Conquering the Tower Even Regressors Couldn't-Chapter 394: Eighty-Eighth Floor, Waiting Room (4)

[30 hours 41 minutes until the rest period ends. Please take a rest.]

Although I hadn’t kept a precise track of how long I had been in the waiting room, it had taken somewhere around thirty-three hours for the countdown to the eighty-fifth floor to appear.

That had been about five hours ago, yet out of the thirty or so climbers we had been waiting on, only one had made it back.

It was a sorrowful and disheartening outcome, though not entirely unexpected.

Even so, many genuinely celebrated his return.

With the all-climber floor just ahead and so few climbers remaining, everyone knew each other’s faces, and most by name as well.

Only one survivor.

To everyone’s surprise, he left a deeper impression than expected—all because of what he had posted on the Community.

Christoph Murray, ranked 6,210.

His post was so memorable that I was still thinking about it hours later. Even someone like me, who rarely paid attention to the Community, had read it.

According to his account, his party had gradually fallen apart while enduring the trial on the eighty-seventh floor. Six members—everyone except him—died, and the enemies kept closing in. Eventually, he gave up on clearing the floor altogether.

Instead of surrendering to death, however, he gritted his teeth and chose to survive.

He said he did it for the other climbers.

Despite knowing he would die, Murray resolved to buy time, just enough to help those about to face the all-climber floor. He chose to live until the very end, to give others a few more hours to train.

He gave up on clearing the trial and focused solely on survival. As an archer, he had an advantage when it came to escaping. He dashed from place to place, firing arrows in a desperate frenzy.

With forty minutes remaining, he stumbled across a hidden mission.

Rather than a mission, though, it was more of a hidden weapon. In a collapsing house, he found something called the Artisan’s Bow. Using that bow, he managed to complete the trial.

Even Ha Hee-Jeong was a little surprised. She hadn’t known about that hidden mission.

The story was difficult to believe, but given that someone as weak as Cristoph could survive alone, there was no reason not to trust him.

Besides, sacrificing one’s teammates wouldn’t allow someone to survive the eighty-seventh floor.

Whether Murray truly meant what he said about doing it for the others is uncertain, however.

That wasn’t something worth scrutinizing. Whether his motives had been selfless or purely about survival didn’t change the outcome.

Those who knew him personally said he was likely being honest.

Regardless, what mattered most was that he had survived, and what he had said had a meaningful impact on the rest of us.

Well, Ha Hee-Jeong and I have already nudged others toward acting for the greater good.

This event took things further. People began praising his efforts and renewed their determination to survive. They said Murray’s story showed that not giving up could open a path forward.

Even if survival wasn’t an option, some attested that they would at least hold out a little longer to buy time for others.

We had reached the eighty-eighth floor, and the atmosphere wasn’t bleak. It wasn’t just about our resolve now, but the group’s sense of unity had grown stronger.

There are now 6,321 surviving climbers.

That was less than one percent of the original one million who had entered the tower, but it was still far from insignificant.

According to Ha Hee-Jeong, only around three hundred had made it to the eighty-eighth floor in her previous life. Of those, only sixty-three had survived to the ninetieth.

Now, that number had multiplied by twenty-one. With me here, the ratio of survivors would likely rise even higher.

That could only be a good thing. Though difficult trials remained beyond the ninetieth floor, having even a few more survivors would make a difference.

I lifted my head and checked the time. I had spent a fair amount of it soaking in the training spring.

Setting my thoughts aside, I stood up. “Doppy, let’s go eat.”

“Okay!”

A cool breeze brushed past as I stepped out of the spring.

It was time to rest.

“What do you feel like? Steak?”

“Nope! I want beef tartare!”

“Yeah? Alright.” 𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

Lately, Doppy had become obsessed with beef tartare. After we had it on a whim, it was all he wanted to eat. He had never liked strongly seasoned meat to begin with, which was probably a goblin trait.

Though oddly enough, he didn’t enjoy raw meat either.

He preferred something in between. Then again, assuming goblins liked raw meat was its own kind of bias.

