Chapter 401: Eighty-Ninth Floor, Waiting Room (1)

[23 hours 59 minutes until the rest period ends. Please take a rest.]

The familiar sensation of weightlessness faded, and I emerged from the darkness back into the waiting room. Even then, a dull ringing lingered in my ears.

The echo of climbers shouting at the top of their lungs and the thunder of the Kosharks’ hooves pounding against the earth still clung to me like an afterimage.

Everyone had completely ignored the tower’s message and had just shouted, almost to the point of screaming. That had just been a celebration of victory, but had been something else entirely. It felt markedly different from any trial we had overcome before.

Rather than it being about four species uniting to overcome an enemy hundreds of times their size, the fact that no one had died was the real victory. Despite the confusion, the chaos, and the overwhelming odds we had faced on the surface, we hadn’t lost a single person.

The climbers apparently credited that entirely to me.

They weren’t wrong. Everyone had done their part, but without me, it would have been impossible—even without the Apostle of Decay showing up. I had deliberately let through only as many enemies as they could withstand.

In the end, all that praise was directed at me, and even after returning, the afterglow lingered. I didn’t mind it.

The rewards aren’t anything to laugh at, either.

Although the tower had described it as only the preliminary reward, destroying the factory had raised all my stats by twenty. I didn’t particularly care about achievement points, but stat increases were a different story.

With how high my stats were, twenty extra points resulted in a far greater buff than it would for other climbers.

I had received plenty of stat boosts before, but this hidden mission had given them on a different scale entirely.

Plus, I received an additional reward as the top contributor.

As I stood lost in thought, I sensed movement from the direction of the training room. A moment later, the door flew open.

“Su-Yeok! You’re back!” Doppy, drenched in sweat, waved enthusiastically with a beaming face.

Yoonie, hovering behind him, zipped over and began circling me while excitedly murmuring, “Welcome back!”

I gave them both a nod, then narrowed my eyes at them playfully. “So, the two of you were just lounging around while I was out there getting tossed into hell?”

They jumped to defend themselves.

“Lounging?! Never! I was training hard!”

“I was watching Doppy train the whole time!”

I let out a grin. “Still, compared to the trial, it sounds pretty comfy. Don’t you think so?”

When I teased them, Doppy hesitated for a second before nodding. “Well, I guess so.”

Yoonie averted her gaze.

Meanwhile, Ryun seemed to understand the tone of the exchange and smiled silently.

“So, you

were

taking it easy.”

“

Ugh...

I wouldn’t say that exactly...” Doppy’s pupils wavered slightly as his thoughts spiraled.

He had grown quite a bit larger, but he was still just a kid.

I chuckled quietly. “I’m kidding.”

Realizing he had been played, Doppy scrunched his face and sulked. “Hey!”

Ryun let out a slow, deep laugh.

Still, jokes aside, I can’t deny it anymore.

I had a feeling Doppy wouldn’t be joining many more trials going forward.

Actually, maybe none at all.

After the eightieth floor, his presence during trials began to fade noticeably. It wasn’t strange.

He isn’t a climber. Doppy has always been an assistant, someone who supports me.

If he became a hindrance, then he wouldn’t be fulfilling that role anymore.

Starting from the ninetieth floor, that difference would become even more stark. He would be disappointed, but I thought it would be for the best. It wasn’t about him getting in the way. It was for his own good.

Doppy still couldn’t handle an apostle.

Even if he is technically Fenrike’s apostle.

They had both had a rough start. Fenrike had been sealed in Doppy’s necklace, and Doppy was a young goblin. He had grown quickly, but it hadn’t even been a year since his evolution.

Still slightly pouty, Doppy tossed me a question, “So? How was the eighty-eighth floor? Everything okay?”

“Yeah. Nothing too wild. Remember that city where we got the Essence of Decay?”

“

Oh

, the one where that thing called a missile flew at us?”

“Yeah, that one.”

To be honest, I didn’t remember that place fondly. In fact, it was probably my least favorite of the floors.

The trial and my actions had both left a bitter taste. Looking back, I regretted how I had handled it.

