229 – Returners Are Mentally Weak (8)
“Hey. Are you something… I know he’s a great bastard. They say that even this leaf itself was designed by you.”
One player shaking frozen leaves. The ends of the frozen leaves are torn off on their own, perhaps because they have become unstable due to the magic power.
“But now you want me to come and stop? That leaf is split in half, are you telling us to stop? I don’t even know what you want to do. Now.”
“Okay. It was you who gave me the leaves… “Isn’t interpretation our responsibility?”
They looked at the two pale man and woman with cold eyes. When did they become distant? The distance between the man and woman and other people has widened significantly.
“To clear… It would be right to kill him.”
“Maybe.”
-Sereung.
Players take out their weapons and aim them at men and women.
Although there are people who jokingly say, ‘I wish I could be summoned to the tower,’ the tower is by no means an easy space. First of all, more than half of the players die in the tutorial, and the same goes for other floors. If you don’t have great traits, if you don’t have the talent to use them, and if you don’t have the will to break. Climbing the tower is a challenge every moment, a life-threatening ordeal. Although there are some floors where life is safe, climbers cannot know this until they enter the tower.
Meanwhile, what about the players who got this far in a short period of time? They are by no means easy people. Killing monsters has already become a daily routine, and he is even prepared to kill people if necessary. There are probably people who have actually killed someone. Once you realize that the monster in front of you is something other than a human being, there is no way to hesitate.
“Really, not really…” “Please…” “
“Sorry… Help me… Please… “
“… “
But even for those who have made up their minds… He wasn’t so heartless as to kill someone who was humbly begging for his life. A monster who has completely abandoned the human heart… At least not here.
“Why don’t you resist? Are you giving up your life without fighting?”
“… There are two of us, and there are eight of you.”
“If they resist, maybe we can take one or two people with them?”
“… What does that mean? “We are people who gathered together to do well together.”
“… Or maybe the monster is just acting to catch us off guard.”
“Yes, that is also possible. I won’t tell you to let your guard down. But… Please don’t kill me. Please. I have to live.”
“I, too, have to live…” “You can tie it…” You can blow off both your arms… Please just give me your life… “
The couple, who realized that praying pitifully was effective, began praying so hard that their heads hit the ground. The players watching this just swallowed their saliva.
Can you kill it? You can kill. Perhaps if one person takes action first, others will easily join in. There is no hesitation whatsoever in killing monsters.
First trigger. Everyone is hesitant to pull the first trigger. They are claiming to be human. I’m just begging for my life to be saved. I don’t know the contents yet… Regardless of their appearance, they are the same human being. Here, saying first, ‘Let’s kill him first’ is not a normal action that can be taken mentally.
In the end, what you need is confidence. You can only kill those two if you are sure that they are monsters.
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“Wait a minute, wait a minute.”
And the person who has to provide that assurance is muttering something while looking at the leaf cut in half. Just repeating the words “Wait and see.”
“… “
“… “
The players exchanged glances and slowly retreated and put away their weapons.
“Stay far away. From what we can see.”
“The weapon is on the floor… No, I just take off my clothes and go over there.”
“Thank you, thank you!”
“As I said before, I haven’t let my guard down. “I’m waiting for judgment.”
Players looking at Kim Jun-ho, or at me, from the corner of their eyes. Perhaps since it was I who handed out the leaves, I decided to give it a try.
“Okay… “
But I didn’t have time to pay attention to whether they were looking. My head is so… Because it was so complicated.
I don’t know the structure of this layer. No, I knew exactly, but I forgot because of the acting. The problem is that this ‘forgotten memory’ is too comprehensive.
“I… How many… “You did it, right?”
I vaguely remember entering the 23rd floor, looking around, finding a quaint village, and arriving at a bonfire. But other than that… I don’t know. Have I regressed? Or was this your first time? It’s a complete blank slate.
And this leaf cut in half. What does this mean? What did I want to announce?
“… “
She glances at the man and woman trembling naked. Before I lost my memory, would I have predicted this situation? I don’t know. I don’t know because I don’t remember.