Anyway, thirty hours left.

As the eighty-eighth floor drew near, a mixture of unease and anticipation settled into my stomach.

This time, the climbers wouldn’t only be from Earth. The other species I had encountered before would also be joining us.

I wondered whether Turen was still alive. That worry had lingered ever since I heard what Cho-Yeon had said. I could only hope he was.

***

[Welcome to the eighty-eighth floor of the Tower of Ordeal: Quadrant of Decay.]

[The Forces of Decay will advance in staggered waves. Each of the four sealed quadrants will be attacked independently. If a quadrant fails to hold the line, its land will gradually begin to decay.]

[Moreover, once the decay reached a certain point, a replica of the Apostle of Decay will appear.]

[If the designated quadrant defeats the replica, they will be considered to have cleared the wave. If not, the next replica will be weakened.]

[If all quadrants successfully repel the Forces of Decay, the true Apostle of Decay will manifest. This true apostle will weaken as time passes.]

[The order of engagement will be determined by which group repels its wave first. That group will gain the ability to adjust the enemy count for the other quadrants.]

[There are finite waves of enemies.]

[Resist the Forces of Decay.]

The eighty-eighth floor’s description floated weightlessly in the endless void.

We hadn’t been summoned to the battlefield just yet. Considering how lengthy and intricate the instructions were, the tower was giving climbers time to read through the message.

Though I was already familiar with the scenario, I reviewed it once more. After all, I could have overlooked something, such as an opportunity or a possible solution.

Thankfully, Ha Hee-Jeong had described it perfectly. Nothing had changed, and there was no time limit. The trial would only end once the objective was met.

It is quite a long explanation.

On the other hand, it wasn’t a particularly complicated trial.

At its core, it was a wave defense scenario that played out simultaneously in four places. Each species would have the high ground, albeit positioned across four separate quadrants.

Each zone had a set of massive gates, and the Forces of Decay would appear from a portal and tread toward those gates. If repelled, the decay would stop. If not, the land beneath that quadrant would slowly rot away.

Once the decay reached the gates, the Apostle of Decay would appear.

Nothing in the trial is especially difficult.

That was why Ha Hee-Jeong had told me not to worry. I had already killed a god. An apostle, whether real or a replica, wasn’t a threat.

Unfortunately, all four quadrants were isolated from each other—semi-transparent barriers blocked any movement between them.

Then there is the matter of controlling enemy waves and the timing of the apostle’s appearance.

Reading through the message again, it was clear. The quadrants weren’t allies but competitors. If one species let the others fail first, they could summon a weaker apostle, which was an undeniable advantage.

The ability to redistribute the next wave’s difficulty only reinforced that point.

Defeat the enemies as quickly as possible, and drive the other quadrants to collapse.

This floor was designed to force the different species to compete.

During Ha Hee-Jeong’s previous life, the result had been far from ideal. We had placed first in the end, but every other species had been annihilated.

Back then, relations between the races had been far less amicable than they were now. They had cooperated for the sake of the trial, but barely interacted otherwise. Every time they did, it ended in conflict.

Each group was desperate to dispatch the waves of enemies as quickly as possible, which led to unnecessary losses along the way.

With each wave, the enemy numbers increased, and one of the other races failed first. In the end, the Apostle of Decay appeared.

Though we ultimately survived and defeated the weakened apostle, it was hardly a satisfying outcome.

Around sixty survivors.

However, this time would be different. I was here.

My vision brightened. Just like Ha Hee-Jeong had mentioned, the massive square battlefield was divided into four sectors, separated by translucent walls.

We were atop a high platform toward the edge, and beneath us an enormous gate stood open.

At the center of the battlefield, a giant purple portal pulsed ominously. That was where the enemy forces would emerge.

The climbers murmured among themselves.

“Hey, what did the message even say earlier?”

“It’s simple. Just stop them.”

“No, but it said something about the other species, too. Was I the only one who didn’t get that part?”

“In short, it’s a competition.”

Some still didn’t fully understand the floor, likely because of how long the description was.

