Chapter 5
Rumors spread that the Tower's basement had opened.
For years before the basement opened, countless climbers had already searched the Tower for an entrance leading below...
But no door leading down into the Tower's basement had ever been found.
The value of the Tower's basement had already been proven by the floor masters.
If they could get even one of the basement's lost items, their lives would change.
“Bring me that Korean at once.”
The Tower Management Bureau in Guangzhou, People's Republic of China.
Shen Zhao, a Communist Party member and one of the world's top ten rankers, whose face was unknown to the public.
A great mage, he demanded that the Korean who had opened the basement be brought to him.
It wouldn't be difficult.
Korea, a Tower backwater, was little more than a vassal state of China, a Tower powerhouse. It had already been swallowed up to the point that it couldn't function without the Tower byproducts China supplied as aid.
Japan and the United States, both eyeing the person who had opened the basement, would throw a fit, but so what?
He had already recruited or kidnapped most of Korea's promising Hunters. There was no reason to worry about what they thought now.
“I'll bring them before you as soon as possible, Lord Zhao.”
Shen Zhao's secretary, Zhang Wei, one of the world's top thirty Hunters, bowed his head.
“All Party members embedded in that small country, listen up. This is Lord Zhao's order. Find the person who opened the basement. Return to the motherland as soon as possible. Use any means necessary. Bring them back, no matter what it takes.”
China had always lagged a step behind the United States.
But after the Tower appeared, the gap between them had nearly disappeared.
If China could get its hands on the basement, too...
The tables would be turned completely.
China would no longer have to struggle under America's outrageous tariff wars.
The moment China acquired the Tower's basement, it would be able to seize global hegemony.
How quickly a country conquered the Tower.
How high it climbed.
This had become a competition between nations—a war fought in the shadows to show off their standing.
People no longer watched the Olympics or the World Cup.
All they cared about was which country had climbed higher.
“The Chinese in Korea are acting suspiciously.”
“...The damn Chinese are already on the move?”
Japan, too, joined the scramble for the basement.
They were desperate to find the person who had opened it before anyone else.
In the end, they pinpointed the basement opener's location through a shrine maiden who had gained power from the Tower.
Even knowing it would eat away at the life span of a shrine maiden who was practically a national treasure...
They were determined to find and take possession of the basement opener before any other country did.
“What did Yuko's oracle say?”
“It just came down.”
“Send the Kage to the place it named.”
“Yes, my lord.”
Japan, too, began moving quickly.
China and Japan were targeting Korea's rising star.
And while those decisions were being made...
“No! Move! I need to get down there!”
“Gururuk.”
Cheonwoo, at the center of it all, was busy arguing with the Hole Cleaner.
“Ugh! What's your problem?”
“Kkyung!”
The Hole Cleaner.
As the name suggests, it was a native creature of the Tower's basement that wandered around cleaning holes. An entity with the strength of a boss monster from around Floor 50, it ground up any human who approached a hole.
There was one unusual thing about it: the Hole Cleaner couldn't attack Ji Cheonwoo.
Because she was the basement administrator.
“What the hell is it? What do you want? Want some coffee, too?”
“Kkyuk...”
“No? Then what is it? What do I have to do to make you move?”
To get down to Floor -3, she had to throw herself into the hole the Hole Cleaner was blocking.
The problem was that the Hole Cleaner had no intention of letting Cheonwoo go to Floor -3.
Eventually, she realized she'd have to get these things out of the way before she could reach Floor -3, and tried desperately to figure out how.
“I don't know. What do you even want?”
“Kkyung?”
“Seriously...”
Because of the sanity filter, it looked like nothing more than a cute little wriggler. Cheonwoo sighed deeply and began petting the Hole Cleaner all over its head.
Just then, the Hole Cleaner wriggled contentedly beneath Cheonwoo's hand.
“What? You wanted me to pet you?”
“Kkyuk!”
“Ha. You're something else.”
Cheonwoo spent quite a while petting the Hole Cleaner.
No one had ever touched it, calling it disgusting and horrifying. Now, beneath the administrator's hand, the Hole Cleaner felt a powerful affection it had never experienced in its life.
Normally, it would demand an arm or a leg as payment before letting someone pass.
But the administrator was different.
“Kkyung..!”
“Is this enough?”
“Kkyuruk!”
“Finally!”
