Chapter 55 - Workshop Battle (1) (1/2)

The 30th Floor was one of the most beautiful places in the entire Tower. It was filled with incredible islands that floated on top of highly concentrated Shinsoo seas, and the mesmerizing beaches had a great variety of hotels that the Regulars could choose to stay in.

Above in the skies, the Archimedes, one of the five great Suspendships of the Workshop, was floating in the air. The ship was almost as large as the islands, and the only reason it was able to float in the air was due to the two large chunks of Suspendium that were attached to its sides.

Suspendium was mineral in the shape of a blue rock. The higher the purity of Suspendium, the better it will float in areas of high Shinsoo density. The purity level of Suspendium is also one of the factors used for the ranking and grading of items like Pockets, Inventories, and Lighthouses.

A few months ago, Lumen and his group had received an invitation for the Workshop Battle and had easily passed the Test on the 29th Floor.

Rather than staying in one of the hotels, they had rented a villa for themselves. It was in a more isolated place, detached from the rest of the buildings, but it had an incredible view of the island, and it also had a private pool.

The villa had different owners before Lumen's team advanced to the 30th Floor, but they had suddenly disappeared without leaving a trace.

It was a couple days after the incident at the Hand of Arlene, and the whole group was taking a break while having fun at their pool.

Leesoo and Aleksai were playing volleyball in the pool. Most of the time, Aleksai would slam the ball as hard as he could and sent it straight towards Leesoo's head, who was bȧrėly able to dodge it.

Hatsu was relaxing by swinging Ryu, his ice sword. Under the guidance of the sword's spirit, he had made great improvements in his swordsmanship. Ryu even allowed Hatsu to Ignite him again, but only under the condition that the swordsman practices his swings every second that he could. Should he slack off even once, Ryu wouldn't allow itself to be ignited.

Laure was a dozen meters away from the pool and peacefully sleeping. Despite his distance from the pool, some water would splash towards him from time to time, due to the ball hitting the pool. Without even opening his eyes or waking up, a barrier would pop up and block the water for him.

Saber was sleeping next to him and taking advantage of the shield that he would create.

Vespa was also next to him, making sure not a single drop of water gets on her wings. She was working on making a new poison and mixing some ingredients she had purchased.

Verdi was in the pool dressed in a cute pink one-piece swimwear. She was playing around with Archer, the small black snake while splashing water at it. The winged snake would gulp down large amounts of water and spray her with it.

Lumen was laying on his front, while Tiana was sitting on his back while giving him a massage. She was wearing a purple top and bottom swimwear that matched her hair color.

”Thanks for that.” Lumen told her as he got up and sat on a beach chair. ”Do you want me to return the favor and massage you now?”

”No!” Tiana answered, and her face turned bright red. ”Well, maybe later, when we are alone.” She bȧrėly whispered the last part.

At that moment, Verdi ran up to Lumen. She gave him a hug and started kissing him on the cheek.

”Verdi, what are you doing?” Lumen asked her with a laugh.

”I saw Tiana kissing you the other day, and when I asked her why, she said it's because she loves you. So I'm showing you how much I love you now!” Verdi answered him and continued kissing his cheek.

Lumen rubbed her hair and kissed her on the cheek as well. ”I love you too, Verdi.” After spending so much time with the cute girl, she had really grown on him. Verdi was like a little sister to him.

”Yay!” She kissed him one last time on the cheek and ran back to the pool. ”Lumen's love me the most!”

Lumen turned around, only to see Anak dressed in a black one-piece swimwear. She was looking at him expectantly while wagging her tail.

”Come.” He beckoned to her, and she jumped into his embrace. Anak kissed him on the cheek and offered her own. Lumen kissed her cheek as well, and her tail started swirling so fast, it looked like a helicopter's rotor.

Androssi was laying on a beach chair, dressed in pink top and bottom swimwear, while watching them in annoyance and a little bit of jealousy. She didn't specifically envy that Lumen was giving them so much attention, but she was jealous that there was someone that cared for them that much. Androssi might be a Princess of Zahard, but she also craved the attention of others. She just didn't know how to express that, and the only way she knew to receive that attention was through the interviews from the various journalists.

Sensing her emotions, Lumen looked at her, but Androssi huffed in response and turned around.

”What? You want a kiss too?” Lumen jokingly asked her.

”Fuck off. No one wants your kisses.” Androssi crossed her arms under her brėȧsts and looked the other way.

At that moment, Merrie, who was also laying on a beach chair, dressed in a red one-piece swimwear, called out to the rest, while looking at her Lighthouse. ”Hey, listen to this.”

Everyone stopped what they were doing and turned towards her.

”Apparently, FUG has a new Slayer Candidate that's an E-Rank Regular. He had destroyed the Hand of Arlene on the 28th Floor and killed a member of the 10 Great Families, Khun Aguero Agnis, with the explosion.” Merrie read the information available on the Box.

Everyone was surprised hearing that. To become a Slayer Candidate as an E-Rank regular was a great achievement. That person either has to have power equal to that of a Ranker or limitless potential.

Lumen had a suspicion on who exactly might be the Slayer Candidate, but he was surprised that FUG was so open about this. They should be aware that he, someone who opposes them, was on the 30th Floor. Should he get to meet that Slayer Candidate, he would annihilate him. In fact, he would even go out of his way to do it. So why was this information released then?

”What?! Khun is dead?!” Leesoo yelled in surprise. Agnis wasn't on a team with someone like Lumen, who helped them grow so much, but he was extremely strong. He was the best Light Bearer amidst the E-Rank Regulars and had an incredibly tough body thanks to being a member of the 10 Great Families.

”Well, the information states that he had been killed, but his body wasn't found there. He could still be alive, but the chances are low.” Merrie replied to him.

”Lumen, we have to pay them back for this! Agnis was my friend! He was also a friend of half the group! We have to kill this Slayer Candidate.” Leesoo pleaded.

”I will go after him either way. I'm just wondering why they publicized this information. Urek killed off two of their Slayers, so they should be scared of him killing this one as well. They should also know that whenever I've met with FUG members, I've killed them all.” Lumen replied to Leesoo and turned towards Merrie. ”Is there anything else?”

”Yes, it says that the Slayer Candidate is gathering the strongest team to compete in the Workshop Battle.” Merrie informed him.

”I see...” Said Lumen. He had learned from Absorcion that FUG was planning something big for the next Workshop Battle, but he didn't know it will involve a Slayer Candidate.

”Well, they will be participating in the Workshop Battle, so we can just smash them there,” Androssi stated while cracking her knuckles.

Seeing that, Lumen told her. ”If you act like a man, no one will like you.”

”Hateful bastard. No one likes you! And no one will ever like you!” Androssi jumped from her beach chair and started swinging punches his way. However, Lumen was easily able to catch her fists and held them in place. ”As a lady, you have to act more gentle, don't you know?”

”I will show you how gentle I am!” Androssi tried kicking him, but he tied her legs with a rope made of darkness. Another rope made of darkness appeared and tied her arms as well.