The Charge at Ten Minutes

The sky was black tinged with red, choked by fires burning everywhere across the city.

A massive orb of blue mana rose into the crimson sky. Piiiieeek— the sound of it tearing through the air was harsh and shrill.

Then the orb burst like a firework, scattering into a spray of light.

It was already the thirtieth signal flare.

The heretics must all be gathered by now.

There were so many of them that, on top of completely filling the central plaza where we'd first arrived, they had occupied several of the great avenues.

And yet there was no real chaos.

That was because the enemy had realized any further assault was pointless and pulled their soldiers back.

Only the climbers and the Pope remained inside the city walls.

All that was left now was to whip the climbers' ranks into order and march out on schedule.

So why aren't they retreating?

Even with things going this smoothly, the question still nagged at me.

Once the relief army arrived, the enemy would be caught in a pincer. And yet there they were, holding formation on the plain outside the city.

Don't tell me they didn't know reinforcements were coming?

Whatever their symptoms, I couldn't imagine them being that oblivious…

Or did they know we'd vanish in twenty minutes?

The questions kept breeding questions, so I asked Ha Heijeong directly. But even she hesitated.

"Hmm… last time, we spent the whole floor in a frenzy guarding the Pope inside the city, and then the relief army showed up and it was over. My guess is they don't know the reinforcements are coming?"

"You think so?"

If Heijeong said so, then so it was.

Had I been overthinking it?

At this point the heretics' formation looked roughly organized anyway…

If there was no need to worry, it seemed more productive to do something useful rather than sit around waiting for the relief army.

My eyes met Heijeong's.

Something flickered in those calm depths.

Even without asking, I could tell she was thinking the same thing I was. I spoke up carefully.

"Thinking about the next floor, it'd be better to thin out their numbers as much as we can, right?"

"Exactly. It's been a while since we've had this many heretics gathered in one place, too. What do you say? Want to charge them like we did on Floor 16?"

Heijeong asked in a playfully teasing tone.

But the meaning beneath her words was dead serious, and the corners of my mouth curled up on their own.

"Works for me. Then I suppose we should go tell the others first."

"I'll handle the announcement. You go get up front."

"Huh? You're doing it?"

"I've been wanting to try out a good old 'CHARGE!' of my own, just like yours."

Heijeong snickered impishly. She was referring to the charge we'd made against the Koshaks back on Floor 16, apparently…

"You gave the charge order to the heretics yourself back then, remember?"

"Oh, come on, the second charge was nothing special. You got all the glory anyway."

Heijeong gave a sly grin and stuck out her lips in a pout.

Just a joke, pretending to sulk. Once we'd exchanged grins, she stepped closer and gave my back a shove.

"I'll ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠take care of all the boring explanations, so hurry up and get to the front."

"Yes, Sir! Awaiting the order to charge, Ma'am."

"Just GO already!"

The moment I answered dead serious, Heijeong's face flushed red, embarrassed.

I left Dobby in Seo Harin's care and went to find the Lake Uncle.

"Uncle, time to head to the front."

"Eh? Why?"

"We're about to charge."

"What, a charge? I thought we just had to hold out?"

"Judging by how they look, those guys will probably show up on the next floor too, so we're trying to cut down their numbers while we can. Pad the achievement score a bit while we're at it. Heijeong will explain the details."

"Well then, count me in. I haven't done much worth mentioning this floor anyway."

The uncle chuckled and scooped up his shield.

As we made our way toward the front ranks, Ha Heijeong's mana-amplified voice rang out across the city.

"…which is why I believe reducing the enemy's numbers this floor will help us on the next. Therefore…"

There would no doubt be some heretics who just wanted to rest…

But the vast majority of the climbers drew their weapons with positive expressions on their faces.

Probably because, like the Lake Uncle, few of them had done anything on this floor worth feeling satisfied about.

Medieval soldiers. They hadn't been all that strong an enemy either. Honestly, fighting them was about as easy as it gets.

"…when the relief army arrives, at the ten-minute mark we will advance. Everyone, form ranks. The vanguard will be combat-class climbers…"

"Ready to charge!"

