Chapter 77

 

Everything seemed to move in slow motion.

 

“...!”

 

I hasten my paralyzed steps, rushing towards Dok Su-hee.

 

“Traitor!!!”

 

With eyes wide in fury, An Kyung-Joon manifests a wooden spear. It seems he has successfully summoned his spirit in a moment filled with indiscriminate murderous intent.

 

“...”

 

Just like the piece of cloth I had seen before, something materializes out of nowhere above Dok Su-hee’s hand.

 

One is a lump from the heart of a monster wolf, and the other is a fragment of the golem we just defeated.

 

These objects transform into light in an instant and merge into Dok Su-hee’s armor. This light is the same as what Dok Su-hee has shown when using ‘Enchantment’ until now.

 

- Whoosh!

 

“Gasp!”

 

And as Dok Su-hee’s armor shines, my sword, swung with a reclined posture, cuts through the air.

 

- Tadat.

 

Quickly stepping back, Dok Su-hee dodges my sword.

 

“?!”

 

Even though I was in a paralyzed state, I did not expect my strike to miss.

 

Throughout hundreds of regressions, I have observed Dok Su-hee. I’ve watched her movements and her combat sense.

 

This is me who crossed swords with Choi Ji-won. Dok Su-hee is not strong. Her physical abilities were close to that of an ordinary person.

 

So then…

 

Naturally, my gaze shifts to Dok Su-hee’s armor.

 

She had just enchanted the heart of the monster wolf and the golem’s fragment. It seemed her physical abilities had dramatically improved because of that.

 

“Traitorrrrr!!!”

 

But merely dodging my sword was not enough for Dok Su-hee.

 

An Kyung-Joon, empowered with spirit energy, throws his spear. It flies at a speed barely visible to the eye, embedding itself into Dok Su-hee’s side.

 

- Crack!

 

“Gah…!”

 

Dok Su-hee grimaces, coughing up blood.

 

Though enchanting the golem’s fragments seemed to have an effect, preventing Dok Su-hee from shattering completely, her body is thrown into the air and smashes against a wall. The impact causes a torch hanging on the wall to fall, plunging the space into darkness.

 

“…Ugh…”

 

Dok Su-hee clenches her teeth, and soon after, a minor potion appears in her palm. With no lid to begin with, Dok Su-hee pours it directly onto her wound.

 

“Think I’d let you heal!”

 

Seizing the moment, An Kyung-Joon extends his right hand, intending to summon back the spear he had thrown earlier.

 

“?!”

 

However, despite stretching out his hand, the spear does not return to him. Rather, the spear that had been stuck in Dok Su-hee’s side is gone. Only a bleeding hole remains in its place.

 

“…!”

 

Temporarily flustered by the loss of his spear, An Kyung-Joon rushes towards Dok Su-hee. Not wanting to miss this chance, I forcefully move my paralyzed legs.

 

Of course… I could just regress. The moment I regress, I am given an absolute informational advantage. Yet, I felt a pressing need to subdue Dok Su-hee and uncover the full story.

 

I needed to hear why she betrayed us and started this whole mess to clear my conscience.

 

“…!”

 

Dok Su-hee, her face pale from blood loss, steps back. Although the potion quenched the immediate fire, her condition was far from stable. She had been directly exposed to Kang Chan’s murderous intent and struck by An Kyung-Joon’s spear.

 

Dok Su-hee retreats, with me and An Kyung-Joon in pursuit.

 

- Swoosh!

 

A dagger glowing in the darkness flies towards us. Though certainly threatening, it wasn’t something I couldn’t block after having passed through a trap-filled passageway.

 

“…!”

 

I stop my sword abruptly. It couldn’t just be a dagger. Likely, it was enchanted with ‘Explosion.’ Hadn’t I seen her use psychological tactics against the monster wolf before?

 

I reflexively twist my body, trying to escape the blast range, but...

 

- Slip.

 

My foot slips, sending me airborne.

