Chapter 166.

—Hit me . I need to test its durability .

Boss spoke while wearing the bear head . Seeing her triumphant expression, I hesitated for a moment before striking the bear’s head weakly .

“How is it?”

—I don’t feel anything . Try hitting harder . Is that all you’ve got?

“…Hm . ”

I raised my hand and clenched my fist harder . After a light stretch, I struck down with full force .

KOONG!

A small echo resounded out in the jungle .

—…!

On the moment of impact, Boss’ neck trembled and shrunk down .

“How is it?”

—…

After staying still for about 30 seconds, her head creaked up, and two deceased bear eyes glared at me .

I should probably take them out and use them as glass eyes .

“Kuhum . ”

After letting out a dry cough, I went back to dismantling the Grizzly Bear .

Meanwhile, the bear head’s mouth and eyes were glaring at me fixedly without even the slightest movement .

[Lv . 2 Grizzly Bear Leather]

[Lv . 3 Grizzly Bear’s Gall Bladder]

[Your Dismantling technique improves to Lv . 2 . ]

—You can instantly dismantle monsters Lv . 2 and lower .

—Monsters you personally dismantle will receive a boost in Hygiene .

“…Done . ”

The Grizzly Bear’s meat was inedible because it was too heavy with muscles . As such, I only collected its leather, which could be used to make various equipment, and its gallbladder, which could be used to make medicine .

“We’re done, so let’s go back . ”

I got up . However, Boss was still sitting on the ground looking up at me .

Was she still in shock from being hit by me? I grinned and grabbed Boss’ wrist .

“Let’s go eat . We have deer meat . ”

—…

“And you should really take off that bear head . ”

—…It’s not a bear head . It’s a helmet .

Boss finally opened her mouth .

She seemed to be sulking .

Afterwards, Boss and I returned to our temporary camp .

As soon as we entered the cave, we smelled the scent of savory meat . Boss smacked her lips . Today’s menu was deer meat marinated in my special sauce .

“Oh, you’re back?”

Jain, who was grilling meat, greeted us . Then, she tilted her head after seeing Boss’ head . Right, she was still wearing the bear head .

“Boss, did you get eaten by a bear?”

“No, despite what it looks like, it’s a good helmet . ”

Boss took off the bear head proudly and gave it to Jain . Jain narrowed her eyes to examine the bear head’s item description .

“…Wow, it’s Lv . 3! Isn’t this the same as the armor Newbie sold on the auction house?”

“Yes, but the one I made is better . ”

Not all Lv . 3 items were the same .

There was a reason that the Hero Association evaluated Heroes with a ‘rank’ and a ‘grade’ .

For example, the difference between intermediate-rank grade-9 and intermediate-rank grade-1 was huge . Even six grade-9s were unable to defeat one grade-1 unless the grade-1’s Gift was directly countered . This difference only became bigger between different ‘ranks’ .

In this sense, the [Gargoyle Leather Armor] I made could be considered a grade-1 item, and this [Bear Head] could be considered a grade-9 item .

“Mm, I see . ”

Jain nodded . At that moment, Boss quickly snatched the bear head out of Jain’s hands and immediately put it away in her inventory . It seemed she liked it a lot .

“Alright, let’s eat . I cooked a lot . ”

“Yes . ”

We gathered around the frying pan and burner where the deer meat was being cooked .

“These are done, right?”

“Yes . Go ahead, Boss . ”

I respectfully let Boss take the first bite .

Boss nodded and put the deer meat in her mouth .

“…Mm . ”

As the cook who marinated the meat, I enjoyed seeing Boss eating with a happy face .

Next was Jain .

After chewing on the meat a few times, her eyes widened .

“Oh, shi… kuhum, this is amazing! You made this sauce here?”

“Yes . ”

“Wow . Oh, then is it not worth spending TP to buy bento boxes from the Player Shop?”

“Bento boxes? Mm, well, they’re only for the tutorial anyways . You shouldn’t be able to buy them now . ”

The Player Shop’s bento boxes were called ‘Tutorial Bento Box’ .

“What? Really?”

“Yep, you can check it easily . ”

Food was an important aspect in conquering any Tower . The Tower of Wish had residential areas that sold food, but on ‘mission floors’ like the 2nd floor, food became one of the most important factors . After all, starving to death and being killed in battle had the same result .

In this Tower, dying meant that the number of skills you could bring back to the real world decreased . Depending on how you died, it was possible to lose all 7 lives simultaneously .

Simply put, it was best to not die .

“You’re right, they’re not being sold anymore . ”

Of course, I didn’t really worry about the bento boxes .

Lv . 2 Dismantling .

Lv . 3 Cooking

Lv . 3 Crafting .

Random Dice .

With these four, I never had to worry about starving .

I picked up my chopsticks and grabbed a piece of deer meat . It was delicious just as I expected . I could practically feel my HP going up .

“Eh? Why can’t I access the public forum?”

“What? Really?”

Hearing Jain, I tried to access the public forum .

