Chapter 185: Fiftieth Floor, Waiting Room

[7 hours 54 minutes until the rest period ends. Please take a rest.]

I briefly explained what I had experienced after the council meeting.

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Fiftieth Floor): So that’s what went down. Honestly, I think you’re right. The Burning Truth’s offer feels off.

- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Fiftieth Floor): Yeah, right?

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Fiftieth Floor): Totally. Being able to refuse a reward in the tower is out of the norm. That never happened to me, and no one ever posted about something like that during my previous life. And it’s not like the god told you about it upfront either. You made the right choice.

Hearing Ha Hee-Jeong’s words brought me a small sense of relief. In fact, my vague unease had been the only reason I had rejected the reward.

The Seat of Truth seemed like an incredibly useful skill, so it was only natural to feel a twinge of regret.

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Fiftieth Floor): But seriously, don’t they seem completely out of their mind? How can they treat their own followers that way?

- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Fiftieth Floor): I’m not entirely sure. It’s just a theory of mine.

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Fiftieth Floor): Your theory is probably spot on. What a crazy bastard. Honestly, how did you even think to ask if the reward could be refused? I think I would’ve just accepted it without question.

- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Fiftieth Floor): I don’t know. It just didn’t sit right with me.

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Fiftieth Floor): Acting on nothing but instinct isn’t easy. You really did a great job. The more I think about it, the more it feels like there was some kind of trap.

- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Fiftieth Floor): I did feel a little disappointed, but hearing you say that makes me feel better.

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Fiftieth Floor): Don’t worry about it. You made the right decision, so don’t fret. Like the Burning Truth said, you’ll have to be extra cautious about these things moving forward. You’re not like the rest of us.

Her words made me rethink the Burning Truth’s final piece of advice. Were they including themselves in that warning?

Come to think of it, most of the gods I had encountered had suffered persecution. Fenrike, Paractus, and the Blue Dawn Breeze. All of them had fallen victim to other deities. They had shown genuine gratitude toward me, although they hadn’t really been in a position to deceive me.

𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

On the other hand, both the Stagnant Terror and the Burning Truth had offered me rewards.

I think I will need to be especially wary around unrestricted gods.

Though my experiences were limited, a pattern had seemed to emerge.

I resolved to approach future encounters with heightened vigilance. There were too many things to be cautious about.

A quiet sigh escaped me before I could stop it.

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Fiftieth Floor): Anyway, you did great. We’ll go over everything in more detail at the rest area. For now, focus on pacifying the Community. It’s going crazy with posts. I’ll explain things to our party members.

- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Fiftieth Floor): Huh? Really?

I opened the Community out of curiosity and saw even more posts pouring in at an absurd rate.

- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Fiftieth Floor): Alright, got it.

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Fiftieth Floor): Oh, and look forward to the next rest area.

- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Fiftieth Floor): Huh? Why? What’s different about it?

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Fiftieth Floor): Hehe. You’ll understand when you see it.

- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Fiftieth Floor): Fine. See you there.

Is the rest area going to be unusually luxurious?

Judging by her tone, it didn’t seem like anything bad. Since I would find out soon enough, I chose not to press her for details.

Thankfully, Ha Hee-Jeong would handle explaining things to our party members. Before diving into the Community, I decided to check on Ryun and Doppy first.

It only felt right to explain things to them next.

I repeated the explanation I had given to Ha Hee-Jeong. Since I had already shared that the angels’ world was a virtual reality, they didn’t seem particularly shocked.

“Su-Yeok, aren’t you sad you lost the skill?”

“Well, I didn’t really have much of a choice. It felt too suspicious. Even if the Burning Truth didn’t lie, I’ve already refused it.”

Ryun’s perspective mirrored Ha Hee-Jeong’s. “No... you made... the right... call. Hearing... the story... it feels... like rejecting... was... the... better... decision.”

“Thank you.”

Feeling slightly more reassured, I opened my status window, intending to post in the Community afterward. Since I hadn’t played a major role on the forty-eighth floor, it wouldn’t take much time.

[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: 219.1

Agility: 218.4

Stamina: 225.2

Mana: 217.3

Skills: Sixth Sense lvl 14, Axemanship lvl 10 ...

My stats had gained another large boost, this time by five, most likely as a reward for completing the hidden mission.

