Chapter 9: Second Floor, Orc Warlord Karaksh (1)
During Ha Hee-Jeong’s previous life, on the fifty-fifth floor.
[Su-Hyeok, are you really a great wizard?]
OP: Podrick Braum (Fifty-Second Floor)
Did anyone watch Su-Hyeok during the 49th-floor group mission? 😂 He upgraded his wand with a meteorite alloy. I almost pissed myself seeing him break a Minotaur's skull with it. Seriously, can you do that just by enhancing strength and agility? His Body Reinforcement skill must be lvl 99. I'm pretty sure he's a great wizard, but he still uses his wand as a club.
- Kim Seon-Hu (Fifty-Second Floor): Take this post down. Su-Hyeok hates this kind of talk.
- Park Bong-Pal (Fifty-Second Floor): The legend goes that Su-Hyeok beat a Minotaur with his wand while casting lvl 6 Fireball lmao. He must be really attached to magic...
- Ernest Morgan (Fifty-Second Floor): Seriously, though, what if Mr. Su-Hyeok had chosen a melee weapon?
- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Fifty-fourth Floor): Take the post down while I am still asking nicely ^^. See you at the 61st-floor group mission~
- Braha Akif (Fifty-Second Floor): Mr. Su-Hyeok has appeared 😂
- Oh Chang-Joon (Fifty-Second Floor): lol Korea's best DPS! The strongest magic warrior Su-Hyeok has appeared!
- Kim Ji-Soo (Fifty-Second Floor): Can I join your party, Su-Hyeok hyung? Pretty please, hyung 🥺
***
[First Floor Conquered. Entering the waiting room.]
[Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok has unlocked the waiting room, granting him access to basic food and restroom facilities.]
I found myself in a white room that looked almost the same as the one I had been in before the first floor. However, it had a few key differences. This room had a small bed, a desk, and a restroom in the corner.
It was finally over. My soreness had disappeared, making me feel reinvigorated, and my wounds no longer ached. Entering the waiting room seemed to have healed my physical injuries.
[You can now enter into sponsorship contracts with first-class gods.]
[Climbers can receive achievement points or abilities through sponsorship contracts with deities, which can greatly aid them in ascending the tower.]
[First-class god 'Heavenly Demon of the Universe' proposes a sponsorship contract.]
[First-class god 'Lord of Hellfire' proposes a sponsorship contract.]
[First-class god 'God of Sword Who Slices the Galaxy' proposes a sponsorship contract.]
[First-class god 'Thunder Emperor Who Rules the Nine Heavens' proposes a sponsorship contract.]
[First-class god 'Echo of the Angry Sky' proposes a sponsorship contract.]
…
Endless notification windows popped up before me, making it impossible to see anything else. There had to be hundreds—no, thousands of them. Realizing how popular I was, I began to feel a bit emotional.
Calm down.
Ha Hee-Jeong had advised me not to enter into any contracts until the fifth floor. Even if I wanted to, there were so many offers that choosing one would be difficult. It would take hours to go through them all.
... I wish I could make them disappear.
As soon as I had that thought, the endless pop-ups instantly vanished. A new message replaced them.
[11 hours 57 minutes until the rest period ends. Please take a rest.]
Along with the dry voice, bread and water appeared on the small desk. As soon as I saw the water, my thirst came rushing back—I hadn't drunk any water for nearly ten hours. I grabbed the bottle and drank greedily, the water rapidly disappearing down my throat.
“Kriieee! Human! Goblin! Water!"
Startled by the voice behind me, I spat out some water. A bit of it went down the wrong way, sending me into a coughing fit.
“Gosh, you scared me!"
“Krieee! Goblin! Water!"
Doppy reached out with both hands, its eyes fixated on the water bottle. Aside from its golden skin, it looked like the same old Doppy, not the dignified figure from earlier.
Oh, right, a message earlier had said that Doppy would follow me. It seemed that meant we shared the waiting room as well.
“But I’ve almost finished it."
“Krieee! What are you talking about? Water! There's plenty!"
