Chapter 14: Fourth Floor, Forward or Backward (1)

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Fifth Floor): You’ve really, really been through a lot...

- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Fourth Floor): I’m fine.

Ha Hee-Jeong kept repeating how hard it must have been after I roughly summarized my journey through the first two floors. Her constant concern was starting to get a bit irritating, so I responded with a slightly curt message. Sensing my mood, she quickly shifted the conversation.

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Fifth Floor): With 40,000 points, you’ll have plenty to grab once the shop opens after the fourth floor. You’ll be able to claim a lot before others even start accumulating points.

- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Fourth Floor): A shop?

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Fifth Floor): Yeah, the shop opens after the fourth floor. I’ll tell you what to buy after you conquer the next floor. It’ll be the perfect opportunity to use the information I’ve gained from my regression.

- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Fourth Floor): What should I get?

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Fifth Floor): There’s a lot. Elixirs, weapons, skill books. Although, for the really good items, you can only buy one of each. Let’s not go into the details now, because honestly, even if I tell you them, you’ll probably forget by then.

I didn’t expect the Tower of Ordeal to have a store.

Also, skill books? Can I even use those without a status window?

- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Fourth Floor): Hey Hee-Jeong, can I even use a skill book if I don’t have a status window? I heard there’s a limitation on skills at the start.

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Fifth Floor): You probably won’t be able to use them. But don’t worry, skills aren’t what’s important for you. And don’t stress about the status window either. Once you clear the fifth floor, you’ll get one too.

The revelation stunned me.

- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Fourth Floor): What?!?

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Fifth Floor): I’m telling you, it’s all a scam. Although, without a status window, most people wouldn’t even make it through the tutorial.

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Fifth Floor): But you can’t enhance your stats even with the status window.

- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Fourth Floor): Wait, what? How come?

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Fifth Floor): You’ll probably just be able to view it. The stats will look the same, but I heard from someone else that there is a difference. We’ll have to see once you get your status window.

- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Fourth Floor):

Sigh

, got it.

Even Ha Hee-Jeong, the regressor, didn't know everything. I blindly assumed she did, and I had wanted to rely on that knowledge for the next floors of the tutorial.

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Fifth Floor): I only heard it in passing, but I didn’t expect the tutorial would get this hard. Damn that bastard.

- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Fourth Floor): Heard what? Who told you?

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Fifth Floor): You’ll meet them later. I’ll tell you more then.

- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Fourth Floor): Hmm, okay. But Hee-Jeong, when can we meet?

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Fifth Floor): On the sixth floor. We can see each other after the tutorial.

- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Fourth Floor): The tower doesn’t keep the people who didn’t open the status window separate, right?

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Fifth Floor): As far as I know, no. Don’t worry.

I could meet Ha Hee-Jeong on the sixth floor. After meeting her, climbing the tower would be a piece of cake with her information.

Just two more floors to go.

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Fifth Floor): How long until you enter the fourth floor?

I checked the notification in response to Ha Hee-Jeong’s message.

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

- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Fourth Floor): About nine hours.

There wasn’t much time left on the timer, and my body was seriously worn out. Fighting Karaksh and helping Paraktus had taken a lot out of me. Ha Hee-Jeong must have noticed since she urged me to recharge.

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Fifth Floor): Rest is super important. Get some rest now, and we’ll talk later. Take care of your health.

- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Fourth Floor): Got it.

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Fifth Floor): Also, ignore the Community for now even if it is unlocked—just rest. Conquering the floors won’t get any easier.

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

She knew me too well. I planned to check the Community before resting, and it seemed she anticipated that. Besides, I was already anxious about what might be on the fourth floor—another creature like Karaksh could be waiting.

Let’s take a nap first.

I was truly exhausted. I needed to prioritize rest, and I could check the Community later if I had enough time. Sensing my decision to sleep, the waiting room dimmed. Lying down on the bed, I felt the fatigue finally catch up to me.

“Doppy, you did well. Get some rest.”

“

Kriee!

Human! Rest!”

***

[1 hour and 3 minutes until the rest period ends. Please take a rest.]

