Chapter 12: Second Floor, At the Crossroads

[Eliminate all enemies. Time remaining: 4 hours 56 minutes.]

I opened my eyes and saw a familiar-looking arena. Just like the first floor, we were on a platform floating in lava. Across from me, a group of twelve orcs stood, waiting.

[Time remaining until combat begins: 0 minutes 10 seconds.]

I didn’t have much time, so I quickly scanned the enemies. Their lineup was as follows: one orc paladin clad in plate armor, one orc mage in a black robe, two orc fighters in chainmail, and eight orc warriors in leather armor.

[Time remaining until combat begins: 0 minutes 08 seconds.]

I hadn’t faced a fighter or a mage on the first floor, but the rest of the lineup I already had experience dealing with. Thankfully, there were no assassins or archers—only the mage had long-range attacks.

[Time remaining until combat begins: 0 minutes 06 seconds.]

Since this was my first time facing a mage, I had no idea what to expect. I needed to be cautious. I planned to take out the fighters first, then deal with the warriors. Hopefully, the paladin would stay out of the action until later, like on the first floor.

[Time remaining until combat begins: 0 minutes 03 seconds.]

I glanced back at Doppy. It stood there with a fearful expression, leaning on a longsword that was longer than it was tall.

On the first floor, the enemies hadn’t targeted Doppy, likely because it was a fellow goblin. With how many orcs there were to deal with, I doubted that would be the case here.

Protecting Doppy while fighting would be tough. Having a priest had been a blessing so far, but now it felt more like a burdensome liability.

[Time remaining until combat begins: 0 minutes 01 seconds.]

Sigh... What should I do?

Fuck, well... I have no choice but to protect Doppy.

I couldn’t rely on the slim chance that the orcs would ignore Doppy.

[Time remaining until combat begins: 0 minutes 00 seconds. Initiating combat.]

As the message signaled the start of combat, I stepped forward. Positioning myself in front of Doppy, I raised my shield just below my chin and gripped the mace tightly.

Alright, come at me, fuckers.

... Wait a second. Why aren’t they moving?

The group of orcs remained still, rooted to the spot, leaving me confused. The orc paladin standing in the center looked equally bewildered, hastily glancing around at the others.

“Attack! Attack now! For Kal-Lai—

urgh!

"

Suddenly, one of the orc fighters standing behind the paladin drove a longsword into the paladin’s neck. Crimson blood gushed from the gaps in the glistening plate armor.

“

Gah... Ugh...

"

The orc paladin crumpled to the ground as the orc fighter twisted the sword free. Having freed its sword, it turned to look at me with a heated gaze.

What the...? What’s going on? Why are they killing each other?

“... Liberator," the orc fighter rasped, almost forcing the word out. It dropped to one knee, with the group of orcs following suit like dominos.

The orc fighter who had spoken earlier shouted emotionally.

“Liberator! We greet the Liberator!"

Liberator? Me?

I had no idea what was happening.

“

Krieee!

Karaksh!"

“Karaksh?"

I turned my gaze to my mace, still crackling with lightning.

So this is what the hidden mission was about.

Apparently, defeating Karaksh allowed me to bypass the boss room entirely. No wonder the fight had seemed too difficult. The hidden piece on the second floor wasn’t just the mace.

[Congratulations. Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok has conquered the Second Floor of the Tower of Ordeal. Achievement points will be calculated.]

Wait, that’s weird.

On the first floor, the message stated that I would be sent to the waiting room in the same message it mentioned calculating achievement points. That had forced me to rush to grab the shield back then...

Would it send me to the waiting room now?

[Time remaining: 4 hours 55 minutes. All enemies eliminated. Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok has completed the hidden mission ‘Orc Warlord Karaksh’s Forgotten Tomb.’ Additionally, he conquered the boss room without unnecessary bloodshed. Achievement points will be calculated.]

Suddenly, the arena shook violently as if an earthquake had struck. I quickly lowered my upper body to stabilize myself as the ground trembled.

Rumbleeee—

A massive stone bridge erupted from the lava behind the orc horde. The second floor’s boss room had just been cleared, so why had this bridge appeared?

[Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok has been awarded 12,450 achievement points. Total achievement points: 26,676.]

[A new optional hidden mission 'Orc Liberator' has been unlocked due to the completion of the hidden mission ‘Orc Warlord Karaksh’s Forgotten Tomb.’]

[Optional hidden missions are generally more difficult than standard hidden missions.]

[Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok may choose to proceed to the third floor without completing the optional hidden mission ‘Orc Liberator.’]

[However, successfully completing the hidden mission ‘Orc Liberator’ will be considered as having conquered the third floor.]

‘Orc Liberator?’ An optional hidden mission?

This sounded like a chain quest from a game. Honestly, I wasn’t entirely sure what was happening, but I refused to proceed to the next floor without completing this mission first.

I met Doppy and earned the Thunder Mace by completing two hidden missions. Hidden missions were hard to find and challenging to complete, but the rewards were more than worth it.

Would I be able to find another hidden mission on the third floor?

Discovering the hidden missions on the first two floors hadn’t been easy. Each floor’s hidden piece tested me in different ways. On the first floor, my compassion towards Doppy allowed me to discover the secret, and on the second, I found the mace by trusting in Doppy. The chances of finding another hidden mission on the third floor didn’t seem very high.

[If you wish to forgo the optional hidden mission and proceed to the third floor, say ‘Waiting Room.’ Time remaining: 0 minutes 10 seconds.]

The real question was whether I could complete the hidden mission. The mission linked directly to the fight with Orc Warlord Karaksh, which had been extremely difficult. Adding to the pressure, the message stated that optional hidden missions could be even harder.

[If you wish to proceed to the third floor, say ‘Waiting Room.’ Time remaining: 0 minutes 07 seconds.]

[Once the countdown reaches zero, you cannot change your decision.]

I watched the countdown and prompts urging me to decide, remembering when I had chosen not to open the status window. There had been the same pressure and time limit back then...

Suddenly, the message about the optional mission’s difficulty flashed through my mind. If these missions were "generally" more challenging for an average person, then maybe it wouldn’t be too hard for me.

It’s hard to trust the Tower of Ordeal’s messages...

The tower was unkind. It seemed intent on deceiving me, like when I first encountered Doppy and Karaksh. If I had killed Doppy or chosen the rightmost path after evading the boulder, I wouldn’t have discovered the hidden missions. It even tried to mislead me from the initial waiting room by pressuring climbers into opening the status window.

[If you wish to proceed to the third floor, say ‘Waiting Room.’ Time remaining: 0 minutes 03 seconds.]

[Once the countdown reaches zero, you cannot change your decision.]

I had to make a decision, and I was leaning toward accepting the mission. After all, high risk meant high reward. Completing the hidden mission would only benefit me.

“Let’s do this.”

The orc horde remained motionless, still kneeling.

Seeing this, Doppy echoed my command. “

Kriee!

Goblin! Let’s go!”

Ignoring the countdown, I started walking toward the opposite side. Doppy hurriedly followed by dragging its sword behind it.

[If you wish to proceed to the third floor, say ‘Waiting Room.’ Time remaining: 0 minutes 00 seconds.]

[The optional hidden mission ‘Orc Liberator’ will now commence. Time remaining: 59 minutes 59 seconds.]

***

Just as I suspected, the Tower was playing tricks again. We crossed the stone bridge and walked through the passageway carved into the stone walls, encountering no traps. Instead, we came upon a fork in the road.

To the right, I saw a similar to the one we had just traveled. But on the left... wow. There stood a massive orc, even larger than Karaksh, supporting a colossal round boulder. Its muscles were bulging, strained beyond belief as it braced the boulder. Despite the flat ground, neither the boulder nor the orc moved an inch.

It was a bizarre sight.

Would that boulder even roll if it let go?

It wasn’t out of the question. I’d already seen plenty of inexplicable things within this Tower. If that boulder could roll on flat ground, we’d be in danger the moment the orc let go.

Is that orc an enemy?

I didn’t think so. The aura it exuded didn’t seem threatening.

