Training Grounds and a Taste of Home
Early morning.
All the team members had gathered at the new training facility.
A brand-new academy built using the exact map data from Tower Escape.
The scale was slightly reduced, but the interiors were faithfully recreated down to the smallest detail.
Not just the layout of walls and furniture, but even the interior design matched perfectly.
There were even viewing areas on top of the structures where others could watch.
"So, where are we training?"
The training ground was naturally divided by floors.
Floors 3 and 7 still felt unfinished.
There were just so many indoor spaces, and the maps themselves were vast.
Go Ji-ho's choice was...
"Move to the 7th Floor academy."
"7th Floor?"
Kim Yu-na's face darkened.
Training in the 7th Floor replica meant we were heading straight to the 7th Floor on the next raid, right?
"Isn't that rushing it too much? Kang Hyun might be a monster rookie, but we've only synced up once so far..."
Alpha Team had a more horizontal structure than it appeared.
We discussed operations equally.
Go Ji-ho usually won out thanks to his special forces background, but...
Deciding which floor to tackle was especially sensitive.
As the Association's PR team set up their cameras, Go Ji-ho spoke.
"Don't you know the real treasures are on 6F and 7F?"
Thinking about it, most of my valuable loot came from 7F.
The instant-kill dagger aside—Death Priest's Ritual Tool was an exception...
The Hell's Hood that boosted my Stealth Skill and had been insanely useful.
The Eternally Burning Heart I used every meal for heating.
Both dropped from the 7F boss, the Hell Dog Handler.
The snowfield troll leather was from 6F.
Gas mask from 6F too.
The small subspace pouch from the 5F boss.
All high floors, 5F and up.
The higher you went, the quality skyrocketed.
Same in the Tower Escape game.
But Kim Yu-na wasn't objecting without reason.
"7F's risks are too high."
More hunters entered 7F than you'd think.
Treasure galore.
Grab even one, and you're set for life!
But survivors who escaped the Tower? A tiny fraction.
Anyone could enter, but escaping? Brutal.
The real issue: risks stacked.
The Tower flowed downward from higher floors.
Drained mentally, physically, low on supplies—pushing lower floors was no joke.
That's why we started safe from 5F.
"Why jump to 7F all of a sudden?"
Go Ji-ho lowered his voice to explain.
"Hunters' gear is leveling up fast. Remember those bulletproof vests from the 5F guys?"
"Yeah, those..."
High-grade vests that shrugged off 5.56mm AP rounds.
Tower-made, obviously.
"8F will fall soon. Hunting's a race against other teams. To keep going, we take calculated risks at the right time."
"Doesn't feel calculated for 7F."
"Why not?"
When Go Ji-ho pressed, Kim Yu-na stammered.
"Well... farm a bit, and goblins and orcs swarm like crazy. No direct exit, basically. 6F isn't safe either."
"That's the key. No direct exit."
7F's direct exit? Smack in a monster military base.
Practically unusable.
6F needed a special item or it wouldn't open...
5F: Beat boss, start train, race other teams.
High floors—all direct exits were nightmares.
Even 4F's endless wait felt better.
Go Ji-ho grinned.
"But 6F has a direct exit."
"Huh?"
With the right item to unlock it, 6F's was solid.
Hidden in a mine shaft...
Our team crushed indoor fights.
Thanks to Go Ji-ho and Han Ju-won.
Hell, blast every angle with grenades on entry.
Coming down from 7F, supplies would still be plentiful.
Yeah—if we had the item.
6F exit item dropped from a 7F boss.
Rare reverse-farm structure in the Tower.
7F loot was just that stacked.
"You mean... take down a 7F boss?"
"Exactly. The Eye Key dropper spawns in the massive underground mall on 7F. Barely any goblins or orcs there."
Underground boss territory.
But hunters flocked there too.
Prime farming spot.
Limited entries meant ambushes were guaranteed.
Success? Jackpot.
Unlimited 6F direct exits...
6F/7F farming stability skyrockets.
"Shake off attracted hunters, fine. But how do we kill the boss?"
Underground mall boss: Manager.
No pushover like Hell Dog Handler.
Heavy special abilities.
Go Ji-ho moved to the mall replica.
Huge, fitting "massive." Two stories, despite underground.
Dozens of shops, central escalator and plaza.
Built above ground—construction costs.
They at least covered the ceiling.
"Boss'll be up there on the second floor. Sniper hell."
Even if snipeable, no diff.
Semitransparent ghost-type with physical resistance.
Bullets barely worked.
Its attacks? Wide AoE, ignored cover.
Boss fit for trash like Tower Escape.
Counterplay: Strike during its attack. Ghost form drops briefly.
"Baiting's tricky. Lucky Ju-won's Ghost Bullet skill hits ghosted state decently. Tested on 6F underground ghosts."
"Ah... same ghost type?"
"Yep."
Other cheese: Incendiary grenades.
Weak to fire, despite ice breath.
"Pour fire from the start, end fast. Grab key, bail."
Plan thanks to Ju-won's skill match-up.
Kim Yu-na stayed cautious.
"What if it doesn't work?"
"Pull out immediately. Manager doesn't chase outside."
