Conquering the Tower Even Regressors Couldn't-Chapter 131: Thirty-Fourth Floor, Sewer Cleanup (2)

In the back of my head, I knew what decision I would make. Ascending to and conquering the one-hundredth floor would require me to take many risks. I couldn’t afford to avoid a little danger and filth.

High risk, high reward. That was the rule of the tower. If there was the slimmest chance of a hidden mission, I couldn’t back down.

It is just sewage. Once I am back in the waiting room, I can wash up.

Steeling my nerves, I pushed aside my hesitation.

My delay could have given the monsters time to regroup, so I prepared to create electrocuted monster stew again. Lightning crackled to life and burst across the surface of the sewage. Adjusting my mana to guide the current deeper, I felt the electricity travel far into the tunnel’s depths.

The passage stretched farther than I had expected. Checking the notification window, I confirmed that I had eliminated six more monsters.

“Kriee! Su-Yeok! Not serious about going there... Right?”

“Why? You don’t want to?”

Doppy shook its head frantically, completely in disbelief.

Is Doppy’s intuition flaring up again?

“What’s wrong? Do you have a bad feeling about it?”

“Kriee! N-no, it’s not that!”

“Then, you just don’t like it?”

Instead of answering, Doppy’s eyes darted around nervously. I understood its hesitation. Given how queasy it had looked earlier, it was clear it wasn’t excited about diving into the filth. Unfortunately, the tower didn’t allow me the luxury of indulging its preferences.

I slowly shook my head. “Sorry, Doppy. We’re going in.”

“Kriee! G-goblin don’t want to!”

“Too bad. What are you going to do if I go in anyway?”

Doppy fell silent, its wide eyes brimming with tears of betrayal. Now that I thought about it, this was the first time it had openly opposed me. That alone showed just how much it hated the idea of entering the sewage.

To be fair, I wasn’t exactly thrilled either, but what needed to be done, needed to be done.

“Doppy, we need to climb the tower quickly if you want to meet Fenrike, right?”

“Kriee! F-Fenrike! Meet Fenrike?”

“That’s right. Don’t worry. The oxygen globe will keep you clean, and I’ll handle any monsters.”

“Kriee... Okay, I get it.”

“Good. Let’s get moving.”

Thankfully, Doppy didn’t protest further, though it was still evidently reluctant. It really needed to mature a bit more.

While it had been growing stronger, its progress was nowhere near fast enough to keep up with the trials’ increasing difficulty. At this rate, I would likely have to leave it at the rest area.

Maybe that’s actually better for it.

It wasn’t a bad plan. At first, I had kept Doppy around for practical reasons, but over time, comradeship had made it indispensable. However, it primarily contributed by locating hidden missions now.

Of course, it excelled at that. I couldn’t downplay how much it had helped me, from finding Blue Dawn Breeze’s relic to unearthing Kashatum’s Sky Shoes. Sadly, the widening gap between our abilities had become an issue.

At the moment, I could protect Doppy while fighting, but that wasn’t a guarantee it would remain that way forever.

That is a decision for later.

I couldn’t do anything about it now, and I should get its input before single-handedly deciding its existence for it. For now, focusing on the thirty-fourth floor needed to be my priority.

I pulled a small rope from Mung-chi before tying it securely between my hand and Doppy’s. The sewage offered almost no visibility, so we couldn’t just wander haphazardly without some assurance. The rope would ensure it stayed close.

Once it was fastened, I stepped into the sewage. Starting with my feet, I recoiled as I lowered my legs, then my torso, carefully gripping the ledge for stability as I submerged. Even though the air barrier shielded me from direct contact, the water’s temperature seeped through.

It wasn’t unbearably cold, but neither was it warm. It carried a faint, neutral coolness. Yet, knowing that sewage encircled me made the experience profoundly unpleasant.

Once fully submerged, I relaxed and allowed myself to float on the surface.

Then I called to Doppy, “Doppy, it’s your turn. Come on in.”

“Kriee... okay!”

