a large portion of the sand was missing.

    Ret had to use Shinsoo to reinforce the remaining sand. Otherwise, the arena would have turned into a gigantic pit.

    Lumen was fighting with thousands of sandworms that resembled Ammos Fidi, but they were a lot smaller than the giant snake and didn''t have its golden scales. Those creatures were as strong as a normal Ranker.

    ''Lifeforce here, lifeforce there, lifeforce everywhere.'' Lumen was humming in his mind as he was slaying the sandworms.

    The amount of life force he had received from them was already a crazy amount, but he had noticed something odd. For every creature, he slew with his black flames, around 10% to 20% of the life force disappeared somewhere.

    Lumen had become quite proficient with the technique he developed for strengthening his body, but he wasn''t good enough to refine 20% or even 10% of the lifeforce in such a short time. He had tried sensing a few times where the lifeforce is going, but he wasn''t able to track it down.

    Lumen would definitely check this out at some point, but now he had creatures to slay and lifeforce to harvest. Black flames surrounded him, and he continued burning the sandworms with them.

    ''Wasting your energy so recklessly. Let''s see how long you can last.'' Ret thought.

    The Guardian didn''t believe that he could keep this on for the next two days and a half since no creature had an endless amount of stamina. And he was correct, Lumen didn''t have a neverending vitality, but for every bit of stamina he used, he recovered even more by killing the creatures summoned by Ret-Yohda.

    This Test was perfect for Lumen. Since unlike the Bone Hydras, whose lifeforce was mostly stored in their hearts, all the monsters that the Guardian summoned had their lifeforce in their bodies.

    Lumen continued killing the sand creatures for another half a day, and Ret started bringing in even stronger ones.

    ''He should be getting tired at this point. Let''s see if you can handle the next wave.'' The Guardian summoned his Snake-Scorpions. A creature with the lower body of a scorpion and upper body of a snake with four pincers for arms. Each of them was nearly as strong as an Advanced Ranker, and Ret had summoned over a thousand of them.

    Lumen was more than happy seeing them. He had already gathered so much lifeforce from the previous waves of creatures, that he was starting to get drunk on it. He continued humming in his head as he slew them one after the other.

    Ret continued summoning the Snake-Scorpions for the entirety of the next day, and he started noticing that no matter how much energy Lumen used, he wouldn''t get exhausted. He was shooting out his black flames like there was no tomorrow.

    ''How does he have so much energy?'' Ret questioned himself. ''He should be tired by now.''

    Lumen had also gotten hit numerous times during the past two days since he didn''t care about the attacks from the monsters. As long as the attack wasn''t going to hit a vital spot, he ignored it. Lumen would instantly recover from any damage taken from their attacks with his white flames and surplus amount of lifeforce.

    ''How is this possible?'' The Guardian questioned himself. He hadn''t even planned on summoning his Snake-Scorpions since the Test was an endurance one. His weaker creatures should have done the job without a problem.

    ''Does he really have endless stamina?'' Ret thought. ''No! I refuse to believe that!''

    The Guardian then summoned one of his stronger creatures, Sikta-Rong. They looked like a Komodo Dragon with longer legs and a spiked ball at the end of their tails. Their scales were extremely tough, and even an Advanced Ranker would have trouble getting through them.

    Each Sikta-Rong was stronger than Ammos Fidi, but the massive snake was a creature that couldn''t reproduce naturally and was born from the dense Shinsoo produced from Ret-Yohda.

    Sikta-Rong, on the other hand, didn''t have a problem breeding, and at least a hundred of them get born each year.

    They were considered lesser dragon species, and the moment they laid their eyes on Lumen, they let out an enraged roar. His presence alone put them in a frenzy.

    A massive orange Baang gathered in front of each, and they shot it towards Lumen. He couldn''t afford to get hit by them, so he transformed his body into light and avoided the attacks.

    The Sikta-Rong were troublesome opponents, and he would normally have some trouble with them, but he had a surplus of lifeforce to work with.

    Twenty massive Baangs made of black flames appeared in front of him in nearly an instant. Without hesitation, he threw them towards the Sikta-Rong.