148 – The Returner Trains (9)
“Finally, finally!”
I was lying on the bed in a daze, tearing through the pages of the book, then quickly got up. Finally, someone came in. I don’t know whether to be happy or sad that he came in after 11 days, but… What is not 20 or 30 days?
“… No. Calm down. For a moment.”
I was about to run out of the room with a smile of joy, but now I realized what I was doing and quickly stopped. Hair that has been washed for more than 3 days. A clear mark of spit left on the cheek. Above all, I am not wearing any clothes right now. If I went out in this state, there was a high chance of causing unnecessary misunderstanding.
“… “Let’s take a shower first.”
After roughly throwing the clothes on the floor near the bathroom, I quickly ran into the shower booth. Normally, men can finish showering within 3 minutes if necessary.
“Hey, can you hear the sound of water over there?”
“What, what? First, grab your weapon. “Be nervous.”
“Jinsu, I can’t see Jinsu? “Where did Jinsu go?”
“Wait a minute! I’m human! And washing! Please wait a minute!”
I heard whispering in front of my door, so I screamed and quickly finished showering. This is enough to be acceptable… No, I couldn’t shave. But the noise outside the door got louder, so I had no choice but to leave the bathroom.
From Noble mtl dot com
“Isn’t there the essence in there? “There are only five doors.”
“Hello?”
“It seems to me that in this… hello.”
When the door opens, two men and two women stop talking among themselves and look at me. Four pairs of bright eyes are focused on me.
“… “
Their first impression was… young. However, it is not an estimate of a middle or high school student, but an estimate of a college freshman. I felt like it had a unique freshness. I think he’s around 20 years old.
“Are you by any chance here alone?”
A man sticks his head out to the side and looks behind me. His eyes scan the room, but he doesn’t seem to find what he’s looking for.
“First of all, that… Would you like to go to the next room and talk?”
**
After about 10 minutes. As we shared our stories, the initially tense atmosphere calmed down a lot.
The four people in front of me became friends through the Internet. It was originally said to be a five-member party, but it seems that the man named ‘Jinsu’, who took on the role of leader, was separated.
“So, you’ve been here for 10 days?”
“The 11th, to be exact.”
“Wow… “
A woman in glasses looking startled, covering her mouth with both hands.
“Mister, have you seen a boy our age? The name is Jinsu… “
“I didn’t see it. And why is it called uncle… “
“Hmph… “
A short-haired woman who is visibly depressed after hearing that there is no man named ‘Jinsu’.
“Well, it looks like it’s roughly sorted out, so shall we proceed?”
“This guy must be boring. Let’s wake up quickly. “Snap.”
“No, why do you keep calling me uncle…” “
Even two men shrugged their shoulders and urged us to quickly proceed to the 12th floor.
What should I say? Should I say that I feel full of unfounded confidence? Anyway, I don’t feel any tension from them. Should I say that he doesn’t have the tightness that is characteristic of top-tier players?
“… ”
If it were my usual self, I might have thought, ‘Hmm, am I an idiot?’ But now, the moment I return, I have to spend 11 days again. If you proceed without tension like this, someone might die or you might fail to clear the game.
“Everyone, it is important not to be nervous, but shall we still prepare at least a little?”
That’s why I spoke in a very gentle tone, in a way that would at least raise awareness.
“Fuha, mister. Do not worry.”
“We play pretty well, right? “Just watch.”
The two men actually burst out laughing and shook their heads. At the same time, he is secretly glancing at the two women, so it seems like he has a crush on them. f*ck, are you bluffing in front of a woman?
Should I activate the Awe trait right now after I’m a f*cking fan? No. Let’s be patient. After the contents of the layer are revealed, it is still not too late. In my mind, I pictured myself as a ‘patient person’ and continued to say what I was going to say.
“Still, wouldn’t it be right to get to know each other’s abilities first? It may be a floor that requires cooperation, like the 3rd floor. First of all, my trait is ‘Swordsmanship’. “It’s an ability that allows you to handle a sword well.”
“Um… “That’s about it.”
“Good.”
The abilities of the four members were revealed in this way. The two men said it was a trait that improved their physical abilities, and the woman wearing glasses said it was a trait that allowed her to visualize her enemy’s weaknesses. What was unusual was the woman with short hair.
“I have the characteristic of having fire radiating from my whole body… The problem… “
“Problem?”
“This… Because it’s always activated… You must always be patient… “
Because of her characteristics, her whole body is always on fire, but she is said to be able to endure it through her willpower. So, can we say she is a Hulk-like woman?
