episode_0077

I took a day off to rest and organize my equipment.

Aside from the coat I received from Nuna, my supplies were minimal.

Next, I sent a message to Nuna.

– [Heading to the 15th floor today]

– [If you find anything, let me know right away]

I received an immediate response.

[Todays call history]

[Mommy loves it]

[9 AM]

[Don’t push yourself too hard, just take a look around and come back]

[Don’t get too fixated on finding her, it’s not an area where you can easily search]

[Thank you]

It was a caring message.

I want to find her this time, especially after the precarious situation at the drinking party.

“I have a week’s worth of rations. I’ve explained the situation to Seongyeon and Seres. I’ve received a buff from Madam. I’ve prepared my search items. Do I have the map?”

It was in my item pouch.

Thinking that I was prepared, I looked around.

In front of the Tower of Heaven, many hunters were gathered early, making loud noises.

– Heading to the 11th floor! Newbies welcome as we’ll ensure safety!

– Rescuing from the 1st to the 5th floor! Those with resistance to abnormal desires will be prioritized!

– Searching for the 15th floor! Those with scouting skills or mobility welcome!

– Simple job of checking missing persons from the 6th to the 9th floor at the mental hospital! Anyone can join if they can handle it!

– Hunting party for the 14th floor! Only accepting experienced players, no newbies!

– Recruiting a search party for the 15th floor! Experience and gender don’t matter, just bring yourself!

– Heading to the rescue party from the 11th to the 14th floor! Not for hunting!

– Looking for escorts for the 21st floor map! Generous rewards from the Institute Guild!

– Looking for a capture party for the 1st floor! Thousands of gold for each female capture! Same-day payment!

– Seeking climbers for the 16th to 19th floor! Mandatory to wear protective gear to prevent freezing! Otherwise, go dressed as a man!

– Hunters’ Association is looking for someone to investigate a demon! Those willing to capture alive, join the live capture party!

– Heading to the 1st floor!

It felt like an old RPG game square.

Back in the day, there were a lot of statements like “[○○ Cave Exploration]” in games.

“Times have changed. Originally, there wouldn’t be a need to recruit parties like this.”

But now it’s an exception.

The Tower of Heaven is under strict control by the 6 major guilds and the government, so they are extremely wary of meeting online and leaving traces of forming parties.

There was a dedicated party website for the Tower of Heaven, but even that was leaked…

Even if it’s not monitored up to the point of those who leave the tower, the problem lies in those who return to their home country and spread the information.

It hasn’t spread widely yet and is treated as a rumor, but who knows how far it will go…

“I shouldn’t be thinking about this now.”

Shaking my head, I headed towards the party recruiting for the search team.

The leader was a man who wore his armor properly unlike me.

“Is there a spot for the 15th floor?”

“Oh. Hello. Are you also going to the 15th floor, sir?”

“Yes. But except for one time I visited last time, I’m a newbie…”

“It’s okay. It’s a non-combat zone anyway. Instead of that, may I ask who you’re looking for? If there’s no one specific, would you like to join us to complete a sub-quest together?”

His straightforwardness made the conversation quick, so I took out Lea’s wanted poster from my pocket.

As soon as they saw it, the face of the party member next to him changed.

“This person is also looking for her.”

“Is there a problem?”

“Right now, she’s the top priority for the party heading to the 15th floor. We don’t want to clash with other parties, so we’d like to pass on this one.”

“Ah…”

The idea of a clash itself sent shivers down my spine.

I heard that hunters can fight against each other, and the reconnaissance hunters share this perception.

“Other parties must be similar. The party we’re aiming for has been climbing the tower since yesterday morning, and the number of applicants is full, so they won’t accept any more.”

“I didn’t know that. I apologize.”

“It’s okay. Everyone probably has similar thoughts.”

She smiled casually.

Thinking that I should probably climb alone, I nodded slightly and got up to leave.

“Oh, wait a moment. Just in case, are you a Scavenger?”

“Yes? Yes. How did you know?”

“I could tell from your burns. Thank you for breaking through the gate. Thanks to you, my colleagues could breathe easier.”

I unintentionally received words of thanks.

“Thank you for saying that. I really appreciate it.”