Fortunately for them, our formation was straightforward. Archers, mages, and healers would hold the high ground, while the warriors would descend to fight below. If holding the line became too challenging, they could retreat and climb back up.

The incoming forces weren’t focused on attacking the climbers, but on reaching the gate.

That isn’t to say they won’t fight at all.

The Force of Decay wouldn’t avoid the climbers and would attack when provoked.

Ha Hee-Jeong had originally planned to deploy the Essence of Decay by the portal. It could absorb the corrupted energy and then be used as a bomb, destroying the portal. Although a barrier surrounded the portal, the Essence of Decay would have probably shattered it.

Of course, that wasn’t possible now.

I scanned my surroundings, immediately spotting the Koshark quadrant, which was positioned directly opposite ours. There was a significant gap between us, but that didn’t impede my vision much. Soon, I spotted Turen.

Good.

Apparently, Cho-Yeon had been referring to another party—or she had lied.

Noticing my gaze, Turen raised his hand in greeting while directing his formation. “Long time no see!”

Despite the translucent wall, his voice had carried clearly. I waved briefly in return.

A strange tension filled the battlefield. Some climbers still hadn’t grasped the full picture, but it was obvious to anyone that this trial was designed to pit the species against one another.

The idea of proceeding in perfect harmony was just a fantasy.

I glanced briefly at the other races. Earth had by far the largest group. While we had over six thousand climbers, the others had between two to three hundred each. Some of them looked surprised when they saw how many we had.

Given the disparity, I suppose they are thinking they won’t be able to outlast us.

After murmuring among themselves, the races positioned on either side of us began approaching.

The Subrens, ghost-like in appearance, were the first to reach the barrier. They were followed by the Turinas, distinguished by their ram-like horns.

Meanwhile, Turen and the other Kosharks remained focused on preparing for battle. They didn’t show any particular response.

Fitting, for a race where nearly everyone chose the warrior class. As always, the epitome of fearless fighters.

A commotion broke out to our left and right, followed by some light verbal sparring.

“Kwon Su-Hyeok! Let’s talk for a sec!”

“Hey, Turinas! We got here first!”

I didn’t have the time or interest to spare them a second thought.

“Ready?”

“Yeah.”

Just as I nodded to Ha Hee-Jeong, who had come up beside me, the trial began.

[Wave 1 begins.]

The Subrens and Turinas, who had gathered nearby, cursed under their breath and hurried back to their stations.

I exchanged a look with Ha Hee-Jeong, then leapt straight down.

Two hundred grotesque monsters, their bodies half-rotted, charged forward. The same number had appeared in each quadrant.

Gripping my axe, I surged ahead. Wind grazed my cheek as I descended.

“Is he going to handle all of them himself?”

“Wait, that’s it?”

“This is the eighty-eighth floor, right?”

“It’s going to get worse, obviously.”

That last climber had it right. With every new wave, the number of enemies would increase exponentially.

I charged forward and eliminated the entire wave. The other quadrants didn’t seem to struggle much either.

[Earth defeated the first wave first. The next wave will contain 1,600 enemies.]

[Top-ranked climber ‘Kwon Su-Hyeok,’ please assign the next wave’s enemy count to each quadrant. Each group must receive a minimum of 250 and a maximum of 850.]

Ha Hee-Jeong planned for us to take on the heaviest burden. We would clear the wave while ensuring the others survived, then handle the apostle ourselves.

After taking a look, however, I realized we didn’t need to stick to that plan. Honestly, I felt like having a little fun.

“Give Koshark 850. Divide the rest evenly.”

The moment I finished speaking, I caught the looks of visible relief on the faces of the Subrens and Turinas.

On the other hand, the Kosharks looked stunned. Eyes full of betrayal and disbelief turned toward me.

Turen wore a puzzled, unreadable expression, and I gave him a wide grin.

There is no reason to be that worried.

Ha Hee-Jeong rushed over, clearly flustered. “What are you doing? Why aren’t you following the plan?”

I shrugged and gave her the same grin. “I realized I can probably cross that wall.”