Several people on the steps between the 10th and 20th began to complain about the same thing. The pressure they felt was becoming heavier, making each step feel like lifting a multiplied burden. Their faces tightened, and their breaths grew more labored.
"The pressure here... is incredible," murmured one climber, bending his body to stabilize his breathing. Meanwhile, a young woman was forced to stop for a moment, her hands gripping her knees as she struggled not to give up.
Elsewhere, far below, Hana sat calmly in the monitoring room. She observed the progress of the climbers through her Protector panel, which emitted a soft blue light.
[Protector of the Ascension Stairs]
- Protector: Hana
- Rank: -
- Climber List: (Budi), (Bianka), (Cold-Blooded Assassin), (Eastern Prince), …
