The Wandering Merchant and the Lost Ranker

Seo Ian, who had somehow ended up in an overseas Tower, not a domestic one.

Man, I almost never would have found her if I’d missed this.

Before I initiated the Intrusion, I blinked my eyes twice. I’d learned this by chance back at the Association: my Hawk’s Eye skill applied to the real world, too.

…45 hours?!

I doubted my eyes for a split second. I thought it was 45 minutes, but the string of numbers following it was too long. I realized that the "45" didn't represent minutes, but hours.

“…Something really must have happened, right?”

Yeah, it had been strange from the start. Unlike other countries, her nationality was marked only with the noun "Foreign." Her Tower didn't even display a floor number. And now, this absurd duration of stay.

Park Siwoo and I couldn't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠reach her, probably because her phone battery died...

With that thought, I typed Seo Ian’s name into the community search bar. I hoped she might have posted something about what she needed, but she must have been too frantic; there were no such posts. Instead:

A post desperately looking for me had gone up yesterday. No, don't just look for the rabbit—write down the specific supplies the rabbit needs to bring, you idiot...

‘Still, 45 hours… she probably hasn’t been able to eat anything proper.’

I rummaged through my fridge, stuffing everything into my inventory. Then, without looking back, I placed my hand over Seo Ian’s name. Oh, and I didn't forget to put on my rabbit mask.

‘It’s… taking time?’

Usually, it took just a blink to intrude, but today, even after I opened my eyes, everything was pitch black. Maybe it was because the darkness felt so absolute, like not a single ray of light could escape it. The darkness rippled, making me feel like my sense of direction was being twisted.

I curled my body and sat down for a moment to overcome the dizziness. Soon, the surroundings brightened, and a yellowish-brown wall appeared before me. Then, a sound signaled that the Intrusion had officially begun.

What’s that?

Whoa! That’s good!

What’s that now?

Whoa! That’s freaking terrible?!

My mood swung between heaven and hell in an instant. And finally, it crashed into hell. If you were going to do this, you shouldn't have let me taste heaven first. The bigger the drop, the more it hurts!

“And you didn’t say anything about that before I came in!!”

Overwhelmed by sudden embarrassment and rage, I buried my face in my hands and screamed just like Seo Ian. My head felt like it was going dark, thanks to the system’s typically unfriendly explanations! Realizing my vision was black because I was covering my face, I lowered my hands and slowly scanned the surroundings.

“Wow. It really looks like a labyrinth, doesn’t it?”

A wide, silent corridor surrounded by yellowish-brown walls. The walls themselves emitted light, so it wasn’t dark inside. The ceiling was so high that it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say it had no end. It didn’t feel claustrophobic, but the walls were forcing me to make a choice.

“This… at this rate, I might not be able to find Seo Ian?”

Honestly, I was starting to get worried. Seo Ian had been in here for over 45 hours, and the Seo Ian I knew didn’t carry food in her inventory. The only things she could eat were recovery potions and those experience-boosting elixirs she was obsessed with hoarding. And I could guess she had some "Made in Rabbit" elixirs she’d stashed away in case she didn't know when she’d see me again.

Obviously, that stuff wouldn’t count as a proper meal. It’d be a miracle if it even filled her stomach.

By the way…

“But can’t Seo Ian leave after 24 hours too?”

Is she holding out because she thinks she can catch the boss? But the longer you spend in the Tower, the lower your clear probability gets. There are physical stamina issues, item durability problems, and above all, you run out of mana or aura for your skills.

“Meeting her in person and asking is the fastest way.”

But how do I find her? I didn’t even know if I should head right or left. A hint? No way. Sound? None. Sight? Only yellowish-brown walls.

“Tsk. This is problematic…”

I scratched my temple, looked at the wall, and blinked my eyes rapidly. I used Hawk’s Eye to look for Seo Ian. I didn’t find her, but a red dot appeared on the wall and vanished three seconds later.

“Does it break?”

Simple curiosity. I pulled out my light crossbow and used Skill Barrage and Tracking to aim at the red dot.

—CRACK!!

The wall cracked easily and crumbled down.

“Nice.”

No need to wander around; I could just punch a hole straight through. Even if I were going the wrong way, Seo Ian wouldn’t miss ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a sound this loud.

“Knowing her personality, if she’s curious, she’ll come to check it out, not run away in fear… and usually, the person who needs something is the one who has to go find it, right?”

—CRACK!!

I broke the second wall and strode forward. Or rather, I started moving in a straight line.

—CRACK!

It was nothing different. I kept breaking walls, keeping a straight path, and this was just another moment of the wall shattering.

But something new was added to the repetitive wall-breaking.

‘A silver line?’

Suddenly, a silver line flashed right in front of my eyes. It had a strangely cold aura—sharp, yet delicate, and carrying an unpleasantly rough sensation. Before long, I realized that silver line was a blade.

“Damn it! Another ambush!!”

A voice filled with anger. I knew who it belonged to, but this wasn’t the time to express joy at meeting an acquaintance after so long.

“No, wait! I’m an NPC! NPCEEEEEE!!!”

As I waved my hands frantically, the line that had been swimming through the air like water came to a dead stop.

“Huh?”

“Hi, I’m…”

“Rabbit-yaaaaaah!!”

I was supposed to finish with "Wandering Merchant Rabbit," but before I could, Seo Ian greeted me with her usual intensity. She must have been so happy; she retracted her menacing sword and rushed toward me, raising one hand as if to high-five me right then and there!

