episode_0112

* Episode 112: Floor 30 Strategy Reward [Information You’ve Been Curious About]

[To all hunters residing in the Tower of Gold.]

[Today at 2 a.m., the gate to the 30th floor of the Tower of Gold has been breached.]

[Clearance: 1 person.]

[【Scavenger】 Hong Changki.]

[To all hunters residing in the Tower of Gold.]

[Today at 2 a.m., the gate to the 30th floor of the Tower of Gold has been breached.]

[Clearance: 1 person.]

[【Scavenger】 Hong Changki.]

[All transition points within the 30th floor have been opened.]

[Additionally, entry to all floors below the 40th is permitted.]

[Once again, it is announced──]

With a familiar notification sound, I returned to the original black-and-white gate.

I cleared it.

Can I really say I cleared it?

The difficulty itself was ordinary compared to the previous gates, but it was challenging for me. As I pondered about the uncertain future created by this gate, two knights approached me.

“Congratulations, Master Changki.”

“It’s time for you to receive the clearance reward.”

“Yes, yes. The clearance reward is nice.”

While saying that, I was writhing on the ground in pain.

Right after being drained by the higher-level demon, my body didn’t listen to me. With skills to enhance strength and vitality, the level of absorption was enough to kill others instantly.

“You’ve worked hard. Let me help you up.”

“Thank you…”

The knight of compassion helped me up, and after taking a deep breath, I finally regained my senses.

“Phew~! I can’t believe it. Why can’t this damn gate be crossed smoothly?”

“That’s our problem. This gate, which should have been easily crossed, is so precarious, and even the summoned daughter didn’t spoil anything until the end. Our situation is too frustrating and scary.”

Indeed, these knights were also frustrated because they wanted to tell me something but couldn’t. I understood that.

Today’s events will probably never be forgotten, but I can’t dwell on them.

“Let’s talk about the clearance reward quickly.”

“There is a reward, but-”

The world turned black.

I wasn’t surprised because it had happened briefly when I received the clearance reward last time.

“As I mentioned before, the difficulty of this gate seems a bit low. The rewards from such places are low-grade skills. So, if you want something specific, shall we prepare it for you?”

Originally, I didn’t ascend this gate for the skills.

In that sense, his offer was something I wanted to ask for.

“It’s actually better. I was going to retrieve the memories of my women when I broke this gate.”

“Which women are you talking about?”

“Seress. Brigitta. Or maybe about our cow. Especially here, I know almost nothing about my first woman, the cow. I feel emotionally drawn to her, and I want to protect her, but I’m frustrated to death because I don’t know the origin.”

“Ah. Is that the story?”

“Is it possible?”

“Hmm. Wait a moment.”

The knight of compassion stiffened his back and started communicating with someone as electricity flowed from the tip of his finger. It was obvious who he was communicating with. It was the Tower Lord who set the criteria for this clearance reward.

“Hmm. Hmhmhmhm.”

He nodded his head several times, then lowered his back after a few seconds.

“…What is it?”

“He refuses. He said this gate was relatively easy overall, and he flatly rejected the idea of returning all the memories of your lovers, calling it absurd.”

“Weren’t you planning to return them in the first place?”

“Maybe not. Our Tower Lord thinks your friend bypassed the 50th floor, so he won’t forgive everyone related to that. So, at least until the 50th floor, he won’t return any memories related to it.”

“Tsk.”

I scratched the back of my head.

But this was something I vaguely expected.

“Then, can I ask a few questions and get some answers?”

“I’ll listen and judge. Feel free to speak.”

The first thing that piqued my curiosity.

“I suddenly became stronger after entering this tower. Well, not exactly after entering the tower, but from the moment I started getting involved with Sungyeon.”

It was even more so from the point where I blocked Bra’s attack.

No matter how much I think about it, it’s strange. At that time, I was really just a D-rank.

“That’s easy to answer. Have you heard about regression?”

“Yes.”

“It’s not a complete regression, so the influence on the soul remains. Simply put, you’ve been accumulating experience points through regression. Especially since Sungyeon, that friend, is moving around you, the one who has been most affected is you, the Challenger.”

“So, I’ve become stronger by accumulating experience points from different regressions like a novel protagonist?”

“Especially this time, you’ve gotten closer to Sungyeon. If not for that, you wouldn’t have been able to exhibit such abilities. The deeper you delve into your friend’s secrets, the more experience points you can extract from yourself.”

“Like an external experience point reservoir.”

“Exactly. So, I can confidently say that the Hunter ranking of the Challenger won’t change. It’s just that you’re stacking the skills you’ve accumulated from different regressions.”

It’s no different from borrowing strength or buffs from the outside…

Once again, I realized something I didn’t know.

