38 – Episode 38. Hardcore Root_(5)
Now there are no monsters in this area.
As a result of activating the hidden device, all the monsters were replaced by Gaa, and I killed them.
It’s damp, dark, and needlessly spacious, and now only Tilda and my voices ring.
When I say anything, the echo effect comes on, so it’s burdensome.
Tilda’s eyes staring at my face.
That side-by-side.
“Ah~ Is it okay to cry?”
“To the subject of shoveling and blowing up artifacts by myself. Going back really.”
“Shoveling! Nice fight!”
“Shall I tell you the truth? How stupid have you been?”
“What is it?”
“If you hadn’t intervened, the fight would have been over in a second. There wouldn’t have been any pain. The artifacts must have been preserved.”
“Really? Hey, I heard that the fight in this world is all about cards. Even though there is no such card.”
“As the shop owner said, the tower is very, very wide. Much more than you know So, there must be a lot of fighting methods you don’t know about, right?”
“Then I’ll tell you in advance…”
I wonder if I felt sorry for acting on my own.
Tilda lowered her head with her despondent face, but…
There was a lot of wind in his cheeks.
Well, as much as I’m sorry, I’ll be sad.
I’ve been giving Tilda lots of orders since we’re a team.
Actually, he hid the contents of the operation and didn’t say anything about me.
“I’m sorry about that. Actually, I should have told you earlier. There was no reason not to.”
“Why? I’m not trusting…”
“No. Because of the next battle.”
“Ah… That’s right. Grow… But what does grow have to do with it?”
“I was thinking of defeating him the same way, but you can’t do dirty acting! On the day the plan is uncovered, both of us get a 3-second cut.”
“If the strategy works, we win, and if we get caught, we lose? How are you so sure? Are you talking like you’ve fought Grow?”
“Trust me even if you don’t trust me. I’ll tell you everything after the fight.”
“Really!? Then will you show me all the cards and dog tags?”
“Yes. Now you only have to go one square forward. Look at me for a bit.”
“hehehe…”
Tilda finally smiled wide as if she was relieved.
I haven’t thought about it at all because I’ve been thinking about myself.
Seeing that she is relieved now, it seems that Tilda has been quite anxious for a while.
I travel along with people I don’t know anything about, I do everything I ask, and I don’t answer any questions.
If I do a little bit of self-objectification, I want to be a filthy, mean person.
Actually, it’s because I decided to live like that.
From the moment I lost everything on the day my brother left me and locked myself in my room.
The only family I depended on left me irresponsibly and did not depend on me until the last moment.
I had such a hard time accepting that fact that I locked myself in my room.
The debt I owe wasn’t that great, and the money my brother gave me, though.
So, let’s pretend that nothing happened, get a job again, and work.
If I did, I would have been able to live a normal life.
I was more of a coward than I knew.
In the future, I will get to know someone else, and then I will depend on that person.
Nevertheless, the things I love are always out of my control.
Because my mom, dad, older brother, etc. Were all like that.
I chose to cover his eyes, leaving the money my brother had left me there.
I was afraid that one day I would get sick again, so I decided to hit the wall and lock myself in my room.
I decided not to depend on anyone else again.
After living like that for 2 years, I was thrown into a game. How can a game change anything?
Poor people are pathetic even in games, so I kept my distance even though I knew that Tilda and Dana were pure and innocent people.
If you rely on me with those innocent eyes, I will be like that too.
Then Tilda said, holding out her hand out of nowhere.
“Chef.”
“What.”
“Then, since we each made a mistake, we apologize together. And when you kill Grow and go to the second floor, it’s a real party from then on! How is it?”
“If you want to be a real party, don’t judge yourself from now on. Trust me one more time no matter how emergency it is.”
“I promise! And…! Now the chef has to trust me too.”
“I never believed. You can’t even lie dirty anyway.”
“Don’t lie. You thought I died on my own earlier.”
“That is…”
“I swear now. I will never die. I can prove it. I heard your voice.”
“Voice?”
“Yes! When I was attacked by Flick, the voice told me to ask the chef for help. Then, did the chef really save me? The knapsack effect was also created at that time.”
