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There was banter between Winston and Khun for a whole 20 minutes about the price Khun would have to pay for Winston's help.

Even Winston would admit without doubt that Khun was not an easy person to swindle anything of monetary value out of; but eventually, it seemed that the swindler potion won through it.

Winston looked at the time. 5:54 pm. He smiled and Khun as they both got up and shook hands.

"Pleasure doing business with you." Winston chuckled.

Khun nodded in agreement.

"I look forward to cooperating with you." He smiled.

At that moment, there was another knock on the door.

Knock knock~

"Hey! Come out!" Zarhan yelled from the other side.

"Mr. Winston! Let's go!" And along came Amon's voice.

Winston looked at Khun, "Ready to commence, I guess?" He asked.

Khun gave him a devious smirk.

"Of course."

With that, Winston, Amon, Zarhan and Khun headed for the main hall of the mothership, where the test results were to be told.

~~~

Two figures walked along a long hallway, both having a similar yellowish blonde hair. One of these figures wore a blue robe adorned with yellow embossing, while the other wore a white lab coat.

It was the test director, Hansung Yu and the test administrator Lero ro.

As they walked, Lero ro broke the silence.

"It's finally the time to give out the results for the last test. This time's regulars were really too good. Honestly speaking, I wouldn't want to drop any of them." Lero ro chuckled. "I suppose I've grown too fond of them." He smiled.

"Director."

"Yes?"

"The 'dangers of the tower' you mentioned before... are there any among the regulars here?" He asked. Hansung glanced at him from the corner of his eye.

"...Mr. Lero ro." He spoke. Lero ro looked at him, both continuing to walk still.

"Did I ever tell you about how tests were conducted before?" He asked.

Lero ro shook his head.

"The tests on this floor used to be conducted in a similar format to that of the other floors. A more complex testing format was adopted after the incident with Phantaminum."

Lero ro's eyes widened a bit, looking at Hansung Yu in surprise.

"You do know about Phantaminum's invasion of the Jahad Castle right? He massacred the best of Jahad's Rankers. Everyone in the tower was shocked by the overwhelming power he possessed, power that directly propelled him to the top of the Tower's rankings.

"And then, there was Urek Mazino. He also displayed monstrous powers, to the point that the group he created, Wolhaiksong, is so strong that even the ten great families fear them." Hansung Yu chuckled.

"At that moment, the Great rulers of the tower found out that the tower they cherished so much could crumble through the appearance of a greater power. If the individuals who were unsatisfied with the tower and individuals with mysterious power were to enter the tower... then the balance of power would crumble down." He shook his head.

"But what decides if someone is dangerous or not? If that someone needs to be weeded out at the test floor itself?" Lero ro questioned.

Hansung's smile widened just a tiny bit.

"That's what we determine here, Mr. Lero ro. What better way to do that than a life and death struggle. What better way to gauge someone's threat level than to put that person into a competition where their own life and existence is at risk? Don't you think that's fair? If they can bear all of that and emerge victorious, it can be said that they're chosen by the gods and hence, are fit to climb. If they die in between, they were better off not attempting to climb in the first place." Hansung laughed.

"In simpler words, the floor of tests is a massive sea wall, so save the tower from a turbulent tsunami." He said.

They both reached a giant red door, beyond which lied the main hall.

"...I don't really like that idea.." lero ro droned.

"Is it really helpful to sort those out who might pose a threat to the rules of the tower? Isn't everything in the tower subject to change in the first place?" He glanced at the director.

"An ocean without waves; isn't that just a pond?" He said. "Rather than to die in slow decay, isn't it better to live fighting the waves?"

Hansung was quiet for a moment.

"If you don't like it you can quit." He said, making Lero ro looked at him strangely. "The tests on the test floor will carry on. Whether you give your approval or not, whether anyone is dissatisfied with it or not. It simply does not matter what anyone thinks." He shook his head.

Lero ro narrowed his eyes.

"Then... test director?"

"Yes?"

"What say you? Who in the current batch is dangerous to the tower?" Lero ro asked.

Hansung chuckled.

"I can count a couple." He hummed, pinching his chin between his thumb and index finger.

"But if I had to name a few... I suppose Anaak Jahad, and that small miserably boy... what was his name? Bam?" He laughed.

"Oh, and I almost forgot." He shook his head.

"That fisherman. Winston Heath." With that, Hansung opened the doors and walked into the hall.

With a heavy expression on his face, Lero ro followed.

~~~

Winston walked into the hall alongside Khun, Amon and Zarhan.

His eyes wandered towards every regulars that sat around. Most of them held a nervous expression, some even chewing their nails.

Winston shook his head and walked to a free bench along with Zarhan and Amon. As for Khun, Rak and Bam seemed to have saved him a seat.

"Excuse me? Did the crocodile... grow smaller?"

Winston asked with a dumbfounded expression. His eyes were a bit unfocused as he looked on towards the chibi figure of Rak who had shrunk to one third his original size.

At that moment, Zarhan spoke up.

"That's right! He said the test director did this!" He exclaimed, which made Rak turn to him with a pissed snarl.

Then, Amon commented, "Though most regulars that are too big to move around comfortably will chose to willingly shrink themselves down through the Floor guardian's permission." He said.

Winston nodded in enlightenment.

As they sat down on their seats, the doors to the front, right beside the giant screen opened up, revealing two figure walking in. It was Hansung Yu and Lero ro.

Lero ro stood at the podium while Hansung sat down on a chair behind a table, calmly sipping tea from a tea cup he had managed to somehow conjure up.

"Good afternoon, regulars!" Lero ro began.

