The Regressor Is Startled (2)
The Regressor Is Startled (2)
[You have entered Floor 5.]
The impersonal message appeared, and I tensed up a little. I touched the Transparent Gloves I'd gotten as a Floor 4 reward.
"..."
There were no immediate threats in sight. Or rather, there was nothing to see at all. Everything was pitch-black.
In that pitch-black space, the only thing I could see was my own body. Even without a light source, my body alone was clearly visible.
What was going on? Where was Choi Ji-won? Was Floor 5 a solo floor? They hadn't even given me a weapon?
I kept my guard up and warily took in my surroundings. The situation was new, so I had no idea what might happen.
"..."
When nothing happened even after some time, I cautiously reached my hand forward. What I felt was a hard, wood-like texture.
Feeling my way around like a blind man, I finally understood my situation. I was trapped inside a cube-shaped something.
"..."
Since nothing changed right away, my battle-ready muscles gradually relaxed. It'd be wiser to wait and see until the situation shifted drastically.
"I hope Baron Jorge is doing well...?"
As the tension eased, the stray thoughts I'd been suppressing surfaced. Floor 4. Did the otherworlders return safely to their worlds? Yun Jung-hyun. William Smith. Ahn Gyeong-nam. Baron Jorge. The otherworlders.
I'd confirmed via the message that they survived, but I hadn't been able to check on exactly what had happened. I wonder how they're doing.
And Choi Ji-won. Recalling last night made my face flush hot again. Ugh, embarrassing.
Just as my consciousness was about to be swept away by the stream of thought...
Whoosh!
A bright light flooded my vision, and the darkness enveloping me slowly vanished.
"Ngh..."
I instinctively shut my eyes, then forced them open wide.
"...?"
What appeared was a pure-white structure.
A temple, supported on all sides by white pillars, reminiscent of ancient Greek architecture but slightly different. Yes, it was a temple. And a profoundly sacred one.
"..."
"Congratulations!"
"Congratulations to you!"
I frowned and looked around. The first thing I noticed were baby angels scattering flowers and blowing trumpets. Beyond the temple in the distance, there was no ground—only clouds everywhere.
In short, it was a perfect replica of a 'sacred temple' straight out of a work of fiction. Realizing that disgusted me.
Back on Floor 2, Archangel Raphael had said he 'took a form that could gain the favor of humans.' This seemed like an extension of that. It looked so that an ordinary person might instinctively want to kneel and seek God.
"Hm."
I tried to grab the foot of one of the baby angels fluttering around, but my hand passed right through it. Apparently, the angels were intangible illusions.
"Alright, let's see how far this goes."
Inside this temple, there was no other player besides me. Whether Floor 5 was always like this or I was receiving special treatment—I'd find out by watching. In short, there was nothing to do but wait.
Bam-ba-bam! Ba-bam! Ba-ba-bam!
"Thank you!"
"We wish you boundless glory in the future, Climber!"
-Ooong.
As the baby angels' grand trumpet fanfare ended, a massive pillar of light descended in the center of the temple.
"Hello. It is a pleasure to meet you. I am Archangel Raphael, in charge of Floors 1 through 5."
A beautiful figure with an androgynous appearance, wearing a white toga and with reddish-brown curly hair—the angel matched the Archangel Raphael in my memory.
"..."
I discreetly reached out and waved my hand, but I couldn't touch Raphael. Like the baby angels, he seemed to be an illusion.
Moreover, judging by the 'pleasure to meet you,' it didn't seem like I was receiving special treatment. Raphael and I had already met before, so he wouldn't have said that.
<Floor 5>
-Clear Condition: Listen to everything Raphael says, then resolve a simple task at the end. Thank you for your hard work.
Right on cue, a message window popped up before my eyes. The congratulatory tone aside, Floor 5 felt quite different from previous floors. The overall atmosphere was bright, sacred, and cheerful.
"...What's the point of all this?"
Having witnessed the horrors on Floor 4, of course I couldn't take this celebration at face value. With my head tilted skeptically, I listened to what the archangel's illusion was saying.
"You climbers who have faced the Tower's trials, striving ceaselessly without losing your will—I, Raphael, dare say: you have truly worked hard."
"I fully understand that, having pronounced doom upon your civilization, such words may appear contemptible. But I wish to tell you that I designed the Tower as favorably as possible for your sake."
Raphael flicked his right hand, and a sphere modeled after Earth began to rotate above his palm.
"Climbers. What do you think is 'humanity's unique strong point'? There could be many answers, of course. But I believe the answer is one."
Clap. When Raphael brought his palms together, the Earth image vanished, and countless human figures appeared behind him.
"I... love humans. To be precise, I love the 'will to live a better life' that humans possess."
A will unique to humans. You might call it greed. You might call it aspiration. Or you might call it self-improvement.
Archangel Raphael loved every act humans performed to become better humans. Because he believed that was the most 'human' act of all.
"Barbaric methods like the tutorial are not my way. All the floors I designed are made so that you can gain as much as you put in effort."
