Chapter 186: Fiftieth Floor, Rest Area (1)

[Welcome to the fiftieth floor of the Tower of Ordeal: Rest Area.]

[From the fiftieth floor onward, the one hundred thirty-one rest areas will be unified, centering around Zone 1.]

[The rest area’s structure has changed. It now features a plaza at the center, while the barrier's range and surrounding buildings have been expanded.]

[All aggressive actions are strictly prohibited within the rest area. Climbers are invited to rest and relax as much as they would like. Time remaining: 71 hours 59 minutes.]

As the tower’s message appeared, my vision gradually brightened. The familiar lush and green field stretched out before me, but that wasn’t what captured my attention.

So the rest areas have been combined. I guess this is what Ha Hee-Jeong hinted at when she told me to look forward to the fiftieth floor.

This finally answered something that had felt a bit strange to me. Ha Hee-Jeong always seemed to know an unusual amount, not just about the trials, but also about low-ranked climbers. The new and improved rest area would have made that much easier, however, and I didn’t doubt she had collected plenty of information there.

Well, regardless, I felt relieved that the rest area had been centered around Zone 1. I would be lying if I said my heart hadn’t skipped a beat when I first read that the rest areas had merged.

My thoughts had turned to the non-humans from the slave factory, causing me to worry about what would happen to them. Thankfully, since the integration revolved around Zone 1, they wouldn’t be affected.

Feeling relieved, I turned toward the rest area.

Beside me, Doppy stared in awe. “Su-Yeok! The rest area got so much bigger!”

He glanced up at me with his wide, sparkling eyes. I found the sight so endearing that I instinctively placed a hand on his head.

Indeed, the rest area seemed to have expanded nearly tenfold, not just in width but in height as well.

Still, a nagging question lingered in my mind.

Even though it has expanded by this much, it needs to fit one hundred and thirty rest areas' worth of climbers. Can it truly accommodate everyone?

At the moment, only about one hundred and thirty thousand climbers remained. Even if the rest area had grown significantly, from the outside, it didn’t seem nearly large enough to hold that many people.

Well, the tower isn’t foolish. It probably employed some kind of magical solution to address this.

Perhaps the buildings would be like ones found in fantasy novels, with some form of spatial expansion magic inside.

I cut off my musings because climbers were beginning to materialize across the vast plain.

“This is crazy.”

Even with such an expansive field, the total number of climbers wasn’t a small number by any measure.

A seemingly endless sea of climbers appeared, too many to count individually. Summoned one after another, they turned their heads left and right, bewildered.

They seemed equally stunned by the tower’s surprise announcement and the sheer multitude of people now gathered on the field.

“Wow. Just wow.”

“Look at how many people there are.”

“They really consolidated the rest areas?”

Moments later, shouts began echoing across the plain.

“Merian! Merian!”

“Parun! Where are you?”

“Sinh! Sinh!”

They weren’t trying to find their party members, as parties usually entered together. Rather, they were calling out to friends they had made while climbing the floors.

Stuck in the middle of the chaos, I quickly realized that finding my party members would be nearly impossible at this rate.

Sure, I could shout and probably locate them, but drawing attention from the surrounding climbers didn’t seem like a good idea.

Hmm, heading into the rest area and waiting for them there seems smarter. No, wait. Will I even be able to find them inside?

Imagining this enormous crowd squeezing into the rest area made it seem even more complicated.

“Haaaa.”

For some reason, I found myself irritated with Ha Hee-Jeong.

Yes, surprises can be nice, but isn’t this a bit excessive?

Even if she didn’t want to ruin the “surprise,” she could have at least suggested that I rejoin the party in advance. Maybe she had assumed that I would figure it out from her hints and didn’t think any further explanation would be necessary.

Judging by the tower’s message, it seemed like the rest areas wouldn’t be separated again.

Previously, it had been easy to meet up with my former party members without needing to reassemble the party. However, from now on, I would have to ensure I regrouped with my party beforehand.

Unfortunately, a nearby climber recognized me and called out, disrupting my thinking.

“

Ah!

Aren’t you Kwon Su-Hyeok?”

“

Huh?

Yes.”

After the first shout, more and more eyes turned in my direction.

“Wow! It’s an honor to meet you!”

“It’s Kwon Su-Hyeok!”

I started to feel a bit overwhelmed.

Still, ignoring them wasn’t an option. I offered them an awkward smile and returned their greetings.

At that moment, the signal beacon on my belt emitted a faint click.

Ah, right. The beacon. How could I have forgotten about it like an idiot?

As expected, Ha Hee-Jeong had thought of a plan. Now I knew why she hadn’t felt the need to warn me.

If she had suddenly invited me to the party immediately before a “normal” rest area, the other group members could have grown suspicious. I had been too overwhelmed by the sheer number of climbers to think rationally.

The beacon pointed at my eleven. Though the field was crowded, it wouldn’t take long for us to meet up if we met in the middle.

I clicked the beacon on my belt before addressing the climbers around me. “

Haha

, sorry, I need to go find my party members.”

“Let’s have a drink together tonight!”

“Me too!”

Strangers I had never met were now speaking to me as if they were my close friends. While it did feel slightly overwhelming, I could understand their enthusiasm.

Many of these climbers were interacting with me in person for the first time. Of course, with this many people, some would be more sociable and naturally strike up a conversation with me.

This wasn’t factoring in the infamous “Shadow Su-Hyeok fan club” members I had only heard about through the Community, however.

“Yes, yes,” I replied, doing my best to move through the crowd.

Unfortunately, word spread, causing more climbers to swarm toward me like a tide. Every climber I passed seemed intent on speaking to me.

Moreover, since climbers felt more relaxed in the rest areas, they approached me openly, to the point where it had become suffocating.

