40 – Hide and Seek
"Very good Baam, hardworking and talented, I see great things in your future," said Yuga as Baam created a ball of light and launched it at a training target.
I looked down at the pitiful flickers of light in my hand. After the initial discovery that I could manipulate Shinsoo on a tiny scale, I'd made no progress in any of the classroom exercises that Yuga had instructed us on.
Nevertheless, I continued to attend the Wave Controller class instead of the Fisherman classes, simply because I believed it was more useful to unlock personal power, particularly outside of the Tower. Even if Shinsoo didn't work on other planes, researching magic of any form was consistent with my long-term agenda.
"Our time is almost at an end, Mr. Axion. As an instructor, it pains me to admit that I cannot be of further help to you," said Yuga. "If there is a way to use such small quantities of Shinsoo, you will have to find it yourself."
I nodded and thanked him for the lessons before he went around to comment on every other student's progress.
Fundamentally, the problem I had with Shinsoo was simply that I couldn't form a Baang, which was necessary for almost all Shinsoo techniques other than the most basic ones related to enhancing the body.
But even the techniques for enhancing physical combat required manipulating Shinsoo on a much larger scale than I was able. The simplest one that had been taught in the Fisherman classes was akin to Mana Burst, using a large amount of Shinsoo to generate explosive force.
Shinsoo was also unfortunately too potent and volatile to be used in my Reinforcement spell compared to refined mana processed by my circuits.
Yet despite my lack of personal progress, the classes were far from useless. After two weeks of absorbing the theory and trying to communicate with the water spirits as to what I wanted them to do, they succeeded in creating not one, but many Baangs.
O O O
Aside from the training, a few other events of note took place.
First was a minor Fisherman test in which Anak tried to fight Androssi without any particular reason, and Androssi baited her into taking out all of the other Fishermen. Everything proceeded nearly the same as canon while I stayed out of the fight, resulting in only me as the last person standing.. Androssi slipped due to her heels and dragged Anak down with her when she fell off the test platforms, getting them both severely injured and losing a lot of points.
They had their bonding moment down at the bottom of the testing arena in which Androssi inquired about why Anak's mother chose a life on the run over luxury and status, and Anak told her it was because of her dad's cooking. Then Anak swore to take back the Green April, and Androssi told her she'd give it back if Anak beat her fairly.
At the same time, the Scouts and the Lightbearers were given the task to make 10 friends. As the task proceeded, Baam's canonical friend group began to form as he helped Hatsu complete his friend list.
I made it onto his friend list when he asked me in the Wave Controller class, and so did Androssi after he bribed her with food while she was recovering from her injury.
As for my cooperation with Rachel, aside from the FUG conspiracy, I also exchanged some notes with her from our classes, given my interest in Lighthouses.
The Lighthouse functioned like a computer of sorts, and had access to an Internet-like network that spanned the Tower. Comprised of "cubes" that could be manipulated with Shinsoo, they could be used as armaments or floating vehicles in battle too.
Unfortunately, there was no information as to how the Tower's Lighthouse network's infrastructure worked, and no way to interface with it using regular electronics. It operated using Shinsoo and I couldn't identify what signals it used. Lightbearers interacted with it by summoning a virtual keyboard and touch gestures.
The conspiracy itself was largely directed by Hwa Ryun and Yu Han Sung, and I had little role to play in it at this point, but I was kept informed of the plan so as to not accidentally interfere, or act as a backup in case things went wrong.
O O O
"The next test is called Hide and Seek, and it's going to be a large team battle, where the Regulars will be split into teams with all the positions required to work together," I said to Androssi after another training session. "One Fisherman from each team has to carry the 'It' badge, and the team wins if their It runs to the exit with the badge, or tags the enemy Seeker badge. The enemy Seeker is going to be Quant, the Scout instructor. He's a Ranker, so it will be quite tough, especially as the team will lose if their own It's badge gets tagged. However, individuals will be scored based on an evaluation from all of the instructors, in addition to the team victory or loss."
"In other words, winning doesn't guarantee a pass, and losing doesn't mean a fail either…it depends on how well we perform in our positions?" Androssi asked.
