Chapter 1
Chapter 1
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: 001. Are You in Your Right Mind?
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Opening my eyes to the morning sunlight, I found myself in a snowy wasteland.
"Whoa, even a polar bear would drop dead here."
Eighth year as a butcher.
The very day I'd finally opened my own meat shop and was basking in the joy of it.
Just nodded off for a sec while posting a strategy guide on the game gallery before opening shop, and boom—woke up inside the tower.
Dumped straight onto Floor 0 after a pathetic ten-minute briefing.
And the first sight that greeted me? This.
'Normally, shouldn't it stick me in the game I was posting about out of courtesy?'
Tree of Savior 2 was such a god game.
Why the hell did it have to be inside the 'Red Tower' I'd only glimpsed in news articles?
Shivering like mad, I somehow dodged the swirling snow first.
Managed to find a cave, but the cold was unrelenting.
And with all the leftover snow caked on me, my body heat was draining fast.
'Shouldn't have picked a magic tome as my starter gear.'
If you're gonna dump me in a place like this, at least give me a down parka or something.
This first filter's way too brutal, isn't it?
At this rate, I'd freeze to death in thirty minutes.
A do-or-die extreme situation.
And I dove into reading with a focus that even surprised myself.
Sudden reading? What the hell?
I told you.
I picked a magic tome as starter gear.
"Fire magic, fire magic...!"
Chanting like a monk, I flipped pages with my numb fingers.
Fireball, whatever— I needed a spark.
Magic that easy to learn?
Who cares. Fail and I die.
See that?
Hate to die? You'll figure it out somehow.
Frost creeping over my eyelids, sleep crashing down like a wave.
That's when the magic I'd somehow mastered sparked to life.
Kindling?
Don't worry. Plenty of spare paper.
-Fwoosh!
Bye-bye, my pretty magic tome.
Ripped out a third of the pages to get the fire going.
Shoved in some branches I'd picked up along the way.
This'd make a decent campfire to hold out a bit.
Tucked the remaining tome safely in my bosom.
Not because the starter gear was precious.
The ignition material was.
'Picked up some camping knowledge somewhere—saved my ass.'
Thanks, Camping Glass and low-power webnovels.
You guys are me.
But my real ordeal was just beginning.
Insulation. Water. Food.
The big three for survival.
And I'd only cracked insulation so far.
The rations that came with starter gear? Just a few strips of jerky.
Won't last a day like this.
Home sweet home?
Fretting about the future?
Luxuries I couldn't afford.
Who gives a damn about grimdark vibes when my gut's collapsing from hunger?
I'm about to croak— that's the priority.
"Grrr..."
It was a big deal.
Big as in '大' for great, '獸' for beast. Greatest beast around.
Right on the money.
Camping comics skipped it, but those webnovels more useful than Spanish told the truth.
Cozy caves usually come with an owner.
"Hey, beast senior, this place face south by any chance?"
"Grrooaaar!!"
Right?
No wonder it was so sunny.
Whoosh-!!
Cave Bear senior used Front Paw Swipe (Low)!
Miss!
A quick forward roll saved my neck.
Get the philosophy in that off-beat roll?
Thanks, Miyazaki. You're me too.
"Fuck, shoulda picked the starter sword!"
Sliding across the icy cave floor, grimdark mode activated.
I cursed my past self from an hour ago.
No matter that I'm a butcher shop owner.
A longsword ain't the same as a cleaver.
Can't shank a killer merchant bare-handed.
That was my thinking when I chose the magic tome. Mistake.
Look at this godlike evasion.
If I'd had that broken straight sword, I'd have won.
Why the hell does this actually exist?
Grabbed it while rolling—starter gear.
The longsword from the tutorial.
Ah.
Climber who beat me here and died.
Guess this cave's an instant-death trap.
"Anyway, thanks, senior climber."
Still, you're not me.
No plans to be bear chow.
Fight back with 500 years of Joseon butcher swordsmanship?
Are you nuts?
I scooped up my respected senior's skull.
"The bride and groom, kiss!"
Smooth toss. Flying skull attack.
Two skulls shared a hot smooch.
-Crack!
Of course, brittle old bones.
Beast senior didn't even flinch.
No matter.
Just a feint to stretch out his arm.
"Flame Arrow."
Smooth shot once more.
Incredible focus guided the arrow right to the eyeball.
"Grooaar?!"
Critical hit to the eye socket.
The charging bear tumbled back in agony.
'It worked.'
I cheered at the success of my improv bluff.
Magic world, remember?
