Chapter 33: The Flame of the Yeon Family (2)
21st Floor
"Oh… it really is just an endless ocean."
On the day we climbed from the 20th to the 21st Floor, it was pitch-black night. We rushed straight into the hotel, slept soundly, and only now woke up.
When I pulled open the curtains, a massive ocean—surrounding the entire Regulars' Area—filled the view.
Night would be somewhere out there too, taking his exam in that vast sea.
Well—future tense, I guess. He hasn't even entered the Tower yet.
I left my room and stepped into Luf's.
He was already busy taking pictures with his Observer first thing in the morning.
To be fair, his room did have the best view. Much better than mine.
We paid the same amount, but somehow I feel cheated.
"Luf, let's go wake up Hwarang. The 21st Floor uses a reservation system. We need to register at least a day in advance."
"Oh, you're here, hyung? Wait—come over here for a bit."
Luf grabbed my wrist and parked me by the window, then quickly set the timer on the Observer and dashed to stand beside me, striking a pose.
"Hyung, smeh-eyl. Pweese keep thaht pose."
Caught off-guard, I awkwardly posed with a smile.
Click! A flash burst from the Observer.
"Ooh, it came out nice. Let's go take Hwarang's photo next."
"Haha…"
I don't know if all Tu Perie family members are like this, but this kid is a complete photo addict.
Show him anything with good scenery or nice lighting and he immediately whips out his Observer. He's like a carefree world-travelling photographer.
"Hwarang hyung, we're coming in—!"
In the living room, Hwarang stood silently, staring out at the sea through the window.
Unlike Luf who was excitedly taking pictures or me who was admiring the view, Hwarang looked… different.
A complicated expression.
Heavy, quiet.
Not quite sorrow, not quite anger—just… weighed down.
"…"
Sensing the same uneasy atmosphere I did, Luf quietly put the Observer away.
"Hwarang?"
I called his name carefully.
"…Ah—Hoaquin, Luf. Sorry, I was being emotional for a second. Ahem. What's up?"
"We need to go register for the exam. This floor uses reservations."
He snapped back to his usual state, got dressed, and joined us outside.
....
While we walked to the exam reservation center, Luf spoke up.
"Now that I think about it, isn't the 21st Floor ruled by your family, hyung?"
Hwarang flinched for an instant, then answered naturally.
"Yeah… the Yeon family governs this floor. The ownership was complicated for a while, but after the last War of Succession, the Yeon family took full control."
As we chatted, we soon arrived at the exam registration hall—only to face an unexpected notice.
....
"Only individual exam applications?"
"Yes. As of today, the 21st Floor has adopted a new exam policy. We are no longer accepting team applications. Only individual applications are permitted. Rest assured, you will not be placed in the same exam arena as your teammates."
Hmm. Annoying. Very annoying.
But we couldn't refuse the exam, so we reluctantly registered individually.
Still—Hwarang, Luf, and I are all strong enough that failing on this floor would be harder than passing.
....
"You may come back tomorrow at 7 AM for your exams."
7 AM… looks like tomorrow will be busy.
"Anyone want to live here for a year?"
"Me! …Well, I would, but I don't want to fail and be forced to stay."
"I want to leave as fast as possible."
Luf was joking, but Hwarang's tone was dead serious.
He clearly hates this floor.
Is it because he's fire-type and hates being surrounded by ocean?
Or…
…another one of those damned faction disputes?
After all, this is the Yeon family's territory.
In the webtoon, they even tried to get the protagonists killed.
"Hwarang. It'd be best if you're careful in your exam. Just in case."
"…Understood."
He opened his eyes slightly, then nodded.
Our team really is good at reading the room.
We headed to the beach to relax—unaware that behind us, the receptionist was speaking into his Pocket.
....
"Yes. The young Yeon heir has registered for the exam. As instructed, I scheduled it for 7 AM tomorrow."
— Good. Once we secure Yeon Hwarang, the Workshop will take care of the disposal and cleanup. We can't leave behind our family's shame.
"What about his companions?"
— Ignore them. Even if they're from a rival Great Family, nothing good comes from provoking them unnecessarily. It's not like we're FUG.
"Then I'll process their exams normally."
....
21st Floor — Dotorri Workshop Research Lab
A secured door requiring a password hissed open.
The 20th Floor test administrator—FUG follower—stepped inside.
The head researcher greeted him with a wide smile.
"Oh! If it isn't our honored guest from FUG, visiting the 21st Floor Workshop!"
"Enough. How is the preparation coming?"
"We finished preparations the day before yesterday.
The question is you people. Are you sure you can deliver? I heard you failed spectacularly on the 20th Floor…"
"That's for the Yeon family to handle. Our job is only to receive your creation."
"Haha, true enough. Ah—right. Would you like to see the progress on my latest research?"
He checked the time on his Pocket. Still plenty left.
This researcher was someone he'd known for years—someone he could get along with.
"Well, it's still in its early stages, nothing presentable yet. Just the first step."
The researcher swiped his card and opened a massive steel door.
The space behind it was a secret laboratory.
Floating in a giant flask was a child submerged in some unknown solution.
