Tower Of God: Life As Hoaqin

"I'm sorry, Maschenny. I'm even more sorry because that's the only thing I can say. I'll remember what you said. From now on, I promise—absolutely promise—I won't treat my body carelessly again."

Whoosh—

She suddenly grabbed my collar and yanked me forward until our faces were inches apart.

"That's enough. It's not like that's something you can control anyway."

"..."

"Just promise me two things. Don't forget that I worry about you too, and never die."

"I promise, Maschenny. I won't forget, and I absolutely won't die."

"If you come back missing something again next time, I swear I'll tie you up with chains so you can't go anywhere."

"..."

"I'll lock you in my room."

Gulp.

"…I'll remember that."

Maschenny glared at me for a long time before letting out a deep sigh.

"…Haa. Just know I'm letting this slide because you didn't change."

"Hm? Ah…"

Was she talking about the fusion with Baekya?

Just as she had warned me, I hadn't changed—I remained myself.

The fact that she remembered that… was honestly an honor.

"Anyway, Hoaquin."

"What?"

"Baekya. Throw that shameless sword away right now."

"…???"

It's literally half my soul now. Why all of a sudden?

....

Zahard Army – 3rd Corps Flagship Baroque

The commander of the 3rd Corps sat behind his desk, eating ice cream while looking at the vice commander standing before him.

After briefly skimming the report on his desk, he pushed it aside and pointed at the vice commander with his spoon.

"Vice Commander, report."

"Out of approximately 150 war beasts equivalent to Rankers used by the enemy, 132 have been eliminated."

"…I see. At first glance that seems like a great achievement, but there's no substance to it. The cult leader, the vice leader, and all his close aides escaped."

"…My apologies. We believe there was third-party interference."

"Well, that's fine. The end of those who oppose Lord Zahard is already decided. Besides, the objective of this mission was not the destruction of Leruie, but simply to repel them. This report is sufficient. Good work, Vice Commander."

"I will return to my duties."

"Yes, yes."

The commander watched the vice commander leave through the automatic door.

Then he turned his gaze toward the secretary call button.

Beep.

— Yes, Commander of the 3rd Corps. What do you require?

"How is Princess Maschenny doing? She doesn't seem uncomfortable about anything, does she?"

— She has expressed no complaints and mostly remains in her room.

"I see. I heard the boy she brought suffered severe injuries."

— If you mean the Arie Regular, he has lost one arm and his left eye is blind.

"How unfortunate. If I have the chance to meet him, inform him that he will receive sufficient compensation for helping Princess Maschenny and for opposing Leruie as the temporary commander."

— Understood.

A Regular with a bright future had lost an arm and an eye.

In the competition among the children of the Ten Families, that was practically the same as being eliminated.

Still, he was a direct descendant of the strongest of the Ten Families, the Arie Family.

Becoming a Ranker would still be possible.

Perhaps recruiting him into the Zahard Army later would be worthwhile.

....

A title that grabbed attention instantly with just its first sentence—without exaggerated wording or sensationalism.

Anyone who could see that headline and still refuse to pick up the newspaper must be a barbarian from the unexplored outer regions who didn't even know what Regulars and Rankers were.

The 3rd Corps Commander thought so.

"The Tower is going to get noisy again."

The photograph showed an Arie boy standing with a sword, and a fallen man before him.

And among the very few people in the Tower—including the Corps Commander—there were those who recognized that man.

They also knew exactly what that boy had done.

....

Floor 100 – Arie Family Main House, Baekhwa Sword Palace

At the very top floor sat a being who could be called the pinnacle of life in the Tower, resting his chin on his hand upon a throne.

"…That concludes the report, Father."

Yurye, the Sword of Arie, bowed after finishing.

Normally Arie Hon spent his endless existence with a bored expression.

But this time, there was a faint change in his face.

"Hahaha… So the one I felt last time… really was that child."

"..."

Yurye didn't understand the meaning of Hon's laughter, but she didn't show it.

Hon, unconcerned, asked another question.

"Yurye, how long until the Baekryeon Gathering?"

"One week."

"Postpone it."

"Should we schedule it after the day Hoaquin becomes a Ranker?"

Hon smiled in satisfaction at her understanding and nodded silently.

The Baekryeon Gathering was a meeting and banquet held periodically, attended only by Arie direct descendants of a certain rank or higher.

In short:

A high council meeting of the Arie Family.

Normally it was hosted by the elders, but this time it was special.

Hon and Yurye would personally attend, grant new positions to returning Arie members, encourage them, and discuss the future direction of the family.

Still…

He exceeded my expectations.

After endless boredom across eternity, a long-awaited change.

A stimulus.

He liked that feeling.

And to think he suddenly attempted Transcendence.

Whether he succeeded or not—

He would know when they met.

Hon smiled faintly and spoke toward the empty air.

"Hanul, are you there?"

"Yes, Father."

"Go to Hoaquin and deliver my message."

