The White Dragon Heart is an insurance.
Insurance for when things go wrong.

‘I’m glad I saved it.’

What if the Error Player quietly heads to the 3rd floor?
Then Daimus can use the Dragon Heart himself.

What if I show some dissatisfaction and hesitate?
He’ll give the Dragon Heart as compensation.

Because it’s a dragon, I calculated that it wouldn’t be able to ignore the heart of its kin.

Moreover, this is a token from a lower species.
A proud dragon can’t ignore this gift.
To put it bluntly, once it’s received, they can’t just wipe their mouths and forget it.

The moment the Dragon Heart was confirmed,
The Error Player would have no choice but to ascend to the 3rd floor.

A plan Daimus had come up with over two days.

There’s also the outcome of sending the Error Player up without using the Dragon Heart.
While Daimus may have felt it was a bit disappointing not to achieve the best result,
‘Well, what can you do.’

Daimus was satisfied with this.

Zzzzt-

The moment the Error Player received the heart of its kin, he absorbed it.
Not even a second of hesitation.

It was so natural, as if recovering the Dragon Heart was his duty and right.

Daimus said nothing and opened a portal.
A blue portal leading to the 3rd floor.

The Error Player gave Daimus a sideways glance and then began to move.

“Ugh…”

Daimus let out a deep sigh and handled the remaining procedures.
The settlement for Scarlet’s team.
That too was the administrator’s responsibility.

“Did, did he really just go up?”
The Scarlet team, upon hearing the news, was filled with shock.

“Isn’t this too much?”
They hadn’t expected to go up with him.
Even they had some sense of decency.

But to suddenly run off like this…
They never imagined it.

It wasn’t that they felt betrayed.
They were just bewildered.

The Scarlet team’s gaze turned toward Kim Min-seong.
He seemed to be the one closest to the Error Player, so they silently asked him with their eyes.

What happened?

Kim Min-seong answered.

“Ryu-in hyung is a busy man trying to save the world. He’s not someone who should be stuck on the 2nd floor.”

Kim Min-seong spoke as if he had expected this, and the Scarlet team furrowed their brows.

The Illusionary Tome devoured the Dragon Heart.
Honestly, I had somewhat expected this.

‘I hoped against hope, but still…’

Just as expected.

Daimus was watching.
I composed my expression as calmly as possible.

‘It’s not bad.’

Mind control.
As the Dragon Heart was devoured, the Devour option leveled up.
So, in the long run, it wasn’t a loss.

Zzzzt-

The portal opened.
Daimus seemed to think I would naturally go up.

What if I refuse to go?

‘Neither of us would come out looking good.’

There’s no choice.
I had to do what Daimus wanted.

‘Kim Min-seong and Lee Soo-jung…’

I shook my head.

I wasn’t their parent.
It’s the Tower of Struggle. Everyone needs to survive on their own.

I stepped forward resolutely.
I boarded the portal heading to the 3rd floor.

The light wrapped around me.
I arrived in a new world.

Kkiruk, Kkiruk-!

White geese flew across the sky.
The flapping of their wings seemed very free.

The clouds billowed, and the bright sun pressed down on my face.
I unconsciously furrowed my brows.

“….”

Where was this?

It was an island, the same one I had seen during the qualification battle.

A wide, sandy beach, waves crashing loudly.
The only difference was, I was alone.

I looked around the island.

‘It’s not that big.’

The island itself was small.
It was the perfect size for an uninhabited island.

“Administrator!”

No matter how much I called, the administrator didn’t appear.

If I hadn’t gone through all the events on the 2nd floor, I would’ve been confused by the administrator’s absence.

‘Does that mean I’m supposed to figure it out myself?’

The administrator wasn’t entirely absent.
They just weren’t intervening for now, I decided.

The endless horizon stretched out before me.
An uninhabited island with nothing else.

Flap-

A map drifted toward me, carried by the faint breeze.

“….”

I examined the map.
I didn’t know exactly where I was, but I knew my destination.
There was an "X" marked on it.

The problem was, how to get there.

“Are they asking me to jump over the sea?”

If that were the case, most species would be eliminated on the 3rd floor.

‘Fly? Part the seas?’

Ridiculous.
I didn’t think they’d ask for something so impossible.

“…A tree.”

There were quite a few trees in the center of the island.
It wasn’t enough to form a forest, but there were certainly a fair number.

Ugh.

“Could it be?”

No way?

Just to be sure, I chopped down a tree.

With the combination of the Golden Dagger and Strike, there was no tree I couldn’t fell.
If it wasn’t enough, I could use the technique of Samjaegeombeop (Three Strikes Breaking Through) to cut horizontally…

“……”

The tree wouldn’t fall.

