Conquering the Tower Even Regressors Couldn’t

I shared my experiences from the eleventh and twelfth floors with Ha Hee-Jeong.

She explained that sometimes the Tower of Ordeal would force a climber to move straight to the next floor without sending them to the waiting room. Of course, since the climber wasn’t given any time to rest, it was more exhausting.

She consoled me, telling me I must have had a tough time, before giving me a brief rundown of the thirteenth floor.

- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Thirteenth Floor): So, the thirteenth floor will require climbers to pair up, right?

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Thirteenth Floor): Yeah.

- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Thirteenth Floor): But do we really want to be paired? Wouldn’t it be safer if we helped our other party members?

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Thirteenth Floor): No, the thirteenth floor isn’t dangerous enough to warrant that. We’ll earn more points if the two of us handle it.

Well, if that was the case, I didn’t see any point in continuing to argue. Ha Hee-Jeong didn’t share many details about the thirteenth floor, but I figured following her advice was the best course of action.

- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Thirteenth Floor): But why is there an active timer? Shouldn’t there be an indefinite wait since no other climbers have cleared the twelfth floor?

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Thirteenth Floor): That’s because you cleared the eleventh and twelfth floors without a break. The rest time you missed on the eleventh floor is being added now.

- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Thirteenth Floor): Huh? What do you mean by that?

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Thirteenth Floor): This floor requires everyone to participate at once, but since you didn’t get to rest, it’s compensating for that. The other climbers are resting longer, thanks to you.

- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Thirteenth Floor): Ah, so the others get more rest because they’re waiting for my timer to sync up?

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Thirteenth Floor): Exactly. It’s not a bad deal.

I nodded to myself, finally understanding. I had always thought the Tower of Ordeal was merciless, but it seemed there were some surprisingly considerate mechanics in place.

What about the rest of the party?

If I teamed up with Ha Hee-Jeong, that would leave three people trying to pair up. Seo Ho-Su would probably stick with Seo Ha-Rin, which meant Cole would be left on his own...

Can I ask Alexei if she would pair up with Cole?

It was a bit of a hassle, but ensuring Cole wouldn’t be left alone made it worth the trouble.

We can talk about it once the others reach this floor.

At the moment, everyone except Ha Hee-Jeong was still on the twelfth floor. Unlike me, the other climbers spent a short time on the eleventh floor and were now taking longer on the twelfth.

I wasn’t sure how Ha Hee-Jeong had conquered the floor so quickly.

Well, she is a regressor...

Maybe she completed a hidden mission or something.

Come to think of it, this also happened back on the fifth floor.

I had spent a long time clearing the tutorial, which annoyed the other climbers. Now that it had happened again on the eleventh floor, it seemed inevitable this would keep happening on future floors. If it kept up, other climbers would start getting suspicious.

I figured there were probably already discussions about it.

Curious, I opened the Community tab.

[Why is Kwon Su-Hyeok still stuck on the eleventh floor?]

[He’s probably found another hidden mission.]

[This happened before, and now it’s happening again. Is he possessed or something?]

[At least the wait isn’t endless like last time since this is a solo floor.]

[Why does it feel like Kwon Su-Hyeok is always getting hidden missions? I’ve never even encountered one.]

[Same here, never found a single one eek.]

[I accidentally caught the Skill Thief Gremlin on the eighth floor haha.]

As expected, many posts were about me. I wasn’t surprised since I would also find it odd if the top-ranked climber was stuck on a floor everyone had already cleared. And just like always, people were bound to talk. Ŗá𐌽ÖᛒĘS

Especially considering this wasn’t the first time...

I began to feel uneasy as I scrolled through the comments.

What if I continue to clear floors slower than others?

Eventually, people would start asking questions.

Should I just tell them it’s because of hidden missions? Hmm...

Even then, I wondered if other climbers would get upset if I hogged all the hidden missions. They might think, “Why does he get all the hidden pieces while I can’t even find one?”