"Tell him that when he becomes a Ranker, he must return to Floor 100."

"The moment he arrives, the lotus of the Baekryeon Gathering will bloom."

"I will obey."

After dismissing everyone, Hon remained alone on the throne.

His gaze moved to the newspaper Yurye had brought.

It described how a Regular defeated a High Ranker and revealed the identity of that Regular.

Seeing his son's face in a photograph after twenty years—

he looked mostly the same, just a little older.

But Baekya was different.

Her changed form was clear evidence that Hoaquin had succeeded in fusion and attempted Transcendence.

And that Transcendence…

The moment his son attempted it, Hon clearly felt something happening on a higher floor.

Which meant the King and the other nine Family Heads must have felt it too.

Inside the newly rebuilt and even grander Baekhwa Sword Palace, Hon's quiet laughter echoed.

.....

According to Maschenny, I had been unconscious for less than a week.

When Uncle Edward said I might not wake up for who knew how long, I mentally prepared myself.

But it turned out I had slept even less than when I visited the main house before.

A week after waking up, I spent time learning everything that happened while I was out.

Apparently I had swallowed Heukrin, and news of my battle with Asinus had spread throughout the entire Tower.

When I took Father's test, the public only knew that an Arie boy passed it.

My identity was known only to certain people.

But now that was no longer the case.

At some point, a photo taken by an "anonymous Ranking Administration Branch Director" spread across the Tower and caused a huge stir.

The only fortunate thing was that the photo only showed my back, so my name spread but not my face.

As for the promise I made to Cheonhwa about protecting the village—

it ended surprisingly easily.

Maschenny, now officially royalty after becoming a Ranker, pressured the Shrine Department, and they simply abandoned the village.

Of course she didn't force them without reason.

She used the destruction of the land's shinsu veins caused by the Ancient Species, Leruie, and the Zahard Army as justification.

Even so, the process and result felt absurdly simple.

But that was the power of royalty.

Cheonhwa, who wanted to protect the village herself, ended up doing nothing.

In a war between Rankers, a normal Regular could do nothing.

It was harsh—but it was reality.

She said she planned to travel with some old man and learn many things.

Before leaving, she saw my missing arm and eye and tried to kneel in apology.

Stopping her from doing that was harder than I expected.

The disappearance of Ryuhwa, Cheonhwa's older brother, the disappearance of Chaplin, the orphanage director, and many other suspicious or ambiguous matters remained unresolved. The village itself still carried numerous problems as well.

But I had absolutely no interest in any of those things, so I didn't pay them any attention.

Especially the issues related to the village—they were entirely Cheonhwa's family's responsibility.

Thus I parted ways with Cheonhwa, the eldest daughter of the Hong Family who had played a decisive role in helping me find the whereabouts of Ashul Edwaru.

She disappeared somewhere.

And I continued climbing the Tower.

Three months passed.

...

Floor 134 – Final Examination Site

Hundreds of Rankers and Regulars had gathered at the final examination area.

Hundreds—no, thousands—of Observers had their vision focused on a single spot.

Floor 134 was the highest floor currently accessible in the Tower.

Since King Zahard himself resided there, entering it was not easy.

So the media had resorted to a trick—using Observers to cover the event.

Then suddenly—

A massive roar and tremor shook the floor.

RUMBLE—!!

"Th-this… this is far worse than what I heard…"

The High Ranker from Zahard's royal army, who served as the chief supervisor for this examination, had pupils trembling violently.

His body was shaking as well.

No—

the entire ground itself was shaking.

The chief supervisor stared ahead with his mouth hanging open.

The majestic rocky mountain region that should have stood there—

was gone.

The barren plain had been completely overturned.

The land had lost all natural formations.

Instead—

dozens of swords larger than mountains were embedded into the earth, forming a colossal graveyard of blades.

Gulp.

Swallowing nervously, the supervisor looked at the boy standing beside him.

A boy who stood at the center of the Tower's most powerful forces: the Zahard Royal Family, the Ten Great Families, FUG, and countless influential guilds and factions.

He looked young.

Yet at the same time, he radiated such a noble and distant aura that it felt difficult to even approach him.

Still—

the supervisor was a proud High Ranker of the Zahard royal army.

If he acted disgracefully in front of a boy not even 200 years old, it would stain the royal family's honor.

Thinking that, the supervisor wiped the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief, straightened his posture, and spoke with a professional smile.

"How do you feel, Arie Hoaquin? Having passed the final test and officially becoming a Ranker…"

"...…."

The boy didn't answer.

He simply moved his arms slightly, opened and closed his fists, and stared at the supervisor with both eyes.

His expression was nearly blank— yet it carried a faint hint of dissatisfaction.

Even with the boy's almost dismissive silence, the supervisor did not show embarrassment.

Maintaining his dignity, he finished with a formal greeting.

"Welcome to the top of the Tower, Arie Hoaquin."