Chapter 185: Eternal Waiting (1)

Even without the support from the lower floors, Wigen continued to climb the tower. Despite being incapable of thinking creatively, he was still able to do it thanks to his six party members besides him who had climbed to the 59th floor on their own. It could be said that they were capable to some degree. Even though was not at the same level as Wigen himself or Yoo Seodam, they could each at least hold their own weight.

Still, in the end, that did not matter. Starting from the 60th floor, the difficulty of climbing the Tutorial Tower had increased exponentially. Even with so many capable individuals on his side, there was a limit to how much he could climb without cooperating with them properly. The only reason why Wigen was still able to climb the tower easily after the 60th floor was only thanks to the ‘cheat' he received from the fairies. 

But without the supplies from lower floors, he had to start sacrificing his companions from the 75th floor onwards. The first sacrifice began on the 75th floor. Then, on the 77th floor, he forced two of his companions to jump into a pit of fire. And finally, on the 78th floor, one of his three remaining colleagues betrayed him. He was forced to kill him. And in the process of fighting him, he ended up killing the two remaining colleagues in the process.

Wigen could still remember the resentment in their eyes before they died. However, he only remembered it, he didn’t care about it. After all, why should he care about those who had fulfilled their role as meat shields?

And then, he finally arrived on the 79th floor.

Compared to his speed of climbing the Tower till the 70th floor, his speed had decreased considerably afterwards. The difference was like riding a bullet train and riding a horse wagon. A lot of ‘administrators’ expressed their boredom as they deemed his strategy as ignorant, messy, and dirty. And even after using such crude methods, he still took a lot of time to climb the Tower.

[Stigmata of the Fish in the Northern Sky yawns.]

[Stigmata of the Red Camellia turns its back on you.] 

[Stigma of Fraternal Twins shakes their heads at each other.]

But, even after all these notices, Wigen was not fazed. He still thought that it was okay. He believed he could still climb the tower without his party members.

Little did he know that the only reason he could climb the Tower was because he was being supported by the ‘probability’.

-Ch…challenger Wigen! You have to go down immediately. You can't stay here any longer~!

“…” 

The name of the 79th floor was the Graves of the Howling Wraiths. It was a very unusual stage because the whole floor was a ‘trick' dungeon without any straightforward way to clear. It was not completely unclearable though. Wigen just couldn’t find it even with the hints given to him by the fairy.

Plus, there was one more reason why this place was called a trick dungeon.

– It's been 3 months already! Soon the ‘soul erosion’ will start to affect you!

It was due to a very unusual phenomenon called ‘soul erosion’. This phenomenon would slowly gnaw at the soul of the challenger the moment they stepped on the 79th floor. Moreover, if they stayed on that floor for a long period of time, the ‘soul erosion’ would turn into ‘soul isolation’ which would slowly give the 79th floor total control over their soul. And once the floor gained complete authority over their soul, they wouldn’t be able to leave this floor forever.

Even Wigen couldn’t resist this phenomenon. Since he had only been here for about three months, the effect he currently felt was only to the degree of hallucinations such as the exit disappearing or inability to read the system messages. But, if it gets worse, he would be trapped on the 79th floor forever. Even death wouldn’t be the way out since every death which happened on the 79th floor would belong to the 79th floor.

It meant that he would have to live forever while being tied to the 79th floor of this gigantic tower.

“….”

Wigen realized that he couldn’t let it continue like this. So far, he had been able to climb to the 79th floor somehow, but he realized it wouldn’t be the case starting from now.

In the end, he only had one option to choose.

“…I will give up this challenge and go downstairs.”

He had to solve the issue with Wings of Heaven Guild to secure their support before he could climb the tower properly again. It would take a lot of time, but it was much better than being locked up on the 79th floor forever.

[Are you sure you want to give up this challenge?]

[The challenges so far will be reset. You will have to start over from the 70th floor.]

"Yes."

