Perfectly cooked rice with corn sprinkled on top like snowflakes. A fried rice made with only rice and corn cooked over a frying pan with corn oil. It didn’t look delicious at all.

“Mmm.”

That’s what Rachel thought as she plunged her spoon into the rice and brought it to her mouth. Nom, nom. She chewed slowly when she expected something to taste bad and her chin cautiously moved.

“…?”

However, Rachel’s eyes soon widened and she began to chew faster.

“Is it good?”

Jin Seyeon grinned and Rachel nodded without a word.

“…”

Nom, nom, nom— The princess turned into a hungry hamster. The dish tasted like pork rather than corn.

“This flavor…”

Kim Youngjin and the others reacted the same. This restaurant opened 4 days ago, but they hadn't visited out of suspicion. Now they understood all the excellent reviews on the community.

“Does it taste bad, Nayun?”

Except for one person. Jin Seyeon looked at Chae Nayun, who chewed mechanically as if she was eating rubber.

“Huh? No, it’s good.”

Chae Nayun stuffed more food into her mouth and chewed faster. Nom, nom, nom, nom— She feared her reaction would hinder others from enjoying their meal. Her cheeks filled with fried rice, but she didn’t enjoy it at all.

“So he took away all the special rewards?”

Aileen, who already finished eating, asked. Essence of the Strait’s Kim Youngjin shook his head with a grim expression.

“No. A team can only receive up to 3 of the 5 special rewards. The individual player took the maximum he could receive.”

“Ah, really? He must be lucky. I’m jealous.”

The lottery process worked quite simply. The virtual container carried a total of 100 tickets. The number of tickets varied depending on the party’s contribution. For example, Essence of the Strait received 33 tickets for their 33% contribution. Naturally, the unknown individual received 17.

“Right?”

“But why did he help you? Wait, can we even call that helping? Excuse me, waiter?”

Aileen stopped and grabbed the waiter passing by.

“Yes?”

“Give me one more plate of this.”

“Sure.”

She turned back towards Kim Youngjin after placing her order. Kim Youngjin sighed.

“Actually, we recorded footage of the castle attack.”

“Eh? You got a video?”

“Yes. I ordered a subordinate to record so we could better prepare for the next castle attack. The siege might’ve even failed without this mysterious player’s help.”

“Oh? Let me see. Show me the video.”

Their conversation attracted everyone around them. All the nearby players, not just Aileen, showed interest.

“Here. You can see something flying from the sky and killing 10 magicians.”

Kim Youngjin projected a hologram into the air. Only those who were friends with him could see it.

— Attack the magicians first!

— That’s too difficult! Too many guards are surrounding them!

The video started from the beginning. Rachel and Chae Nayun strained their eyes to see.

“What are you guys doing?” Kim Suho suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

“Oh geez, you surprised me. When did you get here?”

“Me? Just now. I’m here to eat.”

Chae Nayun felt surprised, but gestured to the seat next to her.

“You too, sit down and watch this.”

Chae Nayun pointed to the hologram.

“What’s this?”

“A ranker.”

“Ranker?”

Kim Suho was already friends with Kim Youngjin and quickly focused on the video.

Five black streaks flew across the sky. No one could tell whether they were arrows, spears, or some sort of magic spell. Fierce winds surrounded the attacks as they headed towards the 5 magicians’ throats. The magicians detected the murderous intent and cast defensive magic, but the black streaks easily broke through and pierced them. Only then could the observers tell that the attacks came from arrows.

“Oh?”

“Eh?”

What happened next surprised them even more. The arrows that pierced the magicians suddenly changed course. They shot up and killed another 5 magicians.

A total of 10 magicians died. Each magician gave 1.7% in contribution, so that added up to 17%. Everyone understood how the individual player earned it now.

“Haha. Isn’t that a mysterious and wonderful archery skill?”

Jin Seyeon smiled.

“Even his arrows are black. He obviously designed them like that on purpose. How childish.”

Aileen, on the other hand, hid her astonishment and feigned indifference.

“What are you going to do about the other castles?” Aileen asked Kim Youngjin.

“Someone reached the 6th floor without destroying all the castles, but we decided to focus on conquering the 5th floor for now.”

“Hello, everyone. We are the Ordinary People Alliance!”

A loud voice filled the restaurant.

“Please contact us if you are an ordinary person and still not a member!”

The Ordinary People Alliance recently began crowding the streets. Their leader and followers stormed in and sat around a big table.

“Hey, Divine Archer. What do you think of them?” Aileen asked while glancing at the loud bunch.

“Well, they need a way out too. I think they’re alright for now.”

Jin Seyeon gave a neutral response.

“Hey. What are you doing?”

A hoarse voice suddenly called out and caught everyone’s attention.

“Ah, are you an ordinary person?”

“Huh? Uh, I guess I am.”

A bald man who looked like a criminal with scars under his eyes replied. It was Kaita.

***

[Highest Difficulty Tutorial Town]

Meanwhile, 2 weeks had passed since the 3rd tutorial began. Jin Sahyuk started from scratch after dying.

