TSOT#1 Chapter 32

The only plausible location for the treasure chest seemed to be the path where Yeon-joo was.

But another thought crept into Seo Joo-ah’s mind:

What if it wasn’t there either?

So far, none of the team members had found a treasure chest in their respective areas. What were the odds of one being where Yeon-joo was?

“Is there really a treasure chest here?”

Yoo Chan-hee spoke with a face full of annoyance. Meanwhile, Shin Jae-rim extracted a magic stone from a monster Chan-hee had killed and handed it to Joo-ah.

Caught off guard, she took it, then nervously glanced at Chan-hee, who gave Jae-rim an incredulous look.

“Why are you giving the magic stone from the monster I killed to her?”

“You don’t keep B-grade magic stones anyway.”

“Yeah, but why give it to her?”

“Better to give it to someone who needs it than to waste it.”

Joo-ah, unfazed by Chan-hee’s dissatisfaction, activated the magic stone.

[Defense has increased by 4.]
[Defense has increased by 4.]
[Defense has increased by 4.]

Chan-hee looked at her in disbelief.

“Did you not hear me just complaining to Jae-rim?”

Joo-ah replied nonchalantly.

“I heard you.”

“And you still used the magic stone without asking me?”

“I’ve already used it, so I can’t give it back.”

“No, seriously, why would you blatantly use the stone right after hearing I didn’t want you to?”

Joo-ah answered with a sly smile.

Jae-rim interrupted the argument, glancing at the floating timer in the sky.

“Time’s almost up. We need to solve this quest quickly.”

He started walking, prompting Chan-hee to sigh heavily and follow suit.

“This first quest is unusually complicated today.”

Lower-level tower quests were typically straightforward. The higher one climbed, the more complex the challenges became.

But this particular quest was unusually intricate, likely a prank by the Storyteller to welcome the newcomers.

“Hunter Yoo Chan-hee, did monsters appear when you tried crossing to another path?”

Joo-ah’s calm voice drew Chan-hee’s attention.

“Well, yeah.”

“It feels like the tower is deliberately keeping team members from meeting each other.”

Joo-ah muttered indifferently.

Was the treasure chest really just a chest filled with common treasure?

No matter how much they searched, there wasn’t a trace of it.

“Perhaps…”

Jae-rim suddenly stopped in his tracks, his expression hardening.

“The treasure chest mentioned in the quest might not be a literal chest.”

Chan-hee offered a clearer explanation.

“For example, it could mean all the team members gathering in one place.”

Joo-ah checked the timer again.

[02:59]

Only about three minutes remained.

Chan-hee pulled out a massive sword from his inventory.

The Dragon Sword, a weapon only SS-ranked Hunters could wield, was as powerful as the legendary dragon it was named after.

With a single, swift slash, Chan-hee destroyed the towering wall of trees, revealing a massive monster concealed within.

Its sheer size blocked their entire field of vision, and its overwhelming presence filled the air.

Level: B+
Attribute: Wind
Special Skill: Thorn Vines
Note: This monster appears to have emerged from the gate on the 300th floor of the third tower.

Sensing danger, the monster amplified its magic, temporarily increasing its level.

Chan-hee clicked his tongue, clearly annoyed.

“I’ll handle this. You two go find Choi Yeon-joo.”

He charged at the monster, shouting as he went.

Jae-rim and Joo-ah started moving quickly, but another monster of the same kind emerged from the trees.

One minute remained.

Jae-rim engaged the second monster while Joo-ah scanned the surroundings.

Then she spotted it—a glimmer of blue ice crystals in the distance.

Joo-ah checked the timer above.

[00:29]

She pulled a mid-tier sword from her inventory and dashed forward.

[The Anonymous Constellation asks if you’d like to borrow its power, noticing your urgency.]

Joo-ah smirked and quickened her pace.

“There’s no need to waste such power on something this trivial.”

