Chapter 31: The Floor of Tests (11)
The night I resolved my worries.
I gained inspiration from something that happened back on the 1st Floor.
And using that as a starting point, a rather promising theory came to mind—one I immediately put into practice.
If I had to express that theory in a single word, it would be: "Roots."
Roots—the organ that absorbs moisture and nutrients, and supports the stem.
And it was that function—support and absorption—that I applied to create an entirely new shinsu-control technique.
Of course, to execute something perfectly, I needed perfect preparation.
I controlled the shinsu around me, weaving it strand by strand with great care.
Eventually, several thin threads formed—threads composed of my shinsu. These would become the stems that spread across the floor and act as the core "roots" of my technique.
Shinsu Stems.
If I could root them into the floor, then in theory, I could absorb and control all the shinsu within that space.
As time passed, more shinsu compressed and twisted together until hundreds of these stems had formed.
Now all I needed to do was spread them.
I expanded the stems outward in every direction, like roots branching through soil—delicate strands of pale light reaching far across the space—
"…Something's off."
It failed.
The stems spread outward, yes, but I couldn't feel the surrounding shinsu at all.
Nothing like the hyper-sensitive perception I'd had on the 1st Floor.
At this rate, the technique was useless.
I tried again—another failure.
And again.
If it wasn't just "not enough," but completely nonfunctional, then the problem wasn't the end product.
It had to be somewhere in the middle.
I recreated the stems and spread them again.
Still nothing. No response from the environment.
I adjusted the shape of the stems, increased their number, crafted them more delicately, tested variations for hours…
All failures.
At that point, further attempts would be meaningless.
I needed to think.
Where is the flaw?
Maybe the middle wasn't the problem.
Maybe the very starting premise was wrong.
Let's go back.
What I want to create is a shinsu technique based on the concept of "roots."
And roots serve two primary functions:
Absorbing water and nutrients.
Supporting the stem and delivering energy upward.
They transfer strength upward and keep the plant from being swept away by storms.
So then…
Whom should my roots be supporting?
Whom should they be supplying?
Me.
That's the whole point of this technique.
To support me, to empower me.
But instead of using my body as the foundation, I tried to root the stems in the surrounding environment.
Of course it wouldn't work.
My stems shouldn't be made from external shinsu—
They should be made from the shinsu inside my own body.
I should have been the trunk from the beginning.
—Eureka.
The moment the answer clicked, excitement surged through me.
There's nothing quite like the feeling when a hypothesis is about to be proven true.
I quickly—and calmly—began controlling the shinsu within my body.
This time, the stems did not emit a soft glow.
Their origin point was different, so they couldn't be seen.
But I felt them. Clearly.
Shinsu stems with no physical form spread out from within me, branching outward in all directions like invisible roots embedding themselves into the floor.
I still couldn't reach the entire floor yet. Not even close.
But this was more than enough.
From each major root, new branches sprouted—these would become the fine secondary roots, the ones that would interact directly with the ambient shinsu.
"I feel it."
The moment my roots touched the shinsu of this floor, sensation surged up through every stem—
Every drop of shinsu within range flowing into me like nutrients into a tree.
The more the roots expanded, the more secondary branches multiplied, the more shinsu poured through them into me like a tidal wave.
My body felt like it would burst—
But the roots held me together.
Supported me.
And combined with my abnormal shinsu affinity and sensitivity, I could withstand it all.
Shinsu overflowed inside me—vast, powerful, intoxicating.
My senses sharpened. My control skyrocketed.
I wanted—no, needed—to unleash it.
I drew Baekya from my waist and swung.
Shinsu exploded outward.
The flying slash carved a massive scar across the cavern wall.
More powerful than I imagined.
Already at this level? And yet shinsu still poured through the roots, pushing my senses higher, my blood boiling with exhilaration.
I couldn't help but laugh.
I was drunk on power—completely intoxicated.
I unleashed technique after technique, shinsu bursting out like runaway storms, blade arcs tearing the air and walls, explosion after explosion echoing through the cavern.
And yet—
I didn't tire.
I could keep going.
"Ha… hahahahaha—!"
Even after all that rampaging, strength still overflowed.
No matter how recklessly I fired off techniques, the roots fed me endlessly.
This was insane.
This was bliss.
Only after several hours did I finally collapse onto the ground from sheer exhaustion.
But even then—My roots immediately absorbed shinsu from the air and fed it back to me, restoring my stamina rapidly.
After a short rest and more practice with finer control, I glanced upward.
The sky—once black—was now light blue.
Morning already.
"…Time to go."
I stood, withdrawing the shinsu stems I'd spread throughout the space.
Though invisible, I could feel them receding back into my body—every last thread.
The final burst of energy returned to me.
I planned to use it to leave this underground cavern.
My talent had always been extraordinary, but after completing the "Root" technique, my shinsu control—and every shinsu-related ability—had exploded in capability.
Like a blind man suddenly opening his eyes.
It felt like I could fly.
…So why not try?
If I gathered shinsu from my body and concentrated it into my shoulder blades—
I could spread something.
Hard to explain with words.
But my body understood the sensation instinctively.
"…Hmm… Oh. There we go."
From my back, shinsu condensed and unfolded—
White, ethereal, wing-shaped energy resembling the wings of an angel.
Or more accurately—
Wings like the original Hoaquin's depiction in the webtoon.
Mine were much smaller, though.
"…."
Everything had gone smoothly until the unexpected problem hit me:
I have no idea how to use them.
It's like a baby bird with wings but no idea how to fly.
It's not like I can flap these—they're not physical.
So… how am I supposed to actually fly?
And I don't have a mother bird to shove me off a cliff to learn, either.
In the end, I just climbed up the wall.
Guess I'll have to properly practice flight some other time.
