Chapter 2
I threw myself into a hole to escape Floor -1—and arrived on Floor -2.
No, this isn't any better at all!
If anything, I've gone even deeper!
“At least I'm alive...”
Well, I guess that's what matters for now?
Seriously, I thought I was going to die back there.
If I'd hesitated just a little longer, it would've caught up with me and left me in a real mess.
‘M-my throat...’
After running around for hours without a proper rest, all the strength drained from my body, and my throat was unbearably dry.
I wanted something to drink, but all I had was this yellowish liquid.
What was this called again? Almond water, was it?
‘I can drink this, right?’
When I opened the cap, a rich, nutty aroma wafted out.
“What is this? It's delicious!”
Gulp! Gulp!
Almond water is so good!
It's light and nutty, and it fills you up, too!
“So it's a recovery item.”
I could feel my energy returning.
The fatigue vanished, and my thirst and hunger disappeared in an instant.
Bzzzzzz.
But where am I?
Unlike Floor -1, where endless hallways stretched on forever, Floor -2 had a relatively normal atmosphere.
Dozens of computers displaying blue screens, desks, and even cubicles.
It kind of feels like an office?
The only sound is the whirring of computer fans.
Ding!
====
[Your goal!]
-Fill out the application.
[Rewards!]
-1 bottle of almond water
-Administrator privileges
※Warning. Be sure to fill out every field.
====
Another objective appeared.
So all I have to do is fill out the application?
This paper looks like an application.
There are about five pages? Why is an application so long?
=====
『
Caretaker Application
』
Congratulations.
You have survived and been registered as a candidate for caretaker.
Please fill out the fields below to complete the caretaker application process.
The applicant is responsible for any and all consequences resulting from providing false information.
====
“False information? That means I'll die if I lie...”
A résumé and personal statement are better with a little embellishment, you know...
Looks like I have to write down the truth as it is if I want to survive here.
All right, let's give it a shot.
How hard can it be?
====
[Basic Information]
Name:
Age:
Place of origin:
Mental stability:
Physical contamination:
Self-loss rate:
====
“Huh...?”
Name, age, and place of origin are easy enough.
But what are mental stability and physical contamination?
I have no idea what my self-loss rate is, either...
“Providing false information... consequences...”
That means I have to figure out these details and fill them in accurately!
‘How am I supposed to find that out?’
I'm in a total panic!
I'm in this insane situation where I have to figure out my own self-loss rate, and I don't even know what it is!
‘A clue. There has to be a clue somewhere around here.’
Last time, I risked my life by throwing myself into a hole—and survived.
There must be some way to get out of this place alive, too.
“Found it...!”
Among the countless monitors showing blue screens, there was one spot with a monitor that was the only one turned off.
That has to be the clue.
I hurried over and switched on the computer that had been turned off.
-Gwaaaaaaah!!!!
“W-what?”
The moment I turned on the computer with the screen off, someone's scream rang out.
-Ghaa... Gwaaaaaah!
The screaming was getting closer.
It was coming this way.
‘Shit! I-I need to get the information fast.’
Just as the sound came right up to me...
The computer finally finished booting, and the screen turned on.
And there, in huge letters, was the information I needed.
====
[Your! Information!]
[Mental stability: 91.07%]
[Physical contamination: 2.13%]
[Self-loss rate: 77.99%]
====
“Gwaaaaaah!”
“....!”
Mental stability, 91.07 percent!
Physical contamination, 2.13 percent!
And... my self-loss rate... Right! 77.99!
I've got it memorized!
Now I need to get out of here, fast!
Rumble!
I quickly rolled between the cubicles to get out of the way, then spotted the thing screaming.
It was a monster wearing a suit.
A monster with a huge sphere where its head should have been.
Its arms and legs were so long that they made its suit look like a short-sleeved shirt and shorts.
“Ah... Aah... Work...”
It sank into a chair and stared intently at the screen.
I guess turning on the computer forced it to come in to work.