"That's right. This gives us room to maneuver even though we won't be on the same team."
"You have the team placements already too?"
I told her the members of each side, which had been set by Yu Han Sung.
"Wait, what about you? You're not on either team?" Androssi asked with a perplexed expression after hearing me recount the team roster.
"They couldn't balance the teams with me in the roster, so I'll be given the special position of a 'wildcard'. I can score points by joining forces with either Regular team, or automatically pass by tagging any badge, whether from the Regular teams' It or from Quant. If I tag the Regulars' It, they lose. If I tag Quant's badge, it counts as the Regular team's win. I'm only permitted to join a single round, same as every other Regular, but it will be my choice as to which to join," I said.
"So which round are you going to join?"
"That depends…"
"On?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.
"You. Or rather, your strategy. Despite missing most of the classes, I should still have enough points to pass quite easily thanks to everyone else losing all their points by falling down and getting injured while I remained the last person standing during that Fishermen test we had. So the question is whether you want my help on Team B against Quant or—"
"Or eliminate the other Fishermen on Team A," she finished with narrowed eyes and a smirk. "So you've already thought of that."
"Well…I was going to say if you'd rather I take the badge from Team A's It to ensure their loss, but I suppose outright eliminating the Fishermen works too," I said with a shrug. Actually, I did expect her to think of eliminating the Fishermen first, as that was exactly what she did in canon to her own team's Fishermen.
After a brief moment of thought, Androssi said, "That's a tempting option...but no. I'd rather have you join in my round."
"Really, why? There will be three Fishermen on Team A, and only four passing spots in total. If their team wins, it could be risky for you."
"That's true but how often are we going to get a chance to fight a Ranker? I'm not so arrogant as to think I can win by myself, even if I can use the Green April and he'll be restricted. I'll need your help to take him down," she said.
"…" I sighed. "Very well, let's take down the Ranker."
"What's with that response? It's an amazing opportunity! You should be more excited!"
Although I acted as if I reluctantly went along with her plan, I had my own reasons to fight the Ranker. The opportunity to test my skills against a superior opponent on Quant's level, in relatively safe conditions, was not something I could easily pass up.
O O O
The FUG conspiracy proceeded in the background, without much input from me.
Yu Han Sung sent out an anonymous note to Hoh, convincing him that the best way to eliminate Baam as Wave Controller competition was to kill Michelle Light because she's the reason he's climbing the Tower.
Hwa Ryun warned Khun about Hoh's jealousy, and Khun discovered the note in Hoh's room.
The next test would be where the pieces would all be moved into place, and Khun would unknowingly become their pawn as he worked to protect Rachel and Baam.
Finally, the day of the test arrived. The rules and team placements were announced to all the Regulars.
Just before the test started, Khun came over to quietly stand beside Androssi and me while we were away from the rest of the Regulars.
He was such a dedicated friend, despite having only known Baam for a short time. But he was also exceptionally smart. Unfortunately, he was working with limited information and could only focus on what was in front of him.
"It's too bad Baam and Rachel are on the same team…Baam shouldn't discover that Michelle Light is Rachel, don't you guys agree?" Khun said mischievously.
Androssi gave him an unimpressed look. "Do you have time to be entangled in other people's drama? We have our own business and have no time for that," she said for both of us.
"Don't let Baam and Rachel meet each other," said Khun more seriously.
Androssi looked at me for a moment, to which I responded with a shrug, indicating I didn't care. She proceeded to reject Khun's request again more forcefully.
"I'll help you guys with your business…if you protect Baam," said Khun, before he walked away with a wave. "Keep that promise."
"What did he mean by that? Helping us with our business?" Androssi asked me after Khun left. "Is he going to sabotage his own team? Why go so far just to help a guy he barely met?"
"Who knows? Maybe he had regrets about his own love life and is trying to live vicariously through those two. Give them the happy ending he couldn't get for himself," I said.
"I really don't understand them…any of them. But it's not a bad deal for us, if he actually does it," said Androssi. "It shouldn't be too hard to keep those two away from each other, seeing as Rachel's a Lightbearer who should be staying in the back anyways."
