145 – Training by the Returner (6)
Contrary to Kim Jun-ho’s imagination, there are not many people who control information about ‘Elixir’ on the Internet.
This is because there were not many mentions of ‘Elixir’ in the first place.
The vast majority were just delusional posts like, ‘Don’t you get something like Elixir as a reward?’, And there were only one or two idiots who seriously wrote about Elixir.
The reason is simple. This is because elixir was too precious.
-Lesser Elixir [S+]
‘Unless your luck is very bad, this will save you an extra life.’
When one bottle is consumed in its entirety, all physical defects are cured. It also has some effect on curses and magical imbalances.
If you read the item description, you will know unless you are an idiot. This is nothing compared to the potions that have been released so far. The path to actually obtain it was close to impossible, with platinum rewards on the 2nd floor and having to save all players and NPCs on the 4th floor. Especially the 4th floor… It wasn’t the reward the angel had designed for me to get.
From Noble mtl dot com
200 Bottles. In the antiques and collectibles industry, 200 may be considered too many, but when it comes to consumables, it’s a different story. There are only 200 people on Earth who can drink this. So, so precious.
“If it becomes known that this exists, won’t you die?”
“… “I think it’s right to buy something.”
And as precious as the elixir was, those who possessed it were cautious.
A treasure is only valuable to those who have the power to protect it. And as the Tower appeared, the difference in power between mankind became even more severe. You could be killed just for having the elixir.
In fact, 8 bottles of elixir were put up for auction in the back world… Their owner is no longer in the world. Since the price of elixirs sold had reached astronomical levels, it was much cheaper to kill people and risk a decline in reputation.
Again, back to the beginning. Those who control information about elixirs do not have much input. We simply added a few commands to the existing surveillance system and assigned some personnel.
But you must remember this one thing.
There are forces that are paying attention to Kim Jun-ho.
**
11Th floor. The road leading to the dwarves’ fortress.
“So, I just have to clear the 11th floor like before?”
“That’s right.”
I was explaining my future plans to Choi Ji-won. This is because Choi Ji-won’s memories were not preserved.
Why didn’t he bother to preserve his memories? It wasn’t my intention, but it was Choi Ji-won’s request. Originally, when we decided to keep our memories, we would go on dates, such as going to an amusement park or an aquarium, but this time we just went straight back.
The reason is… I don’t know. Since she doesn’t bother to tell me, I’m just thinking of doing the same. Well, if it’s important, I’ll talk about it separately later.
“Then, shall I go now?”
After explaining the plan, Choi Ji-won, who cut the skin all over his body with a knife to create scars, left for the fortress. I also walked to the vacant lot in my memory and placed the skull of a dead animal on my head.
“I am the Shinigami.”
In this episode, I will call myself a Shinigami.
**
The Shinigami uses a dagger. I use a long sword. The two weapons have completely different uses, and cannot be said to be similar even with empty words.
“Hey, hey Iik…” !”
“You deserve to die at the hands of this ‘reaper.'”
To overcome that gap, I chose to use the dagger only after completely suppressing the enemy. Although daggers were not mainly used, it left the impression that daggers were also used.
What happened after that was the same. As before, he induces people to unite, appears from afar to scare them, and leaves traces to maintain tension.
Gurgling!!!
He made a spectacular exit at the hands of Choi Ji-won.
[Cleared the 11th floor.]
As soon as I returned to reality, I booked a plane ticket and a hotel for departure that day and fell asleep in bed. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to sleeping out in the woods.
“I’ll be back. “Don’t forget to contact the association.”
“I’ll wait.”
The next evening. I waved to Choi Ji-won and departed for the airport.
In the last episode, Choi Ji-won and I headed to Japan together, but this time, I boarded the plane alone. This is because it seemed like it would be more effective to go alone.
I can’t speak Japanese? Okay. Because there will be no need to use Japanese.
– Dear passengers, our plane is scheduled to land soon. Fasten your seat belt…
When I closed my eyes for a moment, I had already arrived in Japan. This time, instead of heading to the Reaper’s house, we headed to the hotel we had booked.