Last mercy for a gimmick boss.
Hellhounds? Hell to the end.
Not this one.
"...If we snag the Eye Key, it'd be great."
"Kang Hyun joining boosted our hunter detection big time. I say it's doable. But only if unanimous—no forcing."
"...I'll decide after some runs."
Sang Ha-jun spoke, others nodded.
Needed to gauge it first.
We kicked off serious training.
"This is an incendiary grenade. Smaller blast than frags—use carefully. I'll guard against other teams, skip boss fight."
Go Ji-ho's defense skills were specialized...
But boss ignored cover/defense.
Better watching our backs.
"Like this—bait... fire!"
Tat-tat-tat-tat!
Unload ghost bullets on target, cap with incendiary.
I snagged the loot quick.
"Hot!"
"Careful. Melts armor plates. Wait till fully out if risky."
"Loot won't damage?"
"Boss drops are tanky. Never seen one break."
Reps built feel.
This is why the replica.
"Exit secured... might work."
"Bail if risky, right?"
"Yeah. 7F raid—all in?"
"I'm good."
PR footage time...
Another team entered.
"Oh, Bravo? Long time."
"Good to see you, Go."
1-tier like Alpha.
Familiar face: Choi Il-hyeok.
Booted from Alpha, now Bravo.
I blinked.
"Thought you died with Beta?"
Beta wiped but leader—figured him.
"What the hell, psycho? I'm Bravo!"
Choi protested, genuinely offended.
Go Ji-ho eyed Bravo leader, smirked.
"They took you?"
"A-rank's a-rank. I handle problem kids. Alpha booked this? Looks solid."
"Yeah, we'll let you use it once."
Leaders joked...
Choi suddenly: "Mock battle?"
"What? With me?"
Go Ji-ho frowned; Choi pointed at me.
"No, me and Kang Hyun."
Mock battle—like airsoft survival.
Sudden, but fun.
Curious about other 1-tiers.
"Sounds good."
Go Ji-ho upped: "Add two more from your team."
"Way to diss Bravo."
Bravo leader scowled.
Go Ji-ho's line shifted faces.
"Kang Hyun's total skill levels beat mine."
"What? Rookie?"
"Yeah. No basics—BBs only. Might hurt."
"...You guys, go."
Bravo added two to Choi.
I got airsoft pistol, practice grenades.
"...Fuse time?"
"Bit under 5 sec."
"Feels real."
Complex 7F city sector.
Started at range.
Team watched from above.
"3v1 too much?"
"Shh, moving."
Activated Perfect Sense, crept.
Bravo spread angles, stayed tight.
Shh...
Melted into Shadow Walk.
Tossed distant glass...
Crash!
"Fake!"
"Decoy—hold."
No bite.
High detection?
Tossed pin right in front.
Clink!
Choi twitched—close one.
Pop!
Shot the gap.
Why pick a fight if this easy?
"Wha—didn't see... cheat!"
Headshot Choi stormed out, pissed.
"Over there!"
Two left.
Perfectly cooked grenade at one.
3.5 sec—no react.
Clink!
"Out!"
Last guy lasted.
I shifted, up to house 2F.
Cooked another...
Dodged pre-throw.
Suspicion confirmed.
Perfect Sense. Low level, but.
"No military background? That movement?"
Bravo leader grumbled.
"Watch Kang Hyun. Shakes, but nails his job. That's strength."
Was I shaking?
Tension.
He pulled all grenades.
Clink, clink, clink!
Bombardment.
Forced position, drowned sound.
Clink, clink!
Noise blanked Perfect Sense.
'Wait...'
Non-leader with advanced detection?
Not solo 7F like me.
Suspicious—I smoked, charged.
"Urk!"
He suspected fake, hesitated at rush...
Drew rubber knife, CQC.
But he yielded.
Bigger, but power loss.
"Guh?!"
Of course.
Pumped detection, neglected Martial Arts.
It sucked to level anyway.
I was Martial Arts Lv5.
"Agh!"
Pinned, stabbed.
"Why... win strength?! Martial Arts higher than ours?"
No exact formula for levels...
But I got it.
Solo, life-or-death—leveled fast.
My transcendent speed? Explained.
Dropped naked in 7F, extreme growth.
"Done? That's it for today."
A week later, back in Seoul.
Pondering channel uploads...
Go Ji-ho stopped me.
"Kang Hyun, you eating proper alone? Not hotel—home cooking."
"Yeah, sesame ramen tonight."
"Yesterday too?"
"Shin Ramyun."
"...Nope. Come. Need home food sometimes."
Different flavors, same worry?
He tapped phone, took me home.
"Honey, brought him. Feed him."
"Welcome! Hubby too harsh?"
"H-hi..."
Stunning wife, young daughter greeted.
World's unfairness hit in a second.
"...Married?"
Heard he had family.
Go Ji-ho casual: "Military marry fast. Special forces popular."
"Whoa..."
Impressed.
Escape Life lost girl to hunter, right?
Me too...?
"Hunters popular too?"
"Nah..."
"Why?"
"Women want strong, cool boyfriend/husband—not widow."
"..."
Air-tight logic.
Wrong career.
I devoured home cooking with rage.