“I saw some strange people making noise in front of the bushes last time. Don’t worry too much about those creatures and just keep going straight. If you’re going to climb the 15th floor alone, be especially careful at night.”

“Are you suggesting an ambush?”

“Even if they agree not to attack each other, there are always those who aim for regular sleep. It’s best to turn off the lights and stay quiet if you’re going to sleep outside. Even if you pay for accommodation, it’s still in the palm of the monsters. Especially places like bathhouses may have traps set up, so you shouldn’t go near them.”

Well, since all of that is run by monsters.

“Oh, great tip. Can I share this kind of information?”

“It’s not a problem, we hunters should help each other and survive. Especially in the Tower of Gold, where information exchange is difficult, this kind of thing is important.”

“Right. Thank you again.”

They were a really nice person.

I said goodbye again, and they also wished me good luck and went on their way.

“Once again, I’m solo.”

There are many good people around, but I didn’t have this kind of connection.

[15th floor of the Tower of Erosion]

I’ve been here before, but it was like a second Korea.

The only difference was that the people walking around were all monsters, with skin colors of various shades.

Devilish red, demon-like blue, black like a desert queen, even ordinary flesh color had the texture level of an adult game.

“Everything is different here. If the lower floors felt like drinking water mixed with mud, then now it feels like drinking purified water from a water purifier.”

There was no vulgarity felt from the lower floors.

The monsters were dressed more in maternal clothes rather than revealing ones.

Like clothes with aprons?

“Hello?”

“Oh, hello.”

Unlike the lower floors, they immediately responded to greetings, and it was actually the other side that seemed hesitant to approach.

The reason was simple.

“Wow~! It’s an outsider!”

There was a child.

“Shh. No. Don’t.”

Everyone was carrying a child, and even the blue monster who approached me was the same.

A blonde girl who looked like she was in the first to third grade of elementary school.

She approached the child who was trying to come to me, hugged her, and took a step back, looking scared.

“Excuse me. There are no kidnapped people on the 15th floor. Those people are on floors 11 to 14, so please don’t touch abandoned children here.”

“I know, but I came to look for those who are occasionally kidnapped here.”

“…Is that so?”

“Why would I touch a child over there? Look. I don’t even have a weapon.”

Outwardly, I was lightly dressed in a coat without any weapons.

Such light equipment was actually very helpful here.

“That’s right. I’m sorry. There have been too many hunters coming and going since yesterday, so there’s an emergency alert throughout the 15th floor.”

“Yeah~! Unknown outsiders and middle-aged women keep coming and going~! The emergency bell keeps ringing and it’s chaos!”

The cute blonde girl pouted.

Hunters were flying above our heads.

There doesn’t seem to be any obvious trouble, but even I feel stressed among these spirits.

“The atmosphere is tense right now… I don’t think it’s around here, but I’ve heard some bad rumors…”

So, I cleared up the misunderstanding that I was on guard.

It’s scary how even though they’re spirits, they communicate well.

With their attractive appearance and good communication skills, it’s no wonder I was fooled. They must have a quick wit.

“Well, since we won’t talk for long, can I ask you one question?”

I pulled out a wanted poster(?) and leaned in, pushing it towards the spirit.

“Have you seen this girl before?”

“Oh, are you also looking for someone, sir?”

“Yeah. Do you happen to know?”

“The girl with red hair~?”

“Yeah, the girl with red hair. She’s a elementary school student now.”

“Ah~!”

Well, I won’t find her right away.

I guess I should use [Secret Weapon] after all. As I hesitated, the spirit awkwardly looked at the wanted poster.

“Because there is such a diverse population here, it will be difficult to find her that way.”

“How do other people find her?”

“We don’t want to oppose the hunters. If you go to the local government office, they will contact the missing child protection center operated by the city… and then a public notice related to missing children will be issued throughout the city.”

There’s even a government office in this fucking tower.

It’s systematic too.

“Oh wait. What do you call the leader on the 15th floor here?”

“Governor. They are the head of the administrative area of the 15th floor and one of the executives of the ruling party.”

“Oh, I really underestimated this place. No matter where you go from the 1st floor, you can’t avoid being cursed, but I wonder why I trusted and climbed up.”

It was a floor I almost passed by, but when I licked it, I found that it was a deep floor.

