Chapter 162: Forty-Fifth Floor, Redemption (2)

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

It had been two days since Trozen’s death. Aside from the hours we spent sleeping, we had tirelessly combed through the city.

Beetles, locusts, cockroaches... We hunted any insectoid monster we could to raise our levels.

While the other climbers had struggled, for me, it had been nothing but a monotonous cycle of drudgery. After all, since defeating Trozen, my stats alone placed me close to the average level 90 entity.

It feels like I am grinding professions in an MMORPG game.

In the meantime, the inhabitants who had returned to their factions in the arena slowly trickled back to the base. The monster attacks had grown too fierce. Along the way, we also encountered climbers who, upon hearing about the situation, headed to the arena as well.

This damn forty-fifth-floor trial.

Failing to save the city would kill every climber in this zone. As I held the title of Savior, others would inevitably gather around me.

Thankfully, we had reached the necessary levels to wrap up this tiresome task—45 for me and 36 for the others.

Though progress has slowed significantly...

Regardless, we were now strong enough to attempt a raid on the central building. We had gained a wealth of skills, secured proper gear, and I had once again picked up a double-headed axe. With how much our leveling rate had slowed, there wasn’t much more we could do.

Though my current skills couldn’t compare to my original ones, my physical abilities approached what they had been before the reset.

In the process, I also came to a realization. Somehow, Trozen had reached level 44 before the end of the second day. I knew that killing other climbers yielded far greater experience, but despite two days of relentless hunting, I had only reached level 43. There had to be something unique about the Punisher title.

I still haven’t uncovered what the Savior title grants me, either.

Although I would likely find out by the time this trial ended.

Either way, the time had come to head for the towering building at the heart of the city. I turned to look at the climbers gathered around me. Their numbers had grown significantly, and over a hundred climbers now stood in orderly formation within the arena.

They have been through a lot, too.

Many of those who had joined us had brought additional survivors with them. The climbers hadn’t simply holed themselves up in an attempt to survive. They had grown stronger, rescued others, and scoured the city to bring back anyone they could.

Even without being asked, they worked tirelessly, knowing that the lives of everyone in the zone depended on this operation.

Today, I gathered everyone—except for a few climbers who would remain behind to defend the base.

Well, Ha Hee-Jeong and I originally planned to only bring our party.

However, the hidden mission’s uncertainty demanded extra help. As the trial evolved, so too did our priorities. What had started as a preference to clear the building had become a need to clear it.

To be honest, I think I can probably handle the building on my own.

However, nothing was guaranteed. We couldn’t be certain that simply rescuing Kasaan’s mother would end the trial.

For that reason alone, we had decided to bring Kasaan along—just in case. Unfortunately, that was a heavy burden to bear, even for my party.

Hundreds, if not thousands, of monsters will likely swarm us.

Given the circumstances, we needed every bit of help we could get. The climbers, knowing their lives were equally at stake, willingly joined us.

𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

I looked around at the climbers assembled in the arena, their faces taut with tension.

Calmly, I addressed them, “From this moment on, we begin our operation to save the abandoned city.”

***

[Save the abandoned city. Time remaining: 96 hours, 47 minutes.]

Our raid party consisted of one hundred and seventeen climbers and Kasaan. Thirty climbers remained at the arena to guard those who stayed behind.

Our movements needed to be carried out in complete secrecy. If the monsters saw Kasaan, they would undoubtedly swarm us as they had before.

To avoid detection, we split into smaller parties and agreed to regroup at the building’s entrance. Naturally, our party escorted Kasaan. We moved cautiously, avoiding confrontations wherever possible and instantly killing any monsters we encountered. The deliberate and careful pace felt agonizingly slow.

By the time we arrived at the designated building, nearly a hundred climbers were already waiting. One of the leaders from a top-ranked party approached me.

“Hello, glad to see you guys here on time. The total number of climbers now stands at ninety-two.”

I looked at the other climber, surprised. “So we are still waiting on twenty-five?”

“One party disappeared completely, and several others suffered casualties on the way here.”

I paused due to the gravity of his words. “Okay, thank you for the report.”

Their deaths were unfortunate and sad, albeit unavoidable.

If all of us had moved together, the monsters would have been drawn to our presence in a massive horde and overwhelmed us, leading to far greater casualties. Twenty-five losses were more than expected, but not entirely surprising given the climbers’ varying skill levels.

Considering our party’s pace, waiting any longer would be meaningless; we had traveled with the largest burden and care. The missing climbers were as good as dead.

I clapped my hands softly to draw the attention of the gathered climbers. “Although we’re a little short on climbers, we’ll proceed as planned. You all remember the formation, right?”

“Yes,” the climbers replied in a low voice.

“Then let’s move. Be ready.”

They nodded briskly, quickly organized themselves, and advanced toward the entrance. To avoid detection, we had gathered in a building roughly two hundred meters from the target structure. Finding a suitable location hadn’t been easy, and our scouts had spent considerable effort searching for it.

Once inside the staging area, we reassembled our formation.

“Over here, fill in the gaps.”

Everyone adjusted their positions, some hesitatingly, filling the spaces left by the missing twenty-five climbers. It was a bitter sight.

The front line was composed of warriors, half of whom took the lead while the rest flanked the raid party. Priests and mages stood in the center close to the rear, with the archers stationed directly ahead of them. My party occupied the very center, tasked with shielding Kasaan.

I naturally took the vanguard. “Mages and priests, remember. You will only engage the monsters if you are assigned that task. The rest of you, focus on keeping up. As I said before, we won’t stop for anyone left behind.”