At the time, I hadn’t formed a clear sense of my values. The world had simply been a playground for Glorious Decay and Kalain, where they pitted different species against each other. I had simply turned away from it all, pretending it wasn’t my problem.

Unfortunately, even if I knew I could handle it better, I couldn’t change the past.

Pushing the thought aside, I turned back to Doppy. “I fought Glorious Decay’s apostle. Took down another factory, too.”

At the mention of a factory, Doppy’s eyes went wide. “You mean... like that factory?”

“Yeah. It was several times bigger than the last. There were millions of enemies. So yeah. Like I said earlier, joke or not, you had it easy this time.”

“Y-you did great!”

I motioned toward the training room with a mischievous look. “But weren’t you in the middle of training?”

“

Oh

, right!”

“Then go finish up. I’ll go wash up.”

There wasn’t much else to say. If he had been resting, perhaps I would have stayed, but since he was in the middle of training, that took priority.

If Doppy got stronger, then the chance for him to join me on a future floor only grew.

I wouldn’t mind it either way, but for his sake, it would be better for him to be involved—even if only a bit.

Doppy nodded sharply and hurried back into the training room. I stripped off my climbing gear and headed for the bath.

Only twenty-four hours of rest. Pretty short for an all-climber floor.

I didn’t care, but I figured the other climbers were probably grumbling about the lack of downtime.

It was probably because the trial had ended quickly, despite its scale.

Besides, the next floor won’t be combat-related anyway.

Although I couldn’t tell them anything in advance, there wouldn’t be any major issues.

That said, the tower had mentioned the top contributor would receive an additional reward, but I still hadn’t gotten anything.

Is it just delayed?

As if on cue, a message from Ha Hee-Jeong popped up.

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Eighty-ninth Floor): Su-Hyeok, did you get your reward yet?

Considering that it was a reward for a hidden mission this far in the tower, it only made sense that she was interested—it wasn’t going to be anything basic or boring.

- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Eighty-ninth Floor): Nope. Still hasn’t shown up.

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Eighty-ninth Floor): Huh? Really? That’s weird. Wonder what you’ll get.

- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Eighty-ninth Floor): No clue. Not like I really need anything, though.

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Eighty-ninth Floor): Got it. The eighty-ninth floor is just like I told you, so there isn’t anything to add. Let me know when your reward comes in.

- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Eighty-ninth Floor): Will do.

***

The message appeared the moment I stepped out of the shower.

[Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok contributed the most during the destruction of a High-Rank Factory.]

Rather than excitement, I felt discomfort, like it had been waiting for just that moment.

Is the tower watching my every move? If so, that means it saw me bathing, too. Yeek.

The tower wasn’t a living being, but it definitely had awareness. My encounter with Cho-Yeon had taught me that much.

It is probably genderless.

Although since Cho-Yeon had taken on a female form, I couldn’t help feeling a little uneasy.

Is it watching me right now?

I glanced up toward the empty air. Another message appeared.

[As an additional reward, Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok has been granted a one-time, free use of the Dimensional Forge (Supreme Grade).]

Huh? A free pass to the Dimensional Forge?

This was a familiar reward. The previous voucher I had received had connected me to a master craftsman who had forged the armor I still wore. Its base stats weren’t particularly high, but I was perfectly satisfied with it.

The more mana I poured into it, the stronger it became. With how much mana I had, that made its defense practically limitless. It had proven itself during the battle with Endless Furnace, blocking glancing hits and even withstanding their flames.

Not bad.

Still, it didn’t feel particularly amazing.

I had been thinking of merging the god’s horn with Soulbound.

Natalie had offered to connect me with a master craftsman, but had mentioned that I would need the horn’s recognition first. After defeating Endless Furnace, I had asked her again, and she told me it should be fine.

I had actually meant to bring my weapon to the Dimensional Forge before entering the eighty-eighth floor, since I knew I would be facing an apostle there.

Therefore, receiving this reward felt slightly disappointing.

I mean, Natalie could have just handled it herself. Hmm. Has the tower been watching our conversations, too?

It was entirely possible.

