Chapter Text
‘As expected of a lower floor, the shinsu here is easier on the body.’
He cricked his neck and took stock of the situation. Wide open fields with minimal rock covers. It wasn’t ideal but what cover there is, the rock formations are big enough to hide several human-like species. He considered the words of the Test Administrator blaring out instructions above him. A simple elimination game, from 400 to 200 regulars.
‘When the ranker says ‘Kill’, the simpletons and the bloodthirsty will say ‘How many?’’
“Ready? Begin!” Crowed the Test Administrator.
He waited in place. No need to rush this, they’ll come to him eventually.
And like usual, his calculations did not err. A red-skinned giant with four arms and an equal number of swords clutched in each of his hands appeared before him. He glared down menacingly; his swords raised in challenge.
‘Case in point.’ He thought with no less arrogance. The giant growled at him as though that could make him shake in his shoes. It only served to make the giant look like a puppy barking up at a full-grown wolf. Speaking to the giant only further proved his worthlessness. Truly, what an obedient dog in the making.
A dog was only useful when it can be a threat to its master’s enemies. With a light strike unbefitting of its large stature and slow reflexes, this one isn’t worth raising.
‘Too bad you won’t ever reach adulthood.’ He held his knife and slashed the giant’s side starting from his right rib cage and ending on his left hip bone. Blood gushed from the deep cut and the giant spluttered in his death throes.
He flicked his knife, letting the blood slide off from the blade. Time to find more promising allies.
“I wonder if there’s anyone worthy of going up the Tower with?”
✵✵✵
The moment Baam awoke in this new floor, her eyes were assaulted by the harsh light. ‘Too bright! It hurts!’ She clenched her eyes shut again and used her hand to wipe the tears that sprang forth. ‘This is why I can’t live in the light.’
She could hear someone proclaiming their welcome to this ‘Floor of Test’ and began explaining the contents of the next test. She blew a sigh. ‘Another test...’
More importantly, the test is an elimination one. After being subjected into a life or death situation twice in a single test before, now she’s landed in another extreme one. Slowly, she tentatively opened her eyes before squeezing them shut again. That small peek into her surroundings yielded nothing but made her tear up again.
‘Too blurry to make anything out; my eyes water just from opening them.’ This is bad news. She’s in an even more disadvantageous position like this.
The sound of someone’s screams rang in the air. She jolted and her heart began thundering. The smell of blood rides on the cool breeze and reached her nose. Pungent. ‘It’s started.’ She thought in alarm. ‘I need to get going.’ The problem was how.
Her hands scrabbled on the ground to find some bearing and she accidentally knocked her fingers into something. A little more carefully this time, she reached out to touch the object. It felt cool to the touch and she had grabbed on to something that felt like a block...
The object thrummed softly in her grip. She gasped quietly but held on, the feeling was familiar. Baam focused her senses on that reaction. This is... Black March.
Relief flooded her, thankful to have the Black March with her. ‘Wait, oh no. Is Ms. Yuri here? I didn’t have the chance to return Black March to her!’ Guilt rose from taking the needle without asking for the owner’s permission. ‘I’ll definitely return it back to her... For now, I’m just glad to have a weapon.’
“Please lend me your assistance again, Ms. Black March.” She whispered to the needle. There was no answer. Her shoulders slumped, ‘Right, she doesn’t like women.’ She couldn’t count on igniting the Black March again but she could still use it to defend herself when necessary. Good enough.
This impaired vision is going to be a major hindrance though. She stood up and took a calming breath. ‘Don’t panic; Use your other senses, you’ve done this before.’ She reminded herself. Not being able to see clearly was a reality that she always faced back in the cave. When it was too dark to navigate, she used her hearing and sense of touch to guide her way. She could do the same here. Focus and concentrate on other cues from the world around her.
As she slowly exhaled her breath, the sound of people running and clanging metal can be heard clearly. There wasn’t the sound of another person’s breathing in her immediate vicinity. But that could change soon. ‘Pick a direction and move.’ She chose forward, where the smell of blood wasn’t as pungent as the other directions.
‘Maintain your concentration, keep focusing.’ She repeated in her mind like a mantra. She kept her senses open while moving forward, relying on her hearing to tell her if someone approaches. When the Black March thrummed again in her grip, her senses caught on something new. There was some kind of aura cloaking the Black March. It wasn’t an overwhelming one, but it wasn’t faint either.
She focused on the aura. Her mind’s eye conjuring an image of a swirling black aura surrounding the needle. Every time the Black March thrums, the aura pulsed like a heartbeat. ‘What is that? I’ve seen this before.’ Her mind flashed back to the moment of Black March’s ignition. ‘Is this... Black March’s power?’
