Chapter 400: Eighty-Eighth Floor, the Factory of Decay (2)

The Community of the Dead, on the eighty-eighth floor.

[I’m so screwed lol.]

[Why?]

[I straight-up pissed myself watching Su-Hyeok.]

[You too? Bro! Same here!]

[😂😂😂]

[You don’t even have a body, how tf you pissing yourself?]

[You know what I mean~~]

[lmaooo!]

[They’re right, tho. I pissed myself in all four directions.]

[Y’all dumb af, why you all pissing yourselves?]

[Okay, but fr, you didn’t?]

[Su-Hyeok just did as he always does. What’s the problem?]

[HAHAHAHA.]

[No, but for real, that was peak Su-Hyeok. Su-Hyeok be Su-Hyeok’n!]

[“Su-Hyeok be Su-Hyeok’n”? Bruh, you think he’s your buddy now? Either slap a “Mr.” or “lord” on the end, or stick a “God” or “Light” in front!]

[Lord Su-Hyeok! Divine Su-Hyeok! God Su-Hyeok! Light Su-Hyeok! King Su-Hyeok!]

[Okay, but let’s drop “King.” Man’s way too legendary for something that basic.]

[We follow orders and still get roasted smh.]

[Ugh, these Su-Hyeok simps are something else...]

[Ahem. It’s “Shadow Su-Hyeok fan club,” thank you very much.]

[Yo, is it just me or... anyone else feel a little uneasy?]

[Uneasy about what?]

[This floor ended way too easily. What if there’s more?]

[We took down an apostle, dude. What more could there be?]

[Yeah, but isn’t that too easy? It’s the eighty-eighth floor, c’mon.]

[You sound kinda sus. Easy is good. You tryna die again or what?]

[I’m not mad about it, it’s just weird, you know?]

[Honestly, it feels like it was more about gaining divinity than anything else.]

[Lol here we go, detective brain activated.]

[The conspiracy guy strikes again. But ngl, he may be onto something.]

[Okay, but like what is all that divinity even for?]

[Bro, stop overthinking. Light Su-Hyeok’s cracked now. It isn’t like he’d struggle against some apostle? Get real.]

[Exactly! Man clapped a whole-ass god. He’s god-tier now.]

[That part was insane ngl.]

[Lowkey feels like the tower forgot how to balance things lol.]

[Right?? We literally died cause of the janky-ass balancing.]

[Lmaooo.]

[That god was never meant to be touched, and Su-Hyeok just strolled in and deleted it lol]

[So what? Looks like smooth sailing from here on out tbh.]

[Just hold on a bit more. We’re getting revived soon. LET’S GOOOO!!!!!!]

[Brooo, I need my body back. I miss having feelings.]

[Being a brain in a jar ain’t that bad.]

[Shut up. 😂]

[Y’all are a bit too optimistic tho.]

[About what?]

[You’re acting like the tower’s a pushover now.]

[Okay, but be real. We wouldn’t have made it this far without Su-Hyeok. Remember, if his individual challenge floor was that hard, who knows what he’ll face after the ninetieth floor.]

[stfu lol.]

[They’re not wrong, though. A god popped out of nowhere as part of a hidden mission. Wouldn’t be shocking if one shows up as part of the normal trial.]

[And Su-Hyeok lowkey sucks at brainy trials. No clue how he’ll handle those.]

[Nah, I believe in Su-Hyeok.]

[Stop hating, gosh.]

[I just got back from watching Lord Su-Hyeok axe-swinging in person, and y’all out here blaspheming smh.]

[Shadow Su-Hyeok fan club, ASSEMBLE! Let’s purge the nonbelievers!]

[Light Su-Hyeok! Light Su-Hyeok! Light Su-Hyeok! Light Su-Hyeok! Light Su-Hyeok! Light Su-Hyeok! Light Su-Hyeok! Light Su-Hyeok! Light Su-Hyeok!]

[Light Su-Hyeok! Light Su-Hyeok! Light Su-Hyeok! Light Su-Hyeok! Light Su-Hyeok! Light Su-Hyeok!]

[YO! YOU NUTCASES STOP SPAMMING THE CHAT!]

***

[Destroy the factory. Time remaining: 21 hours 34 minutes.]

