Chapter 488: Hundredth Floor, Waiting Room (1)
Chapter 488: Hundredth Floor, Waiting Room (1)
The combined rest area, just before the hundredth floor.After Kwon Su-Hyeok spent nearly a week on the ninety-eighth floor, the other climbers finally had to take a break from watching him for an extended period of time. People always stepped away when they needed to, but while Kwon Su-Hyeok was in the waiting room, the time that remained naturally fell to them as well.
With how many climbers remained, it was only natural that they used their downtime differently. Some trained, others rested leisurely, and more than a handful spent time with their lovers. Of course, regardless of how they spent their time, a quiet sense of indebtedness toward Kwon Su-Hyeok lingered in every climber’s heart.
It was an afternoon no different from any other in the rest area.
At some point, light flared as a soft pop echoed across several places in the rest area, including along the walls of the dining hall. It was the phenomenon that signaled the beginning of Kwon Su-Hyeok’s trial.
“Huh?”
“Oh! It’s up!”
The moment someone shouted, however, the world came to a halt. Startled by an inexplicable series of images, the climbers could do nothing as they were frozen. While everyone reeled, trying to figure out what was happening, a replay of what Kwon Su-Hyeok had endured embedded itself into the climbers’ minds.
One. Two. Three—
So as not to overwhelm the climbers, the Tower of Ordeal didn’t implant every moment. For example, it omitted most of Kwon Su-Hyeok’s breakdowns. Rather than focusing on his anguish or depression, it highlighted a simple truth: he had persevered through those difficult years and ultimately prevailed.
Scenes of him training, battling, and at last seizing victory after nearly twenty years settled into their minds, as if the climbers themselves had lived through them. Although they hadn’t experienced it all, the loneliness and desolation Kwon Su-Hyeok had felt were also conveyed all the same.
When every climber finally spectated the end of the trial, time resumed its flow. Even after regaining their senses, the dining hall remained silent for quite some time. Just when one climber wondered whether the world was still frozen, someone let out a faint sigh.