Chapter 127: Thirty-Second Floor, Sky Whale Protector (4)

Wait. Is she trying to recruit me?

If I expressed disdain for humans, I had no doubt she would suggest we join forces to protect nature. It wasn’t a surprising offer, but I didn’t find it particularly appealing.

A few days ago, I might have played along, responding agreeably no matter what they said, to stay on good terms with the elves. However, I now had no desire to do so. Their overbearing demeanor aside, I felt an instinctive unease from interacting with them that I couldn’t shake.

It reminded me of a college classmate who incessantly tried to impose their vegetarian ideals on others.

“Well, I think there are excessive aspects, but some level of development is essential for convenience, isn’t it?”

With her gaze fixed firmly on me, Roxanne remained quiet. Though she still looked composed, I could clearly see disappointment flicker in her eyes.

With a soft sigh, she finally spoke frustratedly.

“But human development has long surpassed reasonable limits. Look at the sky whales, forced all the way to the eastern plains of Regium. It's proof of humanity’s overbearing encroachment. Nature is deteriorating.”

She bit her lip as if holding back more. “Mr. Su-Hyeok, doesn’t your choice to save the sky whales align with our values?”

“Well... to an extent, yes.”

In truth, I wasn’t fully aware of the scale of human development here. Still, I nodded, choosing to agree for now. There was no point in outright going against her.

Seeing a glimmer of hope in my response, Roxanne’s eyes brightened. She pressed further with a trace of lingering expectation. “In that case, would you consider joining us to put an end to humanity’s indiscriminate exploitation?”

As I suspected, she wanted to recruit me. The timing felt deliberate, considering the thirty-second floor was wrapping up and I had no clue when the next floor would start. Although I couldn’t be sure, my decision here seemed like it would shape a future floor’s trial.

Accepting her offer would place me on the elves’ side. Refusing could align me with the humans. The choice was worth pondering.

Joining the elves to stop human development, huh...

Though this could be a hidden mission, I couldn’t shake the image of the hunting party member’s bodies after the elves had slaughtered them. No mission was worth completing that would lead to the senseless killing of innocent people.

Of course, rejecting her could mean clashing with the elves. Still, the extremity of their convictions gave me pause. I understood the importance of preserving nature, but the elves took it to such a radical level.

Something deep down told me I would regret teaming up with Roxanne.

“Sorry, but I’ll have to decline.”

She paused, pursing her lips before responding, “That’s unfortunate. I thought we could accomplish more together. Honestly, I’d never met a human like you before, so I had high hopes. But in the end, you’re still human, after all.”

Her tone had chilled noticeably at my refusal.

Of course, I am human. What else would I be?

Though her final remark annoyed me, her earlier words lingered in my mind.

I thought we could accomplish more together...

As I suspected, this exchange seemed pivotal to the thirty-third floor’s progression.

My expression seemed to have soured without me realizing it as Roxanne quickly continued, seemingly aware of her misstep, “I didn’t mean to criticize you, Mr. Su-Hyeok. If it came across that way, I ask for your forgiveness. Your efforts to save the sky whales are greatly appreciated.”

“No need to apologize. I only did what I felt was necessary. By the way... it seems the pursuers are closing in.”

Eager to shift the awkward atmosphere, I pointed to the royal airships that were closing the gap. Having reached the eastern plains of Regium and turned down Roxanne’s proposal, I sense the end of the thirty-second floor drawing near.

Ding!

As if to confirm my thoughts, a notification window appeared. Its sudden appearance caught me slightly off guard.

[Congratulations. Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok has conquered the thirty-second floor of the Tower of Ordeal: Sky Whale Protector.]

This was my cue to jump from the airship. Disappearing suddenly could bring unnecessary suspicion onto the elves, so this was the best option I had.

“Well then, I’ll be taking my leave—”

Roxanne cut me off curtly, her smile thinly veiling her true emotions, “So it’s time. It’s been a pleasure working with you.”

𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

These elves...

The shift in attitude after my refusal was glaring. Disappointed, I returned her smile before leaping off the airship with Doppy in my arms.

