Conquering the Tower Even Regressors Couldn’t

[Forced Action: kill the Emperor, the Great Grand General, and the Imperial high command.]

[Punishment upon failure or refusal: death.]

Time had yet to return to its usual flow.

Making use of the frozen time, I frantically pieced together what was expected of me.

My sponsor’s demand was crystal clear: kill the Emperor and the Imperial high command. Given that they had tried to share information with me earlier, this was a significant revelation if it justified an exorbitant 81% of my shares.

If my sponsor was willing to go to such extremes, even trying to roll the Dice of Fate with a meager one percent chance of success...

They’re not trying to harm me.

All of the Emperor’s peculiar actions, which I had previously brushed off as trivial, now snapped into place.

The way he hid a smile behind a hand while speaking about the fallen defensive lines, how he had been conspicuously absent throughout the entire siege, and his obsessive desire for the Shadow of the End’s artifact since the very first moment we met.

Because he was the Emperor—the ruler of the Empire—I had simply assumed he was on our side, never even entertaining the possibility that he was a traitor. Each time he had acted suspiciously, I had excused it, attributing it to the weight of leadership. Ultimately, that was a grave misjudgment borne from my ignorance.

Even Ha Hee-Jeong, sharp and perceptive as she was, hadn’t seen his true colors. Considering she was a regressor as well, the Emperor had to have kept up his charade from the fourteenth to the nineteenth floor in her previous life.

No wonder the continent had swiftly crumbled under the invaders’ relentless assault.

It didn’t matter how many lizardmen there were. Since the Deiorne Empire’s leadership colluded with the enemy, the empire would inevitably fall.

If the enemy knew every move they planned to make, the Empire would have no room to maneuver and no hope for victory.

The only reason they had managed to hold out this long—despite the Emperor’s betrayal—was likely because of Lung Shark's Dagger and the Shadow of the End’s other holy artifacts. The Emperor likely relied on the climbers to retrieve at least one of the artifacts for him, at which point he would then pass them over to the invaders

The implications were clear. If the invaders gained possession of an artifact, they could achieve something catastrophic.

But wait. Is the Shadow of the End unaware of the Emperor’s treachery?

From what I had gathered, the Shadow of the End seemed to communicate with the Empire through the Saintess.

And yet, there had been no warning, no sign Lung Shark was suspicious of the leadership. This could only mean one thing: even the Shadow of the End had been kept in the dark.

Maybe… the gods aren’t as omniscient as I thought.

On the other hand, it was entirely possible the invaders’ deity could have shrouded the Emperor’s actions from the Shadow of the End’s perception.

Whatever the reasons are, what I have to do now is unquestionable.

I would eliminate the Emperor and his high-ranking officials.

Knowing they were traitors reassured me slightly, and the instant I had resolved myself to follow through on the “Forced Action,” time instantly jolted back into motion. It seemed the tower had granted me a modicum of leniency, perhaps out of some twisted sense of fairness.

“Commander?”

The Emperor’s voice was taut, fraught with anxiety as it broke through the silence. His eyes were wide and trembled as if fearing that something had gone terribly wrong.

He once again called out my name, more desperately this time, “Commander?”

“Yes, my apologies. I felt a bit lightheaded for a moment. I probably lost more blood during the battle than I realized.”

“Haha, of course! You’re the hero of the Empire. I can’t even begin to imagine how intense the battlefield must have been. The fact that you’re still standing is already a testament to your strength.”

I offered him a vague nod, then turned my gaze toward Ha Hee-Jeong. Having seen me falter momentarily, she watched worriedly, clearly confused by my sudden stillness.

Thankfully, she grasped the situation the moment our eyes met, as if she could read the thoughts swirling in my mind.

Good.

That saved me from having to go through the trouble of signaling any further, so I called out her name, “Hee-Jeong.”

“Yes.”

Hearing her calm response, I activated Flash Strike.

Time warped and twisted, flowing sluggishly like thickened syrup.

To rule out the possibility of mind control, like what had happened with Herkest, I invoked Master of Shadows. However, unlike Herkest’s case, there was no trace of a parasite within the Emperor’s mind.