"I don't mind either way, but he isn't really helping us, you know? He says that, but the truth is that he would likely sabotage his team even if there was no deal with us, to give all his friends a better chance of passing."
"So, we help him if it's convenient, but don't need to try too hard."
"Exactly."
O O O
Team A's test went as expected without any significant anomalies while Team B watched the action from the waiting room via monitors.
Khun convinced the group to make him the leader, and they first attempted to trap Quant which failed, then Anak headed towards the exit.
At the end, Khun tricked Quant into falling off the bridge to the exit with him and Anak, but then used a suspendium pulley stolen from his family's vaults to bring Anak back up for a clear run to the exit.
But just as he told Androssi and I, he ultimately sabotaged his team by secretly having Laure use Shinsoo to send Quant back up to tag Anak, after lying to Quant that he made a deal with Hoh to eliminate Rachel, who would be his competition for the Lightbearer position, thus provoking an angry Quant into trying to stop his plan by protecting Rachel in the next round.
Rachel wouldn't be in any serious danger because Headon had given her a special deal to allow her to survive a fatal injury, but to make it more realistic and natural, there had to be a close fight instead of Rachel miraculously coming back from the dead, which is where Quant would come in handy.
The backup plan in case Khun failed to goad Quant into doing it was for me to step in.
Amidst all the cheering from the other Regulars while we watched in the waiting room, Androssi whispered to me, "I'm guessing that was our supposed help? The Ranker couldn't have gotten up without Shinsoo right? If he did on his own, he'd be a lot harder to fight than I thought."
I nodded and whispered back. "Their wave controller has been hiding down there the whole time."
And then it was Team B's turn.
O O O
As the wildcard, I entered the arena from a different location by myself. I wasn't too far from Team B, but they were given a chance to strategize on their own first, before either Quant or I reached them.
The whole arena was very dark, similar to most of the Tower. Without a Guide, a Lightbearer, or some other device to light up the surroundings, it would be difficult to navigate for any normal Regular.
Because of this, I was given a flashlight for this test, not that I really needed it, considering that my visor was equipped with night vision and a headlight.
Through Agate, I kept tabs on Team B. It wasn't long before Androssi took control of the group and proposed the plan for all Fishermen to move together, plus Baam.
Hatsu and the two spearbearers moved as a separate group, while the rest of the Lightbearers, Wave Controllers and Scouts stayed near the safe zone, all supposedly preparing to react to the Ranker's movements.
With everything going according to canon so far, I recalled Agate to my side as a precaution. The arena was likely to be safe, but with it being so dark and mostly unmonitored, there was always a risk that a hidden enemy might use this opportunity to attack me. The test administrators aside from Yu Han Sung and Lero Ro weren't aware of what happened after Quant and Khun fell in the previous match, after all, so if I was quietly killed off they might not be monitoring it either.
I took the chance to practice reaching out with my Shinsoo senses. While I couldn't detect any of the Regulars, Quant was a much more noticeable entity, his anger rolling off in waves.
And he was apparently getting closer to me.
A few moments later, his presence flared up and I barely dodged a punch before I had the chance to draw Derflinger. In retrospect, I should've had Derflinger out already, but I wasn't used to using a sword all the time yet.
A short exchange of blindingly fast hand-to-hand combat followed, and I was quickly launched into a wall before I knew what happened.
"Looks like you need some more practice. Or maybe I was expecting too much from a Regular?" Quant said with a disappointed tone.
I got back up without much trouble, but that exchange already showed how much of a gap there was between us. I was already fully Reinforced, albeit without Derflinger's boost, but Quant was barely using any of his real power.
It wasn't something I intended to contest right here though.
"There's no need for us to be enemies in this game, though, is there? I don't need to tag your badge specifically to win," I said.
"Are you saying you plan to tag team B's It badge?" He asked.
"Perhaps. It would be easier than fighting a Ranker," I said. "We all saw how powerful you were in the previous round."
"Hah. You realize I'm also evaluating your performance? Even if that's your plan, you'd score more by showing me what you've got," he said with a shake of his head. "Then again, I don't want to waste time here either. There are some Regulars I need to put in their place. See ya later!"
Then he rushed off towards team B, leaving me alone. I drew out Derflinger, and continued on my way.
