Chapter 168: Forty-Sixth Floor, The World of the Virtuous (1)

- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Forty-sixth Floor): Alright. See you inside.

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Forty-sixth Floor): Are you sure you’ve memorized everything?

- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Forty-sixth Floor): Yeah. Don’t worry about it.

I wrapped up my conversation with Ha Hee-Jeong in a hurry as I was still standing stark naked in the training room. I had only realized it halfway through our exchange, but since the information she provided was so important, I hadn’t wanted to cut her off.

Once the message window vanished, I turned toward the door leading to the waiting room. One thought consumed my mind right now: washing up as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, the grime clinging to me wouldn’t disappear by itself over time.

The training room’s sandy floor didn’t smell much better as black sludge covered the ground, exuding a foul, acrid stench.

Thankfully, leaving the training room would trigger an automatic cleanup, so I didn’t have to worry about tidying up afterward.

Wait a second.

I paused, my hand hovering over the doorknob.

The reason? I was completely naked.

Ryun and Doppy were both in the waiting room. Sure, letting them see me like this wouldn’t be catastrophic, but walking out like this didn’t sit well with me.

So this is why Hee-Jeong told me to take the elixir in the bathroom.

I glanced back at the corner of the room, to my neatly folded equipment. While wearing it would be convenient, the inner lining would get covered in goo. Plus, that would mean I would have to throw it out later.

Most climbers probably wouldn’t have hesitated to just stride through the waiting room, but...

Ugh... whatever. Let’s just do this.

With only 5,000 points remaining, and most of them earmarked for training, I couldn’t afford to buy a new outfit. Even if I had the points, spending them on fresh gear just for this seemed like an unnecessary luxury.

Hoping Doppy was still asleep, I cautiously opened the door.

Creak—

The hinges groaned louder than usual, or at least it felt that way.

I peeked out.

Damn it.

Contrary to my hopes, Doppy was wide awake and staring directly at me from the bed. Ryun lounged in a nearby chair, equally awake, staring directly at me.

“Su-Yeok! You’re up! What were you doing there? Get out here!”

Right. It had been six hours. They had probably rested already.

I straightened my posture and steeled my nerves. Keeping my head poked out already made the situation awkward, and acting embarrassed would only make it worse. I threw the door open and strode out confidently.

Doppy’s eyes went wide as he scrambled to sit up. “Su—Su-Yeok! You’re not wearing any clothes!”

“Yeah. I know,” I replied nonchalantly, taking another step forward.

Doppy’s gaze darted down and then back up again, his expression growing increasingly flustered.

The bathroom was less than five meters away.

One more step.

“W-whoa! It’s huge!”

“Rebirth... so that’s what it does...”

Doppy’s pointless babbling faded into the background as Ryun calmly analyzed the change in my physique. I nodded at Ryun, maintaining a composed demeanor as I reached the bathroom.

Once inside, I closed the door—as calmly and deliberately as I could manage—and let out a deep breath.

“Ugh.”

Not bad. That wasn’t too bad. At least I didn’t come off as a total mess.

I was about to step into the shower when my reflection caught my eye.

Right, isn’t one of the perks of rebirth supposed to be improved looks?

I took a step closer to the mirror.

Hmm...

My looks had definitely improved. Although my features had been decent, I would naturally turn heads now.

Not that my face had completely changed, however. It was still recognizably mine—no one would mistake me for someone else. Regardless, there was a subtle sharpness to my features, a refinement that hadn’t been there before.

I grew taller, too, and my frame is broader.

The changes had been noticeable before, but seeing them in the mirror brought a sense of completeness.

I ran my gaze down my body, head to toe. Despite the grime, my new appearance thoroughly satisfied me. Like most men, I lingered in front of the mirror for a bit longer than necessary before finally stepping into the shower.

***

[2 minutes 31 seconds until the rest period ends. Please take a rest.]

[Who bought two of the Rebirth Elixirs?]

[You seriously need to ask? It’s gotta be Kwon Su-Hyeok and Ha Hee-Jeong.]

[Please, let this be a rest floor!]

[Alexei could’ve bought one.]

[Shared Kill List: Bohorun, Katsura Ten...]

[Dear God, Buddha, Allah. Please let me spawn near Su-Hyeok!]

[Aaaahhh! GUAAAHHH!]

The Community was in its usual state of pre-teleportation chaos. I had heard rumors that climbers were calming themselves with prayers, but judging by the posts, I doubted the authenticity of those prayers.

I glanced at the countdown, mentally counting down the seconds, then closed the Community.

Everything seemed ready. I had adjusted to my new body, and even Ryun had commented on how drastically my technique had improved. The difference was staggering.

Using seventy to eighty percent of my strength now felt equivalent to what a hundred percent of my effort had been before.

Doppy and I double-checked the preparations and equipment for the last time.

“Ready, Doppy?”

“Of course, Su!”

His energetic reply made me smile. Watching him mimic my mannerisms so earnestly was pretty endearing.

As Doppy grinned back, I reflexively tightened my grip on my axe.

Moments later, the familiar sensation of weightlessness returned, and a bright, white light caused me to close my eyes.

***

[Welcome to the forty-sixth floor of the Tower of Ordeal: The World of the Virtuous.]

[In the World of the Virtuous, no living being can tell a lie. Anyone caught lying will die instantly. Climbers are not exempt from this rule.]

[Each climber has been provided with a starting balance of ten gold. To clear this floor, at least three thousand gold needs to be acquired. Additional rewards will be granted based on gold earned beyond the minimum requirement.]

[Collect a minimum of three thousand gold. Time remaining: 167 hours 59 minutes.]

