Battle(3)
I opened my eyes to see the clear blue sky. Small clouds that couldn't fill the sky, making it mostly blue.
The majority of people would say it was beautiful weather.
And if you asked me in my first regression, I would also agree that it was beautiful.
When the sun is shining and the sky is a beautiful azure color, you will definitely think positively.
But after seeing this sight so many times, it has become very dull.
I would love to see it rain, or at least be something different. Alas, it seems like that will never happen on this floor.
"Where the hell am I?"
Even hearing Goham Nam was becoming dull. I found out that the middle-aged man's name was Goham Nam (Yelling Man).
Which honestly fit him so much that I couldn't believe it.
But even hearing his yelling has become dull now.
I was getting so used to it that I expected him to say it every time.
If he somehow didn't say it, I would be very confused.
Imagine that you expect the sun to rise in the east every single morning.
But suddenly, the sun didn't rise from the east. That would awaken confusion or panic.
So hearing him say it every time was like a confirmation for me that I regressed.
I stood up to stretch a little, and stretching every regression has also become a habit.
It's not like I need to stretch; I just like to do it.
While I was stretching, someone was approaching from behind.
"Hey, do you know where we are?"
It was a familiar sight, and someone I deeply know. The guy I have been sparring with for the last few months
But Lee Min-ho obviously has no recollection of us ever sparring.
'Deeply know' would also be an overstatement. It's like a classmate that you are not really close to, but you have been seeing each other since the start of school.
So of course, you would at least know their name, except that Lee Min-ho doesn't know mine yet.
"Hey?"
Lee Min-ho looked at me with an awkward look.
'Oh, I forgot to respond because I was thinking'.
"If I said no, that would be a lie, but at the same time, if I said yes, it would be an overstatement".
Because I kind of know where we are. We are on the first floor of this tower.
But do I know where the tower is located? No, I have no idea where it is.
The tower could be on Earth. It could also not be on earth, as far as I know.
Therefore, saying no would also be a lie, and saying yes would be an overstatement.
To Lee Min-ho, any information would help, so my answer couldn't be used at all.
"What?"
But seeing his reaction was really funny every single time, and I couldn't help but mess with him.
Honestly, it's his fault for having a funny reaction.
"I don't know. Maybe you can go ask other people". I said it with a tone that seemed like I knew what I was doing.
I went to my usual spot, waiting for the angel. Even though I knew that he probably wasn't real, I still needed him to drop the weapons.
I started to count down, as I already kind of knew the timing of when he would appear.
"5"
"4"
"3"
The guy to my side began to stare at me. Probably because I was counting down and talking to myself.
"2"
Ripple!
The guy to my side suddenly froze and was forced to look at the angel that came out of the dark portal.
"F*ck, I was 1 second off; that was the closest that I have ever been yet".
I looked at the guy next to me, and his pupils were trembling.
He was probably scared because of the immense pressure that locked him in place.
I knew the feeling; that's how I was in my first few regressions.
The pressure that the angel gave me didn't really affect me anymore.
While the angel was talking, I walked into the sight of the guy next to me. I was standing around 2 meters in front of him.
We both locked eyes. But that was the only thing the guy could do, as moving other body parts was impossible because of the pressure.
He gave a fearful stare.
"Don't worry, the angel will finish talking in a few seconds, and the force that is controlling you will also dissipate.".
I walked away to get a better spot.
The angel stopped talking and materialized the weapons, making the big pile.
He soon left, and the pressure that was affecting everyone also disappeared at the same time.
I was looting the weapon pile, looking for a specific weapon.
"No"
"Not that one."
"Close, but it's not that."
I was trowing swords left and right, trying to find a specific sword.
That's when I saw a green color.
"That's the one!"
I grabbed the handle and pulled it out of the pile of weapons.
A long sword that was as normal as the others.
But this one specifically had a green handle with a small logo of a bear right before the blade.
The other swords also had different colors, and there were also multiple swords with green handles.
But all the swords had specific logos of animals; that was unique. So there would only be one sword with a green handle and the logo of a bear.
Like how there is also only one sword with a blue handle and the logo of a bear.
But why was I looking specifically for this sword?
Well, this was the sword that I finally defeated Lee Min-ho with.
I still remember his reaction.
"Are you not sure that I am the one who needs guidance? haha"
After so many regressions, I finally defeated him. And it wasn't because of my stats; it did play a major part, though.
I tried to restrict my strength around where his stats would be. So we could fight only with our sword skills or intuition.
Therefore, this sword had a special place in my heart. But it truly was a pain to look for it.
I knew that the general location of the sword was placed around the middle of the weapon pile.
But why was the sword placed in the middle?
Why didn't I pick a sword that was closer to the outer edge of the pile?
Well, there was a major reason for that.
Because that same day I deafeated Lee Min-ho with the sword, it was also the same day that I tried to find a hidden reward.
I thought there would definitely be a hidden cheat weapon in the pile.
Like a rusty sword that had a spirit or soul inside. But there was no such thing.
The novels lied to me. And therefore, I chose this sword randomly after looting the pile.
It really was a pain the first time I had to look for it.
Picking a weapon randomly is easy, but looking for a specific weapon in a pile of weapons is not.
It was like looking for a needle in a haystack, literally.
But after winning the spar, I realized something.
I looked at my status window.
[Name: Taeho Kim] [Level: 11]
[Age: 21]
[Stats]
Endurance: 21 (15)+
Agility: 21 (15) +
Strength: 21 (15)+
Magic: 0 +
Mana: 25+
[Stat points: 10]
[Skills]
- Perfect Clear[X]
- Swordsmanship[C]
- Trap Detection[F]
- Bowmanship[F]
- Daggermanship[F]
Yes, I have more than twice the stats of Lee Min-ho, but back then, when I won, I tried to restrict my strength.
My swordsmanship had, back then, advanced to rank D.
But somehow I won against Lee Min-ho, even though his swordsmanship was far superior to mine.
It wasn't because my stats were much better than his; I really did try to restrict my strength.
And every time I overdid it, I would not count it as me truly winning.
Because that wasn't my skill; it was my stats.
I could have won my first spar much earlier than this if I had used all my strength.
But then again, that was expected for me, who was at a much higher level.
The reason I was proud was because I could predict every sword swing he would make.
No matter how many feints or tricks he tried to do, I would predict them all.
After all these regressions, I could finally read Lee Min-ho like a book.
It didn't matter if his execution was almost perfect. There was no reason to have perfect form if you couldn't even hit me in the first place.
This skill translated well into real battles, as the elite goblins became so predicatable.
I had gotten so much battle experience these last few months, that I was far above the other players.
And that is only considering battle experience; just from stats alone, I was almost at the top.
I thought of the strongest person that I could think of.
I still don't know if I am stronger than the girl in the sports jacket.
There is only one way to find out.