Chapter 6: Surviving in the Family (1)
"Indeed… it is only right for a Ranker father to aid a son in distress."
You've got to be kidding me.
Arie Hon.
Why is Arie Hon here—right now?!
How could someone meet one of the Ten Family Heads this easily?!
"Uh… I-It's fine! I'll go ask someone else! Y-you must be very busy, F-Father, so I'll just—go—"
The trembling in my voice wasn't acting.
My usual gift of smooth-tongued eloquence—one of my few talents—was utterly useless now.
How could anyone stay calm in front of this man?
If he noticed even the slightest inconsistency, the family would probably execute me on the spot.
They said the Ten Family Heads' intuition bordered on prophecy, after all.
Only now did my body's senses kick into overdrive, every nerve screaming in alarm.
Thanks a lot, survival instinct—great timing.
Would've been nice if you'd warned me before I insulted a Family Head to his face by calling him just "Ranker" and failing to recognize my own "father."
At this point, I was basically a dead man walking.
"Enough."
Hon's once-gentle face hardened as his voice turned sharp.
Yes, sir, enough—of what, exactly?
Just say the word.
I'll stop breathing if that's what it takes.
Please just don't kill me.
Shhk.
At his word, the two attendants beside him released their grips from their swords.
Wait—were they seriously about to draw them just now?!
"Where is this child's room?"
"Family Head, there's no need to concern yourself with such an ignorant chi— guh!"
Suddenly, the Shinsu density in the air spiked violently.
The man who had been speaking froze, eyes wide in shock.
Cracks formed beneath his feet.
The other attendant didn't even dare move—he stood there sweating bullets, struggling just to breathe.
It seemed Hon was pressing them down with pure Shinsu pressure.
And considering these were Arie Family Rankers—people who should have no problem handling dense Shinsu—the fact that they were being crushed like this meant his power was on a completely different level.
Hon didn't speak.
He didn't even exude bloodlust.
He simply disliked that someone had contradicted his words—and that alone had changed the environment around us.
The air itself grew heavy under the sheer weight of his presence.
…How could I possibly not be terrified of this?
He altered reality with mere emotion.
He was a monster in human form.
The two Rankers beside him could do nothing but bow their heads, barely enduring the pressure.
Only the sound of cracking floor echoed in the suffocating silence, until finally, Hon spoke again—
and the air returned to normal as if nothing had happened.
"Wait here."
"Yes, sir."
He dismissed his guards, then fixed his gaze squarely on me.
"Are you all right?"
"Ah—yes, this humble one is perfectly fine, Father."
I had no idea what "fine" even referred to, but after seeing what happened when someone answered back, I wasn't about to question him. All I could do was claim I was fine—and thankfully, I actually was.
Hon's eyebrows rose slightly.
What was he thinking?
His pale eyes—like polished glass—seemed to pierce straight through me.
I couldn't look away, but I also couldn't stand it.
Awkwardly, I forced a smile.
"This child is better than you two."
Hon said that with a faint, kind smile, then gestured for me to follow.
"Come, Hoaquin. There is something I wish to show you. And don't worry—I'll take you to your quarters afterward."
…Um, Father? Do you actually know where my room is?
Following him, we arrived at a massive structure whose purpose I couldn't guess.
Hon called it an "altar"—one that upheld him.
Ah, so this was that place—the one shown in the original story.
It had looked impressive in the webtoon, but seeing it with my own eyes was another experience entirely.
Majestic. Grand. Beautiful.
When Hon asked for my thoughts, I honestly told him how awe-inspiring it was.
"Yes. This is my floor, my family. They build these halls for me, sing songs for me. Only the Ha and Khun families could compare to Arie's sword."
I couldn't help but nod.
Just seeing this place made pride swell up in my chest—knowing this was my lineage, my backing. I let myself sink into the feeling for a while. The cool breeze brushing past felt like Earth's wind, yet within it flowed Shinsu—the Tower's essence, something Earth could never have. It filled not just the air, but the entire world around us. Similar, yet so different—the reality of it all began to sink in.
I had truly entered the Tower.
As I stood there, lost in thought, Hon spoke softly.
"But tell me, my son…"
"Yes, Father?"
"What… are you?"
"…"
I looked up at him silently.
The cool wind that had been calming my nerves had stilled.
….
"Haa… I must be losing my mind."
When the moment I feared finally arrived,
I felt strangely calm—almost detached.
All those contingency plans I'd rehearsed for meeting a Family Head went straight out the window.
Instead, I simply spoke with him—naturally, as if following the flow of conversation.
Of course, I didn't confess that I was an Irregular, or that I wasn't the real Hoaquin. I honestly don't remember exactly what I said, but somehow, I managed to steer through his questions—and lived to tell the tale.
.....
Maybe it was because everything had changed so suddenly that I couldn't fully process it yet—but somehow, I'd managed to respond to Arie Hon calmly.
I vaguely remembered saying something that sounded convincing, at least…
When I came back to my senses, Hon had said, "I have high expectations for you," and left me in the care of a Ranker who guarded the altar.
That Ranker guided me to my room. Still—The Family Head himself said he expected great things from me.
Wasn't that insane?
I tried to recall exactly what I'd said to him, but eventually gave up and just collapsed onto my bed.
"Ah… I'm so tired—"
Even though it was still broad daylight, I felt completely drained.
From that insane test on the First Floor to suddenly meeting Arie Hon and holding a conversation with him, it had all been too much.
Sure, Headon had repaired my body after the trial, but the mental fatigue remained heavy.
Honestly, for this small, childlike body to have endured all that—it was a miracle in itself.
Now what should I do from here?
White is born from Hoaquin merging with Vicente, David, and Anna.
But following the original storyline… I really don't want to.
The idea that three other souls are sleeping inside my body just feels wrong.
And besides, I have no desire to massacre ten billion people.
Even if this tower is a world ruled by survival of the fittest, killing ten billion… that's something I could never bear, directly or indirectly.
After all, I'm not a native of this world.
"But if I don't do that… can White even exist?"
That was the biggest problem.
I didn't want to follow the original, but if I didn't, would White still come to be?
Still, now that I was in the Tower, one of my goals was clear: to become as strong as possible.
Strong enough that even if someone discovered I was an Irregular, neither the family nor the royal line would dare touch me.
White's strength came not only from talent but from devouring souls.
If I denied that act, then as just Hoaquin, climbing the Tower, I might end up as nothing more than one of countless Rankers from the Ten Great Families.
Sigh…
What I wanted was simple—to become a High Ranker, wander the Tower, and enjoy life.
But no, I just had to end up as Hoaquin.
The things he did in the original were so extravagant that my situation had become completely tangled.
There's so much I want to do, but the list of problems I need to solve keeps piling higher.
What the hell am I supposed to do about this?
Ughhhhh!!
"I miss Albelda…"
She was my favorite character.
But wait—she's a collection of ten billion souls, isn't she?
If I don't follow the original story, she wouldn't even exist!
Great.
Now I had another problem—and this one was serious.
Clutching my throbbing head, I tried to squeeze out a solution that didn't exist…
Zzz…
Chirp, chirp.
I'd fallen asleep in the middle of the day, and woke up the next morning.
Ah… whatever.
At this point, I don't even know anymore.
For now, I'll just live here and take things as they come.
After all, I've finally made it into the Tower.
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