The Shortest Path Is a Straight Line
Entering the Tower of Trials - Floor 2 (Easy) difficulty.
The blue hologram scattered before her eyes.
'Now that I think about it, how is this system window even created? Who is sending it...?'
It could be some mechanical phenomenon, but she doubted it.
Perhaps there was an owner of the tower, some entity that sent these messages.
With that thought in mind, Yuhwa felt her consciousness float. The first thing she noticed was the musty smell of dirt and the damp humidity.
Next came the sight of ivy-covered walls rising so high they seemed to blot out the sky.
“Oh...”
No matter which way she looked, there were only moss-covered stone walls and vines. She stood in the middle of an endless maze.
This was the second floor’s easy difficulty.
The contents of the Tower of Trials Floor 2 Strategy Guide she had read on her smartphone earlier rose to mind.
Tower of Trials Floor 2 Strategy Guide
Floor 2 Easy difficulty is a ‘maze’ that combines survival and exploration. The key is to avoid randomly wandering monsters and find the path leading to the exit.
※ Caution: The maze walls are made of a special material that cannot be destroyed under any circumstances, so do not waste attack skills on them.
※ Caution: Attack skills should be reserved for killing the monsters that occasionally appear.
The left-hand rule or whatever it was called... anyway, the ‘survival’ part of the second floor involved killing monsters while escaping the maze.
The most important detail was that the exit lay in a straight line from the starting point.
‘Absolutely indestructible walls, huh.’
Suddenly she grew curious. Could they really not be destroyed?
Yuhwa approached the moss-covered stone wall with a faint smile on her lips.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
It definitely wasn’t ordinary rock. She couldn’t tell exactly what it was, but it felt like some kind of barrier where something was interwoven between the stones, pushing its durability to the absolute limit. Of course, that was only by human standards.
“Let’s see...”
Yuhwa’s sea-blue eyes gleamed.
Dragon scales began to sprout along her right arm.
Crack, crunch...
They grew larger, forming a hand that no longer belonged to a human, but to a dragon.
Yuhwa lightly clenched her fist.
The surrounding air screamed as if unable to withstand the pressure.
And then—
The supposedly indestructible wall crumpled like a sheet of paper and began to shatter.
“Oh... it worked.”
The shockwave did not stop at a single wall. It continued through the wall beyond, and the wall beyond that, and the one after that...
A massive cloud of dust rose.
When the dust settled, a perfectly straight, open corridor stretched before her.
“This is it.”
Yuhwa lightly shook out her fist with a satisfied smile.
There was no need to find a path. If a wall blocked the way, punching through it turned that direction into the path.
It was supposed to be a straight line, after all.
Crack!
Yuhwa tensed her thighs with explosive power. The ground beneath her feet sank inward, spiderweb cracks spreading outward.
“Shall we go?”
KWAHHHHHHNG!
The earth shook. A sonic boom split the air.
Yuhwa sprinted down the newly opened corridor, heading straight for the exit. Straight toward every indestructible obstacle standing in her way.
If anything blocked her path, she would simply charge through it with her whole body.
While the community buzzed with people gathering to predict the clear time and demand the boogie, a clear chime rang out.
'Life Ruined' has cleared Floor 2 (Easy) difficulty!
— Record: 57 seconds
The internet community froze mid-refresh. Everyone had the exact same thought.
Fifty-seven minutes? No. Fifty-seven seconds.
Which meant the person hadn’t found the exit.
They had simply charged straight through.
The internet exploded with shock and cheers. They were finally getting the boogie!
At the same time, in the living room of Han So-i’s house.
Soft breathing filled the air. So-a was fast asleep, hugging Yujin’s fluffy tail.
Yujin gently brushed the hair from So-a’s face where it had stuck to her tail.
A tender smile graced her lips.
“...”
So-i watched the scene in silence.
After neatly arranging So-a’s bangs, Yujin rose gracefully to her feet. She turned to So-i, who had been staring intently, and smiled.
“It seems you have something you wish to say, Miss So-i.”
“Ah...”
Caught off guard, So-i waved her hands in a fluster. “I-it’s nothing! I was just... surprised at how affectionate you are...”
“Hehe. It’s quite all right. Speak comfortably.”
Yujin smoothed her skirt and continued with the same smile.
“After all, you too have entered within Lady Yuhwa’s fence.”
“What do you mean by that...?”
When So-i asked in confusion, Yujin reached out and gently poked the sleeping So-a’s soft cheek.
At the squishy sensation, Yujin smiled faintly, as if finding it adorable.
“Did you know? I share a similar personality with Lady Yuhwa. In other words, I understand her true nature better than anyone.”
“I... don’t quite follow.”
“What kind of person do you think Lady Yuhwa is, Miss So-i?”
So-i answered without hesitation.
“She is great and powerful... an arrogant yet noble dragon unbound by the common sense of the world...”
“That is correct.”
Yujin couldn’t hold back a small laugh. “It is correct, yet... if those were the only obvious, rigid reasons, I would never have chosen to follow someone as ridiculously narcissistic as Lady Yuhwa.”
Her eyes curved beautifully.
“Contrary to appearances, Lady Yuhwa is surprisingly soft-hearted. She is an extreme attention-seeker who absolutely loves being the center of attention... or rather, she has a very extroverted personality. On the inside she’s thrilled to death but pretends otherwise and acts all high and mighty. It’s incredibly cute.”
“L-Lady Yuhwa...?”
So-i asked back, stunned. Yujin continued.
“The most important thing is... above all else... once someone enters her ‘fence,’ she takes responsibility for them until the very end and treasures them no matter who they are.”
Yujin’s voice grew calmer.
“So what I’m trying to say is this.”
“...”
“I wonder where the real Miss So-i might be right now?”
“...!”
Blue eyes met dark ones. ‘So-i’ froze solid. Her shoulders stiffened; it felt as if her entire body had turned to ice.
Yujin smiled at ‘So-i’ once more. She crossed her legs with leisurely grace.
“I acknowledge it. Switching places with the real So-i while avoiding my gaze is quite impressive illusion magic. It seems humans cannot be underestimated after all.”
‘So-i’’s expression slowly melted away. The flustered look vanished without a trace, replaced by a deep, chilling aura.
“However, long tails are bound to be stepped on. I am giving you one final chance.”
Scales began to sprout across Yujin’s face. Her voice dropped, laced with frost.
“I have heard of her. Japan’s National Power-class hunter. The ‘Priestess of Amaterasu.’”
“...”
“I looked up the meaning. In Japan’s native religion, Shinto, she is the sun goddess who shines from the heavens... or so it seems.”
“...”
“A National Power-class awakened who uses light for both attack and illusion abilities, correct?”
‘So-i’’s expression had completely vanished.
“If you do not wish to see the entire Japanese archipelago destroyed, release your disguise and confess at once. When our adorable master returns from the tower and learns that her precious servant has been brazenly kidnapped...”
Sharp fangs glinted between Yujin’s lips.
“Even I cannot guarantee what our Yuhwa might do to Japan.”