Regardless of their ability to complete the missions, they could still resent not having the opportunity.

With Ha Hee-Jeong’s knowledge and my Sixth Sense, it seemed likely that I would keep repeating this scenario. Whether it was high-difficulty floors or hidden missions, my fellow climbers would probably have to keep waiting.

Of course, there was another potential scenario…

“Kwon Su-Hyeok knows what’s coming on the next floor or where the hidden missions are, but he’s keeping it to himself so he can claim all the rewards.”

People could easily start thinking that. Humans don’t always act rationally, especially when they become jealous or envious. At some point, I would have to come clean and tell them I was different from the other climbers.

Yeah, I should talk to Ha Hee-Jeong about this.

- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Thirteenth Floor): Hey, Hee-Jeong, should we let our party members and other climbers know that my solo floors are just harder than usual?

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Thirteenth Floor): You’re worried people are going to start talking, right? Don’t worry, I’ve thought about this. Just wait a bit longer. We’ll do it once you build more influence.

- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Thirteenth Floor): Influence?

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Thirteenth Floor): Yeah. You can build it by making a name for yourself on the higher floors or standing out in group challenges. The trick is to wait until everyone is struggling, then reveal the truth. If you tell them now, some might just get resentful.

It seemed like a sound plan. I had been thinking along similar lines.

Regardless of my thoughts, Ha Hee-Jeong knew far more about the Tower than I did. She was well aware of how the trials worked and knew much more than me about navigating the complex social landscape of the other climbers. Since she already had a strategy in mind, I saw no point in overthinking it.

- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Thirteenth Floor): Alright, got it. Get some rest now.

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Thirteenth Floor): You too, sleep well.

Just as I finished, Doppy emerged from the bathroom with perfect timing. It was uncanny how it always seemed to choose the right moment.

Standing by the door, it vigorously rubbed its bald head with a towel and shouted, “Kriee! Su-Yeok! Goblin! All clean!”

Given its lack of hair, there wasn’t much to dry, but there it was, toweling its head like it was the most important thing. It must have picked it up from watching me dry my hair the other day...

It wasn’t like I could stop it. Besides, it was kind of endearing.

I just nodded.

“Good job. You can rest now.”

“Kriee! Goblin sleeps now!”

“Yeah, yeah.”

Looking worn out, Doppy threw itself onto the bed, its eyes fluttering shut the moment it hit the mattress. It was out cold almost instantly.

I couldn’t help but wonder what it had been doing to get so exhausted...

I squinted at it in mild annoyance, but seeing it sleep so peacefully, a smile tugged uncontrollably at the corners of my lips. Deciding now wasn’t the time to check out the training room, I got ready to clean up and get some rest myself.

***

[Time remaining until the thirteenth floor: 5 hours 11 minutes. Please take a rest.]

- Seo Ha-Rin (Thirteenth Floor): Oh! Su-Hyeok oppa, you’re already in the waiting room? I thought we wouldn’t see you until later since you were on the eleventh floor for so long!

- Cole Grouse (Thirteenth Floor): He probably found a hidden mission on the eleventh floor, just like we guessed.

- Seo Ho-Su (Thirteenth Floor): See? I told you there was no need to worry. He’s doing just fine.

- Seo Ha-Rin (Thirteenth Floor): Haha, Dad, you were the one freaking out the most! Cole and I figured he was off doing a hidden mission.

- Seo Ho-Su (Thirteenth Floor): What? Me? I wasn’t worried at all!

When I woke up, the party chat was filled with messages. It seemed like everyone had finished the twelfth floor while I was asleep, making it back safely.

So, they all thought I was busy with a hidden mission on the eleventh floor… It looked like Seo Ho-Su was the only one who had been worried about me being in actual danger.

At least there are a few people who worry about me—Ha Hee-Jeong and Seo Ho-Su, mostly.

The conversation in the chat tapered off after a while, probably because they all went to bed.

