Tower Of God: Life As Hoaqin

The 10 Family Head and Sage of the Tower, the Noble Wave—Po Bidau Gustang.

That was how he was called outside. He had no objections to that title. Among his companions, he was one of the wisest and the only one devoted to academic research.

The data of Po Bidau Gustang left behind on the Hidden Floor was spending his days as usual.

Inside the Library of the Sky—the greatest stage he had ever created after weeks of contemplation—he was immersed in reading and studying the properties of Shinsu.

Recently, he had noticed that Zahard's data had been acting a little strange. Just in case, he had begun developing a pill capable of deleting this entire Hidden Floor if necessary. Having exhausted every kind of research possible for a D-rank Regular's data, Gustang's data no longer felt the need to continue living a dull existence here. Once the pill was complete, he planned to use the mirror Zahard had given him—and vanish.

At least, that had been his plan before Eurasia Blossom's data suddenly showed up.

"Hey, are you always doing this?"

"Blossom? What are you doing here—"

"Forget that, just come with me. I need your help."

"Well, if it's your request, I can't refuse."

The pill had just been completed before her arrival anyway. Helping Blossom's data sounded like a decent way to clear his mind.

Among his colleagues, she was the second-best Wave Controller and had a good personality, so they got along quite well.

Her absurd natural talent was a little enviable, sure, but spending time with Blossom—whatever the reason—was one of the few things that actually brought him joy outside of research.

Or so he thought…

.....

"Hon, it's been a while. I came because you called."

"Welcome, Han."

"Wait—you're saying that mirror was supposed to erase us? But Zahard clearly—"

"Ah, you clueless idiot! Blossom might've been asleep so she didn't know, but you? You just believed that blindly? What do you even use that head for?"

"Yurin, don't be so harsh on Traumerei. He's always been loyal to Zahard, so the shock must be greater for him."

"Ah… no, Hana… the fact that you didn't tell me either hurts even more…"

"...Ahem. This wine's a bit bitter."

"What are you talking about? My wine only has sweet and sour notes."

"...Still as oblivious as ever, Eduan."

"Luf, I heard roughly what happened. You okay? You could've told me…"

"I didn't want you to worry, Hwarang-hyung. I'm fine now, so don't make that face."

"Hey, whitey. I brought Gustang like you asked."

"Nice to meet you, Data Gustang."

Gustang's data briefly considered escaping this chaos altogether—but after hearing from Eduan and Blossom about everything that had happened while he'd been buried in his research, he changed his mind somewhat.

"So, you're saying that if Hon's son loses his bet against Zahard, we all vanish, and you—Hon's son—want help from me and Blossom to win the bet?"

"Yes."

The young man smiled calmly as he answered.

It was a bit irritating that he had dared to make such a bold wager on his own—but the mention that he was the son of Hon and Blossom stirred some curiosity.

He did want to see his daughter, after all. And if it meant staying on the Hidden Floor a little longer to pursue more research, then helping this audacious boy might not be such a bad idea.

Besides, he didn't seem like an ordinary Regular—an interesting research subject indeed.

...…Or so he thought.

If he had to express his feelings right now, it would be something like this: He had expected to receive assistance from the data Blossom—the so-called greatest Wave Controller—and Gustang's data himself, the unrivaled master of Shinsu theory.

But…

"No, listen! You do it like this! Like this! And like this!"

Whooosh!

With that brief explanation, Blossom's data waved her hand, and the flow of Shinsu accelerated wildly.

It was undeniably incredible control—but still, what was she even trying to explain? What did "like this, like that, and like this" mean, exactly?

He must have underestimated her lack of theory. He should've realized it when his own records said, "She herself doesn't know how she manipulates Shinsu."

Still, he'd expected some kind of reasoning behind her method.

But to think she could just flick her hand a few times and make Shinsu move however she wanted…

"Hmm… could you perhaps elaborate a bit more on what you mean by 'like this, like that, and like this'?"

"So, you just think 'Shinsu, move!' and wave your hand like this! See?"

Whooosh!

Again, as she waved her hand, the flow of Shinsu accelerated even more.

…No, seriously—how the hell does she do that?

If talking to Shinsu and telling it to move actually worked, I would've become an Administrator ages ago.

"How about now? Getting the hang of it? Like this!"

"…..Ha, ha, ha."

