Give Us Back Our Books!

Rumors that the Tower's basement had opened.

In truth, years before the basement was ever unlocked, countless climbers had already scoured the Tower hunting for an entrance that led down into it… yet no door to the underground had ever been found.

The value of the Tower Basement had already been proven by the floor lords themselves. If anyone could get their hands on even a single Lost Item from down there, their entire life would change overnight.

"Bring that Korean here at once."

Tower Management Bureau, Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.

Shen Zhao—Party member, one of the world's top ten rankers, and a man whose face remained carefully unknown—was an archmage of the highest order. He demanded the Korean who had opened the basement be delivered to him.

The method was hardly difficult. Korea, a Tower backwater, was little more than a vassal to Tower-powerhouse China; without the byproducts China supplied, the country could barely function.

Japan and the United States would throw fits when they realized China was going after Korea's basement opener, but what did that matter? China had already recruited or outright abducted most of Korea's promising hunters. There was no need to care about appearances now.

"I will bring them before you as quickly as possible, Lord Zhao."

Zhang Wei—Shen Zhao's secretary and one of the world's top thirty hunters—bowed deeply.

"All Party members currently embedded in that minor nation, listen well. This is Lord Zhao's order. Find the one who opened the basement. Return them to the homeland as soon as possible. By any means necessary. Whatever it takes—bring them here."

China had always lagged a step behind the United States. But since the Tower appeared, that gap had nearly closed. If they seized the basement as well, the entire balance would reverse.

No longer would they have to suffer under America's brutal tariff wars. The moment China claimed the Tower Basement, it would hold hegemony over the entire world.

How fast you cleared. How high you climbed. It was already a competition between nations—an invisible war of prestige. People no longer watched the Olympics or the World Cup. All anyone cared about was which country had climbed higher.

"Chinese activity inside Korea is looking suspicious."

"…Those CCP bastards are already moving?"

Japan threw itself into the basement scramble as well. They were desperate to locate the basement opener before anyone else.

In the end they used a shrine maiden whose power had been granted by the Tower itself to pin down the opener's location—even knowing it would burn through the lifespan of a living national treasure. They intended to claim the basement opener for themselves ahead of every other nation.

"What of Yuko's oracle?"

"It just came down."

"Send the shadows to the place the oracle marked."

"Yes, Clan Head."

Japan began moving with equal speed.

China and Japan both set their sights on Korea's rising star.

And while those decisions were being made—

"Hey! Move it already! I need to go down!"

"Gwuruk."

Cheonwoo, the very center of the storm, was currently locked in a wrestling match with a Hole Sweeper.

"Augh! What's your problem!"

"Kyung!"

Hole Sweeper. Exactly as the name suggested: a native basement creature that cleaned the vertical shafts. It was a boss-class entity roughly level fifty that ground any human who approached its hole into paste.

One peculiar exception existed, however—it could not attack Ji Cheonwoo. Because she was the Basement Manager.

"What do you even want?! You want coffee too?"

"Kyuk…"

"No? Then what? What do I have to do for you to get out of the way?!"

She had to throw herself into the hole the worm ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was blocking if she wanted to reach Basement 3rd Floor. Problem was, the Hole Sweeper had zero intention of letting her go down.

Eventually she realized she would have to deal with the things before she could proceed, and she racked her brain for a solution.

"I don't get it. What do you want from me?"

"Kyung?"

"Augh, seriously."

Under the Mental Filter the creature looked like nothing more than a cute little wriggler, so Cheonwoo heaved a long sigh and started roughly petting its head.

The Hole Sweeper twisted in what seemed like pure delight at her touch.

"Wait. You just wanted me to pet you?"

"Kyuk!"

"Ha. You little brat."

She spent a long while stroking the Hole Sweeper. No one had ever touched it before—everyone called it disgusting and horrifying.

Under the Manager's hand it felt a powerful affection it had never known in its entire existence. Normally a climber would have to pay with an arm or a leg for passage. The Manager was different.

"Kyung…!"

"Is that enough?"

"Kyuruk!"

"Finally!"

Satisfied, the Hole Sweeper slipped into its shaft and vanished. At last the path to Basement 3rd Floor stood open—an achievement won after more than an hour of wrestling with the worm.

"Time to dive!"

Cheonwoo did not hesitate. She hurled herself into the hole.

Thud!

"Ugh… What is this place? Why's it so dark?"

Pitch-black darkness. I pulled a flashlight ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠from the exploration bag I'd packed ahead of time and swept the beam around.

A library?

So the theme of Basement 3rd Floor was a library, huh? Bookcases two stories tall stood packed with countless volumes. I tried pulling one out to read…

"What even is this?"

I couldn't read a single word. Not Korean. Not English or Japanese either. I had no idea what language it was, and the books themselves felt ancient.

One bottle of Almond Water and Agni's Heart—got 'em!

"So this is Agni's Heart."

A vivid crimson sphere. Holding it made my hand feel warm. Something about it settled my heart completely. I wanted ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to make Agni's Heart mine right then and there.

"No!"

No matter how good it felt, I was absolutely not falling for it! What kind of cheap temptation was this? If I wanted to survive down here I didn't need more power—I needed to protect my Manager Authority. Once a Manager, always a Manager!

"What? Did I just get praised? Hell yeah! That's me! Agni or Agumon or whatever—get lost! I'm the Manager."

So it had been some kind of test? The moment I reaffirmed a Manager's mindset and stood firm against Agni's temptation, the system handed me an ID card and told me I'd done well. Looks like the basement system was starting to like me a little.

Number zero? The Manager ID Card was the very first Lost Item?! That was insane!

"Hahaha! Now we're talking!"

