Chapter 90: Twenty-third Floor, The Ascending Path (3)

“Sorry?"

Comet blinked, seemingly in disbelief, before replying nervously, “W-what do you mean—?”

I cut him off, not wanting to waste any more time.

“Lie down and pretend you’re asleep. Unless you want to get caught up in this chaos and end up dead. Doppy, stay by his side.”

“

Kriee!

Okay!”

I strode resolutely toward the caravan master’s tent.

Seeing the determination in my eyes and my firm grip on my axe, the mercenaries began to shift their attention to me. They stayed motionless, tracking my movements as I made my way toward the master’s tent with my weapons at the ready.

“Mr. Kwon Su-Hyeok? What brings you here?”

“I need to speak with the master.”

“In that case, please hand over your weapon before you proceed.”

I raised an eyebrow.

“Didn’t I carry my axe inside without an issue earlier? Plus, I saw other mercenaries meeting with him while fully armed.”

“Ah... that’s... well...”

The guard faltered, his confidence receding. Although he didn’t deny my words, he was too wary to admit the truth outright. Picking a fight with someone of my caliber wouldn’t end well, and he knew it.

Still, the guard straightened, strengthening his resolve, albeit somewhat forcedly.

“We usually don’t mind such things, but to be honest, your current demeanor is... unsettling.”

“If I’d joined the caravan to assassinate the master, he’d be dead already. I’ve had more than enough chances.”

“That may be true, but people’s intentions change. You never know.”

The other mercenaries around us sensed the rising tension. Standing up, they grabbed their weapons and formed a tight circle with the guards. With renewed confidence, the guard in front of me held his ground.

“If you refuse to surrender your weapon, you won’t be allowed to meet him.”

I exhaled through my nose and feigned patience.

“Fine. I don’t intend to cause a scene. I just need to talk.”

Deciding against acting now, I handed over my axe and dagger. Even though I would have no problem eliminating everyone blocking my path, the caravan master needed to be dealt with first.

I was confident that no one in this camp would be able to outrun me in the desert, but the caravan master could have a trump card—something like a teleportation scroll. Assholes like him always kept a life-saving measure hidden away, and as I was new to this world, I couldn't afford to overlook the possibility. I needed to strike before he could act.

The guard accepted my weapons reluctantly.

This obviously doesn't sit well with him.

Even though I had followed their rules, he knew as well as I did that if I decided to kill the master with my bare hands, there wasn’t much they could do to stop me. His mind was likely racing, wondering what would happen if he continued voicing his suspicions. Any more pushback and he could sour the relations between me and the caravan, or worse, I could follow through on my unspoken threat.

“Tell me your business, and I’ll pass the message along.”

I gave him a flat look.

“Didn’t you just say I could proceed if I gave up my weapons? Are you trying to play games with me now?”

“The master is occupied at the moment. If you wait, I can deliver the message personally.”

Occupied? At this hour?

His excuse made no sense. Ignoring the guard temporarily, I focused on the sounds coming from the master’s tent.

Background sounds that I typically tuned out now sharpened, and I began to process them one by one; the soft whisper of cascading sand flowing with the breeze; the occasional crackle of embers popping from the campfire; the faint rustle of fireflies stirring in the night.

Amidst those delicate noises, I heard a woman’s voice. It was fragile and trembling, each word an unmistakable response to violence.

“Please...

ugh!

Stop... please...”

“Shut your mouth, you bitch. Do you want to die?”

My heart raced as my blood began to boil. These motherfuckers saw people as nothing more than objects to exploit. Earlier, they had humiliated a man, but that was just the tip of the iceberg compared to this.

A surge of fury washed over me, and I knew I couldn’t let them continue. No one else would suffer under their cruelty—not while I was here.

I activated Flash Strike, instantly twisting the guard’s arm and driving the dagger he held into his throat.

“Grk...”

I wrenched the dagger free, coldly watching his life drain from him. Seizing the falling axe from his limp hand, I stormed toward the master’s tent without hesitation.

"Ugh!"

𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

With Flash Strike activated and time slowed, the guard’s body hadn’t even hit the ground by the time I reached the tent. As his body swayed from the force of my strike, the violent noises from the tent only grew louder.

I quickened my pace and tore open the entrance. Inside, the caravan master perched atop a slumped and motionless, half-conscious woman.

