Chapter 153: Forty-Fourth Floor, The Abandoned City (1)

[There is no time limit. Please take a rest.]

“

Ugh

, seriously!”

Doppy’s outburst made me jolt as I left the bathroom. I turned to see him sprawled on the bed, completely wrapped in blankets yet obviously frustrated.

“What’s wrong? What happened?”

“I’m trying to sleep, but Ryun keeps talking to me!”

Wait, Ryun is still talking to Doppy?

Considering I had firmly addressed this earlier, I furrowed my brow and glared at Ryun.

“Ryun, I told you already. Doppy’s just a kid and needs his rest. Don’t talk to Doppy when he’s trying to fall asleep.”

“Doppy... wasn’t... asleep...”

“Doppy takes a bit of time to drift off. Just leave him alone.”

Ryun averted his gaze, seemingly threatened by my sharp tone.

“Understood...”

However, as I watched him sulk, I couldn’t help but feel a pang of guilt. An uncomfortable silence enveloped the room, evidence of the strain that the waiting room had put on our dynamic.

Not wanting things to grow awkward between us, I decided to steer the conversation toward a topic we had discussed earlier in the training room. Even though we had already covered it, revisiting it seemed the easiest way to break the tension.

“Ryun, you told me not to use your sword Aura, right?”

“That’s... correct. You... have to... forge... your own... path...”

“Not even a little?”

“It will... serve... you... no purpose...”

Though I asked again, hoping that he would change his mind, his response was the same as before. Ryun emphasized that imitating his Aura would do me more harm than good since it could impede my own enlightenment.

After all, trying to tread another’s path when I needed to carve my own was counterproductive.

“Got it. Thanks for the advice.”

“It’s... nothing...”

Fortunately, the awkwardness dissipated quickly. Deciding to lighten the mood, I playfully asked, “By the way, Ryun, don’t you sleep?”

I hadn’t seen him rest once. Though we hadn’t known each other for very long, it had still been over a day.

Ryun responded in his usual, slow cadence, “Ents... require... little sleep. Especially... when... they’re... stationary... like... now...”

I nodded as if it made perfect sense, but inwardly, I was taken aback.

“I see.”

So he sleeps less in this axe form?

This could be a problem. If he didn’t need to sleep every day, then he would probably talk throughout the night, even if Doppy and I were trying to sleep.

It isn’t like I can give him sleeping meds either...

Though it felt a bit cold-hearted, I knew I had to be direct.

“Ryun, I’m going to sleep now, so please don’t talk to me.”

“O...kay.”

***

[3 hours and 42 minutes until the rest period ends. Please take a rest.]

“Doppy, you lost.”

“What? How?”

“Look, I’ve got five in a row here.”

“What! I didn’t see that!”

Doppy groaned in frustration, running a hand over his bald head. Although I had won, I found his disappointment oddly endearing.

Of course, winning didn’t make

Gomoku

[1] any less dull. What I had an issue with was Doppy’s lack of skill. Even with all the time in the world, constantly winning made the game tedious.

Dusting off my hands, I got up from my seat, but Doppy frantically grabbed my wrist.

“Where are you going? We’re not done yet!”

“Let’s stop. It’s boring now.”

“It’s fun for me! Is it not fun for you, Su-Yeok? Is it because I’m bad at it?”

Doppy gazed up at me with wide, glistening eyes, his expression heartbreakingly earnest. While his suspicion was on point, I couldn’t bring myself to speak honestly. Therefore, I shook my head.

“No, I just played too much back on Earth.”

“Really?”

“Of course. Why would I lie?”

Though the majority of my playtime happened back when I was a student, I had certainly played more than Doppy, so it wasn’t entirely false.

As I wracked my brain for a different subject, my eyes landed on Ryun, who was leaning against the desk.

Perfect.

I picked him up and set him on the chair I had just left.

“How about you play with Ryun instead of me?”

“But Ryun doesn’t have arms!”

“That’s... a rather... harsh... observation...”

“It’s true!”

Doppy’s triumphant shout left Ryun glancing at me, sadness evident in his eyes. However, since Doppy hadn’t spoken maliciously, I didn’t feel like I could reprimand him. Ryun seemed to understand, although he still stared at me wordlessly.

I gave him a consoling look in response.

“Ryun can tell you where to place the pieces, and you can move them for him.”