[Challenger Wigen has given up on this challenge.]

[Teleporting to the lower floor.]

A pillar of light bathed Wigen's body. Meanwhile, a temporary portal opened before him to transport him to another floor. Stepping into it, Wigen suddenly remembered Yoo Seodam, who must have been suppressing the Wings of Heaven Guild downstairs.

If they meet this time, he will surely kill him.

* * *

“The Wings of Heaven Guild? It has been a month since they were disbanded. Don’t you know about it? Just where the hell did you come from? The rocks?”

"What did you say?"

When Wigen arrived at the 10th floor, he came to know the true situation of the Wings of Heaven Guild. They had already disappeared. And in their place, seven new 'emerging guilds' were created. Each of them was built by a different force. Even though there were so many new guilds, there were no more conflicts because these seven guilds were perfectly balanced as they kept each other in check. On top of it, with such structure, there was no worry of having any guild to monopolize the tower.

Also, Vigilante, the largest organization among them all, was watching over the situation, so no one dared to make a move to disturb this balance.

‘Wings of Heaven Guild… is gone…?'

Do they know just how much work he put in order to get them to his side? It wasn't easy to find a man like Alfly—the former guild master of the Wings of Heaven Guild—who had the guts to do whatever he needed to do and to sacrifice everything to achieve his ambition.

‘I have to start from the beginning again…'

However, it wasn't as simple as it sounded. Because,

“Hey, did you hear? Yoo Seodam, who came downstairs and stayed here for a while, chose two new partners and started climbing the tower with them. Right now, he has already climbed up to the 70th floor!”

"I’ve heard of it. Didn't he form a party with the famous Aracelli and Malea? Both of them are such a beauty, Yoo Seodam is truly blessed.”

“What do you mean by blessed? It’s only natural! As someone who had conquered the high floors alone, his abilities have already been sufficiently proven. So, of course, anyone will agree to form a party with him.”

When Wigen overheard the conversations between the passing challengers, he realized that something was wrong.

‘Yoo Seodam… has climbed up to the 70th floor…?'

Already? No… When? Wigen was certain that Yoo Seodam was busy suppressing the Wings of Heaven Guild on the lower floor. But what is this? No matter how strong Yoo Seodam was, Wings of Heaven Guild was the largest guild in the tower, and it would not have been easy to deal with them alone.

“Ah, by the way, Vigilante is surely respectable.”

"Indeed… they sure are brave to rally the people to fight against the Wings of Heaven Guild.”

The current situation was completely different from what Wigen thought. The guild that he had painstakingly brought over to his side, Wings of Heaven Guild, had disbanded. But it was not because of Yoo Seodam. It was because of a completely different entity, the guild named Vigilante. And Yoo Seodam, who was not at all involved in this affair, was busy climbing the Tower. Moreover, unlike in the past where he was always alone, this time he was accompanied by two unprecedented ‘Over-spec Irregulars’ Aracelli and Malea. 

Wigen's face quickly lost its color. His plan of slowly recruiting and building a new guild or finding Alfly and re-establishing Wings of Heaven Guild could not be executed anymore. He simply did not have enough time to do so as he had made a deal with the fairies and was constrained by the content.

[You must go to the highest floor. If someone else manages to overtake you and climbs a higher floor before you, you will die immediately.]

Right now, he had already given up the challenge on the 79th floor. His current highest floor was effectively the 70th floor.

And if Yoo Seodam was currently on the 70th floor…

‘….This is serious!'

Wigen ran towards the teleportation portal with urgent steps. No matter how cold-blooded he was, he couldn’t stay unfazed when he knew that death was looming over him.

As he rushed desperately to save his own life, Wigen thought about all the events that had happened up till now.

Back then, when he met Yoo Seodam on the 60th floor, he knew Seodam must have been vaguely aware of the fact that he was receiving some kind of ‘help'. No, Wigen was sure that Yoo Seodam knew it. He seemed like the kind of person who was capable of knowing so.

