The 16th story arc of the Tower of God series consisting of chapters 9 - 10 from the second season. The arc centers around the 20th Floor test Regulars being given a break period as Mule Love finishes up creating a special test for his one-on-one game with Viole.
Arc 15 | Return to the main Tower of God recap page. | Arc 17
20F - The Bath
Chapter 88 (Season 2: Ch. 9)
Since Viole doesn't want teammates, Mule Love challenges him to a game, and if Viole wins their one-on-one, he will allow the Slayer Candidate to complete the 20th Floor test on his own, which Viole accepts. However, Mule Love informs Viole that making their special test will take some time to prepare. Thus, the Test Admin shows him and the Regulars to a dorm area to get some rest. At the dorms, Wangnan is shown entering his room, and realizes that Nia was chosen as his roommate, which they both decide to head off to the bath together.
Afterwards, Mule Love meets with Augusgus, the Floor Director for the 20th Floor test. Mule Love informs his boss that a FUG member has entered their test having witnessed the person use FUG's Floral Butterfly Piercing Technique, and claims that he will eliminate him. Augusgus warns Mule Love not to interfere with the FUG Slayer Candidate as it would go against the absolute rules of the Tower to interfere with newcomers who are currently climbing the Tower. However, Mule Love refuses, which even causes him to receive punishment from the Director when he answers that he doesn't like Augusgus. However, despite Augusgus' warning, Mule Love still decides to go through with the game.
In another dorm room is Ehwa, who is struggling to decide if she should team up with a member of FUG or not to complete the test. On one hand, she knows that helping a FUG member would get her kicked out of the family, but on the other hand, losing the 20th Floor test again would make her a disgrace to the Yeon Family. She decides that helping out Viole for now, and killing him later on, would be her best option, but soon realizes that Viole was made her roommate. She tries to act friendly towards Viole in the hopes that he will eventually choose her as his teammate, but is left hanging when she realizes that Viole, who Ehwa thought was a girl until this point, had walked into the room for the boy's bath.
In the bath area, Akraptor and Horyang make conversation about how they would be considered outlaws against Jahad if they help an upcoming FUG Slayer pass a Floor test, which they admit wouldn't be such a bad idea. Horyang also questions if Akraptor saw Miseng as her daughter, and tried to get her to fail out of the 1st Round to protect her, but Akraptor counters that he knows that Horyang has a thing for Goseng. The two then join the bath with Wangnan and Nia as their downtime gets interrupted by the arrival of Prince, Kim and Rapdevil.
Wanting to stay away from Wangnan's group, Prince and Rapdevil head over to the bath that has Viole sitting in by himself while Kim goes to Wangnan's bath wanting to stay away from the FUG Slayer Candidate. Due to the bet he made in the 2nd Round, Prince points out to Viole that he doesn't like the latter's cocky attitude, and that he will be sure to take Ehwa back from him. Viole instead turns his attention to Rapdevil, and asks if the rumor that the Devil of the Right Arm defeated Hatz is true. Rapdevil admits it to be the truth, which Viole accepts the answer. Getting out of the bath, Viole states that he's looking forward to seeing the Devil's power.
Exiting the bath, Wangnan becomes scared that he may have lost his special red ring. Looking around for it, Wangnan is greeted by Viole, who shows that he found it on the floor. However, Viole points out to Wangnan that he knows that the symbol on the ring is the crest of Jahad, and asks if he's correct.
Before Wangnan could defend himself, Prince interrupts their conversation; still angry that Viole's been ignoring him. Viole gives back the ring, and asks for Wangnan not to lose it since he knows that it's a precious item for the latter. Viole then leaves to return to his dorm while Prince chases after him. Shortly after, Wangnan returns to his dorm, but is left completely bored at the moment. Nia reveals that he found an odd looking remote in the room, as well as a box of playing cards, which gives Wangnan an idea.
In the hallway between the dorm rooms, Akraptor and Horyang notice Miseng getting along with a strange woman, which causes Akraptor to confront the lady wondering what's up. She tries to defend herself stating that she's been helping Miseng since the girl is just like a daughter she has, but Akraptor notices that the woman's been getting a bit too close to Miseng and orders her to leave, which she does. Miseng breaks down into tears thinking that she did something wrong as Horyang tries to cheer her up. However, they're greeted by Wangnan, who asks the group to play a game with him.
