Devil Fruit Powers In The Tower Of God - Chapter 4

Being embraced by Lumen, the girls were terrified for their lives.

In their mind, he was a very scary existence.

All they saw was a flash of light, and afterward, the two men that were fighting dropped dead. Now that scary existence is between them with a hand over their shoulders.

Since Lumen didn’t take any further actions after asking for their names, the two girls calmed down a bit.

The purple-haired girl introduced herself as Tiana. She was wearing yellow sweatpants and a blue shirt. Tiana was holding a large needle in her right hand and said she plans to be a Scout.

The green-haired girl introduced herself as Fai. She only wore a yellow dress and didn’t look battle-ready in any way. Fai said she wishes to become a great Light Bearer in the future.

Lumen’s first name means light, and he has the Pika Pika no Mi, making him a Light Human. So when he heard Fai saying she wants to become a Light Bearer, he though she is mocking him. But then, he noticed that she looked serious when she said that. He figured he would learn what Light Bearer is in the future, so he decided not to ask her what it is.

With the introductions out of the way, the girls were not as frightened of Lumen. Nevertheless, Tiana wasn’t comfortable with being embraced by him and was little squirmish.

Fai, on the other hand, was bolder. She put one of her hands behind his waist and snuggled closer to him. She was even brave enough to fill him out with her other hand.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk. If only we had more than 5 minutes.” Fai smacked her lips, and Tiana looked at her in disgust.

After the 5 minutes passed, they heard the voice of the Test giver.

“The second Test is over now! Hold together with your teammates for a while. The three people holding each other at this moment are considered a team!”

“You will be sent to the next Test spot!”

Lumen felt being enveloped by a weird power, and he blacked out for a moment. The moment he regained his vision, he was already in a giant room with a raised platform at one end.

Looking around, he was surrounded by other Regulars who had completed the Test. There were easily over 100 people in the giant room.

Lumen casually observed the Regulars and noted that there are a lot of different races amongst them.

As he was inspecting them, a lot of them had their eyes on him. Most of them looked as if they came from a bloody battle, while he looked like someone going on a date with a girl on each side. The males in the room silently cursed him.

A commotion started between two Regulars. A brown-skinned, red-haired guy was angry at another human-looking Regular.

It seemed that the red-haired guy had lost his arm to him in the previous test, and he didn’t look happy about that.

Just as a fight was about to start, Lumen heard the voice of the Test giver.

“Did you not understand? No fighting during break time.”

“You didn’t take my words seriously, did you Regulars?” The Test giver asked with a smirk. He was a tall, human-looking individual with blonde hair and two black spots under his eyes. The Test giver was wearing a black formal shirt, a white lab coat over it, black trousers and gloves.

“What are you?! You locust looking jerk! You wanna die, too?” The red-haired guy clearly didn’t recognize his voice, but a giant yellow bird did and tried stopping him from making a mistake.

“I’m the Test Administrator, Lero-Ro.” The blonde introduced himself.

‘Test Administrator? So he is not the Guardian of this Floor. Weird.’ Lumen thought that only the Guardians of the Floors could give out Tests. Things seemed a bit more complicated than what he originally believed.

“Test Administrator? Then you are a R-Ranker?” The red-haired guy started stuttering at the end.

“Yes. I’m a Ranker of the Tower.” Lero-Ro confirmed. Just stating that he is a Ranker instantly calmed down the red-haired guy.

After calming the Regulars, Lero-Ro calmly walked onto the stage.

“Mic test~ Regulars, over here! Please focus! I will explain the next round.”

“Before that, to give you some brief information about myself. I’m your Test Administrator, Ranker Lero-Ro. Nice to meet chu!”

“Now, I guess you’ve had enough rest. Let’s go on to the next Test! But before that, there will be a little pre-Test.”

“Fyi, those who don’t pass this pre-Test, can’t take the next Test!” Hearing him, most Regulars looked confused and wondered what the Test might be.

“Haha! Don’t worry! It’s a really simple pre-Test. Relax~”

“Well now. The pre-Test begins~” Lero-Ro raised his hand and started shaking it from left to right.

