Conquering the Tower Even Regressors Couldn't-Chapter 310: Seventy-Sixth Floor, Maze of Choices (5)

[Escape the maze. Time remaining: 2 hours 45 minutes.]

I thought I had grown accustomed—thanks to the tower—to the unfamiliar and the unexpected. For instance, the different species, gods, magic, lava monsters, and dragons I had encountered.

Back on Earth, I had never even imagined I could encounter such beings or undergo such mystical experiences.

However, the open room was shocking in a different sense.

What a massive chamber. And made entirely of glass, no less.

Of course, if that had been the only thing, I wouldn’t have been so shocked.

At most, I had speculated that it would be a boss room with enemies, or a space similar to the rooms we had already passed. Or perhaps an entirely empty and barren chamber.

Maybe just a shortcut straight to the waiting room?

However, the glass room was something else entirely.

Thousands of miniature labyrinths stretched beyond the transparent walls. Some of them even contained living beings moving in real-time.

Though they appeared no larger than a fingernail, I could sense they were alive, navigating their mazes at this very moment.

What is this?

Even the floor beneath my feet was made of glass.

There were circular mazes, rectangular ones, star-shaped ones, mazes crawling with enemies, and others structured like the ones we had already passed—complete with doors and passages.

At the center of this maze-filled chamber stood a violet pillar, as thick as a forearm. Resting atop it was a gemstone that emitted a soft, fluorescent-blue glow.

Looks like something crafted by someone obsessed with mazes.

It wasn’t necessarily tasteless, more so obviously the work of a madman.

Naturally, the first thing that came to mind was a god.

There were gods tied to items such as furnaces and concepts like shadows, so mazes seemed only fitting. Nothing else came to mind.

Surely, no one but a god could have created a room where living beings navigate mazes in real time.

While I remained lost in thought, Doppy appeared thoroughly intrigued by the mazes around us. His gaze wandered restlessly, eyes flitting from one maze to another.

“Wooooah...” he exclaimed quietly.

It didn’t match the gravity of the situation, but I understood. Honestly, I felt the same. Not only was the room mysterious, it was surreal.

Still, I hadn’t stepped into the room yet, as I was absorbed in thought.

Ten seconds had passed, and nothing inside had changed.

Maybe something only happens once I enter?

For now, we were simply standing in front of the threshold.

A flicker of anxiety stirred within me. There didn’t appear to be any immediate threats, but I couldn’t shake the thought.

What if we get pulled into one of those countless mazes? Hmm. Probably not.

I was probably overthinking things. The trial was over, so it wouldn’t make sense to be transported somewhere else now.

“Let’s go in.”

Doppy gave a spirited nod. “Got it!”

“I’ll go first.”

Regardless, it was impossible to know for sure. A trap at the very end was a common trope.

I tensed every one of my muscles and took a cautious step forward.

Tap—

The tip of my foot landed on the glass floor. The circular maze below me continued operating, but nothing around me seemed to react to my entrance.

I turned and met Doppy’s gaze. After I nodded, he carefully followed me in. The way he braced himself was oddly endearing.

Click—

The moment Doppy fully entered, the door behind us closed smoothly and silently.

I scanned the room again, but again, nothing changed. Even when I concentrated my senses, nothing stood out.

Weird.

“Yoonie, Doppy. Anything triggering for either of you?”

“Hmm! Nothing on my end!”

“Same here!”

Hmm.

Not that I expected much. The room didn’t contain any—visible—doors leading anywhere else, nor did I get the sense that something was being concealed.

Most likely, the trial would end once I touched the gem atop that violet pillar. Even in games, reaching a checkpoint like this was necessary to progress to the next stage.

Still, I didn’t plan to touch it just yet.

Before that, I want to look around the room.

There could be a hidden reward tucked away somewhere. However, it felt unlikely the designer would go to the trouble of constructing such an intricate glass room surrounded by mazes if all I had to do was touch a gem.

Well, maybe they would. I will have to look around carefully.

If I accidentally got sucked into another maze while snooping, it would be a disaster. Going off in search of a bonus only to trigger a trap would be the worst possible outcome.

I decided not to use mana or Divine Power. Extra rewards were nice, but not essential. It wasn’t worth the risk.

Therefore, I inspected the room for a while, but found no signs of anything hidden. I did spot what looked like treasure chests at the ends of a few mazes beyond the glass, but I couldn’t reach them since the barrier prevented it.

If only I used mana...

For a moment, I considered trying Two-Way Portal, but getting trapped would be disastrous. Besides, trials like this were typically designed to prevent escapes by portal.

Well, no helping it.

Maybe there really wasn’t a reward—at least not one that posed unnecessary risk.

I stepped toward the center.

Vmmm—

The fluorescent-blue gem began to vibrate softly, and I placed my hand on it. The mana within me stirred in response. As it rippled briefly, the gemstone’s glow intensified.

A mischievous voice rang out.

[What, is it over already?]

It was unfamiliar, not the usual tone that accompanied the tower’s system messages.

Also, it hadn’t come from the gem. It hadn’t entered through my ears and had resonated directly in my head.

I narrowed my eyes and sharpened my focus. A faint shape began to emerge above the gemstone.

It resembled a human torso from the waist up to the head, but not quite. It had six arms branching from its sides, and its head wasn’t round, but hexagonal.

I couldn’t make out the finer details because the figure remained hazy, like mist forming into shape.

Perhaps because I had something to focus on, the voice seemed to emanate from the figure, “You’ve escaped the Maze of Choices. Congratulations.”

I replied in a tense but composed tone, “Who are you?”

“I am the second-class god, The Meticulous Architect.”

