After finishing my conversation with Suhee and swiftly taking down the golem with Kang-chan's punch,
the four of us managed to reach the final room again.
"What's this?"
I ignored the box in the center and hastily ran into the room to inspect the red door first.
"Hey, don't touch that recklessly... Who knows what could happen if you put your hand on it..."
"I'll just touch it with a finger, not my palm."
I gently placed my finger on the red indentation meant for a palm. The tip of my finger glowed faintly and then dimmed.
"This... it's blood."
Upon touching, it was clear. The door wasn't originally red. It had turned red from the blood of people.
"Blood?!"
A shocked response came from Angyeong-jun, and just then, a message appeared before us:
- Passing through the door ahead will clear the 3rd floor. However, only one person can pass through the red door. Additional rewards are given to those who pass through the red door.
Just like the previous round, the atmosphere became tense. The camaraderie turned to enmity in an instant.
"... Can you listen to me for a moment?"
Just like the previous round, I cleared up the group's misunderstandings. I insisted that there's no need to fight in this room; we should cooperate and first open the stone door on the right.
"Upon opening the door, we won't automatically clear the 3rd floor. We need to 'pass through' it. We can first open the regular door with all four of us, and then one person can open the red door."
"... That makes sense."
The previously tense Angyeong-jun and Kang-chan relaxed, and a more rational atmosphere ensued.
"So, shall we open the regular stone door first?"
With a grinding noise, the four of us opened the stone door together, revealing a blue portal.
Everything so far was the same as the previous round. What would change was what came next.
"So, who's going into the red door..."
"Hold on."
Suhee, cutting off Angyeong-jun's words, declared, "I will enter the red door."
Instead of her previous sneaky approach, Suhee confidently declared her intention to enter.
"What? Why? What are you saying right now..."
"... Are you sane?"
Despite her relatively rational approach, the reaction was intense. Both Angyeong-jun and Kang-chan stared at Suhee, their expressions asking what she was thinking.
"I will explain."
I stepped forward, realizing that leaving the explanation to Suhee might lead to unnecessary misunderstandings.
"... Let's hear it. You do have an uncanny insight after all."
Kang-chan's sharp demeanor relaxed, and the previously wild-eyed Angyeong-jun calmed down.
"First, let me talk about Suhee's past."
Starting with the Goblin Shaman, the boss of the tutorial, I spoke about the heroes of the tutorial and the betrayal of the Goblin Shaman. The story continued, detailing how those who chose death had placed a heavy responsibility on Suhee's shoulders. I laid out Suhee's story as briefly as possible.
The atmosphere became even heavier. Death had an indescribable weight.
After a brief silence, Kang-chan was the first to speak.
"I understand Suhee's tragic story. However, everyone carries their own burdens."
"We don't see why we should concede the reward from the red door."
His words were true. Everyone who had reached the 3-5 floors had their own stories. Kang-chan's statement was irrefutable.
"... I think it's okay."
However, Angyeong-jun, with tears in his eyes, gently put his hand on Suhee's shoulder.
"How hard must it have been for her... She's still just a young student. How much suffering must she have gone through in this tower..."
"I believe I'm strong enough... strong enough to protect myself in this tower. I believe everyone else is too. From a survival standpoint, I believe that the weakest among us, Suhee, should receive the additional reward."
Angyeong-jun smiled as he looked at Suhee. "We're climbing this tower to survive, aren't we?"
"...Sigh."
Having listened to Angyeong-jun's words, Kang-chan, seemingly annoyed, furrowed his brow and shifted his gaze to me.
"Fine. I won't go against the majority's decision. But Junho, I have to ask you this."
"Go ahead."
"Do you think Suhee should pass through the red door?"
"Yes."
"Alright, then I'll agree too. Not because I trust Suhee... but because I trust the person I saw on the 3rd floor - you."
Saying that, Kang-chan stepped away from the red door. It seemed he intended to claim his share of the rewards.
"Good job, Suhee!"
Angyeong-jun, looking as elated as if he had won a major victory, ruffled Suhee's hair. He seemed to have grown fond of Suhee in the meantime.
But moments later...
"...Huh?"
Angyeong-jun suddenly knelt, one hand touching the ground, his expression one of disbelief.
"...?"
