As soon as the teleportation to the waiting room finished and before I could even catch my bearings, I glanced at the timer. [3 hours 59 minutes until the rest period ends. Please take a rest.] Only four hours? Really? I guess it does make sense. The allotted recovery time felt somewhat brief, but the tower did generally scale it based on how long the last floor had taken. Not that more time would have made much of a difference for my recovery. The trial hadn’t been physically taxing to begin with. I can’t deny how drained I feel. The intense, high-stakes situation had demanded a considerable amount of focus and mental fortitude. The previous floor had been straightforward but grueling, and now that I had finally conquered it, I exhaled quietly. Stepping around the familiar room, I felt the tension seep out of me all at once, replaced by a sense of relief. It seemed I had been more on edge than I had realized. The very real possibility of failure had weighed heavier on me than I had initially thought. This was despite Scientist Do’s Composure and Clarity of Mind skills keeping me grounded through it all. Well, a thirty-minute soak in the hot spring should be enough to shake off the fatigue. The training room door flew open, interrupting my pondering, and Doppy burst out. Sweat trickled down Doppy’s smooth scalp; it had apparently been training during my absence. “Su-yeok! You’re back?” Behind him, Yoonie hovered in the air. “Su-Hyeok! You’ve returned?” Thᴇ link to the origɪn of this information rᴇsts ɪn NoᴠᴇFɪre.nᴇt A faint smile played across my lips. Even in my absence, they had been diligently pushing themselves. The thought caused a small feeling of pride to rise in my chest. “Oh, you were training?” “Continue for a bit more, then I’ll go, and you can take a break.” Fine grains of debris—sand, dust, and the like—still clung to the inside of my clothes, a distracting and mildly unpleasant feeling. I debated whether to rinse off now or wait until after training, since I would have to shower again anyway. Doppy, however, shook his head. “No need! I was just about to wrap things up, anyway!” My brow creased slightly. “Already?” The sixty-second-floor trial hadn’t taken long, just twenty minutes. Although the passage of time within the tower tended not to match other worlds, my experience had shown that the time in the waiting room and the floors generally synced up. How could he have finished training in under twenty minutes? Doppy tilted his head, looking puzzled by my reaction. I fixed him with a scrutinizing gaze. “It hasn’t even been twenty minutes since I left, has it?” “Then why are you calling it a day so soon?” “Oh! That’s not what I meant! I was just warming up! I only meant I was finishing my warm-up!” So, he had only been loosening up, and now that he had finished that, he had felt okay to come out to greet me. On second glance, I realized he wasn’t holding a sword—a tell-tale sign that he hadn’t lied. That made more sense. Doppy did enjoy goofing around, but he wasn’t the type to slack off for twenty minutes before claiming he had been training diligently. Realizing my mistake, I cleared my throat, feeling somewhat sheepish. Doppy, smartly, took the opportunity to change the subject. “Anyway! Good job! So nothing exciting happened on the sixty-second floor since it was so short?” “Mm, nothing too eventful. I’ll tell you about it while we train. You should keep moving before your muscles cool down. Now that we’ve caught up a bit, go ahead and continue. I’ll be there shortly.” Doppy hesitated briefly, as if reluctant to leave, but soon nodded firmly. “Alright then!” Watching his retreating figure, my lips curved slightly once more. Something about him seems different. Is it his sheer enthusiasm? His frame seemed even larger than before. No, he didn’t just seem bigger; he had actually grown. His growth post-elixir had been explosive, and I estimated that his build had approached that of an adult goblin’s. I wondered if his evolution meant that he would eventually grow larger than the average goblin. At that moment, Ryun, still in my grasp, remarked in his usual slow and deliberate manner, “Ugh... those... little... turkeys. I told them... not... to speak... to you... immediately... after... returning...” His tone had carried a faint note of discontent. I raised an eyebrow, perplexed. How did he communicate with them if he was with me? Maybe the axe I had been holding during the last floor had merely been a replica, although there was no way I could know. It was true that I often took time to gather my thoughts after clearing a trial. That had to have been why Ryun, despite having regained awareness, had refrained from speaking until now. Appreciating his consideration, I calmly reassured