“Oh! That’s a brilliant idea! Su-Yeok, you’re a genius!”

“That... could be... interesting...”

“Do you even know how to play?”

Ryun spoke confidently, “Of course... I’ve been... watching... you two. It seems... quite simple...”

Taken aback by Ryun’s confidence, Doppy bristled defensively. “This game is harder than it looks!”

“Hmm... I didn’t... get that... impression...”

“You’ll understand once you try!”

As the two began to bicker, I wondered if this would actually help them bond or just lead to more squabbling. Well, I figured they would sort it out somehow.

Leaving them to their

Gomoku

match, I lay down on my bed.

Just then, a message from Ha Hee-Jeong popped up.

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Forty-fourth Floor): Sending the party invite now.

She had previously mentioned that she wanted to discuss the forty-fourth floor with the party before inviting me. Her excuse had been that her foresight skill had recently activated, which hadn’t happened in a while.

Not long after her message, a notification appeared.

[Climber Ha Hee-Jeong has invited Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok to 'Ha Hee-Jeong’s Party.']

[State ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ to accept or reject the invitation.]

I spoke affirmatively, and the notification updated.

[Challenger Ha Hee-Jeong has proposed transferring party leader rights to Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok. Party members are required to participate in the poll.]

[State ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ to accept or reject the proposal.]

Party leader?

While the role didn’t have any significant perks, party leaders did receive slightly better rewards than regular members. I hadn’t even considered this, but it was clear that Ha Hee-Jeong had pondered the minor details.

I saw no reason to decline, and I felt a surge of gratitude for her consideration.

“Yes.”

[Vote in progress...]

[Vote concluded. 6 votes in favor, 0 votes against. The proposal has passed.]

[Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok is now the party leader. The party name has been changed to 'Kwon Su-Hyeok’s Party.']

No sooner had the notification disappeared than a flood of party messages began pouring in.

- Seo Ho-Su (Forty-fourth Floor): Finally, Su-Hyeok’s back with us!

- Seo Ha-Rin (Forty-fourth Floor): Haha, it’s been a while, oppa.

- Azad Hakin (Forty-fourth Floor): Su-Hyeok-hyung! We’re finally in the same party!

***

[Welcome to the forty-fourth floor of the Tower of Ordeal: The Abandoned City.]

[The forty-fourth and forty-fifth floors of the Tower of Ordeal are connected, and climbers will not be sent to a waiting room in between.]

[In the abandoned city, every climber’s stats, skills, and equipment will be reset. Reset stats, skills, and equipment will be restored upon clearing the forty-fifth floor.]

Strangely, the tower didn’t transport us directly into the trial like on other floors. Instead, similar to the thirty-fifth floor, the glowing message simply hovered in the pitch-black void.

As I floated in the emptiness, I calmly read through the notifications.

Stats, skills, and equipment reset.

These were things I already knew.

Then, the message was updated.

[The abandoned city includes a level-up system. Actions taken by a climber can be converted into experience points. Additionally, various inhabitants survive in the streets of the abandoned city, and interactions with them may also result in experience points.]

[At the end of the floor, the party with the highest average level in each zone will receive additional rewards.]

[*Killing a party member grants triple the experience points.]

A level system and triple experience points for killing a party member...

Ha Hee-Jeong had told me about it in private, but seeing it explicitly stated in the tower’s message made it feel far more sinister. It was as if the tower were deliberately encouraging such behavior.

My vision abruptly flipped. The sensation of weightlessness disappeared, replaced by the gravity pressing down on my body.

[Survive. Time remaining: 167 hours 59 minutes.]

[After a set duration or upon the occurrence of certain events, climbers will be transported directly to the forty-fifth floor.]

The abandoned city seemed reminiscent of a location on Earth, albeit ruined and decayed.

The floor’s layout consisted of several zones, much like the sixth floor. Consistent throughout every zone, however, a darkness-shrouded sky loomed over the grim, ash-colored cityscape. Looking up, I spotted enormous insectoid monsters flitting ominously through the clouds.

We needed to move before the monsters spotted us.

Thankfully, my party members grasped the urgency of the situation without any prompting. We had to find shelter, and fast.

I quickly scanned the area.

About fifty meters ahead of us, a tall building that towered over the smaller structures nearby stood out as a potential candidate.

Judging by the large glass windows and the luxury advertisements plastered across it, it appeared to be a department store.

