175 – The Returner Wandering (11)
After returning, I trudged up the mountain with weak steps. As I reached the top of the mountain, a familiar face met my gaze.
“Who is it?”
A wizened old man holding a statue in his hand and tilting his head. Something came to my mind and I couldn’t speak.
“… “
“What a quiet young man. These types of young people usually value efficiency. “I will go straight to the task description.”
“… Please give me a C-level trait option.”
“From now on, there is a list in front of you… “How did you know?”
After receiving the paper that said ‘C-level trait selection.’, I went straight through the blue portal. However, this time, instead of quickly returning to my room, I lay down on the soft bed on the first floor and looked up at the ceiling.
“… “
I was a little surprised. I repeated the return and said I had gotten used to the old man, but each time he saw me for the first time. No matter how similar my thoughts are to him and even if I have a heartbreaking story… Because I didn’t think it was worth telling my story to. How can people become friends so quickly?
“I told you to use my powers carefully.”
The old man… He must have noticed my regression in some way. Because of that, the way he looked at me slowly changed.
You shouldn’t repeat the regression when the archangel is nearby. Was it because Archangel Raphael did not notice even after repeated regressions on the 5th floor that it was really just an ‘illusion’? All I can say is that I was lucky.
“The correct answer was not to return at the end of the second floor.”
And at the same time, this also served to greatly narrow my range of motion. The floor where archangels, or equivalent beings, appear from now on… Because it meant that we had to have as little regression as possible.
“… “
Another pillow was created in the air and covered his face. The soft smell of fabric softener every time I breathe seems to soothe my troubled mind.
If one world fails to climb the tower… Is that world a form of becoming part of the tower? I vaguely remember the dwarves on the 11th floor strutting around. Even though they became residents of the tower, they tried hard to live… Probably because there really was no back.
“The 11th floor must be a forest where dwarves lived… “The 12th floor is probably a city built underground after the air disappeared.”
The old man said that the 12th floor is the floor where items that can only be found in a pagoda are placed. In other words… It was implied that the future tower will feature a modern setting rather than a fantasy setting.
“What I still don’t understand is…” “It’s on the 13th and 14th floors.”
The 14th floor, the floor where machines are made, had a forest in the background, and to be honest, I couldn’t tell what the purpose of the machine was just by looking at its appearance. It’s probably a machine made to deal with monsters… It is presumed that it was a machine made to deal with the elderly. To be honest, this could be true.
The problem is on the 13th floor. Judging from the old man’s story, it is likely that he was the one who ordered the box to be moved to the wagon. This much is certain, as the nun asked, ‘Does she do that even when she sees a doll?’
The problem is… Why did you collect something called ‘Magi’? And did the tower create demonic energy? These two things are key.
Why did the old man collect magic energy? And did this demonic energy come about because of the tower?
“It’s not like they didn’t tell me… “I guess you can say I couldn’t do it.”
The more he spoke, the paler his complexion became… It is correct to say that the old man took a certain risk and said something he should not have said. No, you could probably say that I did it by calculating my own regression. It is obvious that after returning, it will be like nothing that ever happened.
If the old man calculated that, it is clear that the story about the ‘magic energy’ from the 13th floor was really ‘bad’. So all the questions I have for now are… This is something related to the core of the tower. So even if you think about it now, it doesn’t mean much. It would all be just speculation.
What you need to worry about now is… This is the advice the old man left me.
“… “
Make trustworthy colleagues. Share the rewards. Don’t make enemies.
And… Make sure to kill the person you want to kill.
But at the same time, he affirmed that my method was right. Since I never told him about my repeated regression, the method he said was ‘correct’ was… It probably means a way to become close to other people and empathize with them, just like you did with the old man.
In other words, the elderly… It is correct to say that I hoped to judge other players by repeating regressions with them.
“… I don’t know.”
I worry about it every time. Can I trust other players? Can we trust association president Michael Jeter? Or what about Yoon Joong-hyun from The 4th Floor? If not, what about Kang Chan on the 3rd floor? Who are the brothers Ahn Gyeong-nam and Gyeong-jun? What is Japan’s envoy? Them… Can I trust you?