him, “It’s alright. There’s no need to scold them.” I had already sorted out my thoughts, and nothing particularly pressing had been on my mind. Besides, even if Doppy hadn’t spoken, his sudden appearance would have drawn my attention. It wasn’t worth making a fuss over. Doppy had simply come to greet me, which I did appreciate. If I had truly been deep in thought, I wouldn’t have responded, and he would have kept his mouth shut once he realized that. Given Ryun’s age and experience, he tended to worry too much. Moreover, he had once shared that he had missed out on an epiphany because another ent had interrupted him mid-thought. That aversion to interruptions had obviously lingered in the back of his mind since then. “By the way, Ryun. I noticed your eyes were closed on the sixty-second floor. Were you aware of what was happening?” “Yes... I... was... conscious. My... senses... remained... but... I couldn’t... communicate. Still... I knew... we were... trapped...” I nodded, his explanation somewhat matching what I had expected. The tower had likely shut his eyes to prevent him from offering me any inadvertent hints through his gaze. That thought sparked my curiosity. I wonder how Ryun would have approached the Chamber of Agony. Wanting to hear his perspective, I asked, “Ryun, you couldn’t see the tower’s message, but we were in a place called the Chamber of Agony. If you had only been given the name and been told to escape, how would you have handled it?” I proceeded to explain the method I had used to clear it. After a moment of contemplation, Ryun responded, “Hmm. Knowing... the answer... now... makes it... difficult... to say. I could... tell... you were... doing... something. But... when you... were just... sitting there... I wondered... what... you were... thinking. To be... honest... I doubt... I would have... found a way... out...” Though I had hoped he would have a unique insight, it didn’t seem like he had any off the top of his head. Ryun continued, “Come to... think of it... you’re... remarkably... quick-witted. Quite... impressive...” His unexpected praise caused me to instinctively deflect. “Aww, come on. If you had climbed the tower from the beginning like I had, you would’ve figured it out too.” Ryun didn’t hand out compliments that easily, so his words caused a hint of suspicion to creep up within me. Hmm, does he want something? “No. That... level of... decisiveness... and... willingness... to gamble... with time... is... not... easy. Truly... remarkable...” As with all genuine compliments that expected nothing in return, I found myself at a loss for words. Even after all this time, Ryun and I hadn’t really exchanged anything deeply personal. Our conversations revolved around battles, the tower, gods, and idle chatter—never anything beyond that. I met his gaze, and an awkward silence stretched between us. Clearing my throat, I reached for my axe. “Well, shall we train?” “Yes... Doppy... needs... his sword... checked... as well...” The sand still irritated my skin, but letting the conversation linger would have been even more uncomfortable. Besides, I had a technique to refine—infusing lightning into Master of Shadows. I would have to shower again later, anyway. 「Invisible message: Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok’s skill has leveled up. Master of Shadows is now lvl 15.」 [2 hours 14 minutes until the rest period ends. Please take a rest.] I sighed satisfiedly as I sank into the training hot spring. “Ahh, this is nice." It hadn’t occurred to me until now, but when I was younger, I rarely dipped into the hot baths at the public bathhouse. Even when I had, it hadn’t felt as good as this. Brushing back the damp strands of hair that clung to my forehead, I let the idle thought drift away. It had been about two hours since I returned to the waiting room. Of course, I hadn’t spent all that time training. I had finished my session about an hour ago, rested for a while, and then stepped into the bath, simply drawn by the allure of warm water. Lying in bed for too long made me restless, and now that I had cleared my mind through training, the water’s soothing heat was melting away the last vestiges of my mental fatigue. By then, Ha Hee-Jeong had returned as well. - Ha Hee-Jeong (Sixty-fourth Floor): Although it's a bit of a shame you left before trying to find a hidden mission. Since the tower gave you twenty minutes, I bet you would have triggered a hidden mission if you had continued another ten minutes. - Kwon Su-Hyeok (Sixty-third Floor): You think so? - Ha Hee-Jeong (Sixty-fourth Floor): Ugh, probably? Feels like it. There wasn’t much else that could have counted as a hidden mission. See? I told you to pay attention to the name of the trial. Her words could