The Rabbit's Influence and the Special Floor

'The Awakened community has been pretty entertaining lately.'

It was something I found myself checking even more often than YouTube these days.

After waking up early, I grabbed a bowl of rice and a precious can of tuna to satisfy my hunger. As I mixed them together, I logged into the Awakened community on my phone.

"Hmm? Why is it all about Seo Ian?"

It was so saturated with posts about her that you’d believe it was the 'Seo Ian Community' rather than the general Awakened one.

"Ah, is it because of the 41st-floor record from yesterday? Well... still, it’s nice to see our regular customer getting pampered for once."

It wasn't just today; it had probably been like this since yesterday.

Feeling strangely satisfied, I tapped on the latest post at the top.

The last comment instantly changed to 'Comment deleted by community administrator.'

"Good grief..."

Still, it felt just like her.

The community was a complete mess today, as usual.

Whoa. It’s chaotic, so chaotic!

I decided to just turn it off, put on some YouTube, and eat my meal.

I was about to put my phone down when a post suddenly caught my eye.

Ah. Just one more look.

"...Excuse me?"

Wait, how do you guys know my spawn times when even I don't...?

And as it always goes with watching YouTube, once you start browsing the community, there’s no end to it.

Just as I was scrolling and grinning like a fool, a new topic was thrown into the mix.

The 'Special Floor'.

It was a hidden floor that appeared once a month, accessible only to Awakened of A-Rank or higher. A notification would drop 24 hours before entry, and it would only be available for 10 minutes starting from the exact second it opened. The Awakened who entered during those 10 minutes were forced into a party, and that party was integrated by nation. For example, the Korean Special Floor was only accessible to Awakened climbing the Korean Tower.

If someone asked, "Is it really worth doing?", everyone would answer with one voice: "Obviously."

I’d heard the rewards were astronomical. It was such a big deal that Awakened entering the Special Floor even while injured or sick had become a social issue in many countries.

"Korea wasn't even in the rankings, right? Probably...?"

Governments encouraged entry into the Special Floor because of the national ranking rewards. Unlike individual rankings, the Special Floor ranked by nation, and if you made it into the top three? You could climb your country's tower much more easily for a month. It applied debuffs to the monsters inside that country's tower, such as reducing their health by a certain percentage.

And so far, Korea... had never once made it onto the rankings. That was why the Korea Hunter Association was constantly criticized for being incompetent.

"Anyway, I really want to go at least once."

Although it consumed your tower entry count, they said the contribution rewards were so massive that they outweighed the downsides.

I typed 'Special Floor' into the search bar to gather more information. To summarize, you just had to enter as soon as it opened and dump all your skills for 10 minutes. It felt like an 'event dungeon', so it wasn't dangerous, but the boss monster's health and defense were supposedly absurdly high.

It was also the only floor where 'level is king' didn't apply. Regardless of whether you were low-level or high-level, every Awakened's base stats were fixed at 1. However, using skills didn't consume mana. That made it a floor where items and skill efficiency truly shone.

The first thought I had after reading that was:

'I can do this.'

Stats fixed at 1. In my case, I could probably squeeze out some decent performance with my elixirs, and my skill fire rate wasn't bad either. If everyone’s stats were normalized anyway, wasn't it better to be fast?

Just as I was lost in thought,

"Oh?"

It had just been posted, but it was already the top-viewed post. When I pulled up the tower entry list, the text 'Special Floor 23:58:03' caught my eye.

I couldn't enter right now anyway. I'd check it out tomorrow.

I turned my eyes to the post below that.

New S-Rank skill, 'Weakness God'. Requires two bottles of the same type of elixir. I'll try making it myself!

At the very moment Uju entered the tower, the Awakened community, already ablaze with the 'Special Floor' topic, had more fuel poured onto it.

It was as if they were expecting an even more spectacular fireworks show. The topic of 'What if the Rabbit appears on the Korean Special Floor?' began to spread uncontrollably.

Team Leader Oh Wontaek of the Association, who had been watching the whole situation while lurking in the community, urgently called for his favorite employee.

"Yoon Jinki!"

"Yes!"

The man sitting at the desk right across from him answered immediately.

"Have you tried contacting Kim Uju?!"

"I tried yesterday and this morning, but he isn't picking up! I'll try again right now!"

He had even left a text. He just never answered the phone. He had wondered if he was blocked, but since the ringtone played until the end, it didn't seem like a block.

He picked up his phone once more.

"Find out if he's entering the Special Floor tomorrow! Get at least that answer!"

"Pardon?"

"No, if Kim Uju enters the Special Floor tomorrow, and the Rabbit appears there! What would that mean?"

"It would mean that the two of them are not the same person!"

"Exactly!"

Oh Wontaek snapped his fingers.

"And if he says he isn't going, induce him to go however you can. The Special Floor is like the tower showering you with rewards, so it'll be much better for Kim Uju as well."

"Yes! Understood!"

"Oh, but, Yoon Jinki."

"Yes!"

Yoon Jinki, who had paused, slowly placed his phone face down on ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the desk.

"Please speak."

"That..."

Oh Wontaek hesitated for a moment, rubbed his face, and continued.

"Is Enchanter Jegal Cheong... saying he'll enter the Special Floor?"

Jegal Cheong. The pride of South Korean enchanters.

If regular Awakened needed levels, stats, and skills, enchanters needed luck, sales ability, and natural talent. A former petty thief, he had shown more brilliance than anyone else after awakening as an enchanter. He seemed to have turned over a new leaf and was living quite diligently.

'Korea's bowl is too small to hold me.'

At least, until he started spouting nonsense like that.