Apparently satisfied, the Hole Cleaner slipped into the hole and disappeared.
At last, the path to Floor -3 opened up.
An achievement earned after wrestling with the Hole Cleaner for over an hour.
“Time to dive!”
Cheonwoo threw herself into the hole without hesitation.
******
Thud!
“Aah... What is this place? Why's it so dark?”
Pitch-black darkness.
I took a flashlight from the exploration bag I'd brought along and shone it around.
‘A library?’
So Floor -3's theme is a library?
Countless books filled the shelves, which rose two stories high.
I tried taking one down to read it, but...
“What is this?”
I couldn't read a single word.
It wasn't Korean, English, or Japanese.
I couldn't even tell what language it was. The books looked incredibly old, too.
Ding!
[Reach Floor -3.]
[Rewards have been granted.]
I got a bottle of almond water and the Heart of Agni!
“So this is the Heart of Agni.”
It was a bright-red sphere.
It felt warm to the touch.
It gave me a strangely peaceful feeling.
I wanted to make the Heart of Agni mine just like this.
[Would you like to change your occupation?]
[Basement Administrator → Avatar of Agni]
“No!”
No matter how good it felt, I wasn't falling for it!
Don't try to tempt me!
If I wanted to survive here, I didn't need to get stronger. I needed to protect my administrator privileges.
Once an administrator, always an administrator!
Ding-a-ling!
[You overcame that damned constellation's temptation so! Well!!! Wonderfully!!!]
[You have proven your qualifications. An administrator ID badge has been awarded to you.]
[Excellent!]
“What? Did I just get praised? That's right! That's who I am! Agni, Agumon, whatever—get lost! I'm the administrator.”
Was that some kind of test?
I steeled myself by reminding myself of an administrator's duties, and when I resisted Agni's temptation, it praised me and gave me an ID badge.
Well, well, Basement System.
Maybe it likes me after all?
====
[Lost item discovered!]
[No. 0 - Administrator ID Badge]
Proves you are qualified to be an administrator!
The absolute authority of the basement! How amazing!
====
Number zero?
The administrator ID badge is the very first lost item!?
That's incredible!
“Hyahaha! Now we're talking!”
How should I put it? Now I finally felt like a real administrator.
It was almost as if I had the authority to appoint the basement's entities to their positions.
As I fiddled with the ID badge in delight, a new quest window appeared.
Ding!
====
[Your goal!]
-Find two things to do in the library.
[Rewards]
-1 bottle of almond water
-2 days of leave
※Warning. There is currently no librarian in the library.
====
Find things to do in the library!
It seemed I just had to find work I could do as the administrator.
What did it mean that there was no librarian?
-Is... anyone there...?
-The library... is currently... closed...
-I'll... guide you to the exit...
-You need to... leave... right now...
Someone's voice drifted over from far away.
I couldn't tell if they were sobbing or laughing.
The being managing the unlit library had to be an entity, right?
Could it be the librarian...?
No, it couldn't be.
The quest window said there was no librarian in the library.
Then what was that?
“I should run for now...”
“Found you.”
“Kyaaaaaa!!!”
What the hell! Don't suddenly appear behind me!!!
“Eek. S-sorry... I thought you might be lost...”
“Why would you pop up behind me like that! I-I got so startled, I almost wet myself!”
“Ah... I'm sorry...”
How should I put it? She seemed kind of gloomy.
But that girl's chest was huge!
What the hell? What would you have to eat to get that busty, lol?
“Um, I'm the administrator. What are you doing here?”
“Y-you are!? The administrator...?”
“That's right. I'm the basement administrator! Ta-da! Here's my ID badge!”
“Eek!? I-it's blinding!”
The moment I thrust the administrator ID badge in her face, the gloomy library girl gasped and stumbled backward, landing on her butt!
As expected of the administrator ID badge.
Just its presence was enough to startle entities and make the Tower tremble.
I could really feel the authority of the original lost item!
“A-are you... really the administrator...?”
“Yes! I'm the basement administrator. Got a problem with that?”
“N-no...! Eek... This is my first time meeting the administrator... I-I apologize for being rude...!”
What? Why was this busty lady crawling around on the floor?
Did the ID badge's pressure make her lose her mind?
“Let's get you up first!”
“Yes...”
“By the way, what were you doing here all by yourself?”