Another kid lay anesthetized while mechanical arms performed a brain operation on him.
Further inside, dozens of children were forced to kill one another with blades—or sometimes with their own limbs.
"As you can see, we use illegitimate middle-area children as our subjects. There's plenty of supply, so no worries about running out. Haha!"
"Hmm… so this is…"
"Yes—living ignition weapons. The first step in creating biological ignition weapons. The other floor research directors haven't even made progress yet.
Our floor is the very first to get started."
The head researcher beat his chest proudly as he explained.
"Regular test subjects from the Middle Area are either kept in nutrient fluid like that… or thrown into death matches to kill one another… or we poke around in their brains a bit. To weaponize a living organism, the mind is the first key."
"The mind?"
"Yes. We push their minds to the absolute limit, and then enhance the body through biological experiments. If the subject's psyche is weak, they often die of shock during physical augmentation. It's been quite troublesome lately."
The FUG follower walked with the researcher, looking around.
Children screamed in agony as something was injected into their limbs.
"Any test subject that dies is dissected immediately. You learn from failures—if we identify the precise cause of death and what was lacking, we can raise the next success rate."
At last, the researcher reached the final door and tapped his card key.
"What is… this?"
The FUG follower's eyes widened as the final room came into view.
Inside iron cages were countless young boys and girls.
But unlike the previous children, these ones were different—
Most were from the Ten Great Families.
White hair and white eyes, blue hair and blue eyes, pink eyes, black hair with red eyes… A wide variety of Ten Family children crouched silently inside the cages.
"These subjects are the core talents of my research.
Because the Ten Families constantly discard illegitimate children and political losers into the Middle Area, we keep watch and collect them whenever we can. Ten Family subjects are rare, after all."
The FUG follower trembled with excitement before raising his voice in praise.
To him, everything he saw was perfect.
"Magnificent! Truly magnificent! I've taken quite a liking to you. From the experiments to the subjects—nothing is lacking!"
The researcher shrugged as though it were nothing.
"Ten Family kids endure experiments well. Several have already reached the final stage."
"Oh? And what became of them?"
"Unfortunately… we submerged them alive in dissolution fluid, and… well, they melted. Completely.
We're currently researching a special dissolution fluid that can preserve life energy."
So that they can dissolve these children as well.
He said it lightly with a smirk, while fear filled the eyes of the Ten Family children.
But the FUG follower and the researcher continued chatting happily.
"So, what do you plan to do with that Yeon clan boy?"
"Well, since the FUG requested him, we'll follow your order. But we may run a few tests first."
The Ten Families' special abilities made for fascinating research.
The FUG follower's eyes gleamed with interest.
"In fact, we'd like you to procure one or two more Ten Family kids. Same conditions as the Yeon boy. Can you handle that?"
"No problem. The more test subjects, the better for us!"
After discussing how to obtain them, the FUG agent left with a satisfied smile.
A nearby researcher quietly approached the head.
"Are you really planning to hand the Yeon boy over to FUG?"
"Of course not. A subject that valuable? I'll make some excuse and keep him for ourselves. And if two more Ten Family kids are coming… Hah. What a windfall. A chance to conduct experiments on Ten Family direct descendants."
"Um… we don't have enough containment space. What shall we do?"
The head researcher stroked his beard thoughtfully for show.
Then, as though he'd reached a decision, he glanced at the cage of Ten Family children.
"Shame, but we have no choice. Pick three from them and throw them into the new dissolution fluid prototype."
He closed the door behind him as he left.
Darkness returned.
The children trembled with terror.
....
1 AM.
Yeon Hwarang stood silently, staring at the ocean—same as that morning.
Same heavy expression. Same sunken eyes.
A complete contrast to his usual cool and composed self.
"You never seen the ocean before? You've been staring at it all day."
"…Hoaquin."
"Did the Yeon family smack you on this floor or something? You look like you're about to cry just because this floor happens to be under their control."
I handed him a can of beer with a teasing tone.
Hwarang let out a small, hollow laugh before taking a sip.
"It's just… when I think about my family… when I think about setting foot on my clan's territory… a lot of things get complicated."
Faction wars?
Survival struggles?
Or something else entirely?
Information on the Yeon family was oddly scarce, despite being one of the Ten Families.
But judging by Hwarang's face, whatever it was—
it wasn't something minor.
Best thing to do at times like this is just ask.
"I've got a surprisingly good track record as a counselor, you know. Wanna talk?"
"Nosy."
"I'm offering to listen to something you don't tell other people. You should be grateful."
Having someone you trust enough to openly reveal the things you normally hide—that's a rare blessing.
And judging from his reaction, I'm that someone for Hwarang.
Honestly… in a Tower like this, how many people like me do you meet?
"Go ahead. I'll listen."
I watched him quietly.
If he didn't want to talk, I'd drop it.
But—
Hwarang stared at the waves for a while.
Then finally, he turned toward me.
"It's fortunate that I met you on the 2nd Floor. And Luf as well."
He took another sip, wetting his throat.
"Have you ever heard of the Yeon Family's flame?"
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