Phantaminum


 * "Have you heard? The man who easily dwarfed Zahard's forces... Phantaminum."


 * - Yu Han Sung talking about Phantaminum

Phantaminum (펜타미넘) is a mysterious and highly dangerous Irregular, currently1st in the ranking. He is famous for contributing to the creation of the stereotype against Irregulars. He is presumably the most powerful entity in Zahard's Tower. He is actually an Exis (man-made god). As the "Riddle", he is the most puzzling entity in the Tower: no clear motives, no clear relationships.

Origin of the Sobriquet
Phantaminum appeared suddenly in the Tower and broke into the Zahard's inner palace, killing many royals and courtiers, all of whom were Rankers. He succeeded in breaking all of the lines of defense and ultimately faced Zahard but he disappeared without a fight. His mysterious appearance and disappearance from the Tower left many unanswered questions, which is how he got the sobriquet, "Riddle." Another reason is his style of combat. It is said that he had a freewheeling and desultory combat style and had used a weapon that had not been seen anywhere inside the Tower. Most of the eye-witnesses either died or lost their minds with fear, so the stories were not accurately reported.

About
Phantaminum was originally a normal human being, but was "awakened," using an unknown process, into an Exis. This is the same for all other Exes. The negative views towards the Irregulars have grown because of him and these views had a big impact on Urek Mazino when he climbed the Tower. When Phantaminum broke into the palace, it is said he met Yuri Zahard in the inner palace. There is a great diversity of opinion as to why he didn't kill her. Yuri Zahard didn't say anything about the matter except that 'He was a dirty one.' (더러운 놈, "scumbag")

There were a lot of objections in the Rank Administering Office about giving Phantaminum the 1st ranking, who had disappeared after the attack on the palace of Zahard and had become inactive. But everyone agreed his impressive strength alone was overwhelming. As a result, Phantaminum became the No. 1 Ranker by showing himself in only one battle, dragging the 'Red Tower' Enryu down to 2nd rank.

Current status
He was seen very little in the Tower after the attack on the palace, and most of the stories are rumors, therefore it's hard to confirm any of the stories. There's a rumor that he is in a cat-and-dog like relationship with Urek Mazino, but it is not confirmed.

Phantaminum is a monster whose information starts and ends with a riddle.

Every Ranker is on watch for the movement of this monster.

Powers and Abilities
Being an Exis, Phantaminum possesses a power that, when compared to normal human beings, is close to that of a god. This is because normally, the will and actions of an Exis can only be prevented by another Exis, and a non-Exis has no chance against an Exis in battle. Phantaminum can only be defeated by a more powerful Exis.

As an Exis, Phantaminum is the "author," or god, of one "story" in the universe. In exchange for taking on the responsibility of managing this story, he is given a powerful authority over the events that occur in the story. He is able to "write" records that cannot be erased.

Every Exis has the power to generate a space around them, in which they can use a unique power that cannot be denied or negated. Under the specifications of this ability, Phantaminum can control some aspect of reality within his own field. Phantaminum's power, however, is unknown. Exis primarily have the ability to control the reality of a finite amount of space around them.

Notes and Trivia

 * Currently, no one in the Tower is aware of the fact that Phantaminum is an Exis. This is clearly a choice Phantaminum has made. He may have done this in order to raise certain beliefs in the Tower.
 * The Rankers of the Tower often debate about who would stand victorious if Phantaminum ever clashed with Enryu.
 * It is said that Urek Mazino entered the tower to track down Phantaminum.
 * The author once stated that "Phantaminum could instantly destroy the T.O.G. story if he wanted to". In all seriousness, this was not a joke.
 * Based on previous T.U.S works, Phantaminum, as an Exis, is an entity that was 'awakened'. He was originally a normal human being.
 * SIU has stated that he is one of the 5 most powerful Exes in the universe.
 * There is a running gag in the forums speculating that Phantaminum is one way or another related to Baam. There is even speculation that he is Baam himself or his father. Such things have to be confirmed though.

Alternate Translations

 * (Korean pronunciation) Pen-tah-mi-neom
 * Pentaminum