Chapter 347: Eighty-Second Floor, Waiting Room (3)

[13 hours 14 minutes until the rest period ends. Please take a rest.]

If I were to describe Celestial Mountain Blossom’s effects after consuming it, I would say it was thoroughly satisfying.

In truth, even that felt like an understatement. During combat training, I went up against opponents who specialized in illusion magic, and not a single one even managed to scratch me. It was as if their mental attacks had simply ceased to register—I felt entirely unaffected.

I had been a little worried that taking the elixir would impact my development, but it turned out to be a non-issue.

Its power had naturally blended into my divinity, merging seamlessly. Rather than dulling my growth, it now protected me with quiet constancy.

At this point, most beings wouldn’t be able to affect me with a mental attack, unless they were apostles of the highest caliber or gods themselves.

Honestly, this alone is remarkable.

The idea that a single elixir could grant such formidable resistance was nothing short of extraordinary.

Additionally, something else happened, something that was perhaps even more surprising.

Doppy now could wield sword energy freely, a clear precursor to becoming a swordmaster.

According to Ryun’s—and my own—assessment, he wasn’t far off from reaching that milestone. Considering how little he had actually fought in recent trials, his growth was nothing short of astounding.

His persistence had paid off.

Though if we are being fair, most of the credit still belongs to Ryun and me.

Of course, Doppy hadn’t slacked off in the slightest. He had trained relentlessly beside me, resting even less than I, and he had even risked his life during combat training.

Even so, reaching this point alone would have been nearly impossible. Ryun’s constant guidance and my sparring sessions had helped him develop his instincts, the final push that allowed him to reach this point.

That isn’t diminishing his effort, but it is simply the reality of how grueling this path is. Especially when you consider that Doppy doesn’t have the same level of talent I do.

Doppy had expressed his gratitude to both of us.

At this rate, I wouldn’t be surprised if he developed his own Aura before the ninetieth floor. Considering that even some of the top-tier climbers like Alexei had only recently become swordmasters, Doppy’s growth had been rapid, even alarming.

Part of that could have been thanks to his maturing and evolution, but I suspected Fenrike played a role as well.

After all, his divine power has grown in equal measure.

While I had been climbing the tower, Fenrike—who had been released back on the first floor—seemed to be fulfilling his responsibilities.

An apostle’s strength is never something cultivated by oneself.

That said, Doppy did have a tendency to get overshadowed by standing next to me.

In truth, he wasn’t lacking in the slightest. He was a priest who could heal anyone—even those on the brink of death—a warrior on the verge of becoming a swordmaster, and an apostle.

The titles attached to his name were almost absurd.

In any world other than the Tower of Ordeal, he would already be called a hero.

I found myself thinking that if Doppy returned to Fenrike’s world after we conquered the tower, he could very well become a legendary figure there.

Looking back, Doppy had changed significantly.

I remembered the early days of the tower clearly, and how he had often been dismissed by other climbers, simply because he was a goblin. They saw him as no more than a weak monster from the tutorial zone.

When I still lacked influence, some had even sneered and called him a walking healing scroll.

Of course, no one dared to say that now. Some of that was thanks to the overwhelming power I had gained, but Doppy had overcome most of it on his own.

He had even sparred with fellow climbers during the previous couple of rest areas.

Wasn’t his win rate over seventy percent?

He had been going up against higher-ranked climbers, so that was an impressive feat in and of itself.

Moreover, that rate had climbed even higher during the last rest area.

Yes, my teachings had undoubtedly contributed, but still, his achievement was worth being proud of.

Some climbers, especially those who were hesitant to approach me directly, had even asked Doppy to train them. That alone made me proud.

Now that Doppy had entered the threshold of mastery, Ryun had detached from Soulbound and attached himself to Doppy’s blade.

Initially, Ryun had stayed in Soulbound to prevent any risk of him being recalled to his home world. However, now that I possessed divinity, I no longer had to worry about that. Also, Ryun was technically a part of my floor rewards.

Calling him a “reward” doesn’t feel quite right, though. Ah, he is someone I made a promise to.

After all, he was someone who had contributed to my development of divinity, similar to Gehenna and Hyang.

Ryun shifting to Doppy’s sword wasn’t a loss for me. In the past, I had relied heavily on Ryun in battle, but these days, his presence wasn’t necessary. Ryun now watched over Doppy, and I could use Soulbound freely, even storing it inside Mung-chi when needed.

“

Haaaaa.

”

Letting out a long breath, I turned my attention to Gehenna. She was lying on the ground, soaked in sweat, still struggling to catch her breath. Her exhaustion was plain to see.

I wasn’t much better.

Though I wasn’t sprawled out like her, I was seated on the floor, legs folded, feeling heavy. Sweat trickled down my forehead and cheeks. My hair was damp and clinging to my face and ears.

Maybe I should step outside the training room for a moment.

The room itself was in ruins after our sparring.

Although powerful blows usually couldn’t even dent the walls, we had somehow cracked them. The floor was in even worse shape and had caved in in multiple places, as if struck by meteorites.

We had gotten so caught up in the heat of battle that we had stopped paying attention to our surroundings.

How did it even end up like this?

This wasn’t how I had planned for things to go. I had brought Gehenna in to test my resistance to illusions. Since none of the other opponents I could summon had even caused me to falter, I figured an apostle like Gehenna would prove to be a better benchmark.

While I was at it, I had brought Natalie and Hyang along as well.

Gehenna’s illusions had affected me slightly, requiring a small amount of divinity to break through them.

