Disclaimer: Everything here belongs to SIU. Except for my OC and uh the other guy.

A/N

Btw I know that there are different translations for some of the names, but for this story, I'm going to be using the webtoon translation.

Ship leesoo - Shibisu Andorssi - Endorsi Hatsu - Hatz etc.

Chapter 4

During the next week or so, many of the regulars started to become more friendly with each other. The lunch table we had initially sat at had more people join us each day. Hwaryun however, uninterested by all the regulars and their chatter, would finish her meals silently before moving off to do her own private business. I never asked her about what she was doing, simply assuming she was finishing up preparations that FUG had for Bam.

I became regularly acquitted with Shibisu, Hatz, Bam, and Khun, while also becoming slightly more friendly with Endorsi as regulars who were in the same class. With the calmer days, and non-exciting lectures during classes, I started to recall all I read about in Tower of God. To my surprise, there wasn't much difficulty in remembering more details about the story, as if someone were laying out all the panels in my head. There was a lot of reflection I pulled myself into during the past few days, putting aside my past life for the time being.

As I sat at one of the tables in the dining hall after another lecture, I took time to think about the strange interaction I had with the administrator of this floor. We had learned with every floor, we had to make a contract with the administrator to use shinsu. As I tried to make contact with the one on this floor, a humongous grey whale-like creature appeared in what I assumed was my own headspace. However, it had gotten a little puzzled why I had tried to make a contract although I already had one. Before I could ask it what that means, he forced me out of the space back to the lecture.

I then looked back at the voice I had heard within my head after I had passed out from the crown game, trying to link things together. Headon said that I couldn't take shinsu into my body at all without the ball thing he shoved into me. Does the ball count as a workshop item that has already been given permission? Or did Headon make a contract for me somehow? Others began to join me at the table, preparing themselves to eat. I ducked my head instinctually to make a silent prayer, before taking a bite of my meal.

"Who were you praying to?"

I looked up, shaken out of thought, to see who spoke. "Sorry?"

Khun lazily rested his chin on the back of his hand. "That was a prayer you did wasn't it? You froze up and closed your eyes, just as you've done before every meal. Who was it to? Jahad? One of the other great family leaders?"

I thought of it for a moment. "I don't really know. I'm don't think I'm praying to anyone in the tower though."

"Really?" Khun mused. "Ah, at least you aren't a Jahad fanatic. Those guys are so boring. If you ask me though, nothing and no one in this tower is worth praying to."

Bam curiously looked at Khun. "How come Mr. Khun?" He asked.

Khun stretched out his arms. "Well, I guess it's because I'm stubborn. I refuse to believe in some greater power up there. If my father's any indication, the ones with all the power are assholes, and everyone still climbing it are just not that interesting. Most regulars simply follow the rules the tower has set up till they die, overpowered by those who are just more gifted." He smirked. "People aren't born equal, that's the truth I've seen. If there's any God up there, he sure loves cruelty."

I frowned. "I can't really argue with that. Sounds kind of familiar." I glanced at Bam who seemed to be in thought. He placed his chopsticks on his mouth staring into space.

"Ah, there isn't anyone I would pray to either." Bam grinned. "That sort of thing doesn't really make sense to me either I guess."

"Well, if there is anyone worthy enough to pray to, it would have to be my Dad." Endorsi chimed in. "Absolute ruler of the tower and all that, probably the closest person that anyone can imagine as God."

My body had gotten a little heated at her words, shinsu slowly speeding up within me. My expression unintentionally turned sour. "I don't really think anyone should be called God, even someone as powerful as Jahad."

"Eh, maybe not, but no use worrying about that now. Got to just keep climbing the tower. By the way Shun, what did our teacher say about the lesson tomorrow?"

Later that day, I sat myself against the wall, opening a bottle of water after another training session. I looked over at Hwaryun, also against the wall not too far away from me. I could see her breathing harder than normal which gave me some satisfaction. Training wasn't entirely one sided anymore. Today's results weren't too bad at all, as I dodged Hwaryun about 137 times and evaded her for about 20 minutes. I managed to hit Hwaryun 3 times again today with only about 170 of my attacks being dodged. But when it came to the spar, there hasn't been much change. She would beat me every single time, her experience and agility with her spear proved far too great for me to handle.

I turned my head as I heard the door to the training room open, to see Khun and Bam come through.

"So, this is where both of you go after every meal." Khun pointed out. "Training?"

"Yeah." I replied. "It's been a lot of work. What brings you guys here?" Both of them walked over to sit down.

"Boredom, curiosity. Our other teammate is doing something else so we thought we would do some exploring. There wasn't anything interesting, but then I remembered you guys." He smirked. "How come the training then? Both of you guys are probably already strong enough to pass this floor."

"I mean, even if that were true, extra training never hurts." I looked down at my hands. "There are a lot of dangerous things in this tower that I want to be prepared for, and some people that I want to make sure I can help."

