Chapter Two: Headon's Floor (1F)

Narrator: Evan Edrok

"M'lady! Lady Yuri! Lady Yuri! M'lady! Just what are you trying to accomplish by getting to the bottom level?!" I yelled out. "Lady Yuri! Please at least say something!"

"An Irregular has entered the base floor! And actually 'opened the door himself'!" she exclaimed excitedly.

"Whaaaaat!? Is that for real?!" She stopped.

"Yes! It seems someone really opened the door!"

"If that's true, it's huge news! An Irregular at the base floor...!"

"Of course it's big news! Evan, a huge event! I think he's at the base floor with Headon, the test will probably start soon!" I didn't like the glint in her eyes. It was the glint she got when she leapt head-first into a nest of hungry shinhueh, or when she'd go on an assignment she got from Urek-nim.

"B..but m'lady you aren't heading there to watch...right?"

"Of course I'm going to watch! Big event." She laughed as she ran.

"Noooooo! Why would you try to watch that?!"

"It looks fun doesn't it?"

"No, not fun at all! It's dangerous!" I exclaimed. Why did she never think about those who didn't have Black March or insane shinsoo resistance.

"Scaredy Evan," she teased.

"Plus what if we get caught by Headon!?

"It's fine, it's fine." That didn't reassure me one bit. We finally arrived at the ceiling to the First Floor.

"I ended up coming after all...please don't let us get caught by Headon," I prayed.

"Evan! Look over there, it's the newbie and Headon!"

"What? Wh..Where!?"

"Heh, you want to see too?"

"We..Well, we're here, we might as we-" I looked down into the chamber. The Irregular was just a young boy, he had khakis and a red vest on, and he had short brown hair. "...what the...at a glance, he looks completely ordinary."

"I thought a monster like Urek was going to come in, rather quite disappointing," she sighed. "Hey, Evan, how would you as a Guide evaluate him? Could there be some sort of hidden ability? A transformation! Or..."

"Hm. He looks agile, but a small physique. Doesn't seem to be mixed with any special race...above all else, the feeling of 'strength' that I could feel from the past Irregulars just doesn't seem to be there. He's a completely normal human being," I concluded.

"What? Seriously!? Aren't all Irregulars like Urek and has beams coming out from between their legs?" I just sat there stunned for a minute. How does this girl get these ideas stuck in her head?

"Even Urek doesn't have that that kind of bull shit ability! Well, I might have something coming out...but! That's not a beam!" I pointed out.

She laid back on the floor. "Ah, so anti-climatic...I was hoping for something big..."

"Something certainly is strange..whether it was Phantaminum or Urek, all Irregulars were really strong...but that guy might not even pass this Test." I replied. Maybe it might not turn out so badly after all. Maybe she might get bored and go back up.

"Well, probably...there's no way an ordinary human would pass."

""Ah! It's Ball! The Keeper is White Steel Eel...this is too much...something that big usually only comes out after the Twentieth Floor. Is he planning to make him give up?"

"For Headon, an Irregular probably isn't too welcome. He's just going to scare him and make him , whether he takes the Test or not, that kid isn't going to make it into the inner levels of this Tower. Since he's just going to die if he takes the test...how pitiful. Should we help?" She laughed and my blood ran cold.

"What?! Wh..Why would we!?

"I'm curious. About him. Every Irregular has brought chaos into the Tower."

"We don't need chaos in the Tower! Nobody likes an Irregular!" I yelled. Why did she do these things? Even her grandmother, head of the Ha family wasn't this brazen.

"Hmm~"

"Ah, no! Absolutely not! If the King finds out, it's death! Death! The boy looked down at his knife.

"Uhmm~"

"Wh-Whatever! There's no way he's going to take the Test, so it doesn't matter!"

The boy suddenly started sprinting towards the cage. "But that kid, is running?"

I groaned out loud. "Why...why is he running!?

"What the? Why run!? Hey! Beams coming out from between your legs doesn't actually help!" She called out.

"Is he taking the Test?! Is he crazy!?"

Lady Yuri began laughing. "He doesn't disappoint my expectations after all! it just got fun! Evan! I'll be right back!" She jumped down from our watching place into the Testing Chamber.

"Ehhhh!? M'lady! Nooo! M'lady! Please...!"

"Don't worry Evan!" she called just before she fell through.

That tomboy is going crazy again. I sighed in despair What I'm worried about...is not your head, but mine, my freaking lady...

I watched as she jumped through to the inner tower and stopped the kid from going through. Then she called me. Why did she always get me into trouble, and with a guardian no less. But, orders were orders, and even if I did have a higher ranking, it wasn't like I could disobey the orders set by the three lords.

I jumped down, and found out that Headon had 'forgotten' to give the irregular a pocket. I didn't believe it any more than Yuri did, but I didn't say anything.

"Hey, stop that bullshit" Yuri barked. Easy for her to say, self-preservation didn't register on her radar, any more than impulse control did.

"You have a spare pocket right?" She was saying, "Hurry and give it to him." I obliged, and gave it to the irregular. He suddenly breathed in sharply and looked around, like he could suddenly see things for what it was.

