Endless Path : Infinite Cosmos
chapter-1697

Seeing the strongest member of their team defeated in an instant, Shibisu looked like he was on the verge of having a mental breakdown. He even pinched his cheek to check and see if he wasn’t dreaming. As for the final member of his party, Hatsu, he had quickly dealt with the other team and was preparing to charge at the woman guarding the throne before pausing in response to the loud explosion that shook the arena’s foundation.

Though not as ridiculous as Shibisu’s expression, Hatsu also adopted a look of incredulity as he saw his current ’rival’ being laid to rest on the ground. Several thoughts raced through his mind at that exact moment, but, before he could organize them, he threw his wakizashi like a boomerang as he leaned forward and muttered, "Highest flying sword..."

Sensing a sword intent lock onto him, Gandr curiously looked back to see Hatsu slowly drawing his katana from its sheath. Then, while uttering, "Lowest flying sword...", the boy came charging at him with surprising swiftness. For a brief moment, it seemed like his sword had actually tripled in length, the edge slowing with a blue hue as he swept in in a large arc, seemingly intending to bisect Gandr from the waist.

Rather than dodge, Gandr surprised Hatsu greatly by shifting his attention to the sword spinning through the air. This caused the youth to hesitate, but, rather than stay his hand, he adopted a resolute look on his face as he fully committed to the strike. Unfortunately, as if his target simply didn’t exist, his blow passed through Gandr’s body as if he had struck empty air.

Taking advantage of Hatsu’s confusion, Gandr grabbed the stunned boy by the face, a teasing smile visible on his own as he said, "Not bad...but far from enough..."

Before Hatsu could respond to the sudden taunt, he felt himself pulled forward as Gandr took a half-step back. This placed the man along the trajectory of his strangely orbiting sword, causing it to pierce through his body without damaging anything important.

Feeling his own blade pass through his body, Hatsu’s eyes opened wide as he collapsed ’through’ his opponent. Then, before he could hit the ground, he felt his wakizashi pulled from his body like it was being unsheathed, followed by Gandr remarking, "You either need to find a better weapon or train harder to overcome the resistance of Shinsu. The density of the God’s Water will only increase as you move further up the Floors, so this kind of blade isn’t suitable unless you hone your skills to a much higher level."

To punctuate his point, Gandr waited until Hatsu was glaring at him before performing a simple and very straightforward strike. Despite this, a thin chasm extending more than thirty meters was left in its wake, almost as if the cut had manifested soundlessly within the ground. Then, without affording the young swordsman the opportunity to process what he had just witnessed, Gandr performed the same action with Laev-tan, this time leaving a gulf that covered the two-hundred-meter distance to the far wall and even climbed up it a bit.

Though he wasn’t actually satisfied by the result of his strike, Gandr gave an approving nod before sticking the wakizashi in the ground and adding, "You’ve got potential. Once you accumulate some more experience, I’ll be waiting for our rematch...now, what will you do?"

Understanding that Gandr was speaking to him, Shibisu released an awkward laugh, rubbing the back of his head and seemed to be searching for a response. In the end, however, he just released a tired sigh before adopting a martial art’s stance full of gaps. Then, with a look of conviction flashing across his plain brown eyes, he answered, "I didn’t enter the Tower to back down. I might be weak, but I at least have the conviction to face death. Let’s do this...!"

Without waiting for a counter-reply, Shibisu began running towards Gandr with speed comparable to an Olympic athlete. Unfortunately, this was only around forty-five kilometers per hour, far below the threshold of being able to pose a threat. Despite this, Gandr waited for the fellow to close the distance, allowing him to throw a few punches and kicks before disappearing behind the man and ending the fight by striking a pressure point near the base of the skull.

Like a puppet with its strings cut, Shibisu fell face-first towards the ground, but, before he could hit it, an invisible force slowed him down enough that he felt no pain from the impact. This was Vahn affording the young man a bit of mercy, as, despite his trepidation and weakness, the fact the man had pushed forward against a far more powerful foe was deserving of respect.

With all contestants eliminated, Vahn raised the Crown he had previously set aside, slowly placing it atop head as he stated in a voice that easily reached the remaining teams, "Failure is something we must all experience on the path towards true strength. Do not fear the strength of your enemy...fear that your weakness will become an excuse used to justify acts of betrayal and deceit. Being weak is not something you should be ashamed of...suppressing the weak just because you are strong is the greater sin...now, if you have the courage, come and face this Emperor..."

Punctuating his words, Vahn finished placing the Crown atop his head, a powerful and suppressive aura erupting from his body as a result. Then, with his left hand half-raised, he used his Telekinesis to return each of the fallen contestants to their waiting rooms. This was to capitalize on the awe he had inspired in the remaining contestants while simultaneously demonstrating that he was far from weakened while seated atop the throne...

Observing from his position in the control room, Lero-Ro couldn’t help but squint as he uttered, "So this is the power of an Irregular who has yet to climb the Tower...haaaa...things are about to become very troublesome. I have a feeling this man isn’t going to make things easy for us."

Shaking his head at his own remarks, Lero-Ro took a deep breath, burying his personal feelings as he activated the intercom and chimed, "The first round has ended with the Aldrnari Team’s victory. There will be a quick three-minute break to check on the injured before we proceed with the next match. Use this time to either form a strategy or steel yourselves for battle. Remember, the reward for this test is the right to move on to the next Floor. If you don’t have the conviction to fight now, when will you...?"

