First Steps into the Tower
As we headed up to the Tower, Cha Eunwol and Kim Hyunah alternated glances between the bread on the table and Cheon Yura, swallowing hard.
It was because they'd just witnessed the prideful Cheon Yura devolve into maniacal laughter and tears over a mere piece of bread. Neither could bring themselves to touch it easily.
"Haa... Arang, this isn't spiked with drugs or anything, right?"
"Do I look crazy enough to drug my bread?"
I might've considered taking ingredients home to experiment on my own dough, but I'd never tamper with the actual bread.
"It's just salt bread with some seaweed... that's it."
Despite my indignant protest, the guild leader kept shooting me suspicious looks.
I stared right back without backing down.
Finally, she squeezed her eyes shut and took a big, reluctant bite.
Seeing that, Kim Hyunah cautiously nibbled hers too.
Crunch. Crumble.
The sound of the crispy baked exterior shattering echoed through the bakery room.
"......Hmm...?" "This is..."
In their mouths exploded the salty tang, rich buttery savoriness, and the deep umami of the seaweed paste infused with seaweed flavor.
Suddenly, both their shoulders jerked up sharply.
"......?"
But that was it.
No laughing-to-tears or fainting like with Cheon Yura earlier.
What the...?
"It's super tasty... but no passing out or anything."
"Yeah. Just delicious bread."
The guild leader and Kim Hyunah tilted their heads in confusion, reacting normally.
...What's going on? Why are they different?
I'd been secretly anticipating their reactions, so the lack of any made me a bit disappointed.
No, this is normal...
Puzzled why only Cheon Yura reacted that way, I grabbed my share from the table and took a big bite.
Crunch.
"Oh... this is good."
Seaweed and salt bread go so well together.
The flavor of the seaweed paste blended with butter inside the crispy-chewy dough shattered my preconceptions.
Maybe next time, mint bacon sausage bread? Wonder what buff that'd give.
As I chewed and swallowed, the skill window popped up right in front of me.
Seaweed Salt Bread consumed.
Deep Sea Vision: For 1 hour, vision and reflexes improve, allowing sight of things previously unseen.
"...Things previously unseen? Like ghosts or something?"
I blinked as I read the skill window text.
This buff felt a bit different.
As it activated, my vision went pitch black for a moment, and the world transformed completely.
The world... looked a little slower.
How to describe it? Tiny, trivial movements I'd normally only catch with intense focus were now crystal clear.
Kim Hyunah's subtle muscle flex with every breath was right there in plain view.
Do Mongolians live like this?
"This... is really amazing."
Expanded field of view, heightened bodily senses.
I got lost in the dizzying sensation that my body wasn't my own.
"Haa..."
Just moments ago, Cheon Yura—who'd been cycling between laughter and tears—wiped her tears roughly with her sleeve.
Her reddened eyes fixed on me as she flashed a grin and stood up.
"So this is the power... Looks like each bread type has a different effect..."
Cheon Yura muttered quietly, turning to Cha Eunwol.
Her gaze mixed jealousy, anger, and envy.
'If only I'd found her first... What a shame.'
"Cha Eunwol... You were gonna hog this cheat-level stuff all to yourselves?"
"Hog my ass. Arang isn't even in our guild, like you said."
Cha Eunwol slyly looked away.
Suddenly, Cheon Yura stared right through me, licking her lips with a red tongue, savoring the taste.
...Damn, this enhanced vision shows everything too clearly...
Even her excited, ragged breathing was painfully vivid.
Pervert.
Cheon Yura furrowed her brow as if deep in thought, then smiled darkly at me.
"Arang."
"Yeah?"
"Wanna try climbing the Tower?"
Her out-of-nowhere suggestion made the bakery room's air grow heavy.
"Hey, Cheon Yura, you really wanna die...?"
"...This isn't a joke, Guild Leader Cheon Yura."
Cha Eunwol and Kim Hyunah shot up simultaneously, radiating thick killing intent.
The Tower.
The place where hunters risked their lives to climb, dying daily. Could I even go in there?
Despite Cha Eunwol and Kim Hyunah's fierce opposition, Cheon Yura shrugged nonchalantly.
"Why so sensitive? Who said we'd take the kiddo to the high floors? Just the entrance or mid-layers, with us escorting. In and out easy."
Caught off guard, I scratched the back of my head.
"But... I don't have any attack or clearing skills."
"Who needs skills? You just watch from behind. Be honest—you're a little curious, right?"
"Huh...?"
"What's in the Tower that makes hunters like me risk our necks? Not curious?"
Her devilish whisper made me gulp involuntarily, lost in thought.
...Truth be told, denying it would be a lie.
Humans are curious creatures. When starving or broke, no room for curiosity.
Now that life was comfortable... it sparked.
I'd always wondered about the Tower's insides from the daily news hype—what made hunters dive in despite the deaths. A shallow itch to see it myself.
