Conquering the Tower Even Regressors Couldn't-Chapter 86: Twenty-third Floor, Waiting Room (1)

When I told Ha Hee-Jeong about what had transpired on the twenty-first floor, she seemed genuinely astonished. She explained that, under normal circumstances, destroying the religious order governing a colonized planet was nigh on impossible. Most likely, it was only feasible because it was a low-class colony.

Now that I thought about it, there hadn’t been many soldiers inside the factory. Even though there had been a high authority overseeing operations, I had faced well over a million enemies on the sixteenth floor. Comparing the two, Ha Hee-Jeong’s assessment seemed accurate.

When I asked her more about colonized planets, she sent another message.

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Twenty-third Floor): As you’ve probably guessed, the Tower of Ordeal recognizes species native to a planet as having sovereignty over that planet.

- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Twenty-third Floor): Yeah.

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Twenty-third Floor): Earth’s green belt was lifted, and that’s why the Tower of Ordeal manifested there.

- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Twenty-third Floor): So, it’s like how we develop land that was previously part of a green belt[1]] on Earth.

It was similar to how the original inhabitants of undeveloped or de-designated green belt zones were granted the opportunity to claim ownership before development began.

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Twenty-third Floor): Exactly. And factories like the one you destroyed are installed on worlds that have lost their sovereignty—ones that failed to fully conquer the tower.

- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Twenty-third Floor): I see.

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Twenty-third Floor): The factory then drains the world’s resources, and the races that lost their home are brainwashed and turned into soldiers.

Everything she said aligned with what I had already suspected up to this point.

I waited in silence, and soon another message came through.

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Twenty-third Floor): During this process, gods will claim ownership of planets or worlds that failed to conquer the tower. Usually, it’s a high-class god that gains these rights.

- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Twenty-third Floor): Wait, then how is it decided which god gets ownership?

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Twenty-third Floor): The sponsor of the world’s number one climber gets ownership. It’s almost like a draft system, which is why there are so many deceptions when forming sponsorship contracts.

Hmm, that’s so weird.

Most climbers were deceived into signing contracts with low-class gods. So shouldn’t those gods end up claiming ownership of the planets? Yet, just moments ago, Ha Hee-Jeong stated that high-class gods generally took over sovereignty. Something wasn’t adding up.

Just as I was about to ask for clarification, another message arrived.

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Twenty-third Floor): The process is a bit convoluted, but there’s a hierarchical and contractual relationship even among gods. So even if a low-class god gains ownership, the rights can be transferred to a god with a higher class depending on their agreements.

- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Twenty-third Floor): But aren’t all gods supposed to be, like, gods of their respective worlds? How does that even work?

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Twenty-third Floor): Don’t think of them as gods. Think of them more like corporations. When you conquer the tower, you essentially become a god. It’s something you’ve probably already guessed, right?

- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Twenty-third Floor): Yeah, I have a rough idea.

I had pieced it together while climbing the tower and from my conversations with Ha Hee-Jeong. Anyone who conquered the tower as the top climber became a god.

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Twenty-third Floor): When you conquer the tower without opening your status window, you gain full ownership rights over your home planet. But if you use the status window, you can’t claim complete sovereignty.

- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Twenty-third Floor): So someone can conquer the tower, but not have full ownership just because they viewed the status window even ONE time?

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Twenty-third Floor): Yup. Those gods you encountered before—the goblin god Fenrike and the orc god Paraktus—probably conquered the tower using the status window. That’s why they’re provisional gods without full sovereignty.

Ah... So that’s why she advised me not to open the status window back at the tavern.

Although it was still complicated, I began to fully grasp what Ha Hee-Jeong had been trying to tell me back then.

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Twenty-third Floor): Even if someone conquers the tower without viewing the status window, if their sponsor owns over one hundred percent of their shares, the sovereignty of the planet is transferred to the patron god.

- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Twenty-third Floor): So that’s what the share percentage stat represents.

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Twenty-third Floor): Yes. In both cases, whether it’s the world itself or the lower-class gods, they all get put under the jurisdiction of the higher-class gods due to contracts. And even if the lower-class god doesn’t have a contractual obligation, they sometimes still submit to higher-ranking ones.

