Rhodes Island does not exist.

On the contrary, when they saw the doctor making a move on the slug monster, they seemed to crave the doctor's comfort and began to sway their bodies in the same rhythm as the monsters under his command.

So what exactly is this place? Is it some kind of cat cafe belonging to the ancient gods?

The doctor's mind was in complete chaos.

Now he only feels that he has wasted a bottle of Ghost Shark seawater.

"But even if these slug monsters don't attack me, the elevator doors still won't open. Could they really be in the back?"

The doctor thought for a moment, then reached out and stroked the slug monsters along the way, eventually circling around to the back of the pillar.

Because of the constant rubbing along the way, both of his arms were covered in scarlet slime.

He was like a deranged serial killer.

But there were no buttons behind the pillar; it was completely empty.

However, because the pillar had previously blocked the view, the door on the other side of the room, which the doctor had not noticed, appeared before his eyes.

It seems that the elevator on this floor can only be opened from the inside.

But at least he found a way out.

No, it's not just about exports.

He may have also found a quirky cat cafe.

-

Thank you for the time.

Thank you for the monthly pass, Mad King Cú Chulainn.

Chapter 8, Part 8: First Meeting, The Lady from the Deep Sea

A cold, mournful wind blows.

Like the outdoors in Agor in December.

"call."

The female hunter, wearing a wide-brimmed hat, stood on the frigid balcony, put her hands in her pockets, and gently exhaled a puff of white breath.

"This floor is experiencing unusual weather."

"If it weren't completely without any cover, it would actually be habitable."

She said to herself.

And indeed, it was just as she said.

Because the place where she stood was a solitary platform simply suspended in a blizzard.

There was nothing around.

She could see nothing but the wind and snow.

The only connection between this unusual space and the outside world is a door attached to a prominent, towering cubic pillar.

"time to go."

She tightened her grip on the strangely shaped greatsword she carried on her back, preparing to leave.

But just as she turned around, the door embedded in the pillar was suddenly opened.

Driven by a hunter's instincts, he reacted instantly, gripping the hilt of his sword on his shoulder while leaning slightly forward, ready to unleash a horizontal slash at any potential enemy as he drew his sword.

The doors slid to the sides.

A figure appeared in the elevator car.

"call……"

It was a terrifying creature, panting heavily.

Its entire body was covered in a viscous, dark red liquid, and its clothes were draped with connective tissue from who-knows-where. It also carried a bloodstained pickaxe in its hand, and its face was shrouded in darkness under its hood.

"this!"

The huntress immediately recalled the hellish desolation she had witnessed on one of the levels not long ago.

She was exploring up and down the elevator when, when it stopped on the eighth floor, a madman wielding a pickaxe appeared before her, surrounded by a horde of bizarre creatures.

Without a doubt, that madman has caught up with us.

Because the panting creature in front of you is that madman.

"Click."

So the huntress didn't hesitate.

Having already assumed a fighting stance, she was ready to draw her sword and strike the enemy who suddenly appeared in front of her.

The sword is drawn.

-

"Ding!"

The doctor had to be thankful that the pickaxe in his hand was sturdy enough.

Otherwise, that sweeping attack just now would have been enough to send him back to meet Ghost Shark.

However, there was one thing he really didn't expect—this seemingly cool guy actually drew his sword at him without saying a word.

"It seems that it is indeed a luxury to expect that there is any rationality left for the life here."

He sighed softly.

He finally bumped into the stranger he had met once before, only to find out that the stranger turned out to be a hostile monster.

It seems I'm destined to be alone on this trip.

Destined to be... alone?

The cool hat-wearing man wielding a greatsword suddenly stopped attacking.

"you……"

The stylish hat-wielder placed his greatsword in his right hand and adjusted the brim of his hat with his left.

"...What did you just say?"

-

In an environment of both spiritual and material poverty, sometimes all it takes is a few kind words to establish communication.

The PhD now deeply agrees with this statement.

"So you mean all this disgusting stuff on you... is because the creatures on that layer liked you so much that they forcibly rubbed themselves onto you?"

The huntress looked at the doctor with considerable suspicion, her greatsword gripped warily in her right hand and rested on the ground.

