Chapter 23: The Floor of Tests (3)
"Hm? All of a sudden?"
"Yeah. You came here because you were looking for teammates anyway, right?"
"That's true but… this is kind of sudden."
"Then it's settled! Stick close. We just need one more person."
"Uh… okay."
The odd-eyed boy seemed a bit flustered by how casually I treated him, but he sat beside me as we waited for the final teammate to show up.
"….."
"….."
"…No one's coming, huh?"
"…Why isn't anyone coming."
Another hour passed, leaving only thirty minutes on the clock. Yet aside from this boy, not a single person appeared. Why? I definitely drew enough attention.
"Hey, violet-eyed friend? Ah—right, we never introduced ourselves. I'm Hoaquin, and you are?"
"Tu Perie Luf. And you're from the Arie Family, right?"
So he's from a Great Family. Now that I think about it, I remember a few odd-eyed kids from the Tu Perie Family. As for his natural hair color—no idea, since everyone from that family likes dyeing it.
Instead of waiting here any longer, I suggested to Luf that we split up and walk around to find the last member. He agreed. So now, we were wandering through the reed fields with no destination.
"The 2nd Floor has beautiful scenery."
"Yeah."
The sky, turning crimson with the setting sun, blended perfectly with the golden reeds—an incredible sight. Luf was capturing it in his lighthouse.
Then—one thin thread of shinsu seeped into the ground detected something.
"Luf, someone's ahead. Let's go."
"Impressive… you're not even a Scout, so how are you picking up signals? Even I, a Lightbearer, didn't feel anything yet."
Because this Tower runs entirely on shinsu, kid.
Anyway, feels like it's just one person—probably someone still without a team. And he's walking leisurely, even though time's almost up.
We easily found the Regular, and I let out a dumbfounded laugh. When I needed someone earlier, not a single one appeared. Now? A perfect candidate just walks right into us.
"…Arie?"
"From the earrings… Yeon Family?"
Three members minimum from the Ten Great Families, all in one test. If this had been a deathmatch, everyone except us would probably have died. Once again, I realized just how sloppy that Ranker Hummer was with his job.
Anyway, just like before, I deployed a shinsu barrier toward the Regular. At this point, it was basically a formality. Naturally, a Yeon Family Regular didn't budge an inch.
"What's this all of a sudden?"
"If you haven't found a team yet, want to join ours?"
The Yeon Family Regular glanced up at the huge floating screen overhead. It showed 00:05:43. He accepted my offer. With that, my team—three members from the Ten Great Families—was complete. There'd be no elimination for us.
"So you're Arie… were those giant swords earlier your doing?"
"Yeah. I made them flashy to attract kids like you, but only this guy came."
At that, the Yeon boy gave me a strange look. Then he asked: Was that really meant for recruitment?
Uh… yes? Obviously?
"The Test Administrator warned us not to fight, yet you dropped four giant swords from the sky. No one would want to approach someone that dangerous. I only headed over because I was intrigued, but objectively speaking, those blades looked like clear threats."
…It seems the Regulars didn't properly interpret the test administrator's intentions. In the end, I had no choice but to admit my standards were too high.
Maybe I expected too much bravery from candidates on such a low floor.
Then again—their skill level really was awful.
But then why did this guy even come? When I turned to Luf, he mumbled awkwardly:
"…Weren't we supposed to go toward that signal?"
"You understood the examiner's intent perfectly."
"Huh?"
Anyway, just as the timer reached zero, the three of us placed our hands on each other's shoulders.
Moments later, the test-ending buzzer rang.
Beeeeep—
— The test is over. All Regulars recognized as a team at the end of the timer pass. The second test will begin shortly. Prepare yourselves.
Beeeeep—
— The second test begins now. The teams remaining within the test area must survive against all other teams. In other words, it is a team-vs-team deathmatch. If even one member of a team dies, that entire team is eliminated. There is no time limit. The test ends once only 34 teams remain. Originally, we intended to leave 33, but due to unavoidable circumstances, we allowed one extra. Be grateful. Additionally, the teams with the highest kill counts will receive advantageous rewards.
As the Test Administrator finished speaking, the letters on the screen changed to show the current number of surviving teams.
Current surviving teams: 298
"That's a lot."
Looks like the first test failed to properly filter the candidates, so the second test was designed to do it clearly. I turned to my teammates.
"Luf, Yeon Family… Actually, calling you that feels weird. I'll call you by your name."
"Yeon Hwarang."
Feels familiar… whatever.
"So, the second test is basically that. What do you guys want to do?"
"To be honest, I don't want to run around hunting down other teams."
"Same."
"Well, then. Let's just enjoy the scenery."
I remember seeing a cave in the webtoon—maybe we should try finding it.
The metallic smell of blood was already drifting through the 2nd Floor, carried by the wind, but we walked on leisurely and unbothered.
....
"Damn… No, seriously—having three direct descendants of the Ten Great Families in one test area is already ridiculous, but how the hell did those three end up forming a team together? I'm exhausted just thinking about it."