It was such a fitting name for a god capable of designing such a labyrinth. Personally, I found mazes distasteful, but everyone had their own preferences.

According to him, I had escaped the maze, meaning the trial had ended, but I still had a question. “Why did you show up? Is there some kind of additional challenge?”

“No. Nothing of the sort. I was just curious about you.”

“Curious about me?”

“That’s right. That maze was designed specifically for you."

I couldn’t quite grasp what he meant.

Is he implying that this isn’t part of the tower’s original trial?

“What do you mean by that?”

“What else could I mean? I crafted this trial especially for you.”

“I’m not sure I understand.”

“You’ve got a title, don’t you?”

At The Meticulous Architect’s words, a thought from earlier surfaced once again.

Seeker of the Crossroads.

I had wondered whether simply continuing forward was the key to escaping the Maze of Choices.

“Looks like you’re starting to catch on.”

“But there’s something odd. I imagined a straightforward trial where you just keep moving forward until you find the exit.”

“That’s also true.”

“Sorry, what?”

“There were two escape routes from the beginning.”

Only then did I realize that both of my earlier assumptions had been correct.

The left and right doors had different escape strategies. If I had chosen the path on the right, simply pressing onward would have led me out. In other words, both the first and second possibilities I had considered were valid.

It all depended on which direction I chose.

Naturally, that raised a new question. “So I just needed to keep pressing onward for the path on the right?”

“Exactly.”

“If I had taken that route, would anything have been different? The rewards, or something like that?”

“No, not particularly. Your title would’ve changed, but that’s not of major significance.”

Even the matter of the title aligned with what I had anticipated.

Hmm, maybe I am more perceptive than I give myself credit for.

Everything I had predicted throughout this trial had proven accurate, and that gave me a newfound sense of confidence.

“So then, does this mean I’ve earned a divine name?”

“Not quite. You’re still in the preparation stage.”

“I see. Just out of curiosity, if I’d gone through the right-side door, how far would I have had to walk?”

“Hmm, about two hours? Once you passed through 2,502 rooms, you would’ve arrived here.”

2,502 rooms?

That number alone felt borderline sadistic. I was dumbfounded. Even at a pace of one room every three seconds, that would take several hours.

Honestly, I felt relieved I had chosen the left path.

“Not even two hundred, but 2,502—”

Even the fact that the last digit wasn’t a multiple of ten felt oddly cruel.

What if I had given up after exactly twenty-five hundred tries?

No, maybe that was the whole point. I was required to keep moving without hesitation, without regret, to reach the intended solution.

Thinking about it again, the left path also tied into the trial’s core message—realization.

After all, seeking the correct path at a fork in the road is also the work of a seeker.

Still, the notion that my title had changed left me curious.

I was tempted to check it right away, but it didn’t feel appropriate to do so in front of a god. This wasn’t just any bystander. Of course, he would notice.

There was another reason, too. For reasons I didn’t yet understand, the Meticulous Architect seemed to view me favourably. He had answered my questions sincerely and without hesitation. It seemed smarter to make use of this opening for conversation.

Besides, I could check the updated title once I reached the waiting room.

Pushing aside those thoughts, I looked up at the hazy figure once more. Whatever the case, there had to be a reason for this god’s appearance.

He had claimed that he had come simply out of curiosity, but still. “Anyway, the trial’s over now. Is there some kind of additional reward?”

I made sure to phrase my question carefully so as not to offend.

Apparently, he caught my drift.

The Meticulous Architect let out a soft, amused laugh. “You’re still wondering why I showed up, aren’t you?”

I didn’t respond.

The faint figure flickered for a moment, then turned its gaze fully toward me again. “I’ll grant you a wish.”

“Excuse me?”

A wish? Out of nowhere?

The unexpected offer threw me off. The god nodded in assent, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

“For the first challenger to appear in four thousand years, it’s the least I can do. Especially since you managed to escape my maze.”

Still, a wish as a reward?

“I mean it. I even secured the tower’s permission. This isn’t a reward from the tower itself, but a personal bestowment from me.”

This was even more difficult for me to make sense of. Regardless, what he had said earlier had caught my attention.

The first challenger in four thousand years.

This was the first time someone had directly stated that to me. Based on this newfound knowledge, Kalain had challenged the tower four millennia ago.

“Is being a challenger really such a big deal?”

“It is. Far more than you probably realize.”

I was about to ask more, but The Meticulous Architect cut me off, “That’s all I can say. Now, tell me your wish.”

Though I was deeply curious, I didn’t want to press someone who was showing me kindness.

Instead, I focused on the wish. “If I make a wish, am I going to owe you something later?”

The god let out a booming laugh. “Don’t worry. It’s nothing like that. Just think of it as the whim of an eccentric being. Personally, I find this whole situation quite entertaining. What’s happening now, and what’s still to come.”

I didn’t understand what he meant, but I chose not to pry. It could be interpreted as part of the wish, and his tone didn’t suggest that an explanation was forthcoming.

Unsure of what to say, I simply nodded. “I see.”

“Then take your time. You completed the trial quickly, so you’ve earned a bit of breathing room.”

Hmm. A wish. Granted by a god.

Now that I had the chance, I didn’t know what to ask for. Not because I had nothing in mind, but if anything, there were too many things I wanted.

Leaving aside what kinds of wishes he could actually grant, there was simply too much I lacked as a climber.

After a long moment of contemplation, I finally opened my mouth.

***

「Invisible Message: The second-class god ‘The Meticulous Architect’ has submitted a request to the Tower of Ordeal to meet the Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok.」

「Invisible Message: The Tower of Ordeal has granted permission on the condition that the second-class god ‘The Meticulous Architect’ receives no compensation for hosting the seventy-sixth floor.」