The Regressor Gets Stronger (6)
The Regressor Gets Stronger (6)
Eleven days had passed since Kim Jun-ho regressed to challenge the [70] difficulty. Or had they? He wasn't sure. By Choi Ji-won's reckoning, at least, eleven days had passed.
Flip. Flip.
"..."
Choi Ji-won sat in a chair, expressionless, turning the pages of a book. The cover of the book she was reading said Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. It wasn't only the book in her hands—three or four other volumes stacked on the desk were all related to human psychology.
"The best course of action... is still going to a hospital."
Every book she had read emphasized that "mental problems require professional help." And if Kim Jun-ho ended up in a hospital... he would probably be told he needed rest. After all, the simplest cure for an illness is to remove the cause.
That wasn't the direction Choi Ji-won wanted.
"It's about time."
Choi Ji-won closed the book she was reading, then shoved it and the other books on the desk into her bag all at once. Kim Jun-ho would be back soon; the books had to be hidden.
"He said he was challenging the [70] difficulty... so it'll take a while, right?"
She might as well catch up on messages. Flipping over her neglected phone, Choi Ji-won went through the backlog one by one. Her replies to friends were stuffed with "lololol," but her expression remained blank.
Compared to Kim Jun-ho, Choi Ji-won had been through far fewer cycles, but she had repeated this stretch of time a few times herself. The messages she was checking now were all things she already remembered. Already-known information was unlikely to stir much emotion.
"..."
And if Choi Ji-won was like this, what must Kim Jun-ho be going through? The look in her eyes sank heavily.
"...When Jun-ho gets back, I should feed him something good."
'Chicken? What about chicken? It's packed with protein and tastes great. Don't you think ordering ten of them in different flavors would work?'
"No. You saw me buying the beef and the shabu-shabu broth earlier. Tonight's dinner is shabu-shabu."
'Look at how much we eat. You really think that'll be enough? And if we use mana, we need to eat even more.'
"...Then let's order just two."
Around the time that Choi Ji-won and Boongboong-yi were bickering over the dinner menu and reached a dramatic settlement—
-Vwoom.
"Jun-ho?"
"Ugh, I'm beat."
Kim Jun-ho returned to the rented room through a blue portal. It was far earlier than Choi Ji-won had predicted.
"You're back? That was pretty quick."
Choi Ji-won smiled as she greeted him. At the same time, her sharp senses swept over Kim Jun-ho's entire body. His physical state looked fine, and his expression was decent. Even if he had regressed without her knowledge, the number of times didn't seem high.
Inwardly relieved, she poured a cup of warm water and handed it to him.
"What happened? Did you beat the [70] difficulty mannequin?"
"Hmm... I'm not sure I can call this beating it..."
Kim Jun-ho scratched the back of his head as he drank.
According to him, the [70] difficulty opponent was flawless. Fast, powerful, and technically superb. On top of that, it was a rare martial-fighter type that fought with punches and kicks, making it especially hard to adapt to.
"After about three regressions, I got the feeling. 'Ah, this isn't going to work.'"
It wouldn't be cut by a sword. An attack he thought he had deflected turned out to be a feint. The Cold Energy it subtly emitted couldn't restrict its movements. Kim Jun-ho's Cold Energy was lethal to most living things... but against the strong who surpassed a certain threshold, its effectiveness dropped sharply. (Even Choi Ji-won had only frozen up at first and quickly adapted.)
In the end, Kim Jun-ho instinctively realized that a direct confrontation was hopeless. At that point, he decided to disregard the consequences and go all out.
"When I used mana at full power, I did manage to take it down. The problem was that right after, my heart stopped, too. So after that regression, I cleared Floor 12 and came straight back."
Kim Jun-ho's full power was strong. So strong that the problem was he couldn't withstand it himself.
Clack. The empty cup was set down on the table. Water droplets clung to the outside, perhaps from a spill while he was drinking.
"I don't think investing more time is going to improve anything. Let's go up to Floor 13."
"..."
In her heart, Choi Ji-won also wanted to go to Floor 13 right away, but she couldn't do that just yet.
"So, I asked the Association, and apparently there aren't many people on Floor 13 right now. I don't know much about what Floor 13 involves... but we can't let the same thing that happened this time happen again, right? Let's wait about a week before we go in."
