After the Bloodshed: Grief and Resolve
The battle was over, and they moved on to cleaning up the battlefield. They severed the bandits' heads and collected their gear. During the process, Jo Jaehun spotted something.
"There's a survivor."
One bandit was still breathing. They fed him a potion to stabilize him, then interrogated him.
"Where did you get your information on our party?"
The bandit hesitated, glancing around nervously. Seojun sliced off his wrist with a swift cut.
Slash!
"Aaaargh!!!"
Even as the man screamed, Seojun poured a potion on the stump to keep him alive and pressed on.
"Next it'll be your foot."
"I-It was... from a woman named Yuki!"
The name Yuki came up.
Men and women with venomous glares in their eyes approached Mekelo's north gate. Leading the group was Namgung Seojun, his body drenched in blood, while Kim Hoon carried Min Giyeong's corpse on his back.
The guard at Mekelo's north gate took one look at their condition and grasped the situation.
"You've had a casualty. Head straight to the temple."
Seojun nodded, and the party entered the small temple beside the north gate.
Upon entering, the priest at the entrance sighed deeply at the sight of Min Giyeong's body.
"Oh, Lord... Another life has ended today. May the gods guide them to a better place."
The priest continued reciting prayers, and Gisohee began sobbing quietly. Lee Guho, Jo Jaehun, and Kim Hoon wore grim expressions, while only Namgung Seojun remained stoic.
Once the prayers ended, the priest led them to the temple's small morgue, where the body was placed in a prepared coffin. With a brief farewell, they said goodbye to their fallen comrade.
The party emerging from the morgue still had business to attend to. They showed the priest the bandits' heads, and he took them to the settlement area to begin tallying rewards.
"Lay them all out."
At the priest's words, Jo Jaehun pulled eleven heads from his bag.
"We took down 11 bandits."
"Good work."
The priest inspected the heads. The temple didn't offer fixed merit points for bandits like they did for monsters. Still, people brought in severed heads because some bandits had bounties, which came with cash rewards.
After checking all the heads, the priest said,
"Two of them have bounties. They're small-time crooks, so the payout isn't much. Total of 4 gold."
The priest pulled 4 gold from a drawer. Seojun took it but said,
"Use this for Min Giyeong's burial."
"Understood. I'll make good use of it."
The priest pocketed the gold, understanding the Namgung Seojun Party's sentiments.
The next step was dealing with the prisoner.
"This is a bandit we captured alive."
The priest confirmed his identity using the recording orb hanging from Seojun's neck.
"Bandit confirmed. We'll take custody and reward you with merit points."
"We also got information from him about the person who put our party in danger."
He explained about Yuki.
"Ah, I see."
The priest reviewed the recording again, secured the prisoner, and said,
"We've done a preliminary check, but we'll conduct a full interrogation."
Seojun and the party members stared at the priest with intense gazes.
"Don't worry. In the name of the gods, we'll uncover the truth and resolve this."
The priest had invoked the gods' name. The party decided to wait for the temple's handling.
Back at their inn, no one spoke much, but they naturally dispersed to their rooms. Namgung Seojun dragged his weary body to his room, and the moment he entered—
"....."
All the strength drained from him. He collapsed into a chair, his entire body trembling.
Gisohee, beside him, was in a similar state.
"Seojun-nim..."
Naturally, the two embraced and began weeping silently. For a long while, they held each other without words, crying until they calmed.
It wasn't until lunchtime the next day, with the sun high in the sky, that Gisohee could finally rise from the bed.
"Ah..."
Her whole body ached. She'd been tormented by Namgung Seojun all night.
Gisohee's body was covered in bruises large and small, with swollen red patches everywhere. Even her lips were slightly split.
Last night's Seojun had been rougher, more aggressive, and more desperate than usual.
Zzzzzz
Fortunately, the sleeping Namgung Seojun looked peaceful now. He'd vented much of it in bed last night.
Gisohee felt satisfied knowing she'd helped stabilize his mind and body, even if it left her with minor wounds. A basic potion would heal them easily.
