When morning finally arrived, Macarius and Aksibilian slowly made their way out of the cave.
The forest looked entirely different in the morning light.
Soft rays of sunlight filtered through the thick canopy, illuminating the leaves and casting patches of gold across the forest floor. Tiny droplets of dew clung to the grass and branches, glistening whenever the light caught them. A gentle breeze rustled the leaves overhead, carrying the fresh scent of damp earth through the air.
Birds chirped somewhere among the trees, their calls echoing through the otherwise peaceful surroundings. From a distance, the forest looked almost serene, like a place where someone could wander for hours without encountering the slightest danger.
Aksibilian stretched his arms above his head before arching his back with a satisfied sigh.
"It’s hard to believe it’s the same forest that’s ready to kill us," he said.
As usual, he wore a smile, even while talking about something that could easily get them killed. His relaxed attitude seemed almost ridiculous considering what had happened the previous day.
Macarius, meanwhile, was busy checking his clothes and equipment. He examined what he had, making sure everything was in place before they ventured farther into the forest.
Compared to him, Aksibilian appeared much better prepared. His leather armor was practical, his equipment seemed properly arranged, and he moved with the confidence of someone who had at least some idea of what he was doing.
Macarius couldn’t say the same about himself.
He was still trying to understand the basic rules of this place, let alone figure out how to survive in it.
While Macarius was finishing his inspection, Aksibilian turned toward him.
"Hey, what about checking on the rabbits you hunted yesterday?"
The moment he heard those words, Macarius’s movements slowed.
For an instant, the peaceful forest around him seemed to fade into the background. The memories came rushing back without warning: the rabbits swarming around him, their teeth tearing into his flesh, and the unbearable agony of his body repeatedly regenerating while he remained conscious.
His fingers tightened slightly around his equipment.
Why? Why do we need to check on them? Didn’t he say they were dead?
"Why? Why do we need to check on them? Didn’t you say they were dead?" Macarius asked.
"Yes, I know I said they were dead. But don’t you want to take their mana crystals? Even if they’re low-grade mana crystals, they’re still worth taking."
Aksibilian answered casually, as though collecting crystals from the corpses of monsters were among the most ordinary activities in the world.
Then he glanced at Macarius.
The blank look on the latter’s face was enough to tell him that his explanation had accomplished absolutely nothing.
"Ehh... I forgot. You wouldn’t know about that, would you? Okay, come on, man. I’ll explain on the way."
Without waiting for a response, Aksibilian began walking toward the place where he had found Macarius the previous day.
Macarius followed him without complaint. He wasn’t particularly bothered by Aksibilian walking ahead, nor did he have much interest in arguing about something he didn’t understand. If anything, he was relieved that they were moving instead of standing around discussing unfamiliar terminology.
After walking through the forest for some time, they finally arrived at the place where Macarius had fought the rabbits.
Or, at least, where the fight had taken place.
Macarius stopped and looked around.
The ground was uneven, with patches of grass flattened beneath the trees. He could still recognize the general area, but something was wrong.
There were no corpses.
Not a single rabbit remained.
The blood that had covered the ground was gone, and even the scattered pieces of flesh had disappeared. There were no obvious remains to suggest that nearly two hundred creatures had died there only a day earlier.
The place looked almost untouched.
Macarius stared at the empty ground, his eyebrows drawing together.
"What? Where are they? I mean, the rabbits?" he asked.
"I... I don’t know," Aksibilian replied.
For the first time since they had left the cave, his cheerful expression faltered. He looked around, scanning the surrounding trees and the ground beneath them as though expecting to find some explanation hidden nearby.
"They were here yesterday when I found you. I think someone might have taken them. It might have been monsters."
"Monsters? But why would they need them?" Macarius asked.
"Isn’t that obvious? They eat them. Isn’t that natural?"
Aksibilian gave him a puzzled look, as though the answer should have been self-evident. Then he fell silent, his expression gradually becoming more thoughtful.
"Hmmm..."
He crouched slightly to inspect the ground, looking for anything that might explain what had happened. His gaze moved across the surrounding area, searching for tracks or other signs of movement.
