Fandom Tower of God: The Usual Perspective

[Azure Sky]

What do you desire? Money and wealth? Authority and power? Revenge? Or... a story of one generation within the Tower that was different from the rest?

There was a certain time within the history of the Tower when an interesting generation of people were chosen by Hedon. Mighty in their own right, but were not members of the Ten Great Families, Princesses of Zahard, Dogs of Yama, or Living Ignition Weapons. No sign of Irregulars, either. A story of people with aspirations that varied from modest to grand, but which were not caught in political strife, faction wars, or greater causes that stretched beyond the walls of the Tower. A story of people who simply played the game... and hoped to reach the top.

This is their story. A usual perspective.

Rantos The One Eyed Bandit simj26

 

[Azure Sky]

Floor 20- Talking 'Bout My Generation

​

Ranker Nuvola was day-dreaming again. Reminiscing of the good old days, when she was a Regular, she sighed as she looked up at the pseudo azure sky. "Being a Regular is bulls**t." she said, in a calm, elegant manner. Never again would she have wanted to go through those floor tests again. Now she was living the good life, as an overseer of the 20th Floor Test. High salary, comfortable life, Regulars to tease. Yes, indeed, what could she ask for more? Most people would be on cloud nine

"After a few centuries, it does start to get boring, though." No one could blame her. Adventures were a long past element of her life, but she would not let those lingering feelings cloud her judgement.

"You guys will get me too... If you manage to reach the top that is." She said as she looked bellow at the Regulars struggling.

That is... if any of you survive until you reach the top...

Test name: Flower Power

Five wide and white corridors in the form of petals connected to a yellow pistil-like platform, giving the impression of a giant chamomile flower. In each corridor (which could also be described as a long arena) there was a high number of Regulars, all eager to achieve E-rank status. The issues: first, the "petals" would countinuously rotate at high speed around the "pistil". Second, once they would reach the pistil, only a randomly generated number (between 1 and 5) would decide how many Regulars would actually reach the center and pass the first test. Thus, not only would people have to reach the center under rather stressful conditions, they would also have to defeat as many other Regulars as possible in order to pass.

Petal 1: Nam Kyong-min
Petal 2: Casso N. Wary
Petal 3: Nabi Lim
Petal 4: Wynnevyre Tramor
Petal 5: Sir Carotenne (the 2nd) and Jam Ram

simj26 Rantos cojemo The One Eyed Bandit

 

[cojemo]

Nabi Lim​

The 20th floor test:: Infamous for it's failure rate and being a roadblock for many regulars, it was understandable for one to be anxious at attempting such a trial no matter how many attempts they'd taken before it. Preparedness was key to success, but even the nature of the challenge was shrouded in mystery until it was time to partake. Many capable souls had failed simply due to circumstance, so what chance did those less than capable have? As participants slowly entered through their doors into petal number three, it was obvious how shaken the first regulars were by the prospect of what was to come. Nervous chatter and beady eyes were abundant amongst the cast of contestants.

"Whatsuuup peeps! why's everyone looking so glum? You're all acting as if someone's going to die, and we all know that never happens here."

That is, until Nabi entered the room.

Arms behind her head and laughing at the concept of death itself, Nabi stuck out like a sore thumb amongst the rest of the regulars. Her wild smile and grim sense of humor did not seem to win anyone over as the room fell silent and all eyes glared at her, but the girl simply took the response in stride as if nothing was out of the ordinary. "You guys are no fun, just chill out a bit! I swear some people would worry themselves to death before even being met with the smallest bit of adversity. At the end of the day we're all in this together, right? We'll be fiiiiine." Nabi strode around the room taking large exaggerated steps, casually eyeing each person and trying to start up small talk, but to no avail. To an outsider, Nabi was more than ready for what was to come and had no fear in her heart for the upcoming trial.

However, as the room became more and more packed by the minute her demeanor began to slowly change. With each additional person her topic of choice would shift more from whatever was on her mind to matters more relevant to the test, and by the time the number of people with her had reached the double digits she'd become unrecognizable from the brash girl who'd shone a spotlight on herself only moments ago. Instead, Nabi was quietly leaned against a wall one arm crossed over her chest while the other was up by her lip as she chewed on her nail. Her eyes darted from person to person, absorbing every detail of them and sending it to her central nervous system to process. She'd managed to remove the spotlight from herself, but that may not have been enough. There were too many variables, too many risks. She just had to pray and get lucky.

Once the room had filled and the ranker taken everyone's attention by explaining the rules, Nabi quietly cloaked herself in Shinsoo, making her invisible to the naked eye. No one had noticed her disappearance, and Nabi made sure to keep herself concealed as even before the challenge officially began she slowly tiptoed forward down the hallway, keeping to the outer edges of the hallway and minimizing the noise she made. Meanwhile silence permeated throughout the room as each regular realized the challenge at hand, and the tension between everyone grew more and more by the second.

"Everyone relax, we can all make it through this."
"Like hell we can! Didn't you hear? Only a few will be selected in the end!"
"Yeah, screw you guys I'm not taking this test again, I just can't afford to."
"Look, just calm dow-"

It did not take long for chaos and violence to break loose, and as the saying goes when it rains it pours. Shinsoo and bodies were flung around like confetti, some people cowered at the back while others rushed forward only to be struck down, alliances were formed and broken within seconds: Essentially, everything you'd expect from the tower. In the end after the dust had settled three people remained standing, one large monster of a man with an imposing figure who'd taken out most of the rabble without any remorse and another man who'd brokered a deal with him to be his brains if he got to bring his female friend with him. The so called 'brains' seemed anxious and uncomfortable to be partnering up with the powerhouse, but what choice did he have? Evidently he valued his friends safety very highly and was willing to do anything for the two of them to make it out alive.

However, unbeknownst to them Nabi had been watching the whole ordeal, leaning against the wall right next to the final door while cloaked. She'd already seen that the door would only allow three to pass and had every opportunity to leave even before the fighting had subsided, but something in her heart stopped her. So instead the snake waited, watching from the shadows for her chance to strike. It wasn't until the large man passed her with his two partners in tow that she decided to reveal herself. Decloaking herself Nabi formed a concentrated blade of Shinsoo on her hand and, before her target even knew of her presence, struck the monstrous man right in the middle of his spinal cord. Without a word and just like that he fell, motionless and incapacitated by the trickster. Shocked by the sudden assassination that took place in front of them the two other survivors quickly stepped back, the boy placing himself between Nabi and his friend. Nabi looked towards the two and, upon realizing she'd had a rather serious expression adorned the entire time, quickly shifted to her signature wild smile.

"Well, what are you waiting for ya two lovebirds? I just freed you both from your cage and you're just gonna gawk at me? Go on, be free! Fly!"

Still a bit unsure, the two remaining regulars slowly walked past Nabi before exiting through the door, teleporting to the center. Nabi chuckled to herself, looking down at the large foe she'd toppled moments ago, before casually walking in after them, hands behind her head casually. Once in the center, she simply found another wall to lean on casually, waiting and watching for more to enter center stage.

 

[Rantos]

Casso
Tags: Azure Sky
Second part: cojemo
Whir and whirl, the test had long since started in full. Regulars small and large struggled to keep footing. Thrown against walls and bodies alike in their bid to stay on their feet, and stick it to the end. It was an impressive lot, Casso thought, as he held himself upright. A hand against the wall, steady and strong he walked on. He watched those who were nimble and those who weren't all scramble for the end. They moved with a familiar urgency, a fervor that so desperately pushed them to the next floor. Their eyes one and all shown desperation, which Casso mistook for passion. He didn't move with that same fervor, the back of the pack is where he set his pace.

