Chapter 43: Eleventh Floor, Two Doors (1)

The Community.

[Is it true that Zone 1 provided everything for free?]

[Yeah, for real. Each cafeteria item costs 1 point. I trembled buying even a single beer.]

[(Breaking News) Climbers in the lowest rung of the leaderboard had to pay 10 points for lodging lol.]

[That's why some people even ended up sleeping in the hallway 😂.]

[Do you guys not have achievement points? What's the big deal about 1, or even 10 points?]

The Community was ablaze as usual, although this time the conversation was centered around the difference between the tenth floor’s zones.

Ha Hee-Jeong had been right about the treatment of climbers in other zones. Climbers in the bottom section of the leaderboard had to pay 1 point for food and 10 points for lodging. That doesn’t seem like much at first glance, but it was a different story when you accounted for the sheer number of climbers.

A hundred thousand people spending 1 point on food meant 100,000 points that could have been used to strengthen the climbers instead. And to think the only difference was a petty ranking on a leaderboard.

Everyone had expected spirits to rise after resting on the tenth floor, but the Community had exposed the unpleasant distinction between the zones.

"Sigh.

"

I sighed heavily, closing the notification window. Nothing much had happened since purchasing the gauntlet. Although I had continued to peruse the armory, I wouldn’t have been able to buy anything since I was out of points. However, I still needed to pay for my repairs, so with no other choice, the loot in my inventory was used as payment.

Apart from receiving some tips on mana manipulation from Ha Hee-Jeong, the rest of the time was spent wandering around the rest area and eventually returning to the waiting room. Now, the only thing left was waiting for the eleventh floor, and preparing to conquer the challenge all by myself.

[The eleventh floor is an individual challenge. 20 minutes until the rest period ends. Please take a rest.]

***

[Welcome to the eleventh floor of the Tower of Ordeal.]

[Eliminate all enemies. Time remaining: 11 hours 59 minutes.]

[Kwon Su-Hyeok (Earthling, C-66432)]

Title: Seeker of the Crossroads

Affiliation: None

Patron Deity: First class, Omniscient Thunder Axe (Share percentage: 1.09%(-?.??%) / 100.00%)

Strength: 98.4

Agility: 92.7

Stamina: 95.1

Mana: 56.8

Skills: Lightning Essence lvl 7, Sixth Sense lvl 10...

After the bland voice narrating the message faded, my surroundings brightened. I immediately checked my status upon entering the eleventh floor. All previously restricted stats had been restored, and the Mana Accumulating Gauntlet had additionally boosted my stats by two.

After spending so much time with limited stats, being at full strength felt truly energizing. Seeing the jump in my stats naturally boosted my spirits as well.

Come to think of it, my sponsor hasn’t reached out since the seventh floor.

I recalled many climbers in the rest area had discussed the sponsorships they had received—skills, equipment, and more. My team members had also benefited from their sponsors, but mine hadn’t given me anything I could use on myself.

They say good patrons don't sponsor blindly, but still...

It would be nice if my sponsor provided more support. Maybe the pre-sponsorship on the seventh floor had overtaxed my patron deity. Well, I wouldn’t know since it was a godly matter.

Eventually, I will hear something. But right now, I need to focus.

Finishing this line of thought allowed me to mentally prepare myself for the eleventh floor. Before me stretched a corridor identical to the one on the first floor. One thing I had noticed, however, was that the eleventh floor didn’t have a name. From the sixth floor onward, each level had been named—the Lost World of the Corrupted, the Eerie Forest, et cetera.

Are individual challenge floors nameless? Ah, I am not sure.

Almost as if mimicking the first floor, the eleventh floor’s challenge was to eliminate all enemies. It appeared this floor was intended to test my capabilities further.

Another difference that struck me was that the corridors lacked the ominous darkness from before.

Does the tower think I have outgrown such simple challenges?

Or perhaps the challenge would be more difficult without the shroud of darkness... Regardless, my path was clear.

Standing in the sealed corridor, I was flooded with memories of the first floor. The time when I narrowly dodged arrows or had to fight tooth and nail to overcome goblins felt intensely nostalgic. It felt like I was stepping onto the first floor of the tower again, though I had changed too much for the feeling to be entirely the same.

𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

“Kriee!

Su-Yeok!"

Doppy's voice snapped me out of my reverie, its expression questioning why we weren't moving yet.

“Right, let's go."

It was time to press forward. There was no need to spend any longer lingering on the memories of the past. I had done enough of that in the rest area and felt prepared to conquer any new ordeals that stood in my way. Stepping cautiously forward, I began to ponder the nature of the eleventh floor.

It’s been quite a few floors since I have had to deal with traps.

Traps had been conspicuously absent from the sixth floor through the ninth, even in the Maze of Kashatum.

Don't get complacent.

Even without traps, I could still suffer at the hands of hostile monsters. Ha Hee-Jeong had given me a crucial piece of advice.

“Never underestimate a goblin.”

Even within the same species, the strength of each individual can vary drastically. One good example would be to compare an ordinary person to a UFC fighter. Both are human, yet their combat abilities are worlds apart.

I had even previously met Fenrike, a goblin who was also a god. This difference in strength didn’t just appear between classes or roles like paladin or warrior either. Ha Hee-Jeong emphasized that even goblin warriors varied in strength from level to level—discounting them all could be fatal.

Also, I don’t have a shield anymore.

Since I had opted for the weapon that suited my combat style more—the double-headed axe—I needed both of my hands to unleash its full power. Thus, I had passed my old shield to Seo Ho-Su.

Without my shield, I needed to maintain a heightened vigilance. Even though I had breezed through the last floor that required combat, Ha Hee-Jeong had warned me the eleventh floor could be as challenging as the tutorial.

“Roaaar!”

I navigated the dimly lit corridor until I noticed two figures obstructing the way. They were armored from head to toe in imposing plate armor, with helmets obscuring their faces. It was impossible to discern their species.

Upon spotting me, they charged, letting out a terrifying war cry. Their swords gleamed menacingly in the flickering torchlight.

“Doppy, step back.”

“

Kriee!

Understood!"

Clad in iron plate armor, these enemies were perfect targets for a lightning attack. However, I resolved not to rely on Lightning Essence this time.

I need to develop my fighting skills.

It was a thought that had crossed my mind in the rest area. There was no room for error in the Tower of Ordeal as a single misstep could mean failure. Beyond the brief respite offered on every tenth floor, each level demanded absolute focus, and reliance on simple brute force would only end in disaster.

I had a lot to learn about the nuances of combat.

So far, I hadn't put in much effort to truly master the axe, as it hadn’t seemed necessary. The lower floors posed little to no challenge, and outside of a couple of intense battles such as Karaksh and the Seraphim Queen, I hadn’t needed to do more than block or dodge and then attack.

When I started the tutorial, I was unskilled in combat...

The goblins and orcs I had faced during the tutorial seemed more formidable than any seraphim or weretigers I had encountered later. It was crucial that I avoided focusing merely on enhancing my stats or rushing through floors for quick achievement points.

I especially have to use my time well on floors like this one, where I face the challenges alone.

The floors in the tutorial had left little room for anything other than survival. I hadn’t learned how to fight properly in the battle with the goblin paladin since it had been such a close call, and Karaksh’s attacks had been so predictable that I hadn’t needed to develop my skills at all.

While I had been told I was naturally suited to wielding an axe, my skills still felt unrefined.

There's so much more to learn.

Now, I needed to seize the opportunity in front of me, to truly hone my axemanship against these armored foes, who were likely skilled swordsmen. Although an axe primarily served to cleave and crush rather than slice, encountering these swordsmen would undoubtedly reveal tactics I could adapt and apply.

And if not axemanship, then at least I would cultivate a fundamental sense of combat.

Since conquering the sixth floor, I had relied more on raw power than finesse in combat.

Though I have always had good snap judgment...

Enhancing my understanding of combat dynamics would invariably refine my decision-making skills.

The Seraphim Queen had utilized her tail in combat, and I wouldn’t have been able to dodge the unexpected attacks if it weren’t for my obscenely high stats. The outcome would be up for question if our physical capabilities had been equal. I acknowledged the need for further training.

“Kraaaaa!"