"Tsk, tsk. That's what you get for keeping me sheathed," said Derflinger.
O O O
"Are you really a princess of Zahard?! You don't deserve that power! You're just evil!" The voice of Hong Chunhwa's angry shout echoed its way to me.
By the time I got to Androssi, she was standing alone in the circle she'd drawn with the two other Fishermen lying conscious on the floor.
"About time. Here, want this?" She threw a thin longsword at me. "It's an Ignition weapon. I'm surprised he had one, but we might as well put it to use."
I caught it by its handle with my free hand. It was Narumada, Hong Chunhwa's Ignition weapon. Androssi took it from him after beating him unconscious.
"Hm…maybe this will come in handy later. I don't know how to use dual swords though, so I'll have to stick with Derf for now," I said. "Thanks."
I clipped the sword to my Armoriont utility belt.
"You don't, but I do. Keep that in mind, partner," said Derflinger. "I promise I won't get jealous if I'm the one using the other sword."
"Right. If you say so," I said.
Androssi looked at Derflinger oddly, not understanding the statement, but shook her head and turned around.
I assumed that Derflinger meant that if necessary, he could use his ability to take over my body and use a dual sword style with his own skill.
"Let's get going then!" Androssi said before running off, expecting me to follow.
"Where's Baam?" I asked, even though I already knew.
"Urghh! That naïve idiot ran off to find Rachel. How could there be someone so…so…innocent, climbing the Tower?" She asked with a frustrated tone. "He thinks this is actually a team. That we're all friends, just because we signed a piece of paper. He actually took a hit for me, after I blatantly betrayed the team, can you believe it?"
"He's certainly a special sort," I said, without judging his actions either way.
"There are plenty of fools in the world. Some are just more stubborn than others," said Derflinger. "I've seen it too many times already."
"There's no way this can end well. The Tower isn't a place for someone like him," said Androssi.
"Maybe not, but maybe…it's time for the Tower to change," I said.
She glanced at me with surprise, but then said nothing.
O O O
"Why is everyone leaving me?!" Baam's anguished voice echoed ahead of us.
"As I said…never thought things would turn out happily," said Androssi upon reaching the scene near the safe zone with Rachel apparently unconscious, Baam crying over Hoh who committed suicide after his plan to kill Rachel failed.
Hoh had a tragic backstory similar to many other Regulars that came from the Outer Tower. One day a monster appeared and killed everyone he cared about. When he entered the Tower and started taking the Wave Controller classes with Baam, he grew resentful that he didn't have the talent or power that Baam did, and wasn't able to save anyone.
His jealousy and hatred of Baam made him the perfect pawn for the FUG plot. But his plan failed when Quant arrived. He took Rachel hostage, but then Baam managed to learn Fast Skip just by getting hit with it once, before using it to paralyze Hoh to save Rachel.
In the end, he just gave up, with nothing left to live for, and killed himself.
Now Baam was crying for Hoh because he genuinely thought they were friends, after Hoh signed his friend list.
Quant looked on with a sad expression.
The team's other Scout and Lightbearer was still held hostage by Parakewl and his spearbearer accomplice. These two traitorous spearbearers ditched Hatsu earlier when he was facing Quant and attempted a "spearbearers' revolution" to take over the team. Now they were whispering to each other and presumably trying to come up with another idiotic plan.
Serena, one of the hostages, hopped over with muffled shouting since her mouth was taped shut.
Androssi cut off her restraints and let Serena slap and yell at her for disappearing and destroying the Lighthouse, before admitting calmly that it was all part of her plan to eliminate the other Fishermen.
"Baam," Androssi said, walking over to the boy. "You said you don't understand why she's going up the Tower just for some stars. I don't understand it either. But Baam, I also don't get why you're following her. What do you like about that girl? But—I know it sounds weird right now, but I've also got someone I want to go up the Tower with. Actually, scratch that, I've got a couple of someones I want to go up the Tower with. One of them, I'm not very close to her. Actually, she probably hates me." She sighed.
"Argh! It's hard to explain. I just feel like…she deserves a chance, OK? Anyways, that's why I ate all the Fishermen. It was the only way I could think of," she continued.
