Chapter 281 - Tutorial 60th Floor (17)
< Tutorial 60th Floor (17) >
[Hey, why don’t you take a shift?] I talked to Hochi, but received no answer. I held Yong-yong, who kept turning around. It had already been three days since Hochi and Yong-yong returned from the tournament.
After Hochi returned from the tournament, he spent more time alone. I heard from Park Jung-ah that she was doing well and without any problems, but Hochi seemed to have something serious. But he didn’t look very upset or depressed; he just seemed a little confused.
Maybe I should think of it as just adolescence. Considering Hochi’s age, it was possible. It’d been the first time he’d gone out into another world and encountered people. I was sure he’d think about many things.
Yong-yong had slept for three days as soon as he returned. He seemed to have slept very little throughout the tournament because he was too excited. So he, who usually slept for a certain amount of time every day, went to sleep for a long time as soon as he returned home, not waking up.
The problem was that he was not sleeping in his bed but in my arms, not even in a human form, but in a hatchling form.
This was slightly uncomfortable. It was not a matter of weight, but it was quite difficult to hold his short legs and flapping wings and hug them in a comfortable position. I agreed to Yong-yong’s request to sleep with me. If I knew he’d sleep for days like this, I should’ve just told him to sleep in a bed.
I was sitting in front of the desk with Yong-yong lying on my lap. I patted Yong-yong’s head with one hand while the other hand was over a book.
Well, it was not a big book. It was just my diary. It’d been quite a while since I started writing this. I began when the creation of a sect on the 41st floor led to the urge to write a religious journal.
The first chapter contained only brief details: the name and orientation of the newly established sect, means used to tempt the people, and the number of believers who changed day by day and their natures. It was merely a diary for record purposes. I turned over a page.
╔═══════════════╗
[44th round]
-The ruler of the Great Volcano remembered me.
-They called me the first challenger. This was definitely different from other stages.
-We got quite close. After returning from killing him, I talked about him for a long time with Ahbooboo. I wish I could go back to Kirikiri and ask her about this stage in detail.
Later, I decided to send a request to the Order of Vigilance.
[48th round]
-Hyung-jin died.
╚═══════════════╝
Only one line was written in the 48th entry. It was a real mess back then. Lee Hyung-jin died on the 17th floor.
I still don’t know how he died. Obviously, I prepared him enough to clear the 17th floor.
But just 15 minutes after he entered the 17th floor, one number decreased from the Hell difficulty’s list. It meant Lee Hyung-jin’s death. I didn’t know if Lee Hyung-jin let his guard down, or if his arrival on the 17th floor had more danger than I thought. Lee Yeon-hee was able to enter the 17th floor with overwhelming power. Then again, I did almost die on the 17th floor. [1]
Anyway, I was half-crazy back then, smashing the residential area. Perhaps that was the first time I had destroyed a residential area.
╔═══════════════╗
[49th round]
-We need another challenger. Some of the remaining people on the first floor are useless. Even if they changed, it might take a few more years to reach the 60th floor. It was necessary to replace them.
-Successful cloning of Ahbooboo. The main point was that he was an item with an error. Although unstable and soon to be destroyed, there was still a possibility of the item working.
-Time-slowing skill is very helpful. Slowing down time has no real advantage, but it allows you to maintain high concentration during that time. As it has become difficult to focus on one thing in recent years, the time-slowing skill has been maintained.
[52nd round]
-I put my memories in a replica of Ahbooboo’s.
-I don’t know how to make this a person.
[56th round]
-Frog got hurt.
-According to the Voluntary Agency Network of Korea, it had a short life span.
-I tried giving it Elixir and more cures, but the frog’s health hasn’t improved.
[57th round]
-The clone is complete. It was more of an alter ego than a clone.
-It’s not perfect yet. I can’t use it recklessly for experiments. We must make sure it doesn’t break somehow.
-There’s a problem. The clone looks like the chimera I saw on the 20th floor.
[58th round]
-The God of the Sky took Ahbooboo.
Damn it. For protection? This is some high level bullsh*ttery. I still have a lot of magic knowledge left to learn from him. It was something that I had put off later because I could learn anytime. I’ll keep a record somewhere.