He had betrayed his world willingly.

I gripped Lung Shark's Dagger tightly, unable to understand why the Emperor and the rest of the Imperial high command had chosen to betray their own world.

What could possibly be worth sacrificing your own homeland for?

Also, why are they clinging so desperately to this dagger? What is so special about it?

Not letting my thoughts distract me any longer, I unhesitatingly thrust Lung Shark's Dagger into the Emperor’s chest. Crackling lightning surged from the blade, spreading out in chains that snaked through the air toward the other high-ranking officials.

Would this be considered my first act of murder?

I shivered uneasily as I watched their bodies crumple to the ground. They looked so much like humans that it left a bitter taste in my mouth. I wondered if this moment would come back to haunt me, the memory lingering like a stain on my soul.

Or not?

However, after reflecting on it a bit longer, I realized I probably wouldn’t be that affected.

This isn’t the same as murdering a human.

These were inhabitants of Planet Soborn, not Earthlings. Even if they resembled us, that didn’t make them human.

I was confident the tower would offer me some form of mental safeguard similar to what it provided climbers when they killed monsters or other non-humanoid beings.

That thought brought me a measure of relief, though I still felt some lingering discomfort.

“Gah… Why…?”

Time started flowing normally once more.

The high command, struck down by the lightning that had erupted from the dagger, lay lifeless on the ground. The Emperor, however, remained upright and swayed unsteadily.

Half-charred from the surge of lightning, he clutched the blade embedded in his chest. His eyes were wide as they bore into mine, full of pain and disbelief. Even though his body convulsed from the searing agony, he tenaciously held on with sheer willpower. It was almost pitiful, watching him struggle to cling to life until the very end.

“Gosh! Oppa!”

“Su-Hyeok!”

“Commander!”

Shocked cries erupted around me, a heartbeat too late.

Kartrey Monaca charged forward with her spear aimed at me, but Ha Hee-Jeong summoned a wall of roaring fire to block her path.

“Stop. We’re helping you. Stand back unless you want to get burned.”

“Why?! Why are you doing this?!”

Kartrey’s voice cracked from desperation as she thrust her spear into the wall of fire, but the flames refused to yield. Instead, they twisted and coiled like living chains, wrapping around her and restraining her in place.

The Emperor, his face a mask of resignation and bitterness, choked out a hollow laugh, “Haha— How did you— figure it out?”

He seemingly couldn’t comprehend how everything had unraveled so quickly. However, I had no intention of indulging his curiosity.

“Damn it. It was a war we couldn’t win. I had no choice. Who could have imagined that someone like you would appear… Gah!”

His pitiful justifications disgusted me. Wordlessly, I twisted the dagger deeper, feeling his flesh tear around the blade.

The Emperor’s head snapped back and a strangled scream erupted from his throat. His eyes rolled upward as he stared blankly at the darkened sky.

The clouds covered the moon, causing the heavens to seem suffused with an oppressive shadow, as though the entire world had been plunged into darkness.

“Forgive me… Shadow of the End…”

For a fleeting moment, I spotted something shift within his blue eyes. It was a shadow that flitted across them before disappearing completely. With one final, gurgling breath, the Emperor collapsed to his knees before crumpling, lifeless, to the ground.

I pulled the dagger free and turned to face Kartrey Monaca and my party members. They were all staring at me in shock and horror, trying to process the Emperor’s final words and the truth of what had just transpired. For some reason, the fact that I had been the one responsible for the Emperor’s death only intensified their fear.

I took a deep breath, readying myself to dispel some of their apprehension.

“I’ll explain everything.”

***

[Congratulations. Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok has conquered the Sixteenth Floor of the Tower of Ordeal: The Battle of Fort Pogoren. Achievement points will be calculated.]

[Unbelievable Victory! Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok has accomplished the impossible. He has completed the hidden missions ‘Dragon Slayer,’ ‘Commander’s Ambush,’ and ‘The True Target.’]

[Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok has been awarded 33,131 points. Total Achievement Points: 78,285. He will now enter the waiting room.]

