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Kim Hajun sat inside of a burrow, one barely large enough to accommodate his body while he was sitting or lying down. Near the entrance of the burrow, there was a hole in the ground with a few dry pieces of wood inside. Connected to that hole by a tiny tunnel to the side, there was another hole in the ground less than a foot away. It was a popular method of building stealthy fires since the fire burned underground, releasing minimal smoke while remaining hidden from view.

Kim Hajun pointed his palm at the pile of tinder and exhaled while concentrating on his hand. Kim Hajun’s face turned red as veins bulged on his neck; a second later, a small fire bloomed into existence, touching the dry wood. Kim Hajun held his breath and willed the fire to grow even bigger, burn even hotter. Thanks to the kindling, it didn’t require as much mana. Kim Hajun drew his hand back and added some more twigs and sticks to the burning hole. He stripped off his shoes and planted his heels by the edge of the fire pit, letting the flames toast his damp feet.

Kim Hajun sighed as he took the socks out of his shoes and spread them out on a flat rock near the fire. With that, he didn’t have much space left; other than his pack, there wasn’t anything else in the burrow. Kim Hajun opened his bag and retrieved a cylindrical pot and a collapsible metal stand with a wire and hook attached to it. He set up the stand and hooked the pot onto it, suspending the pot over the fire. He tapped on the side of the pot, and water appeared at the bottom of the container, steadily filling the pot until it was half full. Then, he covered the pot before reaching into his bag and retrieving a bundle of fur. He placed it on the ground by his socks and exhaled while leaning back, looking out of the burrow. It was dark out, impossible for a regular person to see anything. However, Kim Hajun knew the darkness didn’t affect the predators out there. Nighttime was their day, the period they were most active.

In order to advance to the second floor, one had to survive for ninety days in a harsh environment. It was difficult but not impossible; the tower didn’t forbid people from forming groups before entering. It also wasn’t unusual for people to hire wilderness guides—people who deliberately dropped out of the advancement stage before it ended to remain eligible to take it again and again—to help them get to the second floor. Only a fool would enter the stage by themselves, but it took a fool to discover the greatest secret of the first floor, and thanks to his prophetic dream, Kim Hajun knew all about it.

A whistling sound caught Kim Hajun’s attention, and he took the lid off the pot. He unfurled the bundle of fur, revealing glistening, raw, sticky organs he had harvested from the wolverine he had killed earlier in the day. He unceremoniously dumped the organs into the pot, not worried about how they’d cook thanks to the preparations he had made while butchering the creature. It took a while for the meat to cook, and it took even longer for Kim Hajun to eat his meal. Once he was done, he took a cloak out of his bag and wrapped himself up while curling into the fetal position. It was too difficult to get anything done at night, so Kim Hajun called it a day and went to sleep.

***

Vur smacked his lips a few times and rolled over. The snot bubble coming out of his nose collided against Ginger, the ant pupa lying on his pillow. There wasn’t a popping sound; rather, it was closer to a glop as the pupa’s head sank into the snot bubble. A second later, the bubble popped and splattered, and Vur’s eyes creaked open. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. As he did, the leaves that made up the wall of his room parted, and two women walked inside.

“Did you sense us coming?” Tafel asked, raising an eyebrow.

Vur lowered his arms and yawned again. He blinked at Tafel and Lindyss. “Good morning,” he said and scratched his armpit. “Is it time to go?”

“Yes,” Tafel said and beamed. “The cache is ready now. If you need to store anything, just let me know.”

Vur scanned Tafel from head to toe. Something was missing. “Where’s Garlic?”

Tafel’s smile didn’t waver. “He’s in the cache.”

“Oh,” Vur said. “Okay.”

“You might not be curious,” Stella said, her head popping out of Vur’s chest, “but I am! Why is Garlic in the cache?”

“I’m giving him the new experience of being abandoned in an underground cache,” Tafel said. “You heard the caterpillar; he loves new experiences.” Tafel tapped her chest with the tips of her five fingers on her right hand. “Coincidentally, I happen to love peace and quiet, and my brain came up with a brilliant idea to kill two birds with one stone.”

Lindyss raised an eyebrow. “You remembered to add air holes to your cache, right?”

Tafel blinked, and her horns glowed silver. A portal appeared beside her, and she stuck her torso through.

“Oh, hey! You’re back! I’d like to—”

Tafel leaned back, her torso leaving the portal. Less than a second later, it winked out of existence. “Yep,” the demon said, nodding at Lindyss. “Plenty of air holes. Garlic’s still alive and kicking.” Tafel cleared her throat. “So, what did you do while you were out there? Did it take you all day to issue a mission to find Mary?”

“No, that took five minutes,” Lindyss said and rolled her eyes. “I went out to do some research on the tower. People here are surprisingly cooperative when you ask them questions. I learned a lot.”

Tafel tilted her head. “Why didn’t you just ask Deowi or Gaegukja Yeol?”

“And only have one source for my information?” Lindyss asked. She snorted. “Why don’t I cut my head off and put it on a silver platter while I’m at it? It’s no wonder why Grimmy wanted me to babysit you two.”

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