Chapter 223.

—My name is… Kim Chundong .

The man who looked just like me spoke as he stared at me . I couldn’t estimate the depth of his eyes .

Kim Chundong .

The moment I heard those three characters, it felt like I was hit on the head with a hammer . I had to say something but couldn’t . All sorts of thoughts swirled inside my head before disappearing .

While I stood blankly, the other me spoke first .

—And who are you?

It was a question I could easily answer .

I was undoubtedly Kim Hajin . But Kim Hajin wasn’t supposed to exist in this world . After all, I was an irregular who took over Kim Chundong’s life .

—I don’t think you’re me .

That sentence woke me up coldly . It clearly indicated that the doppelgänger was aware that he was a doppelgänger .

“You know what situation we’re in… . ”

—… .

He closed his mouth and eyes in silence .

Judging by this reaction, it seemed I was correct . Of course, that didn’t change the fact that we had to fight . But before then, I wanted to ask him something more ordinary .

“…Hey . ”

Hearing me, he opened his eyes . We looked at each other with the same eyes .

“What did you do last night?”

It seemed he didn’t expect this question as he tilted his head . After thinking about it for a bit, he let out a groan and pressed his temple .

—…I can’t remember . A portion of my memory is blocked right now .

“Is it?”

The reason I asked last night’s memory was simple . If Kim Chundong was really Kim Chundong, then last night for him should have been 4~5 years ago .

—But for some strange reason… .

Suddenly, he began to examine his body . Shoulders, hands, face, stomach, legs… He touched himself and tried out various poses before widening his eyes .

—I feel like my body is stronger than it was before .

“… . ”

He was most likely talking about the time before I came to this world . In that case, how was the normal Kim Chundong?

I wanted to talk more with him .

“Do you? Then… I want to ask, what did you want to do? You would have entered Cube soon . Didn’t you have a goal or something?”

—…I don’t know .

Thankfully, Kim Chundong was cooperative . He seemed cold and somber on the outside but was warm and gentle on the inside . Considering the volunteer work he regularly did, it wasn’t so surprising .

—At the time… there was something… something I wanted…

“…Something you wanted?”

—I can’t remember well… uk!

He suddenly clutched his head and knelt down in pain . By the looks of it, a severe restriction was placed on him when he was summoned to this place .

I let out a sigh and looked up at the sky .

Why did the Tower of Wish put Kim Chundong in front of me?

…I knew why, but I wanted to ignore it .

The Tower had not acknowledged me as a being of this world .

“…Do you know why you’re here?”

—I do . It’s written in front of me .

“What does it say?”

Kim Chundong made a cold smile .

—It says I can replace you if I kill you . That I, the doppelgänger, can become the real one .

Goosebumps shot up on my body, but I changed the topic quickly .

“…Not that . ”

That wasn’t the question I wanted to ask .

“I’m asking how you became me, and how I became you . ”

—… .

Kim Chundong didn’t say anything . In the thick silence, we stared at each other . Our identical appearances were reflected on our identical eyes .

Soon, he spoke .

—I know you replaced me .

“…How?”

—I just do . Naturally . It’s not something I can explain .

“…Then what do you plan to do now? Are you going to kill me?”

It was a sharp question . However, Kim Chundong maintained a calm expression and replied .

—I don’t want to live by killing someone .

“…Hm?”

—It wasn’t a life I wanted to keep living anyways .

As he said that, Kim Chundong laughed inaudibly . It touched me emotionally in a strange way . It didn’t just move me . It resonated with my very soul . The breathtaking effect his words had on me caused my eyes to widen .

[Warning! Synchronization increases by 5%!]

[Warning! Your synchronization with your doppelgänger is increasing!]

[Warning! A portion of your doppelgänger’s emotions flows into your subconsciousness!]

[Warning! If your synchronization reaches a high level, it may cause dangerous side-effects!]

I shook my head violently and chased the thoughts out of my head .

I calmed myself down with a deep breath, then looked at Kim Chundong once more .

“…You . ”

The system was telling me that it was dangerous, but I still had many questions I had to ask . Perhaps this was the last chance to ask him, so I had to resolve as many of my doubts as possible .

“Do you know about the Kwang-Oh Incident?”

Kim Chundong flinched, hearing this question .

—…I do .

“How?”

—It’s easy . It’s a huge incident that occurred in the year I was born . I figured I could be a victim of that incident, so I investigated .

Kim Chundong made a bitter smile .

—3 or 4 years ago, I found out there was something big hidden behind that incident . But even though I figured that out, nothing changed . There wasn’t anything I could do, since I didn’t have any power or money .

