Ja Wangnan/History

Background
SIU described him as a "Test Jaesusaeng" (시험 장수생, Siheom Jaesusaeng) This was meant to be taken at face value, as he is very old, enough to be a "brother" to Karaka.

When Ja Wangnan reached the 20th Floor with a group of friends, they were not able to pass. That being said, all of his friends eventually gave up until he was the only one still trying to pass the test. At that point, he was all alone in his dark room, with an accumulating debt, an empty bowl of rice and no-one to talk to. But still, he held on to hope.

In a dream, the fate of Wangnan's friends was made clear: he had numerous companions as a Regular, but many of them died climbing with him, until he eventually reached the 20th Floor and met with Team Tangsooyook.

Last Chance
Ja Wangnan's first appearance had him being approved for the 20th Floor test, followed by him asking himself whether he should destroy everything, because he'd be king of the The Tower. This was quickly followed by him failing due to being set on fire by a teammate. He then nursed his burns and claimed revenge, until the loan shark, Kim Lurker came to claim his money. Wangnan tried to flee but got smacked into the ground and questioned about the test results. He got offered one more chance at the 20th Floor test but this time, if he failed, the loan shark would harvest his organs. Then another Regular came to deliver his food, which the loan shark paid for, claiming Wangnan would pay for it with his body later. Wangnan questioned the Regular about why he was delivering food, before answering himself. He then stated the difference between him and those up top. The Regular then left and gave him a coupon to use after the test, telling him it's a congratulations. Wangnan was very pleased by her and thought to himself that he'd reward her with a restaurant. He then proceeded to retake the test only upon entrance to find an unknown figure standing in a room with filled with corpses.

Deciding that he didn't want to become a skeleton when he failed the test, he 'persuaded' Viole to team up with him. He tried to make small talk but Viole remained quiet. Three minutes later, Kang Horyang came in and Wangnan rallied Viole to fight with him. He was intimidated by Horyang's size so he decided to team up with him as well. He knew that the next test will be harder with more competitors so he decided he must defeat the next person that came in. The next one happened to be Yeo Miseng, a tiny schoolgirl, and Wangnan couldn't manage to kill her because she was wearing a uniform. The next person who came in was Yeo Goseng, who Wangnan couldn't attack due to her affection for Miseng.

With his life on the line and wondering if the competitors came here to play, Wangnan denounced everyone saying that it was a test and everyone should be fighting each other, much to the distress of the others. Hon Akraptor entered and caught the attention of Horyang and Ja Wangnan. Akraptor told Wangnan it was useless to waste strength for nothing but he said that there were too many competitors. He had a vote to pick one off the team, in which he chose Miseng. Wangnan chose the 'silver shithead' saying that the strongest one should be voted off first. Viole then rose and declared that he would drop everyone.

Viole began fighting the stronger Regulars and Wangnan hoped that all three of them would kill each other at the same time. After Viole defeated everyone else, he turned his attention to Wangnan, who began running away like a coward throwing "Super Strong Shinsoo Bombs". None of these Bombs had any effect and Viole pulled him to the ground. As a last resort, he used a "cheap" explosive bomb hoping to get away. He realised that it had an effect and threw another one. After the smoke dissipated, a giant lobster-like mass appeared around Viole, who then stood up recovered. At that point the test ended.

The Strongest Regular
Wangnan and the survivors proceeded to a large room, where they shared a little food. A massive Regular entered, on the verge of death, and Wangnan told the others not to help him, as he would probably fight them if they did. Other teams began to enter and Wangnan recognised Yeon Yihwa as the girl who set him on fire in a previous test. Also, to his shock, he found that Kim Lurker was also in the test with Lurker's boss' son, who everyone called "Prince". Kim told him about the Regulars who had come to participate in the test, including the mercenary Rapdevil who was rumoured to be the "Devil of the Right Hand" who managed to beat Hatsu.