-The God of the Sky will one day pay this price.
[60th round]
-I wondered why time was passing so slowly. The time-slowing skill was still being maintained. I didn’t know how much time had passed.
– The duration of time slowing had increased almost indefinitely. Due to the nature of time-slowing, which raised concentration to the limit, it was difficult to notice the flow of time and escape it voluntarily.
[61st round]
-The clone has been completed. But it was just a creature that had my memory. There was no sense in it. It looked more like a mannequin than a person. Training was needed.
-If it had intelligence, it would have burned itself to death and made me take a different route.
╚═══════════════╝
Thinking about this time, I still felt sorry for Hochi. I had already apologized many times, but I would continue to apologize for what happened then.
╔═══════════════╗
[64th round]
-I attacked one side and sent Seregia to the other side.
Since Seregia had grown stronger steadily, it wouldn’t be dangerous for her.
-The attack on the 61st floor failed. We failed to enter the last room through the portal.
The 64th round was a memorable episode. I had swept away the residential area. I stayed in the tent for a while, thanks to the clean sweep.
[66th round]
-I was losing my confidence. As Seregia said, maybe the faith that I gave myself was draining away. If I’m losing faith, then I’m losing faith in myself. It was true.
[67th round]
-I insisted that the Korean government withdraw its ban on Hell Difficulty. It was seriously discussed through the Order of Vigilance, but was thwarted by Park Jung-ah’s opposition.
-I looked for a way to move another difficulty’s challenger to Hell difficulty. Park Jung-ah’s opposition led to the cancellation.
-I had a big argument with Park Jung-ah.
– I regret talking to Park Jung-ah and Kim Min-hyuk about the 61st floor.
╚═══════════════╝
Since then, the records had been cut off for some time. At that time, I didn’t record anything.
╔═══════════════╗
[70th round]
-I could feel my mind getting more and more exhausted, perhaps because I’ve been doing nothing.
I felt more like a research machine than a human being. If Park Jung-ah hadn’t been continuously talking to me through messages, I’d probably have forgotten that I’m a human being.
-To be “alive” wasn’t just a matter of my heart beating but a matter of interactions as well. I’m headed for the 61st floor. I’ll stay there for a while.
-I signed a contract with the ruler of the Great Volcano. I decided to get support from him in return for achieving my goals.
But honestly, I don’t know what he’ll do. Even the ruler of the Great Volcano won’t be able to guarantee that I can achieve my goals. We both just bought one low probability lottery ticket.
[71st round]
-When I got into the 61st floor, I got a power boost. It was a power coming from the ruler of the Great Volcano. No matter how many times he was killed, whether the rounds were repeated, whether I had finished my attack and returned, or whether I had died, the power was not reset.
-What can I do with this power?
[76th round]
-With the help of the two rulers, I succeeded in connecting the 60th and 61st floors. Now I can also get my power from the 60th floor.
[78th round]
-I don’t know what more I can do. I was already close to a god. I’d achieved all the growth I could think of. There was nothing more to try.
[79th round]
– The use of time-slowing has been eliminated.
-I spent my time blankly. Time went by in seconds. Due to the slow-flowing time, I suspected several times that time-slowing had been applied without my knowledge.
[81st round]
-Newbie in Hell’s Difficulty. I hope this challenger survives.
The 81st round was the time of Lee Yeon-hee’s entry. I was happy that a useful challenger came in, but I didn’t know if she could really come this far. I had watched the challengers who had failed before her for too long.
I thanked Lee Yeon-hee. Every time she climbed up a floor, one by one, I had hope. Thanks to that hope, I was able to get up again after sitting helplessly. Every time an attempt to get out of the 61st floor went in vain, I confirmed that she was coming up and helped her immediately prepare for the next stage.
And on the other hand, I felt sorry for her.
╚═══════════════╝
[Lee Yeon-hee, 59th floor: Mister. I’m coming up now.]
[153rd round, Day 1. 8:20]
At last, Lee Yeon-hee had reached the 60th floor.
< Tutorial 60th Floor (17) > End