Chapter 33 - Ninth Floor (5)

It's been a month since Lumen and his group arrived on the 9th Floor. They were currently preparing to take on the Test.

Urek and Yuri had left about two weeks ago, but Lumen delayed them a bit with taking on the Test. He wanted to get more experienced with the techniques Urek showed him. As simple as they were, they were all incredible in their own way, and his strength had increased a lot after he learned them.

The Shinsoo strengthening specifically worked wonders for him. It had unlimited potential as long as you have Shinsoo to work with. Lumen's physical strength had soared greatly after practicing it. The technique has a total of 7 levels, and Lumen was only on the 1st one. Despite that, he could easily train with 20x gravity on him now, and Anak and Androssi, who were able to keep up with him in that regard, had been left behind.

Lumen has had numerous spars with them during that one month, and he had fought them each time with the helmet that Urek gave him on. He could easily distinguish people by just reading the flow of Shinsoo around them, so he had no trouble fighting them while wearing the helmet. They were more than surprised when they learned that he can't see or hear a thing while having it on.

Ever since he started practicing that technique, his vision of the world had changed. Being able to see how the Shinsoo flowed around everything, changed the way he saw the things around him. It felt like he was looking at a whole new world, with colors that he has never seen before.

Lumen could more accurately judge people's character and words, just by the way Shinsoo moves around them. It worked in a similar manner to empathy, and he could understand other people's emotions. Which is why he was able to trust Marrie more after being in contact with her for a month. She didn't have any malicious intent as far he could tell.

He had his doubts about someone being able to see the future before, but after being shown this way of seeing things, that was starting to change.

The more he was in contact with Shinsoo, the more he started believing in the phrase, Shinsoo has no limits. The mysterious power simply had unlimited potential.

Urek was more than surprised when he learned he is capable of feeling the emotions of those around him. According to the blonde Irregular, people usually develop this technique in a manner that suited them the most, and that normally happens after years of training. Urek, for example, can't sense the emotions of others but could predict the movements of others minutes before they happen.

His Shinsoo control had also increased after Urek showed him his way of manipulating Shinsoo. Unlike Diana, whose style was more gentle, his style took a more forceful approach. Rather than guiding the Shinsoo in a particular way, he would completely seize the surrounding Shinsoo and force it to act in the way that he dėsɨrės. Something Lumen had been trying to emulate but had little success before being shown this technique.

Urek said that the way Diana taught him how to control Shinsoo, greatly resembled the way one of his best friends, Baek Ryun, does it. Baek Ryun is the current head of the Wolhaiksong, co-founded by him and Urek, and he is considered as one of the most gifted Wave Controllers in the Tower's history.

Both styles had their pros and cons, and Lumen was trying to combine the two into his own personal style. He hasn't had much success so far, but he had a goal to work towards. He believed that it's only a matter of time before he manages to combine the two into his own personal style.

Lumen hadn't taught any of his team members the techniques that Urek showed him since he promised the blonde Irregular not do so. Those are his family techniques, so he won't go around spreading them.

Nonetheless, his team had also improved during their stay, thanks to Yuri and Evan. The two Rankers had helped them out during their visit to the 9th Floor. Yuri had especially spent a lot of time with Anak and Androssi, showing them a thing or two. She was quite fond of the two Princesses of Zahard.

Evan, on the other hand, was interested in Leesoo and Merrie. The Silver Dwarf had hit it off with Leesoo from the start. The two constantly get bullied by their "friends", so they got along while sharing their plights.

With Marrie, it was a bit of a different story. They were both Guides that had already completed their pilgrimage. They mostly shared stories about their journeys, and he gave her tips by telling her about his own climb to the top of the Tower. He was the personal Guide of a Princess of Zahard, so he believed that would be useful to her, considering her teammates.

Merrie knew that Lumen was strong, considering how famous he got for being only an F-Rank Regular, but she was more than impressed when she personally saw how strong he actually is. His words that her being just a Guide isn't enough were extremely arrogant in her ears. However, after she saw the rest of his teammates, that changed.

Every single member of his team could easily take on at least two positions. Even their weakest member, Leesoo, is stronger than any other Regular on the 9th Floor. That was astonishing, considering they've all started to climb together less than a year ago. This was a group full of monster-level talents and would become a force to be reckoned with in the future.

Other teams would be more than happy to have a Guide, while to them, that's just a bonus. With or without a Guide, they could just as easily climb the Tower, it just might take them a bit longer to do it without one. Merrie knew that if she wanted to follow Lumen, she would have to pick up her slack and become a good Lighbearer. Otherwise, she would be left behind.

Unfortunately for Lumen, he never got another date with Yuri during her stay on the 9th Floor. Since according to her, their first one hadn't ended until the day she left. Every time they went out, she would adamantly state that they are just continuing their previous one. That didn't matter to him since he simply enjoyed spending time with her.

