Chapter 200: Fifty-Second Floor, Penance (2)

[Reach your destination. Time remaining: 46 hours 34 minutes.]

Kalain?

The name sounded vaguely familiar. I felt certain I had come across it before. My mind began to race, flipping through the pages of my past.

When did I hear it? And where?

As soon as I visualized the question, scattered memories of goblins and orcs charging forward with fierce cries resurfaced.

“Lord Kal-Lain is with us!”

Yes, I remembered now. That name belonged to a god infamous for conquering planets and enslaving their peoples.

I turned my gaze toward Kalain, doubt flickering in my mind.

Can it be? Is he that same being?

The suspicion lingered for a moment before I shook my head.

No, that can’t be right.

He wouldn’t appear here on the fifty-second floor, disguised in this form. In fact, I wasn’t even sure if that would be possible.

Jumping to conclusions just because of a familiar name seemed absurd. Countless individuals across the infinite worlds likely shared a similar name.

While I was lost in my thoughts, a puzzled Kalain interrupted with, “What are you doing? We can’t climb up if we just stand here, so let’s keep moving.”

He strode past me in an unhurried and confident manner.

Although I remained slightly on edge, Kalain seemed completely at ease. He walked ahead, maintaining a casual air and exposing his back to me without the slightest hesitation.

Someone would only display such trust toward a stranger if they felt supremely confident in their abilities. I had just met him, after all.

Then again, he had descended into the pit without sustaining a single injury. The jagged metal shards didn’t even seem to faze him.

On second thought, my tenseness was only natural; he had exuded an extraordinary presence from the moment we met.

At the very least, he was on par with me, if not stronger. I couldn’t recall encountering someone of his caliber since entering the tower.

I should follow him. For now.

He hadn’t shown any signs of hostility toward me.

As I started walking again, my mind lingered on Kalain.

Who—or what—exactly is he?

From the way he talked about climbers, he clearly knew about the tower. What puzzled me, however, was that he had referred to me as an assistant.

Doppy was the only climbing assistant I had met, and it seemed weird that Kalain had treated me as one.

Wait.

A fragment of his earlier words replayed in my mind.

“Who are you? You don’t seem like a climber from another tower.”

A sudden realization struck me, jolting my thoughts into focus. For the first time, I felt like I could understand what was happening, or at least part of it.

Based on the situation, it seemed highly likely that Kalain was a climber.

He didn’t belong to any of the four species I was familiar with that were climbers, though.

Though his black robe obscured the majority of his features, I had caught glimpses of his skin and eyes. Both reminded me of the dragons I had encountered before.

He appeared distinctly different from a lizardman, however.

Does that mean he is a dragonkin?

When I first entered the tower, the messages had declared that the Tower of Ordeal had been activated for different intelligent species in a certain zone in the galaxy. Something about sections or something along those lines, though I couldn’t recall the exact wording.

If that were true, other towers—or maybe the same tower—could exist in other zones as well. This thought only reinforced my idea that Kalain was a climber. He was probably a challenger who, like me, had opted not to view the system window.

I can’t be certain, but it is my most plausible conclusion for now.

This explanation felt far more logical than a god suddenly appearing on the fifty-second floor.

Still, it seemed curious that Kalain could communicate so effortlessly, while I couldn’t.

Did he complete a hidden mission here that lets him communicate?

The tower often rewarded challengers without informing them, and who knew how many hidden missions I had cleared unknowingly. Even I hadn’t completed every hidden mission on every floor, much less the average climber. Kalain could have potentially completed one that I hadn’t been aware of.

This thought provided me a sense of clarity, as though I had finally pieced together an elusive puzzle. My mind eased, and my tension began to ease.

Still, he seems convinced that I am his assistant.

Judging by the way he kept glancing at me, he clearly expected something.

The situation left me feeling slightly awkward. This was my first time here, and I didn’t know much about this place. Moreover, it wasn’t as if I could explain that to him.

Well, it isn’t that important.

We both had the same destination: the mountain’s summit. As long as we kept moving forward, we would get there eventually.

Once my thoughts settled, the world around me seemed sharper. Even my surroundings snapped into focus.