Five people, five people and no more. Considering the amount of regulars ahead of him, there's no way he'd make it without kicking himself into high gear. But a pervading thought stopped that from happening. Pesky, reoccurring, a dumb consideration for those ahead of him that forced Casso to consider, that energy should be honored, they should be the one's to move ahead. Those with a wish, should have priority.

That's pansy thinking.

Casso slapped himself with his left hand, five times he hit the cheek. Five times he took a deep breath. And only once more did he consider who had the right to move up the Tower. It was just as his mama told him; if you go up, jus' means you had the right to all along. Though he couldn't believe those words, he needed to do so anyways. Holding out his slapping hand, a long spear materialized within it. Gilded gold and silver made, the spear was lifted above his shoulders. Gripped towards the base. His eyes on the door at the end of the hallway, and the scramble of the Regulars before him. They filled the hall, and moved on errant paths. If he happened to hit one of them, it would spell the end, a gruesome fate. Yet he pulled back the spear without hesitation, he grit his teeth, and shot the spear forward.

"Sorry buddy, I'll be right behind ya!" Such an action was without a moment of doubt, for he knew he wouldn't hit.

The sound was enough to shock the hall. The spear itself flew through the air with silent grace, passing through the door. It was the wave that followed, the cracking of a barrier and the force that came with it, that resounded like thunder. The tight corridor making a painfully efficient echo chamber for the sound to rattle and shake the bones of those it passed. Regulars were tossed aside, either by the force of the shockwave itself, or the feeling of their insides being disrupted. Many would fall, others would stumble, most up and stopped in the wake.

And Casso? He started jogging as well as his legs would carry him. Chasing his spear down at a brisk, yet quick, pace. Running past those who were stunned, he witnessed those who were able to recover from the shock quickly run towards the door.

Four. It wasn't that far now.

Three. Closer and closer still.

Two. Hurry.

One.

Within the "Pistil" room
CRACK

So went the spear as it was sent at top speeds through the portal. Getting itself stuck in the wall opposite of the door in the same instant it was warped. The thunk of the spear being logged into the wall was enough to echo, if only for a moment. Moment's passed, which turned to minutes before the first regular appeared from the door, looking rather dazed. Then another came wearing a similar expression. Another one again, and again...

And then Casso. He ran in, gasping for air as his arms flopped slack at his side.

"Oh momma! Oh jeez! Made it!" The large Regular congratulated himself between every deep breath. Taking a moment to compose himself before looking around, and making a direct like for the spear lodged into the wall. With two hands he started to wiggle it, struggling to free it.

 

[cojemo]

Nabi Lim​

Dust and debris kicked from the wall as the powerful spear embedded itself into the wall only a few meters away from where Nabi stood, the echo reverberating through her ears. A stray pebble found itself flung into her hair, which she casually flicked out as she turned to take a look at the lone weapon. Adorned with gold and shiningly well cared for, it was definitely strange for it to be oh so lonely without its owner present. Whoever owned it was either a brainless oaf or dead on the other side.

Or both. Both was a definite possibility.

"My, what a fine looking spear you are." Intrigued, Nabi now leaned on the wall with one hand while her body was turned towards the weapon in the wall, hand on her chin as she mused to no one but herself for her own entertainment. "I wonder who would oh so carelessly abandon such a nice specimen such as yourself. I wonder if you'll be claimed anytime soon, or if you and I will be allowed some quality time alone."

One by one as regulars exited through the door the spear had pierced through Nabi's eyes scanned over and examined them. Not to the same extent she'd examined her competitors when she was actively engaged in the challenge, mind you. No, she'd allowed herself to relax and was simply pouring over the basic details to gauge what they may be like, as well as seeing if anyone came to claim their lost weapon. Basic, basic, basic; Alas, no one who passed interested her enough to strike up a conversation with nor seemed to be the one who'd tossed such a mighty weapon, which was a shame as the girl was beginning to grow bored. That is, until the last and very large body teleported into the center gasping for air before making a beeline for what was presumably his weapon and giving it a good wiggle.

Now this. This she could have fun with.

Shoving her right thumb into her pocket Nabi marched over to the man with extra swagger to her steps, unable to hold back her grin. "Awwww you poor thing, is this mean old man bothering you?" Reaching the two, Nabi began slowly petting the spear and pouting in an exaggerated manner. "I know I know, how could one be so mean as to make you feel so lonely all by yourself? I mean really, hucking you through a portal with such reckless abandon? If you were mine I'd treat you right, with a nice dinner and dates every night. Do they have no shame???"

Rantos

 

[simj26]

There had been rumors about a Regular in a red longcoat, who slaughtered everyone in their way. Wielding a strange single-edged sword and a handful of Needles, she charged straight into every battle, blowing away her opposition with wild swings. The rumors had spawned a number of copycats who donned a red longcoat, and attempted to wield a sword just as this particular cryptid of a Regular did. They never lasted long. They either painted a target on their backs, or never lived up to the rumor.

There were lesser known tales about the red longcoat. The skin under their eyes were burned into a twisted mess, and red xs were sewn into the scars. Of course, no one would believe this part. The rest was believable, but burn scars and red Xs? That was what made everyone else scoff. Nam Kyong-min sat on her Inventory, one leg crossed over the other, and her chin resting on one palm. A few eyes were cast towards her- towards her crimson coat to be specific, but none lingered too long on her. She could hear some of them mutter something, but eventually their attention was cast elsewhere. There was no way it could be the cryptid Regular- the one in the redcoat. Kyong-min glanced at a few of the ones that couldn’t take their eyes off her, and waved lazily at them, baring her sharp, jagged teeth. That was enough to send most of them turning away from her.

She hopped off as the doors closed behind the last person to enter, quietly removing her sword from her Inventory. A white corridor like this, with this many Regulars in the area? Even before the actual task was issued, what else could it be? She was either going to be fighting something big with this group, maybe some advancing wall of doom, or she was going to fight all of them. Thinking was never her strongest suit, but she’d like to think she could read a room quite well. She yawned as the Ranker explained the rules of the game they were about to play today. It seemed simple enough. All she had to do was wipe out everyone else before they reached the door at the end of the corridor, right? She looked up at the scrolling numbers atop of the door on the other end of the corridor, whirring past at an imperceptible speed, until it audibly clicked, and slowly came to a halt, the brightly colored numbers now visible.

3. 4. 5. 1. The wheel hesitated, then clicked towards 2.

Heads turned, mouths murmured, eyes danced about.

She wasn’t encouraged to think. The only rules here were to get through that door within the limit of people that are able to. Just her kind of test. She adjusted her grip on her sword, then, with a batter’s swing, struck one of the other Regular’s across his side, sending him smashing into a wall on the side of the corridor. Silence fell as everyone looked at the Regular slid down the wall with an almost darkly comical squeaking noise. A second of silence, then the room erupted into chaos. Nothing like a good swing to get things going. Kyong-min rolled her shoulders, blocked a swing from another Fisherman, headbutted him, then kicked him back into the fray. A handful of the crowd had already begun taking off towards the door. They weren’t going anywhere, not on her watch. She started running herself, picking up a Needle from her Inventory. Chasing her prey like a hound, the red longcoat billowing behind her, she darted across the field, weaving past attacks, ducking underneath outstretched arms and weapons, and leaping over bodies. The spinning of the corridor didn’t seem to slow her down at all. One of the runners turned around to see her closing in, and skidded to halt, drawing his own Needle in response. He barked something to one of the others behind him. Probably something like asking them to make it- he’ll stop her from advancing.