"Friendly Ten Families' heirs… I never thought I'd live long enough to see something like this."
"It's that Arie Regular's fault. Those three were placed far enough apart at the start of the first test that meeting each other should've been nearly impossible… but that boy's speed was beyond expectations."
"Seriously. When those swords dropped from the sky, I almost spit out my coffee. That kid is not someone who should even be on this floor… We need to prepare a test that immediately sends him up a few floors. The balance is completely broken."
"You'll have your hands full. The Regulars I'm in charge of are painfully average, so things were going smoothly… But a team of three Ten Families heirs? That's a disaster waiting to happen."
"Did you report it to the Chief Examiner?"
"He contacted me earlier. Hummer, prepare your incident report. Are you insane? Offering bonus rewards based on kill count? You basically created the perfect environment for a Ten Families team to go on a massacre spree!"
"This all happened because you didn't eliminate enough Regulars during the first test! If they all hide in fear of dying, nobody will kill anyone, and the test will never end!"
"…Alright, I'll admit that part. But this report thing is too much. Hummer, I'll advocate for you."
On the 2nd Floor, inside a floating building, the test administrators were gathered together, discussing the unusual situation.
A team composed entirely of direct-line heirs of the Ten Great Families.
Normally, direct heirs were prideful, intolerant of other Families, and reluctant to cooperate. Forming a team across different Families was extremely rare.
But the Arie heir had smoothly recruited two other heirs with a shameless smile, and they accepted. It was an extraordinary event.
Since the conditions were perfect for this Ten Families team to wreak havoc, the Rankers had no choice but to monitor them closely.
"…Huh? Where are they headed?"
"Are they finally moving?"
The chatting Rankers went silent and focused on the lighthouse screens.
"...That's…"
"The Mandole Whale habitat. Why are they going there?"
Their actions made no sense, so the examiners leaned in closer. The screen showed the Arie boy taking a white cloth-like mantle from his pocket-inventory and spreading it out neatly on the ground.
One Ranker muttered something that made the others even more confused.
"…A picnic mat?"
….
"Mhm~ so this is what it looks like."
Before them stretched a massive cliffside cave. The distant sound of waves brushing the rocks tickled our ears pleasantly. I picked a spot with just the right amount of sunlight and cool breeze. The sun was already setting, but still—if there were nearly 300 teams, it would take at least a full day to reduce them to 34.
"Wow… the cave hanging off the edge of the cliff—what a sight."
"Have you ever even been here? How do you know about a place like this?"
I obviously couldn't say 'I saw it in the webtoon', so I brushed it off vaguely. Then I found a flat spot, spread out the mat, and pulled out the frozen skewers I'd brought beforehand. With a simple grill I improvised, I started setting things up.
"Alright, sit down. Let's have a little campfire. Yeon kid—light this up for me, will you?"
Unfortunately, Yeon Hwarang refused, saying that the Yeon Family flames weren't meant for something trivial like grilling meat. So I had to pull out a lighter from my inventory.
Honestly, thinking about it… if we used the Yeon flames, the skewers would probably incinerate into charcoal instantly.
The campfire was handled using the lighthouse's light. Soon, the sound of the skewers sizzling over the heat filled the air—absolutely mouthwatering.
"Wow… let me record this with my lighthouse."
Honestly, I expected at least one of them to complain—"What kind of nonsense is this during an exam?"—but surprisingly, both Luf and Hwarang were… pretty normal for Ten Families kids. They appreciated scenery and atmosphere more than I expected.
Maybe we should invite a few more guests.
My gaze drifted toward the far-off observers.
….
"…Wait, did he just look directly at us?"
"No way. This observer looks close on the screen, but it's actually super far away."
"He's looking at us, though."
On the screen, the Arie boy pulled out a bottle, bowed slightly toward the observer, and beckoned them over with his hand.
The examiners could no longer deny it—the Regular had sensed them.
"Hey, zoom in a bit more. What's that bottle he's holding?"
"Hmm… alcohol?"
"…Isn't that Arie Traditional Liquor?"
"What?"
"Huh?"
"…Hm?"
"That's the one you can't drink even if you have money, right?"
Arie Traditional Liquor.
It could only be purchased within the Arie Family, and only direct descendants were allowed to buy it. Sales were strictly prohibited.
Meaning—unless you were Arie direct blood or personally received some from one, you had no chance of ever drinking it. The only method was being given it as a gift.
Everyone's eyes were already glued to the tiny bottle visible on the screen.
One examiner looked around carefully, then murmured quietly:
"…Is contacting a Regular during an exam against regulations?"
"I don't think that's written anywhere."
"It's probably not written because it's too obvious. I mean, 90% of the time a Regular contacting an examiner during a test would be cheating."
"Anyway, the rules don't forbid us from approaching… right? And it's not like we're planning to cheat."
"….."
The examiners silently stood up and began putting on their coats.
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