Chapter 12: vs Zahard's Princess (2)
I'm seriously conflicted right now.
It was supposed to be a one-month external training, right?
So, as usual, I thought I'd just enter the floating fortress, smack around one or two cocky Arie kids who'd inevitably challenge me, and then spend the rest of my "study abroad" time freely without anyone bothering me.
But what the hell is this situation?
Our airship landed rather slowly, so by the time we arrived, all the other airships had already touched down.
In front of the floating fortress, the Arie family members from each ship were gathering together.
And when I stepped off the airship, most of their gazes turned toward me.
What… what's going on here?
Wait.
I recognize some of those faces.
There's Arie Lune, the last guy I fought; Arie Royal, the most polite one I've met; Arie Poong-Yeon, the strongest of them all; and countless others I've fought while traveling from fortress to fortress.
Practically every Arie I've ever crossed swords with was here.
"…Don't tell me. You all want a rematch?"
Instantly, all their heads turned toward me—no, some of them were even looking at me with eyes shining like they were excited.
Typical Arie warriors… bloodthirsty maniacs, the lot of them.
I ignored them all and entered the fortress.
"Pocket, connect to Fortress Administrator in private mode."
— Hmm, Hoaquin. You must've arrived by now. How's the 77th Floor?
"Fortress. Administrator. Sir?"
— Hm?
"I'll keep this short. I know complaints won't change anything, so just answer two things for me."
— What's with that tone? Well, fine. Go ahead, I'll answer sincerely. Haha.
The two questions I asked were simple: First, what the hell is this situation that's supposed to be "external training"?
And second—most importantly—when can I go home?
The answer to the first question: apparently, this is a Grand Festival held once every few decades.
The administrator started babbling about "honor of the family" and "tradition," but in summary—
it's just another power struggle among the Ten Great Families.
What the hell—there was never anything like this in the webtoon!
Not even in the lore!
While I stood there dumbfounded, one of the Rankers accompanying me leaned over and whispered an explanation: after the Genesis War, the Ten Families began gradually expanding their influence again, and this "Grand Festival" serves as a means to display that power.
In short, it's basically: "Our family won! Our future is bright! If you're still neutral, join us—and losers, hand over something valuable!" Yeah. Politics at its finest.
But how long is this "Festival" supposed to last?
— We, uh… wrote "one month" on your deployment form because we believe in your exceptional talent, Hoaquin. But these kinds of events usually take several months, you see. Well, your schedule's changed before, hasn't it? Haha! Anyway, this Festival has even drawn interest from the main household on the 100th Flo—
Beep—beep—beep.
I hung up.
No—no, the signal cut off.
Yeah. Bad reception. That's all.
Sigh…
I rubbed my face and let out a dry laugh.
Sure, my training periods had changed before—but that was always because I finished early, not late!
Never once had my stay been extended.
Now he's twisting that into an excuse?
Fine.
When I become a Ranker, I'll split that floating fortress in half—or better yet, take his damn job myself.
The Ranker woman who came with me seemed to have been manipulated by the Administrator more than once before, so she sympathized with me. At least that was comforting.
"That old man's really something. He knows how close you are with the others back home, and he still sends you back out barely a week after your return. You must be tired, kid—wait, huh?"
She suddenly froze after putting her hand on my shoulder. Ah, right—I never explained this to her.
"What's this? Did you do this yourself? Are you okay?"
"Ah… you didn't know, huh? It's just my personal training method."
"...Since when?"
"About two years ago?"
Judging from her reaction—and the other Arie Rankers who'd seen it before— it seemed what I was doing really was unique.
I'd been a bit worried maybe others were doing the same, but looks like I'm one of a kind. Good.
"Anyway, I'm tired. Let's head to our quarters. They're not starting this whole thing right away, are they?"
"Uh… right. Sure."
We followed the guide to our assigned rooms.
After unstrapping my sword, I collapsed face-first onto the bed.
It was so soft—it even felt better than the ones back home.
The overall quality of this fortress—its materials, its buoyant crystals—was clearly top-tier.
Not the biggest fortress, but everything about it screamed expensive craftsmanship.
Quality over quantity, I guess.
As I lay there, I reached into my bag and pulled out the book Vicente had given me.
Might as well read it now—who knows when I'll get another chance?
I tore off the light wrapping and read the title on the cover:
"Introduction to Shinsu Theory."
.....
Wait— Isn't this the kind of book Wave Controllers read?
Why would Vicente be reading this?
No, wait… this isn't even the title of the book he was reading before—
Ah.
So he bought this one for me.
Right, one of my aptitude positions is Wave Controller, after all.
Hah… and he had the nerve to say he already finished reading it.
It's brand new!
That guy really does have a bit of a tsundere streak, I swear.
Thinking that, I opened the book and started reading from the first page.
....
The author has researched the interaction between shinsu and living organisms, the existential nature of shinsu, the relationship between shinsu and the Administrators, and more efficient methods of manipulating shinsu. This book serves to share the process and results of that study.
I am by no means the greatest Wave Controller, but when it comes to the study of shinsu, I can confidently say I am one of its foremost pioneers. By contrast, Blossom is one of the best Wave Controllers alive, yet she would have nothing to teach you—because even she doesn't understand how she truly manipulates shinsu.
Anyway, to begin with, I shall explain the effects of shinsu on the cells of various species in the Tower,
and the proportional relationship between its concentration and biological adaptation. Based on observations and experiments conducted on a test subject named Quadrado from the 134th Floor…
....