As though accompanied by the popping sound of a cork bottle opening, Baam could see the swirling flow of something around her. It felt like something that was clogged before had been popped open. She sucked in a breath and could sense that same substance flowing from the air to her mouth. She lifted the Black March and swung it experimentally a few times; She focused carefully at how the liquid-like air drifted with her arm’s motions and how it parted and rejoined with every swing of the needle.
‘This feeling, like the air in the eel’s cage...’ She closed a fist on empty air. ‘But much less viscous.’ The white devil had called it ‘Shinsu’.
As suddenly as being thrusted into a deathmatch, Baam could sense the flow of shinsu all around her. She could picture the swaying motion of the plants from the shinsu rustling them and the placement of rocks and gravels from how the shinsu parted away from them. ‘It’s like I’m seeing it myself, even though my eyes aren’t open.’
Her survival prospects were looking better already. She could navigate by reading the flow of shinsu like this. Thanking whatever god was looking out for her, Baam continued on.
✵✵✵
There is nothing better than the thrill of hunting prey. But the prey must not be any weak game, it needs to be strong. Hunting weak prey yields no enjoyment to him; There is no dizzying rush of blood in his veins, no feeling of satisfaction after devouring them.
The prey he hunts for must be strong. And luckily, there seems to be quite the number of them in this very field.
His eyes swiveled around the area, searching for the best prey to hunt from his high perch. All other turtles do not dare to approach him. He has already cleared out the area of those pathetic wimps. His hunter’s senses are drawn to several individuals.
A swordsman, a turtle wrapped in a blanket, a blue-haired turtle, and—
An intimidating presence beyond any of those other turtles occupied all of his attention. ‘Strong. Where is it coming from?’ Instincts guide his eyes towards a green lizard. ‘It’s not that lizard. That aura is coming from her weapon.’
He considered this quarry. That weapon is powerful; overwhelmingly so. However, that lizard is also strong. With a powerful wielder, the weapon will become even more dangerous.
“That would be hard to hunt.” Regrettably, he opts out of that prey. He enjoys hunting but this is too early in the game to be courting death.
Another similar presence entered his sensing range. ‘It feels like that green weapon. Its near here.’ The hunter turns towards the distance. ‘There it is.’ He allowed himself a self-satisfied smirk. This prey is preferable compared to the lizard.
Calculating the distance between him and his game, he leapt off the hill.
✵✵✵
There is still some time left before the test ends. The number of regulars has dropped considerably since he last checked his Pocket. He considers the time spent making allies a semi-success. Finding and coercing promising allies hadn’t been difficult but he isn’t satisfied with just those three people. It would be beneficial if he gathered stronger allies, though he’d prefer if they had characters he could predict.
It would be the height of stupidity to trust in a loose cannon after all.
Rounding left from a rock pillar, he comes across a curious sight. A Da-an is standing placidly out in the open, as members of their tribe are wont to do. But in front of him stands a lanky kid with a red vest, who is also standing still despite holding a needle.
Seeing two people who have stopped in their tracks in the middle of a killing field is very unusual. ‘I don’t think either is going to start attacking any time soon.’ Not that the kid could do any significant damage with those bony arms.
The bizarre scene tickles his curiosity and like a moth to flame, he begins to make his way towards them. Silently while concealing his presence. He wants to see their reactions when he pops out of nowhere to greet them.
Unexpectedly, the kid turns towards his direction. His feet falter.
There is no mistaking his concealed presence or his silent footsteps; There should not be any way that kid could detect him. But the proof has pivoted to face him directly. The Da-an shows no reaction to him or the kid.
His mind re-arranges his initial assessment at the same time he speaks. “Hey there, you look like you’re out of your depths.” He crosses the remaining distance so they can talk comfortably. His eyes survey the kid in one sweep. Black shirt with a white cravat paired with a red vest and sand-colored pants. Long dark brown hair and a pair of firmly closed eyes. On closer inspection, the kid turns out to be a girl.
He coolly shelves away his other findings. Unkempt hair with signs of neglect, a skinny frame from malnourishment, and blood staining her left sleeve and still running down her arm. In conclusion, she makes for a pitiful sight.
‘Possibly blind.’ He adds on when the girl continued to keep her eyes closed. ‘But not hindered because of it. For a disabled to enter the inner Tower is already a feat in itself.’ Harmless, yet possesses some skill.
“Hello.” She greets unsurely. “Are you going to attack?”
He chuckles and shakes his head. “No, no. Don’t worry about me.” She tilts her head at him. “I’m more interested in what you guys are doing. It’s not a good idea to stand still in the middle of this test you know.”
“I’m aware,” She worries at her bottom lip. “But compared to the other directions, this area is safer.”
“Oh? How do you figure that?” He asks, genuinely interested.
“This place has a fainter smell of blood in it.” She replies. “The air isn’t as erratic here too.”