[00:10]

Thorny vines shot out to grab her ankle, but she slashed through them with her sword, slicing through the towering wall of greenery in one motion.

On the other side of the path, Choi Yeon-joo, who was battling another monster, turned toward her in surprise.

“Hunter Seo Joo-ah?”

[Quest ‘Find the Treasure Chest’ completed!]
[Reward: Train Ticket received.]
[‘Train Ticket’ can be viewed in your item box.]

A system window appeared in midair, and the forest maze vanished, revealing the dark interior of the tower.

“An unexpected performance, I must say.”

The Storyteller, who had been absent for a while, reappeared. His crimson eyes glimmered with faint amusement as he looked at Joo-ah.

“Well, no matter. Since you’ve earned the train ticket, I’ll guide you to the platform.”

As soon as he finished speaking, a white door materialized inside the tower. The team members who had been scattered began converging on Joo-ah’s location.

“Let’s go.”

Chan-hee led the way, opening the door to the platform as if it were second nature.

Still looking somewhat disoriented, Yeon-joo followed, with Jae-rim gently guiding her steps.

The Storyteller bowed as they disappeared through the door.

“Then, I’ll see you on the next floor.”

“Was the ‘treasure chest’ really just us all gathering together?”

While waiting for the train, Yeon-joo asked, her voice tinged with disbelief.

“No wonder we couldn’t find it anywhere…”

Muttering to herself, she turned to Joo-ah and added,

“Hunter Seo Joo-ah, you really pulled through. If you hadn’t found me in time, we’d have been trapped in that maze.”

Yeon-joo patted Joo-ah’s shoulder approvingly.

Jae-rim sighed, brushing his hair back.

“We underestimated the lower levels. We’ll need to focus more on solving quests from now on.”

Leaning against a pillar, Chan-hee chuckled softly.

“It wasn’t just us underestimating the level. The quest itself was unusually difficult. Happens sometimes when the Storyteller finds someone interesting.”

He gestured toward Joo-ah with his chin.

“Looks like it found D-rank more intriguing than expected.”

Joo-ah stared at him blankly, and Chan-hee’s eyes curled into a playful smirk.

“Don’t know what it saw in you, though.”

His naturally provocative tone made Joo-ah frown.

She was about to retort when Yeon-joo pointed to the distance and spoke.

“The train’s here.”

As the whistle echoed, the train approached. The team members checked their tickets and moved toward the train.

Joo-ah briefly examined her reward ticket. The compartments seemed endless, stretching into the distance, while a dry breeze brushed her hair.

The train had two special compartments: Car 1 at the front and Car 13 at the rear.

Car 1 required defeating a boss, while access to Car 13 was random, granted only to those with a “Special Train Ticket.” Most Hunters ended up in the general compartments, battling monsters as they ascended the tower.

The train began slowing down.

“D-rank.”

Chan-hee called out to Joo-ah, handing her something.

“What’s this?”

“A hair tie.”

He gestured to her hair.

“Use it if you need to tie your hair up.”

Her hair, loose from the maze’s ordeal, had fallen out of its usual ponytail. The hair tie he gave her was a yellow one with a small ribbon, far from the plain black tie she usually used.

Joo-ah raised a brow.

“Why does Hunter Yoo Chan-hee have a girl’s hair tie?”

He shrugged indifferently.

“No idea. Found it in my pocket.”

Probably left by one of the women he’d been seeing, hoping for an excuse to meet him again.

As Joo-ah stared at the hair tie in her hand, looking annoyed, Chan-hee added nonchalantly,

“If you don’t want it, forget it. I was just going to throw it away anyway.”

Then he smirked.

“Not that I mind. I actually prefer your hair down.”

Joo-ah tied her hair neatly into a ponytail, ignoring his comment.

Chan-hee let out a small, knowing laugh.

“Didn’t mean to imply you were my type, by the way.”

With that, he casually walked away, hands in his pockets.

By then, the train had fully stopped.