Watching her, it seemed like she was using some kind of Shinwonryu technique, but I couldn't make sense of any of it.

While I was still lost in confusion, Gustang—who had been quietly watching beside us—finally stepped in.

"Give it up. There's nothing more foolish than asking Blossom to teach you Shinsu control. You're better off learning from me from start to finish."

Yeah, maybe that's for the best. At least with him, I'd get an explanation in words instead of vague gestures.

"In that case, I'd appreciate your guidance, Lord Gustang."

"Before we begin, let's approach Shinsu from a metaphysical standpoint, considering its inherent properties as—"

"Blossom, let's try it again!"

"..."

Yeah. Experiential learning beats theoretical lectures any day.

—Or so I thought.

But that belief shattered almost immediately.

There was no way I could suddenly start understanding whatever Blossom was talking about.

So she struggled in her own way, and I in mine.

"Seriously, Gustang gets it—why don't you? Just do it like this, and this!"

"No, I mean, what does that even mean!?"

After wasting hours with no real progress, break time finally came.

I slumped onto a chair somewhere in the Sky Library, dazed.

We'd already found and brought back Luf, and thanks to Eduan's data, I'd reunited with Hwarang as well.

But the one missing was Maschenny.

Why the hell would the King of the Tower's data just kidnap someone else's friend like that?

Even if he'd been warped by meeting the Zahard of the outside world…

"What are you doing here?"

"…Ah, Lord Gustang."

While I was stewing in worry, Gustang's data quietly approached me.

"I heard from Eduan. You're learning swordsmanship from Hon, the guardian blade from Han, and Shinsu control from me and Blossom."

"Right. Since I have to fight Zahard's data one-on-one, I thought I should at least—"

"—You know it's all pointless, don't you?"

"….."

Bullseye.

Seeing my silence, Gustang's eyes gleamed with confirmation.

"I don't know how you underwent Revolution, but you've already completed it. That means—even faintly—your sense of self is fully established. When your identity as you is already defined, learning new things from us won't change the foundation of who you are.

At best, you'll mimic a few techniques, but they won't truly help you. You already have your sword, your Shinsu control."

He narrowed his eyes further.

"You keep doing all this despite knowing it's useless… because you're afraid, aren't you? Fear of failure. That's why you're desperately clinging to anything you can."

"…Getting my inner thoughts read isn't exactly pleasant, you know."

I really didn't want to think about it.

No wonder Urek doesn't hang out with him–Gustang's remarks hurt like hell.

If I lose, I could die.

And not just me—my friends might die too.

Now I regretted proposing those reckless terms just to bargain with Zahard.

I should've demanded, at the very least, that my companions be guaranteed safe return.

As I forced a bitter smile, Gustang sighed quietly.

"I can't understand it. Why do you waste time with those beneath your level? Do you plan to play friends?"

"Watch your mouth. They're not 'play friends'—they're my real friends."

"Perhaps for now. But in the end, sardines cannot swim alongside sharks."

I'll never understand the Family Heads.

From my point of view as an unchosen Regular, the only difference between me and others is power.

They might seem weaker than me, but that doesn't make them inferior, nor me superior.

They all feel just as human.

So when these high-and-mighty Family Heads talk about how I shouldn't care about or stay with them, I can't help but find it absurd.

"They'll always be weaker than you, and as you grow stronger, they'll keep dragging you down."

"That's just your opinion. Anyway, since you clearly have time to spare, why not use it to teach me something useful?"

"…If you insist."

After that came Gustang's grueling theory lectures and Blossom's chaotic hands-on sessions.

But between these two extremes, I finally found a middle ground.

That middle ground was—

"So you do it like this! Like this!"

"According to Blossom, rather than releasing the internal Shinsu flow outward, you should directly manipulate the ambient Shinsu in the surrounding space. After that…"

"Thanks, Lord Gustang."

Blossom had said Gustang could understand her language, so I tried asking him to interpret—and it actually worked.

Guess the saying "husband and wife are of one mind" isn't wrong after all.

However, maybe because of that earlier talk with Gustang, this time I was the one who lost motivation after a week.

Still, I'd learned what I needed to, and the Family Heads' data all seemed glad to finally have some peace. So it was fine.

One week training with the Family Heads.

Another week spent discussing strategy with Hwarang and Luf.

Two weeks in total.

And then that day came—

The day Hwang, the Big Breeder and Zahard's messenger, arrived.