Chapter 161: Forty-Fifth Floor, Redemption (1)

The sound was similar to the cries of the insect monsters.

What was that?

Something felt off, unsettling even. My thoughts raced, tangling into a web of questions. I couldn’t sort through them now, however, so I pushed them aside as Trozen closed in.

Considering how many stats I gained per level, I should have the upper hand in raw numbers. Unfortunately, my lack of skills held me back.

I didn’t know which skills he had, but his muscles swelled unnaturally, and his movements became faster. Out of nowhere, his sword appeared and slashed down at me.

He was on a completely different level compared to before.

Where did he even get that sword?

A sharp aura radiated from its blade as it approached me.

I can’t block that.

Recklessly swinging my war hammer would have left me in an awkward position—my hammer couldn’t match his sword’s speed. Trying to match him blow for blow would only put me at a disadvantage.

Even if I could overpower him in a contest of strength, I wouldn’t be able to deflect the invisible follow-up strike from his shadow swordsmanship with our weapons interlocked.

I retreated a step and leaned back, dodging the sword while sharpening my focus. Sensing the vibrations in the air, I anticipated the invisible strike’s delayed trajectory. He had launched it toward my legs, near my calf.

Dodge and counterattack.

I jumped straight upward, and the shadow sword narrowly missed me, grazing my shoe.

As I prepared to strike mid-air, Trozen’s lips twisted into a sinister smirk. He stretched out his left hand, and a rough wave of mana coalesced in it.

I quickly readjusted my hammer so that it covered my front, just barely in time to block the shockwave bursting forth from his hand.

Boom!

The wind pressure from the shockwave scratched against my face, chilling me as it pushed me back. Though I had managed to block it, my hand gripping the hammer tingled from numbness.

Trozen laughed strangely, “

Heh

, didn’t I tell you it’d be different this time?

Heh heh

.”

Shadow swordsmanship, shockwaves; who knew what other skills he had up his sleeve?

For a fleeting moment, I analyzed what I had learned about him so far and my potential options.

My weapon’s strength lies in its weight and destructive force. A prolonged fight benefits him, even if he only has the shadow sword and shockwave skills.

I needed to end this quickly—before he could unleash more skills. Clenching my teeth, I charged at him.

From the side, Seo Ha-Rin’s chant rang out, “――――!”

A radiant light enveloped my body and made it feel noticeably lighter.

I leaned forward slightly, positioning my hammer off to the right and low to the floor. Activating Thousand-Pound Mace, I swung the hammer diagonally upward. Even if he was level 44, there was no way Trozen could block this strike with his thin sword.

He stepped back to evade the strike. Though he retreated clumsily, the sheer weight of the Thousand-Pound Mace kept my lower body steady.

I continued my strike, spinning the hammer around and building up momentum.

“Gasp!”

Taking a large step forward, I swung the hammer downward, aiming for his left hip.

Trozen stumbled backward repeatedly, clumsily swinging his sword in the process. However, every one of his pitiful attempts to strike failed to land, as expected. This guy was nothing but an over-leveled piece of trash.

Boom!

My hammer struck the ground forcefully, causing dirt to fly into the air as it bounced back slightly.

Using the rebound, I firmly lifted the hammer and thrust it directly forward. Simultaneously, I activated Sharpness. Someone like him wouldn’t be able to dodge this.

Although Trozen desperately raised his sword to block, the sheer difference between our weapons rendered his attempt futile.

“Gah!”

Overpowered by the hammer’s force, Trozen was sent flying backward. Despite blocking with his sword, the hammer still managed to shred his chest armor and wound him—all thanks to Sharpness.

Trozen tumbled across the ground.

I couldn’t afford to waste this opportunity. Quickly closing the distance, I swung my hammer down at his torso. Trozen barely managed to roll to the side in time.

Thud!

The hammer smashed into the dirt arena, kicking up a cloud of dust.

Without pausing, I swung the hammer horizontally, barely skimming the surface of the arena. However, Trozen had already scrambled to his feet, dodging the attack.

He counterattacked, his sword slicing toward me from my right.

“Die!”

Reacting instinctively, I let go of the hammer for a brief moment. Succumbing to gravity, it fell downward.

A split second later, I grasped the hammer again, gripping it near its head. Now holding the hammer in a short-handled grip, I gained the maneuverability to block the strike.

Clang!

