Jun-ho. You go in.
Kang Chan spoke calmly from within the barrier.
I can feel the seal weakening. It will probably be released in an hour or two.
He lightly scratched the spherical barrier with the tip of his finger, then shifted his gaze to the fallen Dok Su-hee.
Once the seal is broken, Ill take Su-hee and escape from the third floor. So, you go through the red door.
But...
Its all the sa to . There was a necessity to enter through the red door at so point anyway.
However, I was troubled by Kang Chan willingly giving up the reward. I hadnt revealed my regression to him. I couldnt understand why he was being so generous.
The reason? Its simple.
Turning his gaze, Kang Chan looked at the door mixed with shades of red and gray.
First off, Im not particularly fond of the reward itself.
His eyes were heavy with a solemn depth.
This tower was created to judge humanity. Moreover, this floor emphasized cooperation as its main task. Yet, its designed so that if one person dies, progress is halted, only to induce betrayal in the end.
Kang Chans words were true. The tower induces wrongdoing while threatening judgnt for those very acts. Its inherently contradictory.
So, its hard to believe that the reward could be purely beneficial. There might even be a penalty involved.
From the very color of the door being deep red, as Kang Chan suggested, it was unlikely that the reward would be wholly good.
Thats why I wont take the risk.
Kang Chan spoke with his arms crossed.
Im already strong enough. Instead of taking unnecessary risks, Ill settle for the basic reward. You can take the risk.
Outwardly, thats what Kang Chan said, but I could guess his true intentions.
In this regression, Kang Chan hadnt disclosed his abilities to . So now, he was playing the role of the rciless and arrogant strongman, Kang Chan.
Perhaps, internally, he acknowledged my past achievents and therefore conceded the reward.
, I also... think that Jun-ho should be the one to go in. But my reason is a bit different.
This ti, it was An Kyung-Joon speaking.
Jun-ho was the first to spot the initial wolf... And it was thanks to Jun-ho that we overca the strange maze that appeared midway... Most of all, the arrow trap was practically Jun-hos solo show, wasnt it? I think Jun-ho has contributed enough to deserve the reward.
His words were true. In order to speed up our progress through the regression, I used what one could call insight to predict various threats, allowing us to navigate through the third floor with ease.
If we were to asure overall contributions, perhaps mine were the highest.
And...
Looking down at Dok Su-hee, An Kyung-Joon continued.
...probably, Su-hee also thought the sa.
Dok Su-hee is a traitor. Shes not an object of sympathy.
Kang Chan spoke with a frown. But An Kyung-Joon could only smile, even as sweat dripped down his face.
...Haha. Its true shes a traitor. But would she have acted this way if the tower didnt exist? After all, its the tower that changed a young student like her...
Sighing, Kang Chan shook his head disapprovingly.
...Better not to talk about it.
...
Looking at An Kyung-Joon taking care of Dok Su-hee, I felt a sinking feeling in my heart.
Only then did I notice Dok Su-hees injuries. Her twisted expression beca clear to .
After seeing Dok Su-hees severe arm, what had I thought?
Hadnt I felt satisfied? Deed it a just punishnt for a traitor? Thought myself rciful for sparing her life instead of killing her?
Would a normal person, aiming to be righteous, feel pleased after severing a high school students arm blown off, traitor or not?
Even if severing her arm was a justified punishnt, shouldnt I have felt a sense of duty rather than satisfaction or enjoynt?
Unknowingly, my expression twisted. In the process of repeating regression to breach the arrow trap, people stopped looking like people to .
Despite my vigilance against losing my rationality, I had already beco sowhat twisted.
...Its okay.
Kang Chan pulled out of my sinking consciousness.
You did well.
...What did?
Kang Chan didnt respond. He was intently looking at my right index finger.
...Ah.
In the past, when I had been probing Kang Chans abilities and planning how to get past the arrow trap, I had a chance to talk to him.
At that ti, I realized Kang Chan was soone who knew the limits of his abilities and acted under ticulous calculation.