"Starting now.. I will announce the results of the position test!" He exclaimed. And with that, the screen behind him lit up suddenly, showing pictures of the regulars that had passed, based on their respective positions.

Among the regulars, someone gulped in nervousness.

Fisherman - Winston Heath, Anaak, Endorsi, Death Ryan(Injured; Failed), Cheonhwa Hong.

Spear Bearers - Ghost, Rak Wraithraiser, Zarhan Zulasekail, Paracule.

Scout - Shibisu, Hatz, Amon.

Light Bearer - Khun Agueri Agnis, Michelle Light(Injurer; Failed), Levin.

Wave Controller - Phonsekal Laure, The 25th Bam.

A wave of exclamations washed over the regulars.

Some exclaimed in happiness and relief that they had managed to pass, while the other exclaimed in regret and disbelief, some even in anger that they had failed.

One regular in particular was especially vocal about it, who was Paracule's acquaintance who had partaken in the 'Spear Bearer's Revolution' with him.

Because of that, the test director, Hansung Yu got up from his seat and walked to the center of the podium. Then, extending his hand, he called him to the stage.

The regular walked to the stage amidst everyone's stares. Winston activated his spirit vision, having a feeling that something interesting was about to happen.

As the regular climbed onto the stage, Hansung Yu challenged him to get off without losing his mind.

The price was him passing the test.

Just then, his shoulder snapped.

"Aaaarggggh!" He screamed in pain as he fell onto the ground, clutching his shoulder.

Winston's eyed widened as he felt the shinsu close to the test director roar and twist in unnatural patterns. The waves around him seemed to turn almost ferocious, relentlessly rushing into the regular's body, shredding it from the inside.

"Arrrgh! My leg!" The regular screamed again, crawling desperately to get off the stage, tears going down his cheeks.

"Aaarrrgh! My balls! Not my balls!" He yelled suddenly, before passing out from the pain.

Nobody spoke for a few moments. Winston's eyes remained wide opened, overlooking the strange waves that the shinsu moved. A smile was plastered on his face.

So this is the sliver of a ranker's power! He thought.

The hall was quiet for a moment before Hansung spoke.

"Is there anyone else dissatisfied with the results?" He asked, throwing a casual glance at all the regulars.

Every regular that hadn't passed the test suddenly felt themselves tremble unknowingly.

No one was willing to speak out, lest they met the same fate as the regular before.

"Damn..." Winston heard Zarhan mutter from the side.

Then, as Hansung was about to head back, a lone hand propped itself up, and a voice called out.

"I am dissatisfied with the test results!"

Everyone looked over towards the speaker, finding none other than Khun, the cunning young man standing in his seat. Khun held a smile on his face as his eyes met that of Hansung's.

Sigh!

A tired sigh escaped from Hansung's mouth.

"Please come up here." He said.

Amon who was beside Winston suddenly whispered to him.

"What could he be trying to do?" He asked.

Winston shrugged his shoulders, shaking his head as he did so.

"I don't know. I can't tell what's going on in that devious mind of his."

Amon looked towards the stage again.

Khun slowly walked over to the stage, both his hands in his pockets.

"What were you dissatisfied about? You passed didn't you? Don't tell me you want me to fail you?" Hansung asked with a tired sigh.

Khun shook his head.

"No. What I have a problem with is Michelle Light. I want her to pass on to the next test."

"Michelle Light? But she's one of your competitors isn't she?"

"She's important to my friend." Khun smiled.

Hansung went quiet for a moment before he burst out into laughter.

"I'm sorry, I didn't take you to be able to make any friends." He said.

Khun didn't mind his comment, only looking on for his reply.

"But she's Injured." Hansung said. "By the rules of the tests, she cannot partake in the next test and hence cannot pass."

Khun's devious smirk seemed to widen at that moment.

"That's right. That's why I will take the administrator's test." He continued as a wave of surprise and horror washed over both the regulars and the position teachers who were seated to the right.

"I heard that although the supervisors carry out the tests now, the administrator has the Supreme authority over any test. The rules can be changed as per his discretion."

"That's right." Hansung nodded.

"So, I'll take the administrator's test and get permission for Michelle Light to join the test."

Hansung was quiet for a moment.

"Since you know all that, you must also know why everyone doesn't take that test right?" He asked.

"It's because the test is too difficult for everyone else. Though I don't think it'll be a problem for me." He chuckled.

"You're very cocky. But that's not the only reason people don't take the test." Hansung continued. "The real reason is because there is a requirement." As he said this, there was silence in the hall for a moment.

"Requirement?"

"The requirement for taking the administrator's test is that, like Jahad and Urek Mazino, you have to be an irregular." A large smirk made it's way onto his face as he whispered in a voice that echoed throughout the hall.

Winston cringed, seeing Khun's plan fall apart so easily.

Well, can't say he didn't try. He shook his head in disappointment. Too bad there's no way I'm going to reveal myself, or even... Winston's thoughts stopped for a moment. He looked at Bam from the corner of his eye.

Actually, he might just do that. He thought.

Hansung instructed Khun to go back to his seat, however just at that moment a voice boomed out in the hall.

"Wait!" Everyone's eyes turned to the figure of a young boy.

The 25th Bam.

"I'll... I'll take the test!" He yelled.

"Mr. Bam, did you not hear me?" Hansung raised an eyebrow.

However, Winston noticed a curious thing in his spirit vision. The test director... he seemed... almost happy?

What is this?

"It doesn't matter!" Bam yelled.

"Because I'm an Irregular!"

With that, Winston saw Hansung Yu's emotions turning, getting happier and excited.

He narrowed his eyes.

Something's... not right.

~~~

A/N: The last sub arc of the first volume has arrived finally!

Give me your stones!

Also, leave a review!