After confirming her choice to enter the Tower, a blinding flash of light covered her eyes. By the time Eun-Young’s sight returned, she found herself in a new place.

“Where are we?” She knew that this should be the Tower. But it turned out different from what she imagined.

She expected a rustic dungeon with a mossy smell similar to the Gates. But, this place turned out way different.

The chirping of birds, rustling leaves, and the rich scent of flowers carried over with the fresh air filled her lungs. A place unpolluted and pure. A forest with tall trees surrounded her, she saw a squirrel on one of the trees eating what looked like an acorn it hid noticing her gaze.

Even Byung-Ho looked around in amazement. This new environment felt normal, but also out of the world because they were inside the Tower. Rays of sunshine made it past the canopy of leaves and landed on his face. That slight warmth felt exactly like that of the sun on a winter day, if not more gentle.

‘Is this all real?’ He wondered catching a dried leave that fell from the tree. He didn’t feel nausea like when they entered the Gates, rather this place filled him and soothed him.

In the blink of an eye, he was transported to a whole new place.

“These waypoints are made with higher level Magic so you wouldn’t feel like throwing up. Also, they apply some healing within a certain radius.” They turned to look at Do-Yun, he looked just like before.

Wearing the new armor he commissioned with the gloves, even the pants and boots he wore were made of Monster Materials. They too had similar equipment but something was off.

“Where is your backpack?” Eun-Young looked at him with a frown.

Could it be that he forgot? No, she saw that he had it on him during the transfer. So where did it go now? She couldn’t see it around him, and it couldn’t have just vanished as they had their Bags.

“Focus on the System panels.” He said.

Eun-Young looked at the exclamation mark in the corner of her vision. Sensing her will it expanded and covered her vision.

[Congratulations On Entering The Tower!]

[Inventory Has Been Unlocked!]

[You can carry 100 kilograms of items on you without having to worry about the weight and space. The items are still subject to the passing of time so be mindful.]

“This is convenient.” Eun-young pushed her bag inside the inventory panel. It had a grid pattern that separated the space into 100 compartments.

As her bag sunk into the panel she saw the numbers in the corner change from 0/100 to 35/100. At first, she had doubts about Do-Yun’s decision to carry this amount of supplies per person inside the Tower. If raiding gates for 4 days had taught her anything, it would be the rule to not carry things while there are battles ahead. But, with this inventory feature that worry had become useless.

‘So, he already knew this would happen.’ She thought as he looked around rubbing the soil between his fingers with a branch in his other hand.

What he tried to do didn’t make sense to her, so she looked at the only unnatural thing around them.

A white marble statue of a veiled Angel. This was the waypoint he talked about. The ripples on the clothes made it look real, the surface was smooth and cold to the touch. It floated in the air excluding a soft golden light that seemed like the healing properties he talked about. In a way, it didn’t look unnatural even with the gaudiness that surrounded it. However, it did stand out in the forest like a sore thumb because of its pure colors.

[You Cannot Exit The Tower Without Clearing the First Floor.]

‘Of course.’ Eun-Young’s face fell.

A few seconds passed and another system window appeared in front of them.

[First Floor Clear Objective: Kill all Beasts on this Floor.]

[Time Limit: 23 Days, 05 Hours, 52 Minutes.]

[Reward: Entry to the Second Floor, +2 compartment to Inventory, A Random Skill Rune.]

“So, we have to fight after all,” Eun-Young muttered.

She hadn’t let her guard down even before the message showed up. But, the only sound in their surrounding came from the rustling leaves or whatever Do-Yun was up to. No monsters were in their vicinity, she was sure of that. Soon he got to his feet and turned to them.

“Looks like we’ll be roaming around for a while.” Said Do-Yun with a pencil and paper in his hands before pointing to the front, “Let’s go that way.”

Having no way of knowing which way was correct. They followed Do-Yun down the rough animal trail they landed on. Although it may have appeared like a random decision, he mapped down their path as they left markings on trees they passed by. At least they wouldn’t be lost on their way back

And his words came true. Hours passed and all they did was walk.

No Beast came in sight as they only saw a few small animals like birds or squirrels around here, but they ran away at the sight of them. They’d sometimes stop as Do-Yun picked Pink colored Apples from the trees. He swiped it on his armor before taking a big bite out of it. That crunch was louder than the crispiest chips they had heard, and juices squirted after his bite made it look more appetizing.

“Bleg, Salty.” Said Do-Yun after swallowing the bite, took the next one.

‘Why are you eating if it is salty?’ Eun-Young wondered if she should try it. But violent coughs startled her.