Once she said that, I understood the real reason that she wanted me to join this round instead of eliminating the Fishermen on Team A.
I had forgotten about this part of her motivation. Anak was also low on points and would have a difficult time passing.
Perhaps Androssi didn't want to admit to me that she didn't want me to eliminate Anak, or she was worried that even if she made the request for me to leave Anak alone, I might accidentally injure her in a group fight, and so Androssi simply asked me to join team B's round instead.
"I don't expect you to understand me, and it doesn't change the fact that I'm evil, but I just did what my heart told me to. We're all the same…we just…desire different things," she said.
Then she turned to Quant, who was still watching without making a move.
"If we beat the Ranker here, you and Rachel can continue up the Tower together. But you'll suffer like today again and again. If you betray your team and help the Ranker, you can leave the Tower with Rachel. But you'll crush her dream in the process. Whatever you decide…it's your choice," Androssi finished.
Then she brandished the Green April towards Quant.
Although she said "leave the Tower", what she really meant was leaving the inner and middle Tower, where Regulars climbed and Rankers ruled. Just one of those quirks of being a resident of the Tower. Normally, people didn't even think about the concept of actually leaving the Tower to the Outside, because the Tower was the whole world.
Baam looked like he was struggling to make a decision.
"A princess of Zahard. It's my first time fighting one of you," said Quant.
"Be honored. Later, you won't be able to look me in the eye," said Androssi.
"And you...didn't you say you were going to take the It's badge?" Quant asked me pointedly as I quietly maneuvered myself behind him on the opposite side of Androssi.
I shrugged. "Don't tell me you took that seriously?"
"Tch. I guess not. I knew you two were going to team up. Lero Ro kept arguing to put you two on different teams," said Quant. "Haha, at least you two are working together still. This test would be so stupid if literally everyone turned traitor. Two on one versus the two strongest Regulars here, huh? This should be fun! You better not sandbag like you did earlier, or you'll be in for a world of hurt! Let me see how you guys dominated my survival test at the beginning of this floor!"
"Be careful what you ask for, buddy," Derflinger said threateningly. "Maybe I'll unlock 2% of my true power today."
Derf, this isn't an enemy we can fool with that. But I said nothing aloud, and simply concentrated.
I had no delusions this fight would go similarly to how it was supposed to, with Androssi matching him and Baam providing a little backup to immobilize Quant using the Reverse Flow technique Fast Skip he just learned from getting hit by Quant using it on him earlier.
Quant was likely to take this to a higher level to fight against me and an Androssi wielding the Green April instead of Narumada.
It wasn't a particularly important fight, but it would be one of the best chances to put my recently learned skills into practice against an extremely powerful opponent who could take it, and not just a friendly spar against Androssi where we weren't really trying to hurt each other.
In Worm, I'd largely stayed behind the frontlines while letting other people do my dirty work. In the Familiar of Zero world, I'd fought a bit, but I had such overwhelming power relative to the locals that I could make plenty of mistakes without even noticing and still come out victorious.
While I'd also gotten some skill uploads from Cranial's tech in Worm, that sort of thing couldn't compare to real memories and experiences of my own.
After Quant and Androssi showed their badges to each other, the fight began immediately with Androssi launching a needle.
Quant dodged, then a shout from Androssi ignited the Green April.
The enlarged weapon slammed into Quant, but he shrugged it off and pushed away before charging back for close quarters combat.
Androssi jumped away and swung the Green April, launching numerous segments outward.
Parakewl screamed and ran away, followed by the other spearbearer. They got hit by a wayward segment and sent flying into the distance. Though maybe Androssi did that intentionally just to mess with them.
Baam stayed focused and seemed to find his resolve after carefully moving Rachel to the safe zone. Serena sat beside the unconscious Rachel and the dead Hoh, watching the battle with an empty expression.
"Getting serious from the start, huh? I like it!" Quant said as he weaved around all the segments of Green April.
I took out my laser gun and started firing.
"Ouch, that stings! What kind of weapon is that?" Quant yelled when a lucky shot hit him on the shoulder, without apparently piercing his clothes. "Ahh!" The distraction got him hit by another explosive branch of the Green April.