How curious, so she has a sharp sense of smell. The other thing she mentions though... “The air? Mind explaining for me?”
Her brows furrow and she hums uncertainly. “I’m not sure how to explain it properly but, for example...” She lifts her right hand, the one holding the needle. Though she does not point it at him. “When I do this—” She gives the needle a few swings. “I can tell when something makes a movement from the air displacing and then rejoining.” She stops her demonstration and lets her arm fall weakly to her side.
‘Shinsu.’ His mind connects the dots as soon as she finished. ‘She’s reading the flow of shinsu as a replacement of sight.’ He appraises her again silently. ‘No wonder, she ‘saw’ me coming.’
“I see. If you don’t mind me asking, how far—” The girl tenses and abruptly snaps her head to the side. He clicks his mouth shut and follows her ‘gaze’. Approaching quickly from the horizon is a giant crocodile. ‘That’s a pretty far distance. Quite the wide range.’
“Hostile...” The girl mumbles to herself and readies her needle. In a span of a few breaths, the crocodile reaches their position. ‘For such a big guy, he knows how to move stealthily.’ The yellow grass barely rustled as he waded through them.
“I’m guessing this guy isn’t your pet?” He tests the waters. Predictably, the crocodile takes the bait. “I’m not a crocodile. I’m the hunter, Rak Wraithraiser!” He shouts proudly.
“Amazing, a talking crocodile. I wonder how much you’d cost?” He snickers. The crocodile roars indignantly.
“I’m not a crocodile! You puny turtle!” He had to give the crocodile some credit, his growl is at least better than the last dog that barked at him. “I’m not interested with you, so bug off!”
‘Why’d you come here then?’ He thinks but the crocodile answers him before he could ask aloud. “What I’m interested in is—” The crocodile thrusts a sharp clawed finger at the girl. “You, black turtle.”
The girl regards the giant reptile with confusion. “What?”
“I’ve decided that you will be my prey.” He leaned down to crowd the girl’s space. The giant points at the black needle in her grip. “If I want to hunt a worthwhile prey, I must hunt a strong one!”
“That weapon is powerful, so wield it and fight me, black turtle!” He roars loudly at the heavens and the shinsu blasts away like wind from the shockwave. The girl grits her teeth and shakes her head at the crocodile. “Wait! I don’t want to fight you! It won’t be a worthwhile hunt at all!” She shouts back.
He mentally agrees, she’s not built for any physical battle. The two continue arguing back and forth and he considers just walking away from this ridiculous situation. “Please! I’m not—I really don’t want to fight you!” Says the girl holding her hands up in surrender. The crocodile ignores her outright and keeps the tip of his red spear trained on the girl. ‘She’s not even pointing the needle at him.’
His lips purse and he briefly clench his teeth. He could leave; He could simply walk away and be done with this once and for all. Their ‘feud’ is not his business and he doesn’t have room to spare to start caring about other people.
His first mistake is taking one last glance at the pair and catching the pitiful scene of a scared girl about to be eaten alive by a bloodthirsty crocodile twice her size.
He would later rationalize his actions as not wanting the object of his curiosity die before he could satiate it but for now, he slugs the crocodile with his briefcase right on his face.
He ruthlessly, with a force akin of his father’s brutality, crushes the unwanted thought that he once delivered another, more capable girl into the King’s vault to save her from being devoured by her half-siblings.
✵✵✵
“We should be safe here for the time being.”
Baam let out a sigh of relief and carefully positions herself so she could sit comfortably on a big rock. “Thank you for saving me.” She says sincerely, turning her head so she could smile up at her savior. He didn’t answer back but she could feel his gaze on her. In the distance, the crocodile-man’s shouts echo.
“Why is that crocodile thing following you? Did you do something to him?”
“No... That was the first time I met him.” Baam holds the needle up for her savior to see. “He said something about wanting to fight with this.”
“What? That needle...?” He leans in closer to look. Baam senses, more than actually seeing it, the sudden change in his demeanor. But because she couldn’t detect any outward hostility towards her, unlike the two people that tried to attack her before, she let him abruptly grab her hand.
“You... Where did you get that needle?” His voice takes a sudden plunge to a cold and commanding tone. Baam shudders a little at the intimidating pressure he is giving off. “That weapon is one of the King’s personal treasures, given only to his chosen, ranker daughter.”
“How come a regular, new to the tower like you could possibly have it?” He continues and Baam feels his gaze, previously benign, prodding and poking sharply into her skin. “You look too weak to be a Zahard Princess. You... Who are you?”
She stuttered a little in her reply. Ms. Yuri’s and Mr. Evan’s warnings about irregulars being a feared entity in the tower and how lending the Black March is an offense punishable by death coming to haunt her. She’d like to say the truth but... Baam resolves her wavering heart.
