61 – Defective Product

"But what am I supposed to do now?!"

"Find a job or something. Pay off the debt some other way."

"That's impossible…it'll take hundreds of years to pay this off with a normal job! My expenses will just keep piling up!"

"Well that's your problem. You took the loan," said the disinterested voice of the manager. "You need to find a way to pay it back. Or…you can sign this like I said."

"You bastards! You tricked me into this! Aren't you ashamed of yourselves? This is a scam! You're just preying on Regulars who don't have any other choice!"

"Are you suggesting you won't pay the loan?"

"Why should I?! This can't be legal!"

"Of course it is. I think maybe you need some more motivation again?"

Suddenly there was a crash and then a scream.

'What the…? What's going on in there?'

More sounds of violence and pained cries followed.

"Look at that, because of your stupidity, now you'll have to pay for more medical expenses. Your debt just keeps growing, Ms. Kudoh!"

"No…! Stop it, please. I'll do it, I'll pay it back damn it! You monsters!"

"Good. Remember, there's nowhere you can hide. We know where you live and we have ways to track you, even on other Floors. Good luck Ms. Kudoh!"

The door swung open and Yihwa hastily backed away. The customer, an average looking woman, came out with a limp, looking bruised and holding her arm, tears in her eyes.

The manager came out in his brown suit with a pleased smile, then looked at the shocked Yihwa.

"Oh, Ms. Yeon, you're back. Here to pay back your loan?" He asked.

"No…I…could I get…another loan?" She said slowly, still too spooked to react properly, automatically saying what she originally came for.

"Come in, come in, let's discuss it," the manager said while bringing her into the room, where a large humanoid creature with a big spherical head and multiple eyes stood guard.

Once she sat down, her mind cleared a little. 'What am I doing…there's no way I can get another loan from these guys!'

The manager went through some papers, then cleared his throat. "Well Ms. Yeon, your debt is already quite large…normally we wouldn't give out another loan at this point…" Then he looked her up and down and lingered on her chest. "But we might be able to make an exception for you."

She covered her chest with an arm despite being fully clothed. "W-what's that supposed to mean?!"

"You must have been prepared for something like that already, right? A pretty girl, taking out such large loans…well, I don't know why you can't ask your family for help, but this is what normal women have to do to survive, isn't it?" The manager said with a grin. "Come on, don't be shy…I can ask him to leave if that makes you feel better?" He pointed at the guard.

"Mr. Lurker, shall I go then?" The guard asked.

"Hell no, you disgusting pig! I'm not doing that with you!" Yihwa shouted. 'This bastard…! Who does he think he is? I won't sink to that level no matter what!'

The manager sighed. "Oh well, worth a try. If you don't want to do it, I do have another option for you."

"Huh?"

"I talked to my boss as soon as you became my customer. A member of the Yeon family, with such strong flames? It was a big surprise to us both…so we've been thinking about it…what can we do with you after you fall into our hands…?" Lurker said.

"S-stop talking about me like I'm your property! It's just some debt!"

"But you can't pay it off, can you? And you need more. So doesn't that make you ours?"

"You…you…!"

"You'd definitely fetch a good price…or be a nice trophy…with such a good body and pedigree…but that's a bit of a waste," the manager went on.

Yihwa's body began to burn with flames the more she listened, and she stood up in anger.

"Settle down, miss Yeon, you don't want to cause any damage and fall even further into debt, do you?"

Several other bulky guards suddenly came in, then a blue arm made of light grabbed her from behind, forcing her to sit back down.

Yihwa thought she could've easily gotten out of it, but it gave her a dose of calm as she realized she didn't want to cause any property damage here.

The hand let her go, then the manager continued unruffled.

"Now then…as I was saying, the boss decided to go for another option. You see, his son is climbing the Tower, and will reach the 20th Floor very soon. He's investing a lot of money to make sure his precious son can get through this test, and he's willing to cancel your debt if you work for his son and go up the Tower with him once he gets here in a month or two. Not a bad deal right? He's around your age too, and fairly handsome…of course, whether he takes you is up to him, so you should be prepared to make him like you…but I'm sure you'll have no trouble if you're willing to ah…do a little extra."

"No…no way…! You people are disgusting! I'll just find another way…and pay down this stupid debt!"

"Of course, you don't have to make the decision right away. There's still some time…In fact, if you really want, we can fund you for another test on your own, and you can see if you manage to pass this time? Then all your problems will be solved, right? You'll get a lot of points, new residence rights, and an E-Rank Regular will have much better opportunities to make money on higher Floors, after all. Our only condition for this loan is that you have to agree to what I proposed, if you fail the test again. We can't give you any more opportunities after this one."

