The Moon Soul Pill (1)
3rd Floor Clear Rewards have arrived!
The clear rewards arrived.
Every stat had risen by one. It might look like nothing special, but the gap it created was enormous. Unless someone was one of those ultra-elite freaks of nature, no first-floor climber would stand a chance against them even if they came back from the dead. The stat disparity had simply grown that wide.
Hyun Si-woon only sat at this level because he had never really trained his body before. Hwang Dae-un, by contrast, already had a Strength of thirteen.
Still…
With Sense at fourteen, Si-woon had no room to complain.
And then—
1,000 TC acquired.
A thousand Tower Coins dropped into each of their accounts. After the stingy hundred TC from the second floor, this felt generous—and given the difficulty, it was only fair. They now ranked among the top one percent of all climbers.
Save Point set to the present moment.
“Hah.”
That was the part that made Si-woon the happiest. Anyone who had ever played games would understand. You spend hours—or days—crawling through a nightmare section, barely scrape through, and then realize you forgot to save. You want to put your fist through the monitor. And that was only a game. This was reality.
While Si-woon let out a long breath of relief, the others finally broke.
“Haaah…”
“Hwaaaaaah!”
Sprawled on the ground checking their rewards, the party members erupted into ragged, tear-choked cheers.
“We finally made it.”
“Ahahaha! Who knew I’d ever miss this place so much?”
How much had they suffered? The endless hours wandering the murderous desert heat in search of an oasis. The desperate craving for a single sip of water. Bodies caked in sweat they couldn’t properly wash away, tortured by itch and heat rash. And the Underground City? That had been hell pure and simple. The damp, rancid stench had nearly paralyzed their noses, yet every day they had been too tense even to breathe properly.
“Kh… we…”
“We did it, Hyeong-nim!”
All that hardship felt paid back by a single clear message. The stat boosts and the TC were nice, but being alive felt even better. Hwang Dae-un flopped flat on his back and stretched his arms wide. Baek Do-hee discreetly wiped a tear. Jang Cha-yul and Kang Si-a simply looked at each other and smiled in quiet relief.
It was a good sight. A warm one.
The problem was…
“Hey, look at those people.”
“Ugh, the smell. Look at the state of them… What the hell happened in there?”
“Second floor clear, you think?”
“Probably. I heard it’s a swamp… Is it really that rough?”
“Yeah, it’s rough.”
Blatant stares poured in from the climbers gathered near the Tower exit. The party’s appearance was, without exaggeration, catastrophic. Hair and faces matted with sweat and dust. Clothes shredded like rags. Weapons still glistening with kobold slime.
“….”
A complete disaster from head to toe. Even Kang Si-a—the archery goddess whose face alone should have been instantly recognizable—was unrecognizable to anyone.
“Everyone, we move to the hideout first.”
Si-woon hauled them to their feet without delay.
“We head back and reorganize.”
They decided to split up and use their TC at nearby camps. Each of them would pay whatever it cost to scrub clean, then splash out on daily necessities, spare clothes, the works.
Why split up? Camps demanded caution. Offend the Ranker who might own the place and you could end up dead. Six filthy beggars reeking of sweat and slime marching in as a group would only invite trouble.
Always be careful.
There could be another crocodile-headed bastard waiting around any corner. Caution never hurt.
“I’ll bring the pork belly and the booze. Grab your own meals on the way.”
Everyone was half-starved after the long ordeal. Even Si-woon couldn’t face waiting until they all washed and then cooked together.
Grrrk!
His body was screaming for energy.
Hmm.
Watching the others scatter, Si-woon rubbed his chin.
Where should I go?
Samjeon-dong Camp left a bad taste. He wouldn’t waste a single TC on that crocodile-head. He wanted somewhere else.
Tap-tap.
A light touch on his back. Kang Si-a.
“Would you like to come with me?”
“Huh?”
“Yeongdeungpo. Elysium Square. It’s good for washing up. A little expensive, but they run a public bathhouse.”
“…A public bathhouse?”
Si-woon’s mouth fell open. In this apocalyptic world, someone was running a public bath that used water freely? Was that even possible? Purified water was precious. Even if you had a water source, purification was a nightmare—beast waste, contaminants, and zero modern facilities to begin with.
Well…
Once upon a time he wouldn’t have understood. Now he did. Camps were nothing more than shops the beings above the Tower had set up to harvest TC. With that kind of position and power, a bathhouse was perfectly feasible.
“All right. Let’s go there.”
“Um… I’ll cover the bath fee and the meal. For the bow, and for everything else you’ve done for me.”
“That so?”
Kang Si-a’s gesture was genuinely admirable. There were two kinds of people in the world: those who understood the weight of help they received and felt true gratitude, and those who treated every kindness as nothing more than their natural due. Si-a was clearly the former. The difference seemed small, but it was huge. Beyond simple manners, it was a sign—proof that the massive investment of a Unique bow would never be wasted on her.
“If it’s free, no reason to refuse.”