The most ideal and rational option here is… It’s a return. After regressing, think carefully about the situation and move in a better direction.
“… !”
But what if… What if I’ve already gone through a few regressions? In fact, this situation has been repeated several times, and I took some action each time it regressed… But… What if you always put off decisions at important moments, go back, and arrive at this moment again? What if this isn’t the first time I’ve been in a situation where I’m thinking about returning?
Either that or… What if my memories don’t come back even if I go back? What if you go back to gain an information advantage, but when you go back you don’t remember anything? What if you only remember the fact that you returned due to the effects of the smoke, but you don’t remember anything about what happened on the 23rd floor? Then, I am trapped in an eternal band of time, repeating the same actions as if I were spinning in a treadmill… No, not this one. If I had, I wouldn’t have figured out how to leave a mark with a leaf. Memories are retained to some extent.
If so, let’s go back to the beginning. The person who intended this situation was ‘Kim Jun-ho, who has information about the 23rd floor.’ That’s for sure.
There are two cases that can be assumed here. ‘Perfect Kim Jun-ho’ and ‘Not Perfect Kim Jun-ho’.
If Kim Jun-ho, who is not perfect, sprinkled the leaves… Even if I correctly interpreted the meaning contained in this split leaf and even if I implement it, there is a possibility of failure in the end. Because it was probably an experiment conducted by someone who didn’t really know anything to gain information.
But what if Kim Jun-ho, who shared the frozen leaves, was the ‘perfect Kim Jun-ho’?
Kim Jun-ho has returned again and again. Kim Jun-ho figured out who was a monster, who was a human, and what kind of structure this tower was. Let’s assume that you are omniscient and omnipotent Kim Jun-ho, who has figured out all causal relationships.
If Kim Jun-ho had designed it, the frozen leaves would have been the result of trial and error. It may be the product of precious efforts made through repeated failures. Of course, even the leaves that are split diagonally.
He must have even recognized the worries I was having right now. Because when he regresses, he will have already experienced it. Therefore, there is no possibility that I am repeating the same behavior now. If he had done so, he would have given some variation and changed reality.
“The odds are… “
If you look purely at the possibility of clearing… There is a high probability that ‘Perfect Kim Jun-ho’ acts thinking that he has set the tone.
What if Kim Jun-ho, a foolish man, made the decision? In any case, there will be information gained through this process, and based on that, I can take a step forward. I’m sure the memories will be maintained.
What if the perfect Kim Jun-ho set the tone? Then it is cleared as is. There is no need to worry, just do your best to interpret his meaning.
However, are you doubting the ‘perfect Kim Jun-ho’ here? It doesn’t matter if foolish Kim Jun-ho decides to do it… If ‘Perfect Kim Jun-ho’ were to set the tone, it would lead straight to failure. When I think extremely rationally, it is advantageous for me to assume that Kim Jun-ho, who gave me this leaf, is ‘the perfect Kim Jun-ho.’
No, if he were really the ‘perfect Kim Jun-ho’, he would have expected me to reach this far. Then, from now on, all you have to do is interpret the meaning of these leaves.
“Uhm… “
Frozen leaves cut diagonally. To be honest… I have no idea at all. I haven’t fully figured out the 23rd floor yet, and there was no information I could find out just by looking at this leaf.
Just… Kill those two? Are those two really monsters? Someone who isn’t actually a monster? Or some kind of helpful, beneficial monster? If not, NPC? Illusion? There is too little basis for judgment.
“… “
“Sal, please save me…” ” “
“Please… “
Let’s not panic. Coolly. Let’s act as we have done so far. If I act naturally, I will be able to understand the meaning of this leaf. If I were the ‘perfect Kim Jun-ho,’ I would have intended it that way.
Just like you did. Just like you did. If I behave the way I do here, how will I behave? How would ‘Perfect Kim Jun-ho’ have predicted my actions?
“I just knew.”
Okay. There is something I always do before making a judgment or taking action.
“First, let’s proceed to the 23rd floor normally. To get more information.”
“… Are you sure?”
“Yes. I’m sure.”
It is information collection.