Devil Fruit Powers In The Tower Of God - Chapter 49
The entire 26th Floor was built underground in one gigantic cave system. All the buildings on the Floor were carved into the cave walls.
Neon lights were scattered all over the cave system, but it was common for the residents there to travel with a Lighthouse, even if they weren’t Light Bearers.
After all, the 26th Floor was owned by the Tu Perie Family, and all the Lighthouses sold there were created by them. It’s common knowledge that all the Lighthouses created by the Tu Perie Family have the highest quality.
The leader of that Family, Tperie, had not only created the position Light Bearer, but he also created the Opera Lighthouse, one of the greatest Lighthouses of the Tower. A total of three have been made by him, and they extend the user’s Shinsoo field to near infinity.
In theory, a person could observe the whole Tower if they have an Opera. The Lighthouse also has defensive measures that put even Armour Inventories to shame and higher attacking capabilities than Ignition Weapons.
As soon as Lumen’s group arrived on the 26th Floor, a swarm of reporters had rushed them. Or more precisely, they had rushed Androssi.
“Princess, you are regarded as by far the strongest E-Rank Regular. Could you tell us how you feel about that?”
“Princess, all of your teammates are considered to be within the top 20 E-Rank Regulars. Could you tell us how you managed to gather all of them?”
“Princess, your team seems to have no dėsɨrė to spend their time leisurely on the Floors. You are entirely focused on climbing the Tower. How long do you think it would take you to reach the Top?”
Question after question was fired at Androssi, and while the reporters were interested in her, the rest of the group slipped away.
Once they were a distance away from Andorssi, everyone went their own way.
“I’ll go and sign us up for the Test and find a residence for us afterward,” Leesoo stated. He was the one that gathered information about the Tests, and he made sure to register the team at the earliest possible time for them to take one. Leesoo was also the one that dealt with their housing issues as well.
“Merrie, let’s go and see if we can find you a better Lighthouse here.” Lumen told the Red Witch. She had made great progress as a Light Bearer and deserved a reward.
“Thank you.” With a smile, she nodded to him. She had a few Lighthouses, but they were all Low-Ranked ones. Not a single one of them was higher than 5E. With a bit of luck, they might find a 1E or even a 10D-Rank Lighthouse that they could afford on the 26th Floor.
“I’ll come with you~” Verdi exclaimed and held onto Lumen’s shirt. The Floor was filled with Regulars, so she didn’t want to stay away from him. With him around her, she wouldn’t experience those bad headaches.
The rest of the group slipt up, all going to explore the 26th Floor to see what it has to offer.
Exploring the Floors never ceased to amaze Lumen. Each Floor had a different environment with a unique atmosphere. He would have never got see such amazing sights on Earth. However, Urek had told him that, outside the Tower in the vast Universe, there were even grander places.
As Lumen and the two girls were walking around, he would stop from time to time to look around.
‘Again, huh?’ Lumen thought. Ever since his proficiency in reading the flow of Shinsoo had increased, he had felt a pair of eyes observing him. No matter on which Floor he was, he felt someone or something watching him.
At first, he thought it might be the Guardian on the Floor that he was, but he had the feeling it that wasn’t the case. To him, it felt like it was the same pair of eyes that were always watching him.
On the 123rd Floor, in a darkened room that was only lit up by a massive Lighthouse and over 100 smaller Lighthouses, a purple-haired girl was lying on her stomach and eating from a bag of chips. Her feet were raised in the air, and she was cutely dangling them while watching the video footage on the massive Lighthouse.
This was Jaina Repellista Zahard, one of the owners of the Opera Lighthouse and the only Princess of Zahard that wasn’t a Ranker or a Regular since she had no dėsɨrė to climb the Tower whatsoever. She was addicted to sitting in her darkened room in front of her Lighthouses while observing what’s happening within the Tower.
The video footage that Repellista was watching was that of Lumen, who was currently looking straight at her. She giggled and waved at him, but unfortunately, he didn’t return the gesture as he was unable to see her.
“Yuri sure found an interesting boyfriend,” Repellista stated to no one in particular. “I wonder how much more will he grow?”
Ever since Lumen had appeared on the 2nd Floor, she had been keeping an eye on him. The fact, that Yuri, had rushed to the 1st Floor a few years ago, hadn’t escaped her eyes. However, she didn’t know what had transpired there, as that was the only place in the Tower that she couldn’t observe with her Opera Lighthouse.
After Yuri had rushed to the 1st Floor, two interesting fellows had appeared on the 2nd Floor. Bam was intriguing, but Lumen was something else. He wasn’t that exceptional at first glance, but he was able to use abilities that didn’t require Shinsoo. As incredible as they were, Lumen had very little control over them, which seemed weird to her.
Repellista let out a cute giggle and said. “I hope you don’t disappoint me.”
Merrie, noticing that Lumen had stopped in place, asked him. “Is there something wrong?”
“No, no. I’m just being paranoid, I guess.” He replied, and then pointed at a shop nearby. “I have a good feeling about that one. Let’s check it out.”
Lumen gave one last look to where he felt he was being watched from, and turned to enter the shop.
After spending about 20 minutes there, the three exited the store, and Merrie had a smile on her face. They were able to exchange the Armor Inventory Vespa had looted from the muscular lady and had gotten a 7D-Rank Lighthouse for the Red Witch.
