Morning Grub Fest and Tower Takeover!
It’s not nanomachines… it’s nanobugs.
“Aigoo, that’s solid.”
I’d been eating more since I started making money yesterday.
Like, a lot more. I even roasted beef last night—something I would never have bothered with before.
Money really is the best. With it, life got way too comfortable.
But there was one downside.
When I drank that aa yesterday… normally I could handle it, but this time it burned so badly I only managed half and had to throw the rest away.
It hurt to see it go to waste. Tears nearly came to my eyes.
No problems from the money itself, but… throwing it out really stings.
“You were tasty too, weren’t you?”
And it wasn’t just me. I was worried Sword might be starving, so I roasted a piece for him. He devoured it in seconds and wanted more.
Luckily, he’s still alive, so he doesn’t go hungry.
After seeing how energized he got after eating, I realized the other bugs needed feeding too.
They looked so full of life… how could I possibly skip them?
The expense would be higher, but I could always cover it when I craft items.
The real question was what happened to the ones people were selling.
Would they just… wander off and eat on their own?
It was a little worrying, but I figured they wouldn’t do that.
I even ordered them to stay put… right?
The job was easy. I just had to say the word.
“Huff… good. Then…”
I ate a refreshing lettuce for breakfast, so today was the perfect day to head back to the Tower.
I had to test the items I’d been crafting on the easier floors.
“Ugh, I still need to use Metamorphosis… that’s a lot to handle.”
I wasn’t in a rush for it, so I figured I’d clear the Tower first and think about the rest later.
I could always make more items with the points I’d earn, which would mean using Metamorphosis twice—definitely not worth it.
“Time to enter the Tower.”
The same mysterious force pulled me straight inside, just like the first time.
It wasn’t exactly pleasant, but I wasn’t completely unfamiliar with it anymore.
After a few more entries, it would feel as natural as walking through the front door.
“Alright. What’s the mission for this floor?”
**[ 2nd Floor (Extreme) Tower Mission ]**
- Defeat the threat in the forest. ( 0 / 1 ) - Complete it within the time limit. ( 00:01 / 10:00 )
This is basically the same as the last one, right? But the monster count is completely different.
Last floor had ten monsters. This time it’s just one.
It seemed easier than the last floor, but the doubled time limit made it clear things had gotten tougher.
“I guess the timer itself isn’t a big deal.”
Thinking back to how the reward got stronger for clearing early, the timer felt more like an optional extra mission.
Either way, it was fine by me.
Then I had to…
“Absolutely clear the extra mission too. Sword, I’ll need your help again today. Can you find it?”
I held out my hand that was wrapped in Sword and waited for his movements.
It made more sense for Sword to search rather than me.
He was born a bug. I was just a bug now. His instincts were obviously better.
I stretched my body out like a spring, wiggling it around until it shot straight forward.
I didn’t have any reason not to trust him—he’d already found something before.
I wondered what kind of monster we were going to face this time.
One monster sounded exciting. The goblin from the last floor still left a bitter taste in my mouth.
That fight had been less of a clash and more of a one-sided slaughter.
Following Sword’s lead, we reached the spot.
There was a goblin, but it looked weaker than the ones on the first floor.
It wasn’t wearing iron armor like the last ones had.
Here it was just a ragged piece of cloth with a single black dagger in its hand.
Compared to the first-floor goblins, its skin was darker and its eyes were dull.
Some kind of gut feeling told me there was something off about it.
It felt a bit like the first time I saw Ga-ryeong at the cafe.
At least it had one or two special traits.
It gripped its dagger, ready to slash or fire some kind of energy beam?
That seemed unlikely. It looked like a perfectly ordinary sword.
Whoosh.
Just as I was wondering whether I should wait and attack, a cold red aura flickered across the goblin’s blade.
I figured it was just showing off, but it was real?
And it didn’t stop there. The goblin spotted me hiding behind the tree, took up a fighting stance, and moved in instantly.
I’d expected it to use the dagger skill first, then maybe fire it.
So then—
Shaaaak—!
The red beam that shot toward my spot from where I’d been standing felt completely out of place.
What the heck? It was real?
A goblin that could use a sword technique? This was getting ridiculous.
I swallowed hard as the goblin stared at me with its dagger pointed straight at my chest.
I hadn’t expected it to be this strong… but then again.
“Huff… it’s not that fast.”
It wasn’t fast at all, and the movements were sloppy. It just felt like it was swinging randomly.
It probably wasn’t any harder than the goblin from the first floor.
Still, I couldn’t let my guard down.
I wrapped Carapace Bug over my right hand and charged straight at it.
Thud—!