Wordlessly, I grabbed him by the neck and slammed him into the ground. Before he could react, I swung my axe down with brutal precision, sinking it deep into his neck.

Crunch—!

My axe crunched through his neck, shattering bone and cleaving flesh, only stopping when it slammed into the sand below.

I deactivated Flash Strike and immediately heard the others outside erupt in alarm.

“

Aaaaargh!

Assassination!”

“Find Kwon Su-Hyeok!”

“What? What the—?”

The guards and mercenaries’ panicked shouts filled the night upon discovering the corpse outside. Beginning to stir, the woman the caravan master had abused made a faint noise, her voice weak but audible now.

As expected, I hadn’t cleared the floor by killing the caravan master. My Sixth Sense hadn’t warned me as I killed him, so I doubted he was that important for completing this mission.

Grabbing the master’s blood-soaked hair, I lifted his severed head high. Thick streams of blood dripped from the exposed stump, pooling at my feet.

The gruesome sight made the woman recoil, fear flickering in her eyes. I softened my expression and tried to offer her a sliver of reassurance.

“What’s your name?”

“

H-huh?

I-It’s Ellen...”

“Ellen, I know you just went through a traumatic experience, but rest for now. You’re safe.”

“Sorry? Ah... okay...”

The woman’s gaze continued to flick back and forth between the severed head and me.

Wordlessly, I hefted the still-dripping head and stepped out of the tent, hearing the hurried movement grow louder as I emerged into the open. Mercenaries and guards closed in with weapons drawn, surrounding me beneath the moonlit sky.

Their eyes locked onto me and then shifted to my left hand, where I held the caravan master’s severed head.

“W-what the hell?! The master is dead!”

“Kwon Su-Hyeok killed the master!”

“Kill him! Don’t let him escape!”

The merchants barked frantic orders at the mercenaries and guards, but no one dared approach me. They stood rooted to the spot—paralyzed in fear—clutching their weapons nervously.

“I said, kill him!”

“Velm! What are you waiting for?!”

The desperate merchants began to shove the guards forward, but the soldiers resisted, their feet seemingly glued to the ground. Tension thickened in the air as the taut standoff continued.

Flicking my wrist, I tossed the severed head toward the merchants.

Thud-thump.

It rolled across the sand, coming to a stop at the feet of a merchant who had just pushed a guard. The head’s blackened blood seeped into the sand, staining the desert as it pooled beneath the gruesome trophy.

“I have no desire to kill everyone here. If you want to defend a man who bought and sold people like cattle, then by all means, stay.”

“You bastard! Kill him now!”

“If you don’t, you’ll all end up dead!”

Despite the frantic cries coming from the merchants, the mercenaries and guards remained frozen, their eyes darting toward one another in search of anyone willing to make the first move.

No one dared.

The situation had already shifted in my favor, and no amount of shouting could change that.

“Money! What about the money? If you abandon us now, you’ll lose it all! The gold’s at the destination! Even if you kill us, you won’t get a single coin!”

“...”

I waited, letting the silence linger so that my next words would have an even greater impact.

“This is your last chance. If you fight me, you will die. I guarantee it. But if you walk away now, you’ll live to earn gold another day.”

I gazed callously at the crowd as my tone turned colder.

“Anyone who still wants to defend slavery, stay.”

My final words crushed whatever fragile resolve remained. One of the lower-ranking mercenaries broke away first, spinning on his heel and running. His departure set off a chain reaction, and within moments, the majority of the mercenaries followed suit. They scattered into the desert like leaves blown by the wind.

Only a handful of mercenaries and guards stayed behind.

These weren’t ordinary fighters. No, they were seasoned mercenaries, individuals who had grown fat on blood money, and guards deeply involved in the merchants’ slave trade from the start. They had no room to back down.

Not that it matters. I was planning to kill them all anyway.

I let the lower-ranking mercenaries go for one simple reason: most of the mercenaries weren’t bad people, just caught in bad circumstances.

Comet had shared about his homeland, specifically how most mercenaries found themselves jobless after the Great War ended and peace returned. Desperation had driven many to take up any work they could find, even jobs like this.

I wasn’t absolving them of their wrongdoings, but killing them all without weighing their circumstances didn’t sit right with me.

“H-he’s alone! We can take him!”

