The Basement Crew Assembles!

Here's something I've learned in life: things you have to fight for always feel more precious.

Give everything away for free and nobody appreciates it! The Giving Tree literally had its trunk hacked away to a stump and died alone, didn't it?

Same goes for me, the Basement's Manager. If I keep handing things out and being too generous, people might stop actually being grateful...

The truth is, when you scatter something around for free, nobody realizes how valuable it was in the first place. Achieve something without any effort or hardship, and suddenly it's, "Huh? Was this ever really a big deal?"

And the proof is that a post like this just went up on Babel Gallery.

Every single one of those comments reads like it was written through a translator, which tells you none of them are Korean.

Ahaha. And there it is, right on schedule.

Jealous little contrarians whose stomachs hurt from watching someone else succeed. It hasn't even been a full day since the praise started, and they're already splattering posts like this ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠everywhere. No matter how I look at it, these are just people who hate me.

Hmm. Well, nothing for it. I'll have to publicly snipe one of them as an example, bait all the aggro onto myself, and socially execute the poor bastard.

But if he survives that ordeal, he'll emerge a truly strong man!

Anyway, no new events are happening unless Yoichi throws away his personal dignity.

Japan, after all, is the homeland and motherland of ijime — famously quick to cut off anyone who starts looking like dead weight. I'm sure they'll dispose of him just fine without my help.

I'd rather be the person everyone loves for doing one good thing after ten mistakes than the person everyone curses for making one mistake after ten good deeds.

And so, the Grand Harvest Festival I earned from the Kitchen is on hold for now.

The Grand Harvest Festival.

One of Landing City's signature festivals. As the Kitchen flourished, every imaginable delicacy became available at dirt-cheap prices, and the buffs you could gain from food improved dramatically — a first-class culinary celebration. On top of that, rare items you could never normally get your hands on flood the market, and night markets open up across the city. An absolutely god-tier fun event!

"Sadly, next time~"

Now, let's see.

What's next on the list? A Manager's day is relentless. I'd already handled the Basement staff's grievances, assigned interns to the Kitchen and collected a three-tier lunchbox in return. What was left was...

"Ugh. Right. This thing."

I was trying to stash the leftover lunchbox in the fridge when my eyes ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠landed on the chunks of meat sitting on a plate.

Unlike that joke of a description, the Ritual Meat and the Altar of Welfare look ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠dead serious.

This is straight-up reeking of devil worship!

"Tower Papa. You are leading me down the righteous path, right? Right?"

No answer from Tower Papa, as usual...

Still, I couldn't exactly let my rewards rot. The Ritual Meat... it doesn't seem to spoil at all, does it...

Never mind that I'd put it in the fridge. How is this meat still as fresh as the day I received it? How much preservative did they pump into this stuff?!

"Okay, so I just do this?"

Right next to the Almond Water vending machine, the Altar of Welfare had materialized at some point. It looks like a shrine built by a slightly awkward occult hobbyist?

What exactly is the purpose of this strange, sinister piece of breakroom furniture I obtained by completing the intern recruitment quest? I didn't know either, so I just set the Ritual Meat on it for now...

Ring!

"Resurrection Insurance?"

Resurrection? An extra life?

Every time I sacrifice 100 pounds of meat, I gain another life?

Sure, hoarding meat cut by cut to buy back a life would take forever. But even so — a single revival for that price is an absolute steal!

"Completely insane."

A diligent, responsible Manager would sit on the Ritual Meat and grind toward an extra life, no question. But I am not the kind of person who can just walk past the words Hobby Guarantee!

"I mean, I do happen to have exactly six chunks of meat sitting right here, and I am curious what 'Hobby Guarantee' even is..."

Shall I offer up the meat, then?

Come on, hobby time.

But how would the Tower even know what my hobbies are, to offer me something like this?

Whatever it is, it's probably more fun than staring at the gallery all day, right?

There's no internet down here. I have no reading hobby. Playing games alone is no fun at all!

I need Hyeji! I need Lee Hyeji to hang out with me all day!

"Friends... My hobby was playing with friends."

A person who's terrible at playing alone. A person whose only friend, at that, is Lee Hyeji.

That's me...

Before I got dragged down beneath the Tower, Hyeji and I were together practically every single day.

Man, I miss Hyeji all of a sudden.

Maybe this is my chance to go wander Landing City with her?

But Hyeji's famous now. If we walked around together, people would figure out I'm the Manager. And then could I really stroll around Landing City in peace? What if crowds swarmed us — asking for autographs, demanding photos together? And if people who hated me decided to pull something...

Hanging out with Hyeji was bound to get constantly interrupted. Honestly, going alone would draw way less attention.

But wandering around alone is boring. I might even get a little lonely.

Hyeji and me, both famous now. We're such superstars that even hanging out together has gotten hard.

Is this how we drift apart?

"I'll take the Hobby Guarantee."

I'd worry about the rest later. Trust me on this — you'll give me something that fits my situation perfectly. Tower Papa has been unfailingly good to me this whole time, so surely you'll read my needs and hand me the perfect gift to soothe my loneliness, right?

Right? Yes? If you don't, I'm going on strike for depression. I'll abandon the Basement, hole up in the breakroom, and become a shut-in. I'll live however I want. Tower Papa's words might stop meaning anything to me.

Ring!

"Huh? What's this. Computing? I've never seen this one before. Excuse me, Tower Papa?"

No way. No no no...

You weren't actually reading my thoughts, were you? Right?

It's not that I just declared a strike in my head and now you're frantically crunching numbers to catch up — right? Right?

Answer me, Will of the Tower!

Ring!

