[Survive. Time remaining: 19 hours and 21 minutes.]

Before long, another squad of soldiers emerged from the shadows. This time, however, they marched in a perfect formation, clad in matching armor and wielding both spear and shield. They displayed the image of uniformity and discipline that sharplyntrasted with the disorganized rabble I had euntered earlier.

Every step they took echoed with an almost rhythmic precision, a testament to the training they had likely undergone. Despite being from the same species as some of the earlier enemies, these soldiers appeared bulkier. Their frames exuded a raw, unbridled physicality that made them seem more dangerous.

Whether the floor produced stronger enemies as time progressed or something else entirely, Iuldn’t say.

However, a nagging intuition suggested that their presence was no mereincidence—I had to be approaching the final stretch of this treacherous path.

“Doppy, stay back if you want to live.”

“

Kriee!

Okay! Do best, Su-Yeok!”

A faint smile tugged at my lips. While I had hoped to hear a sassy, “Thank you,” I knew Doppy wasn’t accustomed to the playful exchanges I often had with Ha Hee-Jeong.

Shrugging off the thought, I reactivated the Master of Shadows skill and plunged headlong into the fray.

The enemy’s tight-knit formation andordination made them more challenging to break through. However, even this slight increase in difficulty posed no real threat to me.

As I pressed forward, questions surfaced in my mind.

What lies at the end of this path? Where are these endless waves of enemies originating from?

I was currently fighting an armymposed of at least five distinct species. No matter how many I slew, theyntinued to march forward from some seemingly inexhaustible source. Thankfully, after roughly thirty more minutes of relentlessmbat, I finally reached what seemed to be the end of the twenty-first floor.

What is this?

The passage abruptly terminated at a solid wall. Embedded in the center of this wall, was a massive circular portal over four meters in diameter. From where I stood, Iuld finally see that the enemy soldiers were steadily pouring out from this portal.

So, that’s where they’reming from.

“Human! Kill him!”

The soldiers at the head of the newest wave spotted me and immediately charged. I realized quickly that if I wanted to stop them from assembling into a defensive line, I would have to dispatch them now. If I let them fortify their position, the situation would bme exponentially moremplicated.

Without hesitation, I surged forward and swung my axe with all my might. The bladellided with a shield, crumpling the metal like paper before burying itself deep into an orc’s shoulder.

Lightning crackled along the axe’s edge and danced from one soldier to the next in a blinding chain of light, paralyzing them in place. Seizing the opportunity, Injured multiple shadow spears at the portal’s mouth, positioning them so they would pierce any creature that dared step through the portal.

Immanded the spears to writhe and twist in such a way that they would impale their prey and pin them to the ground instead of killing them instantly.

Yet, as soon as I moved closer, the flow of enemies halted abruptly. Instead, a notification appeared in front of me.

[Congratulations. Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok hasnquered the twenty-first floor of the Tower of Ordeal: The Only Path. Achievement points will be calculated.]

[Time remaining: 18 hours and 48 minutes. Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok has eliminated all enemies, defeated the Burning Nepla, and reached the end of ‘The Only Path.’ Achievement points will be calculated.]

[Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok has been awarded 7,823 achievement points. Total achievement points: 66,108 points.]

[A new optional hidden mission ‘Colonized Planet, Mortgaged World.’ has been unlocked due to reaching the end of ‘The Only Path.’]

What? An optional hidden mission? Out of the blue?

This was the same situation I had faced when I euntered Paraktus. If it was classified as optional, then…

[Optional hidden missions are generally more challenging than standard hidden missions.]

[Climber Kwon Su-Hyeok may choose to proceed directly to the twenty-snd floor withoutmpleting the optional hidden mission ‘Colonized Planet, Mortgaged World.’]

[However, successfullympleting the hidden mission ‘Colonized Planet, Mortgaged World’ will bensidered as havingnquered the twenty-snd floor.]

Once again, just like the snd floor, I was at a crossroads.

Should I take the safer route and ascend to the twenty-snd floor? Or should I embrace the risk and challenge the optional hidden mission?

[If you wish to forgo the optional hidden mission and ascend to the twenty-snd floor, say ‘Waiting Room.’ Time remaining: 0 minutes 10 snds.]

The answer was already clear in my mind. I had cleared the twenty-first floor without much difficulty, so why not take on the hidden mission?

The reward I had gained from the previous hidden mission—Paraktus’s Necklace —had proven invaluable, not to mention the wealth of achievement points it had provided.

I shouldmplete this hidden mission as well.

[If you wish to ascend to the twenty-snd floor, say ‘Waiting Room.’ Time remaining: 0 minutes 06 snds.]

[Once theuntdown reaches zero, you cannot reverse your decision.]