A brave sacrifice. Not that it would matter. With a callous swipe, she struck the hand holding his Needle with her own, before he could move to intercept her, and with her other hand, she brought the sword around as she ran past. He managed a silent exclamation, before he was sent flying forwards by an explosion. He crashed into the door, cracking it slightly, before falling onto the floor. One of the others cursed as they saw his body fly past them. They didn't get much more words after that, as Kyong-min closed in on them, and swung both of her weapons onto their head. They were out before they even hit the ground. She took a few more steps forwards, then turned around to face the remaining Regulars.

They came to a halt, staring her down from their side. The door stood tall behind her, as she relaxed her body and dragged her weapons across the floor lazily. Well, one and one half of a weapon at least. Kyong-min glanced down, and gave a tired sigh. The Needle she was using broke again. These things weren't built to last. She had to waste some more money to buy another. Maybe she should invest in something else... stronger. Not that it mattered anyway. They all break. She discarded the Needle behind her, where it bounced off the unconscious hero that she had made a homerun into the door with. She rested her weapon, the Nisemono Shinryu on her shoulder, and grinned widely at the rest of the Regulars.

“You could just leave now. Why are you stopping?” One of them asked, quietly. She could feel that they already knew the answer, but Kyong-min decided to answer them anyway.

“Because it’s boring to just win like that.” She tapped the blunt edge of her katana on her bare shoulders. “So? You gonna keep a lady waitin’?”

—

“Yooooooo!”

Her voice was first to arrive before the owner herself. She strolled into the middle of the ‘flower’, twirling her sword around without a care. She looked around, studying those already present in the room. She was one of the slowest to arrive, no doubt because of her own self-issued challenge. She swiped her sword to one side, scattering small droplets of blood onto the ground. The number 2 was still brightly displayed behind her, atop of the door that she had just entered from. She turned around slightly to look at the number, then at those already present, and shrugged, a smirk present on her face.

“Don’t worry about it. They’re just a little shy.”

 

[The One Eyed Bandit]

Stillness. At the centre of every storm, there is a calm. A solid, unwavering core that summoned thrashing winds and razor-edged rains to defend itself.

Of course, the storm was a dazzlingly new concept to Wynnevyre. Her home of unwavering stone walls had taught her little of the flightful, frightful whims of Mother Nature, but she felt as if she understood the concept well enough. The eye of the storm, the core of the whirligig, the rules of the test, each was the centre of a different sort of chaos, and each ordered its countless moving parts in the manner to best serve its own interests. That's all the chaos ever boiled down to, a form of order so infinitely complex that it was a fool's errand to try to understand it.

It was lucky, then, that Wynnevyre was quite the fool.

One.

The test commenced. The storm churned. Thirty-seven footfalls shook the petal's cold steel interior, and in turn, it jerked into motion. It accelerated without warning, shifting from stillness to lashing winds in little more than two breaths. Fourteen footfalls turns to stumbles, seven to asses clapping against steel, the rest stood strong. Wynnevyre's Observers had already deployed throughout the petal, and synced themselves with its movement. Now ten seconds late, thirty-eighth of the first footfalls stepped forward, and Wynnevyre ducked forward as a spear whistled through the point where her head had just been.

Twenty-seven, twenty-two, nineteen. It had barely even been a minute, and eighteen bodies had been turned into corpses. Each of them dropped to the floor with the sort of dull, wet thud that only a bloodied corpse could. Wynnevyre swallowed, and touched her fingers to her forehead. Warm, wet red coated her fingertips, and though they were reduced to formless splotches in her vision, she was not so sheltered a child as to not know the texture of her own blood.

Her ears twitched as they rooted through the tangle of noise and vibrations that filled the petal. Seventeen participants now remained. Ten of which were in conflict with one another, four were struggling to recover their footing, three had their eyes on the prize. Wynnevyre continued to move forward. One. The first of the downed participants recovered themselves. Two. Another rose. They'd been the first to rush forward, only to be knocked down by the oncoming pack. Dull enough to mind to not practice temperance, yet strong enough in body to hold their mind.

Dull enough in mind, too, were they to not question the sudden second wind that filled their body, and strong enough in now reinforced body to rush forward and waylay the slower two of the frontrunners. The final prize-eyer scoffed. Wynnevere exposed her flank to the spear bear that hard marked her earlier. Five. They were almost to the door now. Four. The spear bearer loosed a second, much pettier throw. Three. The spear tasted blood, and the frontrunner counted themselves the victor.

Two. She'd had the calculations down to a two percent margin of error, but she'd still been nervous about them. Wynnevyre's arm wept fresh blood, trickling slowly from the shallow cut that the spear had left as it whizzed by. If that was only two percent, she shuddered to think what would have happened at four or five. Before her, the frontrunner laid in agony, their knee reduced to a pulp of mangled flesh and shattered bone. Behind her, Wynnevyre's lighthouse whizzed with energy, ramping down from the precision redirection of the oncoming spear. Between the two, Wynnevyre jogged forward. By the time the last of the stragglers realized that the diminutive girl had snatched up the leading position, she had already passed through the door.

~​

It was much more peaceful within the pistil. The walls still hummed with the echos of an impact now long gone, the those within bickered and joked, but it was bereft of the bloodthirst of the petal. Or, rather, that bloodthirst had been subdued. And, ultimately, Wynnevyre no longer needed to worry about any of her extremities being separated from her body. Her feet, liberated from the threat of nipping needles or biting spears pace about the room's circumference, and her fingers left a steadily diminishing trail of blood along the cylindrical wall.

Three doors sealed. Two still open.

"Oh." Wynnevyre spoke aloud, but to nobody in particular. "I'm not as late as I expected. What a nice surprise." Wynnevyre's attention turned to the room's inhabitants. She counted nine. Two of them blabbered brightly, and another fiddled with a spear that made the walls creak it was wrenched about within their new folds.

"You might want to try twisting that." Wynnevyre spoke to the troubled Spear Bearer, but did not turn to face him. "Or ask the lady in the middle for help. She seems quite intimidating."

 

[Azure Sky]

20th Floor- The Pistil​

Quite a colourful bunch, Nuvola thought as she watched them from lighthouse screens within the "pistil". The first to pass were from the 3rd "petal", huh? The sheer amount of cunning and enthusiasm reminded her of her youth. She was only swish years old.

S w i s h !

The spear passed with great force by Nuvola's face before making a whole and slightly cracking the nearby wall and getting stuck. Nuvola's smile remained on her face, but her left eye twitched. The Regular may have made the whole, but as the overseer, she had to pay for the reparations...

"Ah, damn it! " Casso was one of those types of Regulars, the type that wrecked things up. Kind of like how Nuvola was in the past.

"So, this is what past Rankers dealt with because of my Regular self. This is my karma..." Nuvola couldn't even get mad at him and let out a sigh. At least he had spirit.

"My, what a fine looking spear [...]"