This conversation made it painfully apparent just how vicious the tower’s system was. Although the status window was technically optional, the tower coerced climbers to the point it was nearly impossible to refuse.

In addition to that, everyone was forced to enter into a sponsorship contract. Then, once their share percentage stat exceeded a certain threshold, they would lose claim to their home world’s sovereignty.

Even worse, after becoming a god, they would be subordinated to a higher-class god.

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Twenty-third Floor): That’s why, in most cases, high-class gods are the ones who end up owning a world. The lower-class gods are bound by contracts to manage those worlds on behalf of the higher-class ones.

- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Twenty-third Floor): So, that’s why you were surprised when I told you about the colonized planet earlier.

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Twenty-third Floor): Yes, exactly. Normally, colonized planets are managed by low-class gods. It’s highly unusual for a lower-class colony to operate outside that framework.

So that’s what it was.

The tower, the gods, and the climbers—everything was intertwined in a complicated, sinister manner.

I started to feel suffocated.

- Kwon Su-Hyeok (Twenty-third Floor): So, out of all the Earthlings, I’m the only one who hasn’t chosen to view the status window. If I don’t stay the number one climber, then...

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Twenty-third Floor): Yes. Like I said at the tavern, you’re Earth’s only hope to conquer the tower.

The weight of those words pressed down on me, a stunning and oppressive sense of responsibility. Hearing that I was Earth’s last hope and actually understanding the gravity of the words were two very different things.

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Twenty-third Floor): I didn’t want to open the status window either, but... I wasn’t strong enough. So right now, you’re the only one left.

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It seemed like Ha Hee-Jeong had purposely kept things vague in the past, not wanting to overwhelm me with this heavy burden.

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Twenty-third Floor): And even if that weren’t the case, you’re the only one with the talent and ability to conquer the tower to its very end.

It looked like Ha Hee-Jeong had finally made up her mind. Despite having held back until now to avoid pressuring me, she decided that, since she had said this much already, she might as well lay it all on the table.

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Twenty-third Floor): You are Earth’s hope, Su-Hyeok. Only you can save us all.

***

After my conversation with Ha Hee-Jeong, I took a shower and laid down on my bed, lost in thought. Until now, I had thought that conquering the tower was simply a way to protect Earth.

And, of course, that was true.

But...

Knowing what would happen—the terrible reality that awaited us if I failed to conquer the tower—made everything feel different. Put simply and brutally, Earth would be pillaged, with its people reduced to mindless, enslaved soldiers. Plus, that didn’t fully encompass the horrors Earthlings would experience.

Damn it, I shouldn’t dwell on this.

There was no point in agonizing over the grim possibilities. Ha Hee-Jeong had said not to worry about it too much, and knowing more about the bleak future didn’t change anything.

In the end, to survive and save Earth and its people, I had no choice but to conquer the Tower of Ordeal.

Deciding that focusing on something else would be better, I intentionally redirected my thoughts to another topic.

I don’t need to worry about using the portal right now.

When I told Ha Hee-Jeong about the portal, she couldn’t hide her surprise. She explained that portal skills were incredibly rare. Even during her previous life, she could count on one hand the number of people who could use one.

I know I can technically use it to go to Earth, but...

The amount of mana required to activate the portal depended entirely on how far away the destination was. For Earth, the distance was so great that even with my mana stat exceeding 100, I couldn’t hope to open a portal to it.

Besides, even if I somehow managed to open the portal and step through it, I would die if I didn’t return within the tower’s time limit.

The real question is whether I would open the portal in the waiting room or during a floor.

If I wanted to visit Earth—and not immediately return—I needed enough mana to use the portal twice in a row.

Since I did have the Mana-Accumulating Gauntlet of the Underworld, I could store up the energy required to open a portal with enough time, but... For now, I could barely maintain the portal for five minutes. That wasn’t enough time to accomplish anything meaningful on Earth.

In her previous life, Ha Hee-Jeong explained that most people used the portal within a floor—for missions, to traverse long distances, or to return to places they missed.

