Floor 7: The Eerie Forest and the Mad Tiger-Men (5)

The forest was no longer eerie. Through Heijeong's eyes, the woods pulsed with vibrant life.

There ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was no sign of the Tiger-Men anywhere.

Instead, unfamiliar birds of some exotic land chirped and chattered, and the drone of insects filled the air. The ground that had been so treacherous before now held our footing firm and sure. It was as varied and pleasant as some resort getaway.

So what on earth was that eerie forest we'd walked through earlier?

Had we been caught in some kind of illusion?

Hardly — flecks of mud still clung to the backs of our legs. Traces left behind by our desperate flight.

It was enough to make a ghost weep.

"Dad! Look at this! It's so cute, isn't it?"

"Well, would you look at that. What an adorable little thing. First time seeing a bird like this — maybe because we're not on Earth?"

"Probably. It doesn't look like any Earth animal I know."

There was a change in our party, too: Seo Harin, who had been so guarded around us, had opened up and become chatty.

She stuck close to Dad's side, clutching his big hand tightly in hers, chattering away nonstop.

"Unnie! There's something like a rabbit over there!"

"That looks more like a giant rat than a rabbit. A nutria, maybe."

"What?! A rat? Ugh……"

"Eek! A goblin! Can we eat it?!"

And it wasn't just Dad she was talking to. She kept striking up conversation with the rest of us, too.

Watching the bright, energetic nineteen-year-old, Harin's, newfound cheer, Dad and I exchanged warm smiles.

It was actually pretty cute. The whole party's mood had brightened because of it.

Seeing the party so lively stirred up a strange new feeling in me.

It had always been just me and Dad doing the talking before…… Even our topics of conversation were all fantasy-wuxia stuff, because of him. What about the Heavenly Demon… what about the Border Marquis…

Hm. This is way better.

Having poured her heart out earlier, Harin had apparently shed most of her distance from the group. Or maybe she was deliberately acting cheerful because she'd nearly lost her father.

"Oh! What's this?"

"Looks like a poisonous mushroom?"

Well, either way, it wasn't a bad thing.

Seizing the moment when everyone's eyes were elsewhere, I whispered to Heijeong.

"Your stake is at 21%. Are you okay with that?"

"Twenty-one percent? The pre-sponsorship ate up 20% of it?"

"Yeah. The Master of Five Wheels only took 1%."

"Twenty percent, huh… that's a lot, but at your current rate it's not a huge problem. You can pay it off later. You'll find out all about it in the Waiting Room anyway."

The Waiting Room? Apparently the sponsorship system opened once Floor 7 was cleared.

In that case, I could just get the explanation there……

"Is where we're headed now another hidden mission?"

"No, not a hidden mission — a hidden room. You found a hidden room on Floor 2, remember? It's like that."

"Hmm, so is some brute like Karakshi going to pop out?"

"No, there are no enemies. It's just the Tiger King's den. There was a sword there — pretty decent, actually."

A sword? Easy — that one goes to Dad.

Maces suited me far better than swords, and I already had my lightning mace besides, so I had ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠no real need for one.

"I was planning to give the sword to Dad. That okay?"

"Yeah, a mace suits me better than a sword anyway."

"Besides, we might never have found it without Dad. In the first timeline we only stumbled on it by chance after killing the King."

"Right, you did say you had no idea where it was. So you did manage to take down the King in the first timeline, then?"

"Yeah. It was a brutal fight. We lost half the party. That's when I realized your close-combat talent was absolutely insane."

Oh? That was news to me. So I'd started standing out as early as Floor 7?

Wait a second — didn't the Seraphim swarm me on Floor 6, too?

"Huh? Not Floor 6?"

"No, on Floor 6 you were a mage, so you stayed protected and just slung spells. Nobody really noticed. When the Queen showed up, everyone was too busy running for their lives."

Hm. Fair enough — the Queen had been stronger than the King of the Tiger-Men.

That reminded me of a question I'd had about Floor 7. We'd cleared it now, so no harm in asking, right?

"So what was the deal with the sacrifice?"

"It goes on until only one party member is left. If you can't kill the King, only one out of six gets to climb."

Only one out of six gets to go up?

Wasn't that way too harsh? Any other ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠party would have been slaughtered one after another.

"Ah, right — Floor 7 is the trap floor. If you'd faced the King from the start, it wouldn't have been that hard. Even with the other Tiger-Men around, it would've been six against one."

"So we were never supposed to run away."

"Exactly. For a typical party, you'd expect to lose about four of six before taking the King down."

"That doesn't mean your judgment was wrong, though. Not knowing how strong the King was, it was the obvious choice. It's an adventure — these things happen."

