Gone in a Single Shot

What was he even supposed to call this thing?

UFO was the wrong word. Those lie flat, like saucers, and this one stood straight up. It even had a pair of adorable little eyes.

A blue donut...? A hemorrhoid cushion...?

It did look roughly like that.

Kiyo—?

A space mercenary, they'd said. One that fired a pulse gun condensed from the energy of the stars.

This thing... cost two thousand coins?

Regret crept in at a face like a toddler's plush, but Minhyuk forced himself to shake his head.

No. There's definitely something to it.

It had been the same the first time he made the Little Wooden Soldiers. The toy-like look had disappointed him then, too. And now? They were the steadfast right hand he couldn't do without.

What's more, the Sapphire Soldier's rank was SS — a full tier above the Little Wooden Soldiers. Different had to mean properly different.

"Wha's that?"

Elia pointed at the Sapphire Soldier floating in the empty air.

Kkureung...?

Ookiki...?

Moooo...?

The rest of the crew was staring with the same baffled eyes.

"This is family. We'll be living together from now on. Everybody, say hello."

"Hewwo!"

Once the existing Safe Zone members had been briefly introduced, Minhyuk looked at the Sapphire Soldier and asked.

"Do you happen to have a name?"

Kiyo—!

"Right. Kiyomi. Good to meet you. Rude of me on a first meeting, but mind if we start with a performance test?"

He wanted a look at that pulse gun, or whatever it was called. Just how impressive could it be?

Kiyokiyo—!

Kiyomi nodded... no. Not quite. The plate-sized body bobbed up and down. The eyes drew happy arcs, which seemed to mean yes. With a hole punched clean through the middle like a donut, it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠even gave off the feeling of a wide grin.

(^o^)

Something like that.

"So that's a yes?"

(^o^): Kiyo—!

"Then the pulse gun. Fire that first."

(?o?): Kiyo......?

Kiyomi's body swiveled this way and that. Maybe because he hadn't designated where to shoot?

Let's see... that way is the monkey village, so no. That way is the wild cornfield, also no. The sea's dangerous because of the Sea Otter.

After a moment's thought, Minhyuk pointed overhead. Empty sky ought to be fine.

"You see the sky up there? That way."

(^o^): Kiyo—!

Kiyomi dipped flat like a UFO, faced the sky, and opened its mouth — or the hole in its body? Whatever it was, it opened wide.

(ºOº)

Something like that.

Sssss—

Blue particles gathered along the edge of Kiyomi's mouth and began forming a round sphere. The pace, though, was a little slow.

So there is a cooldown.

If the Little Wooden Soldiers could fire on the spot, Kiyomi needed about ten ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠seconds to shoot?

That's... kind of long.

Correction. Being generous, it took about twenty seconds.

The blue sphere, forming as slowly as if it were gathering power, swelled to the size of an apple — and then.

Fshwooooooom—!

A single streak of blue light shot straight up. It was too fast for the eye to follow. All that remained overhead was a cloud torn past any recognizable shape.

"...?"

It wasn't simply a hole punched through. The cloud had shattered as miserably as a glass dropped on the floor.

"Whoa..."

Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap—

The Safe Zone members looked up at the sky and applauded like seals. Minhyuk blinked in a daze, then joined the applause.

"Ooh..."

Of course. This was exactly why you never judged by looks alone.

Legion Manufacture, raised to level 2. With that, one more function had opened.

Hmm. Enhancement. A part of him hesitated.

I do have the money.

Minhyuk's balance stood at 4,158 coins. He could enhance Kiyomi. The problem was that it would be an all-in, scrape-the-bottom kind of investment.

Take out 4,000 and I'm left with a measly 158 coins... and what's that supposed to do for anyone?

The deserted island was peaceful again today. But ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠no one knew when a person's future might turn on them. Who could say a sudden need for emergency funds wouldn't pop up out of nowhere?

On top of that, the Survivor Shop had also reached level 2, so a generous stock of new daily necessities had come in. There was plenty he needed to buy, and above all, there was no reason to rush.

Time only made things more favorable on his side. He could gather coins at his leisure, tend the fields, and — while he was at it — eat something delicious, then slowly prepare for the giant bear raid. That was perfectly fine.

"Anyway, what do I do with the leftover minerals?"

There were uses enough. An SS-rank Astro Sapphire frying pan, a steamer condensed with the energy of the stars, and so on. The trouble was that it would be pearls before swine.