It was a familiar sight. In the previous round, Angyeong-jun had collapsed in a similar way due to Suhee's paralyzing poison. I looked at Kang-chan, suspecting foul play.
Flash!
Suddenly, Kang-chan was trapped inside the Goblin Shaman's protective shield.
I was so shocked that words failed me. After a moment, all I could muster was a simple question.
"...Why?"
"What do you mean?"
"I said I'd persuade her."
"But..."
Suhee, the cause of all this chaos, tilted her head innocently.
"I know it's cowardly, but persuasion might have failed. It was necessary."
"...So, in my own way, I made sure..."
Suhee tried to justify her actions. She looked at me with friendly eyes, most likely due to my aura of reverence. But at the same time, there was a hint of madness in her gaze. A madness that suggested she would do anything to achieve her goals. At that moment, I was sure of one thing: Suhee wasn't sane.
"Still, you understand, right? It wasn't just for me, but for all those who died because of me."
With that, she approached the red door. Suhee's story was tragic, and her determination to climb the tower was admirable. But her character was a different matter. Suhee was merely justifying her wicked actions using her tragic past.
"Then..."
With a bright smile, Suhee placed her palm on the red door.
"...Why..."
Angyeong-jun, overwhelmed, closed his eyes tightly.
"...Damn."
As Kang-chan was trapped inside the protective shield, there was a sudden explosion from the direction of the red door.
Boom!
Though the explosion wasn't massive and didn't affect those on the opposite side of the room,
"Aaah!"
Suhee was blown away by the blast. In an instant, parts of Suhee's body were scattered everywhere. Her mangled form was flung across the room, landing right in front of us.
She was still breathing but seemed to have lost consciousness from the shock. Blood oozed from her wounds.
"...What... How could this happen to a young child, no matter the betrayal..."
Shaking, Angyeong-jun tried to support Suhee, but his body was paralyzed. Somehow, he managed to stand up, likely having successfully summoned his spirit.
"...Traitor."
But the empowered Angyeong-jun didn't seem interested in helping Suhee.
"There's no honor in helping a traitor. She tripped over her own greed. If this was my hometown, I would've fed her to the lions."
With a mocking laugh, he deactivated his spirit form, and once he regained his physical form, he writhed in pain from the paralysis.
Kang-chan, still trapped, silently stared down at Suhee.
"What an absurd ending."
That was all he said.
In that moment, as everyone turned their backs on Suhee,
"Suhee...!"
The only one not paralyzed, I rushed to Suhee's side, checking her injuries.
"Damn it, what happened..." The wounds are severe, but they're not life-threatening. And since her arm was completely blown off, using a potion would be meaningless.
"Even if she betrayed us out of greed, she's just a child... How far will the creators of this tower go to toy with us?"
I roared in anger, as if spitting out blood, consumed by hatred.
- Reverence
- Respect and fear of your greatness.
- Affected targets can use one of their characteristics in an enhanced version for a single use.
- Suhee: Inventory (SSS) >>> Synthesis/Explosion (B-)
I expected betrayal, but not that she'd actually go through with it...
Suhee!
I'll make sure to avenge you...
Suhee, who lost her right arm in a tragic accident, showed no signs of waking up even after some time had passed.
Stealing the arm of a girl with such a tragic backstory – how cruel can this tower be? Did Suhee betray us at the last moment? Or was she just emotionally manipulative? If not, then did she disregard the will of the living while upholding the wishes of the dead? Did she act impulsively even after I asked her to wait and think things through? Why would she do this...?
"It's not your fault, Junho. It's okay."
Angyeong-jun, perhaps reading my expression, placed his hand on my back for comfort.
Right, this is just an accident. No one's to blame. If anyone's at fault, it's Suhee for her greed.
The explosion on the red door was surely one of the tower's gimmicks.
"But look at that."
Angyeong-jun pointed to the red door. Or rather, what used to be the red door. Its surface was scarred from the explosion, and it now bore a color somewhere between red and gray.
"The trap seemed to be a one-time thing..."
Again, we're back to square one. Only one person can claim the additional reward. So, who will it be?
After a brief standoff, with everyone gauging each other's reactions, Kang-chan, staring directly at me, said,
"Junho."
"You go ahead."