Chapter 416: Ninetieth Floor, Feast (3)

My mouth fell open in surprise, completely unprepared for such a revelation.

Though Thunder Axe had tried to stay composed, their voice had carried a multitude of emotions that mirrored the expression they wore.

What a coincidence.

I searched my memory, thinking back to the sponsor selection process. For promising climbers, hundreds, if not thousands, of gods offered themselves as sponsors.

What are the odds that both of us chose Thunder Axe?

The probability was so slim it defied estimation. Despite that, it wasn’t entirely incomprehensible. Although not entirely comparable, lightning did strike people more than once.

Aside from that, the depth of Thunder Axe’s feelings was apparent.

From what I had seen, their temperament was similar to mine. They would have suffered watching Kalain grow dull and crumble bit by bit after entering the tower, especially now that he wielded immense influence and stood in direct opposition to them.

“Strange, isn’t it? Well, you only chose me after going back to the past, but still.” Thunder Axe laughed self-deprecatingly and shrugged their shoulders.

Something about the way they had spoken made me pause. Once again, they made it seem as if I had regressed, despite my correction earlier.

Was it deliberate? Or was it simply inconvenient for them to specify that Ha Hee-Jeong had regressed?

“A curious coincidence,” I remarked instead, letting it go.

Another comment had my focus. I wasn’t only surprised that Thunder Axe had been Kalain’s sponsor.

“But when you say ‘the first challenger’—”

“Exactly what it sounds like. Kalain was the first to refuse the poisoned apple.”

The poisoned apple had to refer to the status window. From my perspective, though, it wasn’t something I could easily sympathize with.

If the status window was a poisoned apple, the alternative was an ocean of poison. Speaking from the view of someone who had survived becoming a challenger, climbing the tower with that title was nearly impossible unless one possessed overwhelming talent.

Of course, given that the sample pool encompassed the entire universe, perhaps that played a part as well.

“So before that, there really hadn’t been anyone? Or do you mean no one had conquered the tower as a challenger?”

“The former. No, well, the latter’s true too, I suppose. In the end, he achieved both.” Thunder Axe let out a faint sigh. “He climbed the tower shortly after the laws had been revised. Naturally, he drew a great deal of attention. Making such a decision while faced with a transcendent entity and a series of ordeals is no easy feat.”

As if seeking my agreement, they added, “You, too, only became a challenger in your second life.”

I frowned slightly. Again, my sponsor referred to this life as my second. Rather than point it out, I silently agreed. After all, I had chosen to view the status window before Ha Hee-Jeong’s regression.

Just like Thunder Axe had mentioned, refusing it wasn’t easy.

[Please open the status window next. To open the status window, say ‘Status Window’ aloud.]

How many sentient beings can say they would refuse those instructions? Especially considering that a seemingly omnipotent entity makes the demand.

Even if someone was suspicious in the beginning, if the messages kept coming, urging them to choose, could they keep their resolve?

The tower pressured a climber into deciding by listing the benefits and drawbacks of viewing the status window and establishing a time limit. Without an unusually stubborn will, refusing was far from the obvious choice.

“Of course, there were many challengers after Kalain and before you. But none made it past the twentieth floor.”

I nodded silently. That was something I had guessed on the fifty-second floor. I had found out that a challenger could leave a phantom after completing the floor, and the phantom I had seen was Kalain.

Still, hearing that none had surpassed the twentieth floor shocked me.

Back then, I had assumed that Kalain had conquered the tower fairly recently, partly because challengers were rare. Moreover, despite how difficult the trials were, the tower had the entire universe to choose from.

Surely at least one person had reached the fifty-second floor.

“How long ago did Kalain conquer the tower?”

“Four thousand years.”

Their response shut my brain down. Such a span of time appeared unfathomable to me.

I was twenty-four, no, twenty-five when I counted the time spent in the tower. Even if I lived my life a hundred times over, it would barely cover half of that period.

My earlier assumption had been wrong.

I couldn’t say what four thousand years meant to a god, but I expected that Kalain had become a first-class god in that time. What shocked me more, however, was that in all those millennia, no one but I had accomplished what Kalain had.

It drove home the weight of my own talent. I was the first challenger to surpass the twentieth floor in the entire universe in four thousand years, an undeniable genius.

The tower’s constraints feel even more insidious now.

