20 Chapter 20 : The Thirteenth Floor

In a rocky terrain located in the valley between two mountain ranges, the preliminary test for a group of regulars was currently being held. The uneven topography of the terrain made it difficult for normal people to traverse it, making the location even more suitable as a testing ground for regulars. This time, the test was rather simple - A team vs team elimination match. In order to proceed to the next stage, it simply required one team to knock out or kill all members of the opposition. There was a one hour time limit for the match and if both teams still remained at the end, then the team with more members remaining will claim victory.

So when the match was revealed to be between team A that had almost a dozen members and team B which only had two, everyone including the examiners had already predicted who would emerge victorious.

____________________

"Are you sure splitting up is a good idea, Lusat?" One of the regulars asked their team leader, a spiky purple-haired man who was dual-wielding daggers.

"What do you mean Zaru?" He questioned him. "They are just two regulars. It would be best to surround and finish them off as quickly as possible."

"Yeah, about that. Didn't you hear what Edona found about one of them? He's the guy nicknamed 'The Huntsman of Black' ! They say he can accurately hit targets upto four kilometers away with his bow and has never failed a floor test till date!" The guy named Zaru told him.

"Pfft! And you believe all that bullshit?" Lusat scoffed. "Those are just baseless rumors! From what we know he isn't even from any of the ten great families. What do you think he is? An irregular or something?"

"Well... There was that rumor about an irregular appearing in the test floor two years ago, so-"

"Yes. And he died while taking a test." Lusat interrupted him. "Look. I know you are worried. But you need to relax. In the end, there are just two guys in that team, while there are eleven of us. What's the worst that can happen anyway?"

*BEEP*

At the exact same moment, Lusat received a call in his pocket.

"What is it Edona? Did you loca-"

"Lu!! There is a big problem!!" The desperate cry of a girl was heard on the other side. "That guy is -"

But before she could complete it, the call was abruptly cut off, leaving both Lusat and Zaru baffled.

"Edona? What's wrong? Answer me!" Lusat shouted at the pocket, the worry being clear shown in his voice. Unfortunately, there was no reply.

"Lusat, something's wrong! I can't contact any of the others!" Zaru cried out.

"What? Let me try... " With a troubled look on his face Lusat tried contacting his other team members. Unfortunately all it did was confirm what Zaru said.

'There doesn't seem to be any communication jammers in this vicinity...' Lusat confirmed this by sending a message to Zaru's pocket, which beeped in response. 'Does that mean... They were all eliminated? But how?! It hasn't even been five minutes since the test started!'

____________________

Meanwhile, a different set of events were transpiring at Team B's starting point. Of the two members, one of them was inside his lighthouse while the other was holding a black bow in hand and keeping a watch at the distance.

"Boss, there are two of them far to the south. I'll send in their coordinates." The person inside the lighthouse spoke out.

"... " The bowman didn't say anything and simply outstretched his palm. The black mask he wore made it impossible to deduce his emotions, as waves of bluish-black shinsu started gathering around his hand, forming the shape of an arrow. Adjusting the aim with the bow, he drew the arrow back as much as it was possible.

'...There you are.'

With a loud snap, the arrow was fired off into the distance. After a few seconds passed, an explosion was seen in the distance signifying that the target was hit.

"...Uhh, did you kill them, boss?" The person who was inside the lighthouse got out, revealing himself to be a blonde young kid who looked like he was in his early teens. But just like most species in the tower, he was in fact far older than he seemed. However, the most striking feature he had was the pair of fox ears on his head.

"Nope. I limited the power behind the explosion. They should still be alive."

Soon enough, the announcement came revealing the winners of the test.

"The match is over since all members of Team A has been incapacitated. The winners are the team of Nocturne and Len."

When he heard his name being called, 'Nocturne' glanced at his young teammate who was now sporting a smug grin. It was a well known fact between the two that even though Jinwoo was good at a lot of things, coming up with good names was not one of them. It was for this very reason that he decided to pick his companion's suggestion and changed his alias.

"So, where are we off to next?" Len asked Jinwoo, while they were getting teleported away from the test arena. "Is it finally time?"

"No." Jinwoo shook his head. "We still need to find one more member. You remember, don't you? The necessary conditions to take the bonus test?"

"A team must consist of exactly three members if they wish to participate in the test." Len confirmed.

"Exactly. For teams with more than three regulars, they can simply decide on which ones among them will take the test. It's teams like ours that have to put in more work, since we have to find additional members just to fill the headcount."

"So, do you have anyone in mind?" Len asked him.

"No. That's where you come in. I want you to gather information and make a list of potential members we can hire. Since there's only a week remaining for the test, you can limit the search to regulars currently on this floor. Think you can do it?"

"Don't worry, boss. I can prepare the list by tonight." He nodded in eagerness.

"Good. We'll take the rest of the day off."

