Conquering the Tower Even Regressors Couldn’t

「(Breaking News) ‘Tower of Ordeal’ Climber and Planet Rankings Updated.」

「Kwon Su-Hyeok Maintains First Place.」

At approximately 1:04 a.m. today, the Climber Leaderboard rankings were updated for this so-called “Tower of Ordeal” situated in the Pacific Ocean. Kwon Su-Hyeok from South Korea has once again secured the coveted top spot, solidifying his position as the leading climber.

Joining him at the top of the rankings, fellow South Koreans Ha Hee-Jeong, Seo Ho-Su, and Seo Ha-Rin have successfully retained their positions in second, fourth, and sixth place.

These exceptional performances have ensured that Earth continues to hold the first-place ranking among the four planets in sector C-66432 after finishing the eighth floor. This achievement underscores the prowess and determination of Earth’s climbers as they face increasingly challenging trials within the tower.

…

Despite the global interest from top scientists, the true nature of the Tower of Ordeal and the other intelligent beings encountered within remain shrouded in mystery. Researchers and experts are still grappling with the implications of the tower's existence and the enigmatic entities from across the universe that inhabit it.

…

Speculation about an alien invasion has gained momentum, particularly after the mysterious voice that resonated across Earth mentioned a “Green Belt.” This has led to a surge in conspiracy theories, with some suggesting that the tower is a prelude to an extraterrestrial threat.

Amidst this uncertainty, one thing remains clear: Earth has managed to maintain its lead in the rankings, largely thanks to the extraordinary efforts of Kwon Su-Hyeok and his fellow climbers.

- jasdnb12: Damn~ This is intoxicating! Bartender! You better not close up shop! I’m not going home tonight!

- shdab9595: Bartender! Quickly bring out the National Pride shot[1]!!

- terriyaki77: Bartender found dead from overwork, lol.

- junnyjoon: Is the news broadcast accurate? It should be statistically impossible for our small country to hold first, second, fourth, and sixth place.

- game_addicted_lifebb: As expected, Koreans thrive on competition. Haha, if you’re not aiming for first place, why bother? 😂

***

[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: 81.7 (-14)

Agility: 75.2 (-14)

Stamina: 77.8 (-13)

Mana: 46.5 (-8)

Skills: Lightning Essence lvl 6, Sixth Sense lvl 10, … Mimicry lvl 1

I was pleased to see that some of my limited stats had returned. Though I couldn’t calculate it precisely, I estimated that about five percent of my stats had been restored. I had also acquired a new skill called Mimicry, likely from defeating the Skill Thief Gremlin.

I wondered how the skill worked.

Does it simply copy an opponent’s skill?

The lack of a skill description in my status window was frustrating. I would have to do additional testing to figure out how the skill worked. One potential option was to use Doppy as a test subject, but I didn’t want to disturb its peaceful sleep. ṟΆꞐȰＢËş

Additionally, both my Lightning Essence and Sixth Sense had leveled up. I was fairly certain Sixth Sense had leveled up because I listened to it on the eighth floor. Also, It seemed like defeating the Skill Thief Gremlin had rewarded me with a level in Lightning Essence. If the tower had randomly chosen a skill to upgrade, I got super lucky that Lightning Essence was upgraded.

What if I had lost a skill at random on the eighth floor?

Though I couldn’t be certain, I had a strong feeling the Skill Thief Gremlin would have stolen my Lightning Essence skill at random. The thought sent a chill down my spine. From now on, I needed to pay close attention to every detail in the tower’s messages, no matter how small.

- Cole Grouse (Ninth Floor): Is everyone okay? Thank goodness you’re all alive.

- Seo Ho-Su (Ninth Floor): Haha. With Tiger’s Blood and the Weretiger King’s sword, there’s no way I would die!

- Cole Grouse (Ninth Floor): What happened to you guys? I lost a skill. Luckily it wasn’t an important one, though.

Cole had arrived in the waiting room a bit later than the rest of us, and he messaged us as soon as he could. I had been worried about him being slightly behind... and sure enough, he lost a skill. All in all, I was just glad he survived.