“I’m sorry, but I cannot tell you about it.” She willed her determination to be present in her voice. Baam carefully opens her eyes to properly look him in the eye. She wanted to make sure her sincerity is suitably communicated. “I made a promise with someone I care about.”
Her eyes start watering again and her vision is still blurry because of it but she could make out that unknown color in his hair and, presumably, his eyes. His color is similar yet different from the color of shinsu in Headon’s eel cage. She has never seen anything quite like it.
“How stingy,” He finally says after an uncomfortable silence. “I saved your life and I get nothing in return.”
“I’m truly sorry,” Baam blinks her eyes repeatedly to stop the tears from rolling down her cheeks. “It’s... It’s just...” She hears him huff before he falls silent again. Baam fidgets in her seat, not knowing how to proceed from here.
“Stop crying.” She hears him say quietly, almost awkwardly. “I wasn’t going to hurt you for not answering.”
Baam perks up. “Oh! I—I’m not crying. I didn’t mean to... It’s just—This place is so bright that it hurts my eyes when I try to open them.” She pats her eyes gently. “But I wanted to look at you in the eye properly so...”
“I assumed you’re blind.” He replies with a note of surprise. “Is that not the case?”
“Oh, no, I can see. But like I said my eyes aren’t used to bright places like this.” She smiles hesitantly. “Thankfully, I managed to get by when I got here.”
“I see.” He didn’t elaborate further. Suddenly, she sensed his hand extending towards her. “My name is Khun. Khun Aguero Agnis. What’s yours?”
“Baam. Twenty-fifth Baam.” She shakes his hand like Cain taught her to do. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“Okay, Baam. I’m sure you don’t trust me right now.” Mr. Khun says breezily. “Considering the nature of this test, that is very natural.”
Mr. Khun keeps his hold on her hand. “But I don’t care about the rules.” His confidence in saying those words lures Baam in. “Because... I’ve decided to go up the Tower with you.”
Her shock at his bold statement is evident and she makes sure he knows what he just signed up for. “I’m not good at fighting and I know nothing—” He cuts in her tirade. “It’s alright. You’re selling yourself short.”
She really doubts it but correctly figures out that he probably won’t change his mind. She swallows and nods timidly. “Well, if you’re alright with it then... I’m pleased to make your acquaintance.” She bows politely.
✵✵✵
Khun points at the white cravat Baam is wearing. “You should use that tie and cover the Black March’s handle with it.” Baam tilts her head questioningly at him. “That needle is notorious. If other people find out you’ve got it, they’ll come after you like a pack of wolves.”
Baam let out a tiny gasp before nodding hurriedly and taking her cravat off. It should be long enough to wrap around the needle’s handle. “Ideally, we should cover the whole thing but we don’t have enough fabric to do that.”
“As long as the inscription on the handle is covered tightly, things should be fine.” As he says this, Baam diligently wraps the handle. Khun sticks a hand in his pocket before retrieving his handkerchief. When Baam completed her task, he offered it to her. “Here, it’s a handkerchief. Use it to wrap the wound on your left arm for now.”
Baam shakes her head. “But it’ll get dirty!” She protests.
“It’s fine. Just use it.” When she makes no move to take the object, he scoffs and decides it would be faster if he did the job himself. Taking her left arm, he unfolds the handkerchief and wraps it around the open wound. “It’s better than risking exsanguination.”
Baam furrows her eyebrows and mutters “Ex-what?” to herself. Khun smirks, “It means losing blood. Or in this case, death by blood loss.” Baam pales at his answer with a quiet “Oh.”
“The test will be ending soon,” He says while tying the knot. “We should just stay here and wait.” As soon as Baam thanks him for the handkerchief, the Test Administrator’s voice barked out the end of the test. And then starts instructing on the next team-building test. “No breaks at all, huh? As expected of this floor.”
“Um, Mr. Khun. If we only have five minutes to find a teammate...” Baam hops off the rock before turning to peek over the rock cover. “Does that mean we need to team up with him?” She points at the still raging crocodile in the background.
That crocodile really does have quite the pair of lungs in him. He could feel a headache forming the longer he hears him shouting. “I’d really prefer not to, but...” He clicks his tongue at his Pocket’s timer then glances down at his briefcase. Exactly three here. “We don’t have the time. Should we take the risk Baam?”
Baam nods. “I think it’s the only way. I can’t sense anyone else that we could reach out to in five minutes.” Damn. There goes that plan. He sighs and grabs his briefcase from the ground. “Alright, let’s get him to our side.” Thankfully, he could focus on forming his own team. Baam swivels around the rock cover ahead of him.
“Mr. Crocodile-man!” Baam waves her arm at the overgrown reptile. “Come be our friend!”
“MY NAME IS RAK WRAITHRAISER! I’M NOT A—AHA! THERE YOU ARE TURTLES!”