“Hey, is this a staycation?”
I spent a while rolling around, enjoying the moderate indoor temperature and soft hotel blankets. When the sun sets, the street lights come on, and the noise of drunken people has quieted down, I leave the hotel and head to the Reaper’s house.
“Let’s see…” “
The time is 3 am. The lights in the Reaper’s house on the 4th floor are turned off.
“There doesn’t seem to be any CCTV… “
The moment I confirmed that there was no one passing by.
“Tsk.”
I started climbing up the exterior wall of the apartment, holding on to small grooves and outdoor units. I haven’t done this type of climbing a lot, but for a beginner, this level of exercise can be said to be like eating rice cake, or rather mochi, while lying down.
“Whoa.”
As soon as I reached the outside of Yuuki’s room in just a few seconds, I gently pushed the window open with my palm. Again, the window is not locked. The outside windows are usually not locked.
“… “
They succeeded in breaking into the Shinigami’s room without causing any trouble. When I slowly turn my head to check the bed, I see the reaper asleep, oblivious to the world.
“… ?”
No. That bastard just flinched. However, he is pretending to sleep in order to understand the situation and catch me off guard. The left hand also seems to be wiggling suspiciously… I think there’s a dagger? You sleep with a dagger hidden when you sleep? Aren’t you crazy?
Well, anyway, after realizing that the Shinigami had woken up, I walked over and sat down on his desk chair. From now on, it is important to control the momentum. Big. Keep your voice low and your eyes sharp. The imitating image is… Kang Chan. Let’s go with a heavy boss feel.
“Reaper. “Azai Yuuki.”
“… “
“It’s me. Kim Jun-ho.”
Just as this guy thought I knew him, I also acted as if he naturally knew me. In fact, I already knew it.
“… “
But the Shinigami wriggled around without answering. The moment when magical power trembled throughout the entire body of the guy covered in a blanket.
“Die!”
The Shinigami became completely transparent, jumped out of the blanket, and brandished a dagger.
“…!!”
“It’s slow.”
However, his wrist is easily blocked by my hand. This guy, his abilities aren’t that high. Did you use magic power to extend the duration of hiding? Somehow, the amount of magical power was a bit high.
“Reaper. “I’ve been watching you for a while.”
Whether the Shinigami whose attack was blocked opens his eyes wide or not, I recite the prepared lines carefully. The voice is deeper and more relaxed than usual.
“I understand your intention. There are people in this world who deserve to die.”
“No, no.”
The Shinigami, who was so embarrassed that he couldn’t say anything, mumbled in a half-asleep, cracked voice.
“You were really, really watching me? You?”
“Okay then.”
“…Wow.”
“And I was quite disappointed.”
The corner of the Shinigami’s mouth, which was about to rise slightly, fell straight toward the floor.
“Your methods are very unrefined. I am especially disappointed that you also killed civilians.”
“…B, but… There is no way to find out the true value of a person until you torture him…”
“That means it’s not sophisticated.”
After letting go of the Shinigami’s wrist that he was holding on to, he covers his mouth with his clasped fingers like he did in the past. In his eyes, I probably look like a cool-headed and resourceful person.
“Reaper. Don’t you feel guilty?”
“…”
“Don’t you feel sorry for the civilians who died because of you?”
“Well, I couldn’t help it…”
The reaper turns his head and avoids my gaze. Without missing the opportunity, I pushed harder.
“Would you accept it if you yourself became an innocent victim? If your family had to die? Would you have no choice even then?”
“…”
He has just woken up, and it is true that I am pressuring him without giving him time to catch his breath. But at this moment, the Shinigami was overwhelmed in the true sense of the word. The evidence is that the ‘Awe’ trait explodes and its Stealth trait is copied.
The Shinigami’s eyes wander as he has nowhere to go, he swallows his saliva, and his hands tremble slightly. What I mean is a clear statement. There will be no way to refute it.