Of course, fearing the penalty, she didn’t bring her hand any closer than that.

“I thought you might be starving, so it’s good to see you looking so energetic.”

I wanted to check her complexion, but it was impossible behind her helmet. Still, the eyes peeking through the visor had some life in them. It was a relief. It seemed nothing major had happened.

“You might think so, but I’m not energetic at all. I’m on the verge of starving to death. Seriously.”

Did I say too much? Maybe she suddenly realized she’d been starving all this time. Or maybe the tension had just drained away because she’d met a familiar face.

She relaxed her body and sat down cross-legged on the spot.

“Ugh. I’m tired.”

Then, Seo Ian wiped her face over her helmet. The sound of metal scraping against metal echoed eerily through the chamber.

Skreeee! Skree!

“Tired and hungry…”

Uncharacteristically, Seo Ian let her voice trail off. The fatigue was dripping from her tone. Well, yeah. Her stay was about to hit two days. Had she even been able to rest properly, let alone sleep? In a situation where it wouldn’t be strange for something to jump out at any moment?

“…Just eat something for now.”

I pulled a few chocolate bars from my inventory and handed them to her. Of course, it wasn’t free; it was deducted from the deposit Seo Ian had given me.

“Huh. Hey. You eat this stuff too?”

She seemed dumbfounded. A hollow laugh burst from her lips. Free Time, Hot Break, Snickers, Twix. Even to me, it was a list far too steeped in Korean capitalism to find inside a Tower.

And for me, there was a macro response that automatically triggered whenever I heard this question.

“It’s an item I traded with another Awakened.”

The nature of a Wandering Merchant. Unlike normal Tower Merchants who only handle one Awakened, I utilized the fact that I interacted with many. Of course, that was just a trait I’d made up, as always.

“Yeah, yeah. Anyway, thanks! Thanks to you, I feel like I’m actually going to live!”

She must have been incredibly hungry. Seo Ian, who had answered half-heartedly, took off her helmet and, without even glancing at me, began to inhale the chocolate bars.

“…You’re supposed to chew those.”

You’re not supposed to just swallow them.

“I am chewing.”

If she said so, what more could I say?

“But, Rabbit.”

Seo Ian, who had already devoured every type of chocolate bar, wiped her mouth and called out to me.

“Yes.”

“But, can I really not leave here if I don’t catch the boss?”

Why are you asking me that?

And just then, I felt something strange about her question. It wasn’t like she couldn’t leave if she gave up on the contribution rewards. Even now, she wasn’t in combat, so she could leave comfortably. She just had to press the Tower status on her state window, click "Exit," and then press Yes, Yes, No. It was simple.

‘Is there some kind of restriction on her?’

The thought flashed through my mind. Well, the "24-hour rule" had popped up when I intruded. It said that within 24 hours, you couldn’t escape the Tower even if you shouted "Exit." If that 24-hour rule had applied to Seo Ian, it would be strange for her to have been starving in here all this time, right?

“Why? Do you want to leave?”

When it’s awkward to ask directly, the best way is to throw the question back at them.

“Is that even a question? How can it be that I can only exit after a week!”

Oh.

I was so speechless that not even a small exclamation could escape my lips. I had the 24-hour rule, but it seemed Seo Ian had a restriction that made it impossible to exit for a week. The time difference probably existed because I hadn’t entered through normal means, but through an Intrusion.

“Hey, Rabbit. Do you happen to know how long I’ve been here?”

I recalled the duration of her stay I’d seen before entering.

“At the very least, you’ve passed 45 hours.”

“What the hell, has that much time already passed?!”

I was the one who should have been stunned, but she was the one looking completely bewildered. Wait, she really didn’t know?!

Ah… maybe?

“Awakened Seo Ian. Did your phone battery die?”

“Yeah. That’s right.”

Right. That’s why she didn’t know how much time had passed. Since it was a labyrinth, she couldn’t see the sun rising or setting outside, so she must have lost all sense of time.

“Full battery charge. 15 ticks.”

I baited her with the battery charge, asking for about 100,000 won, and pulled up my inventory window. Then, looking at Seo Ian, I blinked my eyes rapidly, activating the Hawk’s Eye skill.

She still trusts me. That’s kind of touching, isn’t it?

‘More than that, I guess you really can’t see other people’s inventories? I thought you might be able to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠since it’s an attachment type.’

The "Inventory-Attached Wireless Power Bank" I’d bought from Rackcho a while back. I’d never had a shortage of battery, so I’d just kept it equipped like an inventory ornament, but I never thought I’d actually have a use for it. Of course, I’d bought it because Rackcho had said something like, "The higher the floor, the longer the stay in the Tower, nya~," but… honestly, I still didn’t really feel it. I’d never stayed in the Tower for that long.

But today, if things went south, I was going to experience it firsthand. 24 hours. If Seo Ian couldn’t finish off the boss before then, it was a very real possibility.

“You’ve got all sorts of things, don’t you? Do it.”

I took her phone and connected it to the power bank. The phone, which had been completely dead, seemed to regain its energy as power was supplied, finally displaying the "Charging" icon on the screen.

“I’ll give it back once it’s at 5 percent, so contact the people around you first.”

I said this, remembering Park Siwoo desperately looking for Seo Ian in the community. However.

“Why should I?”

As if she didn’t know her family and friends would be worried about her sudden disappearance, the question returned from her lips, purely innocent.

‘Oh, my head…’