Reminiscence

Eleven years ago, in a forest on the frontier of Elinor.

Evergreens that must have stood fifty meters tall stretched straight toward the sky. Pass between those dense trunks and you would find a forest alive with every kind of plant and animal — and, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠nestled within it, a village.

That village had no buildings on the ground.

To keep clear of fierce beasts, perhaps? Or to stay out of reach of monsters?

Wherever the reason, the houses had been raised in the low air — more precisely, strung between tree and tree.

A small village of some thirty dwellings: Greenholt.

The people who lived in that peaceful place were elves.

"Mom, look how many berries I picked today!"

She held out both hands, heaped with fruit.

Her mother smiled and stroked her hair.

"Well done, Bartier. Set them over there and I'll make juice later."

At ten years old, I loved it when Mother ran her fingers through my hair.

That day, too, the village was as calm as ever.

Until war with the humans broke out all around us.

A year later, the elven kingdom of Elinor was invaded by its neighbor, the Cardin Empire.

The emperor who had already conquered three kingdoms was Krausis Cardin — a man the rumors painted as both powerful and utterly cruel.

"W-what do we do, Dad…?"

"It'll be all right, Bartier. It'll take the army some time to reach us here. Starting today, we pack."

Greenholt sat close to the Cardin Empire's border. Father, the village chief, ordered everyone to prepare for flight.

"Finish packing by tonight. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠We leave at first light."

At that same hour, humans were moving through the forest.

"Boss, you really think anything lives in a place like this?"

"Idiot. Prey always hides somewhere like this."

They were drawing closer to Greenholt.

"Boss, maybe we should head back? There's nothing out here."

"Hold it. Quiet. Wait."

Their eyes found elves packing their belongings — roughly fifty of them.

"Boss… this is—"

"Jackpot. Go tell the old man. Now."

With our packing done, we had fallen asleep in the dark.

Moonlight through the night sky. A deep, unbroken silence.

It did not last.

"Aaaagh!!"

"H-help me…"

"Round them all up! Kill the men if you have to!"

The moonlight vanished. Firelight alone lit the village. Silence gave way to screams that tore through every tree.

"Bartier! Bartier! Wake up!"

"Mmm… Dad? What is it?"

I rubbed my eyes and sat up. I was a heavy sleeper; I still had no real grasp of what was happening.

Father scooped me into his arms and leapt down from the platform.

"Bartier — run with your mother. Now."

"Run? Why?"

Mother seized my hand and pulled me along, wiping at her tears as she ran.

"Mom? Wh-what about Dad?"

I looked back.

The village was burning. Father was locked in a fight with one of the humans.

"Mom — Dad's—!"

A spear drove straight through his chest. He toppled forward where he stood.

"Dad!!!!"

My cry turned the humans' heads. They came running toward us.

Mother stopped, dropped to a crouch, and took my face in both hands.

"Bartier. Run only forward. Keep going and you'll reach another country. This one isn't safe anymore."

"What about you?"

Tears were falling from her eyes. She rose, turned her back to me, and said—

"Go!! Bartier!"

"Mom…"

"Go!!!!!"

I ran, sobbing.

"Survive… Bartier…"

"That road eventually brought me to the Tebe Kingdom."

"How could something like that…"

Bartier turned her water glass slowly between her fingers as she spoke.

"Still, Father's judgment was right. After that, Elinor fell to the Cardin Empire."

A dull ache settled in my chest. A whole village hit by slave traders… I felt guilty for having drawn such a painful story out of her.

Bartier gave the table a light tap and brightened her tone.

"Come on, let's eat! Giseok, the meat's gone cold."

So we ate. The food was good, and the mood afterward wasn't bad at all.

When the meal was finished, we rose and opened the door to leave the restaurant.

"That was really delicious, Bartier. Thank you."

"I should be the one thanking you. Oh — right! In two days, I'd like to invite you to my home!"

"What?!"

I yelped in pure surprise.

And right then — of all the humiliating things — I caught my foot on the threshold and went sprawling outside, face-first into the dirt.

As I fell, the badge fixed to my chest came loose and went rolling.

"Oh my! Are you all right?"

"Yes, I'm fine. Wait — my badge!"

It clattered and spun between people's legs. Someone sitting where it came to rest picked it up.

I looked at him.

"This yours, young man?"

He was an old man — bald, white-bearded, the sort you might find on any park bench back in Korea.

"Yes. Thank you for picking it up, sir."

I took the badge from him. Behind me, Bartier caught up and began brushing the dust from my clothes herself.

"Your clothes keep getting dirty today, and it's all because of me."

"Hahaha, not at all. That's on me for being careless~"

Watching her dust me off, she looked like an angel.

When she finished, she brushed off her own hands and said,

"So — you'll come over to my place?"

"I'd love to~"

"Two days from now, around seven in the evening. Meet me here!"

We set the follow-up date and parted ways.

Is this a green light?

"Ugh, what am I even thinking… after hearing a story like that."

Then the old man who had been watching us spoke up.

"Young man!"

"Yes?"

"Be careful~"

Huh? Careful of what, all of a sudden?

"Of what, sir?"

"The night two days from now. Heh heh heh."

What a mischievous old coot…

I forced a smile and got out of there quickly.

The street was lined with shops of every kind — restaurants, clothiers, weapon shops, grocers, inns. Honestly, it was far bigger than Morhan Village.

