Conquering the Tower Even Regressors Couldn't-Chapter 380: Eighty-Seventh Floor, Waiting Room (1)

[3 hours 12 minutes until the rest period ends. Please take a rest.]

My approach to training shifted slightly after the battle with Endless Furnace.

Considering my divinity had nearly quadrupled, it was only natural. Such large changes meant my training methods had to evolve as well.

That didn’t mean I had become four times stronger, though. While having more divinity was undeniably better, its quantity alone was never a direct measure of one’s power.

If I have to put a number to it, I would say I am not even twice as strong.

Even if I were to face Endless Furnace again right now, I couldn’t guarantee I would win in a one-on-one duel. At best, I had finally reached a point where I could stand on even ground with him.

In truth, the surprise attack using the divine horn and the effectiveness of the Savior skill had tipped the battle in my favor.

Of course, that was just my personal perspective. Perhaps I was overanalyzing things.

Still, it is better to underestimate myself than to fall into the trap that is arrogance.

Even if it was subjective, my reasoning wasn’t entirely off base.

I couldn’t summon Endless Furnace through combat training, but with my experience, I could visualize him well enough to predict the likely outcome.

To be honest, that was precisely why combat training had long since lost its meaning for me. There simply weren’t many opponents left worth fighting. I couldn’t summon divine entities.

Kalain’s case was different, though. The illusion I had summoned then was nothing more than a snapshot of his past, not his true self.

Getting too strong comes with its own problems.

Though I had long since outgrown the stage where I required actual combat to grow, I still had to admit that it remained the more effective option.

Of course, mental combat training was practical, too.

Even if my final clash with Endless Furnace had been brief, the path leading up to it hadn’t been. Every one of their movements was ingrained in my memory.

Still, simulated battles didn’t bring that same sharpened edge of tension. If I died within a mindscape, I could always fight again.

Sure, it felt like I was dying for real, but after my recent experience, I could confidently say they weren’t comparable.

Anyway, I am getting off track.

For now, I had focused on adjusting to my vastly increased divinity.

I had also tested new methods of controlling it and experimented with some of the insights I had recently gained. Not everything turned out to be useful in combat, but the process itself was fairly enjoyable.

On top of healing spells, I had tried out buffing myself and recreated techniques I had observed during my battle with Endless Furnace.

Of course, just because I was training inside a mental space didn’t mean it was easy. In fact, it drained my mental energy more than anything.

“Ugh, this is rough.” 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖

“You sound like Seo Ho-Su!”

Though clearly, not everyone understood that.

“You didn’t even move a tenth as much as usual! Don’t you think you’re being a bit dramatic?”

I lightly flicked Doppy on the forehead, just enough to startle him, not hurt. Naturally, I controlled my strength.

He squinted and tilted his head back to avoid the hit. I didn’t bother chasing after him.

“You brat. It’s just like they say, ‘you only see what you understand.’”

Not that I couldn’t see where he was coming from. Even with all his progress, Doppy still wasn’t at a level where he could grasp the full depth of mind-based combat. The same went for Ryun.

It was a serious misconception, though.

“Do you have any idea how exhausting it is to fight with your mind? I literally experience dying. You’ll get it someday once you reach my level.”

“Ughhh, here we go again with the lectures!” Doppy grumbled.

Ryun immediately chimed in with his usual, slow-paced support, “Su-Hyeok... is... right... Doppy... you have... to train... harder...”

“You hear that?”

At a glance, it could seem like I was picking on Doppy, but that wasn’t the case. There was a reason behind it.

In truth, I had been giving him these kinds of lectures for a while now—during every training session, to be exact. Thankfully, it was possible because Ryun shared my perspective.

It was for a simple reason, honestly. Doppy had recently become a master.

He and Ryun devoted themselves to training while I was inside the trial.

The lectures began after that. Doppy hadn’t openly slacked off, but I could sense a touch of pride starting to surface.

Deep down, I understood why. I had gone through the same phase myself. Of course, I hadn’t neglected the trials, but unconscious arrogance was hard to avoid.

To become a master, one had to arrive at a personal breakthrough, a realization so profound it left a jolt in its wake. That sense of accomplishment was not easily forgotten.

