Second Floor
Second Floor
I couldn't sleep.
After tossing and turning in bed, I picked up the notebook I'd placed beside me.
'Contain the power of the trait and divide the layers.'
'Rotate the separated layers inward, not outward.'
'As the circuit completes, the sixth sense expands.'
"...What does this even mean?"
I didn't understand a single line.
But strangely enough.
Looking at these words, something squirmed in my head.
If I were in my Wolha state, I would have figured this out somehow.
There was no logical basis, but I felt a strong conviction.
***
The next morning, in front of the Gate.
"Hello, Yunha-ssi!"
From a distance, Lee Yul was holding a paper bag with both hands.
"Hehe, it suits you well!"
"Thanks, it's all because of you."
"No way.
After everything Yunha-ssi did for me, this is only natural!"
"What's for breakfast today?"
"Burritos!"
You're really good at cooking.
I naturally laid out the mat Lee Yul handed me on the ground.
It had become a completely familiar morning routine by now.
Shoving a large burrito into my mouth, I looked at Lee Yul.
She was wearing an elegant white robe, completely different from yesterday's,
and was nibbling on a burrito much smaller than mine.
No matter how I look at it, it doesn't suit her.
Why on earth is she exploring dungeons?
But I couldn't ask.
We weren't at the point in our relationship where I could ask such things yet.
"Is there something on my face?"
At my gaze, Lee Yul's cheeks turned red.
"No, this is delicious."
"Please eat a lot!"
***
While Lee Yul went to throw away the trash, I checked my equipment.
I tapped the shoulder pads of my light armor, put on the gauntlet, and clenched my fist.
The sharp spikes were bared.
"Let's go."
"Yes!"
Passing through the Gate, we entered the 1st Floor.
***
Crunch.
It ended in a single blow.
"...So this is the difference equipment makes."
While I was looking down at my gauntlet, Lee Yul immediately started extracting the core.
"You've gotten faster."
"Hehe."
At that moment, a new wolf charged at us from behind a rock.
I twisted my body and drove the gauntlet into its side.
The spike pierced through the hide and shattered its ribs.
Maybe I'm kind of strong?
Lee Yul's eyes widened as she looked up at me.
"It's because the equipment is good."
Embarrassed, I gave a vague answer and pulled the core from the wolf stuck on my gauntlet.
The 1st Floor seemed meaningless now.
"Lee Yul."
"Yes?"
"Let's go to the 2nd Floor now."
Lee Yul's expression stiffened as she tightened her grip on her staff.
"...Yes, let's go."
***
When we arrived in front of the 1st Floor boss room, the air shattered and a stone door appeared.
Lee Yul took a deep breath, seeming nervous.
"Are you okay?"
"...I'm okay."
That doesn't sound like an okay voice...
But since the 1st Floor has no meaning anymore.
We have to push forward.
I pushed the door open with both hands and threw myself into the abyss.
After passing through the darkness, when light returned to my eyes.
"...Whoa."
Before my eyes stretched a jungle completely different from the 1st Floor.
Tall trees covered the sky,
and thick vines connected tree to tree.
And more than anything else.
My field of vision was narrow.
Because of the bushes and vines, I couldn't see far.
"Stick close."
"Yes, yep!"
At that moment, something moved through the bushes.
It was a deer.
The problem was its unusually large size.
Including the antlers, it must have been about 4 meters tall?
The creature scraped the ground with its front hooves.
It charged at me with speed on a completely different level from wolves or boars.
Reflexively, I reached out my hand and caught its antlers.
"Grrk...!"
Lee Yul is behind me!
I put strength into my legs and forced myself to hold on.
The creature, apparently not expecting me to catch it like that, exhaled hot breath from its nose.
This bastard.
Twisting my waist, I pierced the deer's neck with my gauntlet.
The deer collapsed to the ground, spraying blood from its neck.
"Phew..."
"Yunha-ssi, are you okay?!"
"I'm fine."
Lee Yul ran over and used her trait.
