The Smug Bunny's Six-Hit Combo
It was another peaceful morning at my house. The dog barked, the cat meowed, and the giraffe went... uh, let's skip that. And then, the Earth was turned upside down once again.
The culprit, of course, was the sudden appearance of the Tower Coin Casino in My House Tower! Just as expected, countless climbers were flocking to the casino, endlessly spending their Tower Coins in hopes of hitting the jackpot and turning their lives around.
The government did react to the word "casino," but since My House Tower wasn't state property—and considering the recent incident that almost delayed their summit by a hundred years—they were cautiously monitoring the situation for now.
For the record, even without the casino, the trial floors and resting floors were still bringing in a steady stream of Tower Coins. Recently, a massive wave of climbers had reached the 10th floor and were attempting the boss trial. However... the climbers who reached the 10th floor were met with a completely unexpected trial.
You have arrived at the Boss Floor. Please select your desired trial from the list below.
1. Super lol Crybaby lol Coward lol Exclusive lol Difficulty
2. Total Noob~♥ Loser~♥ Super Weak~♥ Difficulty
3. Pathetic Weakling Noob-Noob~♥ Go Die~♥ Difficulty
4. No way, is this really the best you can do? Pathetic lmao Difficulty
5. Ah, I'm too lazy to tease you anymore~! Just kidding, I'm gonna tease you even more lol Difficulty
6. Oh? Aren't you pushing yourself too hard? Pfft~♥ Difficulty
7. [Overwhelmingly Difficult] Difficulty
Which difficulty trial would you like to select?
The option text was a six-hit combo of wide-area taunts delivered in Luki's signature mesugaki tone. Most climbers were so triggered by the wording that they almost slammed option 7... but for an ordinary climber, attempting the "Overwhelmingly Difficult" setting was simply out of the question, no matter how they looked at it.
As a result, climbers split up and chose different difficulties based on their personalities, and information about each difficulty slowly began to surface.
The very first climber to clear Difficulty 1 was Kim Chunsik, who held the [Soldier] class. He had recently resumed climbing the tower for physical therapy, specifically aiming to overcome his trauma of rabbits by climbing My House Tower again.
Having always solved problems with wise judgment, Chunsik naturally chose Option 1, the easiest path to victory.
Defeat the Boss Monster - [Mayfly Rabbit].
[Mayfly Rabbit] has died of old age.
You have cleared the trial of the 10th floor!
"?" The boss died the exact moment it spawned, clearing the trial in an instant!
To make matters worse, the reward was a bizarre card featuring an illustration of a bunny-girl beastkin. "...She looks incredibly annoying." The card, depicting her with a smug, mocking grin, felt deeply irritating just to look at.
Afterward, Chunsik completed the mission to eat a meal on the 11th floor, shop for three or more items on the 12th floor, and eat two or more street foods on the 13th floor before returning to his military base.
In truth, he was still an active-duty professional soldier, and he had used his precious vacation days for today's climb! The [Soldier] class was a special class that could only be obtained by climbers currently serving in the military, and it was highly flawed, imposing severe penalties if one were to be discharged. On the bright side, it allowed the user to operate firearms, grenades, and even mortars without any penalties, making its advantages quite clear.
Following Kim Chunsik, Park Chunja and Elizabeth also challenged and cleared the 10th floor a bit later. Chunja chose Difficulty 2 and easily defeated the [Cockroach Rabbit] boss, while Elizabeth chose Difficulty 3 and had no trouble dealing with the [Hornet Rabbit]. As a side note, a certain otaku reportedly chose Difficulty 7, got absolutely wrecked, and quit climbing altogether after being severely traumatized.
Since then, reviews from climbers who barely managed to clear Difficulty 4 against the [Giant Mantis Rabbit] and Difficulty 5 against the [Blade Dragonfly Rabbit] began flooding the community gallery. At the same time, it was revealed that the rewards for Difficulties 1 through 5 were all Luki's character cards! Since each difficulty featured a completely different illustration, it fiercely stimulated the collectors' desire to gather them all.
And just today, an eyewitness account emerged from a climber who had attempted Difficulty 6, died, and resurrected outside the tower.
"...In Difficulty 6, the [Sea Krait Comb Jelly Rabbit] appears...!"
