Chapter 2: I Became Hoaquin (2)
Hoaquin is of the Arie Family — needless to say, a scion of one of the Ten Great Families.
And the Ten Great Families and King Zahard's line are openly hostile toward Irregulars.
So what happens if it's revealed that I — a child of one of the Ten Great Families — am an Irregular?
Because I'm both a resident of this Tower and an Irregular who opened the door to the First Floor, two propositions collide: "Irregulars can kill the Ten Great Families and Zahard," and "Those born and raised inside the Tower cannot kill the Ten Great Families and Zahard." If it's true that they can't kill Zahard and the Ten Great Families, they might not bother with me; but you never know.
From their point of view, it would be simpler to solve the problem by killing me rather than worrying about it. One more dead member among the Arie wouldn't even flutter an eyelid.
Obviously, I must hide the fact that I'm an Irregular. Also, judging from my current appearance, the original Hoaquin is far younger than the age at which Joaquin would normally be selected. There's no benefit in going up to the Second Floor already. Besides, there are things I still want to do at the Arie family.
So I told Headon my thoughts.
If it came out that I — a scion of a Ten Great Family — was an Irregular, I'd be as good as dead that day. Since this is an irregular case — a resident of the Tower who's also an Irregular — there's nothing to be done; I asked for his consideration.
Fortunately, Headon appeared to receive my request positively and listened while asking questions.
"Hmm, but what kind of consideration? As you may know, it isn't possible to send someone straight up to the Second Floor like a normal selected person. The Tower's rule is that those who come to the First Floor must pass the First Floor's test in order to go up to the Second."
"Of course, I don't mean anything extreme. I'll take the test now. I only ask that you let me choose when to go up to the Second Floor."
Actually, I didn't need to worry too much about being exposed. If even Headon — the top administrator — was astonished by a Tower resident being an Irregular, could others even imagine it? If I kept my mouth shut and only watched out for the Ten Great Families and Zahard, no one else would ever know I was an Irregular. Still, I asked Headon for the favor because I wanted to delay the timing of ascending the Tower. As I said before, I'm far too young right now; going up to the Second Floor this early would look strange to my family. I wanted to take the First Floor test now, but postpone going up.
"I'm still a little kid. If I go to the Second Floor already, becoming a selected person at such a young age would make my family suspicious. Let me take the First Floor's test now, but postpone ascending to the Second until I'm older."
Headon looked at me silently. Could he possibly be about to refuse after all this? That would be troublesome. I'd thought Headon would grant it — maybe he's stricter than I expected. An awkward silence settled. I gave a forced, awkward laugh. Finally Headon spoke. The silence had only lasted maybe five seconds, but to me it felt like ten minutes.
"You call yourself a little kid, yet your thinking isn't childish at all. Very well. In short, you want a ticket that lets you go to the Second Floor when you choose. That's possible, but…"
Through the gaps of Headon's face — his mask? — I glimpsed sharp teeth. It was the same sly expression the webtoon gives when the puppet-master's aura comes through. What sort of ulterior motive is this? I already felt tired.
"There's always a proper price for such consideration. That's the Tower's law. To get a ticket to the Second Floor, you'll have to take a test a bit harder than what you would normally face. I worry whether such a young little boy can manage~"
Headon said, smirking as he feigned concern. He didn't look worried at all. But I had expected a difficulty boost to some degree. Like when Yura handed the Black March to Bam and the ball he had to break was absurdly tough — they'd adjust the difficulty under the pretense of a fair test.
I glanced over my body.
A long sword hung at my waist that didn't match my small height. Still, I'm of the Arie Family, so I could probably handle this. At least I had a sword — I could use Arie swordsmanship, physical ability, and my Shinsu to pass the test. I had no choice but to trust Hoaquin's talent.
"Young man, will you take the test?"
"I have to. Right now there's only that one option for me."