“The secret was revealed, but now I don’t know how to proceed. I’ve been warned that if I touch the wrong thing, my head will explode, so I need to be careful…”

“I dare say you already know everything. You have the right materials and the means to reveal them. The answer is right in front of you, but the fog in your mind is preventing you from seeing it.”

“Really?”

“The boy named Nayami is the same. Perhaps there is a slight connection to your friend’s secret.”

“Is it okay to reveal that much?”

He chuckled.

“Right now, it’s reward time for the Challenger. Even when I just communicated with the Tower Lord, I was granted permission to speak as long as it doesn’t involve returning memories. So, I’m telling you this in a risky manner.”

“Even we who are watching from the sidelines are scared.”

“Perhaps even with such hints, you might not be able to figure it out on your own.”

The words of the two knights made me ponder for a moment.

The hint pointing to Sungyeon.

But Nayami was a fan of Sungyeon, and they had almost no contact, as he himself had said.

Yet, if there is a connection…

『To my precious person suffering because of the Tower, and to the friend from beyond the sea who believed in me and joined the 【Thicket】.』

The ambition Sungyeon expressed at the Ma Chien Lou suddenly came to mind.

The precious person suffering because of the Tower must be me, but I have never heard about the friend from across the sea.

…

…Beyond the sea, where could that be?

Was mentioning Nayami here referring to the Japanese Nayami?

“Has Nayami ever joined the Thicket?”

“Well, that doesn’t seem to be a question we can answer.”

He evaded the question.

I felt like I was getting closer to the right answer.

My heart raced, and as I was about to be enveloped in a strange sensation, I threw another question.

“And… I have one more question. What is this thing in my heart? I haven’t dissected my heart, but it feels like something is living inside…!”

“Challenger. You already know, don’t you? That’s you. Like Sungyeon, a fool who admits his own mistakes.”

“What kind of foolish mistake?”

Is it just one person, or is it more? Hehe. Among all those regressions, is it only your friend who made a mistake?”

…

…

At the words of the Knight of Pure Love, the light in my heart sank.

Today, he really revealed a lot to me in a shocking way.

The reason I became stronger, how to uncover Seongyeoni’s secret, and even about another me inside me were all confirmed.

“The time is running out.”

“Topju hasn’t caught on yet, but it’s getting dangerous.”

Sunae empathized with TS’s knight’s words.

They had to throw out one last question before leaving.

I had a lot of questions I wanted to ask, but one thing came to mind right now.

“Just one more thing!”

“What is it?”

“Seongyeoni said he regressed out of selfishness. Is it really 100% his fault?”

“Hmm. Isn’t that a story that’s already over? Topju, the woman next to you, even yourself would think so. But do you have a reason to ask that again?”

“I saw it in a dream. You showed me something I did in the first round, subtly showing me doing something to induce joy after receiving Seongyeoni’s favor. It showed me like a total scumbag.”

“Oh.”

“Hmm….”

“Uh-huh….”

Both Sunae and TS were amazed at my words.

The attitude that I didn’t think would show that much inside me.

“You said it. Either the one in my heart admits their mistakes or they’re fools. How do you feel about showing that dream?”

“Take it as it is. Just as Seongyeoni thought everything was his fault, someone in your heart also thinks it’s their fault.”

“Can I take it as a hint that I induced favor to Seongyeoni, my friend!?”

“How would I know that? It’s now a problem between you and your friend, so you should ask yourself. If this body tries to pull out the roots by teasing me this time, it will be bitter.”

But a smile that laughed in a sneaky way showed genuine joy.

TS’s knight did the same, patting each other’s shoulders and laughing together.

Then the two knights simultaneously raised their index fingers.

“Oh? Oh, this is bad. The territory is about to break.”

“Topju is about to move.”

“We used the territory for too long.”

The world of darkness collapsed, and the world slowly returned.

The black-and-white gate opened wide, and the bodies of the two knights were wrapped in gold.

“It seems we weren’t caught. Oh, good. I wanted to tell you everything before the story got too frustrating.”

“Are we going to get scolded again?”

“We made the territory to avoid your eyes, so we’ll receive questioning… Well, this time it should be fine.”

Sunae’s knight raised his thumb.

Of course, TS’s knight did the same.

“Changgi, don’t worry about your head and try something even if it’s just a joke.”

“I’ve given you enough hints and ingredients. The rest depends on your actions.”

With the advice to thoroughly uncover Seongyeoni’s secret, they disappeared.

It was said to be the gate with the least reward, but perhaps they gave the biggest thing.

‘Why are the Archbishops here so kind.’

Apart from being eccentric, they’re good guys.

I didn’t actually gain anything, but I felt like I gained something more valuable, and immediately flew towards the ground.

First, Nayami.

Next is Madam.

Finally, I will play a prank on the two using ‘that’.