Translated by Demonic Dog
Read it only at utoon.net
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Chapter 2 – What Floor is This?
Creak.
His body was incredibly stiff from sleeping on the ground. Fortunately, there was no night here. Thus, if he slept in a place where the sun shone moderately, he could sleep at a pleasant temperature.
Splash! Splash!
Se-jun washed his face briefly at the pond.
And
Rub, rub.
He washed the sweet potatoes and cherry tomatoes to eat today.
“It feels a bit strange to wash them in the water I used to wash my face, though?”
Crunch.
Se-jun put his discomfort aside and took a bite of the sweet potato.
Munch, munch.
The sweetness leaked out the more he chewed.
‘I’m happy.’
Had he ever had the leisure to chew like this until all the sweet juice came out, without even needing to go to work?
Crunch.
Munch, munch.
He sat on his bag spread over the dry soil where the sun shone, chewing the sweet potato endlessly. A silence where there was no sound other than the chewing. His heart beat slowly, and his mind grew calm.
He was clearly stranded, and his food would run out in a few days. A situation where he might starve to death.
‘It’s strange.’
Se-jun tilted his head. He found his own state of mind fascinating. Still, it was better than being anxious.
“Every time Assistant Manager Ko said, ‘Se-jun, can I see you for a moment,’ my heart really shriveled. Ah. It’s peaceful.”
Se-jun enjoyed the peace that had not been easy to feel in the past, eating the sweet potato leisurely.
“Shall I eat the next menu?”
After finishing the sweet potato, Se-jun put a cherry tomato in his mouth and chewed.
Pop.
The skin of the cherry tomato burst, unable to withstand the pressure of Se-jun’s molars pressing up and down. As the juice of the cherry tomato burst out, sourness filled his mouth.
“It’s delicious…”
It was so delicious that he doubted if it was the cherry tomato he usually ate. Perhaps his taste buds had become extremely sensitive due to hunger.
Munch, munch.
Se-jun focused entirely on the taste of the cherry tomato and chewed diligently. However, since the cherry tomato did not taste better the longer he chewed, the five cherry tomatoes quickly disappeared into Se-jun’s mouth.
Having finished his meal, Se-jun began today’s routine.
Staring at the hole in the ceiling.
“……”
Se-jun stared blankly at the hole in the ceiling.
“Ah… I’m bored.”
Of course, he occasionally shouted, “Anyone here!” in between. However, that was also something done while looking at the ceiling. After staring at the ceiling for several hours, he felt so fidgety he thought he would go crazy.
“Isn’t there anything to do?”
Se-jun looked around and began to find something to do.
‘Shall I water the crops first?’
Se-jun filled the water bottle with water and watered the green onions, cherry tomatoes, and sweet potatoes.
Trickle, trickle.
“Grow quickly. Grow huge. Dad is hungry.”
He went back and forth to the pond three times, thoroughly soaking the ground where the crops were planted.
Then
Growl.
His stomach announced a fuel shortage. Just from moving that little bit, he became hungry in no time. Se-jun poured the remaining water from the bottle, after watering the crops, down his throat.
Gulp, gulp.
He felt like his stomach was filled a little. Se-jun returned to his spot and stared at the hole in the ceiling again.
A few hours passed like that.
“……”
While Se-jun was staring at the ceiling with a blank gaze,
Beep. Beep.
the alarm rang.
[May 12th, 10:00 PM]
The sun did not set here. Thus, he had set the time he should sleep.
“It’s time to sleep.”
Se-jun stood up and prepared to sleep. Preparation did not amount to much.
Pat, pat.
Once he smoothed the dirt floor where he would lie down and put the bag over his head to block the sun, the preparations for sleep were finished.
Sleep came easier than expected.
***
In the middle of the night by Se-jun’s standards.
Rumble…
Rumble…
Thud…!
Se-jun woke up from the vibration shaking the ground.
“Ugh… What is it?”
Then
Thud!