Sssk…

He took out a sword that carried a sharp ring .

—Anyways, we have to fight now . I’m bound by the system .

Hearing this, I raised my gun .

—But there will be a day when we meet again .

“…Really?”

—Really . But before then, do me a favor .

Kim Chundong pointed his sword at me . Ice-attribute magic power undulated from the tip of the blade .

—I want you to find out…

I quietly listened to his words .

—…how my life got twisted to this point, and who caused the ‘thorough solitude’ that coldly rejected my existence .

With that, he charged forward smoothly . My surroundings simultaneously grew cold as the temperature of the space plummeted .

Click—

The bone-shivering cold was easily overcome with the help of Aether, and I transformed the Desert Eagle into an assault rifle .

My target was the swordsman in front of me .

Under the slowed world of Bullet Time, I pulled my trigger at the dancing Kim Chundong .

**

[15F – Genkelope’s Abandoned Vessel]

On the other hand, Aileen’s party, ‘Aileen and the Kids’, finally arrived on the 15th floor after many difficulties . Although the 13th floor was the only floor that was remotely difficult, the problem really was that floor . Not sleeping for 100 hours was a difficult task for Aileen who normally slept a lot .

“Where the heck is this?”

The past, in which she wailed like a kid and burst out into tears, became a dark history that she banished from her mind . Now standing on the deck of the vast space vessel, Aileen murmured .

Jin Seyeon, who was standing next to her, answered .

“It seems to be a spaceship of some sort . ”

“Well I can see that . ”

A spaceship that gave off an SF-movie vibe . Because of how different it was from the other floors, Aileen couldn’t get used to it .

Of course, she also knew it was stupid to seek familiarity in a Tower .

“Anyways, let’s go . ”

“Yes . ”

Aileen’s party always had the same formation . In the front was the smallest but strongest Aileen, followed by Jin Seyeon and Yi Yongha, then Shin Jonghak at the end .

They walked slowly while spectating the 15th floor’s mystical scenery .

“Oh right, I heard Suho’s party cleared the 13th floor, too . ”

Jin Seyeon mentioned, as though she just remembered it .

“Did they?”

Aileen replied with a thought, ‘I thought they were more focused on protecting Crevon than climbing the Tower . I guess they can balance both equally . ’

“Yes, and I heard they also killed ‘Chimera’ . ”

“…What, really?”

It was then that Aileen finally showed a hint of surprise . Rather, the way she looked at Jin Seyeon with a frown hinted that she was unhappy .

“Yes . ”

“…Isn’t this their second one?”

“That’s right . ”

The first calamity to be killed was ‘Python’, slain by Black Lotus’ party .

The second calamity to be killed was ‘Medusa’, slain by the Sword Saint’s might .

The calamity, ‘Minotaur’, was the one Aileen had specifically designated as her enemy, since they weren’t able to settle things the first time they fought .

…Of course, it was more correct to say she lost . After all, Aileen and her party had barely escaped using the ‘return scroll’ Kim Hajin gifted them .

But the second time they met, Aileen had won with the help of Divine Archer Jin Seyeon, Hellfire Yi Yongha, and Mr . Anger Management Issues (Shin Jonghak) .

“How did they defeat Chimera?”

“Well, we all know Suho’s Gift is kind of a cheat . ”

Sword Saint – the ability to cut through anything and everything . It was a top-tier Gift that anyone would desire .

While Aileen and Jin Seyeon were talking, Yi Yongha cut in .

“Ah, but Fenrir is quite strong too . You’ve seen him before, right? How he decimated all those monsters with his gun?”

“…Yeah . How did he get all those bullets anyways?”

“Who knows? He has a gun-related Gift, so wouldn’t he be able to make them with his Gift?”

“I guess?”

Fenrir had recently decimated an entire field of monsters in Crevon . His feat from that day was still being talked about in the Community .

“But you’re right, Yongha, he really is something . Who would have thought he would bring his gun into the Tower with a black ticket?”

At that moment… KOONG—! A sudden explosive sound erupted, and strange-looking creatures popped out of the tiles on the floor .

One, two, three, four… there were at least 20 of them . Aileen crossed her arms and frowned .

“Ew, what are these guys?”

The words ‘horrifying’ and ‘grotesque’ aptly described them .

“They seem to be our enemies on the 15th floor . Their appearance is a little… bad . ”

Jin Seyeon answered as she loaded her magic power . Shin Jonghak also raised his spear, and at the moment that Aileen was about to activate her Spirit Speech, an overwhelming magic shot up .

“…?”