Looking back, if Ryun, who had been stronger than I was at the time, hadn’t been around, I could have ended up just as arrogant.

That is why I keep lecturing.

Ironically, even though I hated being lectured when I was younger, there was a strange satisfaction in doing it myself, especially when Doppy reacted the way he did. It was kind of endearing.

He groaned and shook his head. “Ugh. Fine, I get it!”

I chuckled and ruffled his hair. “Good. Then get up and do a bit more training. Nothing too hard, just some light cooldowns. I’m going to check in on Natalie.”

I stood up.

The promise I made back on the eighty-sixth floor, to visit Natalie’s world with Ha Hee-Jeong, had gone unfulfilled. Not because something was up, but simply because of the timing of our trials.

Ha Hee-Jeong’s party was still conquering the eighty-seventh floor, and it reportedly took about three days. Even though she had entered while I was still in the waiting room of the eighty-sixth floor, my trial had been so short that she hadn’t returned yet.

There were still about three hours left until I started the next floor, but waiting around felt impractical. I normally started doing some light warm-ups about two hours before a trial, and reaching out randomly through the necklace would be reckless.

Nothing had gone wrong. Our schedules simply didn’t align this time. We could always visit her together after I cleared the eighty-seventh floor.

There should be enough time before the next all-climber floor begins.

As for Natalie, I wasn’t visiting for any particular reason. There wasn’t anything specific I needed to say. I had simply made it through a major ordeal, and that felt like reason enough to check in.

While I was there, I figured I could share some divinity with Hyang, too.

I changed quickly and opened the portal to Natalie’s world. Her garden had grown even more vibrant since my last visit. As always, Natalie, Gehenna, and Hyang were already waiting to greet me.

Still, no matter how often I came here, something about this place left me slightly uneasy.

I had asked her about it once.

She had told me she didn’t observe my every move, and that she could only sense when I was approaching. If she wanted, she could watch, but doing so drained her power, so she limited it unless necessary.

Naturally, once I fully became a god, even that would no longer be possible. From then on, she would only see what I allowed her to.

Still, no matter how dependable Natalie was as an ally, I couldn’t shake the faint unease it left me with.

It isn’t like she is Big Brother or anything.

Still, she would always be there when I needed help, so I let it slide.

Natalie approached me with a gentle smile. “You’ve done well.”

“Yeah, it was rough.”

Even if I wanted to downplay it, I couldn’t. The battle with Endless Furnace wasn’t something that could be dismissed so lightly.

I glanced around. The garden hadn’t changed much, but I did notice that the centerpiece—the tea table—was gone.

“What happened to the table?”

“Oh, I put it away. I thought we could talk inside the castle today.”

“Huh? All of a sudden?”

“You’ve never actually been inside, have you?”

“Ooooh, right.”

Now that she mentioned it, I had visited more than once, but I had never taken a proper look inside the castle.

“You’re right. Let’s check it out.”

“I’ll show you the way.”

The small castle had a blue roof and white stone walls. It didn’t feature the vibrant colors of the garden, but its beauty was striking. There was something almost antique about it, a sense of timeless elegance.

Gehenna and Hyang slipped away partway through, heading into another room. Natalie clearly wanted to speak with me in private. It seemed like she had something important to say.

Although when I asked, she remarked that it wasn’t anything like that. Even with trivial things, she found it easier to talk one-on-one. Being a dimensional witch apparently came with certain constraints.

I had more freedom as her contractor.

In any case, Natalie congratulated me on defeating the relentless Endless Furnace. She said she had believed I could do it, though even now, it still felt unreal.

Although I agreed with her, hearing it from a dimensional witch directly gave the moment a stronger sense of weight.

I smiled without meaning to. “Well, I made it through a major hurdle.”

“Still, you can’t let your guard down. The trials will only become more difficult from here on. Not that I think you’re someone who would grow complacent.”

Perhaps her comment was nothing more than a precaution, much like the ones I often offered Doppy without much deliberation.

To be honest, I had felt a genuine sense of peace, as if a weight had finally been lifted off my shoulders.

Of course, the higher the floor, the more formidable the trials became. Therefore, her warning was far from unfounded.

Yet for reasons I couldn’t quite pinpoint, a faint sense of disquiet continued to linger beneath the surface.

