[18 hours 29 minutes until the rest period ends. Please take a rest.] - Kwon Su-Hyeok (Seventy-fourth Floor): Huh? I didn’t awaken divinity in your previous life? Her response had confused me. As I understood it, climbing the tower culminated in becoming a divine being who held dominion over Earth. In other words, a god. Therefore, unlocking Divine Power recently hadn’t surprised me. From what I recalled, in Ha Hee-Jeong’s previous life, I had reached the ninety-fourth floor. The fact that I could have made it that far without awakening my divinity was unexpected. As I puzzled over it, her next message came through. - Ha Hee-Jeong (Seventy-fifth Floor): No, never. Not you, not anyone. No climber ever awakened it. - Kwon Su-Hyeok (Seventy-fourth Floor): How does anyone become a god, then? - Ha Hee-Jeong (Seventy-fifth Floor): We just assumed that reaching the hundredth floor meant godhood. - Kwon Su-Hyeok (Seventy-fourth Floor): Huh? You didn’t unlock Divine Power before? She explained that, in her previous life, not a single climber had attained divinity by the time they reached the ninetieth floor—yet here I was, awakening mine on the seventy-third. Her reaction made much more sense now. - Ha Hee-Jeong (Seventy-fifth Floor): I think it’s only possible if you refused a status window at the start. They’d have to take on harder trials, just like you did. - Kwon Su-Hyeok (Seventy-fourth Floor): Even still, I awakened Divine Power through a hidden mission. I explained how my divinity had manifested on the seventy-third floor. The deciding factor had been Paraktus’s necklace. If I hadn’t helped him during that optional hidden mission back on the second floor, I never would have received it. - Ha Hee-Jeong (Seventy-fifth Floor): Mm, you never know. Maybe that mission wasn’t optional at all. Maybe it was something the tower required you to do. - Kwon Su-Hyeok (Seventy-fourth Floor): Maybe. Now that I thought about it, several hidden missions had only been discovered because I had completed previous ones.. It all began when I rescued Doppy. He had been instrumental in finding the room that contained Karaksh, which later led me to Paraktus. After that, the pattern repeated. One hidden mission often unveiled another, or at least led directly into it. Of course, some of them were discovered thanks to Ha Hee-Jeong. Some weren’t. When I reflected on it, discovering hidden missions hadn’t been particularly difficult. Doppy’s case was a good example. He had simply been a goblin quietly sniffling in the dark. I had been caught off guard at the time since it was only the first floor, but in hindsight, the situation was clearly strange. He didn’t even resemble the other goblins. Maybe hidden missions weren’t actually hidden. Maybe they were simply trials disguised as optional. I didn’t respond right away, and Ha Hee-Jeong sent another message. - Ha Hee-Jeong (Seventy-fifth Floor): Maybe hidden missions let you unlock divinity a little earlier than intended. Normally, you would awaken it during an individual challenge floor, somewhere around the eighties. - Kwon Su-Hyeok (Seventy-fourth Floor): Yeah, that could be. In truth, there was no way to know for sure. Contrary to what I had been thinking just moments ago, maybe I had simply accessed my divinity ahead of schedule thanks to the chain of hidden missions I had completed. The harder the trial, the greater the reward, so it made sense. Still, my individual challenge floors had been brutal. If I had missed even a few of those hidden missions on the earlier floors, I wouldn’t have made it this far at all. I owed more to them than I realized. Looking back, I was ridiculously fortunate. Luck aside, though, I had made those decisions. Faced with countless forks in the road, I had chosen well. Maybe I hadn’t realized it at the time, but in reality, my choices had all brought me here. Come to think of it, isn’t my title “Seeker of the Crossroads”? Funny how well that aligned with the path I had walked. I let loose a faint laugh. Did the fourth floor look deeper within me than I thought? Or did that trial change the way I chose things moving forward? Either way, the outcome spoke for itself. Hmm, maybe my title is more important than I realized. I hadn’t paid much attention to it since it didn’t grant me any perks, but the more I thought about it, the more I liked it. It mirrored the path I had taken, and that gave me a sense of reassurance. It had guided me this far, and perhaps it would continue to help me make the right choices going forward. While I was lost in that thought, more messages lit up my screen. - Ha Hee-Jeong (Seventy-fifth Floor): Still, unlocking