Chapter 222: Fifty-Ninth Floor, Companion's Sanctuary (3)

[(Special Feature) How Much Should Be Allowed? The Tower of Ordeal’s Latest Controversy]

On November 4th, 2020, the Tower of Ordeal began broadcasting video footage to Earth.

Initially, viewers hailed it as a rare window into the lives of those who had suddenly gone missing. However, the unfiltered exposure to murder, violence, rape, and other explicit and brutal acts quickly sparked controversy.

As a result, the National Assembly urgently proposed an amendment to the Broadcasting Act on November 5th, restricting minors from viewing Tower of Ordeal-related footage. In practice, however, the regulation remains largely ineffective.

With minimal effort, underage viewers can still access content through various personal broadcasting platforms and alternative routes.

We interviewed an anonymous office worker who shared that his daughter, after watching footage of a climber masturbating, had asked what had just happened, leaving him at a loss for words.

- MIIX: Ah, they’re making a fuss again, just because of that one masturbation incident.

- Old_man_whale_hunter: Ugh. Instead of supporting our fellow Koreans struggling in the tower, all they do is regulate and censor.

- Hawawa: Still, that masturbation scene was legendary. I thought it was a prank! 😂

- WhyMe: FOR REAL.

- gurenge: But it's not like this is the first time someone has masturbated in the tower. Why is this time such a big deal?

- thirtsy: Probably because there were way more climbers before, so nobody saw them amidst the chaos.

- WhyMe: Nah. It's because of the sheer size of his dick.

- VitaminC: You lunatics, LOL. Ah, that poor guy’s life is ruined. No human decency whatsoever.

***

[Listen to the followers’ grievances and resolve their troubles. Time remaining: 5 hours 33 minutes.]

Looking back, the clues had been there from the very beginning. Even the name of the floor had practically spelled it out.

The terrifying tremors and the sheer, overwhelming presence of the lava monster had preoccupied my mind too much to put the pieces together, however.

Still, I had barely been on this floor for thirty minutes, so the realization hadn’t come too late.

The real question is, how do I use this knowledge?

Understanding that the lava monster was composed of lingering souls didn’t immediately provide a solution.

Simply cutting it down clearly wasn’t the answer. Judging by how its voice changed each time it perished, an untold number of spirits remained trapped within it.

No matter how many I cut down, my mana will run dry long before I reach the last one.

Time was another constraint, meaning I couldn’t solve this through endless trial and error.

Unfortunately, the monster began hurling molten projectiles once more, interrupting my train of thought. I darted up the stairway, swiftly maneuvering out of harm’s reach.

Now that I understood its true nature, continuing to kill it would be pointless. Instead, I decided to distance myself and focus entirely on solving my predicament.

“Kuaaaaaah!”

The lava monster let out a guttural roar as it trembled in fury. Its molten body suddenly expanded, swelling unnaturally as if preparing for something drastic.

My instincts blared out in alarm. I tensed, every muscle coiling, ready to react at a moment’s notice.

“Kwaaaaah!”

Its mouth gaped wide, and a jet of molten rock erupted from deep within its throat.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake.”

Now what?

Like a high-pressure fire hose, a concentrated stream of lava shot toward me in a straight line.

I immediately accelerated, but the creature tracked my movement far better than I had expected. The searing torrent pursued me relentlessly, closing in with terrifying precision.

I launched myself off the ground and sliced through the air toward the opposite wall.

Shit. It is evolving every time I kill it.

At first, it had relied solely on brute force. Then, it began throwing molten boulders. Now, it was breathing lava. With each resurrection, its attack patterns became more advanced and dangerous.

Trying to kill it was a trap. If I continued mindlessly cutting it down, trying to find a solution would have only become harder and harder.

Dodging another searing blast, I retreated into the passage from which I had first entered. Thankfully, I was now beyond its immediate reach.

“Su-Yeok! Are you alright?” Doppy rushed over, concerned.

