As soon as Lester stepped into the white room, he sensed an unusual change in the surroundings. The tunnel that he walked through, had vanished into glittering lights. He shook his head with a smile on his face.
He locked gazes with the White Armored Eel that is hovering in the air. Looking closely, a presence of boredom and indifference are present on the beast's pair of eyes. It was as if it's gaze showed that it was looking on a clown waiting to be slaughtered.
Even then, Lester stood before the gigantic beast with a confident smile. He did not attack or provoke the beast. The three – Princess Yuri, Evan and Headon – noticed his actions and felt weird.
"Has he frozen in fear?"
Princess Yuri muttered under her breath, as a trace of disappointment appeared in her face. She was confused from the current situation. She can't help but nudged Evan who was standing beside her.
"Evan, what do you think-"
Huh? Princess Yuri stood stupefied, while gazing at Evan's current mood. She could vividly see the surprise in the white dwarf's eyes. It was as if Evan had witnessed something unimaginable, greatly shaking his emotions.
"Evan, what did you see?"
Princess Yuri slapped Evan's shoulder, as she tried to wake him up from his daze. Evan quickly reacted, as light gradually returned to his eyes. He looked solemn, while gazing at Lester's confident figure afar.
"Princess Yuri, I suggest you to watch closely and focus on that young man."
"W-what are you talking about? Could it be that you saw something?!"
"No... that's why we should watch carefully."
Evan soon shut his mouth, his eyes never leaving that confident figure. Princess Yuri felt confused, but still, she listened to Evan's suggestion. They both carefully seized Lester's figure, waiting for something to occur.
Headon also felt expectant of Lester's performance. Sensing that Lester won't make a move any sooner, an unnoticed gleam appeared on his eyes.
Roar!
The gigantic White Armored Eel suddenly turned agitated, as its blue-striped eyes glared at Lester. The Shinsoo in the air vibrated, rapidly congealing into a formless pressure that pressed upon Lester's stature.
The air shrieked with the sudden appearance of a gigantic tail that swiped downwards towards Lester's location. A suffocating pressure that can instantly destroy a normal human's body fell down to the young man's body.
"Oh no! He can't move!"
The onlookers saw Lester motionless amidst of all dangerous situations. They prepared themselves for the worst, already seeing the scene of Lester's body rendered into a pile of blood.
However, reality is not so similar to fantasy.
Lester's smile was still the same, but a trace of contempt was present. The unnoticed faint golden light within his eyes shone in glimmer, as the attack of the White Armored Eel pierced through the air in great intensity.
Dust spread throughout a small perimeter, clouding the three's vision of the battle. They all silently waited for the repercussion to calm down. After all, just before the White Armored Eel could even touch Lester's body, they all saw him taking a step to his side.
The White Armored Eel is a beast that is strong enough to act as a Keeper in the 20th Floor. Its strength is undeniable, and at its lair filled with dense Shinsoo, even the beings beyond the level of Regulars will have trouble in dealing with it.
The impact of that attack gradually vanished, momentarily catching the White Armored Eel's attention. The beast had already concluded that it had win because of its confidence over itself. In his lair filled with dense Shinsoo, its speed is unimaginable.
However, the White Armored Eel gradually felt that something was wrong. It glared at the figure standing sideways beside its own tail. Lester had perfectly dodged the attack!
"Incredible…"
Evan murmured, knowing that Lester had only exerted a minimal amount of effort to achieve such feat. It was incredible because even strong Regulars would have trouble in perceiving the attack of the White Armored Eel.
Roar!
Seeing that its prey was unscathed, the White Armored Eel angrily smashed its left gigantic arms toward Lester. Shinsoo congealed and gathered to that arm, as a strong sense of power emanated out of it.
Lester ran towards the position of the White Armored Eel, suddenly sliding downwards of the creature's belly. He was trying to reach the black ball before the White Armored Eel could retract his overpowering left arms that was aimed in his previous position.
But, the White Armored Eel's eyes suddenly gleamed, its entire body glittering in dark lights. Sensing that it wouldn't be able to retract its left arm and use it to smash Lester, it forcefully controlled its versatile tail that was stuck in the ground, to aim for Lester's position.
"Look out!"