“Well~ like this~ like that~ this way~ that way~ ya’ll~” Suddenly he thrust his hand forward, with the palm facing the Regulars, and an invisible force wave was unleashed.

To Lumen, the force wave felt very gentle. In fact, he even enjoyed the feeling of that weird power. Despite that, Fai, who was still clinging to him, was flung out of his embrace.

The boy looked like a human with dark brown hair and golden eyes. He was wearing a brown long-sleeved shirt, a red vest, and beige pants.

For all intents and purposes, he looked like one of the weakest amongst the Regulars. And yet, he was the only one beside Lumen that didn’t get thrown from the force wave. Both of them were on the left and right respectively and were out of Lero-Ro’s sight.

“Is this Shinsoo?” A regular with blue hair asked.

“Yep~ I threw a veil of Shinsoo. I instantly compacted the Shinsoo to make a veil, and then threw it to push you.”

“As you all know, Shinsoo is everywhere in the Tower, and it plays an important role because it allows us to breathe and provides us water. However, Shinsoo sometimes can be a powerful murder weapon depending on its use.” Hearing that, Lumen got interested in this weird power.

“Highly concentrated Shinsoo is so strong that it can break an arm. So all the contestants in the Tower use Shinsoo to fight. However, some people show adverse reactions to Shinsoo.”

“In other words, those who can’t deal well with Shinsoo are not appropriate candidates to be in the Tower. The people who can pass through the veil at least don’t have adverse reactions to Shinsoo.”

“The teams that pass through the veil, pass the test as well. And those that don’t, fail. Alright then, everyone please come through.” Lero-Ro finished with a smile.

The powers of Shinsoo were fascinating to Lumen. He wondered whether someone could hurt him in his Logia state. There must be a way to find out, because if he could be harmed with that power, then he won’t be as invincible as he believed

“Wait! Did you say, team? What if one of your teammates can’t pass through the veil?” As he was pondering on the mysterious powers of Shinsoo, a Regular asked Lero-Ro.

“Isn’t it obvious that team fails.” Lumen cursed in his mind hearing that. He immediately found Tiana and Fai amidst the Regulars and hoped that they would be able to pass through.

“That’s absurd! It doesn’t make sense!” Someone complained from the Regulars.

“Absurd? What is?” Lero-Ro asked with a mocking smile.

“It’s not fair to be eliminated because of a teammate! That’s just bad luck!” Thankfully someone said exactly what Lumen was thinking.

“Hey! Do you know what’s the most important thing to go up the Tower?” Lero-Ro asked. Seeing no response, he continued.

“It’s luck! The luck to have a strong body, the luck to be smart, the luck to be rich, the luck to escape from death, the luck to save a teammate, the only reason you have come so far is because you were lucky.”

“And now you say it’s absurd to test luck? Stop your jibbering and just take the Test, you Regulars.” Lumen wanted to protest, but he stopped himself.

Was he not lucky to meet an Axis? Was he not lucky to receive the 3 Devil Fruits from him? Was he not lucky to be sent to the Tower? The Administrator was correct. The only reason he was in the Tower is because of luck. Hopefully, his luck won’t run out here.

“Um… I… I don’t know why, but I didn’t have a problem… Um… To take the Test… I should go out and come in again, right?” The brown-haired boy asked Lero-Ro.

The Administrator looked at the harmless boy with a serious face. Feeling the pressure of the gaze, the boy turned around to go behind the veil. “I… I’ll go back out. It’s a Test after all.”

“No, Mr. Baam. You’re in. I think I made a mistake, but it’s also part of your luck. You passed Mr. Baam.” Lero-Ro laughed it out, causing a commotion from the rest of the Regulars.

“Guess I’m also pretty lucky.” Lumen chipped in with a smile and the commotion grew even larger. Lero-Ro instantly focused his gaze on him.