So what exactly is this ‘Orc Liberator’ hidden mission?

[Hidden mission ‘Orc Liberator.’ Time remaining: 46 minutes 51 seconds.]

Unfortunately, the message offered no explanation. There was no directive to kill enemies or goal to accomplish.

I deliberately made noise as I approached. The massive orc turned its head slightly at the sound, glanced at me, and then refocused on the task at hand. Unlike with other individuals, no message appeared. While Orc Warlord Karaksh’s description had no explanation of who it was either, at least its name had been displayed...

After what seemed like forever, the orc rasped in a rough and crackly voice, as if it hadn’t spoken in decades.

“Li... liberator."

What exactly is this “Liberator?

”

In the boss room, the orcs called me that as they drove a sword through the orc paladin’s neck.

Have these orcs lost their god like the goblins did? Am I supposed to help them too?

“... Could you hold this up for a moment? I... just... want to rest.”

The orc asked, its voice trembling from the strain of holding the boulder.

“...”

It was a pitiful sight, but I wasn’t about to hold that thing for an orc. It might not be an enemy, but who knows what could happen?

“Who are you?” I asked.

“Pa... Rak... Tus.”

“Are you my enemy?”

“No...”

“Can’t you just let go of the boulder and quickly take the other path?”

“If I... do... I’ll lose... everything.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“...”

Paraktus didn’t respond.

What does it mean that it would lose everything? I doubt the consequences would be that bad. Wouldn’t it be safer to just drop the boulder and take the other path?

The more I thought about it, the stranger it seemed.

If it could just avoid the danger by taking the other path, why did it ask me to hold the boulder, claiming it would lose everything? Could Paraktus be another test from the Tower, baiting me with the orcs’ earlier display of goodwill?

“Why should I trust you?”

“...”

It still gave no response. I looked at Doppy, hoping for some insight, but it was just staring at Paraktus's back as if entranced, its mouth shut tight.

“Doppy?”

“...”

Doppy, too, remained silent.

What is going on? Why have they both suddenly gone quiet?

I tried a different approach.

“Can I go down the right path and then come back to hold the boulder for you?”

“...”

[Hidden mission ‘Orc Liberator.’ Time remaining: 43 minutes 37 seconds.]

I quickly ran through my options. If not helping was the right answer, there’d be no need to come back. If it wasn’t, and I needed to help Paraktus, I wondered if I could return from the right path within forty minutes.

Both Doppy and Paraktus remained silent as if mesmerized by something. It felt like the Tower had deliberately created this situation. This fork in the road was a point of no return.

Ugh... Left or right?

The success of the hidden mission depended on my choice. At this moment, I had the gut feeling that there was only one path to success.

“Can I even hold that boulder up in your place? It looks heavy.”

“...”

“Damn it.”

Alright, I’ll take over.

I cautiously approached Paraktus and placed my hands on the boulder. At first, I didn’t feel the weight. Glancing at Paraktus, I saw a faint smile form on its lips.

Fuck, I hope I didn’t make the wrong choice.

As Paraktus carefully let go, the immense weight suddenly pressed down on me. Every muscle in my body tensed—my entire strength was barely enough to hold the weight. I couldn’t even turn my head or open my mouth. One wrong move would leave me crushed.

Now I understood why Paraktus’s voice had trembled so much. This boulder’s weight seemed to adjust to the limits of whoever was holding it.

“Thank you, Liberator,” Paraktus said in a hoarse, relieved voice.

I wanted to ask how long it planned to rest, but I couldn’t speak. If I tried, I feared I might lose control and be overwhelmed by the boulder.

In a desperate voice that contrasted its relieved tone from only moments before, Paraktus pleaded with me.

“Just... just hold on for a moment. Whatever you do, don’t let go. Never!”

Following that, it called out to Doppy.

“Come, child of Fenrike.”

“

Kriieeee.

”

What? Where are they going?

My mind raced, and for a moment, I almost lost control of the boulder. Focusing back on it, I poured every ounce of strength I had into holding it steady.

𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

Meanwhile, I could clearly hear the footsteps of Paraktus and Doppy as they headed down the other path.