The Rabbit and the Speedrun

Just as "sun" and "day" are pronounced differently but mean the same thing, to me, "spectating" and "contribution" are just different words for the same concept.

I had just asked Seo Ian if I could "spectate" her clearing the 41st-floor boss, and whether she thought she could take it down today.

Her response was firm.

"No. Even if it’s clearable, I don’t intend to take it down today."

She answered with eyes full of resolve.

"Why? Isn't it better to clear it if you can? They say for Awakened, level is everything."

My source? The Awakened community forums. That’s why so many people repeatedly farm the floor just below the highest one, all to grind levels.

"Level is everything? Rabbit. Do you browse the forums?"

Seo Ian pierced right through me with that question.

"No. I just heard it somewhere."

I immediately denied it, pretending to be clueless. An NPC who browses forums? That would be weird, wouldn't it?

Her eyes narrowed slightly, but she soon seemed to accept it.

"Well, you meet all sorts of people, so I suppose you’d hear all sorts of things."

Regardless, Seo Ian said there was something she wanted to do, even if it meant sacrificing the rewards from the boss today. She also didn't forget to tell me to bring the exact same items ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I bought today—by tomorrow, without fail!

'But why does she need invisibility potions?'

I wanted to ask, but Seo Ian had already woken the boss, making it impossible to talk. 'Well. I’ll find out soon enough.'

The next day. 41st Floor, Giant’s Forest.

As soon as I entered, I pulled out my rabbit mask, put it on, and looked around. I confirmed the gathering zones. Since all the items Seo Ian asked for could be crafted on the 41st floor, I intended to source them all right here today.

After crafting everything, I was just about to go find Seo Ian when—

"What are you looking for? Need some help?"

A voice suddenly came from behind me.

"Whoa! You scared me! Give a guy some warning when you appear!"

"Sorry. Anyway, Rabbit. I’m in a huge rush today, okay? Do me a favor. Hurry up and take out everything you have."

"Excuse me?"

Was that a request or a threat? I felt a wave of cognitive dissonance.

"Aaaaaaah, dammit!!"

She must have really been in a hurry. Seo Ian stomped her feet and tapped the ground. She dumped a pile of items she’d seemingly prepared in advance onto the floor and urged me on. I decided to treat it as a "request" rather than a "threat."

But still.

"This is way too much, isn't it?"

It was seriously a lot. I didn't come here to sell my house today.

"I prepared plenty, so if there's leftovers, keep them as a deposit, and if it's not enough, put it on my tab! Anyway, hurry up, Rabbit! I’m really in a rush!"

Why was she acting like this?

I blinked rapidly.

Okay, so she wasn't faking it.

'Ah... is it a bathroom emergency?!'

The flow of logic followed. 'That reaction is definitely a bathroom emergency!'

I was convinced. To protect a human being's dignity, I started moving quickly. Regardless, I’d already received the deposit, so there was nothing to lose.

"Thanks again today!"

Seo Ian took the items, removed her helmet, and handed it to me. It seemed she wanted me to hold onto it, so I obliged. Then, she began "doping" (preparing by putting capsule recovery potions inside her cheeks so she could bite down on them at a moment's notice).

"Did you already clear the mobs?"

You have to clear the mobs for the boss to spawn. But while I was gathering, I hadn't heard a single sound of mobs being slaughtered. So I asked.

"No."

A short, clear answer.

"Then why are you doping already?"

"You'll see."

She gave a faint smile and began downing the potions she’d just bought like water. All-Stat, Boss Damage, Invisibility. She drank them one after another without pause. It was enough to make you feel full just watching.

Clink.

The last empty bottle hit the floor. Soon, her entire body became translucent. Perhaps because I was registered as a "Hidden Party Member," she was visible to my eyes.

"Rabbit."

"Yes?"

"You said you wanted to watch me catch a boss, right? Watch closely. I’ll give you a show."

Seo Ian snatched her helmet back from my hands. The eyes peeking out from under the helmet she’d pulled down tight were curved in a confident arc.

That night, an anomaly occurred in Korea.

An absurd record had been set.

At that moment, Seo Ian, who had caught the 41st-floor boss, and I, who had watched the whole thing, were hearing that announcement together inside the 41st floor.