‘Is this team going to be okay?’ He rubs his temples tiredly. ‘I’ll just have to make it work.’
In just one minute, Khun had already regretted it. The crocodile was obstinate to the point of idiocy. What good would it do for him to fail at the start of the climb when he could be fighting even stronger opponents to his heart’s content on the upper floors?
Moron. All of them. He’s taking back all his positive appraisals of him. It’s better to kill him now and be done with it. To hell with this idiot. In the worst-case scenario, he could just carry Baam and run to the next nearest person. She won’t add much to the weight he’s already ferrying.
He’s already brandishing his knife, ready to turn the crocodile into a purse when Baam yells “Stop!” and stands in between them.
“Mr. Rak, you said you wanted to ‘hunt’ me, right?” Baam starts calmly. The walking-purse gives his assent with undue arrogance. “Alright. Then please go ahead.” Says Baam while throwing the needle to the ground.
Baam opens her arms with a gutsy smile. “Now, ‘hunt’ me Mr. Rak.” The purse splutters before getting into a shouting match with Baam again. Khun turns towards his Pocket showing the passage of time. Good, if she can keep this up, he’ll be able to close a clutch-deal.
Of course, things don’t go his way again when he begins re-negotiating. Khun is sensing a pattern developing here and he is not pleased with how the motif is turning out. The reptile loses his marbles and begins attacking indiscriminately. He really should’ve just killed him when he had the chance. Time is running out, the options left available to them is thinning and this goddamn reptile is jabbing his spear straight towards Baam’s face.
At the same time he throws his knife, Baam dives to the side. The incoming projectile knocks the spear off-course but the target had already dodged the weapon a second before. Baam scrabbles for Black March when the reptile leans downwards unsteadily, having lost his balance when he overextended himself. ‘Chance!’
“Baam! Now!” She was already running towards the reptile when he shouted those words. Khun kicks off the ground, aiming towards the crocodile’s neck. Latching on to his shoulders, he wraps his arms around the crocodile’s bulging neck muscles and forcefully yanks his upper body backwards with pure strength. The crocodile chokes and he naturally fall to his knees.
Not wasting the opportunity, Baam leaps and clutches the crocodile’s arm with her whole body. She held on to it like a koala on a swaying tree. The reptile thrashes in his grip and if Khun had other choices, maybe he would’ve finished the job and snapped his neck. Alas, he needed this guy alive.
The reptile’s only saving grace was the timer running out. His enraged screaming hurt his eardrums but it sure made the smug satisfaction curl even sweeter.
✵✵✵
There are a lot of people in this one room. The air is constantly being disrupted due to the sheer amount of bodies moving in here. They’re making so much noise and the sounds echoes; it’s giving her a headache as well as a sudden spike in anxiety.
Baam feels nauseous. She’s never been around this many people. How do they not feel uncomfortable here? She feels like puking even when there’s little to hurl in her stomach. Baam squeezes the hand holding Mr. Rak’s and tries to focus only on Mr. Khun’s voice. At the very least, she can ground herself with their familiar presence.
Mr. Rak squeezes her hand back. “What’s wrong with you now, Black Turtle?” He asks gruffly but Baam can tell he means well. “Ah... I’m sorry but,” She presses her left ear to her shoulder and covers the right one with her free hand. “I’ve never been in a room with so much people before.”
“It’s so... noisy here. I’m getting a slight headache.” Mr. Khun hums thoughtfully and suggests they sit somewhere further away from the other Regulars. She thanks him for his consideration and receives a casual “Don’t worry about it.” from him.
After settling on the floor, Baam takes a deep breath and attempts to re-center herself. Pushing her senses wide had been helpful in that killing field but now, stuck in this room with a mass of bodies, it was becoming a hindrance. Pulling in her shinsu reading ‘net’ was easy but not her sense of hearing. She’ll just have to make do with covering her ears with her hands for now.
“Baam,” Oh, good she could still hear Mr. Khun even when her ears are covered. “You mentioned your eyes are sensitive to light, right?” She nods at him. Mr. Khun continues slowly, “This room isn’t as bright as outside. You should let your eyes adjust to the lighting here little by little.”
“...They won’t burn?” She asks a little childishly. Mr. Khun huffs out something that sounds like a disbelieving laugh. “Maybe a little, but I’m sure it won’t be as bad as before. Try it slowly. If it really hurts, then stop.”
“Okay... I believe you.” She replies and misses the arch of his eyebrows at her response. Baam slowly and carefully lifts her eyelids. As expected, they start to water again. But like Mr. Khun said, the burn wasn’t as painful as she remembered it being. She feels her eyebrows furrowing and her eyes squinting badly. Her eyelids keep blinking on its own and aren’t opening as fully as it could. In frustration, she pinches her eyelids and tries to force them open wider. Like this, she could see a multitude of colors a little more vividly but the downside is the tears have started in earnest and rolls down her cheeks freely.
