After arriving at the second floor through the portal, the climbers found themselves in a field filled with hundreds of cute rabbits peacefully grazing.
"...Rabbits?"
It was a scene of perfect tranquility. The sun was warm, and the rabbits were either nibbling on grass or rolling around leisurely.
The five climbers, dressed in gear that seemed out of place in this pastoral setting, stared at the notification window that had just appeared.
「Floor 2 - 《Rabbit's Garden》」
「Clear Condition - Survive for 30 minutes.」
"So the second floor is a survival trial."
"Survive against... these rabbits, I presume?" Park Chun-ja replied to Kim Chun-sik's comment while looking around.
Rabbits, rabbits, and more rabbits. The field was completely filled with them, with no other creatures in sight besides the climbers and the rabbits.
"Hmm... these rabbits don't appear dangerous like the 'horned rabbits' or 'electric rabbits' from other towers."
"I don't sense any hostility or killing intent from them. They look like ordinary rabbits to me."
Otaku and Elizabeth carefully observed the rabbits and shared their conclusions.
"Hey! This one doesn't even run away! How cute!"
Ban Hwi-yeol had already picked up a rabbit and was cradling it in his arms, stroking it...?
"Hwi-yeol! Don't touch it carelessly! It might be a monster!"
"What's the problem? These little guys are docile and don't attack. They actually seem to enjoy human touch. Look, it loves when I scratch under its chin."
Despite Park Chun-ja's warning, the rabbit in Ban Hwi-yeol's arms showed no signs of wariness, completely relaxed in his embrace.
When he scratched under its chin, it closed its eyes and made contented sounds like a pet.
By this point, even the most cautious climbers couldn't help but think:
'Are they really just harmless rabbits...?'
Eventually, the others also lowered their guard and sat down in the grass to watch the rabbits and pass the time.
Sitting together in the vast field under the blue sky, petting rabbits or watching them graze, it felt almost like a picnic.
"Our new tower investigation has turned into a spring outing."
"Well, this isn't so bad, is it? This tower climb is really comfortable."
Since they only needed to endure for 30 minutes, the climbers chatted casually and enjoyed the peaceful moment.
But had they forgotten?
The rule that when five people gather, there's always one who ruins everything!
"Sightseeing is best done after a meal, and I'm feeling hungry. Let's catch a few rabbits and grill them! I'll catch some right away!"
Suddenly, Otaku stood up, ran toward a group of nearby rabbits, and drew his katana to slash them.
In an instant, two rabbits had their heads separated from their bodies.
At that moment, a light flashed from the bodies of the slain rabbits—
Click-!
"Huh?"
—KABOOOOOOM!!!!!
The rabbit exploded.
No, it didn't just explode.
The rabbit "detonated."
Naturally, Otaku, who had been standing defenseless in his slashing posture, was blown to pieces.
Flesh and blood scattered through the air, and the pleasant scent of grass was overwhelmed by the stench of blood.
It was instant death by anyone's standards.
Otaku became the first climber to die in this tower.
"KYAAAAH!!!"
Park Chun-ja, who witnessed Otaku being blown apart, screamed and hurriedly stood up, only to trip and fall.
She felt something soft against her back as she fell.
Another rabbit.
Click-!
—KABOOOOOOM!!!!!
Another explosion.
The blast separated Park Chun-ja's upper and lower body, sending them flying in different directions.
The second casualty had occurred.
What followed goes without saying.
The peaceful atmosphere was shattered, and the air grew heavy.
The remaining three climbers froze in place.
"Kyu?"
When Ban Hwi-yeol's pleasant petting stopped, the rabbit in his arms looked up at him with a puzzled expression.
Their eyes met.
"UWAAAAAH!!!"
Ban Hwi-yeol screamed in terror and threw the rabbit far away. The rabbit spun through the air and exploded with a loud bang when it hit the ground.
At that moment, all the rabbits raised their heads.
Their red eyes, now looking like predators eyeing prey, fixed on Ban Hwi-yeol.
"Damn it! What the hell are these rabbits?! Why are they suddenly exploding?!"
"Calm down, Hwi-yeol! We let our guard down! This was the trial from the beginning!"
Ban Hwi-yeol cursed in panic while Kim Chun-sik had already shifted into combat mode.
"But what about Taku and Chun-ja?!"
"They'll be fine! We have resurrection buffs! They'll surely come back to life!"
Despite his Chad-like appearance, Ban Hwi-yeol showed concern for his teammates, while Elizabeth reminded him about the resurrection buff, telling him not to worry.
And then—
Dozens of rabbits charged at Ban Hwi-yeol all at once.
Small, light bodies. But not just one—dozens of them.
Ban Hwi-yeol was instantly surrounded by rabbits.
"Ugh?! Get off—"
He quickly grabbed one rabbit that had attached to his head, trying to remove it.
Click-!
—KABOOOOOOM!!!!!
With a powerful explosion, Ban Hwi-yeol's head vanished along with the rabbit.
Afterward, the rabbits' attention turned to Kim Chun-sik and Elizabeth, who were in combat stance.
"...Elizabeth, I'll lure the rabbits away. You use the [Tower Exit] skill immediately and report the situation to the guild."
"What? But resurrection is possible, so there's no need to go that far..."
"Our comrades' bodies are still here. There might be a delay in resurrection, or there could be other conditions. In the worst case, resurrection might have been canceled! So at least you should escape and inform the guild!"
"...Understood."
