Chapter 197
Flash.
Suhyeok's vision suddenly brightened.
He found himself sitting blankly in a crowded tavern...
A mug of beer in his hand.
"...Huh?"
Suhyeok looked around with a completely lost expression.
It was as though he'd blacked out.
He had absolutely no memory of coming here.
"What is this...?"
He didn't know why he was sitting in a tavern holding a beer.
More importantly...
He had no idea how much time had passed.
Whooom.
Maybe the sudden confusion was triggering panic.
The voices of the people around him began filling his ears all at once.
His vision slowly narrowed.
His breathing became ragged.
Then...
Tap.
"Hyung, what's wrong all of a sudden?"
"You were drinking just fine a second ago."
Suhyeok flinched.
The instant someone placed a hand on his shoulder...
Everything returned to normal.
His breathing settled.
His vision widened again.
Suhyeok followed the hand on his shoulder and turned around.
Standing there...
Was Bong Taesu.
"Haha."
"Don't tell me you don't like the snacks."
"Though I suppose I can't blame you."
"The food here is pretty terrible."
"That's the problem with the 70th floor."
"It's already freezing because we're in the north..."
"And all they serve with drinks is dried meat."
"..."
He was different.
Unlike the Bong Taesu Suhyeok knew now...
A large scar crossed his face.
This was Bong Taesu from before the regression.
The man who had led the raid party alongside Suhyeok.
And sitting across from him...
Was someone Suhyeok couldn't believe he was seeing.
"What are you staring at?"
Lee Seha asked irritably.
"Is there something on my face?"
Suhyeok couldn't answer.
Why were these two here?
No.
More importantly...
How many times had he climbed the Tower?
It felt like hundreds.
Thousands.
The problem was...
He had repeated it so many times...
That memories from countless climbs were beginning to overlap and tangle together──
Suhyeok froze.
...Regression?
Then what is this version of Bong Taesu?
Even Suhyeok couldn't understand the words forming inside his own mind.
What did it mean that he'd climbed the Tower thousands of times?
Why had such a thought even appeared?
The gaps in his memory felt like they were growing larger.
The more he tried to remember...
The more distant his mind became.
Riiing.
A sharp ache split through his head.
Suhyeok lowered his head in pain.
"H-Hyung!"
Bong Taesu hurriedly leaned closer.
"Are you all right?"
"You've always been able to hold your liquor, so what's wrong all of a sudden?"
"Don't tell me!"
"Did the wounds from fighting those Beasts still not heal?!"
The pounding headache gradually faded.
Then...
For some reason...
Different memories began filling the empty spaces.
"...I'm fine."
"I was just dizzy for a moment."
Before Suhyeok realized it...
Those replacement memories began feeling natural.
He stopped thinking anything was strange.
After all...
This was reality now.
...Right.
I just cleared the 75th floor.
That's why I'm here at the tavern.
I was about to go train...
But Bong Taesu and the others practically dragged me here to drink.
"Phew...."
Bong Taesu sighed in relief.
"That's good."
"But if anything feels strange..."
"Tell me immediately."
"I'll carry you straight to the healers myself."
Suhyeok gave a faint laugh.
Only then did the other raid members around them begin approaching.
"Hey, Lee Suhyeok!"
"You were insane during this raid too."
"Last time, none of us could even get close because those damn Dragons kept blasting us with breath attacks."
"So how the hell did you get right up to them and cut their necks off this time?"
"Exactly!"
Another member laughed.
"At some point, they suddenly couldn't use their breath anymore."
"The second that happened..."
"I knew it."
"This raid is finally going to succeed."
"Kuhahahaha!"
Everyone was praising Suhyeok for contributing the most to the raid.
Perhaps they were even more excited because they'd finally succeeded after failing several times.
The group continued drinking while retelling Suhyeok's exploits.
Then...
Dolkin, who had been drinking alcohol straight from an entire wooden barrel...
Slammed it down.
BANG!
"Hah!"
"What nonsense."
"You think this raid succeeded because Lee Suhyeok did everything by himself?"
"It was all thanks to the magnificent weapons made by this great Dolkin!"
"If it weren't for me..."
"You lot would've been standing at death's door begging the Grim Reaper to spare you!"
Everyone stared at one another for a moment.
Then...
They burst out laughing.
"Kuhahahahaha!"
"Hahahahahaha!"
The tavern filled with laughter.
Dolkin's face twisted in confusion.
He began throwing empty mugs at them while shouting for them to stop laughing.
But no one listened.
"He's still a hilarious old bastard."
"Acts like that, but he's got the softest heart out of all of us."
"Hahaha!"
"Y-You bastards have gone insane...!"
"Hmph!"
Dolkin kept getting angry...
Then eventually grew embarrassed and started chugging alcohol again.
Suhyeok watched them with a strange expression.
Seeing that...
Bong Taesu moved around and sat in front of him.
"Actually..."
"Brother Dolkin was incredibly worried while we were out on the raid."
"He kept thinking we might fail."
Bong Taesu laughed loudly and pointed toward Dolkin's face.
"See that red nose?"
"He says it's because he drank too much."
"But apparently..."
"He thought we'd failed and was crying before we returned."
"Hahahaha!"
"S-Shut up, you bastard!"
"When did I ever cry?!"
The atmosphere was warm.
Friendly.
Suhyeok stared at them.
For some reason...
Even though he couldn't remember anything...
He felt as if he'd left important people somewhere behind.
Rustle.
"I'll head out first."
With his thoughts tangled...
Suhyeok left the tavern before everyone else.
A violent snowstorm raged outside.
Since this was the northern region...
Snow piled up rapidly.
Before long...
It nearly reached his knees.
Suhyeok walked silently through it.
Eventually...
He arrived in front of a house.
His residence.
"...?"
Light from a candle shone through the window.
Someone was already inside.
Creak.
The moment he opened the door...
Warm air wrapped around him.
Suhyeok looked at the burning firewood inside the furnace...
Then shifted his gaze toward the table.
"You're back?"
"Why didn't you enjoy yourself a little longer?"
"You came back pretty early."
Mihyeon smiled brightly at him while drinking a mug of hot cocoa.
"...Why are you here?"
"Weren't you feeling unwell after the raid?"