If she remembered right, that Regular's name was Nabi... she passed her test through slyness and she knew how to get under people's skin. Dangerous... Nuvola gave her a thumbs up. Subconsciously, she also enjoyed that Nabi was pestering Casso, the cause of her future monetary loss. Nuvola did not consciously think ill of Casso, but subconsciously she was a bit petty.

Meanwhile...

“Don’t worry about it. They’re just a little shy.”

The notorious Regular Nam Kyong-min seriously assured herself that no one else but her passed through the portal in her "petal"... That was hardcore.

"Ohhh yeah! That's what I'm talking about!... Ahem. I mean... Congratulations. I can already see everyone else from your petal is on the ground and either fainted or dead, miss Kyong-min. If the other person doesn't pass by the time the other petals are cleared, you'd be the sole winner of your side." Nuvola had a feeling none of the Regulars remaining in the 1st "petal" would get back up by then...

"Oh... I'm not as late as I expected. What a nice surprise [...]"

Wynnevyre, Nuvola could not properly grasp this one. She did not appear to be a strong fighter, a great Shinsoo manipulator, or particularly fast, but she managed to reach the pistil while wasting the least energy possible. She had good judgement and patience, but the Ranker simply could not comprehend much about her personality or actual skill set. Maybe the next test would show...

As Nuvola was lost in thought, some of the other Regulars analysed their competition.

"That's fresh!"



Regular Hanaui was part of the petal group Casso was in. His style was reckless and unorthodox. She could respect that but...

"That spear would have made someone a donut if it connected. Damn crazy bastard!" She thought, not being that particularly upset. She was just unreasonably hyped. It was a strange feeling. Maybe it was because her main person of interest was there as well...

"Oh my... Nam Kyong-nim-nunna is here as well. Damn look at her. I can already tell she has style!" Hanaui heard many things about the sheer brute force of her fellow Regular, she couldn't wait to see what she had to show.

"Disgusting."


Regular Malbeol was one of the two Regulars that passed through the 3rd petal along with Nabi. She disliked that snake-like woman deeply, but that big oaf (Casso) greatly annoyed her too. Nabi was annoying because of her sly, elusive abilities and her overly-talkative, smug attitude. And Casso, just threw his spear through the portal, making a strong impression, then came out of the portal huffing and puffing, so genuinely happy that he passed... so uninterested in anything but his spear... disgusting.

...

...

Sincerely, Malbeol didn't know why she was upset. Maybe she was just salty. Why was she salty again... ? Ah yes.

"Now, now, Malbeol, it's better this way..."



Bohr, the one that Nabi presumed to be Malbeol's boyfriend with how protective he was...

"Bohr-nim, I could have defeated that... dreadful woman..." Malbeol pouted.
"Debatable. For the sake of argument let's say you are right... Would it have been worth it?"
"...?"
"Would you guarantee you wouldn't be greatly injured, affecting your performance in the next events?"
"I... "
"It's better to keep a low profile."
"This low profile stuff really isn't my thing Bohr-nim..."
"Yes, I know, but Malbeol..."
"...?"
"Please?"
...
...
"Ok."
"Thanks." Bohr smiled.

"No need for her to attract attention yet. We need more info on the competition... "

Rantos simj26 The One Eyed Bandit cojemo

 

[Rantos]

Casso
Tags: Azure Sky The One Eyed Bandit simj26 cojemo

Tang and tang, the sounds of struggle rang out as Casso continued to free his spear from its unintentional holdings. Wiggling up and down, all to no avail time and again. He let out a sigh, and in the instant after his ears perked up to a nearby sound. A voice, and as soon as Casso turned his head, a face. A short seductress tried her best to bring the spear to fluster. And had the spear a cheek for blood to rush to, she may have been successful. Though her words inspired naught of the spear, they did bring a chuckle to escape past Casso's lips.

"Yes'm! Ol' Gallant here is too good for me. She's done nothing but take me higher, and how do I repay her?" He shook the still stuck spear, causing some wall rubble to displace, fall to the ground, but ultimately, still stay stuck. "Suppose she'd be happy in the hands of a gentler lady. But ya see, I promised I'd take her to the top, and I'm a boy of my word. So how 'bout I meet you up there, and once I arrive, you take the ol' girl off my hands, and show her a better life. One full of high dining and fancy dresses, deal?" Upturned and opened lips formed a smile, as his crooked teeth flashed his sincerity. With both hands wrapped, a stance taken wide and low, Casso got back to pulling. Well, struggling more aptly.

Passing seconds blessed Casso with incremental successes, yet still, his goal of a freed spear felt so far from reach. Metaphorically speaking. At least until, another voice caught his attention. A sound of tiniest timbres brought Casso to turn his head. Then turn again. And again. Double takes turning to triple as he looked around for who could have spoken. His eyes finally resting, down low. Another Regular, none the best for wear, though still sound enough of mind to give advice Casso had yet considered.

"Mighty kind of you ma'am. Can't say the thought ever crossed my mind!" Laughter bellowed out, clearing the air. "Though, and I mean no rudeness, I wouldn't mind being able to talk to my hero eye to eye." Such were the manners taught by mama. And the manners Casso wished to uphold at every moment. Talking eye to eye would have to wait, at least for a moment, anyways.

"Think she'd give a hand?" Casso asked as his head veered to look at the lady in red. "I'd hate to be a bother, but this spear's provi'n too much for one man." Pulling and twisting now, he let his voice ring. Calling towards the lady in the center of the room. "Hey, you! Black and pale and red all over! I could use ya-"

THUNK

"Ah. Nevermind!" Casso called out in glee, holding a freshly freed spear within his hand. He held it vertical, bringing the head up to his own and dusting off what little wall residue remained. Taking a deep breath, he exhaled over the broad metal tip. Taking his sleeve, he wiped it down. Taking a moment, he admired his smile in the reflection of his pride and joy before calling his inventory to put it away.

"Thanks again! That quick wit got me outta my jam! Hope I can pay ya back one day." Hoping to get a headstart, Casso summoned his pocket. His fingers pressed against the smooth black surface, pinching at nothing, as his fingers pressed and he pulled away, a white handkerchief, he held it in front of the little lady, waiting for her to take it.

"Casso N. Wary. Pleasure to make acquaintance. And that goes for you too!" He said as he shot a glance towards the small seductress. A smile followed before he turned back.

 

[cojemo]

Nabi Lim​

Boisterous, massive blood covered sword, crosses under her eyes, and that bright red jacket: The woman who now stood center stage wasn't the first to fit such a description, but none inhabited the mold quite as well, nor as exact as the current subject. It was a description Nabi knew quite well from her many nights of gossip and play when she was much younger and reckless, and as such seeing such a perfect match before her pulled Nabi's attention away from her current escapade of jovial joking and shifted her mood considerably before the big man even had a chance to reply. Nabi's eyes widened slightly, eying the girl carefully as her body tensed subconsciously and she gulped.

No, it couldn't be her, could it? There was no way.

If this person was truly who Nabi thought she was, then the situation had changed considerably and there was no knowing what could come next. Her mind ran through a myriad of hypotheticals and anxiety inducing outcomes, the girl unable to contain her worry at the sudden development. Maybe the imposing figure was simply a copycat, but what if she wasn't? What then? What if she became aggressive, or what if the next part of the challenge required combat? What if she simply didn't like Nabi for whatever reason? What if-

"Ah," Nabi's attention returned to the man known as Casso as he spoke, momentarily breaking her overly concerned thoughts. As the large man continued talking to her as if her chiding were serious, though, she couldn't help but cock her head sideways and just stare at him blankly with a raised eyebrow as she processed what he was saying to both her and the other person. "Wait, you're really that du-" Cutting herself off the girl couldn't help but let out a loud and hearty laugh and hold her sides.

