Choi Ji-won Is Too Strong (8)
Choi Ji-won Is Too Strong (8)
The moment I saw Archangel Raphael, draped in flowing white robes, I was certain.
"...Of course."
These beings were never anything like Angels. If anything, they were the lackeys of the Demon God.
I once read a post on the community titled 'The True Form of Angels.' According to that post, Angels were supposed to be grotesque—wheels within wheels studded with eyeballs, or monsters with four faces and six wings.
But the Angel before my eyes was a beautiful, elegant figure. As I thought, Biblical Angels could never look like—
"You know one thing but miss the other!"
One of the baby Angels blowing a trumpet vigorously suddenly butted in, having apparently interpreted my expression.
"The 'bizarre form' you're imagining is only one part of an Angel's possible forms! Non-humanoid Angels are an extreme minority! In the Bible, Angels are mostly depicted as beautiful human males! And a high-ranking Angel like Raphael isn't bound by physical appearance, so at any time, he can freely..."
"That's enough. You're troubling the Climber."
"Ah, understood! Lord Raphael!"
The baby Angel, who had been spewing a mountain of TMI, returned to their spot and resumed playing the trumpet with gusto.
Archangel Raphael, who had been watching the baby Angel, turned his head.
"It's true that I took on a form easily capable of earning others' good favor. If it makes you uncomfortable, I will change it."
Raphael smiled as he spoke.
It was the kind of smile often described as 'genial'—the sort that put your heart at ease just by looking at it.
A harmless, warm, and somehow holy smile.
The image of a nun caring for a newborn in an empty church flickered through my mind.
"...It doesn't matter."
I felt my tension unwinding against my will, so I clenched my teeth and glared.
I had to stay sharp. The lackey of the Demon God who had turned Earth into a wreck was standing right in front of me.
This bastard didn't come here to genuinely congratulate me.
The current situation was, so to speak, like playing a game when a critical bug occurs. A 'GM Raphael - A game-breaking bug has been discovered. We apologize for the inconvenience' kind of situation.
When a bug occurs, it's only natural for the operator to get his feet held to the fire. He only stepped in because if I got any bad ideas here, Floor 2 could be completely wrecked. I shouldn't misunderstand.
As I was busy burning with hostility—
"Hmm... I had many things I wanted to say, but this doesn't seem like the right moment."
Raphael, who had been watching my face intently, suddenly stretched his right hand forward.
"H-hieeek!"
"Stay still. If you've committed a sin, shouldn't you at least clean it up properly?"
And in the blink of an eye, an Angel was caught by the scruff of the neck in his right hand.
A familiar face. It was the Angel who had been holding a sign and explaining the basic rules in the square.
"Sir Jun-ho. From now on, I would like to discuss the matter of changing Floor 2. Would that be acceptable? As it stands, Floor 2 is failing to serve its function."
Raphael spoke to me warmly, still holding the Sign Angel in one hand.
"..."
Instead of answering, I nodded slightly.
As expected, he had made the trip in person because he wanted something. I had to keep my guard up completely from here on out.
The current situation was extremely positive. Choi Ji-won had gained a huge amount of combat experience, all the city residents had been liberated, and we'd even summoned an Archangel said to manage the Tower.
And even if I repeated my regressions, I couldn't guarantee I could recreate the exact same scenario. I had to give my absolute best moment by moment, with the mindset of ascending to Floor 3 this time.
Skipping the verbal circling, I decided to get straight to the point. This would probably fluster the Archangel a bit.
"...Change Floor 2."
"Very well. I had already intended to revise Floor 2's rules to some degree when the time came."
Contrary to my expectations, Raphael answered without hesitation.
"The part you find objectionable is being forced to commit evil deeds to obtain good rewards, isn't it? I will amend the rules. The Badge Box will be discarded... and rewards of Gold-grade or higher will require proving a certain level of strength. Ah, by discarding the Badge Box, I mean that the residents will be left alone, like so-called NPCs."
"..."
"And I will grant Diamond rewards to all three key contributors who improved the city. The Diamond Badge is a hidden reward, and I mean I will give it to you threefold. Originally, the highest-grade reward is to be given to only one person by principle... but this is repayment for showing such an impressive strategy."
As Raphael waved the hand not holding the Angel in the air, a message window appeared before my eyes.
<Floor 2>
-Clear Condition: Complete the task given by a city resident and return to the square with the resident who gave the task to clear. However, you must not leave the city zone. Climbers, please get along well with each other!
-Addendum 1. The standard for violence has been relaxed; physically blocking another's movement is no longer possible.
-Addendum 2. To receive rewards of Gold-grade or higher, you must solve a task assigned by the city's Instructor. Experience can be earned in the process of solving the task.
"I will bring several strong individuals to Floor 2 to serve as Instructors. They will be a great help to Climbers lacking combat experience. And by the way, I relaxed the standard for violence so that blocking someone's path is also impossible. Mere physical contact will not be recognized as violence. Is this much acceptable?"
"..."
This was completely different from the compromise I had envisioned. I had expected a tightrope act of tense negotiation from here on out...
But looking at the rule revision, it was fine. All the things I wanted were included.
So fine it was almost suspicious.
Especially the 'Instructor' that the Angel mentioned... it seemed to scratch exactly the part I had been worrying about.
Because I had cleared the Tutorial all by myself, I was concerned about the other people who hadn't gotten a chance to build up levels or combat experience.