First, Floor 1 has infinite uses depending on how you utilize it. Some succumbed to animalistic desires and indulged in luxury and pleasure, but many actively use it for training.
Floor 2. You could settle for a bronze or silver badge and rest on your laurels, but if you racked your body and mind to aim for a gold badge or higher, you received a fitting reward.
Floor 3 was divided into difficulty levels, and the harder the difficulty you cleared, the better the reward.
Finally, Floor 4. The more you strive to protect the otherworlders without harm, the harder the difficulty becomes. If climbers devise a solution that makes the difficulty too easy, the angel overseeing Floor 4 will create appropriate monsters to maintain constant difficulty.
The theme running through all these floors is simple: put in effort. You will gain as much as you put in.
"Regardless of how excellent your traits are, I wanted you to face trials and overcome them. Because then, a fitting reward is granted. Of course, sacrifice is inevitable in this process. For that reason, there may be those who hate me."
Raphael's smile vanished, replaced by a slightly regretful expression.
"But what most easily changes a person is negative emotion."
Jealousy. Inferiority. Anger.
People don't change overnight.
What completely twists a person's character is intense negative emotion.
"Even if you despise me, I am fine. If you simply seek to become stronger, I am satisfied. For that means you have moved forward."
Raphael gave a slight bow of his head, then regained his gentle smile.
"Now, the task on Floor 5 is very simple. Just experience for yourself how much stronger you've become. That's all."
With those words, Raphael's illusion stepped back.
"Then, I hope you continue to strive. I shall take my leave now."
Raphael's illusion grew fainter before vanishing completely. Only I remained in the vast temple.
"Aspiration, huh. You tell him to cut the crap. Sure, aspiration is a good thing. But what meaning does it have if people die because of it?"
And besides, on Floor 4, when the number of players equaled the number of otherworlders, some terrifying 'something' appeared and inflicted serious trauma on the players.
Probably a measure to ensure that those he deemed 'lacking aspiration' could never climb the Tower again. That bastard pretends to care about humanity, pretends to be considerate, while slyly manipulating us to suit his tastes behind the scenes.
Maybe a slightly stupid person would fire up their will, thinking, 'I have to work hard!'
"Fuck."
My disgust deepened, but the thought that even this was just as he intended made irritation flare up sharply.
I wasn't entirely blameless myself.
Was what I did in the tutorial and on Floor 4 really right? No one died, but as Raphael said, they were robbed of the chance to grow. The chance to fight monsters.
On floors without me, would they be able to stay competitive? Even if they received excellent all-round rewards, could they overcome the gap in experience?
"..."
I don't know what the right answer is. But just like Choi Ji-won, I decided not to agonize over problems that can't be solved by agonizing. What I should be worrying about right now is that man striding over from the other side of the temple.
<Floor 5>
-Clear Condition: Defeat the enemy before you.
Step. Step.
A man stumbling toward me, holding a sword.
"...Who's that?"
What did experiencing how strong I'd become have to do with that guy walking over? Were they telling me to just set up a scarecrow and show off my strength? Who was he?
But once the man drew close enough for me to make out his face, I understood what Raphael had meant.
"Huh. Seriously. What an old cliché."
The person approaching was... Kim Jun-ho. It was me. Judging by the clothes, me from the tutorial days. But maybe the copy wasn't perfect, because his eyes were unfocused and his lips kept muttering something.
Sring.
"Heh-heh..."
At some point, a sword had appeared in my hand. An involuntary mocking laugh escaped me. So this was what it meant to 'experience' my growth.
"Yeah, I can definitely feel it."
If me from the tutorial and current me fought, who would win? A hundred times out of a hundred, it would be me. My swordsmanship had improved, my stats had grown tremendously, and on top of that, I could now handle mana.
Raphael must have wanted to say: you've grown this strong. Your struggle to survive wasn't pointless. Experience it with your own body.
It felt tremendously unpleasant to be dancing to his tune, but since I'd entered the Tower, I had no choice.
"Hoo..."
I steadied my breath.
Tah!
I threw myself at my clone. It seemed to try to respond, but its movements were endlessly sluggish.
Shwoo-ak!
I aimed the sword at the clone's neck. But there was no satisfying impact.
"..."
The clone had stepped back exactly one pace and dodged my slash by a paper-thin margin. The gap in basic physical ability made its movements sluggish, but technically it was quite impressive.
"Oh-ho."
So even tutorial me was decent in his own way. I curled the corner of my mouth, and at the same time, awakened the dormant mana, focusing my breathing.
My mental state, which had softened while spending time with Choi Ji-won, slowly returned to what it had been on Floor 4. I began calculating—analyzing my opponent and efficiently killing it.
Next strike. With my next strike, I'd take it out in one blow. It probably wouldn't even react...
"...Huh?"
I lost my focus without meaning to. A very faint pain on the back of my hand. A stinging sensation.
Before I could even figure out what it was, I felt myself being sucked somewhere.
[You have taken damage.]
[Regressing to the moment you first entered Floor 5.]
***
"...?"
I had returned to the starting point of Floor 5.