Conquering the Tower Even Regressors Couldn't-Chapter 149: Forty-Second Floor, Ant Nest (2)

First, I had to handle the ants flanking me. They surged toward us from the corridor, their paralysis finally dissipating. Fortunately, their movements remained sluggish, likely a lingering effect from the intense lightning strike they had endured.

I summoned shadow spears below the ants nearest the iron door, impaling them, before slamming the door shut with all my strength. Thankfully, it had a locking mechanism. I hurriedly twisted the latch, but a thought crossed my mind.

How would I have entered if it had been locked?

If I hadn’t snuck by the guards, the locked door would have proved to be an impenetrable obstacle—in the short term at least.

Did one of the ants we bypassed earlier have a key?

Though I hadn’t noticed any key-bearing ants, the idea seemed plausible. Regardless, since I was already inside, there was no point dwelling on it.

I turned my attention back to the ants, scrutinizing them.

Queen ant, worker ants... and are those winged ones males?

The ants were postured tensely, ready and poised to attack. Unlike the queen and workers, the males sported enormous mandibles, indicating a reliance on physical strength rather than magical ability.

I had trapped about thirty ants inside the chamber with me. Compared to the hordes outside, however, that seemed manageable. Utilizing the pause in combat, I began to formulate a plan.

A smirk tugged at my lips.

This provoked the queen ant to snap angrily, “My children didn’t send any signal! How did you manage to infiltrate our kingdom?”

“That’s none of your business. Since we’re going to fight anyway, just come get me.”

“You insolent wretch! Kill him immediately!”

Without warning, the enraged queen began chanting a spell. Reacting swiftly, I activated Flash Strike.

Time slowed down. The queen and worker ants had been caught mid-chant, while the males had just started to charge. I yanked Doppy behind me and summoned every ounce of mana I possessed.

This time, I didn’t bother restraining my power—conserving energy would be pointless after defeating the elites.

It had been a while since I had poured everything into Lightning Essence. The crackling lightning surrounding me flared brilliantly, more radiant than ever before. In an instant, bolts streaked across the chamber, illuminating every corner.

Before the ants could finish their spells, their compound eyes glowed a vivid, electric blue.

***

[Exterminate the ant nest. Time remaining: 8 hours 2 minutes.]

The chamber reeked of charred flesh. The ants were unrecognizable, and their mangled remains were strewn across the floor. Most had burst apart under the sheer voltage, while the few survivors lay grotesquely shriveled.

That was the boss room? Piece of cake.

The battle had concluded anticlimactically, and without taxing me much either. Then again, it made sense. I hadn’t faced a single, overwhelming enemy, and Lightning Essence worked effectively against weaker opponents.

Thankfully, I had opted to move stealthily, because if I hadn’t, the journey here would have been a nightmare. Not to mention, finding a key to unlock the queen’s chamber would have added another layer of tedium.

As it stood, I had only eliminated the ants’ leader, and the floor required me to exterminate the nest.

Anyway, has Lightning Essence always been this potent?

Even I was taken aback by its sheer destructive force. I hadn’t used it at full capacity recently, having been focused on refining my Axemanship. Lightning had become more of a supplementary tool, used to keep enemies in check while I wielded my axe.

The overwhelming power sent an exhilarating rush through me.

This qualifies as grand magic.

Although I couldn’t call it ‘Hellfire,’ I could still name it something like ‘Hell Lightning.’ A renewed appreciation for magic surged within me, threatening to consume my thoughts.

I shook my head firmly, dispelling the thought.

No. Over-relying on Lightning Essence will stunt my growth.

As someone who had chosen the melee path, it was crucial that I didn’t depend solely on skills but instead focused on developing my own capabilities.

“Impressive... power. When... we fought... it... wasn’t... this... strong...”

“Right? If I’d used this back then, do you think you would’ve died?”

“No... but... I would’ve... taken... damage.”

The thought that it could even harm a swordmaster highlighted its effectiveness. Of course, if I had expended this much mana back then, I would have been utterly drained afterward.

Ha Hee-Jeong hadn’t recommended Lightning Essence without reason. Ryun’s comment made me realize how much I had been underutilizing my skills. Both Master of Shadows and Lightning Essence came to mind.

I have grown complacent, relying on a handful of techniques and neglecting non-melee approaches.

That was a bad habit to get into.