The sword deflected off the hammer’s head. Ignoring it, I scanned for his shadow sword, sensing it an instant later. This time, it struck diagonally, opposite the visible sword.

Now that I was back on the defensive, Trozen extended his hands consecutively, generating multiple shockwaves, just as I had anticipated.

Swiftly dodging my upper body back and forth, I then raised my head to see two Trozens.

A clone skill?

Sword strikes rained down from both sides, each one accompanied by a piercing whistle. This wasn’t merely an illusion. Factoring in the shadow swords, I now had to face four simultaneous attacks per strike.

I retreated, evading the flurry of strikes. Suddenly, a thought flashed through my mind.

That shriek earlier... sounded just like an insect monster’s cry.

Mantis’s Allure immediately came to mind. Designed to affect insects, it temporarily placed enemies into a bewitched state, rendering them momentarily foolish. Judging by Trozen’s strange behavior, there was no harm in testing it.

I promptly activated Mantis’s Allure.

Instantly, the Trozen to my right looked at me with vacant eyes. I recognized its empty stare as non-human-like and instead coming from grotesque insect eyes.

That is the real one.

The entranced Trozen quickly snapped back to his senses, his eyes returning to normal. All I needed was that brief moment, however

My hammer struck his chin with crushing force, lifting him into the air.

“Guh-ark!”

Crunch!

The jawbone-shattering sound was unmistakable. His teeth scattered from his mouth like shattered glass.

I wouldn’t let this chance slip by. Taking another step forward, I swung my hammer down. Before Trozen’s airborne body could even hit the ground, it slammed directly into his face again.

Crack! Boom!

The sickening skull-fracturing sound echoed through the air, followed by the soft thud of the hammer crashing into the ground. Blood and flesh splattered across the arena floor, drenching my ankles in a warm sensation. Trozen’s headless body twitched for a moment before going still.

The fight was over sooner than I expected, all thanks to Mantis’s Allure. Although surprising, it was undeniably effective.

I had to clear a dangerous mantis nest to clear it, after all.

That still leaves me wondering why Trozen had insect eyes, however...

“Phew...”

My labored breathing filled the silent arena. Thankfully, a notification appeared before me, signaling a full recovery.

[Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok has leveled up.]

...

[Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok has leveled up.]

Defeating a level 44 opponent triggered a series of consecutive notifications. Considering I could check my new level from my status window, I didn’t bother counting how many appeared.

Just as I was about to shift my attention toward my status window, a soft ding signaled yet another update.

[Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok has slain a climber who possessed the Punisher’s Qualification.]

[Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok has been confirmed to be accompanying the young troll, Kasaan.]

[Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok has obtained the Savior’s Qualification, granting him the authority to rescue the abandoned city.]

[Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok has completed the hidden mission ‘Punisher and Savior’!]

[Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok has leveled up.]

Punisher and Savior?

I instinctively scanned my surroundings, but the other climbers were simply staring at me with puzzled expressions. Clearly, only I could see these notification windows.

The words echoed in my mind, filling me with unease. This was the first time I had encountered anything like this.

As I turned toward Ha Hee-Jeong, another notification appeared. This time, it was an official system message, and all the climbers shifted their gazes upward.

[The Punisher has been eliminated, commencing the hidden mission ‘Redemption.’ Zone 1 will ascend to the forty-fifth floor.]

[Save the abandoned city. Time remaining: 139 hours and 56 minutes.]

“What... what’s happening?”

“Why are we suddenly moving to the forty-fifth floor?”

“What is a Punisher, anyway?”

“It’s gotta be Trozen. The message appeared right after he died, so he was the Punisher... right?”

The climbers broke into a commotion at the sudden announcement. The realization that the forty-fifth floor had started left everyone rattled. Even Ha Hee-Jeong and our party weren’t immune to the confusion. This wasn’t something she had mentioned or anticipated.

To make matters worse, the forty-fifth floor hadn’t come about the “natural” way that Ha Hee-Jeong had shared.

Normally, a zone would ascend to the forty-fifth floor once ten climbers within the area reached level 50. Plus, the trial would be simple: reach level 50 within forty-eight hours.

What is going on here?

Ha Hee-Jeong bit her lip, clearly uneasy. This unexpected development had even caught her off guard. Although the exact details remained unclear, one thing was obvious—Trozen was responsible for the change.

I wanted to talk to Ha Hee-Jeong privately, but with the rest of the party present, that would seem overly suspicious.

I gestured to my party members. “Everyone, gather up for a moment.”

