Chapter - IV

Lero Ro observed how the Regulars who were attempting to climb the Tower started complaining when he explained only half of the test. This was a reaction he was used to seeing and had expected nothing less from the people gathered here. Greenhorns have always been like that unless they come from special circumstances or have interesting stories behind them.

Sporting a carefree and laid-back expression on his face, Lero Ro cleared his throat before speaking up. "And now I will begin administering the test. Don't worry it is a simple test."

Despite his assurance, almost none were that assured about the test being simple. There is no such thing as simple test in the Tower. He then motioned a few of the Regulars who were standing in front to come closer.

Out of the blue, the ranker spread open his palm and everyone felt a pushing force that send almost all of them skidding backwards. There were even those who were trying to keep their balance in the force but it was all in vain. In the end all of them were pushed backwards.

'What the fuck was that?' Baran was also pushed back but he didn't care about that. He wanted to know about the power that pushed him back without him being able to even sense it coming.

Was it mana? It felt eerily similar to mana but then again there was something that indicated that it ain't mana but something more than that. He is well aware that he isn't in his prime condition at the moment but it would seem that his senses had also dulled. Not wanting to wallow in self-pity any longer, he pushed the pointless and negative thoughts at the back of his mind.

"The force I just used to push you all is called Shinsoo. In an instant the Shinsoo was compressed and used to create a barrier that pushed you all backwards." Lero Ro quickly went through the basics. Something that he always has been doing as the Test Administrator. "Just as all of you already know, Shinsoo exists throughout this Tower. It allows us to breathe in the Tower and provides moisture. An essential part of this Tower."

'So it is more than just mere power..' Baran was deep in thought, his curiosity about Shinsoo increasing little by little. By now he had already deduced that mana and Shinsoo are entirely different and the latter seems even more complex than mana. He then glanced at his palm before curling his hand into a fist. He wondered whether he is already breathing in Shinsoo since the Ranker said that it is used for breathing.

'I need to learn more about this. It could be a kind of power I have never seen before.'

His calculative and ambitious mind begin making theories and guesses on what the results would be if mana and Shinsoo are to be harnessed together.

"But depending on how you use Shinsoo it can also become a deadly weapon." Lero Ro continued. "Extremely dense Shinsoo is powerful enough to mangle a person. For that reason almost all the residents of this Tower use Shinsoo to fight. And often there are individuals who show side effects to high concentrations of Shinsoo."

Then he sported a subtle mocking expression on his face, mostly unnoticed by everyone. "Those who are not well adapted to Shinsoo basically don't have the qualities to climb the Tower."

"If you are able to come through this Shinsoo barrier, it means you at least do not have any ill side effects to Shinsoo. Teams that come through the wall pass and the rest of the teams will be considered disqualified."

"Hold up! The teams were made in complete haste. And just because one of your members cannot pass through the entire team fails?! That just a question of luck!" One of the regulars protested. His voice made Baran rub his ears and question himself on how he missed a loudmouth such as this one.

"It's unfair!" Another joined in the protest.

"Everyone. Do you know what is the most important factor in climbing the Tower?" The Administrator had pressed his left palm on his face and from the space between his fingers, his yellow eyes were visible which were now looking down on the protesting Regulars. "That is Luck."

"Luck that allowed you to be born in a strong body. Luck that gave you a smart brain, Luck that brings wealth and Luck that avoids death. Luck that gave you a team. The reason you made it this far was because of your luck." A smirk made way on his face. "And you are saying that testing your luck is unfair. Stop spouting nonsense and continue with the test Regulars."

'He isn't entirely wrong. My complete existence right now is thanks to sheer luck.' Baran admitted to himself, suppressing his chuckle. There was little logic to back up his existence but that is a subject for a later date. He put all his focus on passing through the barrier. Also that might help him in learning a thing or two about Shinsoo.

"Errr..um...Mr. Administrator. I don't understand to well but I wasn't really pushed back so...."

'Who the hell?!' The grey-haired male snapped up his neck at the direction of the voice to see a timid, brown-haired boy holding something wrapped up in a cloth, standing on the other side of the barrier. He wore simple plain clothing and even looked innocent and gullible. 'I shouldn't judge him by his appearance...yeah I shouldn't..'

"I guess in order to take the test, I would have to go back out and come back in right?" He inquired scratching his head.

Baran took note of the Test Administrator's face. The cool and composed Ranker was visibly surprised. He hadn't seen this coming at all.

Not receiving any sort of answer from the Ranker, the Regular guessed that he indeed had to get on the other side of the barrier and try getting in again. "I guess that obvious! It is a test after all."

