For Freedom
How many days had it been?
It felt like months had crawled by.
But Lee Sia knew better. Barely ten days had passed since they'd climbed to the fifteenth floor. The endless grind had simply stretched every hour into eternity.
"…The jungle might've been better than this."
She lay sprawled on the ground, muttering. Park Ji-hoo tipped his head toward her. He didn't even have the strength left to open his mouth and answer.
Yujin and Vivian, by contrast, looked almost fresh beside the two of them.
"You flop over just because we moved a little? Don't you remember the seventh floor?"
That day they'd fought endless swarms of zombies for a full twenty-four hours. Even after every last drop of mana and stamina was gone, pure willpower had kept them standing until the end. Honestly, compared to that, this was a picnic—or so Yujin thought.
No one else agreed. Not even Vivian.
Unlike Sia and Ji-hoo, she'd spent most of her time at Yujin's side throwing money around. Even so, she was thoroughly drained. Financial Healing [C] didn't just burn dollars. The skill's absurd power came with an equally absurd mana cost. Even after she had limited its use to the bare minimum, her reserves had hit empty long ago.
"You bastard."
"Whatever."
Yujin let Vivian's accusation slide right past his ear.
"By the way, how is the Super Spacetime Information Collector [C] treating you?"
They had obtained it deep in Ezhara's underground dungeon after taking down the Great Light-Devouring Insect. In the first timeline Yujin had used it himself; this time he had handed it over to Vivian.
"…It's good."
She hesitated, then nodded with a reluctant look. She didn't want to admit it, but the effect really was solid.
"Nice not having to think so hard, right?"
"Yeah."
Of course she liked it. She no longer needed to strain her focus on the battlefield; a swarm of dust-sized magical machines gathered every scrap of surrounding data and fed it straight to her. Remaining mana and stamina for Sia and Ji-hoo. The perfect window for a heal. It had looked like a minor convenience, yet Vivian could feel her fatigue drop by several times over.
"It won't be that impressive yet. You're only level fifty. Once you grow a bit more, it'll actually start pulling its weight."
Yujin said it casually, but Vivian was quietly startled.
It gets better than this?
That was the first reason. The second was that he already knew everything about an item like this. The third was the sheer nerve of handing over something this valuable without a second's hesitation.
Just what is this man?
From their first meeting until now, Yujin had been impossible for her to read. In the real world she possessed insight sharp enough to earn anyone's respect—yet she couldn't get a single clear glimpse of him. It felt like staring at someone standing in the middle of a fog-choked void: vague, distant, and utterly unclear. That was Seong Yujin to Vivian Holloway.
Clap!
"Alright, on your feet."
"Uuuugh…"
At the sound of Yujin's clap, Sia and Ji-hoo lurched upright like zombies. They might have tried talking back once—but they didn't. They had tried that once already and gotten thoroughly wrecked for it. Neither of them wanted a repeat of that particular nightmare, so even if it rankled, they obeyed.
"You both look half-dead."
Yujin clicked his tongue. He had pushed them hard, sure, but given their levels they should have been able to handle this much without collapsing. Pitiful.
Back in my day…
Ah, forget it.
In any case the 3 No began preparing for combat with exhaustion written all over them. Yujin watched them for a moment, then spoke.
"This is the last one. Once we drop this thing we head back to Ezhara and rest for a while, so cheer up."
Sia's face bloomed into a brilliant smile, as if the sulking expression had never existed. Anyone would have sworn she was a master of face-changing techniques.
"Really?"
"Yeah. Rest matters too. Besides, it's about time we went outside for a bit, don't you think?"
Ezhara was the fifteenth floor. Nearly two weeks had passed since the 3 No arrived, yet they hadn't enjoyed a single day of leave. Yujin had dragged them from hunting ground to hunting ground without pause—the underground dungeon, the Sand Hell, the Oasis of Death, the Mirage Temple, and every other hunting spot near Ezhara. Their levels had risen a little, and they had picked up various items and achievement rewards. But none of it came close to the joy of actual rest.
"Ahhh, finally."
She looked like a desert traveler who had just felt the first raindrop. Sia and Ji-hoo brightened at once and wrung every last drop of strength from their bodies.
"You're not happy?"
Yujin asked Vivian. Unlike the other two, her expression hadn't shifted at all.
"Not really."
Her answer matched the look.
"Come to think of it, you never left on the tenth floor either."
Vivian never took leave outside the Tower. She simply stayed inside, staring blankly into space with an unreadable face. Even in Viridgrave on the tenth floor she had spent her free time alone without so much as blinking—a stark contrast to Sia, who had looked more terrified than any banshee.
"I don't need it. Not really."
Vivian gave a small shrug.
Something personal, maybe?
Players like that showed up now and then—people for whom the outside world was a worse hell than the Tower. They preferred the interior and never even considered leaving. Vivian seemed to be one of them.
Not that I care.
Yujin couldn't have cared less. What worried him was her bank balance.
"Go or stay, I don't care—just don't let your account run dry. If you go bankrupt, they go bankrupt with you."
A healer without Financial Healing [C]. What heavier dead weight could there be?
Nod.
Vivian inclined her head, looking not the least bit concerned.
Guess she's loaded.
She had already spent tens of billions of won at the very least, yet she wore the air of a high-school girl who had just dipped into her allowance for some spicy rice cakes.