Doppy reluctantly extended a foot into the water. It tried to mimic my movements, sitting on the edge and easing itself in, but its clumsiness proved to be an issue. Failing to brace itself properly, it slipped and splashed heavily into the sewage before plunging its head beneath the surface.

“Keeek!”

Due to the air barrier, Doppy’s panicked cries came through loud and clear. I quickly grabbed its flailing arm and pulled it up to the surface.

“Calm down. You’re fine.”

“Kriee!”

When it finally lifted its head, its eyes were unfocused, half-dazed from distress. It wasn’t just the sewage; it seemed completely unaccustomed to the water. It occurred to me that Doppy probably didn’t know how to swim.

Doppy will get used to it.

The oxygen globe ensured that it wouldn’t have trouble breathing, and the rope would keep it securely connected to me.

“Okay, we’re heading for that tunnel. Just hold onto the rope and follow my lead.”

“Kriee! Understood.”

Even with the air barrier in place, submerging my head into the sewage felt deeply unnatural and unpleasant.

Suppressing my discomfort, I moved closer to the tunnel entrance and took a deep breath before diving in. The world around me turned pitch-black, the murky sewage swallowing all light. Thankfully, it didn’t matter as I could navigate using Awareness.

Clutching the rope tightly in my left hand, I began cutting through the dense sewage and moved steadily forward.

***

[Eliminate one hundred monsters. 68/100. Time remaining: 6 hours 56 minutes.]

The tunnel presented no major challenges. Occasionally, I encountered floating corpses—victims of my earlier lightning attack—but I simply pushed them aside as I swam.

Keeping my senses sharp, I expanded Awareness’s range to prevent surprises but sensed nothing. Any surviving monsters seemed to have fled after the initial strike.

After about five minutes, I sensed the end of the tunnel.

Finally, the end is near.

I increased my pace, surfacing into an open space. It felt odd to have my full field of view back, though the grime clinging to the air barrier still blurred some parts.

As I wiped it away with my hand, I found myself in a vast cavernous passageway. The walls were jagged and uneven, clearly not part of the original sewer system.

Unlike the neatly constructed brick walls of the sewers, this space seemed rough and hastily formed—it had to be the location of a hidden mission.

“Kriee! We made it! We done!” Doppy let out an excited cheer, but this wasn’t the time to celebrate.

“Shh. Let’s keep moving.”

At the end of the passage, two sets of glowing red eyes pierced the darkness, fixed directly on us. I climbed onto the nearest solid ground without hesitation, readying myself.

“Keeeerk.”

“Squeak, squeak!”

Two monsters emerged from the shadows. I didn’t have time to waste on these filthy creatures, not with a potential hidden mission awaiting me.

Activating Flash Strike, I instantly surged forward. The monsters reacted, but their speed was no match for mine. Two swift swings of my axe later, and their heads crashed to the ground with dull thuds.

Turning back, I motioned for Doppy to follow.

Seventy monsters down already. If I aim to clear the hidden mission, killing more may push me too close to the limit.

I could almost smell the hidden mission with how close it was, and more monsters were sure to appear. If I got carried away and hit the kill quota, returning to the waiting room before completing the hidden mission would render all this effort and struggle meaningless.

Quickly figuring out a new plan, I realized l could use Shadow Veil to dodge any further enemies.

“Doppy, from here on, we need to stay silent.”

As Doppy opened his mouth to respond, I raised a finger to silence it.

“Shh!”

It nodded quickly, understanding the gravity of the situation.

Activating Shadow Veil, I shifted my focus to the path ahead.

At least we don’t need to worry about monsters picking up our scent.

All I needed to do now was keep walking until I discovered the hidden mission. Unfortunately, barely a minute later, I had to stop abruptly at a fork in the path.

I knew it. A hidden mission wouldn’t appear after just walking through some sewage. Now, the question is, should I head left or right?

Sewage covered the path to the left, while the right was a dry, clear corridor.

Naturally, I preferred the dry path, but before I could decide, Doppy firmly declared, “Kriee! We need to go left!”

