147 – The Returner Trains (8)

Weeeing.

The room was completely filthy with documents scattered everywhere. A haggard-looking man was shaving his beard with an electric razor. He didn’t mind being out of sight until now, but he was about to make an important announcement, so he was in a hurry to freshen up.

“… “

It’s been a week that I haven’t been able to contact my family. All of the hard work of the past week is for this moment. The man glanced at the data on the desk out of the corner of his eye and focused on shaving again. The business card sticking out of the briefcase in the corner of the room had ‘Yoon Jung-hyun, Manager of Player Management Department’ written in neat handwriting.

“Whoa.”

The man, no, Yoon Jung-hyun, finished grooming himself and put on a pre-ironed suit. After finishing preparations, he carefully sits down in front of his laptop. There are 5 minutes remaining.

“… “

However, when I sit in front of the laptop, the screen is a bit hard to see. The fateful hour finally arrived when I flipped the desk 180 degrees so that the background was facing the window so that the camera wouldn’t catch the dirty room.

-Hey, Junghyeon. Are you ready?

Yoon Jung-hyeon recently succeeded in clearing the 9th floor, and at the same time, he also distinguished himself in the association’s work. Naturally, the leadership of the association was paying attention to him… Shortly after the ‘Reaper’ incident broke out, he was given an important task.

He was in charge of collecting and organizing all the information held by the association and then reporting it at a ‘secret meeting.’

In today’s era where information is power, the association’s vast data could be said to be its greatest asset. It also meant that the association trusted Yoon Jung-hyun as he was in charge of organizing it. (His background in the national intelligence agency also played a role.)

“Then, let’s start by watching.”

Just because it was a secret meeting of the Players Association, it did not mean that several human-shaped holograms appeared, or that a screen with mysterious alphabet letters and altered voices were heard.

It is close to a Zoom meeting using its own program. An extremely ordinary meeting where each person’s face appears on a checkerboard-shaped screen.

However, the faces of the people attending the meeting were unusual. Not only the association’s core leadership, but also the faces of many G20 presidents were visible, and there were also the occasional faces of players who went beyond the top ranks and could be dared to be called the ‘selection team’. However, the face of Players Association President Michael Jeter is not visible.

“hehehe, this is it.”

“Is that friend not showing his face today? Why, I showed you that ‘book’ last time… “

“Now, now. Now let’s focus.”

As soon as Yoon Joong-hyeon’s voice is heard entering the meeting, everyone else’s microphones are turned off. In this somewhat burdensome silence, Yoon Jung-hyeon’s presentation began.

“If we estimate from the association’s database… “To date, approximately 3.8 Million people have been summoned to the tutorial.”

The estimated number of people on Earth who have experienced being summoned to the Tower so far is approximately 3.8 Million. Although it seems like a really big number, it is only 0.0475% Of all humanity. As a rule of thumb, one out of every 2,000 people has experienced being summoned.

“But the survival rate of tutorials is about 22 percent. So, our estimate of players stepping foot on the ground floor is 836,000.”

When rounded, the number is 840,000. The number of players who completed the tutorial and returned safely to Earth is 840,000. Only 0.01% Of the 8 billion people have obtained the status window.

“And 200,000 players have registered their information with our association and are actively exchanging information.”

200,000 Out of 840,000. Considering the fact that less than half a year has passed since the association was created, this is an incredible achievement.

“… “

“… “

However, the response from conference participants was lukewarm. This much I already knew.

“Then, let’s get straight to the point.”

Yoon Jung-hyun also quickly skimmed through the slides, omitting all the content he already knew. It took over a full day just to organize them, but presentations usually have to be done fluidly.

“Now, this is the ‘player distribution map’ that our association is proud of.”

Yoon Jung-hyun, who has finally reached the desired part, slightly raises his voice tone.

“As you can see from the table, about 40 percent of the players registered with the association are still on the first floor. “I’m afraid to risk my life and climb the tower.”