The Awakened, especially the rankers, carried the weight of responsibility on their shoulders as they climbed the tower. One could not neglect the enchanters who crafted the items to support them. And the setting was South Korea, the country that was currently practicing 'favoring the #1' more intensely than any other nation. Naturally, Jegal Cheong was a Korean talent in whom the Association had invested a massive budget.

No one had imagined that this talent would turn into a human disaster in an instant.

At first, Jegal Cheong had cooperated well with the Association. But as time passed, contact became sporadic, and they finally heard news of him through Chinese media.

'I expose Korea's unfair treatment of enchanters!'

'The #1 enchanter who gave up on South Korea, naturalizes!'

'Naturalization believing in the glorious potential of China! Grateful for the consideration of the great Chinese authorities...'

Content like this exploded overnight. Korea couldn't refute it. Because the part he brought up was the Association's open secret: a system that concentrated support on the #1 ranker. To think he would betray them after squeezing every bit of efficiency out of that system, only to run off with the goods.

The public cursed Jegal Cheong. They called him a thief who ran away after taking tax-funded support. And they cursed the Awakened Association even more. They were the ones who helped create the thief.

The Association, having nothing to say, chose silence. While controlling public opinion, they hoped that another incident would occur quickly so that this matter would quietly fade into people's memories as a 'that happened back then' moment.

That blurry point in time is now.

But what if Jegal Cheong enters the Chinese Special Floor this time? What if he contributes to China making it into the rankings?

It would be a disaster.

Just thinking about it made the back of his neck go cold and stiff—it was terrible for his blood pressure.

"There's no leaked information, but he'll enter. The reason China is so obsessed with poaching talent from other countries is to get China into the Special Floor rankings."

China currently possessed the #2 and #3 ranked Awakened, yet they hadn't been able to make it into the Special Floor rankings. It was because they hadn't properly overcome the tower's balance system, where base stats were adjusted. That was why they needed 'skill power' and 'gear power'. China must have rushed to take Jegal Cheong for that gear power.

"That's right, isn't it?"

"It would be stranger if he didn't enter. Jegal Cheong would also want to show us, as if to say 'look at me', that he's living well after naturalizing to China."

"...If China makes it into the top ranks this time, it'll be quite a sight. Our situation, that is."

That arrogant, bluffing guy would be more than capable of doing just that. Oh Wontaek pressed his temples firmly.

"But you never know, do you? Maybe the Rabbit will appear on our Special Floor, and we, not China, will make it into the top rankings?"

That would be wonderful. To land South Korea right at the top of the rankings, and push China out of the ranking range. If only that happened, it would be so easy to gaslight the public, saying, "South Korea became stronger after Jegal Cheong left! Jegal Cheong had been poisoning Korea all ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠this time!"

Oh Wontaek, who felt a sense of relief just by imagining it, called his favorite employee in a low voice.

"...Hey, Yoon Jinki. Shall we try praying? I heard ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠on the community board that if you desperately look for the Rabbit, it appears in the tower..."

"Then I will join you! Wouldn't the prayer power be better with two people than one!"

Meanwhile, at that time.

Tower 21st Floor.

To use the skill 'Weakness God', you need two bottles of potions or elixirs. Because the skill effect applies the effects cumulatively if you drink them in succession!

So, I intruded into the 21st floor of the tower where someone else was climbing.

21st floor. A mid-tier floor. It was perfect. Floors that were too low didn't yield good materials, and floors that were too high lowered the gathering and synthesis probability.

I pulled up my inventory and reached out with my pickaxe to start gathering in earnest, but...

"Meow~."

In an instant, the surroundings were dyed in a blue light, and here I was.

Rackcho had definitely told me before. That she would appear when I called.

But what in the world was this situation right now?

"I haven't called you yet, have I?"

"When the master of the tower exits, the tower naturally dissipates, meow. Since you have to receive your rewards, you naturally moved here, meow."

"Hmm. Is that so?"

Hmm. I thought I could gather in a relaxed and comfortable way, but I guess not.

It seems the gathering time is until the tower master catches the boss.

"But you aren't telling me to go get my rewards right now, are you?"

"You have zero contribution, meow. You can't receive rewards, and you can't even pull up the sales window, meow."

"So this is the problem with just barging in?"

Until now, I had at least searched the Awakened community before entering. People whose tower progress was blocked. I had done it purely to easily raise my contribution, but I only now realized that it was the best way to extend my stay in the tower.

"But Uju-nim, you have the 'Hawk's Eye' skill, don't you, meow?"

Rackcho tilted her head slightly.

"Why are you asking that all of a sudden?"

"If you use it on the tower intrusion window, you can see the remaining stay time, meow."

"Oh?"

"It'll be easier to gain contribution in places with less ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠stay time than in places with a lot, meow."

Rackcho smiled brightly.

But I couldn't smile along.

My Rackcho. She’s a bit of a ditz.

"But I can't use skills outside the tower, can I?"

To overlook something so basic.

"Why do you have to do tower intrusion only from outside the tower, meow?"

"Huh?!"

I felt like I’d been caught off guard. My Rackcho. She’s a genius.

I immediately pulled up the tower intrusion window and blinked twice.

And then I saw it.

The stay time really did appear right next to them. Judging by the fact that the last digits didn't change for a long time, it seemed it didn't show seconds, only minutes.

"Rackcho."

"Meow?"

"Thank you!"

"What's with that for just this much, meow~"

Entering the tower is possible from outside the tower.

Rackcho had completely shattered that fixed idea.

"Are you going to enter somewhere else, meow?"

"Yeah. I need two bottles each of as many types of elixirs and potions as possible."

"Good luck, meow! Rackcho is always cheering for Uju-nim, meow!"

Rackcho clenched her two fur-ball-like fists! I didn't bother holding back the laughter that leaked out and waved at Rackcho.

"Thanks! See you later!"