Floor 15: The Road to the Fortress (1)

"You all go on ahead. I'll be moving separately."

"Huh? Suhyeok, what are you talking about?"

"They said points would be awarded in order of arrival, starting with the first party to reach the fortress—but they never said every party member had to move together."

Ha Heijeong and I had worked out even the excuse back in the Waiting Room, and now it came out as smooth as flowing water. The party members blinked at me in surprise.

"Oh... huh. He's right."

"Wow, Oppa, are you a genius or what? How do you catch that the instant you hear it?"

"Then... am I right in assuming you intend to rescue the refugees and the routed soldiers, Mr. Suhyeok?"

"Yes. Since we don't know how the bonus points will be tallied, the rest of you need to reach the fortress as fast as possible. I'll rescue refugees from the rear and earn us the extra points."

Cole, the sharpest mind in the party, wore a puzzled look. It wasn't as if I hadn't expected someone to poke a hole in the plan.

"Even so, leading a crowd all the way to the fortress on your own will be hard on you, won't it?"

"Not at all. I intend to keep falling back the entire way."

The moment I delivered the answer I'd prepared in advance, Cole's eyes went wide. He'd understood what I meant.

But Mr. Seo and Seo Harin, standing beside him, still looked lost. They hadn't caught on yet, so I hurried to add an explanation.

"The message said, 'if you rescue the crowd and get them to the fortress.' It never said the one who saved them had to escort them there personally."

"Oh! So all that matters is that they're saved?"

"I see! They just have to make it to the fortress. No telling how the points will shake out, but it should work."

Seo Harin and Mr. Seo cried out in realization.

I went on.

"Besides, there may be climbers in danger back there as well. I intend to save them too."

"Ah, true—the climbers bringing up the rear are far more exposed to the ambushes... Saving even fellow climbers. A splendid idea, truly."

"Then get to the fortress, all of you. It's first come, first served—so move quickly. And now, I'll be off as well."

With my party members nodding along in a daze behind me, I turned away. A bewildered Wait—already? drifted after me, but I had no attention to spare for it.

Having been summoned the farthest out of anyone, I had not a minute to waste in finding the hidden mission.

Leaving the party so abruptly did feel a little cold, but...

There was no way to tell them Ha Heijeong had regressed.

And pinning it on her precognition skill would have made for an awkwardly tangled explanation. A ready-made justification had landed in my lap—this way was far cleaner.

Even without me, Ha Heijeong would remain with the party. She'd handle the rear on her own and keep the members out of harm's way.

I had just turned to go when Ha Heijeong abruptly seized my wrist and pulled.

Hm?

When I cocked my chin as if to ask what was up, she flicked her eyes to the side—a silent request to step away for a moment. Catching her meaning, I followed. She didn't stop until she'd put a good ten meters between herself and the party.

Ha Heijeong turned to face me, her expression rigid.

"You remember it clearly, right?"

"Yeah. Opposite the arrow's direction, a crescent-shaped lake. No clue what's there, though."

"Phew... okay. I'm counting on you."

"Don't worry. Now hurry back. People will think it's strange."

She nodded. Her face was still hard as stone.

Something was off. The Ha Heijeong I knew would have managed a faint smile at a moment like this...

Is she feeling guilty for sending me off alone?

No, that didn't seem to be it either. This was nothing like her usual self. It was the face of someone bracing for something.

Ha Heijeong saw me off.

"Stay safe. I'll see the party members there first, then wait for you."

"You could go in ahead and get some rest, you know."

"No. There are things I need to take care of later."

"Things to take care of?"

"Nothing much. Now get moving."

At her urging, I nodded. The moment she saw it, she spun on her heel and headed back toward the party at a brisk pace.

I watched her retreating figure in silence for a moment, then broke into a run in the direction opposite the arrow.

About three minutes in, the Tower's message updated.

A hidden mission... on the 13th floor?

It seemed to be referring to the two insect queens Ha Heijeong and I had put down back then. Having a 13th-floor hidden mission suddenly surface on the 15th was more than a little disorienting.

Ha Heijeong had never mentioned anything like this.