[You cannot access the public forum in mission floors . ]

“Oh… . ”

Another setting had changed from the original story . However, I didn’t look at my smartwatch . There were way too many changes to the Tower, most of which were minor . They were also all things I could ask the system .

“You didn’t know about it?”

“No . ”

“Really? I thought you knew everything . ”

“Haha, it’s not like I’m the master of this Tower . ”

KUAA .

At that moment, the roar echoed out in the cave . It was almost as though a drunk man just woke up from his sleep .

It was Cheok Jungyeong .

Having woken up, Cheok Jungyeong stretched and walked over to us .

“… . ”

Then, he quietly grabbed a handful of deer meat and stuffed it in his mouth .

“…Got any more?”

“Hold on . ”

I took out another chunk of meat from the inventory . Since Boss took the bear head I planned to give him, I should at least feed him well .

Tsss—

“Hehe, it’s looking great . ”

Cheok Jungyeong stared at the meat being grilled and grinned .

While Cheok Jungyeong ate, I began to pack up the items placed around the cave . Since we stayed here for a long time, it was time to get going again .

“Auu, I’m stuffed . ”

7 minutes to cook, 1 minute to eat .

Cheok Jungyeong swiftly finished his meal and got up .

“Then let’s get going . ”

“Alright~”

“Okay . ”

Jain stretched, and Boss put on the bear head helmet .

Just like that, we left the cave and walked through the jungle . Man-eating plants, gorillas, giant mosquitos, etc . While defeating all sorts of monsters, we looked for an elevator .

“Oh?”

Before we noticed, our surroundings had changed . It was like we passed through a barrier that separated two regions, the greenery on the ground instantly changed into white snow .

Taking a step back didn’t change anything . It was almost as though we were transported to a different area .

“Where are we?”

“It looks like Antarctica . ”

“…How mysterious . We were just in a jungle . ”

A fierce blizzard was blowing in the snowfield .

The area’s freezing temperature made it as though the hot, humid jungle we were just in was all a dream .

**

Same time .

A blizzard was blowing endlessly in the bitter cold .

Rachel used the power of her elementals in full force and barely managed to finish an igloo . She brought her two fainted guild members into the igloo and put a couple of blankets over them .

[Your strength increases by 0 . 005 point . ]

[Your stamina increases by 0 . 005 point . ]

[Your special stat, elemental affinity, increases by 0 . 005 point . ]

Stat increase alerts didn’t make her all that happy . Rachel looked down at the two guild members with mixed feelings .

They had fainted the moment they touched the snowmobile . Thankfully, they were still alive .

Rachel opened the messenger .

[Communication is being hindered by the mission floor’s natural phenomenon, ‘snowstorm’ . ]

However, it was still unfunctional .

“Haa…”

Rachel sighed and turned back to her guild members . They were lying on the ground like corpses .

The Tower’s system said that each Player had 7 lives but also that there were penalties involved with dying . As the vice-leader of the Royal Court guild, Rachel couldn’t let her guild members die when she didn’t know what the penalties were .

“… . ”

Her stomach growled . Rachel opened the Player Shop as she rubbed her belly .

She had already eaten all the emergency food supply provided by her ticket . But since she still had 500TP on her, she wasn’t worried about food .

With that in mind, she clicked on the 5TP tutorial bento box .

[As the tutorial ended, the tutorial bento box may no longer be bought . ]

“…Eh?”

Her eyes widened in shock .

Why now?

Hoping for the best, she clicked on the 10TP bento box . However, it was the same .

After trying to buy food multiple times, she realized that there was only one bento box available in the Player Shop .

[Emergency Bento Box – 200TP]

It was a bento box worth 200TP .

“Argh… . ”

She covered her face and stomped on the ground . 200TP for a single bento box? She felt like she was being punished for spending 3000TP on an armor .

Like the saying went, bad things came all at once . The current situation was too much for the mere 20-year-old vice-leader to handle .

“Huu . I can do this . Cheer up . ”

Rachel lightly slapped her face .

She didn’t know when the blizzard would stop . Not knowing when the two guild members would wake up, she felt she needed to go find food .

With a plan in mind, Rachel left the igloo . The fierce snowstorm seemed to swallow up her senses, but she forced herself to walk through the snow . She was able to endure the bitter cold with her fire elemental Fiery’s help .

“… . !”

After courageously walking through the snow for a while, she suddenly came to a stop . Along with her sudden halt, the snow around her feet slid forward and fell off a steep cliff . A huge crevice was in front of her .

“I almost fell…”

Rachel breathed a sigh of relief and looked down at the crevice .

“Ah, over there!”

Under the 15-feet tall crevice, she discovered a golden elevator . It was easy to spot because of its color that contrasted with the snow and its unique shape that couldn’t be anything else but an elevator .

However, her joy only lasted for a moment . Soon, she bit her lips bitterly .

—[email protected]#[email protected]%#&

—[email protected]*&!^[email protected]!#@#?

Another group had already taken over the elevator .

Rachel examined their faces . Thankfully, they were people she recognized as they often appeared on Korean news .

