My House is Not a Subject of Study
Park Do-yoon, the [Seeker] who was climbing the tower faster than anyone else.
As he entered the 6th floor, a vast swampland stretched out before him.
He could see pigs rolling around in the shallow swamp and mud, with colorful mushrooms growing on their backs.
You have entered the 6th Floor - Swamp of the Mushroom Pigs.
Please select your desired trial.
1. Gather 10 types of mushrooms from the Mushroom Pigs (Difficulty: Easy)
2. Gather 3 fly agaric mushrooms from the Fly Agaric Boar (Difficulty: Slightly Hard)
"Number two, obviously," Park Do-yoon muttered.
Having chosen the difficult trial once again, he headed toward the center of the swamp, following a signpost that read, 'Fly Agaric Boar Habitat.'
He had no desire to step into the swamp and get his boots dirty, so he used Sky Walk, a skill attached to his boots, to step on empty air and glide forward.
To any onlooker, it would have been a sight worthy of admiration—a literal display of light-footwork.
Though the downside is that I can't fly very high with this skill.
As he reached the edge of the swampland, a massive cave loomed before him.
And emerging from that cave was a giant boar, easily the size of a truck!
"Squeeaaakkk!!!"
"Whoa, that's bigger than I expected."
Countless fly agaric mushrooms sprouted from the boar's back, and its eyes were bloodshot with rage.
It was a visual that immediately brought to mind monsters whose brains had been hijacked by parasitic fungi.
However, Park Do-yoon didn't panic. He calmly opened a jar of 'Spear Bee Honey' and set it on the ground.
Here is the amazing effect of Spear Bee Honey!
Made with ingredients similar to the beeswax used in hives, the jar was filled to the brim with top-grade honey!
This honey is incredibly sweet and delicious, and even a small taste provides rapid mental stabilization and a soothing effect!
"Squeeak...?!"
Drawn by the sweet aroma, the boar crunched down on the entire jar, honey and all. Almost instantly, its excitement died down, and its aggression melted away.
In the meantime, Park Do-yoon used his [Seeker] skill to analyze the habits of the Fly Agaric Boar.
So if you touch the fly agaric mushrooms while it's agitated, it sprays toxic spores? Giving it the honey first to calm it down was definitely the right call.
Before long, the Fly Agaric Boar finished the entire jar and stared blankly at Park Do-yoon.
"You want more? Sure, help yourself."
Without hesitation, Park Do-yoon offered two more jars of honey.
After devouring three jars in a row, the Fly Agaric Boar bowed its head with a satisfied expression, presenting its back.
He carefully harvested three fly agaric mushrooms from its back, and a system message popped up immediately.
You have cleared the trial of the 6th Floor!
As you cleared the trial 'Gather 3 fly agaric mushrooms from the Fly Agaric Boar', your reward has been upgraded!
Reward: 7 Rainbow Mushrooms have been distributed.
A portal to the 7th Floor has been generated.
"I bet these 'Rainbow Mushrooms' will be the key to clearing the next floor," Park Do-yoon muttered.
Securing the Rainbow Mushrooms, he stepped into the portal leading to the 7th floor.
The light inverted, and a vast sky came into view.
To his surprise, a steep, rugged mountain range stretched out before him.
And there, nesting at the very peak of the mountain, was a giant chicken.
A massive beast with the body of a rooster and a serpent's head for a tail.
The avian monster known to the world as a Cockatrice was perched atop the mountain.
You have entered the 7th Floor - Cockatrice's Nest.
Please select your desired trial.
1. Steal 3 Cockatrice Eggs (Difficulty: Slightly Easy)
2. Capture 1 Cockatrice (Difficulty: Slightly Hard)
"I'll go with number two again."
Choosing the harder mission once more, Park Do-yoon looked up at the towering mountain peak.
"With the nest that high up, just climbing there is going to be a chore."
Right on cue, a maid who had been waiting nearby approached him.
"Climber, since you have selected Trial 2, would you like an explanation of the trial?"
"Sure, keep it brief."
"Understood. Well then—"
To summarize the maid's explanation: the Cockatrice possessed powerful legs, razor-sharp talons, wings capable of short bursts of flight, and a long tail tipped with a serpent's head that carried petrifying venom.
The maid then handed Park Do-yoon a capture rope.
"So the clear condition is to subdue the Cockatrice by any means necessary, tie it up with this rope, and bring it back?"
Having fully grasped the trial, Park Do-yoon immediately took out a Rainbow Mushroom and ate it.
The effect of the Rainbow Mushroom was... the ability to fly freely through the air for a whopping five minutes!
A rainbow-colored aura flared around his body as he began to drift off the ground.
"Oh, this is pretty neat."