She probably never knew. A hidden mission she failed to clear in her first run.

She would have realized it too, the moment she read that message—so this is how the floors were ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠connected all along.

The Tower's trials were woven together far more organically than I'd given them credit for. From here on out, I'd need to approach every single floor with a great deal more care.

That aside... doesn't this pretty much lock in first place for us?

A shortcut only our party could see. We were already the group summoned closest to the fortress to begin with. So long as I carried out my part as planned, first place on the 15th floor was as good as ours.

All right. Time to focus on my own task again.

The arrow had changed direction with the opening of the shortcut, and the compass in the sky was gone now. The direction I was facing at this very moment—I had to burn it into my body.

Roughly thirty minutes into my run the opposite way, I was forced to a stop.

Climbers. That ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was why.

If nothing seemed amiss, I'd have simply passed them by—but that sounded like a battle.

Committing my heading to memory, I pivoted toward the noise, and fighting figures came into view: six climbers and nearly twenty refugees, squared off against more than seventy enemies.

The refugees looked much like people from Earth. Under cover of night, I hadn't been able to tell any difference. The enemies were black-skinned shapes with a reptilian cast—lizardmen, the same kind we'd met on the 14th floor.

Left alone, they're in serious trouble.

The situation didn't look good. Twenty refugees or not, most of them had no idea how to fight. The six climbers were barely holding the lizardmen at bay.

One mage was struggling valiantly, chaining explosion spells one after another, but the rest of the climbers were simply too weak.

No help for it. However urgent the hidden mission, I couldn't leave these people to die. Besides, every life saved meant points in the bank.

I kicked off the ground and sprinted.

Let's finish this fast and keep moving.

I wreathed my body in searing lightning. The blazing discharge lit up the surroundings in an instant—a ribbon of light tearing through the darkness, racing across the plain.

"Kyaaak!"

The lizardmen were the first to whip their heads toward me; the climbers and refugees followed. And I unleashed Flash Lightning.

In the space of a blink, a lizardman swinging a mace at a refugee filled my vision. My axe carved across it with brutal force, ripping its abdomen open as though it had burst from the inside, and the lightning riding the blade surged through the mangled flesh.

"Graaagh—!"

The ragged scream echoed over the plain. Before the sizzle of seared flesh even reached my ears, the lightning was already arcing backward—a chain of current leaping from body to body, electrocuting more than a dozen lizardmen in succession.

The instant the first one's shriek cut off, the phlegm-choked wails of the others took up the refrain along the lightning's path, piling on top of each other like a round.

"Gruoooh—!"

Every electrocuted lizardman dropped at once, like puppets with their strings cut. My sudden entrance into the battlefield froze the whole field; for a long moment, no one dared to move. Into the hush that followed, exclamations tangled with disbelief came spilling out.

"Wh-what in the..."

"Whoa..."

I turned to find people staring up at me, gaping. Then someone recognized my face and called out, voice bright with relief.

"Mr. Suhyeok!"

It was Jimmy Handrake. We'd exchanged a brief greeting once before, at the rest area on the 10th floor.

"Th-that's Kwon Suhyeok?"

"You didn't see him on the 14th floor?"

"I was posted to the rear, remember? Whoa... that was seriously badass."

The other climbers' admiration came pouring out after that.

Come to think of it, I couldn't fathom what Jimmy Handrake was doing here. He was one of Alexei's party members, wasn't he...

No. That wasn't what mattered right now. The lizardmen, recovering their wits belatedly, were moving again.

"Let's catch up later."

I cut the pleasantries short and kicked off once more. Perhaps they had marked me as their top threat, because the bulk of the lizardmen came charging straight at me.

Which suited me fine. The more of them that bunched together, the more efficiently my lightning went to work.

I loaded my axe full of lightning and brought it down in a vertical arc. The lizardman who tried to catch the blade on its sword couldn't overcome my strength—it crumpled with the sword still raised, and a heartbeat later my axe buried itself in the crown of its skull. The chain of lightning reached out once more.

"Graaagh—!"

