Tower Of God: Life As Hoaqin Chapter 26 26: The Floor of Tests (6)

The mont the Crown Ga began, only three teams—including ours—pressed the participation button.

At the center, the throne held the crown, and the Regulars who spotted it charged toward it with fiery determination.

They clashed—daggers stabbing, bodies colliding, a chaotic brawl.

Since they couldn't use or control shinsu yet, the fight looked plain and unrefined to … but to them, it must've been a desperate battle for survival.

"Uwaaaagh!"

One Regular got seriously injured, and that beca the turning point. The opposing team gradually gained the advantage.

The injured Regular soon beca unable to fight, and with one man down, the others were overwheld.

Two fought to hold back the enemy, while another sprinted toward the throne.

As he ran with all his might—he finally reached and seized the crown.

Unfortunately… he did not get to sit on the throne.

"…?"

Five Regulars froze mid-action— one mid-defense,

one mid-stab, one mid-swing, one mid-dodge, and one holding the crown.

Their bodies remained frozen exactly as they were.

Ti hadn't stopped—

I had.

Only three people could move freely—our team, who had been calmly watching the entire brawl from the sidelines.

The mont one Regular touched the crown, I activated Reverse Flow Control, freezing all five of them in place.

One more was already incapacitated, so that made six in total.

"Let take that."

With friendly encouragent, I lifted the crown right out of the frozen Regular's hand.

Their eyes darted wildly, but their bodies didn't budge.

Their mouths wouldn't move either—truly "unable to do anything."

"Anyone want to wear it?"

"You wear it. Sitting still on the throne's not my style…"

"Hoaquin-hyung, you should wear it. You'd look good in a crown."

Hwarang agreed with Luf's comnt.

Well—if they insist.

I placed the crown on my head, sat comfortably on the throne, rested my sword on the ground, and released the Reverse Flow Control.

Only then did the Regulars regain movent—and the buzzer for the end of the round rang at the sa ti.

Monsters—

That must be what they saw.

For ordinary Regulars, Ten Family heirs are practically disasters in the shape of humans.

The five who tasted a sliver of that difference left the arena in fear and disbelief.

The second round began shortly after.

This ti, three new teams entered.

One looked terrified, tension freezing their expressions.

Another wore relaxed smiles for reasons unknown.

The last group looked simply neutral.

But the mont they took their first step—

BOOM.

A shinsu sword crashed into the floor in front of them.

All three teams stared blankly at the throne.

I rested my hand on the sword stuck in the ground, controlled shinsu with my other hand, and murmured softly:

"Cross that shinsu line, and you die."

I smiled leisurely—a white, cold smile that made the threat even sharper.

But no matter where you go, at least one idiot never understands the situation.

Predictably, one Regular took a step forward.

"Hah, stop spouting nonsense—"

His mouth froze mid-sentence.

His confident stride halted mid-step.

One more warning—and the last.

"Are you really going to cross?"

Four shinsu blades revolved around him like vultures ready to strike at the slightest gesture.

When I released him from Reverse Flow Control, he silently backed away two steps.

No one else dared to cross after that.

We spent a very "peaceful" and quiet 10 minutes, and the second round ended.

— Beginning Round 3.

This ti, four doors opened.

Five teams max per round ant that all possible teams for this round had appeared.

Among the participants, a horned non-human shouted to the others:

Take down the crown holders first, then fight each other afterward.

He wasn't wrong.

If the teams fought separately, none would get the crown—we all knew that.

The alliance of four teams ford instantly.

They were so full of determination that warnings were aningless.

They truly believed they had a chance.

So—

Four shinsu blades rose into the air.

Then skewered the enemies instantly.

Screaming to drown out fear, they charged toward us—toward , Luf, and Hwarang—swinging weapons wildly.

Hwarang's flas burst out, engulfing Regulars one after another.

His lips curved sharply upward.

Ah.

A Maschenny-type.

Earlier, when I asked if he wanted to go around hunting fights, he declined.

Seems I don't understand this kid fully yet.