I nodded. The Tower had always been an untrustworthy entity, after all.

Hadn't I learned that on Floor 4? Every choice ultimately came down to me.

It wasn't the straightforward way of clearing a floor, but during those three hours of pursuit, our whole party had grown a great deal.

Even if I could go back, I'd make the same choice again.

"Oh, and one more thing I've been thinking about — your weapon. Suhyeok, back in the day you didn't carry a shield, you know? So maybe that's why the shield feels ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a little off to you?"

"I didn't carry a shield?"

"Nope. You were a bit more aggressive, more dynamic. Now that I think about it, I bet it's because of the shield."

Hm. She had a point.

My attack patterns were simple: reliably block with the shield, then counter with the mace.

"How about trying to fight without the shield? No pressure, of course," Heijeong added carefully.

Fighting without a shield, huh.

Come to think of it, I hadn't used a shield on Floor 1.

What was it like back then? Was I a little more aggressive?

Definitely — I was more aggressive, and my patterns were more varied.

Or rather, they had to be, didn't they?

With no way to defend, I had no choice but to move more, sprinting around in search of favorable ground.

Killing them before they could attack beat dodging every time.

Of course, the shield was certainly reliable. I'd gotten pretty comfortable fighting with it, too.

But it didn't feel like my combat instincts were growing much.

Block, swing. It felt mechanical, somehow.

There were surely ways to fight more fluidly even with a shield, but……

Well, giving it a shot at least once couldn't hurt.

I did need a little more stimulus for growth.

Not that I'm not plenty strong as it is.

But there was nothing wrong with getting stronger to climb higher and clear more of the Tower.

Without a means of defense, the odds were good I'd sharpen into something far deadlier.

"You said you fought with a staff in the first timeline?"

"Yeah. Not just the staff, though — sometimes a one-handed axe, a sword, a mace. Two hands, after all."

"You never stuck with just one?"

"Not really? You used to say every weapon had its own flavor. Hmm……"

"Then wouldn't a staff be the weapon that suits me best after all?"

Heijeong, who'd been sifting through her memories, froze in shock and glared at me.

No, why a staff?

I wasn't talking about a magic staff. You know, that… iron rod? Surely there was something like that.

Apparently my choice of the mage class had left Heijeong with some deep trauma.

"Don't even think about it."

"Come on, Heijeong. Not a magic staff. You know, that rod-shaped weapon made of iron? Ah, right — a Ruyi staff! Something like that."

"Nooo. I did crack some skulls with the staff, but mostly I swung other weapons."

Hm, was that so? I felt a twinge of regret.

Honestly, wielding something like a Ruyi staff and then channeling the Essence of Lightning would have felt properly mage-like……

Granted, when I used lightning now it already felt like casting magic, but something was different. I had no staff, and I never chanted a spell.

Eh, I'd get around to trying it someday.

Suddenly, Heijeong's eyes went wide, as if something had come back to her.

"Oh, right — the axe! I think I used the axe the longest? I switched around in between, but I was still using an axe on Floor 94."

"An axe?"

"Yeah, a staff and a one-handed axe. But every time I used the axe, I'd always say something felt lacking. Never said that about the other weapons."

"Give it a try sometime, then. Maybe it was just because you were holding a staff too."

As we strolled along, trading whispers with Heijeong, a burst of excitement erupted from up ahead in the party.

"We're almost there… oh, oh! There it is! Found it!"

"It looks like a tiger's den!"

"It certainly looks the part. But why is there such an unpleasant smell coming from a tiger's den? Isn't it supposed to be their home?"

"Beats me — I can't smell anything."

Dad wrinkled his nose with a baffled expression.

It was strange. Dad had inherited the King's blood, and this cave was the King's home.

Why would he find the smell repulsive?

Especially when the rest of us couldn't smell anything at all.

"Let's go in for now."

We entered the cave cautiously.

The interior was pitch black with no light coming in, so Heijeong conjured a small flame.

As our vision brightened, the cave revealed itself to be nothing more than damp and gloomy — nothing special.

A few meters in, we came upon a small chamber.

The first thing I noticed was a sword planted upright in the middle of the floor.

A crimson hilt, with black lines running across it like a tiger's stripes. Beyond that, it didn't look much different from any other sword.

At the notification that floated up, Heijeong let out a small sigh.

"Ah……"

What was that about, all of a sudden?

When I turned to her with a puzzled look, Heijeong leaned in and murmured quietly in my ear.

"When wielded by the Tiger King. I'd completely forgotten about that."

"Huh? The Tiger King? Oh!"

Dad had inherited the Tiger King's blood, hadn't he?