Si-woon nodded with a grin. When he didn’t turn her down, Kang Si-a’s face brightened into a pure smile.
Night had fallen by the time the party reunited, and the difference in appearance was night and day. The beggars from a few hours earlier were gone. Everyone wore new clothes and had packed spares. Each of them had also bought food and snacks for tomorrow.
Yeah.
They had earned the right to flex a little after all that suffering.
Baek Do-hee was especially thoughtful. Her bag was stuffed with bandages, disinfectant, and other basic medical supplies—meant for use outside the Tower, of course. Once you entered, nothing from the outside could be brought in except the clothes on your back and confirmed items. Food and medicine simply vanished. Why? Tower rules, probably.
“Today is rest. Everyone go in and sleep.”
“Hell yes!”
“This is happiness.”
“Ahhhh.”
Their steps were far lighter and livelier than before. Most of them would probably spend their free time browsing the community boards. After clearing the third floor, who wouldn’t want to brag? They might check reactions to the floor’s difficulty or offer advice to people still struggling on the second. A little luxury of leisure.
Si-woon had no such free time.
Hmph. I thought my neck would fall off waiting. Make haste and prepare.
It was time to properly absorb the Moon Soul Pill. Ha-wol had been nagging nonstop.
Assume the posture and regulate your breath.
“Got it.”
He sat cross-legged on the floor instead of the bed, spine straight, eyes closed, and began deep, measured breathing.
“In… out…”
Slow. Deep. Inhale and exhale.
From this moment you will circulate the energy exactly as I instruct. The elixir’s qi is fierce yet pure. Mishandle it and your immature meridians will rupture. Keep your wits about you and concentrate.
“….”
Hmm. If it was that dangerous, maybe he shouldn’t do it at all… but he decided to trust Ha-wol. She had climbed the entire Tower of Despair, a genius even among the highest Rankers. Every word she spoke was a fateful opportunity for him.
First, consume the prepared Moon Soul Pill.
“Yeah.”
He tossed it straight into his mouth. A cool, refreshing energy melted across his tongue.
You have already reached the stage of Sensing Qi, so you should feel the elixir’s energy descending. Focus your awareness on the dantian and gather the energy there.
Si-woon moved his faint internal energy, guiding the Moon Soul Pill’s power deep into the lower abdomen, toward the dantian. At first it was difficult. The elixir’s qi writhed like a living thing, trying to scatter wherever it pleased. He refused to give up, throwing every scrap of breathing technique and concentration he possessed into controlling it.
Recall the Moon Spirit Divine Art. Circulate it slowly along the meridians. Break through blockages, reinforce the weak points, and tame the excess. An elixir is not something you swallow like a brute. You borrow its power to reforge your entire body once more.
“Kh…”
Harder than expected. What had felt manageable before suddenly bucked like a wild horse the moment he tried true control. The slightest lapse in focus sent the energy thrashing through every blood vessel. Each time, a twisting agony wracked his body.
Silence! Who dares groan while circulating energy?
Ugh. Fine. He got it.
Si-woon clenched his teeth. Cold sweat poured down like rain. But he could not quit. Whenever he moved the elixir’s energy, Ha-wol uncannily identified the exact point and explained.
That is Guanyuan. It nourishes the root of life’s energy—let the elixir’s qi linger there a moment.
That is Qihai. As its name, “Sea of Qi,” suggests, it must be made vast. Force it open if you must.
Are you moving it up the spine? That is Mingmen. Stay sharp. Reverse the flow and you could spend the rest of your life a half-cripple.
Si-woon focused and burned every word into memory. Strength of the energy, speed of circulation, points of caution—Ha-wol never stopped instructing.
I can’t miss a single thing.
It was vital for him, and he needed to master it thoroughly for the rest of the party as well.
The dark night passed slowly.
Absorbing the elixir took a long time. The effects, however, were excellent. As the miraculous qi circulated, even his battered internals healed at a startling rate.
“In… out…”
His mind grew clearer by the hour, and his body felt lighter.
By the time darkness yielded to sunrise—
“Hah.”
Si-woon finally released his breath. Instinct told him the truth: he had completely absorbed the Moon Soul Pill’s medicinal power.
At the same moment—
Stats permanently increased.
“…!”
Si-woon’s eyes went wide.
The Moon Soul Pill was this strong?
When a character ate it in the game, two stats rose by about three each. This was an enormous leap.
With this…
All the suffering to find the hidden route had been worth it. The next floor would be a lot more manageable.
Heh. Well? Was this lady’s advice of some use?
Ha-wol struck a cute pose and gave a little shrug of her shoulders. Si-woon snorted a laugh.
“A Sword God really is different.”
Hmph! Then behave yourself a little better!
Ha-wol turned her head with a prim sniff, but she couldn’t hide the way the corner of her mouth lifted.
So she’s the type who’s weak to praise?
“Alright then!”
Si-woon stood. Even after pulling an all-nighter, he felt incredibly refreshed. Morning training time already.
Now it was time to guide the rest of the party, one by one, into the world of the Moon Soul Pill.