Already on the 15th Floor
"I never thought you'd already be on the 15th Floor."
Kang Mu-hyun, who had drained three beers in rapid succession, looked around at Yujin and the 3 No with an expression that still couldn't quite believe it.
He hadn't seriously considered that it might be a lie. Anyone who would hand over an item like Dawn [C-grade] without demanding anything in return clearly wasn't an ordinary player. Even so, a seed of doubt had lingered in one corner of his mind. The story was simply too absurd to swallow all at once, wasn't it?
He had believed he and Eliyah were climbing faster than anyone else—only to discover that someone was punching through the floors at a pace that made his own look laughable. And not just one person. Four of them.
There was no longer any room left to disbelieve. The proof was sitting right in front of him. …Though, to be fair, their condition didn't look particularly good.
"If I could have, I'd already be past the 30th Floor."
Unlike their first meeting, Yujin didn't bother with polite speech. Even though he was plainly younger than Kang Mu-hyun, there wasn't the slightest awkwardness in it. Kang Mu-hyun himself found it strangely natural to accept the casual tone—odd enough that he noticed it.
"Then why are you still here?"
"From the 16th Floor on, there's a tricky condition."
Yujin explained the Rule of Ten: the 16th Floor couldn't even begin unless at least ten players were gathered. Kang Mu-hyun nodded.
"Then we'll have to wait a little longer."
Yujin's party of four plus Kang Mu-hyun's party of three. Even combined, that only made seven. They had no choice but to wait for the remaining three.
"If it's Eliyah, he'll be here soon enough. Once his party arrives, the numbers should line up."
Kang Mu-hyun said it as fact. Yujin shook his head.
"That bastard probably won't make it."
"What?"
Won't make it? Kang Mu-hyun stared as if asking what that was supposed to mean.
"Just a feeling."
Yujin waved a hand as if the whole topic bored him. Translation: he had no intention of elaborating.
"Hm. Then I suppose we'll wait here as well."
"Eh, it won't take that long."
They would rest a bit here, step outside once, and a full week would fly by. By then, the ones Yujin had seen on the 5th Floor would start trickling in one by one.
"Anyway, you won that bet."
Yujin smirked.
"Ah—right. The bet. Haha."
As if he had momentarily forgotten, Kang Mu-hyun gave an embarrassed laugh and glanced at his spear. A genuine C-grade item. It was incomparably stronger than the Spear of Beginnings [D-grade] he had wagered against Eliyah.
"Thanks to it, the climb became a good deal smoother."
Kang Mu-hyun spoke with genuine gratitude. From C-grade onward, the difference in power was night and day. Ordinary monsters took holes through them without him even putting real force behind the thrusts, and on the 14th Floor the banshees had fled in pure terror. He couldn't pin down the exact reason, but he roughly attributed it to the power dwelling inside Dawn [C-grade].
"It should serve you fine up to about the 50th Floor. Just don't go losing it to some random idiot."
"I'll be careful."
Kang Mu-hyun nodded with a bitter little smile.
"By the way, what's your level?"
This time Yujin asked. Level. In a first timeline, that would have been a dangerously rude question. Level was the clearest measure of a player's strength. In a Tower where a knife in the back could come from anywhere, asking for someone's level was more reckless than demanding their bank account and home address combined.
But this wasn't that world yet. Players hadn't developed that level of wariness, and Kang Mu-hyun had no intention of treating Yujin as an enemy.
"It's a little embarrassing to admit, but I only just hit Level 30. My companions are the same."
Despite the modest words, pride flickered across his face. Level 30 already on the 15th Floor? If any other player had heard that, ninety-six out of a hundred would have been stunned speechless.
Unfortunately, the remaining four were sitting right here.
"Only?"
"Level 30…"
"I don't even remember when that was."
"Amateur."
Yujin and the 3 No each tossed out a line. Far from admiration, they looked at him with a mixture of pity and mild disdain. Naturally, Kang Mu-hyun was thrown off balance. He had thought this pace would at least keep him from looking shabby next to Yujin. Of course there would be some gap—their climbing speeds had diverged from the start—but he hadn't expected this kind of reception.
"Just how high is your level, then?"
The words slipped out before he could stop them, his face blank with disbelief.
"You don't need to know."
Of course Yujin didn't answer. Unlike these clueless rookies, he understood exactly how dangerous level information could be. Lee Sia looked like her mouth was itching to spill, but after seeing Yujin's reaction she kept quiet. There was clearly a reason he was stonewalling.
"Anyway, good work. That spear is yours completely from now on. You look exhausted, so get some rest. We'll meet again when we head up to the 16th."
"Ah—yes. Understood."
Kang Mu-hyun nodded. Yujin stood.
"You guys do whatever."
"Where are you going?"
Lee Sia asked.
"I already ate, so I should go hunt a bit."
"…Hunt?"
Her face went flat with pure exhaustion, as if the mere syllable made her want to throw up.
"I spent the whole time babysitting you lot, so I've still got energy to burn. What's the point of resting? Gotta raise my level."
Yujin flicked a hand and walked out of the inn.
"You're not coming out this time either?"
"Tomorrow."
He answered half-heartedly. The moment he stepped outside, the cool night air of the desert brushed across his cheeks.
"Alright. Where to."
The 15th Floor was overflowing with hunting grounds. He had wandered around a fair amount already, yet he still hadn't seen even a quarter of it.