Despite having been forewarned, Doppy let out a piercing screech, “

Kiiieek!”

The sky blurred past as I rapidly approached the dense forest below. Gravity pressed down on me, momentarily stealing my breath. It was like bungee jumping without a cord.

The wind tore at my skin, tangling my hair in its ferocity.

It is a shame I couldn’t take the airship as planned.

It was unavoidable, though. With the royal airships trailing us, I couldn’t store it in the mimic.

As my thoughts wandered, I realized I was now roughly halfway between the airship and the ground. Oddly enough, the notification window was taking longer than usual to appear.

What’s going on? Is the tower still calculating my points?

I wasn’t worried. Thanks to Kashatum’s Sky Shoes, the fall posed no real danger to me.

At that moment, an explosion erupted in the distance. Startled, I turned to see black smoke rising from the eastern ridge. Despite the distance, Roxanne’s enraged scream rang loud and clear.

“You wretched humans! The eastern plains are supposed to be a no-development zone!”

A no-development zone? Oh, right. She did mention that earlier.

Something seemed strange, however. If the kingdom was developing the area, what would happen to the sky whales we had guided to this area?

Why now, of all times...

It felt absurdly dramatic for this to happen just as the floor concluded.

Is the thirty-third floor directly linked to the previous floor like the thirty-second?

Before I could dwell further, another window popped up.

[Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok has been awarded the Orb of the Sky Whale for completing the hidden mission ‘Flawless Transport.’]

[Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok has been awarded 12,831 achievement points. Total achievement points: 95,069. He will now enter the waiting room.]

***

「Invisible message: Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok has declined Roxanne’s proposal. removing the thirty-third floor of the Tower of Ordeal: Terror Preparations.]

***

[Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok has conquered the thirty-second floor of the Tower of Ordeal: Sky Whale Protector. He will now enter the waiting room.]

[14 hours 59 minutes until the rest period ends. Please take a rest.]

“Doppy, go wash up first.”

“

Kriee!

Got it!”

Six days had passed since my last visit to the waiting room, and I was excited at the prospect of a shower as cleanliness had been a luxury aboard the airship.

After sending Doppy to the bathroom, I reflected on the explosion I had heard.

So the next floor isn’t directly connected. Still...

The thirty-third floor, or maybe a later floor, seemed tied to that blast. With the no-development zone breached, the elves wouldn’t stand idly by.

Having declined their offer, the most likely scenario I imagined was that I would end up facing elven guerrillas. For now, I didn’t want to speculate more.

Clearing my thoughts, I opened my status window.

[Kwon Su-Hyeok (Earthling, C-66432)]

Title: Seeker of the Crossroads

Affiliation: None

Patron Deity: First class, Omniscient Thunder Axe (Share percentage: 0.00%(-?.??%) / 100.00%)

Strength: 151.5

Agility: 148.1

Stamina: 153.6

Mana: 138.3

Skills: Lightning Essence lvl 10, ... Wind’s Route lvl 4, Illusion Resistance lvl 3.

My stats had improved incrementally, and Wind’s Route had leveled up by 1, but I didn’t feel any significant changes.

Progress on the recent floors had been frustratingly slow. I wanted to immerse myself in combat training but still lacked an appropriate sparring partner.

Hmm, I expected more from my individual challenge floors...

The opponents weren’t nearly as formidable as I had anticipated. Still, Roxanne seemed strong enough to provide a decent challenge. Perhaps I could select her for combat training.

Come to think of it, I haven’t looked at my reward yet. What is the Orb of the Sky Whale?

Looking around, my eyes landed on a small wooden box placed neatly on the waiting room table. When I opened it, a translucent, sky-blue orb emitted a faint glow.

[Orb of the Sky Whale]

- Single-use.

- Allows complete control of a sky whale for twenty-four hours.

It seemed a bit underwhelming. As a reward for a hidden mission, it had potential, but it didn’t strike me as exceptionally powerful. Perhaps it could be key on the thirty-third floor depending on how I utilized it.