I slept for about eight hours, leaving me plenty of time until the fourth floor started. I didn’t feel fatigued, and I could tell my stamina had improved from overcoming the tower’s challenges.

Still curious about the Community, I opened it, and a post immediately caught my eye.

[Climbers are not competitors.]

Author: Kevin Yurik (Fifth Floor)

We all heard it when we entered the tower. If we fail to conquer the tower, Earth loses its sovereignty. The ones who threw us into this tower can do whatever they want, and if we don’t clear it, we’re all dead. Stop spreading false information. We need to work together.

- Braha Akif (Fifth Floor): He's right.

- Erik Sekoff (Fifth Floor): The tutorial was easy as hell. It’s obvious the rest of the tower will probably be just as easy. Who knows? Maybe if you come in first, you’ll become the god of Earth. lol

- Wang Wei (Fifth Floor): Only weaklings say garbage like this. They just don’t have the confidence to climb higher.

...

I scrolled through the Community for a while before quietly closing it.

A million people had been summoned to the tower. I wasn’t sure how many were still alive, but judging from the posts, the tutorial hadn’t been too difficult for most.

Maybe over eight hundred thousand people have survived so far?

Finding anything useful had been hard with the sheer volume of posts, many of which were posted by some truly crazy individuals. Still, some posts that shared helpful information or asked for help finding family stood out... but honestly, asking Ha Hee-Jeong directly seemed like the more reliable option.

- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Fourth Floor): What are you up to?

She didn’t reply, probably asleep as well. With nothing else to do, I lay on the bed, allowing my thoughts to drift, when the orc paladin’s last words suddenly echoed in my mind.

“Attack! Attack now! For Kal-Lai—urgh!"

Even though the paladin had been interrupted, my brain was fixated on the name. For some reason, it sounded like the name of a deity.

Why did that name seem so familiar? Where had I encountered it before? Did it appear when I was spammed by the gods’ sponsorship offers?

No, that wasn’t it. The sponsors’ names weren’t revealed in the messages, only their titles. I tried to trace through my memories. I had no recollection of hearing the name before entering the tower, so I must have heard it recently.

Then it hit me—the first floor. Yes, that was where I had heard it. The goblin paladin in the boss room had invoked Kal-Lain, saying, “Kal-Lain be with us!”

But who or what is Kal-Lain? It appears to be a deity, but does it make sense for both orcs and goblins to worship the same god?

... Wait a moment.

Doppy’s god was Fenrike, who had been trapped within the necklace Doppy now carried.

“Doppy.”

“

Kkriiik?

”

“Do you know who Kal-Lain is?”

“

Kriee,

Goblin doesn’t know!”

Doppy’s expression displayed its genuine confusion. It clearly had no answers, but the question still gnawed at me.

“Fenrike is supposed to be the god of the goblins, right?”

“

Kriee!

Fenrike is a god!”

“Then why could the goblin paladin praise Kal-Lain and still use holy magic? Isn’t Fenrike supposed to be its god?”

“

Krieee!

Goblin lost their god! Goblin doesn’t know about Kal-Lain!”

Lost their god?

“So, did Kal-Lain imprison Fenrike?”

“

Kriee!

Goblin doesn’t know! It was a long time ago!”

“A long time ago?”

𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

“

Kriieee!

Before Goblin were even born!”

Before the goblins were born? Then, how does Doppy know about Fenrike?

“How did you come to believe in Fenrike?”

“

Kriee!

Goblin suddenly heard Fenrike’s voice! Then the necklace appeared!”

“Hmm... But Fenrike was trapped within the necklace. How could you hear it?”

“

Kriee!

Goblin doesn’t know!”

Well, Fenrike was a god after all. Perhaps there was some divine mechanism at play.

Was Doppy chosen because he was special?

The more I thought about it, the more confused I became. Doppy’s understanding was limited, and the information I had extracted from it only raised more questions than it answered.

Let’s consider the possibilities. The first possibility is that Kal-Lain usurped the position of the goblins’ and orcs’ original deities. Or was Kal-Lain, in fact, the god of the orcs? That seemed unlikely.