Tap.
I suddenly felt something was off and closed the book at once.
Then I checked the small line written below the title.
Written by — Po Bidau Gustang
So that's why Vicente gave me this book.
Rumor has it that even Po Bidau's top scholars struggled to interpret Gustang's writings, and if that's true, then even a few years of study wouldn't be enough to fully comprehend it.
Forget one month—I'd barely scratch the surface.
Still, I steadied myself and began carefully reading through the pages, one by one.
....
Thud, thud, thud—
Someone was knocking outside.
Probably the Ranker lady assigned to watch over me.
"Hey, it's almost time. Come on out. The opening ceremony starts in a few hours—hm?"
The door creaked open, and out stumbled a pale, zombie-like figure—me. In my hand was the same book I still couldn't put down.
I glanced at the page number.
Page 5.
Only five pages.
I hadn't even reached the sections on shinsu control or applied techniques yet—it was still just the preface.
"You… stayed up all night? Your dark circles are darker than a Ha Family member's hair!"
"…The book was… too interesting…"
"...Po Bidau Gustang's Introduction to Shinsu Theory... You're insane. Messing up your condition the night before the Grand Festival? Why would you even start reading this now!?"
My assigned Ranker clicked her tongue a few times,
then told me to wash up and come out quickly.
I did as told, and soon we boarded the airship bound for the festival grounds.
....
Ten floating fortresses symbolizing the Ten Great Families hovered above, but even among them, one massive airship dominated the skies—its presence impossible to ignore.
Ah, right—there were only nine fortresses now.
One had already left right after arriving.
The Archimedes.
One of the Five Great Workshop Airships.
It even appeared in the webtoon as the main stage of an E-Rank Workshop Battle. It had looked impressive in the illustrations—but seeing it in person left me speechless.
A floating ship larger than a fortress…absolutely breathtaking.
"Wow… this is my first time seeing it in person too.
Thanks, kid. You got me a front-row seat to something incredible."
Even my Ranker mentor was in awe.
"Haha, sightseeing? What are you talking about? We're going inside! Don't tell me you're already impressed, sis."
"Says the guy who dropped his jaw the moment he saw the map. Anyway, compared to the number of airships and fortresses that entered the 77th Floor, there aren't many actual participants in the Festival, huh?"
The Po Bidau Family immediately declared forfeit and left for a floating-stone mine somewhere on the 77th Floor to conduct research.
Technically, researching our resources openly within a floor we control is incredibly rude—but since the Festival was being held aboard the Archimedes, one of the Five Great Workshop Airships, and because Po Bidau had deep connections with the Workshop, the Arie Family granted them permission to go—under supervision.
Likewise, the Tu Perie Family declared forfeit as well, saying, "How are Light Bearers supposed to brawl physically?"
They also went to the floating-stone mines with Po Bidau, saying they'd purchase mining rights from us if the ore quality was good.
After all, the 77th Floor belongs to the Arie Family.
"Ah, just got new info. The Eurasia Family forfeited too. They're all going to sunbathe and take a nap, apparently."
As soon as she said that, the fortress bearing the Eurasia crest began to drift away—toward the area with the best sunlight.
The Hendo Family forfeited due to a lack of participants, warping back home immediately after arrival.
The Ari Family said they didn't want to fight either, staying behind as "tourists."
In the end, the families still participating were: Arie, Khun, Ha, Lo Po Bia, and Yeon.
Just five out of ten.
The rest seemed to have come just for fun.
Looking at the list, it felt like only the ones worth watching remained.
The Festival had clearly narrowed down into two main factions: Arie vs. Khun vs. Ha, the top-tier families—and Lo Po Bia vs. Yeon, the secondary group.
After chatting with my supervising Ranker for a while, we finally arrived aboard the Archimedes.
"I've got to file a report, so go on ahead."
"Yessir~"
While she stayed aboard the ship to contact our fortress and brief them on the Festival's situation, I headed to the opening ceremony venue alone.
As I climbed the tall steps, I looked down—clear blue skies, floating fortresses surrounding the Archimedes, and the city-like residential sector inside the airship spread out before me.
Maybe I should take a selfie here.
Anna would probably want to see it— if I sent her a video, she'd be thrilled.
"Pocket, private mode. Activate visual transmission via video stone. Recipient: my beloved Anna."
With that command, I could record through the video stone and transmit it instantly to her pocket device.
I lifted the stone and started recording in selfie mode.
"Anna! Can you see this? It's so high up here! Isn't the view amazing? I'll be back soon, so study hard with Vicente—Whoa!"
Crackle!
A bolt of electricity flew toward me.
Focused on the video, I failed to react in time.
The lightning struck me and the video stone squarely, shorting it out.
The last seconds of the footage—me getting electrocuted—were transmitted straight to Anna before the device shattered.
Oh no.
She's going to freak out seeing that!
"You're Hoaquin, right? The one they say is the strongest among the Arie trainees."
"Which bastard…?"
The one who'd shot the lightning was a blue-haired, blue-eyed girl.
No mistaking that family crest.
"Yeah, I'm Hoaquin. And you? Does your family normally have no manners?"
"Khun Maschenny Zahard. You came here to fight in the Festival, and you're angry because someone started a fight?"
She said that with a smug, mocking grin—then her hands sparked again as she began forming another wave of crackling electricity around her.
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