Before entering the 2nd Floor—
there was something I needed to do.
“This is it.”
Roll.
A single seed sat alone on the desk.
“It looks different from the last one.”
Azure Breeze.
The bluish seed that had been carefully packaged inside the suitcase my sister gave me.
Back then, I had not known how valuable a single seed like that could be.
Now I did.
“I wonder how this one will grow.”
I had already finished preparing a place to plant it.
After the disaster last time—
when the roots swallowed an entire wall of the building—
I had decided to plant this one on the first floor.
“All right.”
Creeeak.
I opened the door to Unit 102 on the first floor.
No one had lived there for a long time.
As expected, the place was an absolute mess.
“Hmm…… Does it matter?”
The cobwebs hanging from the ceiling bothered me a little—
but I decided to leave them for later.
The unit was not particularly large, but cleaning an entire home would still take more than a day.
And today, I absolutely had to plant this thing.
“Hup……!”
I picked up a fresh sack of soil I had ordered online and cut open the top.
Then, just as I had done with the Vegetable Garden on the rooftop—
I spread the soil across the floor.
It was premium soil that I had specially ordered.
Something this valuable deserved special treatment.
And there was one other form of special treatment.
This plant would have an entire unit to itself.
‘I have no idea how large it’ll grow.’
If I planted something else beside it and this thing turned into a tree or something, I would be in serious trouble.
It might even interfere with the growth of this plant.
“Done.”
I dug a shallow hole in the soil, placed the seed inside, and covered it.
Then—
“Blessing of the World Tree.”
That was all it took.
I was staring at the planted seed with satisfaction when—
Squirm―.
“Huh?”
The soil moved.
On its own.
“W-What is that? An earthworm……?”
I had trusted the seller because they advertised it as premium soil, and there was an earthworm inside?
And it just happened to be exactly where I had planted the seed.
“Damn it…….”
I reached down to dig through the soil and remove the earthworm.
The soil began writhing more violently.
Just as I started worrying that whatever was inside might eat the seed—
“……Huh?”
BURST!
The soil suddenly exploded upward.
My clothes were instantly covered in dirt.
Fortunately, my eyes had closed reflexively, so none of it got inside them.
“What the…… hell!”
I quickly stumbled backward, rubbing my eyes.
Then I cautiously opened them.
Considering how far the soil had scattered—
whatever had caused it could not have been an ordinary creature.
But—
‘Something like that was inside the sack?’
The bag had certainly been heavy.
But I had not felt anything inside except soil.
Eventually, I saw what had caused it.
“……!”
And the moment I did—
“W-Waaaaagh……!”
CRASH!
I was so startled that my feet tangled together and I fell backward.
The soil cushioned the fall, so it did not hurt much.
‘That’s not the problem…….’
I could not take my eyes off the thing in front of me.
Sweat would not stop forming around my hands and ankles.
“This is…….”
I slowly stood and approached it.
Very carefully.
I extended my right hand.
SHNK!
“Urgh……!”
A few drops of blood seeped from my right hand after something stabbed it.
It was not a serious injury.
It had only pricked me shallowly, like a needle piercing the tip of my finger.
I cautiously said its identity aloud.
“……It’s a cactus.”
A cactus.
A plant that grew spines instead of leaves to protect itself in harsh environments.
That was right.
A cactus spine had pierced my fingertip.
But—
‘A normal cactus thorn wouldn’t make an Awakened bleed.’
The plant before me was no ordinary cactus.
It did have a rounded body and sharp spines—
but its form was far too abnormal to define it as simply a cactus.
It was about as large as an adult man.
If I had to describe it—
this was—
‘A living mass of thorns.’
Yes.
This thing was alive.
And I did not mean in the obvious sense that plants were living organisms.
It was genuinely alive.
“……The spines moved.”
When I reached toward it—
the spines extended from its body in response.
They did not seem intent on killing me.
It was almost like a warning.
Just enough to draw a few drops of blood.
“What happens if I keep reaching in?”
What if I ignored the prick and kept pushing until I touched its body?
“……I really don’t want to find out.”
If the blood on my fingertip was merely a threat—
then it was essentially warning me that crossing the line might cost me my life.
The moment I approached, it had already pierced through the skin of my hand.
Would my heart survive?
All it had to do was extend a spine a little farther and stab me through the chest.
“Haa…… This one’s a dud.”
I had heard about things like this before.
Apparently, on some floors of the Tower, plants directly attacked Awakened.
This was probably one of them.
With my current abilities, eating this cactus was impossible.
“Well, even if it’s a dud, I still have something to do.”
The plant’s information.
I stared intently at it—
and a blue window appeared before my eyes.
[Berna Spine]
―Rank: SR (Super Rare)
―Freshness: Excellent
―Blessing Type: ???
“What? Almost everything is already visible?”
Unlike Azure Breeze, which had revealed almost no information when I first planted it—
everything except the Blessing Type was already displayed for this one.
“Does that mean it’s already fully grown?”
Azure Breeze had taken about a week to mature.
This one became an adult plant the instant I planted it.
If it had been anything other than a cactus, I would have jumped for joy.
“The description……”
I read the additional text beneath it.