He had ntioned having a habit of observing when faced with a new environnt.
Kang Chan looked at my finger for a while, then nodded slightly.
He saw it. It was clear.
As soon as I entered the room, he must have seen rush towards the red door. Even if he didnt know how I knew about the red door, what characteristics I had that made it blow up, or whether I had anticipated Dok Su-hees betrayal...
He could easily imagine that I was involved in the explosion of the door.
...
And... Kang Chan, knowing that I may have severed Dok Su-hees arm, still gave the chance to enter the red door?
It was a sign of trust. Although Kang Chan verbally provided reasons for not entering himself, his actions showed he trusted .
All the struggles I went through to clear the third floor in the past were not aningless.
Thats what I thought.
**
After exchanging contact information and briefly discussing how we would proceed,
Kang Chan, from within the barrier, looked directly in the eyes and said,
Think carefully. Will you go in?
...
The truth is, Im conflicted.
I still dont know much about how to erase traits. If I were to receive so bizarre trait or reward like The Traitors Demise, my already unstable psyche could completely twist.
Perhaps, I may regret this decision for a long ti.
I will go in.
Despite this, I placed my palm above the discolored door.
The surface of the door, from which the scabbed layer had flown off, was no different from any other stone door in color.
Even if the outer surface had turned red from layers of hardened blood, I believed its essence was no different from any other stone door, perfectly intact.
Its not the door thats twisted, but the people using it, I believed.
I placed my palm on the stone door.
-Krrrrrung.
A blue portal appeared, indistinguishable from another portal on the right, an ordinary blue portal.
...See you later, then.
I threw my body into the portal, with a large box slung to one side.
In an instant, my vision was engulfed in darkness.
**
When I opened my eyes again, a giant statue stood before .
[Warrior.]
I was on a mountain sowhere, and a statue that seed to be carved in the image of a man spoke to .
[A warrior needs a fitting weapon.]
It was a voice from my mory. In a room where we had to proceed in pairs, it was the voice that told us to share blood.
Although I could only see the back of the statue from where I stood, there was a solemn weight to it.
...Who are you?
[Warrior. As you passed through the cave, did you conduct yourself as a warrior should?]
The statue, not answering my question, continued with what it wanted to say.
[Originally, this space was intended for the most honorable warrior. It was created with the aning of evaluating and acknowledging each other in the process of overcoming trials, and conceding rewards to the most honorable warrior...]
The imposing aura of the statue, as vast as a mountain, softened a bit.
[...However, at so point, its aning was distorted by those who lost their reason to greed.]
...
Indeed.
The red door, which only one person could enter, must not have been red from the beginning. It turned red after being layered and layered with blood.
Such is the way of the world. Exposed to the tempests of life, change is inevitable. Even with the best of intentions at the start... by the ti one cos to, things have bizarrely transford.
The sa goes for Dok Su-hee... and perhaps for as well.
[Apologies for the lengthy digression. The reward shall be given.]
Slowly, the statue began to shine.
The entire statue turned white and, in an instant, transford into a burst of light.
[A weapon is, in essence, a warriors mirror. To the wicked, a wicked weapon is granted... Have you, in the cave, acted as a warrior should?]
The cluster of light moved smoothly toward , taking the shape of a sword.
...
But what materialized was not a sword.
Huh?
A sheath.
Literally, a sheath was now in my hand.
...This isnt a weapon.
Moreover, usually, when you stare intently at an item, a status window pops up, but this sheath didnt trigger any status window. It was just like the ring given by the archangel; perhaps hidden items just dont show anything.
[A weapon is, in essence, a warriors mirror. Always bear that in mind.]
The voice did not respond again.
After the solemn voice of the statue, everything went dark in an instant.
You have cleared floors 3-5 Entering floor 1.
When I opened my eyes again, I was on the first floor.
End of Chapter -
[TL: Join Patreon to support the translation and to read up to 5 chapters ahead of the release: /HappyCat60 ]
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