The moment the system's final message ended, the Rankers began to disperse everywhere.
However, in the meantime, Kael and Hans, the only two Climbers in this place, were still standing still.
To be more precise, Kael was the one standing still, and the protagonist, unable to do anything else, could only stand there with him.
Right now, he had no intention of doing anything.
He had too many things to think about.
For example, the plan that he had spent so much time thinking about to be able to finish the 20th floor, and become the MVP together with Hans.
However, even if Kael's plan had a flaw, what else could he do?
The move had already been made.
And there was no way to go back.
Lost in his own thoughts, Kael was only pulled back to reality when Hans Varun tapped him on the shoulder.
"Hey Kael, what should we do now?"
Even though he was a regressor, Hans had no information about the 20th floor of the Tower.
It wasn't because some of his memories were sealed like the system had said.
It was because in his previous life, he hadn't participated in the raid on that floor, and he didn't have the time to find out what the 20th floor was all about.
Thanks to the protagonist's outside influence, Kael woke up.
But very quickly, he frowned.
"What should we do, huh?"
To be honest, just like Hans, Kael didn't have much information about the 20th floor.
The reason was because… he had skipped the plot too much, not paying attention to the content, setting, or dialogue of each character.
But unlike him, Kael could still vaguely remember what had happened on this floor, and in the past few days, he had also spent a lot of time recovering his memories.
Based on what he successfully recalled, the boss of this floor - Doom Bringer, did not appear from nature.
Quite the opposite.
Here, a child was forced to participate in many inhumane experiments, to the point that even an adult could not bear it.
And then, on the 5th day, during an experiment, an extremely fatal mistake occurred.
It could not be fixed.
And that was also the day that the child turned into a disgusting Tower Creature.
The day Doom Bringer was born, and then brought destruction to everything in its sight.
But the problem was… as he said earlier, he couldn't remember where that child was.
And that was why Kael had bought [Letter to the Past], willing to pay a heavy price.
His plan was simple, but at the same time, it was also cruel.
He would wait until the 5th day passed, and that was when Doom Bringer appeared.
At that time, Kael would definitely know its exact location, and so he would use this Artifact he had just bought, sending the information he had found to his past self.
And then, everything would truly begin.
But, in exchange for that, all the Rankers in this timeline would most likely be killed.
Kael didn't know what would happen in this timeline if he did that, but he had a feeling that if Hans knew about his plan, he wouldn't agree.
So, all of that was top secret, even more so than a national one.
He took a deep breath, then looked straight into the protagonist's eyes without hesitation.
"W-What's wrong?" He asked, feeling a little surprised by Kael's sudden change in attitude.
"From now on, I'll be working alone. You don't need to follow me anymore. On this floor, do whatever you want."
Hans was stunned.
"…What did you just say?"
He felt as if he had just lost something very precious.
An indescribable emotion suddenly welled up in his heart.
Hans took a step forward, but in return, Kael took a step back coldly.
It had been obvious from the start, but the protagonist had only just realized it now.
Kael was a strange and mysterious person, and always came up with equally unreasonable ideas.
Even if Hans Varun was a regressor, someone who had lived a whole life, he still couldn't read his friend.
"Did I do something wrong?"
"…It's not your fault, Hans. And of course it's not my fault either."
"In that case…"
Kael cut through:
"But, it might be more appropriate for me to complete the 20th floor's mission alone. So, as I said before, we'll part ways here for now."
With that, without giving the protagonist a chance to say anything more, Kael turned around and left, blending into the crowd, and completely disappearing.
Leaving Hans, who still didn't understand the whole story, there alone.
***
It had been four days since the 20th floor's mission had been given, and during these days, Kael's life could be summed up in a single word:
Boring.
Every day, he only repeated the same things: Sleep, wake up, eat, live, and spend money.
Yes, spend money.
Unlike everyone else, he knew that most of the people who entered the 20th floor would be killed, and Kael would probably be among those who wouldn't survive.
If his end in this timeline was death, then why would he need to save money?
Kael would rather live a carefree life, enjoying everything to the fullest before that moment came, than die with a pile of money left.
But even after doing everything, he still didn't feel any joy or excitement.
Was it because he had enjoyed everything alone?
Who knew.
But no matter what, that time had come.
In just a few hours, Doom Bringer would be born, bringing destruction to the entire 20th floor.
From the second floor of an old inn, he looked out the window, watching the people laughing and joking happily on the street.
Little did they know that their deaths were approaching.
"It's time for me to go."
Kael put on a coat, and headed to the top of the clock tower - the highest point in the city, simply because it would give him a panoramic view.
It would also be easier to determine Doom Bringer's location from here.
Below, many people were pointing and gossiping about him.
They all thought Kael was a madman who wanted to commit suicide.
"Gossip about me while you still can. The one you consider a madman will be the one to save you all."