Chapter 99: Twenty-Fifth Floor, Waiting Room

“Doppy... where’s Comet?”

“

Kriee!

Comet! Warlord took!”

“The Great Warlord of Terror took him?”

“

Kriee!

Yes!”

“Wasn’t Comet able to defend himself?”

Doppy’s words didn’t immediately make sense to me. Though I hadn’t seen Comet’s abilities firsthand, he was a Great Warrior, an apostle of a goddess. Even if he couldn’t fully harness the goddess’s power, he should have lasted more than ten minutes.

Is the Stagnant Terror’s illusion that deadly?

The warlord's remark from earlier flashed through my mind.

“Those who wield the power of wind falter before fear.”

“

Kriee!

Human! Suddenly stopped moving! Then enemy struck!”

I guessed the order’s powers stacked poorly against the heretics’. Yet, something still felt off.

Why didn’t he just kill Comet? Why take him?

From the enemy's perspective, Comet was a high-ranking cultist warrior. Capturing him alive would create unnecessary risks, and killing him outright would be much simpler.

So, if they took him, then...

Are they planning to use Comet as a sacrifice?

I felt a jolt of urgency, realizing there was no time to waste. I had to rescue Comet immediately.

It had only been ten minutes. Even though the Warlord’s stump had been healed by divine magic, he wouldn’t have been able to go far. Since I had thirty-six hours remaining until the end of the floor, there was still a chance to catch up.

After hastily sending a bolt of lightning toward the heretics climbing up the roof, I turned to Doppy.

“Which direction did they go?! Where did they go?”

“

Kriee!

Goblin! Don’t know! Human! Vanished suddenly!”

“Vanished? Like they teleported?”

𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

“

Kriee!

Yes!”

Damn it, that wasn’t good. If the warlord had teleported, I had no way to track him.

“

Kriee!

But! Human! Something strange! Comet smiling!”

“What? Comet was smiling? While being taken?”

“

Kriee!

Yes! He said not to worry.”

I couldn’t quite comprehend what was being explained to me.

Why was Comet laughing? Wait, Doppy said smiling, not laughing. Was he trying to appear strong then? Perhaps he believed I would avenge him.

Considering he had told Doppy not to worry, I wondered if he had foreseen this. Or maybe he had just wanted to leave with a final, bright expression.

A multitude of questions filled my mind, but I couldn’t find any definitive answers. I turned my gaze to the notification window.

[Eliminate the heretics from the Kokkari Swamp or survive. Time remaining: 35 hours 51 minutes.]

Even though Comet had vanished, the tower’s message remained unchanged. Right now, I had only one course of action left: eliminate the heretics and hope the following floor’s trial would allow me to save Comet.

“Crush the cultists!”

“Let fear reign!”

The voices of heretics continued to rise from beneath the roof while I collected my thoughts, echoing in a chaotic chorus. They had returned to climbing the roof, and some were already close to stepping on top.

Just focus on what I can do at this moment.

I swung my axe mercilessly at the heretics clawing their way up, then leaped off the roof's edge, descending into the fray below.

***

[Congratulations. Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok has conquered the twenty-fourth floor of the Tower of Ordeal: Kokkari Swamp. Achievement points will be calculated.]

[Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok succeeded in expelling the cultists, assassinated the Chief Priest, defeated the Great Warlord of Terror, and completed the hidden mission ‘Realm of Fear.’]

[Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok has been awarded 8,731 achievement points. Total achievement points: 39,959. He will now enter the waiting room.]

***

[The twenty-fifth floor requires all participants to enter simultaneously. Please prepare accordingly.]

[14 hours 59 minutes until the rest period ends. Please take a rest.]

Instead of the normal bland, white room, I was greeted by the antique furniture I had recently purchased.

However, any sense of comfort it would have normally offered me was gone, as Comet’s absence consumed my thoughts. Only complicating matters further, the next floor was a collaborative trial that would involve every climber.

Will the tower grant me a trial to rescue Comet?

Feeling conflicted, I glanced down at Doppy, who was gripping my hand tightly. I found myself gently ruffling its hair.