About 40% of people do not even attempt to climb to the top. But even this is a much improved figure. This figure would have been closer to 90 percent if the Players Association had not continued to promote that ‘the second floor is safe.’

“But once players reach the second floor, they quickly climb to the third floor. So the number of players staying in the second and third tiers is not that many.”

The 2nd and 3rd floors are organized at a level of difficulty that anyone can clear, assuming that they choose the appropriate level of difficulty. Players who gained confidence by going through these easy floors went straight up to the next floor without fear.

“On the 4th floor… “More than half of players give up trying to climb the tower.”

Out of consideration for presidents who have no experience at the top, Yoon Jung-hyun does not mention details. Anyone who has ever beaten the 4th floor will know what Yoon Jung-hyun is talking about.

“However, players who overcome the 4th floor and move on to the 5th floor begin to quickly climb the tower again. As you can see here, the preparation period between layers is short, and the survival rate is high.”

Is it because most of the chaff has been filtered out? Once the player reached the 5th floor, he climbed the tower without hesitation. Whether they were into the fun of becoming stronger or the fun of making money by selling items, they never stopped climbing the tower.

“But… “That trend has recently changed.”

Yoon Joong-hyun lowers his voice a little and waves the stick marked ’11th floor’ with the mouse.

“You may have already cleared the 11th floor, but all players who recently cleared the 11th floor have stopped climbing to the 12th floor. Literally ‘every’ player.”

“Does that make sense?”

The association’s executive could not stand it anymore and turned on the microphone to talk to Yoon Jung-hyeon.

“It is said to be the highest level, but I know that the number is quite high at around the 11th floor. But ‘all’? “Isn’t it possible that the statistics are wrong, or that players who are not registered with the association may have made it to the 12th floor?”

“No. It’s really ‘every’ player.”

Yoon Joong-hyun shakes his head and flips through the slides.

“I’m sure everyone knows about the recent incident in which ‘hero’ Choi Ji-won punished a criminal called ‘the Reaper’ on the 11th floor.”

“… “

“The players killed by the Reaper are not normal. They were all famous for their excellent characteristics, and the prevailing opinion was that they had abilities even though their personalities were bad. However, the Reaper is strong enough to easily kill these people and broadcast them on the deep web.”

“… But what?”

“Choi Ji-won easily defeated such a strong Shinigami.”

This was a variable that Kim Jun-ho did not expect. Tired of repeated regressions, he neglected to direct the fight to a close level and focused on directing the spectacular defeat at the end. As a result, Choi Ji-won was caught off guard and was injured by the reaper, but when she started showing off her full power, she collapsed at once. There was a rumor that he had been tricked.

Again, Choi Ji-won’s ‘Heart of Seomjeon’ was currently nothing more than a bright apricot. However, rumors are not based on reality. People mistakenly thought that Choi Ji-won had acquired transcendental characteristics.

This fact and the reputation of the players that ‘Reaper’ has been killing in secret so far have created a synergy effect, and Choi Ji-won’s stock price has not soared through the sky, but has reached Mars. Her players’ refusal to give her information to Choi Ji-won was also close to her thread being spun to get her to her own side. If she had waited two more weeks, there would have been a bunch of people sneaking in information to gain her favor.

“It was said that the players’ eyes and ears were almost blinded by the lightning caused by Choi Ji-won. Players who cleared the 11th floor all testified, ‘She is a monster.’ Players who entered the 11th floor after Choi Ji-won cleared it also said that they were shocked when they saw traces of a fight.

What does it have to do with Choi Ji-won being strong and other players not climbing the top? As mentioned earlier, the difficulty of the tower itself is not that difficult except for the 4th floor. Therefore, what differentiates top players from other players is their ‘will to improve.’ Climb the tower faster than others, become stronger than others, and climb the tower with the desire to stand above others.

