TSOT#1 Chapter 36

Seo Joo-ah’s vision blurred as Shin Jae-rim brushed past her. His outstretched hand reached for her in a desperate attempt, though his effort faded into nothingness.

Miracles like these only existed in stories.

The frantic voices of her teammates calling her name echoed around her, but she didn’t have the capacity to respond.

[The Anonymous Constellation clicks their tongue disdainfully at the Storyteller, questioning if they truly believed such a trivial quest could kill their “dear contractor.”]

Plummeting at an incredible speed, Joo-ah hastily retrieved a dagger from her inventory.

Clang!

The sharp blade sank into the rocky wall.

Crack!

She poured magic into the dagger to prevent it from snapping. The force of her descent was overwhelming, but it significantly slowed her fall.

“Please… stop…” she muttered through clenched teeth.

The dagger, cutting through the solid rock, finally came to a halt midair.

Joo-ah let out a shaky breath, lifting her head to glare at the Storyteller with fierce determination.

“Oh my, it seems we have a Hunter with extraordinary abilities.”

Her attention was abruptly drawn to a sudden movement beside her. Something darted past her shoulder, startling her. She glanced down into the seemingly endless abyss.

It was a flock of crow-like monsters.

HP: 413 / 413 (+331)

MP: 293 / 293 (+198)

Joo-ah’s stats were completely restored. She realized what had happened—during her fall, she had instinctively absorbed the abilities of the monsters.

The activation of her newly learned skill, “Devour,” had saved her life.

“Now then, you don’t have much time left. What will you do? Will you save your teammate who has fallen below and attempt to complete this precarious quest?”

The timer displayed a mere 20 minutes.

Joo-ah had fallen far. Reaching the top within the time limit seemed impossible. Her teammates, closer to the summit, had a much better chance of completing the quest.

“I’ll come to you, Hunter Seo Joo-ah.”

Jae-rim’s voice rang out without hesitation. Joo-ah turned to him, her expression filled with disbelief.

Scaling down the cliff, Jae-rim glanced up at Yeon-joo and Chan-hee.

“You two go ahead. I’ll bring Hunter Seo Joo-ah.”

Without waiting for a response, Jae-rim continued climbing toward Joo-ah.

Chan-hee, watching silently, resumed the quest without a word. Yeon-joo sighed but followed suit.

Joo-ah, struggling to steady herself against the cliff, shouted toward Jae-rim, “If you come down, you might fail the quest! I’m fine go back to the others!”

Jae-rim didn’t respond. He continued descending with remarkable speed.

When he finally reached her, he extended his hand at Joo-ah, staring at him with confusion, she asked, “…Why are you doing this?”

She couldn’t understand why someone she barely knew, and a teammate who might leave soon would risk the quest to save her.

Jae-rim smiled softly and met her gaze.

“I want you to make it out of the tower safely, Hunter Seo Joo-ah.”

Ah…

Now she understood.

The reason behind his concern for someone as insignificant as her.

It was a quiet plea for her to leave the tower alive.

“Thank you, Hunter Shin Jae-rim.”

Smiling faintly, she grasped his hand. With little effort, Jae-rim pulled her up. Her legs, which had barely clung to stability, finally found solid ground.

Above them, the Storyteller muttered in annoyance.

“Since no abilities were directly used to aid a teammate, I suppose this doesn’t violate the quest conditions.”

However, upon glancing at their pocket watch, the Storyteller’s demeanor brightened with amusement.

“Only 10 minutes remain. Let’s see how you handle the rest of this quest.”

Joo-ah bit her lip in frustration. Failing to ascend the third tower felt humiliating. Worse, she had endangered Jae-rim’s quest progress as well.

At least Yeon-joo and Chan-hee had made it safely to the summit.

“Seo Joo-ah, Shin Jae-rim.”

Joo-ah looked up to see Chan-hee standing at the summit, looking down at them. The silence that followed was deafening.

“Hold on tight,” he said calmly.

Boom!

A deafening explosion reverberated, shaking the ground beneath them.

Joo-ah and Jae-rim clung desperately to the cliff to avoid falling.

“W-What is the meaning of this?!”

The Storyteller’s ears perked up as they looked toward the source of the commotion. Joo-ah followed their gaze and froze in shock.

“Destroying part of the cliff itself?! This violates the quest conditions!”

The Storyteller’s protest was met with Chan-hee’s nonchalant reply from above.

“The condition was not to use abilities on teammates, right?”

With a smirk, he added, “I didn’t use any ability on them. I just got angry at this ridiculous quest and decided to break part of the cliff.”

True to his words, the towering cliff’s middle section had completely vanished.

Chan-hee had scattered his magic across the rock face as he climbed, carving out a shorter path to the summit for Joo-ah and Jae-rim.

Still stunned, Joo-ah muttered, “Hunter Yoo Chan-hee… just how far does your control ability extend?”

The skill she knew allowed him to manipulate magic-infused stats, a skill powerful enough on its own. But to control space itself?

Jae-rim chuckled softly.

“Even Chan-hee probably doesn’t know.”

Joo-ah shook her head in disbelief as she resumed climbing.

At last, with only 5 minutes remaining, the two reached the summit.

[Quest: “Reach the Summit of the Cliff” Completed!]
[Reward: “Train Ticket” granted.]
[Bonus Quest reward: “Special Permit” added to the train ticket.]
[The “Special Train Ticket” ensures safe passage to the gate.]

Exhaling in relief, Joo-ah read the floating system window. Yeon-joo patted her shoulder, commending her efforts.

The Storyteller, now subdued, gave a brief farewell before disappearing. The lush greenery around them returned to its original barren state, and a door to the train platform appeared.

“All that’s left is the final boss,” Chan-hee said, extending a hand to Joo-ah. She nodded and accepted it, standing with renewed determination.

[Would you like to ascend the tower? Yes / No]