Waves that Change the Tower: Chapter 1
The field was open, and full of tall grass, different shades of yellow and brown. Any direction one looked, it seemed to go on forever. Rising from the ground in various locations, were large earthen structures, that would likely provide a better view of the area. Of course, there would be any number of places to hide, within the crevices of these landmarks. Above the land, was a bright blue sky. Floating high above the fields was a massive building with a pink sign that bore the name 'Evankhell'.
Sitting on the ground, a young looking man opened his eyes to scan his surroundings. He stood, stretching out as he took in the unique sights offered by the area. His bright yellow eyes were drawn to the floating structure in the distance. "I see. So this must be the 2nd Floor. I never thought I would actually end up here." A gentle breeze blew past him, his dark brown hair swaying in the wind due to being tied back in a ponytail as usual. In the light, his hair was seen to have a vibrant auburn hue. His initial curiosity had already faded, as he looked over himself, hoping his pale skin would have a chance at getting some color. Feeling a slight chill, he removed a plain black sash from his waist, wrapping it around his neck like a scarf.
Well... I thought it would look different. Though, this is appealing too, in it's own way.
The sound of a loud buzzer filled the landscape, calling the boy's attention to a yellow and brown box, which matched the color scheme of the current setting. Recognizing the object as a Lighthouse, the premier information gathering tool of the Tower, he tuned in to the voice that came after the buzzer.
"Mic test! Mic test! One! Two! Three! Hello, everyone! Regulars who have just entered the Tower! This is the 2nd Floor, and I sincerely welcome you to Evankhell's Floor! This Floor is also called-"
With a sigh, the boy turned his back toward the Lighthouse, looking across the plains.
Yes, yes, it's called the Floor of Test. It's where all Regulars end up after being chosen to climb, and is named thus because it's where we're evaluated as being worthy of climbing the Tower or not. Really... is there anyone who would climb without knowing even such a basic piece of information? That voice though. I suppose it belongs to the Test Admin. Meaning, that he's a Ranker. Someone who reached the top of the Zahard Empire, and was given a rank befitting their ability and status. It's only the 2nd Floor though, so I wonder how high any Ranker here could possibly be. I doubt any of them could match the Rankers of my family though.
"Shall we begin with a simple test first? You may as well get a good warmup exercise!" The Ranker's voice caught the attention of the uninterested man at that point.
"A test? Immediately after entering?" The man, who had chosen to climb under the alias of Reilan Seaworth, found himself smiling now.
"This is a very simple test!" The Ranker continued, with an amusingly cheerful tone. "Please, listen carefully to the rules!" There was a short pause, before the voice came out again. "As of now, there are exactly 400 Regulars in this district! Your only goal is to make that 400 go down to 200! The method for this? Why, by any means! The moment the number of Regulars drops to 200, the test will end!"
Reilan tuned out the final words, ones of encouragement, from the Ranker.
Make the 400 drop to 200 by any means. Then we just have to kill 200 other people and be one of the surviving 200? I've never killed anyone before, but it must not be too difficult. I doubt many Regulars would be able to hold a candle to me anyway. Then again, he DID say any means. I don't necessarily have to kill anyone. I know plenty of ways to simply disable an opponent.
With a sigh, Reilan ran a hand through his hair. The calm of the plains was quickly pushed aside by the distant sounds of fighting. The smell of blood brought forth an atmosphere of desperation. "I know it's the first test and all, but it sounds remarkably boring. I hope the Regulars in this district aren't TOO weak."
The wind picked up, carrying the scent of death, and the boy began to move. He didn't seem to be in a hurry, even as he chose to make his way to the Regulars nearest his position. After all there probably wouldn't be many, if any at all, who were capable of defeating him. This would be much too easy for someone of his ability.
After what felt to be hours, Reilan happened upon a group of five Regulars. They all seemed to be human.
"Hey! You!" A messy haired man, likely the leader of their group, pointed at the new arrival. "You look to be capable! Why don't you team up with us? Humans should stick together, don't you think? If we combine our strength, we should be able to take on any enemy!"
Reilan, having initially overlooked the group, decided to chance a look at them. He only needed a moment to observe them, before smiling. "Combining your strength... Isn't that what the weak do to face the strong?" He closed his eyes, ignoring the arguments from the group.
Shinsoo. It was the supernatural energy that flowed through every last part of the entire Tower. It was the very life force of the Tower, it was everything. And it was also nothing, at the same time, an eternal mystery. It was the basis of all energy, and some beings had the ability to manipulate the Shinsoo to perform any number of actions. The possibilities were said to be limitless, when it came to Shinsoo. These people, however, they wouldn't amount to anything. He knew it due to his ability to read Shinsoo. The ones before him were complete novices.