After moving around to quickly get a feel for flying, he soared straight toward the Cockatrice's nest!
As he reached the nest, a male Cockatrice took flight to defend the egg-brooding female, cutting through the sky toward him.
"Kshaaaaaaah!!!! Treerara!!!!"
The Cockatrice's sharp talons and the serpent's fangs lunged at Park Do-yoon simultaneously.
But Park Do-yoon calmly tossed a 'Rabbit Grenade' at the Cockatrice and flew backward to dodge.
Click!
"Treer—?"
BOOOOOOM!!!
A point-blank explosion.
The Cockatrice was instantly knocked unconscious and plummeted down the cliff—
"Ah, right. I have to capture it."
Park Do-yoon flew down, caught the falling Cockatrice, and brought it back to the ground.
After binding it tightly with the rope and presenting it to the maid, a system window popped up to announce his success.
You have cleared the trial of the 7th Floor!
As you cleared the trial 'Capture 1 Cockatrice', your reward has been upgraded!
Reward: 10 Cockatrice Eggs have been distributed.
A portal to the 8th Floor has been generated.
The climb continued.
You have entered the 8th Floor - Furry Snake Jungle.
Trial: Gather 2 Furry Snake Molts (Difficulty: Slightly Easy)
"No choices this time, huh?"
Park Do-yoon moved swiftly through the jungle, which was literally crawling with giant snakes covered in thick fur.
Every now and then, snakes with various types of fur opened their massive jaws to threaten him, but whenever he tossed them a Cockatrice Egg, they went wild and eagerly devoured them.
Some of the snakes even started fighting each other over a single egg.
Taking advantage of the chaos, Park Do-yoon successfully located and gathered two discarded molts in the jungle.
The trial was cleared instantly.
You have cleared the trial of the 8th Floor!
Please select your reward.
• Leather Coat of the Curly-Haired Snake
• Leather Pants of the Bristle-Haired Snake
• Leather Shirt of the Straight-Haired Snake
"Oh, I get to choose my reward?"
After a brief moment of deliberation, Park Do-yoon chose the Leather Coat of the Curly-Haired Snake.
Leather Coat of the Curly-Haired Snake has been distributed.
A portal to the 9th Floor has been generated.
"Alright, from here on out, it's truly uncharted territory."
From this point, it was a realm of genuine incomprehensibility.
Taking a deep breath, he stepped into the portal.
"—Gasp!"
Park Do-yoon snapped his eyes open.
A breeze brushed against his cheek.
Blue sky, gray city buildings.
...It wasn't the tower.
He was outside.
He was collapsed on the street near Naejibtap (My House Tower).
His breathing was ragged, and his fingertips were slick with cold sweat.
Something was wrong.
"......Did I die?"
For a long time, Park Do-yoon stared up at the sky in silence.
Then, slowly—
Bizarre fragments of memory began to echo in his mind.
The 9th floor of My House Tower.
The grotesque scenes he had witnessed there replayed in disjointed pieces.
A mackerel-rabbit swimming through the sky.
A spider-rabbit crawling on the walls with eight legs.
A massive bear-rabbit with the body of a bear.
A crow-rabbit flying around, flapping black wings.
A cat-rabbit, as limber and agile as a feline.
A rab-rabbit with two bodies.
A rab-rab-rabbit with three heads...
"......What on earth was that?"
They only shared the outward appearance of 'rabbits,' but they were nothing more and nothing less.
Something that should not exist in this world.
And... at the center of that horde,
there was a singular, bizarre entity.
—A rabbit beastkin in a bunny girl outfit.
She was casually munching on snacks that looked like potato chips.
But behind her back, a grotesquely deformed rabbit was growling, drooling saliva.
The rabbit beastkin had said something—it was definitely a provocation directed at him.
And then—
Everything after that was a blank.
"......How did I die after that?"
Park Do-yoon had absolutely no memory of his own death.
Cold sweat trickled down his spine.
Goosebumps broke out all over his body.
Deep within his brain, fear and a thirst for research twisted and squirmed together.
"...Fascinating."
He let out a quiet, dry laugh.
In all his time climbing countless towers and breaking through trials, he had never once felt this sensation.
Unknown entities, incomprehensible existences—they had always been there.
But the power of his [Seeker] class had always dissected, analyzed, and organized them.
Though bizarre, everything had ultimately been 'comprehensible.'
But this time—
He couldn't deduce a single thing.
It was truly the unknown.
Incomprehensible.
Something existing completely outside of cognition.
For the first time in his life, his 'research' had failed.
But—
That was precisely why,
he wanted to uncover its true identity all the more.
"Tomorrow, I'll prepare again and challenge it...!"
A faint tremor of excitement flickered in Park Do-yoon's eyes.