'Wait, what about Rackcho? Why am I not being dragged to the Blue Room right away?!'

The thing that should happen wasn't happening. Something that always happened wasn't occurring. It had never been like this before.

As I looked around, feeling inexplicably uneasy—

"Yaaay!! Rabbit!!"

Seo Ian called out to me brightly and ran my way. Even though she was covered by the helmet and I could only see her eyes, I could clearly feel that her lips were curled up to the heavens.

"Why can't we touch the merchants! In times like this, we should at least be able to high-five!!"

Seo Ian, who had approached right up to me, stomped her feet as if disappointed.

"Congratulations."

"Kuaaaaah!!!"

Seo Ian was trembling with joy. The joints of her silver armor vibrated in unison, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠creating a cheerful clatter-clatter! sound.

"But don't you need to head out?"

The person who had been acting so rushed? I asked, worried about Seo Ian's "urgent business."

"Huh? Why would I?"

The question came back.

"Didn't you rush because you had urgent business?"

I deliberately beat around the bush, afraid she'd be embarrassed if I mentioned the bathroom emergency.

"The urgent business is already finished."

"Pardon?"

"Anyway, Rabbit! This invisibility potion, it’s the real deal, isn't it? Do you have more?"

"You want invisibility potions specifically? ...Ah!"

I finally realized Seo Ian's scheme. And I was genuinely impressed.

For reference, as a "Hidden Party Member," I can see the quests the Tower owner receives. Seo Ian's 41st-floor Tower quest was to clear all the rainbow-colored spirits and then head to the heart of the forest to extract the red ruby from the World Tree, which would spawn the boss.

It was no different from a standard Tower quest. Clear the mobs, then clear the boss that appears afterward.

'Following the original order, she should have cleared the rainbow spirits placed along the path to the heart of the forest while heading up.'

But she didn't take the royal road; she chose a shortcut. No, she created one.

She used the invisibility potion on herself. She sprinted to the heart of the forest along the path without any interference. Upon arriving at the heart, Seo Ian didn't extract the red ruby embedded in the World Tree; she just tapped it.

The spirits were startled and gathered around. A feast of colors filled the surroundings.

"Killing them one or two at a time was seriously a pain in the ass, but it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠feels so good when they all rush at once like this!"

She shouted with a savage grin. Drawing her dual swords, she condensed a massive amount of sword energy at the tips and unleashed it like lightning.

They say the more targets you have for an area-of-effect skill, the more satisfying it feels. And the result was Seo Ian's overwhelming 41st-floor record.

The average Tower clear time is one hour, or 40 minutes at the fastest. She had drastically reduced that. She had downed all those potions as soon as she got them and sprinted to finish everything within the 5-minute duration of the potions.

The reason she rushed as soon as she met me wasn't a bathroom emergency, but this.

"I'm out of stock right now, but I'll set some aside for you later."

If Seo Ian was going to use the invisibility potions for a speedrun, there was no reason for me to refuse. Faster clear = higher rewards. Since the contribution percentage remains the same, it’s a self-evident fact that the shorter the time, the larger my share.

"Yeah. And don't you ever sell them to Hong Jehun. Okay?"

A name suddenly popped up. Since the two of them were currently trading 1st and 2nd place, it seemed she wanted to keep him in check.

She was a truly greedy person. But she was also someone who achieved growth just as quickly. I didn't dislike her, but personal liking is one thing, and business is another. One must distinguish between public and private matters.

"A wandering merchant cannot choose their customers. Instead, I will definitely save a share for you, Awakened Seo Ian."

"Hmm..."

She seemed displeased, her eyes narrowing into a line, but she soon relaxed her expression.

"Well, if you say so, I can't help it."

She shrugged and continued.

"Instead, if both he and I are looking for you, you must come to me first. Okay?"

"Excuse me?"

"You’ve got my deposit, haven't you?"

Seo Ian curled her finger into a circle. She was right. That’s why I had so many items right now.

"Wouldn't it be better to clear that out quickly?"

"Was that why you gave me a deposit?!"

"Well, two birds with one stone?"

She grinned. I thought she was the type to just use brute force based on her appearance, but look at her using her head. It was a day of deep realization that one shouldn't judge a person by their appearance alone.

