183 – The agony of the returner (5)
My room after breaking up with Kang Chan.
“What do you want to do?”
This is the first thing Choi Ji-won said after listening to Dok Soo-hee’s story to the end.
“First of all… It’s true that I don’t look very good on that girl named Dok Soo-hee. When you’re in high school, you’re all grown up. Even back then, the good kids were good, and the bad kids were bad.”
Choi Ji-won, who was 20 years old and now 21 years old, declared with a truly confident attitude that Dok Soo-hee was all over her. In fact, from Choi Ji-won’s perspective, he probably feels like a younger sibling of his own age, so he won’t have any trouble watching him.
“But… I believe people can change. No, people change more easily than you think. People can change as much as they want if they have the opportunity. Dok Soo-hee may be that case.”
But is it still Choi Ji-won? Even though she showed signs of disapproval, she protected Dok Su-hee.
“I want you to do whatever you want. Either accept him as a colleague, or just ignore him, or else… Either neutralize it or not.”
“I have no intention of accepting you as a colleague.”
First of all, I need to nail this one thing down and move on. I have no intention of accepting Dok Soo-hee as a colleague. At least for now.
The feelings I have for her are not in a very positive direction. The same goes for Dok Soo-hee. The feelings she has for me are somehow twisted.
“It probably won’t have a very good effect on my mental ability.”
And I think that ‘colleagues’ should be able to exchange good influence with each other. Just like me and Choi Ji-won right now.
But you accept Dok Soo-hee as a colleague? I don’t know Dok Soo-hee very well, but… I think there is a high probability that both sides will destroy each other.
Unless it is really, really unavoidable, there will be no going back with Dok Su-hee.
So, naturally, recruiting colleagues was put on hold. However, when it comes to leaving Dok Soo-hee alone, I become reluctant… There is no proper way to neutralize it. It may be possible to neutralize it by using the ring received from Archangel Raphael on the second floor, but that is my last resort.
Kill me. You can either say it well and leave it as is. It’s one of two things.
“… “
This is not the only choice I have to make. You also need to decide on ‘when’ to return.
It is correct to say that as long as I stay in reality from now on, there will be no need for me to return ‘by mistake’. Unless a monster similar to an American dragon suddenly appears in front of your house, or a monster breaks in demanding that you hand over the elixir, there is no way to return. Therefore, I have to arbitrarily decide when to return.
But when exactly? How? Should I break up with Choi Ji-won again? What about Dok Soo-hee? What about other people?
It’s painful. The fact that we have to make these important choices in succession is painful in itself. I am not a superhuman like Choi Ji-won, and this situation is burdensome.
My body has become stronger than I could even imagine, and my mind has become stronger… I still feel like a small citizen. Even though I know I have to choose, I feel like I want someone else to make the decision for me.
How immature was I when I mentioned ‘hero’ in the tutorial. Real heroes are great people who make these choices over and over again and eventually reach a happy ending.
“…”
Because of the variable called ’emotion’, it is burdensome to try all possible cases, and the time required for opportunity cost is also a consideration.
“…You need time to think about it, right? I’ll get out of the way.”
“Thank you.”
Choi Ji-won naturally leaves his room wearing a mask. After nodding my head to thank her for her consideration, I fell into her thoughts again.
Beep beep beep beep.
“…Uh, Junho?”
But isn’t Choi Ji-won, who naturally left, coming back in less than a minute?
“Wait… I need to take a look at this.”
Choi Ji-won hands me the cell phone. It was written in English like this:
-Choi Ji-won. Is it possible to contact Kim Jun-ho?
“Who is it?”
“Michael Jeter.”
As you scroll down, the message Michael Jeter wanted to convey is revealed.
-The saint wants to meet you. Aside from that, I also want to meet you all. Can you come to America? It’s a pretty urgent situation.
“… Saint?”
At this point… There is only one person worthy of being called a saint.
William Smith.
The world’s greatest healing power I met on the 4th floor. A man who lives the most expensive time in the world. A priest who says that all the sick want to see his face.
“…You want to meet me?”
He was looking for me.
**
For the first time, the ability to teleport over long distances was… More uneventful than I thought. If you just go to the place designated by William Smith, stand there, and wait quietly, the taste of the air will suddenly change.
There were no sudden dizziness or vomiting symptoms as seen in the creative work. Or is it just my constitution?
“Oppa, see you next time.”
After leaving Dok Soo-hee, who had teleported away with us after saying that Michael Jeter had called her (I think Dok Soo-hee is one of the players that Michael Jeter is sponsoring), Choi Ji-won and I headed to downtown California.