read like a rebuke, but I knew better. Having long grown accustomed to Ha Hee-Jeong’s personality, I recognized it as a wistful remark. - Kwon Su-Hyeok (Sixty-third Floor): Well, nothing to be done about it now. It’s not like I can clear a hidden mission on every floor. - Ha Hee-Jeong (Sixty-fourth Floor): True. Honestly, even if I had been in there, I doubt I would’ve cleared it either. - Ha Hee-Jeong (Sixty-fourth Floor): Abandoning the search for clues and simply enduring agony is too much of a gamble. With only twenty minutes to work with, you’d need absolute certainty to make that choice. And on top of that, you weren’t even allowed to move. - Kwon Su-Hyeok (Sixty-third Floor): Right? If I hadn’t experimented with different approaches, I wouldn’t have figured it out either. - Ha Hee-Jeong (Sixty-fourth Floor): Yeah, in this case, everything we’ve learned so far actually worked against us. The tower really played its hand well. - Kwon Su-Hyeok (Sixty-third Floor): Still, it wasn’t a bad trial. Difficult as it had been, the rewards had been well worth the struggle. My stats and skills had skyrocketed. - Ha Hee-Jeong (Sixty-fourth Floor): Yeah, the rewards were solid. In the end, all’s well that ends well. Either way, that was a close call. You did well. When are you heading to the sixty-third floor? - Kwon Su-Hyeok (Sixty-third Floor): I want to finish soaking in the hot spring before I go up. There isn’t much time left before I get sent to the next floor, anyway. - Ha Hee-Jeong (Sixty-fourth Floor): Sounds good. Your brain had to put in a lot of work, so take it easy and clear your head. Message me right before you enter the sixty-third floor. - Kwon Su-Hyeok (Sixty-third Floor): Will do. You should rest too. Get cleaned up and take a break. Closing the message window, I leaned my head against the edge of the hot spring, and my gaze drifted toward the ceiling. Truth be told, I still had a lingering curiosity about my individual challenge floors. They had ceased to be as physically demanding and instead had shifted toward mental challenges. Though I had ultimately overcome this one, it had come down to the wire. Over and over again, the Tower of Ordeal reminded me that I couldn’t afford to let my guard down. The difficulty could spike at any moment. What kind of trial will the next floor bring? As the thought crossed my mind, a promise I had made on the sixty-second floor resurfaced—I needed to visit Kyuntriachae. Despite feeling that moment of warmth during the trial, I had somehow let it slip my mind in the brief time that followed. I immediately sat up. With two hours to kill, I could easily give it a try. Even if the portal couldn’t be maintained, I needed to act fast if I wanted to at least see his face—if he was alive. Grabbing a towel from the side of the bath, I hastily dried myself off before dressing in the neatly folded clothes I had set aside. Then, without further ado, I attempted to open a portal to Kyuntriachae. Mana drained from me at an alarming rate. The moment the spell took hold, I knew. The sheer amount of mana required to form the portal was immense, far beyond my expectations. I canceled the spell, watching as the dissipating mana scattered into the air. Wherever Kyuntriachae was, it was far, very far from the tower. With the stored energy in my Mana Accumulating Gauntlet, I could likely force the portal open. That is my insurance. It frustrated me, but it wasn’t worth it. No matter how much I wanted to see Kyuntriachae again, I couldn’t afford to use my failsafe so easily—unforeseen dangers could arise at any moment. I wasn’t even certain he was alive. If I replaced Kyuntriachae with Ha Hee-Jeong in this situation... Well, I probably would have debated it more seriously. Tsk. Should have tried it before getting up from my bath. No, wait. If I had barely managed to open the portal, I would have wasted time getting dressed anyway. Visiting Kyuntriachae would have to be delayed for a while longer. I wasn’t in a life-threatening situation, and climbing the tower took priority. Along with him, the many people I had met during my ascent had given me their strength on the sixty-second floor. They would want me to keep moving forward. They wouldn’t want to be the reason I hesitated. Steadying my resolve, I glanced between the hot spring and the door leading to the waiting room. I did cut my soak short. Should I go back in? I considered it for a brief moment before shaking my head. Re-entering the bath, only to dry off all over again, felt like a hassle. I had rested enough. Turning away, I walked toward the main room. Perhaps it was the lingering strength of the individuals I had forged bonds with, but my steps felt noticeably lighter. It was time to enter the sixty-third floor.