Pale coral-colored eyes brimmed with tears.
The tears welled up under her eyelids, ready to °• N o v e l i g h t •° roll down.
[(Unknown Title) has activated the Child Protection System.]
[Emergency Quest Triggered!]
[A child in pain needs warm arms to hold her. Hug your fluffy friends tightly!]
Guru sniffled.
'Emergency Quest?'
The fluffy follower friends mentioned in the quest were huddled in front of her, flustered and panicking at what was happening.
Even Yurian had hopped up onto the desk, worried something was wrong.
Before the tears could fall, Guru pulled them all into a tight hug.
The followers warmly embraced her back, and Yurian gave a strangled squeak before licking her cheek.
Warmth seeped in. It felt like her chest was being filled with cotton candy.
That cotton candy calm soothed her trembling heart.
[(Unknown Title)’s effect has forcibly opened a skill.]
[Skill “Deep-Rooted Attachment” has been unlocked.]
The bonds Guru had built so far flickered through her vision.
Her primary caregiver On Jurim, then Shin Nayeon, Gidan, Serhi, Jin Siwon, Kazuki...
Even prospective caregivers like Chuen and Sheir flickered before her.
Seeing the faces of precious people made Guru’s mouth fall open.
They were all her caregivers. Not blood ties whose faces she didn’t even know, but people who loved her simply because she was Guru.
Guru wiped her tears away with the back of her hand and gazed at each face again.
Just by looking, the unbearable loneliness seemed to slip quietly away.
'Did the “Unknown Title” show me this to comfort me?'
While Guru wondered—
[Caregiver Quest]
[For a growing child, attachment is vital nourishment. Attachment helps children grow into stable and strong sovereigns. Cherish the bonds you’ve made, and gather more. Raise your attachment index high!]
[Reward: Unlocks the Sealed “Title”]
Beneath the quest window stood a young sapling, two little branches stretched wide.
'Title...'
Sniffling, her chin trembling, Guru opened her status window.
Name: On Guru
Title: ■■■ ■■■ ■■ ■■■ (Locked)
Right under “On Guru” was a title, sealed.
Titles appeared for many reasons, but nobody had ever heard of one being locked like this.
Guru sniffled again and wiped at her eyes.
'I wanna know.'
What kind of title had been left to her. Why it was sealed. Why it comforted her and gave her strength.
She hugged her followers tighter, resting her cheek against their soft fur.
Mephisto rubbed his cheek against hers.
Lukshifer pawed at her chin. Veilach pressed his forehead gently against hers.
And underneath them all, Yurian trembled with frustration at being smothered, but didn’t make a sound.
Guru realized this was what bonds and attachment meant.
Something that lightened sorrow and filled her chest. Something that swallowed cold loneliness and warmed her body.
Nourishment that let the roots of a sapling grow into a great tree.
'Deep-Rooted Attachment.'
She whispered the name of the skill slowly, then closed the “G” folder.
When she had said she didn’t want to look for her parents, Jurim had told her he would help anytime.
And afterward, he must have gone searching on his own.
Maybe it simply wasn’t time yet for Guru to know.
In the “G” folder, only Chuen’s voice remained.
For now, nothing was clear. It was too soon to jump to conclusions.
That must be why Jurim had told her nothing.
As for what data would pile up in that folder from here on... who knew.
Guru shut the laptop down completely and stood.
Now was the time to raise her attachment index, to become a true sovereign tree.
In the blood-stinking snowfield, Chuen gripped her sleeve tightly.
If this was the 99th Floor...
“...The Tower?”
“Correct.”
“You’re saying you built a Tower?”
“So far, things are going smoothly.”
“You’re insane!”
The man watched her twisted expression, then smiled faintly.
That gentle face made the heat boil all the way to the top of her head.
Chuen repeated, syllable by syllable.
“You. Are. Insane.”
The man only shrugged.
Grinding her teeth, Chuen bit her lip.
“...Why were you looking for me?”
Was he planning to use her for building this Tower?
'What do I do?'
She had known from the first moment she couldn’t beat him.
'Can I even run?'
Inside her, the goldfish thrashed, ready to burst free.
The man, in contrast, was perfectly calm. He tilted his head lazily.
“Reiji said you’re good at finding people. I’ve been troubled lately—too many people have gone missing.”
The plan had been progressing smoothly, but his people were disappearing one by one.
He couldn’t understand it. What was happening to them?
Even with the “Eyes of Gnosis,” he couldn’t see. As if something was deliberately blocking his vision.
If this went on, there wouldn’t be enough left to stand as Tower Masters.
That was when he thought of Chuen.
He parted his lips, adding softly:
“And while we’re at it... I want to find a child.”
A sliver of doubt still lingered like a thorn.
It could be a false hope. She had never wanted a child.
But even if the truth was painful, he wanted certainty.
When the Gnosis triquetra glowed in his coral-colored eyes, Chuen flinched.
Her goldfish whipped their tails furiously, trying to rouse her, but her consciousness blurred helplessly.
“You can help, can’t you?”
At his words, Chuen slowly nodded.
It went against her will, but some unseen force seemed to be steering her mind.
“Kh...”
She groaned, brow furrowing.
If only she could spit in this bastard’s gentle face, she’d feel better.
But when he began to walk, she followed. Snow crunched beneath her feet.
The “99th Floor Snowfield” was already widely known.
Ever since On Jurim descended from the 99th Floor, even if no one knew the other floors, the 99th had become the greatest object of fascination.
Tales of its endless snowfield, and the overwhelming 99th Floor Master who wielded all the power of the floors before, had even been made into children’s books.
Heroes who climbed the Tower struggled to reach the 99th Floor, only to fall like autumn leaves before that master.
It was said that On Ijo had finally ended that rampage—his power binding the 99th Floor Master immobile.
And afterward, On Ijo left his weakened younger brother behind and ascended alone to the 100th Floor.
Crunch, crunch. As they walked, Chuen spoke.
“...Looks like you couldn’t make the 100th.”
Her voice was calm, but dripping with mockery.
If he had built the 100th, people would know of it. But there wasn’t a single record.
Some said the 100th Floor was hell. Others, heaven.
They had fought with force all the way, so maybe the 100th was where people were trapped by temptation instead.
Ridiculous stories.
Crunch—
The man stopped walking and turned.
Her words—“couldn’t make the 100th”—had been meant to jab at him, to scrape his nerves.
It was mockery of a man who had never become a hero like On Ijo.
Standing before him, she raised her head.
He met her eyes and smiled sweetly. Dimples carved his cheeks.
“The 100th Floor is—”
He lifted a finger.
“—right here.”
Tap, tap—On Ijo pointed at his own head.

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