The issue of job selection was one such example of its pitfalls. Even someone as talented as I had failed to conquer the tower as a mage. Clearly, the problem wasn’t just the status window.

My thoughts circled back to Kalain. “What kind of person is he?”

“A remarkable one. You would think that four thousand years would barely be enough to become a first-class god, but...”

Did they read my mind just now?

Perhaps, although they were undeniably wise from the countless years they had lived. The weight of that experience was beyond my imagination.

For the first time, they reached for a bottle of liquor on the table. Pouring themselves a glass, they glanced my way.

“Care for a drink?”

Their offer seemed rather sudden during such a heavy conversation, but I didn’t mind. “I won’t say no.”

The conversation had grown rather weighty, and I was curious about what kind of alcohol a god drank. A part of me even hoped that it would loosen their tongue a little more. Even if they couldn’t become inebriated, sharing drinks brought a sort of mental ease.

Thunder Axe poured me a drink. The liquid was a deep red, and as soon as its aroma spread, I could tell the wine wasn’t ordinary.

A faint smile touched their lips. “It’s your first time, so be careful. Unlike your normal drink, this one can even get a god drunk.”

“Thank you.”

They raised their glass toward me in a toast, and we lightly tapped our glasses together. From the clear, ringing chime the glasses emanated, I could tell the glasses were just as extraordinary as the wine.

I took a brief moment to savor the fragrance before bringing the glass to my lips. The cool liquid caressed the tip of my tongue. The wine was exquisite, astonishingly so. Though I knew little about wine, calling it the finest I had ever tasted still felt insufficient.

“You seem to like it.”

“It’s the best I’ve ever had.”

They nodded, clearly pleased, although the atmosphere turned serious a moment later.

“In any case—continuing from before—it’s not easy for a god to improve. It can take hundreds, if not thousands of years, to advance by a single tier.”

“That sounds grueling.”

“For most, yes. But challengers like you or Kalain have an advantage. The harder the climb, the easier things become afterward. An equivalent exchange, you could say. Even so, Kalain was exceptional.”

They set down their glass. “He became a first-class god in record time. Hatred shaped him. You’ve experienced that much yourself.”

That was definitely true.

Even though my time with Kalain’s phantom had been short, it had been more than enough to catch a glimpse of that hatred from his muttered words.

Thunder Axe’s brow furrowed ever so slightly. “Somehow, our conversation has strayed quite a bit. Personally, I agree with your perspective. Even if the changes were intended to be positive, they’ve caused more harm than good.”

With a trace of self-mockery, they remarked, “Though in truth, most gods are victims. But that doesn’t grant them a free pass to perpetrate harm.”

Thunder Axe had surprisingly shared their opinion on the conflicts between gods. Ha Hee-Jeong had once explained that a first-class god could hold dominion over lesser gods, who in turn could command others.

𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

“Then, Thunder Axe, do you—”

“To be clear, I have never once exploited anyone.”

A faint air of displeasure radiated from them.

Is it deliberate?

My quick-thinking mind decided it was. I didn’t challenge the statement. It felt sincere, and even if it wasn’t, it wasn’t something I could confirm at my current level.

I had expected them to answer this way, but I simply wanted to ask. Perhaps they understood my intent, because they didn’t press the topic further.

We locked gazes. “Your path will be filled with obstacles. You’re trying to erase what gods regard as their property and their rights.”

“That’s true.”

It wouldn’t be an easy fight. Reality could bring me crashing down to earth, but I planned to see how far I could go. Surely others thought as I did—Thunder Axe, for one.

They refilled my empty glass, and as the discussion returned to the main topic, a previous remark of theirs lingered in my mind.

“Earlier, you said that I was even more radical than Kalain—”

“Both of your goals align, but you want to go a step further.”

“What?” I asked before I could stop myself.

I had always considered Kalain and me to be opposites. How could my goal be similar to his?

“Kalain’s hatred spreads across every world, toward the tower, and at all the gods. He agrees that they have to be destroyed.”

“And when you say a step further—”

“Kalain seeks to become the ruler of it all, to crush all resistance underfoot. With everything beneath him, he can shape it as he wishes. Conflict would cease, and the tower would change.” Thunder Axe sipped their wine. “But you intend to erase it all. You said that if each world were kept separate, gods would be unnecessary. I doubt you meant it as some solemn vow, but it is the logical extreme of your words.”

