On the other side of the veil, Sauron's voice cut through the hum of residual Shinsu, sharp and disbelieving.
"What the hell? How did that frail boy and the blindfolded idiot get through?"
Frustration tinged his words, but not irrationality. There was something off about that new teammate of his—something that made his instincts twitch. The same could be said for the other boy, the one with wide eyes and a quiet demeanor.
He turned to Chrollo, standing calm beside him. "So, what now?"
Chrollo didn't respond immediately. His gaze lingered on Gojo and Baam beyond the barrier, thoughtful. "Well," he said at last, "it's time for us to move too."
Sauron blinked. "Huh? What do you mean, time to move?"
But Chrollo was already walking toward the veil, his coat fluttering slightly as he stepped into the glowing pressure field without hesitation or fear. Sauron scowled, watching the indifference with growing irritation. "Tch. Ignoring me again, are you? I swear I'll get him back for that."
Chrollo passed through the Shinsu wall as if it were air—calm, unbothered. Not even a bead of sweat marred his brow. If anything, there was a trace of amusement on his face, like he found the entire process mildly entertaining.
From behind, Lero-Ro raised a curious brow. "Impressive," the Ranker murmured.
"Of course he is," Gojo said, grinning lazily as he leaned back on his elbows. "He'd be boring otherwise."
Baam glanced between the two, his curiosity piqued. "You know him well?"
"We share a team," Gojo replied with a shrug. "That's about as intimate as it gets in this hellhole."
Before Baam could respond, a sudden ripple disturbed the air. A blur of green streaked toward the veil, and without pausing, strode through it as if it were mist. The pressure hardly seemed to register.
Anak Zahard.
She emerged with narrowed emerald eyes, her expression sharp with annoyance as she flipped her spear onto her shoulder. Her gaze swept over Baam and Gojo—and narrowed further.
Gojo met her look beneath the cloth tied over his eyes, offering a crooked smile.
"A Zahard princess, huh?" he mused internally. "Or just someone playing dress-up."
Lero-Ro clapped once, breaking the moment. "Well, almost right. You didn't win, Baam, but not bad."
Baam scratched his head, sheepish. "I'm just glad she's okay."
The Ranker smiled faintly. "Since the one we bet on didn't arrive first, the wager is void. But I had fun, so—ask your questions."
Baam's eyes lit up. "Have you seen a girl named Rachel? Blonde hair, about my height?"
Lero-Ro shook his head. "I'm afraid not."
Baam's smile faltered.
"Perhaps another question?" the Ranker offered gently.
Baam nodded, hesitating. "What is an Irregular?"
Lero-Ro's smile faded. "Irregulars," he said seriously, "are individuals who enter the Tower without being chosen by Headon. They break the rules of the Tower. Often, they're powerful. Unpredictable. Dangerous. Some of the strongest people in this Tower are Irregulars."
As the words sank in, a frustrated Regular stormed toward the barrier, shouting, "This test is unfair! I'm stronger than half the people here!"
Lero-Ro approached with measured steps. "Strength isn't everything here. It's about resilience. Adaptability. Sometimes, luck."
The Regular scoffed. "Easy for you to say."
Without warning, the Ranker increased the Shinsu density around him. The Regular collapsed, gasping for air.
"This is the Tower," Lero-Ro said coldly. "If you can't handle this, you won't survive."
Gojo watched, thoughtful. "The Tower tests more than power," he murmured. "It's a crucible."
Baam nodded beside him. "I'll climb it. No matter what."
Lero-Ro gave them both a long, unreadable look. "Be careful. The higher you go, the more the Tower reveals its true nature. You might reach a point where you can't keep climbing. Just hope, when that time comes, you've found what you were looking for."
Gojo only tilted his head with a faint smile, his expression unreadable. Baam gave a firm nod.
Suddenly, a loud thud echoed as Rak charged into the barrier—and slammed into it with a furious growl. "Turtles! Weak wall! I'll smash you!"
"Should we be worried?" Baam asked, a little anxious.
Gojo waved a hand. "The crocodile? He's all bark… Well, mostly."
One by one, more Regulars crossed the veil—Hatz, Shibisu, Serena, even Laure, half-asleep and somehow still resistant to the pressure. And then—
A red-haired figure stumbled through, hitting the ground on one knee. Sweat clung to his skin, but his eyes burned with stubborn fire.
Sauron.
"You made it," Gojo said with a mocking grin.
"Shut up, you lucky bastard," Sauron spat.
"Took you long enough," Chrollo added coolly.
"Tch… Wait till I wipe the floor with you two," Sauron grumbled.
Lero-Ro turned to the crowd. Only forty or so had passed. The rest were being escorted out—unconscious, bruised, or simply broken.
"Test complete," he announced. "Congratulations to those who passed. To the rest… better luck in another life."
The floor beneath them shifted as the glowing orbs dimmed. A new corridor opened in the distance, yawning with the promise of more trials.
"We'll begin the next phase soon," Lero-Ro said. "Rest up. It only gets harder from here."
They moved forward as a group, down the dim corridor, until they entered a wider chamber. A young woman with bright yellow hair stood at the front, smiling.
"Hi! I'm Yellowy. I'll be assisting with the next test. Regulars, please line up in your teams."
She gestured beside her. "This is a team-based test. One team at a time. The rest of you, follow the robot's instructions until called."
She beckoned the first team.
As Gojo and his team waited, Sauron was already heated, yelling again at Chrollo, who—true to form—ignored him.
Gojo sighed. "This is my team, huh? Great."
Still, while they waited, and seeing that they were quite a while away from their turn, he sat down, crossing his legs and surprising them both. He closed his eyes.
Gojo POV:-
Time to work some things out.