"Just grab some clothes and rest."

I stopped briefly at a clothing shop, then headed for the inn. Once inside my room, I stretched out on the bed.

Comfort like this… inside the Tower.

Tomorrow, I'd try the seventh floor.

And with that, I fell asleep.

Light spilled through the window and woke me.

Sunlight inside the Tower… just what kind of structure was this place?

I washed up, pulled on the quilted clothes I'd bought the day before, and layered chain mail over them. Ready, I stepped out of the village.

The cave I'd come from lay to the west. The portal, I'd been told, was to the east. It was going to be a long walk.

The sixth floor, free of monsters, felt unusually vast.

Food's definitely plentiful here, though.

The sixth floor had abundant provisions and clean water. No monsters to worry about, no wars either — no wonder people chose to live inside the Tower.

After a long stretch of walking, a blue portal appeared ahead.

Finally. Shall we?

I walked toward it.

The entrance to the Tower's seventh floor — the safe zone. The first floor since the fifth where monsters actually appeared.

All right. Let's see what we find.

But no monsters showed themselves. What I did see, over and over, were enormous flowers — five pink petals each, standing a little taller than I was.

Nothing but these flowers… that's suspicious.

I moved in for a closer look.

The moment I drew near, something gave under my foot.

Twitch—

The sensation through my sole sent a chill up my spine. I looked down.

Plant vines lay across the ground.

Just my imagination… right?

The flower's stem swayed with a soft rustle. At first I thought it was the wind — but that stem was far too thick to bend so easily in a breeze.

A moment later, I understood why it had moved.

A faint tremor in the earth. A subtle vibration under my feet. The vines writhed, tearing up through the soil as they rose.

I lifted my gaze to the flower.

It was no ordinary bloom. It was a plant-type monster — a Nepenthes.

Ugly nubs studded its petals. The center of the flower split open, revealing teeth and a lolling tongue.

I'd half hoped I might harvest some nectar from it. One look killed that idea completely.

I scrambled back and drew my daggers.

Seconds later, the Nepenthes's vines lashed out at me.

Thud—

They didn't connect. They only tore up dirt.

Faster than expected — but nowhere near fast enough to trouble me.

You're not going down easy, huh?

I slipped the vine strikes and scored them with my blades.

Slash—

A clear sap welled from the cut vines, thick as aloe juice.

Slash— slash—

One by one, the vines fell away. When three of them hung limp and useless, I triggered Acceleration and charged straight at the Nepenthes.

This is going to hurt.

Both daggers carved through the Nepenthes's stem.

Thud—

The flower's head crashed to the ground. Cut off from its stem, the petals withered by degrees. At last the Nepenthes vanished, leaving only its loot behind.

If someone in a village that doesn't know Nepenthes planted this…

A terrifying little seed.

I kept hunting. Once I knew what I was dealing with, there was nothing particularly dangerous about them. They weren't especially fast, and they didn't swarm. One, two — I cut them down in a steady rhythm.

Slash—

After roughly twenty, something unusual turned up among the loot: a white stone.

A stone that sent you back to the first floor. I'd heard that Return Stones and Transfer Stones made for decent side income — especially the ones from higher floors, which fetched better prices.

I cut down a few more, then headed back to the village.

The sky had taken on an orange cast. The sun was already going down.

Maybe a cold beer?

I stepped into the restaurant the way I always did.

"Welcome."

The place was packed. In the evenings, more people came for drinks than for dinner.

"We're quite full at the moment — would you mind sharing a table?"

"That's fine."

"This way, then…"

I was led to a seat where a beastfolk and a human were already drinking together.

"Hello."

"Sit yourself down, friend. Lucky timing — we were just in the middle of a good story."

I ordered beer and some snacks.

"How long you been here, friend?"

The gray-furred beastfolk asked.

"I arrived yesterday."

"Perfect! Just the talk a newbie needs to hear."

"What kind of talk?"

The human uncle beside him cut in.

"It's nonsense. Don't take it too seriously."

"What are you talking about? Listen close, friend."

The beastfolk set the mood and pressed on.

"So three nights ago, the full moon was up, and I headed out to the southern woods."

"Why go out there?"

"He's a wolf beastfolk. Wolves howl their heads off the second a full moon rises."

"Right. But if you do it in the village, you get yelled at — so most of us go somewhere far out to howl."

Wanting to howl at a full moon… just like a werewolf. Then again, if you were a wolf beastfolk, maybe there wasn't much difference.

The beastfolk continued.

"And out there, I caught the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠smell of blood."

"Blood?"

In wilderness like that, wouldn't a blood scent be pretty normal? The thought crossed my mind, but I kept listening.

"Yeah. And I heard a strange sound, too."

"Probably another wolf who wanted to howl as bad as you."

"Hey!!"

The wolf beastfolk bristled at the uncle's jab.

"You know what? Forget it. I'm not telling the rest!!!"

"Aw, come on, I'm sorry~ You with the magnificent fur. Finish the story for us~"

Once the uncle smoothed things over, the beastfolk pretended to relent and picked up where he'd left off.

"Anyway, I walked toward the smell. And then…"

"And then?"

The wolf beastfolk fell silent for about five seconds before ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠he opened his mouth again.

"Along with the blood… I heard someone chanting a spell."