Li-Xeng's Point of View
11TH FLOOR – SEVERAL MONTHS AGO
"I was never a confident person.
Even though I had managed to survive all the way to the eleventh floor, it had never been entirely because of my own merits.
Before being sent to the Tower, I had lived in a relatively peaceful universe.
A world where technology was used to fight hordes of demons. I worked for a guild as a healer, and I had strong people by my side, which meant I had never really lost a battle in that world.
And in the Tower, it was much the same.
I met Douglas, and we put our group together in such a way that we conquered the first ten floors without much trouble.
I had experience as a healer, but I hardly ever needed to do much because of the strength of my companions.
I didn't like fighting. I was very grateful that I had become a healer.
I don't know if I would ever have had the courage to cut a demon in half.
I had always been somewhat cowardly and hesitant about everything.
When I was young, I was pressured to be the best student in school. My father was a famous surgeon from Beijing, and the pressure to become a doctor worthy of his reputation never allowed me to have fun or make friends.
I spent my adolescence studying. All I wanted was to have my own freedom so I could do whatever I wanted, but I had eventually accepted that my life would be that of a robot programmed to study and satisfy the wishes of my parents and society.
Without money, you were nothing.
That was what most people believed.
But I didn't.
I prayed to God to free me from that meaningless cycle. I didn't care about much. I just wanted to be able to make my own choices.
Then the Calamity happened.
Before I knew it, I had been swept away and found myself in a vast field surrounded by ancient structures and primitive technology, almost like a retropunk setting.
I thought I had died, and for a moment, I felt relieved.
I had escaped all those obligations and the pain of having to follow a destiny forced upon me by a hypocritical and materialistic society.
But when I discovered the truth about that world, I no longer knew whether I hated the real world and the rat race I had been forced into as much as I thought I did.
You had to kill to survive.
I was saved by a swordswoman who taught me everything there was to learn about that world.
She told me that several other people had arrived just like I had, each possessing certain gifts that could be used as 'powers' to help save that world.
I was given a staff that allowed me to use protective and healing abilities.
At first, I thought I must have been in a coma. There was no way I could have been thrown into some RPG isekai and ended up as a cleric.
But the pain, fear, and anxiety I felt were just as real as they had been in my previous world.
I tried to wake myself from that dream, but it was impossible.
Little by little, I became accustomed to the routine of venturing into dungeons with my group.
I had finally obtained the freedom I had always wanted, even if it was in a chaotic world where the slightest mistake could lead to someone's death.
I lost several companions during our expeditions. I faced surreal demons straight out of a Lovecraftian fantasy.
But even though I was afraid and insecure, I began to consider that place better than my previous world.
If I became stronger, I wouldn't mind staying there.
I didn't know why I had been summoned, but there, I had a purpose.
And I could be myself.
The ironic part was that I had become a healer.
I don't know if it had anything to do with the fact that I had studied medicine...
But somehow, that karma had followed me.
I genuinely tried my best to help my group.
There were other people there who had come from 'my world'. None of them remembered anything that had happened before.
My last memory was falling asleep while studying the human brain.
My father was a neurosurgeon.
Despite harboring a certain amount of hatred and resentment toward him for all the time he had forced me to waste studying, I truly admired him.
He had never failed in a surgery and always said that he did it to save others.
But then why didn't he want to save me?
I had thought about taking my own life several times because of that unbearable pressure.
I didn't want to become a doctor.
But now I was a 'healer'.
The difference was that I did it to survive and to genuinely help others.
When I saw the other classes, I thanked God for making me a healer.
I really couldn't have been an assassin or stood on the front lines facing those demons.
I had begun to understand the value of 'healing'.
But deep down, I wanted to be more useful.
Saving lives was something I should be proud of. People had told me that many times.
When I was transported from that world back to the real world and found myself facing the Tower and the 'end of humanity', that was when I realized that I still had a long way to go.
Once again, I was lucky enough to find strong people.
God had always been protecting me.
The prayers I had whispered during those late nights of studying had not been in vain.
But I began to feel that I couldn't allow myself to become complacent.
The stronger the group became, the more I had to prove my own worth.
With every battle, I tried to heal faster, create shields, protections, buffs...
I couldn't stop..."
Even though communication was still my weak point, everyone was kind to me.
I thought I could keep going like that until the end of the Tower and that we would save the world.
But the 11th floor showed me the cruel reality.
For the first time, we encountered enemies we couldn't handle easily, and I was unable to do anything.
We lost many friends on that floor.
My ONLY role was to protect everyone.
And I failed.
I wasn't a warrior.
I wasn't a mage.
I wasn't an assassin.
It was my fault.
I was responsible for failing to protect Ralf and the others.
How could I possibly deserve to be part of the 'strongest group'?
How could Douglas accept someone like me...?
After that day, I realized that my progression had slowed down.
I was still helping the group, but my level was increasing at a much slower pace than before.
Even though everyone told me it wasn't my fault, deep down, I knew that if I had been stronger, I could have saved Ralf and the others.
But I'm still alive, even after everything.
Even after climbing thirty floors, I'm still alive.
So why give up?
I promised myself that I would redeem myself for what happened on the 11th floor.
And I thought that now was the moment.
But was I still the same weak Li-Xeng I had always been?
It hurt so much.
