The second floor of the tower was a vast, open sea.

For a moment, I almost drowned from the sudden lack of air, nearly meeting my end.

**"Binky that Goldie Doesn’t Like"**  
When equipped, allows the wearer to breathe underwater.

Luckily, Yong-yong had a binky ready for me from the subspace. Without it, I might have ended up as another star in the sky.

“Slurp slurp.”

“Kyuu!”

With the binky in my mouth, only slurping sounds came out, but Yong-yong still understood me.

It just goes to show how strong our bond is.

Since only a few of my creatures could function underwater, it was time to pull out my ace.

“Slurp slurp!!”

“Oh, alright, I got it. Stop fussing,” Lara, my Kraken friend, sighed as I patted her back. She reverted to her original, massive form.

The sea monsters on the second floor took one look at her and scattered in fear.

“Slurp slurp!!”

**[I’ll go find the second-floor boss.]**

That’s my friend! Just one look, and she knows exactly what I mean.

I gave her a thumbs-up and shouted, “Good job!” She smirked before vanishing into the depths.

Might as well enjoy some sightseeing with Yong-yong while she’s gone.

“Kyuu?”

“Slurp slurp!”

When I told Yong-yong to just relax and enjoy being pampered, he snorted and ignored me.

Ah, raising kids is pointless, after all!

With a sigh, Yong-yong nestled into my arms, feigning indifference.

Sometimes, he can be such a little diva.

As I held him and wandered around, Lara eventually returned, carrying something huge in her tentacles. What was it?

**[Found it. This guy’s the boss of the second floor.]**

“Slurp slurp!!”

**[Can’t see it? Here you go.]**

She extended her tentacles, revealing a large shark in her grasp.

“Slurp slurp!!!”

One of her massive tentacles drew closer, and I met the eyes of the shark, full of defiance.

“Grr! Kill me! I will not negotiate with invaders!”

The shark’s proud declaration only made me like him more.

I pulled a mana stone from my pocket and offered it, but he refused.

Guess there’s only one way to handle this.

“Slurp slurp!!”

At my command, Lara’s giant tentacle began destroying the surrounding terrain.

The other monsters hidden nearby cowered in fear, trembling as they watched with pitiful expressions.

“W-What is this madness?! Just kill me if you must! Why torment the others?”

“Slurp slurp!!!”

I pushed the mana stone closer to him.

He had a choice to make.

Reluctantly, he accepted the mana stone, and with that, the situation was resolved.

I felt a little like a villain, but technically, they were the ones who invaded.

Other Travelers would’ve drawn their weapons first, but I’m a peace-loving person, so I didn’t need to resort to that.

Starting with the second-floor boss, I made quite a few monster friends.

On the path to the third floor, my new shark friend glanced at me warily, still clearly on edge.

“Slurp slurp!!”

“Uh… what are you saying…?”

“She’s saying we’re friends now, so let’s get along,” Lara translated after shifting back to her human form. How was she even talking underwater?

I guess aquatic creatures work differently.

“What’s with that look…?”

Lara seemed annoyed, probably because she couldn’t run her business while I kept her here.

When I handed her a gold bar from my subspace, her expression changed instantly.

“Thank you, my dear friend!”

Her voice even took on a sweeter tone as she hugged me in delight.

I opened a gate for the second-floor boss, allowing him to return to the open sea, then headed toward the path to the third floor.

“W-Wait.”

The shark boss called after me, hesitating before finally speaking.

“Be careful on the third floor. Beyond this point… is hell.”

Hell, huh? What does he mean by that?

I waved to thank him for the warning, and he left through the gate I’d opened.

I’d already contacted the Sirens who had migrated to Earth, so they’d take good care of him.

Now, let’s move on to the next floor.

Who’s waiting to become my friend on the third floor?

To get from the first floor to the second, we’d gone through a giant door. This time, I was transported by a flash of light from a stone tablet.

Finally, I could breathe fresh air again, or so I thought—until I found myself in a snowy field.

“S-So cold!!!”

Shivering in my thin clothing, the Enho twins quickly wrapped a coat around me.

They’re always by my side, watching over me. Such reliable assistants.

“I-I almost froze… Thanks, Rang, Ran.”

“Don’t mention it. We’re just doing our duty.”

“If you’re really grateful, give us some mana stones. Please?”

I chuckled as one of them smacked my back, exclaiming, “Ouch!” until we all burst out laughing and started scouting the area.

“It’s your turn now.”

“Rooaaar!”

With my signal, the War Bear family emerged through a gate.

Since awakening in the real world, I’d gained a new ability: all my skills now had zero cooldown.

So, whenever I used *Help!*—its one drawback being its cooldown—I could now summon freely. Just then, I received a signal.

Did they find something?

From the aura I sensed, it seemed like the War Bears were struggling.

“Skill: Lunar Eclipse, activate.”

The sun was entirely covered by the moon, casting everything into darkness.

With this skill, my monsters’ stats surged, turning the tide as the War Bears returned to my side.

They had captured… a person?

No, it wasn’t a person.

What do you call this?

“A Yuki-onna?”

“Rawr!”

A spirit of snow, or a yokai, with the appearance of a tall, beautiful woman. Her skin was unnaturally pale, sometimes even transparent, showing glimpses of the snowstorm within her.

According to legend, she leads travelers astray in the snow, leaving them to freeze to death.

The War Bears dropped the unconscious Yuki-onna and went to continue searching for other monsters.

As I examined her, she suddenly opened her eyes, looking at me fiercely.

“Why are you attacking us?!”

The War Bear beside me gave her an incredulous look.

“Rawr!”

“He says you attacked us first.”

“Would you leave invaders wandering freely in your territory?!”

She had a point.

A very good point.

At my signal, the War Bear slowly approached her, causing her to tremble in fear.

“I’ll give you two choices.”

I pulled a mana stone from my subspace and held it out to her.

“Become my friend. Or…”

With a sly grin, I watched as she accepted the mana stone without hesitation.

A bright light enveloped her, and her hostile expression faded, replaced by a respectful demeanor.

“Can you tell me anything about the third floor?”

“Certainly.”

She explained that they were sentries guarding the entrance. A large cave lay to the north, occupied by a terrifying creature that controlled the third-floor area.

“They are dangerous.”

The Yuki-onna shivered as she urged me not to proceed.

I assured her it would be fine and asked for directions, which she agreed to provide.

“By the way, do you know anything specific about the boss?”

“It has large horns and seems to be a demon.”

“A demon?”

Why would a demon be here? They should be in the Demon Realm.

Could the reason we haven’t seen the Demon Realm yet be connected to this tower?

If demons are scattered across these towers…

It feels plausible, yet uncertain. I’ll have to investigate.

“Let’s hurry up a bit.”

“Yes, my lord.”

“My… lord?”

I told her to call me Yuna instead, and she finally corrected herself.

“Alright, I’ll lead the way, Lady Yuna.”

“Thank you.”

As we followed the Yuki-onna, I noticed giant War Bear footprints leading in the same direction.

After a long trek, a massive cave entrance came into view.

The footprints continued into the cave.

The War Bears should be fine. In fact, I should probably be more concerned about whoever is inside.