Resolute, I kept my gaze fixed on the portal as the timerntinued its relentlessuntdown. Suddenly, I recalled the Mimicry skill.

Can I replicate this portal?

The idea came to me on a whim, more intuitive than logical, yet I decided to act on it nonetheless.

I hadn’t used the skill since acquiring it, and honestly, I had nearly forgotten about it. However, Sixth Sense was urging me to act, and I had no reason to ignore it.

Focusing intently on the portal, I channeled my mana and activated Mimicry. Immediately, a new notification flashed before me.

[Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok’s Mimicry lvl 1 has transformed into Two-Way Portal lvl 1. The Mimicry skill has been removed.]

What? Removed?

I hurriedly opened my status window, and there it was—Mimicry had vanished, replaced by Two-Way Portal.

Ah, so Mimicry was a one-time-use skill.

If it allowed me to replicate anything indefinitely, it would have been obscenely overpowered. No wonder Ha Hee-Jeong had never mentioned anything about it.

I recalledntemplating using it on Doppy’s healing spells before.

“Whew—

”

A sigh of relief slipped from my lips. Doppy had been asleep at the time, so I had decided to wait and test it later, only tompletely forget about it afterward.

If I had squandered the skill on something insignificant like that, it would have been a major loss—like discarding a precious gem for a worthless stone.

Still, is a two-way portal even useful?

It was impossible to say. Iuldn’t determine if I would be able to utilize it freely within the tower and it seemed unlikely it would allow me to bypass floors.

Ofurse, those were matters for another time. Right now, I had to make a decision.

[If you wish to ascend to the twenty-snd floor, say ‘Waiting Room.’ Time remaining: 0 minutes 02 snds.]

[If you wish to ascend to the twenty-snd floor, say ‘Waiting Room.’ Time remaining: 0 minutes 01 snds.]

[If you wish to ascend to the twenty-snd floor, say ‘Waiting Room.’ Time remaining: 0 minutes 00 snds.]

Gazing unwaveringly, I watched the timer hit zero. Then, a new message flashed before me.

[The optional hidden mission ‘Colonized Planet, Mortgaged World’ will nowmmence. Please proceed through the portal.]

As the system’s monotonous voice faded, I strode resolutely toward the portal.

“Doppy, stay close.”

“Kriee!”

Doppy hurried to catch up with me. I stepped through the portal, and my vision brightened as a faint sense of weightlessness washed over me.

Still, I didn’t lower my guard. If anything, I heightened my senses, tightening every fiber of my being in a state of readiness. When the creatures had emerged from the portal, I immediately assaulted them.

There’s no reason to assume I won’t face the same danger.

𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

I needed to be prepared to launch an attack the instant I emerged.

With that in mind, I cloaked myself in crackling lightning, ready for whatever awaited on the other side of the portal’s veil.

***

「Invisible message: Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok has entered Colonized Planet F-3219 in Sector B-372913.」

「Invisible message: Colonized Planet F-3219 is outside the tower’s jurisdiction. Status windows, notifications, and messages provided to climbers are limited.」

「Invisible message: Weme to a Low-Class Colonized Planet. Destroy the slave factory or survive. Time remaining: 1 hour 59 minutes.」

***

As I processed my surroundings, the first thing that caught my eye was a grim, ashen sky stretching endlessly above. Beneath that oppressive canopy stood alossal structure with walls that resembled a fortified citadel. And right before me…

“

Kiaaah!

Intruder!”

“Kill the intruder! By the grace of Kal-Lain, strike him down!”

A formidable army—numbering no less than ten thousand—stood armed and ready. A curse slipped from my lips as Doppy’s shrill cry of alarm rang out from behind me.

“Fuck. Great. Just great.”

“

Kriee!

Su-Yeok!”

Given that only five hundred soldiers had emerged from the portal in each wave, I had anticipated euntering a few thousand at most; not an entire legion with such vast numbers.

Sure, Iuld take them all down if I took my time. But…

Beyond the wall of soldiers, I noticed several enormous buildingsnstructed in a strange style. Each one seemed twisted, blending the fortified defenses of a castle with the harsh, soulless manufacturing lines of a factory.

If ten thousand soldiers were stationed outside, who knew how many more were within those walls?

Even if Iuld fight them all, that would be sheer folly.

Wasting no time, I cloaked myself and Doppy with Master of Shadows. Our sudden disappearance sent ripples ofnfusion through the enemies.

“Where did the human go?”

“Find him!”

“ur the area! Target where he last stood. Fire at will!”

Arrows rained down upon the spot I had just vacated, forcing me to sidestep swiftly as I still cradled Doppy in my arms. At least for now, we were out of their sight.

Soooo, what’s my next move?