So where should I start, the basic manipulation of shinsu while it is possible for me now, I rather not make it so obvious.Once the teaching and position aligning phase starts I can seamlessly blend into here..until then makeshift with what I can.
So up until then only dismantle I can use huh?. It's ok but not heavily useful. Cause i doesn't want to make a scene and bring unwanted attention . And on the other hand I don't know whether the first phase of exam is under surveillance cause i was spamming dismantle like everywhere.
It's better to be safe with it
Now for the other part, what to do with information that is now starting to pile up?
Maybe I can construct a method that allows me to store info without putting too much strain in the brain,i don't know when or where I can learn RCT so better I do that.
And this also helps against people with mind reading abilities.
So let's start,
Ummm…
How to create a storage place? I mediated ,allocated my thoughts,rummaging through my past life to get inspiration …..brushing through countless books,novels,manwha ways but none satisfied me…until he came across something interesting…
Harry Potter.
That universe while seemingly of a lower realm compared to rest of the books he read. Then was one method that stood out for him.
OCCULUMENCY..
The magical art of shielding one's mind from the intrusion of legilimency. It's essentially a mental Defense like building a wall to protect your thoughts from being accessed..
This solves one of the problem I might have.
On the other hand I can modify such that I can make a fortress instead of a wall..constricting multiple layers and within the fortress I can construct a structure like a library to preserve and classify memories, thus putting less strain on the actual brain. This sounded feasible but it's gonna be very complicated.
I am not sure when I can completely construct such said structure but better start now than later.
So to perform basic occlumensy a person had to rid their minds of all thoughts and emotions.'make it blank and calm'.
So I steadied my breath and brought my thoughts and memories about.I pictured a door in my head but quickly there was problem at hand , the door…it won't shut.
Every time i force it closed,infos start leaking through the cracks; my first failure, my failed confession,my parents arguing etc.
But I keep trying.
Soon I realize that fighting the thoughts doesn't work.i can't force silence. I have to watch them instead.
Like clouds drifting across a sky.
I sit what seemed like a tranquil lake at first but far deep within it unknowst to me was a chaotic reality and unpredictable torrents of currents filled with unknown .
I thought them as my thoughts and desperately tried to calm them…suddenly what seemed as a tsunami of oceans disappeared .
Vanished.
As if there were ever there and infront of me was a almost translucent looking fortress with a gate open..
I let out an exhausted sigh.
Finally…..it's done.
Before he could explore it further, he felt a tug—reality calling. He opened his eyes to find Sauron glaring at him, Chrollo watching curiously.
"Hey, dumbass, it's not nap time!" Sauron barked. "It's our turn—and we've got a problem."
Gojo blinked. "Problem?"
Chrollo's expression was grim. "The teams before us… most of them screamed after the ten-minute mark. The ones that didn't? Silence. Looks like if you don't solve it fast…..you die."
Gojo stood, dusting himself off. "So? Let's go in. Bish , bash, bosh."
Yellowy waved them forward.
As they stepped into the pitch-dark chamber, the door shut behind them. In the center sat a beautiful figure—calm, serene, sipping tea in silence.
"Welcome," the figure said. "I'm Hansung Yu. I'll be administering this test."
Gojo studied him quietly.
"The rules are simple," Hansung continued. "Before you are twelve doors. One is real. Eleven are not. Choose the correct one within ten minutes. Choose wrong—and you die."
The clock began.
Sauron and Chrollo moved instantly, examining the doors. Gojo stood where he was, still watching Hansung.
Hansung raised an eyebrow. "Mr. Gojo, are you not going to help?"
Gojo tilted his head with a smirk. "I was just wondering whether you're a guy or a girl. Not that it matters. Just curious."
Hansung paused, stunned. "Excuse me?"
Before he could respond further—
"HEY, BLINDFOLDED IDIOT!" Sauron shouted. "Help us, dammit!"
Gojo laughed. "Simmer down, hotpot."
He nodded toward Chrollo. "Didn't he figure it out?"
Chrollo glanced back. "Not sure. Just a gut feeling."
"Then go with it," Gojo said.
Chrollo stepped forward—and opened a door.
"Nooo!" Sauron shouted, expecting death.He turned over and looked at hansung yu. Seeing that no reaction came from him, he grabbed Chrollo by the collar and lifted him slightly and shouted at him. "DO YOU RELAIZE WHAT YOU HAVE DONE".
Unfazed Chrollo threw a helpless glance at Gojo addressing him to help.Seeing his teammate,he threw a glance back to hansung yu—"You a\waiting for him to getting drenched in saliva before announcing the results?"
Hansung simply sipped his tea. And calmly replied "You pass."
Sauron blinked. "Wait… we passed?"
With that relief washed over him as he loosened his grip on Chrollo .He then looked at Chrollo and grinned. "Good job helping this king."— acting as if the previous incident didn't happen.
Chrollo sighed. "This is my life now, huh…"
As they bickered, Gojo watched, grinning.
Sauron caught him. "What are you smiling at? Mocking me again?"
"Nothing," Gojo said quickly, though the twitch in his lips gave him away.
Veins bulged on Sauron's forehead.
Chrollo clapped him on the back. "Let's get going."
The three walked off, and as Gojo passed Hansung, he gave a casual wave.
"Bye-byeeeee"
"Nice tea, by the way."
Hansung just narrowed his eyes, as he looked over his teapot to see it being empty.He didn't know when it was taken , he wasn't a normal guy to begin with even among rankers he is someone special.
But under his nose such a thing happened.
Without being angry about it.
Hansung yu just sipped his remaining tea in his cup and stated— "That was another interesting combo to say the least".
"Especially the white haired fellow, something unnerving about him".
Tapping his finger on the table as an ominous shadow seemed form behind him. He smiled and concluded—
"Another interesting personnel to look out for".