She groans grumpily and wipes her face with her sleeves before trying again. “Don’t push yourself.” Mr. Khun reminds her amusedly. “I know... but, I’d really like to see both of your faces.” Baam says mulishly. She turns to face them and squints in their direction. When that didn’t work, she pulled at her eyelids again.
She hears Mr. Rak let out a snort. “Stop that turtle, you look ugly.” That statement startled her enough to release her eyelids and start giggling. “Do I?” Her shoulders tremble with mirth. “You look like a fish.” Mr. Rak harrumphs.
She didn’t know what a fish looked like but she could guess it wasn’t pretty. She supposes she looked as ridiculous as she felt. Stifling the last of the giggles, she tries again. Oh, her eyelids aren’t blinking as erratically as before and she’s keeping them open longer without squinting too hard. She looks down on her hand, intent on making her eyes focus. Slowly, the blurry outline of her hand sharpens and Baam wiggles her fingers to test her vision.
When the sharp focus stays constant, she feels her smile stretching across her face and eagerly looks up to see her teammates. The first to enter her repaired vision is Mr. Khun. He has that shinsu-colored hair and eyes like she previously guessed before. His face is angular and looks like he was born with a stern-looking countenance but he is regarding her with amused eyes for now. He waves a hand in her direction. “Can you see me now?” She nods back excitedly. She swivels her head to turn to Mr. Rak and could only see his torso from her current point of view. She had to crane her neck to see his face.
“Oh... I’ve never seen someone like you before Mr. Rak. What are you?” Baam asks gently, with no intended malice. Mr. Rak harrumphs again, “I’m the hunter, Rak Wraithraiser!” he crows with a tone that implied ‘Isn’t that obvious’ in his voice. Baam nods placidly, understanding that Mr. Rak is Mr. Rak and that was all there is. Khun looked at the both of them incredulously but none noticed his sigh of defeat.
“What’s the color of your eyes, Mr. Rak?” Rak throws her an exasperated side-glance before leaning down to let Baam have a closer look. He turns his head to the side so his eye is in full view. From an outsider’s perspective, it looked like Rak was contemplating on eating her. Baam instead coos at him. “It’s red and the outside is black...”
“Wow, look at your teeth...” Baam curiously looks up and down at Rak. “You don’t have hair, Mr. Rak?”
“As if I’d have something so bothersome weighing me down.” Mr. Rak replies proudly. Baam pinches some of her unruly hair, “Mhm, I get what you’re saying.” She nods back at him.
She opens her mouth to compliment on his little horns but the angry shouts of another Regular interrupts her. She winces at the volume and her hands fly out to cover her ears. Rak straightens up from his crouch and allows her to see the people in the middle of a loud argument. It looks like someone is gearing up to fight another Regular in the middle of the break.
✵✵✵
The mystery continues to deepen in front of him. Baam is an enigma and one he is not any closer to solving. This is a fact he will readily admit. But there are hints she unintentionally reveals.
Firstly, the Black March. A legendary weapon is in the hands of a new Regular. That is just an impossibility in the Tower. In the first place, a 13th Month series weapon is only bestowed to certain Zahard Princesses who has reached the top of the Tower, meaning: A Ranker princess with outstanding performance. And if memory serves, this particular black needle was awarded to that Zahard’s Effenberg wasn’t it?
Why would that infamously volatile princess give the Black March to some unassuming girl? There is simply no way Baam could’ve stolen it right out of Ha Yuri Zahard’s hands. But she mentioned a promise, didn’t she? To who?
Is it possible that the Black Snakehead herself gave the needle to Baam? If so, why would she do that? That act is equal to signing up for her own execution. There must be something else at play here... It’s preposterous to think that a Regular could be any threat to a High Ranker princess. That leaves the possibility of the princess willingly giving the Black March open... No matter how ridiculous the notion is as well.
Maybe there is something about Baam that tickled the princess’s fancy enough to break the law. Baam only looks unassuming but Khun is certain she’s the most mysterious amongst this batch of Regulars. He initially thought Baam being chosen to enter the inner Tower despite having a sight disability was already rare enough, but it was the underlying reason behind her closed eyes that are more unbelievable.
Her eyes were closed not because she is blind but because they were sensitive to light, hence keeping them opened was painful. One possible reason for this condition is the result of living her whole life either in total darkness or somewhere dim enough prior to entering the Tower. The second option is more likely as she mentioned being able to see. Yet, the way she phrased ‘I managed the get by when I got here.’ implies she never needed the ability to read shinsu until she landed on the Floor of Tests.