The aching pain in my arm disappeared.
"Quite the grand initiation ceremony."
I cut open the deer's chest and extracted the core.
A clear, intense light shimmered on my palm.
"How much was this again? Kim Ha-yeon said it's about 5 times the 1st Floor's..."
"Probably around 30,000 won."
Lee Yul answered from beside me.
"Wow, 30,000 won for just one of these?"
...No wonder everyone skips the 1st Floor and goes straight to the 2nd.
"But..."
Lee Yul carefully spoke as she put the core I handed her into her pocket.
"Are you perhaps talking about Kim Ha-yeon-ssi from the Management Bureau?"
"Huh? Yeah. We ended up meeting somehow."
A strange person who seems ruthless yet also kind.
"...Did you happen to hear about me from Kim Ha-yeon-ssi?"
Lee Yul's voice lowered.
"No? Why, do you know her well?"
"...It's nothing."
Lee Yul closed her mouth and looked away.
Come to think of it, Kim Ha-yeon was like that too.
She said meaningfully about Lee Yul, "She's not a bad kid."
Thanks to that, I got such a good rear guard, but...
What's their relationship?
But Lee Yul's expression was too stiff for me to ask further.
In an uncomfortable silence, we moved our steps deeper into the jungle.
***
Strangely, the back of my head felt itchy.
Reflexively, I threw a punch backward.
The spike embedded in the gauntlet shattered something's head.
"Gasp!"
A streamlined torso. Golden spotted pattern.
It was a leopard.
The problem was that it was as big as the deer I saw earlier.
"How did you know?
...Did you perhaps acquire Sixth Sense Enhancement?"
"No? I just felt an itch on the back of my head?"
"Wow, I think Yunha-ssi's trait might include Sixth Sense Enhancement."
"Is that so?"
Well, I did gain animalistic senses after getting this body.
"I guess I asked you to go to the academy with me for no reason yesterday..."
"No, I wanted to properly learn about common skills too."
Besides, Sixth Sense Enhancement isn't the only common skill.
"But if it's like this from the 2nd Floor, it would be a big problem not to have Sixth Sense Enhancement on the 3rd."
"I'll, I'll learn it as quickly as possible.
The other common skills too."
"Let me know if there's anything I can learn too."
"Yep."
***
The attacks continued.
Suddenly, a vine moved.
"Kyaak!"
It wrapped around Lee Yul's body.
It was a huge snake.
An anaconda-like snake had dropped from a tree and was simultaneously coiling around and constricting Lee Yul's waist and arms.
"Lee Yul!"
I grabbed the snake's body with both hands and pulled it apart.
"Grrk...!"
Gritting my teeth, I poured strength into both arms.
Lee Yul barely managed to slip out through the gap.
"Cough, cough...!"
Lee Yul collapsed to the ground, coughing.
Simultaneously, the snake twisted its body toward me.
I charged at it and grabbed its neck.
Then its body wrapped around my arm.
Crack.
A cracking sound came from the gauntlet.
"Just, die already!"
As I put strength into my hand and choked its neck,
strength slowly left the creature's body and it slid off my arm.
"Whew, are you okay?"
"Yes... yes, I'm okay."
Her face was pale, but fortunately she was still holding onto her staff.
"...Should we rest for a bit?"
"No. Let's keep going."
Lee Yul slowly got up from the ground.
***
After hours of clashing with monsters like that,
sunset began to filter through the dense trees.
"Let's head back for today."
"Yes..."
Both of us completely exhausted, we retraced our path and arrived back at the stone door.
Throwing ourselves through the door, the world outside the dungeon unfolded.
"Let's settle the payment quickly and go home."
"Yes, let's go quickly."
***
The staff member began taking out the cores one by one to count them.
"62 deer, 14 leopards, 8 snakes, 4 lizards, and 31 wolves, 12 boars."
After tapping on a calculator, they looked up.
"That will be 3,104,000 won total."
3.1 million won.