"Yes, and I did meet you once before, but I was in an awkward situation at the time, so I guess I scared you away," the doctor explained. "But I didn't expect to see you again."

“This is almost the first time I’ve met a relatively normal person here,” the huntress sighed. “At first, I thought you were one of the oddities of this place, and I almost killed you.”

"It wasn't just a close call; if I hadn't defended myself, I might have really been killed by you by now," the doctor said with a wry smile.

“But you survived, that’s good.” The huntress looked at the doctor. “So, how did you get here?”

"To be honest, I don't know."

The doctor replied, "It's probably because of something I've experienced; I'm currently suffering from amnesia."

Since it was their first meeting and they had not yet established a basic level of trust with each other, the doctor chose not to reveal the story of Ghost Shark and his own resurrection.

"Then how should I address you?" The huntress seemed to have no intention of getting to the bottom of her amnesia and went straight to asking another question.

“I don’t know my name, but…” the Doctor thought for a moment, “I seem to have a code name called Doctor, which is one of my few memories.”

“Alright, Doctor.” The huntress didn’t show much expression after hearing the name, she just nodded slowly. “Then you can call me Skadi.”

"Skadi." The doctor chewed on the name, silently memorizing it.

This was the first normal person he encountered in this eerie building.

I also hope this won't be the last one.

"It's cold here, let's leave first."

Skadi sheathed her greatsword and headed for the elevator.

The doctor nodded and followed Skadi into the carriage.

Incidentally, this elevator is not the same one that the doctor had at the central pillar on the eighth floor.

After leaving the extremely enthusiastic slugs on the eighth floor, the doctor went up to the ninth floor through the door on the other side of the room and luckily found an elevator at the entrance to the ninth floor.

The elevator screen showed the fifteenth floor, so after calling the elevator down, the doctor also selected the fifteenth floor as his final destination.

Then came the scene where Skadi suddenly drew her sword.

"But this elevator only has options for the ninth, fifteenth, and tenth floors. I don't know how it was designed."

After the elevator doors closed, the doctor's eyes remained on the control panel as he spoke.

Skadi shook her head to the side.

"Although I don't know what your purpose or plan is here, if you want to survive here, you'd better not really treat the elevators here as elevators."

"What do you mean?" the doctor asked.

“First of all, that place covered by the blizzard earlier—do you think it’s reasonable for an elevator shaft to exist in a place like that? It’s just a floating platform, and it might not even have a basic structure. There are many similar scenes in this building, and most of them are connected by elevators,” Skadi said.

“In other words,” she said, glancing at the screen that displayed “ten floors,” “compared to something as simple as an elevator going straight up and down, this elevator is probably closer to a product of Originium Arts that follows certain rules.”

"You seem to know this place very well."

The doctor's gaze toward Skadi gradually took on a hint of respect.

"No, I just..."

We have reached the tenth floor.

The elevator doors opened in front of the two of them.

"...It's just that I've managed to survive every dangerous situation."

-

Thank you segment.

Thank you for the blades and monthly passes, thank you.

Chapter 9, Part 9: Perhaps even the Doctor has tasted the fragrance of blood.

Skadi said she has been here for almost a month.

But she didn't tell the doctor why she entered or how she entered.

According to her, this is related to a tradition of the Agor people.

Unfortunately, the Doctor didn't know what Agor was, so he could only follow Skadi forward in complete confusion.

This is the tenth floor.

"May I ask a question?"

Carrying a pickaxe and following behind Skadi, the Doctor suddenly spoke up.

"What?" Skadi didn't stop, but continued walking in the corridor on the tenth floor.

The layout of this floor was very familiar to the PhD student.

It looks very similar to the fourth floor, both being a straight, continuous corridor where you can see the scenery at the other end without any obstruction from one end.

If gray and white walls can be considered part of the scenery.

In short, this place is almost identical to the fourth floor.

"You've been wandering around here for a month. How have you survived? I mean... the necessities like food and shelter."

The doctoral student asked a question.

“Ah, this,” Skadi replied, “There’s an abandoned little shop on the sixth floor. If you want to maintain your daily food and water needs, that should be enough to meet your needs for about one or two years.”

"Six floors?" the doctor asked, puzzled.