If I failed this test, everything would fall apart. Not just go wrong — I'd be ruined. If I failed, I would never be able to climb the Tower again; becoming a normal selected person would be impossible, and if my family began to find it strange that I never became selected as I aged, my life could be at risk. I might end up trapped forever at home, unable to become a Selected, until the truth came out and I was executed.
"You could choose to give up and return home, little one, that is an option. But very well."
Headon raised his staff and a space formed. Like a window or tank wall, beyond it was a blue divine beast, and floating there was a single black sphere. It was, unsurprisingly, a familiar sight.
"All right — here it is. This is the lowest floor's passing test: the Ball."
Hooray!
So the raised-difficulty version was this test — thank goodness. If it had been any harder, I would have seriously had to consider giving up, but I could get through this somehow. Even in a young body, I'm from the Arie, one of the strongest of the Ten Great Families. And Hoaquin was especially talented. Besides, I already knew the strategy for this test.
According to the strategy, you enter the mouth of the white armored eel, stab with the sword, and then cut the Ball with the blade. Even a well-crafted Ball can be cut if you stab and then slice it with a fine sword wielded using the strength of a Ten Great Family's body. Anyway, the core is to neutralize the white armored eel—hmm?
The white armored eel that should have been there wasn't visible. It should've been swimming conspicuously in the test arena.
"You just need to burst that black Ball over there. Give it a powerful impact and it'll break, so keep that in mind~"
No way — the sea-beast isn't here? That's way too easy.
As things started going easier than expected, the corners of my lips lifted slightly.
Maybe the difficulty was this low because, unlike Bam or Urek, I wasn't an outsider from beyond the Tower.
After all, the reason Bam's test had been so difficult was because Irregulars who came from outside were all unprecedented monsters.
Anyway, I—Hoaquin—was a resident of the Tower, wasn't I?
Thinking that might explain the lower difficulty, I confidently stepped forward to enter the cage—
BOOM—
In an instant, a massive sea creature appeared from beyond and rammed into the bars.
It seemed to be staring directly at me.
The creature kept slamming against the cage violently, and I could see the bars beginning to shake slightly.
"Um… Headon-nim? These bars… are they safe?"
"Ha-ha, these won't do."
With a wave of Headon's hand, the bars changed into another kind.
BOOM—
This time, thankfully, even the crazy creature's attacks didn't make them budge.
No—scratch that—this wasn't thankfully. What the hell was that thing?
Silver scales, ashen patterns, crimson eyes, enormous jaws lined with razor teeth…
No matter how I looked at it, that terrifying beast did not resemble the white armored eel.
Its entire appearance was much more vicious and powerful, and above all, its size was on another level.
When I first read the webtoon, I'd been amazed by the sheer size of the white armored eel—but compared to this monster, it was tiny.
Bam facing the giant eel alone had seemed impressive at the time, but compared to my current situation, that looked like child's play.
No, seriously, this was absurd.
How the hell was I supposed to handle something several times bigger than the eel?
Hoping that "Headon must've summoned the wrong creature", I forced a smile and looked toward him.
Yes, that had to be it. He must've made a mistake.
Please, Headon-nim, get rid of that terrifying thing and bring back the white armored eel.
"Um… Headon-nim, what… what is that thing?"
The small hope contained in my voice shattered instantly under Headon's sly reply.
"Isn't it far too easy to just burst the Ball without any obstacles? Young man, you simply need to defeat that monster, or burst the Ball while avoiding it."
"Uh… wouldn't some other monster be a little better?"
"Ha-ha, originally I had planned for the white armored eel to play that role. But since you requested a ticket to the Second Floor, I decided to slightly raise the difficulty. So instead of the eel, I summoned that divine sea creature. Its name is Barracuda. It's a bit larger and a bit fiercer than the white armored eel.
You'll be facing that Barracuda for your test."
Barracuda?
That's a Barracuda?
As in Urek Mazino's title—Ray "Barracuda"?
The most violent and aggressive sea creature in the entire Tower?
You've got to be kidding me, Headon, you son of a—