―A plant that inhabits the middle floors of the Tower. Its entire body is covered in spines with exceptional piercing power. Upon detecting a threat, it reflexively eliminates the enemy.
“Well, that’s all stuff I already figured out.”
Aside from learning that it inhabited the middle floors—
None of the information was particularly useful.
Except—
“Oh.”
for the final line.
―Its spines are both its leaves and its fruit.
“Ah. So I’m supposed to eat the spines?”
I had no idea how anyone was supposed to put those pointed things in their mouth—
but at least the difficulty had dropped a little.
“If I only need to remove the spines, that seems doable, doesn’t it?”
Of course, I could not do it.
But what if someone stronger tried?
“Heh…… Hehehe.”
Just you wait, cactus.
“……So that’s why you called me?”
“Yeah.”
My sister glared at me with her arms crossed.
I smiled brightly and pointed toward the cactus.
“Harvest them for me. Just enough to eat. Don’t kill it.”
“……You know.”
My sister narrowed her eyes—
but soon began loosening up her body.
“I just need to pull out the spines, right?”
“Yeah. Maybe three?”
“If I’m the one harvesting them, obviously I get to eat some too, right?”
“Obviously.”
My sister confidently walked toward the cactus.
“I actually know this thing.”
“You mean…… the cactus?”
“Yeah. I’ve seen one in the Tower before.”
She said it as though it were nothing unusual.
‘The description said it inhabits the middle floors.’
My sister was a proper mid-floor Awakened now.
It made sense that she had seen one before.
“What did you do back then?”
“What do you mean? They’re just cactus spines. You think those could pierce an Awakened’s body? I ignored them and split the thing apart.”
“Ah.”
That was reassuring.
I had been worried that even my sister might have trouble with it.
If its spines could not even penetrate her skin—
there was nothing to worry about.
“It looks a little bigger than the ones I saw in the Tower, but it shouldn’t be a problem.”
My sister grinned and assumed a ready stance.
Then—
“Hup―!”
She reached out.
I watched with satisfaction.
The creature I had not even been able to touch—
was about to have its spines helplessly ripped out by someone overwhelmingly stronger.
It was incredibly satisfying.
Or at least—
it should have been.
“……Huh?”
The smile vanished from my face almost immediately.
“Urgh……!”
Drip.
Bright-red blood ran down my sister’s leg and soaked into the soil.
She let out a groan of pain.
“W-Why…….”
Step, step.
My sister slowly backed away.
The spines stopped extending any farther.
As she retreated—
they gradually withdrew from her body.
“……Urgh!”
SHNK.
The moment the spines pulled out completely, blood sprayed from the puncture wounds.
She needed to stop the bleeding.
“Sis!!”
I immediately rushed over and pressed my jacket against her wounds.
Her right leg.
Her palm.
Her side.
The spines were thin, so the wounds themselves were not large.
Even so—
the bleeding did not stop immediately.
“I-I’m fine…… It just startled me a little.”
My sister grimaced in pain.
Then she looked at the puncture wounds.
“Hup……!”
THROB.
Thick veins bulged around the injured areas.
A moment later—
the bleeding stopped.
“How many times do you think monsters have injured me by now? Something like this barely counts as a wound.”
“Are you really okay?”
“I told you I’m fine. It doesn’t seem poisonous either.”
My sister grinned.
“When did my little brother start worrying about his big sister?”
“……What are you talking about? I was just startled too.”
“……So you weren’t worried?”
“What answer do you want from me?”
“Hahaha! Obviously, you’re supposed to worry and then let me tease you about it.”
Her carefree reaction helped me relax.
The wounds were already almost completely healed.
‘So this is the Regeneration of a mid-floor Awakened.’
If I climbed that high—
would injuries like this eventually become something I barely even cared about?
It was difficult to imagine.
“Anyway.”
My sister stood and brushed the dirt from her pants.
“What are we supposed to do about this thing?”
The spines were still stained with my sister’s blood.
They radiated such sharp menace that it felt as though they would pierce me the moment I approached.
“You said you saw one in the Tower before, right? Is this a different species?”
“No. It’s exactly the same. This one seems a little bigger, though.”
“But…… you said the one before couldn’t even pierce your skin?”
“The only explanation is that this one is special. Probably because of your ability. The plant itself got stronger.”
“Stronger……?”
Those unexpectedly powerful spines had pierced straight through my sister’s body—
something they should never have been capable of doing.
Just as the cherry tomatoes, Perilla Leaves, and Lettuce had changed in appearance—
did Blessing of the World Tree alter Tower Plants too?
“My little brother is in trouble now. Do you know how many carnivorous plants there are in the Tower? If they all get stronger, aren’t you going to end up getting eaten by one of the plants you raised yourself?”
“……Don’t say ominous things like that.”
Getting eaten by a plant I had personally grown?
That might be the most pathetic death imaginable.
“Well, that’s a problem for the future.”
My sister pulled her phone from her pocket.
“For now, we deal with this guy.”
“Who are you calling?”
“The Guild Master.”
“……Why?”
“I know someone who’s an expert at pulling out spines.”
“……An expert?”
“Oh, right. You’ve met her too. Seriously, what is wrong with my memory?”
“I’ve met her?”
Who the hell was she talking about?