The Examiner for the next test, Mule Love, introduced the next test which was a Shinsoo Strengthening Test in which the top 8 passed for the final test. After everyone had taken the test, with Viole placing first, Ja Wangnan was placed 15th. Thinking that his dreams and life were forfeit, he began to cry. When Love announced that Viole would be picking the remaining 7 team members, Wangnan jumped up and introduced himself to "Viole-nim". He advertised himself in a comedic fashion as "a man beyond his stats". After seeing how this had no affect on Viole, he dropped to his knees and begged. This caused the other Regulars to either look at him with pity or contempt. When several others tried to copy his tactics, Wangnan pointed out some of their bad points in order to make himself look better. Viole made the bold statement that he would not pick any of them, since they were unqualified, and stated that he was their enemy. After Love challenged Viole to a game, he invited everyone who wished to participate into a resting area. Wangnan chose this option. While resting in his room, he thought about how Viole said that he would kill Zahard and became worried. His roommate was Nia, who he was surprised to find out was a boy. While bathing, he met the other Regulars who decided to participate. Wangnan poked fun at Akraptor, then warned Prince not to go over to the other bathing area, since Viole was there. After he bathed, he found his ring missing from his locker. Viole, who found it, confronted him about it, asking if this was the Zahard symbol. As Wangnan tried to explain the situation, Prince barged in yelling at Viole for ignoring him earlier. Viole tossed the ring back to Wangnan telling him to keep it safe as it seemed 'important' to him. Later in his room, he decided to call everyone over to play cards where he lost all of his winnings. He was also noticeably confused by what Goseng meant when she said to forget everything about the Tower. But he told Nia to definitely pass the next test.

The Untrustworthy Room
In the middle of the night, Love announced the next test, 'A Trustworthy Room'. He told Nia to employ the S.I.R. (stay-in-room) plan because he thought Viole would be hunting down Regulars. Soon after, Goseng came by and told Wangnan to open the door. Goseng scolded the two for being cowards and instead gave them her connector to do as they wished. Wangnan decided to join with her and walked with her back to her room. He got into an argument with Akraptor, who was waiting at the door, about who was less afraid of Viole. They all dashed into the room when Goseng spotted Viole walking down the hall. Wangnan commented how Viole probably killed everyone on the top floors already, though Akraptor disagreed. Wangnan, Akraptor and Horyang succeeded in stealing rooms from other players while Goseng, Miseng and Nia guarded their rooms. When Wangnan called Nia to inform him of their success, Lurker was there and informed them of Nia's betrayal. Lurker then revealed that he also tricked Nia and proceeded to kill him whilst Wangnan fruitlessly begged him to stop. Having heard Nia's brutal death, he swore revenge and ran out of the room, much to his teammates' despair. He managed to distract Love and steal the connector, which he used as leverage to gain Viole's help. Love hit Wangnan for his selfish actions, but Wangnan argued that it was better for just Viole to advance than let bad guys go up. He ended the argument by throwing the connector to Viole.

Later on, with the combined help of Viole and Horyang, the test turned in favour of Wangnan's team. Viole managed to get into the room Lurker was hiding in. Wangnan took this chance to punch Lurker before arguing about the morality of Lurker's decision to murder Nia. In the end, Wangnan realised that the problem laid with the Tower's system and decided to change it. He set an example by forgiving Lurker because he wanted others to forgive Nia and himself. When Viole attemptd to take the room, it was revealed that Wangnan had switched their connectors. This resulted in Wangnan and his team passing the test. Later on he was seen celebrating with the others. When he went outside to look at the sky, Viole confronted him on his decision and motive. Wangnan begged for his life, but answered Viole's questions. The next day it was revealed that Love conducted the test illegally, so Wangnan and his team got to pass to the next Floor.

FUG
Wangnan appeared to have changed his opinion of Viole a bit. This was because Viole not only provided their lodgings but also did his share of the housework (and a little more since Yihwa couldn't cook). Wangnan was nervous when the other FUG members arrived at their lodgings, breaking out in a sweat when he was introduced to Ha Jinsung. After everyone except Hwa Ryun and Wangnan left the room, Hwa Ryun revealed that Jinsung was sent to eliminate them in order for Viole to form a better team, but Jinsung didn't do so after taking a liking to them. Wangnan was surprised at their investment of Viole and expressed doubts of FUG being able to reach their goals, believing that it was impossible because of Zahard's contract. Hwa Ryun revealed that Viole was the one they had been waiting for and that he was an Irregular, putting him outside of the scope of the contract.

Zygaena's Flower
Wangnan decided on the name Team Tangsooyook, much to Prince's displeasure. When they entered the testing area, Test Administrator Noma told them that the other Team ran away after hearing that Viole was in their team.

