Lee Chan-yeong was the head of the Tower Management Team at the headquarters of the Korean Association.
As befitted a man in his position, he was a veteran who had been through just about everything.
The fact that he had led the Tower Management Team—the backbone of the Association's work with Climbers and Hunters—for twenty years was proof enough. The Association reserved such positions for only the finest talent.
His extraordinary intelligence was a given.
He was also an A-rank Hunter who had reached the later floors of Easy difficulty, and his combat prowess was top-tier.
Yet this man, who rarely got nervous about anything, kept swallowing nervously.
It was because of the people seated in the same room.
“What a mess. What kind of disaster is this, first thing in the morning? I was right in the middle of getting a good pump.”
The speaker had very little hair, but his entire body was packed with muscle.
He was so enormous that even two chairs placed together looked as though they wouldn't be enough for him.
He was the Guild Master of Haetae, a major guild responsible for one of the pillars of South Korea's security amid the ongoing chaos.
His name was Choi Cheol-gu. He might have been overshadowed by Jin Si-yeon, but his strength was the real deal.
You could practically say that he was the Haetae Guild itself.
He was said to have crushed an A-rank boss monster, a Minotaur, through sheer force—all by himself, when it would normally take dozens of people working together to defeat one.
And that was hardly all.
His achievements went on and on, enough to fill more than a single book.
And he was only the beginning.
“When are we starting? I'm a busy man.”
“You think you're the only one who's busy? We were called here because it's urgent. If you've got eyes, you must've seen it too.”
“Now, now. Enough chatter. He should be here soon, so let's have some quiet.”
A great many influential figures connected to Hunters and Climbers had gathered in the room.
If he hadn't been Lee Chan-yeong, he might have died of nerves already.
He couldn't even bring himself to take a comfortable sip of water when—
“The Director is entering.”
The noisy meeting room fell silent in an instant.
Amid the tense atmosphere, a white-haired man strode across the room without hesitation.
“Good morning. I'm Seo Tae-heon, Director of the Korean Association.”
He didn't waste time on introductions.
The moment he sat down, they were over.
Yet no one complained.
Everyone simply focused on him.
“I know you're all busy, so I'll keep this brief. You've all seen it. Extreme difficulty, Floor 1, has been cleared.”
Of course they had.
That morning, a System message appeared out of nowhere.
[ A Climber from South Korea has conquered Extreme difficulty for the first time. ]
[ The rankings of Climbers by highest floor cleared have changed. ]
[ United States (Normal 71F) - > South Korea (Extreme 1F) ]
[ The first-place buff is transferred from the United States to South Korea. ]
[ All stats of Awakened affiliated with South Korea increase by 10%. ]
[ The probability of Awakened affiliated with South Korea receiving exceptional rewards from the Tower and Gates greatly increases. ]
It defied common sense.
Normally, a Climber had to clear every floor of one difficulty before advancing to the next.
But the System didn't make mistakes.
For that matter, the System itself had never been something that obeyed common sense.
What they had to do was simple.
“Find them. Whatever it takes, find that Climber and make sure no other country takes them from us.”
***
Ever since becoming an adult, I've experienced all sorts of things.
Getting scammed on a jeonse rental deposit, moving out on my own, drinking until I blacked out, Awakening on my way home from work, three years of overtime, and plenty more.
I'd been through more than I could count, but none of it compared to today.
“So you're saying your name is ‘Work Otter’?”
“That's right, Boss! Say, do you have some kind of language problem? Why do you keep asking the same question? That's the fifth time already!”
“...I'm asking because it's fascinating. I don't have a language problem.”
“That's a relief, Boss! I was worried we wouldn't be able to understand each other!”
“That's my line.”
You really did see everything if you lived long enough.
Here I was, having a conversation in Korean with an otter.
And a fluent one at that.
Though perhaps it wasn't anything to be too surprised about.
'There are other races like this in the Tower's Middle Realm, after all.'
They were inhabitants of the Tower.