"How was it, the feeling of obtaining a pocket for the first time?" I asked. "Can you understand me?"

The irregular looked at me, and it was obvious that he could, even if he didn't say anything. I was about to introduce myself when Yuri barged in front of me. "That's an A-grade pocket, way too prestigious for you, so be grateful got it?"

Hesitantly, the irregular asked "Does this marble allow me to understand you?"

Yuri nodded, and I pushed my way in front of him and introduced myself and my lady. His amazement at something that mundane was nice. It gave me a sense of nostalgia. I taught him how to have his pocket enter and exit visible mode, then groaned inwardly as Yuri started demanding answers from Headon. You just didn't demand anything from a guardian.

"Hey, just because he's an irregular you use these tactics to scare him away?" She was asking.

Headon just shrugged and replied "I was simply administering the proper test for this individual."

Yuri snorted. "Bullshit. This is a test for level 20 regulars and above." Arghh. Why was she doing this? What if Headon decides to report us to the Three Lords, or if he just decides to kill us all?

Luckily, Headon didn't seem to be taking offence. He simply said "My lady, you seem to be forgetting that this boy is an irregular, and all of the unchosen ones has possessed power beyond imagining. For an irregular, is this not a test of appropriate difficulty?"

They glared at each other; or rather Yuri glared at Headon while he just smiled back.

The stare-off might've gone on for a year if the irregular hadn't cut in. "Excuse me, but you keep calling me an Irregular. Uhh, what are those?"

Yuri looked at him. "We call those who opened the doors to the tower an irregular." She adopted a more formal tone that befitted the topic of irregulars. "Only chosen individuals may enter this tower; however, every so often an irregular like yourself enters the towers. For ages irregulars have brought change and chaos to the tower, and as a result become symbols of fear within the walls."

She changed her tone to her usual uncouth tone as she addressed Headon again. "But seriously!? This guy's completely different from the previous regulars! He's scrawny, no special abilities. The only potential strength he might have is his looks and even that..."

The poor kid cringed under Yuri's tirade and I couldn't blame him.

"Even an A-grade guide's evaluation is that he's a completely normal human! He's like an irregular irregular!" She moved up to Headon and nudged him suggestively. "So, how about it. It wouldn't be so unreasonable to lower the difficulty would it?"

Headon's expression remained as unreadable as ever. He seemed to deliberate for a moment, then said, "You seem determined to see this child climb the tower, princess." Yuri copied Headon and still stared at him without saying a thing. "Ok, I understand." Headon said suddenly. "Let's bend the rules a little."

"Really?" Yuri asked happily.

"How does this sound?" Headon asked, and suddenly his aura seemed a lot more sinister. My lady should have known that Headon didn't just give things away for free. In some ways he was the perfect example of a guardian. "How about the princess here lend the child one of your weapons?" Headon continued.

Yuri frowned, and she was suspicious as well now. "Lend a weapon?" She asked.

Headon nodded "Correct. All of your weapons have an extremely high grade. Such a weapon would undoubtedly give the child an advantage. Say... The weapon the King recently bestowed upon you... Black March." I was astounded. What the hell was Headon playing at? None of the other guardians abused their power as custodians of the tower. "Admittedly, lending a weapon is against the rules," Headon was saying, "but if you choose to lend Black March, I will turn a blind eye, just this once."

Even Yuri's expression wavered at Headon's impossible demand. "Black March is a little..."

Though Headon's expression never changed, it looked like he was smirking. "Do you feel it is too much to let go?" He asked. "You seem to want to let this child go up, but you seem reluctant to gamble something of your own. Well... If you don't want to..."

I didn't know why Yuri was deliberating. It just wasn't possible to len-

"Fine." Yuri said.

The only reason I didn't protest was because I was shocked speechless.

Yuri beckoned the irregular over and put her arm around him in that informal way of hers. She said something to him that I couldn't pick up, then pulled out her arms inventory. That irregular didn't even know how honoured even viewing something like that was.

"Lady Yuri, you musn't!" I yelled. "You can't just lend a weapon like Black March. If the King finds out you'll be executed!" But of course my lady didn't listen to me. When did she ever?

"The name of that weapon is Black March." Yuri was saying. "It's one of the most basic type of weapon, a needle. Needles are used to stab and pierce things. This is a top grade needle made by the master craftsman Edwaru..."

As Yuri was talking I was praying that the King never found out. I was hoping that the irregular would refuse, but instead he thanked Yuri, and even called her noona! After promising that he would return it to her, he ran towards the cage.

As he did, I asked Yuri "Why are you helping him to the extent of lending Black March? Is this what they call love at first sight?" I braced myself, and as expected, Yuri punched me on the head.

Without moving I asked "You don't really expect that this irregular will bring change to the tower do you?"

Yuri didn't look at me, but replied "I don't have such a stupid expectation, but I just took a liking to this boy."

Well, if I could rely on my instincts and call it guide's intuition, I suppose Yuri could make such baseless judgments. Sighing, I turned and watched the boy enter the cage.