Ch 127

Episode 127

rule breaker

“Laha, Cordin, Verin?”

“Popoi!”

Popois stepped on Rotonto’s head, who was staring blankly, and ran once more and landed on Kim Jae-joo’s palm.

“Are you hungry?”

“Popoi!”

The popoes jumped up vigorously as if they were okay, and landed next to Jaejoo Kim.

– You’re taking care of the popoes! certainty.

-Geun-Bon

Jaejoo Kim smiled and pulled out three lowest-level magic stones from his backpack.

“Want some?”

Raha and Kodin bumped into each other and played pranks, then hesitated as if they were noticing, and then grabbed the magic stone in front of them.

“Popoi… … .”

Berin looked at Jaejoo Kim with his eyes twinkling.

“it’s okay. You can eat it.”

As soon as Kim Jae-joo finished speaking, Berin bit the magic stone and began to gnaw at it little by little.

“haha… … .”

Rotonto, who was watching the scene, let out a disappointed laugh.

“sorry. Were you surprised that it suddenly popped out?”

Kim Jae-joo smiled brightly and carefully accepted the meat in Rotonto’s hand.

“Since I’ve lived for a long time, I see all these sights.”

Then Rotonto shook his head as he saw Jaejoo Kim murmuring while putting meat to his mouth.

“I thought humans and spirits of the World Tree were immiscible water and oil… … You are very special.”

Jaejoo Kim stared at Rotonto.

“I don’t think you are in a position to say that.”

– That’s right.

– not; Someone who plays around with snakes haha

-Hey hey hey. Do you like meat? Churp.

“haha! I lied You are right.”

Rotonto turned his head to the grass behind him, put his palms down on the floor, and let the snake croak.

easy profit.

Then the grass shook for a moment, and a white snake slowly crawled and wrapped itself around Rotonto’s hand.

“I really made a mistake.”

Lotonto’s hand, stroking the white snake with his other hand, was full of affection.

“You already have great friends.”

Rotonto’s eyes were half-closed, as if recalling the past, not the present.

Jaejoo Kim quietly watched the scene, stroking Popois, and slowly opening his mouth.

“Are you still living alone?”

Rotonto closed his eyes for a moment, then smiled faintly and shook his head.

“Had a lovely daughter and wife.”

“… … ah.”

Jaejoo Kim was taken aback by the unexpected answer.

I was going to ask about the tower, but Rotonto seemed to take Kim Jae-joo’s words differently.

“I don’t even know if he’s still alive. When I woke up one day, it was just me and these children left alone in the grass.”

“… … Couldn’t you have gone somewhere else?”

“I mean, that’s weird. If you walk a little, you can see animals and even where rivers flow. Do you know where we arrived after walking like that?”

Jaejoo Kim quietly waited for his words to continue.

“It’s right here. No matter where I went, the end was always here.”

“… … okay.”

“haha. Don’t make such a sad face. I wasn’t too worried. Travelers like you came and went in and out, so there was no time for boredom.”

Rotonto grinned as if it wasn’t a big deal, picked up the minced meat and swallowed it in one bite.

“After living like that, it became natural for me to be here. It felt like I was in a very large prison.”

“You must have been frustrated.”

“Well, that was for a while. In the end, even that frustrating feeling has faded, and I have been dealing with travelers mechanically.”

Rotonto’s voice was calm, as if nothing had happened.

“Maybe I think it’s karma.”

“yes?”

“I was fighting against the same humans to protect the beings of the forest. God punished me.”

“… … ah.”

“haha. I don’t know what you’re talking about. I was speechless.”

Jaejoo Kim knew.

The man who was called a hero by the beings of the forest, who fought alone against the forces of humans who invaded the forest of spirits, and sent a cold glance at the end.

“no. Your choice was right.”

Rotonto’s cheeks glowed red from the bonfire.

“I feel weird. You speak as if you know everything.”

“Are you a descendant of the first humans from the forest of spirits?”

Rotonto’s eyes widened.

“… … How do you do that?”

“Travelers have good ears.”

Rotonto was silent for a moment, then turned to the bonfire.

“haha. really… … What a unique traveler.”

“I’m sorry if I made you feel bad.”

“No, I’m starting to like you more and more. It’s so bad that I don’t want to let it go.”

“I will decline that.”

“ha ha ha!”

Rotonto’s laughter grew louder, and even Popois looked at him in surprise.

“How long have you been feeling this way? … It’s like waking up from a long sleep.”

Rotonto scratched his head in embarrassment, then laid back on his seat and turned around.

“The meat will burn. If you want to eat more, eat and clean up on your own.”

“yes.”

Rotonto didn’t move, only letting out an even breath to see if he was really asleep.

-Rotonto frown

– Salty Hanu;

-Are you still going to be here?

Jaejoo Kim was speechless as if worried, then looked at Rotonto without saying a word.

No matter how many times I repeat that all of these are fake, the feeling that pierces one side of my heart does not subside.

“… … I’ll go in a little bit.”

The back of the man who was also called a hero was somewhat lonely.

In the end, Jaejoo Kim stayed up all night with open eyes.

Time passed quickly as Seongmin Han, Seha Lee, and Reynolds kept replying to messages on the community window asking about what was going on, and went out and played with the excited Popois.

“Are you going now?”

“It should be.”

Seeing Jaejoo Kim standing in front of the portal, Rotonto smiled and shook hands.

“It was fun.”

“Thanks for the good teaching.”

Jaejoo Kim held his hand tightly and smiled at each other.

And they didn’t say any more.

Because we knew each other well that the more we did, the slower our steps would be.

– Gazzaah.

– Oh my, how many hours have you been spending here?