After killing the Apostle of Decay, everything proceeded without a hitch. There was nothing left to stand in the climbers’ way.

Though the Forces of Decay still swarmed in large numbers, they posed no real threat. I stepped in to assist the climbers, and the decaying soldiers collapsed with near-absurd ease.

Of course, that only applied to me. As soon as the battle ended, the climbers dropped to the ground, sprawled out in exhaustion. We took a short break before moving on to the cleanup.

Well.

The factory was ablaze—mostly thanks to the lightning I had unleashed, although Ha Hee-Jeong and the other climbers had contributed as well. It was massive, so it had taken a fair amount of time to fully ignite.

Unfortunately, unlike the previous factory, it didn’t contain any survivors. Every non-human who hadn’t already turned into a decayed monstrosity had been found dead.

Probably because this one belonged to a god that embodies decay.

If the previous site had focused on brainwashing the living through tentacles, this one specialized in the dead and rotting. Based on what I knew, decay typically set in after death, and corrupting a corpse was far easier than manipulating the living.

It was a heartbreaking reality, but I channeled that grief into anger.

Glorious Decay.

I had a feeling he had colluded with Kalain again. Inciting conflict between their followers could generate divinity through strife.

“

Tch,

” I clicked my tongue and pushed the thought aside.

We stood once more on the same open plain we had teleported into earlier, watching the factory burn. The scorched land was littered with the remains of decaying monsters. Even after Ha Hee-Jeong incinerated the corpses, the ground itself had begun to rot. Moreover, the air reeked of filth and decay.

Aside from the crackling of the flames, all was quiet. Somehow, though, the silence didn’t feel heavy.

Many climbers stood still, their expressions distant, each one lost in their own thoughts.

Quite a few of them had their eyes on me. I felt their gazes on the back of my neck, and when I turned around, I met countless stares.

Honestly, it is a little overwhelming.

The Earthlings, having seen me in action many times before, weren’t as much moved as they were quietly reassured.

Most of them were still looking at me with admiration, although I noticed that the climbers from the other species were staring especially fervently. They gazed at me with something close to reverence. It was likely the first time they had seen me fight in full force.

Because of that, they were more hesitant to approach me than before.

Even though it had only been moments since the battle ended, something had shifted since the Quadrant of Decay. It was a subtle distance.

Only Turen approached me like always. “You’re a damn monster.”

“A monster? Come on.”

“What, are you saying that display back there wasn’t monstrous?”

“Well, you could at least say something nicer. Like call me a god of war, or I don’t know, something along those lines.”

“God of war?” Turen chuckled under his breath, then half-jokingly stated, “You’re not even embarrassed to say that? Though, to be fair, you’re not exactly wrong. Yeah, you really were a god of war out there. You freaking monster.”

He broke into laughter again. I grinned in return. The conversation didn’t go any further, but it wasn’t uncomfortable.

Turen turned to look at the factory. His eyes lost focus as he lost himself to thought, likely replaying the battlefield from just moments ago.

I also began reflecting on the trial. Watching the factory burn, I found myself questioning the true purpose of this floor.

It was easy.

From the moment Ha Hee-Jeong had briefed me on the floor, I hadn’t expected it to be all that difficult. Even with the appearance of a real apostle, I wasn’t too concerned, as we had already killed a god.

I had been more worried about protecting all the climbers and figuring out the hidden mission. Even that had been cleared smoothly, though, thanks to my divinity.

According to Ha Hee-Jeong's stories from her previous life, it wasn’t meant to be a break.

Only around sixty out of three hundred climbers had survived until then. It was a harsh and grueling trial, not something meant to be passed effortlessly.

Have I really just become that strong?

That could be part of it, but the fact that Divine Power had solved every obstacle on this floor kept nagging at me.

It felt like there was more to this floor than met the eye.

More than that, it felt like the tower had designed this floor with gods in mind.

Is it trying to teach me how to act as a god?

Perhaps it wanted to show me the value of aiding other species and joining forces to overcome hardship.

Also, the next floor apparently wouldn’t feature any fighting. It would require trust and faith.

On the surface, that seemed easier. In truth, it carried far greater risk. Taken as a whole, it pointed toward this set of all-climber floors being about earning the trust of fellow climbers.

Even so, one part still bothered me. Why force interspecies collaboration at all?

