172 – The Returner Wandering (8)
“There is no answer?”
I’m tilting my head as if I really don’t understand why there’s no answer. The old man is staring at me expressionlessly.
“You’re really mean. “Just answer me.”
On the outside, it looks like a tense fight is going on… Actually, I am quite nervous.
Playing a game on the 15th floor is not as easy as you think. Isn’t it okay to do whatever you want and then just go back? That’s not the problem. That old man… Because this is not an ordinary old man.
What was my reason for hiding the regression? This is because they are afraid of being ‘sealed’, which is the weakness of the regressor. Since there are people with the ability to teleport and others with powers similar to prophecy, we cannot guarantee that they will not have the ability to seal.
But what if this unidentified old man? In a situation where even the martial arts community tells us to be careful of women, children, and the elderly… What if this old man who calls himself a ‘manager’ is carving a statue alone against a cosmic sky and a sea of magma? It’s not strange no matter what you say.
“No, it’s a bit disgusting how this looks. Can’t I just clean it up? Yes?”
What would have happened if I had first asked, ‘What would happen if I wrote an emotional spell on this statue?’ The old man would immediately suspect me. Honestly, isn’t that too suspicious?
That’s why I’m currently acting as a 4D idiot. From the perspective of the average person, I am acting as a fool whose principles of behavior are completely incomprehensible.
“Uhm… “Are you saying you want to destroy this?”
An old man picking up a statue on the floor. Judging by its shape, it appears to have been carved from a wolf.
The old man looked at the wolf statue, and then shrugged his shoulders like nothing happened.
“Then destroy it.”
“… Yes?”
“Didn’t you say you wanted to destroy it? If you want to do it, you should do it. To be honest, it wasn’t cut down to my liking.”
“… Is that okay?”
“I’m just saying it because it works. “Would you like me to show you a demonstration?”
Smash the wolf-shaped statue with a hammer! An old man slapping down. The wolf’s waist splits in half and falls helplessly to the floor.
“… “
What is it? Can I do this? This easy? Due to the unexpected result, I momentarily failed to manage my facial expressions, and the old man did not miss the opportunity.
“Why but? Didn’t you say you wanted to destroy the statue? “But why is your expression like that?”
The moment I noticed the old man tilting his head, I immediately bit my cheek. Because I didn’t want to leave myself to unknown possibilities.
[You have suffered damage.]
[Return to the moment you first entered the 15th floor.]
***
Smash the wolf-shaped statue with a hammer! An old man slapping down. The wolf’s waist splits in half and falls helplessly to the floor.
“Wow, I feel refreshed inside.”
This time, I succeeded in managing my facial expressions. I clapped my hands and cheered for the old man, as if my heart had burst.
“I’m happy that you’re happy.”
“Child, I am grateful that you did me a favor.”
An old man nods in satisfaction after destroying his own statue, and a young man applauds in gratitude when he sees it. The situation may seem bizarre at first glance, but I am now a crazy person. It would be a shame to stop here.
“Can I destroy everything else?”
“Do whatever you want.”
“Thank you.”
Based on your stronger physical abilities, you can step on, break, and throw statues to your heart’s content. He destroys the statue with a bright smile, like a child destroying a well-made snowman. At first, I started acting to act like a crazy person, but I found some pleasure in doing it.
“Whoa. “It looks neat.”
After about 1 minute. All the statues placed in the pit at the top of the mountain were smashed. After pretending to refresh my forehead, I suddenly bowed to the old man.
“Still, it was a work you worked hard to create, and I’m sorry for destroying it like this.”
He suddenly apologizes for breaking everything when he broke it all? Is there any greater madness than this? I smiled inwardly in conversion.
“No, I gave permission, so what’s the problem? “Actually, sometimes I think about destroying it too.”
This old man was not easy either. Rather, isn’t he just smiling brightly and reassuring me that it’s okay?
“If you break it, it will come back again anyway, so don’t worry too much. “If the young man’s mind has been relaxed, wouldn’t that have served its purpose?”
“Even if you destroy it, it will come back again?”
“Okay then. The 15th floor… It’s a place that copied a certain place. I, too, here, am like a kind of alter ego. “What you did could be said to be tearing up the original photo.”
“… Aha. Okay.”
“Draw, draw. So don’t worry too much and move on to the next floor comfortably.”
