[ Before reading: Hello everyone! I hope each of you is doing well. Before jumping straight into the chapter, I wanted to talk about the main character of this story.
I want to emphasize strongly that I do not wish Yeong Yeon to become a perfect and arrogant character, as we, unfortunately, see all too often in many fanfictions. Besides making all the characters around him superficial and pointless, this particular type of character is hollow, lacking any flaws other than being cruel, and even that flaw is often portrayed as a 'badass' trait.
And that's exactly what I'm trying to avoid by making my character imperfect logically and naturally, as you will see later. Without revealing too much, one of Yeong's main flaws is his paternalism towards the regulars, due to his saviour complex. Now that we've finished this digression, let's turn to the chapter. ]
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After his test by the administrator of the first floor, Yeong abruptly woke up in a gigantic field of dried grass belonging to the tower's second floor.
However, he didn't even realize it, as he was still recovering from the great ordeal he had just endured. Thus, finding himself in this unfamiliar landscape, Yeong was momentarily lost before using his memory to try to recall the last events he had experienced, to understand the current world surrounding him.
"Am I dead?! No, that's impossible. I'm sure I lost consciousness before being hit by my opponent's terrifying attack. So that means the place I seem to be in must be the tower's second floor, nicknamed 'Evankhell's Hell'. In any case, I didn't think I would survive or ascend after challenging an administrator... Headon got me; he was probably acting to see my reaction from the start, which he likely enjoyed a lot to let me ascend to the next floor." He thought before being abruptly interrupted in his reflection by a female voice that could be heard throughout the floor via numerous speakers.
"Hello everyone, regulars present! Welcome to the second floor of the tower, but before you confront the other tests of this floor, we invite you to take a preliminary test that will determine if you are truly worthy of the authorization that Headon has granted you all." She shouted into her microphone.
Yeong couldn't help but grimace and sigh at her words. "I have to prove myself worthy to ascend the tower once again... But it's only logical that these regulars must show their worth, since unlike me, they didn't have to endure the test of the first floor, being regulars chosen by Headon."
The commentator then began, without delay, to explain the preliminary test in a cheerful voice. "This test might seem cruel, but we must select only the best candidates to pass our tests, wouldn't you agree? In this vast battlefield, there are exactly 400 regulars, and the test will only end when there are only 200 left. All means are allowed to reduce this number or to survive, but you can always abandon, using your Pocket. However, if you do that, you will never be able to ascend the tower again, and you will return to your pathetic life. You certainly don't want that, do you? So fight and strive to be among the 200 survivors."
As a whistle blew, signalling the start of the test, Yeong could already feel the strong fluctuations of Shinsu all around him, which meant there were already many deaths in just a few seconds. This only fueled his inner rage.
"Zahard, you're very clever to allow such a preliminary test to unfold. It instils in the minds of all the subjects of your empire that violence is a necessity for advancement. And with tests like this, the very few regulars who become Rankers are almost all conditioned to your ideology... But an ordeal like this only makes me want to destroy your empire. In my opinion, great families, without corruption, can still have great utility in the future, but your empire only stunts individuals in their potential, while fostering their cruelty." he thought, suddenly dodging a spear that was aimed at his heart.
The extremely muscular man in the white tank top was indeed desperately trying to deliver a fatal blow to Yeong with his spear, but the heir of Yirang easily dodged each of his attacks. Instead of simply burning him with his flames, Yeong found a much more satisfying solution by manipulating the surrounding Shinsu.
[ Eurasia Blossom Shinsu Control Style - Flow Acceleration X 1 ]
The deadliest attack of the head of the Eurasia family! According to the writings of Po Bidau Gustang, it was enough for Blossom to accelerate the flow of Shinsu by one floor to annihilate over 99% of the life on that floor. This would be comparable to altering the structure of the air outside the tower so that humans in a specific area could no longer breathe because the air had become toxic.
When Yeong used this attack to accelerate the Shinsu present in the floor, all around him, he consequently increased the overall density of the Shinsu, which caused his opponent to fall to his knees, unable to stand up or move, as he could not withstand such pressure from the Shinsu, which even prevented him from breathing properly.
"Huff... Huff... What's happening to me?!' said the muscular man, suddenly filled with fear. "Is this Shinsu?! If you can control it so well, that means you're part of the 10 Great Families, right?"