Meanwhile, I still had to figure out what to do about Cole. The Tower of Ordeal hadn’t delivered any notifications yet, so I couldn’t share that the next floor required climbers to pair up. It felt awkward to just blurt out, “Hey, the next floor is for two people.”

Well, I figured the tower would handle that soon enough. Now that I had rested a bit, it was time to check out the training room. First things first, however. The little goblin was still fast asleep on the bed, so I shook it awake.

“Doppy! Hey, Doppy!”

“Kriee?”

Groggy and confused, Doppy slowly opened its eyes and blinked blearily at me. Its half-lidded, irritated expression seemed to ask, “What now?”

I felt a little sorry for waking it up as I saw how tired it looked.

“Kriee! Goblin! Finished washing!”

“Yeah, I know.”

Doppy was still a growing goblin, and rest was important. However, there were things we needed to take care of. I had decided back on the eleventh floor that it was time to start training it. This wasn’t just for my benefit but for its survival, its future.

“You’ve noticed how hard I’ve worked to keep you safe during battles, right? How long are you just going to follow me around and rely on me?”

“Kriee? Su-Yeok, what mean?”

“I’m saying it’s time for you to start training. Like Ha-Rin does. And now that we have a training room, it’s the perfect opportunity.”

“Kriee!?”

Doppy’s tired eyes snapped open in shock. Its wide-eyed expression practically screamed, “What did I do to deserve this?”

I braced myself, resisting the urge to soften my stance. This was for Doppy’s own good.

“Listen, Doppy. What are you going to do if I can’t protect you from an enemy? Just die?”

“Kriee...”

“I can’t always be there to save you, you know.”

“...”

“And what if we’re up against a huge number of enemies? This training is to make sure you survive. Got it?”

Doppy’s eyes, which had been darting around nervously, finally settled. It lowered its head slightly, a sign that it understood me. With newfound resolve, it hopped off the bed.

“Kriee! Goblin understands!”

“Good. Let’s get up and get to training.”

But before starting, we needed to sort out what weapon it would use.

“Let’s see... You used a crossbow back on the first floor, right? So you know how to handle one?”

“Kriee! Yes! Goblin knows!”

“Alright. Can you use anything else besides a crossbow?”

“Kriee! Goblin knows sword! A little!”

“A sword, huh? Wait a second.”

I rummaged through Mung-Chi, my living inventory, picking from a stash of weapons I had picked up on the eleventh floor.

Swords, axes, spears...

No matter what Doppy wanted, I had something for it.

“Mung-Chi, give me a good sword.”

With a few taps on Mung-Chi’s side, the lid popped open, and a sturdy sword floated out. I gave it a quick scan and swung it a couple of times, testing its balance, before handing it to Doppy.

“Alright, let’s head to the training room.”

“Kriee! Got it!”

Doppy clutched the sword tightly and followed me as I led the way.

This was the first time I had seen the training room, so I opened the door with a bit of anticipation, but my excitement quickly faded.

As expected, the room wasn’t very big. It was about the size of a tennis court, just large enough to practice basic strikes or cast some spells. There wasn’t enough space to freely move around or run drills properly.

Still, we can manage some simple sparring.

I took my place on one side of the room, and Doppy instinctively positioned itself on the opposite end.

To my surprise, it didn’t look annoyed or frustrated. In fact, its expression was determined, almost resolute.

Seeing it like that filled me with a strange sense of pride. I had expected more complaints from it, given that it was still a young goblin...

But then again, Doppy had been through a lot before I met it.

It was dragged into the tower just like the rest of us.

Doppy had lost its god, nearly been brainwashed, and faced countless hardships. I couldn’t treat it like just a naive young goblin. With the trials that lay ahead, I needed to train it seriously.

Gripping my axe more firmly, I called out, “You said you’ve learned some sword skills, right?”

“Kriee! Yes!”

“I don’t know how good you are yet, but let’s see what you’ve got.”

Without further warning, I charged straight at Doppy.

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