“Huh?"
I turned back to the bottle, finding it full again. Refillable water—magic really was amazing.
“Here you go."
“Kri!"
I handed the bottle to Doppy, who then immediately brought it to its mouth.
Wait a sec. It’s not planning to touch its nasty lips on the bottle, is it?
I had no intention of sharing a bottle with Doppy.
“Wait!"
“Krie?"
“Don't drink from the bottle."
Doppy stared at me, confusion evident in its expression. “Kriieee?”
I quickly snatched the water bottle from Doppy and showed it how to drink properly. Tilting my head back, I opened my mouth and poured the water in, making sure not to touch the bottle with my lips.
“Drink like this. If you drink from the bottle directly, I’ll make you regret it."
“Krieee! Got it! Give Goblin the water quickly!"
Although still doubtful of Doppy’s ability, I handed the bottle back to it. It tilted its head back to mimic me, but it ended up missing its mouth and pouring water all over its face instead.
“Phuh! Krieeee!"
“Pfft!"
Doppy looked like a drenched rat. The sight was hilarious.
“Krieeee!"
Frustrated, Doppy brought the bottle back to its mouth.
Wait, is it going to drink directly from it? That brat!
"Hey!"
***
After Doppy and I had thoroughly enjoyed the unlimited supply of bread and water, we took a quick shower in the bathroom and lay on the bed. Unfortunately, the small bed didn’t have enough space for Doppy.
Sitting on the floor next to the bed, Doppy looked up at me with sad eyes.
Sorry, Doppy. If I can buy a bed later, I'll get one for you too.
[11 hours 17 minutes until the rest period ends. Please take a rest.]
Having spent over thirty minutes filling my stomach, I finally felt somewhat relaxed. I leaned the goblin paladin's sword and shield against the corner of the room. Although I regretted losing my crossbow, I had acquired some good items in exchange. Besides, I wouldn’t have that many opportunities to use a crossbow while wielding a sword and shield.
As I lay there, my thoughts started to wander. I recollected the strange thing that Doppy had said after clearing the first-floor mission.
“Doppy, what did you tell me in the boss room again? Pendrick? Fenrike?"
“Kriee! Fenrike! Goblin! A god!"
“A god?"
“Kriee! Yes! Fenrike! Was trapped!"
“What kind of god gets trapped in a necklace?"
I thought gods were supposed to be omnipotent and transcendent.
“Krieee! Goblin doesn’t know!"
“Then why did you have a necklace containing a sealed god?"
“Krieee! Goblin was a saint! The necklace! It's Fenrike’s holy relic!"
... Doppy was a saint? It was surprising that such a mischievous creature could hold that position. Well, I supposed a goblin saint made more sense than a goblin saintess. Imagining Doppy as a goblin saintess horrified me.
“So, I rescued the goblin god?"
“Krieee! That's right! Fenrike said thank you! Goblin follows human!"
“... Oh, okay. Thanks."
Rescuing their god seemed to have gotten me Doppy. It didn't seem like a fair trade, but complaining to Doppy wouldn’t help me at all.
“So, do you know what this tower is?"
“Kriieee! Goblin doesn’t know!"
I doubt I’d get much information from Doppy, so I'd have to ask Ha Hee-Jeong later. I hoped she was doing well, although I was sure she would be fine since she already had previous experience.
Still, isn't the Tower of Ordeal too difficult? I was originally supposed to be a mage, but I can’t even imagine clearing the first floor with magic. Does the weapon you choose affect the tutorial's mission?
If that weren’t the case, anyone who had chosen to become a priest would have died.
Even as a melee genius whom Ha Hee-Jeong had acknowledged, I still found the first floor incredibly difficult. I wondered if most people who had awakened as a warrior died. Maybe she told me to choose a melee weapon because they didn’t have enough warriors in her past life?
Hmm, I would have to ask Ha Hee-Jeong about this too. Well, I was glad I received a companion who could use healing spells. If I had killed Doppy, I wouldn't have gotten such an advantage.