“…”

She recognized some familiar faces: an NPC she fought to the death with last time, an NPC she caught trying to pickpocket her, etc.

However, Jin Sahyuk walked past them with a smile. Everything seemed familiar her second time around.

“Hmm.”

She looked at the 1000 TP she received after coming first in the second tutorial. Now, she somehow had to increase her wealth and acquire better weapons and armor before climbing to the 2nd floor. That man probably waited there for her.

First, she headed towards the mercenary pub and opened the community while walking. The community and public forum became available starting from Tutorial Town. Of course, the poster could hide information by putting a checkmark next to, Disable for players below __th floor.

“Mmm?”

She came across an interesting post.

[List of Rankers for Beginners Provided by the Information Team Small Business Enterprise.]

Hello, we are the information team, Small Business Enterprise. We are part of the Hero Association’s Department of Statistics. We entered the tower to examine and evaluate players inside the Tower of Wish.

Of course, the Tower of Wish has no official rankings. However, we directly gathered information about famous players inside the tower.

We have selected the top 100 rankers based on a certain set of criteria to encourage other players and to set guidelines for newcomers.

… (Omitted)

We apologize for the long introduction. Below is the ranker list. (Some players may have been omitted if their information has not been made public.)

1. Black Lotus: A mysterious player believed to have been the first to reach the 5th and 6th floors. His nickname, real name, and everything else remain unknown. The only fact we know is that he is male. He is officially an archer, but seems capable of utilizing other weapons as well… (Omitted) This player’s growth speed is on a different level and may be a hermit master. He is undoubtedly powerful. Even Vast Expanse, who has been assessing the situation from the outside, has called him very interesting.

2. Aileen… We’ll leave out the details. She is the same Aileen we all know with daunting magic power and her overwhelming Spirit Speech. Humanity’s great hero.

3. Yi Yongha: Another hero from the Temple of Justice. He may pale in comparison to his partner, Aileen, but the Hellfire Magician has a gift specialized in hunting. No monster can withstand his hellfire.

4. Kim Junwoo: A Vast Expanse hunter. He only plays solo. Not much is known about him since he takes care of everything alone…

5. …

Jin Sihyuk walked while looking at the list of rankers, the so-called big shots in the tower. She would’ve stopped after a few lines, but reading had now become somewhat of a hobby.

[Lv.??? Mercenary Pub]

She arrived at the mercenary pub and turned off the community. Then she stood in front of the owner behind the counter.

“Oh, what’s this? You’re down here again?”

The owner recognized her and frowned. She would’ve given him the middle finger in the past, but Jin Sahyuk simply smiled today.

“You should know not to rip me off if you recognize me.”

***

[6F, Splendor]

Bucephalus, the legendary horse beloved by Alexander the Great who ruled Macedonia in the distant past. One of the most priceless treasures within the Tower of Wish, which contained all of humanity’s legends, histories, and myths.

I wanted to tame it no matter what.

I observed where it ran with my thousand-mile eyes. My sight stretched faster than my body could move. Soon, I spotted a galloping horse with a beautiful black mane. Right. It… no, she was undoubtedly the legendary Bucephalus. I quickly took out the dwarven supercar.

“Scan.”

I stepped on the accelerator and chased after Bucephalus as Spartan followed from the sky.

I finally caught a glimpse of Bucephalus after driving for about 3 minutes.

[Lv.13 Bucephalus]

My smartwatch confirmed the horse’s identity. Level 13 meant a legendary creature and she could level up even further as time passed.

I didn’t necessarily want to ride her. I could just tame her and set her loose. She would trample everything in her path. Should I give her to Evandel as a gift?

I had to catch her first. I should be able to bring her back to the real world once I tamed her.

“…!”

Black smoke came out of the dwarven supercar that surpassed its limits. Bucephalus suddenly stopped and I did as well. We stared at each other. Bucephalus above the hill and my dwarven supercar on the slope.

Prrr—!

Bucephalus looked down and wailed in discontent. Prrr— Prrr—! She breathed heavily through her nose in an intimidating manner.

“Oh, um. I didn’t follow you. I just happen to be heading in the same direc-”

— Prrr!

Bucephalus was historically famous for her temper. Even the brave Alexander the Great had a difficult time taming her. As such, I couldn’t do anything rash. It would be impossible to tame her in one day, but I didn’t want to let her go.

“…”

Suddenly, the famous story of the monkey and the flower shoes came to mind. The barefoot monkey had been offered flower-patterned shoes that he eventually couldn’t live without. Did I have anything she might want?

[Random Dice x3]

I held on to 3 random dice in case I needed them. Even the famous Bucephalus couldn’t survive without food. Rather, a smarter animal would value the taste of its meal more.

Let’s lure her with food.

Drrr— I rolled the 3 random dice.

[Lv.4 Salmon Powder for Enhancing Food] [Lv.4 Master Grade Grains]

I received some excellent items.

“Um, wait.”

I excused myself before pouring the grains and powder on a large plate and threw in an ample amount of raw meat, which I had planned on eating myself. Then I placed the plate on the ground as Bucephalus watched me.