I nodded briefly. “Fine. Yoonie, stay with Doppy.”

Yoonie, concealed beneath my cloak, piped up, “Understood, Su-Hyeok!”

She fluttered over to Doppy.

I had brought her along, hoping that she could locate the creature’s core. Considering that the beast didn’t have a core, however, exposing Yoonie to further risk would be reckless.

If things escalated further, keeping Yoonie near me would only put her in harm’s way.

“

Kuaaaaaaah!

”

The lava monster’s enraged howl reverberated through the cavern, followed by the sharp, hissing sound of molten rock scorching the walls.

It was searching for me.

The walls trembled, vibrating far more violently than before.

I still had five hours and thirty minutes remaining, so I wasn’t too worried about time yet—that would be more than sufficient time to figure this out.

Absentmindedly watching Yoonie fly toward Doppy, my mind returned to the problem at hand.

Hmm, how am I supposed to resolve the lingering souls’ anger?

The rage fueling these remnants came from something deeper, like a shared grievance. They had spent their entire existence bound to their wielders, only to be melted down alongside them.

Am I supposed to hold a memorial for them or something?

A sudden realization struck me.

Wait, I have Ryun!

He was an ent, but right now, he was also my weapon. If anyone could understand the perspective of these lost weapons, it was he.

Unhesitatingly, I raised my axe and locked eyes with him. “Ryun.”

He met my gaze, blinking slowly as if prompting me to speak.

“I didn’t sense a core in the lava monster. Did you?”

“No... I did not...”

“And you also didn’t sense anything in the lava pool?”

“Yes...”

That confirmed it. The lava monster had no core. It was nothing more than an amalgamation of lingering spirits once bound to soulsteel.

“You heard what they said earlier, right? Their people are bound to a weapon for life, and when they die, that weapon is melted down for reuse in here, the Companion's Sanctuary.”

“Yes... I recall...”

“I think those lingering souls accumulated over time, eventually forming the lava monster.”

Ryun’s eyes widened slightly in surprise.

“Since it keeps reviving, I think this trial isn’t supposed to be solved through brute force.”

“Then... what is... the answer?”

“What do you think these lingering spirits want?”

“That...” Ryun hesitated.

He was trying to approach this from a purely analytical, detached perspective—but that wasn’t what I needed.

“I know you’re not a weapon, Ryun, but right now, you are part of one. So, tell me. What would you feel if I died, and you were simply discarded?”

It would be no different from a ritual burial. By melting down the weapons and reusing the material, the followers had created an endless cycle of torture—one that erased any trace of the spirits that once inhabited those weapons.

“

Hmm.

”

“Even the first thought that appears in your mind is fine.”

“Give me... a moment...” Ryun’s gaze turned distant as he deeply contemplated something.

I remained silent, waiting. Even Doppy, sensing the weight of the moment, held his breath.

Boom— Boom—

The tremors continued, rumbling through the cavern in an unbroken rhythm.

After what felt like a long wait, Ryun finally shared, “If I... were a soul... sealed within a weapon... and after my wielder’s death... I was melted down... leaving only my lingering remnants...”

He stared at me as he trailed off.

“I would feel... regret... over the battles... left unfinished. Though, of course... I would probably also... harbor resentment. But I wouldn’t curse the one... I had fought beside... my entire life...”

“So, does that mean the lava monster will only be satisfied if I give it a proper fight?”

“That... could be the case. However... if it were me... I would seek... a new master. Someone... who could grant me... endless battles. Someone who would never die... and continue fighting... forever...”

***

Ryun’s words had made sense to me. This trial’s reward, a custom-made soulsteel weapon, aligned with his reasoning.

Unfortunately, the real issue remained—how?

The lava monster was still rampaging. To forge a weapon from soulsteel, it first had to be subdued.

Only then could the lingering souls trapped within the lava be forged into my weapon. I would keep climbing the tower, and if I truly reached godhood, I wouldn’t even succumb to old age.