Our hands and blades collided. The shock I felt told me the goblin’s weapon wasn’t normal.
And the red energy that touched my shell felt terrible—like it was being sucked in.
Clack—! I knocked the blade away with my hand and staggered back.
“Wow, I’m still on the second floor and this is hitting me?”
I looked at the back of my hand where it had touched the blade.
The hard shell on my knuckles had turned soft.
It felt like jelly now. Touching that red energy again was definitely not a good idea.
I had to fight without letting it touch me directly…
“Keuruek… it’s… mine now!”
The moment the fight started, the goblin started drooling like it had never done before.
I guess this goblin was actually a sword master after all.
It was disappointing, but the mission looked easier now.
If I could figure out how to deal with that one blade, the goblin would be no problem.
But that meant I couldn’t let it touch me…
This was perfect for testing my new item.
I hadn’t made it with this exact situation in mind, but it was turning out to be exactly what I needed.
I mixed together all the weird insect-type monsters I’d tested when making the sword, plus the ones I’d looked into before crafting anything else.
So this was what I had come up with…
“Come on, kids. Time to work. Move.”
The hem of the jacket I was wearing dropped to the ground and spread out like a puddle under my feet.
The black plate was growing wider by the second. The goblin sensed something and stopped, dagger in hand, staring at it.
I didn’t think it would come any closer now that it was getting bigger.
While I was watching, I took a second look at the item.
**[ Shape Shifter (Bug Swarm) ]**
- **Grade:** Rare - A mysterious black jacket created from materials made by Lee Seong-eun. - Currently in jacket form, but the actual equipment has no fixed shape. - Automatically repairs if damaged. - **Skill:** Shape Change — Changes the shape of the equipment. - (Currently in disguise state.)
Even though it said that, if I removed the disguise…
**[ Bug Swarm ]**
- **Grade:** Rare - A swarm of small carapace bugs born from the Bug Queen (Lee Seong-eun). - They will burn to death for the Queen’s command if needed. A legion of absolute loyalty. - The swarm connects to one another and forms one unified group. As long as one central bug remains, it can multiply infinitely.
It was one rank lower than the sword, but honestly I thought the Bug Swarm was better.
“Where now… let’s summon as many as possible.”
The goblin was being blocked by the swarm.
It swung its dagger wildly, but the expanding wall of bugs kept it from closing the distance.
A single bug wasn’t that strong, but numbers made them powerful.
One bug crawled onto my hand. What was this?
The ant-like bug danced around on my palm, jumping around. It had a strangely cute vibe.
“What are you trying to say?”
I narrowed my eyes as the small body wiggled around and pointed at my chest.
What did that even mean?
I stared at the bugs for a while longer, then watched it gather its legs into an X before it moved them up to my chest and smiled.
I actually understood what it was trying to tell me.
Ever since I first created Sword, I hadn’t been able to talk normally with them, but there was always some instinctive feeling of will behind it.
Realizing I’d been pranked, I smiled and stroked its head.
*Hehe, even though it’s just a bug, it’s so cute.*
It seemed satisfied with the petting and stuck itself to my chest.
I watched as the bugs that had been scattered on the floor crawled over each other, climbed onto my body, and clung tight.
The feeling of them sticking to my skin was different from wearing the jacket.
It felt like a tight suit, like something you’d see in a spy movie.
But since I was wearing an extra layer of clothes underneath, it wasn’t uncomfortable.
“So… what are you trying to do with this?”
A low hum vibrated from my chest, telling me to move.
Then I guess I’d just believe in them and try moving.
I stopped controlling the swarm that was blocking the goblin and waved my hand at it.
“Come here.”
When I snapped my fingers, the goblin—completely unlike its earlier behavior—went wild and charged at me.
I trusted the bugs and leaned my chest forward.
Crack—!
The blade stabbed into my chest… but there was no pain. No shock at all.
The bugs gripped the flickering red aura on the blade and pulled.
“Haha… not happening.”
“Kyieek!”
The goblin panicked, trying to yank the blade free with all its strength, but it was no match for the swarm.
It got stuck to the goblin and pinned it down.
I clenched my fist.
The goblin had attacked me first, but I was the one doing the harassing. Whatever.
I pulled my fist back and then slammed it forward.
At the same time, the swarm grabbed the goblin’s hand and dragged its head toward my punch.
Crack—!
The goblin fell flat on its face.
**[ 2nd Floor (Extreme) Cleared ]**
- Acquired the reward by clearing the 2nd floor Tower. - First to clear the Extreme difficulty 2nd floor Tower. Additional reward acquired. - Cleared the Tower within the time limit. Reward strengthened.
It was so easy. Way too easy.
Was the Tower really this easy?
--- **END**