Ding!

While I pondered, another notification popped up.

[The thirty-third floor has been removed. Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok will skip directly to the thirty-fourth floor.]

[The thirty-fourth floor of the Tower of Ordeal requires all climbers to enter with a party.]

[14 hours 57 minutes until the rest period ends. Please take a rest.]

Wait, what? The thirty-third floor has been removed? Not collapsed like before but completely removed?

It hadn’t been too long ago that the tower stated that the thirty-second and thirty-third floors changed, so I wondered what could have caused this scenario.

Did rejecting Roxanne’s proposal cause the next floor to vanish?

The situation left me confused, but I did have a speculation. On the thirty-first floor, I had sided with the elves. That had been a hidden mission, which led to changes on the thirty-second and thirty-third floors.

Most likely, the modified floors were designed to further the elves’ agenda. By rejecting the alliance midway, I must have invalidated any further arrangements and caused the floor to disappear.

Still, one question persisted.

Since I rejected the elves’ proposal, shouldn’t the tower have assigned me a trial to support the humans?

The logic didn’t fully add up. Recalling Ha Hee-Jeong’s theory about the collapse of the seventeenth to nineteenth floors, one possible explanation surfaced. Maybe the remaining trials weren’t challenging enough to match the intended difficulty of the thirty-third floor.

Is opposing the elves from the human side considered too easy? If the thirty-third floor vanished, and the Orb of the Sky Whale was still offered as a reward...

It seemed likely that my individual challenge floor was once again intertwined with an overarching, multiple-floor trial.

Rather than speculating aimlessly, I decided to contact Ha Hee-Jeong.

- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Thirty-fourth Floor): Hey, Hee-Jeong.

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Thirty-fourth Floor): Oh, when did you get back? You stayed a day on the thirty-first floor, then jumped straight to the thirty-second. Now you’ve cleared two floors at once? Back-to-back hidden missions?

- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Thirty-fourth Floor): Sort of. But that’s not why I’m messaging.

As I began recounting the events of the thirty-first and thirty-second floors, Ha Hee-Jeong interrupted me, sounding alarmed.

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Thirty-fourth Floor): Wait, what? Elves? Are you serious? What were they doing there?

- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Thirty-fourth Floor): So you’re familiar with them? Does this mean my solo challenge is tied to some global trial again?

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Thirty-fourth Floor): Yeah, damn it. This is on me. From now on, I’ll just explain every floor to you in advance.

- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Thirty-fourth Floor): What do you mean?

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Thirty-fourth Floor): Your individual challenge floors have been connected to the overarching progression for a while now. I thought about telling you but decided not to.

Wait, she suspected something but didn’t say anything?

While I mulled over her reasoning, I received another message.

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Thirty-fourth Floor): The thirty-first to thirty-third floors typically send climbers to other worlds. That’s why I assumed you’d be sent elsewhere, too.

- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Thirty-fourth Floor): So you thought I’d go to another world as well.

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Thirty-fourth Floor): Exactly. And besides, the multiple-floor trial that begins on the thirty-fifth floor makes preparation meaningless.

Something about her tone suggested the thirty-fifth floor wasn’t your average ordeal.

How can a trial make preparation meaningless?

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Thirty-fourth Floor): Sorry for withholding information from you. Next time, I’ll share everything ahead of time.

- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Thirty-fourth Floor): No need to apologize. I would’ve probably done the same. But what do you mean by “unable to prepare”?

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Thirty-fourth Floor): I’ll explain later. First, tell me everything that happened on your side.

At her request, I recounted every detail from the thirty-first floor onward—the hunting party, the elves, the sky whales, the explosion, and finally, the disappearance of the thirty-third floor.

Her response was immediate and scathing.

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Thirty-fourth Floor): Ah, so that’s what went down. Crazy eco-terrorists.

- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Thirty-fourth Floor): Eco-terrorists?

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Thirty-fourth Floor): You know, people who commit acts of terror in the name of protecting the environment. The thirty-fifth floor is all about the elves’ militant actions and starts during one of their attacks.