Chapter 74 - Thirty-First Floor (7)

For the next few days, the group continued destroying the Hydra hearts. They successfully dealt with three bone orbs within three days, but they encountered a problem after they destroyed the sixth heart.

The last remaining Hydra heart was at least thirty hours away from their current location. They had no way of reaching it before the time frame for the Test ends.

[Lumen, we have a problem. I don't think we can reach the last Hydra heart on time. Merrie says it's at least thirty hours away from us. We've are currently moving towards it, but we don't know if we can reach it on time.] Leesoo sent a message to Lumen's Pocket.

"Shit! That's bad!" Lumen cursed out when he read the message. He had been having a good time talking with the amber-colored skeleton and felt at ease. However, he started panicking after he saw the message.

"What's wrong, friend?" The skeleton asked him.

"My teammates, the ones that are taking care of the Hydra hearts, have encountered a problem. The last heart is at a location where they won't be able to reach on time." Lumen answered him.

"What's going to happen if they don't destroy it on time?" The skeleton asked.

"I will die..." Lumen replied and cursed out. "Damn it!"

The amber-colored skeleton started panicking as well when he heard that. Lumen was his first friend, and he was going to give him a name as well. He couldn't allow his friend to die. The skeleton looked towards the last remaining Bone Hydra and made his mind.

"I know where the heart of Bone Hydra No. 4302 is located. I will go and get it for you." The skeleton told Lumen.

"You will?" Lumen asked in surprise.

"Yes! I can't let you die!" The skeleton declared. "Now, would you please leave my body so I can transform back."

"Do you think you will be able to bring the Hydra heart to where my teammates are?" Lumen asked as he wasn't sure if it would count if they aren't the ones to destroy them.

"Not a problem! The last one they destroyed was the heart of Bone Hydra No. 2340. It will take me an hour to reach the location of Bone Hydra No. 4302's heart and two more to get to where they are." The skeleton replied confidently and turned towards the poisonous sea. However, before he can jump in, Lumen stopped him.

"I never gave you a name, right? So, how about I do it now?" Lumen said.

"You're going to give me a name now? I'm so excited my bones are going to fall off!" The skeleton exclaimed.

"How about Rider?" Lumen asked.

"Rider. Rider. Rider." The skeleton repeated the name a few times. "I like it! Thank you so much!"

"Wait for a bit here, and I will bring the Hydra heart to your teammates. I won't let you down, friend!" Rider declared confidently and jumped in the poisonous sea. His bones restructured themselves until his body resembled a marlin.

With incredible speed, he swam towards the location of Bone Hydra No. 4302's heart.

While Rider was doing that, Lumen quickly sent a message to his teammates.

[What? We won't let you die without even trying!] Leesoo replied to him.

[Trust me and return back! I've sent someone to deliver the heart to you.] Lumen explained.

[What do you mean?] Leesoo asked in confusion.

[Go back and wait at the cave. He will be there shortly!] Lumen stated.

Leesoo read the message and informed the rest. "Lumen ordered us to return to the cave."

The second Androssi heart that, she instantly sent Lumen a message of her own.

[What the hell are you saying? You promised me you won't leave! Now you want us to return without even trying? Why?] Androssi eyes started watering after sending the message.

[Listen to Leesoo and go back to the cave. Trust me, I won't leave you!] Lumen replied to her, and Androssi turned towards Leesoo.

"Lumen said that he had sent someone to bring the heart to us," Leesoo told them.

"He sent someone to bring us the heart? But who?" Tiana asked in surprise.

"I don't know, he didn't say," Leesoo replied.

"Let's return then, and trust his words," Merrie said, and the group turned back towards the cave of the last Hydra heart they destroyed. They were quite close to it, so it didn't take them a long time to return.

Two hours passed, and the group was starting to panic.

[Please don't tell me you lied. Please!] Androssi sent Lumen a message.

[Trust me! He will be there shortly!] Lumen replied and though. 'Or at least I hope so.'

Another hour passed, and Merrie turned towards the poisonous sea. "Something is approaching us fast."

The next moment, an amber-colored bone marlin, with the Hydra-heart on its back, jumped out of the sea. Mid-air, Rider transformed back into his normal skeleton appearance and landed in front of them.

"Hello! You all have skin, so you must be Lumen's teammates, right?" Rider asked them.

"Yes!" They answered him.

"Here, this is for you." Rider threw them the Hydra heart, and Androssi destroyed it before it even reached them.

"My name is Rider!" The skeleton proudly declared his new name and thought to himself. 'Okay, they are Lumen's friends, so let's befriend them, the way he showed me.'

Rider then started walking circles around the group. Verdi let out a laugh since she heard his thoughts, but the rest of the group looked at him in confusion.

"What are you doing, Rider?" Leesoo asked him.

"Umm, I'm trying to befriend you. This is how you make friends with people, right? Or at least Lumen said so." Rider answered.

Verdi continued laughing while the rest looked at each other, wondering what has Lumen been doing for the past few days. Before they could say anything, they were all teleported out of there.

The next moment, they appeared in front of Boking, who was looking hatefully at Lumen. Around them, hundreds of skeleton were gathered and looked at them in wonder.

"They passed the Tests! I can't believe they succeeded."

"Look, look, it's the little one. Quick, bow your heads!"

"The little one is here? Quickly everyone, bow to him."

