Floor 3: Field of Phobia and Hunters
"Floor 3 is a field layer. You'll see hunters there, regardless of rank."
Han Yuseon explained with her arms crossed. Unlike her relaxed attitude, my face was already pale. My body trembled. I was freaking out preemptively.
People?
Trait Social Phobia. I never liked people much to begin with, but this trait goes way beyond that. It actually makes me terrified of seeing people. Just grabbing a doorknob feels like it could send me into shock, and now they want me to run into hunters?
"No way, no way, no way, no way!"
I shook my head rapidly. Han Yuseon giggled like it was amusing, but this was a grave problem for me. I looked at her with pleading eyes, but she just shrugged like there was no helping it.
"Can't be helped. It'll feel like that up to Floor 9."
"What about Floor 2?!"
My hope was Floor 2. If it was a solo boss, maybe it'd be okay.
Han Yuseon shook her head.
"Floor 2 will have even more people."
"Should we go back to Floor 1?"
Maybe I could grind on Floor 1 until I overcome the trait. With just Han Yuseon around, it's no big deal! ...Though saying that, she does have her flaws.
I can just make more puppets, right?
Han Yuseon looked at me with utter disbelief.
"Are you giving up on overcoming your traits?"
"Can't we find another way?"
I stared at her desperately. Maybe my gaze was too intense; she scratched her cheek lightly and averted her eyes.
"You seem really worried, but honestly, the Social Phobia trait alone... makes it extremely hard to encounter people, but not impossible. The folks in a Transcendent field will be top A-rank hunters anyway... so running into them won't be easy."
That made sense. That's why they measure strength by Floor 1 and Floor 5 scores. Fields spawn monsters probabilistically.
But that's not the point.
"Shock from a doorknob, and you think I can handle that?"
"That's because you also have the Hikikomori trait, Doll Master. Humans are social creatures by nature—do you think it's possible to completely avoid people...? But those traits synergize."
"Damn it."
Of all the luck, I ended up with two traits that pair perfectly like a bad joke.
I let out a deep sigh.
"On the bright side, the Hikikomori trait doesn't activate inside the Tower."
"Yeah, figures."
"So only Social Phobia will trigger... You should be fine. In Transcendent difficulty, monsters swarm the north, so no one from the hard fields will bother climbing up here."
Han Yuseon replied confidently. My eyes lit up.
You had a plan!
"Low chance of running into people, right?"
"Yes."
"But you can handle those strong ones if they show up?"
I tilted my head. Her pride stung again; a hint of poutiness flickered in her eyes.
"I'm the strongest."
"Got it. I believe you. Anything else to watch out for?"
"Well... aside from the Tower Owner, nothing much. Hunters aren't that threatening."
Han Yuseon spoke as if she'd forgotten something.
"Hunters from various countries will gather. Some do 'ability hunting,' but it's no issue. I can handle the Floor 3 trash anyway."
"It's really okay?"
Ability hunting sounds scary. They say over half the deaths in the Tower are from other hunters.
Han Yuseon wiggled her finger. An empty energy drink can floated up, dangling from a thread.
Pew—!
The can split in half with one shot. Her eyes turned icy.
"If anyone targets you, Doll Master, I'll tear them apart far more gruesomely than that."
"Uh... yeah!"
Overwhelmed by her intensity, I nodded.
Will you enter the Tower?
Please select floor: Floor 3.
Grade: 'Transcendent'
Whoosh.
The scenery shifted. I'd felt this before, but the sensation was still incredibly weird. What filled my vision was a coniferous forest. The massive trees were overwhelming.
Cold.
Maybe because it's the north—pretty chilly. I shivered.
Han Yuseon immediately wiggled her finger. Silver threads wrapped around nearby trees.
Awooooo—!
A wolf's howl echoed through the quiet forest. I flinched.
"We won't get eaten, right?"
"As long as I don't get eaten, they absolutely won't. Who hands over the main course to a fool?"
"...Since when am I the main dish?"
Han Yuseon scanned the surroundings. Then something caught her eye, and she furrowed her brow.
"This."
"What?"
Nothing special on the ground. Just some broken branches.
Han Yuseon flashed a distinctly unpleasant smile.
"People."
"...Why are you smiling? You didn't set this up to force a meeting and score points, did you?"
You're making me anxious.
Han Yuseon gazed at the traces, casually wiggling her finger.
Ding.
Advanced Orc defeated. 20 Gold awarded.
Bloodmane Wolves x3 defeated. 30 Gold awarded.
...
57 minutes remaining until Transcendent grade achievement.
Already 100 Gold in. This is auto-hunting? She just moved the threads around her, and monsters drop dead. Earning 1 million won in seconds feels like...
I wanna go home.
I desperately wanted to go home.
Han Yuseon kept wiggling her fingers. Threads extended outward, like expanding territory.
"Three people nearby. Two are low-level trash except for one."
"...You handle the hunter stuff."
Hunter means hunting, but I'm just standing around dumbly. Anyway, people means we need to prepare thoroughly.
Nothing else to do but that.
Am I just dead weight at this point?
"How do you even know?"
"I detect the subtle vibrations in the threads. Everything within 500 meters around us."
"Insane... But three within 500 meters?"
Han Yuseon nodded. Isn't this bad?
"They're ability hunting right now. Seems one strong hunter is carrying them, and the trash finishes off the stragglers."
"Even here, there's some big shots."
I'm in a similar spot, with Han Yuseon carrying me.
"The problem is they're heading this way. They must've noticed us."
As soon as Han Yuseon finished speaking, footsteps echoed from somewhere.
...
Bold steps, not bothering to hide their presence. Sounds of threads snapping one by one.
Gulp.
I swallowed dryly. Three men appeared—obviously foreigners at a glance.
"Told you they were here. Haah, these damn idiots."
The blond, burly man sighed and scratched his head. Not English, but inside the Tower, it translated perfectly.
"Boss, looks like one little girl and one adult woman."
A skinnier man eyed us sharply.
Eek!
Normally I'd hide, but my legs wouldn't move.
Warning! 'Social Phobia' is active.
Body too tense to move, apparently.
"Pfft! Why's this brat in an unscanned area?"
The thug-looking guy snickered and approached me. Han Yuseon frowned slightly and twisted her finger. I could see a razor-thin thread aimed at his neck.
The blond man glared irritably as if to shut up; the thug backed off.
What?
Didn't notice the thread? Only the blond guy, and us two, seemed to.
"Let me introduce us. We're Team Argos from Russia. I'm S-rank hunter Mikhail." He pointed to the skinny man. "This is B-rank hunter Ivan." Then to the thug. "And... A-rank hunter Koban."
Fatigue laced his voice. The thug was probably the troublemaker. His face screamed it.
"Heeey, Easterners, huh? Japanese? Nah, Chinese?"
"Shut it, Koban."
"Yeah yeah, boss."
The thug nodded half-heartedly. Han Yuseon sighed irritably.
"Why drag out time with introductions?"
"Drag out? Reveal yourselves. We don't do 'ability hunting.'"
Han Yuseon glanced up at the trees.
"...!"
Mikhail's eyes widened. A chilling smile crept across her lips.
"I feel eyes on us from somewhere."
I rolled my eyes around. Too focused on the Russian trio to notice before, but now... eyeballs floated in the air around us, staring this way.