_________________________________________________

'It's been two years already, huh?' Jinwoo thought to himself while laying on a sofa. The news channel on the television was currently showing a live interview with Endorsi. Len was seated on the floor with his eyes glued on the television. Like many of the regulars, he too had a crush on the Princess of Zahard who was easily one of the most talked about regulars currently climbing the tower. Jinwoo on the other hand was looking at his stats window.

[Name: Sung Jinwoo

Level: 46

Class: None

Title: A True Irregular

HP: 14290

MP: 1925

<Stats>

Strength: 150

Vitality: 145

Agility: 150

Intelligence: 147

Sense: 148]

One thing he noticed a bit too late was that there was a maximum limit on the amount of points he could use on any given stat - A stat cap, so to speak. For now, it was at 150. Although he was annoyed a bit initially upon knowing this, it didn't affect the speed at which he climbed the tower. By the time he climbed the second floor, he was already at a level at which he could overpower pretty much all opposition without much effort. And he only grew stronger after that point. So even though his stats have remained stagnant for a while, it hardly made any difference while facing off against other regulars.

'And in order to raise the cap...' His eyes fell on a quest he had received.

[Special Quest: The Great Labyrinth

In order to overcome your limits, you must pass the bonus test on the thirteenth floor of the tower, also known as 'The Great Labyrinth'.

Rewards: Stat cap raised to 300, Random Equipment Box(B-rank)]

'It almost seems as if the system is telling me that simply pumping my points into raising my stats is not recommended. Fortunately, there's another use for it... Upgrading my skills.'

Something Jinwoo found after playing around with the system for a bit was that although it took a lot of points to upgrade a skill to its maximum level, the effort was well worth it. And the biggest example to this was one of the very first skills he received from the system.

[Sprint (Lvl 1) - - > Blink (Lvl Max)]

[Active Skill: Blink

Level: 10(Max)

MP Cost: 50

A movement skill that allows you to instantaneously teleport in any direction. Maximum range is proportional to Strength and Agility.]

What was supposed to be a skill that simply boosted his speed evolved into short range teleportation. And if this was any indication of how some of the other skills might behave once they get maxed...

'Let's not get off track.' He shook his head. 'Time to check out the list Len sent me earlier...' He retired to the bedroom, leaving Len behind infront of the television.

____________________

'*sigh* This won't do...' Jinwoo was disappointed to say the least, upon going through the list. While there definitely some capable regulars, they had some really ridiculous terms if someone wished to hire their services.

'Not to mention that over half of them would backstab me, or atleast try to do so, if the situation calls for it.'

The rest of the people on the list were simply those who failed the floor test and are trying to get a chance to earn some points to survive. They were more likely to be a liability instead.

'I guess there's not much choice then, guess I'll go with one of - Hmm?'

His eyes fell on the profile of a particular regular. He had accidentally missed it when he first went through the list.

[Name: Sam

Position: Fisherman

Fighting Style: Swordsman]

(A/N: And for those of you wondering, yes. This is a Metal Gear Rising reference)

'How interesting... He'll join for free, but only if someone defeats him in a one-on-one combat? And... Oh? He defeated Hatz?!'

The last piece of information was especially surprising for Jinwoo to hear. Having faced Hatz in battle before, and having sparred against him multiple times, he knew first hand how skilled he was.

'Looks like I found the last member...' He smirked inwardly.

_________________________________________________

"Hmm. So you are the one who wishes to recruit me? You must have already seen my demands, no?"

Currently Jinwoo was inside a cottage in the outskirts of the residential area. He was seated across a table, opposite to a man who appeared to be around the same age as Jinwoo. There was a prominent scar running over his left eye. His dark brown hair was long and was tied in a high-ponytail fashion. The guy had a casual and laid-back attitude, as if this was simply another day of work.

"I wouldn't be here if I didn't know about it." Jinwoo answered. "Don't worry. You'll fit well in the team."

"... Alright, then. Let's head outside." He pointed at the door. "But be careful what you wish for. You might lose a hand or two."

"Don't worry, I won't go too hard on you though." Jinwoo quipped, getting up from the chair. "Wouldn't want a corpse as a teammate."

"Oh ho ho, I am going to enjoy this far more than I should." Sam laughed it off.

Soon, both men were out in the open, standing opposite to each other. The sun was already setting, giving a picturesque view of their location. A gentle breeze was blowing around them as they both readied their weapons for the face-off.

"Shall we begin then?" Jinwoo asked him, as a pair of daggers materialised on his hand.

"... Okay." Sam pulled out a Red Katana and got into a battle stance.

"Let's dance."

_________________________________________________

I'm Back.

Sorry about the delay. I actually became comparatively free about two weeks ago. But due to writer's block, I couldn't complete the chapter for a while. Updates might be irregular for the next few chapters, since my creative mind isnt working as efficiently as I'd ideally like to. But it should get better with time.

Next chapter