Those spears pierced my organs and tore through my flesh.
When I realized what was happening, my body was sprawled across the ground, and all I could hear were Natasha's furious screams.
I...
I'm still weak.
Natasha's Point of View
No way! Li-Xeng is dead? No, no!
I started crying as I swung my sword at those damned demons.
I managed to decapitate the two demons that had grabbed Li-Xeng, but then the President struck me and sent me flying backward.
I tried to get back up, but when I looked ahead, I felt the tip of his spear pass close to my face, lightly cutting my cheek.
I took several steps backward, moving my sword as it clashed against the bastard's spear.
By instinct, I was able to keep up with the demon's attacks even though he was faster than me.
Then I noticed another knight behind me.
I waited for the President to swing his sword and used the momentum of his attack to leap backward, channeling mana into my feet.
The slash struck the demon coming from behind me, blowing him apart and sending his organs flying everywhere.
"If that attack had hit me, there wouldn't have been anything left of me either."
Before I could land, the demonic President followed me through the air and kicked me, sending my body crashing several meters away.
Thanks to my constitution and defense, I managed to prevent my bones from breaking.
Any one of those attacks would have killed a 'normal' person instantly, but Returners gained several attributes as they leveled up.
Even though my level was relatively high, I still felt the pain, and I was already bleeding heavily.
When I tried to regain my stance and counterattack, the demon was already behind me.
His spear pierced part of my shoulder, tearing away a chunk of flesh.
I let out a shrill scream and waited for Li-Xeng to heal me.
But then the realization struck me again.
He was dead.
"There's no way we can win."
I had already used part of my mana and strength against the others.
And this demon...
Even though he's the President, why is he so strong?
I turned around and used all my strength to strike him, gripping my sword with both hands.
But he blocked it with just one hand.
Had we misjudged the level of these demons?
No.
Li-Xeng would never make a mistake like that!
I tried to pull away, but the demon kicked me in the stomach, forcing me to my knees and making me vomit as I dropped my sword.
It's over.
I'm going to die.
Even after coming this far...
Even after finding the strongest group...
I wouldn't be able to see my brother.
I wouldn't be able to climb any higher.
I desperately tried to remember what my life had been like before the Tower, but I couldn't.
My memories had been hazy ever since I reached the 32nd floor.
Why was I...
climbing this Tower in the first place?
But none of that mattered anymore.
If you die, everything becomes meaningless.
"Do you have any regrets?"
The demon's voice had changed.
He sounded more serious now, and his voice was strangely human.
I raised my head, glaring at him angrily as blood dripped from my mouth.
I spat in his demonic face while his human-like eyes stared back at me with contempt.
"Am I really going to die to this...?"
Frustration and despair.
Those were the only things I could feel.
I watched him raise his spear, preparing to deliver the final blow.
But when it struck my chest, I didn't feel it pierce me.
When I realized what had happened, the spear had stopped just before reaching my skin, which was covered by a thin bluish layer.
My eyes widened.
I grabbed my fallen sword and poured all my mana into my hands.
Then I drove the blade into the demon's stomach, lifting his body off the ground.
In a fit of rage, I began swinging my sword wildly, dragging the blade through his abdomen as a viscous purple liquid spilled from his body along with several coils of intestines.
I realized that my strength had increased.
And when I looked ahead, I saw Li-Xeng leaning against a rock, one hand extended, emanating a blue-golden aura.
"He's alive...?"
I couldn't think about it.
I just needed to defeat the demon.
I used all my strength, pulled the sword from his body, and swung it violently, cutting him in half.
The demon seemed unable to react.
He hadn't expected the counterattack.
"This boy... I should have focused on him."
Those were the last words he spoke before his upper body, sliced cleanly in half, collapsed onto the dirt.
"Li-Xeng!"
I looked toward him and ran over.
"You..."
When I looked at his body, his injuries appeared severe.
Yet somehow, he managed to stand.
"I... I'm sorry for worrying you. I had to use my trump card. I realized the only way to kill that guy was to make him think I was dead and then lower his guard. I waited for the exact right moment."
"B-but how did you survive that?"
I remembered seeing two spears pierce his body near his heart!
"I told you. I have my own trump card too. It's an ability that allows me to conceal my vital organs for thirty seconds."
"I waited for the attacks and activated it at that moment. It still hurt like hell. It still hurts so much that I feel like I'm going to pass out... but it was the only way."
"You could have gotten the timing wrong. Then what?"
"Then I would have died, haha..."
Li-Xeng scratched his head with an awkward smile.
He really was part of the strongest group.
"Wait, there's still one more!"
There was another demon left.
He had lost one of his legs and was dragging himself away, trying to escape our sight.
We ran after him.
I grabbed my sword, but Li-Xeng stopped me before I could kill him.
"Wait! He might be able to tell us something."
"Prr... prr... don't kill..."
The demon turned around while still lying on the ground, desperately begging for his life as he looked at me.
Somehow, for a brief moment, I felt a trace of humanity in him.
And that made my chest begin to ache.
Then I looked at Li-Xeng.
His face was pale, his expression filled with shock.
"You... you're one of the heroes from the group on the 11th floor, aren't you?"
"I... Li... the Organization..."
Before he could finish his sentence, his body suddenly exploded.
His organs and purple blood splattered across both of us.