So that desperate scream was just an office worker's lament!
Even the supernatural horrors hate going to work...
‘Sorry, office worker. But I had no choice.’
I had to make you come to work to get the information!
Anyway, now that I have it, I'd better write it down before I forget!
‘The next section is...’
====
[Survival Record]
Number of same-species kills:
Number of survivors found:
Number of entities hunted:
====
This one's easy.
I've never killed anyone.
I've never found any survivors.
I don't know what an entity is, but the only thing I've ever properly killed in my life is a mosquito, so... no experience!
A perfect trifecta of inexperience!
At this rate, I'm practically a virgin in mind, body, and spirit.
Let's move on to the next section!
====
[Personality Assessment]
1. I prefer being alone.
(Yes) (No)
2. I prefer dark places.
(Yes) (No)
3. A small number of sacrifices is inevitable.
(Yes) (No)
4. I wouldn't hesitate to kill in order to survive.
(Yes) (No)
5. I would be willing to send my family here in my place.
(Yes) (No)
====
What is this?
No to all of them.
The questions themselves are creepy.
====
[Short-Answer Questions]
1. What death left the strongest impression on you?
2. What choice do you regret the most?
3. Who do you want to see most right now?
4. Describe why you want to become the basement caretaker.
====
“The death that left the strongest impression on me...”
I guess it would be when our family dog died?
The thing I regret most is making a public confession in middle school because I got swept up in the mood.
I got rejected and cried for ages.
The people I want to see most right now are my family.
What am I supposed to write for the last question?
====
4. Describe why you want to become the basement caretaker.
Answer: Because I want an easy ride.
====
This is the right answer for me.
I don't know what a basement caretaker does, but it has to be better than running around like this.
I want to have it easy as hell.
I want it so badly.
“Almost done.”
I turned to the last page of the application.
====
[Contract Terms]
Check the boxes.
□I am willing to kill in order to perform my duties.
□I understand that entities are valuable assets.
□Rules are more important than anything else and must be followed absolutely.
□The basement is the most comfortable place, and I have no desire to escape.
□The outside world is dangerous, and I want to work as a caretaker until I die.
※You cannot become a caretaker unless you agree.
====
“Whoa.”
These contract terms are brutal.
Wait, do I have to kill people to be a basement caretaker?
Are you insane!?
And what do you mean, I have no desire to escape???
I desperately want to get out of this hell!
“But if I don't do it, I'll die. I don't have a choice.”
Through gritted teeth, I checked every box.
====
Better than being killed by that office worker on Floor -2.
I'll become a caretaker and survive!
====
[Final Question]
Choose the most unnecessary thing in the basement.
1. Limbs
2. Intelligence
3. Heart
4. Humanity
====
Choose the most unnecessary thing? But they're all necessary!
But still, better to lose my humanity than my limbs, intelligence, or heart, right?
“I'm done!”
I filled in every blank on the caretaker application!
Does that mean I've completed the second quest, too?
Ding!
[Caretaker application complete.]
[You have received your rewards.]
One bottle of the same almond water I'd just drunk.
And administrator privileges.
What are administrator privileges, anyway?
[From this moment on, you are the basement's one and only caretaker!]
“Huh!?”
Ding!
Ding!
Ding-a-ling!
A series of chimes rang out, almost like a fanfare.
I have no idea how excited it is to congratulate me.
Ding!
[A break room key has been provided!]
[You can now apply for leave!]
[You can now snoop on the Gallery!]
[A sanity filter has been applied!]
“....Ooh.”
The thing in my hand wasn't a medal for passing... It was a break room key.
And a leave application, plus permission to snoop on the Gallery.
And finally... a sanity filter?? What's that?
----
[Your sta?tus!window★]
[You are Ji Cheonwoo]
[Occupation? : Basement Caretaker!]
[Level? : -2]
[Ability? : Administrator Privileges!]
[Special trait: Human (90% human)]
----
My status window changed, too.
Now I have an occupation and an ability.
And...
