11 A-grade waves, 1 S-grade wave.

The number of waves, completely different from before, took her breath away.

The balance was cleverly maintained.

If there was something to gain, there was also something to lose; if there were benefits, there were also hindrances that followed.

Last time, they had a wave party because she pulled well from the random box, so was it because of what she purchased from the store this time?

She suppressed the urge to dash out right away.

Even if she was criticized for being selfish, it couldn’t be helped now.

She had made her decision. To climb the tower.

No matter what vicious means she had to use, she decided to finish everything within a week.

So she could firmly protect even the handful of happiness left in her hands now.

“What should we do, Team Leader?”

Saint, who was hanging by the window, turned around with a troubled face.

Before Suji could answer, Peace opened his mouth first.

“Don’t worry about it. We’re not the parents of the hunters, and we should be able to handle this much. We gave them buffs and training, didn’t we?”

“…That’s true, but with an S-grade, it won’t be easy to deal with.”

Saint muttered with worried eyes.

Suji turned her gaze to where Saint was looking.

Although not visible from here, officials must be quickly dispatching to the scene to face the monsters.

‘It’s okay. As Peace said, we’ll manage somehow. The number of waves is high, but there’s only one S-grade…’

Suji tried to think that way, but the inertia of being the first to rush to the scene whenever something like this happened was not gone.

The thought of inevitable damage made her dizzy.

The sight of spilled blood unfolded before her eyes.

Just as Suji was trying to shake off the thoughts, the terminal rang again.

This time, it was a call from the dedicated manager, not a wave alert.

“Hello?”

– Hello, Ms. Daphne! This is your dedicated manager, Kim Hayoung! Based on the current time, Ms. Daphne’s vital signs are fine, but your stress levels are not good!

Suji couldn’t help but laugh at the manager’s voice, which was exceptionally cheerful even in this situation.

When Aunt Yeonju was in charge of management, Suji thought there was no one better than her aunt, but now she thought it might be more comfortable to have an expert she didn’t know directly.

“Did you call because of the waves? But I can’t dispatch right now…”

– Ah, there’s a message that Ms. Creusa asked me to relay to you!

“What did she say?”

– She said you can block A-grade waves with your feet, so there’s nothing to worry about.

Suji burst out laughing as Manager Kim Hayoung suddenly imitated the way of speaking exactly.

She never thought she could laugh in a situation where there was a goal she had to clear within a week and 12 waves had occurred.

Hearing the reassuring message from Aunt Yeonju seemed to naturally energize her.

Indeed. Both Knight and Creusa… Although they haven’t been on the front lines for a long time, they were both hunters who left legendary achievements.

It wouldn’t be easy for them to adapt to the field again, but just having the two of them would make things much more reliable.

Even without Team Daphne and Nature, they would handle the wave situation well.

“Thank you for relaying the message.”

– The other officials also said to watch as the dedicated area managers will take care of it this time. I think they sent messages in a hurry while preparing for dispatch.

“…I see.”

– So, are you dispatching to the S-grade gate this time as well?

Suji smiled again at the voice that deliberately confirmed once more, even after relaying such a message.

“No. I think climbing the tower is the most urgent task for me now.”

– Understood.

It took quite a bit of courage for Suji to say those words, but the answer that came back was simple enough to be bland.

– Please let me know anytime if there’s anything I can help with. If there’s any support the headquarters can provide, please also let me know.

“Okay.”

Suji was about to end the call but gripped the terminal again.

“You know, Hayoung.”

– Yes, go ahead.

“If Knight said those guys are still locked up, but gates have newly opened, there must be guys from 〈Messiah〉 near the locations where the gates opened. Could you check on that for me?”

Hayoung seemed to be taking notes, as the sound of keyboard clicking was heard before she answered.

– I’m glad there’s a way the headquarters can assist you. Knight is probably already taking care of it, but my colleagues and I will also provide support. We’ll make sure to catch them even if we have to check all the CCTV footage.

Suji felt energized by the enthusiastic voice.

‘I’m not doing this with my strength alone. Everyone is helping out.’

