131 – The Returner is Tired (6)

“Are you on the second floor…? “

“… Junho?!”

One human and one angel recognized each other. When you meet elementary school classmates by chance, if one of you doesn’t remember the other, the atmosphere quickly becomes awkward… But if you recognize each other, welcome and joy are bound to well up from deep inside your heart.

“Hey, weren’t you on the second floor? “Why are you here, man!”

“hehehe, there’s another story!”

This guy is smiling and waving a sign that says, ‘We are purchasing rare items.’ The guy’s white hair flutters left and right along with the sign.

“To summarize, I am a tinkerer!”

“Tweak?”

“Yes! “As the angel who was previously in charge of the 11th floor was disciplined due to an unpleasant incident, I took on the role of guide on the 11th floor!”

Instinctively, I thought that the ‘unsavory incident’ was very closely related to the current state of the 11th floor. Yes, the 11th floor must have become like this because there was an incident that led to an angel being cut off. I was going to ask the angel a little more about the ‘incident’.

“Junho!”

“Uh, uh… “

The sign angel puts the sign down on the ground for a moment, grabs both of my hands, and pulls them towards his chest.

“For the past two months, I’ve been thinking about telling you this much! “Can you please listen?”

“Uh… “

“Thank you! From the second floor, thank you for defending me! Thank you for not allowing me to be disciplined! I was really, really scared… !”

A sign angel meets my gaze with sparkling eyes. The way he placed his hands on top of mine and clasped his hands together seemed like he was praying.

“Uh, well… okay.”

“Please call me Anael! “It’s my name!”

“Yes, yes. Anael.”

To be honest, I was very nervous because it was something I did without much thought, but it seems to have been different for Anael. He (or she) had a bright color on her face and a big smile. The halo above his head is constantly sparkling and emitting light.

“Isn’t it fate that we met again like this? In fact, this climber is going to be great, as I saw him having a conversation with the Archangel on the second floor! I did think so! I would have to say that the number of sprouts was different! But just in case, it happens! “I can’t believe you climbed to the 11th floor so quickly!”

Anael continued to chatter, still not letting go of my hand.

“Hey, hehehe…” !”

The guy suddenly jumped up from his spot and hurriedly retreated. His complexion turned pale and his gaze was fixed on my back, as if he had discovered something terrifying.

“What is it?”

I was also surprised and quickly turned around, but there was nothing behind me. Choi Ji-won is just looking at me casually.

“Jiwon, did you see anything?”

“Huh? No? “I’m not sure?”

“… Okay?”

“Yes. “I was just watching my boyfriend having fun with a pretty angel.”

“… “

It sends shivers down my spine. On this day, for the first time, I found out. Choi Ji-won is usually easy-going and has a strong womanly side…

I was more jealous than I thought…

**

After the situation was roughly resolved, I asked Anael to tell me about the ‘unsavory incident.’

“Actually, I don’t know!”

“… “You don’t know what happened?”

“No! What I was saying was that I didn’t know whether it was okay to tell you this or not! “If another player had come to me and asked for this information, I would have immediately dismissed it!”

Anael tapping her fingers in the air. He seemed to have something visible only to him, perhaps a status window for the players. Angel window, something like this.

“It’s ambiguous because there are no related regulations, but… Well, isn’t it between us! “Let me tell you!”

“… “

In the military, ‘If you don’t think you can do it, don’t do it.’ There is an adage that says, ‘If you feel like you should do it, do it.’ But I didn’t necessarily say it out loud. If you think Anael is in real trouble, you can go back.

“I can’t be sure because it happened when the person in charge was there, but I’ll tell you what I know!”

I don’t know the exact time, but it was around the time the player first entered the 11th floor. It is said that dwarves were friendly towards humans. They knew that the reason they came to the tower in the first place was to ‘help climbers,’ so they decided to fulfill that role.

“Take a look at this weapon we made! “It can’t even be compared to the skills of humans, right?”

“There is a common misconception that dwarves are only good at handling ore, but that is not true. Wood, glass, clay. If you are a true craftsman, shouldn’t you be good at everything?”

After the first player to enter the 11th floor stayed for 3 days and cleared all the mulberries, the dwarves felt a deep sense of satisfaction.

Written by. As can be seen from the story of Midnight Sun and Jongjagi, the joy of a craftsman lies in those who recognize his work. How could you not be happy when a warrior with outstanding capabilities recognizes the true value of an item and purchases it?

“Hmm, two of my spears were sold. But not a single one of your axes has been sold.”

“Well, that is…” Isn’t that because the climber simply used a spear? “If climbers using axes come in, my axes will sell like hot cakes, right?”

“Oh, there are three more humans coming. “Let’s see who will sell more this time.”

Not long after the first player cleared, more players entered the 11th floor. The atmosphere was so positive that there was competition among the dwarves to see who could sell more.

“… “It was stolen?”

“Youker’s store was robbed. “They took the entire safe with them.”

To be precise, things were positive until one store was robbed.

