161 – The returner becomes stronger (6)

11 Days have passed since Kim Jun-ho returned to challenge the [70] Difficulty level. No, actually he doesn’t know if 11 days have passed. At least as far as Choi Ji-won feels, 11 days have passed.

Sarah. Sarah.

“… “

Choi Ji-won sits in a chair and turns the pages of a book with an expressionless face. The cover of the book she is reading says ‘Her Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.’ Not only the book she is reading, but also the three or four books piled up on her desk are all related to her human psychology.

“The best is… “I guess I’m going to the hospital.”

In all of her books she read, it was emphasized that ‘mental problems require professional help.’ And if Kim Jun-ho goes to the hospital… The diagnosis will be to rest well. The easiest way to cure a disease was to remove the cause of the disease.

This is not the direction Choi Ji-won wants.

“It’s almost time.”

After closing the book he was reading, Choi Ji-won shoved all the books on the desk into his bag at once. It was soon time for Kim Jun-ho to return, so I had to put the books away.

“I said I would challenge the [70] Difficulty level… “It will take a while, right?”

Should I handle the talk I’ve been putting off? Choi Ji-won turns over his cell phone and checks all of his backlogged contacts one by one. The message she sends to her friends is full of ‘kkkkkkkkk’, but her facial expression is expressionless.

Choi Ji-won has a very small memory of episodes compared to Kim Jun-ho, but this time period was repeated several times. In other words, the contents of the message you are currently checking are all in your memory. It’s something you already know, so there’s no way you’ll be very impressed.

“… “

And if Choi Ji-won is like this, what about Kim Jun-ho? Choi Ji-won’s eyes sank heavily.

“… “When Junho comes, I’ll have to feed him something delicious.”

‘Chicken? How about chicken? It’s rich in protein and tastes good. ‘Don’t you think it would be enough to order 10 of each menu?’

“No. You saw me buy beef and shabu-shabu broth during the day. “Tonight’s dinner is shabu-shabu.”

‘You guys have a lot to eat, will that be enough? And if you use magic power, you have to eat more.’

“… “Then let’s just order two.”

Choi Ji-won and Bungboong, who were bickering over the dinner menu, reached a dramatic resolution.

-Wow.

“Is it Junho?”

“Wow, it’s hard.”

Kim Jun-ho returned to his room via a blue portal. It is much earlier than Choi Ji-won guessed.

“Are you here? “You came a little early?”

Choi Ji-won welcomes Kim Jun-ho with a smile. At the same time, her sensitive senses scanned Kim Jun-ho’s whole body. His physical condition appears to be good, and his facial expression is also good. Even if she relapsed without Choi Ji-won’s knowledge, she doesn’t seem to have done it that many times.

Choi Ji-won, who was internally relieved, scooped up a cup of warm water and handed it to Kim Jun-ho.

“What happened? [70] Did you win the difficulty mannequin?”

“Uhm… I don’t know if I can say I won this… “

Kim Jun-ho scratches the back of his head while drinking water.

According to him, [70] The difficulty level of the enemy was perfect. It was fast, powerful, and the technology was great. Moreover, since he was an uncommon type of martial artist and fought using his fists and feet, it was difficult to get used to it.

“After going back three times, I got the feeling. “Oh, this won’t work.”

Even if you cut it with a sword, it will not cut you. If you think you’ve let go of the attack, you’ve been targeted. The gently radiating chill could not restrict its movements. Kim Jun-ho’s cold was fatal to most living things, but… For those who are strong beyond a certain level, their utility drops sharply. (Choi Ji-won was also stiff at first, but quickly adapted.)

In the end, Kim Jun-ho realized that there was no answer in a head-to-head fight. This is why he decided to show his full potential without thinking about what would happen later.

“I used all my magic power, so I defeated him. The problem is, my heart stopped right after that. After returning like that, I broke through the 12th floor and came right back.”

Kim Jun-ho’s power was strong. It’s so strong that the problem is that even I can’t stand it.

Tak. The finished cup of water was placed on the table. It must have overflowed a little while drinking, and there were water droplets on the outside.

“I don’t think anything will improve if I invest more time. “Let’s go up to the 13th floor.”

“… “

Choi Ji-won wanted to go straight up to the 13th floor, but she couldn’t do that right now.

