Creeping Shadows
The moment the first floor was cleared, a blue flame flickered to life at the firmly sealed entrance of the research lab. From within it, a silhouette began to emerge—ears stretching tall and pointed upward.
Helper Rabbit appeared before us, arms spread wide like a magician who had just pulled off a successful show.
He wasn’t wearing his usual tuxedo. Instead, he was dressed in a pristine white court uniform. The sight felt strangely unfamiliar.
Rabbit giggled as he teased the group. Surprisingly, no one pushed back against his provocations. If anything, their expressions looked almost proud.
It made sense. Up until now, I had practically dragged the first and second tutorials—and this first floor—by the collar. Being able to overcome a crisis alongside someone like that must have been a huge comfort.
But as Rabbit continued observing everyone’s faces, his own expression grew oddly bright. It left me with an uneasy feeling.
“Why are you smiling?”
Rabbit answered with open smugness. It was suspicious. Every time this Helper smiled like that, something ominous had always followed. For these beings, anything fun or interesting inevitably became a crisis for the players.
Rabbit’s next words landed like a bolt from the blue for most of the group.
“……What?”
“What do you mean, suddenly—”
At Rabbit’s declaration, the color drained from everyone’s faces. This was trouble. Not just any trouble—Tyrannosaurus-level trouble. Why a Tyrannosaurus? I don’t know. It was simply the most threatening image that popped into my head right now.
“Where does that even make sense…! Are you telling us all to die?”
“Th-that’s right! How are we supposed to climb the tower without that person…!”
The more Rabbit spoke, the more resentment built on the people’s faces. None of them had willingly handed their survival to another. They had each chosen what they believed was the best way to survive, and no one here thought their choice had been wrong.
But it seemed the Helper wasn’t the only one dissatisfied with their survival methods. The constellations watching from above apparently felt the same.
『The One Who Only Knows War and Battle』 criticizes the cowards.
『Star Who Likes to Adventure』 scoffs at the people’s lamentations.
Rabbit raised his hand and pointed straight at me with his tiny paw.
At his words, the group slowly turned their heads toward me. Their faces held deep understanding mixed with confusion. A discordant blend of chaos and disorder filled their many eyes as they stared at me.
The people listened with half-frozen expressions.
Rabbit began recounting my exploits in an embarrassingly grandiose manner. The story of me taking down the tutorial dummies. The tale of luring the zombies while staking my life. The lonely battle on the first floor where I endured mental attacks and still came out victorious. There were a few misunderstandings and plenty of added MSG for dramatic effect, but the core truth—that I had risked my life in the face of destruction—remained accurate.
Yet…
‘Why is he suddenly telling this story?’
I couldn’t understand it. There was no reason for him to hype me up like this. The same Helper who had constantly called me a balance breaker—why would he suddenly sing my praises? Even if he said all this, it wouldn’t suddenly motivate the others, nor would hearing my story make them grow stronger overnight…
『Iron Throne's Owner』 looks at you with renewed interest.
『Iron Throne's Owner』 sponsors you 3,000 coins.
『Living Martial Arts Manual』 takes interest in your story.
『Living Martial Arts Manual』 sponsors you 1,000 coins for window-shopping.
Rabbit glanced at me and secretly winked. Then, somehow, a telepathic message reached me through my head.
「—Grateful? I merged coordinates while climbing the tower and gave you a little shout-out, so be thankful.」
‘What the hell?’
A massive question mark rose from the depths of my mind at this sudden change in attitude. But it seemed the rabbit wasn’t just capable of sending telepathy—he could read thoughts as well.
「—What do you mean ‘sudden’? I’ve always been cheering for you! This is your chance to climb the tower properly. From now on, I’ll serve you right. Let’s get as strong as possible! At least until you reach the third floor!」
‘What are you scheming?’
To my final question, he simply grinned and dodged the answer. Still, one thing was clear: it seemed he really intended to help me until just before I reached the third floor.
Having finished his explanation, Rabbit snapped his fingers, creating a portal to the second floor. This time, however, its shape was slightly different from when we first entered the tower. It was small enough that a person would have to duck their head slightly to pass through. Just as the words “solo competition” implied, a small portal appeared in front of each individual.