That was where my thoughts hit a wall.

The tower exists to forge gods. That applies to the other species, too.

Focusing solely on the eighty-eighth floor, it tested whether a budding god could gain every climber’s trust—even those of a different species.

That doesn’t quite make sense, though. Unless...

If they were all to fail, would I be forced to shoulder their shares? Their belief would remain, and rather than letting another god claim their world, I would inherit it.

Feels like a stretch, but still.

It wasn’t outside the realm of possibility.

My thoughts kept spiraling. If the tower truly intended to select a god for each species, then we shouldn’t have encountered one another at all.

Instead, multiple floors placed the different species side by side. Not many, but enough to form a pattern.

The fourteenth through sixteenth floors, the fiftieth and fifty-first, and now the eighty-eighth.

We encountered each other in the early, middle, and now late stages of the tower, respectively. Each time, climbers couldn’t help but compare themselves to one another, whether intentionally or not. In fact, when it came to the competition on the fiftieth, it was quite deliberate.

Of course, with Ha Hee-Jeong and me in the mix, the gap between our species had only grown.

Perhaps that was the point. Perhaps the tower wanted us to see those gaps for ourselves and reflect on them.

Even the tower’s message back at the pub had hinted at that. It had used vague phrasing, but I remembered it mentioning that the Tower of Ordeal had been activated for four intelligent species within a designated zone.

If it specified a zone, then maybe each species represented one planet to begin with.

If one failed, though, another could take over their territory.

I couldn’t say for certain.

After all, it didn’t have to be straightforward. It could be a mixture of things. Maybe all three ideas were true at once. Regardless, now wasn’t the time to think about this.

Crackle— crackle—

The flames continued to swell, and the sound of the factory being devoured by fire deepened. Occasionally, the sharp burst of something rupturing rang out and echoed beneath the roar.

Thick, acrid smoke billowed endlessly into the sky. Paradoxically, it felt as if the world was beginning to regain its light.

It is recovering faster than last time.

Since this wasn’t a low-rank factory, the world seemed to retain more of its original strength. Compared to the one I had destroyed before, this world would reclaim its light far more quickly.

I wasn’t sure how long had passed. The factories that once stood tall now sagged and crumbled, collapsing in on themselves, one after another.

Rumble.

The earth quivered with each fall.

At the same time, a new message flickered into view.

[Congratulations. Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok has conquered the eighty-eighth floor of the Tower of Ordeal: Quadrant of Decay.]

[Before calculating achievement points, the Tower of Ordeal has presented an early reward in recognition of the climbers’ destruction of a High-Rank Factory.]

[All climbers have been granted 20 to all stats. Additional rewards will be granted to the top contributor, Kwon Su-Hyeok, in the waiting room.]

[Calculating achievement points.]

I instantly turned around. Since I wasn’t particularly tall, however, and since we were standing on flat ground, I couldn’t see everyone clearly.

Despite that, I could feel a movement sweeping through the formation. One by one, the climbers’ attention shifted toward me.

Infusing my throat with mana, I announced, “Everyone, great work.”

Even those who hadn’t spotted me yet pricked up their ears.

I had intended to say something earlier, but with the ending of the trial uncertain, I had held back. It would have only made things awkward if there had been a long pause after I spoke.

“To the Earthlings, Kosharks, Subrens, and Turinas alike. It’s been a long time since we fought without a single casualty. Thank you all for staying with me and seeing it through.”

I offered everyone a faint smile.

“I don’t know when we’ll meet again, but I’ll be praying that each of you makes it safely to the top. When that time comes, I hope we can sit down and talk, and share a drink together.”

The tower’s messages continued to flick on by, tallying achievement scores, but no one was looking at them anymore.

“

Wooooaaah!!

”

“Kwon Su-Hyeok! Kwon Su-Hyeok!”

“Light Su-Hyeok! Please marry me!!”

The climbers’ cheers thundered across the field, echoing above the still-burning battlefield. There was one odd voice in the mix, but judging by the tone, it was definitely Park Sang-Hyuk.

I should probably say something about that later.

Then again, would calling him out just make him double down? Probably. Best to ignore it.

Inwardly, I let out a resigned sigh. Outwardly, I simply smiled warmly and confidently as I turned to face the climbers from four different worlds.