 

“Damn it…!”

 

The floor was already slippery, but not to the extent that I should have fallen in such a critical moment. Glancing at the floor, I notice it gleaming more than usual. It seems Dok Su-hee took some sort of action while retreating.

 

“Ugh…”

 

I managed to twist my waist for a landing, but... the soles of my shoes were already slick with oil. Judging by the smell, it was oil. My attention had been caught by the dagger, and the darkness of the cave prevented me from noticing it right away.

 

- Zap.

 

Then, a burning sensation gradually intensified where the oil touched. It seems this oil had been ‘enchanted’ into the paralysis poison.

 

“Traitorrrrr!”

 

An Kyung-Joon, too, fell for the oil trick, but he immediately threw off his shoes and charged at Dok Su-hee barefoot.

 

No matter how much Dok Su-hee’s physical abilities had improved, she couldn’t match the explosive power of An Kyung-Joon in his empowered state. The paralysis poison, too, was insufficient to stop a man roaring like a barbarian.

 

“…!”

 

- Swoosh!

 

Dok Su-hee, holding a dagger in each hand, attempted to counter.

 

- Swish.

 

An Kyung-Joon, with peculiar movements, dodged the daggers and delivered a powerful knee to Dok Su-hee’s abdomen.

 

- Pugh!

 

“Gah…!”

 

The hit was so severe that Dok Su-hee was lifted into the air, and blood spurted from her mouth again.

 

“…Ugh…”

 

Dok Su-hee, unable to even think of summoning a potion, sprawled on the ground.

 

“…Guh.”

 

But An Kyung-Joon couldn’t move either.

 

His body shivered slightly before he collapsed on the spot. His extremities were trembling minutely. It seems the paralysis poison had spread throughout his body.

 

“…”

 

Upon closer inspection, a streak of blood was flowing from his knee. It was the very spot that struck Dok Su-hee.

 

“…A needle?”

 

I had my suspicions. She must have summoned a paralysis needle onto her armor just before the hit, a trick learned from the trap-filled passageway. The needle didn’t penetrate Dok Su-hee, thanks to her enchanting with the golem’s fragments, but it seems to have deeply embedded itself in the comparatively soft knee of An Kyung-Joon.

 

“Ha, ha, ha…”

 

Unable to even drink a potion, Dok Su-hee converts a potion into light and applies it to her body. Her leather armor, which used to shimmer, had now lost its color.

 

“Huff, huff…”

 

I, too, stagger to my feet, barely holding my sword. I’ve lost sensation throughout my body, and my head spins wildly. In simple terms, my body isn’t responding.

 

“…”

 

I glanced away, turning my gaze towards Kang Chan, trapped within a protective barrier.

 

“…The status window is sealed.”

 

Kang Chan also seemed unable to do anything in this situation.

 

“Ha, ha, ha…”

 

“Huff, huff…”

 

The two of us, battered and bruised, locked eyes in midair.

 

I glanced into her eyes and asked indifferently.

 

“…Do you have an inventory because of your ability?”

 

“…!”

 

Dok Su-hee’s breathing paused momentarily, then resumed.

 

She didn’t answer, but… I was confident I was right.

 

Fabric pieces appearing out of thin air. The heart of a wolf. Fragments of a golem. Potions. Oil. Paralysis needles. Only a fool wouldn’t notice.

 

The inventory is a common cliché in works featuring a status window. Weapons are pulled out of it, items are stored, and it’s used handily in real life.

 

It wouldn’t be strange for Dok Su-hee to have an inventory or a subspace.

 

“…Do you have two abilities? Inventory and Enchantment?”

 

“…The inventory comes with its features. It’s not a separate ability.”

 

Dok Su-hee answered readily. Though we were conversing, our intentions were the same: to stall for time and recover our strength.

 

“…Why didn’t you apply the paralysis poison to Kang Chan?”

 

“…I thought he would notice.”