Fwoosh—

Flas consud another Regular.

But this ti, sothing changed.

The fire…was being eaten.

The horned non-human—the sa one who proposed the alliance—stood tall, swallowing the flas that engulfed him.

Even the fire on his body vanished into his mouth.

"Our race lives in volcanic regions. We feed on lava and flas. Unfortunately, you chose the wrong opponent. This little fire is nothing to ."

"…'This little fire', huh?"

Hwarang grinned, baring his fangs.

His eyes, burning brightly, told a different story.

He bit down on the fla—then ignited a new one.

But this fla was different.

Not ordinary red—but a blend of pink and crimson, burning beautifully.

"Let's see how much of this you can swallow."

"As much as you want. Oh—right, we didn't introduce ourselves. My na is Luum."

"I'm not interested."

Even faced with the ominous, swirling flas, the horned non-human charged at Hwarang with unshaken confidence.

"Kill that brat first! He's the weakest of them!"

While the fla-eater and his team lunged at Hwarang, the others focused entirely on Luf.

Smart tactic—take down the smallest, youngest-looking one to break the formation.

In theory.

In reality, it was the worst, dumbest plan imaginable.

Luf dodged the attacks gracefully, widening the distance, then deployed his lighthouse.

A transparent barrier ford around him.

Not very large, but on this floor, that was more than enough.

Any Regular who ignored the barrier and stepped into its control zone froze instantly.

Each ti they froze—I sent a shinsu blade flying and cut their throats.

When too many crowded Luf at once, he used Lighthouse Teleport, repositioned, redeployed—

as expected of a Tu Perie heir, his control over the lighthouse was absurdly skilled for soone who'd just beco a Regular.

Originally, I planned to handle everything with my shinsu swords, but with Hwarang and Luf fighting so enthusiastically, I simply supported them from behind.

Besides—I could feel the "number of chambers" increasing steadily, so I focused on controlling shinsu and helping Luf as needed.

"You're fighting, and you're SLEEPING?!"

In the middle of the heated battle, one of the trash mobs finally noticed —eyes closed, ditating—and charged in.

Puk—

That's done.

"Fifth one."

The fifth sword decapitated the fool who dared rush at .

Having a body blessed by shinsu truly is wonderful.

Others need to weaken their current chambers just to increase capacity, struggling for each upgrade.

But for —if I simply focus and control shinsu, the number naturally increases whenever I feel the timing.

And no—there is no loss of power.

Now that I have five chambers, there was sothing I wanted to try.

Five shinsu blades flew toward the Regulars fighting Luf.

But this ti, instead of piercing them directly—

—they moved like swords being wielded by invisible people, slashing their way through the enemies in elegant arcs.

Before long, the enemies surrounding Luf were all retired.

I turned toward Hwarang's side.

The ground was littered with charred bodies.

In Hwarang's right hand, he held a Regular with a snapped neck.

In his left, the pink-reddish fla blazed violently.

"G…grraaahhh!"

The fla-eater who had boasted of his lava diet was now huddled defensively, completely overwheld.

"What's wrong? Full already?"

Hwarang's lips curved upward, and the blaze intensified further.

Finally, at his limit, the horned non-human abandoned defense and charged in a suicidal rush—deciding to kill Hwarang before he himself burned to death.

He sprinted fast, but the closer he got to Hwarang, the heavier the flas pressed down on him. His speed slowed…

and—

Fwooosh—

Before his hand could reach Hwarang's throat, his enormous body collapsed.

Then ca Round 4.

Thinking we were exhausted, four more teams entered.

Naturally, they also ford an alliance and charged together.

This ti, I moved.

For the first ti since the ga began, I pulled out the blade stuck in the ground—Baekya.

I'd swung it several tis while sparring with Hwarang, so using it on small fry wasn't disrespectful.

But now—

—I was going to use a feature I hadn't even used on Hwarang.

As the screaming Regulars charged at the throne, I swung Baekya casually while still seated.

"Baekya—Activate."