Her personality was straight-forward, and he liked that about her. The fact that she was beyond gorgeous, especially when wearing a dress that is sticking tightly to her body, showing off all of her curves, helped as well. She was by far the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

Lumen got to hear about her own climb to the Top and had an even better understanding of the Tower now. She also showed him her own personal techniques, which he was able to learn from. Not as much as the ones shown by Urek since they were lacking compared to his, but he was grateful for her gesture.

Yuri's initial plan was to meet Lumen for her promised date with him and then leave to deal with her own problems. However, when she realized how much she liked spending time with him, her visit was extended by a couple weeks.

Each day, she would look forward to when the two would go out together. Yuri had been complimented on her beauty numerous times during her life. However, when Lumen did it, it just felt different to her. She would giggle like a little girl and usually punch him since she didn't know how to respond to his compliments. Nevertheless, she enjoyed hearing them.

Staying with him, she felt like a woman for the first time, and not like a Princess of Zahard, an object meant to be glorified by everyone in the Tower. And that was a nice change of pace, another reason she liked spending time with him.

Yuri was very happy that she accepted his bet on the 1st Floor. Had she not, this would have never happened. She was fortunate that she was able to meet him just as he entered the Tower.

Lumen would never forget the parting gift he received from Yuri, and what she told him the day she left. "You better climb higher if you want your second date with me. And don't make me wait too long, okay? Otherwise, I would come to find you and discipline you on how to treat a lady!"

The higher he climbed, the more reasons he was given to climb even higher. He didn't know what Loki was planning or why he sent him in the Tower, but he was grateful for being given the opportunity.

As the Test on the 9th Floor began, Lumen's team selected their Player, and Merrie was given that position. Since she is a Guide and the weakest member of the team, she was the best fit for that position.

With that out of the way, they were all randomly ȧssigned their roles for the Sky Chess. Aleksai, Laure, Leesoo, Tiana, and Verdi were Pawns. Lumen was the Rook, Hatsu got Knight, Vespa was the Bishop, Androssi got Queen, and finally, Anak was the King. With their roles taken care of, they started the Test.

Each team had their Pawns in the front, with the rest of the pieces were lined behind them. The Rook was on the outer left side, the Queen was on his right side, the King was in the middle with the Bishop to his right, and the Knight was on the outer right side.

In order for a team to win, all other Kings and Queens have to be eliminated from the opposing teams.

Each team was separated into four colors, yellow, red, green, and blue. The yellow team was the first to make a move, and they were positioned on the left side of Lumen's, which was the blue one and the last to move.

A tricky part about this Test is, that even if a team moves a piece to a square where there is another piece from a different team, the two would have to fight it out to decide who would be eliminated. However, the game won't stop for them, and another team could send their own piece to that square as well.

While the three other teams were trying to make sure their Queens and Kings are in a safe position, Marrie was seemingly moving Lumen's team in a random manner. She would send a piece where it would seem to be in a useless spot, only to end up taking out an important piece three turns later.

Her ability to see the fate of others was extremely handy in a situation like this one. Merrie would predict how the other teams would move their pieces and prepare in advance for their moves. She was perfectly able to decide what would be the best move for all pieces on her team.

Her erratic movements had put the other three teams in a situation where all of their Queens had to fight on the same square in the middle, where she was able to send Lumen to take care of all three. While in the meantime, she was able to trap all other Kings and eliminate them six turns later with the rest of the group.

Her strategic skills weren't the best, but her ability to see the future made them look exceptional. Nonetheless, she did an amazing job as the Player and handed the win to Lumen's team on a silver platter.

All in all, in less than 30 turns, Merrie was able to win the Sky Chess with Lumen's team. A game, which usually goes for hours before a winner is decided, was finished in half an hour, all thanks to her abilities. Moxie, the Test Administrator, was more than impressed with their performance since no other team has managed to complete the Test as quickly as they did.

Lumen's team was strong enough to pass the Test even without her help, but it would have taken them longer to do so. However, due to her ability as a Guide, they were able to complete it in a very fast manner.

"I hope I didn't disappoint you and that you will allow me to follow you," Marrie told Lumen as the Test finished. She was sure that he is the being in that prophecy, so she wanted to be a part of his team. That was her fate, after all.

"As long as you don't slow us down, you can have a spot on my team." Knowing that she is sincere, Lumen didn't mind her joining. She has been trying her hardest to improve her skills as a Lightbearer while also training alongside his teammates.

"I'm grateful for giving me this chance. I promise I will do my best to keep up with you. As hard as that might be." Merrie replied, fully knowing how hard it will be to keep up with his team.

After Moxie congratulated them and gifted them 9 000 Points, she sent them off to the 10th Floor, also known as the Labyrinth Floor.