Chapter 175: Forty-Seventh Floor, Waiting Room

[13 hours 59 minutes until the rest period ends. Please take a rest.]

Returning to the waiting room felt oddly welcoming, almost like entering a place of solace. Despite the tangle of thoughts swirling in my mind, a sense of calm settled over me.

First things first, though. Doppy needed to shower.

Though there had been the opportunity to rinse off on the forty-sixth floor, I knew I would be returning here and had only washed up quickly. Besides, checking my status screen while he cleaned up always felt more reassuring.

Perhaps it had become second nature by now.

“Doppy, go—”

Before I could even finish my sentence, he cut me off energetically, “Already on it!”

He darted into the shower room. I blinked, momentarily caught off guard.

Is this the same goblin who used to complain endlessly about taking baths?

Apparently, even he had fallen into my routine.

I smiled faintly as I watched him shed his armor and disappear behind the door. Once the door clicked shut, I opened my status screen.

[Kwon Su-Hyeok (Earthling, C-66432)]

Title: Seeker of the Crossroads

Affiliation: None

Patron Deity: First class, Omniscient Thunder Axe (Share percentage: 0.00%(-?.??%) / 100.00%)

Strength: 205.4

Agility: 204.9

Stamina: 211.8

Mana: 203.3

Skills: Sixth Sense lvl 12... Scientist Do’s Composure lvl 5...

Quickly scanning my updated status took mere seconds. Aside from the flat boost of 3 across all stats and the two level-ups in Scientist Do’s Composure, little had changed. That didn’t surprise me, as the forty-sixth floor had been more about accumulating gold than engaging in combat.

Even so, I felt satisfied. With how high my stats were, the boost wasn’t trivial.

Realistically, constant battles wouldn’t yield as much growth, either. At best, it would have earned me about 1.5 stat points in total. Following Ha Hee-Jeong’s advice to prioritize gathering gold rather than focusing on combat had clearly been the right decision.

Still, what the fuck is up with that world?

Closing my status screen did little to silence my thoughts as lingering questions about the planet resurfaced. Something felt fundamentally amiss there. On top of that, in a realm supposedly governed by absolute truth, a liar existed, sowing chaos.

I wonder how the two are related.

One thought unraveled into another, and another, forming an endless chain of speculation. Minutes slipped by as I sank deeper into contemplation, barely aware of my surroundings.

Then, as if waiting for the right moment, Ryun shattered my reverie. “You... seem... troubled...”

I looked up, startled, to find Ryun’s gaze fixed on me, only now realizing he had been observing me the entire time.

Scratching the back of my neck, I offered a sheepish smile. “Oh, I was just thinking about how strange the angels’ world seemed.”

“You... mean... the angels... there... I... sensed it... too—”

Strangely, before he could finish, his voice abruptly cut out.

Wait, what? What just happened?

Ryun maintained eye contact, as if he were speaking, but I didn’t hear a thing. I glanced down, surprised to notice that his mouth was still moving. Even though he had been talking to me, no sound had emerged.

It mirrored my experience on the first floor, when the tower had imposed a restriction on Fenrike when he had shared too much information with me.

Ryun narrowed his eyes, recognizing that something had transpired. “What... is... this... sudden... silence...?”

“It seems the tower doesn’t want me to hear whatever it is you’re trying to tell me.”

“How... odd... and... frustrating...” Ryun muttered under his breath, but my thoughts had already raced elsewhere.

If the tower had muted him, it meant what he had attempted to convey was crucial, possibly even critical.

What exactly did Ryun sense?

I needed to find out.

Trying to figure out ways to bypass the system’s censorship, possibilities raced through my mind, and finally, an idea formed.

What if we approach this like a game of twenty questions—I will ask him a question, and then Ryun will signal whether I am close or not?

I had no idea what he had picked up on, but with fourteen hours remaining before the forty-seventh floor, we had plenty of time to experiment.

“Ryun, I’m going to start asking you questions. If any of them are related, or not, to what you were about to say, give me a signal. Blink twice for yes, and once for no.”

“Ooh... I... like... that... idea...” Ryun seemed intrigued, and even I felt the plan had potential.

Hmm, what was Ryun about to say, though?

No matter how hard I tried, no concrete answer came to mind.

Stumped, I decided to start voicing the suspicions I had formed during the previous floor. “Is the angels’ world a game...

or maybe virtual rea—

”

I had paused mid-sentence, using a more specific phrase for clarity. However, the moment the words left my lips, the sound vanished. I could hear myself speak, but instinctively, I knew Ryun couldn’t. Everything after “the angels’ world” had been muted.

Am I onto something?

I pressed on.

“Ryun, are you trying to say—”

Once again, something cut me off as soon as I broached the subject.

I sighed heavily. This wasn’t just censorship triggered by facts I could have uncovered. The tower was actively blocking any attempt to exchange information with Ryun.

“You... can’t... speak... either?”

“Looks like it.”

“What... I... wanted... to... say... wasn’t... about... your... trial.” Ryun’s eyes, embedded between the axe blades, widened. “This... is... working. I’ll... continue. I... just... wanted... to... share... what... I... sensed.”

He paused, clearly struggling to pick his words carefully.

After a brief hesitation, he added, “I... can’t... say... more... than... that. Use... this... information... wisely. I... hope... you... find... your... answer.”

“Thanks.”

Ryun gazed off into the distance, seemingly lost in thought about what had just occurred.

