Conquering the Tower Even Regressors Couldn't-Chapter 419: Ninetieth Floor, Rest Area (2)

[9 hours 24 minutes until the rest period ends. Please take a rest.]

I stared fixedly at Ha Hee-Jeong, who had started smiling knowingly. We knew each other well, so she was definitely hinting at something.

“What? How are a party and weapons related?”

Countless ideas about what she was hiding from me flickered through my mind.

“Nothing crazy. Just since it’s the last rest area, they want to set the mood a little, like it is the first rest area.”

“Ah.”

“We’ve all changed so much since the tenth floor. Think of it as reminiscing, bringing back old memories.”

Come to think of it, it wasn’t such a strange thing. It made sense in its own way.

Every climber had entered the tenth floor fully armed. By the twentieth floor, only half of the climbers had brought along their armor, and by the thirtieth, a quarter.

Everyone felt safe from the fortieth floor onward.

At that point, they had started showing up in light climbing gear or fancier clothes.

Although Ha Hee-Jeong and I had known from the start, we hadn’t been able to share that information. At least now we would be able to recreate the atmosphere of that first visit and reminisce about the battles we had endured.

“Not a bad idea.” 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺

“Right?”

That solved one of my questions, but her smile was another matter entirely. “But what about that knowing smile just now?”

Ha Hee-Jeong shrugged and feigned innocence. “What smile?”

“What do you mean, ‘what smile?’ You were grinning strangely.”

“I didn’t do that.”

“Are you kidding me?”

Even if she had regressed, she was still the Ha Hee-Jeong I knew.

We had spent ninety floors together. When I pressed her on such an unconvincing denial, she leaned closer and acted like I had taken advantage of her. Our shoulders drew close.

“What do you mean, kidding?”

“You’re hiding something, aren’t you?” I nudged her lightly with my shoulder.

In retaliation, she pushed back harder. “What could I possibly be hiding from you?”

“Come on, just tell me already.”

“What are you talking about? There’s nothing to tell.”

When I gave her a mock glare, she jabbed me in the side. “Don’t be clingy. It’s not attractive.”

“Clingy?” I asked incredulously.

“Yeah, clingy,” she replied flatly, then, out of nowhere, she spun around sharply. “I’m leaving now.”

Her reaction only confirmed she was hiding something.

What can it be? Are the other climbers planning a mock battle? Hmm. No, that’s too crazy.

Perhaps she was preparing for the ninety-first floor. Until now, Ha Hee-Jeong had passed off her knowledge as a foresight skill. Of course, she hadn’t revealed it to everyone, only to a small number of the top climbers, but perhaps she was planning to make use of it.

“Ah, you’ll talk to them about Doppy and Ryun at the rest area, right?”

“Yes, don’t bring it up beforehand. We’ll talk about it together later.”

“Alright. I’m really going now. Doppy, Ryun! I’m heading off, goodbye!”

“Farewell!”

After exchanging goodbyes with Doppy and Ryun, Ha Hee-Jeong left through her necklace.

There were about nine hours left until the tower sent us to the rest area. Setting aside my small doubts, it was time for me to do what I had to do.

To be honest, I had wanted to train before now, but other things had taken priority. Since Doppy had just finished his training, I would have to go alone.

“Get some rest. I’ll be back after training.”

***

[3 minutes 41 seconds until the rest period ends. Please take a rest.]

Out of the nine hours remaining, I had spent eight of them training. Not because that had been my plan, but because I had lost track of time. I didn’t mean that as a figure of speech; I truly had. That was how much I had gained by sparring with Thunder Axe.

Thanks to my high stats and heightened combat intuition, I remembered the duel perfectly.

I replayed and reconstructed it. Even a minor motion contained more meaning than Angelina’s techniques, and every arc of the axe was full of intent.

It also helped me strengthen my domain.

Even though I had utilized a domain, Thunder Axe’s axe had reached me.

A domain was not absolute. Thunder Axe’s conviction and sharpness, born from deep belief and experience, had pierced through mine. Thanks to that, I had refined my domain further.

