Chapter 133 Challenger (3)

“Are you okay now?”

Not the 4th floor, but the 10th floor. He didn’t know how different the Tower of the Truth-seeker would be, but the difficulty should have jumped exponentially if it were similar to the Tower of Heaven.

“Jovan Trosian, the best in the United States, took 46 hours on the 1st floor. And this time, it’s not an individual, but a collaborative mission, so the difficulty will be even greater. But…”

They prepared their weapons and stood on guard. When the Chinese challenger Chen Xiao Hwa calmly addressed their situation, the other man interrupted sarcastically.

“Didn’t it take that long because he’s incompetent?”

Taro Kitamura, the Japanese challenger with a long-distance movement ability. He shrugged as if he enjoyed the gazes suddenly gathered on him.

“He’s like that too. I saw the record earlier, but I don’t think it’ll take two days.”

The longest was 6 hours, and the shortest 3 seconds. But someone else took 46 hours on the 1st floor.

“Did you come here just to argue?”

The malicious slander was directed at him, but Jovan just smiled. He knew.

‘He wasn’t trying to depreciate me but this man.’

The gap in skills between Kitamura and Jovan wasn’t as big as their reputation. In other words, there may be minor errors depending, but the time required to break the first floor was pretty much the same between them. That was why it was even more difficult to accept that the South Korean challenger Choi Yoon-seok was the same as them.

‘He’s still young.’

Well, he was attacked first, but he didn’t mean to let it go.

“Taro Kitamura, the guy who was too scared to approach the Tower, is good at talking.”

“I don’t do anything stupid.”

“Yeah, and that’s why you’re weaker than me.”

“Haaa? Weak? Should we check?”

Ashton intervened.

“Both of you, stop. Did you forget where you are?”

“Cheh.”

Kitamura clicked his tongue and took a step back. It was just a matter of pride; he didn’t plan to have a real fight here anyway.

‘I think his skills are pretty good, but this is why it’s hard to use him for serious matters.’

If he’d known this would happen, no matter how shorthanded they were, he would have called someone else. Ashton sighed.

“I think there was confusion in the information, but you guys don’t have to worry. Don’t you know who this person is?”

Choi Yoon-seok, the world’s most famous challenger, is called the Savior. Chen Xiao Hwa had watched the video of the day he earned that reputation several times.

“I’m not worried about his safety either. I’m not a person who believes that the video was fabricated, and I saw that record just now, so do you think that’ll happen? What I’m curious about is whether we’re safe too.”

“…?”

“I didn’t even know what kind of trial this is or that it would be the 10th floor. He just needed to meet the requirements; he doesn’t need to keep us alive.”

Ashton closed his mouth as if he was perplexed by Chen Xiao Hwa’s suspicion. It was Yoon-seok’s turn to step up.

“It won’t happen.”

“How can I believe that? What if this trial didn’t start us together but was a separate trial? Did you think about that?”

Chen Xiao Hwa didn’t back down.

“You don’t have to do that.”

“…?”

As if there was no room for concern, she suddenly stiffened at the reply. She had no clue, but Chen Xiao Hwa was curious what the challenger called the Earth’s Savior was like. Was he a tyrant who took sacrifice for granted, or was he just a thoughtless rookie who had a lot of energy?

She persistently questioned him because she thought she could get a grip through these answers, but…

“Because I can protect you no matter what trial appears.”

Yoon-seok’s voice held no insincerity, only absurd confidence only the invincible could demonstrate.

“It’s because I’m confident, so it’s okay to be at ease.”

“…”

At least one thing was clear; the Challenger Choi Yoon-seok was an unimaginable type to Chen Xiao Hwa.

“There’s still time, so I’d like to hear more.”

Ashton asked Yoon-seok about the past trials. The reason was that they needed to discuss what the rewards were so that they could guess the next trial and come up with a strategy, or so Ashton said. In actuality, it was just for show to reassure the others participating.

“What was the 2nd-floor trial Breakthrough like?”

“It was a trial that to reach the destination through several traps and monsters.”

“How did you finish in 17 seconds?”

“When I broke everything down, I saw a portal.”

“…?”

Yoon-seok then discussed the reward he earned on the second floor. Ashton wore a strange expression but continued to listen.

“How was the 3rd floor? It took two hours, so I think it was a little different.”

“It was a mission to protect an active seal while monsters were pouring out of a gate.”

“I see. I guess the monsters were quite strong, right?”

It wasn’t like that. He wiped them all out at once and even smashed the gate, but it took two hours because a certain amount of time was needed to finish the sealing. Upon hearing this, Ashton grew quiet. Instead, Maria Hopkins began to question him.

“Then what about the 4th floor? How did you finish it in 12 seconds?”