"I think that's really cool. Maybe I should start training so that I can do that too." Bam chuckled in good nature. I looked at him, trying my best to keep up a smile. It started to become harder and harder to look at him without some form of guilt crawling up my neck.

"What about you?" Khun turned to Hwaryun.

She looked into the space for a moment. "Not sure. It's just fun beating this fool up." She swung her staff towards my head.

I quickly grabbed it before it could connect, raising one of my eyebrows towards her. "Thanks. That's just so noble of you."

"Actually Mr. Shun, could you teach me a little about how to control shinsu?" Bam asked. "I heard about what you did during the last round of the crown game."

I shrugged my shoulders. "Sorry Bam, I did that involuntarily. I didn't even know about it until other people told me. Maybe you could ask your teacher to hit you with one of their bangs. If it doesn't kill you, I bet you could learn it in an instant." I joked.

Khun rolled his eyes. "Are you kidding me? He would be ripped apart the bang. It's a ranker we're talking about. Besides, they aren't supposed to mess with regulars other than being test supervisors, his teacher would probably get fired if he tried that."

We talked amongst ourselves for a while, until the shinsu sky turned dark. We each exchanged parts of our lives, expect Hwaryun, who only chimed in to give sarcastic comments. Bam and I were able to relate to each other, having similar backgrounds, being in the dark about where we came from. I guess I should've known that becoming friends with Khun and Bam was not the best decision, but I just couldn't convince myself not to. I wanted to know more about them as people, not just characters, but this made it harder to hold myself back for what I knew had to happen.

"Welcome to the stage, for those of you who're in the fisherman class!" Ranker Hex, teacher of the fisherman class, shouted out. She was sitting far above the testing grounds on a green, jellyfish like creature. She had two pigtails coming out of her mask that covered the entirety of her face.

I looked down the side of the pillar I was standing on. It was too dark to see the floor where it was coming from. Everyone else in my class was situated on their own pillars with only a single needle equipped. The testing area had an eerie atmosphere, with nothing but the sky and the massive white pillars that seemed to come from the abyss. I squinted my eyes to see Endorsi and Anaak observing their surroundings. I really shouldn't have a problem with this test, with those two just going to fight each other.

"Today, we will take a simple test instead of having a lecture." She continued. "The aim of the test is to be the last one standing. Straightforward right? Starting now, jump from pillar to pillar and make the others fall until only 8 of you remain on the pillars. The only weapon will be the needle given to you, and how you do on this test will have large ramifications on your final results. Any questions?"

Endorsi raised her hand. "I've got a question! Looks like people could die if they fell from this height. Is there any protection at the bottom?"

"There is, but you really shouldn't rely on it." Hex replied. "If you fall, there's a high chance that your injuries will not allow you to take the next few classes. Basically, falling and failing in this test is like failing the class. Any other questions?"

A nervous tension rose. Anyone would be cautious after learning that a test could affect their final mark.

"Then let's start the test." Hex rose her hand. "Ready, go!" Then dropped it.

Expectedly, no one made the first move. Most were just eyeing each other in case one of them jumped over to engage in a fight. I looked over my own needle and raised an eyebrow. It's practically just a red stick.

A few more moments passed before I could see a green blur move towards Endorsi. They exchanged a few words before Anaak began swinging at Endorsi with her needle. They moved along the pillars, not minded the looming threat of falling in the slightest. None of the other participants dared to move along the pillars, instead watching the two strongest regulars fight it out. Eventually, after knocking down a few of the other regulars, the two Jahad princesses made it over to my pillar.

Warily, I circled them, trying my best not to intervene. But that was quickly cut short as Anaak reached out to strike me. I swiftly ducked under the attempt, feeling some gratification for the training I had been doing. She didn't seem nearly as fast as she did when I witnessed her wipe out the other regulars during the crown game.

"Oh? Nicely dodged Shun." Endorsi commented. She then turned her head to jut her head up arrogantly towards Anaak. "Look little lizard, haven't I done enough to show you the gap between us? I mean, if you can't even touch Shun over here, you won't be able to even touch my toes."

Anaak stared silently before tossing her own needle away. "This is fine. Now I'll be able to get rid of both of you annoying pieces of shit at once." Shinsu began to swirl around her as she got into a sprint position. "I'll get your toe."

I quickly leapt away to another pillar, as did Endorsi, most likely also recognizing what she was about to do. I also threw away my needle in the process, knowing it wouldn't do anything for me at this point. Damn, she's already using shinsu to strengthen her body? I'm still barely able to just control shinsu at all. Anaak darted towards me like a bullet, grazing me as I turned away from her first punch. Unfortunately, I wasn't as lucky with her next attempt to hit me, as she quickly ducked down to sweep my legs and slam me to the ground while I was still slightly in the air. I could feel the pillar crack under me with how much pressure she put on me with that hit.

"I told you I would destroy you." Anaak gloated over me. She began to walk away before I shakily picked myself back up. She looked back with just a bit of curiosity on her face.