Then they faced a wall. I was faced with a monster named Choi Ji-won, who I couldn’t see any way to defeat in the current situation. Until now, she has never thought of herself as weak. Only now did she become acutely aware of her lack of strength.

She was not a coward who gave up just because she hit a wall. However, they had time to reflect on themselves. I tested my abilities, honed my skills, and acquired various knowledge that I might need.

“The vast majority of players are currently honing their skills. It is said that famous martial arts instructors and instructors from special forces are invited to go through a process of becoming familiar with the fighting itself. We often hear of cases of injuries resulting from sparring between players.”

The tower has been open for three months. Most players still look like ordinary people. They began preparing to be reborn as true warriors.

Of course, not all players honed their strength. Some of the players who did not reach the 12th floor had other targets.

‘The player who cleared the 12th floor had several wounds from weapons on his body.’

‘As you can see from the 11th floor, there is a high possibility that Archangel will openly induce conflict between players. The wounds inflicted by the weapon will be the result.’

‘What if there is a floor where players have to fight each other? Or what if rewards are distributed differentially to each player based on performance?

‘If you get caught on the same floor as Choi Ji-won, you’re screwed.’

Based on their experience on the 11th floor and the photos of people who completed the 12th floor, they judged that there was a high possibility of major losses if they proceeded to the 12th floor with Choi Ji-won. And I also understood that if rewards were differentiated, it would be much more advantageous to compete with latecomers rather than with the same top-tier players.

Of course, these are all just reasonable predictions. There was also a good chance that they were wrong. However, the players had already reached some kind of agreement, and it was decided to stop climbing the tower for two weeks after Choi Ji-won cleared the 11th floor.

“If the trend continues like this… “

Yoon Jung-hyun’s mouse circled the ‘middle rank’, which is progressing from the 5th to the 10th floor.

“The existing ‘top tier’ players will be overtaken by the ‘upper middle tier’ players who ignore consensus.”

Even if the game is reversed, it doesn’t mean anything big will happen. Because the top-tier players had the talent, characteristics, and guts to beat the mid- to upper-tier players.

But the really important thing is… The fact is that the quality of players progressing to the top is decreasing.

**

One day. Two days. Three days. Four days. Five days. Six days. Seven days. Eight days. Ahhh. Ten days. What happens next? I don’t know. f*ck. Does it matter?

11 Days have passed. Every time I passed each day without any meaning, I felt like my heart was breaking.

“f*ck, f*ck, f*ck, f*ck, f*ck…” “

Don’t you think 11 days would be okay?

This day is not just another day. These are the ‘repeated’ 11 days that I have to go through every time I return. I wouldn’t know if there were floors 3-1 and 3-5 like the 3rd floor. The message I saw when I entered ended with ‘Entering on the 12th floor.’ The mechanism is probably similar to the 4th floor.

I have already searched the space around here. This is probably a research facility somewhere. When I pushed through the hidden wall at the end of the hallway, I found several complicated mechanical devices. Of course, since I’m not a science major, I couldn’t figure out what was what.

How many times do I have to repeat this? Can not be done. This really doesn’t work.

“… “

This was a different kind of fear than the floors I had passed through so far. Until now, when I repeated the regression, I had at least a sense of purpose. But this is really an indefinite and aimless wait. And there’s a good chance this isn’t a one-time thing.

“Whoo, whoo, whoo…” “

I take a deep breath due to the anxious imagination. If Choi Ji-won was there… No. It would be better for me to suffer alone.

“… “

I unconsciously picked up the sword and put it back. I wanted to practice swordsmanship, but I couldn’t even think about it because I was worried that I might accidentally regress. How long do I have to wait? I felt like I was really going crazy now, so I was tearing up the pages of the book on the bookshelf.

“Wow, what is here? “Is there a microwave?”

“Guys! “Where are you?”

“… !”

It’s been 11 days since I entered the 12th floor.

I finally heard someone else’s voice.