Yihwa became silent, contemplating. 'One more try? Can I do it?'

"I'll…I'll have to think about it," she said.

Lurker smiled evilly. "Please do."

"Before I go…I need you to tell me something. I heard you mention Dr. Dua earlier. What were you talking about? Was he working with you people?" Yihwa asked.

"Oh, you know him? Well yes, Dr. Dua was one of our partners until recently. When desperate customers like yourself got into too much debt they can't ever pay off, we usually present them with a few options. Dr. Dua paid very well for research participants in his most risky experiments, the ones that have a high chance of death or permanent injury…but it was a fast way to reduce their debt by a lot. So it was a popular option, who cares if they might not come out in one piece? They need to pay it down somehow, right? Unfortunately, as you may have overheard earlier…that is no longer an option. So you can't do it even if you want to."

"He…did that?" 'He really worked with people like this? To trap people in debt and then…!'

Lurker was plainly enjoying the betrayed look on her face. "What's wrong? Did you think he was a nice guy or something?"

O O O

Yihwa stormed through the door then looked around before hearing some noises from further below. She found her way to a basement area and another locked door.

There was the sound of a scream from inside, which sounded a little familiar, like the Regular from earlier that was at Lurker's office. Yihwa clenched her fists as her whole body shook with anger and even a few tears.

'He's just like them…I can't believe it…after everything he told me…I even thought about…with him…!'

She blasted the door open to see Dr. Dua standing over an operating table and the Regular woman from earlier laying down on it.

"Dr. Dua! Stop this! What you're doing…isn't it the same as the Workshop researchers?! Aren't you just taking advantage of people that have no other choice?! Using people for experiments…working with those loan sharks to trap people! Something like that…! I can't believe I trusted you! I even…! But you're a monster just like the rest of them!" She shouted while blinking through tears.

'Why does this hurt so much…?!'

Dr. Dua unstrapped the Regular from the table, ignoring her. "That was close, Mr. Kudoh. But we finished just in time and it seems to be successful. I'll give you the payment as you requested, and hopefully you won't have to take on any more debts after this."

The Regular got up, then thanked Dr. Dua repeatedly.

"W-what?" Yihwa looked confused.

Then the Regular turned to her with a furious expression.

"You almost messed everything up, you bitch! Get off your high horse! Who do you think you are barging in here like that in the middle of my operation?! Dr. Dua is a great man! Because of him, I don't have to sell my organs to those bastards! Because of him, my arm and leg are healed, and I've even gotten stronger thanks to his special treatment! How dare you come in here and act like you're so much better?! What the hell do you know!" The woman walked over to her and pointed at her head while cursing Yihwa, spit flying from her mouth.

Yihwa backed away, scared and confused.

"I don't understand…"

"Dumb slut! I saw you at the loan office earlier, I heard what he called you! You're from the Yeon family, aren't you?! Wearing those jewels and expensive clothes, being born into a great family with that kind of face, and you're somehow in debt?! What kind of luxurious, wasteful life did you live? Don't make me laugh, you don't understand anything! People like me have to work for every scrap! I tried so many times to pass the test, doing all sorts of jobs to survive, and it wasn't enough! I'm not pretty like you so I couldn't even sell my body if I wanted to! I was trapped in impossible debt! Before Dr. Dua came along last year, everything was hopeless! If it weren't for him, I would be dead already! Even now, even though Dr. Dua's research is already over and he didn't have to do this at all…but I begged him to give me another chance because I needed the money! And he did, even healing me for free in the process! This is the man you're calling a monster!"

Yihwa backed herself into the wall, shell shocked as the woman kept screaming at her.

'Did I completely misunderstand…?'

Then she fell to the floor when her legs gave out, too stunned with feelings of shame, guilt, and embarrassment.

"I…I…" 'I ruined everything again…now he'll hate me! Even when it's not my flames…I'm just a defective product…I can't do anything right!'

Dr. Dua put a hand on the Regular's shoulder. "It's okay, Miss Kudoh. She's not a bad person. Don't be so harsh on her, it's my fault for not explaining things. Just go and enjoy the rest of your day, and let me handle this."

"Are you sure, Dr. Dua? I can't stand how somebody can say those things about you, after all you've done!"

"Yes, it's fine. I can take care of this."

"Alright. Thanks again," Kudoh said and bowed to the doctor. "You're lucky the doctor is so nice, stupid bitch!" She spat before exiting.