"Man, your definition of destroy is lacking. Barely even hurt." It hurt a lot. Simple way to fight Anaak, a few words of provocation, and some confidence to face her head on. You can't fight determined people without some determination of your own. I held my stance and waited for her to come once more.

She ran fast past me, only to double back and have one of her fists barrel towards my back. Although my eyes struggled to keep up with her speed, I could feel her fist coming towards me. Hours upon hours of getting hit and trying to hit Hwaryun allowed me to concentrate all my focus for this one attack. I dropped my body to the side to dodge the fist, then without hesitation, closed in the gap with precise footwork. Twisting my body along with my punch, I launched myself towards Anaak's abdomen, blowing her entire body back to a nearby pillar. I was breathing hard, adrenaline flowing rapidly in my body as I smiled. It worked.

Anaak didn't seem too fazed, more surprised than anything. Honestly, there was no way that attack made a lasting impact on a Jahad princess, even if she was only descended from one. Her blood still made her body naturally resilient. She did not look happy but couldn't come back towards me as Endorsi grabbed her attention, flicking her on the back of her head.

"Did you forget who you were supposed to be fighting little lizard?" Endorsi asked in a mocking tone. Anaak responded by swinging at her, then chasing after Endorsi as she swiftly dodged each of Anaak's attacks.

I gave out a sigh, losing my balance a little. Having to face one of the strongest regulars on this floor was still scary even though I knew all the big fights that would happen. Those would make this fight seem like child's play. Still, I clenched my fist holding my head high. Training finally pays off. One of the other regulars jumped onto my pillar, distracting me from my moment.

"You don't look too good. Maybe you'll find a good rest at the bottom of this test." The regular didn't have any captivating features, just a bland brown shirt with a bowl cut just slightly able his eyes. He had a belt he wore from his right shoulder, down to his left hip.

He lunged at me with his needle without any remarkable speed. Although I wasn't in the best shape, I could still easily react to his attack, stepping to the side and grabbing his needle. I looked at his face to see an anxious expression as he let go of the needle and jumped back.

"What are you doing?" I found myself asking.

He scowled. "All you guys are monsters. Having all the talent in the world; your life is just given to you! Why is it that the tower favors people like you?" He rushed me, throwing a fist towards my face. I grabbed it, absorbing the impact, then throwing him to the side.

"We don't need to fight; the test should end pretty soon." I tried to reason with him while wondering how long it would take for Anaak and Endorsi to eliminate themselves.

"That doesn't matter to me, I'll probably just be eliminated in the next test." He spat out. He then picked himself back up, only to come at me once more. "I'm not scared of you! For all the power you have, I'm not scared of you!" Each attack he made was coated with rage, and easy to dodge. He's not a threat at all, but at the rate he's going I might just have to eliminate him.

I began to pressure him myself, by landing blows to make him step back. As we neared the edge though, I found it hard to gather up strength to push him over. I grabbed his shirt and leaned him over the side of the pillar. "Look I don't have to do this, just stop attacking me. If you pass this test, you'll have a much bigger chance to clear this floor, won't you?"

The regular looked down below then back at me. "Just do it." He said bereft of any emotion, as if this was just supposed to happen. "Someone like you would never get it, with everything given to you already."

I gripped his shirt even tighter, as my head began to ache. I had thought it would be normal to just eliminate him for this test. Besides, nothing would happen to the story. So why am I hesitating? Swarming with so many different thoughts, I couldn't decide what to do before my hand had let go seemingly by itself. The regular didn't make any sound as he went dropped down below until he hit the floor, only amplifying the emptiness I had felt growing within me. Isn't this normal? To eliminate others so you can move up the tower? I did what I was supposed to do, wasn't I?

I later found out that Ranker Hex had announced the end of the test long before I had dropped the other regular. I just couldn't hear her.

A/N

Thanks for the follows from AcidicInstinct, Ezeakel, Fois D. Ciel, GinryuFox, Piyot, desropter, isolatre, and zngVnt. It's very much appreciated. Honestly, the support helps a lot more with motivation than I thought it would. Also thanks to Yellow Horse who I think added my story to a community, that's really neat!

This took a lot longer to write out just because I had to finish planning out some more things sorry about that.

Review responses:

Ezeakel: That's really cool and I'm glad that I could have some of your interest!

th1s: I have plans, I have big plans. But right now, you aren't wrong. I wanted to start a bit slow so that I could ease into writing this story hahhaa.

Something I wanted to quickly address is that Hwaryun may be out of character to some people, and that's because I have my own backstory I want to implement for her. It's not a huge change but it's so that she doesn't feel like a robot. I know SIU has a backstory for her, but for the purpose of this story I'm going to have one made for her. She's just a really cool character I wanted to use and I didn't want to wait until however long SIU puts her backstory in to make this story.

Edit: 16/07/2021

Any comments or suggestions are really appreciated!

Thanks for reading!