Plus, with these three guarding me, even mid-layers felt safe. Couldn't die if I tried.
As I stroked my chin in conflict, the guild leader panicked and blocked my view.
"Hey, kiddo! Don't listen to that psycho! Production types without attack skills don't climb the Tower!!"
"Exactly, Arang."
Kim Hyunah approached with a stern face, gripping my shoulders tight.
"Curiosity kills. The Tower isn't a playground."
At their desperate pleas, Cheon Yura chuckled and stepped back.
"Fine, if you're scared and hate it, no biggie. Not forcing you."
Her casual taunt stirred a weird stubbornness in me.
...Gotta test these buffs anyway.
I didn't need to fight, but watching top hunters chow down my bread and wreck monsters? Hell yeah.
Top-tier hunters farming? How to resist.
"Hmm..."
I gently removed Kim Hyunah's hand and opened my mouth cautiously.
"Kinda curious... Wouldn't mind going once."
"Wha—?! Kiddo!!"
The guild leader yelped in shock.
Cheon Yura nodded satisfied, smirking smugly at her.
No wonder they fight nonstop.
"See? She's in."
"Argh, you damn psycho...!"
The guild leader gnashed her teeth at Cheon Yura, then whipped around, yanking my cheeks with both hands.
"Ubuuub—!"
"What a stubborn brat! Why follow her there without fear?!"
"Owies..."
She pinched my glutinous rice cake cheeks in anger.
"Still... curious..."
"Haa... Fine. One peek won't hurt. I'll stick right by you."
Cha Eunwol sighed, releasing my cheeks. Then Kim Hyunah silently stepped up.
Stone-faced, she pinched and stretched mine just like the guild leader.
"Abyaa... Hyunah, stop...!"
"Arang... Hoo..."
She glared murderously as she pulled, tears pricking my eyes.
My cheeks flushed red as I sniffled. The guild leader chin-nodded at Cheon Yura.
"Anyway, we'll take the kiddo into the Tower. Butt out. Don't fill her head with nonsense."
"What? I suggested it first. I'm taking her—if anyone's out, it's you."
"Ha, you shameless bitch!"
"Stop picking fights. Makes it hard to get friendly."
The next morning.
I hung the item from Kim Hyunah around my neck and entered the Baekya Guild lobby.
On my back, a backpack stuffed with morning-baked buff breads, just in case.
"Hoo..."
My heart pounded the moment I stepped in.
Actually going... I'm nervous.
The guild leader—arms crossed—burst out laughing at my stiff, tense walk-in.
In the lobby center: fully geared guild leader and Kim Hyunah, plus casually dressed Cheon Yura waving at me.
"Why the bunny eyes? So scared?"
"You scared me yesterday..."
I gripped my backpack straps tight in reply; she ruffled my hair.
"Don't worry. Just dipping toes in floor 1 today. Stick close to your big sis—no issues."
"Big sis" felt weird, but her relaxed smile eased my shoulders a bit.
Yeah... these three could punch through high floors easy.
"No. I'll protect Arang most safely."
A cool fragrance whooshed from behind as Kim Hyunah hugged my waist from the back.
Her ample chest pressed against my back; I stiffened in surprise.
Why do they all have to be... so big?
I turned away to avoid my own flat chest.
Looking now... something in me would just lose.
"Hyu-Hyunah?!"
"Guild leader handles front-line monsters. I'll keep Arang by my side."
The guild leader's face soured as she fiddled with my hair.
"Hey, Hyunah. Keep crossing lines? I'm still your guild leader—let go now?!"
"Guild hierarchy and Arang's survival are separate."
"Arang... They always like this?"
"Yeah..."
I sighed deeply, wriggling free from Kim Hyunah's embrace to follow Cheon Yura toward the Tower entrance.
We submitted our hunter licenses at the Tower entrance desk and stepped into the gate.
Vwooom—!
"Ugh..."
A intense dizziness hit; my body floated in void as space twisted in nauseating wrongness.
Stomach churning, I squeezed my eyes shut then open.
Motion sickness... gonna hurl...
"We're here, kiddo. Open your eyes."
At Cheon Yura's voice, I slowly blinked mine open.
"......Whoa."
My jaw dropped.
Inside a building, yet vast blue plains stretched endlessly before me.
Fake or real? A clear blue sky and dazzling sun above; fresh grasshopper chirps underfoot.
I'm really... inside the Tower.
As I gawked around in awe, Cheon Yura smirked and flicked my chin.
"Cute reaction. Don't gape like a country bumpkin."
"It's just... so cool."
"Still a Tower full of monsters. Stay alert at least."
She nodded toward the plains' horizon.
"Or those'll crack your skull from behind."
Where her finger pointed: A horde of waist-high, grotesque green-skinned, ugly-faced monsters charged with clubs, screeching horrifically.
"Kikikigik—!!"
Classic novel goblins.
"Whoa... they're ugly."
...TS was better... If I'd been set as a monster, ugh, can't even imagine.