 

Current Kang Chan might be a pushover without his ‘fist,’ but from Dok Su-hee’s perspective, he would have been the most threatening enemy.

 

Therefore, the plan was to neutralize Kang Chan first, then deal with me and An Kyung-Joon. With the heart of the wolf, fragments of the golem, and her inventory ability, she likely judged she had a chance of winning.

 

Applying the poison only to me and An Kyung-Joon, thinking Kang Chan would notice immediately if it were applied to him. Perhaps the starting point was the palm print on the stone door, setting our positions.

 

Moreover, she conducted a meeting in our seated positions to prevent us from noticing the spread of poison. As a coup de grâce, after An Kyung-Joon was hit by the spear, she stored it in her inventory. The wound was healed with a potion, forcing An Kyung-Joon and me into close combat.

 

I’m not sure when she thought of it, but… it was a plan of high completion. It almost succeeded too.

 

“…”

 

There were many questions.

 

Why she had the protection shield of a goblin shaman, presumably acquired in the tutorial. Whether items like oil or fabric pieces were brought from reality into her inventory. If her bright demeanor shown so far was all a lie. Why she didn’t try to kill us but instead aimed to subdue us.

 

But more importantly, there was something else.

 

“…Why are you doing this?”

 

Why.

 

That was the most burning question of all.

 

We were cooperating well, progressing through the third floor.

 

We could have just laughed and shared the rewards.

 

Why betray at the last moment?

 

Why lock Kang Chan away using precious items and engage in a bloody battle with me and An Kyung-Joon? What reason could there possibly be?

 

“…Because it had to be done.”

 

After a moment of hesitation, Dok Su-hee gave a detached response.

 

“…I don’t expect to be understood. I know I’m in the wrong. And I know how remarkable you three are.”

 

“…Then why?”

 

“…Because I, and no one else, must clear the tower.”

 

“…”

 

“To monopolize the rewards, to become stronger. That’s why I betrayed you. Even knowing it was a gamble.”

 

Dok Su-hee spoke calmly. As she tremblingly placed her hand on a box in the center of the room, it vanished into thin air.

 

“Ha, haha…”

 

I couldn’t help but burst into incredulous laughter. The reason was just too absurd.

 

“For now… we have fallen behind.”

 

A murderous impulse flashed through me, but I calmed it down. Killing her outright was not an option.

 

“Here I go.”

 

I took careful steps towards Dok Su-hee, forcing my paralyzed body to move while making sure to keep my eyes wide open and focused ahead.

 

The difference between us was simple. Thanks to my achievement level, my stats were significantly higher, and even now, paralyzed, I could somewhat control my body. My recovery speed was naturally faster.

 

But Dok Su-hee seemed to have pitiful stats. Therefore, her recovery was slow, and she still couldn’t control her body.

 

“…”

 

Dok Su-hee tried using her inventory to spread oil on the floor, place needles, obscure the view with cloth, and even set up a boulder using golem fragments, but…

 

“It won’t work.”

 

It was a strategy that couldn’t affect me. As long as I was aware that something might suddenly appear out of thin air, there was no reason for me to fall for it.

 

Step by step, the distance closed.

 

“Don’t you have something like a tank in your inventory? If you wanted to stop me, you’d need at least that.”

 

One step.

 

“Using cloth to block the view was clever... but why cloth? Something like a thick mattress would have resistance, right? Guess there’s a limit to your inventory capacity?”

 

One step.

 

“Let’s start with you taking a few hits. We can talk after that.”

 

The moment only a single step remained between Dok Su-hee and me.

 

“…Kim Jun-ho.”

 

“…Why?”

 

“…Look up.”

 

A shadow cast over me.

 

“…Ah.”

 

When I looked up, a large wooden box was floating above my head. The very box that Dok Su-hee had put into her inventory earlier.

 

And with my body paralyzed… I couldn’t possibly dodge it.

 

“Damn it.”

 

- Thud.

 

 

 

– – – End of Chapter – – -

 

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