Turning back she saw Byung-Ho wheezing with the apple near his foot, he took a bite. The tears in his eyes showed how much he regretted that bite.

‘How is Hyung eating that? It is like I shoved a packet of salt down my throat.’ Byung-Ho barely had it in his mouth too. But Do-Yun chewed it and then swallowed, matter of fact he was on his third apple.

“Have this, it’ll help.” Do-Yun three a purple-colored pear toward Byung-Ho.

Eun-Young wanted to advise against it but Byung-Ho took a bite, and his eyes lit up. In a matter of seconds, he finished the entire fruit which was the size of a kid’s football.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

“That was the sweetest fruit I ever had!” He exclaimed. This made her curious, how sweet could it be?

And after trying it she could say that nothing was sweeter than this, not even the fresh honey from the wild Honeycombs she had as a kid.

‘But, it is a little too sweet for my tastes. But Eun-Sook will enjoy it. Hmm… is it safe for her to eat this?’ Eun-Young stored the waste inside her inventory alongside a few of the fruits as they set off again.

Soon the small animal trail they followed met with a large one. Although it didn’t look like an animal trail anymore. The path as wide as a street waited for them, with much harder and compact soil. More importantly, two parallel track marks could be seen on the grass.

‘Why would such marks be here?’ Byung-Ho wondered why it felt weird. They were inside a Tower and this area felt like it had an ecosystem of its own. But

“These look like cart tracks, don’t they?” Eun-Young’s unsure voice rang in his ears.

At first, he didn’t put much thought into it, but these marks got his gears turning. This place felt too real, and if there were tracks like these then there was no denying it.

“Nice, looks like we are close to our first clue.” Said Do-Yun with a smile full of glee.

‘There are humans inside the Tower?’ Byung-Ho shook his own head at the ridiculous thought. How could that be possible?

‘It must be some Beast’s trail or something. Like a giant millipede… no wait that’s scary.’ He shuddered.

They continued down the path anyway. The trees remained the same as the path seemed to widen. Thick black bark, wide trunks, heart-shaped leaves, and occasionally they’d see fruits hanging from the branches. Though the Pink color didn’t look appetizing to them anymore, even if Do-Yun ate it without complaints they stayed clear of them.

Matter of Fact, he ate a lot of things they found along the way. If they saw something for the first time, be that fruits, leaves, or plants, it went straight to his mouth. At this point, they worried that he was that starved and suggested a lunch break. But, he turned it down himself saying it was too early to stop.

“Why are you eating Grass now?” Fed up, Eun-Young had to ask what he was up to.

“Checking if it is poisonous.” Said Do-Yun. The grass in his mouth had a light blue color and he ate it rather fast.

“Why would you check things like that?” It went beyond her understanding, she had seen him eat some rather poisonous-looking things so far. But the lack of reactions from him made her think that it wasn’t a big deal.

‘Should I even take his reactions seriously?’ The apple incident that happened a few hours ago came to her mind, and the answer was obvious.

“Is that Grass poisonous?” She asked.

“Yes,” He said munching on them like a cow.

“…” Lost for words she stared at him with a blank face.

“Don’t worry about me.”

“I am not worried about you!” Eun-Young’s face twitched. If he gets poisoned in the Tower wouldn’t they have to cover for him too?

But, nothing happened to him so far. He’s been eating stuff like that for hours, and so far there have been no signs of him getting poisoned.

‘Does he have a skill regarding that?’ Eun-Young thought that it made sense now.

This should be to raise the skill’s proficiency, although his efforts were commendable she would appreciate it if he didn’t do this in the middle of an important task like this one. After all, they can't leave the Tower without clearing the Floor. And they had nothing in the name of Healing.

“Tell me in advance if you feel something is off.” However, she couldn’t get in his way of training. He had his way of doing things like she had hers.

“I look forward to you guarding me valiantly Eun-Young-Ah.” He smirked.

“Make sure that it doesn’t come to that or I’ll leave you behind.” She scowled.

‘Miss Kim wouldn’t.’ Even Byung-Ho standing at the back understood that much. However, if possible he’d like Do-Yun to stop eating things without proper caution even if he had the skill to counter it.

They were in a new environment where they had no idea what was what. A little mistake could lead to irreversible damage to him.

‘It is good that they have this level of thought process already.’ Do-Yun noticed their gazes, but it would be better if they didn’t increase their mental burden. They should’ve already figured out that he had the skill to counter the poison.

[Extra Skill Poison Resistance (D+) has partially nullified the effects of Camilla’s grass (C+)]

The things he ate were poisonous. Although low in level they could still kill someone on his current level. If they were a normal awakened that is.

