Chapter 15: Fourth Floor, Forward or Backward (2)
[Escape. Time remaining: 1 hour 58 minutes.]
There are moments in life when doubt seeps in. When every decision feels like it could ruin your life. It’s that hesitation before shading an answer on an exam’s OMR card[1], or the pause before responding to a job interviewer’s question, “Why did you apply to our company?”
And now, I found myself in one of those moments.
For the last twenty minutes, I had been sprinting downhill while a boulder chased me, echoing loudly and dangerously. With each stride, my uncertainty grew, gnawing at me.
Am I heading in the right direction?
The path had been eerily consistent for the entire time I ran. There was no shift in the gradient, no change to the stone walls or the floor beneath me. It was as if I was trapped in some kind of illusion.
Wait, could this actually be an illusion?
I realized that the sound of the boulder had remained consistent the entire time. The tremors hadn’t strengthened, and neither had the rumbling increased.
Could it be that my pace matches the boulder’s speed perfectly?
That was highly improbable. Such coincidences didn’t happen in real life.
I recalled how the tower’s messages had always carried an element of deception.
The tower is telling me to escape, but is continuing forward really the correct choice? Is there truly a boulder rolling toward me, or is this another trick?
I decided to stop and catch my breath, focusing on the sounds and vibrations around me.
Rumbleeeee—
The noises and tremors remained constant, neither growing stronger nor fainter.
Damn it, I’ve been duped again.
I turned to head back up the slope but hesitated as a troubling thought crossed my mind.
Isn’t this too easy?
Even if people initially panicked and ran downhill, it wouldn’t take them long to realize they had been deceived. In fact, I only caught on so soon because I’d been spooked by a similar trap on the second floor.
Could this be a double bluff?
The trick seemed almost too obvious.
What if, after everyone figures out that the boulder isn’t real, they turn back, and the real boulder starts rolling down? Or what if the path behind me is a dead-end, and I waste all the time I have to escape?
“If only Doppy were here…”
I would’ve trusted Doppy’s instincts. I wondered why Doppy hadn’t been teleported with me this time. The message on the first floor clearly stated that Doppy would accompany me on my journey.
If the challenge was truly a speed run, I could understand why Doppy wasn’t here. There was no need to include another individual in a test of my physical prowess.
Be that as it may, the fourth floor clearly required judgment and intuition. Everyone would have figured out that the noise and tremors were a trick. Following that train of thought, there was no reason Doppy shouldn’t be here. On the second floor, Doppy’s judgment and intuition were key in finding the optimal path.
Wait… What if this really is a speed run?
The boulder’s sound and the tremors might be a decoy, but it could be a double bluff, designed to make climbers turn back.
“Fuck…”
My mind spun from the conflicting thoughts.
What should I do? Move forward or retreat?
[Escape. Time remaining: 1 hour 31 minutes.]
Time slipped by as I stood there, paralyzed by indecision, knowing that staying still wasn't an option. I needed to think simpler.
On the second floor, the path forked multiple times. There had been countless choices, but I had Doppy’s company back then. Even when I faced important decisions like whether to help Paraktus, Doppy was there—silent, but present. I could always depend on its presence when I needed it.
But now, Doppy hadn’t been summoned to the fourth floor.
If I consider this simply… This had to be a speed run.
I took a deep breath, steeled my resolve, and started running again.
***
[Escape. Time remaining: 1 hour 11 minutes.]
Thud— Thud—
The rumble of the phantom boulder and the tremors beneath my feet hadn’t changed. But something had—a white portal was now shimmering before me.
Seriously? Is it really over? Could it be this simple?
I hadn’t encountered any traps or hidden dangers. I wondered if the sound and vibrations existed just to trick climbers into running.
Should I have turned back?
On the first two floors, I’d found hidden pieces. I skipped the third floor and didn’t have the chance to look there. I had no clue if there would be a hidden piece here.
Did I miss something?
[Escape. Time remaining: 1 hour 9 minutes.]
But it didn’t matter now. It had taken me fifty-one minutes to sprint down this slope. Even if I turned back, I probably wouldn’t have the energy to reach the starting point again.
What if I had turned back earlier? Would I have made it here in time?
Maybe not. Perhaps retracing my steps would’ve wasted too much time, preventing me from reaching the end before the clock ran out.
I shouldn’t obsess over hidden pieces.
