The 3rd story arc of the Tower of God series consisting of chapters 9 - 10 from the first season. The arc centers around Bam taking part in Ranker Lero-Ro's test to see if he, and the Regulars around him, can withstand the shinsu of the Tower.
Arc 2 | Return to the main Tower of God recap page. | Arc 4
2F - Lero-Ro's Test
Following the test to create a 3-man-team, the Regulars who passed are all transported up to 2nd Floor Director Evankhall's floating fortress to take part in their next test. Including the Bam/Khun/Rak team and Shibisu managing to get in the same group with Anaak and Hatz, others seen amongst the 3-man-teams are the following: Sunwoo/Chunhwa, Aleksai/Leon 3/Chungchung, Lauroe/Serena/Hoh, a mysterious masked person, Levin/Palgyon/Catan, Rozeal/Chichi/Hyun Seung, and Dede Kancho/Kon/Shopin. Bam and company are then met by a Ranker Test Administrator, Lero-Ro, who provides the group of Regulars their next test, the Shinsu Veil. The point of the test is to see if the Regulars' bodies can handle shinsu, a special substance which makes up the Tower they will be trying to climb.
Activating the Shinsu Veil wall, everyone gets knocked back, which Lero-Ro warns that there's also luck involved that their 3-man-teams all need to be capable of withstanding shinsu. Khun remains worried about Bam, but it turns out that the latter is completely unaffected and that the wall had passed through him, much to Lero-Ro's surprise. Bam apologizes for doing the test wrong and is about to head back to the other side of the wall, but Lero-Ro deems that unnecessary, and congratulates Bam for passing the test, much to everyone's shock. Khun and several other Regulars take notice of how there's more to Bam as someone who wasn't affected by the Shinsu Veil, which Lero-Ro realizes that a monster (Bam) has arrived in the Tower.
As the Regulars go about trying to bypass the Shinsu Veil wall, Lero-Ro uses this chance to learn more about Bam. They start with a little game guessing who will be the first to pass the wall. Bam guesses that it will be Anaak just based on a gut feeling, which he turns out to be right. Lero-Ro rewards Bam with an opportunity to ask him a question, which Bam wants to know where Rachel ended up, and describes what she looks like to him. However, Lero-Ro answers that he hasn't seen such a girl. Asking if Bam has a different question, Bam instead asks about Irregulars.
Meanwhile, Hatz is the next to pass through the shinsu wall, much to Shibisu's annoyance that he's the only one left of their 3-man-team that still hasn't passed yet. Serena taunts him as an inferior being, but she's also unable to pass, much to Shibisu's delight. However, they both watch Lauroe easily pass through, which Shibisu and Serena become desperate to get through the wall.
Back over to Bam, Lero-Ro explains how the Tower works for Regulars, such as explaining the Outer Tower where non-chosen people who aren't chosen as Regulars normally live out their lives on the Floors they were born on, the Inner Tower where Regulars chosen by 1st Floor Guardian Headon start at the bottom to begin their Tower climb, and the Middle Area where Regulars can go between the Outer and Inner Towers depending on how high they've gone up the Tower so far. Lero-Ro also explains how Irregulars are those who were able to get into the Inner Tower without being chosen. Some of such Irregulars being Phantaminum, Enryu, and Urek, and that Irregulars are those who pose a danger to the Tower as beings that don't have to follow the Tower's rules. It's at this point that a Regular who hasn't passed the shinsu wall yet starts complaining loudly about how stupid the test is to leave someone as strong as him out. As a result, Lero-Ro steps forward ready to put said Regular in his place by giving him a taste of the power that's higher up the Tower.
Long Summary
With the completion of the 3-man-team test, the Regulars who all completed the task are transported to Evankhall's floating mothership, which had been floating high above the lands of the 2nd Floor this entire time.
Looking around, Shibisu notices how all the Regulars around him have proven to be monsters that were able to get this far surviving through the first tests, and is excited over the fact that they will now be getting into the real tests. He asks Hatz if his warrior spirit is rising, seeing the Regulars all around him, but answers that he only wants to strike at the chattering mouth beside him, which scares Shibisu. He then turns to Anaak if she's excited, but is given an answer that she's excited having to be teamed up with a useless blabbermouth. Shibisu tries to explain to the two of them that he knows martial arts, but is ordered by his two partners to shut up.