Once again, a strong vibration was felt. It was a close distance.
“…!”
Se-jun quickly took off the bag on his face and sat up.
Then, he witnessed a bizarre sight.
“Wh… What is this?!”
The light coming down from the cave ceiling had turned blue.
And
Screeech!
Kaaah!
Bizarre roars threatening each other were heard.
Then
Roar!
A giant black dragon appeared in the sky and roared. The sight of it flying through the sky alone, elegantly cutting through the blue light, was marvelously beautiful.
The black dragon roared and vanished leisurely. Perhaps frightened by the dragon’s roar, the ground fell silent.
However, Se-jun’s mind was noisier than ever.
“Monsters… This shouldn’t be happening…”
Se-jun thought something was wrong. Se-jun had inwardly hoped that this place was somewhere on the first floor of the tower. He wanted to believe that the light illuminating the cave all day was the chandelier lighting of the first floor. However, there were no monsters on the first floor of the tower.
In other words, it meant that the place Se-jun was in was not the first floor of the tower.
Furthermore, the Blue Moon, where the sun turned blue.
All floors had the sun up all day. However, each floor had a periodic time when the sun turned blue. Hunters called this phenomenon the Blue Moon.
Since monsters became more aggressive and stronger during the Blue Moon, hunters did not go to floors where the Blue Moon occurred.
‘The Blue Moon is a phenomenon that only appears in towers of the 10th floor or higher…’
It meant the place Se-jun was in was the 10th floor or higher. Still, there was a chance of being rescued.
However,
‘There’s something bothering me.’
That was the dragon.
Ten years after the tower appeared, the Phoenix Guild, which had the largest influence on Earth, recently achieved the feat of clearing the 37th floor.
Although guilds were keeping information private from the 31st to the 37th floor due to mutual wariness, many clear videos below the 30th floor were uploaded on YouTube for money or promotion.
According to the information known that way, skeletons appeared on floors 2 to 10, goblins on floors 11 to 20, and orcs on floors 20 to 30. And although videos were not released from the 31st floor, it was said that spider monsters appeared.
Since this was what several hunters commonly said in interviews, it was believable.
In their words, there was no dragon. He had not even heard of a lizard monster resembling a dragon appearing in the tower.
‘What floor is this?!’
Se-jun grabbed his head and screamed. He might be stranded on a floor that even the top hunters had not reached.
‘Why is this happening to me?’
Se-jun stared at the hole in the ceiling where the blue light came down with a complicated mind.
However, the purpose changed from before. If he had previously stared hoping someone would pass by, now he was hoping no one would pass by. After seeing the dragon, Se-jun realized that there were monsters here.
Beep. Beep.
[May 13th, 6:00 AM]
The alarm rang.
Se-jun welcomed the fourth day of being stranded with his eyes wide open, having stood guard all night. Fortunately, when it became around 4:00 AM, the Blue Moon changed back to the original yellow light.
Five hours later.
“……”
Se-jun, who was standing guard, gradually dropped his head. Then, he fell fast asleep. Since he had been looking at the ceiling and standing guard ever since waking up yesterday, it was natural that he was tired.
“Ugh… Water…”
Se-jun felt a burning thirst as soon as he woke up. He fumbled and picked up the water bottle placed beside him.
And
Gulp, gulp.
He drank the water in one shot.
“Kyaa! Now I feel alive.”
Growl.
As his thirst was quenched, hunger arose.
Wash, wash.
Taking the opportunity of going to the pond, he washed his face briefly and cleaned a sweet potato and five cherry tomatoes.
Munch, munch.
Se-jun chewed the sweet potato, staring at the hole in the ceiling.
‘Although I don’t know where this is, if it’s the 41st floor or higher, the probability of a person coming is almost 0%.’
If so, he had to survive on his own.
Se-jun stared at the field where he had planted the crops.
‘Should I water them?’
As he thought about having to survive alone, the crops looked even more special.
Trickle, trickle.