If Kal-Lain was the god of the orcs, why was Karaksh’s corpse lingering in that hidden chamber like a vengeful spirit?

The same question applied to Paraktus.

And what about Doppy, the so-called goblin saint, wandering lost within the tower?

Karaksh and Paraktus could be suffering a fate similar to Doppy’s. If their original gods were still present, surely they wouldn’t be in such a miserable state.

Damn it.

My thoughts swirled chaotically.

Who exactly was Kal-Lain, and how could they have possibly usurped the positions of other gods? If my suspicions were correct, could it be that an orc god was trapped somewhere on the second floor like Fenrike had been on the first? Had I overlooked it—or had Paraktus?

It was certainly no ordinary orc, but the truth remained elusive.

“But wait..."

The orcs and goblins had their gods.

Then, who is the god of humanity?

I mentally listed the names of holy figures from Earth’s history.

Jesus, Buddha, Allah...

Has there ever truly been a god watching over Earth? If there was one, why did they allow us to be pulled into this tower? Could it be that Earth's god was powerless to intervene?

The message I received at the pub stated that the Green Belt of region C-66432 had been lifted. What was a Green Belt, and since it was for an entire region, potentially not just Earth, was it beyond the reach of Earth’s god?

Or was it because of humanity's dwindling faith?

No one on Earth that I knew of had ever wielded holy magic. This tower could be some form of divine punishment for humanity's lack of faith.

Would a god reveal themselves only after we conquer the tower, appearing in a grand, dramatic fashion?

Questions kept surfacing, but answers remained elusive. Maybe I’d ask Ha Hee-Jeong if she had any insights when she woke up.

Sitting idly in the waiting room, my thoughts continued to spiral. Each one was more unsettling than the last.

[43 minutes 27 seconds until the rest period ends. Please take a rest.]

Seeing the time left until the next floor, I found myself almost wishing to start it sooner. Once the next floor began, I could focus on the immediate challenges and push these troubling thoughts out of my mind. Between the traps and the tension of battle, I would be able to keep myself distracted from the unsettling ideas.

“Doppy.”

“

Kriee?

”

“Get me some water.”

“

Kriee!

Right away!”

Doppy jumped up and quickly fetched a water bottle.

Forty minutes left. What now?

“I guess I should prepare for the fourth floor..."

Unfortunately, I didn’t know what to do to prepare. Every idea I had felt like it was running into a dead-end. I resigned myself to the fact that there was nothing more I could do at this point. I might as well pass the time with Doppy, letting the minutes slip away.

***

[Welcome to the fourth floor of the Tower of Ordeal. The fourth stage of the tutorial will now begin.]

Once again, I was teleported to a stone corridor about three meters wide and four meters tall. Narrower than the previous floors, its layout was reminiscent of them with flickering torches on either side.

However, there was one glaring difference. The path ahead sloped downward, disappearing into the distance, giving no hint of an end.

An uneasy thought started creeping into my mind as I recalled the massive boulder from the second floor.

Why is the fourth floor slanted downward?

I instinctively turned my head. Unlike the previous two floors where I had started directly in front of a wall, the path continued behind me at a steep upward incline.

... This isn’t good.

The ominous feeling grew stronger. Although I was faster now, carrying Doppy would surely slow me down.

“... Wait, where’s Doppy?"

For the first time since the first floor, Doppy wasn’t with me.

Then, a new notification flashed before my eyes.

[Escape. Time remaining: 1 hour 59 minutes.]

As the message appeared, a low rumble began from a location out of sight at the top of the slope behind me. It was the same vibration I’d felt on the second floor.

The message left no room for doubt—I had to escape. A giant boulder had to be rolling down, gaining speed with every passing second. Even though the time limit was only two hours, I ran from the boulder on the second floor for only about fifteen minutes. This would be a test of speed and endurance.

I had no idea how long this corridor was, but I knew there were two hours on the timer, and there was no time for speculation. I needed to act.

Without hesitation, I pushed off and sprinted down the slope.