Unlike Ha Hee-Jeong, I wasn’t a regressor. If I stumbled across hidden pieces by chance, that was fine, but I couldn’t afford to risk everything searching for them. The encounters with Karaksh and Paraktus had come close enough already. Finding hidden pieces was a bonus, but surviving and clearing the tower was what mattered.
Moving forward was the right choice.
As I approached the portal, new messages appeared.
[Congratulations. Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok has conquered the fourth floor of the Tower of Ordeal. Achievement points will be calculated.]
[Time remaining: 1 hour 8 minutes. Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok has successfully escaped. Achievement points will be calculated.]
[Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok has been awarded 3,208 achievement points. Total achievement points: 47,316.]
[Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok did not step backward and trigger the trap. He has been awarded an additional 2,000 achievement points. Total achievement points: 49,316. He will now enter the waiting room.]
I was right. If I had turned back, I would have activated the trap. My instincts had been correct, just like with Paraktus. While I rejoiced over my decision, the familiar sensation of weightlessness returned. As my vision brightened, I closed my eyes.
***
「Invisible Message: Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok did not take a single step backward. Unshakable resolve! His skills have leveled up. Indomitability is now lvl 9. Sixth Sense is now lvl 8.」
***
[Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok has conquered the fourth floor of the Tower of Ordeal.]
[Having conquered the fourth floor, you may now access the ‘shop.’]
[You may now enter sponsorship contracts with fourth-class gods.]
The familiar sight of the waiting room greeted me. Since I’d only been on the fourth floor for about an hour, the white room and small bed felt even more familiar than before.
[Fourth-class god 'Foe of the Waves' proposes a sponsorship contract.]
[Fourth-class god 'Flame of Devastation' proposes a sponsorship contract.]
[Third-class god 'Guide of Lightning’ proposes a sponsorship contract.]
[First-class god ‘Mother of All Winds’ proposes a sponsorship contract.]
[Third-class god ‘The Stagnant Prophet’ proposes a sponsorship contract.]
I willed the notifications to disappear, and they obediently vanished. I was getting used to dismissing these messages with a mere thought.
Another message appeared, informing me of the situation.
[3 hours 59 minutes until the rest period ends. Please take a rest.]
The time to rest had been reduced to four hours, even shorter than the previous waiting room. I wondered if it was because the previous floor had been so brief. Even so, one hour of running followed by four hours of rest was not a bad deal. I wasn’t tired, and if the wait was any longer, I would’ve been bored out of my mind.
Thanks to my improved stamina, I wasn’t exhausted despite the hour-long sprint. I wondered how I should pass the time.
Has Ha Hee-Jeong finished the challenges on the fifth floor yet? … Oh, right. Doppy! Where is he?
“Doppy!”
“Kee, keek!”
I turned to see Doppy peeking out from under the small bed. I had warned it not to climb into bed with me, but I didn’t mean to tell it to sleep underneath the bed.
“... Why are you down there?”
“Kriee! The room... too bright!”
It seemed like the room stayed lit even while I was gone. But why sleep under the bed?
“Oh, I see. I’m back.”
“Kriee! Human! You did well! Water! Bread!”
Doppy rubbed its sleepy eyes and crawled out from under the bed, bringing me a bottle of water and some bread. I accepted them with a nod, grateful for the small comforts that helped me unwind after the ordeal.
I wasn't particularly hungry and had planned to just drink some water. But since Doppy brought me bread, rejecting it felt wrong.
“Doppy, if this ever happens again, just sleep on the bed.”
“Kriee! Goblin! Is that really allowed?”
“Yeah, just not when I’m around.”
“Kriee! Thank you, human!”
Doppy clapped its hands in delight, beaming as if I had given it the world. It made me wonder why something so small brought it such joy.
Have I been too harsh on Doppy? I didn’t think so...
Just as I finished the bread, a message from Ha Hee-Jeong popped up.
[Ha Hee-Jeong has sent you a message. Would you like to accept it?]
“Yes.”
How did she know? Ah, of course. She must have checked the leaderboard. So, did she clear the fifth floor while I was still on the fourth?
- Ha Hee-Jeong (Sixth Floor): You cleared the fourth floor? Nice job!
- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Fifth Floor): Thanks, I see you’ve finished the fifth floor too. Did you find out from the leaderboard?
- Ha Hee-Jeong (Sixth Floor): Yep, I was just watching the Climber Leaderboard in the waiting room.
- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Fifth Floor): But how did you already clear the fifth floor? I spent less than an hour clearing the fourth.
- Ha Hee-Jeong (Sixth Floor): I started the fifth floor right after you fell asleep.
So that was why she didn’t respond after I woke up. The Community and Climber Leaderboard were off-limits when climbers challenged a floor.
- Ha Hee-Jeong (Sixth Floor): How many achievement points do you have now?
- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Fifth Floor): Around 49,000.
- Ha Hee-Jeong (Sixth Floor): You had 44,000 after the second floor, so there probably wasn’t a hidden piece on the fourth floor, right?
- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Fifth Floor): Maybe? I probably just missed it.
- Ha Hee-Jeong (Sixth Floor): No, it’s likely there wasn’t one. There aren’t Hidden pieces on every floor.
Her words made me realize that obsessing over hidden pieces might be pointless.
She’s right, if hidden pieces were scattered on every floor, they wouldn't be so valuable. I should prioritize my survival above all else.
- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Fifth Floor): So, when will you enter the sixth floor? Didn’t you say we’d meet there?
- Ha Hee-Jeong (Sixth Floor): The sixth floor won’t start until every climber finishes the tutorial. Until the last person dies or makes it through, we’re stuck in standby mode. Check out the Community. It’s going crazy because of you 😂.
People are losing it because of me? What is that supposed to mean?
I quickly opened the Community, and sure enough, the forums were in an uproar.
[Why is Kwon Su-Hyeok ranked first on the leaderboard when he’s only on the fifth floor?]
[Why is this guy taking so long? The system says we’re on infinite standby.]
[Is this guy finding Easter eggs on every floor? He’s always topping the Climber Leaderboard.]
[Is he a mage or a priest? I heard those classes get some kind of enlightenment on the fifth floor. Or maybe not?]
[He’s definitely not a warrior unless he’s torturing three orcs at the same time. Makes no sense otherwise.]
[When I see Su-Hyeok on the sixth floor, I’m going to teach him a lesson, lol]
The Community was truly going crazy because of me. There were all kinds of posts about me: questions, arguments, and even insults. It looked like everyone was frustrated from all the waiting. I felt perplexed since it wasn’t like I was doing this on purpose—I hadn’t even started the fifth floor yet.
Should I post an explanation or something?
While I mulled over the idea, another message from Ha Hee-Jeong popped up.
- Ha Hee-Jeong (Sixth Floor): Su-Hyeok, head to the shop and buy the Lightning Essence.
- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Fifth Floor): Lightning Essence? Hold on.
“Shop.”
A new notification window appeared in front of me.
Coke, ramen, hamburgers...
Familiar items immediately caught my eye.
So, they sell food from Earth in the shop too, huh?
It appeared that the shop had everything. Each food item was priced at 1 achievement point.
Wait, are people seriously spending their hard-earned points on this? Didn’t fourth place only have 800 points or something?
Then again, the sight of a cold can of Coke was pretty tempting. At just 1 point, it was hard to resist.
First, let’s get that item Hee-Jeong mentioned.
Unfortunately, the shop wasn’t organized into separate categories. It was one giant list, hundreds of thousands, maybe even millions of items long. The only way to filter the list was through a search bar in the corner.
I turned my attention to the search bar and typed in "Lightning Essence," watching as the items scrolled by rapidly.
Finally, a single item popped up.
[Lightning Essence]
- Price: 45,000 points
What? 45,000 points?
The price made my jaw drop. Sure, I had the points, but no other climber could even dream of affording this.
Has anyone else even managed to gather 1,000 points yet?
- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Fifth Floor): Hee-Jeong, are you sure about this? 45,000 points? Should I really buy it?
- Ha Hee-Jeong (Sixth Floor): Yeah, that’s the one. Use the remaining 3,000 points to buy a Physical Enhancement Potion.
- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Fifth Floor): I don’t know about this... It seems way too expensive.
- Ha Hee-Jeong (Sixth Floor): Trust me. Someone without any talent used that to climb all the way to the ninetieth floor. Prices in the shop skyrocket after the tutorial ends. Later on, even if you have 500,000 points, you won’t be able to buy it. Get it now before it’s too late.
1. An OMR card is a type of answer sheet used in exams where you fill in bubbles for your answers. A machine scans these sheets to quickly grade the test. It's common in multiple-choice exams. ☜
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