Namgung Seojun woke, and after a late lunch with Gisohee, their first stop outside the inn was summoning their advisor, Chauts.
"Hey! What's up, rookies?"
The two recounted the field incident to Chauts.
"Whoa!! Impressive. You hit the 6th floor and immediately fought bandits? And won? And here you are chatting with me like it's nothing—your mental game's on point too?"
"No, yesterday was really tough for me."
"But you're recovered enough to be out today? Inviters really do have that mental edge, huh. Amazing."
Chauts's words hit home for Namgung Seojun. He and Lee Guho had adapted better to this tower world. They'd fought unfamiliar monsters effectively and swung their swords against the bandits. That was one of the hidden privileges of inviters.
Chauts mentioned casually to Seojun,
"You did great yesterday. Just keep enduring like that, and you'll climb the tower."
Chauts spoke plainly about what he himself couldn't do, then sipped his tea.
Chauts shared other vital info with Namgung Seojun and Gisohee.
"If you're climbing higher, carry a video recording orb. It's like a black box from Earth—records everything. Not needed for confirmed identities like bandits, but crucial for adventurer disputes to prove fault."
"Past the 6th floor, there are four party types: merchant parties trading between cities for profit, adventurer parties aiming high, bandit parties hunting adventurers, and bounty hunter parties hunting bandits. Merchants and adventurers are fine to interact with. Bandits are obvious enemies, and bounty hunters sometimes act like bandits, so watch out."
"If bandits or hunters attack first, sever their heads and claim bounties at the temple. Capture them alive, and you can sell them as slaves through the temple. Their gear fetches good money too. That's why criminals prefer hunting people."
"Adventurer disputes? Evidence makes it easier—that's the video orb. But you need to win to use it. Losers' orbs shatter. So win no matter what."
"Bandits target small parties, so growing your numbers deters them. If you have a stealth skill user, flaunt it—they fear reports. Same for powerful skills like a mage's; strong adventurers scare them off."
Chauts shared all he knew, venting regrets from his own stalled climb at the 6th floor. He truly was the ultimate advisor, as Super Sense had indicated.
After finishing with Chauts, the two returned to the inn. With some breathing room now, they checked on the party members.
"Hyungnim... What was that... Yesterday was just... my head was spinning."
Lee Guho was still reeling from his first kill, rambling incoherently. Namgung Seojun checked his status with God's Eye and prescribed accordingly.
"You! Hot bath or shower! Then meditate till you sleep!"
"Y-Yes, hyungnim."
Lee Guho bathed and meditated as ordered. Seojun secretly lit a sleep incense in his room, letting him drift off naturally.
Kim Hoon was in bad shape too.
"Haven't slept since yesterday?"
The usually smirking Kim Hoon nodded, his face puffy from crying.
He didn't elaborate, but losing a comrade lingered.
"Bed. Now."
"Can't sleep..."
"Drink this and lie down."
This time, Gisohee offered his favorite strong liquor. After a few bottles, he passed out drunk.
Jo Jaehun seemed his usual quiet self, but his eyes betrayed a tremor.
"Hmph."
He was pretending normalcy, but failing. Anxiety seeped from his red eyes.
"Jaehun-ssi needs help too."
Namgung Seojun arranged two beautiful women for his room. Jaehun recovered through a steamy night.
The next day, Namgung Seojun gathered the party again.
"Yesterday, none of you were yourselves."
Everyone bowed their heads at his words.
"It's fine. I get it. The shock's real. So let's confirm one thing here."
Seojun paused for emphasis.
"Are we all... still climbing? Or quitting? To go higher, you have to be ready to kill and lose comrades."
He pulled out their contracts.
"We signed for floors 1 to 20, but if anyone wants out, I understand. Be honest."
Jo Jaehun spoke first.
"I'm going up."
Gisohee followed: "Of course we are."
Lee Guho nodded, and finally Kim Hoon, voice brighter.
"Me too! Let's climb!"
Relieved at their unanimous resolve, Seojun nodded.
"Good."
The others nodded too, knowing they all needed to toughen up against such battles.
That evening, word came from the temple: Yuki had been caught.