“This is bad.”

Does the Soul System not affect trees?

I gritted my teeth.
If Strike didn’t work, I’d have to cut the tree by force.

All I had was the Golden Dagger.

‘Is it possible?’

There was no time to question that.
Whether it worked or not, I had to try.

Creak, creak-
Creak, creak-

“Damn it.”

I couldn’t stand it.
I pounded my chest like a gorilla.

“Ugh! Ugh! Ugh! Ugh!”

Imitating a gorilla made my hands move faster.
Everything had to be done within 3 seconds.

“Ugh! Ugh! Ugh! Ugh!”

My survival instinct kicked in.
All my stats increased by 50.

The survival instinct only lasts during combat.
If the Soul System determines I’m not in combat, the skill shuts off.

‘Before it shuts off.’

Strike with 60 strength.

Screech-

I cut about halfway through and kicked the tree.

The tree couldn’t withstand it and fell.
At the same time, a message appeared.

[Head to the sea on the 3rd floor]
Find the treasure somewhere in the vast sea.
Show your determination towards the seat.

A headache suddenly struck me.

‘The owner of the 3rd floor. What the hell is this guy trying to make me do?’

It can’t be helped.
If the floor’s owner demands it, then that’s the player’s duty.

If that pisses me off, I’ll just have to become the floor’s owner.
To become the owner of a floor, I need to get that ascender label first.
In the end, a player has no choice but to climb the Tower.

“Ugh.”

I sighed deeply and moved quickly.
I chopped down all the trees on the uninhabited island to make materials for a raft.

I roughly tied the branches together and made a boat.
Actually, it was more of a raft than a boat.

‘Am I supposed to sail across the sea on this?’

If a wave hits, it’ll flip over immediately.
It looks like a death trap.

In fact, the Soul System also gave a harsh evaluation of the raft.

[Flimsy Raft (purple)][F]
Type: Vehicle
Stats▼
【Durability: 5/5】
Options▼
【Wind Direction Adaptation Lv.1】

Look at its pathetic durability.
The system is practically warning me that if I ride this, I’ll really be screwed.

To make it to the sea, I need to craft a better boat.

‘I don’t have to find the treasure all at once.’

Assuming the "X" marks the treasure island,
There were several landmasses I’d pass on the way.

‘I could upgrade the raft.’

I’m not the only one on the 3rd floor.
There’s the option to team up with other players.

It looks like competition, but it’s not really.
There’s no reason to fight each other as players.

All we need to do is find the treasure.
Then, we can earn the right to ascend to the 4th floor.

‘Just like on the 2nd floor.’

A good boat, big and sturdy.
I need more materials.

I chopped down every tree on the uninhabited island.

When I got hungry, I ate fruits.
Bananas.

I don’t know how long I’ll be stuck on this island, so I ate sparingly, just enough to curb my hunger.

‘The 2nd floor was like heaven.’

At least, there you could eat well if you fought in a match.
On the 3rd floor, I couldn’t even eat freely.

I pictured the structure of the boat in my mind.

A sleek sailboat.
I couldn’t make a sail, so I crossed that out.

‘I’ll just use oars.’

It won’t be easy to go against the current, but
there’s no other choice.

‘Making the raft is doable, but the sail, that’s impossible.’

For now, I’ll process the wood.
Peel the bark and make wooden planks...

As I moved quickly, the sun began to set.

“……”

The light faded, and darkness approached.
The wind was colder than I expected.
I hurriedly gathered more branches.

Whoooosh-

Starting a fire by rubbing two sticks together is for amateurs.
A pro creates flames with a Hatchling Breath.

“Hmm. That’s warm.”

The warmth of the flames pushed away the cold wind.
And what’s more?

As the light dispelled the darkness, the surroundings became much brighter.
Thanks to that, I could continue my simple work.

Creak creak-

Peeling the bark and making wooden planks.

If I make a raft with this, will it float on the sea?
There should be an additional process.
But I don’t know the method, so it feels vague.

At that moment.
I felt a presence from behind.

Is it the administrator?

I looked towards the source, full of anticipation.
But as soon as I saw the person, my anticipation turned to disappointment.

A woman in a suit.
Her hair, lit by the firelight, looked very loud.

‘Silver?’

Should I take comfort in the fact that she’s not just another Earthling baggage?
Or should I not?

“…Did you come up from the 2nd floor?”

I lowered my voice and tried to sound like a Murim warrior.
The woman approached without fear, as if it was natural.

“Can you tell me what you’re doing right now?”