They were members of China’s number 1 guild, ‘Empire of Glory’ .

Unfortunately, they seemed to have met up with the rest of their guild members as they were preparing departure .

“Ah, wait!”

Rachel hurriedly shouted as a result . Eight people looked up at her from the ground .

Upon secondary inspection, Rachel saw pride and joy on their faces from being able to overpass their competitors . Her intuition told her that they wouldn’t wait for her or her group .

“Don’t stay quiet after calling out! If you want to come with us, you should hurry up!”

The man suspected to be their leader reached out to her . Rachel was able to sense lust from the man’s eyes .

“…Thank you for the offer, but I have comrades who fainted . ”

“Ah, I see . But if you’re not alone, I don’t think we can wait . Who knows how many people will come here if we do?”

However, his look of lust disappeared in front of his competitive spirit . Seeing him coldly turn around, Rachel hurriedly shouted . She used her only negotiation tool .

“I understand, so I’m willing to pay 500TP . No, I’ll pay 1500TP for my two comrades too . ”

“Ehey, vice-leader, do we look like beggars? Despite how we look, we’re one of the best in China . ”

“…I also have a Lv . 3 armor . Although I don’t have it on me right now…”

“Oh? You were the fool who bought the Gargoyle’s Leather Armor? Hahaha . ”

“F-Fool?”

“Anyways, good luck with your passed-out friends . We’ll go on ahead—”

Despite having offered everything she had, Rachel was met with ridicule .

The eight people walked into the elevator, and soon, the door closed shut .

“Ah…”

Woong—

The elevator gave off a resounding vibration and shot up into the sky . Rachel could only stare at the elevator leave .

[Alert! Once activated, an elevator will reappear in a random location . ]

Rachel despaired once more at the system alert .

Tak, tak .

At that moment, the sound of footsteps rang out .

“A human…?”

Her guess was half-correct .

Turning around, she saw a strange half-human, half-beast monster .

It was a monster commonly found in cold regions of Earth, a Yeti .

“…!”

Rachel quickly raised her rapier . It was a level 1 sword she bought in Tutorial Town, but it was the only thing she could rely on .

===

[Lv . 3 Baby Yeti]

===

A Lv . 3 monster . It was the highest leveled monster she faced since entering the Tower .

The Yeti glared at her and bared its fangs .

Rachel didn’t have much time to think .

The Yeti’s mind seemed to be coded with the command ‘kill all humans’, as it quickly charged towards her in the blizzard .

Rachel quickly jumped to the side and dodged the Yeti’s charge .

KUOOO—!

The Yeti’s enraged roar rang out .

As it charged towards her once again, Rachel decided to fight it . However, its movements were smarter this time . It leaped up using its powerful legs and instantly descended on Rachel .

KOONG—!

Along with a destructive fall, the Yeti brandished its fists .

Rachel dodged the Yeti’s attack with the help of her elementals and attacked openings in the Yeti’s defense . She wasn’t sure if her attacks were effective, but she could still say that the fight was evenly matched .

Clang— Clang—

The steel rapier clashed with the Yeti’s fists, producing ringing echoes . Rachel’s acrobatics-like swordsmanship dealt with the Yeti gently, and the Yeti was unable to come out ahead .

However, Rachel knew that she couldn’t drag out the fight . The Yeti was in its native environment whereas Rachel needed to expend magic power just to stay warm .

—GUOOOO!

The Yeti’s rage exploded first before Rachel’s worry had any meaning . Annoyed by Rachel’s constant dodging, the Yeti roared and swung its arm in a wide arc .

Rachel decided to use this opportunity to strike .

“… . !”

But almost as if it had led her on, or as if it had a powerful battle sense encoded in its DNA, the Yeti lifted its foot and kicked Rachel’s rapier away .

Clang!

Seeing her rapier fly away… Rachel clenched her fists .

Using the gum if toothless!

She infused elemental power in her small fist and punched .

—KOONG!

Along with her simple punch, a huge sonic boom rang out from the distance . If she wasn’t paying attention, she might have thought the sound came from her fist .

Regardless, the sudden attack drilled a huge hole in the Yeti’s chest, and its flesh and blood splattered on Rachel .

“…?”

Rachel stood blankly in a daze .

The Yeti had stopped moving completely .

Soon, it fell forward .

Beyond the fallen corpse of the Yeti, Rachel spotted her savior .

A man wearing a black hood and all sorts of equipment . Even at first glance, he looked extremely warm .

“Who… . ”

Before she could finish her sentence, the man pulled his hood down .

When Rachel saw the man’s face, her jaws dropped open . Rather than surprise or delight, she first felt a sense of ease .

He spoke .

“Nice to see you again . ”

“Ah…”

As Rachel originally thought, there was no way that he could have died in the tutorial .

In fact, seeing the robe, armor, mask, and other equipment he was wearing, Rachel felt dumb for ever worrying about him .

In fact, he was doing far better than her no matter how she looked at it .

Seeing the smiling Kim Hajin, Rachel became lost in thought .

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