I should be able to fuse lightning into Master of Shadows. The thought had crossed my mind long ago. When I had first acquired the Master of Shadows skill, I had obsessively pursued greater strength, experimenting with every possible skill and technique combination. Naturally, I had tried merging my two most powerful skills. Whether it had been due to the skills’ low levels or an inherent incompatibility, I couldn’t say. Every so often, after they had leveled up a couple of times, I would attempt the fusion again, only to be met with repeated failures. Eventually, I had abandoned the idea entirely. It had partly been out of frustration. Besides that, my focus had shifted toward refining my axemanship. Yet at some point, a turning point had occurred. When I consumed the Rebirth Elixir, my physical-related skills had fused seamlessly into me. Among them was Lightning Essence, allowing me to channel electricity through my mana at will. In the time since then, the Master of Shadows skill had improved dramatically as well. I should have revisited this fusion attempt long ago, yet somehow, I had completely overlooked it. Even during the previous, when I had been pushed to my limits and relied almost entirely on Master of Shadows, it hadn’t even occurred to me to try. Of course, I had been too consumed by pain to think about much else, but still, the realization left me feeling exasperated. Then again, there was no guarantee that it would work even now. One of my earlier theories had been that because Master of Shadows was a skill granted by a god—or because I had obtained it through an item—it simply wasn’t as adaptable. There was no harm in trying again, though, considering that my circumstances had changed a bit. My mana control had improved, my skills had reached a much higher level, and more importantly, Lightning Essence had been fully integrated into my being. With newfound resolve, I raised my hand and channeled my mana to manipulate the shadows. The mass of mana shaped itself into a shadow spear, and I attempted to imbue it with lightning. This was the point I had failed at previously, as the two forces would repel one another, violently disrupting the formation. This time, however, things were different. I couldn’t pinpoint the exact reason. Is it because my mana control has improved? Because my skill levels have increased? Or perhaps because of my evolution? Whatever the cause, one thing was certain: lightning and shadow had fused together. A shadow spear, infused with lightning, surged into existence. It consumed a healthy amount of mana, but it had worked. “It actually works?!” Although I had berated myself for forgetting to attempt this earlier, I truly hadn’t expected it to work. Master of Shadows came from the Shadow of the End’s divinity. I had assumed it was inherently immutable with skills and abilities that didn’t have the same origin. From the corner of my vision, I noticed Doppy’s eyes widening in astonishment. “Whoa, Su-Yeok! Is that a new technique?!” Ignoring his excitement, I exhaled quietly. If I had remembered this sooner, I could have refined my usage of this technique by now. Then again, spending too much time experimenting could have hindered my growth in other areas, particularly my axemanship. Ultimately, I had climbed the tower steadily, and realizing this now was still better than never. For now, I can just relax. I hadn’t fully absorbed the restorative effects of the training spring yet. I needed at least ten more minutes to let its effects fully shine. There was no rush. Now that I had unlocked a new path, I could take my time exploring its applications. Unfortunately, it was still too unrefined for practical combat at this stage. A few sessions in the training room would help me establish some basic uses, and I planned to put it to the test on the sixty-second floor. Speaking of which... What should I expect? Even when I had intel from Ha Hee-Jeong, my trials rarely aligned with what she had previously experienced. Although speculating based on the information I had would be pointless, I still enjoyed coming up with conjectures. It had become a habit of mine, and rather than a prediction, it was more of a hope. The sixty-first floor had been about endurance, pushing my physical and mental resilience to their absolute limits. Maybe this time, the trial would allow me to refine my newly fused abilities, giving me a chance to test their full potential. Only one way to find out. Closing my eyes, I let my brain whip up countless ideas on how to integrate the lightning-infused shadows into my combat techniques. [Welcome to the sixty-second floor of the Tower of Ordeal: Chamber of Agony] [Escape the Chamber of Agony. Time remaining: 19 minutes 