[The Main Skill Adaptation (EX) has started to adapt to the herb Camilla’s Grass (C+), progress 20%...]

[The Main Skill Adaptation (EX) has started to adapt to Damage Type: Poison, progress 3.7652%...]

He gestured with his hand to move forward. His tongue went numb as his mouth dried up like a desert. The side effects of Camilla’s grass caused the inside of his mouth and throat to crack as blood seeped out. If left as is it would do permanent damage to his tongue and throat, and he might lose his ability to speak. His teeth would rot and the damaged throat might make eating solid foods impossible. But, the soothing feeling that covered his mouth didn’t let him down.

[Main Skill Regeneration (E+) has been activated.]

‘The number of times I have regressed because of poison and fatal wounds isn’t even funny.’ At the peak of these skills, no poison or wound could kill him.

He tried them to the point that he became immune to poison and physical attacks. But, losing his adaptions he could regress because of these methods.

So, Do-Yun came up with a plan to be sure that this doesn’t happen this time around.

Not only could increase the proficiency of his Poison Resistance this way, but he could also upgrade his Regeneration skill at the same time. This was too good of an opportunity to let go. Although to others this would look like madness.

‘This is my way of living so that I can die.’

Within ten minutes the wounds got healed. He was about to eat another handful of Camilla’s grass but stopped.

“Two Beasts, 150 meters to the left.” Byung-Ho and Eun-Young stepped forward at his words. They planned on proceeding with caution and ambush the Beasts but, “Looks like they caught a human.”

“Let’s move fast,” Eun-Young said and they agreed.

A human in the Tower? And they were surrounded by monsters? This seemed like the perfect opportunity for them.

‘If we save it maybe that person will help us with the Objective and we’ll learn more about the place.’ Eun-Young kicked off the ground scattering the dried leaves. Her steps left deep imprints on the ground as she followed the path to take a left.

She could see them from here. Two bipedal muscular pigs, almost double her height carried a man. His hands and feet were tied to the long metal rod they carried over their shoulders. Almost as if they’d roast him whole. But, the good thing was that they didn’t notice them yet.

“If I take one of the right, Do-Yun should take care of the left one.” They hid behind the trees and maintained a 50-meter distance from them.

She turned to her left and saw him nod. The first one to jump out was Byung-Ho. The beasts turned to look in his direction in an instant. Throwing the man on the ground they broke into a mad dash towards him.

“Chiiikk!!!!” Swinging their iron clubs they covered the distance in an instant. The right one reached Byung-Ho first and landed an attack on the shield.

Small cracks formed on the barrier, but Eun-Young jumped into battle before another swing could be made. Her punch, a straight like arrow aimed for the head of the Pig-headed Beast. However, it landed a white film that covered the Beast’s body.

‘A barrier?’ She saw the deep cracks form. It felt like her hand just collided with a steel wall. However, if one wasn’t enough she’d throw another.

A straight left shattered the barrier, and another right caused the beast’s head to burst like a watermelon. As its body struck the ground with a heavy thud, she turned to see Do-Yun. He threw a chunk of flesh to the side. Her eyes went to the thrashing beast at his feet. It grasped at its neck that bled like a fountain. Dealt with in a single attack. He ended it before the beast crossed even half the distance.

‘Having a tank is always a blessing.’ Do-Yun flicked his hand to get rid of the blood. With someone to take the beast’s attention, they could attack with lower risks.

Leaving the thought behind, his eyes went to the guy they saved, he was still on the ground looking at the sky in a daze.

The three walked over and saw him from up close. Short Blond hair, languid red eyes, a well-structured face that could be called handsome, and a tall frame.

‘Not as good-looking as me though.’ Do-Yun flicked his hair with a self-serving smile.

“How are we gonna talk with him?” Eun-Young ignored his antics and focused on the issue at hand.

They didn’t know what type of language he spoke. The man appeared like a foreigner, but inside the Tower, they weren’t sure about how to initiate the conversation.

“Well, I studied a little English in school. Maybe that’ll work?” Eun-Young wasn’t sure how Byung-Ho arrived at that conclusion, but it was better than nothing.

“How… are you…?” Byung-Ho tried to speak English, but the man tilted his head. He looked more confused than anything.

“Do you understand the words that are coming out of his mouth?” Do-Yun’s English was even more broken than Byung-Ho’s.

‘Did he just…?’ Eun-Young understood that reference. But, before she could tell him to be serious.

“Yeah, I understand you all just fine.” The blonde man spoke fluent Hangul.