"Damn, looks like I don't have to go easy on you guys at this level," said Quant after he flipped back upright and got his bearings.
It would be difficult to take his badge if we kept staying at range, but on the other hand, this was probably the best strategy given that Quant was restricted from using Shinsoo.
After several more minutes of Androssi pressuring him with the Green April and Quant dodging everything, including my lasers, Baam managed to hit him with Fast Skip and he was paralyzed.
Androssi then took the chance to cage him within several branches of Green April. "Axion, now!"
"Sword Beam, Level Six!" I used the strongest Beam I'd shown yet in this plane, costing around 3200 MP.
Light spilled out from Derflinger and the Beam smashed into Quant full force. Smoke covered the area after the explosion.
As we waited for the smoke to clear, there were sounds of coughing.
Quant emerged a little away from where Androssi had trapped him, looking much worse for wear.
"Shit. You little punk. You actually managed to injure me, even if it's only a little," Quant said with a glare my way. His white suit was torn, revealing bloodied skin on his chest and arms. "Getting shown up by a few Regulars…"
Then he moved with blinding speed towards me, and I could barely react before he was right there. Unable to move fast enough with my normal reflexes, I was forced to use a quick burst of the Omni-Flight spell to dodge. A technique which I now called Burstshift, as it was somewhat similar to the Mana Burst that Saber from Fate used, but able to shift around in any direction.
I shifted ten metres away in a split second, then flew into the air with my Armoriont wings. The Shinsoo density in the arena was higher than outside on the Floor, but it was only a minor hindrance to biological flight at this level.
"The hell? You can fly?" Quant asked after missing me. I thought he'd have known that already, considering I was flying around during his survival test, but apparently he wasn't paying much attention to it. "Damn, you are so lucky I already used my allotment of Shinsoo this round!"
Androssi attacked again with the Green April, but this time Quant easily dodged and then got up close to her, forcing her to retract the weapon and counter at close-quarters.
As it turns out, the Green April wasn't quite as easy to use in close range, and Quant managed to knock it out of her hands.
Baam froze him again before he could swipe the badge from Androssi.
At this point, I considered that I might possibly defeat Quant outright with an even higher level of Sword Beam or Sword Aura, given that he couldn't use Shinsoo directly to defend himself and was relying solely on his body's base physical capabilities which were nurtured by Shinsoo as he climbed up the Tower.
However, I didn't want to reveal that level of power or use up a huge amount of MP in a fight whose outcome was actually not that important to me. Whether or not we got the badge in the end, I was quite sure our performance by now was enough to get both Androssi and I into the passing Fishermen spots.
My only significant interest here was to test myself against the power of a Ranker and hone my abilities through combat experience.
As such, I decided to join Androssi and double team Quant in close combat.
"Boost, Level Ten."
"You got it, partner!"
Derflinger took over my body and unleashed a devastating storm of attacks with a two-sword style to give Androssi the opening to pick up the Green April again.
I wasn't skilled enough to really coordinate with Androssi against an opponent of Quant's calibre, so I left it to Derflinger along with the maximum boost. Combined with Reinforcement and the Armoriont's base capabilities, a level ten Boost from Derflinger got me to about sixteen times the strength of an Olympic athlete and fourteen times the speed.
Soon the tables had turned and Quant was on the defensive.
"When the heck did you get this skilled?" Quant complained loudly while barely avoiding Derflinger's attacks. "I knew you were sandbagging earlier but this is ridiculous!"
"Didn't I tell you, be careful what you ask for, buddy!" Derflinger shouted. "How does it feel to face a whole ten percent of my full power?" The sword spirit unashamedly bluffed again.
After a while, I noticed that Androssi hadn't joined the fight, and was looking at us flabbergasted.
It finally occurred to me that Androssi couldn't actually keep up with this level of combat either. I had assumed that she could, because she was so much more skilled than either me or Anak, despite not being that much faster, but in our spars I'd only ever faced her with full Reinforcement, never with Derflinger Boosting.
With the added speed from the Boost and Derflinger being in control, using his skills honed over millennia, it was no wonder she wouldn't be able to keep up.