They lived between floors—the Middle Realm, for instance, was located between Floors 52 and 53—and included races you'd expect to see only in fantasy stories.
Demihumans, elves, dwarves, and the like.
I'd heard that people traded with them quite often.
“Nice to meet you, anyway. Do you live in the Tower too?”
“Nope! I came from a completely different dimension!”
“Another dimension?”
“Yep! I'm here to work! This job pays more, you see! Anything beyond that is confidential, so even if you're my boss, I can't just tell you!”
Apparently, dimensions other than Earth existed too.
Scholars said that not even one percent of the Tower's secrets had been uncovered. Maybe they were right.
“All right. I won't ask any more.”
“Thank you for understanding, Boss! If there's anything you need help with, Work Otter will take care of it!”
I looked around the Subspace Shelter.
It was a completely empty space.
There wasn't anything I needed help with right now.
“I'm fine for now. Help me out when I call for you later.”
“Understood! Just call whenever you need me, Boss! I'll take a little break in the meantime!”
Work Otter sat in a corner and stared at me with bright, round eyes.
I moved to one side.
Its head turned along with its eyes, following me.
I moved back.
Its head followed me again.
“If you're bored, want to watch? I'm going to open my rewards.”
“Really? Can I?!”
It scurried over and pressed itself against my side.
We were practically going to be family from now on, so I ought to get along with it.
'It is pretty cute the longer I look at it.'
A soft-looking nose, a little head, and fur that seemed wonderfully smooth.
Once we got closer, I'd have to ask if I could pet it.
“So you're going to stay with me permanently? You can't go back?”
“That's right! I'll be here until you die, Boss, so I look forward to working with you!”
“Likewise. Now, let's see.”
Excluding the draw ticket, the rewards fell into five broad categories.
Coins, Mana Stones, the turtle shell, stat increases, and Stat Coins.
Each Stat Coin could increase a stat by one point.
None of those were things I needed to use right away.
I gave them a quick look and put them into Storage.
“There's only one thing I need to worry about right now.”
GRRRR.
My stomach was practically screaming for food.
I'm the kind of guy who needs breakfast to function.
It's how I get my energy, I suppose.
But I hadn't had so much as a sip of water since the previous evening.
On top of that, finding myself in Extreme difficulty had been a massive mental blow.
Surely the Subspace Shelter would sell food.
There were Traits that could produce food, after all.
I searched through the categories.
“Food. Food. Foo...d?”
“Food? You mean something to eat, Boss?”
Nothing.
I searched every corner of the shop again, but I couldn't find a single thing I could eat.
Shouldn't a Subspace Shelter at least have emergency rations?
'There's seriously nothing?'
I hadn't felt this hopeless even when I first discovered I was in Extreme difficulty.
'Why is everything turning out like this?'
Just as when I first entered the Tower, I couldn't bring food in with me.
It was possible if I paid Coins, but the cost would be greater than the benefit.
Besides, I'd have to leave the Tower and enter it again.
Most people stocked up on food by trading with the Tower's inhabitants.
But to trade with any of them, I'd first have to reach at least Floor 5.
“Like that's going to happen. I need to restore the shelter's Durability, and who knows what's waiting on Floor 2?”
Still, it was far too early to give up.
I'd cleared Extreme Floor 1, hadn't I?
'There has to be a way. If I can't buy food, I can find some and make it myself.'
Far more items were available in the Subspace Shelter Shop than there had been at first.
Among the categories, I examined 'Detection.'
It was the only one that seemed promising.
There were some things I could use for farming, but what good was farming without seeds?
First, I needed to find something.
“This is it.”
<Food Ingredient Detection Glasses> (7,000 Coins)
Description: Glasses that detect only food ingredients. Can distinguish between things that are edible and inedible.
Durability: 100
[Abilities]
Detection
Enhanced Vision
I had plenty of Coins.
I bought them immediately.
There was nothing unusual about their appearance.