As their strategy was agreed upon in a split second, Kim Chun-sik used smoke grenades to obscure the rabbits' vision and began firing warning shots to lure them away.
Taking advantage of the distraction, Elizabeth activated her [Stealth] skill to escape the rabbits' sight, then attempted to use [Tower Exit].
"[Tower Exit]!"
「Notice - [Tower Exit] is not available on this floor.」
"?"
What the hell!
Elizabeth cursed inwardly upon discovering that [Tower Exit] was impossible on this floor.
Meanwhile, Kim Chun-sik was luring the rabbits...
"Ugh, there are too many!"
He used his gun to snipe distant rabbits, causing them to explode, while running away from those nearby to maintain distance.
With his skills as a [Climber], he could run faster than normal rabbits, so ordinarily, he should have been able to escape without being caught.
Unfortunately, these were no ordinary rabbits.
"They're fast...!"
Before he knew it, Kim Chun-sik was surrounded by more than 30 rabbits in a circle.
His judgment was quick.
'If I don't attack first, they might not explode. I don't think these rabbits have the strength to penetrate my armor. So I'll curl up and endure!'
He planned to cover his vital points—neck and head—and curl up to survive until the 30-minute clear condition was met.
But.
One rabbit approached him, glared with wide eyes, and then...
Click-!
—KABOOOOOOM!!!!!
The rabbit triggered its own explosion, sending Kim Chun-sik flying.
The blast should have killed him instantly...
But thanks to his superior armor compared to the other climbers, proper protection of vital areas, and the 25% damage reduction buff from [Angel's Protection (Minor)], he barely survived.
However... this was unfortunately a more terrible situation for Kim Chun-sik.
"Cough! Hack!"
With more than half his arms and legs gone and severe internal injuries, Kim Chun-sik was coughing blood and dying painfully.
"Team Leader!!"
Elizabeth, who had failed to exit the tower, quickly ran to him and poured a high-grade potion into his mouth.
Thanks to the potion, only his internal injuries were barely healed, and Kim Chun-sik spoke with difficulty.
"Why... didn't you escape...?"
"[Tower Exit] was blocked. The portal we used to enter the second floor has disappeared too. So the only way out is... death."
"......"
Kim Chun-sik looked at Elizabeth with a hollow expression, then turned his head.
The rabbits were already charging toward them.
As if there was no hope left, four rabbits with glowing red eyes positioned themselves around Kim Chun-sik and Elizabeth.
Click-!
Click-!
Click-!
Click-!
"...Damn it."
—KABOOOOOOOOM!!!!!
With a magnificent explosion, they were blown to pieces, leaving not even a trace behind.
.
.
.
「All climbers have died.」
"...They're all dead already?"
Tricia looked at the climbers' bodies through the crystal ball with a surprised expression.
Originally, the [Angel's Protection (Minor)] she had given them was a skill that allowed resurrection on the spot.
But by setting this resurrection buff as a tower reward, an additional option was created that could resurrect them outside the tower, allowing her to send the climbers out without actually killing them.
Technically, she killed them and then revived them, but let's not get into details.
She didn't intentionally block [Tower Exit]; it was accidentally blocked while quickly setting up the trial.
Since the second floor happened to be a place for raising [Bomb Rabbits], she used it as a trial to buy time to set up the next floor's trial, making them endure for 30 minutes...
She hadn't expected them to be completely wiped out by the [Bomb Rabbits].
"For us, they're common enough to use as food, but for people seeing them for the first time, they must be quite threatening."
For Tricia and her companions, the [Bomb Rabbits] on the second floor were merely livestock for food.
They just had the habit of exploding to kill threats, and all rabbits were given [Explosion Damage Immunity] buffs to prevent chain explosions.
To safely capture these rabbits, one needs to press firmly on the seventh joint at the back of their neck to disable the "explosion trigger" while they're sufficiently relaxed.
Alternatively, flash-freezing them works too.
Of course, the climbers couldn't have known this background information.
「Additional Tower Coins are calculated based on the strength of deceased climbers.」
「Calculating...」
「Calculation complete: 1740 Tower Coins acquired」
「Tower Coins in possession: 1746」
"Oh, that's more Tower Coins than I expected."
It seems the five climbers who died were all quite skilled in their own right, as the system gives more Tower Coins based on the strength of deceased climbers.
「Tower maintenance cost is automatically deducted. (-100)」
「Tower collapse countdown terminated.」
"Phew! The immediate crisis is averted!"
Tricia could finally relax.
She had been overwhelmed by suddenly dimension-jumping to Earth and becoming a tower administrator.
Plus, she needed to earn Tower Coins to prevent the tower's collapse, and luckily, she was able to acquire a large amount of Tower Coins using the group of climbers who happened to enter!
Anyway, now that she had some time...
"Butler!"
"You called, Lady Tricia!"
The super-capable butler who had just learned about the situation through the bartender, informed all companions that this entire space had become a tower, and completed the evacuation of residents from floors 1 through 10!
His name is "Jibsa." (?)
"Butler, I have something important to do now."
Tricia spoke with an extremely serious expression.
What is a butler? A butler's virtue is to understand the master's intentions even before they speak!
So the butler happily replied:
"Finally! The grand inaugural declaration of Lady Tricia as the new tower master—"
"I'm going to the internet cafe. Watch the house for me."
"?"
"?"
Tricia had returned to Earth after several decades.
Being back on Earth meant having access to the internet!
Once she knew it was out there...
Tricia could no longer resist the temptation of civilization!