Chapter 473: Ninety-Eighth Floor, Waiting Room (1)

[This decision cannot be reversed. Are you certain?]

The notification asking for my confirmation felt unnecessary, but it didn’t feel as if the tower was trying to dissuade me. Rather, it felt like a formal process that had to be completed.

Even if the tower tried to stop me, I wouldn’t change my decision.

I nodded. “Yes.”

The moment I answered, the wraith’s chill beneath my fingertips began to fade. When I looked down, I saw that it was slowly breaking apart. It wasn’t disintegrating into nothingness, however. The dark energy that had once surrounded it was dissipating, and its fragments were turning into countless motes of radiant light.

Even then, the wraith’s gaze remained locked onto me. “Thank you.”

It wasn’t expecting a response, and I didn’t have anything to say. All I could do was watch. Soon, the light faded from its eyes. A soft wind began to stir, one not from Poong-Lyeong. It was a natural breeze, flowing gently through this darkened world. The scattered fragments of light drifted with the wind and floated up toward the sky.

They glimmered faintly against the black heavens as they faded one by one.

When the last of the light disappeared, only the faint warmth of the emotions I had shared with the climbers remained. I stood quietly and let that warmth settle inside me.

It feels strangely comforting.

At least the struggle had been worth something.

I raised my head to the dark sky. The fragments of light that had floated upward were gone now, lost to sight. Regardless, I drew comfort in knowing that the climbers remained somewhere, contemplating their newfound freedom, just as I had hoped.

[The promise made by The Coming Dawn will be fulfilled once he conquers the Tower of Ordeal.]

I instinctively furrowed my brow, and the moment subsided slightly. If the promise would only take effect once I conquered the tower, why had it asked me to choose now? It could have been settled later, all at once. It wasn’t like that hadn’t happened before.

As the thought crossed my mind, a surge of divinity flooded into me, immense even compared to what I already held. The wraiths had placed their faith in me.

The wraiths... no, not wraiths. Fallen climbers.

Many things factored into the purity of the divinity I earned. The depth of the believer’s faith, the nature of their relationship with their god, and even their own power. It was something I had come to understand over time.

One high-ranking climber generates more divine energy than two weaker ones.

Of course, that was on average, not a hard and fast rule. That rough formula explained why both the amount and quality of divinity flowing into me were deeply satisfying. Perhaps that was why the tower had asked me for my decision now, even though the result would only take effect after I conquered the Tower of Ordeal.

As I considered this, the message concluded its calculations and signaled the end of the trial.

[Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok will now enter the waiting room.]

After confirming the message, I turned to the nearby Poong-Lyeong. “Good work.”

It wasn’t just a polite remark. The fight had been long, tedious, and exhausting. I had taken hits, unable to unleash my full power, and Poong-Lyeong had endured alongside me. It had controlled the Flame of Aspiration, channeled storms, and reinforced my movements.

The spirit smiled faintly. “Thank you, Su-Hyeok. You worked hard as well.”

Having been with me for so long, it never wasted words.

I returned the smile. “Yeah.”

***

[47 hours 31 minutes until the rest period ends. Please take a rest.]

Once I entered the waiting room, I went about things as usual.

After a brief shower, I lowered myself into the hot springs and reflected on the previous floor. It had been difficult, but not without reward. I had made contact with the climbers who came before me, shared their emotions, and freed them from their suffering.

Well, they aren’t fully free yet, but I did what I could.

Reaching the hundredth floor was no longer a matter of if, but when.

At first, I had intended to rely solely on my own strength without testing my new pieces of equipment, but as the battle dragged on, I inevitably made use of them. The fight had lasted too long to rely on instinct alone, and in doing so, I discovered applications I hadn’t considered before. They were worth refining.

Two days in the waiting room wasn’t much time, but it was enough. I could use it to review, analyze, and polish the techniques I had developed.

Still, one thought lingered in the back of my mind.

I wonder what the fallen climbers will choose.

I had given them complete freedom. They could choose to become my soldiers if they wished, or dwell within Soulbound like the others. Few would likely choose the latter, given that they had a chance to live again. Among the hundreds of millions, though, there would surely be some who chose to follow me.

The memory of our shared bond still lingered vividly.

Hmm. What will they be like if they choose to fight for me? Will they become apostles, like Gehenna?

No, that didn’t seem right.

Apostles weren’t so easily made, and it was impossible to bestow that many with my divinity. In that case, I would have to give them a world to inhabit instead.

Where shall they go?

I couldn’t simply use Natalie’s world or Seorden’s Forest. Earth was also out of the question. The humans—and even the previous climbers—would be uncomfortable with their presence.

Maybe there is only one option.

Providing them with the world I had earned on the ninety-fourth floor. It would be empty and uninhabited, a place they could make their own. I could provide them with food and water, and with time, they could cultivate the soil and sustain themselves.