“Well, I asked the association, and there probably aren’t many people on the 13th floor right now. I’m not sure about the contents of the 13th floor, but… Something like this can’t happen again, right? Let’s wait a week and then go in.”

“… Okay?”

Kim Jun-ho’s eyes sparkle when he is told that he needs to rest. You probably think that Kim Jun-ho himself doesn’t show it as much as possible… He was very happy every time Choi Ji-won asked him to take a break. In a way, it was only natural that he was able to escape from repetitive situations and spend time with his loved ones…

“… “

Looking at that scene, Choi Ji-won felt uneasy.

Choi Ji-won did not want Kim Jun-ho to stay in reality for a long time.

**

A week has passed since I cleared the 12th floor. To be honest, I wanted to rest a little more, but… When you sit down, you want to lie down, and when you lie down, you want to sleep. People have a thing called inertia, so they must act when they act.

Anyway, as before, he briefly grasped the state of the world, brought his body to a perfect state, and entered the portal with Choi Ji-won.

-I entered the 13th floor.

When I gently open my eyes, the bright sun stings my eyes intensely. At the same time, you can feel the warm air licking your entire body, and small particles hitting your skin.

“… Desert?”

No, it is not a desert. The expression wilderness would be a bit more appropriate. It wasn’t that there was no sand, but it wasn’t piled up so much that it could be called a desert, and hay could be seen growing sparsely.

“I think I’ve seen a scene like this in a drama.”

It is a sight where cowboys are walking around, hay is rolling, and an Indian is hiding with a poisonous needle. To be honest, the wide open wilderness was pretty cool, but thinking about the hardships I would have to endure here in the future made me sigh.

“Hmm… “

First, as a test, I created magical power and wrapped it around my body. Then, white fog naturally spewed out from the body, and cool air surrounded the surroundings. I thought the smoke coming out of my body was water vapor. It must be something magical to see it come out even in such a dry environment.

“Then now… “

We finished checking the status, and now it was time to figure out what floor the 13th floor was.

“?!”

Hwaaa!

Back. From a not too far distance, a terrifying presence is felt. So much so that the hairs on my spine stood up for a moment.

It was coming towards me, fast, violent and deadly. I couldn’t understand what I had only noticed now. Am I an asshole?

Before reason could draw any conclusion, instinct first pulled out the sword. Come. You have to react. How is your posture? Are your legs spread appropriately? What about mana? Should I go all out? From cutting? Or sting? In a split second, countless possibilities arise and subside.

“… hahahaha.”

However, the closer the seal got, the less strength I had from my grip on the sword. Because that figure running now was so familiar.

“Junho!”

“It was you.”

“Okay then. “I felt your presence and came running right away.”

Jiwon Choi shakes off the dust from her hair. Since Choi Ji-won and I had always been separated by pressure until now, I couldn’t immediately think of the possibility that the approaching being could be Choi Ji-won. Yeah, I’m not bad. The bad thing is the top.

“No, but how did you find it so quickly?”

“Since you started dealing with that ‘chill,’ should I say it’s a cold presence? Anyway, it has become easier to detect. “Maybe it was because it was so hot around here, but it was very noticeable.”

Choi Ji-won gently clings to me while saying that.

“Ha~ It’s cool.”

The dwarven armor had some kind of magical treatment so it didn’t get hot, but the weather itself was hot here. Of course, if you’re at our level, you won’t be affected by the heat, but… Still, isn’t it better to be cool?

“Let’s stay like this for a little while.”

After Choi Ji-won stuck to me and cooled off for 10 minutes.

“I saw other players on the way. “It was over there?”

“… “Shouldn’t you have said that first?”

Choi Ji-won said that he saw other players on the way. They were cooling off from the heat by sitting around five carriages, and it is said that they could be recognized from afar because they were wearing dwarven armor.

“It was written [17/20] On the carriage. “I guess this floor is for 20 people.”

“Hmm… “Shall we go first?”

“I have to go. “There’s nothing more to do here.”

Choi Ji-won and I started walking toward the direction where we saw the carriage.

Let’s go to the wilderness. I still have no idea what floor this is and what the assignment will be.

But this one thing is certain.

Now, Choi Ji-won and I are in a state where we can fully join forces.

“Wouldn’t he wake up soon?”

With that alone, the 13th floor seemed too easy.