My highest income from grinding the 1st Floor all day was 1.28 million won,
but 3.1 million in just one day?
I took the thick wad of cash and immediately split it in half, handing part to Lee Yul.
"Here, 1.55 million won."
"But I wasn't much help today...?"
"We're a party, so it's always half and half.
But from tomorrow, let's do better."
"Yes, understood."
As we left the building, I glanced at Lee Yul.
We made this much money...
"Lee Yul."
"Yes?"
"Let's have dinner together tonight. My treat."
"Huh? Dinner?!"
"What, you don't want to?"
"No! Of course not!
So where should we go?"
Lee Yul's expression instantly brightened.
However.
"Let's go get some meat."
"Ah, yes..."
Her expression immediately became sullen.
***
We headed to a nearby barbecue restaurant.
While eating meat for a while, Lee Yul put down her chopsticks and spoke.
"...Yunha-ssi, you're eating much more than this morning.
Were you still hungry from breakfast?"
"Huh, no? It's just going down a lot.
Are you going to eat that?
If not, I'll eat it?"
After scraping up everything in front of Lee Yul too, I patted my stomach and headed to the counter.
"970,000 won."
"...Pardon?"
"970,000 won."
Surprised, I looked at the receipt - it was filled with numbers.
Hanwoo assorted cuts - 6 servings, Pork belly - 8 servings, Cold noodles - 2 bowls, etc.
Lee Yul scanned the bill with a puzzled expression and nodded.
"It's correct, why are you surprised?"
"Uh, yeah. It's nothing..."
I handed over my card with a trembling hand.
But the real big thing came right after.
***
"Yunha-ssi, don't you need to get your equipment repaired?
"Do I?"
When I clenched my hand and pulled the spikes from the gauntlet, the awl-like spikes were bent in various directions.
"Where do I get this fixed?"
"The salesperson said there's a repair shop near the Gate. Let's go together!"
***
"Oh, a Saine-made light armor set with custom knuckle gauntlets."
The employee examined the gauntlet and armor while continuing to speak.
"Altogether it would be about 15 million won, but you've used it quite roughly."
"...How much?"
"15 million won. You should probably use it more gently from now on."
I turned to look at Lee Yul standing beside me, but she was looking at distant mountains, avoiding my gaze.
She gave me 15 million won worth of equipment for free?
Whether I was stunned or not, the employee continued calmly.
"With 8 spike replacements, pad adjustments, and surface polishing included, that will be 1 million won."
1 million won...
Today's income 1.55 million won, minus meal cost 0.97 million won, minus repair cost 1 million won.
...Negative 420,000 won?
Even after making 3.1 million won, I'm in the negative?
"Will that be by card?"
"...Yes."
I handed my card to the employee.
The employee took the card.
"...Sir?"
The employee pulled the card.
"..."
When the employee pulled a bit harder, it finally slipped from my hand.
***
I hailed a taxi and put Lee Yul in it.
"See you tomorrow."
"Yes! See you tomorrow!"
As the taxi drove away, I was about to run home as usual when I suddenly stopped.
I opened my Status Window.
[Trait: Yin-Yang Person]
The Sun was still blazing fiercely.
...Huh?
It seems like it decreased about the same as on the 1st Floor?
"...What's this?"
***
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[Dungeon Gallery]
Title: Is the Caveman really dead?
Did he find another job?
oo: nope he's on 2nd floor
oo: he completely changed his equipment too
Author: This bastard finally left my hunting ground
Author: Feeling bittersweet
oo: 2nd floor bros, do they hunt well on 2nd floor too?
2nd Floor Wraith: fck fck
Author: Why you like that?
2nd Floor Wraith: How does he kill 2nd floor mobs with one punch?
2nd Floor Wraith: The sense of deprivation is insane....
oo: lolololol
oo: So you're saying the guy who one-shots 2nd floor mobs was playing on 1st floor?
Author: Ugh yeah he's the weird one
2nd Floor Wraith: Get lost to 3rd floor already!
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