My only concern was the presence of the Seed of Annihilation and the Star Devourer. Still, if I warned them to be careful, they would manage.

They won’t be forced into it and will be there of their own will.

Moreover, if either the Seed of Annihilation or the Star Devourer showed signs of instability, they could alert me immediately. Through divinity, I could communicate and respond quickly if needed.

If I ever had to use that battlefield, they would already be prepared. The more I thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed.

Well, maybe not. Am I just getting ahead of myself?

Perhaps I was assuming too much, imagining that there would be far more of them there than there actually would be. Even with how many fallen climbers there were, there wouldn’t necessarily be a lot. To become soldiers meant entrusting themselves to me. Even if I had freed them from their shackles and turned their hatred into peace, pledging their lives for my sake was no easy decision.

I had shared a special moment with these climbers, but each of them had a home.

Well, those homes may already fallen under the rule of other gods.

Who wouldn’t want to return home? They had been trapped within the tower for thousands of years, so perhaps not. Of the ones who didn’t want freedom or to follow me, some would likely choose the peace of true death after so long in captivity. That was rather pessimistic, but it wasn’t entirely impossible.

Ugh, I will just think about it later.

There was no need to worry about it now. I had already figured out a place for them to stay. Everything else could wait until later. For those who followed me willingly, I would treat them well. After all, they would be giving up their freedom for my sake.

Stretching my arms, I sank deeper into the hot spring.

Now, to plan for the ninety-eighth floor.

Only three floors remained until the end. The moment I had first stepped onto the ninety-first floor felt both recent and distant. Time passed quickly, far faster than I realized.

I closed my eyes and retraced my memories, through everything that had happened so far. Who knew what awaited me on the next floor? Visiting Natalie popped into my head, but I dismissed the idea. Even if I asked, she likely wouldn’t answer.

To be honest, I should focus on myself and the trials ahead rather than seeing her now. There was one thing I was curious about regarding the remaining challenges, however.

What awaits me on the hundredth floor?

Up to this point, the Tower of Ordeal placed rest areas every ten floors. In theory, there should be one on the hundredth floor as well, but I doubted it. There would be no point in resting when the climb ended there.

Even so, I didn’t think another trial awaited me—that was my instincts speaking, not logic.

Since it is the last floor, maybe it will be something different.

It could simply be a place where all the unclaimed rewards were finally tallied. Even the fate of the climbers on the ninety-seventh floor had been postponed until after conquering the tower.

Or perhaps I would finally meet the Tower of Ordeal again. Once I cleared the hundredth floor, I would be leaving it behind, so I wondered if it would want to have a conversation at the end.

Like, why did it influence Ha Hee-Jeong’s regression, and what does it truly expect from me?

If my theory were correct, only the ninety-eighth and ninety-ninth floors would contain actual trials. Considering how much fighting the last floor had contained, one of them could test my intellect instead.

Then again, would such a trial even matter at this stage?

Either way, speculating more wouldn’t serve me. Whether the hundredth floor would even unfold as I imagined remained uncertain.

“

Phew,

” I sighed deeply and rose from the water.

My mind felt tangled.

Is it because the end is near?

No matter how I tried to clear my thoughts, nothing seemed to settle into place. The harder I tried not to think about it, the more my mind wandered.

Hmm.

I hadn’t rested enough. The battle on the ninety-seventh floor had left me drained. Despite that, even if I were to go to bed, I doubted I could sleep.

These stray thoughts will keep me restless.

In times like this, there was only one solution—training. I had done it to the point of exhaustion, but still, the ninety-eighth floor awaited. If my guess were right, one of the last two trials would feature an unbelievable enemy. I had to remain composed and prepare for the worst.

Instead of drying off with a towel, I used the storm’s energy to sweep away the moisture from my skin. “Artificially drying off naturally” was an odd phrase, but nothing described it better.

The water vanished, leaving a cool, refreshing sensation behind.

I donned my armor once more and willed Soulbound into my hand. Just as I was about to begin training again, a thought crossed my mind.

Can I even train here safely?

This would be my first time practicing in the waiting room since Soulbound’s enhancement. I had worried about this before, but now it felt even riskier. One stray lightning strike could probably cut through the training room walls like tofu. If that happened, I would be forcibly expelled from the space, making it difficult to focus.

I looked up into the air. “Hey, tower, you can’t reinforce the training room a bit, can you?”

Its only response was the silent message displaying my remaining time. That disappointed me a bit. It wouldn’t hurt for it to show me a little consideration.

Ah, whatever.

I opened a portal leading to the battlefield. It would be better to train there rather than risk ruining my concentration here. Besides, I needed to gauge how deep the Star Devourer had dug. After training, I could refill the pit as I had planned.

After letting out a quiet breath, I stepped through the portal.