"Oh man, I really needed that one! You sure are a character, mister beef for brains." Nabi pounded her fist against Casso's well built and sturdy chest a few times as she calmed down from her laughing fit and returned to her usual carefree self. "I think I'll take you up on that offer of yours and meet you up at the top, though you better take care of 'Gallant' for me. In the meantime though," She paused, turning her gaze back to the center of the room and the girl who stood there. "I've got a couple things of my own I've gotta do."

Taking a deep breath and fixing her hair, Nabi left Casso's side and strode to the girl, one thumb in her pocket while her other hand casually waved in the air. She once again had a wry smile plastered on her face, but this one was much less wild than normal. Rather, it was smugly resolute and confident, matching her stride. "Yo right back atcha, I ain't shy so I'll keep you some company." Stopping closely in front of her, Nabi stared up at the girl who was a full head taller than her. Briefly her breath waivered and lip quivered, but unwilling to back down she breathed in deeply and continued.

"Ya know, that's a nice jacket you've got there. I used to wear a similar one a while back with my friends, joking and playing make believe over this silly rumor we heard, though I'm sure you already know what I'm talking about." Nabi smirked, reaching out and flicking at the girls jacket. "People sure seemed scared at first when they saw me wearing it, I almost miss the thing. Mind if I try yours on?"

 

[Azure Sky]

The Pistil- Last Arrivals​

As Regulars jovially interacted, a ray of light passed through the portal of the 5th "petal". The first to come out was a young woman, ivory-skinned, silver hair, and purple eyes, sporting a white trenchcoat, dark shirt, grey harem trousers, and a pair of 2-toned (orange/black) trainers. She appeared to be a bit dizzy from the way she walked, but after a few seconds she pointed towards the ceiling with a smug expression on her face.

"To the top, baby! Who-hoooo!" she exclaimed.



"Yes, of course, but first we need to pass this test, miss Jam." A calm, deep voice made her turn around. The second individual to come out of the portal was a relatively tall anthropomorphic white hare, dressed in a tight dark turtle-neck shirt and action trousers, revealing his lanky, but at the same time rather imposing, physique. His boots were of a dark color as well.



"Geez, Von Hare, I know that. I was just living the moment." Jam Ram pouted.
"Ain't that cute?"
"Are you making fun of me?"
"I would never..."

Their bickering was cut short by the sudden sensation of the temperature near the portal rising, signaling the appearance of the third and last person to be accepted from the 5th "petal". The man, standing at about 185 cm tall, was dressed in a beige shirt, brick red trousers with a black belt, and brick red shoes. His head was covered by a large... carrot mask. A carrot mask that was flaming on top.


His ridiculous mask would make most people not even take notice of his peculiar red ring with a 3-eyed symbol carved on it, which he wore on his right hand.


"I see you two are getting along well." The strange man said cheerfully.

"You are wrong Sir Carotene. Von Hare is a meanie..."
"A meanie realist."
"Hehe. This is the start of a beautiful friendship." Carotene said as he clapped his hands.

...

All three of them got suddenly silent as they observed the other Regulars that passed. Carotene was particularly interested in the tall pale and blonde lady with the scars and x-marks under her eyes. Von Hare squated and was particularly focused on Casso, Nabi, and Malbeol. Meanwhile, Jam Ram was playing with Von hare's ears while a pyramidal lighthouse above her head was recording everyone in the pistil.

"Miss Jam, my ears are not toys..."
"But they're so fluffy!"

---

Nuvola did not know what to make of the latest arrivals. They got along surprisingly well.. did they know each other from before?

That is a likely possibility. I mean, who can address someone as Sir Carotene and maintain a serious face? Only someone used to such an individual could perform such a feat.

"Ahem. Everyone is here. The next phase of the exam will beging soon." Nuvola announced.

simj26 Rantos The One Eyed Bandit cojemo

 

[The One Eyed Bandit]

Wynnevyre's expression did not shift much. There was a subtle delicacy in the manner which her features twitched and stirred, one that would be lost on even the most tenacious of observers as mere meaningless ghost-data. Her eyes did, eventually and sluggishly, drift over to face the hulking man that fancied her his hero, and he'd be met with a pair of muddled-white irises, floating within a murky green sea. They regarded his blurred form calmly, staring straight through the brick wall of a man.

She took the cloth he offered in hand, rubbed it between a clean pair of her fingertips, and felt the knitted ocean of fabric roll between them. The threads were impressively, but altogether boringly fine, woven by either a machine, or a pair of hands with all the precision of one. It was a nice show of craftsmanship to be sure, but an altogether uninteresting one, too.

At least she wouldn't have to worry too much about ruining it.

She swiped the cloth across her forehead, staining it quickly a thoroughly with deep, green blood. It had seeped into her hair at this point too, darkening wherever it touched a giving it the appearance of a ragged, wet moss, though Wynnevyre had no reckoning of that, aside from her the dampness had started to weigh down her head.

By the time the cloth had been totally saturated with blood, and properly dyed dark-green to boot, she had at least managed to stifle the flow of the blood sweeping from her skull. She squeezed the now properly-drenched rag in her hand, and a steady trickle of blood pooled on the floor below.

"Sorry about that." She apologized, dangling the bloodied rag between her fingers, which were now also properly laden with blood. "Must've been a deeper cut than I'd thought. It's a relief I've not got a hole up there!" Wynneverye joked, though she wasn't sure if the battle-trepanation of her skull was a funny thought to anybody other than herself.

"That aside, that's quite the weapon you have there, Mister Wary. I could hear it landing from all the way in my petal, you know?" She doubted anyone else had noticed, as even she barely had over all the rotation and ruckus of the petal, but she did recall at one point feeling a disturbance in the vibrations of the spinning room. At first, she'd thought it was just one of the Regulars, or perhaps a technical error, but once she'd entered the centre room, the real culprit had become as clear as day.

"Oh, but where are my manners, though? Wynnevyre Tramor, third of my name and mushroom rancher by trade..." She smiled, very slightly, after recalling the proper manners which had been complained into her buy a previous acquaintance. "...As well as a Regular self-made. Lovely to meet you."

 

[simj26]

The rest of the participants, or what remained of them, funnelled into the room. The huge, burly man was attempting to extricate his spear from the center pillar. From what she was hearing and the reactions of those who had already arrived earlier, it would seem that he had flung the spear straight through the door, and pierced it through the pillar. How interesting. Her hand twitched on the handle of her sword as the man successfully removed his spear from its target, clearly having called her over in vain. That much strength, that much power, it would probably do her some good to try her hand against him one day, if they were ever pitted against each other. She relaxed her grip on her sword when one of the other participants began to approach her, having pulled away from the group with the huge man.