Noma informed them that they would be taking a different test instead and brought them out into the sea. Zygaena appeared and Noma told them that they were to retrieve a flower from inside its body. They split up into two groups as suggested by Noma. Wangnan, Akraptor, Miseng and Goseng formed a group and entered first. Goseng searched for information using her Lighthouse, but they weren't able to glean much information from it. A pink pig like creature then jumped past them and they saw the flower on its back. The group ran after it but a large open gap cut them off with only big, coloured rings floating around to allow them to chase after the pig. Wangnan desperately chased after it and the others followed his lead. The pig eventually ran into a small tunnel that was too small for most of their group to get inside. Wangnan suggested that Miseng go in after it, to which she agreed. Akraptor and Wangnan decided to look around while Goseng waited for Miseng at the entrance of the tunnel. Akraptor saw Wangnan's determined face and asked him why he had been putting so much effort after meeting the people from FUG. Wangnan glanced away and revealed that if they lost this test, a friend of Viole's would die. He then said that Viole climbed the Tower to protect his friends and that Viole's place is not with them. After receiving Horyang and Prince's message, Wangnan rushed to help Viole fend off an unknown assailant, who easily brushed off their attempts. Wangnan was irritated at how easily the flower was given to them but was shocked to find out their opponent had been the (in)famous Urek Mazino.



After they passed the test, Jinsung warned Wangnan off. Wangnan was troubled by this and wondered what the best course of action would be, but with the help of Team Tangyoosook, realised that he wanted to reconnect Viole with his friends. He made the firm resolution to follow this path and told Jinsung to leave Viole in their care. He approached Hwa Ryun for her guidance to the path he needed to take in order to help Viole meet his friends. She implied that Wangnan's motives might not be completely altruistic and called him the "Prince of the Red Light District". She informed him that in order to reunite Viole and his friends, they would need to climb to the 30th Floor and participate in the Workshop Battle.

Connection
Team Tangsooyook took the 28th Floor test against another team. Wangnan attempted to complete the objective but was stopped by Quaetro Blitz and Chang Blarode. Viole arrived in time to save Wangnan by beating Quaetro in a brief duel. The rest of their team arrived, prompting Chang into forfeiting. Wangnan was angered by Chang implying that Viole was a coward when Viole refused Chang's challenge. As the team rested and snacked on their prize for winning, Akraptor suggested that they stop to rest since they had been climbing at a crazy pace. Wangnan told him to hold out a bit longer until the 30th Floor, stating that he wanted to participate in the Workshop Battle (whilst hiding his true intentions). The team was surprised when Horyang identified a man Goseng saw on the Box as the "Devil of the Right Arm".

Devil of the Right Arm
He sat along with most of the rest of the team as Horyang explained his past. Afterwards he was most vocal in the discussion about what to wear when Horyang came back. He then stayed up waiting for Horyang to come back and urged Akraptor to go after both Viole and Horyang.

Bet
He, Prince, Yihwa and Akraptor arrived at the Hand of Arlen just after it had blown up. When Yihwa got a reading of Viole's pocket, he immediately blew up the debris, revealing Koon trapped underneath. Wangnan and Yihwa were taking care of Koon when he woke up and threatened to stab Wangnan. After sorting out the events that had just taken place, he accepted Koon's help. In the ensuing month, he and the rest of Team Tangsooyook underwent hellish training under Koon. Though he kept up a confident appearance, he confided his doubts about the team's ability to Dan. They took the 29th Floor test in poor condition, but still passed, making them eligible for the Workshop Battle.

Tower of God: Part 2 - The Workshop Battle
Team Tangsooyook made their way to the 30th Floor and saw the Archimedes. Wangnan stayed with Koon and Dan to watch TV and fawned over Androssi while the rest of the team went sight seeing, as the rest has ditched him while he was sleeping. During this time the game to decide who got to participate in the upcoming Workshop Battle began.

