286 – The Regressor’s Fight (5)

The language called Korean is truly mysterious, and even the word ‘silence’ can actually have a very different feeling.

“…?”

Choi Ji-won’s silence, if we were to refine it a little more in words, would be a silence closer to ‘Huh?’. It’s the silence you ask back when you hear something you’ve never heard before, when someone makes a bombshell statement, ‘What do you mean? Explain further.’

“…”

On the other hand, Jake… perhaps the silence of an angel was an uneasy silence. His pupils dilated, his gaze wavered, his movements stopped, and at some point, he stopped touching the coffee he had been sipping continuously.

That’s when he was sure. That must be an angel. If Jake had been a real punk, he would have gotten angry here or tilted his head, asking what he was talking about. In the original novel, there are scenes where the other person is flustered but manages their expression in 0.1 seconds, but the sharp protagonist catches that 0.1 second, but this angel is so sloppy that it is impossible to manage at all. This is why

regressors are good. They can handle it even if they do something weird. If I wasn’t a regressor and said something like that? Then… I don’t know. I have to get the crazy guy concept. From there, it’s unknown territory.

“You’re. Talking. Weird.”

Jake finally answered. Yes, Jake did it. It wasn’t something a drone floating in the air said.

“I. came. to. make. a proposal. If you don’t need it, get out.”

However, even if it was a drone, the words were choppy enough that it wouldn’t feel awkward, the expression was completely distorted, and the eyes were like those of a pleading cat. That means he was fidgeting.

“I don’t know what. You’re. Talking.”

Even if he had no sense, he would have understood at this point. This guy is asking me now. Please pretend not to know. Please look at me once. I said I was wrong.

“Why are you doing that?”

“Jiwon, wait a minute.”

Here, another question arose in my mind. Why is this guy hiding his identity? And why, can’t he admit it? Why did he have to use such nonverbal expressions?

To just call him a crazy angel who is true to his concept… he’s too desperate. The angels I’ve met so far have been polite, but their attitudes were basically like a sense of intimacy toward humanity, or rather, an underlying sense of distance. The only exception is Anael. Is this guy the second exception?

If not, then there must be a ‘reason.’ A reason why he can’t reveal that he’s an angel. A reason why he shouldn’t say it with his own mouth.

Up until now, angels have always confidently shown themselves. Wearing pure white clothes, flashing halos, spreading their wings, and acting as guides first. This is the first time I’ve seen an angel who doesn’t want to reveal that he’s an angel.

So why? How come? Shouldn’t I reveal that I’m an angel?

“…”

In the past, on the 23rd or 24th floor where ghosts used to appear. The angel elicited the phrase ‘I’m sorry’ from me, and as a result, I felt relieved. Because in any disciplinary procedures that would be carried out later, my share would be reduced.

What we can learn here is that angels are monitored to some extent. They have autonomy, but at the same time, they are controlled.

“Hmm.”

Then, it’s reasonable to think that this angel is free from that control. It’s correct to think that he’s temporarily free from surveillance. For that reason, he must have worn punk-like clothes that an angel would never wear, changed his hair to a black bob, and made his eyes dirty.

Again, for what? This suffering?

“Elixir.”

The only truth in what he said. His identity, name, and appearance may all be lies, but the one piece of information that wasn’t a lie.

There are management staff in the arena, and you can get elixir from them. It’s correct to think that this is a ploy.

“For now, go. “ I added him as a friend.”

“Are you accepting the offer?”

“So, go.”

“Understood.”

The guy left in a hurry. I didn’t check his back, but the back of his baggy clothes felt very suspicious. As if there was something inside.

“Wow, that guy was an angel? He really was a nasty person…”

After the angel left, Choi Ji-won asked quietly.

“I threw it too, and it caught it.”

“Huh…”

“And from what I can see, that angel… seems to be trying to take something while we’re getting the elixir.”

Elixir. This is something that’s nearly impossible to get.

I say I’m aiming for a ‘perfect’ clear, but I can’t experiment with every possible scenario. Many of the hidden pieces originally require bizarre actions, and they’re often impossible to obtain by moving around. I can’t suddenly sit down and stand up 1000 times or dig the ground just because there might be a hidden piece. It would take too… long to try all of those things.

So, we’ve gotten three bottles of elixir so far. One bottle on the second floor, and one each for me and Choi Ji-won on the fourth floor. I haven’t seen any of the elixirs since then. They might have been hidden somewhere, but I didn’t find them.