"Hey, Boking!" Rider exclaimed when he saw his fellow skeleton.

"Hello, little one," Boking replied to him.

"You can't call me little one anymore! My name is Rider!" The amber-colored skeleton proudly declared. He was really excited that he finally had a name.

Hearing him call himself Rider, the skeletons started whispering to each other.

"Did you hear that? The little one has a name!"

"Has he already reached five thousand years old? I thought he was younger?"

"I thought so too, and why is his name so much different than ours?"

"He has a greater status than us, maybe that's why."

Boking didn't respond and looked at Lumen with even more hatred. He and Bonerakard should have been the ones to name him, not someone else.

Meanwhile, Androssi had rushed to Lumen the second she saw him. She reached him and started punching him in the ċhėst. "Idiot. Idiot. Idiot."

Tiana walked up to him and gave him a lover's loving smile. She was happy to see him after they spent seven days away from each other.

"Well, I guess you all passed your Tests. Even though some of you cheated." Boking said while staring at Lumen. "Nevertheless, you passed them successfully, so congratulations are in order."

"You passed your first special Test, and you have ninety-nine more to go." Boking gave one last hateful look at Lumen at turned towards Androssi.

"You passed Bonerakard's Test, so the foreign influence will be removed from your blood. There will be no drawbacks as promised." Boking told her, and a white light of Shinsoo flew out from Bonerakard, who was perched on his gigantic bone tree.

Androssi was lifted in the air and covered by a white Shinsoo bubble.

"It will take a day before she gets cleansed," Boking said and turned towards the rest.

"You ȧssisted her in passing Bonerakard's Test, so the limit on the amount of Shinsoo you can control will be increased," Boking said, and eight beams of white light descended on them. They were raised in the air like Androssi with a purple Shinsoo bubble covering them.

A minute later, the Shinsoo bubble disappeared, and they slowly descended on the ground. All of them felt as if some invisible shackles were lifted off them. They felt freer and more attune with the surrounding Shinsoo.

"This feels amazing!" Leesoo exclaimed.

"I agree," Aleksai confirmed.

"Lastly, Bonerakard has chosen to give you a special reward," Boking said while looking at Aleksai.

"Me?" The big dude questioned in surprise.

"Yes," Boking confirmed. "Bonerakard is pleased with your miasma ability. He has chosen to grant you a poison quality similar to the poisonous sea."

A purple light descended on Aleksai and lifted him in the air, where he was covered by a purple Shinsoo bubble.

As a Guardian, Bonerakard can choose whether to fulfill his promise or not. If he dėsɨrės, he can even grant additional rewards if he was pleased with the performance of the Test takers.

"He will receive his poison quality within half a day," Boking stated. "The rest of you can stay in Bonerakard's domain while you wait for the two to receive their rewards."

"Now, little one, why don't you join me in a feast of bones?" Boking asked Rider, who shook his head in refusal.

"I told you, my name is Rider!" The amber-colored skeleton proudly replied. "And I want to stay with my new friends if they will be leaving soon."

Hearing his answer, Boking wanted to cry, but no tears came out of his empty eye sockets. The little one had become rebellious after meeting with Lumen, so that made Boking hate him even more.

"Little one..." Bonerakard's voice boomed in the air. "I mean, Rider. Would you like to travel with your new friends?"

"I can go with them?" Rider asked in astonishment. He never even considered leaving Bonerakard's domain before.

"If you wish so, yes." The Guardian confirmed.

"Can I come with you, Lumen?" Rider asked him and thought to himself. 'Please say yes. Please say yes.'

"Of course you can. That was part of the plan." Lumen replied to him.

"You wanted me to come with you all along?" Rider asked.

"Definitely! You're my friend, so I can't leave you behind, right?" Lumen replied. He had ended up liking the gullible skeleton after spending so much time with him.

Rider's abilities were also useful, and he sensed an incredible aura from him. He was probably as strong as an Advanced Ranker, but Lumen wasn't completely sure about that.

"You're the best friend ever! I'm so happy I met you!" Rider exclaimed.

'And I hate myself for not preventing your meeting.' Boking cried in his mind.

"Are you really going to let the little one go?" Boking asked Bonerakard through their mental link.

"Yes, he was created with the purpose of climbing the Tower. However, Headon had to follow the rules of the Tower and refused to accept him. With Lumen, he can freely climb to the Top. He might even get to see the outside world." Bonerakard replied.

Since Lumen is an Irregular, he can bent the Rules of the Tower to his favor. Rider, who was an existence that wasn't allowed to climb the Tower, would be able to do that if he travels with Lumen. Such are the perks of being an Irregular.

"Do you believe that he will pass all the special Tests? Tens of thousands of people have tried, yet no more than twenty have succeeded. Do you think Lumen has what it takes to go the end?" Boking asked.

"The Tower has received less than ten challengers in the past ten thousand years. We might never get another chance in the future with the way things have been going. Lumen is our best bet, and I'm willing to take it." Bonerakard answered.

"I will trust in your wisdom," Boking replied and turned towards the Rider. "Litll... Rider, how about we go and have a feast together like we usually do. We might not get to see each other for a long time after you leave."

Boking's words made Rider realize what leaving here meant. He was saddened by that fact, but he was also excited at the possibility of seeing more creatures with skin and their customs.

"Sure!" Rider confirmed, and the two made their way towards Boking's manor.