Ring!

Riiiing!

Outside the designated management zone?

An area I don't even need to manage? Or some uncharted territory where not even I can reach?

Come to think of it, I've been to the very top of the Tower. But I've never set foot in its lowest reaches.

Hmm. Focus on the reward first!

With the Magic Wand of Unfair Dismissal, I could roam Landing City freely without a care, couldn't I?

So if this wand taps me, I'm instantly classified as someone about to be fired?

And what, exactly, is a person marked for dismissal?

Someone with nothing left to lose. A walking bomb that nobody dares touch, that nobody even wants to approach...!

So this wand turns me into one of society's marked-for-dismissal outcasts!

"What even is this? It's scarier than I expected. What happens if I don't dispel the effect and actually get processed as dismissed?"

Slowly forgotten by everyone. Slipping quietly into having my very existence erased...

SCARY!!!

But used judiciously, people would just take me for Villager C. In other words, everyone ignores me completely unless I want attention~

And the fact that anyone I designate can still recognize me perfectly? Deliberately convenient, deliberately contrived, and utterly delightful!

It's perfect, Tower Papa!

You really did give me a gift made just for me!

Thank you!

"Time to go play~!"

Summoning Lee Hyeji immediately.

Currently, Hyeji is solo-clearing the 25th floor all by herself...

No, wait. How is she solo-clearing the 25th floor? What even IS she???

Why is she soloing every single time I check in on her..?

Why does my friend Hyeji keep getting stronger???

Turns out the dumbass had a talent for tower climbing after all.

"Hey! Lee Hyeji! What are you doing alone!"

"Cheonwoo? You came? It's freezing up here — want to wear my coat made of yeti hide? It's warm!"

"Blegh. It smells like beast. And I'm fine, my work clothes keep me warm."

"Awww. Jealous."

Apparently the 25th floor is a frost zone and absolutely brutal, but my work clothes protect me in any environment, so no problem here.

Hyeji, meanwhile, is stomping around in something like a +3 fur greatcoat straight out of the northern barbarian catalog.

Her Grimoires seem to be helping regulate her body heat too, so she's fine.

"Hey, Ji Cheonwoo. What's that thing in your hair?"

"Hm? What thing."

"You're wearing a hairpin now? You've gone full little girl, huh?"

"Hey! That's— look..."

Popo said it would look cute on me, so I tried wearing it...

Was that a mistake? No, hold on. Thinking about it, that was such a girl thing to do. Embarrassing. I'm so embarrassed at myself for unconsciously chasing cuteness!!!

"Aw, why! Keep wearing it."

"But now it feels embarrassing..."

"Oh come on, it's fine. It was cute and I liked it — why would you take it off?"

"Because YOU keep teasing me! You wanna die?! You can't even use magic yourself and you want your Grimoires back?!"

"Noaaargh! Heeey! Give me back my Grimoire friends!"

Ahhh. This feeling. Yes, this is it.

Playing with Hyeji really is the best!

"But what's THAT supposed to be? First a hairpin, now you're carrying a magic wand around? What are you, a magical girl? You acted too cool to watch PreXure, and now you can't even be satisfied with just being a little girl..."

"You've actually lost it. Can't even see each other for a while and you go straight for the teasing?"

"Kyahaha! Hey! Ji Cheonwoo! S-stop, that tickles! This is sexual harassm—"

"I'm a little girl, so I'm immune to sexual harassment."

"Nghahaha!? Th-that's nooooot...!"

Lee Hyeji's weak points: located. Her stomach and sides are pathetically ticklish.

"Hnnnghh..."

"Alright, enough. Landing City, let's go."

"Right now? I've got an EXP party to run..."

"EXP party, my foot. I'll set up another one for you later. And if you hang out with me, every restricted-access zone in the city is open to us."

"For real? Let's gooo! Right now!"

And so the improvised Landing City tour was born.

Except one more person ended up joining.

"Oh, right! I forgot I had a promise today!"

"What promise?"

"I'm supposed to meet Kang Haesol."

"Huh? Seriously?"

"Yeah. She messaged me proposing a party play for clearing the 28th floor."

"Where were you meeting?"

"Outside the Tower. At the Tower Management Bureau."

"Just meet here in the Tower. Then she can hang out with us."

"Can we? Is that okay? Won't it be awkward?"

"Pfft. What's awkward about it."

Ms. Kang Haesol and I already have a strong inner rapport. I've witnessed firsthand the epic-length letters she sends from the bathroom stall. And above all, she's the person who writes nothing but defense posts for me on Babel Gallery as TinyClam — I wanted to show her who I really am.

"Call her. She's around our age; it'll be fun with three of us."

"Okay! Great!"

And so Ms. Kang Haesol was invited to the breakroom.

"...Wow. Wowowow. Woooow..."

"What do you think? This is the breakroom attached to the Basement."

"......"

Frozen.

No answer, no movement.

Completely frozen.

Huh? What's going on? Don't tell me...

"Um, excuse me... I'm just... so happy that I'm nervous, and my stomach..."

"I'm sorry, what? Your stomach? Cheonwoo, what's wrong with her?"

"Apparently she has a condition where her stomach hurts when she's nervous."

"What? Really? Korea's Rank 3 Hunter, former top model, the aloof swordswoman Kang Haesol — is secretly a bathroom stall spirit..."

"N-no, I'm not! It's just ordinary cramps on an empty stomach! Please don't give me that kind of filthy image! It'll pass in a moment, so if I could just have some time to calm down..."

And that is how the Basement Crew was formed.

Me, Hyeji, and Haesol.

The eventful Landing City tour begins now.