I could feel a great deal of goodwill from Archangel Raphael. I wasn't sure if that emotion called 'goodwill' was the same emotion as human goodwill, but in any case, it was a clear fact that he was acting favorably toward me.
It had been the same since Floor 1. They provided all sorts of convenience facilities. As long as you had the will to train, the ways to use them were practically infinite.
Floor 2 outright banned violence between Climbers. Because of that, as long as you didn't commit a crime, there was no threat of death at all.
"...What are you thinking."
And to me, that goodwill was as itchy and awkward as wearing a stiff wool sweater.
"Why are you being so nice to me."
"Hmm..."
Raphael closed his eyes and thought for a moment, then slowly opened them and looked straight at me.
"I think you are misunderstanding something... Floor 2 is a floor designed entirely for your sake. More precisely, it's a floor created to inspire the Climbers' will to resist and their will to move forward. Because it was designed to be unreasonable from the start."
"...What?"
"What else would the existence of a Hidden Achievement mean? Haven't you ever thought it was strange that the City Master carried her weakness dangling from her waist?"
"..."
"It seems you understand."
I calmed my mind and thought it over carefully... Raphael's words were true.
To harbor doubts about Floor 2's unreasonable system. To possess the will to change it.
To follow the scattered clues step by step... Ultimately, it was indeed designed so that you could reach the City Master.
Moreover, if the City Master hadn't worn the pouch containing the Badge Box dangling from her waist—
If she had placed the box deep inside her robes, beneath her armor—
Then there would have been no way to defeat her at all. She was a powerhouse that even a monstrously overpowered player like Choi Ji-won didn't dare resist. It was correct to say there was no chance of winning a direct frontal confrontation.
That meant Raphael's words weren't just nonsense he was blurting out to dodge a crisis.
But that didn't guarantee they were the complete truth, either. Isn't it said that the most effective lies are those mixed with a little bit of truth?
"Even knowing we will be hated by you, I will give. Human love demands conditions, because it is equal love. But God's love is descending love. It can love, even without conditions."
Raphael spread his arms wide and smiled gently. He was claiming that everything he had done was, in fact, him taking the lead for the sake of humanity.
"..."
Maybe because I had suspicion in my heart, the smile felt slightly out of place this time, unlike before. Awkward, I guess you could say.
As I thought, these beings are hiding something. Just because they wear white clothes and have beautiful appearances doesn't mean they can all be trusted.
But instead of pointing that part out, I decided to change the subject. For now, it was wise to act as if I was somewhat persuaded.
"But... what about the city residents?"
Archangel Raphael had created an environment on Floor 2 where the city residents were doomed to suffer.
He had chattered on endlessly about loving humanity, yet the residents were treated worse than livestock on the street. His words didn't add up.
Raphael's smile stiffened slightly.
He considered for a moment, then spoke in the gentle voice of a teacher giving soft guidance.
"Sir Jun-ho. Just because they share the same outward appearance, they are not all the same people."
"...What do you mean?"
"Just as I am not human despite taking on a human appearance, they too take on human appearance, but they are not the same humans. It's complicated to explain in depth... but they are beings of a far lower order than you Climbers."
"..."
"I won't force you not to grow attached to them. But, those are the facts."
I wanted to argue about who decided such an 'order' of worth, but the answer was clear even without asking.
God must have decided it.
Every single thing happening in this Tower must be orchestrated by that bastard they call the omnipotent, omniscient God.
Just what is that bastard's intention? Was giving me the regression ability also God's intention?
My head grew complicated, and as I lowered my head, Raphael turned and slowly moved away from me.
"Then it seems everything I had to say is finished... I will wake the others now. It was a productive time, Sir Jun-ho."
"..."
I clenched my teeth, my eyes cast down at the floor.
Fine. God's intention or whatever. Let's set aside problems that yield no answer no matter how much you think about them.
From start to finish, I was utterly disgusted at having been made a puppet.
The Tower's creation was according to God's will. All of Floor 2 was according to Archangel Raphael's will. And maybe my regression ability was also according to God's will.
Looking at it this way, wasn't I no different from the city residents? A puppet dancing on a stage.
Heat rushed to my head.
Was it the recklessness born from a Regressor's ignorance of the fear of death, or was it because I had a naturally hot-tempered disposition?
"You... had better prepare yourself. Is just showing your face and running away a remotely acceptable thing to do?"
"Hiek..."
"Wait."
I felt I couldn't just let Raphael leave like this.
"What is it?"
Raphael, who had been about to step into a pillar of light while holding the Sign Angel in one hand, turned back to look at me.
"Hand it over."
"...Excuse me?"
"The reward. Give me more."
"..."
"In the first place, the Diamond reward is more of a bonus concept given when you subdue the City Master. Simply giving three of those doesn't balance the scales. A special reward for achieving a Hidden Achievement. I feel it's insufficient."
"But did I not change the city rules for you instead?"
"That's just you changing the rules on your own because Floor 2 became a game-breaking situation."
Honestly, part of me wanted to smack the Archangel on the back of the head...
But realistically, getting into a fight with an Archangel here was out of the question.
I didn't feel any kind of aura from his body, but as the martial arts novels say, when the gap in levels is too extreme, you feel nothing at all. It's reasonable to view an 'Archangel' as a Transcendent in the first place.
In other words... picking a fight was the worst possible option.
"Special reward."
The best option was to accept the situation and squeeze out the maximum possible gain.
"Give it to me."
Now that things had come to this—
I had no intention of stopping at a measly three Diamond rewards.