Somehow it finally felt like I had been recognized as a real Manager. Like I'd just been granted the authority to assign every basement entity wherever I wanted. While I was happily fiddling with the ID card, a new quest window popped up.

Find things to do in the library! As Manager, I just had to discover work I could actually handle. But what was that about there being no librarian?

"…Is anyone there…?"

"The library is… currently closed for business…"

"I will… guide you to the exit…"

"You must… leave at once…"

A voice drifted from far away. I couldn't tell if it was sobbing or laughing. Whatever managed a library with all the lights off was definitely an Entity. Maybe the librarian…? No. The quest window had just said there was no librarian right now. So what was that?

"Okay, time to run—"

"Found you."

"Kyaaaaaaah!!!"

What the hell?! Don't just pop out behind me like that!!!

"Eep. I-I'm sorry… I thought you might be lost…"

"You can't just jump out from behind people! I almost peed myself a little!"

"Ah… sorry…"

She looked like a gloomy older sister type. And damn, her chest was huge! What the hell did you even eat to get that stacked, lol?

"Um, I'm the Manager. What are you doing here?"

"Y-yes…? M-Manager…?"

"Yep. I'm the Basement Manager! Ta-da! ID card!"

"Eek!? I-it's so bright!"

The moment I shoved the Manager ID Card in her face, the gloomy library lady yelped and stumbled backward until she landed hard on her butt! As expected of the Manager ID Card. Just its existence was enough to make Entities flinch and the Tower itself tremble. Behold the dignity of the primordial Lost Item!

"Y-you're… really the Manager…?"

"Yes! I'm the Basement Manager, okay? Got a problem?"

"N-no! Hiiik… I've never met a Manager before… I-I was rude…!"

What was with this stacked, bread-filled noona crawling on the floor? Had the ID card's pressure short-circuited her brain?

"Please stand up first!"

"Y-yes…"

"So what were you doing here all alone?"

"W-well… I was assigned here, but… no one ever… gave me any work… so I just… patrolled by myself…"

"They never gave you any work?"

"Yes…"

"Are you the librarian?"

"A-ah, no! N-not officially yet… more like a… library helper? Something like that…"

"Ahh."

Some kind of glitch, then. In other words, the Entity who should have become the librarian never received her assignment and had just been wandering the stacks forever.

"How long have you been walking these floors?"

"Uh… I-I don't know. Probably… ever since the Tower first appeared…"

"…"

She was tearing up. Don't cry! I don't have anything to comfort you with!

"Well, I'm here now! Don't worry!"

"R-really…?"

"Yeah! Let's figure something out together!"

Alright. Now how should I handle the stacked noona?

If I just appoint her as librarian, would that work?

I was the Manager. I even had the Manager ID Card—the symbol of absolute basement authority.

"I hereby appoint you librarian of this library!"

"…Oh…!"

"Feel any different?"

"A-ah, no… just… kinda proud?"

"Darn."

That wasn't it. Nothing changed. Wrong approach. There had to be another way.

Think. I'm the Manager. The Basement Manager.

There had to be work only I could do—work no other Entity could handle.

"Floor transfer!"

"Y-yes…?"

"Just wait here a second!"

"Huh…? W-wait…!"

I transferred straight to the Breakroom. The Breakroom could be entered from any floor. From there I simply stepped out into the office on Basement 2nd Floor…

"Salaryman Entity!"

"Yes… Manager…"

"Look, I want to appoint someone on Basement 3rd Floor as librarian. How do I do that?"

"Librarian…? One moment."

Vrrrrr.

A single contract form slid out of the printer.

"Signing this should do it."

"Thanks!"

Why was the office on Basement 2nd Floor? Why had the Tower forced me to clear that floor first? Thinking about it made the answer simple. The name of the Lost Item the Salaryman Entity had given me was already a hint.

Right—Personnel Management Terminal. That meant the Salaryman Entity was basically HR, or at least handled that side of things. The catch was he couldn't leave Basement 2nd Floor.

He was an Entity employed specifically for that floor. But I was different. I managed the entire basement! My job was to organically connect every floor!

"I get it now. The Manager's true role…!"

Solve the worries of the Entities on each floor. Keep the basement running smoothly. That was the work.

"Here!"

"This is…"

"A contract. Stacked Entity, sign it this instant! Then you can work ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠proudly as the official librarian!"

"W-woooow…! D-does this mean… my apprentice period is finally over… and I'm being hired for real…?"

"Yep! I just hired you!"

"Uwah… hic… thank you so much, Manager…"

The provisional librarian pressed her fingerprint onto the contract. The paper burned away in a flash of fire, and lights blazed to life throughout the library.

"I… I'm the librarian now…"

"Great. So now…"

There was still one more thing I was supposed to do in the library. What could it be?

"Ah, Manager…"

"Hm?"

"P-please take this…"

While I was still wondering what work I could handle, the Librarian Entity suddenly pulled something out from between her breasts.

A brand-new Lost Item, still warm from the librarian noona's chest!

"Uh, what is this?"

"It's a ledger… listing every being who has stolen books from the library without permission…"

Recovering missing volumes. So that was the second job I had to do in the library!

"Let's see here."

I opened the register of book thieves. Countless names filled the pages.

"Why are there so many damn thieves?!"

"You absolute bastards!"

A Constellation of the Tower had casually stolen a book from the basement library without permission… and then gifted it to his own avatar? So he'd taken someone else's book and handed it over like it was his to give? He'd probably taken all the credit as if he were bestowing some grand blessing!

That pissed me off.

"You think this is funny?! Give the book back!"

The Manager's second duty: issue a recall order for every stolen volume!

Shen Zhao. I don't know who the hell you are… but hand over the damn book!!!

That book isn't yours. It isn't your Constellation's either. It's mine… no—it's ours! It belongs to the basement!