A brand new, bright white building. The building you see in the distance is the hospital built for one William Smith. More accurately, it can be called a patient waiting area.
But the closer we got to the building, the more frowned Choi Ji-won and I got. This is because the building was not a hospital but looked like the source of zombies.
“Open! Please open!”
“Save me, save me…”
The people surrounding the white building were all patients, wearing patient uniforms as standard, as well as bandages, intravenous fluids, and canes. To put it simply, people who are dying are screaming with all their might.
“There is no hope other than here! Even the doctor wants me to live the rest of my life in peace! Please, please save me!”
“I’m from China… I’ll give you any money… Please save my son…”
“Mother, I can’t let you die without seeing me get married… Please… Saint…”
“My wife…”
“My husband…”
“Daughter…”
The vulnerable with countless stories were crying out for help, but the front door of the white building was tightly closed and showed no signs of opening. You can even feel mana from the rugged men blocking the entrance. Are they using players as bodyguards?
“…”
“…”
We stood in a daze, overwhelmed by the living hell that descended on us. I feel someone approaching from behind. The man wearing a red checkered shirt and jeans looks like a typical hillbilly, but her eyes are unusual and you can feel mana in her body. Is this person also a player?
“Are you Junho and Jiwon?”
“…Yes.”
“Please come this way. You cannot enter through the front door.”
The man naturally led us to a place about a block away. When a man walks into an ordinary-looking bakery and lifts one of her kitchen tiles, an underground passageway beneath the ground is revealed. The man goes into the basement first, and Choi Ji-won and I follow him.
“Who are you?”
“I am an agent of the Players’ Association… And a person who has received grace from the Saint.”
A man who walks ahead through a secret passage and introduces himself as an agent. Even as he walked, he was constantly playing with his right hand. As he glances at the mana, he can see that he is disarming a magic trap. No, it’s at the level of being plastered with items?
“Arrived.”
The agent said he had arrived before I could ask any additional questions. A man who was climbing a ladder and digging around in a complex building stops in front of a door.
“…Please, please take care of me.”
The agent opens the door and steps aside. Choi Ji-won takes a step back, as if he has no intention of going in together. Sure enough, I was the one William Smith was looking for.
“…”
After gathering myself, I walked in the door.
“You’re here.”
William Smith, who was sitting on a chair and staring blankly into space, looked at me and smiled.
“…Oh my god.”
Is that really the William Smith I knew?
White middle-aged man, William Smith… He looked much older than I remembered. Although he is only a year older, he looks like he has aged 10 years.
Wrinkles have increased, and my skin has become dull… But most of all, my eyes are lifeless. There was not much difference between him and the other patients camped outside.
“Would you like some potion?”
“It won’t be of any use. I’m already drinking it instead of water.”
William Smith slightly raises his mug. There really is a potion inside.
“If it’s not rude… Can I get straight to the point?”
“Oh, yes, that’s right.”
“I heard Junho’s name… Ah, his name was from the association. Anyway, I came to Junho because… I needed advice.”
William Smith speaks, running his hand across his chapped lips.
“I was very motivated when I saw you on the 4th floor. The reason you took the lead and saved others. What you said behind you was, ‘Because you can do it.’ “Because I felt that dullness.”
So William Smith did it too. He used the abilities he gained to save people with his whole heart.
In the process, this large building was built, and the number of people who benefited from William Smith is now countless.
William was able to speak confidently even before God. I did the best I could.
However, in the process of healing the number of patients who had increased explosively due to the recent attack by monsters… He felt his limitations. It’s not a mental limit, it’s a physical limit.
My body… Was screaming.
You can do more here. However, every time I use my healing ability, the extremities of my whole body hurt, and I have a clear feeling that my body is being destroyed.
You can do it. It is possible.
But… It is so painful. Pain. I don’t want to do it.
“Is it a sin not to do something when you can do it?”
William Smith speaks while calming his trembling hand with his other hand.
“I… Where should I compromise? How far should I work? I have the power to save the people of the world, but my body cannot hold on. If I give up here, won’t God be disappointed? ?”
He was… Exhausted. The strong core has already burned out.
“I desperately need your advice. I thought that if you were the one who took the lead as if you knew everything… You could give me advice that would be like rain in a drought.”
“…”
“I… What should I do?”
It’s a pity for William Smith, who looks at me with earnest eyes.
“…”
I too… Had the same concerns.
From Noble mtl dot com