Amongst the other 3-man-teams is a group consisting of Sunwoo Nare, Hong Chunhwa and a third unnamed member. Nare states that she is scared seeing how crowded the area is, and hopes that her knight can protect him. The knight, Chunhwa, answers not to worry, and that he will always protect her. The third member tries to state the same thing as Nare to get Chunhwa to protect him as well, but ends up getting ignored. Nearby, a winged humanoid, Aleksai Amigochaz, is seen with his two teammates, Leon 3 and Chungchung. Regulars can be heard mentioning how Amigochaz is someone that attacked, and mercilessly killed, everyone he met, and are stunned to see that he actually found two people willing to team up with him. Another three-man-team seen consists of Phonsekal Lauroe, Serena Linnen, and Hoh. Serena gets angry looking down at the sleeping Lauroe wondering if the guy is actually that strong, which Hoh reassures her that he's seen him in action.
Bam looks around in amazement at the number of people who passed the test, which Khun answers that there's definitely more than a hundred here. He warns Bam to be careful not to underestimate the Regulars from here on out as the chosen Regulars amongst them had to rely on special talents and skills to make it this far. Khun also mentions that they have nothing to fear due to being the strongest team with Rak, the alligator, which Bam agrees with. Shown holding hands between the three of them, Rak orders the two turtles to get their hands off him, which Khun tries to explain that the three of them are now teammates.
At another location amongst the Regulars, a red-head Regular gets angry at his previous attacker for losing an arm to him, to which the attacker answers that he can buy a stick to replace the missing arm. The red-head gets angry, which causes one of the attacker's teammates to try to calm him down, and remind him that there is no fighting allowed during the break, and that the attack was justified considering that it happened during the test. The red-head doesn't accept the answer, but the attacker points out that he's just a lousy fighter. The red-head gets enraged again wanting to finish their fight. Bam, who had been watching the argument, asks Khun if they should stop them before they break the no fighting rule, but is answered that they will be stopped soon enough.
A voice is heard reminding the Regulars not to fight during break time as everyone looks toward the one who said it. A man with blonde hair, and a white-and-black suit, is seen standing before them asking the Regulars if they didn't take his words seriously about no fighting. The one-armed red-head gets angry asking the man if he wants to die as well, but is held back by one of his teammates who realizes who's talking to them. The man introduces himself as Lero-Ro, a Ranker, and Test Administrator for the Tower's 2nd Floor. Realizing that they are standing before a powerful Ranker, the red-head finally backs down, but states that one day, he will kill the man who attacked him. Lero-Ro gives off a smile upon noticing that this new group of Regulars is a feisty bunch.
Bam watches in amazement that someone was able to stop a fight with just a few words, which Khun answers that that's the advantage of one being a Ranker. Bam asks what the term Ranker means, which Khun finds surprising that he encountered someone who doesn't know about it. Khun answers that they are people who were Regulars that were able to climb to the top of the Tower, and were given the Ranker title. Bam is shocked to find that Lero-Ro climbed to the top of the Tower, which Khun answers once more that only a few out of every 1000 Regulars manage to climb to the end, and are usually the ones that are established to be complete monsters. Bam thinks back to Yuri and Evan also being Rankers, as they hear Lero-Ro begin the explanation for the next test.
Lero-Ro takes the time to reintroduce himself as a Test Administrator Ranker, and gives the Regulars a painful greeting by replacing meet you with meet chu. Lero-Ro states that the main test will begin shortly, but before they get to it, a small pre-test is in order. He also informs the Regulars that anyone who can't pass this pre-test will be eliminated. The Regulars are shocked to find that they will be taking part in another elimination test as some wonder what it will be about. Lero-Ro tells them not to worry, as the test is a very simple one.
Waving his hand, Lero-Ro informs the Regulars that the pre-test has started, and with a few motions with his hand, a giant yellow wall appears before the Ranker; knocking all the Regulars back. Khun is the first to notice that the yellow veil that's been created is a substance well-known to the Tower, shinsu, which Lero-Ro states to be correct. He reveals that he created a veil of shinsu to push the Regulars back, and explains that shinsu is everywhere in the Tower; providing the necessary tools for beings to live in the Tower like air to breathe, and water to drink. Lero-Ro also states that shinsu can be used as a murder weapon against others. He explains that one with highly concentrated usage of shinsu will have enough strength to injure another, and that fighting with shinsu is the way of fighting amongst the Tower's many contestants.