“W-well... I was assigned here, but... nobody... gave me any work, so... I was patrolling alone...”
“Nobody gave you any work?”
“No...”
“Are you the librarian?”
“N-no! I-I'm not officially a librarian yet... Just... a library assistant? Something like that...”
“I see.”
Looks like there was some kind of error.
So an entity who was supposed to become a librarian never received any work and had just been patrolling all this time.
“How long have you been patrolling here?”
“Um... I-I don't know. Probably... ever since the Tower appeared...”
“....”
This lady was on the verge of tears.
Don't start crying! I have no idea how to comfort you!
“Well, I'm here now! Don't worry!”
“R-really...?”
“Yes! Let's figure something out together!”
All right. So, what should I do with this busty lady now?
‘Should I appoint her as the librarian?’
I'm the administrator.
And I even have the administrator ID badge, symbol of the basement's absolute authority.
“I appoint you as the librarian of this library!”
“....Oh...!”
“Do you feel any different?”
“N-no... I just feel proud?”
“I see.”
So that wasn't it?
Nothing changed at all.
That wasn't it. There had to be another way.
‘Think. I'm the administrator. The basement administrator.’
There had to be something only I could do.
Something only I, the basement administrator, could do...
A task the other entities couldn't do.
“Move between floors!”
“Y-yes...?”
“Wait here a moment!”
“Huh...? O-okay...!”
I went to the break room.
You could enter the break room no matter which floor you were on.
If I went into the break room and stepped out into the office on Floor -2...
“Mr. Office Worker!”
“Yes... Administrator...”
“Um, I want to appoint someone on Floor -3 as the librarian. How do I do that?”
“The librarian...? One moment.”
Bzzzzing.
A contract soon came out of the printer.
“You should just sign here.”
“Thank you!”
Why was the office on Floor -2?
Why had I been made to tackle the office first?
The answer was simple if I thought about it.
The name of the lost item the office worker gave me in the first place had been a clue.
====
[Lost Item]
[No. 3 - Personnel Management Terminal]
====
Right. It was called the Personnel Management Terminal.
That meant the office worker might be in HR, or at least handle that kind of work.
The problem was that the office worker couldn't leave Floor -2.
He was an entity employed on Floor -2.
But I was different. I managed the entire basement!
I was the one who connected each floor and made them work together!
“I've figured it out. The administrator's role...!”
Resolving the problems faced by entities on each floor...
And managing the basement so everything runs smoothly!
“Here you go!”
“This is...”
“It's a contract. Busty entity, sign this at once! Then you can work proudly as the library's librarian!”
“W-wow...! Does this mean... my probation is finally over, and I'm being officially hired...?”
“Yes! I hired you!”
“Wow... Sniff... Thank you, Administrator...”
When the aspiring librarian pressed her fingerprint onto the contract, it burned away, and the lights came on in the library.
“I... I'm a librarian...”
“Good. Then now...”
There was still one more thing to do in the library.
What could it be?
“Um, Administrator...”
“Yes?”
“P-please... take this...”
While I was wondering what else I could do...
The librarian pulled something out from her chest.
====
[Lost item discovered!]
[No. 4 - Book Removal Register]
Don't steal our books!
Go get them back at once!
====
A piping-hot lost item had emerged from the librarian's chest!
“Wait, what is this?”
“It's... a list of the entities who stole books from the library without permission...”
Recover the missing books.
So this was the second thing I had to do in the library!
“Let's see.”
When I opened the list of book thieves, I found countless names written inside.
“Why are there so many thieves!?”
====
[Book title: Grimoire of Crimson]
[Thief: The Vibrating Ember]
[Time since theft: 3,418 years]
[Current status]
The 'constellation' The Vibrating Ember gave the book as a gift to the 'human' Shen Zhao.
====
“You rotten bastards!”
A constellation of the Tower had gone and stolen books from the basement library without permission!
Then it gave one to its own avatar?
So it took someone else's book and handed it over like it was theirs?
It must have bragged about it like it was giving a blessing or something!
As though it were bestowing a divine blessing?
This really pisses me off.
“You've got to be kidding me! Give the book back!”
The second task of an administrator!
Order to recover stolen books!
Shen Zhao. I don't know who you are, but... give me back that book!!!
That book isn't yours.
And it doesn't belong to the constellation you serve, either.
It's mine... No! It's ours! It belongs to the basement!