The officials were hunters who truly volunteered for the sake of the country without seeking their own benefit. Hayoung, who was working as a dedicated manager, was probably the same.

Suji hoped the efforts of good people would bear proper fruit.

“I’m counting on you.”

After ending the call, Suji summoned the sword engraved with the pattern of the Night Crest and gripped it.

It was time to climb the tower again to the 85th floor.

Unlike the promise to designate Nature as bait, even after killing the boss monster on the 85th floor and waiting for a while, there was no sign of a rift opening.

Thanks to that, the party had plenty of time to review their strategy for half a day.

‘It’s taking longer than I thought.’

It couldn’t be helped since they didn’t make an appointment with the monsters.

However, they had to respond immediately if a rift appeared, so they couldn’t comfortably rest and wait.

Maintaining a certain level of tension while holding weapons and waiting for an event with no set time was truly unbearable.

Suji went over the 100th-floor strategy Elaine had shared in her head and ran simulations several times until she felt drained.

As Suji was stretching in place to change her mood, Peace broke the long silence and spoke.

“Were our kids… safe?”

Although the others didn’t understand what he meant, Elaine, who had been sitting in front of the 〈Breathing Fire〉 warming herself, raised her head as if she realized he was talking to her.

“You’re bringing up something from a long time ago now.”

Peace asked again.

“Since you saw everything, including the safe key, I decided to believe it. That you died and lived once more.”

“So?”

“So I’m asking, in the future you saw, were our kids growing up well without any incidents?”

Elaine, who was usually half-hearted when dealing with Peace or Saint, now had a serious expression.

Elaine’s eyes became hazy as if recalling a memory for a moment, then she nodded.

“The two of them? They were safe. Safe and doing well.”

“Do they seem to be eating well? What about clothes?”

“Clothes?”

“Do they wear clean clothes? Do they wash their faces?”

“You prepared for everything to the point where there’s nothing to worry about. What are you worrying about again?”

Peace opened his mouth as if he wanted to ask something more but closed it tightly.

Then, he lowered his gaze while fiddling with the 10-tier longbow Suji had newly gifted him.

Suji stopped pacing and approached Peace, tapping his shoulder.

“Peace.”

“Yes, Team Leader?”

“It will turn out well.”

“It probably will.”

Suji looked at Peace again and spoke emphatically.

“Peace. We will make it out of here alive, and the contingency plans you’ve made will become useless. It will be time wasted for nothing. Do you understand?”

Peace, who had been fiddling with the bowstring, slowly raised his head.

He didn’t look gloomy as she thought.

He just seemed deep in thought.

“I think death is something that can happen anytime. I invested all the money I earned and prepared for the kids’ future. But… preparing for that future is pointless now.”

“That’s right.”

“That part is fine. But the kids are doing well, you know.”

“…What?”

As Suji tilted her head to the side, not fully understanding Peace’s words, Saint chimed in from behind, twitching his rabbit ears.

“Peace is bothered by the fact that in the future Elaine saw, he died before reaching the 100th floor of the tower.”

Suji let out an “Ah” in exclamation.

Indeed.

If he died fighting ‘Messiah,’ would he have had a proper funeral? Elaine wouldn’t have had a chance to see the faces of Peace’s children.

Suji glanced at Elaine.

Even if it became a heavy topic, she had to know what she needed to know.

“On which floor did Peace die?”

Peace waved his bow as if in protest.

“No, are you asking that in front of me now?”

“What Elaine saw is just one story.”

Everyone looked at her in silence at Suji’s decisive definition.

In fact, they all knew that it was impossible to conquer this daunting tower within a week, even though they had gathered here to climb it.

Even when Suji gifted them new weapons, there was no spirit like when they first saw the 10-tier weapons.

“I think like this. The Daphne there is not me, and the Peace there is not Peace. What does it matter what happened to an existence whose memories don’t match ours?”

This was Suji’s opinion.

Not because she wanted to think that way, but because she genuinely believed so.

“That Daphne despaired, the Peace there died in the tower, and Saint… couldn’t even confess to the person he likes, right?”

“Wh-why are you mentioning that?”

Saint waved his hands in denial, his eyes turning red.