Conquering the Tower Even Regressors Couldn’t
Chapter 166: Forty-Sixth Floor, Waiting Room (2)

Chapter 166: Forty-Sixth Floor, Waiting Room (2)
The Community of the Dead, on the forty-fifth floor.

[The kids in Zone 1 are seriously raking it in.]

[ikr 😂 Some of them just hid the whole time and still made it to the waiting room.]

[But wouldn’t that be a loss for them? They didn’t power up at all.]

[True. Only the ones who joined Kwon Su-Hyeok benefited.]

[Yeah, and these guys leeched a ton of exp just because Kwon Su-Hyeok saved the city.]

[They’re basically getting a free ride. So jealous.]

[Breaking news. Zone 43 has started the countdown. Everyone there has to hit level 50 now.]

[Who was in Zone 43 again? Alexei?]

[Yeah, Alexei is there.]

[Alexei’s fast, but isn’t this kind of bad?]

[Right? She grew way too quickly compared to the others. How are they supposed to hit lvl 50 in time?]

[Well, she has been sprinting like crazy to catch up to Kwon Su-Hyeok, but knowing Alexei, she will probably regret it later when other people die.]

[Yeah... I bet a lot of them won’t make it to 50. This trial is pretty brutal.]

***

[Other climbers have not yet cleared the forty-fifth floor.]

[There is no time limit. Please take a rest.]

I hadn’t been able to clean myself properly during the last floor. Perhaps due to that, I had dithered around for far longer than normal in the shower.

As the lingering dampness on my skin evaporated, a profound sense of refreshment swept over me. I dried my hair with a towel while casting a glance toward Ryun.

Despite the passage of time, he remained seated at the desk, deeply engrossed in a game of Go with Doppy.

“How long are you planning to keep playing Go, Ryun?”

“Hmm… not sure… maybe… until Doppy… falls asleep…?”

“How long has it been so far?”

“About… six… hours… I think…” Ryun’s response trailed off as his focus shifted back to the board.

For a moment, I considered dragging him into the training room, but the two were so absorbed in their match that interrupting them felt unnecessary.

I hesitated briefly, my lips parting as if to speak, but instead, I tossed my towel into the bin and turned away.

May as well start by organizing my insights from the last floor.

I could always call Ryun for training later. Besides, both he and Doppy had trained diligently while I was gone. Dragging them away from their well-deserved downtime didn’t seem fair.

Gathering my weapons, which were neatly stored in the corner, I made my way toward the training room. Once inside, I shut the door behind me and stepped toward the center of the room.

Since Ryun was preoccupied, I opted for a standard-issue double-headed axe instead of my usual gear.

Hmm…

Gripping the weapon tightly, I gave it a few experimental swings. The movements felt slightly off, less fluid than expected. I was still acclimating to my recent stat adjustments and boosts.

However, despite this, swinging the axe felt more streamlined and precise than before.

What?

Despite having climbed only two floors, my movements now carried an unfamiliar crispness.

Why the sudden change?

Continuing to test my swings, I pushed myself to adapt to my enhanced state while reflecting on my experiences on the forty-fourth and forty-fifth floors.

During their course, my stats and skills had been reset, stripping me of skills I depended on like Lightning Essence and Awareness.

Oddly enough, however, the absence of these skills made my strikes feel more natural and deliberate than ever before.

Realization struck.

I had it all wrong.

Stats and skills were merely amplifiers that supplemented my raw abilities.

Sure, I had grown stronger thanks to skills like Dragon Blood and Iron Skin, and Lightning Essence gave me an edge in combat. However, I had grown reliant on those crutches somewhere along the way, letting my natural abilities dull.

I had approached my skills the wrong way. Because of how strong I was compared to the other climbers and most enemies, I hadn’t needed to approach fighting from another viewpoint—until now.

The forty-fourth and forty-fifth floors are designed to teach this lesson, aren’t they?

The fundamentals mattered. When everything else faded away, leaving only my combat instincts, I had still delivered my fiercest blows and daringest strikes, even while worn and battered.

Sure, I had regained my enhanced stats later on, but those floors had forced me to reevaluate what I could truly do with my strength.

This is something the other climbers need to hear.

Some had likely figured it out on their own. Whether they would openly share that knowledge with others, however, was another question.

Plus, even if they had, they could have already lost the edge honed by the abandoned city once they reached the waiting room and readjusted to their stats.

Better to share it now than later.

While not all climbers had returned to the waiting room yet, there were still the Zone 1 climbers at least. I had already grasped the insight, so my focus now shifted to refining it and passing the knowledge along.

Opening the Community as I exited the training room, I caught Ryun and Doppy glancing in my direction.

“What’s going on? Su-Yeok, you’ve never finished training this quickly!”

“Hmph… maybe… it’s because… I wasn’t… there. Probably… unavoidable…”

“Ryun! What are you talking about? I’m about to win this match! Just give me a minute to finish it!”

“But… Su-Hyeok… is… calling…”

“It’s fine. Keep playing. I’ve got something else to do.”

As I sat down and typed out a first draft, Ryun cleared his throat awkwardly, “… Ahem.” 

I glanced at their board and noticed Doppy had lined up a 3-3 formation.

Uh-oh, that’s not good[1].

I considered pointing it out, but stopped when I saw how proud Doppy looked.

Is Go really this addictive?

I understood using it to kill time, but staying so absorbed in it for hours didn’t make sense to me. Even if they were from another world, wouldn’t other worlds have basic forms of entertainment as well?

Or… maybe they don’t. Ah, whatever.