The closest attacker screamed again as it lunged toward me.

First and foremost, I knew I had to maintain a seamless flow of mana within my body, letting it move as fluidly as water. I recalled the mana manipulation techniques Ha Hee-Jeong had taught me, then focused on minimizing any disruptions to the rhythm of my movements.

[Orc Guardian]

A notification appeared in front of me, which I immediately dismissed to focus on the fight at hand.

My opponents lunged simultaneously at me with their swords from both sides.

First, I need to deal with the one from the left...

Click—

I felt a trap spring underfoot as I pivoted left.

What?

I strained my ears, but the noise of an arrow firing I had anticipated was absent.

Pwish—

Instead, I heard a slicing sound whistling to my right.

This feeling... It must be an arrow.

It appeared to be a silent trap that made no sound when it fired an arrow.

Now my opponents thrust at me from the front. I reacted swiftly by raising my axe and deflecting the arrow.

I have to step back...

The orc guardians’ swordplay proved to be unexpectedly fierce. I retreated a step to dodge another synchronized strike that targeted both my left and right.

Click—

I sensed another trap activating beneath me once more.

Ugh, what now?

I had just walked this path, so a trap activating now made no sense. Realizing this wasn’t the time to ponder, I focused on preparing to dodge.

Again, I didn’t hear anything fire.

Swish!

The air-splitting noise echoed from my upper right again.

“Hmph!"

I countered the pair of thrusting swords with my axe. Stepping back to dodge the incoming arrow, I triggered the trap again, but this time I heard it activate behind me. I tuned into the sound, quickly turning my head to dodge another arrow.

Ah-ha. These are the challenges on this floor.

The traps on the eleventh floor were upgraded versions of the first floor’s traps. They were set to trigger only after a climber encountered enemies.

Wait. If that is the case, would stepping on the same spot again activate the trap?

I could dodge the arrows while fighting, but if I moved back further, they could strike Doppy.

Thankfully, the situation wasn’t too bad. After all, I intended to improve my axe skills. Fighting without being able to more more than three steps was like training in hard mode.

“Die! Intruder!”

Two swords came at me, the second coming in slightly after the first, which I swiftly intercepted with two short axe swings.

Not letting its rebounding sword falter, the orc guardian twisted its wrist, redirecting the deflected sword. I parried the incoming sword again with my axe.

“

Graaaah!”

I wanted to seize the opening, but another orc guardian lunged at me with its sword. Twisting my axe, I blocked the thrust.

Their coordination was tight and well-executed. These were definitely the strongest opponents I had faced so far. But they were too predictable. Was there a reason they were clad in plate armor and acting like guardians...

Are they trying to be knights?

Well, I refused to play by their rules. After all, I had more than just my axe.

I delivered a low kick to the one on my left. As one orc staggered, the other swung at me from my right. I deflected the sword before bringing my axe down onto the left orc's shoulder. The edge cut through its armor, sinking deeply.

One down.

There was one more to go. Two against one was fine, but traditional one-on-one training was always better. Now was the perfect time to study its swordsmanship.

“Human!"

Fueled by anger over its fallen comrade, the orc screamed and swung its sword wildly.

Hmm, if it rages too much it won't be able to wield it properly...

I swung my axe to meet its blade.

***

[Eliminate all enemies. Time remaining: 5 hours 53 minutes.]

It took me about six hours to reach the boss room. I doubted the eleventh floor was supposed to take that long, but I had spent most of that time on personal training.

Anyway, it was time to enter the boss room.

[Would you like to enter the boss room?]

“Yes."

Unlike the first floor, I wasn’t teleported to an arena surrounded by lava. As the room brightened, I didn’t spot any enemies. Instead...

[Choose one of two doors and proceed. Time remaining: 5 hours 52 minutes.]

A black door and a red door stood before me, waiting.

***

「Invisible message: Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok has developed a unique axe-based fighting style. His stats have been increased by 2.」

「Invisible message: Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok has not named his skill. He has gained the skill Axemanship lvl 1.」

...

「Invisible message: Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok’s skills have leveled up. Axemanship is now lvl 2. Combat Focus is now lvl 12.」