The moment I headed to the second floor, space warped and my vision cleared.
Deep green filled my sight, and a gentle breeze tickled my nose with the scent of grass and soil.
And there were adorable rabbits hopping around everywhere.
"Oh, how cute."
No matter how you looked at them, they seemed cute and docile.
But right beside me—
"Oh, don't come near! I'm not an enemy!!!"
-Click!
BOOOOOM!!!!!!
"?"
A fierce-looking Climber exploded along with the rabbit.
Then a System window appeared before my eyes.
「You have entered the 2nd Floor -《Rabbit's Garden》.」
「Clear Condition - Survive for 10 minutes.」
「※What you see is not everything. Good luck.」
"So there really are exploding rabbits?"
Park Do-yoon leisurely walked into the field.
Several Bomb Rabbits noticed his presence and perked up their ears, but surprisingly, they showed no reaction.
They neither ran away nor exploded.
He maintained a certain distance and quietly began observing their behavior.
The ability of the [Seeker] class activated, drawing out precise "interpretations" through deep observation.
"They explode when stress levels rise, or when severely injured... what peculiar creatures."
He spent time carefully observing the rabbits' ecology and habits, taking care not to stress them.
Ten minutes passed in an instant.
「You have cleared the trial of the 2nd Floor!」
「As a reward, you receive 5 'Bomb Rabbit Jerky'.」
「A portal to the 3rd Floor is being created.」
"That was simple."
Park Do-yoon immediately headed to the next floor.
「You have entered the 3rd Floor -《Minotaur's Ranch》.」
「Please select your desired trial.」
「1. Milk 1L from a female Minotaur」
「2. Dissect 3 Bomb Rabbits」
"Hmm?"
The atmosphere was definitely different this time.
Beyond the ranch fence, Minotaurs were leisurely eating meat, showing off their massive bodies.
Other Climbers who had arrived at the 3rd Floor via portals or warp points were busily moving around in front of the Minotaurs.
"Come on... be a good girl? Come here?"
One Climber tried to coax a Minotaur by waving jerky, but the creature, perhaps already full, merely turned its head without showing any interest.
Next to him, another Climber was hunched over, milking a Minotaur.
"Damn it... never thought I'd be milking a Minotaur in my life..."
Some Climbers burst into laughter at the sight.
"Should I try dissecting rabbits then?"
"Aaack!! I died from an explosion last time trying that!!"
After checking the Climbers' reactions, Park Do-yoon looked at the two options.
"Here... I'll try something a bit adventurous."
He turned away from the Minotaur farm and quietly headed to the rabbit dissection area.
In the center of the dissection area was a freezer containing neatly arranged, unprocessed Bomb Rabbit carcasses.
Fluffy fur and plump bodies... they looked like cute creatures that no one would consider dangerous, yet they were all bombs.
At that moment, a Maid who had been waiting near the dissection area approached.
"Are you here to dissect Bomb Rabbits? Then let me guide—"
"It's fine, I already know how to dissect them."
He would normally have listened to the explanation again, but having observed Bomb Rabbits for ten minutes, he boldly decided to take on the challenge.
"Is that so? Then please put on these sanitary gloves and proceed with the dissection at the designated spot!"
Park Do-yoon put on the sanitary gloves and carefully placed a Bomb Rabbit on the cutting board.
His fingertips moved gently along the rabbit's back.
Under the fluffy fur, he could feel the exact shape of the spine.
The seventh vertebra.
A small nodule-like protrusion.
"The explosion trigger, the only point where external physical stimulation can prevent an explosion."
Park Do-yoon took a deep breath.
Some Climbers watching from a distance began to stir.
"What... is he really going to do it?"
"One small mistake and it goes boom... who is that person?"
Then someone quietly said:
"That's Park Do-yoon. [Seeker] class, ranked 35th among world Climbers."
At that moment, the atmosphere changed.
Everyone held their breath.
Park Do-yoon balanced his hands.
With his thumb and index finger, he precisely gripped the protrusion of the 7th vertebra, applying shallow pressure at the exact angle.