But here, elixir? That means the hidden piece related to the ‘management team’ is incredibly difficult, and it’s impossible to obtain with a normal mind.

And that angel… spoiled such important information. He revealed the most important reward of one floor in advance. Common sense would not allow something like this. Isn’t it like a game developer spoiling the ending?

“But you did it anyway.”

It must have been risky for the angel Jake. Just like Anael had feared, if he got caught, he would receive some kind of ‘punishment’. But you did it anyway.

“Why is that?”

“What, what is it?”

Choi Ji-won asked with sparkling eyes.

“We have to find out now.”

“… What is it?”

We have to find out now. The information is too insufficient, so my guess could be wrong. Anyway, just remember this.

“There’s an elixir on this floor.”

And.

“In the process of getting the elixir… the angel wants something.”

**

Although I really want the elixir, I decided to clear the 28th floor first. Then I’ll either contact the management or get the elixir. Since I said I need to be in the upper ranks to meet the management anyway. Or I’ll just regress.

“Please set up a match as soon as possible. Anyone.”

“Yes! Registration complete!”

My current ranking is around 950,000. Maybe because I was impressed by finishing the match in just 1 second, my ranking went up quite a bit. But from now on, I have to adjust my strength because of my reputation.

Of course, the battle was easy. It was easy, but too easy.

“Human, you… ugh!”

“Haha, with such soft flesh… ugh!”

“The secret technique I trained in my hometown… “Gyaak!”

The lower-ranked ones couldn’t handle me. I had the upper hand in physical ability, and I had the upper hand in combat skills.

“How’s my staff technique?”

Of course, there were some guys who were technically excellent. Those who lacked physical ability, but their weapon handling skills were elegant and refined. Those who had clearly honed their skills for a long time.

“Kuuuk… Take my secret weapon energy!”

“No, this is too easy to call a secret weapon… Kyaaak!!!”

Even those guys couldn’t handle my ‘cold energy’. I emphasize this repeatedly, the cold energy would stop all enemies below a certain level. In common parlance, it was an ability specialized in Western studies, and the people I was dealing with were ordinary people.

“… Are you that Choi Ji-won colleague?”

“Oh. That’s right.”

As I continued to win, other players approached me. They didn’t come to fight me, but seemed to be just purely curious.

“You’re pretty strong.”

“You’re not that strong, are you?”

According to the players I met, there were currently about 10 players on the 28th floor. They were all strong and confident in their skills. The top of the top. Those who lead humanity.

Anyway, since I stayed on the 28th floor, I often met them.

“Oh, you’re Choi Ji-won.” Some

of the dogs were somewhat sociable and looked normal.

“… You got plastic surgery, right?”

“Huh?”

“You’re a disgusting b*tch.”

“… Hey. What did you say?”

There were also some who literally seemed mentally ill. Do unusual people have good traits, or do the crazy ones with good traits climb the tower faster? I don’t know.

Anyway, my ranking went up quickly. It’s natural because I never lost. My win rate was fixed at 100 percent. They said they adjusted their strength, but there were many cases where the opponents felt the difference in level and simply gave up. It seems like my acting was poor. Is

it because of this crazy record? Or is it because of my strength? I quickly became famous, and even though my ranking was relatively low, I received a lot of fight money. This meant that more gamblers were paying attention to my matches. People were paying attention to me.

After three days, when my ranking reached around 10,000,

“Hey, why can’t I get a match?”

“My opponent, Cortu, is sick.”

“… From what I saw on the terminal, it looks like he drank and played last night.”

“He says he has a drinking disorder…”

“… This is already the fourth time.”

Gradually, there were cases where people avoided my matches. If my ranking went up even more, I thought that those who wanted first place would come after me. Since I was in the upper ranks but not the top, I was in an ambiguous position, so I just avoided matches and decided to just avoid them.

The ones who had matches with me suddenly got sick, had accidents, or had to return to their home planets because their families were sick. I asked if it was okay to just pick someone ranked within the top 100, but they said that was against the rules. It was okay for a high-ranking person to point out a low-ranking person, but it wasn’t okay for a low-ranking person to point out a high-ranking person.

“Ugh…”

I thought that this couldn’t go on, so I was mulling over it in the small sleeping room (which was basically my private room) that had been given to me.

“Junho.”

“Uh, what’s going on?”

Choi Jiwon, with a stern expression, carefully informed me.

“One of the players… died fighting?”

“Huh?”

The death of another player.