The shock from the twenty-fourth floor hadn’t yet faded from Doppy’s mind. Being trapped while surrounded by hundreds of heretics hammering relentlessly at its shield was a deeply scarring experience that I could only hope it would recover from.

I spoke in a soft, calming voice, “Doppy, go on and wash up first.”

“

Kriee

... all right.”

Requiring visible effort, Doppy released its grip on my hand and trudged toward the bathroom.

Left alone, I reflexively opened my status window, and a small, involuntary chuckle escaped. Even amid all this turmoil, checking the status window had become second nature.

Well, what is done is done.

No amount of worry would change what had happened. I just needed to approach things as I always had. Slightly reassured, I refocused on the status window.

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

Title: Seeker of the Crossroads

Affiliation: None

Patron Deity: First class, Omniscient Thunder Axe (Share percentage: 0.00%(-?.??%) / 100.00%)

Strength: 135.3

Agility: 132.5

Stamina: 138.8

Mana: 121.9

Skills: Lightning Essence lvl 10, ... Indomitability lvl 19(+5), Combat Focus lvl 22(+5) ... Two-Way Portal lvl 1, Wind’s Route lvl 1 (Sealed).

All my stats had increased by around 2 points each, likely due to completing the hidden mission. Additionally, both Combat Focus and Indomitability had leveled up twice, probably because I had overcome the disorienting illusions.

Now that I was in the waiting room, the Stagnant Terror’s curse seemed to have lifted as all my skills returned to their normal levels. Other than that, not much had changed. Wind’s Route was still sealed, and my other skills had remained the same.

With nothing left to examine, I closed the status window. Since Doppy had only just started bathing, I still had a bit of time to myself.

I should brief Ha Hee-Jeong about what happened on the twenty-fourth floor.

Browsing the Community, I noticed the latest posts were still from the twenty-fourth floor’s waiting room. It appeared none of the other climbers had conquered the twenty-fourth floor yet.

Just in case, I checked the rankings, but they just reinforced what I had already suspected.

With almost fifteen hours left, I decided to take the opportunity to rest until she arrived.

***

「Invisible message: Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok has rested at a training hot spring. All stats increased by 0.3.」

***

[11 hours 55 minutes until the rest period ends. Please take a rest.]

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Twenty-fifth floor): So, the Goddess of the Dawn Breeze’s Great Warrior has been kidnapped. Hmm... This could complicate things a bit.

- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Twenty-fifth floor): He told Doppy not to worry just before he was taken, but I can’t shake my feeling of unease. Do you think there’ll be a trial on the twenty-fifth floor to rescue Comet?

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Twenty-fifth floor): Probably not. We will all be clearing the floor as a group.

I sighed heavily as I read her reply,

“Ha.”

Is there really no way to save Comet?

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Twenty-fifth floor): Based on the timing between the twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth floors during my previous life, I doubt he will be okay... Sorry.

- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Twenty-fifth floor): No, it’s not your fault. If that’s true, though, how much harder will the upcoming trials get?

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Twenty-fifth floor): If his death was the only thing that happened, the next floor should operate as usual, but the issue here is that he was taken.

- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Twenty-fifth floor): I’m worried now that I know the heretics perform human sacrifices...

Ha Hee-Jeong’s thoughts mirrored mine. Comet wasn’t just any follower of the goddess—he was the goddess’s Great Warrior, her last apostle. With him as a sacrifice, who knew what twisted plan the Great Warlord of Terror could develop—or the destruction it could unleash.

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Twenty-fifth floor): For now, don’t let it weigh you down too much. We won’t know until we’re there. We’ll make it through this floor, one way or another. And remember, he did say not to worry, right? Maybe he has a plan.

***

[9 hours 37 minutes until the rest period ends. Please take a rest.]

After my conversation with Ha Hee-Jeong concluded, I shifted my focus back to the twenty-fifth floor. Normally, I would have opted for combat training, but my heart wasn’t in it. Instead, I lay on my bed for over two hours, with Doppy peacefully sleeping on its bed next to mine, though sleep itself felt distant for me.

The events of the twenty-fourth floor kept resurfacing in my mind, like a film reel on repeat. Rationally, I knew I shouldn’t linger on what had already occurred, but I couldn’t shake off the feeling of powerlessness. Who could have foreseen that I would be dragged into such a strange dimension for ten whole minutes?