There was this subtle sense of dissonance, like reality was just slightly off.

Then, on an impulse, we had decided to fight for real, and well, things escalated from there.

Fortunately, I snapped out of it in time and sent the others back to Natalie’s world. We had both become too absorbed in the battle.

Still, it isn’t too bad.

For Gehenna, who normally lived in endless monotony—and for me as well—it had been a while since either of us had faced a worthy opponent.

Of course, as someone known as a Great Yokai, she wasn’t easy to handle. Although she was my apostle now, she had once served another god. From the moment we met, I had thought we were alike.

Realistically, it was strange for an apostle to match their deity in strength, but I hadn’t used Divine Power, so training had been possible. The moment I did, it wouldn’t even be close.

“

Phew.

”

Letting out a deep breath, I rose to my feet.

There was no point in resting here for too long. If I wanted to rest, I could just do it in the hot springs.

“You did well. Time to get up.”

“Okay.” Gehenna slowly sat up, still unsteady.

“I’ll wash up quickly. Just wait a bit.” I turned away and headed for the bathroom, opening a portal to Natalie’s world along the way so the others could return.

Of course, I had always rinsed off quickly before entering the hot spring. Even though the water was purified over time, it didn’t feel right going in covered in sweat and dirt.

Still, even a short rinse used to take time.

Moreover, even if I only used water, I would have to wait to dry off afterward.

Not anymore, however.

Thanks to my wind spirit, my shower time had been cut down dramatically. With it, I could manipulate gusts to guide the water precisely. The fine control made it feel as if I was deep cleaning every single pore. It was a strangely pleasant sensation.

Like every last speck of dust is stripped away.

I didn’t need a towel, either, since I could dry myself off instantly. I simply let the shower run for a short while, and within ten seconds, I had cleaned and dried myself completely.

I stepped out of the shower, threw on a robe, and walked back into the waiting room. Hyang, Natalie, and Doppy were seated in their chairs, while Gehenna stood just outside the bath area.

“You should wash up and get some rest. I’ll be soaking in the spring.”

“Okay.” Gehenna nodded, brushing aside strands of hair covered with sweat and dust as she entered the bathroom.

Hmm.

Now that I thought about it, I hadn’t prepared any clothing specifically for her.

Well, the climbing uniform should do.

It was designed to be unisex and could adjust freely to fit any body type.

I placed a spare set just outside the bathroom door, then turned back toward the others. They were chatting away, with Hyang doing most of the talking. She seemed to be asking questions, while Doppy and Natalie answered in turn.

It was a wholesome sight.

Come to think of it, we have probably passed mealtime.

Including testing my illusion resistance, Gehenna and I had been training nonstop for nearly three hours, so the others were likely getting hungry. Since I would be heading to the training hot spring, eating together wasn’t going to be possible.

I pulled out Mung-chi and tossed it to Doppy.

“Hungry? Grab whatever you want and eat with the others. Make sure to set something aside for Gehenna, too.”

“Can I eat a lot?!”

“Yeah, eat up and rest well. You’ll be training again soon.”

“Got it!” Doppy replied enthusiastically.

Smiling, I made my way toward the training room.

Aside from the time I had spent chatting with Ha Hee-Jeong and taking the elixir, I had been purely training. Naturally, fatigue was setting in.

I had gotten an hour of deep sleep while the elixir worked its way through my system, but the match with Gehenna had been taxing.

Easing into the hot spring, I leaned back and draped a towel over my face. As the heat enveloped me, a wave of comfort washed over me. Sinking into a state just shy of sleep, I began laying out the plan for the time I had left.

Roughly twelve hours remaining.

Once I left the spring, I would eat something and rest for an hour. After that, I would resume training.

When three hours were left, I could rest again before completing a final bout of training. Since I would be entering the eighty-second floor, I would just lightly warm up.

As I mentally walked through the schedule, I heard the door to the training room swing open.

Doppy?

No one else was supposed to come in. It didn’t seem like we would run out of food. Maybe he suddenly craved something else.

I lifted the towel and turned my head.

What...

I saw someone I hadn’t anticipated. Gehenna stood at the entrance in nothing but a bathrobe, damp hair cascading past her shoulders. The sight caught me off guard.

“

Uh

, what? Why are you here?”

“I heard about these springs from Doppy. Apparently, they accelerate recovery and accelerate one’s growth.”

“That’s true, but,

umm,

are you coming in?”

“Why not? Is there some issue with that?” She stepped closer, her expression unreadable.

“No, not exactly, it’s just...”

How am I supposed to put this into words?

Gehenna didn’t seem to have any hidden motives, but it still felt awkward. Sharing a hot spring with a woman wasn’t exactly something I was used to.

Probably a byproduct of Korea’s Confucian cultural roots.

“Why do you keep trailing off mid-sentence?”

“Well, I’m a guy, and you’re... you know... a woman.”

“What does that have to do with soaking in a spring? It’s not like we’re undressing completely.” Gehenna narrowed her eyes faintly. “Wait. You see me as a woman?”

“No! That’s not what I meant.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

Without waiting for a response, she walked toward the water and stepped in, sitting on the opposite side of the spring. The ends of her reddish-gold hair floated gently atop the surface.

Hmm.

It was already too late to stop her.

To be honest, I didn’t have a solid reason to ask her to leave.

An undeniable awkwardness settled between us. Though we came from different worlds with different norms, this kind of situation still felt deeply unfamiliar to me.

Welp.

Gehenna was now staring at me openly.

Unable to meet her gaze, I put the towel back over my face.

I need to get out of here. As soon as possible.