“This is really tasty stuff.”

I used my suggestive voice. Surely an animal wouldn’t be able to resist it… Prrr—! However, Bucephalus resisted the magic power. What a mighty fellow.

“Okay, okay. I’ll leave. I’m going now.”

I slowly stepped back and left the plate. I decided to retreat for today, but ordered Spartan to keep an eye on her.

Vroom—

I drove back to the hot spring without waiting to see whether she would eat the food or not. I would find out later when I returned.

“Phew. Let’s get some training done.”

I lowered myself into the water and took a deep breath. The spirit power circulated through my veins as I breathed repeatedly for it to reshape my body. The scattered spirit power gathered around my heart according to my will and increased my heart rate.

Koong—!

The thumping grew strong enough for my ribs to hurt, but this also trained my body’s interior, including my organs and blood vessels. The interior was just as important as the exterior.

I continued training for about 30 minutes. Suddenly, a hoard of system messages appeared.

[You have successfully conquered Castle No.1!] [Your contribution rate is 17%] [You have received 2550 TP.] [You have received special rewards.] [Special Skill Book – Lv.1 Wind of the Spirit] [Item – Lv.4 Purifying Wand] [Item – Lv.4 Special Chemical Activity Beaker]

“Ah, they succeeded.”

I sat up and examined the rewards.

[Wind of the Spirit]

This special skill enabled the user to vaporize their body for a short amount of time. It could be used for escaping or sneaking up on an enemy, but didn’t have much worth as a special skill. It would’ve been amazing as a normal skill.

[Lv.4 Purifying Wand]

This wand helped magicians control their magic power better. It refined the impurities in magic power like its name suggested.

“Hmm…”

[Lv.4 Special Chemical Activity Beaker]

I needed to investigate how to use this one.

“It looks like it might work with the hot spring water here.”

I took out the beaker.

***

I continued traveling back and forth from the 6th floor for a week and followed the same routine every day. First, I located Bucephalus with Spartan’s help and offered her delicious food 3 times a day. While doing so, I came across other legendary beasts such as a unicorn and black tortoise. However, they couldn’t be tamed.

Then I trained after feeding Bucephalus. I did breathing exercises at the Hot Spring of Peace for more than an hour every day. Master Sharpshooter’s grade improved with Spartan’s help and I honed my skills with [Extraction and Permanent Materialization]. For the record, I could extract stigma’s magic power twice a day inside the hot spring.

As a result, my stats increased by… Dududududu… No less than 2.015 in a mere week.

My stats inside the tower would soon catch up to my stats outside. Then the real growth would begin. My growth should accelerate once my stats caught up. Probably by another 2-3 points.

“Cough.”

I received one more piece of good news. Currently, I ignored Bucephalus as she circled the hot spring.

Prrr, prrr.

She didn’t directly approach out of pride, but made her presence obvious. Yesterday, I stopped feeding her the food she had grown used to for the past week.

Bleep—

I received a message.

Boss: I’m at the place you said. The filthy lake.

“Mmm.”

I informed the Chameleon Troupe members about the pathway to the 6th floor. Of course, that didn’t include Kaita. Currently, he should be on his way to his demise along with Zurahan.

Me: You have to jump into the lake. Are you with anyone?

Boss: I’m alone. Cheok Jungyeong, Jain, and Jin Yohan said they had something to take care of.

The three of them would certainly try to attack a fortress or gateway. They were experts when it came to attacking strongholds. Jain would disguise herself as the enemy commander, infiltrate the castle, and open the gates from within. Cheok Jungyeong and Jin Yohan would then destroy everything inside.

Boss: You want me to jump in this thing?

Me: Yeah. Hang in there even if it’s dirty.

Boss: … Okay. I’ll head in now.

Prrr— I heard heavy breathing and glanced back at the angry Bucephalus. I found it quite funny and cute. I held back my laughter and continued ignoring her. She would take a mile if I gave her an inch.

Prrr— Prrr— Prrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr—

I ignored her darting and stood up. Then I dressed and got on the dwarven supercar to where Boss would arrive.

Boss came into view in the distance. She had already finished speaking to Eirene and became clean again.

“Boss!”

“…?”

Boss noticed me. I found the way she oddly waved quite cute.

“Hajin, you came.”

“Yeah. Boss, how many hours did you get?”

“Me? I…”

I didn’t have to wait for an answer. The number 59:58:32 floated above her head.

“60 hours seems pretty average.”

“Mm. Is that so? Where do I find tickets to the 7th floor?”

“You can worry about that later. Here, you should train first. Your stats grow even faster on this floor.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. Hop on.”

I got on the dwarven supercar with Boss when she suddenly called me.

“Hajin.”

“Yes?”

“What is that?”

Boss pointed at Bucephalus, who groomed herself from afar. Bucephalus must’ve followed me all the way here.

“Hmm. Must be a wild animal.”

I slightly smiled and continued to ignore the horse.

“Let’s go to the hot spring.”

“Sure. I don’t know where, but… W-What? Hot spring? We’re going to a hot spring?”

Boss’s flustered voice echoed behind me.