Would there be someone like Doppy on the second floor? Perhaps I should look for another hidden piece.
“Doppy, what healing spells can you use as a saint?"
“Krieee! Goblin is young! Can use Heal Wounds!"
Heal Wounds was a valuable spell, but I had hoped a goblin saint would be able to cast more than that. Considering how tough the first floor was, though, I welcomed any advantage I could get.
“By the way, can you stop making that 'krieee' noise? It's really annoying."
“Kriee! Goblin's vocal cords! Different from humans! Krieee! Can't help it!"
“Fenrike spoke normally."
“... Kriieee! Fenrike is a god!"
“Uh-huh, okay.”
Sighing, I resigned myself to tolerate that damn noise. Since that was just how his body worked, I couldn't really argue.
I already felt drowsy, and talking with Doppy only worsened it. Although wounds could be healed, it seemed fatigue couldn't be.
[10 hours 58 minutes until the rest period ends. Please take a rest.]
With about eleven hours left, I had enough time to get some proper sleep. I needed to rest before the next floor.
“Doppy, I'm going to sleep now, so you should get some rest too. We need to be ready for the second floor."
“Kriee! Got it! Goblin is tired!"
As if sensing my desire to sleep, the waiting room dimmed. The wonders of magic... They sure were considerate in some unnecessary ways. Beating the first floor would have been much easier if the notification windows had been this helpful.
***
[Welcome to the second floor of the Tower of Ordeal. The second stage of the tutorial will now begin.]
[Eliminate all enemies. Time remaining: 9 hours 59 minutes]
I had significantly less time to clear this floor compared to the previous one. Did that mean the floor was shorter? I still had plenty of time left after clearing the first floor, but that was only because I had only gotten injured once before the boss room. Dodging arrows was tedious, but the long march would have been dreadful had I been injured.
Glancing around, I saw a passageway similar to the one on the first floor. However, unlike the natural cave-like structure of the first floor, the straight stone walls before me seemed deliberately constructed. The tunnel had similar dimensions, though, with a width of five meters and a height of about four meters. The torches mounted on the walls illuminated the entire hall, leaving no dark patches on the floor.
It's nice that it's bright, but...
Up ahead, the path split into two. It looked like the second floor was designed as a maze. Which way should I go? I glanced at Doppy, who was beside me.
“Kriee?"
Doppy looked up at me innocently. Unlike before, it wore its red necklace on top of its tattered clothes. Seeing it like this made me feel sorry for its ragged attire. Though I wasn't much better off with my torn jeans and ripped hoodie, Doppy looked far more pitiful.
Moreover, Doppy was a priest. Without armor to defend itself, I had to protect it during a fight. Damn, I should have picked up the plate armor from the goblin paladin. Unfortunately, I couldn’t do anything about it now.
Back then, I was focused on the goblin paladin's shield, and I didn't know Doppy would be coming with me. The armor obviously couldn’t fit me, so I hadn’t bothered picking it up.
Bringing my focus back to the present, I examined both paths. Should we go left or right? Taking the wrong path could be fatal. Considering the previous floor already had such dangerous traps, who knew what could be in store for us here? I needed to be careful.
“Doppy, which way do you think we should go? Aren’t gods supposed to give guidance to their believers?"
“Krieee! Fenrike doesn't tell Goblin anything!"
Useless creature. It was still a goblin saint, though. It could have a good sense of direction.
“Doppy, which way do you want to go?"
“Krieee! Goblin goes where it wants!”
“No, I mean… Do you want to go left or right?”
“Kriieeee! Left! Let’s go left!”
Alright, left it is. Let's trust the goblin saint's instinct.
As we headed off, I felt a slight sense of unease creep in. However, since Doppy was connected to a divine being, I still decided to follow its guts. It probably had a better sense than I did anyway.
“There might be traps, so walk slowly and stay a few steps behind me."
“Kriee! Got it!"
With Doppy now two steps behind me, I began walking steadily and cautiously. I had gotten used to the traps on the first floor, but that didn’t mean I could already predict what awaited us.
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