Viole returns to his dorm, and leaves the complaining Prince outside. Prince is then greeted by Ehwa, who informs the Lurker Cash son that she finds Prince to be a nasty person, and wants nothing to do with him. She then enters the dorm room as well, and informs Viole that she's not going to follow his orders just because he won her from Prince in the 2nd Round. Confused by what Ehwa thinks he wants of her, Ehwa answers that he is someone that would be after her body. However, Viole informs Ehwa that he's not interested in her body, which pisses her off to the point of wanting to kill him.
Within Wangnan's dorm room, Wangnan and company play a card-game with one another over money, and are able to convince Miseng to play with them. However, Miseng turns out to be really good at the game, which causes everyone to become exhausted. Akraptor, who had gotten teamed up with Miseng, gives off a smile that he's now getting along with her. After the card-game, the group take a break as Goseng mentions that this moment was incredible. She mentions how it should always be like this if they could make it out of the Tower, which causes Wangnan and company to think over what she just said. Everyone then returns to their dorm room. Before going to sleep, Wangnan asks Nia to have a meal with him after the test, which the boy agrees with.
Sometime during the night, Wangnan and Nia are forcibly awoken when their remote goes off. They hear Mule Love through a communicator on the other side of the remote informing the 20th Floor test Regulars that their final exam, The Trustworthy Room, has begun. Standing within the test area's bathing room, Mule Love warns the Regulars to only trust their rooms over the Regulars around them, and orders for Viole to arrive at his location for their duel.
Long Summary
Following Mule Love challenging Viole to a game, the Ranker states that if Viole wins their side-duel, he will allow for the FUG Slayer to take the test by himself, which Viole agrees to. Mule Love then asks for the other Regulars in the room to use this time to take a break as he sets up the game with Viole. The Ranker then points towards a gate, and informs the Regulars that if they wish to participate in the game, they should go through it to reach a dorm area that's been set up to allow for the Regulars to rest up for the next test.
Entering his dorm room (101), Wangnan takes off his shirt, and rests on his bed. He's thankful that he's somehow made it this far, and admits to be tired after feeling the dread of almost dying several times. Thinking about the current situation, Wangnan questions how he's not been eliminated from the test yet, and wonders if he's been lucky or not. He then thinks back to what Viole said about his job being to one day kill Jahad, and remains silent thinking about it. Putting his mind on something else, Wangnan decides to take a bath next to cool himself down. He then hears the entrance to his dorm room open as Nia is seen walking in. Wangnan is shown to be excited at the thought that of all people, Nia turned out to be his roommate, which Nia is thankful for as well.
He then asks Nia if he wants to join the bath with him, which Nia answers that he is happy to do so. Wangnan questions how Nia's so accepting thinking that he was a girl this whole time, but Nia answers that he's heard that a lot, and actually is a boy.
In the office of the 20th Floor Director (Evankhell's status), Mule Love is seen meeting with his superior, High Ranker Augusgus. The Director questions if what his subordinate said is true, which Mule Love answers that he's confirmed that a member of FUG has appeared taking their 20th Floor test. Mule Love also mentions that he witnessed Viole using FUG's unique flare-wave explosion technique on the shinsu punching machine. Augusgus asks what Mule Love plans to do, which the latter answers that he plans to eliminate Viole here. The Director and the Test Administrator look at each other in silence as Augusgus warns Mule Love to keep calm as the latter is just the one in charge of the test. He also mentions to Mule Love that the Tower Rules for the tests are absolute, and that he can't harm the FUG boy even if personal matters are the issue here. Mule Love counters that he doesn't have to be fair to someone he's established to be evil, but Augusgus answers that evil is a vague term, and he still must follow the rules accordingly.
Augusgus orders Mule Love not to touch the boy, but the latter rejects it. The Director then asks for Mule Love to join his family, which his subordinate rejects as well. He finally asks if Mule Love actually likes him, which the Test Administrator, once more, easily rejects.
Moments later, Mule Love is seen outside his boss's office; pouting at the fact that he received a punch in the face from Director Augusgus. Rubbing the right cheek that Augusgus hit, Mule Love thinks back to his boss telling him not to touch the FUG boy. The Ranker then looks down at the plan he's set up for the game with Viole, and begins to sweat.
In another dorm room (601), Ehwa is seen changing her clothes, and is shown to be irritated finding out that the powerful Regular from the 2nd Round was a member of FUG. Ehwa is left confused as to why Viole would show off the FUG symbol so easily, and questions if it's a lie or not. However, Ehwa also begins to worry that she would get kicked out of the Great Yeon Family if it's discovered that she had teamed up with a member of FUG during a Floor test.
