43rd Floor

The Forty-Third Floor, also known as the Floor of Death, is a notorious point in the Tower. It's known as a dangerous, lawless place and also a haven for criminals and enemies of the Zahard Empire. On this Floor, the Irregular Enryu killed the Guardian of the Floor. The Floor itself is buried under the flesh and blood of the deceased Guardian, hence the very name of the Floor.

About
The 43rd Floor is a region that no-one has taken care of since its Guardian died, so it’s almost uninhabitable for ordinary people. However, there are a huge number of fugitives living on the 43rd Floor, so the Floor is considered by many to be a lawless area. Not even Rankers dare to access such a place voluntarily.

The 43rd Floor is unique for numerous reasons:
 * Enryu killed the Guardian of this Floor.
 * A massive needle-like object was found at the site of the murder.
 * As there is no Guardian, anyone can manipulate Shinsoo without a contract. However, Shinsoo is said to be very weak on this Floor.
 * In addition, all contracts and spells are nullified on this Floor due to there being no Guardian to uphold them.
 * There is no Ruler on this Floor since Rulers cannot rule without a Guardian.
 * Zahard's Princesses are banned from travelling to this Floor.
 * Regulars do not take tests here; rather they skip it and proceed to the next Floor by travelling down the "middle road".
 * D-rank Regulars can access this Floor over the Hell Express. It is a special test that enables Regulars to quickly travel to the 43rd Floor. Unlike other Floors, there is no station for the Hell Express here.
 * According to Emily, Regulars aboard the Hell Express need a human sacrifice to enter this Floor. This is later proven to be false as you need to be 'dead' or lose your soul to pass through normally.
 * According to Hockney, at the end of the numerous paths that lead into the 43rd Floor are gigantic monsters known as "Gatekeepers" (문지기라, munjigila) who devour anyone that tries to enter the Floor; fighting them is akin to a death wish.
 * According to Evan Edrok, a Guide's abilities are diminished on this Floor. While his appear to be, other guides seem to remain competent there.

It is also subject to many rumours.

Geography

 * South City (사우스 시티):
 * Red Fortress (붉은 성)a place where Hell Joe dwells.
 * North City (노스 시티): Garam Zahard hides there.

Life support system
As the Shinsoo is very thin in the inner part of the Floor, the Guardian's blood, highly concentrated in Shinsoo, is poured inside, through a complex and intricate system of pipes, partially built upon the blood vessels of the dead Guardian.

Gatekeepers
Different kinds of monsters prevent outsiders from entering the Floor of Death. Among them, those are classified as Watchmen, Eye Bugs and the Giant Leeches.

Gatekeepers are divided into a systematic legion of explorers, eye bugs, and leeches. When an explorer gets killed, the lightbulb inside it comes out to buy time for the eye bugs to pinpoint the location of the intruders, which then calls the leech gatekeepers to the enemies’ location. The leech gatekeepers don’t have souls, thus they are unable to die no matter how much an individual attack them.

Eventually, should an intruder reach the Hall of the Floor of Death, which grants access to the inner part of the Floor of Death, one must offer his or her soul to The High-Leech Monk.

Known Residents

 * It is rumoured Garam Zahard is hiding here. This is true.
 * Anak Zahard claims that she used to live here in order to hide from the Zahard Empire that was trying to kill her.
 * Anak also claims that during the time she lived here, she met Garam Zahard.
 * David Hockney is a native and used to live on this Floor.
 * Mata is an inhabitant.

Notes and Trivia

 * As the Floor is largely composed of a decomposing corpse, giant bugs are one of its specific features.

Navigation
Piso 43