292 – The Returner’s Fight (11)

It took three days for the arena management to give in. They ignored public opinion, ignored it again, and ignored it again. In the end, they sent an envoy.

“Here’s the contract.”

The android dispatched by the arena management said. (The android did not take the form that would appeal to a normal human male. It means that it had more hair than other androids.)

“Do not harm Guntar… Just give him the medicine and come back right away… Refrain from talking to him as much as possible… There are many.”

“On the condition that I will only deliver the medicine. If you do not agree to this, you cannot meet Guntar.”

“Okay.”

While Choi Ji-won looked at the android with a tired look, I quickly finished signing the contract. They said that if I did not comply with the contract, I could face various disadvantages, including a lawsuit, but I would just return anyway.

“Is that okay?”

“Let’s go right away. Did you bring the medicine?”

“Here it is.”

The situation was resolved well. I could finally meet him.

Guntar.

**

The android led us down a long hallway. There were doors on the left and right of the hallway at regular intervals, about half of them open and the other half closed.

“This is a special residence prepared by the arena.”

The android said as he walked.

“The deeper you go, the better the facilities. It’s a consideration for the arena to differentiate itself, but some people don’t like it because the path is long.”

The android walked, walked, and walked again. The corridor that seemed like it would never end ended. The last, the last, there was one door left.

“This is it.”

“That’s right.”

Guntar’s residence was the best of them all. Maybe because I came this far, I hesitated a little without realizing it.

“Let’s go.”

Thanks to Jiwon gently holding my hand, I stepped forward with confidence.

-Wow.

The door opened automatically. Now that I look at it, it wasn’t just a door, but a hologram of sorts.

“…”

The inside was… dark. All the lights were off, and although the room was spacious, there were no windows or furniture, and leftover food was strewn across the floor like clothes that hadn’t been put in a laundry basket.

In short, it was like a trash dump with the lights off.

“No, you said it was the best?”

“This space can be modified as the user wishes. Good facilities mean there’s a lot of room for modification.”

“Then what is this?”

“This is the original room.”

So this is the first floor of the players’ space. Does that mean Guntar didn’t touch anything? If he ate food, I wish he would clean it up. Or at least eat it all. What’s with the food he left behind?

Anyway, since it was a uselessly large room, it wasn’t that hard to find Guntar.

“… Why is he like that?”

Guntar was sleeping in a dark corner of the room, curled up into a ball. I heard that the beastmen usually use beds. Why was that guy acting like a puppy in the corner?

“Mr. Guntar. We have a guest.”

“…”

The android called Guntar while cleaning up the leftover chicken leg, but Guntar tossed and turned, not getting up.

“Mr. Guntar?”

“Get out.”

Between his curled body, yellow wild eyes flashed.

“Get out now.”

“Hey, we came to help.”

I held up both palms to emphasize that I had no intention of harming him.

“Get out. Can’t you hear me?”

The guy now threatened us with his teeth exposed. The smell of meat wafted through his open mouth.

“I heard you lost your memory. Aren’t you frustrated? We can help you.”

This time, Choi Ji-won, who had been watching, stepped forward. She directly mentioned ‘memory’ from the beginning and took a step closer.

“Let’s talk. How much do you remember, and why are you singling out people and killing them…”

“Get out before I kill you!!!”

Saeaek! Guntar sprang up like a spring and swung his claws, but Choi Jiwon dodged the attack by taking a step back.

“Huh. Huh. Huh.”

“…”

“I don’t know… I don’t know…”

Guntar sank to the ground again.

“What do I not know… I… I… I don’t know anything… I just… I hate humans… So get out of here quickly…”

The guy covered his ears with both hands and huddled in a corner. As if he didn’t want to hear anything.

“Huh…”

I let out a sigh, but at the same time, I felt relieved. The worst I could have imagined was him drawing a weapon and running at me as soon as he saw me, but this is better than that. Above all, the two of us are also human. Just because we’re humans doesn’t mean we’re going to kill everyone. There’s room for regeneration.

“Well, well. I already knew that my condition wasn’t good.”

“…”

“Drink this.”

“…” “ Do you really want to die?”

“You don’t know what you don’t know? If you drink this, you’ll get better.”

“…”

“No, really. I told you I’m a water enthusiast, right? I want to help you all. How did we get here?”

“…”

Guntar, who had been staring at me without answering, quietly said.

“Give it to me.”

He suddenly took the elixir in my hand and drank it down in one gulp.

The moment he emptied the entire bottle,

“…”

The guy’s once dull fur regained its luster. The bags under his eyes that had been hollow were gradually filling in. His vitality. His vitality was returning.

He was no longer the Guntar who was dying. The Guntar from his prime, who was vibrant and sparkling, had returned…!!!

“No effect.”

“Huh?”

“It… didn’t work. I still don’t remember anything.