"I don’t think it was wolves. If it were wolves, it’s hard to believe they would have eaten all the rabbits. Wolf packs on the first floor usually consist of three or four wolves. A pack that small shouldn’t be able to eat all of them. And there aren’t even any skeletons left."
Aksibilian continued examining the ground as he spoke, apparently piecing together the possibilities in his head.
Macarius listened for a few moments.
Then he gave up.
The young man had somehow turned a simple question about missing rabbit corpses into a discussion about wolf pack sizes, the feeding habits of monsters, and the complete disappearance of bones. Macarius couldn’t see how any of it helped him survive, much less how he was supposed to follow the reasoning.
"Hey, hey. You see, I can’t understand what you’re saying. And why are we even worrying about this? All I want is to get out of that Tower thing. Instead of searching for those rabbits, it would have been better if you told me how to get the fuck out of here."
His voice grew sharper toward the end. The frustration that had been building inside him finally found somewhere to escape.
He had no memories, no reliable knowledge of the world, and no clear idea of what his own abilities could do. He had already spent a night in a cave because he had nearly been killed by a horde of rabbits.
Now, instead of explaining how he could leave this place, Aksibilian was investigating the disappearance of their corpses.
Macarius had more important things to worry about.
"Why?" Aksibilian asked.
Macarius stared at him.
"What do you mean, why? I want to get the hell out of here. I don’t want to stay in a place like this."
His answer came out with barely concealed irritation. He gestured vaguely toward the forest around them, though he wasn’t sure whether he meant the forest itself, the Tower, or the entire miserable situation he had found himself in.
Aksibilian’s expression changed.
The smile that had seemed permanently attached to his face disappeared, leaving him looking far more serious than before.
"Even though I told you it’s not possible right now," he replied quietly.
This time, there was no joking tone in his voice.
Macarius noticed the difference immediately.
"What? What do you mean by that?" he asked. "Why isn’t it possible?"
Aksibilian straightened and turned to face him properly.
"Just what it sounds like. Remember yesterday, when I told you about the limits? Those rules apply to the inside of the Tower, too. Once you enter the Tower, you can’t leave until you’ve spent at least a week inside. And you can’t stay longer than a month, either."
Macarius’s expression stiffened.
For a moment, he simply stared at Aksibilian, trying to make sense of what he had just heard.
A week.
He had to remain in this place for an entire week before he could leave.
And that was the minimum.
"Why do I need to stay for a week? I don’t need to. And why is there a limit on when I can leave?" Macarius asked, his frustration returning. "Isn’t that absurd? What happens if someone gets injured and wants to go back, but they haven’t reached the one-week limit?"
The question came out faster than he intended. He could already imagine countless situations in which such a rule would be disastrous. Someone could be seriously injured, run out of supplies, or find themselves trapped somewhere with no way to survive.
And according to Aksibilian, none of that would matter.
"Then they need to stay. That’s all."
Aksibilian’s answer was immediate.
He didn’t sound pleased about it, but neither did he seem surprised. There was no uncertainty in his voice, no suggestion that the rule could be negotiated or avoided.
He looked directly at Macarius, his expression serious.
"It’s called the Tower, Macarius. It doesn’t care whether you die or not. It has its own rules, and there’s no way to break them. "So, my advice to you is to wait at least six more days. After that, you’ll reach the limit, and you can get out," Aksibilian said.
Macarius let out a long sigh. His shoulders slumped slightly as he looked away, his frustration showing plainly on his face.
"I hate that place," he muttered, a hint of anger in his voice.
"Everyone hates it, man. Don’t worry, you’re not the first."
Aksibilian said it as casually as ever, as though hating a place that regularly tried to kill people was simply part of the experience.
Then he clapped his hands together and turned toward Macarius.
"Now, what about going hunting? After all, we need to level up and get stronger if we want to reach the next floors."
Macarius slowly turned his head toward him.
"Hey, hey. What are you talking about? The next floors? Hunting? Leveling up? Why do I need any of that?"
His confusion was genuine. As far as he was concerned, getting stronger and exploring the Tower were the last things he wanted to do. He had no ambitions to become some legendary adventurer, nor did he have any desire to risk his life fighting monsters.
All he wanted was to get out.
Aksibilian stared at him for a moment, apparently trying to decide whether Macarius was serious.