"Stop lying and tell us the truth."
"No, really, it's true..."
"How the hell is that real?"
According to the testimony, a grotesque rabbit face was encased inside the body of a comb jelly floating in midair, and every single one of its tentacles was made of black-and-white striped sea kraits.
Now, only the information for Difficulty 7 remained to fully map out the 10th floor... but details regarding the [Overwhelmingly Difficult] trial were strangely scarce. The reason for this was surprisingly simple.
"Aaaaargh!!! H-Hic, ugh! Aaaaaaaah!!!"
"Bleeeeeergh!!!"
Every single climber who attempted Difficulty 7 died inside, and without fail, they either shrieked in terror or vomited the moment they resurrected! Their minds were completely shattered by sheer horror. Whenever anyone tried to ask what they had seen, they would hyperventilate and go into seizures from the sheer terror of the memory, making it impossible to gather any information!
Intrigued by this mystery, a climber with the [Pyromancer] class declared he would see it with his own eyes. He rapidly scaled My House Tower and challenged Difficulty 7.
"Aaaaaaaargh!" In the end, he too resurrected screaming, thrashing around in agony.
However, having previously consumed a [Rabbit Calming Pill] obtained on the 9th floor, combined with his naturally strong stomach, he managed to quickly overcome the fear without suffering lasting trauma. Once his mind cleared, he drew a highly detailed sketch of the monster he had witnessed—the [Flying Giant Centipede Rabbit]—and uploaded it to the My House Tower Gallery. He was promptly banned for a year for posting gore.
Finally, Ban Huiyeol, who had purchased the [Archangel's Silver-Thread Candy] in My House Tower, immediately brought the item to the [Glory] Guild to report it. Soon after, the chairman of a major domestic conglomerate purchased this "hair loss cure" for 2.5 billion won, throwing the world into yet another frenzy.
Meanwhile, on the 99th floor of My House Tower, a meeting was underway in the Meeting Room, just like any other day.
"We need more Tower Coins...!"
"Then why don't we just raise the price of the Holy Water?"
"Good point. Should we 10x it right now?"
"Wait, I was joking. You're actually taking me seriously?"
Tricia was desperately gathering Tower Coins to somehow promote herself to a [C-Rank Administrator] and unlock electronics and the internet. She took even Luki's joke seriously and was about to adjust the price of the Holy Water.
Sensing that Tricia's uncharacteristic willingness to use any means necessary to hoard Tower Coins was unusual, Zergos raised an inquiry.
"I do not quite comprehend. Is there a particular reason you are gathering Tower Coins with such urgency?"
Tricia sprang up from her seat and declared:
"I'm going to raise my Administrator Rank! Once I reach C-rank, we can use Earth's electronics right here in the tower!"
"Such a function was possible... Wait, does that mean...?"
"Exactly. The real key here is the 'Administrator Rank.' If I manage to max out my Administrator Rank..."
"Perhaps, in the not-too-distant future, it may even be possible for us to step outside the tower."
"Bingo!" As Tricia clapped her hands in agreement, everyone's faces lit up.
The hope of stepping outside the tower. The anticipation of freely enjoying Earth's culture, which they had never experienced in Eriel. A fire of motivation was lit in everyone's hearts, quickly growing into a roaring blaze.
"In any case, suddenly raising the price of Holy Water would be a misstep. I believe it would be more prudent to adjust it gradually, keeping pace with the market rates and inflation of the outside world."
"Yeah, if we're going to raise anything, we should look into raising the tariffs instead."
"It would also be wise to adjust the tariffs once more before our meeting with the government."
"I'll look into other ways to earn Tower Coins besides Holy Water!"
With Zergos, Lilisys, Sian, and Yurining each chiming in, the meeting proceeded smoothly.
"Oh, in that case, can I sell Lady Tricia's photo album that's sealed in the 84th-floor library?"
"Sure! Go ahead and sell it!"
"?" Ju Jiye had proposed selling the photo album as a joke, but Tricia readily gave her permission. (?)
"Are you for real?"
"I am always for real."
Though Luki was dumbfounded, Tricia simply nodded with her usual serene smile. And so... another peaceful, bizarre day in My House Tower drew to a close.