episode_0036

[Curse of Affection (S)]

[You, who have insulted my tower and pride in a petty manner, shall receive just punishment.]

[First, do not reveal your secrets until he notices them.]

[Second, do not distort the truth with your vile tongue.]

[Third, as his beloved falls into the arms of another, he shall become more vulgar than anyone else….]

[…Enveloped in jealousy, watch his beloved’s corruption closer than anyone else’s.]

[Even if you shiver like a leaf in the wind, there will be no salvation for your love.]

[*Interference in the mind of Yi is present. Due to skill adjustments, deciphering the truth will be difficult.]

[*According to the curse of the tower, you are bound by the oath. Your fate may change at will.]

[*Yi will receive the curse. He will follow the orders.]

Seongyeon was watching the skill from across the room.

It was not visible in my field of vision.

I turned my head in fear that my head might explode if I saw it.

“…Did you find out anything?”

“I just lowered my rank. Except for the fact that the skill description is quite broken, everything else is the same.”

“Broken?”

“More like shattered. It seems like the Tower Lord intentionally broke it.”

“Then do you not know how much you can explain?”

“No. I know everything. When the light flowed in just now, a warning was left for me. The conditions have become extremely loose, so now I only need to keep one.”

“What is it?”

“The most important secret for me, excluding regression. Even if Changgi forgives you for everything, he left one suffering until the end.”

“I see.”

I decided not to curse.

It was scary to think that if I got caught gossiping, it would be almost the same as being completely unlocked.

“So, can we finally talk now?”

“Yes. Finally.”

Inside the room, I took out a bottle from the wine rack.

Seongyeon’s liberated expression was infinitely gentle.

“On the 131st regression, we finally made it here.”

It was a toast to liberation.

……………

….One glass after another.

We shared drinks like we did when we reunited with this guy.

But this time, it was different.

We truly reunited and enjoyed the intoxication.

“Hmm….”

The stories we heard along with the drinks were fake yet full of reality.

“I died like a fool?”

“Yes. There were too many cases where people around me realized my secret and told you. My mom, guild members, colleagues… Even if they knew, they couldn’t keep it a secret, so when the secret reached your ears, I was already dead. One day, I woke up to you screaming that I was dead, so I regressed… I really lost my mind then.”

He didn’t reveal what the secret was.

It was the final puzzle left by Tower Lord Aphrodite.

Excluding this, he unlocked all the stories about regression and listened to his friend’s grievances without missing a beat.

“The more we reunite quickly, the higher the probability becomes. So I decided to meet you as late as possible. From the time you moved and changed schools after getting burned in elementary school… now 27 years old. I repeated my life until now.”

“So, is that why there was no contact until now? Because you contacted me quickly after regression and then died again?”

“Does it sound like an excuse? But it’s true. I even went to the same high school as you. Or I even suggested giving up and not becoming a hunter. I climbed the tower alone with the mindset that I just had to clear it.”

I knew.

“But my mom spilled the beans. She called you and spilled everything, even though she strictly told me not to say anything. Otherwise, my friends, teachers, your parents….”

It was one of the memories shown by the knight.

“If it’s a secret easy enough for your mother to know… am I the only one who doesn’t know it?”

“Right. Chang-gi, you have to realize it on your own. It’s a really simple secret, but there’s a curse attached to my skill, so you won’t easily notice it. In fact, there were several conversations with Aphrodite earlier that hinted at my secret, but you didn’t catch on at all.”

You didn’t catch on at all.

It was even in that short conversation…

“…Ugh!?”

“Don’t dwell on it too deeply. The curse has loosened, but there’s still a possibility it might explode again.”

“I’ll be careful….”

Suddenly, my head started to ache.

A sharp, resonating pain in my head.

Perhaps, a sign of an explosion.

You shouldn’t realize it with information given by others.

“…It’s a really strange curse. Even when I tried to hide it thoroughly, it somehow leaked out somewhere. My secret leaked out and entered your ears. Even with threats. It’s as if someone is controlling people.”

It might be the power of the Tower.

Given its nature, it might manipulate others.

But it wasn’t scary.

‘It feels refreshing.’

Just knowing that Seong-yeon revealed everything made the fear disappear and the anger subside.

I decided to ask something while enjoying a drink.

-Why did you first climb the Tower?

“Because you’re my benefactor, and I wanted to give you a good skill. I thought that by conquering the Tower, you could obtain a good skill. But then, I became greedy and made you die… and that’s how you ended up regressing with the skill I accidentally obtained. Instead, I received a curse that made me regress infinitely without aging or dying.”

-What is the condition to escape from the infinite regression curse?

“You just have to offer something useful to you as originally intended. But I don’t know how big of an offering it needs to be. Whether it’s an EX-grade skill or a woman, so I tried to prepare a lot.”

-So, you resorted to cheating to climb the Tower and received another curse?

“Yes. In the words of a foolish person. I killed you many times out of my circumstances and desires.”

-As a result, you killed me 131 times?

“I tried. And I succeeded. I’m truly sorry.”

…………

….I don’t feel it.

They say I died, but I’m not dead.

The Hong Chang-gi I thought was my comrade is no longer in this world.

Maybe, he might be someone else…

“Still, I felt relieved.”

“What about?”

“Just now, Aphrodite mentioned that there are traces of your soul left.”