The tower’s rewards always felt tailored to exactly what I needed. In that sense, this could be interpreted as the tower conserving Natalie’s strength, but because she could have done this as well, it felt like a bit of a waste.

If even Natalie, who can sometimes glimpse the future, didn’t mention this, that can only mean one thing.

The tower had revised the reward after witnessing our exchange. Or perhaps that was simply the only suitable reward available for me.

That said, there was no reason not to use what it had already given me. Preserving Natalie’s strength could help her obtain more useful information later on.

One thing that stood out to me, however, was the “Supreme Grade” modifier on the voucher. I wasn’t exactly sure what made it special, though.

[Would you like to use your Dimensional Forge (Supreme Grade) voucher?]

“Yes.”

The flat, mechanical voice emanating from the notification window sounded the same as always.

[What item would you like to forge?]

“I’m not trying to forge a new item. I’d like to combine this horn with the double-headed axe I’m already using.”

I didn’t offer any further explanation. After all, I was speaking to the tower. It would understand what I was aiming to do.

[Connecting you to a master craftsman. Depending on their availability, this may take several minutes. Connecting...]

Although it said it could take a few minutes, a voice responded almost immediately, as if everything had been prepared in advance.

“Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok, a pleasure to meet you. I am Shen, a master weaponsmith. I understand you wish to affix a remnant of the god to your axe.”

I sensed an unfamiliar gaze upon me, most likely Shen.

Retrieving the horn from Mung-chi, I held it up alongside Soulbound. “Yes. I’d like to attach this horn to the head of the axe.”

“

Hmm

. Understood. The horn is rather long. Would you mind if I compressed it during the process?”

“

Oh

, sure. The axe is the main focus, after all.”

I had already used the horn once, so it wasn’t something I planned to keep in reserve. It was also cumbersome to wield on its own.

The horn’s power came from being a remnant of the god, so its length wasn’t especially important.

“Very well. I must say, I’m impressed,” he remarked unexpectedly.

“Sorry?”

“Handling the remains of a god typically comes with an immense cost. I’m curious what exactly you did to warrant the tower’s intervention?”

Ah. That wasn’t something I was especially interested in. The tower had probably added the “Supreme Grade” modifier due to the nature of the remains.

I offered a sheepish smile and shifted the topic, “

Haha

, how long do you think it’ll take?”

“Approximately two days.”

“Alright. Is there anything else you need from me?”

When the other craftsman had forged my armor, they had measured me and asked about my abilities. This time, however, none of that seemed necessary.

“Nothing else will be required. Since you have already synchronized with your axe, we only need to attach the horn.”

Now that he mentioned it, it made perfect sense. As expected of a master, he had likely grasped Soulbound’s nature at a glance. That alone earned my trust.

“Then I leave it in your capable hands.”

“Of course.”

A small portal materialized before me, pulling Soulbound and the horn into it. The foreign gaze vanished, and Shen’s voice faded into the distance.

Come to think of it, I still hadn’t told Ha Hee-Jeong about my reward.

- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Eighty-ninth Floor): Hey, Hee-Jeong. Just got the reward.

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Eighty-ninth Floor): Huh? What was it? What’d you get?

***

Ha Hee-Jeong’s initial impression of the reward was more or less the same as mine had been. Not bad, but slightly underwhelming.

Still, my perspective began to shift.

I recalled Shen’s earlier words—handling a god’s remains normally came at a heavy cost. If I had gone through Natalie instead, the expense would have been greater than I had anticipated.

Natalie shared that opinion. “It isn’t a bad result.”

“Right?”

“Yes. In fact, conserving our energy will allow us to utilize it better elsewhere. The tower can’t support you directly the way I can.”

I had come to Natalie’s world not only to discuss the reward but also to share divinity with Gehenna and Hyang. I had gathered some excess after defeating the apostle, so I intended to distribute it.

As I nodded, Natalie cautiously added, “

Oh

, and one more thing.”

“What? Is there something else?”

“There’s been a slight development. Something I hadn’t foreseen.”

“What is it?”

“There’s a chance you may end up responsible not only for Earth, but for other worlds as well.