***

「Invisible message: Kwon Su-Hyeok has completed the hidden mission ‘The True Target,’ causing the overarching, inter-floor trial to deviate from its original course.」

「Invisible message: The seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth floors: Continuous Invasion, Rebellion or Schism, and The Crumbling Empire have collapsed.」

「Invisible message: The planetary conflict refereed by the Tower of Ordeal between the third-class god Luk-tor ‘Silence of the Black Well’ and the fifth-class god Lung Shark ‘Shadow of the End’ has concluded.」

「Invisible message: Ownership of Planet Soborn reverts to its original owner, ‘Shadow of the End.’」

「Invisible message: ‘Shadow of the End’ expresses profound gratitude to ‘Omniscient Thunder Axe.’」

***

[11 hours 59 minutes until the rest period ends. Please take a rest.]

As the waiting room’s familiar scenery materialized around me, a relieved sigh escaped from my lips.

“Haaaa…”

Fortunately, I had the opportunity to explain everything to my party members before being transported here. They now understood that my sponsor had rolled the Dice of Fate, which had forced me to commit murder, and that the Emperor and the high command had been traitors from the very beginning.

Thankfully, they seemed to have accepted my explanation.

It’s a pity I didn’t get a chance to raid the treasure vault, though.

As soon as our conversation had ended, the tower whisked us away to the waiting room, leaving no time to collect any spoils.

I turned to Doppy, who stood idly by while seemingly lost in thought. By now, it should know to go shower after we finish a floor, yet it still waited for me to tell it every single time.

“Doppy, go wash up first.”

“Kriee! Okay!”

“Make sure you scrub well, too. You’re covered in blood.”

“Kriee! Goblin! Scrub! Clean well!”

After sending Doppy to the shower, I opened my status window to check my details.

[Kwon Su-Hyeok (Earthling, C-66432)]

Title: Seeker of Crossroads

Affiliation: None

Patron Deity: First class, Omniscient Thunder Axe (Share percentage: 0.00% (-?.??%) / 100.00%)

Strength: 119.8

Agility: 114.7

Stamina: 120.1

Mana: 98.6

Skills: Lightning Essence lvl 9, … Flash Strike lvl 5, Combat Focus lvl 20(+5), Bear’s Blood lvl 12, Awareness lvl 6, Natural Healing lvl 8, Pain Resistance lvl 8, Iron Skin lvl 5, … Master of Shadows lvl 3.

The first thing that caught my eye was the reduced share percentage stat.

Zero percent.

Even as I stared at the status window, it was hard to believe that my sponsor had succeeded with only a 1.09% chance.

It was then that a sudden realization struck me.

1.09%. There’s no way my sponsor expected the Dice of Fate to succeed.

It seemed like they rolled the Dice of Fate to convey a message to me. To inform me that something crucial still lingered, even after I won the war.

In hindsight, even if the Dice of Fate hadn’t succeeded in forcing my actions, I would have noticed something amiss sooner or later. Given more time, I would have pieced together the truth behind the Emperor’s strange behavior.

Regardless, the outcome favored me, so it didn’t matter. If anything, this incident proved that my sponsor was astute, perceptive, and genuinely invested in my success. They were, in the truest sense of the word, a “sponsor.”

If they tried to communicate anything in the future, I would pay closer attention.

A message suddenly popped up in the notification window, interrupting my thoughts.

[Attention, all climbers. Climber Kwon Su-Hyeok completed the Hidden Mission ‘The True Target’ on the sixteenth floor, deviating the Tower of Ordeal from its original path.]

[The seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth floors have collapsed. The next floor will be the twentieth.]

[All climbers will be compensated a flat 8,000 achievement points and six stat points due to the collapse of the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth floors.]

[Additional rewards will be distributed based on each climber’s standing on the leaderboard.]

…

[Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok, who successfully completed the hidden mission ‘The True Target,’ will receive a unique reward. Appropriate compensation is being calculated in light of the floors’ collapse.]

[Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok’s reward has been determined. All of his stats have been increased by two, he has been granted permanent usage of ‘Lung Shark’s Dagger,’ and he has been granted a one-time, free use of the Dimensional Forge.]