That’s crazy. He knew of people who spent years and years to master shinsu reading and this girl accomplished it in such a short amount of time? She’s already got a wide range of perception too. That’s a prodigious feat. Some might call it ludicrous. He deems it suspicious.
She can’t possibly be a Zahard Princess. Other than her shinsu reading ability, she’s too weak in every other aspect to be one. Not to mention the state she is in. She’s clearly malnourished, her hair is dry & coarse with no healthy sheen to it. Though her clothes are in relatively good condition, the rest of her looks neglected. There is no way a family, one of the Ten or not, will let a princess be in that state.
That begs the question of just who or what is Baam? Maybe she’s just a really talented kid and he’s overthinking this. Except, there is no mistaking the otherworldly aura around her. He sent a surreptitious glance towards the person in question talking cheerfully with the crocodile without a care in the world.
‘She’s naïve.’ He knew that from the start. From her mannerisms to her tone of voice. Now, there is a child’s wonder in her opened eyes. At least, what he assumes a normal child would have.
His thoughts turn inwards and a little voice speaks to him. In the Khun family, a child that acts like one will not survive past age ten. Being childish is a weakness your other half-siblings will exploit. Once born, a child of the Khun family must be able to walk on their own and fight in the tournament for their place in the family.
“For our place in the family, Aguero.” It sounded like his mother. “You must win. I believe in you.” He shoves the voice away to the recesses of his mind.
That tournament is a farce. Naïve children are culled and the ones left standing are lauded as the future warriors of the Khun family. The proof of that rite of passage comes in the privilege of carrying the family symbol. One he wears in his hair.
He has killed children before, in that cruel tournament, for the sake of survival. He plotted against the future warriors later on, for his elder sister’s ascent. Then opposed his own sister for Maria’s victory. The Tower has always been cruel. He wasn’t the only one made jagged and numb after fate had its way with him. He wasn’t special in that regard. Many were left bitter and vicious by the system.
In contrast, he was beginning to think that the same naivety Baam has is what makes her special. ‘She’s a kind person.’ He realizes when she speaks to a former enemy without any enmity in her voice nor ill will in her gaze. Even if moments ago, he had pointed a spear right into her face. That crocodile too, is drawn into her orbit and made soft around the edges. Baam has a welcoming presence, comfortable and warm like sitting beside a crackling fireplace. It leaves you feeling relaxed and safe.
“I believe you.” She had said to him so casually. He couldn’t put his finger on it, but it felt... different. It came with a connotation that he wasn’t familiar with, even though someone else had spoken that exact words to him before. The words were airy, but paradoxically held weight that his heart latched on to almost instinctively—
Sky blue hair with that rebellious tint of a deeper blue on the ends of her hair cascades down her shoulders. His breath stutters in his chest. The same cobalt blue eyes like his own looked straight through him, like she could see all he is down to his core. Past the spiked barbs and stone walls surrounding his heart. Her lips turned up in a smile and he can already tell the name being formed on her mouth is his—
“Mr. Khun?” He blinks and sees gold eyes looking at him worriedly. He takes a small breath while his thoughts swiftly return to the present. “Yes?” He feigns calm.
Baam turns to look at some shouting Regulars. “Shouldn’t we stop them?” She looks troubled. “Leave them be. They’ll be stopped soon.” He says flippantly. He couldn’t care less about other people and, frankly speaking, she’s not in any position to be worrying for other people too.
A bleeding heart will get her killed. It could also jeopardize his chances of success by association. Sitting next to a fire came with its hazards and chances are, he’ll end up burned in the end.
‘Perhaps, choosing her was a mistake.’ He closed his eyes and let the rapids of his thoughts flow to calmer streams.
The situation is still salvageable. The current team composition isn’t permanent and when the opportunity presents itself, which he knows it will, he’ll break off from his lapse in judgement. Then everything will be fine again, he’ll have regained his control and he won’t have to look at a walking ghost anymore.
Khun Aguero Agnis is not a man who repeats his mistakes.
With impeccable timing, the Test Administrator appears. With his introduction alone, he effectively puts an end to the petty squabble. “He’s... very powerful.” From the side, Baam whispers to them. “He’s also a Ranker...” His ears catch Baam mumbling to herself.
“Does that mean all Rankers are powerful?” She asks to no one in particular. Khun’s mind couldn’t help pick apart the implications. He curses his own curiosity sometimes. The crocodile makes a low grumbling sound, “Isn’t that how it is? Aren’t Rankers people who’ve reached the top of the Tower?” He replies gruffly.
Baam swivels to look at Rak in shock. “T-to the top of the Tower?!” Baam flusters before looking like she just connected the dots to something. ‘Interesting.’ His subconscious notes again. Khun shoves the errant thought back down with more force than before. There’s no point in deconstructing the mystery when he is planning to disassociate himself from it.