"Oh — right!"

After a moment's thought, Minhyuk picked up his carving knife.

Skritch, skritch—

Weapons, to raise the Little Wooden Soldiers' combat power.

Perhaps because he had Crafted it from SS-rank minerals, a weapon was born that couldn't even be compared to the ones made of wood.

"Here. One each."

Chk—!

After issuing the new rifles to the Little Wooden Soldiers, he took the Astro Sapphire and went to find the Monkey Doctor. A communication magic stone, a stone-tablet map, and more — the monkey had already produced groundbreaking inventions, so an SS-rank mineral would surely be put to good use.

Oogi...? Oogikiki...?

Shown the Astro Sapphire, the Monkey Doctor pushed up his glasses in surprise.

"This? I brought it from the bear's cave."

Oogigi... ooki?

"Yeah. I'll give you this precious thing, so make me something good. Something useful for getting around the jungle."

Oogikiki—!

The monkey vassal flung himself flat in a bow, as if the royal favor were too great to bear. Then he lifted his head a little and asked.

Oogikki... oogi oogi...?

"Hm? Other minerals, too?"

At the same moment—

Ding—!

Hmm. Not even empty-handed — a sub quest on top of it? Okay. Request accepted.

Minhyuk returned once more to the Safe Zone. The tilling must have been finished; off to one side the cows sat resting in that loaf-of-bread posture. Scattered every which way, the Meerkat Brothers were sowing seeds in the fields or watering them.

And elsewhere—

"Finally...!"

Corn that had grown as tall as he was had ripened beautifully. The first harvest, arrived at the end of long endurance. Minhyuk rolled up both sleeves and picked a single ear.

Tok—

Well?

"Oh?"

Spirit — what was that? Something like presence?

And a Mental Fortification ++Boost on top of it.

"Right, right. What matters is a heart that doesn't break."

Someone had said it once. Let your mind collapse, and your body becomes a scrap of tissue. He'd failed more than once, in fact, because his heart had given out.

Corn that was good for ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠mental strength? From now on he could look after his mind as well as his body.

"Hmm hmm hmm~"

He was humming to himself and harvesting corn when it happened.

Tok—!

An unusual feel in his hand.

Looking closely, the corn's name was strange. The Harvest experience was double, too. Somehow it looked subtly different from the other ears.

Don't tell me...

Good heavens.

From F-rank to E-rank. The stamina increase, from 0.01 to 0.1. And an extra special effect on top of that.

Thanks to Fertile Soil (Lv. 2), an even more extraordinary crop had been grown!

Then — the most important thing. The taste?

"...Kkureung."

Kkureung?

"Get the water on. Now."

While Kkureung set a pot of water over the campfire, Minhyuk finished harvesting the corn in a hurry.

The total yield was three hundred ears. Of those, the (Special) corn came to ninety-two.

A level-up, on top of everything else. But that wasn't what mattered right now.

Bubble, bubble—

He set the (Special) corn on the steamer and closed the pot lid. Twenty minutes later, Minhyuk lifted the lid with a gesture full of anticipation.

Steam curled up—

A savory smell spread with the hot vapor.

"Ah, hot, hot— hoo, hoo."

He cooled the steaming ear and passed it to Elia, who was watching from beside him and swallowing hard.

"Mmph! It's way tastier than last time!"

The unfiltered truth shot straight out of her.

Kkureung—!

Ookiki—!

The meerkats and the monkey vassal sent their own praise. Just how good could it be?

Chomp—

Minhyuk took a huge bite of the steamed corn. Every time the kernels crunched, a sweet, savory juice burst free, and right on its heels a deep richness rose up, as if high-grade butter had been spread over it.

"Wow... this is insane."

This wasn't food. This was cuisine. Half out of his mind, Minhyuk carried on his steamed-corn mukbang.

Smack— chew, chew...

The cows licked their lips and stared blankly at the sight.

Oh, right. They were here too. Sorry — they were the new arrivals, so he'd forgotten.

Minhyuk hurriedly handed steamed corn to the cows.

There was room in the balance now. He'd sold the harvested corn.

For reference, ordinary corn went for six coins apiece. (Special) corn went for sixty. A full ten times the price.

So he'd sold off every ordinary ear, and put out exactly five of the (Special) ones. Why? The rest belonged to the Safe Zone members, Minhyuk included.

Anyway.