59 seconds.] The white void of teleportation gave way to an empty room. No, calling it an empty room didn’t do its artificiality justice; its dusty-yellow earthen walls were too perfectly smooth, and the massive iron door in front of me felt similarly bland. The door seemed to be the only exit from the rectangular room, although it was plain and handleless. Doppy and Yoonie aren’t here. Gripping my axe out of habit, I glanced at it. Ryun was present but remained motionless, eyes shut. Attempting to communicate with him seemed futile. The familiar pattern helped me immediately recognize this trial’s nature—a puzzle-based challenge. The first system message had hinted at it, but Doppy and Yoonie’s absence confirmed it. The tower liked to include floors that relied more on intellect than brute force every so often, and I had known another one would appear for me eventually. They were also commonly known to cause issues for climbers, and I had even heard of a high-ranking warrior failing one spectacularly. It had caused quite a stir among the upper-ranked climbers. Yet, I felt like I hadn’t had a purely intellect-based individual challenge floor. Sure, Rotace’s Hospital and other similar floors had relied on my smarts, but they had still included combat. A part of me had actually been looking forward to this. It shouldn’t be too difficult. Um, right? Knowing that a challenge was inevitable, I had discussed problem-solving strategies with Ha Hee-Jeong at various points in our journey. We had chatted about how to piece together scattered clues, how to locate hidden details, and what to do when no immediate hints were available. Much of our preparation had been based on her previous life, as she had faced plenty of puzzle-based floors herself. I exhaled slowly, grounding myself. There are only twenty minutes. Most puzzle-based floors provided thirty minutes to an hour, but this one had granted me significantly less time. I couldn’t afford to assume it would be easy just because of the short duration. The key to solving the puzzle would be to analyze everything meticulously from the start. If I fixated on the wrong idea, shifting perspectives would become difficult, and that could cost me valuable time. With such a limited timeframe, I had to approach this systematically. I recalled the initial message. The floor is called the Chamber of Agony. So far, that was the only clue I had to go off of. Well, that and the command to escape. Would that even count as a clue, though? It felt more like a warning. It did annoy me somewhat, but it wasn’t entirely unexpected. Considering that time was ticking down, I didn’t have the luxury of dwelling on it. Shifting my focus, I turned my attention to the door, deciding it would be best to examine it first. Once that was done, I would inspect the rest of the chamber. Cautiously, I approached the massive iron structure. From what I had heard, challenges often featured inscriptions, symbols, or cryptic markings carved into a door or a wall. Unfortunately, this door contained absolutely nothing. No engravings. No hidden glyphs. Nothing! Aside from faint cracks running along its edges, the door was utterly bare. Placing my palm against it, I applied gentle pressure, hoping for some kind of response. It didn’t budge an inch. I sent a shadow tendril through the gap between the door and the wall, pulling slightly to see if there was any reaction. As expected, nothing changed. Next, I coat the door with a faint layer of mana. Other climbers had shared that, in some trials, applying mana to seemingly random items could expose an invisible clue. Again, nothing happened. No response or hidden inscription appeared, and only silence continued to fill the room. Should I just try breaking it down? I considered it briefly. If I used my Aura, I could probably force it open one way or another. I shook my head. Not yet. The room may have defenses that activate when you attack. There was still the rest of the room to examine. It was a simple and rectangular space, almost unnaturally so. My gaze swept across its walls, but nothing remarkable caught my eye at first glance. No furniture. No decorations. No murals. Nothing but four bare walls, the floor, and a ceiling. I placed a hand against the wall to the left of the door and prepared to make a full circuit of the room. As I moved, I channeled mana through my palm and let it spread across the surface. If there were a hidden mechanism like a concealed room or a secret panel, this would help reveal it. If the door is featureless and the room seems empty, then the walls have to hold something. Slowly, I walked along the perimeter while scanning every inch. A glance at the timer confirmed how much time I had