Without a care in the world, without even the dot of doubt in her actions, the girl flicked the hem of her longcoat, complimenting it. She mentioned something about a…’rumor’? and that she ‘already knew what she was talking about’. Nam Kyong-min tilted her head quizzically, a bemused look on her face. While other Regulars had known of the monster that stalked the tests below, it was almost ironic that the monster herself was completely unaware of the stories that circulated around the population. Kyong-min was never one to listen to rumors, only to her heart and the gaping void that should be her brain. She had noted some particular Regulars had taken on her fashion sense, but that was all they managed to mimic. “Huuhhh,” was all she managed to say in response to the girl’s direct comments. “Can’t let you do that. The jacket stays on,” she continued, replying to her request to try on the jacket. “It’s my style, and I can’t have someone else rocking it.” She raised her finger to her chin in thought. “Though if you make it outta this test, I could lend it to you. Zahard knows what you could get out of it, but hell, can’t see why not!”

“Name’s Nam Kyong-min–” she started to introduce herself, but was rudely interrupted by the Ranker’s announcement again, as a few more participants slipped into the room. A wide grin formed across her face, as she adjusted her grip on her sword. The next portion of the test!

“Finally!” She straightened up. “I thought the first section was a little too easy! Gotta weed out the weak ones first, huh?! So? What’s it gonna be? Don’t keep me waiting!” She called towards the Regular. Her heart was beating fast, her eyes were shining bright, her body was poised to start running towards the next challenge, ready to smash it into the ground.

Azure Sky cojemo Rantos

 

[Azure Sky]

The Next Phase​

"Now then..." Nuvola snapped her fingers and three peculiar devices appeared: a punching machine, a VR set, and an arcade rythm and dance game (reminescent of Dance Dance Revolution) witha high number of knives on the side and targets moving around erratically.

"For the next stage: you must try at least one of these games." Nuvola then proceeded to explain the games in more detail. The punching machine was a vintage classic from the times when a certain Mule Love used to work on the 20th floor. It tested Shinsoo power. The VR set would simulate a lighthouse environment, where people would be given increasingly complicated "puzzles" and calculations to solve under the guise of realistic scenarios within a time constraint of 3 minutes. The arcade dance game would test speed and precision: people would dance and match the glowing "tiles" on the ground while trying to hit the targets with the endless supply of knives (they would teleport again near the user once they hit or miss the target), as the game would gradually increase difficulty, and have the same time constraint as the VR game. The punching machine would give off a numerical value, while the other games would give scores between E- and A+, bearing a slight similarity to the stats of Retainers in the recently popular Destiny/Leave Day game series.

"The purpose of this game is... team choice. I will tell you more after the everyone finishes this phase." Nuvola said, with a smug smile on her face.

Ah... this Ranker is a pain. Bohr disliked vagueness. She only left one cue to work on.

"Choice", the word had a certain feel to it. And the way she said it... a choice for whom? For the Ranker, or for them? If the Ranker was to choose team composition, wouldn't she have worded it differently, such as "selection"? A choice implied an opportunity. Who needed an opportunity? The Regulars clearly. But what if the wording was a trap?

Hmmm...

Bohr smiled. A bit of both then...

"Malbeol." He whispered.
"Yes, Bohr-nim."
"Since this test would not reveal any specifics, please play the punching machine and arcade dance games. Have fun and..." He further whispered something else closer to her ear, causing a tingling sensation from her scalp to the back of her neck (ASMR).
"V-very well. If you say so, Bohr-nim."
"But..."
"...?"
"I will go first."
"As you wish."

Bohr was a Light Bearer, but chose the punching machine test instead. He simply enhanced his body with Shinsoo and delivered a straight punch.

Score: 4000

"Hmm... That score is a little above average for what I call decent Regulars." Nuvola comented. Bohr simply smiled and adjusted his glasses.

But I get the feeling you didn't go all out... She thought.

Next was Malbeol. A silver hue danced around her body as she empowered herself with Shinsoo.Her fist looked like a blur as she punched the machine.

Score: 28500

"Whoa, that's a great score!" Nuvola exclaimed.

Malbeol then partecipated in the DDR type game. Before starting she looked at Bohr who gave her a nod. She looked extra determinted. The speed and precision game was obviously harder from all points of view, she mached the dancing patterns very well up to a certain point and also had decent throwing skills.

3 minutes over. Regular Malbeol's stats:
Speed: B+
Precision: B

Nuvola clapped.

"Hehehe. Ok. My turn now!" Hanaui was excited.

---
Oh, the girl of the Red Horn tribe. I am quite curious. Bohr thought.
Oh, the delightfully muscular woman. I am quite curious. Carotene had similar thoughts.
I wonder what products Von Hare uses for his fur. I am quite curious. Jam thought as she caressed his ears further.
Ok, seriously, that's enough. Von Hare got up from his crouching position, while Jam tried to rech his ears but she was too short. She pouted. But then she had an idea.

"Don't even think about using your lighthouse to reach my ears."
"Tsk."
---

Hanaui winded her right arm clockwise as orange fiery Shinsoo engulfed her arm and a fire sphere formed around her fist. A flaming shockwave was generated when she hit the punching machine.

Score: 32500

Malbeol squinted. Nuvola and some of the Regulars were surprised.

Hanaui then tried both the arcade dance game and the VR game but...

VR game, 3 minutes passed. Situational and spatial awareness, what signals to give to team mates, calculations of probabilities, calculations of distance, determining risk... Hanaui stats:

Mental capabilities: E

As for the DDR game...

Speed: C
Precision: C-

Hanaui looked innocently happy and pleased with herself. Most people thought the same thing.

A muscle head, huh?

A few observed something, though. Hanaui released her energy on a large area instead of concentrating it on the target agrea of the punching machine. She didn't have much precision, because her combat style was likely not built around it. Reckless, wide attacks, and could pack a punch. A simple style, but a dangerous one.

"Should we try as well?" Jam asked.
"Let's wait for a bit." replied Sir Carotene.


Rantos simj26 The One Eyed Bandit cojemo

 

[The One Eyed Bandit]

"Wow-wee!" The technological advancements of the Tower never failed to impress Wynnevyre, even when they were kind of useless to her. "Vee-Arr. What even is that? Is it a sort of computer?" Her voice was chipper as she wondered aloud, and to nobody in particular.

She restrained herself, despite the fascination bubbling in her stomach, and took a moment to study a few of the other Regulars as they ran the so-called gamut. Her spirits dampened a bit as she did. By now, she'd gotten the hang of telling when people were using their eyes, and she was detecting a lot of that in the Regulars' movements. Worse yet, they were generally directed at things which she had little to no perception of herself.

Tests in the physical realm were all well and good, as were those of her wit, but ever since her entrance into the Tower, Wynnevyre had found of nemesis with which her compatibility was frighteningly terrible: The Digital World. General use of terminals and the like was easy enough, but every time something digital wormed its way into one of her Tests, it always spelt trouble. React to this light, decipher that symbol, crack a puzzle or enter a passcode. So long as it was on a screen, even simple tasks like that were beyond her.

But! But. But, she'd never been one to let a little bit of disadvantage get her down. Or a lot a bit of disadvantage either.

Wynnevyre rolled up her proverbial sleeves as she approached the three testing machines which, also proverbially, loomed high and menacing over her. With a small, intentional huff of determination, she first approached the machine which she had managed to gather the least about. She had always been the sort of person to eat her least favourite thing on the plate first.

When she slipped into the VR World, she was met with exactly what she expected, an indecipherable mass of too-similar hues, and for whatever reason, a screen on which the meat of the test presumably resided. She huffed to herself again, but this time with a tinge of exasperation. She'd expected as much the moment she'd heard 'Lighthouse' come out of the Test Overseer's mouth. This wasn't the first time that she'd had to deal with this particular challenge, but it was the first time that she'd had to deal with it in the virtual world.