After scaling my way out of the underground cavern, I headed back toward the Regulars' quarters. I wandered around for a bit and eventually found Luf, Hwarang, and the Test Administrators eating together, so I approached them.
"Luf, we're thinking of heading up to the 3rd Floor tomorrow. How about it?"
"Sounds good. I wanted to learn a little more from him anyway."
"Wahaha! Cute kid! Fine! I'll pass down all my thousand years of Lightbearer knowledge before the day ends!"
Watching the two, I couldn't help thinking of Viole and Ha Jinsung's teacher–disciple dynamic.
The man—no doubt Luf's mentor—ruffled the boy's hair until it was a mess, then locked eyes with me, his gaze suddenly sharpening.
In fact, it wasn't just him. Every Test Administrator except the Chief Examiner was eyeing me with thinly veiled curiosity.
They must've noticed the change in me.
Guess pulling an all-nighter was worth it.
Seeing every Administrator turn to stare at Hoaquin, Hwarang tilted his head in confusion.
"…? Hoaquin, why are you coming from that direction? Isn't your room the other way?"
"Oh, I didn't sleep today. I had something to practice."
I'd gotten hooked on shinsu control.
Sleep—the most basic human need—forgotten because I got absorbed in something.
Well, good luck growing taller at this rate.
Still… the results were more than satisfying.
I set my tray down next to Khun Royal Roma's empty seat and joined them. The lively chatter resumed as if nothing had happened. Regulars chatting casually with Rankers was rare enough to attract subtle glances from all around, but I didn't care.
"So anyway, this noona here froze EVERYTHING. It was amazing. Thanks."
"Who are you calling 'noona', you brat?"
"Haha! Roma gets shy so easi—urk!"
"That's what I keep telling you—don't provoke her so much, Amadeus-nim. Ah, by the way, Regular Hoaquin?"
"Yes? Walter, what is it?"
Walter spoke, and every Administrator except Roma turned their eyes toward me again.
Was this something all of them needed?
How important could it be?
"Well… we're out of Arie traditional liquor… so before you head up tomorrow… we were thinking maybe we could all…"
Ah. That.
"I'll bring some."
"Ooooooh—!"
Like a coordinated cheer, all the Administrators shouted in delight. Roma stared at them, utterly dumbfounded.
"Roma-noona, you in?"
As expected, Roma reacted like she'd just been told to eat garbage, but Amadeus dragged her in anyway. She clearly wasn't happy about it, but she didn't refuse.
....
That night. The final feast of the 2nd Floor.
This time, even Roma joined. And Luf too.
Luf protested that he wasn't old enough to drink, but by that logic, I wasn't either.
I dragged him along by the wrist.
This time—literally everyone was here.
"...Why are we having the party in MY office!?"
"Haha, because it's the biggest room."
We were gathered in Roma's office.
I even brought out the Arie traditional liquor I didn't use last time.
There was no wine, so I substituted it with Roma's collection of high-grade wine.
I'll have to ask Maschenny for more later.
"Uh… hyung, I really can't drink…"
"Hm? Oh, you don't have to. There's plenty to eat that's not alcohol. If you really can't, just have something else."
Among the 10 Great Families, it takes truly monstrous liquor to get us drunk—but Lufp still looked wary. Fair enough.
"Regular Hoaquin, you sure have quite the collection. Are you a liquor collector or something?"
"Huh? Haha, not exactly… but maybe that's not a bad idea."
Collecting rare drinks from across the Tower…
Now that I think about it, that does sound fun.
I stared at one of the bottles and remembered why I had all these in the first place.
Ah—right. Albelda.
During the celebration party for becoming a Regular, she'd brought tons of alcohol with Vicente's help.
But since she was sick, I didn't let her drink any.
Vicente and I drank a little and stopped, so the bottles just piled up and I stuffed them in my inventory.
I was supposed to give one to Maschenny too.
I held up one bottle quietly.
"…When will they arrive?"
I used to think they'd come soon, but the webtoon never said how old they were when they became Regulars.
Endorsi only climbed the Tower after 200 years of being a Zahard's Princess.
…No way my friends would take that long, right?
'Yeah. Better climb quickly.'
I'd planned to take it slow, but it'd be easier to relax after reaching the top early.
And easier to guide them.
…Though they probably won't need a guide.
Either way, becoming a Ranker quickly might help them too.
After sorting out my thoughts, I returned to the festivities and clinked glasses with Hwarang and the Administrators, enjoying the moment.
....
The next day.
Luf trained with Amadeus from morning until night, and once he felt ready, he joined us.
"Alright—let's go."
I handed out bottles of Arie traditional liquor to the Administrators as parting gifts.
Then we stepped through the Gate to the 3rd Floor.
And from there—we soared upward, clearing floor after floor in rapid succession.
....
A few months later.
99th Floor — Arie Floating Castle
"Father!"
"Father!"
"Father!"
A young boy's voice.
A man turned around.
"Hm? And who might you be?"
The boy, overwhelmed with emotion, spoke rapidly.
"My name is Vicente, sir. You may not recall me, but I am a child of Arie who carries your blood. The moment I heard you had come to the Floating Castle, I ran here to meet you."
He paused to steady his breath, then delivered the words he had longed to say:
"One day, I will surpass you—and make you look up to me."
Hearing the boy's firm conviction and seeing the burning resolve in his eyes, the man's lips curved upward.
"Oh… is that so."
The story continues.
—End of "The Floor of Tests" Arc.
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A/N: Hey everyone! If we can reach 500 power stones, I'll upload another extra chapter. So come on, give me all your power stones! And by the way, the next chapter title is The Flame of the Yeon Family, and after that, Toward the Hell Train.
If you want to read 10 advance chapters ahead.
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