***

We advanced wordlessly, moving relentlessly through the blistering heat that clung to us like a living entity.

My head throbbed, and a faint ringing buzzed in my ears. The gritty sand carried by the dry wind left the back of my throat parched and uncomfortably coarse.

I glanced toward Kalain, who walked ahead of me. The distance between us had gradually closed. What had started as a ten-meter gap had now shrunk to less than five.

He is starting to show signs of strain, too.

It wasn’t because of the relentless heat since, from the start, Kalain had seemed largely unaffected by it. I hated to admit it, but his physical capabilities were far superior to mine.

Instead, the hallucinations and mounting psychological pressure that had begun about twenty minutes ago were to blame.

Every death I had experienced during my climb through the tower resurfaced in vivid, painful clarity. Moreover, the visions weren’t limited to only those I had killed. Even deaths I had merely observed replayed themselves mercilessly in my mind.

Faces of unknown climbers and non-humans flickered in front of my eyes.

Is he physically strong, but mentally vulnerable?

In contrast, I found myself relatively unaffected by the latest wave of punishment.

Perhaps the inner growth I had achieved during my climb allowed me to persevere, or maybe I had simply grown indifferent. Regardless, I pressed onward, doing my best to mitigate the toll the heat and psychological pressure inflicted on me.

Another gust of scorching wind swept by us, and Kalain flinched noticeably. “Damn it. You again.”

His words, muttered to no one in particular, had carried a mix of annoyance and weariness. However, his demeanor shifted when he realized I had been watching him. It became tinged with sadness.

Judging by his reaction, his strain wasn’t merely a matter of weak mental fortitude. The face of a fallen comrade probably just haunted him.

As I considered this, Kalain came to an abrupt halt.

Why did he stop? He isn’t waiting for me, is he?

I continued walking, and as the distance between us narrowed, his expression darkened.

“Hey. Do these hallucinations persist until the trial ends?”

Of course, I didn’t reply.

“You can understand me, can’t you? I can see it in your eyes. Can’t you at least shake your head? You’re supposed to be my assistant, but all you’re doing is trailing behind me without offering any help. What’s your purpose here?”

His frustrated gaze bore into mine, brimming with dissatisfaction.

I couldn’t help but feel a twinge of injustice.

Do you think I don’t want to respond? It is the fucking tower that is preventing me.

I met his glare silently, refusing to look away. Eventually, Kalain averted his gaze, and I continued walking toward him.

He sighed heavily, then shook his head in resignation. “Fine. Whatever. Let’s just keep moving.

Huh?

”

At that precise moment, the oppressive hallucinations and psychological pressure dissipated. Even the searing heat seemed to abate.

The sudden shift caught Kalain off guard, and I as well.

His gaze sharpened, and he gave me a look full of suspicion. “What’s this? Why did it stop? Don’t tell me that it’s because we’re close to each other?”

Indeed, the only thing that had changed was the distance between us. Approximately a few seconds after we had drawn closer, the pressure vanished entirely.

Testing his theory, Kalain deliberately widened the gap between us. The moment he did, the heat and psychological strain returned.

He quickly closed the distance again. “Of course. You’re not just here for nothing. I was an idiot. I should’ve stuck close to you from the start.”

Kalain's expression changed at the drop of a hat, his earlier frustration replaced by relief and a beaming smile. As he sidled over, I even suspected that he was about to throw an arm around me.

Roughly a few seconds passed, and once again, the pressure and heat diminished.

All in all, I found this arrangement to be preferable. The reduced environmental strain had become much more manageable.

Having him stick this close is a bit much, though.

Maintaining within a meter or two of each other seemed sufficient, but Kalain had moved so close that our elbows occasionally brushed. Judging by his earlier struggles, he likely felt desperate to avoid even a moment of psychological strain.

Still, I began to feel uncomfortable with our proximity. I subtly tried to widen the gap between us.

Kalain noticed immediately, and he grew irritated. “What? Don’t like being too close? Fine. Whatever. I don’t like ugly alien species anyway.”

Ugly? Me?

His comment left me momentarily stunned. A scaly creature calling me ugly was beyond absurd.

The more I thought about it, the more annoyed I became. I cast a sharp glance at him, which he returned just as intensely.