As soon as they were out of the store, Lumen received a message from Leesoo.
[I’ve registered the Team for the Test and rented a residence for us. I’ve already registered your Pockets to the building, and the coordinations for it are…]
[Good one. We just found a Lighthouse for Merrie, and we will make our way towards the house now.] Lumen replied back.
“Leesoo already signed us up for the Test and found a residence for us. Let’s go and check out the place.” Lumen told the two girls, and they nodded in agreement with him.
Leesoo was in the living room, sitting on a couch and watching the news. He was holding a phone-looking device in his hand and was typing something on it. Once he noticed Lumen and the two girls, he jumped from his seat and showed them the device.
“Look at this, guys,” Leesoo exclaimed. The device looked like a smartphone and had a messenger-like app on the screen. Leesoo was chatting with someone about tips on dating women.
Lumen and Merrie shared a look, as they both felt something off about the device. They didn’t exactly know what’s wrong about it, but the Shinsoo was flowing in such a way, that they couldn’t read it accurately.
“What is this?” Lumen asked him.
“This is Emily! An intelligent chatting bot that could answer all of your questions! It’s super popular right now amongst the Regulars” Leesoo explained.
“It could answer all of your questions?” Lumen asked skeptically.
“Yes, look!” Leesoo typed in a question.
[What’s an important tip for dating women?]
[Be confident. Confidence is attractive and enthusiasm will make you shine.]
Leesoo showed them Emily’s answer and said. “See, it’s amazing.”
“Let me try.” Lumen told him and grabbed the device. He thought for a moment and then typed in.
[Is Lights End alive?]
[Lights End is dead. He was killed on the 10th Floor by a FUG Slayer.] Emily replied back.
Lumen showed her answer to Leesoo, and he scratched his head in embarrassment.
“I guess it can’t answer ALL questions, but it can definitely answer most of them. The bot is extremely intelligent,” Leesoo said with an embarrassed laugh, and he typed in another question.
[Which Floor is Androssi’s team on right now?]
[Androssi and her team have recently advanced to the 26th Floor. The Princess is currently being interviewed on channel 12.] Emily answered.
Leesoo changed the tv channel to 12 and Androssi was talking about her progress as a Regular.
“See? It’s very smart.” Leesoo stated.
“Can I try?” Merrie questioned and he handed her the device. After thinking about it for a moment, she typed in her question.
[How is Hwa Ryun doing?]
[Hwa Ryun is having a bit of trouble seeing, but she is mostly fine. She had just started leading her prophesied one. Hwa Ryun is wondering how Merrie is doing, and if she had found the person she was searching for.]
“This…”Merrie froze from seeing the answer.
“Can you please lend me the device? I have some things I want to test out.” Merrie asked Leesoo with a tremble in her voice, still unable to believe the reply from Emily.
“Sure, you can have it. The device isn’t that expensive, so I can just go and get another one.” Leesoo agreed to give it to her.
“Thank you!” Merrie thanked him and turned to leave the living room. As she was walking she felt Lumen’s gaze, and she turned towards him. “Don’t worry, I won’t do anything stupid. I only want to find out more about this device.”
Being able to read her emotions, Lumen knew that she was being honest. “Just be careful. I have a bad feeling about this Emily.”
“I got it!” Merrie nodded to him and made her way towards one of the empty rooms.
Lumen sat on the couch with Verdi and asked Leesoo. “So, what can you tell me about the Test.”
“Any team no matter the number of Regulars could take on the Test. However, the more Regulars there are, the harder the Test is.” Leesoo started his explanation.
“Each Regular would be transported to a maze-like location. There is only a single exit to the maze, and it is locked. Each Regular would have to find a special key to unlock it, and only when all Regulars manage to escape the maze, would the team pass the Test. Each location is filled with Stone Bats, but we should easily be able to handle those creatures.”
“Our Team would be taking on the Test in three weeks. There is no earlier time than that.” Leesoo finished his explanation.
“It doesn’t sound like a very difficult Test for our team.” Lumen stated.
“No, definitely not. Not only do we have three Scouts, but we also have Merrie and you.” Leesoo confirmed.
Hatsu, Vespa, and Leesoo were all incredible Scouts. With the ȧssistance of their Observers, they should easily be able to locate the key.
Tiana and Laure are exceptional Wave Controllers who could read the flow of Shinsoo. The two should also have an easy time finding the key.
Verdi could obtain the location of the key from the creatures living in the maze.
Merrie was a Guide and a good Light Bearer, so she would easily find the key. She could also give her Lighthouses to the other members and help them out as well.
Lumen with his ability to read the flow Shinsoo would definitely be able to locate the key. Like Merrie, he could also ȧssist the others by giving them one of his Lighthouses or Observers. He still had the Low-Ranked ones he purchased on the 3rd Floor.
“That’s good.” Lumen stated. “Is there a place on the Floor where we could train?”
“Yes. In fact, we could train in our house. The top floor has a large room perfect for training.” Leesoo replied.
“Well, what are you waiting for. Let’s go.” Lumen told him, and Leesoo followed after him to the large room.
Three weeks quickly passed by, and Lumen’s team took on the Test on the 26th Floor. With Merrie helping Anak, Androssi, and Aleksai everyone were able to easily locate the key for the maze and pass the Test.
With that, the Lumen’s team advanced onto the 27th Floor.