246 – The Returner Is Convinced (5)

Choi Ji-won failed to keep his promise. He boasted that he would only have to regress three times, and he did so four times.

“… Let’s do it just one more time. “I have something to experiment with.”

No, now it’s five times. He was busy walking around, contacting here and going out here and there.

Anyway, Choi Ji-won regressed five times. He finally returned to reality after only 10 minutes.

“Why did you come so quickly?”

“Just, whatever. “I’m going somewhere for a moment.”

As soon as Choi Ji-won cleared it, he disappeared somewhere again. I was waiting, thinking he would come soon, but he left around lunchtime and came back around evening.

“Where have you been?”

“I met one of the players and also met Mr. Cheoljin. “I have something to experiment with.”

Choi Ji-won, who said he was ready, said he wanted to return quickly.

“Return? Why? That… If you’re going to teach me a skill, wouldn’t it be better to teach it now?”

“There is a reason. Let’s return quickly.”

“… Okay.”

As he said, I agreed that there must be a reason and returned.

[You have suffered damage.]

[It returns to the moment when you first entered the 24th floor.]

***

“Now, are you ready?”

Again, this is Choi Ji-won’s house. We are sitting facing each other in the living room.

“The reason I said I would teach you the technology after I return. Are you curious?”

“Huh. Curious. Anyway, that technology… “It seems like it’s completed.”

“Ruler. “I will tell you step by step.”

Choi Ji-won tapping his head with his left hand

“First… I have no memory of the 25th floor right now. “Only fragments of the emotions I felt and experienced there remain.”

“What do you mean?”

“Even if I try to talk about the 25th floor, I can’t because I don’t know anything.”

I didn’t know because I’ve never returned to the past after breaking a layer, but according to Choi Ji-won… It is said that even if you clear one floor, you will have no memory of it if you return to the past.

“So what I tried last time… “I once went to the person who cleared the 25th floor and asked him to write down a note about the 25th floor and show it to me.”

Since Choi Ji-won had not entered the 25th floor at the time, the contents of the memo were naturally not visible. Still, Choi Ji-won remembered the form of the memo.

“And then I went into the 25th floor. From that point on, the ‘recognition restriction’ regarding the 25th floor was lifted. What do you think happened?”

“… Can you see the contents of the memo?”

“Dang. I still couldn’t remember the contents of the note. “I think it’s probably blocked.”

Choi Ji-won’s initial plan was to show me a memo on the ’25th floor destruction law’. It is said that the plan was to allow me to recognize the contents once I entered the 25th floor.

“Because the note is not an item and cannot be taken to the tower… I tried engraving letters on the items I got from the tower, but it didn’t work. Well, that can’t be helped.”

Her first attempt failed. She said she had no choice but to move on to the next plan.

“No, what? He said he didn’t have any plans. “They say I heal myself with my body.”

“It’s about poison. Do you know how much brainpower kendo requires? “The body is a body, but psychological warfare is extremely important.”

There is a perception that people who usually exercise have bad brains, but Choi Ji-won says that if you go to the top level, you have to have good brains to achieve great success.

But as we talked, I felt a strong sense of discomfort.

“Wait a minute, poison?”

“Huh. Poison. Why?”

“How can you talk about poison to me?”

Yes. Until now, Choi Ji-won has not been able to directly mention ‘poison’. I was just guessing, but since poison is directly related to the concept of the 25th floor, its mention was automatically blocked.

“Junho. That’s the point.”

Choi Ji-won smiles with satisfaction, as if what I said got the point across. She took one of her pillows and hugged it like a doll.

“I have no memory of the 25th floor right now. What was there, what happened, how did I wake up… “I don’t remember a thing.”

“… But?”

“However… I vividly remember the ‘technology’ I created. Because technology exists in itself.

“No way… “

“Yes. “I made a ‘guess’ by looking at the technology I created.”

The order is different.

When Choi Ji-won broke the 25th floor… I can’t say anything about the 25th floor. She has acquired her knowledge of the 25th floor, and anything that might give me a hint has been filtered out.

But what if she hasn’t broken the 25th floor yet?

“I don’t know either. I don’t know… Look at the technology I created and make a second guess. The 25th floor will be like this. “Isn’t it strange that these are words being filtered out by people who don’t know anything?”