"No, Mr. Baam. You pass." The blonde Ranker's demeanor returned to normal and he composed himself. "It seems I have made a mistake but that too is your luck. You have passed Mr. Baam."

'Looks like we got a monster in the mix.'

"Not possible.." Androssi spoke from beside him while he noticed that Michelle stiffened up a bit. She quickly averted her gaze away from Baam.

"What is?"

"A Ranker making a mistake. It is more likely that the guy wasn't pushed back." She explained, narrowing her eyes. "That's the logical explanation here. Even his teammates were pushed back."

The Administrator approached Baam and they begin a conversation of their own while the other Regulars begin making their own attempts to cross through the Shinsoo barrier. The first one to cross after Baam was the short lizard girl who was carrying a dark green sword. After her was her teammate who carried a normal looking sword on himself.

Though their third teammate who wore a purple tracksuit was having problems with crossing through the barrier, muttering incoherent and random sentences while trying his best to cross through.

A guy wrapped in a blanket crossed over only to spread his blanket and pillow on the floor and lay down there, quickly dozing off to sleep.

'I won't question that...'

"We should get going too." Androssi said and easily crossed over the barrier. Michelle too followed suit, having to face only a slight bit of resistance which was nothing compared to the tracksuit wearing male.

Baran pressed his hand on the barrier to have even a more closer look at it. Right when his hand came in contact with the barrier, he felt an electric shock surge through his body. Still he didn't bother removing his hand from the barrier. Instead he could finally feel the energy that ran throughout the Tower and the one Lero Ro was talking about.

Shinsoo.

Until now he only experienced the effects of it but finally feeling the element within made him understand even if only a little bit about it. Shinsoo cannot be lumped with mana at all. It is leagues above it despite the obvious factor that it can be put to use in similar manner like mana. Principles of applying mana could be used when applying Shinsoo but for that he needed more knowledge than what he has about this mysterious element.

But for now he has a way where he can easily cross the barrier. Baran had figured why the barrier was rejecting him with electric shocks. Since Shinsoo is also a part of this Tower, it is treating him as an outsider, a virus and is fighting against it.

There was a simple solution to this problem.

He will simply have to absorb Shinsoo in the similar fashion one absorbs mana in order to utilize it. And Baran had favorable conditions to achieve it. The human body has almost no amount of mana making him sort of an empty vessel and right now he is in direct contact with Shinsoo.

"Shall we get on with it?" Baran whispered to himself and begin absorbing Shinsoo, both from the barrier and from his surroundings since he can now feel it in the atmosphere. His sensory perceptions were mostly because of what he used to be in the past. Someone who could utilize mana at will, summon lightning out of nothing and commanded massive armies.

Then he had ambient mana around him and right now it was merely replaced by Shinsoo. But that doesn't mean that he cannot harness it. When he absorbed the needed quantity of Shinsoo inside him, he could feel his hand pass through.

Slowly he passed through the barrier completely.

"You sure took your time." Androssi sneered right after he made his way through the barrier.

"Well I was getting the shocks of my life out there." The grey-haired male retorted without even wasting a breath.

"I didn't feel any." The brown-haired girl commented with a shrug. Honestly, she just walked through the barrier. Plain and simple. Were they supposed to feel any shocks too? "Did you feel any Michelle?"

The cloaked girl shook her head in denial.

"Maybe that was just you overreacting."

"Can we move on ahead?"

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The next Testing Area where the Regulars that passed the previous tests had went too was rather a strange one. It was behind a door and the ones outside had no idea what was going on inside except hearing screams of the Regulars now and then. There were times where the team didn't scream and there were those times where after a certain time limit went by, screams could be heard.

The screams of Regulars made Baran wonder whether there is a torture chamber behind the closed door or not.

Apart from all that there was a balloon look-alike Regular who was trying to give hints to the panicked Regulars, mostly getting cold feet due to the screams and unable to figure anything by standing out here.

When it was the turn of Baran's team, they all entered inside the room only to be taken aback by the structure of the room. The reactions were obvious on Baran and Michelle while Androssi suppressed hers very well. She was used to all this having been a longtime resident of the Tower unlike her teammates.

The room in which they were in was cut off from everything and was pitch black. There were red doors all around the room and in the middle sat a man with long blonde hair and yellow eyes. He wore a blue-yellow hanbok with his hair kept in a high bun and a traditional hairpin sticking through the bun which had a butterfly design on the end. He sat their with a relaxed demeanor, sipping coffee.

Taking note of the three Regulars entering in, he gently placed his cup on the table set in front of him before speaking.

"Welcome Regulars. My name is Yu Han Sung. I will now begin administering your test. Shall we start?"