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Heijeong's clear voice rolled through the holy city.

I steadied my breathing and turned my gaze toward the gates.

Perhaps sensing that our movements were anything but ordinary, the enemy was hurriedly forming square formations.

Formations.

As if those meant much of anything in the face of magic…

"CHARGE!"

"WAAAAAGH!"

The moment Heijeong's cry ended, the climbers' roar erupted like a storm.

Then came the thunderous shaking of the ground.

I was at the head of the column, so I set the pace.

Around the time we leapt over the rubble of the collapsed gate, thousands upon thousands of spells streaked past over our heads.

KWAANG! KWAANG!

As the explosions made the earth shudder violently, a horn sounded from the western sky.

The relief army.

They'd need time to take custody of the Pope from us, so showing up around now makes perfect sense.

It was no coincidence that Heijeong had ordered the charge with ten minutes to spare.

By now, she was probably escorting the Pope toward the relief army.

I picked up speed.

Drawing the enemy's attention would make Heijeong's job that much easier.

And since the relief army was cavalry, I needed to match their pace anyway.

The magnificent horn calls kept rolling across the battlefield.

"Drive out the apostates!"

"Hold the square! Keep your positions!"

"Punch through, now!"

"Anyone who retreats dies by my hand!"

Over the plain spread wide beneath my expanded senses, the cries of soldiers on both sides rose and mingled.

Cavalry were thundering in from the west, so I wheeled to the right.

The first clash.

Lightning, fired off like chains, shattered the enemy square. And over it, the climbers surged out like a gale.

"Gahk!"

"Khek!"

It grieved me to watch soldiers dying without even knowing why, but I didn't loosen my grip on the axe.

Sending them off quickly, without pain, was the greatest kindness I could offer.

Just then, the Lake Uncle's shout rang out — he was right beside me, so it came through crystal clear.

"Whirling Frenzy! Azure Dragon, Single Slash!"

No way — how long had it been since I'd heard that one?

Even in the thick of the chaos, that familiar call put a smile on my lips.

I glanced over for a moment, and the uncle was grinning right back at me.

Sharp as ever, this man.

He'd clearly bellowed the flashy skill name for my benefit when he saw my expression souring. The way he laughed with me without demanding any explanation spoke of real experience.

I smiled back at him.

After finding the Pope on Floor 25, everything had been chaos with the crowds of climbers swarming in, so we hadn't gotten a chance to talk about it.

When I got back to the Waiting Room and told her the whole story, Heijeong was floored.

Even without any audio, Heijeong's speech style came through so vividly it was like hearing her actual voice.

I smiled lightly and told her the ring I'd worn had shown me the way.

Her snort came through the screen loud and clear.

I meant every word.

It was Heijeong who had taught me to think for myself from the very lowest floors.

If I'd simply moved on foreknowledge of the future from the start, would I have grown this much?

Somehow I doubted it.

But Heijeong didn't reply right away.

Is she embarrassed by the thank-you?

Or… maybe she was just getting emotional over how much I'd grown…

As I was mulling it over, her message arrived.

Had I ever once been anything but good to Heijeong since we entered the Tower?

This place held our very lives, so I never even joked carelessly with her — and I couldn't think of a single thing I'd failed to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠do for her.

Seeing her bristle, I realized the guilt over that was still lingering with her, even now.

Look, I'm fine with it… did I bring it up for nothing?

Right.

Back on Floor 10, at the rest area, Heijeong had apologized to me through her tears.

It had been unavoidable — a necessary evil if we were going to climb the Tower properly — but she'd felt terribly guilty for driving me into that hell.

She answered with that single word, and then nothing.

What, is she actually sulking?

Ugh, disaster. I hadn't thought the joke was that tasteless…

Apparently the guilt Heijeong had carried back then was far heavier than I'd imagined.

Well, the way to lift Heijeong's spirits at times like this was simple.

Own up to my fault and just keep talking to her.

After I'd sent messages with near-pathological persistence, Heijeong finally replied.

A smile crept across my face before I knew it.

There it was. As far as I was concerned, mission accomplished.