I hesitated before responding, “Yes.”

“Kalain’s vision retains the gods. That’s why he has allies, as there are those who hope to receive scraps from his table. In truth, he’s merely using them.”

I finally understood why Thunder Axe had called my stance more radical. By my reasoning, even gods who shared my ideals could end up my enemies.

Not that I had dwelt much on that idea. In truth, I didn’t truly believe it was possible. As Thunder Axe had said, it was more a passing thought than a goal. Perhaps they were using this conversation to help me picture the future, though.

“But can Kalain even become the ruler of everything? Aren’t there rules?”

It was a question I had long had. Even I, stuck in the tower, knew how recklessly Kalain trespassed into other worlds. That was an act the tower strictly forbade.

Even if he relied on loopholes, it happened far too often. The fact that Thunder Axe knew of his plan meant he was already under the scrutiny of the other high-ranking gods.

“He is a challenger.”

The statement felt oddly abrupt.

“A challenger’s potential is limitless, hence the title. Your capacity for growth far exceeds mine.”

They sighed. “Though we created this outcome ourselves.”

Their words came across as deeply regretful. By saying ‘we,’ they implied there was an opposition, as well.

“That potential remains even after the tower. Being a challenger isn’t just about having the right to become a complete god.”

“Is this related to what you mentioned earlier?”

“That’s right. The harder the climb, the greater the growth afterward. In fact, when the laws were amended, we wondered if anyone could even conquer the tower as a challenger.”

If even a first-class god thought that, being a challenger was far harder than I had imagined. Ha Hee-Jeong, who had known the future, hadn’t been forced to give up simply from a lack of skill.

“That is also why the rewards are so great. Even when you played your trump card, your status as a challenger ultimately allowed you to slay a god.”

What began as an uncertain discussion was now yielding valuable insights about challengers. Though to what extent challengers could flaunt the rules, I couldn’t say.

A sudden worry struck me. If I were Kalain, I wouldn’t let such a dangerous opponent grow unchecked.

“Do you think I can actually make it?”

“What do you mean?”

“If I were Kalain, I would attack any challenger before they could grow, crushing them while it was still manageable.”

Despite the earnestness in my tone, Thunder Axe simply smiled faintly.

“Well...” they trailed off, not avoiding my question, but carefully weighing their words. “I’d like to help you, but I’m not sure you’ll need my help.”

I frowned slightly, not quite able to interpret what they were saying.

How can they know whether or not I will need their help?

The comment didn’t appear to stem from my status as a challenger. Their long pause made me think the statement held more meaning than they let on.

When I looked at them questioningly, they finally added, “You’re special.”

Then came another long pause. They emptied their glass and refilled it, as did I. The exquisite taste lingered on my tongue, a faint feeling of intoxication rising even as my mind remained sharply alert.

“And I don’t mean special merely because you’re a challenger like Kalain. The tower chose you.”

“What exactly do you mean by that?”

“I can’t tell you any more than that.”

They fell silent again.

My thoughts spiraled, and they allowed the silence to stand, as if giving me space to think.

A challenger.

I had always assumed my uniqueness came from that title, that the tower simply favored me because of it. Thunder Axe was implying that it went deeper than that, though.

At some point, I formed the faintest idea. “Did Kalain ever return to the past?”

Thunder Axe shook their head.

“Then does my specialness have anything to do with Ha Hee-Jeong’s regression?”

They didn’t confirm or deny it, but I caught a hint of affirmation in their expression.

It was a reasonable conclusion. This wasn’t merely about changing the past; it was about an act that affected even the gods.

Ha Hee-Jeong’s regression had been carried out through the Dice of Fate, borrowing the power of the Tower of Ordeal created by the Primordial God. That meant the tower itself had sanctioned it.

I realized then that her regression wasn’t simply so Thunder Axe or the Master of the Five Carriage Wheels could gain a powerful ally.

Ha Hee-Jeong’s regression had been for the purpose of enabling mine.

My “regression” was the will of the tower.

***

「Invisible message: The first-class god Omniscient Thunder Axe is delivering information beyond the permissible level to Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok.」

「Invisible message: The Tower of Ordeal has imposed a penalty on the first-class god Omniscient Thunder Axe.」

「Invisible message: The first-class god Omniscient Thunder Axe has willingly accepted the penalty.」