But what about it? Back then, he thought that Seodam knowing about it didn't change anything. After all, Yoo Seodam was someone who climbed the tower alone without any one’s help. On the other hand, Wigen could easily climb the tower with the hints he received from the fairies and the supplies he gathered from the lower floors.

And then, when Yoo Seodam was only one step away from conquering the 70th floor, he suddenly gave up and went down while Wigen continued climbing the tower.

Back then, he laughed at Yoo Seodam’s foolishness and thought that the title of ‘The First Conqueror' was fated to be his.

However…

‘Don’t tell me… the reason he gave up on the 69th floor and went down… It was for this moment…!'

Yoo Seodam was someone who always had tricks up his sleeves. How much trouble did he have to face to deal with his tricks and schemes? He knew that behind all his seemingly insignificant actions, there was a thorough plan behind it.

But, why?

[You have arrived on the 70th floor.]

“Hah hah, hah!”

Wigen panted before sprinting towards the boss room’s stage on the 70th floor.

He was certain that he was not late. He knew that it was not the time for him to die just yet, that he could still salvage the situation. With his prior experience, it was possible for him to clear the boss challenge on the 70th floor and ascend faster than Yoo Seodam.

Unfortunately for him, Yoo Seodam was also aware of that fact.

“Oh, you're finally here?” 

In front of the Boss Stage on the 70th floor, Yoo Seodam said as he leisurely sat on his chair and sipped on the drink in his hand. He watched Wigen desperately running towards him.

He had deliberately waited for Wigen to arrive. He wanted to see his face bathed in despair as he got closer to his own death. He also wanted to see the end of the man who had trampled on countless people as well as the man who had created a mountain of corpses just to climb the tower. His achievements had left behind a trail of victims. Yoo Seodam wanted to see the end of such a man with his own two eyes.

“Then, since the esteemed guest has finally arrived……” 

Yoo Seodam got up from his seat, turned his back and placed his hand on the doorknob of the boss room.

Seeing that, Wigen sprinted with all his might. He could not believe what was happening in front of him. He did not want to believe it. He did not want to believe that a man that he could crush with one hand had outsmarted him and he would now be the reason for his death. He yelled at the top of his lungs and let out incoherent words from his mouth. Yoo Seodam couldn’t hear or understand his words though. And even if he could, he wouldn’t care. But oh well… it’s already too late for a last word anyway.

“I will challenge the Boss Stage.”

When Wigen finally reached in front of the boss room's door, the words which sentenced him to death were announced.

"Ah… Ah…"

[Challenger Yoo Seodam and two other challengers have succeeded in conquering the 71st floor!]

* * *

Malea and her party easily passed through the 71th floor. It could be because of the fact that Malea and Yoo Seodam came up with the strategy to pass this floor together.

After passing through the floor, Malea heard from Yoo Seodam that Wigen, the top challenger and the hidden mastermind behind the Wings of Heaven Guild, had died. She wasn’t aware of the cause but she knew that his soul was taken away from within the Tutorial Tower due to the ‘violation of a contract’. She was not privy to the details and she did not care to know about them. She was happy as long as she could continue climbing the tower with Seodam and Aracelli.

And currently…

[Stigma of Filthy Lion looks at you with curious eyes.]

[Stigma of the Soybean Stone Statue that You Can't Scratch Even Though Your Ears are Itchy pays attention to you.]

[Stigma of Twinkling Eyes looks at you with twinkling eyes.]

Numerous administrators began paying attention to Malea's party. It was only natural since their way of challenging the floors was completely different from Wigen.

Wigen, who was conquering the tutorial with only ‘cheat's, had little to see. But Malea’s party was different. Their methods were strategic and creative, and their excellent sense of combat and skills made it fun for the managers to watch them.