"Listen when we talk to you!" Came an angry growl from one of the shorter members of the group. He was dressed in brown leathers, and armed with a spear that was bigger than he was. Naturally, he was annoyed that the new guy had completely written them off. Who wouldn't be? "Who do you think you are, calling us weak?!"
Reilan blankly looked down at the short boy. "Oh? Did I call you weak?"
The boy glared daggers at the response, though those daggers were dulled as he got a good look at the eyes of the one in front of him. Those bright, practically glowing yellow eyes. His black irises were more like slits, his eyes sharp and narrow like arrows. They looked more like the eyes of a certain predator, than those of a human. "Y-yeah! You know you did!"
"Hm..." Scratching his cheek, Reilan shrugged. "Sorry about that." The group seemed to lose their tension at his apology. "I meant to say that you were pathetic wastes of space."
Before they knew it, the short boy was hurtling through the air, above their heads. All eyes followed him as he crashed down atop a large rock, a horrifying crunching sound breaking their momentary silence. The guy who had insulted them, was no longer where they thought he was. Where he had just been... where he should have been.
"Over here." The back of his hand was held next to the head of a guy with a mohawk.
The other three quickly turned to see their second ally blown back across the ground, bouncing a few times like a ball, before reaching an abrupt stop. He didn't even twitch slightly, in fact, his neck was probably snapped before he even hit the ground. "O-oh shit!"
"What do you know, killing people isn't too hard." Reilan remarked, a smile creeping across his face as the remaining weaklings threw caution to the wind and attacked him. One used his bare hands, the other swung a crappy looking hatchet, and their fool of a leader lashed out with a steel sickle. Rather than dodging or defending, he reacted by countering their offense with his own. Swinging his left hand horizontally, dark green Shinsoo gathered in the mold of a blade, with which he cut through the base of the shoddy hatchet before it could reach him, also severing the hands of the poor soul in the process. Thrusting his right palm into the next, he caught the man by the face, stopping his wild hands short of their target. As for the leader, he received a heavy spartan kick to the chest, just before his sickle could find it's mark.
Finding himself thrown off his feet and tossed about 5 meters away, the leader dropped his sickle and landed with a thump in the dirt, coughing. He managed to sit up just enough, to see the auburn haired psycho's hand become covered in a dark green form, similar to claws, before gripping his hand and literally ripping off the face of the unfortunate bastard. A blood curdling chill shot down his spine at the sight. The first move of the man had killed the shorty faster than anyone could see, much less react to. His second move had released some kind of shockwave, and he'd killed that one without ever touching him directly. The third to fall was still alive, but quickly bleeding out with frightened whimpers after having his arms cut off. The fourth had made him sick to his stomach... All this added up to one fact. This man was a monster. The -not so much of a- leader had seen people die in the past. He'd killed people himself, back at his home in the Outer Tower, on the 9th Floor. But this wasn't simple murder. Unlike his past experiences, this new killer seemed to be enjoying it in earnest. His smile was comparable to that of a child who'd just had their first taste of candy. And it was terrifying. His every instinct screamed at him to run. So he did. Scrambling to his feet, he awkwardly twisted. He probably pulled a muscle from the sudden movement, but his adrenaline saw to it that he didn't feel a thing. Perhaps that was the one thing he could have been grateful for. After all, his death came swiftly, and without any warning.
"So this is what it feels like to take lives. Shinsoo Reinforcement was probably overkill." Reilan lowered his hand, a dark green trail of Shinsoo quickly fading, from the beam he'd fired when the target attempted to flee. The beam had been highly concentrated Shinsoo, and it had blown the guy's head clean off, from the neck. "What an interesting sensation it provides. I can't say I'm regretting my decision to climb, now. I probably shouldn't get too carried away, though. I don't want to end up like those Rankers I hear about, that get off on slaughtering the innocent, weak inhabitants of the Tower. Everything in moderation, I suppose." His attention fell to the one whose hands he'd chopped off. Reilan now felt a bit bad, due to how the man wailed. A Baang formed above his head, firing off a second beam of dark green Shinsoo in an arc, blowing a hole through the last one's torso, and marking the fifth life he'd ever taken.
Yes, everything in moderation. I shouldn't forget what my game plan was, coming in. Otherwise, things might become a bit troublesome. Besides, now that I've gotten settled in my first taste of delivering death... It's really nothing so special. I'd rather find something special to observe. Lasting satisfaction is better than momentary bliss.
The sound of rustling grass snapped the recently christened and desensitized killer to his senses. He quickly turned to the source of the sound, standing his ground as 2 Baangs formed over his left and right shoulders, crackling with a low whir. He'd decided this time, that he would disable the opponent rather than kill them. As he saw the next person however, he decided not to attack just yet. Because the new arrival was a girl. He didn't deny that he was a cold -arguably cruel- person, but his mother had raised him to treat all women with respect. At least until being pushed off a cliff by one. He had assumed she meant that he should be good to all women until they betrayed him, but his mother WAS eccentric, to say the least, so she very well may have meant exactly what she said. And as it happened, there wasn't a cliff in sight.