"Alright then."
Yujin closed the conversation. Time to fight again.
Rrrrrumble—!
The desert ahead of them heaved upward. It looked like a colossal fountain of sand erupting into the sky. Red grains rose high enough to touch the heavens before raining down again, and through that crimson curtain eight pairs of eyes burned with killing intent.
It was one of the field bosses that sometimes appeared on floors of sufficient size—Akragion, King of the Golden Carapace. A scorpion with a gleaming golden exoskeleton, larger than most of the high-rises in Gangnam. The important part: it possessed considerable immunity to physical attacks. In other words, it was the natural counter to both Sia and Ji-hoo.
Yujin grinned.
"Alright! Fight, you slaves. For freedom."
Tramp. Tramp.
The fine, even sand clutched at their ankles like a swamp.
"Water…"
Lee Sia cracked her parched lips.
"J-just a little farther, Nuna."
Park Ji-hoo supported her and kept walking at a careful pace. He had no stamina left either. After hammering nonstop punches into Akragion he was even more spent than Sia. Only the trait Unyielding [E] let him keep moving at all.
"I should've just collapsed completely…"
Leaning heavily on Ji-hoo's solid shoulder, Sia spoke between labored steps. Then at least Twilight's Embers [C] would have triggered and given her a little recovery. She wasn't quite at death's door, so the skill stayed dormant—and that made everything worse.
"H-hey, Unnie… a heal…"
She looked sideways at Vivian with pitiful eyes. Vivian shook her head firmly.
"Go rest first."
They were already heading somewhere to rest. There was no reason to waste money or mana. Ezhara was right ahead.
"Tch."
Sia's gaze turned openly sullen. They say a person driven to the edge reveals their true nature. Apparently that applied to her as well.
"If you've got energy to grumble, move faster. Want to spend the night out here?"
Yujin—the only one still perfectly fine—prodded his slaves onward. If he'd been holding a whip he looked ready to use it without hesitation. Sensing that, the 3 No picked up their pace.
The sun that had seemed ready to scorch the earth itself sank rapidly beyond the horizon, and a darkness studded with jewels claimed the sky. Starlight poured down. Even without a single streetlamp, the desert was painted in beautiful silver.
Walking through that night-washed desert, they finally reached Ezhara.
The guard NPCs took one look at the four of them and waved them through without challenge. The party had already become rather famous in the city; countless NPCs remembered their faces. The first to arrive. The player party that hunted like madmen every single day. And the pitiful wrecks they always looked like on the way back. Ezhara was a huge city, yet they had still managed to become celebrities.
Yujin led the 3 No to the inn standing before a stone pillar: Ruv al-Kamal. The name roughly meant "complete rest," and the place had long served as a sanctuary for countless players. Size alone was impressive, but the beer sold only here and the grilled sand-scale fish were simply divine. Both even granted useful buffs, so in the first timeline the inn had always been packed with players. People from higher floors would deliberately travel all the way down for a meal; the taste needed no further explanation.
Of course, right now only Yujin and the 3 No were here.
"Welcome!"
The innkeeper greeted them warmly. They had been staying for weeks and pumping up his sales; the thickly bearded man's face was all smiles.
"Beer for everyone, and bring out whatever food you've got."
Yujin brushed the sand off roughly and claimed a table. The 3 No did the same. They dropped into chairs with faces that said they had finally survived, then planted their heads straight onto the wood.
"Four beers! And whatever food we've got!"
The innkeeper bellowed toward the kitchen and bustled off looking delighted. Yujin watched his retreating back for a moment, then shoved a hand into Chunbae's mouth.
"Better pull out some cash ahead of time."
"Kku-aaaang—!"
It was hungry. Even though the 3 No had done most of the hunting and Yujin had only helped a little, the desert's brutal environment had still drained a fair amount of stamina.
Yujin pulled a thick wad of credits from Chunbae's mouth and spoke.
"Order whatever you want. Rest a bit then go outside, or just keep resting here—up to you."
"Neeeegh…"
Sia answered with something that wasn't quite human speech. But only for a moment. The instant the beer arrived she shot upright and poured the entire mug straight down her throat. The contrast with underage Ji-hoo hesitating over alcohol and Vivian taking an elegant sip could not have been sharper.
"KRAAAAAH!"
Whether it was a belch or a battle cry was unclear. Sia slammed the empty mug onto the table with a bang and shouted,
"Another beer over here!"
"One more beer!"
The innkeeper took the order with a broad grin.
"Ahhh, I feel alive again."
Color returned to Sia's face—the same face that had been whining for water the entire way back to Ezhara. Moments ago she had looked like a cracked rice paddy in a drought.
"U-um, Hyeong."
Park Ji-hoo carefully called out to Yujin. The timid manner was nothing like the beast who pulverized monsters with both fists. Yujin looked at him with a flat expression.
"What?"
"H-how long do we have to stay here?"
"I told you. We need ten people."
"And… how long will that take…?"
No idea. It could be a day, a week, or a month.
"Depends on how hard those idiots on the lower floors work…"
Whoooosh—!
Yujin was answering with an irritated look when the inn door suddenly opened and someone stepped inside.
"Huh?"
A man holding a golden spear, face heavy with exhaustion.
"So you were here."
It was Kang Mu-hyun.