"Ah, why! Don't you like being with me more than those other guys?"

"Who knows?"

Where did that confidence come from? I shrugged my shoulders just like she had a moment ago. Then—

"Really? I like being with you."

"Whoa. Why are you hitting on me so suddenly?"

"Why, did you fall for me too?"

Giggle.

Seo Ian suddenly started laughing as if she were having fun. In that harmless laughter, I realized that the Tower climb had truly ended. Even though I hadn't even seen Rackcho's face yet.

"Ah, but why isn't 'Ber' coming?!"

After laughing for a while, she suddenly started looking for something called "Ber." Suddenly, a massive Doberman popped out of nowhere, and above its head, it said "Tower Merchant Ber" in yellow letters.

"Speak of the devil. But Ber! Why are you so late today?"

"I had some work to do, woof. First, take your rewards, woof!"

...No.

Even if all Tower merchants ended their sentences with things like "meow" or "woof," I would never do that. Wandering merchants don't add weird sounds to the end of their sentences. I decided that a long time ago, and by application of customary law, that is the law.

"......Still no weapons?"

"What do you expect me to do when the stock doesn't come in, woof!"

Ber barked back, acting as if he were the victim. Wow, look at that personality. He was a carbon copy of his customer.

"No, Ber! I'm not asking you to match a pair, is it that hard to find even one?"

Seo Ian raised her voice as if she wouldn't be outdone.

"The higher the Tower floor, the lower the drop rate for weapons, woof!"

Then, snap!

Seo Ian's head turned toward me. Why are you looking at me?

"Wandering merchants don't get them either."

For one, I’d never obtained one inside the Tower until now. The light bowgun I was currently using was rented from the Association.

"Pre-order like last time?"

"If any swords come in, I'll keep them for you."

It wasn't like I’d ever use a melee weapon anyway.

"Yeah."

Was all the business finished? She said—

"Then, Rabbit and Ber! See you later-!"

She waved her hands wildly. After that—

"Meow~."

I was dragged to the deep blue room where my Rackcho was.

"Rackcho! I saw another Tower merchant today!"

Looking at Ber, who had been barking at Seo Ian with his ears and tail standing straight up, and then looking at Rackcho, who was twitching his ears and wagging his tail, Rackcho looked like a pure angel.

"I think so, meow. You smell like Ber, Kim Uju, meow."

Rackcho, who had approached me and sniffed my nose for a moment, correctly guessed who I’d met.

"Do Tower merchants know each other?"

"Of course, meow. We all pick up our goods from the same place every day, so we have to run into each other even if we don't want to, meow."

So they don't make the goods; they pick them up. Just like real merchants.

"But that merchant named Ber seemed to have a really fiery temper."

The image of him barking at Seo Ian was still burned into my brain. In that unyielding attitude, I saw a brave Doberman.

"That's because Awakened Seo Ian has a fiery temper, meow. Tower merchants are usually assigned based on the customer's personality, meow."

"Uh... then what about me?"

At my question, Rackcho smiled with his eyes.

......I knew it wasn't because I was cute enough to be a "Rackcho." It seemed I was just assigned a "Rackcho" because I had a plain personality.

Anyway.

"But Rackcho, today I wasn't dragged here immediately after the boss was caught. Did something happen?"

I asked right away. Normally, the moment the boss was caught—no, even before I could think "was it caught?"—I would be dragged to this blue room. But today, even after Seo Ian caught the boss, and even when I met the Tower merchant to finish up, I wasn't dragged here. It was only when she left the Tower that I was brought here.

"That is, in a way, because of you, Uju, meow."

"Why?"

"There has never been a case where the Tower was cleared this ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠quickly, meow. So it took a little longer to calculate the rewards, meow."

"Oh? Then will the rewards be better?"

Shorter clear time = higher rewards. That’s common sense.

At my question, Rackcho stood up on his two feet triumphantly and puffed out his chest.

"Wouldn't it be obvious, meow? First, take your rewards, meow."

He was so reliable! My lips curled upward involuntarily. Feeling my heart thumping pleasantly, I placed my finger on the "41st Floor Reward Basket."