Chapter 13: Fourth Floor, Waiting Room

A surge of emotion rose within me.

Why? Where are they going? Why is Doppy following Paraktus? ... Am I screwed?

A sense of dread began to creep in.

Could being the "Liberator" mean sacrificing myself to free the orcs?

Fuck.

Even if I wanted to free myself, I was using every ounce of strength to support the boulder. The more I held it up, the clearer it became that it would be impossible to let go and escape down the side path. If I released my grip, the boulder would crush me before I even had a chance to move.

There was some inexplicable force behind it, and I couldn’t help but wonder how long Paraktus had been bearing this weight.

... They’ll come back, right? No, they have to come back. Damn it, will they?

I questioned myself as time ticked by. The boulder felt like a curse, and if I were in Paraktus’s place, I wouldn’t return either.

[Hidden Mission ‘Orc Liberator.’ Time Remaining: 42 minutes 31 seconds.]

There were still forty-two minutes left. If Paraktus truly intended to return, it should have enough time to go down the rightmost path and come back.

Ugh, I should have taken the other path first. Why did I follow my gut and end up in this mess?

I hadn’t even held the boulder for five minutes, yet I was already filled with regret.

Has my decision-making been correct even once since entering this tower?

Thinking about it, I concluded that my decision-making skills were rather lacking outside of battle. I had saved Doppy on a whim, more from compassion than logic, and on the second floor, I’d purely relied on Doppy’s judgment.

If I’m wrong this time...

I swore to myself that if I survived this, I’d never trust my instincts again. Not that I’d necessarily live to make that decision.

***

[Hidden Mission ‘Orc Liberator.’ Time Remaining: 23 minutes 54 seconds.]

The last twenty minutes had been a grueling test of my endurance. If hell existed, it must be something like this.

Lost in these foolish thoughts, I suddenly heard footsteps from the opposite path. The slow, steady sound was unmistakably from two creatures.

Paraktus! Doppy! They’re back!

I fought to suppress the wave of relief surging inside me.

Phew, I knew it!

My instincts were right after all. I realized I tended to doubt myself and others too quickly. Doppy proved itself after I doubted it, and now my instincts were proving my doubts wrong once again.

“Well done, Liberator.”

Paraktus’s voice was clear and refreshed. It must have found food and water on the other path.

“

Kriee!

Human! You did well!” Doppy echoed.

This little brat, you were silent when I needed you, and now you speak up. What had they been up to while I was suffering here?

“I was tasked with supporting the weight of life’s burdens, and thanks to you, I can finally push them away,” Paraktus said cryptically as it approached from behind.

Is the "life’s burdens" it mentioned referring to the boulder?

It seemed so, as Paraktus's voice was now full of hope.

“I should reward you properly.”

Its rough hand reached over my head. I felt something cool settle around my neck—a necklace, perhaps? It felt weirdly uncomfortable, though. It was unsettling to have a massive, muscular orc over two meters tall fasten a necklace around my neck. Its thick fingers brushed against my skin and sent an uncomfortable shiver down my spine.

“Thank you... Liberator.”

Paraktus stepped beside me, lifting its arms to support the boulder once again. The weight pressing against me began to ease.

“You... can stop... now.”

I released the boulder, feeling a wave of blissful relief spread throughout my entire body.

Ah, that was tough.

Rolling my sore shoulders, I felt a foreign sensation around my neck.

Right, the reward.

[Paraktus’s Determination Necklace]

- Given by Paraktus to the Liberator.

- An unknown power is contained within the radiant emerald gem.

- Grants Indomitability lvl +5, Combat Focus lvl +5 while carried

The small emerald gem attached to the end of a thin silver thread shone beautifully, but the description seemed a little lacking compared to its radiant appearance. The "unknown power" mentioned in the message nagged at me, reminding me of the situation with Doppy.

I didn’t know what it was yet, but there was definitely something hidden within this necklace.

I’ll figure it out one day, right?

Anyway, this was a significant gain. I would face more enemies in the future, and raising the level of my skills would be instrumental in allowing me to overcome them. Even though the usefulness of the five levels in Indomitability and Combat Focus would shrink over time, I was sure I would eventually discover the true power hidden in this necklace. Whatever secret it was hiding, my instincts were saying it would benefit me.

I turned my gaze to Paraktus, who was still holding up the boulder.

“Thank you,” I said.