The 72nd and 73rd floors were easily breached. On the 74th floor, Aracelli's puzzle-solving skills worked excellently, and on the 75th floor, Yoo Seodam shone brightly with his myriad of tricks. On the 76th floor, it was Malea's amazing way of thinking which revealed the correct method to pass the stage.

But, on the 77th floor, they could barely clear the stage since they had to fight numerous enemies. The 78th floor was cleared through the combined efforts from everyone.

And finally, they arrived on the 79th floor. The Graves of the Howling Wraiths.

"Good work today. Let's go to sleep."

At Yoo Seodam’s words, Malea spread out her bed and lay down. Although this place was dark, eerie and filled with the ‘ghost’ type of enemies that Malea hated the most, fear was something she didn’t feel at all. On the contrary, she felt that all of this was fun. After all, she was able to live through these heart-fluttering days together with Yoo Seodam and Aracelli. As long as they were there with her, no matter what the challenge would be, she felt that it would be fun.

They fought together in a life or death situation, quarreled over a piece of meat, and laughed at ridiculous jokes that popped out in serious moments. But at the end of the day, they all still went to bed together and thought about tomorrow.

That’s why she could comfortably close her eyes once again today. And when tomorrow comes, she will wake up once again and the companions whom she loved the most would be still there.

But…

The next morning, when Malea woke up…

“Yaaawnn~ where should we attack first today… uhm?”

She realized something was missing.

"What…"

It was because there was no one there except for herself. There was no trace of the tent in which Aracelli and Yoo Seodam used to sleep in. It had disappeared.

“What, what…? Hey, Yoo Seodam! Don't joke around! Why are you playing pranks like this all of a sudden?”

Malea knew that Yoo Seodam liked to play jokes. But he had never played a prank that was too serious and could shake other people's mentality. Moreover, he was aware of Malea's greatest wounds. She knew with certainty that he would never play such a prank on her.

Malea frantically looked around to search for them, but unfortunately, she could not see anyone.

"What is this… Did they go for reconnaissance without me?” 

Deep down, a scenario based on their identity crossed Malea’s mind. But, she bitterly and desperately struggled to deny that fact.

Malea wandered through the 79th floor alone while muttering to herself to suppress the fear which was slowly creeping within her.

– Hehehe…!

– Hehehehe! Hehehe! 

The ghost flew around while staring at Malea with their gleaming eyes. They were terrifying, even more so when they were beings that couldn’t be defined by either science or magic. On top of it, there was no way to deal with ghosts in this world.

Holding her wand in her arms, Malea wandered the 79th floor. This floor was much narrower than she initially thought. It took less than half a day for her to complete one full lap of the floor, 

However, even after looking everywhere, even after walking through the entire floor, she still could not find a trace of Yoo Seodam or Aracelli.

“What is this … Something is strange…”

She shook her head and immediately called the fairy who was in charge of managing this floor. Now that Malea was among the top climbers of the whole tower, the fairy was more favorable than ever before towards her.

“Fa…fairy, do you know where challengers Yoo Seodam and Aracelli are?”

-We don’t know~ They can’t be found anywhere~

"Please… Please… Can you help me this once? I promise I’ll work harder to climb the tower, so please…"

-Uhm~ Not only you, we are also looking for them~ Both of them just suddenly disappeared~

“What, what…?”

Malea cried. She could not come to terms with what had happened. She refused to believe it.

Yoo Seodam and Aracelli left her… and went somewhere?

“No, no, no, it can’t be….” Malea plopped down to the ground as tears dripped from her eyes.

From that day onwards, Malea kept waiting for Yoo Seodam and Aracelli at the entrance of the 79th door.

At some point, the fairy of the tutorial had come to her and warned her, ‘It's dangerous if you don't leave this floor,' but she didn't listen to it. She will never leave this floor and climb the tower by herself. She will wait for both Aracelli and Yoo Seodam to come back. Right now, her sole reason for staying alive was to wait for them to come back and climb the tower with them.

However, even after a year had passed…

Yoo Seodam and Aracelli did not appear.