The teleportation process felt different this time. Before my vision cleared, I was enveloped by a warm sensation, as if submerged in heated water.

Ha Hee-Jeong hadn’t mentioned anything like this—odd. As the light faded and my surroundings came into view, I set aside my questions.

Everything seems the same. Nothing has changed from what she described, though.

I stood atop solid clouds, beside a city suspended in the sky. The sensation beneath my feet felt both surreal and fascinating.

I guessed that the earlier feeling of warmth most likely came from some sort of adaptation process that allowed climbers to survive in this unusual atmosphere. Although climbers were generally capable of functioning in worlds with varying oxygen levels, the altitude here likely meant even thinner air.

Not really my area of expertise, though.

It was a topic that occasionally sparked debates in the Community, but it wasn’t something I cared to dwell on. What truly mattered to me was that we could survive, regardless of the environment the tower forced us into.

I gazed around, taking in my surroundings. A fortress city rested atop the clouds against the vivid blue expanse of the sky. It was pristine and almost otherworldly.

I heard there are multiple cities like this one.

Each city served as a spawning point for climbers. Unlike previous trials, this one placed less emphasis on brute strength and instead tested climbers’ adaptability and resourcefulness.

While I surveyed the area, other climbers materialized on the clouds. Although they only arrived within a matter of seconds, it had become widely accepted that the summoning order corresponded to rankings.

Before anyone could recognize me, I activated Shadow Veil and vanished from sight.

Good. Looks like no one noticed.

If they saw me, it would have been a matter of time before they swarmed me. Even if this floor wasn’t combat-focused, they would still find ways to pester me, like trying to latch on for an easy handout.

I didn’t intend to let that happen. Besides, my plan didn’t involve entering the fortress.

Heading inside is a rookie mistake.

Each city charged five gold as an entrance fee. Given that one gold was roughly equivalent to ten thousand Korean Won[1], it was far from a trivial sum.

Sure, climbers could earn three thousand gold inside the city, but getting started required capital, which meant climbers would have to leave the city either way.

Most people can’t resist the temptation to enter the fortress, however.

With Ha Hee-Jeong’s advice in mind, I mentally flipped through everything she had shared. Allegedly, if I headed away from the fortress, there would be monsters I could hunt for gold—anything from small animals to fallen angels.

Still, relying solely on hunting isn’t efficient.

The rewards for monster parts weren’t great, and farming them would be time-consuming. I planned to hunt just enough to secure some starting money, and nothing more.

We had already created a solid plan for generating income. In fact, I was eager to test how much I could earn.

Initial capital reigned supreme on this floor. Once I secured that, the rest would be smooth sailing. Ultimately, though, uncovering the hidden mission would be my top priority. Wasting too much time on hunting wouldn’t get me any closer to that goal.

Leaving the fortress-bound climbers behind, I turned and set off toward the hunting grounds. Roughly twenty minutes later, I spotted it—and my first prey.

Found one.

A creature leapt across the clouds in the distance. Calling it a rabbit felt like a stretch as it stood well over a meter tall and was packed with muscle. Its sharp teeth and hulking frame had little in common with a typical rabbit.

If anything, it resembled a kangaroo—its long, slightly droopy, and absurdly long ears were the only features preserving its resemblance to a rabbit.

[Sky Rabbit]

- An exceptionally muscular creature.

- Agile and powerful.

- Its meat is tender, sweet, and highly prized.

There wouldn’t be many creatures in this area, but as I ventured farther in, I would likely come across other animals such as boars and wolves.

I handed my axe to Doppy before approaching the rabbit. If I wanted to sell it for the most money, I would have to leave it intact, so I couldn’t risk damaging the carcass with a weapon.

“Kyut?”

The rabbit snapped its head toward me as soon as it noticed me. Instead of fleeing, its crimson eyes fixed on me predatorily.

Just like I heard. Aggressive little bastards.

Its muscles tensed, rippling as it crouched low.

“Kyuuut!”

With a sharp cry, it kicked off the ground and launched toward me in a blur of motion. I moved just as rapidly, shifting to the side.

Now this is a body slam.

Its speed was impressive, enough to catch lower-level climbers off guard. However, it wouldn’t even be close enough to touch me.

I drew my right fist back, pivoting slightly to bring my full body into the strike. As the rabbit flew slightly to the side of me, I drove my fist into its face.

Thud—

A satisfying impact rang out as my punch connected, sending the rabbit tumbling across the clouds like a rag doll.

Hmm... I will need to watch my strength.

I had tried to hold back, but had still managed to half-shatter the rabbit’s skull. At least its ears—the most valuable part—remained intact.

Any more force, and I would have destroyed those, too.

Doppy let out an awestruck cry as he stared at the downed rabbit. “Rabbit! So strong!”

Ryun nodded thoughtfully.“I... didn’t expect this either... That’s no ordinary rabbit...”

Having been the one to do all the work, I looked at them silently for a moment before responding, “Agreed.”

That was just how the tower worked, after all. The higher the floor, the stronger the enemies. Animals were no exception.

Ha Hee-Jeong had mentioned that the difficulty of a world often correlated with the ranks of the gods governing it. Higher-ranked gods meant tougher worlds and more formidable creatures. It wasn’t a hard rule, but it lined up more often than not.

Clearing my thoughts, I stored the rabbit’s carcass in my mimic.

“Let’s keep moving.”

These small animals wouldn’t yield much profit. If I wanted enough starting capital, I would need to hunt at least twenty more.

Of course, if I happened to stumble upon a field boss, I could head straight to the city. Unfortunately, those were rare encounters. Still, with the hunting grounds all to myself, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to be a little optimistic.

Brushing the blood off my gauntlet, I pressed forward again.

1. Korean currency. ☜