In an instant, the surroundings turned white; as snow blew around the air . It was a simple ice magic, but its power wasn’t simple in the slightest . The alien creatures in front of them turned into ice sculptures before breaking apart into tiny pieces of ice .

“What…?”

Aileen and the rest were taken aback .

“Are you okay…?!”

A woman ran up to them, shouting urgently . It was clear that she was the one who casted the powerful, wide-range ice magic . But when she saw Aileen and the others, she froze .

“Eh?”

Aileen recognized the woman’s face .

“Medea-ssi?”

Right, she was the 3rd floor’s administrator – Medea .

‘Why was she here and not in Prestige?’ While Aileen was having such thoughts…

“Aaaah—!”

Medea suddenly screamed frustratingly . Then, she glared at Aileen and the others, frightening them .

“Dammit, just when is he going to get here!?”

She stomped off, yelling about something incomprehensible . Aileen and the others watched her leave with question marks above their heads .

**

[20F, outside the Hollow of Ordeal – Station of the End]

I came outside after defeating the doppelgänger . Nothing changed . I was still Kim Hajin .

“… . ”

I looked down at the gun in my hand . With this, I’d just killed a man who looked just like me .

[You conquered 20F’s doppelgänger trial . ]

[You obtain the ‘Guidance of the Foolhardy Mist’ as a reward . ]

[Be careful! Your comrades might have been devoured by their doppelgängers . ]

[Be careful! You are currently at 7% synchronization . ]

Synchronization .

It started at 5% but had risen to 7% while we fought . I didn’t know what exactly caused it to increase or what it exactly did . But it was clear that small changes would happen inside me as the percentage increased .

“Huu… . ”

I sighed and raised my head to look at the outside scenery .

The outside of the 20th floor was an empty train station .

Under a thick darkness, a grey railway stretched endlessly to the left and right .

Standing in this vast emptiness, I took a quick look around . There really was nothing but a railway .

Kiik…

The sound of a door opening rang out, and a familiar voice entered my ears .

“…Where the heck is this?”

It was Cheok Jungyeong . His body was full of injuries, but he seemed extremely happy . With a blooming smile, he approached me .

More doors continued to open .

Jin Yohan, Jain, and Boss came out in that order .

They had all defeated their doppelgängers, but my eyes naturally fell on Boss . Her fight seemed to have been the most intense, as she leaned against the station wall and panted .

I turned my gaze away from her and stared at the empty station once again .

Soon, a system alert popped up .

[Welcome to the 20th floor’s residential area, ‘Station of the End’!]

“What? Residential area?”

Cheok Jungyeong furrowed his brows .

“This place is a residential area?”

As soon as he said that, the lights came on in the station .

Our surroundings brightened up, revealing shops, inns, benches, and a ticketing office that were hidden under the darkness .

“Oi, Kim Hajin, looks like we’ll have to go to the ticketing office first . ”

I shook my head . This station was the beginning of the Tower’s final portion . Buying a single ticket wasn’t enough to let us on board .

“The train has to get here before we can get on it . There should be a lot of time before then . ”

“Oh yeah?”

“Ask the system . ”

[This station’s train runs in 3-month intervals . ]

[There are 61 days, 16 hours, and 33 minutes left until the next train’s arrival . ]

[At least 100 guests must be present to board the train . ]

“…?”

I ended up being surprised by the system’s information .

The last condition – requiring at least 100 guests – was something that didn’t exist in the original story .

“Huu… . ”

Well, it wasn’t the first or second time something like this happened .

For me, there was something else that was more important .

I looked at Boss . She was far away from me when she first came out of the door, but she had gotten close to me before I noticed . Looking at the side of her face, I pondered .

In the past, when I asked about Kim Chundong’s incident, Yoo Yeonha had said that it was the ‘Chameleon Troupe’ that killed his parents . Furthermore, the sketch she showed of the person who admitted Kim Chundong into the orphanage clearly looked like ‘Boss’ .

In that case, Boss should have an idea of who in the Chameleon Troupe killed Kim Chundong’s parents .

“…?”

At that moment, Boss looked at me . She seemed to have felt my heated gaze, as she pushed her hair behind her ear and tilted her head .

“…Boss . ”

Hearing my serious voice, Boss let out a dry cough and answered .

“W-What’s wrong?”

I looked at Boss and continued .

“It looks like we can’t go up any further for now . ”

It might not be a discussion we had to have now . In fact, it definitely wasn’t .

But perhaps because of this ‘synchronization’ the system mentioned… or perhaps because of Kim Chundong’s request…

“Can we talk alone for a moment?”

I couldn’t wait .

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