The people’s expressions hardened. Some probably no longer wanted to climb the tower. Others might have wished to simply settle down and live peacefully with what they had now. Naturally, people hated crises. Even those who claimed to enjoy danger usually only did so when they had a safety net to fall back on. When told to risk their actual lives with no escape, hesitation was inevitable.
With a sharp snap of Rabbit’s fingers, a notification window displaying the mission appeared without fail.
『To the Second Floor』
Theme: None
Difficulty: None
Description: Proceed to the second floor.
Mission: Enter the second floor through the portal.
Reward: Entry to the second floor.
Failure Penalty: Choosing to give up results in death.
We had no choice. The penalty of “death” was no longer new or shocking. From the beginning, I never expected these Helpers—who had helped destroy our world—to let us live peacefully. I decided to stop holding onto pointless hope.
‘I don’t know what you want, but I’ll survive to the end.’
I stepped toward the portal. My vision slowly darkened. Once the light completely vanished and a new light appeared shortly after, I found myself on the second floor, staring blankly at the blue sky.
About one hour earlier, in the Helper waiting room.
Rabbit, who had been guiding the players of the Gwanghwamun coordinate on Earth, trudged into the room with a sigh. He roughly hung his shabby hat on the coat rack by the wall. There was a sofa that looked too tall for him. It had been made to human proportions, so his feet wouldn’t reach the ground when he sat, but Rabbit didn’t care. He flopped his entire body into it.
And at that moment—
“Yo.”
A man with the head of a snake, who had been watching Rabbit sink into the sofa, spoke to him.
“Rabbit, long time no see?”
……
At the snake-headed man’s greeting, Rabbit frowned deeply and buried himself even further into the sofa, trying to ignore him. But it didn’t last long.
Grab!
The snake-headed man seized Rabbit by the collar.
“Ugh!”
“Heh heh. Just because you’re a Helper doesn’t mean all Helpers are equal. Why so arrogant?”
“Let… go…”
“Shouldn’t that be ‘Please’?”
“……Please.”
“Good boy.”
As Rabbit’s voice crawled back into his throat and his confidence evaporated, the snake-headed man released his collar, sat on the opposite sofa, and smirked.
The snake-headed man held a high ranking among the tower’s Helpers. Since a Helper’s status could rise or fall depending on their players’ growth, they always did their utmost to help their charges improve. However, growth required the right balance of rewards and trials, and maintaining that balance was never easy.
“I heard from the constellations this time. You completely screwed up the coordinate you were in charge of, right?”
“……Yes.”
“So why didn’t you pay more attention to your players? Kill them moderately, save them moderately, huh? You know what I mean, don’t you?”
Rabbit thought the man was talking nonsense. He had been assigned an otherworld coordinate where survival of the fittest was the norm, while Rabbit had been stuck with Earth—a coordinate full of people with no power or special abilities. The comparison was absurd.
But—
“Hehe. As expected of Echion-nim, ranked third. I have a lot to learn from you.”
“Yeah, yeah. If you’re as incompetent as you are, Rabbit, you should ask for advice from competent Helpers like me. That’s how you raise your ranking. They’re holding a ranking match with this batch, so do your best.”
The snake-headed man—Echion—held the third spot in the Helper rankings. He was one of the five candidates qualified to become the next constellation. Compared to Rabbit, who ranked outside the top 100, the gap was astronomical.
“Well, I’m off, Rabbit. I’ll give you some credit for making it this far with those worthless Earth coordinate fools. But everyone’s going to die on the third floor, so don’t struggle too hard.”
At Echion’s farewell, Rabbit bowed his head in mock politeness while secretly flipping him off behind his back.
“Fucking bastard.”
A curse slipped from Rabbit’s mouth. But there was nothing he could do. He had been unluckily assigned a coordinate full of powerless humans, while this snake-headed prick had been blessed with yet another magical otherworld.
However—
“You don’t know, do you? We have a monster of our own.”
A single face rose in Rabbit’s mind. A dark, gloomy human with black hair and black eyes.
“This is no time to sit around…! I need to hurry and beg for some sponsorship coins!”
That human was Rabbit’s hidden card for the upcoming third-floor ranking match. It seemed he would need to help that person grow properly after all.