Before Going to the Fifth Tier (2)

The absorption itself went smoothly.

I didn't even collapse while coughing up blood.

The only thing I'd been worried about was mana consumption, though.

That wasn't a problem either.

-Whisper.

"Blood Explosion, Spatial Slash…."

I used Blood Explosion to keep my stats boosted at all times.

With Spatial Slash, I fired repeated slashes into empty air.

It was the mana equivalent of throwing money around.

It was at a speed incomparable to the trickles I'd drawn out and used until now.

"Kyaeung…."

Even Dohwa, whom I'd summoned just in case, now looked around as if reassured.

That was how smoothly my absorption went.

So I could cure her soon, right?

That was what I thought, but…

"Oppa, how long are you going to keep doing this?"

"…I know, right."

Serin's mana.

It felt like bailing out the ocean.

No matter how much I absorbed, there was still a ton left.

'Hurry up already!!'

I was draining my maximum mana ten times a second.

So hurry up and finish.

-Squeeze.

"Oppa, you really like my swimsuit, huh? This is the first time you've held me tight for this long."

"……."

An older brother who'd brought his little sister to a deserted island, put her in a risqué swimsuit, and was hugging her.

That was a little much.

"It's because I have something to do. Let's stay like this for a little while."

"I don't mind staying like this forever~."

"I'll be done soon."

I continued wasting mana without a thought.

I drew out mana, burned it by activating Stigma, and repeated the process endlessly.

After another twenty minutes or so of that,

I started to see the end.

"Huh…? Oppa, I'm feeling a little dizzy…."

"……!!!"

'Mana exhaustion!!'

Her mana was starting to run out.

Those were the symptoms that appeared when mana was nearly depleted.

"Don't worry. I'm right here with you."

"Mmm…."

"Dohwa, stand by to use Regression too, just in case."

"Keng!!"

Once we were fully prepared.

I took a deep breath.

Complete absorption was just around the corner.

'If I draw out every last drop, her mana won't build up anymore, right? Even if it does, this should buy us at least ten years, right?'

"Usurpation!!"

And then, fwoooosh—!!!

The sigil on my forearm shone blood-red, and…

-Stagger.

"……Huh?"

At the moment my Stigma tried to take the last of my sister's mana.

My vision began to tilt toward the ground.

I wasn't lowering my head; my entire body was beginning to crumple.

'What's going on…. '

I looked up, bewildered.

My eyes met my little sister's.

And behind her.

I sensed immense energies as well.

-Ding.

[The trait 'Dragon Eyes+'….]

"…Gasp!!?"

'What the hell is that.'

The mana within the Inner World began to gather.

Before long, it transformed into mist and headed toward Serin's body.

Like a range hood sucking up smoke.

Serin's body greedily absorbed it.

Even my mana was no exception.

'M-my vision…. '

It felt as if my mana were being squeezed out.

At the same time, dizziness hit me.

It was mana exhaustion more severe than when I'd torn through the dimensional wall on the first floor.

-Ding.

[The user's mana….]

[Insufficient mana to maintain the Inner World.]

[The Inner World has been forcibly deactivated.]

"Uh, ugh…."

"Oppa!?"

"Kyaeung!!?"

In the end, I collapsed, unable to withstand the dizziness.

Thud.

My back landed on the sandy beach of the deserted island, not on the grass of the Inner World.

I somehow managed to throw away the sword I was holding, since Serin might have been cut by it.

But I couldn't control my body.

"Kyaeung!!"

"Don't use Regression…."

"…Kyaeng?"

Even so, I didn't ask Dohwa to use three-second Regression.

Dohwa was shouting, while Serin straddled me and looked down at me worriedly.

When I looked up at the sky behind them, I lost all thought of doing so.

-Goooo….

'What the hell is that, seriously.'

As if the Inner World weren't enough, mana from the surrounding area was gathering like clouds.

* * *

A little while later.

The dizziness quickly faded.

"Oppa, are you okay…?"

"Yeah. I got my strength back because you hugged me."

…Actually, it was because I absorbed the mana I'd depleted, but whatever.

It wasn't wrong, since it was thanks to her.

"Anyway, I'm going to go change, okay?"

"Are you really okay…? Want me to help you change?"

"What are you saying to an Awakener? Dohwa, stay with Serin. I'll be right back."

I decided to step away for a moment.

I couldn't let my panic show in front of my sister.

In other words.

I could make a fuss while invisible.

'What the hell was that?!'

After putting on my hat,

I sat down clutching my head.

I had a rough idea what that phenomenon had been.

'It's unlimited regeneration!!!'

When Serin's mana falls below a critical point, she absorbs the mana around her.

On top of covering a wide area, it has no absorption limit.

Unlike me, who absorb mana through a Stigma, my sister had been born with the ability to do this.

'The reason she drained even my mana… must be that the mana concentration around us was too low.'

And one more thing.

This was a deserted island, after all.

Naturally, it was a fair distance from Egen Tower, the transmitter tower that spreads mana throughout the world.

With so little mana in the air, it seemed Serin had absorbed all the mana around her, including mine.

"It's an incurable disease…."

Her body couldn't tolerate mana accumulating, yet once it ran out, the disease gave her unlimited regeneration too.

What kind of disease was this?

"Phew."

'This is bleak.'

If I died, Serin would have to live outside Egen Tower's sphere of influence.

Otherwise, she'd become a vegetable again from mana oversaturation.

But was there anywhere livable like that?

Even this small Korea had more than a dozen Egen Towers scattered across it.

'At least not in Korea.'

Even here, we're quite far from the nearest Egen Tower.