One Shot, One Opportunity
Koon tricked Wangnan into thinking that he was being betrayed in order to startle two approaching enemies. In order to save the rest of their team who were trapped in a lighthouse, they made a mad dash to them. They arrived just in time to stop Chang from shooting Akraptor. After Koon resolved the problem, he convinced the rest of the team to leave Miseng and Prince, reasoning that it would be more dangerous to try to save them. Wangnan threw a tantrum after the rest of the team got sent up and demanded that Koon help him find them. Koon was frustrated at Wangnan's attitude but realised that Wangnan's unwillingness to abandon his friends is what caused Viole to help him. Soon after finding their missing teammates, Koon realised that Viole was in danger and rushed off to rescue him, leaving Wangnan to deal with Verdi, but sends Horyang who he sees on the way. After Horyang's presence convinced Leesoo to retreat, Wangnan attempted to strike up a conversation with Horyang. Horyang apologised for leaving without saying anything and that he would probably never be able to eat tangsooyook with them again, implying that he would not return as their teammate. This caused Wangnan to become discouraged and he was seen sitting dejectedly.

Archimedes
Wangnan was seen sitting with Koon, asking him about Rak's existence in general, as all three were together. Koon expressed his annoyance in such a situation, and asked Wangnan to leave so he and Rak could discuss something. Wangnan left and informed Yeon and the others about how Koon was talking to an old friend. At the same time, Wangnan asked why Chang and Quaetro were with them. Chang answered that because they were in the same wing, nothing could be done, and that they wouldn't harm anyone. Yeon asked Wangnan if Koon's friend was a cyborg, because a normal human was sort of disappointing. Wangnan assured that it was not a cyborg but still far from disappointing. As he said this, Koon was punched out of his room by Rak, breaking the door entrance in the process. They saw the scene, with many of the others surprised about "the dinosaur". As the situation eased and Koon left while Dan and Yeon restrained Rak, Wangnan saw the dissatisfaction in Koon's eyes.

Later, Wangnan caught up with Koon and the two talked outside in the balcony where the blue sky was visible. Wangnan took the opportunity to tell Koon that their differences were entirely visible. Wangnan continued to tell Koon what he meant as the latter was entirely confused about this. Wangnan explained that when he saw someone he liked as a friend, he put all his efforts into being close with them as much as he could. But for Koon, he tried avoiding the people that he liked and attempted to handle all the problems by himself. Koon then told Wangnan the story of how he once stole a special gem back in his days with his family. He never showed it to anyone and had always kept it hidden, even to this day.

Battle x Gamble
Being present at the beginning of the much anticipated Workshop Battle, Wangnan was selected as one of the 8 participants in the Workshop Battle's Individual Round's first battle, where 3 of the 8 would pass if they placed their plug in the holes in the middle of the arena. He realised that Akraptor was also chosen. As well, he found out that within the list, Miseng and Prince were also participating. Akraptor arrived and told Wangnan that those two seemed to have made it safely here, both of them relieved. But as the battle finally began and each of them leave their separate rooms to enter the battlefield, they saw Prince's face, full of painful bruises. They asked what the hell happened to him and, in response, Prince yells at the two of them to avoid Miseng. Miseng was seen with devilish eyes, holding a plug drenched with blood at the end.

As him, Akraptor and Prince stood in confusion as to what had happened to Miseng, they witnessed her take down 2 of the 8 participants in one incredibly quick and powerful swing with her plug. Wangnan asked Prince what happened to them and Prince explained his rough experience with Verdi, who offered the two to be her puppets the chance to be more powerful by putting flowers on their heads (and have him and Miseng get married). Though he rejected the offer, before the First Match began, Miseng wore it and thus she became a brute, beating Prince up. Back to the present, after Akraptor lectured Prince to stand up to Miseng, the latter charged at them as she had already taken down the other 2 members. As Prince failed to block her attacks with his Lighthouse, Wangnan charged to attack Miseng only to get knocked to the ground. There, Wangnan witnessed Prince's new strength, as Akraptor took the flower off her head and Miseng turned back to normal. They then reminisce together about never leaving Miseng. In the end, Wangnan, Akraptor and Prince are the 3 winners. As they walk to the rest room, Wangnan dragged an arrogant Prince, who scolded Viole and promised to get him back.

The Truth
At the party he looked very depressed because Koon had been disqualified, but all his happiness came back when he saw Androssi. When Koon met with them he designated Wangnan the Vanguard of the team because he was the cheapest.