"Why? It’s obvious. If you want to keep living, you have to get stronger. And you need to make a living, don’t you?"
He gestured toward the forest around them before continuing.
"You can sell the things you collect while hunting and use the money to support yourself. But most of the things you find on the first few floors are pretty common, so it’s difficult to earn much from them. That’s why we need to reach the upper floors."
Aksibilian paused, then tilted his head slightly.
"Or do you have someone who can feed you and take care of you? If you keep insisting on doing nothing and fail to enter the Tower again before the one-month limit, you’ll be pulled in by force. You might even be thrown onto an upper floor with penalties. For someone like you, that would be as good as death."
His tone remained conversational, but the meaning behind his words was difficult to ignore.
Macarius fell silent.
He wanted to reject the idea immediately. The thought of voluntarily hunting monsters after everything he had endured seemed absurd. He had already been forced into this place without understanding why, and now he was being told that surviving here required him to become stronger, earn money, and eventually venture into even more dangerous areas.
It was almost as though the Tower had decided his life for him.
Yet, as much as he disliked the situation, he couldn’t find a reasonable argument against Aksibilian’s explanation.
What would he do after leaving?
He had no memories, no idea where he belonged, and no knowledge of whether anyone was waiting for him outside. He didn’t even know if he had a home to return to, let alone someone who would provide for him.
And if he simply waited until the Tower dragged him back inside, he might end up somewhere far more dangerous than the forest around him.
Macarius rubbed his face and sighed again.
"I don’t think I have any way to refuse now," he admitted.
Aksibilian’s expression brightened immediately.
"See? I told you!"
He looked genuinely pleased, as though he had just convinced a friend to join him on an ordinary trip rather than persuaded a completely inexperienced man to hunt monsters.
"Then let’s go hunting. I have a map of some hunting grounds. According to the information on it, there should be enough monsters there for a full party to level up easily."
Macarius’s expression changed.
"A full party? What kind of monsters are you talking about? What kind of monsters are there?"
His questions came one after another. The mention of a full party made him wonder how many people were normally expected to work together and, more importantly, what sort of creatures required that many people to hunt.
"Goblins. You know, those small green monsters."
Aksibilian raised one hand to roughly indicate their size.
"Since we’re on the first floor, they’re still pretty weak, even if they appear in large numbers. They get stronger and evolve as you climb higher. Hunting them should be good training for us, too."
Macarius considered this for a moment.
Goblins.
He had no idea how dangerous they actually were in this world. The name sounded familiar, but knowing what a creature was called didn’t mean he understood how strong it was or what it could do.
Still, Aksibilian seemed confident that they could handle them.
And, considering his own circumstances, Macarius couldn’t think of a better alternative.
"I don’t think I have a reason, or even the right, to refuse," he said at last.
"Then that’s great! Let’s start our hunt!"
Aksibilian sounded delighted. Without wasting any more time, he took the lead and began moving through the forest, apparently already familiar with the route marked on his map.
Macarius followed behind him.
They walked for quite some time, weaving between the trees and crossing patches of uneven ground. Gradually, the dense forest began to thin. The trees grew farther apart, the ground became rockier, and the gentle slope beneath their feet rose toward a range of mountains in the distance.
As they approached the mountains, Aksibilian adjusted their direction, leading Macarius along the base of the rocky slopes.
The scenery changed around them. Thick roots gave way to exposed stone, and the earthy scent of the forest was replaced by the cooler, mineral smell of the mountains. Loose gravel shifted beneath their boots as they moved along the uneven path.
Eventually, they reached a rocky outcrop where the mountainside rose sharply ahead of them.
A dark opening could be seen in the stone.
It was a cave entrance, wide enough for several people to pass through, though the darkness inside concealed whatever lay beyond it. The surrounding rocks were scattered with smaller stones, and the entrance itself looked strangely quiet.
Aksibilian stopped and turned toward Macarius, gesturing at the opening with a casual sweep of his hand.
"That’s the goblin cave," he explained.
Macarius looked at the entrance.
They had finally arrived at their hunting ground.
And somewhere inside that cave were the monsters he was supposed to hunt if he wanted to survive in this place.