Technically, Ha Hee-Jeong handled the logistics of the raid, but I was responsible for issuing the orders to maintain morale.

The climbers’ expressions were grave as their faces were lined with tension. Most were in the mid-to-high 20s level-wise, and their nerves were palpable.

“Attention, priests. Cast buffs on yourselves and the mages.”

“―――.”

Soft murmurs broke the silence and echoed faintly through the hollow building. Moments later, a serene glow descended upon the priests and mages like a holy light. The preparations were complete.

I turned toward the aged iron door and grasped the handle.

Clang.

With a groaning creak, the door swung open and revealed the bleak, gray city beyond.

The building stood directly ahead, although debris—abandoned cars, broken machinery, and scattered rubble—was strewn over the path leading to it.

I turned to face the climbers once more. “From here on, we’ll sprint to the building at full speed.”

Without another word, I inhaled sharply and pushed off the ground.

Two hundred meters. It wasn’t too far, but I couldn’t push the pace too hard. The priests and mages in the rear didn’t have the stamina to keep up with my full speed. When I said we wouldn’t stop for stragglers, I wasn’t referring to those merely lagging behind but to those beyond saving, those fallen to monster attacks.

“Don’t slow down!” I called out.

We had barely covered thirty meters when a monstrous buzz pierced the air. A massive insect hovering in the sky had spotted us.

“Kiieeek!”

The monster’s shriek echoed through the empty streets, and soon after, answering cries rang out from all directions.

“Kyaaaah!”

“Krierrrr!”

The monsters had begun converging, their dark forms flooding the sky. Some priests faltered as fear overtook them.

I barked sharply, my voice cutting through the noise, “Focus! Don’t slow down! Keep running!”

The climbers, spurred on by my shout, regained their pace.

The first fight came at the sixty-meter mark. From above, monsters dived and aimed to disrupt our formation.

“Mages! Now!” Ha Hee-Jeong shouted.

At her command, designated mages launched their spells. Fireballs, ice shards, lightning bolts, and more rippled through the air in vibrant arcs, tearing through the monsters. Countless insects fell from the sky, their agonized shrieks reverberating off the surrounding buildings. The explosions lit the gloomy streets in bursts of color.

Still, it didn’t halt the monsters’ advance.

“Kiyaaak!”

Thankfully, the few that broke through were quickly intercepted. Ha Hee-Jeong stepped up, unleashing a wave of concussive force that sent them crashing heavily into walls.

Once we reached eighty meters, monsters began pouring out from the surrounding streets as well.

“Kiieet!”

The warriors took charge, clashing with the creatures to clear a path for the group. To ensure the others could keep moving, I surged ahead and deliberately widened the gap between myself and the rest of the climbers, pulling the aggro.

A horde of monsters closed in, but I was ready.

I activated Wind Slash, a skill I had earned through two grueling days of effort. As I swung my axe, blades of wind tore a path through the monsters, cutting everything in their wake. Amid dismembered insects, I placed a hand on the roof of a car and vaulted over it.

From the start, I intended to handle the front line myself. Any stragglers that managed to survive would be dealt with by the climbers following behind.

“Keep up! Move with everything you’ve got!”

At the one-hundred-twenty-meter mark, a new wave of monsters began emerging from alleys on either side. Their skittering forms resembled grotesque cockroaches.

“Frontline warriors! Spread out to the sides!” I shouted.

We had anticipated this situation. The warriors calmly spread out to the left and right, following the plan we had established.

With them now covering the flanks, the responsibility to manage the front fell even more squarely on my shoulders. I remained the same distance away from the group, focusing on unleashing as much devastation as I could possibly handle.

From up ahead, the monsters’ shrill cries erupted, reverberating harshly through the air.

***

At last, we reached the massive building. Despite giving everything we had, eleven climbers died along the way. Regardless of how much we planned, unforeseen accidents were unavoidable.

A dead monster—hurled against a wall by another—had tumbled down and crushed a climber beneath its weight. A swordsman had been caught mid-swing, unable to react to a monster assumed dead. If we had stopped, maybe we could have saved them, but unfortunately, stopping would have only cost more lives in the long run.

The longer we hesitate, the heavier the losses become.

Once inside, the attacks ceased. The lower floors of the building were blocked off by massive, strange, and cocoon-like structures that even the monsters couldn’t penetrate.

Ha Hee-Jeong burned through the thick cocoons with her flames, while another climber quickly used earth magic to raise a wall, sealing the entrance behind us.

At least now we don’t have to worry about being ambushed from behind.

We were in a better position than I had anticipated.

That wasn’t to say the situation was entirely ideal. The faint but incessant sound of scuttling insects crawling across the building’s exterior echoed. The higher we climbed, the more monsters we would encounter.

Still, it was better than being surrounded. For now, we could catch our breath.

“Take a short break. Recover as quickly as possible. We’ll be moving again soon,” I announced to the climbers.

“Yes!”

Although triumphant, their voices sounded strained and uneven from exhaustion.

As the climbers rested, I approached Kasaan.

“Kasaan, is your mother still in the same place?”

“

Huff...

Yes... She’s still at the top...

huff...

”

He trembled slightly from how much effort he expended during the desperate sprint. Even so, his resolve and certainty were undeniable. I trusted his information, as the magical thread connecting him to his mother hadn’t changed.

The very top floor.

I let my eyes drift across the surroundings. There was an elevator nearby, though its rusted doors and cracked control panel made its condition painfully obvious. It was long beyond repair.

It looks like we will have no choice but to take the stairs.

And yet, just as I was about to turn back, a thought struck me with sudden clarity, like a flash of lightning through the haze of fatigue.

Wait... the elevator?