‘Did I actually made a mistake? No, that’s not possible. The boy looks harmless, but there is definitely something weird about him. This guy, on the other hand, looks too calm, too nonchalant about this. This one is dangerous. What kind of monsters are taking the Test this time?’ Lero-Ro thought to himself.

“Indeed. You also passed the test Mr. Lumen. You seem to be just as lucky.” Lero-Ro confirmed while Lumen shrugged his shoulders. He was confused about how the Administrator knew his name, but he didn’t question him.

Since he passed the Test, Lumen walked up to the stage and plopped himself on the ground. Baam, the black-haired boy, seeing someone else who had passed the test, walked up to him and introduced himself.

After that, the harmless boy sat down next to him in silence. Both of them didn’t have anything to talk about so they simply observed the rest of the Regulars.

“Mr. Baam, Mr. Lumen, both of you looked quite bored. How about chatting with me for a while.” Lero-Ro came up to them and sat down as well.

“While we are waiting for the rest of the Regulars, how about playing a game? Let’s guess which Regulars will be the first to pass through the Shinsoo.”

“If you get it right, I will answer any questions you ask, in return, if I’m right, you’ll have to answer what I ask as well. What do you think?” Lero-Ro proposed.

“I will pass.” Lumen politely refused since he didn’t trust the blonde Administrator.

“What? Really? Sounds good!” Baam, on the other hand, was more than happy to accept.

“Then I’ll go first.” Said Lero-Ro. “I’ll choose that green girl, I think her name was Anak.”

To Lumen it seemed unfair that the Administrator was the first to choose, but since he wasn’t playing he didn’t say anything.

“Who will you choose, Mr. Bam?” Lero-Ro asked.

“I… also choose the green girl.” The harmless boy also chose the same person, which was weird in Lumen’s opinion. Was that even a valid option? Didn’t Lero-Ro select her already? Again he didn’t say anything though since it didn’t concern him.

“Is there a reason you are choosing the same person?” Lero-Ro asked Baam with a judging gaze.

“I have a feeling.” The boy responded vaguely.

‘Yeah, I have the same feeling that the Administrator would pick the correct one as well.’ Lumen rolled his eyes. Despite that, he also believed that she would be the first to pass the test.

Anak was a small green-skinned girl with a lizard tail, wearing only a black and orange dress. Her small stature made her look like a harmless kid, but she carried herself with confidence. Lumen wasn’t sure what it is, but there was something special about her.

Just as expected, she was the first to pass through the Shinsoo barrier.

“It seems like a tie, but since I’m a Ranker, I will answer your question.” Lero-Ro seemed like a nice guy, but Lumen was still suspicious of him.

“Did a girl with light blonde hair and freckles pass by here?” Hearing Baam’s question, Lumen bȧrėly held himself from face-palming.

After a brief pause of thinking, Lero-Ro said he hadn’t met such a girl in any of the Tests that he is in charge of.

Lumen was already ignoring them and was looking at the Shinsoo veil, hoping the two girls pass through it.

“Do you have any other questions?”

“Could you tell me about the Irregulars?” Now hearing that, Lumen got interested in their conversation.

“The Irregulars are those who don’t fit to the rules of the tower.”

“Don’t… fit?”

“Yes”

“As you know, this tower can be divided into three areas. The Residential Area called the Outer Tower, the Regulars Test Area called the Inner Tower, and then there is the Middle Area.”

“It’s normal for the residents of the Tower to be born in the Residential Area, and live on that floor for their whole lives. But some people of a particular class can go to other floors through the Inner Tower or the Middle Area, that’s for the Regulars, right?”

“Oh… I see…”

“What is that? You sound as if you never knew?”

“N..No! Of course, I knew! Inner Tower! Outer Tower! And um… Yo Yo! Everybody’s Tower! Yay!” Lumen had to hold himself from face-palming since the boy was being way too obvious.

At least he understood that Baam should be the Irregular who passed Headon’s Test before him. Still, it was a mystery how someone like him managed to do so.

“Well, anyway… In the case of Regulars, they live in the Residential Area and when they show their talent to go up to the Tower, they get the right to enter the Tower.”