"Indeed, I am part of the 10 Great Families," Yeong replied. "But you should give up; it's better for you. You simply can't withstand even a low pressure of Shinsu, so even if by chance you manage to ascend higher in the tower, there will soon be a floor where just being there will seriously injure you. So instead of dying foolishly, enjoy your family if you have one."
Faced with this dead-end situation, the man first cried tears of frustration, then shouted a speech about how he was unlucky to have encountered a great family member, before taking out his Pocket to abandon.
Even though he watched this attentively, Yeong Yeon took no pleasure in witnessing the pain of a broken man. Nevertheless, he was glad that his first fight in the tower had gone this way. "Even though Blossom's attack can be incredibly humiliating, for a pacifist like me, it's the best attack because it's the most effective way for me to win most of my fights without shedding blood." He thought logically.
"I could easily accelerate the Shinsu and defeat them all; however, I must not reveal too much in front of the Rankers, who are likely watching me right now, and prove to them that I am an irregular. Otherwise, Zahard's trap will be set in motion, as let's not forget that this floor is designed to eliminate all irregulars who could potentially be enemies of the empire. It would not be impossible for me to be noticed, and for the Ruler of the floor, Evankhell, to eliminate me before I can express myself. So I must be careful and use my family's flames to maintain the illusion of my power."
[ Yeon Yirang Shinsu Control Style - Hatching and Blooming ]
Thus, he first ignited his pink and white flames all around him, which even frightened the fighters on the other side of the battlefield. Then, he compressed those same flames into several pink Shinsu spheres equal to the number of enemies who wanted him dead. Many of his enemies emerged at that moment, mistakenly thinking he was defenceless. But as they tried to get closer, Yeong sent all his spheres toward them at such speed that none could evade them. When the various Shinsu spheres reached their targets, they exploded in the shape of a blooming lotus. None were killed, but all were far too injured to continue the test."
But Yeong was not the only competitor to get through each of his battles so easily, for nearby he could see a beautiful young woman with white hair, wearing a red earring embedded with the symbol of the Zahard Empire. She was effortlessly crushing a large number of opponents with her sword, each of her strikes precise and graceful while infused with Shinsu.
"White hair, wielding a sword, and crushing her opponents in a fencing style filled with Shinsu, it's clear that this girl must belong to the Arie family. I had never seen the Arie's fencing until now, but given her power, I can understand why their members make up the strongest great family" Yeong thought as he approached the woman, who, upon seeing him, took him for her new opponent and prepared to deliver an infallible and overwhelming strike.
But Yeong was not at all surprised and saw this as a good opportunity to measure the gap between himself and Arie Hon, the head of the Arie family. Knowing that there are only two ways to defeat a user of Arie fencing, either through Blossom's explosion of Shinsu or by enduring each of their strikes, Yeong Yeon chose the second method to see if his green flames would heal him faster than this sword princess could cut him.
[ Yeon Yeong Shinsu Control Style - Phoenix Dress ]
And before receiving hundreds of blade strikes coming from all sides due to the nature of Arie fencing, which interacted with space, the heir of the Yeon family fully immersed himself in his green flames, so that with every unpredictable strike from his opponent, he would be immediately healed. This surprised the supposed woman of the Arie family, but she smiled, thinking that for once, someone would give her a challenge.
She took her stance with her sword before starting to speak. "Even with all my strikes, you don't have a single wound; you must be a Yeon who has inherited the healing flame."
Yeong responded with a sly smile, sending his red flames toward his opponent. "You are very observant; I am indeed from the Yeon family, but I have inherited both flames, not just one of them. On the other hand, you must be an Arie to be so skilled with a sword."
"You're right, I am indeed part of the Arie family," she said, slicing through the flames with her sword. "But like you, I have an additional trait: I am also a princess of the empire. If my body hadn't received the blood of King Zahard, I wouldn't have the reflexes to avoid your flames."
Yeong wasn't worried at all about her attacks and even joked, "Normally, it's rare for someone to meet a princess of Zahard in their lifetime, but it seems I'm a magnet for Zahard princesses. First Lihua, and now you, at this rate, I might as well meet Adori!"
"Don't speak so casually about the Zahard princesses, like Lady Adori!" she reprimanded angrily, trying to pierce the Shinsu cloak that made him invulnerable. "I didn't think I would have to use the attack inherited from my father on the second floor, which even cuts through the fiercest Shinsu barriers, but you're leaving me no choice."