Jaejoo Kim turned and stood in front of the blue portal leading to the 29th floor from the two portals in front of him.

– In the end, I go straight to the 29th floor.

-Reynolds did a quick check through yesterday’s message, so what haha

– Han Seong-min said nothing was wrong.

– I’m not sure what to do!

The portal swallowed Kim Jae-joo in an instant.

When viewed from the sky, it is a cylindrical space.

19 people locked in a wide, white wall the size of a playground looked around with bored expressions.

“Has anyone eaten the golden door?”

“No. No matter how fast it is, it will be difficult, right?”

Scattered apart, they were adjusting to the space by scanning the smooth walls with their hands or kicking them with their feet.

Two of them, a man and a woman, lowered their voices with serious expressions and nodded.

“Listen well.”

At the woman’s words, the man quickly nodded with a nervous expression.

“Abandon the shit-colored door. We will always aim for silver.”

“The stairs going up are transparent… … I don’t know the way because I’m twisted here and there, can I do it?”

“You idiot. You can memorize the road well from behind, and if you want someone to go silver, grab your pants and hang out.”

The man’s eyes fluttered anxiously.

“Then what if there is a fight?”

“So, you have to be good at acting! If I take the first level first, you will raise it right away?”

“Can you see the transparent stairs from above?”

“okay. It’s nothing if you take the lead. I will let you know by message.”

Then the man sighed in relief and put on a relaxed expression.

“Come on, everyone!”

He quickly shook his head at the sound of a loud voice coming from behind.

“Now, if only one other person comes, the 29th floor will start. Do you all remember the promise?”

Everyone who turned their heads nodded quietly.

“Can’t we just kill him?”

“It’s difficult because rumors spread when the broadcast is on. If you lie, it is difficult to confirm.”

“I can’t help it. Can we just pretend it was a mistake and push him down the stairs?”

“yes. That is enough.”

Because I made a certain kind of promise to throw away the last one.

The 29th floor has a winner-take-all structure.

So, except for the colleagues who came with us, the seeds of distrust already prevailed in each other.

A public enemy was needed to soften the atmosphere, so one person who did not come naturally was chosen.

“I hope you come soon… … .”

Before anyone could finish speaking, a portal opened in the corner.

“Five? It’s finally here.”

[4,858 units. 4,870 units. 4,889 units. 4,891 units. Completed entry for a total of 20 people on the difficulty level.]

[Condition number of people have been met.]

[The trial on the 29th floor begins.]

[Welcome to the training center of the tower.]

[Test your judgment, speed, and wisdom in a circular tower with a total of three levels of structure.]

[The reward increases according to the total number of door colors that pass through each stage.]

[The trial ends when there are 5 users who have passed step 3]

The eyes of 19 people were focused on the portal.

The middle-aged man standing closest to the portal shook hands with a friendly smile.

“Nice to meet you.”

“yes.”

The new man’s expression looked grim, and there was a hint of annoyance somewhere.

“The name?”

“My name is Jaejoo Kim.”

The last person to enter was Kim Jae-joo.

“Your clothes are unique. haha.”

“yes.”

At Kim Jae-joo’s clear answer, the middle-aged man let go of his hand with a shy expression and took a step back.

“Is this your first time on the 29th floor?”

“Well, that’s right.”

“It’s a competitive ordeal, but it’s amazing that you came alone.”

“yes.”

Again, the man wrinkled his eyebrows at the clear answer.

-yes.

-Geun-Um

– Wow, this guy’s armor is so tight.

– Haha, isn’t that uncomfortable?

-It looks like it’d be reassuring ㅋㅋ ㅇㅇ If you wear armor like that and even a helmet, you can sleep lying down even in the midst of zombies.

-Zombie: What? Is it snow crab (dump, just right)

-Shhh sound effect.

After judging that a proper conversation was difficult, the middle-aged quickly brought up the topic.

“Is the broadcast… … .”

“I am doing it.”

“Ah yes.”

He sighed with a look like that of those around him, or turned his head to look at the wall.

[A door is created.]

[When the user is in front of the door, the movement of the door stops.]

[The door once passed will disappear.]

Already in the distance, from the ceiling where we had to look up, 20 doors had appeared and were moving non-stop.

The speed of the colorful doors was different.

-Hey, I still remember the 29th floor.

-Aren’t there two more spaces like this?

– That’s right.

– Does it stop after a while?

-This is a battle of the eyes haha

-What are you talking about? – You have to roll your head hard and figure out where to stop and get there in advance.

The door of the same color scans the wall like a slow tortoise.

The silver door moved quickly, but at a speed that could be seen with the naked eye.

Finally, the golden door stood still.

It’s like taking a break.

“Then I will go first.”

“Hey, let’s go!”

As soon as the door opened, people started running into the wall without looking back.

Those who climbed to Level 2 first could decide whether to help those in Level 1 below, so hurry as much as possible.

‘I’ll see all the crazy people.’

It was the same for middle-aged men.

Kim Jae-joo, who was standing still, kicked his tongue inward, went to the wall, and carefully waved his hand in the air.

bang.

Then I heard the sound of something hitting the gauntlet.

‘It’s a staircase.’

With a feeling of being blind, the man started walking up the transparent stairs.

There was a silver door wandering nearby.

‘It’s more terrifying than I thought… … .’

I looked down with an anxious mind, wondering if he was wearing armor for nothing, and saw that crazy guy earlier.

‘Are you going to stick with me?’

The middle-aged man slowed down his movements with the intention of pushing him away if he came close, and observed the madman’s behavior.

But that crazy guy.

‘… … what?’

Rather than approaching the middle-aged, he was pulling something out of his backpack.

What he immediately had in his hand.

It was a white turban.