“Left?”

It unwaveringly and confidently nodded. Given its aversion to sewage, its choice likely meant its instincts were guiding it this time.

Still, I felt slightly concerned. Navigating a narrow, sewage-filled passage would make avoiding monsters nearly impossible. With my monster-elimination count already this high, I could only hope the hidden mission wasn’t far away.

***

[Eliminate one hundred monsters. 84/100. Time remaining: 6 hours 13 minutes.]

An hour had passed. Since crossing the first passage of filth, we had encountered numerous junctions, sometimes with as many as three paths to choose from. At each fork, I relied entirely on Doppy’s instincts to guide us.

Sometimes we took a sewage-filled path, while other times we followed a dry path. With each step we took, I became more and more convinced this had to lead to a hidden mission.

This passage is far too large to just be a monster burrow.

There had to be something significant ahead. Otherwise, constructing such an enormous, secret tunnel wouldn’t make any sense.

By the way...

Despite avoiding fights as much as possible, I had already reached eighty-four eliminations. The closer I got to the limit, the greater the pressure I felt.

As these thoughts weighed on me, we finally reached the end of a long corridor and discovered a rusted iron door.

“Grrrooar...”

Guarding the door was a massive monster, far larger than any I had encountered so far.

[Rakhas] ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com

Instead of focusing on the notification window, I studied the creature itself.

Tentacles jutted out from its torso, and a thick, coiled tail wrapped protectively around its massive frame. It looked like something out of a horror film, reminiscent of the beast from the old horror film The Hostess.

Fortunately, it doesn’t seem to have noticed us yet.

Shadow Veil still concealed us, and the creature appeared to be asleep. It would have to be dealt with quietly.

I had no idea what lay beyond the iron door, but the monster was clearly guarding whatever lay inside.

I could alert whatever is behind that door if I make too much of a commotion.

Knowing Doppy’s limited ability to mask its presence, I decided to handle this alone.

As I crept forward, I debated which weapon to use. Using my axe would ensure a swift kill, but it could cause the creature to cry out in pain. Daggers, on the other hand, lacked the heft to deliver a clean strike.

I need something quick and silent.

After careful thought, I settled on my shadow arm. I shaped it into a sharp, conical weapon roughly the size of my torso. Activating Flash Strike, I rapidly closed the distance and drove the shadow arm directly into the monster’s head.

It convulsed a single time, then fell still. It didn’t even have the chance to whimper.

Stay there.

I gestured for Doppy to remain where it was. I couldn’t be certain what lay beyond the door, and it was safer for it to keep its distance.

Doppy nodded silently as I carefully approached the iron door. Fortunately, it wasn’t locked.

Focus.

Whatever sat inside was likely hostile–this was the Tower of Ordeal after all. Nothing here would be easy.

Gripping my axe tightly, I readied myself, muscles coiled tensely. Instead of opening the door slowly, I opted for a sudden, forceful approach, attempting to catch potential enemies off guard.

After taking a deep breath, I kicked the door open with all my strength.

Creaaak— Bang!

The rusty door flew open, revealing a scene far from what I had expected.

“Damn it! How many times do I have to tell you all not to come in? I’ve spent years raising you bastards, and you still don’t listen. Should I just install a lock? Get the fuck out!”

The interior was a stark contrast to the filthy sewers outside. It was a clean, pristine, and meticulously organized laboratory—a massive, high-tech facility straight out of a sci-fi movie.

A disheveled scientist stood at the center of the room, his back turned as he tinkered with a transparent container.

Puzzled by the silence, he paused and turned to face me. He had blue skin and had only a single, fist-sized eye. That eye widened further, its expression betraying shock as it fixed on me.

“Who-who are you? You’re not one of the guards. Wait... where’s my Rakhas?”

Rakhas. That was the name of the monster I had just killed.

The scientist’s gaze shifted over my shoulder, clearly searching for his guardian.

Wait... was I not supposed to kill it before coming in?

***

「Invisible message: The fourth-class god 'Eternal Feast' is utterly appalled.」