Chapter 54: 4th Floor Hidden (5)

I moved to the Reward Room.

The hidden stage on the 4th floor was quite a challenge. If I hadn’t run into that monster-like bodyguard at the end, I would have cleared it much more easily. Still, it was worth it. I looked over the rewards scattered across the floor.

I let out a small gasp.

A purple Skill Stone. An Epic grade.

Well, since I’ve cleared four types of challenges, I suppose it’s time for the quality of supply to go up. Ever since the 1st Floor, hidden strategies always rewarded me with at least a Rare class Skill Stone or Skill Enhancement Stone.

I turned my gaze elsewhere. The skill is Epic, but what about the item reward…

I had a rough idea. As expected, this was the reward. I picked up the Warp Device.

I read the explanation. The list of features was long. It’s an item that charges using Willpower, and 1 point allows for 10 meters of movement.

Current Charge: 100/1,000,000

I immediately poured 100 Willpower into it, and the value changed. Since the maximum charge is one million points… then I can move up to 10 million meters, which is 10,000 kilometers?

“Is this for real?”

With this, I wouldn’t even need a plane for foreign travel. That was the first trivial thought that crossed my mind. Of course, I wouldn’t actually have a reason to go to foreign countries like that.

What about the “Points”? The description said I could move to a saved point or set a direction. Moving by direction probably works like Teleportation, and the points feel like check-points.

A notification appeared as I tried it out. Ah, so that’s how it works. I cancelled the point save. To summarize the Warp Device’s functions:

That was about it. Plus, there was no cooldown. The Willpower consumption is massive, but that wasn’t a problem for me. The downside is the 10-minute activation time. It wasn’t something I could use during a battle. If not for that activation time, it could have served as an emergency escape in dangerous moments.

“Now then…”

Next was the skill. I wondered what an Epic grade skill would be. I picked up the Skill Stone with high expectations.

“…Subspace?”

The name was familiar. It must be the Subspace I’m thinking of, right? Like an inventory.

I learned it immediately and read the description.

It really is an inventory. Since it wasn’t a combat skill, it felt a bit ambiguous, but I decided to try it out. I pulled out a mundane Dagger. I used Time Stop, finished the Concentration, and cast Subspace. The dagger vanished into thin air.

To take it out? I used Time Stop again, concentrated, and cast Subspace. The dagger returned to my hand. It consumes Willpower both for storing and retrieving. I continued to experiment. While each action requires a skill use, I could put multiple items in at once.

However, I couldn’t store Fliya’s Necklace or the bracelet. Since living things or spiritual entities are restricted, that seemed to be the reason. I basically gained an inventory skill. The Willpower cost and Concentration time are significant, but again, that’s no issue for me. I decided to view it as a useful utility skill.

Actually, I was getting more and more items, and carrying them all was becoming a hassle.

“I can just store them here from now on.”

I put everything except the Necklace and bracelet into the Subspace.

—

After organizing my rewards, I exited. The hidden strategy was complete; now it was time to organize and upload the Strategy Guide.

After the 4th Floor was cleared, the topics in the Communication Channel were mostly two-fold. One was the Fallen Ones incident. Having experienced it before, people were naturally anxious about what might happen next.

– Another rift is going to appear, so does that mean we have to deal with that too?

– Who knows? Since the locations are Random, any country that gets hit is in big trouble.

– Five are appearing? This is seriously worrying.

The other topic was, as always, the strategy information posted by Person123. This 4th Floor was particularly unique because it was cleared after selecting a Penalty.

The Strategy Guide posted by Person123 after a floor clear was nothing short of a major event. Especially now, since the time limit had just increased by a year, the mood was good. The Companions in the Communication Channel discussed how brutal or insane it must have been this time while waiting for the information.

Various countries, especially those with Nightmare difficulty challengers, were monitoring the channel second by second. They had to perform a deep analysis as soon as Person123’s post went live.

And finally, the post appeared.

The post was much longer than the one for the 3rd Floor. The Communication Channel exploded instantly.

People were horrified when they saw how he had cleared the 4th Floor.

—

In the Training Facility of a high-climbing country, Taylor, who was checking the Communication Channel while wiping away sweat, felt her expression stiffen.

“Are you reading it now?”

Max, who happened to be visiting the facility, asked as he saw her staring into the air.

“I read it too. The 4th Floor seems as horrific as ever.”

“I agree. Managing points well will be the key,” Taylor sighed. “This person… is truly amazing. Every time I read his guides, I feel a wall.”

Reading the post, there was something qualitatively different about this 4th Floor compared to previous ones: the existence of a gacha. No matter how much skill you had or how many points you gathered, you couldn’t defeat the boss without luck. She felt the Tower’s malicious intent to test not just skill, but luck itself.

It seemed Person123 had fallen into that trap. He hadn’t drawn the Ability Nullification Part.

Taylor tried to imagine herself in that situation. The final boss stage. The result of spending all remaining points: a Great Incineration switch and three 300% Scrolls. It would have been maddeningly despairing and unfair. To think the strategy failed not because of a lack of ability, but because of such poor luck.

Even as a former CIA SAC agent trained in extreme mental fortitude, she wasn’t confident she could maintain her composure in such a situation. Yet, Person123 found a way. He placed the best bet possible with what he had, and he succeeded. Burning himself along with the boss and simply outlasting it.

How did he even come up with such a method? And did he really intend to execute it? He had saved the world once again by going that far. He was a figure worthy of gratitude and respect.

To be honest, she had recently begun to feel skeptical about the reasons for climbing. The grand cause of saving humanity had blurred long ago, and now it felt like a race against China just for national interests. Even with her utmost effort, she could barely follow in Person123’s footsteps. She had almost died on the 3rd Floor. She was just following; she wasn’t helping him at all. She felt useless.

But after reading the 4th Floor guide, she suddenly snapped out of it. Here was a person fighting alone and lonely at the very front to save humanity. And here she was, searching for the “meaning” of her actions?

Why did he share his strategy information? Why did he provide help that he gained nothing from? It was for nothing else but to leave the future to those behind him in case he failed.

So, she had to keep climbing the Tower. Usefulness wasn’t for her to decide. Whether it was useful or not, meaningful or not, or if she would eventually die in vain—there was no need to think about that. She just had to do her best to live up to his noble Willpower.

Taylor let out a deep breath and spoke to Max.

“Max. Let’s draft a strategy for the 4th Floor as quickly as possible.”

Max looked at her, slightly surprised by her sudden burst of motivation, then nodded.

“Understood.”

—

Downtown Chongqing, China.

Rumble—

People walking the streets screamed at the sudden earthquake. The ground cracked, buildings collapsed, and something began to rise.

A massive black Tower.

People who narrowly escaped watched blankly as the Tower suddenly stood tall in the middle of the street.