Click.
A very small, delicate sound.
And... nothing happened.
The Bomb Rabbit didn't explode.
"Okay."
He immediately picked up the dissection tools.
He made a precise incision along the abdomen.
Without any hesitation or wavering, his movements were steady and smooth.
When he opened the abdomen, a smooth spherical structure appeared among the pink intestines.
It was the unexploded "bomb sac."
Park Do-yoon took out tweezers and a transparent container prepared nearby.
He separated the neural tissues around the bomb sac one by one.
Like removing a tumor, he cut the connecting tissues and mechanically removed them, perfectly calculating the connection angles.
15 seconds later—
The bomb sac was neatly placed in the transparent container.
And a System window appeared.
「Bomb Rabbit Carcass (Perfectly Dissected)」
「Dissection Grade: S+」
"This is a piece of cake."
He was able to perform such precise dissection thanks to the knowledge and power of the [Seeker] class.
The power to explore, analyze, interpret, and ultimately derive the desired result.
Because he can explore anything, there are no equipment restrictions or penalties based on class.
A class with truly limitless potential.
Admiration erupted from those around him.
"Wow... that dissection was perfect..."
"That's really Park Do-yoon. To succeed in one go..."
"I didn't know rabbit dissection could look so cool."
Hearing the admiration from other Climbers, Park Do-yoon quickly dissected the remaining two Bomb Rabbits.
「You have cleared the trial of the 3rd Floor!」
「As you cleared the 'Bomb Rabbit Dissection' trial, your reward has been changed!」
「As a reward, you receive 3 'Rabbit Grenades'.」
「A portal to the 4th Floor is being created.」
'Rabbit Grenades' are grenades made by modifying Bomb Rabbit sacs.
They don't explode until the pin is pulled, and while their power is lower than that of the original Bomb Rabbits, they apply an "area stun" debuff at the blast center.
"Not bad."
After receiving his reward, Park Do-yoon soon headed to the 4th Floor.
As he entered the next floor, a strangely humid air with an unfamiliar smell greeted him.
「You have entered the 4th Floor -《Sheep Spider's Den》.」
「Please select your desired trial.」
「1. Shear the wool of 1 Sheep Spider (Difficulty: Very Easy)」
「2. Capture a Venomous Sheep Spider (Difficulty: Medium)」
Park Do-yoon narrowed his eyes and looked around.
Something that looked like sheep's wool swayed gently in the wind.
But it wasn't sheep's wool, and it wasn't a sheep to begin with.
A giant spider monster stood before him.
It had the head of a sheep and the body of a spider... with 8 eyes, and spider webs growing densely all over its body like sheep's wool.
"Ugh, damn."
Even he, with his catastrophic fashion sense(?), frowned.
The only fortunate thing was that it had no aggression and was docile.
That's why most Climbers choose the safe wool-shearing trial.
So which trial should he choose this time?
Shearing a Sheep Spider? Or capturing a Venomous Sheep Spider?
Honestly, he didn't want to do either.
But to clear the trial, he had to choose one.
"Capturing seems better."
Park Do-yoon immediately moved to where the Venomous Sheep Spider was.
He listened to the explanation from a Maid waiting near the enclosure where the Venomous Sheep Spider lived.
"The trial is simple. Enter that enclosure, subdue a Venomous Sheep Spider, then use this cloth and rope to completely cover its head and tie all its legs. If you bring it out of the enclosure in that state, you succeed."
"Are there any other precautions?"
"Yes, there are several important precautions. When a Venomous Sheep Spider recognizes a natural enemy, it sprays powerful lethal venom that dissolves its opponent."
"That sounds scary."
"Also, the spider web wool covering its body secretes paralyzing venom along with a sticky, sweet scent. Insects and small animals are lured into the wool by this scent, get trapped, and are slowly consumed later."
"So humans can be paralyzed too, right?"
"Correct. If you accidentally touch the wool with bare hands, your entire body could be paralyzed, so you must be careful."