"Hmm. The pyramids should do."
No special opportunities or hidden rewards there—just a relentless flood of monsters. A true treasure house of experience points. If he hunted from morning till night, he could probably squeeze out at least one level.
"See how much I think about you guys?"
Party system. The 3 No would keep soaking up experience while they lounged comfortably at the inn. Did they even appreciate this kind of self-sacrifice? Yujin clicked his tongue and set off.
"…My level went up."
Lee Sia, who had collapsed into sleep the second she finished washing up, finally opened her eyes after a full twelve hours. She blinked blearily through a swollen face.
"…Did I hunt in my sleep?"
Obviously not.
"Must be that party hunting thing."
She had heard a rough explanation from Vivian before. At the time she hadn't given it much thought—her situation had been far too miserable to process anything. When you spent every day hunting so hard you half-wished you would just pass out, party systems and whatever else Yujin said simply didn't register.
But looking at it now, this was nothing to ignore.
"Automatic hunting, huh."
If she buttered up that maniac just right and kept feeding him into the grinder, she could grow far faster—and far safer—than she ever could on her own.
"Nice. From now on I'm using that bastard as an experience-point shuttle."
—so thought the experience-point shuttle herself. Completely unaware that she was already little more than a vending-machine slave, Lee Sia rose from the bed with a sly smile. A little hum escaped her. She had woken up Level 54—one higher than yesterday—and today was the day they could finally go outside. After a proper rest and full recovery, of course she felt good.
She quickly changed into freshly laundered clothes and stepped out of the room.
"Ah, Nuna."
Park Ji-hoo had woken around the same time; they nearly collided in the hallway.
"Ji-hoo. You leveled up too?"
"Y-yes. I think it's because of the party system."
So he knew as well.
"Just like Vivian-nuna said before, the growth efficiency is insane."
"Right?"
While actively hunting she hadn't really felt it, but waking up to a level-up hit differently.
"Let's make good use of it from now on."
Lee Sia grinned. Park Ji-hoo returned an awkward smile. Unlike her, he understood perfectly well who was actually being milked dry.
"Ah, you're both up."
At that moment Kang Mu-hyun opened his door—the same man they had exchanged greetings with the day before. Dark circles still hung heavy under his eyes; the fatigue hadn't fully left him.
"Hello."
Lee Sia and Park Ji-hoo greeted him.
"Are you heading outside today?"
"You too, Mu-hyun-ssi?"
"Yes. If we want real rest, outside is better than here."
Even the beds were more comfortable beyond the Tower.
"True enough."
Lee Sia nodded, then added,
"Want to go together?"
"Sure. Jihye and Ayeong should be finishing their preparations soon—would it be alright if we move then?"
"Of course."
Kang Mu-hyun's manner was impeccably polite. It was hard to believe he was speaking to two people so much younger than himself. Lee Sia liked that. It was the complete opposite of a certain psychopathic maniac.
"We'll wait downstairs, then."
She took Park Ji-hoo down to the first floor. The innkeeper shuffled over, rubbing sleepy eyes.
"Will you be having breakfast?"
"No. Skipping it today."
"Heading outside, I take it."
True to his profession, the man clearly had the players' habits memorized.
"That's the plan."
"Well now. Looks like I won't be making any money for a while."
He chuckled, half-joking.
"I wouldn't worry. One of us is staying behind. And people should start coming up one by one soon, so your sales will be fine."
"Music to my ears."
Lee Sia chattered away as if they were already old friends; the innkeeper answered with a good-natured smile. How long did they keep that up?
Kang Mu-hyun and his companions finally came down from the second floor.
"Sorry to keep you waiting."
"Not at all. We barely waited."
Lee Sia waved off the apology.
"What about Seong Yujin-ssi…?"
"Yeah, that guy said he was going out today too."
"He hasn't returned yet," the innkeeper cut in smoothly.
"Really?"
Had he been hunting all night? When it came to actual combat, Seong Yujin was more serious than anyone. If only he acted that way the rest of the time.
"Let's just go without him. He'll manage."
No need to wait. Everyone nodded and moved. They all wanted to get outside as soon as possible.
"Rest well, then."
With the innkeeper's farewell at their backs they stepped out, and the dry desert air—already baking under the sun—prickled against their skin.
"Ugh, let's hurry."
Thinking she would dry out and die if she lingered, Lee Sia quickened her pace toward Ezhara's central plaza. Unlike the pillars on the 5th and 10th Floors, Ezhara's stone column was a deep red—as if it had been built from the endless red sand of the desert itself. Nearby NPCs had already gathered in little clusters to gawk at them.
Slightly self-conscious, Lee Sia approached the pillar.
"I'll go first, then?"
"See you later, Nuna."
"I'll see you in a week."
Listening to Park Ji-hoo and Kang Mu-hyun, she drew up her mana.
Hwaaaaaa—!
A soft light bloomed, and the scenery around her shifted—from a desert city dyed red to a gray forest of concrete.
And then—
Pabababababat—!
A light far brighter than anything before erupted and swallowed her whole.
"It's a player!"
"Over here! Look this way!"
"Wooooaaah!"
Shouts and screams hammered her ears. The atmosphere was so completely different from last time that Lee Sia could only stare around her with a blank face.
What the hell…?
Dozens of reporters had already surrounded her, cameras firing in a mad frenzy of shutter clicks.