divinity already? That’s wild. Things should get easier for you now, right? - Ha Hee-Jeong (Seventy-fifth Floor): So what exactly happened on the last floor? - Ha Hee-Jeong (Seventy-fifth Floor): Helloooo? - Ha Hee-Jeong (Seventy-fifth Floor): Hey. What are you up to? - Ha Hee-Jeong (Seventy-fifth Floor): Are you asleep?? I had been so deep in thought that I hadn’t even noticed the flood of messages. She seemed a little irritated now, so I hurriedly typed a response. - Kwon Su-Hyeok (Seventy-fourth Floor): Ah, sorry. I got caught up thinking about divinity. - Ha Hee-Jeong (Seventy-fifth Floor): You scared me for a second. I thought something went wrong. - Kwon Su-Hyeok (Seventy-fourth Floor): No, I was just trying to figure out how to use it. - Ha Hee-Jeong (Seventy-fifth Floor): I’ve got no experience with that, so I won’t be much help. Regardless, tell me what happened on the last floor. I want to know how you got it. I’m curious. - Kwon Su-Hyeok (Seventy-fourth Floor): Yeah, alright. The seventy-third floor. What I had seen there defied words. Follow current novᴇls on 𝙣𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙡~𝔣𝔦𝔯𝔢~𝙣𝙚𝙩 The image of the massive mechanical fortress, the raging furnace within it, and the divine energy that had bloomed inside me surfaced in my mind. The whole thing was too overwhelming to capture with mere language. At least I was talking to Ha Hee-Jeong. Maybe because of her previous life experience, she understood me even when I explained things poorly. She filled in the blanks without needing me to spell it all out. - Ha Hee-Jeong (Seventy-fifth Floor): A mechanical fortress the size of a mountain? Are you serious? What is this, Bark’s Moving Castle? - Ha Hee-Jeong (Seventy-fifth Floor): That’s insane. You used lightning Aura, and it didn’t even leave a mark? Her reactions made it easier to talk about. By the end of my story, she sounded genuinely impressed. - Ha Hee-Jeong (Seventy-fifth Floor): Holy crap, that sounds intense. Can you show me sometime? - Kwon Su-Hyeok (Seventy-fourth Floor): Show you what? - Ha Hee-Jeong (Seventy-fifth Floor): Your divinity. You said the world turned blue, right? I want to see it. I’m curious too. Even as a regressor, she hadn’t experienced divine energy firsthand. I could understand her curiosity. - Kwon Su-Hyeok (Seventy-fourth Floor): Of course. If we get the chance on an all-climber floor, or even at a rest area, I can show you. If I wanted to impress her, I would need to do a little more research on how best to use Divine Power. - Ha Hee-Jeong (Seventy-fifth Floor): Okay, sweet. So, what was your reward? You said you’d tell me later. - Kwon Su-Hyeok (Seventy-fourth Floor): Oh, that? I’ll send it now. Take a good look. - Ha Hee-Jeong (Seventy-fifth Floor): Huh? You’re sending it to me? Wait, why would you do that? Just use it. I ignored her dismissal and pulled out the necklace and one of the elixirs. Meanwhile, she continued to send a string of increasingly urgent messages. - Ha Hee-Jeong (Seventy-fifth Floor): Answer me. - Ha Hee-Jeong (Seventy-fifth Floor): Hey! I said don’t send it! I don’t need an elixir. You take it. Didn’t you say your divinity awakened? Glancing at the message from the corner of my eye, I went ahead and sent the items to her. Since I was already at it, I forwarded the bow and arrows to Cole as well before turning my attention back to Ha Hee-Jeong’s increasingly frantic messages. - Ha Hee-Jeong (Seventy-fifth Floor): Hey, Kwon Su-Hyeok! Didn’t I tell you not to send it? I’m going to return it, got it? So impatient, as always. Moments made me wonder if Ha Hee-Jeong’s tendency to fuss over me stemmed from her compulsiveness. Worried that she would actually send the items back, I hastily typed out a response. - Kwon Su-Hyeok (Seventy-fourth Floor): Hey, hey, I didn’t just send them mindlessly. Check the descriptions first. - Ha Hee-Jeong (Seventy-fifth Floor): Huh? - Kwon Su-Hyeok (Seventy-fourth Floor): Your sponsor gave me some items that are rewards for both of us. They are meant to be split, too. You’ll see when you look. Go ahead and check. She went silent for a moment, probably reviewing the rewards. I leaned back in my chair and waited. - Ha Hee-Jeong (Seventy-fifth Floor): Oh, you’re right. It is supposed to be split. Apparently, the descriptions had convinced her. - Kwon Su-Hyeok (Seventy-fourth Floor): Yep. It was extra, so just take it. - Ha Hee-Jeong (Seventy-fifth Floor): Thanks. Wow, this is kind of touching, actually. I haven’t even done anything for my sponsor, but she still looked out for me. - Kwon Su-Hyeok (Seventy-fourth Floor): Tell me about it. I’m jealous. Mine barely gives me