Chapter 285.1: Chapter 285.1

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Proofreader: Hydragea

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[Lee Hyung-jin]

[Lee Hyung-jin, 16th floor: Can I do it?]

[Lee Ho-jae, 60th floor: Of course you can . There isn’t a big difference between you and me . Don’t fret over it . ]

I re-read the conversation that took place quite a while ago .

I kept reading .

Hyung firmly believed that I could clear the 17th floor without any problems .

The basis of our faith varied .

It depended on the presence of magic . At the time of the 17th floor, Hyung said that he couldn’t use magic . This difference was huge .

Magic skills didn’t determine everything, but an opponent who didn’t know about magic was less responsive .

It was better to stop magic attacks smartly than to be strong or swift .

Next, there was also a difference in items . The only items held by the mirage were a long sword, two daggers, and a small, medium-sized shield .

Of course, I heard that there were a variety of potions, but the items were of no use to me, who had more of them than anyone else .

Hyung didn’t like using the items, saying that it stunted your skill growth, but the items had always shown to be more effective than what I had expected .

Finally, there was also the difference between the basic stats . Hyung told me about his stats and compared them to mine . Our physical stats were almost identical, but his muscular stats were far ahead of mine . And in the case of agility, his was almost twice as much as mine .

The massive difference in agility also meant that I could not win without a wide gap in skills .

The difference in agility made a difference in ability since basic body movements and speed were different .

For those reasons, Hyung was positive about my victory, but I myself wasn’t .

I’d been preparing for a long time .

17th-floor stage .

Ever since Hyung cleared the 17th floor and told me about it, I’d been thinking about this stage .

Not once had I expected a victory on the 17th-floor stage .

“Can I start?” I spoke aloud, not by message, but by voice .

The person I spoke to was, of course, Kirikiri .

“Sure . ”

When I asked about the 17th floor, Kirikiri would always answer that she didn’t know . That was when I had first heard about the 17th floor . Even now, she stayed silent .

It may be possible that she didn’t reply as an act to refrain from informing me of some results .

I took out the monster ball that I always carried and held it tightly in my hand . This monster ball always reassured me . Somedays, when I felt like I couldn’t make it, I was comforted that this would be my lifeline .

The monster ball had made me come all the way here .

I was quietly looking at the monster ball when a pale hand snatched it away . It was Kirikiri . Kirikiri had run away swiftly to the other side, taking the monster ball from my hand .

Shocked and bewildered, my body froze for a moment .

Anxiety, anger, and fear that Kirikiri might really take it away came crashing on me .

The next moment, I started running after Kirikiri, who was faster than I thought .

When I felt a sense of urgency beyond impatience, I managed to catch up with Kirikiri .

I lifted her by the scruff of her neck .

“Keeyek . ” As soon as Kirikiri was caught, she stopped moving and dangled in the air, flailing like a cat .

“What are you doing!?” I shouted at her, taking back the monster ball from Kirikiri with my other free hand .

I was anxious because I thought I was too rough, but I calmed down when I took back the monster ball .

“I told you before . You’re going to die because of that ball,” said Kirikiri, still hanging in the air, looking at me in the eye .

It felt even more embarrassing when she said it so calmly as if it were natural .

Not long after returning from the Tournament, Kirikiri had mentioned it when she saw me holding the monster ball . I didn’t know why Kirikiri was so negative about the monster ball .

I asked for the reason several times, but she never answered .

First of all, I dropped Kirikiri and apologized . It was not right to treat her carelessly .

“Can I use this?”

“I’ve told you before . You can’t send it to another level of difficulty . ”

“Then, you can send it to Hyung . ”

Kirikiri shook her head with a hard, grim look .

“I suggest you don’t . ”

“…Why so?”

Kirikiri never answered again . In the end, I had to infer the answer for myself .

I came to two possibilities . First, I had been neglected .

Hyung’s protection was essential for me to survive on the stage that came after the 60th floor . If Hyung neglected me, the odds of me surviving on my own wouldn’t be high .

Second, I was going to die because of Hyung .

With that eccentric personality, he could try to stop me in anger at the fact that I’d been running away . He had pulled out John Overton’s arm because he was drinking and crying in a Tournament .

Of course, he wouldn’t really try to kill me, but it was another matter whether I actually died or not .

“It’s still the same . No matter how it goes, there won’t be a good ending . ”

* * *

[Kirikiri]

“So loathsome,” I murmured quietly, sitting alone in the field .

There was a reply to my murmur .

[But you’re worse . Why didn’t you just let me go?]

“…You keep saying that because you know I can’t let you go . You even hide the fact that it’s ‘new’ . It’s loathsome . ”

The voice laughed . [Thanks, anyway . Because of you, I had a lot of fun . ]

The voice hid its presence in the field at the end of those words .

I mumbled once again, “So loathsome . ”

* * *

[Lee Hyung-jin, 17th floor: I’m going in now . ]

[Lee Ho-jae, 60th floor: Yeah . Be careful . Don’t talk to the mirage, just in case . Ignore anything it says . ]

[Lee Hyung-jin, 17th floor: Yes . ]

Hyung had repeatedly stressed not to talk to the mirage .

[Lee Ho-jae, 60th floor: No matter how tough the opponent, the mirage can only find a way out through dialogue . Just don’t hold a conversation . ]

[Lee Hyung-jin, 17th floor: Okay . I got it]

[Entering the stage on the 17th floor]

The monster ball, which had been made into a necklace and was hung around my neck, was once again held tightly by hand .

Thanks to this monster ball, I was able to come all the way here . In my despair, this monster ball was like a ray of hope to me . It gave me a moment of optimism and a chance for me to breathe .

As soon as I entered the stage, I looked around . The peculiar thing was that the interior was hard to see .

Beyond that, I could see Hyung’s mirage, and there was a transparent wall separating me from the mirage .

[After 30 seconds, the 17th-floor stage will start . ]

Damn it . Give me a little more time .

As soon as I saw the message, I squatted on the floor and drew a magic circle .

I didn’t know the principle, but it was a magic circle that was often used because of its excellent effects .

I worked hard to complete the magic circle in 30 seconds until someone talked to me in a calm voice .

“What is that?”

“This is… . ”

A familiar voice asked me in a monotonous manner, and I almost answered without realizing it .

When I looked up in amazement, it was the mirage that had come right in front of me . He had squatted down and was staring at me intensely .

“What is it?”

I instantly thought of a crow .

Once in a while, when I walked along the street, some cats and crows stared at people .

They never attacked people, and I knew it was not dangerous to attack them, but sometimes I got nervous and scared .

It felt like that .

I knew he couldn’t attack me right now because the wall was blocking him, but I felt like he would rush at me right away .

It was as if a knife was being pointed at me, in front of my eyes . I couldn’t turn away .

Like a stone statue, he was sturdy, and unmoving, but was also vigilant .

[After 15 seconds, the stage will start . ]

Note from Imagine:

[1]: It’s a question mark as this is Hyung Jin’s Floor and not Hojae experiencing it, hence why it has no numbering .

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