Leaving the other climbers behind, we moved to a corner of the arena, far enough away that no one else could overhear us. They all looked at me confusedly.

Lowering my voice, I asked Ha Hee-Jeong, “What’s going on?”

“The future has changed,” she answered calmly, although seemingly choosing her words carefully—likely because the rest of the party was listening.

Seo Ho-Su nodded slowly, his expression thoughtful.

“It seems like our actions have caused a butterfly effect,” Cole chimed in, building on the theory.

“That makes sense. Trozen could have been an unpredictable variable that Ha Hee-Jeong couldn’t foretell. The moment we decided to head for the department store, the butterfly effect was probably set into motion.”

Seo Ha-Rin’s eyes widened as if she had just had an epiphany. “Oh! So, Trozen may have gotten stronger because of us, even though he could’ve just died otherwise?”

“Exactly, and in the process, we stumbled upon a hidden mission that Hee-Jeong couldn’t have foreseen.” Seo Ho-Su agreed with a slow nod, his expression serious.

“

Hmm...

that explanation seems plausible.”

While their reasoning made sense at the surface level, I couldn’t shake the feeling that it wasn’t entirely correct.

Punisher and Savior.

If the hidden mission existed for any climber to complete, it should have occurred in other zones before now, in this life or Ha Hee-Jeong’s last.

That left one glaring option.

This is because of me.

Just like my individual challenge floors, this hidden mission had to have been added due to my presence. One similar occurrence was when the real Seraphim Queen appeared on the sixth floor.

When our eyes met, she gave a subtle nod, confirming that she was thinking along the same lines.

“But this ‘Punisher’ thing... does that mean you can unlock a hidden mission by killing a lot of climbers?”

“It’s possible.”

This argument also seemed convincing, but recalling a certain detail made me doubt it not a moment later. Cole had mentioned that Trozen didn’t seem like such a vicious and uncaring individual.

Perhaps the sequence of events had happened in reverse.

Maybe Trozen had been assigned as the Punisher upon entering the floor for some unknown reason. That could explain why he had suddenly turned on his own party members.

I couldn’t be certain, though, so ultimately, it didn’t matter.

Turning to the others, I brought the conversation back to the immediate issue. “So, how exactly are we supposed to save the city?”

“Maybe we need to eliminate all the hornets.”

“It could be related to Kasaan somehow.”

Speculation filled the air, but I interrupted before it could spiral out of control. “I don’t know all the details either, but before we get too carried away, I do know one thing. I’m the Savior.”

“What?”

“When I killed Trozen, a message appeared saying I’d obtained the Savior’s Qualification.” I continued, piecing the situation together, “Before that, another message confirmed that I had Kasaan with me.”

“Wait... are you saying—”

“Yes. The only clue we have is Kasaan. Which means our mission is to rescue Kasaan’s mother.”

***

We briefly explained the situation to the other climbers, keeping it simple. The key to clearing the forty-fifth floor was saving Kasaan’s mother.

Following that, we stopped resting. If we wanted to make it to the central building—and survive—we needed to grow faster.

Unfortunately, we still needed to clear the corpses from the arena before we could exit. After completing that tedious task, we began preparing to head toward the next area. During this time, I noticed Ha Hee-Jeong wearing a grim expression, something weighing on her.

“Why do you look so worried?”

“I’m just... concerned. This kind of thing is going to keep happening. Whether it’s solo floors, party floors, or entire zones, there’s a chance the information I have will become useless.”

She had spoken calmly, but it was clear the uncertainty stressed her.

Though we had encountered a few timeline shifts during a floor before, this one had really thrown her off. Unlike minor tweaks or the emergence of a hidden mission that granted an extra item or two, this entire floor had been fundamentally altered.

As someone who relied heavily on her knowledge of the future, the growing uncertainty shook her very reality.

“Don’t worry about it. You’ve guided us this far, haven’t you? Even if things change, having some knowledge is always better than none. And thanks to you, we’ve gained plenty of advantages.”

She looked at me, her expression softening slightly.

“Knowing something and knowing nothing are two entirely different things. The only reason I feel safe on party floors and zoned floors is because of you. I’m always grateful for that.” I flashed her a bright smile, deliberately trying to lighten the mood. “So stop overthinking. Let’s head to the next area and focus on leveling up.”

“Alright.”

Her worries seemed to ease, and she let out a soft laugh.

By early evening, we were already on our way to the subway station.