Lero-Ro ends his explanation by stating that there are also people who exist that have adverse reactions to shinsu, and that those who are weak to shinsu are not appropriate candidates for the Tower. He points out that the wall of shinsu that he created in front of him will show who can withstand the shinsu, and who can not. Lero-Ro states that if all three members of your 3-man-team can pass through the shinsu veil, then you have passed the test.
One of the Regulars asks what will happen if all three team members can't pass despite the others doing so, to which Lero-Ro answers that all three will fail. Levin, the sharp-toothed sniper Regular from before, complains about that outcome being absurd, and others begin to complain that they shouldn't be eliminated due to the bad luck of a failed teammate.
Lero-Ro answers that what helps one climb the Tower is luck. Mentioning several methods that luck can be applied to, such as having a strong body, being smart, being rich, escaping death, or even saving a teammate, Lero-Ro explains to the Regulars that they've only made it this far, because they were lucky. He asks them back how they could question the ability to test one's luck, and orders the Regulars to stop complaining and take the test.
Having heard Lero-Ro's explanation, Khun finds this all to be a pain knowing that the Tower was never going to be fair to them, but upon observing the veil, doesn't find the shinsu wall to be that high of a concentration. Looking to Rak, Khun deduces that the alligator will easily pass figuring that he's always hunted for prey in areas of shinsu. However, he questions if Bam could do so. Looking beside him, Khun notices that Bam is gone, but looking forward again he sees that Bam has already passed through the veil.
Lero-Ro looks down at Bam in surprise as the boy apologizes for not coming across any problems. Bam figures that he went through before the test started, and turns around to pass through again, but is informed by Lero-Ro that he got in legitimately; that it was his mistake for not taking this result into account, and is a perfect example of the luck he was referring to. He informs Bam that he can stay where he is as all the other Regulars are left in shock, and begin to complain about the boy having all the luck. However, Khun deduces that a different result happened; that compared to all the other Regulars who were pushed back by the shinsu veil, Bam was never pushed back. The other Regulars stare at Bam wondering who the boy is as Lero-Ro continues to look at him as well; pointing out that a monster has arrived.
Regulars, such as the attacker group from before, approach the shinsu veil to test if they can pass through it, but get shocked in return. The attacker mentions how the shock didn't feel painful, but that trying to push through it just caused him to bounce off. Meanwhile, Lero-Ro approaches Bam, and asks the bored looking boy for the possibility of a chat with him. He sits down next to the boy, and asks if Bam wants to play a game with him. Bam asks what kind of game, which Lero-Ro answers a guessing game as to who will pass through the shinsu veil, and if they are correct, they can ask a question to learn something about each other. Bam happily agrees, and the game begins.
Lero-Ro makes his first choice to be the green lizard girl, Anaak, while Bam decides on who to pick. He thinks back to Rachel, and wonders if she had bumped into Lero-Ro during her journey climbing the Tower. He realizes his desire to win this game in order to learn more about Rachel, and is able to see an aura surrounding Anaak. Bam chooses to also pick the green lizard girl, which has Lero-Ro asking why he's choosing her, and has Bam answering that he has a feeling.
To the surprise of the Regulars, they watch as Anaak easily passes through the shinsu veil. Lero-Ro calls it a tie, but chooses to answer Bam's question anyway due to being the Ranker. Bam happily accepts, and asks Lero-Ro if there a girl with blonde hair, and freckles, passed through one of his tests. Thinking it over, Lero-Ro informs the boy that he saw of no such girl, which disappoints Bam. However, Lero-Ro informs him that he will ask the other Floor of Test Administrators if they came across her at another test, and asks if Bam has any other questions. Thinking it over, Bam chooses to next ask about the Irregulars.
