Floor 20: The Waiting Room (2)

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“Then we shall proceed with crafting the armor as discussed.”

“Yes. How should I go about paying the achievement points?”

“Ah, the Tower of Trials will collect them automatically. Now, I will take your body measurements. Please remain still for a moment.”

“Understood.”

I stood motionless at Roxant's instruction, but a flicker of curiosity crept in—just how was he planning to measure me? Could Roxant actually see me right now? Or perhaps the Tower would scan my body and transmit the data to him. I was holding a conversation with someone living on a planet somewhere in the vastness of space, after all. Nothing seemed impossible anymore.

A notification window cut my musing short.

“Yes.”

The moment the Tower's message faded, Roxant's voice returned.

“All done. You may move about freely now. Might I ask what weapon you wield and what abilities you favor?”

He truly hadn't earned the title of master craftsman for nothing. He was asking about my weapon and skills—presumably to tailor the armor around them. I told him I fought with a double-bladed axe and possessed lightning- and shadow-related skills. When he asked whether he could see them for himself, I went to the training ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠room and demonstrated the axe work and every skill I had.

Even after that, Roxant kept asking questions. Whether I had a preferred form for the armor, whether there were any special requirements I wanted met. It was my armor, after all, so I answered each question with the utmost care. And in the middle of it all, another requirement came to mind.

“By the way, I already own a gauntlet made of Jiuchuan metal. Would it be possible to craft the armor so that it pairs well with it?”

“Might I see it first?”

I drew out the gauntlet I had stashed in my mimic upon entering the Waiting Room and held it up. At the sight of it, Roxant fell silent for a long moment.

“...I understand. Then I shall craft it to complement the gauntlet you possess, Kwon Suhyeok.”

What had that brief silence been about? Hmm. It was a Unique-grade gauntlet, so perhaps it was one even Roxant knew of. Or maybe he'd simply been startled that I was carrying something forged in Jiuchuan.

“My flow of time differs from the Tower's, so the armor will not take nearly so long to complete as you might fear.”

“Hmm, how long are we talking, exactly?”

“By your flow of time, I would estimate you will receive it in roughly eight hours.”

Eight hours, huh. I'd assumed I wouldn't get it until the Floor 20 rest period was nearly over. This was faster than I'd expected. Not bad at all. In that case, I'd walk into the rest area already wearing the armor. The other climbers didn't know yet that rest areas appeared every ten floors, so either way, I'd have to walk in suited up. A master's work—the craftsmanship would practically ooze from it at a glance. Even the top-ranked climbers would have their eyes pop out.

“Yes, I'm looking forward to it. I'll be waiting.”

“Do not worry. Judged on armor alone, I rank within the top three in the universe.”

pride rang clear in Roxant's voice, and with those parting words, the transmission ended. So the Dimensional Forge voucher was spent... which meant it was finally time to eat the Dragon Heart. We'd promised to consume it together, so I sent a message to Ha Heijeong.

Don't let the overflowing mana pool in one place—circulate it through your entire body. That was what I needed to do after swallowing the elixir and before falling asleep. I replied that of course I remembered, then swallowed the Dragon Heart right away.

Lying in bed and scrolling through the community, I caught myself humming. It was the Dragon Heart's doing. Every single stat had risen, and most of my skill levels had climbed as well. And there were improvements the status window couldn't even display. How should I put it—my body itself felt harder, stronger. The sensitivity of every part of me had sharpened, and my mana responded to my will far better than before. Probably the Dragon Blood skill at work. Once I'd gathered myself, I moved around a bit in the training room, and the result was thoroughly satisfying. I turned my attention back to the community.

Hmm, nope. Not uncomfortable in the slightest. Surely that wasn't going to stop people from posting praise about me, was it? To check how everyone was reacting, I clicked into that last post. Thankfully, the other climbers didn't seem to agree with that opinion much at all.

Well, a few people did side with it... but it was nowhere near the majority view. What a relief. My therapeutic daily ritual of basking in praise had almost been cut short.

Seeing our party come up in the discussions brought that thing I'd been mulling over back to the surface. The question of whether I was better off moving alone from now on. It was something I'd been thinking about ever since passing through Floors 14 to 16. I had already surpassed the other climbers by a wide margin. Unless the enemy numbers swelled past the tens of thousands, battling a horde of the weak meant nothing to me anymore. And given that, splitting the limited spawns on each floor between a freak of nature like me and my party members didn't seem like it benefited anyone.

If I can't fight alone, I'm a liability to them. And if my party members get less combat experience because of me, they suffer too.

The number of enemies appearing on each floor was fixed. Dividing that between me—irregular even among the top-ranked climbers—and my party members was a loss for both sides. Besides, once we passed Floor 20, the solo floors would return. And once I cleared those, I would be even stronger.

Truthfully, the answer was obvious. It stung to part ways with the party members who had been with me since the tutorial first ended... but I needed to form a one-man party.

I messaged Ha Heijeong, asking what she thought about me striking out on my own. Unexpectedly, she answered flatly, as if she'd seen it coming.

Honestly, I'd assumed that if I brought it up, Ha Heijeong would follow me out. She was a regressor too, after all—moving solo would be more convenient for her and better for her growth. That was exactly why I'd been feeling both regret and guilt toward our party members.

She added more.

When she put it that way, there was nothing left for me to say. It was the judgment of a regressor—someone who had seen the end of everything once before. But in the end, it was still a sacrifice on her part. However much it served the greater cause, she was eating into her own growth to raise me and the rest of the party. All I could offer Ha Heijeong were words of apology and gratitude.

Ah, that explained it. Right—there were floors a single person couldn't enter at all. Floor 13, the Forest of Vermin, required two participants, and the story went that three climbers had gone in because their party's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠numbers didn't match the requirement. Later floors would surely have more of the same.

Just as the conversation was winding down, another message arrived from Ha Heijeong. It was about the axe edge that had taken a beating during the dragon hunt. I could have it repaired at the rest area, but... the voucher's points were already locked into the armor order. She had asked earlier whether buying a new one might be better, since the next floor was a solo floor. My current balance sat at 60,000 achievement points. But when I'd combed through the shop, no axe truly caught my eye.

It was an axe that interacted with my Dragon Blood skill, after all—throwing it away outright felt like a waste. And right then, a message arrived from Azad Hakin, the boy I'd met back on Floor 14.

What was this, out of the blue?