At this point, I haven’t really needed anything other than Flash Strike, shadow spears, and shadow arms. Well, besides the occasional lightning bolt.

After devising a strategy that worked in most situations, I had unconsciously imposed limitations on myself and failed to further develop my skills, focusing too much on the axe. No matter how valuable Ryun’s teachings were, I couldn’t afford to let my other abilities stagnate.

The next time I entered the waiting room, I resolved to reassess my skill usage.

Thud, thud!

A heavy sound reverberated outside the chamber as ants battered against the iron door.

“Su-Yeok! It’s too loud outside!”

“Let them be. They can enjoy themselves.”

Naturally, I had no intention of opening the door until I retrieved the missing cocoon that had vanished underground. Engaging the ants now could complete the floor prematurely, which would cause me to miss a hidden mission.

I moved to the spot where the cocoon had disappeared. The ground looked no different from a regular dirt floor, devoid of mechanisms or markings.

How do I even open this?

I stomped on the ground a few times, pushed against it with my hands, and even funneled mana into it, but nothing happened. The cocoon had vanished here, I felt confident about that.

“Doppy, do you know how to open this? Maybe divine power would work?”

“There isn’t a holy spell for digging through dirt!”

“Do you sense anything? Any hunches at all?”

“None!”

“Ryun, any insights? It seems to be magically concealed underground.”

“I am... a swordmaster... not... an archmage...”

As expected, he was of no help.

Damn it. What now?

Giving up wasn’t an option. Quickly weighing different possibilities, I considered the potential existence of a hidden chamber. Perhaps the queen ant had been guarding something.

I approached the queen’s remains. Her body had been obliterated by the lightning, leaving little more than scattered fragments of exoskeleton. I kicked through the debris, but didn’t find a key or artifact.

Since nothing else stood out, it seemed like I would have to resort to a thorough search.

“Doppy, let’s scour the chamber.”

“Understood.”

“Don’t overlook even the smallest detail.”

***

[Exterminate the ant nest. Time remaining: 7 hours 38 minutes.]

Twenty minutes of fruitless searching passed, with the annoying hammering of the ants against the iron door all we had to show for it. Unfortunately, despite thoroughly scouring the vast cavern, we hadn’t discovered anything of significance.

Doubt began to creep into my mind.

Is this not the boss room?

Though Doppy had led us here, that didn’t eliminate the possibility of another, more important, room.

Damn it. Let me try one last thing before leaving.

Enough time had passed for my mana to partially recover, on top of the mana I had absorbed from defeating the ants earlier. Drawing on about half of my remaining mana, the dim cave began to glow with an electric blue light once more. I channeled all my frustration from the fruitless search, then unleashed it as a bolt of lightning at the spot where the cocoon had vanished.

BOOM!

With a deafening roar, the ant nest trembled violently as if an earthquake had struck. The ground beneath us began to collapse, the soil sinking and widening into a hole that grew larger with each passing moment.

“Ugh!”

“Doppy!”

Not knowing how big it would get, I instinctively grabbed Doppy and stepped back two paces. Before long, a sinkhole about three meters in diameter formed at the epicenter of my strike.

I cautiously approached the edge and peered into the darkness below, although I saw nothing but a pitch-black void. Creating a hole like this on a whim left me slightly unsettled.

Do I have to descend into this hole for the hidden mission?

During my pondering, a notification appeared.

Ding!

[A new optional hidden mission ‘Secrets of the Ant Nest’ has been unlocked by opening the hidden passage.]

[Optional hidden missions are typically more challenging than standard hidden missions.]

[Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok may choose to proceed directly to the forty-third floor without completing the optional hidden mission ‘Secrets of the Ant Nest.’]

[However, successfully completing the hidden mission ‘Secrets of the Ant Nest’ will be considered as having conquered the forty-third floor.]

An optional hidden mission...

It had been a while since I encountered one—over twenty floors in fact. Come to think of it, it seemed like I found an optional hidden mission every twenty floors. Did the tower do this deliberately?

[If you wish to forgo the optional hidden mission and ascend to the forty-third floor, say ‘Waiting Room.’ Time remaining: 0 minutes 10 seconds.]

[If you forgo the hidden mission, you will be sent to the waiting room after exterminating the remaining ants.]

Though the notification offered an easier alternative, I had no intention of giving up. The forty-second floor had felt underwhelming so far. I wanted something more.

Plus, even if the optional hidden mission was exceptionally difficult, I wasn’t particularly worried. After all, I had a swordmaster by my side.