“I think it was a trial to go around a room to find a key and open a door.”

“…You think?”

“There was a portal behind the door I broke.”

“…?”

For reference, the reward on the fourth floor was a 10% increase in the mental resistance of challengers. Yoon-seok quickly explained the rest of the trials he had experienced so far.

“The fifth floor was a trial in a place like an alien planet to kill a total of 10,000 enemies.”

“…”

It took exactly 3 minutes and 12 seconds to clear, and the reward was a 1.5 times increase to all Earth challengers’ power while combating invaders.

“Do I have to tell you the next one as well?”

“…Yes, please.”

The 6th and 7th floors. Yoon-seok recited the contents and rewards of the trials one by one, his listeners growing increasingly speechless as he revealed it as if it were nothing. Looking at the tasks, they felt that the higher the floor, the higher the difficulty level was.

‘But I thought I could catch up to a certain extent… was I arrogant?’

“What was Assassination on the 8th floor?”

“It suddenly started in a square. The task was to assassinate a dark monarch in a royal palace.”

Jovan, the mission challenger, roughly pictured the situation. Perhaps the original route was to gather information and items before sneaking in. But how did it end in three seconds? If it were three minutes, he would’ve understood. But starting at a plaza, wouldn’t it be impossible to reach the palace that quickly?

Well, he had an idea at this point, but he wanted to hear it directly from Yoon-seok himself.

“Oh, time’s up.”

Unfortunately, they were interrupted.

「5 minutes had passed.」

「The target dark creature ADK-017 will be summoned.」

Whirrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr-!

The place shook violently as something mysterious and creepy appeared in the magic square drawn on the floor. He had no idea what it was.

“…”

“…”

An overwhelming fear washed over them. Jovan Trosian. Maria Hopkins. Chen Xiao Hwa… regardless of who it hit first, their bodies stiffened in place.

「The Divine Altar will be activated.」

「Depending on the number of altars operated, the power of the dark creature ADK-017 weakens.」

Hundreds of tombstones began to sprout from the floor of the stone chamber. Only then did they realize why this floor was a team mission, not an individual one.

‘It’s not something that can be fought and killed alone….’

They had to move quickly to operate more altars. That way, they held a chance of winning. But they couldn’t move their bodies at all. Just seeing ‘that’ once paralyzed the five senses. It didn’t matter even if it was that man…

“…?”

Jovan inadvertently looked toward the only one they could rely on then, and he could see it.

Whoooooooosh-!

A black storm like a whirlpool swirled forth from him. Was it just him that thought the storm looked much darker than the ominous aura of the creature before them? Probably not.

「The 10th-floor ordeal One Goal has been cleared.」

「All Earth challengers are free to travel between Earth and the Tower of Heaven.」

He couldn’t do anything even if he were called a colleague, but the trial was over. Jovan was no longer curious about the answer to his previous question, but could it be called an assassination? Well, it didn’t matter.

He didn’t know who the dark monarch was, but he died without knowing why.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

When Yoon-seok and his group came out of the Tower, the soldiers who were waiting outside saluted. It had only been 5 minutes since they left, but their eyes were full of respect. Still, they were challengers, and just now, simultaneously, a system message notified them.

Ten floors of the Tower of Truth-seeker had been cleared, and now they could travel to and from the Earth at any time without a ticket.

“You’ve saved a lot of people, including us.”

It may be convenient for high-floor challengers, but it had a slightly different meaning for lower floors. It meant that they no longer had to risk their lives to pay for tickets, and it would be fine even if they didn’t ascend.

“…Then, I’ll be returning now.”

Taro Kitamura hurriedly left. Jovan and the other challengers were able to understand his actions. What did they do at the Tower? All they did was wait for death. Even though they were at the forefront of Earth’s challengers, they froze like beginners and couldn’t do anything.

Keeping their attention on that made them feel ashamed instead of burdened down.

“Everyone, thank you for your hard work. The U.S. government will contact you soon for the reward for your cooperation in this matter.”

“I don’t need the reward.”

“…Still, take it if you can. Isn’t there a political position between our countries to maintain?”

Ashton took care of them one by one, who were discouraged, and sent them back in a helicopter before approaching Yoon-seok.

“The rest of this time is pointless now. What are you planning to do?”

They could now come to Earth and return to the Tower at any time. In other words, it meant that he could return to the Tower right away if he wanted to.

“Since I’m here, I’ll do as much as I can for the remaining time.”

Yoon-seok entered the Tower again as if it were a waste of time to rest. And when the time was up, he returned just as he came.

「The 15th-floor trial King’s Path has been cleared.」

「The main stats of all Earth challengers increases by 1.」

This was enough for them to carry on, so it was time to return.