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[You have entered the Yordle Village on floors 1-2 of the Mythical Tower.]
Just like when entering the other tower, Seira and Jinhyuk had come fully armed.
The two, who had stood still for a moment, sheathed their swords almost simultaneously.
"Peaceful, isn't it?"
"Indeed."
A village where dozens of pint-sized yordles were frolicking about.
Just looking at it brought to mind words like leisure and serenity.
It didn't seem like any monsters would show up here.
"They're cute."
"I agree."
The yordle friends scampered in every direction, their fluffy fur fluffing up as they went.
Judging by their varied appearances, the definition of their race seemed quite broad.
[Find the captain of the Yordle Rangers!]
'Yordle Rangers?'
It sounded cool, but for some reason, it also felt a bit pathetic.
-Puhhehehehehe!!
A cold sweat trickled down his back.
Why on earth did that infuriating laugh suddenly come to mind?
Praying it wasn't the case, he moved toward the interior.
As Jinhyuk scanned the surroundings while entering the village,
Having just come from floor 11, he was certain.
The Mythical Tower floors 1-2 and Despair Tower floor 11 were the same place, differing only in time period.
He had no idea how this village had turned into an orc outpost, though.
"Master, what should we do? Are there enemies here?"
Up until now, they had always swung their swords the moment they entered a floor.
If not that, they had dashed through dangerous traps.
And now, confronted with the peacefulness of the yordle village.
It must feel a bit unfamiliar to Seira.
"I don't think so. Let's just take a slow look around for now."
Seira nodded, and a few yordles approached her.
With their especially small builds and sparkling, untainted eyes, they seemed like yordle kids who had just been born not long ago.
"Wowww!"
"Wowww!"
Seira stopped in her tracks and met the gaze of the yordle kid looking up at her.
"What is it?"
"You're prettyyy!"
"You look like a fairy!"
"A fairy?"
"Don't you know fairies? They're super pretty! They sparkle!"
"Yeah! They whoosh with the wind and water! And they're so kind, like angels!"
"I'm not kind."
"That's okay! You look like a fairy, so it's fine!"
Babies like pretty and handsome people, huh.
Truly, truth transcends species.
Jinhyuk looked at the yordle kids with inner anticipation, but their eyes never turned his way.
The yordle kids, who had been surrounding Seira for a while, suddenly glanced around.
Then they lowered their voices.
"Fairy lady. Fairy lady. You have to be careful."
"Of what?"
"There's a really scary guy living in this village!"
Jinhyuk, intrigued, sidled up quietly as well.
As if sensing the growing audience, the yordle kids continued with even more vivid expressions.
"He's the kind who causes trouble wherever he goes! He's so dangerous that they even inspect your belongings when you enter the village!"
"No way, does that guy carry bombs around?"
"Huh? How did you know?"
"For some reason, he has this infuriating laugh?"
"What's 'infuriating'? I don't know what that means, but it sounds right!"
Without anyone asking, the yordle kids made grimacing faces.
Jinhyuk remembered making the same expression in his memories.
Gulp.
Jinhyuk swallowed dryly.
He wanted to ask if that guy was the captain of the Yordle Rangers.
But the words wouldn't come easily.
Because he would have to face the truth he had been avoiding.
'N-No, let's ask.'
The moment he steeled himself to confront the truth.
"Puhhehehehehe!!!"
That all-too-familiar laugh rang out.
It wasn't just his back growing damp; for some reason, a wave of PTSD washed over him from the laugh alone.
Thud thud thud thud thud!!
The sound of hurried footsteps approached busily.
"Whoa, he's here!"
"He's coming!!"
The yordle kids, who had been hesitating, scampered off into the distance.
Whether they did or not.
Screeech!!
With a sharp brake, the pint-sized embodiment of mischief took their place.
A question mark formed over Jinhyuk's head.
Why?
The clear condition for this floor was to find the captain of the Yordle Rangers.
Since it involved finding something, gathering clues and searching locations should have been essential.
All they had done since arriving was get surrounded by yordle kids and receive sparkling gazes. So why had he shown up?
[The impatient Yordle Rangers captain has come to find the player himself! He hid behind a secluded wooden crate for about 10 seconds but couldn't wait any longer!]
The system's kind explanation followed.
At least he now knew the limit of the guy's patience was 10 seconds.
The yordle, chest puffed out, stood squarely in front of Jinhyuk.
"Salute!"
Then he gave a booming salute.
"Yordle Rangers Captain Kancho! As of today, I have been ordered to transfer to Commander Yu Jinhyuk's unit! Salute!!"
Kancho stared piercingly at Jinhyuk, eyes sparkling.
Knowing what he wanted, Jinhyuk awkwardly raised his hand.
"Salute."
Only then did Kancho lower his hand and grin hehehe.
His appearance reminded him of a mushroom-headed champion from some game.
Ding!
[Yu Jinhyuk]
Level: 12.
Class: Collector
[Unique Trait]
Card Collector
Current Cards Held: 2/4.Seira Kinkayton.Kancho.
[A new card has been added!]