“You guys have to cheer up.”
“Sweet potato, grow huge.”
“Cherry tomato, bear fruit in clusters.”
“Green onion… Well… You… Just grow rapidly.”
He said nice words to the crops while watering them. Since news said music was played for plants, there was no reason he couldn’t offer this level of well wishes.
After watering them like that, Se-jun sat down and stared at the hole in the ceiling again.
However, boredom quickly rushed in.
“Should I eat that?”
The green onion leaves that Se-jun had torn off while planting the roots on the first day were visible.
“Ugh… It’s spicy.”
As he put the green onion in his mouth and chewed, the aroma of green onion along with a stinging spicy taste quickly spread throughout Se-jun’s mouth. Having left them to dry in the sun for about two days, the moisture evaporated and the taste concentrated even further.
Chew, chew.
Se-jun did not swallow and kept chewing.
‘There’s sweetness in green onions too.’
As Se-jun kept chewing, the spicy taste passed, and the sweetness hidden in the green onion gradually rose.
‘Good!’
Chew, chew.
Se-jun endured the lazy afternoon hours while eating the green onion.
And
Beep. Beep.
[May 13th, 10:00 PM]
It became the night of the fourth day of being stranded.
“Will today be okay?”
Se-jun could not fall asleep easily.
The monsters running wild at dawn was due to the Blue Moon. However, that did not mean the monsters became friendly when it was not a Blue Moon.
Se-jun decided to set up his bed in a place where light could not be seen. It would be cold, but it could not be more important than his life.
Since he did not have to sleep under the sun, he folded the bag and used it as a pillow.
And
Snore.
Se-jun fell asleep snoring as soon as he laid his head on the bag.
While Se-jun was asleep,
Creak.
the green onion that took root in the ground began to grow in earnest.
***
Beep. Beep.
The alarm rang.
[May 14th, 6:00 AM]
The survival of the fifth day of being stranded began.
Se-jun’s eyes snapped open.
“Heh! Why am I so refreshed?”
Se-jun said, stretching refreshingly. His body was always heavy when waking up, but today his body was incredibly light. Furthermore, although he thought it would be cold because he slept in a place without the sun, he was not cold.
“Is it because the fatigue accumulated from going to work has been relieved?”
Se-jun went to the pond, thinking it was strange.
Splash! Splash!
He washed his face and picked up the sweet potato and cherry tomatoes to eat today.
“Umm…”
As he picked up the sweet potato and cherry tomatoes to eat today, half of the food contained in the plastic container disappeared. There was not much food left.
‘Should I eat only half starting today?’
Se-jun washed the sweet potato and cherry tomatoes he picked up while pondering.
Wash, wash.
And
Snap.
He cut the sweet potato in half and put half of the sweet potato and three cherry tomatoes back into the plastic container. He was already barely eating, so thinking that he had to reduce it further drained his energy.
“Sigh.”
Se-jun sighed, moved to his spot where the sun shone well and there was a flat rock, and sat down.
However, he felt strange. He was in the shadow.
“Huh? What is this?”
The green onion, which had grown to Se-jun’s height before he knew it, was blocking the sun that should always shine.
Clearly, when he inspected it while watering yesterday, there was no big difference from when it was planted… There was no change before going to bed either. The green onion had grown immensely during the dawn.
“When did it grow like this?”
As Se-jun approached and inspected closely, the white part containing the green onion’s root was also thick, about the width of a wrist. Se-jun grabbed and tore one of the newly grown green onion leaves.
“Huh?!”
The green onion leaf was weak enough to flutter in the wind, but it was incredibly tough.
“Hiyah!”
Rip.
Se-jun exerted strength and tore the leaf off.
“What? Why is it suddenly like this?”
It was said that the appearance of plants changed differently depending on the climate or habitat, so this seemed to be the case.
“How will it taste?”
He hoped the taste had changed as much as the shape did.
Se-jun put the green onion leaf in his mouth and chewed.