Then the room was left with just the sound of sniffing and whimpering.

Dr. Dua knelt to look her in the eyes, but she couldn't meet his.

He sighed, then pulled her towards him, and gave her a hug.

Yihwa's face rested on his shoulders with a look of confused surprise, before she clung onto him with her own arms and started to cry.

"You're a bit foolish…but you really are a good person, Yihwa. I'm sorry that I didn't explain everything to you before. You weren't wrong to think what you did."

"B-but I called you a m-monster…even though you were just helping everyone…!" She said. "After you helped me so much…I didn't even give you a chance to explain it…"

"If you hadn't heard her scream, you wouldn't have barged in like that, right? You were only trying to do the right thing."

"T-that's..."

Dr. Dua relaxed from the hug and held Yihwa by the shoulders, looking into her eyes. "It's okay, Yihwa. My treatments aren't always successful, and sometimes they're painful or they fail. It's true that I worked with the loan sharks. And some of my work is not legal, so I had to resort to doing that instead of advertising it. I'm not proud of this, but like I said, sometimes we can only choose the lesser evil. But because of my research, I've become able to heal people from some of the worst wounds, and even enhance them a bit. And I've learned other things that I can use for good elsewhere. Research is never without risk…but I try to minimize it where I can, and only work with people who are willing and understand what they're getting into. Yes, they are trapped by the debt, but I'm not the one who trapped them. I just offered a better way out for them, compared to the things that the loan sharks were doing before. And now I'm done with all that, anyways. I only helped that woman because she was really desperate, it wasn't even an experiment even though I paid her for it, I just gave her a treatment that I already knew worked, but it was a bit painful."

"I'm—I'm so sorry…!" Yihwa said through sobs. "I'm so stupid! I can't do anything right! I didn't understand anything! I'm sorry! Sorry…sorry…!"

Dr. Dua pressed her into his chest and held her head tightly. "Yihwa, it's okay. You're not stupid and I'm not angry. Everything is fine, so you don't have to keep apologizing. Everyone makes mistakes. And being suspicious of other people isn't a bad thing. There really are a lot of bad people in this Tower, so you were right not to trust me right away. You haven't known me that long…you didn't know what was going on, and that's fine. But now you know, and everything's going to be okay."

She continued to sniff and sob into his chest for a few more minutes.

When she eventually calmed down, Dr. Dua helped her to stand while she wiped her tears.

"It's getting late, so let's get you back home and cleaned up. I'll order delivery on the way," said Dr. Dua.

O O O

Back at her apartment, the two of them were just starting to eat when Dr. Dua spoke.

"Now that you've calmed down…can you tell me why you went to the loan office?"

"I was trying to find out if I could get another loan from them…" Yihwa said.

"Another loan? You're already in debt to them?"

Yihwa nodded. "They're the ones I was in debt to before I met you…I took out several loans from them to take the tests…"

"I probably don't need to say this but…taking any more loans from them is a terrible idea."

"I-I know. I wasn't going to do it! I was just trying to find out if I could…"

"What for? Are you that pressed for money?"

"I broke the stove again…and I have no points left to buy takeout."

"Really, Yihwa…how much do you already owe them?"

She squirmed under his gaze. "T-three hundred thousand…"

Dr. Dua seemed taken aback.

"That can't be right…that's far too high. That's much, much higher than any other Regular they sent to me…and they never told you about the option…? It doesn't make sense if it's just some tests and living expenses. And you haven't been on this Floor that long, have you?"

"…I also had to pay for the medical bills of all the teammates I burnt accidentally…" She said meekly.

"Ah…still…this sum is a bit…no, I suppose it does make sense. They must've given you more because you're from the Yeon family. They probably thought they could get a much higher price by ransoming you back to the Yeon, and wanted to get you into more debt rather than sending you to me early on."

"R-ransom?! No way…they couldn't even hold me if they tried! Even Rankers in my family can get hurt by my flames!"

"Well, I wouldn't put it past them to be that stupid, but it probably wouldn't be a normal ransom. They could demand for them to pay off your loans, and then blackmail them for additional hush money to stop them from spreading around the fact that a daughter of the Yeon family got herself into a debt she couldn't pay off, bringing shame to the family. They'd probably trick you into doing some humiliating things first as well while you hoped to pay off some of the debt by yourself, then use the evidence for more blackmail."

"T-that's…they…" Yihwa paled as she realized what was going to happen. 'If I got desperate enough to do any of those things like they asked and they recorded evidence of it…the family would definitely disown me! They might even try to kill me themselves! And mama would be in big trouble!'

