Tower of Despair: Floor 3 (1)
Five days had passed.
"Heh heh heh. This is quite to my liking."
Ha-wol laughed with deep satisfaction.
After everything that had happened, a new kind of murderous resolve burned in them—something that hadn't been there before.
"Yes. This is what training is supposed to be! If you don't grit your teeth and push past your limits every single day, every single moment, then it isn't training at all. It's a waste of time."
It wasn't only the others who were suffering.
Hyun Si-woon was dying too.
Sweat poured off him like rain. His ragged breathing never stopped.
I'm actually going to die.
He wiped his face. It wasn't exaggeration. He had genuinely come close more than once. There were moments he worried he'd dump them all back to a save point after pouring so much effort into building the team up—and every time, Ha-wol cackled.
"Don't worry about it, you brat. People are tougher than you think. They don't die that easily."
Don't die that easily, my ass.
That was a hell of a thing to say to a guy who had already died twenty-one times.
Still…
Si-woon could feel the change in his own body.
The murderous regimen that ran from dawn until late at night had left its mark. The results were written all over him.
Who would look at Hyun Si-woon now and call him scrawny?
Through the sweat-soaked fabric of an old T-shirt, the clear lines of muscle that hadn't existed before stood out in sharp relief. Shoulders that once looked narrow and sloping had broadened into something solid; his deltoids rose cleanly. Hard little cords of muscle packed his forearms. His thighs, hammered by endless stair climbs and horse stances held past the point of collapse, had turned hard as stone.
And it wasn't only what showed on the outside.
The strength and stamina he felt from within were different now. His stats had jumped as well.
Strength 9. Agility 9. Vitality 9. Endurance 9. Sense 13.
Every single one had risen by one.
From what he gathered, the rest of the party had felt the same kind of growth from this training.
"Tch. Why are you looking at this lady like that? You finally have a bit of a martial artist's air about you, don't you? Your frame is still thin, but your sinew and bone are finding their proper place. Good. Starting is half the work."
Of course, Ha-wol didn't seem entirely satisfied. Si-woon knew that much.
"And another thing."
"Yeah?"
"Hwang Dae-un and Jang Cha-yul. Those two also managed to earn this lady's approval through this training. Once you return from the third floor, pass martial arts on to them as well."
"Really?"
"They're your companions. That much preferential treatment is only fair, is it not?"
Oh.
Nice.
He had deliberately not asked, since all of the teaching fell to Ha-wol anyway…
"For Hwang Dae-un, the martial arts of the Taesan Sect should suit him. Have him temper his lower body through the Thick Earth Art and learn how to sink his energy until it grows heavy and solid. For footwork… the Iron Mountain Step would be best. I intend to teach him the Mountain-Opening Staff Technique as his weapon art, so that will pair perfectly."
Si-woon didn't know the details, but the names somehow sounded like they belonged on Hwang Dae-un.
"And for Jang Cha-yul, the arts of Drifting Fragrance Valley would fit."
"Drifting Fragrance Valley?"
"A sect composed entirely of women. Light as a butterfly, gorgeous as a flower—and hidden inside that beauty, a killing intent sharp as thorns."
"Can I even pass on women's martial arts properly?"
"It won't be a problem. You aren't the one learning them, so what does it matter? Have her drill the Falling Petal Heart Art, the Butterfly Dance Step, and the Spirit Snake Piercing Spear. She'll display spearwork as dazzling as a butterfly's dance."
It might have looked as if Ha-wol were tossing out recommendations offhand, but Si-woon knew better. She was matching each of them with the martial arts best suited to their nature and potential.
"Thanks, Ha-wol."
"Hmph. Your growing stronger is the path by which this lady regains her freedom. I only did what was natural. If you teach them sloppily and drag my name through the mud, I will not let it go. Remember that."
Si-woon snorted at her threat.
Teaching martial arts could wait. First came the third floor.
The next day, Hyun Si-woon made an announcement.
"No training today. Complete rest."
"Huh?"
"Really?"
"Is that true, hyeong-nim?"
The members stared at him, bewildered. After being driven to the edge every single day, the idea of a free day left them blank.
Si-woon smirked, pulled a black envelope from somewhere, and set it down with a soft thud in the middle of them.
Inside were the most expensive ingredients money could buy at the camp.
Before challenging the third floor, he had deliberately sunk a large portion of the TC he had stockpiled into raising the party's morale.
"Hah—"
"What is that?"
"S-samgyeopsal?"
Thick-cut, rosy pork belly was the first thing that caught their eyes.
To people who had been broken in by hellish training and dry, chalky feed, the appearance of rich, fragrant samgyeopsal was pure shock.
"There's vegetables and fruit too! Wait—kimchi? Isn't kimchi insanely expensive?"
Baek Do-hee peered into the envelope and cried out in amazement.
Fresh ssam greens, several kinds of fruit that looked delicious even at a glance, and above all the precious kimchi. For people who still ached for the tastes of the world before the collapse, it was enough to bring tears to their eyes.
"H-hyeong-nim. How did you even…"
Two hundred grams of pork belly alone cost 50 TC. And everything else was more expensive still. The TC he had earned hunting monsters in the gaps between training had finally added up.
"We're climbing tomorrow, so alcohol's out. But today we feast on this. Everyone take it easy and rest."
"Waaaaah!"
"Woooooooo!"
"You're the best!"
The party erupted in cheers. Even the relatively reserved Jang Cha-yul threw her arms up like a child. Faces that had been locked tight with fatigue and tension bloomed with pure joy and excitement.