“Damn, damn!”

“You look like a fool without a rip-off… “

The criminal had already purchased a pass and cleared the 11th floor. For artisans, ‘selling goods for money’ means more than just economic activity. The value of the object is the value of the craftsman. The reason the price is so high is because more sweat and passion is put into it. You stole it.

“… “Are the humans of this world no different?”

“f*ck, I thought it would be different because I was a chosen climber… “

A radical opinion arose among some dwarves: ‘Climbers are equally disgusting bastards!’ But that was only partial.

“Drink. Drink and forget.”

“Yes, there are people everywhere who will kill you by dropping them in a beer barrel. “It’s no different if you’re a climber.”

“Cancer. “You shouldn’t sell the whole thing after seeing a part of it.”

The majority of dwarves took the stance that it could just be that way.

Of course, it was shocking that the player stole, but being stolen is a common experience for craftsmen… I just drank a lot of beer, ate a lot of meat, and tried to pass it off as an incident.

“Gelbin is not coming back?”

“No way… “

And the next night. A dwarf was found brutally murdered in the forest. The culprit was clear. This is because there was a group of players who spent a lot of money during the day and immediately cleared the 11th floor.

“You damn bastards… “

“Damn, damn… “

I sold the work I put my blood and sweat into, and I never thought I would repay you in this way. No matter how generous and bold a dwarf is, this is something that has crossed the line.

“… “Not all climbers are like that.”

“That’s right. “There are definitely good climbers out there.”

However, a shred of reason still remains. Just because some players commit a crime, it is wrong to hold all players guilty. Anger and contempt welled up to their chins, but the dwarves held back.

Lunch the next day. Three dwarves were found with horribly mutilated bodies. The culprit had cleared the 11th floor early in the morning.

“You f*cking bastards!!!”

“I will kill you by throwing you into the furnace!!!”

In the end, the dwarves exploded. The reason that said ‘we should not generalize about all climbers’ has long since disappeared, swept away by hot-tempered anger. Just before the dwarves with their weapons in hand attacked the sleeping climbers.

“Wait, wait. “Just wait and see.”

The elder of the fortress stopped the excited dwarves.

“What do you plan to do now?”

“I will kill them!”

“… “Even if I surprise you, can you kill me?”

“… “

Dwarves were excellent craftsmen and excellent warriors. The opponents are some of the greatest players in the world. The opponent was not good.

Can you win in an all-out war against them? To those blessed by God?

Even if you win, climbers will continue to come. Can we continue this never-ending war against all of them? Will the archangel just sit there and watch?

The boiling blood subsided, and reason slowly returned. It’s true that climbers are disgusting, and it’s true that revenge is needed, but… The method should not be physical conflict.

“Don’t sell things. And, stop it.”

“Stop it? “What?”

“Getting out of the 11th floor.”

There is one fundamental reason why climbers commit such evil acts. Because all you have to do is run away from the 11th floor before the crime is caught. Once the retreat route is blocked, this current flow will stop.

“But… “Didn’t the angel say that you must sell the passage seats?”

“Why not just sell it? For one billion gold.”

This is also quite an impulsive decision, and it can have various side effects.

“You damn bastards… “

Dwarves were not the type of person to just suffer.

**

“That’s it!”

“… “

“… “

Anael’s story was over, but Choi Ji-won and I couldn’t say anything. From our perspective, it was quite unfair to be persecuted for something we didn’t commit, but we also understood the dwarves’ position.

To put it bluntly, if two consecutive murders occurred in Korea and the criminals were both from the same country… Antipathy toward that country will become extremely intense. We were in no position to criticize the dwarves for discriminating against us.

“What should I do with this?”

Buying trust is difficult. However, what is more difficult than buying trust is buying back broken trust. The 11th floor was tightly twisted. The criminals have already escaped from the 11th floor, and only the unlucky victims are left to glare at each other.

It’s definitely a major case where the angel in charge could be fired.

“So, your predecessor as an angel was fired for failing to prevent this situation?”

“No!”

“… Then?”

“The former angel stopped the heated conflict and immediately reported it to the archangel to ask how to respond!”

“… Eh?”

In my opinion, this is the most exemplary response. First, sort out the situation and ask your superior about your next course of action. Even though he handled it well enough to be applauded, why was the former angel fired?

Anael’s answer to my question was quite shocking.

“The former angel was fired for ‘reporting such useless things’!”

“… “

“The Archangel said why make a fuss about something that happened!”

Apart from the fact that the archangel in charge of the 11th to 15th floors is very sensitive… My expectations were completely wrong.

Anael’s full-time angel was not fired because he watched the 11th floor being destroyed. It was such an obvious thing that happened, so it was cut because there was no reason to make a fuss about something like that. The point of view was different from the beginning.

“… I have a rough feeling. “What is the concept of this floor?”

The 11th floor was ruined by human selfishness. It was ruined by evil people who preferred to extort and murder other personalities instead of legitimate efforts.

Everything will be as the archangel intended.