"Or worse yet, they could threaten to tell your family, and then lock you into a cycle of doing ever more humiliating things to avoid your family finding out, until you become their slave in all but name and agree to quietly disappear. Then they could sell you off…and there's probably someone that would pay even more to own a daughter of the Yeon family like that."

"S-something like that…they couldn't possibly think they could get away with it…!" Yihwa protested with a shiver, imagining it happened to her.

But Dr. Dua shook his head.

"You may not be aware, but there's actually a slavery system on a higher Floor, at what's called the Name Hunt Station. The person who is managing the place was also enslaved to that position herself…a former candidate to be a princess of Zahard from one of the Great Families, whose family was heavily penalized with a great debt because she failed the final test to become a princess. Except the whole thing was a scheme set up by the rest of the Great Families to create a legal slavery system with test rules backed by the Guardian of the Floor, and her own family just decided to set her up to fall, as their tool. The dirty money she makes there goes to pay off a debt that the family never bothers to pay down, because her family prefers that she stay there to make them money forever."

Yihwa's mouth was agape in sheer fear and shock. "N-no way…I…is that what's happening to me?! Am I being set up?!" 'Did my own family also do this to me?! Is that the real reason nobody ever helped me learn to control my flames? They also told me I should become a princess…! There's just no way…! I must be overthinking it, that has to be it!'

"I don't know, there's no need to panic, I doubt things are quite that bad. I don't know that much about the Yeon family, but they don't seem like one of the worse families among the Ten," said Dr. Dua. "Besides, your debt is large, but nothing compared to the many billions of the debt that enslaved that person. Yours is manageable. If it's only that much, I can still pay it off for you."

"Y-you can't! You've already done too much for me! That's why I went to the loan office again…I didn't want to bother you more," said Yihwa.

"How else are you going to pay it off?"

"I can try the test again…"

"Which you'd need a loan for. What did they offer you?"

"If I fail again…I just have to help the loan company boss's son climb the Tower," said Yihwa.

"For how many Floors? Until he becomes a Ranker?"

"Uh? They didn't say."

"So…they want you to be his slave. What if he just never becomes a Ranker?" said Dr. Dua with a frown. "And you're considering it?"

"I-I wasn't going to do that!"

"Yihwa…I'll just pay off your debt," said Dr. Dua conclusively.

"W-wait, Dr. Dua, I can't just accept that without doing something for you at least!"

"I don't want anything from you right now, Yihwa, it's like you shouted at me earlier…I shouldn't be taking advantage of someone who is desperate and has no other choice."

"B-but! It's not taking advantage if I'm the one offering! I want to do it for you!"

"Do what exactly? You had something specific in mind? Not your body, I hope? Because I'm not the type of unsavory man who would accept that sort of 'repayment', no matter how beautiful you are."

"N-no! Not like that!" Yihwa squeaked, turning red.

"Not like that?"

"I mean…I can let you study me…I mean my flame! The Yeon flame within me. Since you're interested in researching rare and special powers, right? The Yeon flame is one of the most special powers in the Tower!"

There was a moment of silence.

"Yihwa…is that really any better to offer? Letting somebody outside of the family study it like this…what if this was a setup? What if I was setting you up, testing whether you'd be willing to give away the secrets of your family's most precious flame?" Dr. Dua asked gravely.

The Yeon girl's eyes widened, and she took a sharp breath. "Are…are you? Testing me?"

"No."

She breathed out in relief. "I knew you weren't! You're a good person, Dr. Dua, and you've been so good to me…so I just wanted to give you the only thing that I can!"

"However, I haven't been entirely honest with you, either," said Dr. Dua. "Even the name I gave you was fake. And so is this face."

Yihwa's face changed to surprise and then trepidation again. "What do you mean…?"

"This is why you should not have offered something like that. You are far too trusting, and suspicious of the wrong things."

"H-huh?"

"But at least you're learning this with me and not someone else that would have taken advantage of you. The only thing I lied about was my name. I used an alias and disguised my appearance because, as I mentioned, my work was not legal, and so it would be foolish to use my real identity and have it linked back to me."

"Oh. Then that's not so bad…I don't mind," Yihwa said, relieved again.

She watched as one of his hands went to his hair and lifted it off, revealing it to be a wig, with short black hair underneath, while the other pulled off his glasses.

His kind brown eyes changed to an exotic central heterochromia with striking red spikes in the center, metallic silver on the iris.