“…………”

“Even if you regress, you’re still the Chang-gi I know. Always the one who saves me. You saved me again.”

…Thinking like that, I denied my thoughts.

A soul.

Then, is this guy the Hong Chang-gi I know?

If the gods say so, it could be.

If the soul led me… that’s quite…

‘Come to think of it, where did my clear reward go?’

At that moment, he suddenly stripped naked and stuck out his tongue, and the reward disappeared.

Even though I cleared the 10th floor, all I got was that mysterious phenomenon and fragmented memories.

“131 times, that Seat said it as if I hadn’t died many times, and I was really surprised.”

“Because the authority of the Tower is strong, that’s why. Perhaps that Seat doesn’t know the details and vaguely helped you.”

“That’s right. It’s funny that such a Seat exists.”

I had another drink.

Then, Seong-yeon was quiet unlike before.

I thought he might touch me or something, but today he was like a borrowed cat.

“…Aren’t you angry?”

“All of a sudden?”

“I killed you several times because I’m an idiot… and made you suffer this curse…”

“It’s scary, but it’s eased now. As long as you don’t hear nonsense from somewhere, you won’t die. I’ve realized this, and I know you’re a regressive, so from my perspective, it’s one of the best situations ever, right?”

“That’s true, but… my head keeps flying off, and I have to start my life over so many times….”

“I can’t say anything because I don’t remember. If I had even a vague memory, I would have been angry, but I don’t even have that.”

Where should I be angry?

The part where this guy pushed me into the Golden Tower without any explanation?

I already hit him.

I already got angry.

It’s over.

“Rather than that, the reason we haven’t been in contact is because of that. Someone must have told me your secret, so I decided to cut off all contact until we meet again.”

“Yeah. If someone is going to reveal my secret, I have to be careful.”

“If that’s the case, I can’t be angry. You did the right thing.”

From my perspective, all I know is that my friend, whom I haven’t seen in a long time, gave me the honor of conquering the 10th floor of the Golden Tower and a lovely lover as a gift.

There was no explanation, and the development was so frustrating that I was boiling with anger…

“…Wait.”

“Yeah.”

“Now that I think about it, there was something I wanted to ask you.”

“What is it?”

“The woman you introduced me to. The one with the cow mask.”

“Yeah.”

“She’s not the same woman from the previous loops, right?”

“……”

A moment of silence.

I thought I asked something inappropriate, but Seongyeon responded with a question.

“What do you mean by asking that?”

“Is it because she’s inherently seductive, or because of her physique, that a woman like her, who you wouldn’t be able to meet no matter how many times you restart her life, met you physically because of the regression?”

“Ah….”

She awkwardly scratched the back of her head.

She pondered on how to respond, and then answered confidently.

“That’s right. She realized that she was under a curse similar to mine after repeating the regression multiple times. That’s why she’s relying on you.”

“Really?”

“Why else would she cover her face? She can’t let anyone know her true identity. It’s that kind of curse.”

It makes sense when she says it like that.

Now I understand why she said she loved me out of the blue.

“Okay….”

“If she’s suffocating in a plastic bag, can she wear a mask like a mask?”

“I’ll pass on the message.”

Is that okay?

Then it’s settled.

What did I ask her?

The reason why our idiot climbed the tower = To give me a gift

The reason why he gained the ability to regress and was cursed with infinite regression = To save me

The reason he was cursed in the Golden Tower = He tried to give me a better skill as a condition to resolve the first curse, but failed

It’s all because of me?

He really felt deeply grateful to me.

“Phew….”

While enjoying the alcohol without knowing the taste of wine, a sudden thought came to mind.

That my relationships with women weren’t just limited to her.

“So, what about Ceress?”

“……”

“I remember sleeping with her. How did that happen?”

“She was originally one of the women I was going to give you.”

“Her?”

“Yeah. I connected you two like Cupid, and you died. Ceress ended up revealing my secret to you.”

“She told me your secret? With her personality?”

“I thought Ceress would keep her mouth shut, but she must have been extremely weak in front of the person she loved. Well, she went through a lot. She’s a heavy person in many ways… so she might have relied on you more than necessary.”

That Ceress….

……..

….Would the memories from that time still linger inside Ceress, like remnants of my old self in my soul?

I wonder….

“Do you roughly understand the story?”

“Yeah. How crazy you are.”

We put down our glasses.

It’s time to wrap up the story.

“Let’s climb the tower. I’ll help you. I’ll give you many skills and women. I’ll give you a lot and help you escape from this damn curse.”

“This time, let’s do it properly, without going against the Tower’s will?”

“…Yeah. So, Changgi. Can I ask you one thing?”

“Go ahead.”

Seongyeon swallowed his saliva.

“Sometimes, even if I come back to this time after dying, please don’t feel burdened.”

“……..”

“Even if I suddenly seem to know a lot, just go along with it.”

“……..”

“Please.”

It’s a heavy request.

But still….

“Okay.”

I didn’t refuse.

After all, I needed help.

I have no intention of conquering the gold without this guy.

“Am I really trash? Right?”

“Don’t worry. The guy in front of you is also not just any trash.”

I am a worthless guy who allows the death of a friend.

Laughing among ourselves, we raised our last glass of the day.

The night of reconciliation has arrived.