Thinking her situation over, Ehwa figures that she would be considered a disgrace to the family if she failed the 20th Floor test again, and decides that her best option would be to team up with Viole for now, then go about killing him before anyone finds out. Hearing her door open, Ehwa realizes that her roommate has arrived. Looking to her dorm room entrance to greet her roommate, Ehwa realizes that it's Viole.
Some time passes as Ehwa is shown sitting in fear on her bed wondering why he of all people had to be her roommate. Looking at Viole, Ehwa wonders if he's actually a girl due to the extremely long hair. She figures that her best option for now would be to try to act friendly towards him. Ehwa offers if Viole wants to take a bath together knowing that he must be sweaty after the first Rounds of the test. Walking to the bath together, Ehwa introduces herself to Viole as someone who came into the Tower at the age of 14. She gloats that she's actually one of the super elite Regulars that got the best score in her Floor of Tests class, and was able to reach the 20th Floor in five years without the help of her Yeon Family. She also states that if Viole chooses her, she won't regret it, and asks for Viole to tell a bit about his background. However, still thinking that Viole is a girl, Ehwa is left confused as to why he's walking into the boy's bath, and ends up standing still in complete shock at the revelation.
In the bath area, Akraptor and Horyang are seen getting back massages. Akraptor begins a conversation with Horyang how things have gotten weird now that FUG's involved, which Horyang admits to be true. Akraptor questions if helping a member of FUG will make them look like people who are anti-Jahad, which Horyang believes to be the case.
They both admit that this may not be so bad anyway as they flip over to have the front side of their bodies massaged. This time, it's Horyang who first speaks, and asks if Akraptor really does have a daughter due to what the latter mentioned in the 2nd Round. Horyang explains that he deduced that the reason Akraptor was trying to vote out Miseng in the 1st Round was because he saw his daughter in Miseng, and wanted her to fail so that Miseng wouldn't get hurt. Not wanting to tell the truth, Akraptor counters that he knows that Horyang has a thing for Goseng, which causes his wing to turn into a heart.
Some time passes in the bathing room as Akraptor and Horyang are now standing having finished getting their massage; giving off a sparkle as a result. Arriving at the actual bath in the room, Akraptor and Horyang notice that Wangnan and Nia are already within it. Wangnan jokes how the great family man has arrived, and asks how Akraptor's daughter is doing, which Akraptor reacts by saying that he will kill him for saying that.
Moments later relaxing in the bath, the four of them question what the next test will be, and hope that it won't turn out as stupid as the 2nd Round test. Akraptor jokes that Wangnan is going to fail anyway, but Wangnan counters that if it wasn't for him being able to damage Viole, Akraptor would have failed in the 1st Round. However, Akraptor points out that what happened was just pure luck. Giving off a sigh, Wangnan admits that resting at the moment is a great feeling, but becomes irritated by the arrival of Prince, Kim and Rapdevil.
Prince looks over, and notices Wangnan, Akraptor, Horyang and Nia as well, and decides that they should go the second bath in the room where the water isn't already dirty, which Kim agrees to. However, Wangnan warns their group that they shouldn't go over to the bath they're about to go to. Prince asks what he's talking about, which Wangnan points him at the other bath that has Viole sitting in it. Kim instead insists Prince that they're better off sitting in the current bath with Wangnan's group, but Prince asks if Kim is afraid of the FUG member. Deciding to ditch Kim, Prince orders Rapdevil to follow him as the two decide to sit in the bath with Viole. Left behind, the irritated Kim takes his seat alone in Wangnan's bath, who jokes that it must be a lot of work for Kim to take care of Prince.
Getting in Viole's bathtub, Prince and Rapdevil take their seat in the water, which Prince finds to be refreshingly warm. He looks over at the FUG member, and asks what Viole's name again, which he answers to be Viole. Prince states that he doesn't like Viole's attitude, and figures that the FUG Slayer is just being cocky, because he scored high on the 2nd Round power-level test. Viole remains silent as Prince continues to yell in his direction; stating that Ehwa is still his, and that he will be sure to win her back from him in the next test.
Ignoring Prince's continued complaints, Viole looks over at Rapdevil, and asks if the rumor is true that the Devil of the Right Arm was able to beat Hatz. Rapdevil admits it to be the truth, which Viole states that he understands. Getting up out of the bath, Viole states that he will look forward to seeing the Devil of the Right Arm in action as he begins to walk out of the bathtub. Prince calls out to him asking why Viole continues to ignore him as Rapdevil continues watching in silence.