At the shinsu veil, Shibisu tries to charge his way through, but ends up colliding into it. Seeing Anaak, and Hatz who also made it through, already on the other side, he begins to complain why it's impossible for him. Serena steps forward, and giggles at his failed efforts; stating that perhaps the Tower is filtering out low level guys such as himself. See tells Shibisu to just save himself the trouble, and go home as only the Tower is for the chosen ones like herself. She then tries to go through the shinsu veil, but ends up getting blocked as well. Continuously trying to force her way through to the point of her head bleeding, Serena gets enraged as to why it's not working for her, and wonders if Shibisu touching it did something. Shibisu, with a trollish grin on his face, pokes fun at Serena not being able to do it either, and calls her an old hag. She starts to bang on the shinsu veil, and claims that there's a monster next to her. Shibisu becomes enraged as well, and also begins to bang on the veil; not wanting to lose to Serena. Lauroe, showing that he is someone who walks around in the blanket he sleeps in, appears in front of the shinsu wall. Giving off a yawn, he asks the two of them to stop being noisy as Shibisu and Serena are left stunned to watch Lauroe easily walk beyond the veil. He then sits back down, and goes back to sleep, which enrages Shibisu and Serena to the point of wanting to kill him for believing that he insulted them.
Back to Bam and Lero-Ro, the Ranker explains to the boy that Irregulars are those who don't fit the rules of the Tower. Bam asks what he means, which causes Lero-Ro to explain the inner workings of the Tower; that the Tower is divided into three areas: the outer tower residential area, the inner tower test area, and the middle area between the inner and outer sections. He explains that it's normal for Regulars to just live out in a normal fashion their whole life in one of the Floors of the Tower's residential areas without ever entering the inner Tower, and that these Regulars also have the ability to go between the Tower's inner and middle areas. Bam states that he understands, which confuses Lero-Ro that the boy might be someone who never knew this. However, Bam quickly denies this.
Lero-Ro continues his explanation that the Regulars living in the residential area, who are discovered to have some kind of special talent, are given the right to go through the gate into the inner tower for the chance to climb the Floors to the top of the Tower. Lero-Ro points out that what all these people have in common is that they are considered the chosen ones, which Bam continues to follow along with. Bam concludes that everyone was born and raised in the Tower, but doesn't add up to the dark world that he was previously living in. Lero-Ro next states that once the Regulars pass through the gate into the inner Tower, they are sorted by the 1st Floor Test Administrator, the Guardian Headon, and are then sent here to the 2nd Floor; Evankhall's Floor of Tests. However, amongst the Regulars that Headon sends to the 2nd Floor, there's the possibility that he sends someone he wasn't able to properly sort. These people are the Irregulars.
Bam's next question is if the Irregulars are considered evil, which Lero-Ro answers that while they violate the rules of the Tower, that doesn't automatically make them evil. Lero-Ro also points out that the three previous Irregulars who arrived in the tower, Phantaminum, Enryu, and Urek Mazino, all turned out to be powerful monsters; causing the Irregular term to become a symbol of fear. Bam asks if there is a way to meet these three Irregulars, which Lero-Ro answers with a simple answer that he will meet them by just climbing the Tower. Their conversation is finally interrupted when a purple-haired Regular outside the shinsu veil begins to shout.
The Regular yells out that he knows nothing about the shinsu veil, but that he's the strongest one here anyway without having to rely on any special powers. He yells to Lero-Ro that this is all nonsense just because he can't pass this little test of his, and points out how Bam was able to pass just because he was in the right place at the right time when the veil was activated. The Regular then asks Lero-Ro why he should be eliminated when he's much stronger, which causes the Test Administrator to begin walking towards him. Now standing in front of one another, the Regular asks Lero-Ro if he has anything to say to him. The Regular complains that he's sick of listening to him, and that Lero-Ro is looking down on them just because he's a Ranker. He points out Lero-Ro's weak looking body, which causes the Ranker to give off a smile. Lero-Ro mentions to the purple-haired Regular how this was his last chance to understand his situation, but seems to be stupid to realize. Staring at the Regular, Lero-Ro states that he will teach him the harsh way in order to show why he is not someone that can climb the Tower.
Lero-Ro's Test Tropes
- Arc Villain: Passing Lero-Ro's test.
- Born Lucky: Lero-Ro points out that a part of his test is also based on luck, because being lucky in certain situations will be required to help reach the top of the Tower.
- Early-Bird Cameo: Amongst the Regulars, you get a brief glimpse of the Nare/Chunhwa team.
- Exposition: The purpose of shinsu is described here, and Lero-Ro provides Bam a brief rundown of how the Tower works, and of the three Irregulars that appeared in the Tower before him.
- Only the Worthy May Pass: Basically the point of Lero-Ro's test, which is to see if the newly arrived Regulars have the strength to pass through a barrier of shinsu. Shinsu being the primary substance that makes up the Tower.