So that was kind of cool, at least.

Wynnevyre did as she did best, that is to say, her best, but it was predictably not quite good enough. Or even close to good enough, really. She'd hoped that her blind swiping and mashing at the Lighthouse's interface would at least score her some accidental points, but by the time that her time within the machine had run out, she hadn't even gotten halfway to finishing the first of them. She, at least, was able to remain blissfully ignorant as her score of exactly zero appeared on the leaderboard above.

Next on the chopping block was the only test that she reckoned she had any hope of performing decently on. The technicolour grid of the dancing machine's floor idled with a pattern of blindingly bright lights, of which she had already halfway given up on keeping track of. Instead, her attention was fixed on the other portion of the trial. The targets used Shinsoo for their operations, and better yet, disturbed the air as they warped from place to place. So...

She could track them. The music that erupted from the machine when Wynnevyre activated it was almost blinding, and the illuminated dance of colours below her feet was literally blinding. A wave of panic briefly flushed through her body as the first, second, and third set of lights passed her by, but when Wynnevyre's first knife struck true, a tide of relief came to battle it. She'd one minor advantage when it came to this test, in the fact that she didn't actually have to look at the targets to him them. Instead, she kept her eyes, squinted and weeping as they were, locked firmly at her feet, trying and mostly failing to match the voids of light that represented her feet with the dazzling lights below them. But only mostly.

This time her scores were much less woeful, her Speed and Precision sitting at an E+ and an A- respectively, though she was bereft of the knowledge of her accomplishments as she was of her failure. Still, though, she shuffled her way over to the final machine with a sense of accomplishment in her chest.

And tears in her eyes. Those lights really were bright.

The punching machine, aptly named as it was, was no more of a roadblock than it was a highway to success. Wynnevyre blinked the tears out of her eyes, though blurred splotches of light still danced in her vision, and she charged the device. She imbued her thin arms with as much Shinsoo as she could muster, but even between that, and the full force of her charging blow, her strike still barely registered on the machine's systems.

A score of 300. Third verse same as the first. Ignorance, blissful indulgence, so on and so forth. Wynnevyre really hoped that the lights in her eyes were going to go away soon.

 

[Rantos]

Casso
Tags: Azure Sky The One Eyed Bandit

Mushroom rancher. That benign phrase, more than any other to grace the open air, drew Casso's attention. Immediately, he was brought back to the days when he would say hello to Miss.Fu in the morning. Always up at the crack of dawn, picking mushrooms on the edge of his hunting grounds. The old bag never stopped picking, and always gave the best pick of the day to Casso when he returned. A gift accepted graciously, even when she forgot to wash them, more and more often. In his daydreaming, Casso had not only missed the instructions, but also the little lady who took her leave.

"Well now, that sounds just delightful! Might you be willing to-" He stopped short in the moment he realized that only the open-air remained as his listener. Turning his head towards the current of motion, he just barely caught her back, disappear into the crowd. Seems like the next part of the test was starting, and Casso had no idea what he was doing. Familiar territory. He'd be fine.

Walking towards the flashing lights and dazzling sounds, Casso watched the different games. Some made sense just by looking at them. Punchy machine. Puzzle doodads. Easy enough. But the game Casso had the most trouble understanding was the one he found himself the most fascinated with. Bright colors, moving feet, and knives flying about. He didn't know how these three connected, but he wanted to. So much so, his curiosity drove him to stand in line. Using his height to make sure he had the best seats in the house for observing. And observe he did. And understand he did not. And his turn, was up next. As he watched the last Regular before him take her leave, Casso stood up to bat. Letting the fluorescence wash over him, his rational brain took its exit. Just hit the colors. It'll work out.

He would stomp with decisive movements, quick, thundering, enough to shake the platform. His fingers would grace the hilt of the knife, only for a second. As he would throw the knife with immediate speed. No windup, no hesitation. There was something almost casual in the sling-like motion of his arm as the knives flew without pause.

"Miss!" The machine would announce with vigor.

"Miss!" Again, with gusto!

"Miss!" Now it felt mocking.

"Miss!" More and more spitful with every repeat.

As the difficultly increased, and more targets appeared before and below Casso, so too did his speed rise. His timing, perfect. As the thunk, thunk, thunk, of every knife throw matched the tempo of the song peerlessly. Shame they would all end up hitting the backboard.

Speed: A+
Precision: E-

"Not bad Casso!!" The giant congratulated himself with a hearty laugh as he took his leave from the game. Proud of his score, though not ignorant of the discrepancy therein. Not that he minded. It was a workout, and a fun one at that. In his mind, he had already won due to the smile he took away from the game. Now, what was next? His eyes drifted to the two games, left. Wishing to ride the high, it made sense to make his way to the punch machine. After all, such a thing called to him. A massive red circle begging to be smashed. A spring begging to be coiled. A counter begging to be maxed out. And Casso, with ears big enough to notice, heard every last plea. Luck him, there was no line to stop his forward momentum too.
A baang formed beside Casso as he took his time walking up to the machine. The clear and condensed Shinsoo swirled around a brilliant center. An ever ebb and flow. Only a few steps away now, Casso stuck his hand into the baang. So close now, he pulled his hand out.

Only one step away now, he lunged with his right foot, slamming it onto the ground as his hand, on the same side, shot out towards the red target. His fist left a short-lived trail as the flow of his Shinsoo infused punch caught up to the impact. The crash would resound in the nearby area as the machine took the full force of his hit, the metal recoiling with the satisfying sound of a metallic crunch. And...

30500

Was that good?

It felt good, satisfying, really. But in the aftermath, Casso was left wondering just how good such a number was. It looked big, but who knows. Relative to a billion it probably wasn't much. Not that Casso knew what a billion looked like. Though, he had a feeling he knew who might know. Using his height once more, Casso scanned the game floor until he could see the diminutive frame of one Wynnevyre. Casso quickly walked towards her.

"Excuse me, Ms.Tramor! Excuse me!" He caught up quickly with long strides. "Excuse my bothering, but I need to know your thoughts on something. Three, zero, five, zero, zero. Think that's a high number or not? I reckon it's high enough to pass, but I have my doubts." Casso paused, but before Wynnevyre would have the chance to respond, he would gasp. "Oh, and excuse my rudeness too! How do you reckon you did at the tests? Stole the show?!" He spoke in a giddy cadence, as if expecting the answer to be yes.

 

[simj26]

To say that she was disappointed would be an understatement. She could not be grimacing any harder. Games? A choice? She glanced at the devices. From what she could tell, they were tests of some sort, and the Ranker described them as such. Tests of Shinsoo power, speed and reaction, and whatever else. She was definitely not interested in even a single one of these. Targets don’t punch back. Even when she studied the dagger-throwing minigame in detail, there was no indication that the tiles incentivised dodging them. This was stupid. She wanted to fight something that actually hit back. Her arm was absolutely aching to get some action in, and none of these games were going to soothe that ache. She took one more withering look at the ‘games’ around the place, and made her way towards the one that most piqued her interest, no matter how wan it was.