Is that so?
Well, I’m not the only player, and events will happen to Tilda as well.
But listening to Tilda, she felt a little strange.
Why is Tilda talking to me like that?
I will fight well in the future, I will become strong. If you ask me to believe something like that, I understand.
I want you to believe that I won’t die.
And that event is proof of survival.
The focus of the conversation is subtly off.
I don’t even know what the smile you’re showing me right now means.
“Chef. Do you remember what the store owner sister said? Didn’t I say that the tower’s voice represents the climber’s will? So if you think that voice was my will, I want to live more earnestly than anyone else! Right?”
“It could be. But why are you telling me that?”
“Chef, you cried when I collapsed earlier. Uhhhhh… Don’t worry about it from now on.”
“How many times can I say no…”
I never cried, but I still held Tilda’s hand.
“hehehehe, finally you are a real colleague.”
Usually, on a completely idiotic subject…
You read people’s thoughts at will.
But I feel relieved after I made a promise.
Saying that you will never die, saying that you believe in me, or asking to believe in yourself.
The things I wanted to hear from you, and the things I wanted to say to you, were like that.
It feels strange to hear such words from a halfling I have just met.
Something… I feel like I’m being led by an unknown force again.
I was thrown into the game from the corner of the room.
Meet Tilda, and be comforted by Tilda’s bullsh*t.
I was determined not to depend on another person ever again.
Now, even that resolve is crumbling.
From noble mtl dot com
Is this really a coincidence?
『Everything that happens in the tower is a climber’s choice. The tower never interferes with that will.”
As Tilda and Suga said, if the things I went through here and the voice of the Tower represent my will.
If this series of flows and my will are connected.
Then what is my will?
Since I came here… What thoughts did I have while climbing the tower?
I think a lot.
For now, let’s go forward.
“Your HP is still at 100, right?”
“Yes! The condition is perfect! What should I do when fighting Grow?”
“I will do it alone this time. During battle, obey whatever I command.”
“Yes! Definitely this time! Instead, you must never lose!”
“Of course not. Before that, let’s get the reward first.”
“Oh right! I came to get our weapons!”
“See over there? We were probably the first to find that box on the first floor.”
“Really?”
After killing Gaa, the light pouring down the stairs became brighter.
Now the light stretches out and reaches the surface of the water, and at the end of it lies a box.
A large golden box that is needlessly fancy.
It was a golden box containing only rare artifacts.
There are only three on the first floor.
One is on the worst difficulty level, the Corridor of the Four Gods. The other is at 100% luck [Breakfast Ceiling].
And the last one is this.
“Wow… The box is so gorgeous… What kind of weapon will it come out of?”
“What kind of weapon would you like?”
“Extremely large hammer! If you swing it once, your head will explode!”
“Can I lift it? I hope you get a dagger.”
“Uh heh heh, it’s really as Dana unnie said. Chef, you’re waiting for my weapon to come out again, right? You’re nice, right?”
“What are you saying? I said beg, I didn’t say beg.”
“And he made me cry.”
“Tell me to stop… Before you use the weapon that comes out to stab you in the head.”
There is also a card reward for killing Gaa, but this time again, the artifact comes first.
This is because only weapon-type artifacts come out of this box, and weapons have the greatest impact on decks.
For Tilda, I like a weapon that maximizes the critical hit effect.
I like… A staff that increases the cost, or a growth type weapon that keeps getting stronger.
“I’ll open it!”
When Tilda opened the chest, an artifact rose into the air.
The size… Is a bit shorter than my forearm.
There is a short rod in the middle, and sharp horns are bent on the left and right sides of the rod to form a flame shape.
It is unknown whether it is a blunt weapon or a stabbing dagger.
Tilda looked at it and let his shoulders droop in disappointment.
“What? Do you have any weapons like that? What shape is that?”
“Are you disappointed?”
“Yes. Does it hurt if I hit you with something like that?”
I don’t know about Tilda yet.
Now, even after checking her stats, she would still tilt her head.
This was a win.
The name of that weapon is [Geumgangjeo].
A rare artifact that fits my deck the best.
“I’m sorry. It is my weapon this time.”