“There are some other cases too… but all of them are Chosen. That’s what they have in common.”

“The sorting of the Regulars is done by Headon, the Administrator of the Tower. And all the Regulars who have been sorted eventually gather here.”

‘So Headon is the Administrator of the Tower? Didn’t he introduce himself as the Guardian of the First Floor? Hmm, things seem complicated.’ Lumen thought to himself.

“However, very rarely people who weren’t sorted get here. They are the Irregulars.”

“But then where do the Irregulars come from?” Lumen decided to enter the conversation and ask. He knew he was sent here by Loki, but what about the others like the boy.

“This… I don’t know where exactly they come from, but it’s somewhere outside the Tower.” This begged the questions if the other Irregulars are from Earth as well.

“Are the Irregulars evil?” Baam asked.

“No. It’s true that they violate the rules of the Tower, but we can’t say that they are evil. However, the Irregulars that came here Phantaminum, Enryu, and Urek Mazino were all so powerful that Irregulars became the symbol of fear.”

“Why do Irregulars violate the rules of the Tower?” That point confused Lumen, so he asked Lero-Ro.

“Irregulars have opened the door themselves of their own will and their act goes against the Tower’s Laws.” Lumen wasn’t happy with the vague response, but he didn’t push for more.

“Is there a way I can meet them?” Baam asked the Administrator.

“There is. Just go up. Everything exists there.” Lero-Ro answered with another vague response.

“DAMN IT! How can this useless Test eliminate me? I don’t know what this veil is all about, but I’m strong enough without any stupid powers! I’m the strongest of the Regulars here!” A big human-looking dude screamed out. The guy was over 2m tall and looked pretty buff.

Lero-Ro stood up in silence and calmly walked up to him.

“What? What more do you have to say? I’m sick of listening to your nonsense. You think you’re above us just because you are a Ranker? You just look skinny and weak! I can show you how weak you are!” The big guy screamed in Lero-Ro’s face.

“This was your last chance, and you didn’t get that. How stupid are you?”

“Fine then, I will teach you the harsh way so that you realize about the power that lies above, and why you can’t go up the tower.”

“There is no limit to Shinsoo. With Shinsoo, you can obtain Immortality or God-like powers. There are rumors that Enryu the Notorious can create a living being using Shinsoo.”

“However, as it is for every man, we each have our own limits.” Power started radiation from Lero-Ro and Shinsoo started swirling around him.

“When one faces an opponent with infinite possibility and discovers his limits, he falls into despair.” The Shinsoo that Lero-Ro was gathering focused on the big guy and he started screaming in pain. He lasted no longer than a second before he fell on his knees.

“The veil of Shinsoo was my last show of mercy before you enter the Tower and fall into deeper despair. Those who don’t qualify, GET LOST.” Clutching his head, the big guy screamed even louder.

“Feeling pain? The concentration of Shinsoo on you is routine above the 30th Floor. Do you get it now? The reason you can’t go up the tower?”

“It’s not like you were not strong enough, or your effort wasn’t enough. It’s just because… you just weren’t one of the Chosen ones. Go back to the Floor you came from, you are not qualified to climb the Tower.”

Lero-Ro released the Shinsoo around the big guy and left like a total badass. Lumen was watching the spectacle in wonder. Seeing the show of power, he was excited to try and learn how to control Shinsoo. But that would most likely be after he learns how to use his own Devil Fruit powers first.

The big guy, on the other hand, started crying and screaming why is he not a Chosen, but no one paid him any more attention.

Lero-Ro walked back to them and sat down. “Isn’t God cruel?”

“When he first shows you the World, it seems like you can have anything in this limitless world. But one day he appears again and tells you ‘This is your limit’ although there are so many things that you still want to get.”

Hearing him, Baam hugged his knees and asked. “Mr. Lero-Ro… Do I deserve to go up the Tower?”

“Well… I wouldn’t know. But I’m sure, there will come a time when you have to stop your journey, and I just hope that you find what you are looking for… Whatever that is.”