With this scale on the 15th floor, there are rumors that there are floors above where spirits govern the government.

“Let’s see…”

Fortunately, there was information related to this on the map, so I could easily find the way there.

So, I decided to go there first and straightened my back.

“Sir.”

“What?”

“If you’re looking for someone~! The park or playground is good~!”

I wondered why, so I listened carefully.

Since they are residents here, I shouldn’t ignore them just because they are kids.

“Because the moms here don’t work well~! Even if they apply, they just pretend. My mom said that last time… ”

“Shh!”

“Uuuu~!”

The spirit quickly covered the child’s mouth.

Well, that’s how it is.

There’s no way the spirits who want to take even one more child with them will cooperate with the hunters.

I’ve never heard such tips from other people, especially from my sister, so it’s even more convincing.

“Ohoho. Our child is just playing around. We don’t go that far to play tricks.”

“Where do you pretend to do that?”

“Uuu~! And that’s it~!”

“Stop it! Don’t tell outsiders!”

“Uuuuu~!”

“The child seems to be having a hard time, so let him go. What’s the point of hiding something when you can ask elsewhere?”

“Oh, really…”

Maybe she’s worried that I might resort to violence?

Even though it’s unnecessary worry, thinking that the child is a weak point, I bent down again.

“Do you have any other information?”

“My mom said not to go around talking about it with my mouth!”

Oh, this kid is cheeky.

But this kind of situation was one of my expectations.

“Well, did you think I climbed up here with my bare hands?”

I brought some snacks for the kids.

The so-called substandard food.

Cheap, tasty, plentiful, and loved by kids, I prepared them to be devoured.

“Wow! Are you giving all of this to us~!?”

“Well, can’t you guys eat this kind of stuff well?”

“Yeah~!”

“You can tell just by looking at them.”

Especially when maternal love is strong.

I was relieved that I could use it as expected and chuckled.

“Uwaaah! You shouldn’t feed the child with that~!”

“Sometimes it’s okay~! Let me feed you!”

“Ugh…”

The child cheered while Mama Umma rolled her eyes.

Children know their way.

“Tell me, do you know how to find these kinds of kids?”

“Yes! Like this~!”

“What is it?”

I leaned in.

“That’s what I mean~?”

A cute child revealing their secrets. At first, I expected it to be trivial information, but I couldn’t help but smile.

“…Is that so?”

“Yes, it’s true~!”

“Do other people not know about this?”

“Well, if you tell them, they won’t like it!”

“Why did you tell me then?”

“Because you’re the first person who didn’t threaten me with a knife!”

I raised my head.

“There are many lawless people who threaten with a knife first and ask questions later. I know you’re faster, but to the kids, you seem violent…”

Well, blood wasn’t shed, but they were still parents.

I wouldn’t want to tell crazy people who threaten their own parents something.

In that sense, it seems I’ve earned this child’s favor by not equipping a weapon.

“Take more snacks. Or should I spill everything?”

“I’ll eat them all~!”

“Ugh… What if your teeth rot…!? You’ll regret it!”

“I’ll eat them all~! Hehehe!”

It’s good that things are going well from the start.

Thinking about how I would have wasted time if I didn’t know this, it’s not a waste to spill everything.

“Is there a place around here where I can use that?”

“We have a computer at home! Or the school computer room!”

“Anywhere else?”

“Where moms work? But you can’t go there, and even if you do, they block the access!”

So, the school is the best bet.

Given the nature of this social class, the elementary school is the most common place to find them.

“You’re a good person, so I’ll tell you that too!”

“Is there anything else?”

“Yes! Without this, you can’t use that~!”

“…Oh?”

Whispering in my ear again.

Another piece of information that shouldn’t be shared with others has been added.

“Can you tell others about this?”

“You’re here to find people, right? It’s a good thing you’re doing!”

“Well, even if I don’t know who you are, your parents raised you well.”

“Hehehe~!”

“…A typical compliment.”

The heart-shaped tail wagged like a whip.

Seems to be weak to this kind of praise.

“My house is over there, so drop by later! My mom will like you too!”

“I’ll think about it. Thank you for the information. Enjoy the snacks.”

“Yes~!”

I unfolded the map, marked this place, and left.

Let’s stop by here after this job is done.