On top of that, the warlord’s words echoed nonstop in my mind.

“From the beginning, the Stagnant Terror has always been the true god of this world!”

For some reason, the words haunted me, even with everything I knew. The tower had labeled the Stagnant Terror as a heretic god.

But... what if that was a lie?

What if the Stagnant Terror is truly this world’s original god?

Disregarding morality, was it justifiable to overthrow a deity that governed an entire world? Perhaps I was overthinking it. Yet lying there, one thought trailed into the next in an endless loop.

No, it can’t be. The tower has always allied with gods who were wronged.

The hidden missions had always subtly hinted toward this inclination. Fenrike, Paraktus, the Seraphim Queen, and the Shadow of the End. The tower consistently aligned climbers with gods facing persecution.

Still, trusting the tower blindly is foolish.

After all, the tower had summoned us without our consent and deceived us into signing unfair contracts. So far, it had aligned itself with oppressed gods, but this time, it could be the opposite.

Damn it, what does the tower truly want? Ugh.

I thinking too deeply about this. Although Comet’s abduction was tragic, it had already happened. If I wanted to conquer this tower, I needed to stay clear-headed and focused all the way through the hundredth floor.

Expecting to perform flawlessly on every floor wasn’t sustainable. I would inevitably feel regretful about a past decision, and I couldn’t afford to be paralyzed by doubt and guilt each time.

Feeling guilty doesn’t mean I have to sit idly.

Even if I felt guilt, I had to carry it while pushing forward. Comet had smiled and told Doppy not to worry. Perhaps, as Ha Hee-Jeong had suggested, he had his own plan.

That last thought stirred me, and I found the energy to rise from the bed. Donning my armor from its stand, I then took up my axe.

Nothing clears the mind like combat.

I performed some light movements, checking my armor’s fit and making sure each piece was secure before heading toward the training room. My mind was already set on who my first opponent would be—the Great Warlord of Terror. He was the perfect opponent to unleash some of my pent-up frustration on.

Unfortunately, the recreated warlord was unable to summon any illusions. He only cast basic holy spells, which barely troubled me, before falling quickly to my axe.

Too easy.

Apparently, he couldn’t access his god’s power here, and I doubted that raising the difficulty would change that.

Eventually, I cycled through my options and returned to my usual opponent, the Overseer. This time, however, I set the difficulty to “hard.” A tough, intense fight would be exactly what I needed to shake off the lingering thoughts weighing me down.

The Overseer appeared across the training room and exuded an ominous presence, its aura more powerful than before.

As the pre-battle adrenaline started pumping, my mind finally began to clear.

I will need a dagger this time.

With an axe in one hand and dagger in the other, I intended to probe the Overseer’s defenses a few times before diving fully into the fight. Pushing lightly off the ground, I closed in, ready for action.

***

「Invisible message: Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok has undergone combat training. All stats increased by 0.2.」

「Invisible message: Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok has undergone combat training. All stats increased by 0.6.」

「Invisible message: Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok has rested at a training hot spring. All stats increased by 0.2.」

***

[Welcome to the twenty-fifth floor of the Tower of Ordeal: Papal Defense.]

[The continent’s kingdoms have descended into holy war after the heretics revealed their true designs. Forming a traitorous alliance, the three kings subordinate to the heretics have turned on the Order of the Dawn Breeze and publicly sworn themselves to the Stagnant Terror.]

[Amid the turmoil, the Order of the Dawn Breeze’s stronghold has come under siege. Just before reinforcements were set to arrive, the fortress walls collapsed, forcing the pope to flee.]

[Locate the pope and survive until reinforcements arrive. Time remaining: 1 hour 59 minutes.]

As I adjusted to my surroundings, tall fortress walls engulfed in flames immediately caught my attention. Climbers stood frozen around me, surprised by the sudden chaos they had been summoned into. Their eyes scanned the air as they quickly read through the tower’s message.

BOOM!

A massive boulder soared over the wall, crashing into the fortress and sending sections of stone crumbling down. The impact broke the climbers out of their daze, spurring them into motion.

“Pope! Find the pope!”