Once again the plain flashed white, and the stench of burning flesh came riding in on the wind. Of the lizardmen who had numbered over fifty, not even ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠half were left.

At the same time, the climbers raised their weapons and threw themselves back into the fight. I charged in once more, axe swinging—a single stroke claiming four or more lizardmen at a time.

"Gruooh!"

I drove my axe into the shoulder blade of the last lizardman standing. Blood spurted up through the torn gap, and I twisted my head aside to keep it from striking my face; a moment later, the fishy reek of it swept past anyway.

And that was that.

With a snap of my wrist, I spun the axe to fling off the blood, and as I turned, the climbers and refugees came hurrying over, tears brimming in their eyes.

"Kwon Suhyeok! Thank you, truly. I swear I will repay this debt."

"Oh my! Thank you, Sir Knight! Thank ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you...!"

"...Even back on the community boards, I could tell you were no ordinary climber, but you are truly a savior! Thank you!"

"It was nothing. Us climbers have to look out for one another."

As I answered their effusive thanks with due humility, Handrake caught my eye and gave a small signal—a request to speak with me apart from the others.

"Thank you, Kwon Suhyeok. Are you headed on to the fortress as well?"

"Thank ye kindly, Sir Knight! I'll not be forgetting this debt, no sir."

Begging a moment's patience from the climbers and refugees still pouring out their gratitude, I followed Handrake aside.

A few steps away, he turned with a smile.

"Well now, Mr. Suhyeok—thanks to you, I've come back from death's door. Thank you."

Truthfully, I suspected Handrake would have scraped through one way or another even without my help...

I let the compliment stand and picked up the thread.

"Think nothing of it. Helping each other is how we stay alive. By the way, what about your party members? Why are you alone...?"

At my question, Handrake put on an awkward face. He hesitated a moment, then answered in a voice thick with embarrassment.

"Well, seeing as you're on your own too, Mr. Suhyeok... it seems we scattered for much the same reason."

"...I see."

I gave a somewhat noncommittal nod. Alexei's party, it appeared, had adopted the very strategy I'd proposed to my own group.

Well, Handrake was plenty sharp himself. Honestly, now that I thought about it, the idea wasn't that hard to arrive at. Plenty of other climbers must have spotted it too—the catch being that only those confident enough in their strength could actually act on it.

Handrake opened his mouth carefully.

"Pardon me, but might I ask how your party divided up, Mr. Suhyeok?"

The sudden question caught me slightly off guard. Hmm... well, no harm in telling him. It's not as if knowing would let him do anything with it.

"We split in two. The party members are headed for the fortress, and I'm moving on my own."

No sooner had the words left my mouth than Handrake gave a wry smile. Was something wrong with what I'd said?

"I see. We divided our party three ways."

Three ways?

Two, two, and two? Isn't that a bit dangerous?

No—not two. The only member of Alexei's party standing here was Handrake.

"Isn't that taking on quite a lot of risk? Seeing you here alone, I'd guess you didn't split two and two."

"Correct. We split four, one, and one. We had originally planned four and two, but Alexei insisted so strongly that..."

Embarrassment was written plainly across Handrake's face as his words trailed off. Things had evidently not gone the way he'd intended. Then he shook his head as if to say never mind, and pressed on.

"Forgive me. We're both pressed for time—I'll leave it there. You're moving out again, I take it?"

"Yes. I should get going."

"Mr. Suhyeok. If you should happen upon Alexei and find him in danger... may I ask for your help, just as you helped us today? I will repay the debt, without fail."

Handrake bowed his head slightly, looking sheepish.

Well, that much was nothing. I had intended to rescue other climbers in danger regardless. And Alexei was a top-ranked climber—Handrake's request or no, I'd have helped. Not that someone like Alexei seemed likely to land in serious peril in the first place...

"Don't worry about it. Saving other climbers was the plan all along."

"How very like you, Mr. Suhyeok. Remarkable, truly."

"Still—Alexei's no pushover. Why ask me this out of nowhere...?"

Handrake answered with a face full of gloom.

"My gut is usually quite reliable. But this time... something just feels wrong..."