"...What about killing it during capture?"
"That's possible. However, all Venomous Sheep Spiders have the [Angel's Protection (Livestock Version)] buff, so even if they die, they resurrect on the spot after 5 minutes. Please keep this in mind."
"Wait, livestock version? What kind of buff is that?"
"[Angel's Protection (Livestock Version)] is a permanent buff that only provides disease mitigation and resurrection effects. The advantage is that it has unlimited duration, and resurrection can be repeated without limit. However, it cannot resurrect natural deaths due to aging."
"Oh...?"
The Maid additionally informed him that the Bomb Rabbits on the 2nd Floor and the Minotaurs on the 3rd Floor all had the [Angel's Protection (Livestock Version)] buff.
That's why they go through a process of removing the buff before complete slaughter.
Indeed, the deeper one delves into this tower, the more bizarre and interesting information pours out endlessly.
After hearing the explanation, Park Do-yoon received the capture cloth and rope from the Maid and entered the Venomous Sheep Spider's enclosure.
Then, an extremely fierce-looking purple Sheep Spider approached and roared at him.
"GUUUUUU!!!!MEEEEEE!!!!!"
"Ugh, my eardrums are going to burst."
Before the Venomous Sheep Spider could try anything, Park Do-yoon threw a Rabbit Grenade with the pin already pulled.
-BOOOOOM!!!!
With the "area stun" effect triggering simultaneously, the Venomous Sheep Spider was stunned, and Park Do-yoon, protected by [Curse Shield] which blocks debuffs, didn't get stunned.
After that, he successfully captured the Venomous Sheep Spider.
「You have cleared the trial of the 4th Floor!」
「As you cleared the 'Venomous Sheep Spider Capture' trial, your reward has been changed!」
「As a reward, you receive 2 'Sheep Spider Web Net Bombs'.」
「A portal to the 5th Floor is being created.」
Here, Park Do-yoon reached a conclusion.
'Between two options, choosing the harder one gives rewards that are more advantageous for the next trial... Could this be an intentional structure?'
According to his memory, the next floor featured [Spear Bees]—human-sized bees with poisonous spears.
They have a habit of stacking honey containers near their hives, and the core of the trial is to steal honey without being detected.
Or it's also possible to confront them head-on, fight, and proudly steal the honey.
So could the 5th Floor also be easily cleared with these 'Sheep Spider Web Net Bombs'?
'I'll find out by experimenting.'
Park Do-yoon moved to the 5th Floor without hesitation.
「You have entered the 5th Floor -《Spear Bee Garden》.」
「Please select your desired trial.」
「1. Steal 1 Spear Bee honey container (Difficulty: Medium)」
「2. Purchase 1 Spear Bee honey container (Difficulty: Overwhelmingly Easy)」
The 5th Floor originally only had the trial of stealing Spear Bee honey containers, but thanks to Tricia's significant difficulty adjustment, it's now possible to purchase honey containers as well.
So now, a Maid was stacking Spear Bee honey containers and selling them to Climbers at a price of 4 Tower Coins each.
"It's fine, but it seems a shame to clear it so easily."
However, Park Do-yoon headed straight for the Spear Bee nest.
And one minute later.
「You have cleared the trial of the 5th Floor!」
「You have cleared the 'Steal Spear Bee Honey Container' trial!」
「As a reward, you receive 5 'Spear Bee Honey Containers'.」
「A portal to the 6th Floor is being created.」
He cleared the trial with ease.
To briefly explain what happened a minute ago: when he threw the 'Sheep Spider Web Net Bomb', the net bomb spread widely, luring the Spear Bees with its sweet scent.
As a result, the Spear Bees that charged into the spider web were all paralyzed, and Park Do-yoon was able to easily collect the honey containers.
"Well then, the next trial is... Mushroom Pigs, right?"
Park Do-yoon smiled as he entered the portal to the 6th Floor.
It hadn't even been an hour since he set foot in [My Home Tower].
Nevertheless—he had already reached the 6th Floor.