“This way!”I called out softly before quickly checking on my party members.

As expected, Doppy was nowhere to be seen.

At this point, I wasn’t surprised. Since everything we had acquired during our climb—stats, skills, and equipment—had been reset, Doppy’s absence made sense.

After all, Doppy hadn’t been with me when I first entered the tower. Thankfully, the Tower of Ordeal at least had the grace to provide us all with a standard climber’s uniform.

We sprinted across the rubble-strewn road.

“Grab anything useful as you go!” I shouted, snatching up a rusty dagger lying by the roadside.

On the forty-fourth floor, weapons, food, and skills were scattered throughout the area. With all our abilities reset, survival depended on scavenging whatever we could find. Anything remotely useful needed to be picked up immediately.

Hah...

I could already feel the stat reset taking a toll on me. Running toward the building felt like wading through water. Normally, such a short sprint wouldn’t even make me blink, but now my breath had already been reduced to short gasps.

That wasn’t my only issue. The physical enhancements I had accumulated over forty floors had been stripped away, causing a gap to form between my muscle memory and current capabilities. Each step felt foreign, and the awkward dissonance made me want to shout.

I need to adapt quickly.

Reaching the department store, I pushed through its main entrance before scanning the interior. Though my ability to sense danger had been severely diminished, my eyes detected no immediate threats among the collapsed display stands.

Taking a moment to catch my breath, I turned to assess my party members. Even after running just fifty meters, they were all visibly winded.

“I found a dagger. Did anyone else manage to grab something useful?”

“Nothing for me,” Seo Ha-Rin replied.

“Same here,” added Hakin.

“I picked up a can of food,” Cole chimed in.

“Nope, nothing on my end.”

That left only Ha Hee-Jeong, who grinned confidently and held up a small book.

“I found a skillbook.”

“Wow, unnie. When did you manage to grab a skillbook?” Seo Ha-Rin exclaimed.

“Of course it’s Hee-Jeong.”

“It was under a wrecked car.”

I couldn’t hide my surprise. I hadn’t seen any skillbooks along the way.

Then again, it was entirely possible I had missed it with my dulled senses. Out of habit, I had been relying on my body as though it were still at its peak.

Once again, I resolved to recalibrate and adjust to my current state.

“It’s a mana recovery skillbook, so I’ll keep it for myself.”

“Of course! You’re the one who found it!”

“Exactly! It’s yours, unnie!”

The others chorused and nodded in unison.

With that settled, Seo Ho-Su leaned heavily against one of the store’s columns, taking a deep breath. “

Ugh

, my stomach feels like it’s going to burst.”

“Same. It’s hard to even move...”

“I feel it too. I should’ve eaten less.”

I couldn’t agree more. Ha Hee-Jeong had warned us that food would be scarce in the abandoned city, so we had stuffed ourselves in the waiting room until we were nearly sick. Looking closely, everyone’s upper abdomen was slightly distended.

Running immediately after such a feast made everyone feel like their dinner would come back up at any moment.

“Well, we’re in the largest building around. Let’s search for anything useful here.”

“Right. Time is of the essence. We need to grab what we can before others get to it.”

My party members raised a valid point. We had to loot this department store quickly and move on to the next building.

Even though Ha Hee-Jeong knew the locations of several hidden weapons and skills, reaching them would be too dangerous in our current state. At the very least, we needed some basic equipment and a few levels before attempting anything risky.

As my party dispersed to search, I warned everyone one last time, “Don’t wander too far, and stick together if you want to climb a staircase. Let’s start with the first floor and regroup before heading up.”

“Okay!”

“Got it!”

I set off to search.

Ten minutes passed. I managed to find a ring that granted one Agility point and a multipurpose utility belt.

It felt like a good time to move up to the second floor. However, a familiar scream rang out from my eleven o’clock—Seo Ha-Rin.

“Aaaah!”

Whipping around, I drew my dagger and vaulted over a collapsed display stand. As I sprinted toward the source of the scream, Seo Ho-Su bolted ahead of me at an impressive speed.

“Ha-Rin!”

***

「Invisible message: In addition to stat increases from leveling up, all of Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok’s actions will contribute to stat growth.」

1. Gomoku is a strategy game where players take turns placing stones on a grid, aiming to align five in a row horizontally, vertically, or diagonally. ☜