She watched as the others filed away from the punching machine. Twirling her sword again, as she was wont to do when she was thinking, or bored, or thinking while bored, she noted how all of them used their fists to grapple with the machine. She could do that, but why would she? She was proud of her sword, and while her arms weren't anything to scoff at, she was much more comfortable with swinging it around than discarding it for her fists. Why use your hands, when you can just use a weapon? It was finally her turn to step up to bat. She gave the machine a once over, then readied herself. she gripped her sword tightly with two hands, and swept it around herself, as if she were winding up for a tremendous home run. She focused her eyes on the center of the target, aiming her hit right there. The target wasn’t moving, she didn’t need to compensate for anything. It was dull. So dull. So boring. At least give her a moving target. Or a target that tried to punch her when she missed, or something. Anything. Anything at all would work. Shinsoo swirled around her blade as she continued to spin it around, and around, and around. Was this enough? It didn’t matter. She just wanted to get on with the proceedings. She just needed to complete one of these ‘games’, if she heard the Ranker right. Might as well be done with it, so she could move on to greener, bloodier, more exciting pastures.

She finally stopped, planted one foot in front of her, steadying her stance, and swung forwards, releasing her right hand from her sword’s hilt, and letting the momentum carry the sword through as it met the target with full force, and released all the built up IMPACT at the moment of the slightest resistance. An explosion roared through the room, and a gust of wind rushed forth from her target, her coat and hair fluttering in the gale. Then all stilled. The punching bag rocked back and forth for a second, then came to a halt. She patted the thing lightly, her eyes shining brightly. This was made up of rather sturdy material. She could use a weapon like this. More so than anything else, she was interested in what the punching machine was comprised of. She crouched down and began to study the machine. “Hm hm hm! Yes, yes. So how do I rip this thing out, huh?” She muttered quietly to herself as she fumbled with the base of the machine, already forgetting the point of the ‘test’, barely paying any attention to the numbers that beeped into place.

43352

Completely ignoring her results, she jogged over to the Ranker excitedly, waving. “Yo! Can I get one of these things? Or whatever it’s made out of, to be honest! Maybe a pipe from it or something?! It’s so tough! It’s gotta be great! I need tough stuff!”

 

[Azure Sky]

Nuvola, the Rabbit, the Carrot, and Jam the Mad Ladette

Nuvola wanted to pat Wynnevyre on the head and give her some cotton candy as consolation. Poor girl didn't stand out in any particular way except for her precision. Made the Ranker wonder what sort of skills she posessed to pass the petal test. Maybe her abilities were not quantifiable on the basis of such tests.

Casso on the other hand stood out in a number of ways. He was very fast and could hit hard. In fact his score was higher than Malbeol's as far as speed and shinsoo power were concerned, but his precision was lackluster, to the point where it was almost non-existent. Terrible for a spearbearer. Especially since frontline close-combat oriented Regulars would not be able to depend on precise ranged support and may even be hurt in the process. Sadly, some of the other present Regulars agreed to that line of thinking.

As for Kyong-min, her sheer power was incredible and a cut above the rest. A true battle junkie, the type that would punch first and ask questions later. The type that strategy-oriented Regulars would avoid. Sure, she was powerful, but would she co-ordinate well with her team mates? Some of them did not consider it so, seeing her demanour up until that point. But seriously, her score was amazing for a Regular at this level.

---

"Should we all partecipate in what we are comfortable then?" Sir Carotene asked his friends.
"Fine by me." Von Hare replied.
"Wait a second guys." Jam interjected. "I had Ram Jam Jam moment of inspiration."
"Why do you always say it that way when you have an idea?" Von Hare chuckled.
"It's kind of adorable, so it is fine." Carotene replied.
"A-ny-wayyy, listen." Jam told them both to come closer and whispered her idea.
"Hmmm... I see." Sir Carotene pondered.
"That is actual sound reasoning, Miss Jam."
"Tehe... Wait, why do you sound as if you're surprised?"
...
...
"Ok. Let's go!"

"Heh, get a load of this group of wierdos... especially the carrot mask dude..." One of the Regulars exclaimed. A tall white-haired guy in a would-be military garb looking at the trio with a smug smile and eyes filled with disdain.


First was Von Hare. He chose the punching machine game. A sort of black liquid baang formed in the air. The rabbit man touched it, colouring the fur on his right arm black as well. He threw a quick jab, that looked like a blur.

Score: 9001

The white-haired guy squinted. The power of the attack was weaker than some of the earlier displays, but the speed of the jab was quite frightening.

Second was Sir Carotene. He choose the DDR style game. At first he was dancing to the rythm and hitting targets, doing actually well. Until he suddenly stopped and moved away from the game halfway.

Speed: C
Precision: D+

"Heh, knew he was a worthless wierdo... Acting like he's hiding his true strength or something." White-haired guy chuckled.

Carotene went passed Von Hare and high-fived, as he took off his mask... and shirt, revealing a decently muscular physique and long golden hair, as he walked towards the punching machine.



"Looks fun..."

The heat in his close proximity started to rise as a glowing yellow circle formed around his diaphragm. All the heat went through his right palm as he slammed it into the target area of the machine, releasing yellow plasma-like energy on impact and a strong sound reverberated through the room.

BOOM!

Score: 43250

Almost everyone was in disbelief. Von Hare and Jam clapped.

Hmm... Not the highest score, huh? Carotene thought, as he glanced over at Kyong-nim.

Hmph, I'm still more handsome than he is. The white-haired guy thought.

Then it was Jam's turn. She choose the virtual simulator. All those scenarios and calculations, one would wonder how she would fair... Like Carotene she stopped doing anything before the time was up.

Mental capabilities: B+

Yet her score was very good considering that.

Hmph. Fine, I'll admit... the girl is kinda cute... The white-haired guy thought. He finally went to the games himself, trying the punching machine and DDR-like one. Silver Shinsoo danced around his body.

Score: 26500
Speed: B
Precision: A-

He is actually a fairly powerful Regular... too bad his attitude sucks. Nuvola thought.

simj26 The One Eyed Bandit Rantos

 

[Azure Sky]

Nuvola and Kyong-min's Unusual Interest

“Yo! Can I get one of these things? Or whatever it’s made out of, to be honest! Maybe a pipe from it or something?! It’s so tough! It’s gotta be great! I need tough stuff!”

The ranker blinked a few times as she registered Regular Kyong-min's question. Was she having a laugh? Probably not. Her sparkly eyes showed sincerity. Ah, the innocence of youth. Nuvola was getting nostalgic as she wiped away a tear and chuckled.

"Suspendium-grade machinery." She replied. "Has impecable defense, to the point where not even an Advanced Ranker could break it. Alas, you may not be able to find weapons that tough laying around." Nuvola smiled. She knew that it was not the answer the Regular wanted to hear. Of course, there were very tough Ignition Weapons she could get her hands on. She didn't mention the 13th Month Series, as she recknoned Kyong-min would be reckless enough to try and get one from a Princess. She could talk about the special weapon of Silentia Mule, but it was not her place to decide, nor share the private information of other Regulars. Would they ever even meet, anyway? Although, there was something she could share with the enthusiastic battle junkie.

"Ahem..." Nuvola leaned in closer and kept her voice down. "That being said. If you want a really tough weapon, you have two choices that I can think of. Either you get your hands on a decent Ignition Weapon, or... you partecipate in the Workshop on the 30th floor where you can get amazing gear as prizes for winning events, some of which are high-grade weapons. However..." Nuvola took a short pause and smirked.

"Before you even think of reaching the Workshop, you will need to pass this test."
-----

Meanwhile, some of the other Regulars were already mingling and trying to form teams...

simj26 The One Eyed Bandit Rantos