That's a wild animal who survived it.
So if I'd aimed my arm straight, he'd have guarded.
But a skull? Barely hurts.
Ignore and pounce—easy.
"Rooaaar!!"
Bear senior thought that and evolved into a cyclops.
Hang in there, senior.
Evolution ain't always a good thing.
Anyway, the improv bluff landed.
Betting life on iframes? Once is enough.
'One more in this opening.'
Focused my mind, prepped the spell.
Really focused.
But fuck, why isn't it coming?
"What the..."
Cooldown? Or MP starved.
Dunno, but one thing's clear.
Third arrow dudded out.
"Roaar!"
Bear struggling up.
Front paw rearing for the strike.
I reflexively swung the sword—then stopped.
Butcher here.
More meat-slicing experience than most.
That let me realize instantly.
'No way this blade takes it down, swing all day.'
Not strength issue, hide or bone.
Half-broken sword.
Just won't penetrate vitals.
So alternative?
My last flame arrow.
'The one stuck in its eye.'
Saw it making the fire. It's solid.
Long enough to stir the brain.
Answer that obvious? Not even a quiz.
Lowered the half-longsword.
'Hit the arrow in the eye with the sword.'
Searing flesh smell flooded in.
Heart pounding like mad.
Paw pad looming huge.
Damn, paw bigger than my hand.
Just the meat'd yield a kilo easy.
Win or lose, no starving now.
Silly thought eased the tension.
Worry about missing? Never crossed my mind.
Miss and what? Die?
Again,
hate to die? You'll figure it out.
So.
"Now!!"
"Groaaar-!!"
Ducked low,
as paw whistled overhead.
Then swung the sword up with everything I had.
Clang-!
A clear, ringing sound echoed.
Brain-mashing sensation was gross.
Scalp tingling hard.
+ All Stats +2
Status window too, huh.
Shoulda told me, damn tutorial.
Rumble-!!
Cave wall shattered from the missed paw.
Senior wasn't just any bear.
But totally irrelevant info.
Normal bear wouldn't die to one hit?
Facing a bear? Grazed means dead anyway.
"Gah."
Victory exhaustion hit hard.
Drained, I slumped beside the bear.
But I survived.
Bear and man.
Two corpses,
and beside a cub.
Mother or father?
Orphaned cub barked at me.
Didn't chase it off.
No strength left.
Just tossed it a strip of jerky.
Don't ask why.
It ate well.
Good enough.
The pup, more dog than bear, licked its dead parent's cheek, hesitated, then brushed past me.
Out the cave.
Into the snowfield.
White fur vanishing in the blizzard.
No caliber to worry if it'd survive.
Less shame, more I can't even handle myself.
"Ah."
Staring blankly at its retreating form.
I snapped to and realized.
'Fuck, campfire's out.'
We're screwed!
The fated embers never reignited.
"Campfire-!!"
Huffed and puffed like mad, but no defibrillation.
Felt like failed CPR.
My name's Baek Jeong-uk.
The man who stole the campfire's first kiss.
'At least the blizzard stopped.'
But got food, lost insulation.
My bad.
Shoulda melted snow while the fire lasted.
Woulda had water.
'Nah, no pot to boil snow anyway.'
Why am I survival-ing on Red Tower Floor 0?
Swallowing bitterness, stepped out the cave.
Blizzard-cleared snowfield.
Spotted a moving shadow far off.
'Monster again? I'm quitting this trash reality game.'
That mindset, squinting—
Then bolted out like a maniac.
"Hey, you on the horse!!! Save me!!"
Shadow was an old man with a bow.
Human.
No bandit worries.
If so, just call it another natural disaster.
Already suffered blizzard—nothing worse.
And amazingly,
I got payback for the bear encounter.
"And you are? Ah, from your state, an outside climber."
"My god! Sir, your sharp eyes—Baek Jeong-uk here, can't help but admire!"
Outside climber.
What tower folk call those from outside.
Wording even I get without explanation.
"No need for flattery; I'd help anyway."
"Thank you! You're my lifesaver!"
Rescuees never forget their dog's face.
Let alone a human's.
Choked up by the hunter elder's grace, I spilled every detail.
And got a stern scolding.
"What? You went into a Cave Bear's den? Are you in your right mind?!"
"Pardon?"
"That's a monster from Floor 9! Outsiders say it's the final boss in the 'Green Tower'!"
Ah.
I got it from the explanation.
What I'd done.
'Met the hidden boss before the starter village.'
Yeah, yeah.
Happens in open world all the time.
Damn.