“It’s... just a small reward... for your kindness.”

Paraktus’s voice was steady now, without the earlier tremble.

Suddenly, the golden ring on Paraktus’s finger caught my eye.

Did it retrieve that ring during its journey down the path?

As I examined it more closely, I noticed the boulder shift slightly. I panicked, thinking that Paraktus was letting it roll toward me.

... Wait, what’s happening?

However, it wasn’t losing control of the boulder. Paraktus was pushing it.

“... Did that just move?” I asked, bewildered.

“...”

No response came, just like before. Instead, a notification message appeared.

[Optional hidden mission completed. Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok has been recognized as having conquered the third floor. Achievement points will be calculated.]

[You are being transported to the waiting room.]

[Time Remaining: 20 minutes 35 seconds. Optional hidden mission 'Orc Liberator' completed. Achievement points will be calculated.]

A faint smile appeared on Paraktus’s face. Suddenly, the thought crossed my mind that I wanted to help it a little before being transported back to the waiting room. I rushed over and placed my hands on the boulder, feeling the weight increase as I added my strength.

But this time, I sensed the boulder moving, even if just a little. Unlike the grueling pain I experienced before, I now felt a sense of exhilaration from pushing the boulder.

[You have slightly contributed to defying the overwhelming ■■■. Additional achievement points awarded.]

The notification was blurred, its message unclear.

What was that about? Did it appear because I helped push the boulder?

While I pondered this, Paraktus spoke up.

“Thank you... Liberator. One day, I will repay you. Until then... stay alive.”

[Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok has been awarded 17,432 achievement points. Total achievement points: 44,108. He will now enter the waiting room.]

Before I could respond, my vision brightened, and the familiar sensation of floating enveloped me.

***

「Invisible Message: Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok has completed the optional hidden mission. Strength, Agility, and Endurance increased by 3.」

「Invisible Message: Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok has conquered the boss room without fighting! Strength and Agility increased by 2.」

「Invisible Message: Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok’s skills have leveled up. Combat Focus is now lvl 8. Indomitability is now lvl 8.」

「Invisible Message: Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok has gained the skill Sixth Sense lvl 5.」

...

「Invisible Message: According to its contract with the first-class god 'Sky of the Nine Heavens' Kal-Lain, the shackles binding the fifth-class provisional god 'Will of Protection' Paraktus have been released.」

***

[Tower of Ordeal, Third Floor. Conquest completed by alternate means. Entering the waiting room.]

[Having conquered the third floor, you may now access the 'Climber Leaderboard' and 'Community.']

[You may now enter sponsorship contracts with second and third-class gods.]

Before I could fully take in the familiar white room, the mass of notifications offering gods’ contracts flooded my vision.

[Third-class god 'Waves of a Sea Change' proposes a sponsorship contract.]

[Second-class god 'Cosmos of the Wind' proposes a sponsorship contract.]

[Third-class god 'Spear That Slices Through the Raging Tides' proposes a sponsorship contract.]

[First-class god 'Goddess of Fire' proposes a sponsorship contract.]

[Second-class god 'Ruler of Six Thousand Skies' proposes a sponsorship contract.]

...

The influx of messages made it impossible to see anything in front of me. Repeating the process from the first-floor waiting room, I simply thought, 'I don’t want to see this,' and the notifications vanished instantly.

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

Met by the familiar sight of the small bed and table, I noticed that I had less rest time than in the previous waiting room. I remembered having twelve hours after clearing the first floor—maybe the tower wanted me to adapt to the rigor of conquering floors more quickly.

“

Kriee!

Human! Water!”

I shoved Doppy aside as it darted toward the table.

“Hold on! I’m going to drink first. There’s an order to things Doppy, even with water.”

I quickly grabbed the water bottle and gulped it down. Doppy watched me with pitiful eyes as the water rapidly dwindled.

Hmm, poor guy. Well, I’ve quenched my thirst enough.

“Alright, here you go.”

“

Kriee!

Water!”

Doppy hastily snatched the water bottle and brought it to its mouth. Despite its urgency, it didn’t drink directly from it, showing that my lesson had paid off.

Turning my attention away from the water, I recalled that the notification mentioned I could now access the Climber Leaderboard and the Community.

“Leaderboard...”

The moment I spoke, a translucent window appeared before my eyes.

[Would you like to make your achievement points public?]