"Fuck this! I'll seriously use my full power too!" Quant shouted back with a furious expression.
"Go ahead, bring it on! You call yourself a Ranker and this is all you got? Maybe I should be the one teaching your classes!" Derflinger shouted.
"Alright, that's it, you asked for it!" Quant yelled.
"What?! No, are you insane, you're a Ranker!" Androssi shouted in alarm when it looked like Quant was not joking around this time.
I too was alarmed when I felt the Shinsoo currents shift. What the hell. Derf, why did you have to provoke him this much?!
"Hahh!" Shinsoo surged all around the angry Ranker.
"Oh shit," Derflinger said, just before we were blown away by Quant's fist.
I smashed into a wall, getting stuck inside a crater, the Armoriont cracking in a few places and the sheer force damaging my internal organs. The pain caught up to me a moment after, something I hadn't felt for a long time ever since I got the Armoriont. Then it was washed away by Derflinger's Boost energy, and we tore out of the wall, ready for another round while the Armoriont worked on regenerating.
Androssi released a forest of branches from the Green April, but Quant easily batted them all aside before charging at me again.
Baam tried to use Fast Skip on Quant again, but it failed because Quant was using Shinsoo now, and all Reverse Flow techniques require that the user be overwhelmingly more powerful than the target.
With nothing left in his way, Quant shot towards me like a bullet. Before he even reached me, he punched and a burst of Shinsoo rushed ahead of him.
"Hooraaah!" Derflinger shouted and unleashed a Sword Beam, the level of which I wasn't sure of since I wasn't the one that commanded it, but it was definitely higher than six judging from the intensity of the beam.
The two techniques collided in a massive explosion. The resulting shockwaves almost sent us flying again but Derflinger braced for it and I helped by using a Burstshift to cancel out the momentum.
Before the smoke cleared, Quant appeared in front of us again, apparently unscathed and with a wide grin. "I can't believe how much power you were hiding, let's take this up another notch!"
Before I could protest, the Shinsoo around his body took on an orange hue and he launched a flaming kick towards me.
Derflinger activated his Sword Aura and prepared to meet the challenge, but I had enough.
I Burstshifted to dodge and then used another Burstshift to move us a hundred metres in a couple of seconds, all the way to the safe zone, where Serena was cowering with her hands over her head, and the Ranker wasn't allowed to enter.
Then I took back control from Derflinger, which shut off the Boost as well. "Alright, we're done. Not here to fight a Ranker for real, Derf."
"Aww man. It was just starting to get exciting!" He complained but powered down the Sword Aura.
As the smoke started to clear, Androssi noticed I was in the safe zone and quickly ran over as well. Just before she reached the edge, she noticed Baam still standing just on the outside staring into the smoke as if trying to discern what was happening.
"Huh? Miss Androssi?" He asked with a confused look when she dragged him by the arm into the safe zone with the rest of us. "Mr. Axion?! When did you get over here?"
"Okay. I guess we're giving up then? That stupid Quant, how can he be so unprofessional as a test administrator! No, wait, if he used Shinsoo, that means he broke the rules, so we should win by default!" Androssi exclaimed.
"That is correct, Miss Androssi," said Yu Han Sung, who suddenly appeared out of the smoke together with a sheepish Quant trailing behind him. "This Hide and Seek game is over. Team B has won due to the Seeker violating the rules."
"Yes!" Androssi cheered. "Haha! You hear that Quant? We won, and you lost. Which means we beat you." She gloated while pointing at the Ranker in question.
"You little…!" Quant started, but then noticed the look Yu Han Sung gave him. "Ah…hahaha. Of course. You beat me fair and square, princess."
"So we can get help for Rachel and Hoh now?" Baam asked with an urgent tone.
The rest of us looked at him.
"We can take care of Miss Light," said Yu Han Sung slowly. "However…I'm afraid it's too late for Hoh. He is gone."
The boy looked crestfallen and teared up again at that.
We returned to the lobby outside the arena in silence.
Rachel was taken to the medical area, while the rest of the Regulars were dismissed to get some rest while the Rankers debated on the evaluations.
It was when we were walking along the halls that I suddenly found myself assaulted by a sense of vertigo.
