15 Chapter 15 : The Prelude To Disaster

"I always thought there was something odd about him. But I didn't expect him to be an irregular." Khun voiced his thoughts.

The rest of the regulars, minus Bam, were seated around him. The impact of the news was still fresh on everyone's mind. And right now, they were presented with an ultimatum.

Earlier once Bam publicly announced that he was an irregular, the test director asked him to have a talk with the floor administrator in order to make the necessary arrangements for the revised test. Once Bam left, he gave a clear message to the remaining regulars:

They could either take the administrator's test with Bam, or forget him and continue with the usual tests arranged by the director.

If they were to help Bam, they'd have to take the dangerously difficult test laid by the administrator and risk their own lives in the process. Even if they were to pass the test, they will forever be known as the ones who helped an irregular climb the tower.

Choosing to leave him, and continuing with the normal tests seemed to be the obvious choice. There was pretty much no risk with this option and the only downside seemed to be the guilt of leaving a comrade behind to fend for himself.

That is, if they had any in the first place.

"Of course we won't help him! Why should we risk our lives just to bring that girl with us? Besides, what did he ever do for us anyway?" Paracule made his stance clear.

"Need I remind you it was only because of him that you passed the test?" Hatz reminded him sternly.

"Well... But still, you'd have to be insane to help an irregular climb the tower. Don't you agree?" He was still unconvinced.

"Yeah. I agree."

Surprising everyone, it was Khun who said it.

"I feel sorry for Bam. I really do. But helping him is an entirely different matter."

For a few seconds, there was silence. Everyone was trying to process what they just heard.

"You... Piece of trash..." Hatz couldn't hold it in. "Was that all he was to you?"

"I can't help it, alright?!" Khun shouted. "If it ever becomes known that I helped an irregular climb the tower, it will be the end of me! I could even get kicked out of my family!"

"That's it!!" Hatz took a few steps towards him.

But then...

*SMACK*

Rak beat him to it and punched him square in the face.

"You... Crocodile..." Khun spat out some blood.

"You stupid turtles. All of you are too scared, cowering in fear inside your shells." His message was intended for everyone out there. "You are all too scared to lift your head up."

"I'm following him." He started walking away. "I'm not afraid of the consequences. I don't care what he is, but he is my prey."

Silence filled the room once again as each of the regulars contemplated what Rak just said. And soon enough, they made their decision.

"I'm going too." Surprisingly enough, it was Anak who came forward next. "I don't really care about helping him, but I think its better than staying with a coward who'll betray his friend to keep his family name."

"I never thought the day would come when I will agree with you on something." Hatz followed suit, and without waiting for a reply they dragged Shibisu along with them.

This started a domino effect, as soon enough every regular in the room decided to help Bam- If not for helping a friend, then at least to avoid getting ostracised by the others.

Only one person remained in the room, lying on the floor with a little bit of blood in his mouth.

Or rather, he thought he was.

"That was an Oscar worthy performance." Jinwoo stepped out from behind a pillar. "And don't worry. I was going to help him out eitherways."

Khun merely blinked and asked an obvious question.

"What's an Oscar?"

'Ah, right.' Jinwoo mentally facepalmed. "Nothing. Just forget it."

"Since when did you know?" Khun asked him, getting up from the floor.

"If you were the type of guy who would be worried about getting kicked off the family, you wouldn't have stolen that fancy briefcase, now would you?" Jinwoo remembered catching a glimpse of it during the crown game. On digging up some information about it, some rather... interesting info came up.

Manbarondenna - One of the most famed objects owned by Khun Edahn, the head of the Khun family. It contains a small pocket dimension within it, acting a lot similar to the storage function of the system. It also has a 'cloning' function, although it's limited to only certain non-living things.

And the guy standing in front of him stole it, from his father's treasure hoard.

"Besides..." Jinwoo continued. "You are possessive. A bit too possessive, even.  And that nature of yours extends to those whom you consider close. If the others had thought about it for even a little bit, they probably would have figured you out."

'This is new. Why do I get the feeling that our roles have been swapped?' Khun chuckled.

"Heh. You got most of it right. But if that's how you want to play this game, why don't we start with the fact you are an irregular?"

**********

'A pity...'

Hansung was currently waiting for Bam to conclude his meeting with the floor administrator.

'Only one of them took the bait...'

Earlier, when he told Khun Aguero Agnes that only irregulars could ask to take the test of the floor administrator, he wasn't lying. But there was an underlying purpose to it.

He wanted the two irregulars to reveal themselves. That would make his job of recruiting them both a lot easier. But sadly, one of them wasn't as impulsive as the other and didn't reveal himself.

'No matter...' He shook his head. 'An opportunity should present itself sooner or later. For now, my focus should be on how to deal with those two... The Royal Enforcement Division members...'