It was greater than I had expected, but it made sense. Two floors had collapsed, so the stat increase felt like fair compensation.

However, I doubted that any of my skills would have leveled up, given that I had spent most of the floor walking or talking.

Then my eyes widened in surprise. While most of my skills remained unchanged, Sixth Sense had leveled up.

Huh?

I was genuinely taken aback. The skill hadn’t seemed to activate at all. Then I remembered the subtle unease I had felt in front of the Burning Truth.

Wait, was that the skill triggering? Why didn’t it feel like the skill activated?

I didn’t have an answer. Still, this was highly advantageous for me. The fact that Sixth Sense had leveled up meant that my decision had been correct.

The skill was somewhat ambiguous compared to others. At level 14, it was one of my higher-level skills, but it progressed more slowly compared to skills I had acquired after it.

Additionally, I couldn’t activate it at will.

That said, it proved more valuable than any other skill in many situations.

Does it start subtly influencing my everyday senses the more it levels up?

It seemed plausible.

I decided to pay closer attention to my instincts moving forward, even if I didn’t explicitly feel the skill activate.

With that in mind, I opened the Community.

***

[3 hours 24 minutes until the rest period ends. Please take a rest.]

“

Phew

.”

Even after stepping out of my post-training shower, my training versus Bruche still consumed my mind.

Naturally, as an apostle, she had been the strongest among the angels. Therefore, the battle had been grueling, with the potential to have ended terribly.

I had chosen the normal difficulty, recalling how easily I had landed the first strike with the dagger in the lab-like setting.

However, the fight had been nothing like I expected. Bruche could manipulate reality. Attack after attack emerged from nowhere, all sense of distance vanished, and I couldn’t land a single successful counter.

I wondered if that had been an application of the Seat of Truth skill that the Burning Truth had offered me.

Sure, I could have adapted, but still.

I had almost lost my head by charging in without thinking. No matter how many times I reminded myself not to become too overconfident, I thought I was prepared because of how many different enemies I had faced, but this world was vast. There would be plenty of enemies whose powers I hadn’t yet understood.

My enemies would only get stronger, as well. I needed to let go of my expectations and stay open-minded.

Strengthening my resolve, I collapsed onto the bed.

The fiftieth floor already. Halfway through.

Then again, that meant I still had to climb fifty floors. As always, it felt like the time had flown by. It reminded me of my days in the military. Although time in the tower moved faster than I expected, there was still so much ahead.

Of course, simply climbing to the one hundredth floor didn’t mean everything would be over. Based on what I had seen so far, the gods and the greater universe were far more complex than just the tower. Once I became one, even greater challenges would arise.

For now, I should just focus on climbing the tower.

Thinking too far ahead was pointless.

With vague thoughts of the future filling my mind, I closed my eyes. If I wanted to enjoy the rest area later, I needed to get some rest first.

Just then, I felt Doppy shifting next to me. I could sense him staring intently at me. “Su-Yeok, why haven’t you thanked me yet?”

The sudden remark startled me, and I opened my eyes. Turning my head, I looked at Doppy.

“

Huh?

Thank you for what?” I asked without much thought, but Doppy seemed unexpectedly serious, almost like I had offended him.

What is this about? When did Doppy help me? Did I miss something?

I recalled our most recent interactions, but nothing came to mind.

“I blocked an attack while you fought the angel! Without me, you’d be dead!”

“What? During training?”

That didn’t make any sense.

I was about to shake my head when a memory resurfaced. At the start of the fight, Sixth Sense had activated, allowing me to dodge an invisible blade. Barely a moment later, Doppy had moved in and blocked the blade.

That had to be what he was referring to. It seemed Doppy hadn’t kept up with my speed and had misunderstood.

“Oh, are you talking about when you shielded me? I dodged before that even happened.”

“What are you talking about? If I hadn’t put up that shield, you’d be dead!”

“Maybe you didn’t see it because I was too fast? I dodged first, and then your shield came up.”

“No way!” Doppy shot up from the bed, deadly serious.

Why is Doppy taking this to heart so much?

This wasn’t like Doppy at all, and I was completely caught off guard. He was absolutely convinced of his version of events.

This kind of misunderstanding needed a neutral third party.

I turned to Ryun. “Ryun! You were watching, right? Please tell Doppy that I dodged before he blocked.”