So this is what celebrities feel like.

I truly hadn’t expected such a reaction during a simple trip to a rest area. Among the crowd, a few reverent voices rose above the clamor.

“Su-Hyeok! Su-Hyeok!”

“Great Su-Hyeok! King Su-Hyeok!”

It was the notorious Shadow Su-Hyeok fan club. People who praised me regardless of the situation.

I turned to take a look at them. While I appreciated their enthusiasm, they acted a bit too fanatically. When I gestured for them to stop, they raised their hands triumphantly as if blessed by my attention.

“Kwon Su-Hyeok noticed me!”

Their shameless excitement became my embarrassment, and I grimaced slightly. “

Ugh

.”

The climbers around me chuckled at my reaction.

Please, just stop.

It had reached the point where, out of embarrassment, I couldn’t even lift my head. Ignoring them seemed like the best strategy.

Keeping my head down, I followed the direction of the signal beacon. After walking for a few minutes, I spotted my party members.

Finding them hadn’t been as difficult as I assumed, either.

They had also drawn attention from the surrounding climbers. Unlike me, they didn’t seem as flustered, however, probably because they were in a group.

Cole’s face held a hint of nervousness, but Ha Hee-Jeong seemed unfazed, as if this was a completely familiar scene.

Meanwhile, the other three appeared to be brimming with pride. My party members greeted me with a warm smile.

“Su-Hyeok hyung!”

“Su-Hyeok!”

“Oppa!”

Thankfully, the nearby climbers read the atmosphere and refrained from approaching once they noticed our reunion.

After exchanging brief greetings, Seo Ho-Su broke the brief silence that emerged. “Su-Hyeok, about that god... what’re they called again? The Burning Truth? Would you please explain your experience in detail later? I heard a bit from Hee-Jeong, but it’s always different hearing it straight from the source.”

“Ah, of course. I would be happy to.”

“

Heh

, I’ll look forward to it.”

“There are just too many people here, though. Can we wait out here for a bit before heading in?”

The sheer volume of people made the prospect of entering now seem overwhelming. Although the number of non-human workers inside had increased, securing rooms was bound to be a lengthy process.

My party members nodded in agreement.

“Sounds good.”

“That seems like the better choice.”

“I’m on board!”

Since we were caught in the middle of the crowd, we moved toward the outskirts in an attempt to avoid the throng. Others naturally made similar decisions, and a number of climbers trailed after us as they tried to strike up a conversation.

Eventually, about ten thousand climbers were left scattered across the plain with us.

As time passed, I seized a moment when my party members were chatting amongst themselves to approach Ha Hee-Jeong. Though I felt fairly confident about why she hadn’t explained the change to me beforehand, I couldn’t resist pretending to grumble at her.

“Hey, why didn’t you give me a heads-up? You didn’t even add me to the party. I was dying of embarrassment out there.”

Ha Hee-Jeong flashed a sly grin. “You know why I didn’t add you to the party. Also, would it have really made a difference?”

“At the very least, I could’ve mentally prepared myself.”

“That’s exactly why I didn’t tell you.

Haaa

, I wish I had been summoned closer to you so I could secretly watch. But I ended up too far away to enjoy the show.”

“You little—”

I gave her shoulder a light tap, not forcefully, but just a playful gesture.

Much to my embarrassment, however, Ha Hee-Jeong let out an exaggerated yelp out of nowhere and darted toward the others.

“Ho-Su! Su-Hyeok hit me!”

“

Haha

, Su-Hyeok. You shouldn’t be doing that.”

Seo Ho-Su glanced between the two of us, then chuckled faintly. Though he had verbally sided with Ha Hee-Jeong, his tone implied that we were both acting like kids.

Seo Ha-Rin and Hakin also squinted at us in mild disbelief.

I shot Ha Hee-Jeong with a pointed look. Her cheesy pranks in front of actual kids had caused me to flush.

Feeling slightly awkward, I scratched the back of my head and turned my attention toward the rest area. “

Ahem

, it seems like the crowd has thinned out a bit. Let’s head inside now.”

***

[All aggressive actions are strictly prohibited within the rest area. Rest at your leisure. Time remaining: 71 hours 23 minutes.]

As expected, the interior of the buildings didn’t match what appeared on the outside. Spatial magic had been cast on them, creating significantly larger spaces inside. The number of non-human races had also increased dramatically.

I had been wondering why the crowd seemed to disperse faster than expected, and this likely had been the reason.

After securing a room, we made our way to the dining area.

On the way, Ha Hee-Jeong sidled up to me and whispered, “Hey.”

“What?”

“Did you know?”

“Know what?”

Her playful tone instantly put me on edge. Considering her history, I couldn’t help but worry.

What sort of prank is she planning this time?

Ha Hee-Jeong grinned mischievously. “The surprise isn’t over yet.”

“

Huh?

There’s more?”

“Yup.”

“What is it?”

“It’s a secret.”

“

Ugh

, come on. You know I hate surprises. Just tell me.” I grabbed her arm and gently pulled her closer. “Spill it.”

Ha Hee-Jeong chuckled softly. “Okay, okay. Fine. Since I already got one good laugh out of you, I’ll spill. There’s going to be a friendly competition tomorrow.”

“A friendly competition? Like a sports day or something?”

“Pretty much.”

“Wait, there are over a hundred thousand climbers. How’s that supposed to work?”

I couldn’t wrap my head around it. With the vast differences in skill levels among the climbers, it didn’t seem like any event could be remotely fair.

Whatever the activity, I would likely end up taking first place anyway.

“It’s not just between us.”

“

Huh?

Then?”

“It’s also with the other non-human races climbing the tower. You’ve met some of them before, haven’t you?”