"Oh, a person!" The girl was excited upon seeing the man, and hurried to approach him. It was obvious from the casualness with which she carried herself, but she obviously wasn't afraid of anything. As she reached him, she took notice of the dead, though only four were in her line of sight. "Did... you do this?"
"I just got here." Reilan calmly replied, without a hint that he was lying. Then again, he wasn't actually lying, he was just avoiding the question. He really had only just gotten there a short while earlier. He noticed the girl look around at the dead, a frown on her face. This gave him plenty of time to get a good look at her. At a glance, the most noticeable thing about her was her outfit. It seemed to be some kind of uniform, primarily white with black hem at the skirt edge, and the collar of the sailor-like attire. The outfit was completed by a purple ribbon on her chest. The girl's hair was a beautiful dark blue, long and wavy, and ending at her thighs. She had a slender frame, similar to the famous models of the Tower. Reilan's eye for the littlest details allowed him a pretty accurate guessing of her measurements. She was extremely attractive and shapely, and he judged her to be at least a C-cup. Not to mention her lower half was quite the sight as well. His analysis of her body was complete, and he'd already ranked her accordingly, just as he did to every woman he laid eyes on. She was a high grade A-rank beauty, with rare potential for S-rank, depending on three last details. Her eyes, her intelligence, and her ability. Just then, he got a good look at her eyes as she turned her attention to him. They were a beautiful, almost translucent silver, comparable to a full moon in a pitch black sky. Reilan had felt his heart skip a beat upon meeting her gaze, but quickly aimed to complete his observation by reading her flow of Shinsoo. He was surprised to find that her natural flow seemed to... overpower all the Shinsoo around her. It was as if she was somehow rejecting the very Shinsoo that she came in contact with, in favor of filling the space about her body with her own. He'd never seen anything like it, and thus he had no idea what such a thing could mean. But one thing was certain. Her looks were just icing on the cake, when compared to the latent abilities she undoubtedly possessed.
"You've... been silent for a while." The girl nervously pointed out.
Reilan slowly smiled, before letting out an amused chuckle, unaware of the fact that the girl had reacted in surprise. "How interesting~ How VERY interesting~"
The girl tilted her head, confused by the man in front of her. "What are you talking about?"
"You. I'm talking about you." Reilan replied honestly. "You're beautiful. No, more than that, you're simply exquisite..."
"Ah." The girl blinked, taken aback for a moment, before she began to laugh. "Oh please~" She punched her companion in the arm playfully, at least by her standards.
A shock ran from Reilan's arm through his whole body, as he made a violent jolt. It went unnoticed by the girl, who was apparently amused now.
What. The. Fuck. How could a girl that slender pack such a ridiculous punch? Literally? It seemed like she was just joking around, but I don't think I'd ever felt so much pain from a physical attack in my life! Just how strong IS she?!
The girl smiled at the boy, rather cutely. "My name is Ashera. Ashera Celeste~"
"R-reilan... Seaworth..." Came the pained croak from the shocked man.
Ashera laughed once again. "That's a weird name!"
"You have a weird name." Reilan blankly replied, quickly stepping back when he noticed her hand move.
"Are you ok?" Ashera asked curiously.
With a deep breath, Reilan shook his arm out, nodding. "Yeah. I'm good."
The mysterious, super strong girl now had a nervous smile on her face. "So, then... where am I, exactly?"
"Isn't it obvious, that you're..." Reilan trailed off upon properly observing her expression.
I don't like to toot my own horn, but I'm quite good at reading people. This girl... Ashera was serious. She really didn't know where she was? But how can that even be?
"You seriously don't know?" Reilan asked hesitantly.
Ashera frowned, nodding in embarrassment. "I really don't! After I met the rabbit, I woke up here and saw people start killing each other! And there's lots of weird things too! This is still the Tower, right?!"
"Uh, yeah." He knew the girl obviously had a few screws loosened. He'd heard that sometimes Regulars would end up disoriented after being taken into the Inner Tower by Headon. But he didn't think one would have forgotten everything that should have mattered. "Maybe you have some kind of amnesia... Ok, let's move. I'll tell you what's going on."
Ashera's smile returned to her face as Reilan led the way. "Thank you so much, Mr. Reilan!"
"Yeah, yeah..." Reilan didn't bother looking to ensure that she followed him. He knew that she'd already aroused his interest in her abilities, so for the time being at least, he would keep her close by.
Who knows? She may end up being more useful than I can imagine. Grandfather would probably do the same. Right? After all, it wouldn't do to lose someone with such unique potential.