But the guy’s eyes… were still shining fiercely. They were no different than before.

They hadn’t changed. Why?

It’s true that what I gave him was a ‘low-grade elixir.’ But it’s low-grade, but it’s almost like a panacea.

– Low-grade Elixir [S]

‘Extremely diluted liquid of God’s Tears.’ If you consume a whole bottle, it will cure all physical deficiencies. Unlike the original, the curse has a weak effect.

It doesn’t end with simply curing physical deficiencies. Your body will become healthier, your magical power will increase, your mind will become clearer, and there will be a ton of additional functions, right?

“… Was this a curse?”

No. It can’t be. I don’t feel any magical abnormalities, and if there were, Guntar himself would have noticed.

If that were the case.

“Wait, wait a minute.”

I slowly opened my eyes, concentrating on my own soul. My proficiency in this technique isn’t very high, but it’s a technique that can at least see the outline of another person’s soul.

“… Huh?”

Guntar’s soul… didn’t match the shape of his body. Something was strangely twisted, squirming, and again, again…

“Aah…”

I stopped concentrating because my eyes started to hurt. If I had done a little more, I would have definitely regressed. My eyes, my brain, my soul were throbbing. Guntar’s soul was not in a normal state.

“Are you okay?”

“Uh… Wait a minute…”

Me and Jiwon blinked, worried.

“…”

Guntar looked down at the bottle containing the elixir in vain.

Something had changed in Guntar’s soul. Was it the emperor? Or something else? I don’t know exactly, but one thing was certain: the situation was very complicated. The elixir doesn’t work. Guntar can’t get better with the elixir.

I thought it would be easy, but why is it so complicated? I muttered in frustration without realizing it.

“This is really annoying. Should I ask an angel?”

“…”

“If I ask that Jake, he’ll give me a good answer… Huh?”

Suddenly, a chill ran down my spine. Guntar was staring at me with his bright yellow eyes, without moving, in the same position as he was holding the bottle of elixir. Blankly. With murderous intent. As if he was going to kill me.

“…”

“…” ”

“Excuse me?”

“…”

“Angel?”

“Die.”

The moment the word angel ended, everyone moved at the same time.

Guntar’s eyes rolled back upon hearing the word angel. Choi Ji-won panicked and pulled out his sword. Me, who tried to step back but realized there was an empty space at my waist.

Wait. Wait. I want to make a small excuse here. I am most comfortable with the sword, and therefore I think I can call myself a ‘swordsman.’ I don’t have an incredible attachment to this sword like Choi Ji-won and BoongBoong, but it is a sword that I cherish quite a bit. I cherish it.

“Huh?”

“Be careful!”

So ​​the fact that Guntar was able to snatch the sword from my waist wasn’t because my skills were incredibly weak, but because Guntar’s movements were just as mysterious. I know that having your sword snatched is a disgrace to a swordsman, but Guntar’s movements just now were hard to deal with, even though I let my guard down.

It was as if he had spent his entire life studying how to snatch someone else’s sword from close range… bizarre hand movements. Because I let my guard down and the distance was close, I lost my sword.

Choi Jiwon was also too close to activate Heart of the Flash. If he activated Heart of the Flash here, lightning would strike and he would return. However, it was too late to swing BbungBbung to protect me.

The sword aimed for the lower part of my chin. It surged fiercely from below to above. A sharp strike like an assassin. There was no weapon to defend against. There wasn’t enough time to generate magic. With transparent gloves? Or some other means of defense?

“… Transform!!”

The last, final moment. The oriental cloth clothes he was wearing transformed into a form that covered his entire body! It looked no different from cloth clothes on the outside, but its defensive power was the same as dwarven armor! Even Guntar didn’t have time to generate magic power! If it was the armor’s defensive power, it wouldn’t be pierced…!!!

-Bang.

“Ah.”

As expected, the cloth armor wasn’t pierced.

However… his jaw was broken.

“…Fuck.”

But I knew one thing.

There was something to Guntar’s nonsense… an angel.

[He took damage.]

[He returns to the moment he first entered the 28th floor.]

***

Jake, commonly known as the ‘Newbie Lover.’ Despite his fierce appearance, there are rumors that he treats newbies kindly, but the truth of these rumors has not been confirmed.

No, no one has ever seen this man fight in the first place.

“Wasn’t he a 10,000th ranker?”

“Huh? I thought he was 200,000th.”

“Isn’t he just some idiot who’s always hanging out at the 700,000th rank? ”

“Don’t you use a sword?”

“Wasn’t it an axe?”

The recognition is high, but the way of recognizing it is different for each person. The true nature of it is also unclear. At this point, it would be okay to consider it an urban legend, but for some reason, no one was interested. After all, Jake is Jake.

“Hey.”

“…?”

“Follow me.”

No. There was.

A regressor who was interested.