left. [Escape the Chamber of Agony. Time remaining: 18 minutes 10 seconds.] I had barely done more than analyze my surroundings and inspect the door, but nearly two minutes had already passed. That was ten percent of my allotted time, and I had only examined one wall. A sense of urgency crept up within me, but I refused to let it push me into rushing. Instead, I focused entirely on my task. [Escape the Chamber of Agony. Time remaining: 17 minutes 52 seconds.] I had just reached the third wall but had still found nothing. Reaching the final corner, I turned and faced the last wall. Will I finally find something here? Seven more seconds had passed. I ran my hand along the surface, but again, there was nothing. That left only the floor and ceiling. The ground was compacted dirt, and the ceiling held nothing but a single glowing mana stone embedded like a crude light fixture. I moved to check the floor, sweeping my mana across its surface and making sure to not miss a single inch. [Escape the Chamber of Agony. Time remaining: 16 minutes 43 seconds.] The floor’s greater surface area meant that it took over a minute to scan, but my efforts yielded nothing. I bit my lip. The ceiling was my final hope for now. Time constraints aside, the lack of progress frustrated me, the feeling gnawing at my focus like a horde of ants. Not a single clue? No hints, no markings, nothing to guide me? Suppressing my urge to sigh, I took a deep breath, steadying myself. There has to be something up there. Raising my hand, I sent my mana upward, starting my scan from the door. [Escape the Chamber of Agony. Time remaining: 15 minutes 36 seconds.] Another minute later, and still nothing. The sealed chamber didn’t appear to have any exits or even clues. I came to a stop in front of the cold, unmoving iron door. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” Even if this was a floor intended for a challenger, wasn’t this going a bit too far? This is fucking absurd. A puzzle-based trial? Fine. That was within reason, but a puzzle required clues—something, anything, to work with. Yet here I was, expected to find a solution without the slightest hint to guide me. Frustration simmered as I clenched my jaw, fixing my gaze on the door. Unsurprisingly, glaring at it did nothing. Exhaling slowly, I forced myself to focus. What do you do when there are no clues? Brute force. I recalled a past conversation with Ha Hee-Jeong. “If you can’t find a way forward, just hit the damn thing.” Of course, she had also emphasized that searching for clues should always come first. [Escape the Chamber of Agony. Time remaining: 15 minutes 21 seconds.] A quarter of my time had already disappeared, and I had found nothing. May as well try brute force. Taking two measured steps back, I raised my axe as I adjusted my stance. Sadly, Ryun remained silent and unmoving, completely unresponsive. Brainstorming with him wouldn’t be possible. I channeled my mana and layered lightning-infused Aura over my weapon. Just in case sheer strength wouldn’t be enough, I focused, willing Savior to activate. A familiar feeling settled over me. It was the burden of responsibility, the weight of the lives of every Earthling, the other climbers, Ha Hee-Jeong, and my family. They were all counting on me, and I had to protect them. That single thought solidified my resolve. The Savior skill stirred, amplifying the lightning. I stepped forward, planting my leading foot firmly as my axe flowed smoothly through the air, gathering momentum. I had worried earlier that the room would defend itself in the event I attacked it, but I didn’t have any other ideas now. With everything I had, I struck. A massive surge of crackling energy erupted as my axe struck the door. Time to find out what happens. The door absorbed the full force of my strike, then sent it hurtling right back at me. A violent shockwave detonated on impact, slamming into me with the exact same intensity I had just unleashed. I had no time to brace myself before I was launched backward. Pain. A sharp, jarring impact. The cold, stone wall caught me hard, the force behind my own attack rebounding mercilessly into me. The pain was secondary. What truly mattered was— What the hell am I supposed to do? There was no information in the floor’s description, no hidden inscriptions, markings, glyphs, or cryptic clues etched onto the walls. There was nothing on the floor or on the ceiling. The only thing even resembling a hint was the name—Chamber of Agony. Still slumped against the wall, I glared at the door with my jaw clenched tight. Contrasting what had just happened, the room remained silent, unyielding, and unmoved as if it were mocking me. Now, only fifteen minutes and eight seconds remained.