Chapter 113

I immediately cleared away the bed that had been split in half and summoned a new one, throwing myself on it. As always, the king-size bed, a luxury reserved for the first floor, enveloped me in its soft embrace. 

“Hahaha...”

A hollow laugh escaped my lips—it still didn’t feel real. Finally, finally, I had saved everyone. I hadn’t witnessed the end myself, but the message window floating before my eyes told me everything. I had succeeded.

Some might say, “Why exhaust yourself so much for just the fourth floor?” But I was content. It had been a grueling, tormenting, exhausting process, yet I had managed to achieve the ending I had longed for. That was enough.

Of course, it was true that I was beyond drained. From a mental standpoint, the smart thing might have been to save just enough people and move on to the fifth floor. But I didn’t want to. This time, I wanted to save everyone perfectly, to save them all. Perhaps... Perhaps it was a form of compensation for how things had ended so messily with Dok Su-hee on the third floor.

No, enough with the complicated thoughts. For now, it’s time for a rest.

I buried my head into the soft pillow, wrapping myself in the blanket as I rolled around on the bed. After spending so much time in a cold, barren, blood-soaked battlefield, even this small moment of happiness felt precious.

“…”

But as my racing heart slowly cooled and my sharp mind began to take over, I could no longer just roll around in bed.

“What should I do about this?”

Saving everyone on the fourth floor? Great. I succeeded. I had struck a heavy blow against those who had designed the fourth floor with such absurd difficulty.

But what about Choi Ji-won? How am I supposed to save her?

I got up from the bed and checked the reward box I had received. The prize for my 50,000-point reward was none other than a “Low-grade Elixir.”

Good. It’s a decent reward... but it’s not immediately useful.

This means... I can’t just leave the fourth floor after regressing.

At the end of the last round, if I hadn’t personally intercepted the swarm of wolves, the players would have been slaughtered without a fight. There weren’t even ten people who could have fought monsters in that cold, hungry, and exhausted state.

But what if I’m not there? What if I leave the fourth floor through the portal? What will they do about the wolves?

No, it’s not just the wolves. Because I knew the future, I could force the group to push forward despite all the resistance. “It’s too hard, my legs won’t move, I have frostbite,” they had said, sharing heartbreaking stories. Still, I pushed them, forcing the march onward.

But if I’m not there? Could the others replicate that grueling march just based on the vague possibility that monsters might appear?

Fine, let’s say I don’t leave. There’s definitely a way to pass information to Choi Ji-won without me leaving the fourth floor.

For instance... What if I don’t leave the fourth floor, but instead send her a memo through someone else? Something like, “Choi Ji-won, I’m actually a regressor, and this is your family issue and the secret of the sword…” I could write out an elaborate letter and have it delivered to her.

Would Choi Ji-won trust that memo completely? And would she be able to follow it exactly as instructed?

“Let’s test it.”

First, I need to see how much information I can pass on.

**

Choi Ji-won has already entered the fourth floor. There’s no way to reach her.

“Heh, Jun-ho nim. It’s been a while. How have you been? We haven’t seen each other since we split up after the third floor. Here, drink this. You cleared the fourth floor?”

But Park Cheol-jin, the firefighter, was different. From what I heard, he hadn’t quit his firefighting job yet.

“…Did something happen on the fourth floor? You don’t look so good.”

Park Cheol-jin asked cautiously as he sat down on the convenience store chair.

At first, he had greeted me with a refreshing smile and handed me a canned coffee, but now he was starting to study my expression. Do I look unwell? I feel fine.

“That’s not important. I have something to tell you. Are you free right now?”

“Of course, of course. It’s the weekend, so I’ve got time. Oh, speaking of which, Ji-won also entered the fourth floor. Did you meet her by any chance?”

“…No. The design doesn’t allow for that.”

“…”

Park Cheol-jin didn’t respond. He tapped the plastic table a couple of times, as if sensing something was off about the fourth floor, then shrugged.

“Looks like I didn’t hear what’s wrong due to the information restrictions.”

Yeah, this is exactly what I was worried about. Even if I wanted to pass information to Choi Ji-won in advance, if it got filtered, it would all be for nothing.

“The way you can help is simple. I’m going to try to pass on as much information as I can from now on.”

“…”

“Just let me know whether you can hear me or not. Can you do that?”

“Alright. Let’s get started.”

That’s why I wanted to test exactly where the filtering kicks in.

“You need to run on the fourth floor.”

“Nope. Can’t hear that.”

“Monsters will appear on the fourth floor.”

“Can’t hear that.”

“Don’t blindly trust your own thoughts in the Tower.”