Our strained companionship continued, tinged with a quiet tension.

***

[Reach your destination. Time remaining: 45 hours 12 minutes.]

We entered a vast stone archway. The weathered structure was partially buried beneath layers of sand.

Statues lined the pathway occasionally, though there were no forks or branching routes to explore. It felt as though we were walking through the ruins of an ancient temple.

I considered that there could be hidden rooms, but chose not to search for them. Preserving my energy was far more critical as the path to the summit would undoubtedly be grueling.

Kalain appeared to share the sentiment, pressing forward without so much as a glance to the side. At the end of the uphill passage, the crimson terrain reappeared. Withered trees swayed eerily above the barren land.

So this is the base of the mountain.

It felt as though we had cleared a significant hurdle.

Yet, I couldn’t help but wonder what purpose this passage served. No enemies had appeared, and it hadn’t been nearly as taxing as walking across the field of blades.

Sure, Kalain’s presence had probably helped, but I felt confident that traversing that blade-littered terrain had been far worse than this would be.

Out of nowhere, a detail I couldn’t believe I hadn’t noticed earlier popped into my mind.

Kalain had appeared right after I fell underground, descending only moments after me. Yet strangely, no one had been near me when I fell.

Initially, I had assumed he had been in a different location. The sand had poured into the underground tunnel like a vortex, after all.

In hindsight, however, was this a mechanism designed to link different zones?

I couldn’t be certain, although I didn’t come up with anything more plausible.

As we continued walking, a subtle unease crept over me. My Sixth Sense skill hadn’t activated, but still, the nagging feeling that something was behind us only grew.

I stopped abruptly.

“

Huh?

What’s wrong? Why did you stop?”

Since I couldn’t speak, I simply turned around and walked the other way.

Kalain followed suit, mirroring my actions. If he wanted to avoid the psychological strain, he had no choice but to follow.

Following my intuition, I unhesitatingly strode toward the strange statue we had passed earlier.

Kalain grabbed my shoulder firmly and insistently. “Hey, hey! Where are you going? That’s the wrong way. It’s over here!”

I shrugged him off and kept walking.

“Wait! Stop! It’s not that way! Listen to me!”

He gripped my shoulder again, tighter this time, and almost desperately. I couldn’t tell whether he thought I was clueless or if he simply wanted to finish the trial as quickly as possible.

While his strength slightly exceeded mine, he couldn’t stop me completely. I broke free once more and headed toward the back of the statue.

“Hey!”

Ignoring his frustrated shout, I reached behind the statue and discovered a glowing sphere of light about the size of a fist. It shimmered brilliantly, like sunlight breaking over a mountain’s peak.

Found it. I knew there would be a hidden piece.

𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞

For some reason, the tower had deliberately concealed the light, and its radiance refused to spill out from the statue.

As I stepped closer, the light expanded, enveloping both Kalain and me in its radiant glow.

My exhaustion melted away as the energy began mending my cracked skin and any wounds.

This is just like a sanctuary you would find in a game.

It made sense. Walking for forty-eight hours in these conditions was practically impossible. The further we went, the harsher the environment would become.

There were likely more sanctuaries like this hidden along the way.

Kalain, apparently relieved, chattered, “So this is why! Gosh, you could’ve at least gestured or something!”

His attitude had completely shifted from the desperation he had shown moments earlier.

Is he two-faced?

I glanced at him, bemused, before turning my attention back to the glowing light.

The healing process was slower than I would have liked.

It doesn’t alleviate thirst or hunger, and...

To fully recover, we would need to rest here for a while. Worn out, I dropped to the ground without hesitation.

Kalain sat down as well, his gaze unusually serious.“You want to recover fully before moving on? Fine by me.”

Something different had appeared in his expression—something thoughtful, almost solemn.

What now?

I wondered silently.

“You’re trapped here too, aren’t you?” he remarked in a tone filled with unexpected sympathy.

His pity quickly shifted to anger, however. “Because of this damned tower and those cursed deities, you’ve been stuck in this hellhole, waiting for someone like me.”

***

「Invisible message: Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok has discovered the hidden mission ‘The Guide.’ Six sanctuaries remain.」