Either way, the portal wasn’t something I would be using anytime soon.

***

[11 hours 25 minutes until the rest period ends. Please take a rest.]

Although only eleven hours remained on the timer, the other climbers still hadn’t completed the twenty-second floor. With nothing else to do, I laid down and started scrolling through the Community posts I hadn’t read before everyone entered the twenty-second floor.

As I aimlessly flicked through the posts, one thread stood out and caught my attention.

[You all think your families are still alive back on Earth...]

It was a post about Earth and our families, and it seemed to have a somber tone. Judging by the sheer number of comments—over four hundred—it had clearly struck a nerve among the climbers.

I couldn’t tell if it was someone trying to troll and stir up controversy, or if it was an honest reflection on our circumstances.

Naturally, curiosity got the better of me, and I opened the post.

[You all think your families are still alive back on Earth...]

- Author: Richard Scott (Twenty-second Floor)

Everyone just assumes that our families are safe back on Earth, don’t they? You talk about how, once we return, you’ll make it up to your parents, lovers, and friends. How you’ll cherish them more.

But what if they died in the tower before the Community even opened up? And that’s not even the worst of it.

Who here can honestly say they know what’s really happening on Earth right now? No one does, right? We were dragged into the tower within an instant, unable to resist the tower’s call even slightly.

For all we know, Earth might have already been invaded by these monsters. The military might be engaged in a losing battle, or maybe it’s turned into a full-blown apocalypse like something out of a zombie movie.

Why does everyone assume Earth is still safe? People are too optimistic about the whole situation. We need to focus on surviving first.

Have you noticed how the number of new posts in the Community has been decreasing? There were a million of us at the beginning, but how many do you think are left now?

Everyone’s too full of hope. We need to be more realistic. We should focus on conquering the tower first and worry about Earth later.

Stop talking about Earth and just train harder.

- Podrick Braum (Twenty-second Floor): Hmm, it’s not that we don’t understand what you said. You’re right. We have no idea what’s happening on Earth, but that’s why everyone’s trying to stay positive. And besides, we’re all training as hard as we can. Stop trying to make everyone feel worse.

- Kim Ji-Soo (Twenty-second Floor): Oh my gosh, I didn’t know that... What if my mom’s dead? 😭

- Peter Jackson (Twenty-second Floor): Here is a saying I like to tell people when they are struggling: ‘Hope and positivity are essential in any situation.’

- Braha Akif (Twenty-second Floor): In that case, I’d like to tell you this: ‘Anyone who feeds solely on hope will starve to death.’

- Oh Chang-Joon (Twenty-second Floor): Enough already, idiots. Why are you all so extreme? Optimism and pessimism need to coexist.

- Sanjay Chathrabati (Twenty-second Floor): I guess it’s true that we should focus on conquering the tower before worrying about anything else, right?

- Tai-Yang (Twenty-second Floor): I don’t care about any of that. I like the tower better anyway. I have no family or friends back on Earth. I lived like trash there...

...

Their conversation was actually quite logical. Earth’s situation was a topic that most climbers were deeply concerned about, so I wasn’t surprised the post had sparked such heated debate.

However, according to Ha Hee-Jeong, nothing had happened to Earth yet, so reading their anxious comments left me feeling a bit frustrated. We hadn’t yet lost Earth’s sovereignty, which meant the invaders couldn’t touch it.

If we fail to conquer the tower, then we should start worrying about this.

I wanted to reassure them that Earth was still safe, but I couldn’t, since no climber was supposed to have access to such information.

Maybe, if I managed to use the portal skill and go to Earth, I could confirm it for them.

The only statement that worried me was the idea that our parents or friends could have died before the Community became available. I knew for certain that my parents were still safe, but the comment could easily plant seeds of doubt in the other climbers.

They will probably start harboring anxieties now.

Well, what was done was done.

At that moment, a message popped up from Ha Hee-Jeong.

- Ha Hee-Jeong (Twenty-third Floor): Hey, Su-Hyeok.

1. A green belt is a way of designating land—which is generally undeveloped, wild, or agricultural and near urban centers—to remain undeveloped ☜