Ryun, who had been leaning back in a chair with his eyes closed, slowly opened them. He looked at me with obvious irritation.

What now? Why isn’t Ryun saying anything?

As the silence stretched on, Doppy took the opportunity to shout, “See? Even Ryun isn’t saying anything!”

“No, Ryun, come on. Just tell Doppy!”

After a long pause, Ryun finally declared, “Why... not... just... say... thanks... and... end it...? Why... disturb... my rest... when I... was finally... about to... fall asleep...?”

Hmph, what a load of help.

Although he wasn’t entirely wrong. He hadn’t taken a real rest in a long time. Still, if he had just agreed with me, he could have gone back to sleep by now.

Meanwhile, Doppy puffed up confidently. “See? Even Ryun agrees with me! You’re only alive because of me!”

“No, I’m telling you, that’s not what happened! Ryun!”

Despite my protests, Ryun simply closed his eyes again.

Now it was just Doppy and me. His sharp gaze was locked on me.

Ah, seriously. What is going on with both of them today?

By this point, I was starting to feel genuinely annoyed.

“Su-Yeok, I’m disappointed in you!”

Even so, continuing to argue with Doppy wasn’t exactly the most dignified course of action. Despite his growth, he was still young.

Reflecting on Ryun’s earlier remark, I realized that continuing to engage in this back-and-forth wasn’t exactly mature for me, either.

I nodded, albeit reluctantly. “Alright, my bad. Thank you.”

“That’s more like it!” Doppy flopped back onto the bed, shutting its eyes with a satisfied expression.

Phew. Finally.

I let out a quiet and relieved sigh, careful not to let it hear me, before lying down as well.

Even with my eyes closed, I couldn’t quite wrap my head around what had just happened. At first, I thought it had been some kind of joke.

However, Doppy’s expression had been far too serious for that. He displayed a very different attitude when he usually played around.

Even still, as the yapping continued, the meddler ended up causing more chaos than the nagger. Ryun’s behavior annoyed me even more than Doppy’s. For someone who always had so much to say, Ryun sure knew how to act all wise and reserved when it suited him.

Isn’t the truth more important than Doppy’s feelings?

If Ryun had been in my shoes, he would have talked on and on, trying to defend himself.

Opening my eyes again, I glanced at Ryun.

That was when I noticed that Ryun’s eyes were slightly open, and he was winking somewhat in my direction. The moment our eyes met, he quickly shut them again.

It didn’t take me long to figure out who the wink had been intended for—Doppy.

I suddenly felt like I had been struck by a hammer.

“Wait. Were you messing with me just now?”

Without realizing it, I had bolted upright, but no one responded.

I turned to look at Doppy. Its tightly closed eyelids were trembling ever so slightly.

Unable to resist, I let out a dry laugh.

“Heh.”

The two of them were teaming up to mess with me. I still couldn’t believe they would pull a prank on me over something like this.

Unbelievable.

“Our little Doppy’s acting skills have improved a lot, haven’t they?”

Doppy’s expression stiffened slightly, as if it was trying its hardest not to laugh.

I sighed lightly and let myself collapse back onto the bed. If they were enjoying themselves, I supposed it would be alright. Besides, it had been a while since something this refreshing had happened.

Still, there was one thing they didn’t know.

Even Ha Hee-Jeong couldn’t handle my pranks.

Since they had started it, it was time to begin planning my vengeance.

“Or rather... why wait?” I muttered quietly under my breath.

“From now on, no steak for you, Doppy. Just bread and water.”

“What?! Su-Yeok!”

“And Ryun, no more unlimited water for you. You’ll only get a tiny ration. Doppy, if you share water with Ryun, I’ll cut your bread in half, too.”

Doppy shot up in shock, and Ryun’s eyes snapped open in surprise.

“That’s... going too far...”

“What do you mean, too far? I’m the one in charge of this waiting room.”

“Su-Yeok! I’m sorry! I won’t do it again!”

“Nope. Not changing my mind. Go to sleep.”

“Su-Yeok!”

Ignoring Doppy’s protests, I closed my eyes. Entertaining the argument would only work against my plot.

Still, I couldn’t help but wonder what exactly Ha Hee-Jeong had hinted at on the fiftieth floor.

Something worth looking forward to?