“So you’re telling me… What are you telling me to do…”
In the end, the reaper whined in a sobbing voice as if he couldn’t overcome my pressure. Normally, a person whose mental state has completely exploded will enter the ‘So what are you asking me to do?’ Mode.
“I will look into that. You just wait. Until I prepare the role of ‘hero’ for you.”
“…Am I a hero?”
“You have what it takes. Trust me.”
I don’t know if I have the qualifications or not. But I felt like I had to say this now, so I just went ahead and did it.
In the end, the actions of the Shinigami originate from heroism. It is the result of the processed desire, ‘I will change the world positively.’ If we can satisfy that in an appropriate way, we may be able to rehabilitate this guy. On top of that, I also benefited a bit.
“I have prepared an appropriate stand-in on the 11th floor. And I plan to spread a rumor through the association that you are dead. Then, you can stop your activities and add credibility to the rumor.”
“…”
“I will contact you again. “Please wait.”
With those words, I coolly jumped out the window. It was also implied that he had associations and connections, and that he was a big name who could easily secure at least one role that needed to be killed. I didn’t bother to check the Shinigami’s reaction to my bravado.
All I had to do was wait and see how he would act in the future and then decide.
From Noble mtl dot com
**
A week has passed. The Shinigami did not seem to have followed my words or had a change of heart, but it truly stopped its activities. And at the same time that the Shinigami ceased its activities, the association made headlines saying, ‘The Shinigami has died.’ Choi Ji-won told the association, ‘I killed the Four Gods.’ This is the result of the report, and the result of me actively acting as a messenger.
However, this time, perhaps because the identity of the Shinigami was not spread, people’s reactions were much less intense. Is it just that Choi Ji-won got rid of one bad villain?
Well, compared to the stimulus of a family’s life being destroyed in real time, this kind of news is just sad. The person involved was already dead. Anyway, the death of the Shinigami spread like that for a week.
What have we been doing for a week?
Over the past week, I have been working hard to gather information. It’s because I’ve been feeling like I haven’t been very thorough lately. Just because it’s mentally difficult, you can’t help but skip over things that need to be checked without checking them in advance. It’s not like me.
What I wanted to find out this time is first. The changed nature of my mana. And second. Things changed due to the social death of the Shinigami. The idea was to observe the butterfly effect…
First of all, the nature of my mana is completely cold. After drinking the elixir as a test, I tried using my magic power here and there, but I stopped because I felt like my hands and feet would become cold again if I used my magic power too much. I guess I’ll have to gradually get used to this over time.
And second. Despite investing ‘a whopping’ a week, the results of the information investigation were relatively sluggish.
“Junho. I really can’t find it… “
Choi Ji-won, who had been tapping hard on his keyboard, pulls back his chair and leans down on his desk. She was browsing the Internet community a little while ago.
The Internet is still full of TOP’s stories. What about the 2nd floor, what about the 3rd floor, the 4th floor is too difficult… However, mentions decrease rapidly from the 6th floor, and stories of players who can truly be called ‘top level’ do not appear on the Internet. Researching information is of little significance.
“… Should I make some connections?”
The reason is obvious. Top players have formed their own closed communities. They must be sharing really valuable information among themselves.
Well, it’s impossible to find information on the Internet forever. That’s too wishful thinking.
Which inner circle should I join? Even now, with the exception of Kang Chan, our player network is at a ruinous level. Should I ask Jiwon to build some connections on the 11th floor? Then the image of mysticism becomes blurred…
“…Yoon Jung-hyun?”
If you contact Joonghyeon Yoon, you will be able to get quality information. But for some reason, I couldn’t contact him in this episode. Did something change when I first heard the information that the Shinigami had died? Ha, I need to figure this out too.
Anyway, to summarize… We are experiencing a serious lack of information. They can’t even understand the dynamics of the 11th floor, which they have already cleared.
Of course, we will try to collect information by repeating the regression a few more times…
If things continue like this, there seems to be no solution other than just sticking your head on the 12th floor.