Surpassing even that benefit, I had learned more about the fundamentals of axemanship. Their style bore an uncanny resemblance to Alexei’s.

It was ferociously aggressive.

I was much the same, as I wielded a double-headed axe, but I hardly measured up. Cut the flesh, take the bone—that brutal resolve was the foundation of Thunder Axe’s approach.

An axe was heavy by nature. It demanded a different style from a sword, a spear, or even a one-handed axe.

Through Thunder Axe, I was able to learn the true essence of cutting flesh to sever bone. It felt as if I had unknowingly broken past a wall and stepped one stride further.

It will be useful for Alexei as well.

Sparring aside, I set aside the conundrum that was my uniqueness. My meeting with Natalie hadn’t revealed anything of substance. She had only shared that she couldn’t talk about it, and casually asked whether I had met Thunder Axe.

Anyway, only ten floors remained. Even if I didn’t find an answer in the tower, I would once I conquered it.

There was other good news as well.

Poong-Wol has nearly recovered.

The divine energy I had shared on each floor seemed to have played a significant role. He would likely be fully recovered by the ninety-second floor, and the ninety-third at the latest.

I didn’t know exactly what Poong-Wol was capable of, but I looked forward to the prospect of finding out.

Regardless, it was time to enter the rest area.

***

[Welcome to the ninetieth floor of the Tower of Ordeal: Combined Rest Area.]

[All aggressive actions are strictly prohibited within the rest area. Rest and relax at your leisure. Time remaining: 47 hours 59 minutes.]

The breeze stirred my roughly cut hair, making it flutter.

As I enjoyed the coolness on my forehead, a few strands of hair touched my ear and brushed against my cheek. Above the deep-green field filled with grasses that barely reached my toes, the blue-tinged dusk sky stretched faintly into the distance.

Perhaps because night was a universal signal for rest and leisure, the rest area always began in the evening.

There is definitely something different about this one.

The final rest area.

Outwardly, it looked no different from any other, but for some reason, my heart felt warm and tender. Even someone as insensitive as I couldn’t help but feel this way, so I could understand why the other climbers were sentimental about the last rest area.

Before entering the ninetieth floor, I had rejoined the party, so my party members were gathered around me.

As we briefly greeted each other, climbers began to appear across the field. There were about six thousand of them, and it didn’t take long for everyone to appear.

As promised, they were all fully armed—weapons in hand, armor and robes layered over their climbing gear. They greeted one another brightly, some embracing friends while others clasped hands.

By now, everyone knows each other.

Six thousand wasn’t a small number. Unlike Earth, however, we didn’t have anyone else to communicate with but each other. Even if we forgot faces, a name alone was enough to know who was who.

“Wow, you’re huge.”

“Of course! Ryun’s always been humongous!”

Seo Ho-Su, who had been chatting with Doppy, suddenly asked, “But why is Ryun in his original form?”

I smiled faintly. It wasn’t the right place to explain—not yet, at least. “I’ll tell you later. For now, we need to move.”

Seo Ho-Su immediately caught on that there was more to it. He quickly changed the subject.

“Oh? Alright then.”

“Still, gathering like this, all dressed up, really does bring back memories. Hendrick’s sharp, I’ll give him that.”

“So this was Hendrick’s idea?” I asked.

Seo Ho-Su nodded. “Yeah. He said since the hundredth floor probably won’t be a rest area, we should enjoy the last one and look back on our time together. Well, if the hundredth does turn out to be a rest area, all the better.”

As Seo Ho-Su laughed heartily, Cole quietly chimed in, “True. Standing here like this reminds me of when we first moved as a party.”

“Same here!”

Despite Seo Ha-Rin’s agreement, Hakin grumbled, “Easy for all of you to say. I hardly ever traveled with Su-Hyeok hyung.”

Seo Ha-Rin nudged his shoulder. “Hey, you think we spent that much more time? We were only together on the early floors, too.”

“That’s right.” Seo Ho-Su sided with his daughter with a playful grin.

I placed a hand on Hakin’s slumped shoulder. “Come on, we did travel together often enough across the floors. You were there.”