They were ordinary round glasses, the sort you'd see at any optical shop.
As soon as I put them on, my vision became noticeably clearer.
'So this is Enhanced Vision. Then Detection...'
I looked around the shelter, but nothing was detected.
'I guess I need to go somewhere with food ingredients.'
I looked at Work Otter.
As expected, there was no response.
Then Work Otter covered its body with its short little arms and backed away.
“Y-you can't eat me, Boss! I'm sure I taste terrible!”
“I'm not going to eat you, so stop overreacting.”
“You mean it, Boss?”
“Yeah. It's not like I bought these glasses without thinking.”
I left the Subspace Shelter and attempted Floor 1 again.
Durability: 379
Twenty minutes had passed, restoring another two points of Durability.
I had enough Durability to repeat the trial three more times.
The rewards would be reduced since I'd already cleared the floor once, but that wasn't what I was after.
Just as I'd done yesterday, I opened the door and immediately summoned the Subspace Shelter.
“Hup!”
Once you've done something once, it's easier the second time.
I made it inside safely again.
THOOM! THOOM!
I ignored the charging monster turtles.
I already knew they couldn't get through.
Instead, I examined the forest spread out before me.
'Got it!'
There weren't many, but several small information windows appeared.
They were unmistakably food ingredients.
Naturally, there was no way I could go out among those monsters.
I'd just have to wait until the trial was cleared.
Of course, I had no intention of waiting another ten whole hours.
[Automatic Security Turret x3 has been moved to Storage.]
Even if I'd wanted to buy more, I'd reached the maximum number of turrets allowed.
I packed them together around the entrance.
THOOM! THOOM! THOOM! THOOM! THOOM!
The noise had tripled, but the killing should be that much faster too.
GRRRR.
“I hope this ends soon. If I'd known it would be like this, I wouldn't have gone back to the Waiting Room.”
Enough.
I could regret it later.
Being hungry made time feel as though it were passing even more slowly.
Still, time passed.
[You have cleared the trial of Extreme (1F) again.]
[50,000 Coins acquired.]
[High-Grade Mana Stone (A) x1 acquired.]
[34 Durability consumed.]
[1 Durability restored every 10 minutes.]
[Durability does not recover while under attack.]
Durability: 343
I'd used less than a third as much Durability as before.
It still took time, but the turrets were doing a surprisingly good job.
“Hopefully I'll be able to do this without all the noise someday. For now, let's get something to eat.”
After making absolutely sure it was safe, I stepped out of the Subspace Shelter.
Fear washed over me as my feet touched the grass.
The fact that everything was soaked in blood only made the atmosphere worse.
Once again, I realized just how comforting the Subspace Shelter was.
“I'll help too, Boss!”
“Thanks.”
“Not at all! It's my job!”
We headed for the nearest spot first.
Beneath a young tree, a long stalk stretched upward, topped by a purple flower that resembled lavender.
It looked far too strange to be edible.
[Bitter Poison Herb (Lv. 32)]
Just as I'd thought.
I'd heard that even poisons could be used as medicines or consumed in certain ways, but finding something I could eat right away came first.
Next, we went to the riverside.
[Hallucinogenic Mushroom (Lv. 3)]
The mushroom wasn't particularly large.
It was about the size of an ordinary pine mushroom.
But its surface was densely speckled with tiny red spots.
Even without the glasses, I had a strong feeling I shouldn't eat it.
“I don't think you should eat that, Boss. Something feels wrong about it.”
“Hmm. It's not poisonous if you eat it, so it wouldn't be the absolute worst thing... But let's pass. It makes me uneasy.”
And so we kept searching, until two hours had passed.
“...Damn it.”
I couldn't find a single decent thing to eat.
Just as I was beginning to wonder whether I'd starve to death at this rate, I noticed something white poking out of the ground beneath a huge rock.
As though drawn by an unseen force, I rushed toward it.
“Boss? Where are you going?”
And at last, I found it.
[Delicious Potato (Lv. 3)]