The Ascension : A New Beginning (Solo Leveling x Tower of God) [ON A HIATUS]

Chapter 23 : The Underdog

(A/N : Its been a while hasn't it? Let's just say I got stuck midway through the chapter for a couple of weeks. It didn't help that I got busy irl as well.)
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After almost an entire day, the flight was finally over. All the airships that were coming from different directions had converged and landed in a large clearing in the middle of a forest. As they disembarked, all the regulars were filled with awe at the sight that welcomed them. Three huge pyramid-like structures towered over them, bathing in golden rays of light that fell from the sky. The golden hue contrasted sharply with the greenery of the surrounding forest.

"There are a lot more regulars gathered here than I thought there would be." Jinwoo said, walking towards the pyramids. "I don't think I've seen this many regulars gathered since passing the second floor."

"There is a good reason for that." Sam replied, walking behind him. "Apparently, the workshop is said to have a heavy influence in forming this test. Unlike the normal floor tests, the regulation of this test is done entirely by the workshop. The floor director has almost no say in it. Hell, most of the examiners involved in the test will be their employees as well."

"So in a way, it's similar to the workshop battle on the 30th floor?" Len asked him.

"I suppose so." Sam confirmed. "But unlike the workshop battle which only happens every five years, this test is conducted every year."

"You sure seem to know a lot about this." Jinwoo commented. But Sam merely chuckled in response.

"Of course. I participated in the test four years ago after all. Sadly, I failed in the preliminaries."

Jinwoo was surprised by this revelation. He knew first hand how capable Sam was, and for him to lose in the preliminaries spoke volumes about the upcoming test.

'Looks like I should be taking this a bit more seriously...' Jinwoo reaffirmed. By the time he passed the second floor, Jinwoo was already leagues above an average regular on the same floor. And that gap only widened day by day, as he simply kept getting stronger and stronger. Eventually, it came to a point where he didn't even have to try in order to pass a test. But from the looks of things, it seemed as if this test wouldn't be like the others before.

"Regulars, welcome!" Everyone's attention was then brought to a man standing near the entrance to the closest Pyramid. The man was dressed in a black tuxedo and matching pants. A green lighthouse floated around him, signifying his position as a light-bearer. Most importantly, the man had wavy light-blue hair that was tied in a ponytail. With a wide smile plastered on his face, he continued.

"My name is Khun Holten Reeves. And I am one of the many rankers in charge of the preliminaries tests. That being said..." His eyes scanned through the regulars in front of him. "... There are a lot more of you here than we anticipated. I guess this calls for a bit of... culling." He spoke in a cold tone, sending shivers down everyone's spine.

"Oh ho ho, don't worry. I was simply joking." He chuckled, as most of the regulars heaved a sigh of relief. "But still, I wasn't kidding when I said there are a lot of you. So let's conduct a simple test to narrow down the numbers, shall we?"

Clearing his throat, he continued. "For this test, we are going to pick a random member of each team and pair them up against each other in a one-on-one fight. To win, you have to either kill your opponent, have them concede defeat, or push them out of the boundaries of the arena. Simple enough, right?" He pointed to the side at what appeared to be an elevated circular platform. "That should suffice as the temporary arena. Now I will display the regulars who will take part in this round and whom they'll be up against."