And yet there was still a fair amount of mana.

Which meant she'd have to live somewhere completely cut off from Egen Tower.

For example, in the middle of the open ocean.

That was practically impossible, so without me, my sister was bound to fall ill again.

'If Serin awakens, expands her mana pool, or gains the ability to use mana directly, everything will be solved, but….'

"No, statistically speaking, that's impossible."

There wasn't even any hope of a cure.

All I could hope for now was Serin's awakening, but she'd need incredible luck for that.

That was why I couldn't even keep my expression neutral after changing clothes.

"…Serin."

"Mmm~? Oppa, what is it~?"

"……."

I hesitated for a moment in front of Serin.

Should I tell her honestly about this disease?

Would she even understand that her condition meant she couldn't be separated from her brother?

After thinking it over, I came to a decision.

A smile.

-Grin.

"Let's stay together for-e-ver from now on!"

It was a shame I couldn't cure her completely, but at least I could keep things as they were.

This was enough. What more could I ask for?

I should be grateful and accept it.

'I'll have to play it safe from now on, too.'

On top of that, I decided that staying alive would be my absolute top priority.

A Hard Tower hidden reward?

Yeah, if something like Baekrihyang Season 2 happened, I'd run straight to Egen Tower.

If a Gate appeared that even I couldn't guarantee clearing?

Sorry, but that's how it's going to be. Deal with it.

I was even going to give up climbing the Tower…

'No, I have to climb the Tower.'

Of course, the most dangerous Tower climb of all.

I had no intention of stopping that.

There was a reason I had to climb.

'I need to stockpile potions.'

Being an Awakener doesn't mean I can't get sick.

I'd inhaled plenty of nasty stuff at construction sites, and I'd been exposed to secondhand smoke like crazy too.

What if I got cancer?

So I should stock up on potions.

To be safe, let's stockpile three or four mid-grade potions and one high-grade potion or so.

Absolute safety was guaranteed up to Floor 75.

Let's climb the Tower that far.

'From Floor 76 onward… I'll decide based on the situation?'

As for climbing beyond that, well…

I figured my decision would depend on the dragon and any inflation in Hard Tower difficulty.

It was something for later anyway, so I could assess the situation then.

'Yeah, let's play it safe like a coward.'

"Let's stay healthy and live together without getting sick."

I smiled after finishing my thoughts.

Serin smiled back.

"Yeah!"

"Even if you meet a guy you like and get married, let's see each other at least once a month."

"A guy I like? That's you, Oppa."

"Someone other than me."

"Why~? You said you'd marry me when I grew up~."

"……."

'That was when you were in second grade. You still remember that?'

Judging by her mental age, I'd really have to stay with her for quite a while.

Honestly, I had no choice.

"More importantly, Serin? The news seemed quiet earlier. I think we can keep playing here."

"The news?"

"You know that amazing place I took you to earlier? It seems it can't be seen from outside the domain… ahem, it's something like that."

"Anyway, we're playing now, right?!"

"Yeah, let's play."

For now, we decided to play.

It was our last chance to have fun before going to the fifth tier.

* * *

After that, we spent a normal, enjoyable day.

"Wow… Oppa, you're amazing!!"

"Kyaeung!!!"

"Heheh, that's what years of construction work gets you."

When Serin asked me to build something in the sand with her, I put my experience as a construction worker to use and made something fairly impressive.

Of course, lacking any artistic sense, all I did was draw brick-like lines on a square box.

The two of them loved it, saying it looked just like a secret base.

"Aren't we going to play in the water?"

"Mmm, no. My skin stings, so I don't want to."

"What about Dohwa? Want to swim?"

"Swim?"

"Go into the sea…."

"Kyaeung!! No more splashing around for Dohwa!!"

"……."

The two of them refused to play in the water,

"Dipping our feet in is okay, right?"

"Mmm~ It's so cool~."

"Kyaeung…."

Still, I felt we'd gotten our money's worth from coming to the beach.

The water slipping between my toes was cool, and I felt all my worries wash away.

"Kyaeung?"

"Dohwa, put that strap back the way it was."

"Whiiine… Keng!!"

"Hey!!!"

But Dohwa, you managed to give me all my worries back in no time.

You'd been whining for ages about how uncomfortable the swimsuit was, and then you actually took it off and threw it away?

I'm going insane.

"Honestly, your big sister went to the trouble of putting you in that cute swimsuit. What are you doing? No!"

"Unnie… Whiiine!!"

"Here, put it back on!"

Fortunately, Serin put it back on her, but—

"Oppaaa~ Dry me off~."

"Have Dohwa do it."

"I like Oppa's hands better~."

"……."

Even you, Serintus.

'I'll have to teach her some manners later. Including "that."'

"Just be patient. This is how you grow up."

I more or less smoothed things over.

Maybe she'd only been joking, since Serin didn't make too much of a fuss.

Thanks to that, nothing happened until we'd finished playing and returned home.

"Oppa, I'm sleepy…."

"Kyaeung…."

"You had fun, so you're tired. Yeah, let's go to bed a little early tonight."

After we got home.

We washed up quickly and went straight to bed.

It took less than three minutes for the two lying on either side of me to fall fast asleep.

"……."

'For the sake of this everyday life, I really should keep some potions on hand as medicine.'

The warmth was so comforting.

If anything, it made me even more determined to climb the Tower.

I sat bolt upright.

I turned my phone's brightness all the way down and set it to silent mode.

I sent off a quick message.

[Me : Yuna-senpai]

[Me : I'm going to climb the fifth tier starting tomorrow]