Chapter 43 - Twenty-Third Floor (3)

Since Khel, the FUG Elder, wasn't able to see the fate of Shaya, they had decided to sent an Observer to follow her. The Observer had a very good cloaking ability, so they weren't worried about it being discovered.

The Elder watched as the three FUG members followed after the masked Regular. He led them outside the city into a forest of stone trees.

From up above, they saw a scaled-metal armor form and cover his body. They were astonished, as he looked nearly identical to Karaka, but that shouldn't be possible.

When they heard his disdainful tone, they are sure that's definitely not Karaka. However, they saw him use the Slayer's personal techniques afterward. It was a bit lacking compared to Karaka, but that was definitely his own way of manipulating Shinsoo.

After he killed Cecro, they saw him form a massive cube filled with darkness. That was something they have never seen Karaka do. The worst part was that they weren't able to see inside the domain of darkness even with their Observer. They had no idea what happened inside.

Once the domain of darkness was released, only the person that looked like Karaka was left there. There were no traces of the other two FUG members.

They were even more astonished when he looked up towards the Observer and waved at it. At that point, they didn't know what to think. Very few would be able to sense the Observer, and Karaka was definitely one of those. As a High Ranking Scout, he would be able to sense the cloaked Observer.

The whole situation was extremely puzzling to them. They were sure that wasn't Karaka, but who else could it be?

"Khel, what did you see?" One of the Elder asked the one wearing a horned helmet.

"I...Nothing. I couldn't get any information about that person's destiny." Khel was confused at why is his ability failing like this. The only time that had happened was when he tried looking at the destinies of Lumen and Urek.

"Contact Karaka and get him here as soon as possible! He has some explaining to do!" An Elder shouted, furious that they had no idea what's happening.

Meanwhile, Lumen had just returned back to his group's residence. He had gotten quite a few goodies from Leya, plus he had also picked up Ned's ice sword after he had killed him.

"Lumen, you said you will be back in a bit! What took you so long? I was worried!" Verdi exclaimed with a serious look and her hands on her waist.

Lumen walked up to her and ruffled her hair, and her serious look disappeared in an instant. "Sorry, Verdi. I was just out shopping for gifts."

"It's okay~ I was just worried." She giggled and asked in eagerness. "So, what did you get me?"

Lumen pulled out a white triangle object from his Pocket. The item was big enough, so Verdi could hide behind it without being seen. He had bargained for eight B-Ranked Armor Inventories from Leya. That was a lot more than what he expected, but he had used her guilt in his favor and pushed to get as much as possible.

Lumen initially wanted to get a personal flying ship from her, but she didn't have one to give away.

Normally, you would find a hard time finding a Regular that has such an Armor Inventory, but Lumen had gotten eight of them from the Leya. They were High Ranked ones as well. He also had the two Armor Inventories that he looted from Bob. They were C-Rank, but even strong Regular from the Higher Floors wouldn't have one that rank.

Verdi, happy with her gift, hugged Lumen. "Thank you~ You are the best!"

Lumen gave the rest of his group an Armor Inventory, as well. The C-Rank ones were given to Anak and Androssi since they are the strongest beside him in the team. He, on the other hand, didn't need one since he already had his armor. Plus, he had an incredibly high Shinsoo resistance and durability, thanks to the technique Urek taught him.

The ice sword he looted from Ned was given to Hatsu, the only sword user in their group. It was an Ignition Weapon, but he didn't need it. Lumen also wasn't very proficient with swords and preferred spears.

Two weeks passed by quickly, and it was time for Androssi's group to take on the Test. Her participation was greatly anticipated by residents on the Floor.

Since the Test takes place in the colosseum on top of the mountain, the residents would usually go and watch it. They had to pay a small price of Points to enter, but everyone could easily afford it.

The colosseum was filled to the brim with people, Observers, and Lighthouses. Androssi's fight was going to be recorded and watched by the whole Tower. Alongside her, the fights of her teammates would also be observed by the whole Tower.

The moment Androssi appeared on the stage, the whole crowd erupted in cheers. The residents in the Tower respected the strong, and she was unquestionably powerful. She was considered the strongest E-Rank Regular. To top it off, she was also extremely beautiful.

Androssi easily crushed the rest of the participants, and the crowd cheered even louder once she won.

Surprisingly, when it was Hatsu's turn to fight, the crowd had also erupted in cheers. They weren't as loud as Androssi's, but he was also liked by the residents of the Floor, especially the female ones.

The five of them had easily advanced to the 24th Floor, and Merrie followed after them. As a Guide, she didn't need to pass the Test to climb up.

Three days passed, and it was now Lumen's team turn to participate. The residents were already aware that the rest of Androssi's team will be competing, so the colosseum was packed. Not as much, as when she participated, but there were a lot of viewers nonetheless.

The first one to enter the stage was Anak. Three of her opponents didn't look special in any way, but the last one had cat ears, clearly a member of the Lo Po Bia Family. He had short dark hair and wore a green outfit.

Once the cat-eared Regular saw Anak, he brought his hand next to his neck and made a, you are dead, motion with it. To which she just smirked in response.

As soon as the fight started, he summoned a massive black panther.