“Surround him! Attack together!”

With a battle cry, the remaining guards and mercenaries charged at me. They reeked of desperation with their reckless assault.

Meanwhile, the merchants scrambled to load themselves onto camels, trying to flee into the desert under cover of the chaos.

I gripped the dagger and axe, their familiar weight settling comfortably in my hands. Not a single one of these men would leave this place alive.

***

[Escort. Time remaining: 24 hours 12 minutes.]

Night stretched across the desert sky, and the campfire at the center of the camp burned fiercely, sending embers swirling into the dark sky. The sharp, metallic stench of blood rode the night wind, mingling with the smoke.

I hadn’t needed long. Within ten minutes, every merchant, guard, and mercenary who had remained was dead, their bodies strewn across the sand like discarded refuse. Only fifty people remained; the freed slaves and the few low-ranking mercenaries who had stayed out of the conflict.

The former slaves expressed their gratitude repeatedly, their voices trembling with relief. I ordered the remaining mercenaries to remove the shackles from the captives, and one by one, the heavy chains fell to the ground with dull, metallic thuds.

In the silence that followed, everyone turned toward me. I could see the mix of emotions in their gazes—gratitude tinged with fear, as if unsure of what to expect next.

I need to find the person related to the hidden mission. They have to be among the slaves, right? Should I look for someone who seems like a fallen noble?

No. Assuming that could lead me astray. I scanned the group carefully, searching for anyone or anything that stood out. Unfortunately, no one gave me that feeling, no spark of recognition or hidden significance.

Maybe I am not supposed to find anyone specific. I may just need to escort them to their destination safely.

Still, just to be certain, I turned to the group.

“Does anyone here need to go somewhere in particular? Somewhere important?”

“...”

My question was met with silence. The group exchanged hesitant glances. Finally, a man in his mid-forties spoke up, his voice low and cautious.

“We were all taken from the same village. When the slavers attacked, they destroyed everything. Even if we wanted to return home, there’s nothing left for us to return to.”

Does that mean all of these people are from the same village?

That settled it. I was sure the floor’s trial was to escort them safely back home. Once they arrived, they could blend in and live ordinary lives. The slave market was an underground business, so no one would know they had ever been captives.

“In that case, we’ll head to Bahrain. It’s a large city, so you should be able to find work there. I’ll take care of any attacks along the way, so don’t worry. I’ll also split whatever money the merchants left behind. If it’s not enough, I’ll cover the rest myself.”

Selling off the miscellaneous items in my inventory should give them enough to survive for a while.

Tears welled in their eyes, and the group lowered their heads in gratitude.

“Thank you... thank you so much...”

“It’s been a long night. Get some rest, and we will start moving again tomorrow.”

After assigning the mercenaries to night watch shifts, I climbed a nearby sand dune, with Doppy trailing silently behind.

I sat down at the top and gazed at the night sky and its dense collection of stars, all scattered across the desert’s vast horizon. My thoughts wandered back to the choices I had made tonight.

The slavers’ disgusting actions had stirred something deep inside me, pushing me to act against them. I had broken free from this trial’s setting on my own terms, confronting a system that clashed with everything I believed in.

On the surface, it felt like the right thing to do. Logical, even. Deep down, however, I knew it wasn’t that simple.

It was a hypocritical victory. I had only acted once I was certain my own life wasn’t at risk.

What if something like this happens again? Can I still retain my values after conquering the upcoming trials?

After taking a while to reflect, I came to a frustrating conclusion.

I don’t know.

Conquering the tower was my end goal, and I wanted to do it for myself, for my family, for Ha Hee-Jeong, and for Earth. Be that as it may, I couldn’t afford to stake everything—not even my beliefs—if it meant endangering the people I was trying to protect.

Just like tonight, I would do what I could. No more, no less.

As the weight of that resolution settled, I heard soft footsteps behind me. Comet approached me calmly, illuminated by the starlight.

“Hello?”

“We’ve finally found you—our guide. Please allow me to formally introduce myself again. I am Comet Drett, the last apostle of the goddess Blue Dawn Breeze.”

***

「Invisible message: Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok has slain the caravan master and found the last apostle of the fourth-class god ‘Blue Dawn Breeze.’ The hidden mission ‘The Sword That Never Returns’ has begun.」