‘I've lost nine percent of my humanity.’
Why!
How come? Did becoming a caretaker mean I gave up on being human?
“Let's check out the break room first...”
When I held the break room key up to one of the doors on Floor -2, it immediately led into the break room.
There was one old refrigerator, one table, and one chair.
And a sink with running water.
That's it!
It's literally just a break room.
‘What's the leave application?’
The moment I wondered, a leave application appeared in front of me.
----
[Leave Application]
Available leave = ‘1’ day
Would you like to apply for leave?
----
Looks like I can leave the tower for a day?
I should get out of here right now!
“Yes! I'd like to use my leave!”
My body soon floated into the air, and the world before my eyes went dark.
******
Thud!
“Ugh...!”
When I opened my eyes again, I was back on the road where I'd been walking with Hyeji.
It was late in the evening.
‘Home. I have to get home first.’
My leave was definitely for one day.
So once that day was over, I'd be summoned back to the tower basement.
What should I do with my one-day reprieve?
‘Stock up on necessities and survival gear...!’
The break room seems safe, at least.
I need to use it as my base!
I hurriedly ran home.
My parents might faint from the shock of seeing how much I'd changed, but...
I don't have time!
I've got only 23 hours and 56 minutes left!
Wham!
“Oh my, are you all right?”
“Oof... I'm fine!”
While I was rushing home, I bumped into a very tall woman.
She had a huge chest, too!
“Hey, are you lost?”
“No! I know how to get home!”
“My, my. It's late, so be careful.”
“Yes, ma'am!”
I've never seen that woman around here before. She's really pretty.
No, I don't have time to get distracted! I need to get home right now!
“Mom! Mom, it's me! I'm back!”
“Huh...? C-Cheonwoo... No, you're not. I don't have a daughter. Who are you?”
“It's me! Ji Cheonwoo! Your son who got a nosebleed after fighting with a girl at kindergarten when he was six! When I started elementary school, I jumped out of a second-floor window and got you called to the school! In middle school, I got rejected after confessing to someone, cried that I wasn't going back to school, and you had to drag me there! In high school, I messed around trying to ride a unicycle, fell, and tore a ligament! I'm your son, Ji Cheonwoo! Want me to keep going? The stories from college and the military are strictly classified.”
“N-no. Our Cheonwoo is a boy... in his mid-twenties... This little girl is our Cheonwoo?”
“No, Mom! There's no time to explain! I'm screwed!”
Her son, who'd served in the military without a hitch, had come back as a beautiful girl in half a day.
And when she heard I'd been taken to the tower, she was so happy she even ordered fried chicken!
While I was suffering like a dog in the tower basement, you ate chicken without me!?
“Well, of course I was happy to hear my son had gone to the tower! Becoming a climber means you've made it in life! I believed my son... No, my daughter now? Anyway, I believed you, Cheonwoo, would make it big and come back. But... I never expected you to come back as a girl.”
“There's a reason for everything. I'll explain later. For now...”
Let's pack a bag.
I need to pack a suitcase, too.
I need to get ready to survive...
[Breaking news. An unidentified Korean tower climber has reportedly opened the tower's basement for the first time.]
Wait. What did that say?
Why are they talking about the tower basement on the news?
I tore off a chicken leg and went over to the TV, turning up the volume.
[The International Tower Management Organization announced that this was the first such incident since the tower appeared…]
[Layer administrators inside the tower are unanimously warning of the danger. There are also concerns about the impact on the tower's mana distribution…]
[Rankers from various countries have formed an emergency joint investigation team and are reportedly trying various methods to find the basement…]
[If this is true, it could reveal secrets of the tower that have never been discovered before. It may even provide clues about the tower's long-rumored lost items…]
[As the search continues for the mysterious pioneer of the basement, it is expected to bring a new wave of change to Korea, which has been struggling to conquer the tower…]
“....”
I was just dragged into the basement.
And now Korea is in an uproar, and the whole world is watching!?лизонь?