anything. - Ha Hee-Jeong (Seventy-fifth Floor): Hey, you got that training from Angelina and some decent perks too. This is my first time getting something . She grumbled, clearly a bit envious. - Kwon Su-Hyeok (Seventy-fourth Floor): Haha, well... yeah, I guess that’s true. - Ha Hee-Jeong (Seventy-fifth Floor): But hey, shouldn’t you be the one to put the necklace on me? She seemed to be in a good mood after receiving the gift, considering that she was already teasing me. - Kwon Su-Hyeok (Seventy-fourth Floor): Oh yeah? Then give it back. I’ll put it on you at the rest area. - Ha Hee-Jeong (Seventy-fifth Floor): No way, I want to use it now. - Kwon Su-Hyeok (Seventy-fourth Floor): Okay, fine. By the way, what did you do on the seventy-fourth floor? It was a party floor, right? Ha Hee-Jeong began explaining what she had encountered. The main villain for the floor had been a dark mage, and it had sent wave after wave of minions to attack her. She had been tasked with defending against the minions and had even needed to face liches before prevailing in a magic duel and clearing the trial. I cheered her on, saying that she had done well, to which she replied that she felt grimy and was heading off to wash up. Just as I was finishing the last of my meal, a lengthy message arrived from Cole. - Cole Spruce (Seventy-fifth Floor): Su-Hyeok, thank you so much. I heard from Hee-Jeong that you gave me the bow and arrows. Apologies, I just got out of the shower and only saw them now. As expected, his message was formal and reserved—true to his character. - Kwon Su-Hyeok (Seventy-fourth Floor): Oh, it wasn’t a problem at all. I happened to come across them on the seventy-third floor, and you’re the only one around who uses a bow. Consider it a surprise gift, haha. - Cole Spruce (Seventy-fifth Floor): I was actually thinking of replacing my bow. This is perfect timing. Thank you very much. I feel like I’ve gained nearly 100k points thanks to this. Though his words were simple, I could sense Cole’s sincerity and gratitude. That was just the kind of person he was. Even so, I felt a wave of relief. Truth be told, I hadn’t known what kind of bow Cole was using, and I had been worried that his current one was better than the one I had sent. Still, the bow came from the seventy-third floor, so I figured it was likely superior. Luckily, it turned out he had been planning to upgrade anyway. - Kwon Su-Hyeok (Seventy-fourth Floor): Honestly, I wouldn’t have even been able to use it myself. I’m just glad it worked out for you. - Cole Spruce (Seventy-fifth Floor): I truly appreciate it. I’ll be sure to return the favor somehow. Wait, return the favor? I hurriedly typed a reply. - Kwon Su-Hyeok (Seventy-fourth Floor): Ah, really, it’s fine. I didn’t expect anything in return. It was just lying around. - Cole Spruce (Seventy-fifth Floor): Even so, you’ve always helped me out. I think it’s time I do something in return. - Kwon Su-Hyeok (Seventy-fourth Floor): Cole, seriously, don’t send me anything. If you do, I’m cutting ties. I mean it. I sent the message, but he didn’t reply. I let out a soft chuckle. The situation felt oddly familiar, eerily similar to what had just happened with Ha Hee-Jeong. Despite his stoic demeanor, Cole could be surprisingly stubborn when it came to things . I had a feeling no amount of protest would change his mind. Well, what could I do? If he insisted on giving me something, I would just have to accept it. Just as I was finishing the last bites of my food, a small wooden box appeared on my desk. Opening it, I found a potion inside. [Soetherheim’s Potion] - Created by alchemists summoned from around the world by the founding emperor of the Soetherheim Empire, who harbored deep insecurities about his appearance. - Purifies and clears every inch of skin, dramatically enhancing one’s physical appearance, including facial and bodily features. - Stimulates internal vitality, slightly improving physical stats by restructuring the body. To be honest, it felt a bit underwhelming. The potion’s main appeal was its effect on appearance rather than actual stats. Is he implying I am ugly by sending this? Sure, Cole is extraordinarily good-looking, but I am no slouch myself. Of course, I was just messing around. I knew full well he hadn’t sent it with that kind of intent. At that moment, a mischievous impulse bubbled up. Cole was always so serious, which made him an ideal target for a bit of teasing. Since things had already played out , why not have a little fun? A sly smile formed on my lips as I began typing out a message. If Doppy had seen me just then, he probably would have said I looked downright wicked.