As for Seo Ho-Su... Judging by his grin it seemed like he had gained a skill.

- Seo Ho-Su (Ninth Floor): Hehe, I got a skill called Iron Shield Mastery.

- Seo Ha-Rin (Ninth Floor): The opponent and I chose retention, so nothing changed for me.

- Seo Ho-Su (Ninth Floor): But something was odd. My opponent spent twenty minutes insisting they would choose theft, but then they chose retention.

- Seo Ha-Rin (Ninth Floor): Really? My opponent kept saying they would choose retention. I was tempted to steal a skill, but I stuck with retention too.

Reading my party members’ messages, I concluded there were Skill Thief Gremlins in other parts of the eighth floor as well. Considering that the illusions Seo Ho-Su and Seo Ha-Rin experienced were different, it made sense that they might vary depending on the person. After all, not everyone would be like me and insist on choosing theft.

Seo Ha-Rin showed such great self-control. It would have been disastrous if her opponent chose theft at the last minute, but she didn’t let that sway her.

When your combat strength was low, playing it safe was essential. There was no need to take unnecessary risks. For someone like a priest, surviving and then advancing to the next floor was what truly mattered.

The Community was in turmoil, filled with climbers who had been deceived by the Skill Thief Gremlins.

[Fuck. You said you’d choose retention Rophrin (Rank 8,321)! You’re a fucking bastard!]

[We both chose theft, and my hands are still shaking. Killing someone… it’s horrifying.]

[Just got an amazing skill. Burp lol.]

[Both of us chose theft and fought it out, but then the mage accidentally killed the Skill Thief Gremlin, lmao.]

[You idiots, it was all an illusion! Stop fighting amongst yourselves!]

[Reporting a liar: Lee Joo-Sang (Rank 182,731).]

…

Scrolling through the posts, I noticed I wasn’t the only one who had caught a gremlin.

However, it seemed like most people had discovered it by blind luck. Unfortunately, most climbers got duped, leaving the community in complete chaos. People argued about who lied and who didn’t, and even when others tried to explain that it was all just an illusion, they were ignored.

Most climbers were blinded by anger, not even bothering to verify the truth. They just vented their frustrations instead.

Hmm...

Watching the chaos made my head spin. I decided it was in my best interest to close the Community until things cooled off. When things got this heated, avoiding adding fuel to the flames was the smart move.

Closing the window, it struck me that Ha Hee-Jeong hadn’t messaged me yet. She would normally send me a message as soon as we reached the waiting room on every floor, but this time, there was nothing.

Why? What made this floor different?

Even though the eighth floor had a hidden mission, she hadn’t shared any information with me beforehand. That surprised me since she had warned me about every hidden mission she knew about up to this point. Given that others in the Community had discovered it, she definitely knew it existed. Maybe knowing my capabilities, she just trusted that I would handle it on my own.

But that didn’t explain why she would withhold everything she knew. After all, my Sixth Sense hadn’t always worked perfectly.

Suddenly, I recalled someone had posted that they had killed their opponent.

Could it be…?Did Ha Hee-Jeong want me to experience what it was like to kill someone?

I couldn’t think of any other reason she wouldn’t have told me. Honestly, that didn’t make me feel resentful, but I was still curious about her motive.

Ha Hee-Jeong had always said she would support me unconditionally, doing everything she could to help. If she wanted me to experience killing someone, there must have been a reason. Naturally, the first thing that came to mind was that I had difficulty with this in her previous life.

Did I suffer a mental breakdown after killing someone in her first life?

It didn’t seem like something I would do. I had killed before, and even though they were non-human, it hadn’t been a big deal.

Was killing a human really that different?

I believed I knew myself well. When necessary, I could be colder and more calculating than anyone, which was why I had been prepared to choose theft on the eighth floor. But being prepared to do something wasn’t the same as completing the action.

If I thought someone was evil and needed to be killed, would I be able to kill them with a clear conscience?

The future was unpredictable.

Ha Hee-Jeong knows the future.

I wondered if she knew that killing someone would traumatize me, and hadn’t told me anything because of that.