Those lingering souls will have to willingly enter the weapon, too.

That led me to believe that the monster’s acknowledgement was a key piece to the puzzle. Setting aside the fact that I couldn’t directly converse with it, I also had to figure out how to earn its recognition.

Can I earn its respect by overwhelming it completely? Come to think of it, every time it died, it murmured something.

For a brief moment, it had attained a semblance of a voice.

Maybe, just maybe, I could communicate with it in that instant. If I cut it down, then spoke to it while demonstrating my might, it would listen.

No better alternatives came to mind, and I resolved to test the idea. If that failed, my last resort would be to seal the lava inside my mimic storage.

I readied my axe and strode toward the entrance.

“

Kwaaaaaah!

”

Although I had vanished from its sight for some time, the lava monster was still fixated on my last position.

Our eyes met, and a slow grin spread across my lips. I decided to start things off lightly.

I kicked off the ground, launching myself into the air. The creature tracked me with its gaze, but I didn’t care. I summoned a mana barrier and wreathed my axe in Aura.

With an ear-splitting roar, the monster unleashed a stream of molten rock.

“

Kraaaaah!

”

I didn’t bother dodging. Instead, I split the molten torrent in two with my Aura, and it passed harmlessly on either side of me. Potentially realizing the futility of its last attack, the monster raised its fist.

A direct confrontation, then. Fine.

I surged forward and sliced diagonally through its molten form.

Another sorrowful murmur, thick with regret, reverberated around me.

“Show me the mightiest version of yourself. If you impress me, I will take you as my own.”

The murmuring continued, different this time. The tone had changed.

Did it work?

I pressed forward. “You are not the ones testing me. I am the one testing you. If you prove your worth, I will grant you an eternal battle. You will never die, and you will fight forever.”

The monster’s molten remains slithered down the cavern walls, seeping into the lava pool below. Then, more quickly than before, the molten lake erupted.

The lava churned violently, boiling over in an instant. Something was different.

Sensing the impending explosion, I repeatedly kicked off the wall and the air, ascending about eighty meters over the pool of lava.

Simultaneously, the lava shot skyward. The monster now stood a towering sixty meters tall, nearly twice the size of its previous form.

Fearing for Doppy and Yoonie’s safety, I shouted while bringing my mana to its peak, “Doppy, Yoonie! Retreat!”

A vast pillar of energy flashed through the cavern. It illuminated the ceiling, and I suddenly recognized that it was an intense, crackling bolt of lightning.

The sheer magnitude of the energy surging through the air surpassed belief. For a moment, I wondered how such a bizarre occurrence had happened.

A memory of an article from a science magazine I had read long ago surfaced.

Volcanic lightning.

Yes, that was a real phenomenon. I wondered if that was what had happened here.

Although I had no way of knowing, it wasn’t a bad thing.

I shook my head, clearing my mind of the idle thoughts. Now wasn’t the time for distractions; the lava monster had taken shape once more.

Above me, the air rumbled.

Boom!

The cavern was engulfed in blinding light again, and the air almost thrummed with energy. The lava monster lifted its gaze toward me, narrowing its eyes as the crackling storm above illuminated the cavern.

Now.

I extended my hand toward the creature.

A massive bolt of lightning tore through the sky, striking the molten lake with a deafening roar. The sheer force split the lava apart, carving a path through its depths until it struck the very bottom.

Schlaaaaaaash—

Sixty meters of molten rock collapsed, crashing to the ground in a torrential cascade.

The murmuring that followed was no longer filled with sorrow. It was happy.

***

「Invisible message: Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok has been recognized by over fifty percent of the souls, completing the minimum requirement for this floor.」

「By receiving every soul’s acknowledgement, Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok has completed the hidden mission ‘Unanimous Approval.’ All stats have increased by 3.」

「Invisible message: The soulsteel weapon will be significantly stronger.」