Following their relaxing moment in the bath, Wangnan and Nia head over to the bath lockers to get ready to return to their dorm. Wangnan stretches out in great ease stating that he hasn't had a bath like that for awhile, and states that he wishes he could live here, which Nia agrees with. Looking at his clothes, Wangnan realizes that something is missing. Nia asks what's wrong, which Wangnan doesn't answer, but thinks to himself that he can't find his red ring that has Jahad's symbol on it. He informs Nia to return to the dorm without him, and that he just left something back at the bath area, which causes Nia to leave thinking that everything's ok.
Looking down in fear, Wangnan begins to question what happened to the ring, and thinks to himself that he was sure to have left it in the bath locker before going in to relax. He continues to desperately search the locker hoping to find it, but hears someone behind him ask if they're looking for this. Looking behind him, Wangnan sees that Viole is holding the Jahad symbol ring. Wangnan questions why he has it, which Viole answers that he found it on the ground when he walked in. Viole questions the sight of the symbol on the ring, but states that he knows that it's the crest of Jahad, and asks Wangnan if his deduction is correct.
Beginning to sweat, Wangnan tries to deny the ring being connected to Jahad, and explains that it's a fashion trend to wear the symbol of Jahad. However, their chat is interrupted as an enraged Prince spots them, and yells at Viole. Knowing that the FUG Slayer's been ignoring him, Prince asks if Viole wants to die. He also asks Viole if he's not taking Prince seriously, and asks if Viole wants to fight him to see who wins. However, Viole continues to ignore the son of Lurker Cash, and hands the Jahad ring back to Wangnan. Viole asks Wangnan to be careful not to lose it again, and states that the ring looks precious to him. The FUG Slayer then begins to walk away as Prince continues to order him to stop ignoring him. Wangnan however, continues to watch him in silence.
Back in his dorm room, Wangnan falls on his bed, and admits that his run-in with Viole scared him. Nia asks what happened, which Wangnan answers that nothing major happened. Looking around, Wangnan wishes that his dorm room came with a tv, which Nia answers that their room seems to have a remote, but no TV. Wangnan questions how that's possible, which Nia reveals that he found an odd looking remote in one of their dorm's drawers, as well as a box of cards. Taking a closer look at the card box Nia is holding, Wangnan comes up with an idea.
Elsewhere, Akraptor and Horyang are seen finishing up their time in the bath. Akraptor gives off a yawn admitting that the bath has made him sleepy. He then spots Miseng nearby having a conversation with a short woman Regular that's also taking the 20th Floor test. He sees the woman patting Miseng on the head, and heads over to their location wondering what's up. Walking up to Miseng, Akraptor questions why Goseng isn't with her, and why she's with this other woman.
Miseng answers that it's because Goseng is currently in the woman's bathing room, and that this other woman was kind enough to offer her yogurt. The woman answers that she didn't have it in her to abandon Miseng as she reminds her of a daughter she has. The woman continues to speak that her daughter is around Miseng's age, and states that Miseng looks exactly like when she was young. However, Akraptor sees the woman grabbing onto Miseng's shoulder, and orders for the woman to get her hands off her. Seeing the woman not let go, Akraptor orders once more to leave Miseng alone, and that she's not hers. The woman begins to sweat, and finally chooses to let go of Miseng. Walking away, she states that she will see Miseng later as the latter calls out to the woman wondering what just happened.
Akraptor is glad that the woman is gone now as Horyang continues to watch in silence. At this point, Goseng reunites with the group, and notices that Miseng had been reduced to crying again. She asks if Akraptor went about scaring her again, and while Miseng tries to deny it, Horyang steps forward to try to calm her down. A moment later, Wangnan and Nia run into the group. Wangnan holds up a box of playing cards, and asks if they all want to play a game with him.
Nearby, Viole continues to walk back to his dorm as Prince walks after him still ordering Viole to stop ignoring him. However, the moment Viole reaches his dorm, he shuts the door, and leaves Prince alone on the outside, which irritates Prince even further having the door shut in his face.
Ehwa returns to the dorm room as well, and questions why Prince is in front of her room. Prince asks her why she's here, to which Ehwa answers that she just told him that this is her room, which shocks Prince. Becoming enraged, Prince asks how it's possible that she ended up sharing a room with the FUG Slayer. However, Ehwa asks in return why he cares since there's no reason for her to be connected with Prince anymore. Prince remains confused as Ehwa flat out tells him that he's a nasty person she doesn't want to be associated with, and asks for Prince to pretend that they don't know each other from now on. She leaves off begging him to do it as she enters her dorm room, and closes it on him as well.