"...Really?"
Kim Jun-ho's eyes sparkled at the mention of resting. He probably thought he was doing a good job of hiding it, but... every time Choi Ji-won suggested resting, he was thoroughly delighted. In a way, it was only natural, since he got to escape a repetitive situation and spend time with the person he loved, but...
"..."
Watching that sight, Choi Ji-won's heart was uneasy.
Choi Ji-won didn't want Kim Jun-ho to stay in reality for too long.
**
A week had passed since clearing Floor 12. Frankly, I wanted to rest a little longer, but... if you sit, you want to lie down; if you lie down, you want to sleep. People have inertia; sometimes you just have to act when it's time to act.
Anyway, as before, we briefly checked on the state of the world, got our bodies into peak condition, and then entered the portal with Choi Ji-won.
-Entered Floor 13.
When I opened my eyes, a harsh sun stabbed at them. At the same time, hot air licked over my whole body, and I felt small grains pattering against my skin.
"...A desert?"
No, not a desert. Wasteland might be a more appropriate term. It wasn't completely free of sand, but it wasn't piled up enough to be called a desert, and occasional clumps of dry grass were visible.
"I feel like I've seen this kind of scene in a drama before."
A landscape where cowboys roam, tumbleweeds roll, and Native Americans lie hidden with poison darts. Frankly, the wide-open wasteland was fairly impressive, but considering the hardships that lay ahead here, all I could do was sigh.
"Hmm..."
First, as a test, I raised mana and wrapped it around my body. White mist naturally emanated from me, and cool air enveloped my surroundings. I had thought the smoke coming off my body was water vapor, but seeing it appear even in such a dry environment, it must be something magical.
"Now then..."
Having finished my status check, it was time to figure out what kind of place Floor 13 was.
"?!"
Whoosh!
From behind, at a not-too-distant range, I sensed a terrifying presence—enough to make the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end instantly.
It was approaching me, and it was fast, violent, and lethal. I couldn't understand how I had only just noticed it. Was I an idiot?
Before my reason could reach any conclusion, my instincts drew my sword first. It's coming. I have to react. What about my stance? Are my legs spaced properly? My mana? Should I go all out? Slash first? Or a thrust? In a split second, countless possibilities surfaced and then subsided.
"...Haha."
But the closer the figure got, the more the strength drained from my grip on my sword. The shape rushing toward me now was far too familiar.
"Jun-ho!"
"It was you."
"Of course. I sensed your presence and came running."
Choi Ji-won brushed the dust and dirt from her hair. Because we had always been forcibly separated before, the possibility that the approaching presence could be Choi Ji-won hadn't immediately crossed my mind. Right—it's not my fault. The fault lies with the Tower.
"But how did you find me so quickly?"
"Ever since you began using that 'Cold Energy,' there's a kind of... cold presence? Anyway, it's become a bit easier to detect. Maybe because the surroundings are incredibly hot, it really stood out."
Saying that, Choi Ji-won softly clung to me.
"Ahh~ That's refreshing."
The dwarf-forged armor received some kind of magical treatment so it didn't heat up, but the weather here was simply hot in itself. Of course, at our level, we wouldn't be affected by the heat... but cool is still nice, isn't it?
"Let's stay like this for a bit."
After Choi Ji-won stuck close to me for ten minutes to cool down—
"On my way here, I saw other players. They were over that way."
"...Shouldn't you have mentioned that first?"
Choi Ji-won said she'd seen other players on her way. They were sitting around five wagons, trying to cool off, and because they were wearing dwarf-forged armor, she had been able to recognize them from a distance.
"On the wagons, it said [17/20]. I guess this floor is meant for twenty people."
"Hmm... shall we go?"
"We should. Nothing else to do here."
And so, Choi Ji-won and I began walking in the direction where she had seen the wagons.
Wagons in a wasteland. I still couldn't get a handle on what kind of floor this was or what kind of task it would assign.
But one thing was certain.
Right now, Choi Ji-won and I were in a state where we could fully combine our strength.
"Won't we clear it in no time?"
That alone made Floor 13 seem far too easy.