Finished giving his words of advice, Lero-Ro sent medical teams to check on the members of Team Hatsu before calling up the Test Director on his personal Lighthouse. The call quickly connected, an effeminate man with golden hair neatly tied in a bun appearing on the front-facing panel. It didn’t help that they frequently wore clothes resembling a kimono, further increasing their feminine allure and causing considerable confusion whenever someone first met them.

Seeing the Test Director’s unperturbed golden eyes, Lero-Ro couldn’t help but suppress a sigh as he dutifully reported, "The trio of Irregulars managed to secure victory in the first round without any discernible effort. The youngest, Gandr, seems to possess swordsmanship that could even rival the geniuses of the Arie Family. As for the other two, or, more specifically, the Sage Dragon Emperor, he possesses an extremely precise form of telekinesis and the ability to generate some kind of invisible field to sense his surroundings. He even managed to startle Phnsekal Laure, a rare talent belonging to one of the Eurasia Family’s Branch Households...."

As if he wasn’t even remotely surprised, likely due to the fact he was observing the same feed, the Test Director merely nodded his head in response to Lero-Ro’s report. Then, in a calm tone that left no room for argument, he stated, "Thank you, Lero-Ro. Please continue observing the test. We will discuss this matter in greater detail when deciding which positions to assign to everyone. I will see you this afternoon."

Before Lero-Ro could respond, the Test Director, Yu Han-Sung, had already cut the connection. This caused the blond-haired Ranker to furrow his brows quite a bit, his instincts telling him the Director was up to something. Having not just one, but three Irregulars in their midst wasn’t something that was casually dismissed. There had only been three Irregulars to enter the Tower since the rise of the Jahad Empire, each bringing about drastic changes in very short periods of time.

Though it wouldn’t interfere in the execution of his duties, Lero-Ro found it odd that the Director was behaving so lackadaisically. For all he knew, Yu Han-Sung hadn’t even tried to contact the Floor Administrator, something they should have done the moment Vahn revealed his identity. This was more than a little abnormal, but, without some sort of concrete proof, there was little he could do to question the Director’s decisions.

Releasing a tired sigh, Lero-Ro stared up at the ceiling for a brief moment before checking the time on his Pocket. There were only three seconds left before the next round was supposed to begin, so, after quickly suppressing his idle thoughts, he forced himself to sound excited as he picked up the intercom and stated, "Okay, Regulars, you have had more than enough time to rest! Just like before, I’ll be counting down from five. If you want to participate, make sure you press that buzzer!"

During the three minute interlude between rounds, Vahn had been sitting silently atop the throne with Phae standing off to his left with a neutral smile on her face. She had yet to demonstrate her capabilities, so, assuming the other contestants hadn’t given up, Vahn was intending to give her a chance in the limelight. This was something Phae was obviously cognizant of, so, after hearing the words of the Test Administrator, her smile became more prominent as a fiery hammer appeared in her right hand.

Unfortunately, other than a team consisting of a large four-eyed man, a rather lanky-looking man with a bowl cut, and a cyclopean swordsman with unusual wings, there were no other teams bold enough to enter the arena. Nobody wanted to be a sacrifice for the other teams by trying to face off against a seemingly invincible trio, so; rather than tire themselves out for nothing, the general consensus was to ’wait and see’ until the fourth and final rounds.

Vahn didn’t blame the remaining teams for being cautious, especially after the previous rounds showing, but that didn’t prevent him from shaking his head in disapproval. They were behaving like a bunch of hypocritical opportunists, not the kind of people who had the resolution to ’do whatever it takes’ to climb the Tower. This was one of the types of power dynamics he hated most, as, if they were ’certain’ of their victory, they would not hesitate to beat, suppress, and even kill others despite fearing even comparable treatment...

Deciding not to let it bother him too much, Vahn raised his hand, his countenance matching his voice as he calmly stated, "I’ll leave this battle to you, Phae. Try not to injure them too severely. The fact they are courageous enough to step out while all others cower is worthy of respect..."

Though she could hear quite a number of people click their tongue in response to Vahn’s words, Phae pretended not to notice, lightly giggling before bowing politely and saying, "As you will, my Lord."

Finished with her courtesies, Phae shifted her attention to Gandr, reinforcing the hierarchy that Vahn was going for by adopting a stern tone and saying, "Gandr, protect your Master. I will deal with these three brave souls."

Coming to attention the moment he heard Phae’s words, Gandr managed a clumsy salute as he replied, "Leave it to me!". Immediately after that, he appeared like a phantom at Vahn’s side, his hair standing slightly on end as he adopted an aggressively defensive posture.

Nodding her head in approval, Phae resisted the urge to pat Gandr’s head before turning around and descending the single step elevating the throne from the rest of the arena. Then, with a kind smile on her face, she adopted a relaxed stance and said, "You are free to come at me however you please. Don’t worry, as per my Lord’s request, you will be precluded from serious injury. Now, allow me to see the skill that accompanies your bravery..."

Though they all felt slightly annoyed at being talked down to, none of the opposing trio spoke out against Phae’s words. The lanky man with the bowl cut could hardly even take his eyes away from her chest for more than three seconds, as, for a number of reasons, Phae wore a low-cut blouse to accentuate her rather sizeable assets. One of the purposes of her existence was to draw attention, so, while it did make her feel uncomfortable to be viewed with a covetous expression, it didn’t show on her face. Instead, she maintained a relaxed smile for several seconds before musing, "It isn’t very polite to keep a woman waiting..."

(A/N: Alternate Titles: ’Master vs Grandmaster...’,’The show must go on...’,’Phae about to exhibit her forging skills on someone’s skull...’)