[ Arie Swordsmanship - White Oar ]
Feeling the great danger of the attack, Yeong did not hesitate for a single second to explode all the Shinsu from the terrifying strike. Following all the lessons he had received from his teacher, allowed him to create a massive impact that propelled both him and his opponent far away. However, both quickly got back on their feet, particularly injured from the explosion that could be seen across the entire battlefield, but both were still capable of fighting. The sword princess, however, seemed frustrated and demanded answers.
"How could my father's attack, Arie Hon, have failed?" she yelled, in a state of disbelief, before turning to Yeong. 'Tell me, how did you manage to counter an Arie fencing attack?"
It was Yeong's turn to be stunned by the meaning of the words from the white-haired Zahard princess. " I used a very special ability to explode the Shinsu in your attack. If the Shinsu had been denser, I wouldn't have had the chance to cancel your attack. However, you mentioned the head of the Arie family, Arie Hon, he's your father!?'"
She seemed to grimace when her secret was revealed, as she didn't like the thought that all her strength came from the luck of being born to the strongest family head. "Indeed, my father happens to be Arie Hon. Now that you know this, do you want to surrender?"
Yeong took on a more brotherly tone, understanding her more than anyone else. "No, I'm not going to surrender, simply because your father happens to be an extremely strong family head. The person I'm facing is right in front of me. However, know that your revelation pleases me, as it shows I'm not the only regular who is a direct child of a family head. Since you've told me your identity, I'll at least introduce myself before we fight seriously. I am Yeong Yeon, son of Yirang Yeon."
"Well, Yeong, you seem similar to me, which is why I will honour you by giving you an honourable death, as Arie Rose Zahard. " She said, taking her stance.
But just as they were both about to attack each other again, a siren sounded to signal the end of the test, and the commentator's voice began to echo across the entire battlefield. "Congratulations to all of you! You have successfully passed the preliminary trial. You started with 400 and are now down to 200. However, climbing the tower is not a solitary adventure; it requires teamwork. So, before starting the second test, I must ask you to find two teammates so you can be teleported to the location of the second test."
Arie Rose withdrew her blade from Yeong's neck before speaking to him. "It seems our duel will be postponed to another time. Since you are the only one I care about among all these regulars, why not team up for now while we climb this floor?"
"This Zahard princess is very strange; she went from wanting to kill me to wanting to team up. But I suppose she must have a desire that surpasses all these trivialities." thought Yeong Yeon, as he shook hands with the princess. "I look forward to teaming up with you, Arie Rose Zahard. Since you seem perfect as a Fisherman, I will be the wave controller of our team. However, we're still missing one more person."
She nodded at his remark, but as they tried to look around for a third member, a young man with tousled purple hair appeared before them unexpectedly, aided by a yellow light cube. What was special about this stranger, besides the fact that he had three lighthouses, was mainly his eyes, which reflected a multicoloured glow, revealing a hint of great intelligence.
"Your fight was magnificent! I've never seen anything so thrilling, and I didn't miss a thing! Allow me to join you; I promise you won't regret my talents as a Light Bearer!" said the very happy stranger.
Yeong and Rose were both surprised by his appearance; however, Arie Rose was very suspicious of him and drew her sword. "Who are you? And why have you been watching us?"
The young blond boy shrugged and raised his hands in the air to show he was harmless. "Come on, let's calm down, Princess Arie Rose Zahard. But you're right, I should have introduced myself. My name is Aldwin Tu Perie, and I wish to see the finest things this tower has to offer."
Knowing he was from the prestigious Tu Perie family, Rose sheathed her sword. As for Yeong, he became very interested in Aldwin, realizing that for his goals, having a foothold in each family would be best. This is how he extended his hand to Aldwin, inviting him to join their team.
"Welcome to the team, Aldwin! Knowing the reputation of the Light Bearers from the Tu Perie family, we would be foolish not to have you join us," said the son of Yirang.
The member of the Tu Perie family, after shaking hands with Yeong, smiled and put his hands behind his head. "I knew that the only son of the head of the Yeon family would be understanding. I'll do my best to help us climb this floor."
Even though Princess Rose was sceptical at first, she ultimately accepted him into the group due to Yeong's argument. Thus, the powerful group, consisting of three members from the great families, was teleported to the location of the second test. The fire had now encountered the sword and light for the first time.