[Kancho]
Yordle Ranger Captain.Class: Ranger.Rank: Unique.Level: 70.Can evolve to the next rank upon reaching max Unique level of 120.
[Unique Traits]
Master of Explosions.Expert of Traps.Everything is an Explosion.Infiltration is Mine.
.
.
.
[Unique Skills]
Explosives Manufacturing.Explosives Disarmament.Stealth.
.
.
.
[Held Treasures]
Explosive Clay.
He read down the added card's description.
A single bead of sweat trickled down the side of his face.
It wasn't just because of the memory from floor 11.
Chain explosions, indeed.
Just looking at his traits and skills, they all screamed extreme danger.
After finishing reading the description thoroughly, Jinhyuk looked at Kancho and tentatively reached out a hand.
Separate from his deadly abilities, the fluffy fur was otherworldly cute.
His plump belly and cheeks were plenty charming, too.
"Hehehehehe."
As he gently petted and stroked, Kancho beamed innocently.
He was such a bright guy; maybe he'd been too prejudiced based on prior memories and abilities.
Swish.
Seira, who had been watching the two, also reached out toward Kancho.
It looked so soft and squishy that she couldn't resist touching it.
Smack!
'Huh?'
Jinhyuk's eyes wavered.
Kancho swatted away Seira's approaching hand without even looking.
Even the great Seira seemed a bit flustered this time.
Wondering if it was a fluke, Seira tried reaching out again.
Smack! Smack! Smack!
The result was the same.
Kancho refused to let Seira touch him.
Then, with a deliberate cough, he fixed Seira with the most stern, dignified, and serious face imaginable.
"Would a mere subordinate dare to touch the captain's head!? Only this unit's Commander is allowed to pet Second-in-Command Kancho!"
Weak to the weak, strong to the strong.
That was Kancho in a nutshell.
Seira, rubbing her hand, tilted her head.
"Were we a unit?"
"Of course we're a unit! How could you not know that?!"
"I see."
'Why are you accepting that?'
Jinhyuk, who had squeezed his eyes shut, pulled Kancho toward him.
"Why is that, Commander!"
As Kancho started hehehe-ing again, Jinhyuk explained.
That he was indeed the commander, but the Seira who had called him a mere subordinate was actually the strongest in this unit.
That he and Kancho could cross the Jordan in one swing of Seira's blade.
"None of that matters! In a unit, only rank exists!"
Jinhyuk nodded.
Though less than five minutes had passed since they met, he had already mastered how to handle Kancho.
"I'm a five-star general."
"As expected of the Commander! The highest rank!"
"You're a three-diamond captain."
"Captain Kancho! I shall obey orders!"
"Seira's a four-star colonel."
"Gyaeeeeek?!"
Kancho's eyes bulged as if they might pop out.
His wavering gaze darted back and forth between Jinhyuk and Seira.
"Th-that lady has such a high rank?"
"Yeah."
Kancho, sweating profusely with a grave expression, slowly inched toward Seira.
"Salute!"
Not content with just saluting, he lifted Seira's hand and placed it on his head.
He even initiated a self-pet, moving her hand himself.
Seira, finally able to touch him, wore a satisfied expression.
Jinhyuk smiled.
Now, finally, the unit felt like it was running properly.
[Exiting floors 1-2 of the Mythical Tower.]
[Mythical Tower floor 2 entry condition: Clear floor 20 of Despair Tower.]
"Delicious smell! What's this?!"
"It's called chicken."
"It looks weird, but is it safe to eat?!"
"Try a bite first."
Handing him a drumstick, Kancho stared at it for a long moment before bringing it to his mouth.
And that's when it began.
Chomp chomp chomp chomp!!
The yordle ranger's mukbang, that is.
Maybe because he was a ranger, his hands moved with ferocious speed.
'Why are you getting faster, though.'
Seira's hands were busily moving in tandem.
She seemed to sense the crisis as the chicken dwindled rapidly.
And Jinhyuk, watching them, sensed the crisis as well.
When it had just been the two of them, two birds had been plenty.
So he'd ordered three to be safe.
But for some reason.
It felt insufficient.
He glanced down at his balance, which had dipped below 500,000 won.
Now there were three mouths to feed.
A true financial crisis.
He'd have to grind harder in the tower.
"Kancho. Your treasure is that explosive clay—how do you make it?"
"Oh, you mean that one."
Kancho, smeared with chicken sauce, paused mid-chew as if pondering.
"Ptoo!"
From his tiny mouth came something.
A brown lump of clay the size of a 500-won coin.
"It's getting bigger, huh."
"You can think of it like a plant! It keeps growing even without food!"
"You make bombs with this?"
"Nah! This is the bomb itself!"
"Huh?"
Sweat beaded on his back.
It wasn't his house, but his small, precious semi-basement rental.
And now, an explosive that could go off any second lay on the floor.
"Put it away. And never take it out in the room."
"Got it!"
Kancho stuffed the clay into his bag and resumed his mukbang.
It seemed the clay, once spat out, was stored separately like that.
A cute little picnic bag that turned out to be an explosives depot—terrifying.
Beep beep! Beep beep!
The alarm rang.
Time to climb the tower with his new yordle friend.
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T/N:
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