“Yeah. I can hear that.”

“Don’t get trapped by modern-day logic in the Tower.”

“I can hear that.”

The questions and answers continued. 

Realizing that I was trying something serious, firefighter Park Cheol-jin earnestly played along with my experiment.

Time passed as we continued the test.

“You could hear all of that, right?”

“That’s right.”

By the time the convenience store roll cake that Park Cheol-jin had bought with the canned coffee had dried up and shriveled, the experiment finally came to an end.

“...Then, can you see what I wrote here?”

“Hmm. I can see it.”

Thus, the first draft of the “memo” was completed. It was filled with abstract statements, starting with, “Don’t be trapped by common sense in the Tower,” and continuing with phrases like, “People should care for each other,” and “Sometimes, you need to bend if there’s more to gain.”

“Sigh...”

It’s quite vague. If someone really put their mind to it, they might be able to deduce that “not following logic and leaving the castle is the correct answer,” but...

“From reading this, can you guess what’s happening on the fourth floor?”

“...There’s no way.”

The problem is that it’s filled with far too many abstract ideas. I had to make sure it didn’t trigger the Tower’s filters.

“To be honest, I kind of understood what you were getting at. I’ve seen you work hard in front of me, and the order of your questions? The direction? I got a rough idea because of that. Plus, we’re pretty close.”

Park Cheol-jin popped the now-shriveled roll cake into his mouth.

“But... if someone were to just read this memo, I don’t think that feeling would come across.”

“...”

Exactly.

If someone went through the whole process with me, they might understand. But just from reading this memo and arriving at the right conclusion? They’d have to be a genius.

Of course, I confirmed that “information transmission” is possible. However, it’s far more abstract and imprecise than I had hoped.

This complicates things. Even if I manage to get the memo to Choi Ji-won, its persuasive power is questionable. Let’s imagine she uses her wit and somehow concludes that “leaving the castle is the answer.”

Can Choi Ji-won really lead everyone out of the castle?

Like Eom Hong-Joong, there might be others who have already left the castle without my knowledge. Maybe they just didn’t post about it online, secretly gathering supplies and surviving after sneaking away. That’s possible.

But “surviving alone after leaving the castle” and “leading everyone out and ensuring they all survive” are entirely different challenges. The level of difficulty can’t even be compared.

I have the Curiosity trait, the Awe trait, and the Hero trait. I’ve even regressed multiple times, learning people’s personalities and handing out items in advance to earn their favor.

Even in those circumstances, controlling people was never easy. There was even an attempt to steal one of the sleds.

Sure, the difficulty is immense. But if it’s Choi Ji-won, she might somehow pull it off. In terms of raw combat power, she was stronger than me.

However, for her to completely trust and act on my “memo” is a different issue. Could she really continue a grueling march, seeing so many people suffering, relying solely on an abstract memo?

Could she push forward, ignoring the cries of those who were on the brink of death, relentlessly moving ahead without hesitation?

It seems unlikely.

“Hoo...”

The weight of uncertainty pressed heavily on my chest, and I sighed. What am I supposed to do in this situation?

Is it truly impossible to save everyone on the fourth floor and convince Choi Ji-won at the same time?

Without me, the people on the fourth floor won’t survive. Without me, Choi Ji-won won’t receive the guidance she needs.

Choi Ji-won. Choi Ji-won. Choi Ji-won.

The only friend who truly understood me. The person who gave me the strength to keep moving forward in the tutorial. Someone precious whom I could never let fall apart.

But that person is no longer here. She has vanished beyond the threads of time, and I will never see her again. The Choi Ji-won that exists now is not the one I long for—she is someone else.

“…”

Is it really necessary to be so fixated on her as she is now? Even if she falters here, Choi Ji-won will rise again. The deeper the wounds, the stronger and more resilient she will become.

She’s not alone, either. She has many friends, and she even has Bung-bung, her companion. If there were some way I could help, that’d be different. But as of now, I see no path forward. Rationally speaking, the right thing to do is to let go.

And yet, the thought of simply letting go... it brings an ache to my chest. It’s an indescribable feeling—neither sadness nor frustration, but something that weighs on me in a way I can’t explain.

“…Yeah.”

I already know the answer to the fourth floor. It’s a solution I can always repeat, so there’s no need to rush. As a regressor, time is something I have in abundance.

There’s no need for a hasty decision. Here, I’ll make the most rational choice I can.

After indulging in some good food and spending two days playing games…

“Ji-won.”

“...It’s been a while.”

“This might come as a surprise, but... I’m actually a regressor.”

I decided to meet Choi Ji-won in person.

– – – End of Chapter – – -

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