Ehwa can hear Prince on the other side of the door stating that he will show the both of them what he's made of as Ehwa gives off a sigh of relief. She next looks over at Viole in the room, and asks if he's not planning to change rooms. Viole answers that he's here because it's where the Ranker assigned him, but Ehwa complains that this is still wrong having a boy and a girl resting in the same dorm room. She informs Viole that she doesn't plan to do anything for him despite becoming his after winning the strength test in the 2nd Round.
Viole instead asks her what it is that Ehwa expects him to ask for, which Ehwa answers that she expects Viole to want her body. However, Viole informs her that he's not interested in her body, which causes Ehwa to blush, and state to herself that she definitely needs to kill him. The shinsu begins to form all around her as she becomes more determined than ever that she definitely has to kill him during this test.
Within Wangnan's dorm room, he's seen playing a card game with Akraptor, Horyang, Miseng, Goseng, and Nia. The game ends, but Akraptor becomes annoyed when he notices that the wing on Horyang's back has been telling Wangnan the cards in the former's hand, which Horyang apologizes for. Wangnan cheerfully asks if Akraptor wants to play another, but answers that he will only do it if he doesn't have to be on Horyang's team. Wangnan then asks Nia and Miseng if they want to play, and while Nia admits that he doesn't know how to, Goseng mentions how Miseng is actually quite good at card games, and urges her to play. Struggling to say anything, Miseng looks in Akraptor's direction knowing that he would be her teammate, but the two remain silent towards one another.
Hearing Wangnan claim that it will be hard to beat him, Miseng thinks it over, and decides to play just one round. Some time passes, and Miseng begins to really get into the game. She wins another as the group looks at her in exhaustion that the little girl is just too good for them. Miseng asks Akraptor if she's actually really good at this game, which he answers to be the truth. She asks if Akraptor needs help with the game, and takes the cards out of his hand to show what he does, and doesn't, need. Seeing Miseng play with the cards, Akraptor gives off a tiny smile.
Later on, Wangnan's group is now done playing card games, and take a break from it. Wangnan complains that Miseng was just too good for him, and ended up losing some money to her, but Goseng reassures him that he should just see it as buying her a few snacks.
Goseng then states that she enjoys how fun it is to just hang out like that just did, which Wangnan admits that it's a good feeling to have. She mentions how great life would be if they could get out of the Tower, and continue living like this, which catches Wangnan off-guard. That it would be great to just completely forget about the Tower.
The group all stands together in silence by what Goseng said as she next asks the group why she's speaking like this, and tries to laugh off her previous statement. Goseng apologizes to everyone for ruining the mood, and states that they should all return to their rooms at this point. Wangnan however thinks over what Goseng said, and looks down at his Jahad ring.
Unable to sleep, Wangnan is seen laying on his bed looking up at the ceiling; still thinking about what Goseng said about wanting to leave the Tower. He calls over to Nia on the other bed to see if the former delivery boy is still awake, which Nia admits that he is. Wangnan asks for Nia to have sweet-and-sour pork with him after they pass the 20th Floor test, which confuses Nia. Wangnan explains that this time, it will be Nia placing the order instead of him.
Still nighttime, Wangnan is forced to wake up when his remote begins to beep. Looking at it glowing, and beeping like crazy, Wangnan questions what's wrong with it as Nia is forced to wake up as well. Wangnan ends up pressing one of the buttons, and manages to make it stop glowing and beeping. However, the screen that was previously glowing on the remote now says Call on it.
The remote begins to speak, as Mule Love on the other side informs the Regulars of the 20th Floor test that the final exam will begin now. Wangnan is left confused by this turn of events as he and Nia hear the door into the dorm room lock shut.
Mule Love speaks once more, and informs the Regulars that they're now inside his test known as The Trustworthy Room. He warns the Regulars that everyone is a teammate, but also their enemy, and provides them a hint that the only thing they can trust is the room they're each currently in.
Finally, Mule Love contacts Viole, and orders him to arrive at the Ranker's location for their fight.
The Bath Tropes
- A Day in the Limelight:
- The reader learns a bit about Ehwa and Akraptor's character traits here.
- Goseng and Miseng also get a bit of characterization.
- Arc Villain: Considering that it's a resting arc, there technically isn't one. Though Prince and Kim's group are still the jerks to Wangnan and company.
- Breather Episode: A short resting arc between the 2nd and 3rd Rounds of the 20th Floor test.
- Revenge: Prince swears revenge on Viole for taking Ehwa away from him.
- Goal in Life: Goseng makes it pretty clear that she's climbing, because she wants to live a good life outside the Tower.