So then the sword's true power would only awaken when Dad wielded it?

I could understand why Heijeong hadn't remembered. It was ancient history. Who could recall an item description in that much detail?

"Dad! They say its true power comes out when the Tiger King uses it!"

"Heh heh, is that a fact……"

Dad smiled awkwardly and glanced back at me.

Since I was the party leader, he seemed to be seeking my approval.

I'd intended to give it to him anyway, but seeing him ask permission first put me in a good mood.

"It's the perfect weapon for you, sir."

"Heh heh. You really don't mind?"

"It's exactly your kind of weapon. I don't use swords anyway — and Cole uses a bow."

"I agree that it suits you best, sir."

"Heh heh heh. Thank you, everyone."

Beaming from ear to ear, Dad drew the sword from the ground.

For an instant, a faint red aura flared across the blade before settling.

"Huh?"

It had happened in such a fleeting instant that apparently nobody else had caught it.

There was no way my eyes had deceived me. Perhaps that was what "true power unleashed" meant.

"Shall we rest a bit for the time we have left? We don't see any Tiger-Men around."

"Fine by me. I actually wanted to look at the forest outside a little longer."

"What about you two, Suhyeok, Heijeong?"

"Sounds good to me?"

We'd collected the sword Heijeong had mentioned, and we had time to spare.

It wasn't a bad idea. The forest was the most peaceful scenery we'd seen since entering the Tower.

Just then, Dad — who had been twirling the sword through the air with an ecstatic look on his face — abruptly stopped mid-motion.

Sniff, sniff. He took another whiff of the air.

"Hold on. I don't think the smell is coming from here."

"What?"

Having said that, Dad kept flaring his nostrils, again and again.

Why all of a sudden? And the way he kept sniffing made him look just like a tiger.

Dad walked slowly toward a corner of the cave.

He tapped on the wall a few times, then turned back to us and called out.

"It's here!"

Dad shoved aside an enormous boulder that sat against the wall.

Wait, had there been a boulder there?

I hadn't even noticed it until he moved it.

It was clearly quite heavy. It didn't swing fully open, but through the gap where the boulder had stood, yet another chamber revealed itself.

What? Wasn't there supposed to be nothing here but a sword?

I looked at Heijeong, and she wore an equally dumbfounded expression.

"There definitely wasn't? What is this? It was the first hidden room I ever found, so I searched every corner of it."

Heijeong muttered, looking genuinely bewildered.

Wait, so she'd searched everywhere and it wasn't there?

Could it be because of Dad?

…Probably very likely, actually.

This was a chamber only the King of the Tiger-Men could find.

"Shall we go in and see?"

The chamber we entered with our questions in tow was small — maybe fifteen square meters or so.

And at its center, a strange circle had been drawn.

A grotesque hexagram, like something out of a mage's ritual.

Inside it lay a human skull, what looked like a round pill or pellet, and a double-bladed axe.

A tiger? And a bear?

Wasn't this the Dangun myth?

"Don't tell me these are our founding ancestors?"

"No."

Heijeong answered flatly.

What do you mean, no? Anybody could see it was the Dangun myth. How did the Tower even know about it?

"Do you really think we're the only planet, out of the countless worlds like Earth, that has a myth like that?"

"W-well, I suppose not, but……"

Even if the Dangun myth was really just an allegory for a tribal confederacy, wasn't this all a little too on the nose?

Even with Heijeong's denial, the suspicion wouldn't quite die.

Harin and Dad looked back and forth between us, equally flustered.

In the end, Heijeong let out a sigh and elaborated.

"Besides, it's not even the same as the actual Dangun myth. The bear got trapped and died, and the tiger went mad. One look at it and you can tell what happened: the tiger that broke free blocked the bear from ever getting out, and the enraged bear laid a curse on it."

"Still, it's just so similar—"

"Then did we really fight in the middle of downtown Seoul on Floor 6? It could just as easily be a floor the Tower built based on our own knowledge."

"What are you two talking about…?"

Cole, who knew nothing of the Dangun myth, just rolled his eyes around in bewilderment.

Hm. Was I supposed to explain the Dangun myth to him?

"Cole, in Korea there's a legend called the Dangun myth, and—"

Dad stepped in to explain for me. At his kind and patient explanation, Cole nodded along.

Watching this, Heijeong sighed, then murmured something toward the hexagram.

《……》

The moment she finished, the hexagram flickered faintly and soon vanished altogether.

She'd said earlier it was a curse — did she just dispel it? Hm. That's our Heijeong, all right.

"These are both for you, Suhyeok. That's fine, right? Let's spend the rest of our time wandering the forest."