Shaking off the thought, I returned to drafting my post.

***

[21 hours 53 minutes until the rest period ends. Please take a rest.]

Since the last trial had been particularly lengthy, the tower had given us a longer break, on top of the time we had spent waiting for everyone to finish. Judging by the timer, the last climber had arrived a little over two hours ago.

For the other zones, the forty-fifth floor had been straightforward, albeit difficult: reach level 50 within a certain amount of time.

Just like Ha Hee-Jeong said. The reset stats make it brutal, though.

Judging by the Community posts, several climbers hadn’t managed to hit the required level and failed to return. Even some high-ranking climbers were still unaccounted for.

Perhaps that explains the responses to my post.

The majority were mostly positive, but it didn’t lift the heavy mood. Many climbers were clearly grappling with guilt over the deaths of their comrades.

[Guys, I’m really sorry. I just wanted to get stronger and do my best…]

[Bohorun (Rank 21,390) is a murderer! He killed his party members!]

[Was the last floor supposed to be a trial or a death trap? What the fuck is my teammate (a priest) supposed to do when they’re left alone after I hit level 50 and get immediately sent to the waiting room?]

[Su-Hyeok’s advice is amazing. My instincts feel sharper already. Start training now, guys.]

[Katsura (Rank 7,889) bullied weaker climbers just because he leveled up faster.]

[Read the room before bringing up training.]

[Crying and getting angry won’t change anything. Use that time to grow instead.]

I sighed heavily.

Maybe I should have at least suggested to Ha Hee-Jeong that we share more information earlier?

For a brief moment, a flicker of regret stirred deep within me, but I quickly shook it off.

No. I need to focus on the bigger picture.

We had already set enough butterfly effects in motion, to the point that even an all-climber floor like the forty-fifth had been affected. If Ha Hee-Jeong started leaking more information now, the ripple effects would become uncontrollable. Predictions were already hard enough to make believable.

The more events strayed beyond our expectations, the riskier it became for all of us—and the risks only grew exponentially.

Also, even if we do share information, we wouldn’t want to reveal everything.

Details about hidden missions had to remain undisclosed. Even providing limited hints would likely invite complaints rather than gratitude.

That was the entire reason Ha Hee-Jeong only shared she had “foresight” with our party members, and only utilized that “skill” under specific, controlled situations.

Thinking about it more, sharing that information could have backfired, too.

With additional rewards tied to the party boasting the highest average level, expecting climbers to cooperate and reach level 50 at the same time was unrealistic. Not all climbers were altruistic, after all.

A few sacrifices for the greater good.

It was a phrase I had always disliked back on Earth. I vividly remembered a university debate where I asked, “What crime did those dying before our eyes commit to deserve such a fate, even for the greater good?”

As the saying goes, however, circumstances shape the person.

Now, facing a reality where the lives of my loved ones—and mine—were on the line, my perspective had changed. I had a hard time accepting it, but I couldn’t deny it any longer.

I am sorry.

I offered a silent apology to those who had died, even though I could have saved them.

Of course, I had also saved many others, but that accomplishment felt hollow. The lives I had protected didn’t lessen the weight of those I hadn’t.

Haaa… Am I being a hypocrite?

The question lingered briefly in my mind, but I dismissed it with a shake of my head.

No. I was simply an ordinary person, someone who had grown slightly numb to the fragility of life while climbing the tower.

Enough. Stop overthinking.

I exhaled deeply and tried to ease the pressure in my chest. I turned my focus to the Community reports, something I usually didn’t pay much attention to.

Still, I had heard that top-ranked climbers often acted as unofficial enforcers, investigating offenses and issuing punishments after verifying the facts. I hadn’t planned to sift through the posts, but for now, I just needed a distraction.

After skimming through an incident involving a climber named Bohorun, I was about to exit the Community when chaos suddenly erupted.

[What’s this Rebirth Elixir in the shop?]

[?? Huh? That wasn’t there before! I checked earlier, and it wasn’t listed.]

[ 😂 Look at the price. Was this even meant to be purchased? ]

Rebirth Elixir?

Before I had time to process what I was reading, a message from Ha Hee-Jeong popped up.

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Forty-sixth Floor): Hey!!!

- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Forty-sixth Floor): What?

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Forty-sixth Floor): There’s something you need to buy right now!

I didn’t even need to ask. Judging by the sudden chaos in the community chat, I could already guess what she meant. She probably hadn’t spotted it in the shop but had seen the buzz in the chat, just like I had.

- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Forty-sixth Floor): The Rebirth Elixir?

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Forty-sixth Floor): Huh? How the fuck do you already know? Were you checking the posts?

- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Forty-sixth Floor): Yeah, but what is this? Did it just appear?

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Forty-sixth Floor): Yeah. I remember it showing up after the fiftieth floor, but it looks like it’s available way earlier this time.

I wasn’t particularly shocked as the shop’s inventory wasn’t fixed. Sometimes items appeared without warning, and others vanished just as suddenly. While most products stayed consistent, anomalies like this weren’t unheard of.

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Forty-sixth Floor): Or maybe it’s not early? Maybe we just didn’t notice it until later in my previous life?

- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Forty-sixth Floor): So you’re saying I should buy it and use it right away?

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Forty-sixth Floor): Exactly.

- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Forty-sixth Floor): Hold on.

Moving quickly, I opened the shop interface. I typed “Rebirth Elixir” into the search bar, and the results updated instantly. Only one option appeared.

The moment I saw the price, however, I froze and my eyes widened in disbelief.