Chapter 15: Climbing the tower with Ja Wangnan [Bonus Chapter]
"What do you think the test is gonna be about?" Ja Wangnan asked Kalon while he walked and folded his hands to rest his head.
"I am also climbing the tower with you. How would I know?" Kalon pushed Ja Wangnan's body that was not walking straight and continuously collided with him.
"Well, I forgot to ask. How old are you?" Wangnan asked, curious about how old this new friend he made was.
"I am 18, and you?" Kalon asked back. He wanted to know how Grandpa Wangnan would respond.
"Just a little older than you," Wangnan lied through his teeth.
Kalon turned to look at him, acting surprised that he was older than him. Wangnan avoided eye contact as he felt guilty.
Kalon did not torture him any longer as he casually shifted his eyes since the test center was within sight. Kalon was quite curious, as he had not seen Khun and the other princesses for a long while.
'It is impossible for them to waste so much time on lower floors.' Kalon's thoughts were right, as after the loss of Bam, Khun and his team had become more united. Because of that, they avoided solo tests and instead attempted the team tests.
"Hey, Kalon, where are you going? The 'team' line is here." Wangnan turned to look at Kalon, who did not follow him. He saw that he was standing in the solo test-takers' line, which was not much of a line to begin with, as there were only 20 or 30 test-takers in that line.
'I don't want to die.' Kalon clicked his tongue. He had no issue with taking the team test, but he was from F.U.G., and second, this guy was cursed— all of his teammates died, leaving him the sole survivor.
It could also be possible that Zahard was trying to train him to have a mind and heart so powerful that even the death of his close teammates wouldn't faze him. Well, it was just what Kalon thought.
There was also a theory that stated Zahard was the good guy and V and Arlene were the villains.
"Sorry, Wangnan. Let's meet on the higher floors. I do not like to depend on others, and you shouldn't either. If you want to be the King of the Tower one day, you too should attempt tests alone," Kalon whispered as he came close to Wangnan's ear.
"That symbol..." The person standing at the entrance, checking how many regulars had entered, stopped for a few seconds as he recognized the robe that Kalon had draped over his body.
"Yeah, you're not wrong. I am from F.U.G., the new Slayer Candidate," Kalon said a little louder so that everyone could hear. Wangnan also saw the symbol of F.U.G.; he had thought Kalon was just one of the many fans of F.U.G.
"Kalon... Slayer Candidate?" Wangnan's mind short-circuited at the mention of Slayer Candidate. Slayers were people chosen to slay the Tyrant King Zahard, who had ruled this tower for tens of thousands of years. With the addition of the word "Candidate," it meant he was a Slayer in the making. Although, until now, no one had become strong enough to even contend against the top 100 High Rankers, most of whom were allied with Zahard's forces.
Many people did not like F.U.G., as Zahard had not done anything they considered tyrannical. Most of them had only lived for 500 or more years, while the ten great family heads and Zahard had been around for tens of thousands of years.
This was also the reason F.U.G. chose its Slayer based on people who had some enmity with Zahard or his forces, which indirectly weakened Zahard.
"You can enter." Just as everyone was getting restless, being in the same area as the Slayer Candidate (which could label them as Kalon's accomplices), Kalon heard the call for him to enter. He ignored all the side-eyes and walked in.
This was also an order he had received from F.U.G. through his pocket: to announce that a new Slayer Candidate had been chosen. This would make Kalon's life more miserable, as he would receive many challenges from extras trying to gain fame by defeating or even killing him, a Slayer Candidate from F.U.G. Some would even be assassins sent by the forces or clans that F.U.G. had offended in its attempt to usurp the throne.
20th Floor
Five years later, in a residential area of the Tower, Kalon was in his system space, looking through his status screen, and he could not help but smile.
[Status]
Name: Kalon
Title: Monster in Human Skin (1/10,000)
Strength: 9,999
Agility: 9,999
Defense: 9,999
Speed: 9,999
Skills: Shinsu (Master), Fisherman (Master), Light-Bearer (Master), Spear-Bearer (Master), Wave Controller (Master), Pressurer (Advanced)
His title and skills had changed, and now the status looked much cleaner. He also found out that he had reached some sort of barrier, and his stats had been stuck at 9,999.
The feeling was pretty strange, as the next realm felt within reach. But for some reason, when he reached out to it, he was unable to break through the membrane of the next realm.
Knock, knock.
"Kalon, I failed again. Can you please lend me some more points? This time I will surely succeed." Wangnan rushed towards Kalon and started pleading to him.
"Points do not grow on trees. Even if they did grow, the speed at which you are chipping away at my money would mean even a whole forest would not be enough to satisfy you." Kalon had been lending points to Wangnan, as this time he did not want him to get stuck under the pressure of a loan. In these five years, he and Wangnan had gotten quite close. Kalon already knew that Wangnan would be unable to pass the test.
"I will lend it to you one last time, okay?" Kalon transferred the points to Wangnan's Pocket. Although the cost of retaking the test was expensive, for him, it was not much, as he had passed every floor solo. He got to keep much more than others who chose to pass the test using teams. He looked at his remaining balance, which showed "900K points," while the cost of taking the test was only 10,000 points.
He had not gone to take the test until now because it was another order from F.U.G., which stated that Viole, the real Slayer Candidate, had come out from his training and started climbing the tower. Kalon was to stay and meet the real Slayer Candidate and work as his subordinate. Kalon would go around wearing the cloak of F.U.G. while he stayed with Viole, but instead, Viole was the real one.
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