The old man tapped my shoulder and then nodded towards the blue portal. So, you can’t stop it by destroying the statue, right?
Instead of answering, I bit my cheek.
[You have suffered damage.]
[Return to the moment you first entered the 15th floor.]
***
It regressed, regressed, and regressed again.
The part I cared the most about was… This is the part where you ‘pretend to see’ all of this for the first time. This is because I thought it would look suspicious if the first person who entered the 15th floor walked quickly and started talking to the old man.
Even though I went straight up to the top, I invested enough time to look around and look at the statues after coming up.
After talking to the old man, it is question time. I worked hard to find out the exact structure of the 15th floor.
“Why did you start making this statue here?”
“Is it really true that there is no cost? “Really?”
“There is no one else but the two of us… Is it always like this? “I came in with that friend.”
In the process of repeating regression… I became convinced that the old man was cleverly deceiving me.
“There is no price you have to pay. “Choose your reward with peace of mind.”
The old man did not say that there was no price. I said there was no price ‘I’ had to pay.
“It is true that the towers were designed to have some disadvantages if they do not match each other… You’ve definitely grown up. “Isn’t that right?”
The old man dismissed the floor, which was designed with clear malicious intent, as a ‘slight disadvantage.’ Even though it is a conflict that can lead not only to a fight but also to a stabbing if the situation arises.
“You mean this statue? Just… “When visitors come, they make it as a souvenir.”
The old man vaguely explained the reason for making the statue. As if it was no big deal.
The old man never gave a detailed explanation under any circumstances. He was just kind on the outside. Kindly. He smiled and treated me like a good old man, but there was an invisible wall between me and him. Actually, that’s the same for me too.
However, the more I repeated the regression, the more I learned about the old man, whether I liked it or not. He is not an unknown being like an archangel… He was a human being.
“Why is there magma here? hahahaha… Isn’t it charming and nice? “I quite like it.”
The old man was crazy. However, he is playing an ordinary person. He can be said to be the complete opposite of me, who plays a crazy person.
“What do you think about the 12th floor? Umm… “If everyone does their part, isn’t this a level where each person can receive great rewards?”
I could sense a subtle hatred of humanity from the old man. He didn’t trust people. He said that human beings… He seemed to regard himself as a treacherous being.
“Don’t worry too much. “It’s always a pleasure to talk to a great young man.”
However, he always showed favor to me. When I asked why, he said it was because I was strong. Although he did not say why, the old man was infinitely generous to strong humans.
“… “
In the end, in order to obtain in-depth information, I have to overcome the wall that the old man has put up for me. At first, I tried pleading, threatening, and doing things that were embarrassing to explain in words. However, the old man only smiled in embarrassment and did not open his heart to me.
As a last resort, the method I chose is ’empathy’.
[You have suffered damage.]
[Return to the moment you first entered the 15th floor.]
***
“Can I talk to you for a moment?”
With rain-soaked eyes, I look up at the black sky.
“I’m sorry for meeting you for the first time, but… I have no one to confide in. “It feels like it’s festering inside.”
“… Huh. It’s a little sudden, but… Old people are naturally good at listening. “Speak comfortably.”
“Thank you.”
I patted my butt, sat down in my seat, and let out a long sigh.
“… Climbing the tower is very difficult.”
“What does that mean?”
“It is so painful to climb the tower, risking my life every moment.”
I confided to the old man about the irrationality I had felt. Earthlings’ indifference. Other players keep trying to stab you in the back. The distrust of humanity I felt in the process.
If Choi Ji-won wasn’t there… This must have been my complete sincerity. No, I actually mean it to some extent.
“I don’t know… I don’t even know when the Earth will perish… I might be able to repeat this until the 66th floor… “
“… “
Unlike before, an old man listens to me. The old man who had been listening to my story carefully asked me a question in a very serious tone.
“Hey, what is your name?”
“My name is Kim Jun-ho.”
“Yes, Junho. The tower… It’s a trial for humanity. “You probably heard it in a tutorial.”
“That’s right.”
“Junho. From what you see… Does this tower now seem like a trial for ‘humanity’? Or does it seem like an ordeal for climbers?”
“… “To be honest, I think it’s a sacrifice climbers make.”
“I think so too.”
An old man putting the hammer and nails in his hands down on the floor.
“As much as climbers risk their lives… It makes sense for the rest of humanity to risk their lives too. “Isn’t that right?”
He was smiling brightly.