The floor mechanic targeted healers first.
Somin found that out when the ground tried to eat her.
She was mid-step, following Mira through a broken corridor full of bodies and smoke, when a circular seam opened under her boots like a mouth.
Jaehyuk's hand hit her wrist.
He yanked.
Too late.
Her heel slipped.
Stone teeth closed on air where her leg had been.
Six seconds.
That's what it took.
Six seconds between normal and dead.
Somin stumbled into him, breath sharp.
"I'm fine," she said.
Jaehyuk didn't answer.
Because the seam had closed.
Because the floor had missed.
And because he could feel the Tower recalculating.
Mira turned, sword up. "Again."
"It only went for her," Somin said.
Mira's eyes narrowed. "Yeah."
A second seam opened.
Not under Mira.
Not under Jaehyuk.
Under Somin.
Somin jumped back on instinct.
The seam snapped shut.
A miss.
"Okay," Somin whispered. "That's personal."
Jaehyuk's mouth tasted like iron.
He thought about Dohyun's smile at the toll gate.
I'll tax you.
He thought about OBSERVED.
He thought about the returned climber whispering Iteration 7.
The Tower wasn't just counting.
It was selecting.
And the simplest selection was this.
Remove healers.
Force parties into failure.
Force war into slaughter.
Mira moved forward.
Her steps were careful now, not fast.
She didn't like careful.
She hated it.
But she did it anyway.
"Stay in the middle," Mira told Somin.
"I am in the middle," Somin snapped.
"More middle."
Somin made an offended noise. "Do you want me to crawl inside your armor?"
Mira didn't look back. "If it keeps you alive."
Somin blinked.
Jaehyuk felt the shift.
Mira didn't offer protection.
She took it.
Like it was an order.
Like it was her job.
They pushed through Floor 61.
Then 62.
Then 63.
War floors didn't have clean transitions anymore.
They bled into each other.
Routes collapsed.
Neutral zones turned into triage rooms.
Vanguard squads moved like sharks.
Raiders moved like rats.
And the Tower kept making small changes that ruined old answers.
A corridor that used to be safe now had a seam pattern that spelled death.
A stairwell that used to lead up now led into a dead end with fresh blood.
A monster spawn that used to come from the left now came from behind.
Six seconds too late.
Again.
Jaehyuk started counting in his head.
Not floors.
Heartbeats.
If Somin's heartbeat changed, the Tower was near.
If her breath hitched, the seam was opening.
He hated living like this.
He did it anyway.
On Floor 64, they ran into a group of six.
Two fighters.
Three porters.
One healer.
The healer was bleeding from the nose.
"It's the floor," the healer said, voice shaking. "It keeps snapping at me."
Somin's eyes softened for half a second.
Then hardened.
"It isn't you," Somin said. "It's your role."
The healer swallowed. "That doesn't help."
"It does," Somin said. "Because it means you're not crazy. You're just targeted."
Mira watched the group. "Vanguard bait."
One of the fighters bristled. "We're not Vanguard."
Jaehyuk looked at their wrists.
No black thread.
No Vanguard seal.
Just tired people.
"How long have you been running?" Jaehyuk asked.
"Since the seam took our first healer," the fighter said. "Floor 62."
Somin's jaw tightened.
"We can escort you to the next gate," Somin offered.
Mira shot her a look.
Somin didn't back down.
"We don't leave healers," she said.
Mira stared at her.
Then she nodded once.
"Fine," Mira said. "But you stay behind me."
Somin opened her mouth.
Jaehyuk cut in.
"Yes," he said.
Somin glared at him.
"Yes," he repeated.
She hated it.
She complied.
The next corridor was narrow.
The air smelled like smoke and wet stone.
A metallic tang sat under the tongue.
Blood.
A seam opened under the other healer.
Somin moved before Jaehyuk did.
Not to heal.
To shove.
She slammed her shoulder into the healer and knocked her sideways.
The seam snapped shut.
Miss.
The healer stared at Somin like she'd been punched.
"Don't thank me," Somin said. "Run."
They ran.
Mira held the front.
Jaehyuk held the rear.
Somin held the center.
And the Tower kept biting.
On Floor 65, the air changed.
Not smell.
Pressure.
Like a storm building behind your eyes.
Jaehyuk felt it.
Mira felt it.
Somin felt it and stiffened.
"It's here," Somin whispered.
"Yeah," Jaehyuk said.
A chime.
[Healer Hunt: ACTIVE]
[Support-class priority: MAX]
The words hung in the air like a death sentence.
Somin's mouth went dry.
Mira's blade rose.
Jaehyuk's chest tightened.
Because this wasn't a floor mechanic anymore.
This was a decision.
And behind them, somewhere in the smoke, footsteps approached.
Not running.
Walking.
Confident.
Vanguard.
The escort group froze.