Does she want to help me overcome that trauma early on?

That seemed likely. I could be wrong, but I was almost certain.

What kind of person was I then? Who did I kill, and how much did it break me?

I had no way of finding out the answer by myself. As if in a trance, I opened the window to message Ha Hee-Jeong.

- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Ninth Floor):

I was frozen, uncertain of what to say.

Should I ask her why she didn’t tell me? Should I confront her about whether she wanted me to experience killing someone?

… No, that didn’t feel right. I couldn’t approach the conversation like that. I didn’t fully understand what was going through Ha Hee-Jeong’s mind, but I knew it hadn’t been an easy decision.

Deep down, I realized that whatever she had chosen, she had done it for my benefit. She knew what was coming, the pain I would inevitably face, and it must have weighed heavily on her. Knowing what I would go through would have been as difficult for her as it would be for me.

If I were the one who had regressed and was trying to help Ha Hee-Jeong, would I have made the same decision? If I had done that, how would I have felt?

It sounded ridiculous, but I felt like I was empathizing with her.

- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Ninth Floor): Hey, Hee-Jeong, I caught the gremlin lol.

In the end, I sent a message that didn’t mean much.

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Ninth Floor): Oh~ Congrats. I knew you’d figure it out.

Her response was completely normal. However, it was slightly delayed. Unlike before, there was a slight pause after she received my message. That pause made me certain that my suspicions were correct.

What could Ha Hee-Jeong be thinking right now? Is she worrying about how to help me in the future?

I had no way to figure it out. I couldn’t read someone else’s mind after all. Until now, killing someone hadn’t been on my mind. However, the eighth floor made me realize I needed to start mentally preparing myself for it, slowly but surely.

- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Ninth Floor): Is there anything I should watch out for on the ninth floor?

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Ninth Floor): Hmm... It’s safe to give you a heads-up about that floor. It’s a maze that we’ll need to navigate as a party. I don’t know the exact way out, though.

- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Ninth Floor): That’s fine, you can’t remember every floor perfectly. Since it’s a maze, we’ll need to move quickly, right?

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Ninth Floor): Yes, exactly. The main challenge will be to find the exit before the timer runs out. I did hear a rumor that there could be a hidden room there, but I’m not sure if we’ll be able to find anything.

It made sense. A maze was the perfect location to place a hidden room, since if you spent too much time looking for the secret, you wouldn’t be able to find the exit within the time limit.

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Ninth Floor): Unless we’re incredibly unlucky, we should be able to find the exit. Don’t worry about it too much, and the ninth floor will be perfect for testing your new axe out.

- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Ninth Floor): Got it. Just in case, I’ll bring my mace too. The axe might not be a perfect fit for me.

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Ninth Floor): Good idea, Su-Hyeok. There’s not much time left, so try to rest a bit.

- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Ninth Floor): You too. Rest up, and I’ll see you on the ninth floor.

Because of how short the eighth floor had been, the ninth floor’s waiting room rest period wasn’t very long either. With about an hour to rest, I decided to close my eyes and catch some sleep, even if just for a little while.

***

[Welcome to the ninth floor of the Tower of Ordeal: The Maze of Kashatum.]

[Escape from the Maze of Kashatum. Time remaining: 7 hours 59 minutes.]

We were welcomed by the familiar sight of a long stone corridor, just like the ones from the tutorial. Strangely, behind our party… was a white portal.

[Kwon Su-Hyeok’s party is currently at the exit of the Maze of Kashatum. They will now be transported to the center of the maze.]

As soon as the notification disappeared, everything around us started moving rapidly. It felt like we were speeding down a highway in a car, with the torches lining the maze’s walls flashing by in an instant.

Wait, this is a maze. I need to remember the path to the exit, even if it’s just a little. Left, right, left, left, right, left... Orcs!?

Memorizing the route, I suddenly saw a group of orcs standing right in the middle of our path. We were going too fast to avoid them.

Damn it, we’re going to crash!

I tried to dodge, but my body was frozen, with nothing I could do.

1. This is not an actual phrase, the author just made up the term. ☜

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