“Harder than fighting a god?”

“I can’t say anything that specific. I just meant things won’t be easy. I wasn’t referring to any particular part.”

I nodded slightly.

It was just a warning, nothing more. Not a specific prophecy of danger like the one that had unsettled me earlier.

I wasn’t arrogant enough to believe all of my instincts were correct.

Even so, it wasn’t something to dismiss lightly.

In Ha Hee-Jeong’s previous life, we had failed somewhere in the nineties. Of course, I wasn’t the same person I had been back then.

Now, I was a challenger.

There was every possibility that the trials ahead could surpass even the hardships of those earlier floors.

Natalie’s warning, vague though it was, wasn’t without merit. She hadn’t spoken plainly, but the implication was there. It felt like she was referring to the nineties. That alone was enough to send my thoughts straight there.

If that was the case, the eighty-seventh floor should be manageable. The floor as a whole wouldn’t pose much of a threat.

Naturally, that didn’t mean I planned to let my guard down.

“Don’t worry. I’m always giving it my all. These days, I’ve gotten so used to training that if I skip a session, it feels like thorns are sprouting on my tongue or something.”

Natalie let out a small, amused laugh. “I know. I know exactly what kind of person you are, Oppa.”

“Anyway- Hee-Jeong’s doing fine, right?” I glanced at Natalie, watching carefully for any hint of hesitation.

Logically, I was certain she was fine. Regardless, once emotions got involved, reason sometimes went out the window.

Each trial contained countless variables, and reality rarely followed expectations—like how I had managed to take down Endless Furnace. That lingering sliver of concern never fully left my chest.

“She’ll be alright. Don’t worry. She’s Hee-Jeong unnie, after all.”

“Yeah, I guess so.”

Natalie scratched her cheek awkwardly. “Well, it’s not like I can actually see her myself.”

“Huh? You can’t?”

“Well, like I said before, I could if I used my power. But it’s different when it comes to others. My strength still hasn’t fully returned. Since you’re my contractor, anything related to you is easier to sense.”

Ah, that made sense now.

She had probably detected Ha Hee-Jeong’s regression only because it was closely tied to me.

“If I use a bit of power, I could check on her for you. But I wouldn’t recommend it. She’s more than capable, and the more I focus on her, the less I can see of you.”

“No, it’s fine. She’ll be fine.” I shook my head.

Natalie was right. Ha Hee-Jeong didn’t need anyone watching over her; she would make it through on her own. Wasting Natalie’s power on something like this felt unnecessary at best, and meddlesome at worst.

“But you’re not planning to make her an apostle?”

“Huh? Uh, well...” I trailed off, unsure of how to answer.

It wasn’t that I hadn’t considered it. I had given it a great deal of thought.

The benefits were undeniable. Even though we had the necklaces, having a direct link through divinity would make communication easier. Also, Ha Hee-Jeong herself would grow significantly stronger.

Even so, I didn’t want it. There was one reason, and it was a significant one.

The relationship between a god and their apostle bordered too closely on that of a master and servant. I could say that with certainty now.

Even if I didn’t intend for it, anyone who received my divinity would carry a hidden shackle in their heart. A subtle weight they could never quite escape.

I didn’t want that for Hee-Jeong, and I didn’t want to explain all of this at length to Natalie either.

“No. I don’t plan on it.”

“I figured as much.”

From the way she had responded, it seemed she had already assumed as much.

I rose slowly to my feet. “Well, I should get going.”

***

[1 minute 30 seconds until the rest period ends. Please take a rest.]

Even as the countdown ticked down, Ha Hee-Jeong still hadn’t returned. That wasn’t too surprising, considering that three days hadn’t even passed, and trials could take up to six.

Either way, the time had come.

“You ready?”

“Of course!” Doppy answered enthusiastically.

“If there’s time left, keep training.”

“Obviously! Ryun’s been watching me so closely I can’t even rest properly!”

I laughed as I reached out and gave Doppy’s head a gentle pat. “Well, try to rest a little.”

It had been a while since he had joined me during a trial, but that didn’t mean I could afford to leave him unprepared.

I glanced up toward the air above. Less than twenty seconds remained.

Time to move.

“Send me to the eighty-seventh floor.”