Tournament
As the vanguard of Team Tangsooyook, he was placed in Group A and his opponent was Tebo & Lebo. When the test began Koon told him to go to the summoning area because they needed to call for a partner. When he arrived at the summoning area a robot appeared and explained how he could summon teammates. Then Koon said they would summon Quaetro Blitz. Tebo & Lebo arrived at summoning area with the help of their team leader whilst Wangnan summoned Quaetro. To his dismay he needed to wait 5 minutes for the summon to load. He fought with his opponents, dodging their attacks, whilst Koon discerned the opponent's weakness and enabled Wangnan to defeat them.

After summoning Quaetro, he also summoned Yihwa, Akraptor and Rak. He listened to the result in the North Area with his team.

Thorn
When he was going to the rest room with Rak and Akraptor, they noticed two Regulars talking about Viole. After this Yihwa fled out of the room and Wangnan asked if there was a fire; when he went into the room he confused Vespa with a big moth and tried to out Vespa with a fly swatter. When the Team met with Koon, he realised what was happening with Viole and Koon told them what the plan was to rescue Baam.

When the semi-finals began Koon asked him to go to the summoning area with Quaetro. On the way, they encounter Macha and Paul Belkrohn, but when Macha attacked, Rak and Yihwa interceded and enabled them to escape. After this, a red-skinned Regular attacked with Wangnan dodging him and telling Quaetro that he would risk his own life to save Viole. When Quaetro heard this, he decided stay to fight the Regular and told Wangnan that he felt sympathy for him.

Summoning
Wangnan arrived at the item shop to use the summoning well and bring back Viole. While he was talking with Viole he was attacked from behind by Beta who pierced his heart, however before Beta can inflict anymore damage the rest of Wangnan's team arrived. After Yihwa defeated Medina he congratulated her and dragged himself to the summoning well, starting the process for summoning Viole. After this he was carried away by Rak.

Closure
After Beta was defeated and Lero-Ro made his appearance, he was transported to the Wolhaiksong escape ship where he was treated.

Epilogue
Wangnan found himself calling for Viole at the summoning station only for an to tell him he had no right... he suddenly woke up screaming but quickly realised it was a dream. Conversing briefly with a bedside Yihwa, he left the room and was greeted by Leesoo, Akraptor and Prince. When Leesoo gave "Tangsooyook's leader" words of praise, Wangnan seemed shocked by them.

Prologue
After leaving Horyang's room, he bumped into Beta. After some nervous small talk, Beta coolly told Wangnan not to worry about him. Wangnan then realised he was late for Hwa Ryun's meeting and hurriedly left.

At the meeting, he listened as Hwa Ryun explained about the Hell Express to them all and firmly agreed when she suggested that the team splits from Viole in order to get powerful enough to get their own Tickets for the train.

Revolution Road
He appeared alongside Koon and Yihwa on the platform of the Hell Express. After Koon explained the situation to Rachel, Wangan began his attack against Cassano, damaging him with a special "Antimatter" shinsoo bomb created by Sophia Amae. Cassano chastised him for using such a double-edged weapon and prepared to retaliate but Yihwa attacked him with a blast of fire. Wangnan then combined forces with Yihwa, catching Cassano in a powerful fiery eruption from below. However Cassano was able to escape when their fight was interrupted by the actions of the Mad Dog, who attacked Wangnan, and Angel, who attacked Yihwa with her metalfish. But, before Rachel's group could escape into the Hell Express, Koon hurled him and Yihwa into the train after sealing them into the White Heavenly Mirror. After the train departed from the station and got a considerable distance away, he and Yihwa were freed from the blade's seal and got ready to execute their mission on board the train.

Hoaqin
He and Yihwa followed Rachel's group through the train thinking of a way to retrieve Hwa Ryun. When Rachel's group continued onwards, the two tried to follow but got stuck by the maths-based puzzle. Struggling with how to solve it, Rachel's group unexpectedly came out and, on Hwa Ryun's eliciting, Wangnan tried to attack them. However, he was effortlessly subdued by Hoaqin who almost cleaved his hand off in the process. The two were thus taken hostage with Hwa Ryun. They then witnessed Hoaqin's fearsome strength as the group passed the 36F stage test.

Wooden Horse
With Angel and Mad Dog keeping an eye on them, Wangnan asked the former why the were working with a person like Hoaqin but Angel merely evaded his question. When the train suddenly began rumbling, Angel and Mad Dog went to see what was happening, leaving Yihwa and Wangnan by themselves.