In a ruined world, eating meant more than mere survival. For people who still remembered the old abundance, real food was nostalgia for a lost everyday life—and one of the few happinesses left to them in a hard, stripped-down reality.
Whoosh!
Si-woon lit the fire with a Fire Bolt.
By now the members understood. Beyond the fact that he was anything but ordinary, he held several fortuitous opportunities that never appeared on the community boards.
A grill took shape.
Sizzle—
Meat began to cook.
"Haaaaah."
"Samgyeopsal… how long has it been…"
"We're rationing! One piece each! One piece! Cherish every bite!"
The savory smell of grilling pork belly filled the abandoned building. Without anyone needing to say a word, the members gathered around the grill and simply waited for the meat to cook through.
And in the middle of that happy scene, one being was suffering.
"Khhhk—!"
Ha-wol, dwelling inside the Formless Sword.
"Look at that! Fat and lean layered together in perfect harmony—the broad of a pig's side! To be forced to watch those five thin slices of exquisite flesh cook and do nothing… this lady is truly aggrieved!"
Go back inside, would you.
Si-woon quietly slipped the Formless Sword into his inventory.
They had suffered under her training. It only seemed fair that Ha-wol should suffer a little too… but still. A person couldn't be that petty. Nothing left a worse aftertaste than being stingy with food.
A little time passed.
"Leader first."
Kang Si-a wrapped a ssam and brought it over to Si-woon, who was watching them with a contented smile.
In this team, age meant nothing. A new order had already formed around Hyun Si-woon as their absolute leader. Baek Do-hee and Jang Cha-yul were older? So what. In a world that had ended, dusty old customs like seniority had no power left.
Si-woon accepted it and ate. After that, everyone moved as if they had only been waiting for the signal.
"Khh."
"So good."
"Yeah. This is the taste."
"Khhhk."
Eating delicious food was the most primal way of feeling that you were still alive. The party felt the grinding weight of all their training melt away.
Good. Enjoy it while you can.
Si-woon thought to himself.
Floor 3 of the Tower of Despair.
It would not be an easy journey. If the goal were only to clear it, his information would let them smash through with ease… but that wasn't what he was after.
His aim was to strip every last hidden route inside and walk out with everything.
And—
There's a reason they call it the Tower of Despair.
The process might end up harder than any of them could comfortably handle.
The next day, for the first time as a complete party, they stood before the tower.
The line was still long. Most of the people there had finished their own preparations and were getting ready to attempt the first floor.
A murmur ran through the crowd as Si-woon's party approached. Eyes turned toward them.
"Whoa, look at those people."
"Must be a climbing team."
"Challenging the second floor?"
"…Wait, isn't that Kang Si-a?"
"Oh, you're right. And the one next to her looks like Hwang Dae-un from judo."
"Who's that?"
"Anyone who follows the sport would know. He was one of the country's top prospects."
Looks of respect and envy poured over them. The members took it all with calm faces.
We're actually going to the third floor, though.
They didn't even say that much. Their leader's orders were clear: do not expose any information about their party.
At the tower entrance, Executors still prowled. Causing a scene was out of the question.
After some time, their turn finally came. They stood before the entrance.
"Climbing party?"
One of the Executors waiting up front asked. The voice was as uncanny as ever.
"Yes."
"Stand over here."
Rumble—
To the left of the ordinary entrance, a new space opened. Unknown patterns were carved into the floor there. Si-woon's party stepped onto the platform together.
The Executor nodded.
"Then I wish you fortune in battle."
A low hum rose. Light wrapped around them, and with the familiar sensation of spatial transfer—
Flash.
Their vision went black.
You have entered Floor 3 of the Tower of Despair.
The moment they arrived, a crushing wave of heat slammed into the party.
"Khh—"
"It's hot."
"Hah!"
Si-woon opened his eyes and looked ahead.
Unlike the damp, fetid swamp of the second floor, the third floor was a dry, desolate sand desert. The sky burned a blood-red. A parched wind kicked up waves of scorching grit.
Worse than I expected.
When he had been a character in a game, the system only spat out lines like It's hot or You frown against the glare. Reality forced him to live every one of those sensations for real.
Privilege ability has activated.
Save point has been set to the current moment.
Hah.
A strange sense of relief rose in him this time. Things hadn't gone badly with any of them so far. It almost felt as if his actual life had been saved.
"Let's move."
He muttered the words.
"We head east. Finding an oasis comes first."
Oases were scattered across the field. They weren't just water—they held shade and caves where you could escape the heat. They needed a temporary base. Without one, in the game, your HP would tick down without end.
"Hah… hah…"
"Is this really going to be okay?"
"…My throat's already burning."
As the party trudged forward, panting, Baek Yeon-ho called out from behind them.
"Don't worry too much! No matter how long it takes, we can find one in five minutes!"
Yeon-ho was a veteran himself. He had hunted for oases on the third floor before.
"There!"
Kang Si-a raised her hand.
"There's something!"
Where her finger pointed, a faint bluish shimmer wavered in the air—a few trees that looked like palms, and a small pool of water.
"Let's check it out!"
Yeon-ho shouted.
"It could be a mirage, but we should go look!"
The desert didn't only hold oases. There were mirages too—and traps dug beneath those mirages. That was one of the reasons the Tower of Despair was so hard.
Just as they started to change direction—
"No."
Si-woon spoke.
"That's a mirage, a hundred percent. We look somewhere else."
Sorry, Yeon-ho-hyeong. He was only an ordinary veteran. The eye of a rotten, endgame player who had walked the third floor hundreds of times saw something different.