Almost there. Kim Hajun narrowed his eyes at the ledge and extended his arm upwards. Even if he was on gecko juice, capable of climbing sheer cliffs, that didn’t mean the exercise wasn’t as hard as a diamond turtle’s shell. Sprinting up a cliff nonstop for close to three and a half hours wasn’t a joke even for someone who had extensively trained their body like Kim Hajun had. The tips of his fingers grabbed the ledge, and with a pull that ignored the screaming muscles in his arm, Kim Hajun finally got a glimpse at the mountain’s peak. With only five minutes remaining on his last vial of gecko juice, if he hadn’t reached the peak at this time, he would’ve been screwed. Even if he found a ledge to lie on instead of falling off the mountain, he’d still have to survive for ninety days on a ledge.

Kim Hajun grunted as he pulled himself over the top, his feet walking up the surface of the cliff to assist him. A long exhale came out of his mouth, his breath visible as steam thanks to the cold. The top of the mountain was covered in snow, and at the center, there was a black pine tree. It didn’t have any foliage on it, and its body was covered in scars. Evidently, it had been struck by lightning multiple times. Kim Hajun took in a deep breath, steam rising off his body from the exertion he had performed earlier. Now, it was time to reap the rewards of all his hard work.

Kim Hajun approached the tree, but flapping sounds caught his attention, and he turned his head to the side. When the unhinged fellow had told the story about discovering the first floor’s unique hidden piece, he hadn’t mentioned anything about a guardian beast or ambushers. In that case, why did it sound like someone was flying towards him? Perhaps it was a trick of the wind. After a long period of intense focus and exercise, it’d be understandable for him to hear things that weren’t there. Unfortunately, he wasn’t just hearing things. He was seeing things too. A woman flew up from beneath Kim Hajun’s view and landed on the mountaintop.

“You are….” Kim Hajun said, his brow furrowing. Wasn’t she a member of Vur’s group? What was she doing over here? As a variable, it made sense for Kim Hajun to have no understanding of the woman’s future actions, but why did she end up at the unique hidden piece’s location? “Did you follow me?”

“If you didn’t want to be followed, you shouldn’t have moved so suspiciously,” the beautiful woman with pointed ears said. She smiled at Kim Hajun and turned her attention onto the burnt tree before locking her gaze against Kim Hajun’s. “Is this the unique hidden piece?”

“It isn’t,” Kim Hajun said. His eyes widened, and he covered his mouth with his hands. He knew the members of Vur’s group were powerful, but he hadn’t expected them to be skilled in interrogation as well. Forcing information out of him without him knowing how, it was a little unnerving.

“The tree isn’t the piece?” Lindyss asked, raising an eyebrow. “Then why did you climb up here?”

Before Lindyss could ask the second question, Kim Hajun had lowered his head to train his gaze onto the ground. Perhaps that action had stopped her from extracting the information out of him against his will. “There’s an achievement you can obtain by climbing up five mountains in the first stage.” Although the information about the achievement was true, Kim Hajun wasn’t sure if the woman would believe his lie.

“Is that so?” Lindyss asked. “I see. Then, you wouldn’t mind if I took this tree away, would you?”

Kim Hajun put on his best poker face and raised his head. “From what I’ve glimpsed of the future, this tree isn’t of importance. I just thought there’d be something buried by its roots. The tower enjoys leaving little hidden pieces by conspicuous landmarks.

Before Lindyss could respond, flapping sounds resonated through the top of the mountain. Kim Hajun’s eyes widened to the size of saucers as an ocean-blue dragon head rose into view. Without saying a word or caring about the two-legged creatures on the mountaintop, the dragon flew over and landed by the tree. It stood up and grabbed the tree with its front legs. With a grunt, the dragon forcefully uprooted the dead pine tree and slung it over its shoulder before looking down at Lindyss. “I win. The muffin’s mine.”

Lindyss walked over to the crater the pine tree’s roots had left behind. She bent down and picked up a green orb. “The tree isn’t the unique hidden piece,” the cursed elf said and passed the green orb from hand to hand while observing it. “But this might be.”

“It isn’t,” Kim Hajun said and shook his head. Although his face was expressionless, his heart was still pained. Even if the green orb in Lindyss’ hand wasn’t the unique hidden piece, it was still an important item for his future plans. “Once a floor’s unique hidden piece is found, the tower will broadcast an announcement through the root bracelet.”

The ocean-blue dragon frowned and glanced down at Lindyss. “I thought you found it.”

“You think I’d let you take it from me so easily if I did?” Lindyss asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

Vur shrugged. Without warning, a lightning bolt descended from the clear sky and struck the dead pine tree. It exploded into a fine mist in Vur’s grip, and as the mist settled, a fine layer of soot coated Vur’s body. A second bolt of lightning rained down, striking Vur directly on the head. A coil of lightning traveled down his head to the very tip of his tail before winking out of existence.

Lindyss blinked and was about to ask Vur if he was alright, but upon seeing his stunned expression covered with soot, the cursed elf couldn’t help but burst out into laughter instead. At that moment, the root bracelet on her, Kim Hajun’s, and Vur’s wrists lit up with an amber glow.

“The first floor’s unique hidden piece has been found?” Lindyss asked, her brow furrowing as she stared at her bracelet.

Kim Hajun took in a deep breath and steadied himself. If he hadn’t, perhaps he would’ve fallen onto his knees in despair. The tree wasn’t the unique hidden piece, the lightning attracted by the tree was. The unhinged fellow from the Kim Hajun’s prophetic dream had climbed to the top of the dead pine tree and was struck by lightning, granting him a special constitution. Now, the special constitution that should’ve been Kim Hajun’s in this timeline was in the hands of a dragon instead. Great. Now what?