The Worst Enemy (1)

With the rabbit’s sudden appearance, I nearly forgot for a moment, but the place I had entered was a shop inside the village. The explanation had said it was stocked with equipment for adventurers, so I figured I might be able to pick up some genuinely useful gear.

“So, what are you selling?”

“Ooh, you’re here to buy something! Take a good look around!”

“...This is still so weird.”

Hearing the rabbit’s familiar voice coming from a silver-haired, red-eyed woman felt both awkward and strangely dissonant. But the feeling passed quickly. When she showed me the items on display, I saw that—fitting for the fifth floor—the shop carried a variety of rare goods never seen in the tutorial shop.

The first thing that caught my eye was a large weapon. But since I had fought my way up relying solely on swordsmanship, nothing outside of a blade really moved me.

“This one looks decent.”

The blue-tinged sword that caught my eye had a shape similar to the nameless blade I currently used, so it felt comfortable in my hand. Perhaps because of the Holy property, simply holding it gave me a sense of mental purification.

“How much for this?”

“Cold Iron Sword, huh…! Hmm! Let me see…”

The rabbit picked up the sword and began inspecting the blade and hilt from every angle. Her serious gaze was completely at odds with the lighthearted attitude she had shown so far, and it drove home the fact that she really was a player who had climbed the Tower.

“Um… so…”

But the rabbit, despite appraising the item, couldn’t immediately name a price. The reason soon became clear.

“Ah, I don’t know. I’ll have to ask the owner!”

“Huh?”

The rabbit, who had been frowning at the sword, scampered out from behind the counter and approached a burly man talking with customers in the distance. Only then did I realize something.

“Mister! How much is this?”

“Oho, interested in the Cold Iron Sword? A pretty lady with good taste! Silver hair and red eyes… it suits the blade perfectly, so I’ll knock a bit off the price for you!”

“Nice!”

The story the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠rabbit had told me when we first entered the shop came back to me. She was a player—an uninvited outsider, not a resident of the Tower.

“Ehehe!”

Hoo… Good work, everyone. There don’t seem to be any more monsters nearby, so let’s rest here for a bit.

Park Jocheol had become the temporary leader while Kim Siin was away. At first it looked like Namgung Cheonho—older and quick to grasp strategy—would take charge, but Park Jocheol’s Super Sensory ability offered a higher survival rate in the current situation, so the decision was unanimous.

“The Demon King’s castle isn’t far now.”

“We’ve been running nonstop for days.”

At their exchange, Han Gamin let out a long breath and wiped the blood from her rapier. She was covered from head to toe in dried blood and sweat. Her once-bouncy bleached-blonde hair had taken on a reddish tint, and she grumbled in clear discomfort.

“Ugh… there really are a disgusting number of them. Is it because we’re getting closer to the destination?”

“Probably. The closer we got to the Demon King’s castle, the stronger and more numerous the minions became.”

“Good thing we restocked weapons at the village shop. Otherwise we’d be fighting bare-handed by now.”

Han Gamin lifted the rapier she had just cleaned and examined it for nicks. It was the one she had bought before leaving the village—a blade alloyed from a precise mix of dark iron and cold iron. She was quite fond of it.

“I should have bought a weapon too,” Namgung Cheonho muttered, clicking his tongue as he inspected his own dagger. “I mainly use immortal arts, so I thought close combat would be rare and put it off… Tsk. A little regrettable.”

Seo Seyeong nodded in understanding. “They weren’t cheap, so it couldn’t be helped. Even a cheap weapon easily goes over ten thousand coins…”

“Exactly. Uncle Namgung, you’re better off investing your coins in magic power. Our little knife fights only work on small fry. For big monsters like ogres, your flame cannon is perfect.”

Namgung Cheonho faithfully served as the team’s supporter and area-of-effect dealer. Park Jocheol and Seo Seyeong nodded in agreement with Han Gamin’s words, but the regret in Namgung Cheonho’s eyes as he stared at his chipped blade was unavoidable.

The rabbit’s silly little prank lasted only a moment. I bought the Cold Iron Sword along with a few other items and left the shop.

“I got them cheaper than I expected.”

“Right? It’s all thanks to my excellent choices!”

“...Well, I can’t exactly deny that.”

After I paid for the Cold Iron Sword in one lump sum, the shop owner caught the scent of money and began recommending all sorts of goods. A bow made from a griffin’s beak, a thorn whip crafted from a man-eating plant’s stem—various intriguing items. Of course, since I had no interest in anything but swords, I didn’t buy them, but the rabbit’s performance each time an item appeared was a spectacle.

People love to brag when given the chance, especially to an attractive member of the opposite sex. The shop owner, completely taken in by the rabbit’s smooth talk, ended up revealing every decent item he had. A bundle of silver arrows that received free blessings after a small donation to the temple. A high-grade chain mail made of dark iron that he had mistaken for ordinary iron. Even the secret that a Cold Iron Sword had slipped into a bulk order of regular iron swords.

When I had examined every last item, the rabbit flashed me a triumphant smile. Only then did the shop owner realize he had been thoroughly played by the sly woman before him.

She was a master haggler. Thanks to her, I managed to buy nearly every item in the shop at almost half the original price.

“...Thank you.”

“Whaaat? I didn’t quite catch that. What did you say?”

“I said thank you for helping me get everything at a good price.”

“Hehe.”

She had clearly heard me the first time but made me repeat it anyway. Watching her twirl around with that bright grin made me feel oddly embarrassed, so I began organizing the items I had just purchased.

First, this one.

Items slipped neatly into the small pouch at my ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠side, and my body immediately felt lighter. Until now I had been stuffing things into my sleeves or pockets and buying food from the tutorial shop whenever I needed it. Having everything fit inside one pouch was incredibly convenient.

“...It’s a little surreal that swords fit in there too.”

“It’s magic, after all!”

I had worried that carrying two swords at my waist would be cumbersome, but that problem was solved without issue. Next I checked the number of potions I had bought. Since I would be carrying out the mission alone with no other players, a generous supply of potions was essential.

It was expensive, but necessary.

Low-grade recovery potions no longer worked on me. My stats had risen so high that drinking one felt no different from plain water. These consumables hadn’t qualified for discounts, but when one potion could mean the difference between life and death, there was nothing to regret.

“Will you be departing now?”

At the rabbit’s question, I gave a silent nod. Ten days. Unlike the other players, I had to clear the fifth floor with my own power alone. From this point on, I needed to move without delay.