'R.E.D Unit No. #67, Lo Po Bia Ren. Currently operating under the alias Yuga. His plans are easy enough to see through- To eliminate Anak Zahard and to retrieve the Green April. He appears to have taken an interest on The Twenty-fifth Bam as a potential recruit for R.E.D. But now that his status as an irregular has been revealed, I've no doubt he will be marked as a second target for elimination.'

'But the bigger problem lies with the other one...' The image of Deco, the instructor for the fisherman class came to his mind.

'R.E.D Unit No. #69, Graham Lasher. Currently operating under the alias Deco. One of the oldest rankers in the tower, from the time of genesis. Oddly enough, he used to be a part of the Anti-Zahard faction. But one day towards the end of the warring periods, he just... vanished. He reappeared after a few centuries, and shockingly enough, joined the R.E.D. There's no record on what happened to him or where he was during that interval.'

'Looks like I'll have to play my cards a bit more carefully. Now then...' He took a glance at the large door which was opposite to him.

'Let's see how things will end up on his end.'

**********

"Oh? I am an irregular? And what makes you say that?" Jinwoo asked him.

"Well for starters, the fact that you didn't outright deny that claim." Khun smirked. "Then of course, there's your growth speed, both figuratively and literally. You are not from any of the ten great families. And yet you went from being roughly on par with Hatz during the crown game, to being able to overpower a Princess of Zahard in less than a month. Need I say more?"

"Well, it's not as if I was trying to specifically hide it... But yes, your deductions are spot on." Jinwoo confirmed it. "So, what are you going to do with this information?"

"Don't worry. I'm not planning on using it against you or anything. Anyone with a brain can easily deduce atleast this much." He revealed. 'Besides, it'd be unwise to have someone like him as an enemy.'

"I hope so..." Jinwoo muttered.

"Hey, blue turtle! You can get up- Oh. You are still here, hunter turtle?" Rak returned to the room, in a far better mood than when he left. "The rest of the turtles have decided to take the test."

"Good. Jinwoo, you are still on board with helping Bam, right?" Khun asked him.

"Obviously..." He replied.

'Then this should be a cake walk.' Khun smirked.

_________________________________________________

<One Week Later>

The time had finally come. It was finally the day for what was going to be the final test in the second floor. The previous week, the floor administrator granted approval for the special test to be conducted, with the added stipulation that if they were to pass the test, both Rachel and Ho would be considered eligible for going to the next floor.

The test was called 'The Submerged Fish Hunt'. It will be conducted in a 'wine glass', an underground lake that was somehow shaped like one. During the test, Bam and Rachel were to enter the lake in a special shinsu bubble, while the rest of the regulars would be outside.

There were four types of organisms that were involved in this test - Net dolphins, barnacle goblins, striped ground pigs and the bull.

The net dolphins cast a net made of shinsu inside the wine glass in order to gather fish for their queen. The queen then swallows them whole. To pass the test, everyone had to make sure that Bam and Rachel were swallowed by the queen, and emerge out from the ground.

The barnacle goblins ride several giant marsh worms and would continuously attempt to steal the fish by having the worm suck them out, while staying outside the ground. If the shinsu bubble housing the two were to be sucked out this way, they'd fail the test.

The striped ground pigs are enemies to both the net dolphins and the barnacle goblins. They are very agile and usually prey on the net dolphins.

Finally, there is the bull. Its a relatively new creature in the area, but also at the top of the food chain. Its diet is not limited to net dolphins and has even prayed upon some unlucky regulars in the past. Even rankers prefer to avoid it.

The role of the other regulars were simple enough. They had to make sure that Bam and Rachel were swallowed by the queen, while keeping the rest of the threats occupied.

Currently, Jinwoo had just finished running a few laps outside, as part of his daily mission.

'It's getting easier with time, though it's to be expected.' Wiping away some of the sweat from his forehead, he thought about the progree he made since the beginning. 'Then again, I suppose that's a good thing.'

'Should I use the status recovery option now?' He contemplated while looking at the rewards for the mission.

'I guess it'd be better to save it for now. Who knows, maybe it'll come in handy later on today?'

'Now then...' He started walking towards the main building. 'I guess it's time to meet up with others.

**********

"It seems you have all made your choice, regulars." Yu Hansung commented on seeing all the regulars who had passed the previous test standing in front of him. "All I can wish now is to hope you won't regret your actions today."

"Now then, shall we begin the final test?"

_________________________________________________

Name: Sung Jinwoo

Level: 10

Class: None

Title: One Versus All

HP: 4600

MP: 431

<Stats>

Strength: 60

Vitality: 45

Agility: 50

Intelligence: 30

Sense: 42

Available Stat points : 0

<Active Skills>

-Sprint (Lvl 1)

-Shinsu Boost (Lvl 1)

-Bloodlust

-Vital Strike (Lvl 1)

-Dagger Throw (Lvl 1)

<Passive Skills>

-Tenacity

-Dagger Arts (Lvl 1)

_________________________________________________