His facial hair fell off cleanly, and other parts morphed slightly. The entire change resulted in a face that was far more handsome and elegant, to the point where Yihwa would have described it as beautiful, the kind of face that if he had long hair and breasts, she might have confused for a woman in the same tier of beauty as herself.

"My real name, or the one I normally go by and entered the Tower with, is Axion."

"Axion? Wait…that name is…" Yihwa's eyes widened as she recognized it. "You're the Crystal Knight, princess Androssi's teammate?! One of the former top five E-Rank Regulars, who has never lost a single battle?! The one rumored to have even defeated a Ranker on the Floor of Tests!"

"Yes, I am that Axion. And yes, I did defeat a Ranker. Though he wasn't going all out, and I wouldn't be able to repeat the feat if he actually took me seriously from the beginning."

There was a look of awe on her face. "You disappeared around two years ago and princess Androssi was only seen with a dragon Shinheuh after she joined a new team…people thought you might have been cursed into that form because she sometimes called it Axion…but you were here the whole time?!"

"That's just my avatar. When we split up, she went to join some of our old friends from the Floor of Tests, so I left my avatar with her to keep climbing. My avatar is pretty strong too, but they're strong enough that they don't really need me, so I could go undercover and do some other things that interested me, and agreed to meet up again in a couple of years."

A whirlwind of emotions went through her as Yihwa thought about everything she knew of the famous Regular, and that he was sitting in front of her right now, having helped her so much and going on several dinner dates with her…the one who was considered the perfect knight to the princess as if it were a real life fairytale…

And then there was a sinking feeling of disappointment.

"But that means…you and the princess are still…" 'I was really…just a side dish…'

"We're still a team, yes. What's with that look?"

"It's n-nothing!" She looked down, hiding her sullen face.

"Whatever ideas you have about us are probably wrong. Not all the rumors are true. There was no curse, no falling out, and I have no relation to her family. I'm not really her knight or retainer, nor are we dating. Princesses of Zahard are not permitted to date, after all. We simply met on the Floor of Tests and decided to team up."

At that, Yihwa's eyes visibly brightened in relief.

Axion continued. "And she's not a real witch either. We just do that to have some fun with the tests, because it gets boring when the competition is all so weak compared to us."

"Wait, are you saying you two are actually the Calamity Witch and Demon? I thought that was one of the bad slander rumors!" Yihwa asked, looking up again, shocked.

"Yes, we are."

"Bu-but they massacre people for fun!" She was completely unable to reconcile the idea of the Demon Knight of Calamity with the kind person in front of him.

"Yes, we do—but we don't really kill them unless they can't take a hint and back off. It's a way for us to challenge ourselves. Make it look like we slaughtered everyone effortlessly, but actually avoid vitals while holding back all our strongest abilities—it takes a lot more skill to create such a precise performance than actually wiping them all out. As a bonus, most weaker Regulars get scared off so we don't have to waste time dealing with them."

Her mouth stayed agape for a while. "A performance…? Just to challenge yourselves? The tests were that easy for you?" She had known that the pair had famously become E-rank Regulars after less than 2 years, one of the fastest paces in history, but to hear them describe it, they weren't even trying?

Axion shrugged. "It shouldn't be a surprise. You'd have had a similar time if you had control of your flames. But we shouldn't get off topic. Yes, I would be interested in studying your flames, but now that you know who I really am, knowing that I deceived you…do you still feel the same way?"

She thought for a moment, but found nothing objectionable about it. On the contrary, the revelations had only seemed to make her surer that this was the only way to repay him. Axion was more powerful than she had ever imagined and already had the beautiful princess at his side. He simply didn't need anything from her, and helped her before with no expectations of anything in return, defying her own expectations of men at every turn.

"Yes. I want to help you too somehow, and this is the only way I could think of," said Yihwa. "And I don't mind that you kept your true identity a secret…you had a good reason, and you told me now, even though you didn't have to."

"In that case, I shall accept your offer. And if I'm going to study your flames, I'll also help you find a way to control it," said Axion with a smile that made her heart skip a beat.

"You really think you can do that? Help me find a way to control it?" Yihwa asked.

"I can certainly try."

"If you could do that before I take the test again, I would be very grateful!"

Axion nodded. "Come see me tomorrow then, and we'll get started."

O O O

A/N: I have started an experiment with prerelease chapters on my discord for anybody that wants to help proofread, which would allow my beta readers to focus on more impactful plot and character issues instead. You can join via [slash]ZyxZPRm or just the invite code at the end, and opt-in to the role to get alerts and links to the prerelease chapters a few days to a week in advance of my current publishing schedule.