Using their lack of supervision to their advantage, the two got free and started navigating the train again. As they were walking down a pathway, they encountered a person they least expected to see. Realising he was another part of Hoaqin, they followed him wondering what he would be like.

A Month
Vicente complained of being hungry and Yihwa gave him some banana-shaped chips to sate him. Vicente thanked them for the snack and he continued walking on, with Yihwa and Wangnan noticing how different Vicente was to Hoaqin. Deciding to pretend to take him to Hoaqin, the two began leading Vicente. Hearing noises, Vicente went to check it out and they soon encountered their previous captors fighting against Rak and other Regulars. Vicente chided them for making so much noise and stopped their fighting. Angel and Mad Dog tried to convince Vicente that Yihwa and Wangnan were his enemies, but Vicente defended them because they gave him snacks when he was hungry. Vicente then threatened Rachel's allies until Hoaqin arrived and contently reunited with his sibling. After some discussion between the two siblings, they clashed and Hoaqin told his allies to attack. Wangnan then asked Vicente what he planned to do and, after hearing his reply, Wangnan sealed Vicente within the White Heavenly Mirror and then hurriedly fled the scene with the rest of the allied group.

Wangnan later freed Vicente from the blade when the latter agreed to help them stop Hoaqin and together they cleared the stages of the train they came up against. Wangnan was also present when Daniel struck a deal with the group. He later arrived at the 4th stage with the rest of the group in time for the game to begin.

The Dallar Show
Wangnan watched as the first round of the Dallar Show was quickly won by Koon, giving Team Viole the first win. With the second round game, "Transferring the sweetfish", beginning, Wangnan was partnered with Vicente. While navigating the pipes, Vicente revealed that Hoaqin and his siblings were formerly the infamous FUG Slayer White, shocking Wangnan. Hearing a loud noise in the distance, the two then raced to Hoaqin's location where Vicente faced him. As Wangnan watched the two brothers fighting, he wondered whether he'd be able to handle him but, after seeing Hoaqin begin to overwhelm Vicente, he allowed David to possess his body, enabling the sibling to join the fight against Hoaqin. David and Vicente managed to land fatal blows upon Hoaqin, but the latter dropped the bombshell that he would always be the centre-point of White, no matter what, before absorbing his siblings into himself, consequently knocking Wangnan unconscious.

Yuri Jahad
Having been knocked out for the entirety of the rest of the Dallar Show, Wangnan cursed his powerlessness until Hwa Ryun told him he could still make amends in the future but, as a result, one of his friends would die.

The 'Name Hunt' Station
Wangnan listened in when Yuri Zahard and Evan Edrok revealed the intentions to travel to the Floor of Death as well as the test issued to them in order for Yuri to allow them to go. He then made the decision to split from Viole and go after Cassano with the rest of Team Tangsooyook.

Wangnan
Having made a plan with the rest of the team, Wangnan confronted Cassano and revealed his intentions to take him back to save Horyang's life. Cassano chided his claim but Wangnan attacked and managed to inject him with a paralysing solution. This elicited Cassano to brutally beat Wangnan within an inch of his life while berating him on his lack of strength. Just then, the solution's effect kicked in allowing a frustrated Akraptor to reveal himself and blast the weakened Cassano down. Catching him in a special pocket ball, Akraptor hauled Wangnan on to his shoulder to go and rendezvous with the rest of the team. However, Rachel and Yura intercepted them and, in the ensuing drama, Akraptor sacrifices himself to save Wangnan's life, much to the latter's devastation. Hoaqin then comes out of a room, holding Miseng, and revealed that he consumed Prince, driving Wangnan deeper into misery.

Later, Wangnan has a terrifying nightmare about all the companions he had lost on his journey up the Tower. Waking up and realising it was a dream, he suddenly hears voices crying out to help them. Not knowing where the voices were coming from, Wangnan begins to sob hysterically.

Later, having got through other stage tests, Rachel comes in and lays down blankets to keep warm as the temperature had dropped. As Wangnan mutters miserably to her comments, Rachel then notes that he was pretty depressed for someone who had inherited Zahard's blood. Alarmed by her words, Rachel holds up his Zahard ring and then explains to him what she knew about him and the ring. She then offers for Wangnan to work with her, before detailing why and revealing more of her knowledge on Zahard's past deeds, leaving Wangnan in a state of shock.