Princess Yuri can't help but shout in surprise, seeing that the tail of the White Armored Eel almost arrived and caught up to Lester's figure. She held her breath, waiting for the next scene to occur in her eyes.
Lester smirked, as he suddenly side-stepped to the right. The White Armored Eel was caught unprepared, as it wasn't able to change the direction of the tail.
Bang!
The sound of something popping, resounded across the white room. They all saw the black ball get destroyed by the White Armored Eel. Lester stood near the destroyed black ball, as he smiled at the White Armored Eel.
Roaar!
The White Armored Eel glared at Lester, but in the end, it did not attack the young man. It knew that the test had already concluded, and felt ashamed of itself that it can't even scratch the young man. Not just that, it even helped the young man pass the test!
"Congratulations, Lester, you have passed the test!"
Headon, silently appeared before Lester, carefully seizing the young man with his eyes. That battle unfortunately did not allow him to see anything out of ordinary from Lester. Power, ability, or whatever is it, he still can't sense it.
"You brat, how did you do that?"
Princess Yuri asked Lester, with shock evident in her face. Lester did not use any special powers, yet managed to control everything, successfully manipulating the White Armored Eel to do the job for him. It was a very excellent achievement.
"You're not that bad!"
Princess Yuri slapped Lester's back, not even minding the latter's reaction. She laughed heartily and would glance at Headon with a smug smile. It was as if she was proud that Headon did not manage to stop the Irregular from entering the tower.
Lester wryly smiled, as he helplessly gazed at the woman beside him. Lester is even taller than Princess Yuri yet she's treating him like a kid! Lester shook his head, speechless of Princess Yuri's attitude.
Evan also approached Lester, as he deeply gazed at the young man's eyes. Sensing his gaze, Lester looked back, while smiling normally. However, Evan did not perceive that smile normally.
"Lester, you shall now go to the 2nd Floor. The Test Administrator will explain things further."
Headon stopped Princess Yuri's audacious act, as he thoughtfully wandered whether this woman is really a Princess. He then looked at Lester with a smile that was not a smile. No one knew what he was thinking.
The endlessly rotating yellow stick around Headon, suddenly halted and landed on his grasp. He tapped the yellow stick on the ground, as a dimensional tunnel appeared before all of them. It was the gate towards the 2nd Floor!
"Please…"
Headon smilingly pointed at the dimensional tunnel, promptly reminding Lester to proceed to the next level. The latter gazed at the dimensional tunnel, as an unnoticed golden light silently inspected the tunnel.
Lester then retracted his gaze and glanced at the duo – Princess Yuri and Evan. He knew that these people did not possess any ill intention. Lester has a favorable impression of these two.
The unnoticed golden light within his eyes dimmed, as Lester finally decided to walk towards the dimensional tunnel. He steadily walked with confidence.
The three looked at his figure, as they saw him vanish into the dimensional tunnel. Princess Yuri has a happy look on her face, as she anticipated the future. It will be more fun from now on!
"Evan, let's go. We still need to retrieve the Black March from Ba'am."
"Yes, Princess. Then, Mr. Headon. We will go first."
Evan bid a farewell to Headon, while Princess Yuri disrespectfully walked ahead, not even bothering to take a glance at Headon. Her actions showed her unmasked hostility to Headon. It must be because of Headon's mischievous attitude that she had personally experienced beforehand.
"Princess Yuri, you also noticed, right?"
As Evan and Princess Yuri are walking upwards, using an endless stair that reached no ends. They both suddenly recalled the scene where Lester used the White Armored Eel's tail to destroy the black ball.
They both didn't knew whether Lester underestimated them, but they all saw the attack of White Armored Eel suddenly become stronger. Formidable enough to destroy the black ball that even Princess Yuri's treasure can't instantly pierce.
"Yes. Do you know how he did that?"
"Don't ask me Princess. We're talking about an Irregular here. Err... Why do you seem so happy?"
"Haha, I just think that things are getting more interesting! Evan, let's go…"
Evan wryly followed Princess Yuri, as they ascended the stairs at a terrifying rate. In the end, no one noticed about the golden light in Lester's eyes. No one knew his power, as he hadn't shown anything at all. He still remains a mystery to the three.