Her ‘guesses’ are not filtered. Choi Ji-won also doesn’t know anything about the 25th floor.

“I don’t know what this principle is. Still, it works, so shouldn’t I use it?”

“Oh, oh…”

“I can tell you now that I don’t know anything. The 25th floor is the floor where ‘poison gas’ lurks. The core of my technique is my lungs. It’s a technique that attaches a sort of purifying filter to the lungs to slow down the absorption of poison as much as possible. So shouldn’t we consider gas, not liquid, as the key?”

The key to Choi Ji-won’s technique was to strengthen the ‘lungs’, and through that, Choi Ji-won calculated back the answer: ‘poison gas.’ It’s a simple method, but effective.

“No way… “Did you even intend this?”

“Well, about half. It’s okay if it works, but if it doesn’t, it’s okay. That kind of feeling. The worst thing is not being able to teach the technology itself at all, but I’m afraid that’s why I’ve regressed. Rather, focus. “I’ll tell you from now on.”

Jiwon Choi sat down in his seat and began to explain the technology he had created. The name is ‘magic attribute filter.’

The magic filter was similar to creating a kind of net inside the lungs, and the key was to allow air to pass through but not allow poison to pass through.

“You learn quickly?”

“I have free time.”

As ‘the Earthling who used magic for the time’, I quickly learned the technique and was able to master it in three days.

“This…But it’s not perfect. It has its own time limit. I don’t know how it will be in practice, but in theory, yes. “You should write it while appropriately considering the situation.”

“Okay.”

With this, we have prepared the minimum necessary equipment to survive on the 25th floor. It’s all thanks to Choi Ji-won’s sacrifice.

“Thank you. “I’ll be back soon.”

“Yes.”

I quickly returned and cleared the 24th floor in an instant.

“I’ll be right back.”

I headed to the 25th floor.

-Entered on the 25th floor.

**

When I open my eyes, I see a wall with vines growing on it. Even at first glance, there is a strong impression that it is ‘old’. How much has it been neglected? It doesn’t seem like it’s been a day or two since it hasn’t been touched by human hands.

“Seup, ha.”

The overall vision is green. It’s not that my eyes have become strange, but the air that occupies the space itself has a green tint.

This is a story I picked up somewhere, but ‘poison gas’ is originally said to be colorless and odorless. In other words, it can be seen as a kind of mercy to have it colored green like this. You are kind in unnecessary ways.

“Whoa.”

Every time I breathe in and out, something gets caught in my magic filter. Because it was a very delicate technique, I had to concentrate quite a bit, but trying to maintain the magic filter while covering my whole body with magic was quite a headache. Roughly… About 20 minutes would be the limit.

Still, thanks to his magic power, he is free from the effects of the poison for now. The catastrophe that occurs again as soon as it regresses can be avoided. I am grateful that no text messages have appeared saying that I have suffered damage.

〈25th floor〉

– Defeat the ‘King of the Maze’ and escape.

-Poison is spreading inside the 25th floor. You may not notice any major problems at first, but as time goes by, movement will become more difficult. For the general public, about an hour. Climbers die within 2 to 3 hours. Please be careful.

“Oh.”

A message window appeared before my eyes. Are there two main goals for the 25th floor?

First. Kill the king of the maze.

Second. Escape the maze.

The ‘poison’ spread throughout the 25th floor generally seemed to function as a time limit. If a normal player entered, they would have had to do their best to escape the 25th floor before being poisoned and unable to move.

“It’s a bit vicious.”

But if you get impatient, your breathing will increase, and the rate of addiction will accelerate accordingly… Is this a floor where the key is to keep your cool and not get caught up in the time limit? Of course, I am an exception. The moment I run out of magical power, it’s game over. You must clear this floor within 20 minutes.

In general, it is a hopeless situation. Is it even worth it to break a level in 20 minutes that others need to break in 2 hours?

“Okay. “Finished organizing.”

But I already know. The fact that the 25th floor can be beaten in 10 minutes.

That’s not what Choi Ji-won told me. Choi Ji-won ‘showed’ it. See what it looks like in just 10 minutes.

If she did it.

I can do it too.

“Let’s go.”

As I release the magic and take a deep breath, the fishy scent of blood rises from deep in my throat.

It’s just the beginning.

[You have suffered damage.]

[It returns to the moment when you first entered the 25th floor.]