Then it hit me. I hadn’t received a notification to brief me on the mission objectives.

Normally, the tower’s instructions would flash before me the moment I set foot on a new floor, laying out the floor’s objectives or challenges. Even during hidden missions, the system’s messages had always been there to guide me.

But now, I had nothing. It left me dincerted.

“Doppy, do you have any idea why we haven’t received a notification yet?”

“

Kriee

! Not sure! But… this place… not the Tower of Ordeal!”

“What?”

“

Kriee!

Goblin don’t know lots! But Goblin can feel it! Connection to the gods is stronger!”

I pressed Doppy for more answers, but that was all ituld offer.

Notifications aren’t popping up because we aren’t in the tower?

That didn’t make any sense. I clearly remembered receiving a notification explaining I would be sent to an optional hidden mission, so the mission should still fall under the tower’s domain.

I opened my status window, hoping to gain some clarity; however, it, too, failed to activate.

This entire situation felt utterly surreal. I was supposed to be oveming a trial issued by the tower, so why did it feel as if I had been transported somewhere beyond its jurisdiction?

One thing is clear, however. We aren’t within the tower’snfines anymore. Is there something else I can infer from this?

I recalled the message I had seen before stepping through the portal

Colonized Planet, Mortgaged World.

Keeping the phrase in mind, I glanced at the assembled horde of diverse species before me, and an unsettling hypothesis began to take shape.

This world… seems to be another world’slony.

That would explain why many disparate species were gathered into a single army. From the looks of it too, it seemed unlikely that there was only one suchlony. These portals seemed to gather creatures from various worlds, turning them into soldiers bound to this place.

The way they shouted the name of a god while attacking me also felt peculiar…

If I followed that train of thought, it began to make sense if they had been brainwashed or otherwise indoctrinated into serving this god. Given the limited information available to me, this was the most plausible theory Iuld hypothesize.

So, what exactly am I supposed to do here, then? Considering that I appeared right in front of that fortress-like building that looks like it is partially a factory…

That structure seemed perfectly designed to churn out an unending supply of soldiers. It would make sense if my objective was to destroy it. Even if I wasn’t expected to raze the entiremplex, there had to be some clue or objective hidden within it.

Otherwise, there would be no point. If the mission was simply to slaughter tens of thousands of these creatures, the optional hidden mission wouldn’t be called Colonized Planet or whatnot. There had to be a deeper purpose.

Fortunately, I have the Master of Shadows skill.

With it, Iuld infiltrate the fortress without alerting anyone. As for what I would do once inside, I would figure that out later.

Leaving the still-bewildered soldiers behind, Doppy and I silently made our way toward the fortress walls.

***

“The intruder has disappeared! Increase security and tighten the defenses!”

“He has the ability to turn invisible. Report even the slightest anomaly!”

The fortress gates were firmly shut, and orders rang out from the guards patrolling the battlements above. Judging by themmotion, it seemed they had no intention of opening the gates anytime soon—at least, not until they were certain the intruder was gone.

Hmm… It looks like I will have to scale the walls.

Fortunately, they weren’t insurmountably high—about as tall as a seven-story building. With the aid of Kashatum’s Sky Shoes and using the wall’s surface as a foothold, Iuld probably reach the top without much trouble.

I need to ensure I remain undetected.

Although they were frantically searching outside the fortress, if they realized I had already infiltrated it, things would take a dramatic turn for the worse.

Sure, they would eventually figure it out, but there was a world of difference between merely suspecting and knowing for certain. I shifted Doppy into a more secure hold.

“Doppy, this time, stay absolutely quiet.”

Sensing the gravity of the situation, Doppy responded with an uncharacteristic calmness, “

Kriee.

Got it.”

Taking a few steps back to gain momentum, I activated Flash Strike and launched myself toward the wall before kicking off the wall five times in rapid succession. This was my first time attempting this maneuver, and I struggled to maintain my balance.

My upper body tipped back precariously, but Irrected my posture by using my shoes’ ability to restore my balance.

Three leaps later, I finally reached the top of the wall.

“Don’t take your eyes off the base of the wall! The intruderuld be scaling it!”

I crouched low and observed the frantic soldiers scrambling below. Beyond the guards’ chaotic movements, four buildings stood out distinctly within the fortress. Each structure was ancient and dilapidated, their once-majestic facades eroded by time and neglect.

The largest occupied the central area and the other three flanked it, although they were noticeably smaller.

Of the four, two immediately caught my attention. The central one belched thick plumes of smoke like a massive industrial factory, and the one just behind it resembled an immense, domed arena. At a glance, it looked more like an abandoned warehouse than a building with a specific function.

Now that I had infiltrated the fortress, I found myself lost without the system’s guidance.

Out of the four buildings, where should I start?