Honestly, I wasn’t sure what to make of it either. When Fenrike had been silenced, I assumed his status as a deity was to blame, and certain knowledge couldn’t be shared with a mortal.

Ryun didn’t have a divine status, however.

I had received guidance from others throughout the climb, after all. Doppy’s instincts and Ha Hee-Jeong’s knowledge as a regressor, for example.

Yet, the tower hadn’t censored them.

Something is definitely suspicious about the angels’ world.

The censorship meant one of two things: either climbers were forbidden from learning the information, or the tower didn’t want me to learn it from others, and I had to figure it out myself.

The latter seemed more likely.

Information forbidden to climbers.

I wondered if that was what Fenrike had tried to share. Even if he had been imprisoned, he was still a god.

What Ryun had tried to convey, on the other hand, had just been his observations. Perhaps it was a vital clue tied to a hidden mission.

Then how can Ha Hee-Jeong share knowledge about the future?

Plus, why is the tower so intent on keeping this information out of my reach?

I mulled it over, but with so little to go on, answers remained elusive. The lack of clarity left me feeling unsettled, so I focused on another topic in an attempt to clear my head.

What exactly did Ryun sense?

I pondered for a moment, but again, nothing concrete came to mind. The questions that had plagued me since the forty-sixth floor remained unresolved.

Aside from the unsettling fact that an angel capable of lying existed, I had no definitive leads.

Even the doppelganger theory is pure speculation at this point.

With so little certainty, my thoughts continued to circle endlessly, refusing to settle. The only thing I truly felt confident about was that the “World of the Virtuous,” or so it was called, had seemed eerily artificial, like a simulation.

Yet, even if that were the case, I had no idea how to leverage that theory moving forward. Before long, a dull ache began to pulse at my temples.

Enough.

After obsessing over this puzzle for so long, my thoughts no longer felt coherent. The connections I tried to form lacked logic, crumbling under scrutiny. I couldn’t allow myself to drown in endless conjectures.

Even Ha Hee-Jeong had warned me not to overthink things.

In the end, the only key, the only thing I knew for certain, was that an angel who could lie existed. Regardless of whatever the truth happened to be, our priority would remain the same—we had to track her down.

Once we caught her, everything would fall into place. Even still, the lingering questions refused to fade, hanging in the back of my mind like shadows.

I exhaled deeply, forcing myself to let it go, “

Haaaaa

.”

Just then, Doppy emerged from the bathroom, signaling that it was my turn.

For once, I felt relieved; a warm shower was the best way to clear my thoughts.

***

[6 hours 34 minutes until the rest period ends. Please take a rest.]

[Tegachi Renga bolted with our party’s gold pouch. Kill on sight.]

[What were the people who didn’t save up three thousand gold even doing?]

[Honestly, if you had just hunted nonstop for a week, you would have made it.]

[It’s not that they couldn’t save up. They blew it all in the casino.]

[Someone kept wasting five hundred gold at the angel brothel. They’re probably dead now.]

[Tons of people earned over three thousand gold and gambled it all away.]

[Some idiot said he’d only play a little, then begged me to lend him more after losing everything.]

[Idiots. I made fifteen thousand gold. LOL.]

Even after my shower, I consciously avoided thinking about the angels’ world. I needed to clear my head, stepping back before pushing forward again.

Browsing the Community helped in that endeavor.

I had already trained, bought a bed made of angel feathers, and taken a nap. There wasn’t much else to do.

Without something to distract me, my thoughts would only spiral back to the same unresolved questions. Idly scrolling through the posts gave my mind something to occupy itself with.

Unfortunately, even that had its limits.

Ugh. I should plan for the next trial. Not think about the weird place.

Considering some things Ha Hee-Jeong and I had discussed, I thought about how I would pinpoint the lying angel when I encountered her. That and clearing the floor were the only two priorities.

Since identifying the angel relied heavily on instinct and chance, however, preparing for the next trial made more sense.

Ha Hee-Jeong mentioned it will be a siege defense.

We would have to defend a city from the fallen angels’ relentless assault, and the difficulty hinged entirely on luck.

The first luck-dependent variable would be which city we would be summoned to. Each one had different defenses, from the sturdiness of its walls to the strength of its guards. Secondly, each city would be randomly assigned a group of climbers, with no concern for their overall strength.

Depending on the team, the trial could range from manageable to near-impossible.

Ha Hee-Jeong would excel, however, as this floor heavily favored mages.

Honestly, I kind of hope I get a hard one.

Defending a city under siege was the perfect chance to level up my Savior skill. Besides, Lightning Essence and Master of Shadows excelled at handling large groups of enemies.

With Lightning Essence fully integrated into my mana, I could now go toe-to-toe with high-tier mages.

A mysteriously doomed city wouldn’t be so bad either.

In Ha Hee-Jeong’s previous life, one city—despite having strong defenses—fell for no apparent reason. There had been no survivors. Even the climbers stationed there vanished without a trace.

Ha Hee-Jeong had speculated it could be tied to a hidden mission on the forty-seventh floor. Although it could be risky, I felt confident I could handle it.

Since I had missed out on the hidden mission on the forty-sixth floor, this would be a chance to make up for it.

That was when a strange feeling crept over me. It wasn’t Sixth Sense activating, but just a gut instinct.

For some reason, I couldn’t shake the certainty that I would be sent to the doomed city.