With financial breathing room at last, he made up his mind and enhanced Kiyomi.

(?o?): Kiyo—?

In an instant, Kiyomi's body was drenched in rainbow light.

Outwardly, at least, nothing much had changed. It was just a little more sparkly. That was all.

Surely four thousand coins hadn't gone into nothing but a polish—

Oh? SS+-rank? The rank had gone up, so its attack power must have risen as well.

And an effect had appeared. Five seconds of stun. For Kiyomi, whose attack speed was slow to begin with, it was exactly the buff that was needed.

At this level, maybe it was worth a try.

"All forces, advance!"

Minhyuk led the Little Wooden Soldiers and Kiyomi, Kkureung as well, and even Elia, and headed for the cliff.

"Are we goin' to watch the bear sleep again?"

"Yeah. Something like that."

The plan was simple. From the top of the cliff, Kiyomi's pulse gun would land the first hit on the giant bear. During Kiyomi's attack delay, the Little Wooden Soldiers would pour on a hail of bullets. They were above the cliff anyway, so it shouldn't be all that dangerous.

And if the giant bear tried to climb that brutal cliff? Freeze it with Elia's Seal, then scramble back to the Safe Zone.

Mm. Perfect.

A hit-and-run that would put an out-boxer to shame. Before long they arrived at the cliff overlooking the bear's cave.

Grrrrrr—

The giant bear was pacing near the cave. Buffs first, before the surprise opening shot.

Sharaaang—

Ugh. A little dizzy.

Maybe because he'd used Blessing, which consumed mana, twice in a row. Minhyuk pressed a hand to his spinning forehead and gave the order.

"All right, Wooden Soldiers. You know the drill, don't you? The moment Kiyomi attacks, you fire too."

Chk—!

"Kiyomi, fire the pulse gun at that huge bear you can see over there. Right now."

(^o^): Kiyokiyo—!

It bobbed its body for a moment, then opened its mouth and drew in blue particles.

(ºOº)

Sssss—

Minhyuk shifted his gaze to the giant bear. Kiyomi's attack cooldown was twenty seconds. But with the five-second stun applied, it was effectively a fifteen-second cooldown.

That's not a bad number. Good thing I invested four thousand coins.

Then—

Pshk—!

A blue flash flared at the edge of his vision. After the long wait, Kiyomi's pulse gun had fired.

Booooooom—!

The blue flash struck the giant bear's body dead-on. The earth heaved as if it had taken a high-altitude bombardment.

Kukugugugung—!

At the same time, the ground where the giant bear had stood was swallowed in thick dust. And then—

Ding—!

...Huh?

"...?"

Minhyuk tilted his head in a blank daze. Before long the dust settled, and all that remained of the ground was a sunken crater. Every trace of the giant bear had been wiped clean away.

"Boss, boss! The bear's gone! Where'd it go?"

"...Y-yeah. I wonder."

It had died in a single hit.

...Meanwhile.

"Heh heh..."

Kaligo, an NPC of the Tower, gazed at the new first-clear notice that had risen across the entire Tower, then turned his head. In a test tube full of violet liquid sat three cucumbers.

In order: human, elf, demonkin. Items that three races had brought to Kaligo for appraisal, all on the same day and at the same hour.

"Paron."

"Yes, Master."

Kaligo addressed his disciple.

"The Deserted Island Cucumber — how long until the appraisal is finished?"

"Hard to say. I couldn't pin the exact time down, but it shouldn't be long. A week, if it's fast?"

As a rule, an item appraisal was done in four days at the outside. Something like the Deserted Island Cucumber, though, took a month at minimum, and often more.

Because it wasn't simply a matter of measuring the item's rank or effects. It was the work of uncovering the maker.

Not long now.

Not long until the identity of the player on the 777th floor — the one the humans, the elves, and the demonkin were so desperate to know, the one some even revered as a god of the Tower — was revealed to the world.

"Paron."

"Yes, Master."

"Let us close up shop for today."

"What? N-no, Master. It isn't even noon yet. Why are we closing already...?"

"See for yourself whether we'll have any customers today."

At his disciple's flustered question, Kaligo smiled faintly and pointed toward the Tower's Free Market.

"G-Giant Balrog Bear...?"

"What kind of monster even is that?"

"The 777th floor...? Again?"

"Damn it! Contact headquarters, now!"

"What are you standing around for?! Run!!"

The market was already growing frantic.