"Kill everyone else and leave the lizard." The cat-eared Regular commanded. Before the other three Regular could react, the panther had rushed at them in a burst of speed and killed them in seconds.

The cat-eared Regular looked at Anak with an evil glint in his eyes. "You have nowhere to run, ugly lizard."

Without saying a word, she disappeared from her spot. Even though the panther was fast, Anak was even faster. She appeared right above its head and hit it with a Shinsoo enhanced punch. The beast slammed its head on the ground and didn't stand up anymore.

Before he could process that his beast had been killed with a single punch, Anak was already standing in front of him.

"I don't need to run." With an evil grin, she kicked him in his family jewels. Letting out a scream, the cat-eared Regular had bent down reflexively. Anak finished him off the same way she dealt with his panther. She enhanced her fist with Shinsoo and slammed it on his head. Unlike the panther, his head exploded in a shower of gore.

The crowd loved it and erupted in a cheer. They only respected the strong, and Anak was by far one of the strongest E-Rank Regulars.

The next one to fight was Verdi. She hated being in the limelight, but she didn't have much a choice. As soon as the fight started, she summoned her pink octopus, and the creature immediately sprung into action.

Verdi didn't need to order it with words like other Animas. She was born with an extremely strong Telepathy, and she could communicate with the octopus with her mind.

In fact, her Telepathy was so strong that she can hear the thoughts of other people. That was further enhanced by her special flower that unlocks people's potential. Being in a crowded place gave her awful headaches, and is the reason why she had a blank look on her face most of the time. Verdi could also user her Telepathy to attack, but she usually chose not to.

Her Telepathy was also the reason why she adored dolls so much. They, unlike people, didn't give her massive headaches since they had no thoughts. That's also why Verdi loved spending time with Lumen. She couldn't hear his thoughts, and when she was around him, she couldn't even hear the thoughts of other people as well. As long as he was close by, she was peaceful and happy.

Verdi's pink octopus easily managed to kill the rest of the participants, and she didn't even have to move from her place. Happy that she doesn't need to be in the spotlight anymore, she rushed out of the colosseum.

Vespa was the next to take the stage, and the moment the fight started, it had already ended. She was by far one of the fastest E-Rank Regulars. Very few could contend with her monstrous speed.

With that, Lumen's team had guaranteed their win, but the Test continued on.

Tiana stepped into the colosseum, and due to the performance of the previous three, the crowd had great expectations of her. And she delivered on those expectations.

The moment the fight started, she had already formed four Baangs of Shinsoo. The crowd was astonished seeing a Regular control four Baangs of Shinsoo.

They were even more shocked when all those four Baangs flew out like accurately hit one of the Regulars, and caused an explosion upon contact. Not only was she able to control four Baangs at once, but they all also had a high concentration of Shinsoo, as well.

Tiana was definitely one of the best Wave Controllers amongst E-Rank Regulars and could outdo D-Rank Regulars as well.

The crowd erupted yet again. Especially the male spectators, they screamed louder than everyone else. Tiana was a beautiful lady, and they made sure to let her know that.

The last contestant to fight was Lumen, the masked Regular. The viewers didn't know much about him, but considering he was on the same team as Androssi and the rest of those monsters, they had high expectations for him as well.

Once he entered the stage, he noticed that one of the Regulars had cat-ear, another Lo Po Bia member. He looked at Lumen and stated. "You will pay for being on that lizard's team. I will make sure to make it as painful as possible."

Lumen paid him no mind. He didn't care what a Regular has to say, especially one as weak as the cat-eared man.

The gorilla took out one of the Regulars, while the cat-eared man went after the other two. He was skilled and was easily able to take them out, by firing two yellow-colored spikes made of Shinsoo.

The cat-eared man and the gorilla focused on Lumen and slowly started moving towards him. "Now it's your turn."

Lumen looked towards the duo and summoned out Berseker. The giant dinosaur let out a beastly roar once he out of his bowl. Both the cat-eared man and the gorilla stopped in their tracks, as Berserker's terrifying jaws, filled with extremely sharp teeth, and dripping with saliva, were right in front of their faces.

The dinosaur's body was slightly trembling with excitement for being released. He was happy that he was let out, and he felt even happier when he felt the gazes of the crowd of the colosseum.

It was not the annoying cat that only sleeps that was released but him, but it was him that was given this chance. Berserker will make sure to remind that to the stupid furbal when he sees her.

"Breakfast time." Hearing his master's command, Berserker chomped on the two small insects in front of him. He's sharp teeth easily pierced through the two, and he caught them between his jaws. One more bite, to make them easier to swallow, and he gulped them down.

Looking around for the rest of the breakfast, he saw there was nothing worth eating. As he was wondering where his food is, he heard his master. "Good Job."

Berserker was confused. That's it? That's breakfast? Berserker looked towards the large crowd that was watching them, wondering if maybe they are also part of the breakfast. They might be small, but they were a lot.

The crowd cheered as they saw Berseker look at them. He was a large and terrifying creature, and they loved it.

"Come back now. I will let you out on an upper Floor." Berserker was mortified hearing that. The small creatures were offering themselves to him, why was his master returning him. He gave the crowd one last, as his master returned him to his bowl.