He reluctantly admitted, “That’s true.”

Seo Ho-Su let out another hearty laugh. “Haha, I can say this now, but back then, I never imagined it would turn out like this. We couldn’t see a step ahead, and were worried sick about the very next floor.”

“Can you see more clearly now?” Ha Hee-Jeong asked jokingly.

Seo Ho-Su put a hand on my shoulder. “Of course, because we’ve got our Su-Hyeok.”

Ha Hee-Jeong furrowed her brow. “Our Su-Hyeok?”

“Of course. Isn’t he ours? Or is he yours, Hee-Jeong?”

“What? No, that’s not it.”

Laughter broke out naturally.

Seo Ho-Su was always so warm and sociable that, even after regressing, Ha Hee-Jeong was like a child in front of him.

As we spoke, the rest area drew nearer. In the distance, I caught sight of passing inhabitants from other species. They were the people I had brought here.

“Excuse me for a bit. I need to talk to someone.”

“Hmm? Oh, sure.”

Leaving Seo Ho-Su behind, I walked toward them. Everyone I had rescued was in the area. I needed to tell them they had a place to go.

We had decided to send everyone tomorrow. No doubt they wished to go immediately, but I wanted to spend more time with Ryun and Doppy; one last day together with the whole party.

Surely the people I had saved would understand. They liked me dearly, and from their perspective, the chance to return home was a blessing enough.

“Excuse me.”

When I stopped one of them, she started. “Oh! The Liberator... Lord Su-Hyeok! It’s an honor!”

“It’s been a while.”

“I’m Purlin.”

“Yes, Purlin. I have something to tell you.”

Purlin nodded repeatedly. “Please speak freely! Do you need anything?”

“No, nothing like that. Could you call everyone who came over from the factory?”

“Ah, yes, that’s no problem. But may I ask why—” Purlin hesitated cautiously, then glanced at me again. “Not that I’m unwilling. If you summon them, they’ll all come running. However, they’ve been helping the original residents of the rest area, so I’ll have to inform them as well.”

Seeing how much she held me in awe, I only offered her a friendly smile. “It’s fine, I didn’t think otherwise. The thing is, an opportunity has come for you to return home. That’s why.”

“Pardon me?”

“You can all go back to your homelands.”

Shocked and overcome, Purlin stood frozen with her mouth agape, unable to speak. “Th-thank you! Thank you! Lord Su-Hyeok, thank you!”

“No need for that. I promised you, didn’t I?”

“Still... I’m so grateful! Truly! Truly...”

I patted her shoulder, and her reddened eyes now spilled tears.

“Now, please go share this wonderful news with the others.”

“Ah? Yes! When should we gather?”

“Let’s say twenty minutes from now? Good news should be delivered quickly. I’ll wait here.”

“Okay, sir!”

As Purlin hurried off, I stopped her.

“Oh, one more thing. We’ll be sending everyone tomorrow morning, so don’t tell the others just yet. You’ll want time for farewells, since you’ve grown close here. If they gather thinking it’s happening immediately, they might be disappointed. I’ll explain once everyone’s here.”

“Ah, yes! I understand!”

Watching Purlin’s figure recede, I turned back. My party had already gone in, and Ha Hee-Jeong was waiting.

“Why didn’t you go in?”

“Just wanted to stay with you.”

“It’s not that big of a deal. You could’ve gone in and saved us a room.”

“It’s fine. I already asked Ha-Rin to do that.”

Something felt off. I had planned to speak to Purlin and the others before entering the banquet hall anyway, but seeing Ha Hee-Jeong waiting here gave me the sense she had an ulterior motive. Almost as if she were keeping watch.

Suddenly, I remembered that meaningful smile of hers from earlier.

I looked at her, a sly glint in my eye. “What?”

“What do you mean, ‘what?’” she answered coyly, but I wasn’t about to be fooled.

I leaned in close, bringing my face near hers.

Startled by the sudden nearness, Ha Hee-Jeong flinched. “Wh-what are you doing?”

“What are you hiding?”