“Jinsu has the ability to control water, so they should be together… “
A woman fidgeting with her hands anxiously. I think it would be dangerous to be near that woman. For some reason, I had an ominous feeling that I would regress because of that ability.
“Well, we’re ready, so let’s go!”
“Let’s go, let’s go!”
Anyway, this is the minimum preparation. The moment when five noisy players stood in front of a large door.
[ 5/5 ]
Weeeing.
“… “This was an automatic door.”
A door that opens and moves left and right. Inside, a long hallway stretched wide open.
“… Shall we go?”
“Let’s go. “I will stand in front.”
Still, the two men who had been running wild just a moment ago had noticeably calmed down, as if they were not complete idiots. Yes, if he went on a rampage even after coming here, I wouldn’t have tried to hold back.
“… “
“… “
Jeopuk. Jerk. Jerk.
Five people walking carefully through a quiet hallway. It seems like about 5 minutes passed.
Rather, the message window should gradually guide you. When will the explanation appear?
“Ah, over there.”
“It’s a door.”
When boredom began to outweigh the tension, the long hallway ended and a translucent glass door appeared. When I gently open the glass door and enter, what I see is a small room.
There were five iron chairs arranged in a circle in the center of the room, and on the other side of the entrance was an elevator door. The reason I specifically mentioned ‘elevator door’ is because there was an arrow-shaped button extending up next to it.
Just as I was fully aware of the structure of the room, a message window appeared before my eyes.
＜12Th floor＞
-Pass a total of three ‘tests’. A person may only participate in each test once, and no reward will be given if the final test is failed.
-All rewards are given individually after clearing the 12th floor.
“… “What does this mean?”
“Hmm.”
Test? Suddenly? Am i missing something? I feel like this floor is particularly unfriendly.
-Then, please everyone please take a seat.
Everyone was embarrassed and either let out a sigh or an inorganic voice that echoed throughout the space. There was no place to sit in this space other than the iron chair in the center. There are just five of them, so it looks like they are telling us to sit here.
“… Shall we sit down first?”
“… Okay.”
After watching, we carefully sat down on the chairs. As soon as the five people sat down on the chairs, voices were heard again.
-Okay, before we start the first test, let’s choose our own rewards.
[1] Lesser Potion x 10
[5] Custom item box (B~D)
[10] All-Purpose Herb – Increases all abilities by 3.
“… ?”
As soon as the message window appeared in front of me, I looked around, but before I knew it, the protective shield surrounding me was blocking my sight and sound, and my legs didn’t move as if they were glued to a chair. It seems that selecting the reward is done entirely alone.
“Hmm.”
I’m not sure… The further you go, the better the rewards look. To be honest, low-level potions have reached a point where they are no longer needed, and simple potions that increase abilities have always been rare.
However, to choose a reward without thinking, I am concerned about the number in front of me. What number is that? I think the bigger the number, the worse it is…
“Umm… “
Originally, I would have chosen ’10’ without any hesitation and then regressed if things went wrong. Currently, there is an 11-day penalty for one regression, so we have no choice but to be cautious.
No. Let’s be bold. In any case, there is no way to avoid regression. In that case, it would be right to get as much information as possible and then return. After making my decision, I pressed [10].
-All climbers have been selected.
As soon as the protective shield surrounding me disappeared, other people appeared again.
“Oh, are you here?”
“Look at this. “The elevator door is open.”
It seemed like I had been worrying for a long time, and other people had already stood up from their chairs.
The number [35] Was floating above the ‘elevator door’ they were examining, and the arrow button next to it had already been pressed, so the elevator door was open.
“Isn’t this button interesting?”
I don’t know the names of the two men yet… For convenience, I will call him a man with acne or a man with moles. Anyway, as the acne man said, we headed into the elevator, and instead of a regular elevator button, there was something closer to a calculator button. Seeing as there is a clear button and an input button, this is definitely close to a calculator.
[Only one person can take the ‘test’ at a time.]
Ignoring the message that appeared on the outskirts of my field of vision, I entered the number [99]. This was an action I took to find out what this button meant.
From Noble mtl dot com
[Only numbers less than 35 can be entered.]
Once again, the message window refuses to work. This time, after entering [31] As instructed, I peeked out of the elevator and checked the number written on top. The number written as [35] Had changed to [4].
“Ah.”
At this moment, I understood the task of the 12th floor.
This is… It is a group task.