A Long-Awaited Rest
The party leader and main order-giver, the priest named Strawberry Cream Cheese Tarte.
The mage responsible for area attacks and firepower, Ninejip Daepokpal.
The sole frontline tank, wielding reinforced equipment and handling both tanking and damage output—Hyeolpung Geomseong.
The rogue who excelled in puzzles, tricks, and special missions, Muroebae.
Team B—the elite four of Starry Night Guild—had earned a reputation through countless dungeon and boss first clears, first kills that shook the name.
So when asked how close they were, there was a slight awkwardness.
Actually, they were nothing more or less than guildmates who played games together.
Since RPGs were games about people living in another world, one could see every imaginable kind of drama while watching community forums.
One story that resurfaced after being forgotten was when someone's girlfriend cheated with the other woman they met in-game—a level of scandal that could almost be called cute.
The true hardcore version involved boyfriends and husbands cheating, girlfriends and wives doing the same, leaving countless lives ruined.
But Tarte and her party had never been tangled that deeply with reality.
There had been no offline meetups, and private contact was rare.
They were truly just people who played games together.
That was why they still called each other by their game nicknames even after arriving in the Tower.
The size and splendor of the achievements they'd stacked together didn't guarantee closeness between them.
It was almost like a business relationship.
But a business relationship played only through games.
"I decided to reveal who I am. The president vanishing without a word would be problematic," Hyeolpung Geomseong said.
Tarte knew little about him.
A rich older man, someone who liked wuxia novels, mediocre gaming skill, and someone who was often busy.
So she had simply accepted it.
"But everyone else should be careful. After all, you're being observed by people all over the world. If you're planning to return to reality someday, it's best not to reveal who you are in real life."
"Yeah, anyway, there's not much I have to take responsibility for in real life. I'll keep hiding."
Ninejip Daepokpal, Hyeolpung Geomseong's real-life friend, had chosen a different path.
Muroebae said nothing about it.
Tarte said nothing.
'No one is allowed to know about my real life.'
First, the fact that she had become a woman from a man.
That would draw the attention of countless perverts.
Even if not perverts, anyone's story of this bizarre experience would make everyone curious.
The part where she had lied to her party members that she was a college student.
Actually, she had only been a janitor.
All of that was something she didn't want anyone to know.
Then there was the family worry.
'Are they worried about me having disappeared?'
They hadn't contacted each other that often, so maybe a few days would pass fine.
But if she stayed underground for more than a few weeks, it would definitely cause concern.
'There's no choice but to exit the Tower as soon as possible.'
"I don't want to reveal my story just yet, either."
With Muroebae also deciding to keep her identity secret, the only one who had revealed their real identity was Geomseong.
The conversation ended there.
After that, they ate, and talked about today's work and what lay ahead.
"Thanks to barely leveling up by fighting monkeys, I learned magic. I almost died, you know?"
"Does leveling up automatically teach magic? It feels like a Pokémon game."
"Starfall also lets you learn skills just by leveling up. Awakening quests were required, though."
Daepokpal had been separated from the others during the escape from the deer god and faced a pack of monkeys, leading to a fierce battle.
Without reliable allies to cover his back or sides, he fought alone and almost died to the monkeys.
He had barely survived by leveling up and learning the natural magic from defeating them.
"This is what the Magic Missile looks like."
Bang! Crash!
"Hey! You can't cast magic inside the inn! Are you crazy?"
"Sorry."
Daepoppal had suddenly decided to demonstrate magic right then, probably because of the beer buzz from swallowing it with food.
Luckily, the magic's power wasn't that strong, so the party could settle the mess by paying for three broken beer glasses.
"I jumped into the river because I bumped into a bear again. The bear was also a good swimmer. I had learned to swim when I was young, so it was a fierce contest. That's how the Swimming skill appeared."
Geomseong explained why his body had been soaked when they met again, and the story of his swimming duel with the bear.
He even mentioned that the Swimming skill had increased his stamina.
Tarte couldn't help but laugh at the image of it.
"Geomseong-ssi, your misfortunes seem to happen a lot."
"Tarte-ssi."
Geomseong's voice lowered, his expression suddenly serious.
Tarte was a little startled when the comic character suddenly became serious.
'What kind of story requires lowering the voice like that?'
"I heard it from the chat window. I acted like I had a plan at the time, but I didn't. I just acted after realizing I might die. I had made up my mind to die to the deer god. Is that true?"
Tarte thought.
Really, this guy...!
People always had secrets they didn't want to tell anyone.
If all of that was relayed without any filter, it would be embarrassing to death.
"It was a situation too urgent, so I probably didn't have time for deep thoughts? I had to decide in an instant. I figured it was best to lure the one with the highest survival chance, which was me."
Tarte's face had turned bright red—whether from the alcohol in the beer or from the embarrassment of her hidden resolve being exposed.
Half and half.
At Tarte's answer, Hyeolpung Geomseong shot to his feet and bowed at a ninety-degree angle.
"Thank you truly. You must have needed a tremendous amount of courage and resolve. Tarte-ssi is truly amazing."
Tarte's face began to feel hot like a hand warmer from Geomseong's humble greeting and praise.
It was getting harder to listen to.
She herself felt the heat rising.
"But such incidents must never happen again. Please share this burden with the party. I will work hard to become a reliable teammate instead of a burden."
Geomseong had offered his own resolve alongside the gratitude.
Don't carry that heavy load alone.
Trust the team more.
People should have witnessed this scene.
It was a shame the broadcast was off because of Privacy Mode.
Tarte remembered the countless laughs and mockery from earlier.
Criticism for a warrior who couldn't even beat a fox.
But Geomseong was a man who helped when it was time.
He had cheerfully accepted the unreasonable request to fight the bear.
What kind of hero was that?
"Geomseong-ssi isn't a burden. He's a chivalrous knight."
Why were these people in the inn having the kind of conversation older men make at drinking parties—overstating each other?
Two reasons: they had really been drinking, and they had truly performed a great adventure.
Who else would have faced the deer god head-on and engaged in a fistfight with the bear?
They kept toasting and telling stories until they became drunk, then scattered to their rooms.
The rooms weren't what they expected, but they were passable.
No cobwebs, no musty smell, and the beds had been made fluffy as best as possible.
When Tarte entered the room alone, she thought.
'No one will point out the fact that I turned from a man into a woman.'
Then Tarte thought.
'We aren't that close, yet the topic is pretty sensitive, isn't it?'
She figured the other party members hadn't been that close to her, so they hadn't touched the sensitive topic.
But Tarte was slightly mistaken.
The other members didn't know that Tarte had been a woman even when playing games in real life before arriving in the Tower.
She lay on the bed.
Habitually rolling to her side, she felt uncomfortable from the weight of her chest pulling her, so she changed to lying straight.
Even in that position, she realized how heavy her breasts were.
Too big.
It was a really strange body.
Because she had experienced too much, she fell asleep quickly and woke up far too early in the morning.
When Tarte took a short walk in the inn courtyard, she ran into the members of Team A.
A girl in a dazzling white dress that shone in the moonlight.
Pink hair in real life was rare, and she had an extremely small, thin body.
Although Tarte didn't know yet, the girl was the leader of Team A—Miro.
"You're from Team A, right?"
Team A had been refusing all communication with Team B.
Tarte still suspected Team A might have summoned the Tower and the Demon.
"If it's a misunderstanding, I'm truly sorry. Did Team A summon the Demon and start this game?"
She had asked the same question earlier, but Team A had fled at that time.
But Miro didn't seem to have any intention of running away this time.
"Then what do you plan to do?"
Miro responded to the conversation with Tarte.