Quickly deciding it would be best to keep my total number of points hidden, I responded aloud.

“No.”

The window updated, displaying the leaderboard.

[Climber Leaderboard]

[1. Kwon Su-Hyeok, fourth floor. Accumulated Achievement Points: 44,108 (Private)]

[2. Ha Hee-Jeong, fifth floor. Accumulated Achievement Points: (Private)]

[3. Alexei Braham, fifth floor. Accumulated Achievement Points: (Private)]

[4. Ivo Andrich, fifth floor. Accumulated Achievement Points: 802]

[...]

Scanning the leaderboard, I let out a sigh of relief when I saw a familiar name.

Ha Hee-Jeong was still alive. Though I had expected her to survive, given that she was a regressor, it was reassuring to see her name there.

Wait a second...

The fourth-place individual only had 802 points.

What’s going on?

There were over 43,000 points between our totals. That made me wonder if completing hidden missions was that crucial. No, that alone couldn’t explain the enormous difference.

And why is everyone else on the fifth floor? Did completing the hidden missions significantly delay me?

I doubted that was the case either. I hadn’t spent much time dealing with Doppy, Karaksh, and Paraktus, and I skipped directly from the second floor to the fourth.

“Community,” I said, hoping it might offer some answers.

The leaderboard vanished, and the notification window refreshed.

[What’s the deal? How is Kwon Su-Hyeok in first place while still on the fourth floor? Don’t the floors have a time limit?]

[If you know Park Doo-Cheol, a 31-year-old male from Yangcheon-gu, South Korea, please send me a message.]

[If you know Chloe, a 24-year-old female from Birmingham, UK, please contact me.]

[Did those mages and priests really make it to the fourth floor after just one battle?]

[Oh man, what do you think will show up for melee warriors on the fifth floor? I almost got killed by the orc warriors on the fourth...]

Wait, an orc warrior on the 4th floor?

I faced an orc warlord on the second floor. Was this just clickbait? I couldn’t help but be baffled. Just as I was about to click on the post out of curiosity, a small notification window appeared with a soft ding.

[Ha Hee-Jeong has sent you a message. Would you like to accept it?]

“Yes.”

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Fifth Floor): Hey, Su-Hyeok. Did you complete the third-floor challenges just now? FYI, you can send me a message just by thinking about what you want to say. No need to type.

- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Fourth Floor): Oh, yeah. I basically conquered the third floor. I conquered the second floor and went straight to the fourth by completing a hidden mission.

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Fifth Floor): Hidden mission??? Good job, dude. Conquering these floors was tough, wasn’t it...? Sorry. I didn’t realize things would be more difficult if you didn’t open the status window.

- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Fourth Floor): Hmm?

The tutorial gets harder if a climber chooses not to view the status window? So... was I the only one facing stronger enemies?

- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Fourth Floor): What I have been going through is considered difficult?

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Fifth Floor): It’s not just difficult; it’s leagues beyond that. I gave up and opened the status window in the first-floor boss room. If it weren’t for you, I would have lost all hope.

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Fifth Floor): I’m sorry. I gave up and left you to face the harder tutorial alone. It’s my fault for not being more capable. I’ll do my best to support you from here on out.

- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Fourth Floor): No, it’s fine. You don’t need to apologize.

So even a regressor like Ha Hee-Jeong gave up during the fight with the goblin paladin. Also, it

was

true that others didn’t face an orc warrior until the fourth floor.

“...”

It felt like I was hit in the back of the head. My brain started malfunctioning.

This is ridiculous! If the first orc warrior appeared for them on the fourth floor, then what did they face on the third floor? Goblins? And what about the first and second floors? Did they encounter wild dogs or something?

It seemed like others were breezing through the tutorial, while I was fated to suffer and struggle to reach the same point.

No, I had to view the situation differently. I was the hope of Earth, after all.

Heroes are meant to be lonely, right?

As I tried to reassure myself with these thoughts, another message from Ha Hee-Jeong popped up.

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Fifth Floor): How many achievement points do you have? I’m at 7,400 points.

- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Fourth Floor): Me? Around 44,000 points.

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Fifth Floor): What the heck? 44,000???

- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Fourth Floor): Yeah.

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Fifth Floor): ... I knew it. You’re a natural with melee weapons.

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Fifth Floor): But Su-Hyeok. What on earth did you go through to earn 44,000 points?