One of the porters whispered, "Don't. Don't do this."
Mira didn't answer.
Her eyes were on the smoke.
Her stance lowered.
Ready.
Jaehyuk felt the floor under his boots shift.
Not physically.
Behaviorally.
The seams were closer together here.
Tighter.
Like the Tower had narrowed its bite radius.
Somin swallowed once.
He heard it.
Dry throat.
Fear.
Then a voice cut through the smoke.
Smooth.
Professional.
"Healer Yun Somin," it called.
Somin's shoulders went rigid.
Jaehyuk's jaw tightened.
They'd stopped using full names.
Vanguard knew.
A shape stepped into the light.
Not a squad.
One man.
Vanguard uniform without dust.
No helmet.
A clean face.
A clean smile.
Nam Geonwoo.
Somin's fingers tightened around her staff.
Mira's blade angled toward him.
Geonwoo's smile widened.
"We keep meeting," he said.
"We don't," Somin said. "You show up and ruin the air."
Geonwoo laughed like he was enjoying her.
"You got funny," he said. "That's cute."
Jaehyuk stepped forward.
Geonwoo's eyes slid to him.
"And you," Geonwoo said. "You're still walking."
"You sound disappointed," Jaehyuk said.
"I'm patient," Geonwoo replied.
He lifted a hand.
Behind him, more shapes appeared in the smoke.
Three.
Five.
Eight.
Vanguard.
And on the ceiling above them, seams began to glow.
Not opening.
Tracking.
Somin's breath hitched.
"They're using the floor," Somin whispered.
"No," Mira said. "The floor is using them."
A chime echoed.
[Support-class mark: APPLIED]
A small symbol appeared above Somin's head.
Not text.
A red ring.
Like a target.
Somin stared up at it.
"That's new," she said.
"That's what you get for being valuable," Geonwoo said.
The escort healer made a broken sound.
A seam opened under her.
Somin moved.
Not fast enough.
The healer dropped waist-deep before Jaehyuk grabbed her arm.
He yanked.
Her skin tore against stone teeth.
She screamed.
Blood hit Jaehyuk's hand, hot and slick.
Somin's light flashed.
She slapped healing onto the wound without looking.
Her eyes never left the red ring above her head.
"This is what you meant," Somin said quietly.
Jaehyuk didn't answer.
Because yes.
This was the tax.
Not influence shards.
Not route fees.
A healer's life.
Mira's voice went flat.
"We break through. Now."
Geonwoo spread his hands.
"Try," he said.
The Tower bit.
A seam opened under Somin.
Jaehyuk grabbed her again.
He pulled.
Somin stumbled.
The seam snapped shut.
Six seconds too late.
Again.
Then another seam opened.
Under Jaehyuk.
For the first time.
His stomach dropped.
Not because it hurt.
Because it meant the Tower had changed its rules.
It wasn't only targeting healers.
It was targeting anyone who kept saving them.
Jaehyuk Shadow Stepped.
He flickered away as stone teeth snapped where his foot had been.
Mira's sword flashed.
She cut down the first Vanguard fighter who stepped in.
Not to kill.
To disable.
A tendon. A wrist. A knee.
Somin took the injured porter and shoved him forward.
"MOVE," she shouted.
The escort group surged.
Geonwoo clicked his tongue.
"Aww," he said. "She's protective now."
Somin turned on him.
Her voice shook with anger.
"You don't get to look at me like that," she said.
Geonwoo's smile dropped.
For a second.
Enough to show the bully underneath.
"Then stop being worth looking at," he snapped.
Mira lunged.
Geonwoo stepped back.
A Vanguard fighter took the hit meant for him.
Mira's blade cut deep.
Blood sprayed warm.
The smell filled the corridor.
Geonwoo didn't flinch.
He watched Somin.
"Dohyun wants you alive," he said. "For now."
Somin's face went white.
Jaehyuk's mind sharpened.
Alive.
Not safe.
Alive.
A resource.
A hostage.
A lever.
The red ring above Somin pulsed.
The seams on the floor pulsed with it.
Like the Tower had synchronized the hunt.
Jaehyuk grabbed Somin's hand.
"Run," he said.
"I'm running," she snapped.
"Run smarter," Mira barked.
Somin glared at both of them. "You two are the worst coaches."
They hit the next junction.
A gate ahead.
The exit.
But between them and the gate, the floor opened.
Not a seam.
A full collapse.
A pit that yawned wide.
And on the far side, Vanguard fighters waited like they already knew where the pit would appear.
Jaehyuk's mouth tasted like ash.
"Predictive," Mira muttered.
"Or guided," Jaehyuk said.
Geonwoo's voice carried from behind.
"Six seconds," he called. "That's all you get."
The Tower chimed again.
[Healer Hunt: PHASE 2]
And the red ring above Somin's head brightened.