I calmly waited for ten seconds to pass.

[The optional hidden mission ‘Secrets of the Ant Nest’ will commence shortly. Eliminate the remaining ants in the nest and proceed underground.]

Interesting. The tower didn’t require me to descend into the sinkhole immediately. It seemed the forty-second floor’s trial wasn’t entirely finished yet.

That made sense—other optional hidden missions had only activated after clearing the floor’s original trial. Since I had skipped directly to the queen’s chamber without eliminating the rest of the nest, the tower didn’t consider the floor conquered.

Turning toward the iron door, I prepared to face the remaining ants. Plenty of time had passed, and the door was shaking violently, as if it would collapse at any moment.

How many of them are gathered out there?

When I entered the queen’s chamber earlier, I had already spotted hundreds of ants. Considering the ants in other paths, they could easily number in the thousands.

How should I handle this?

After a moment’s consideration, I approached the door.

“Doppy, stay alert. Prepare a barrier just in case.”

“Okay!”

Drawing lightning into my right hand, I activated Flash Strike before unlocking the door. As soon as I released the latch, the door began to open on its own, likely forced open by the weight of the ants outside.

The crushed corpse of an ant greeted me in slow motion, flying slowly but surely through the air toward me.

Perhaps due to the queen’s death—or maybe because they were just that unintelligent—the ants had crowded and trampled over each other, crushing those at the front under their relentless advance.

I took a few steps back as the door opened wider, spilling mangled, barely recognizable ant corpses into the chamber. Behind the pile of bodies, a wave of partially crushed ants on the brink of death was being pushed forward against their will.

Exhaling deeply, I unleashed the lightning I had accumulated as I conjured dozens of shadow spears to block the door.

“Krrkk!”

“Kreee!”

The spears immediately skewered the frontmost ants. Yet, undeterred by the carnage ahead, the swarm behind continued to push forward, oblivious to their fate. The mass continued surging forward, impaling themselves on the spears.

Some ants managed to launch spells before dying, but I dodged them easily.

Are worker ants just not that intelligent?

I saw no need to resummon the shadow spears, as the impaled ants were crushed under the weight of those behind them. Sticky bodily fluids and shattered exoskeletons spilled out around the spears.

“Haaa...” Ryun sighed, echoing my own sentiments.

The scene playing out before us was pitiable. An ignorant horde throwing themselves to slaughter. Though they desired to kill me and I had created the spears, the mindless massacre disheartened me.

As time passed, the number of ants dwindled. Finally, only a few remained, which I quickly eliminated.

[Congratulations. Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok has conquered the forty-second floor of the Tower of Ordeal: Ant Nest. Achievement points will be calculated.]

[Time remaining: 6 hours 57 minutes. Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok has exterminated every ant, defeated the queen ant in a single strike, and completed the hidden mission ‘I Don’t Need a Key.’]

[Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok has been awarded 7,821. Total achievement points: 75,284.]

[The optional hidden mission ‘Secrets of the Ant Nest’ will now commence. Descend underground.]

With the forty-second floor officially cleared, I stood with Doppy at the edge of the sinkhole. Three meters in diameter, it revealed only a void of impenetrable darkness below. There were no ladders, ropes, or even footholds to assist the descent.

Hmm, should I just jump?

I had Kashatum's Sky Shoes, so I wouldn’t fall to my death. Still, I couldn’t help but wonder.

How would others be expected to enter this hole? Is it just a portal disguised as a sinkhole?

Perhaps descending would transport me to another world. Right now, that seemed like the most plausible explanation to me, because otherwise, how would the tower expect a climber to survive?

Well, no point overthinking it.

My decision was simple: jump and figure it out on the way down. By extending my senses and scanning for the ground, I could safely land using my double jump if needed.

“Doppy.”

“Wha-what? Su-Yeok! Are you seriously thinking of jumping?”

“You already guessed, didn’t you?”

Reluctantly, Doppy nodded, his expression a mix of resignation and fear. At least he wasn’t complaining this time. As I beckoned to him, he obediently climbed into my arms.

Cradling him securely, I leaped into the sinkhole.

“AAAAHHHHH!” Doppy’s terrified scream echoed as we plummeted into the void.

***

「Invisible message: Challenger Kwon Su-Hyeok has completed the hidden mission ‘I Don’t Need a Key.’ Agility increased by 4.」