Whilst Khun was battling his own subconscious, the Ranker introduced himself as Lero Ro and began explaining the next pre-test. He also missed the concerned glance Baam threw him for his silence. ‘An elimination pre-test before the real test... In other words, another culling.’ This batch of Regulars is bigger than expected he supposes.
When the Ranker lifts his hand and begins swaying it to and fro, Baam jolts beside him, “Oh! That’s—” She begins but is cut off by the sudden eruption of shinsu from the Ranker. The shinsu blasted them all indiscriminately, pushing them out farther and farther away from the Ranker. Khun grits his teeth and his feet skids on the ground. He tries his best to hold on but the Ranker’s shinsu was relentless, “Damn it!” He is eventually blown back like the others.
The Ranker looks over them all smugly, “I compressed the shinsu to make a barrier that pushed you all out.” Khun quietly clicked his tongue, he can already deduce that the Ranker is testing individual shinsu resistance and the passing conditions will be something along the line of the team who passes through— “—The barrier will pass this test and those who don’t will fail. That’s all there is, so please come on through everyone.” Finishes the blonde Ranker with a cheeky smile.
‘Was this really the purpose of forming last-minute teams?’ He thought privately as the Regulars around him begin to kick up a fuss about the test being ‘unfair’. Personally, he agreed with the other Regulars but also agreed with the Ranker’s opinion about luck. Khun has had his fair share of being ‘saved or damned by luck’ after all, but the way that Ranker goes about it got on his nerves a little.
Now that the shinsu had settled, the shinsu concentration on the barrier isn’t that high. Khun knows he’ll be able to walk past that barrier easily. Aside from that initial blast, his body is too used to higher shinsu concentration on the upper floors to flunk this test. He glanced at the crocodile, ‘And this guy will pass the barrier with no problems as well.’ The benefit of hunting in shinsu.
The problem is Baam. She may be gifted in shinsu reading, but he’s not sure of her own shinsu resistance. Khun turns his head to the side to find the girl in question nowhere around him. A brief snap of panic has him actively looking around for Baam. ‘Shit, where is she? She’s light so she might’ve flown off to the very back—’
“Black turtle is over there, blue turtle.” Rak says suddenly. Khun looks up toward the crocodile for directions and before he could question him, Baam’s voice reaches his ears. “Um... Sorry, Mr. Lero Ro?” Her voice is coming from the front.
‘No, it can’t be.’ But there she was, standing in front of them all. On the other side of the barrier. “I don’t know why but, I wasn’t pushed out...” Baam fidgets nervously. “To take the test... I should probably go out and come back in, right?” Baam tenses and looks up apprehensively at the Ranker, gripping her needle tight. Khun recognizes the stance as someone about to make a decision between fight or flight.
‘Why is she there. How is she not affected? She was standing beside me and the crocodile and we were both pushed out—’
He wasn’t the only one looking appalled. Even the supposed all-powerful Ranker looked at her like he just witnessed her perform a miracle. Baam flusters under the heavy weight of his gaze, “I’m sorry! I’ll go back out after all!” Baam makes to run towards to the barrier.
“No, you pass Ms. Baam.” Lero Ro announces, stopping Baam in her tracks. “I think I made a mistake but... That is also part of your luck. Congratulations.” He smiled benignly at her.
It wasn’t a mistake. Khun knows this. There’s no way that Ranker could’ve made a mistake when the ones standing right next to Baam had been pushed out. That Ranker’s expression gave it all away. He hadn’t expected that to happen either. The only possible reason why she wasn’t affected can be attributed to a miraculously high shinsu resistance. But that means—
Baam looks back towards them for a moment and Khun can see genuine worry in her eyes. That look did not give him any comfort. Instead, it sent chills running down his spine.
Baam is an enigma. One he is not close to solving. One he feels he shouldn’t pry open any further lest he be the moth that dies in her flame.
Baam is a loose cannon.
“I knew it. She is a worthy prey after all.” Rak’s face splits into a terrifying smile and his voice growls low. Like a hunter anticipating a fight. Spoken like a true blood knight.
‘She might be out of your league.’ He wants to retort but reluctantly swallows it down. It’s not a good idea to place more attention on Baam. She’s already being eyed like a threat by a few of the stronger Regulars and by the goddamn Ranker himself.
Since he is currently stuck in a team with her, getting undue hostility will also prove disadvantageous to him. He might get caught in the fall out.
Khun Aguero Agnis is not a man who repeats his mistakes. Yet, in this one day alone, he’s made many slip-ups than his entire life of outmaneuvering the Khun family’s politics.
Deep in his subconscious, where the unbidden thoughts that he wouldn’t admit to making lurks, his mind wonders if he is cursed to meet women with otherworldly auras that could lead him down the path to his doom.