Currently, there is no player I truly trust other than Choi Ji-won. Oh, there’s also firefighter Park Cheol-jin, but he’s focusing on firefighter work rather than climbing the tower these days, so let’s leave that out of the discussion.
The old man… I wanted to make sure I distinguished the other players. I wanted to kill the ones I wanted to kill in advance, and make sure to make the ones I wanted to save into my colleagues.
I would venture to guess that the old man must have thought many times about whether or not to wipe out all the old powers, including the empire. He must have thought for a long time about killing the player who was handling the atmosphere.
But in the end, he decided to carry people… As a result, the world was destroyed. The result would probably be hatred towards stupid people and hatred towards oneself for being indecisive.
The problem is, the way the old man regrets… This is the path Choi Ji-won is trying to take now.
Choi Ji-won does not want to kill people unless it is the worst case scenario. She believes that if she takes the lead and sets an example, she can climb this tower to the end.
Choi Ji-won… Believe in me If there is my return, she believes, she will be able to see the end of this tower in a peaceful way.
“… “
But by the time I reached the 50th or 60th floor… We can’t be sure that something like the old man’s world won’t happen. By that time, it is highly likely that the top players will have the power to annihilate all other civilians. It is obvious that if you try to deal with it then, it will be too late.
“Let’s not make decisions alone.”
This is not just a matter of deciding what to do. This… This is a matter that needs to be discussed with Choi Ji-won.
After thinking about it, I opened the portal back to reality, and Choi Ji-won, lying on the bed, was waiting for me.
“… Is it Junho? I don’t look good… “Have you gone back several times?”
“Uh.”
“… What’s going on?”
“I have a story to tell you.”
“Okay. “I’ll focus.”
“So… There’s that old man on the 15th floor. The old man was actually… They say he was a survivor of a world destroyed by a tower. How did the old man’s world come to be destroyed? “
“Junho.”
“Other players are already too strong… “
“Junho!”
“Huh, huh?”
Choi Ji-won grabs my shoulder and shakes me slightly.
“… I can not hear you. From my perspective, it seemed like you were just sitting there doing nothing.”
“What… ?”
Choi Ji-won… I couldn’t recognize the old man’s story I was trying to tell. I tried a few tricks, but none of them worked. It’s a familiar phenomenon. The tower’s filtering function must have been applied.
“… “
Then I realized that I couldn’t share this story with anyone. I don’t know, but the old man must be an incredibly powerful person that I can’t even fathom. Such an old man… This is a story that I was able to tell only after almost being prepared to die. There is no way I can convey this story to others at my level.
“… Should we talk about the 15th floor?”
In the end… Are the worries entirely mine? The only thing I could do with Choi Ji-won was to deliver information related to the future of the 15th floor.
“It is almost certain that the statue will turn into a monster and invade Earth. The difficulty of the invading monster will probably vary depending on the reward you choose. “Jiwon, thanks to you choosing the old man’s wise advice, the old man I saw was carving a goblin-shaped stone statue.”
“Wouldn’t the majority other than us have chosen the reward with the highest number?”
“Maybe. Whether you expected it or not… “You must have chosen a useful reward.”
“Then…” “
“After one year… “I guess it’s confirmed that dragons will invade Earth.”
I don’t know. It’s only a 15th floor penalty, but is the dragon incredibly strong? Or, considering the time period of one year, will a very strong dragon emerge? I want to go back to the 15th floor and ask the old man, but… It bothered me that he went out of his way to erase his memories. It is clear that he erased my memory for me, as he showed favor to me. If so, it makes sense not to repeat the regression any more.
“Uhm… “
The structure of the 15th floor has already been found out. I also learned about the old man’s hidden background and what the future would hold if he did not climb this tower to the end. Now all that’s left is:
“10 Months… “I guess we’ll have to wait and see.”
The only thing to do is wait 10 months and see for yourself.