Chapter 160
[40] Difficulty.
I wouldn’t say the mannequin was weak. Its technique was solid—sharp, even. It just couldn’t match the swordsmanship I’d honed through countless repetitions, tested and refined under Choi Ji-won’s scrutiny.
If I didn’t have Frost Energy, I probably would’ve had to regress multiple times just to win. There’s a world of difference between simply winning and walking away without a scratch.
But I won—easily.
Why? Because Frost Energy is just that broken. No further explanation necessary.
“H-He came out!”
“Are you alright?”
“…”
I ignored the voices trying to reach me, sat back down on the metal chair, and slipped right back into character.
Honestly? I didn’t expect it to be this easy.
I’d anticipated an enemy around [60] difficulty at least. But thanks to Frost Energy, the Glasses Girl and the rest of the players were all too intimidated.
“W-We should probably start too, right?”
“How are we splitting the points…?”
Even as the others murmured amongst themselves, I stayed silent. And in the end, they figured out the points distribution on their own and went into the elevator without bothering me.
I remained seated, casually radiating frost energy as I waited.
Naturally, since I cleared [40] for them, the rest got through without taking any serious damage.
– You have passed all tests.
– Your reward will be given upon returning to the 1st floor.
– 12th floor cleared.
The moment a blue portal materialized in the center of the room, I stepped in without hesitation.
Just thinking about finally returning to reality made my chest flutter.
“Oh? So this is the reward.”
Back on the 1st floor, I found three neatly wrapped boxes sitting in a corner of the room.
– Customized Item Box (B~D)
– Elixir of Experience (Mid-grade)
– Book of Potential (Unique)
The Elixir of Experience was utterly useless to me.
From the item box, I got a D-rank item: a “Recovery Talisman.”
– Recovery Talisman (D)
– A charm once gifted by forgotten tribal shamans to their warriors. Said to help restore waning vitality.
“…They seriously think I need this?”
I wasn’t expecting much from a first-test reward, especially from a mere [5] difficulty tier…
But I didn’t think I’d get something completely worthless.
In the end, the only thing worth taking was the Book of Potential.
With just that in hand, I returned to my small apartment.
Choi Ji-won, who had been reading in a chair, looked up as soon as she sensed me enter.
“Jun-ho, you’re ba— Wait. Are you okay?!”
The moment she saw me, she sprang up, rushed over, and placed a hand on my forehead.
Then she hurried to the drawer and pulled out an elixir, shoving it toward me.
“Drink this.”
“…All of a sudden? I feel fine though?”
“Just drink it.”
“…Alright, alright…”
Pushed by her insistence, I reluctantly downed the elixir.
And immediately, a clear-headed feeling—light, refreshing—washed over my whole body like a cool breeze.
“Feeling better now?”
“…Was I in bad shape?”
“Very. Your lips were blue, face pale… I could barely feel any warmth from you.”
She placed her hand on my forehead again and let out a sigh of relief.
According to her, I’d looked like a literal walking corpse.
“…Was I really that bad?”
Since Choi Ji-won wasn’t the type to exaggerate, it could only mean that my condition had truly been dire.
The Recovery Talisman I got from the customized item box probably wasn’t a coincidence then.
“How’d you end up like that in the first place?”
“Well…”
And so, I slowly explained everything that happened on the 12th floor.
At the moment, her memories had only been updated once—right after she’d agreed to funnel all the rewards to me.
She’d asked me not to update them too frequently, preferring to stay somewhat out of the loop.
“Turns out, the glasses girl freaked out when she saw my frost energy and stopped lying.”
“Heh, I told you, didn’t I? You don’t need to kill or threaten someone to get results. Things can be solved peacefully. There’s no need to pick a fight when it’s not necessary.”
“You’re right. Ji-won, you were right about everything.”
After my long explanation about refining my magic and clearing the 12th floor, she nodded thoughtfully.
“So… you’ve finally gotten the hang of this ‘frost energy’ of yours?”
“Exactly.”
“I told you, Jun-ho. I told you you could do it.”
She smiled and gave a satisfied shrug.
But then, all of a sudden, she averted her gaze awkwardly.
“Um… but don’t you think ‘frost energy’ sounds kind of… off?”
“…”
“I mean, it’s fine if you’re okay with it, but wouldn’t something simpler, like ‘frost qi’ or ‘cold aura,’ sound better?”
And just like that, my beloved frost energy was rebranded, courtesy of Choi Ji-won.
Even she was surprised by its sheer versatility.
It didn’t just affect living beings—it worked on inanimate objects too. And we now knew it could debilitate even high-ranking players.
“But… if I’m being honest, I think the reason you looked like a half-dead corpse earlier was because of that qi.”
If there was a problem, it was probably how I’d used the frost—slowly, continuously, and for a long time.
Even with some degree of cold resistance and an elixir to help…
It’s still a power that can apply serious debuffs to top-tier players.
In hindsight, it’d be weirder if there weren’t side effects.
“For now… unless you’re planning to regress again, try not to use that power too much. We do have elixirs, but they’re limited, so use them sparingly.”
“Got it.”
It was a little surprising that I hadn’t regressed despite looking like death warmed over.
But then again, the phrase “regress upon receiving damage” was always kind of vague.
Depending on how you interpret it, the definition of “damage” could be anything.
Still, I did learn something valuable.
That time I caught a cold and panicked thinking I’d regress?
Yeah… that was just me being dramatic.
Apparently, this regression thing is pretty lenient when it comes to what counts as “damage.”
If there’s no obvious injury—no bleeding or wounds—it doesn’t seem to register.
So I can probably stop worrying about aging into old age and infinitely regressing every time I get sick.
On the flip side, that also meant I had a clear vulnerability:
Poisons, paralysis, or sleeping drugs could still affect me.
If they didn’t cause direct physical injury, I wouldn’t regress.
Anyway, with everything from the 12th floor wrapped up, we agreed to run some experiments together later to test just how far my ice powers could go.
– Book of Potential (Unique)
- Displays the user’s potential in numerical form.
At last, I pulled out the reward I’d earned—the Book of Potential.
This was supposed to show me what I was truly capable of.
Whether I was on the right path by continuing to refine my swordsmanship…
How I should go about mastering this frost energy…
Just how much talent I really had.
I wasn’t exactly sure what or how the book measured, but I was sure of one thing—it would help.
A strange, unexplainable sense of anticipation bubbled up inside me.
“Alright… here goes.”
With trembling hands, I carefully opened the Book of Potential.
– This item cannot be used by individuals without an active Status Window.
– This book is for climbers only. Please use as intended.
“…You’ve got to be kidding me.”
***
Since awakening my ability to manipulate frost, I’d regressed a few more times.
I still hadn’t figured out how to use it without side effects…
But at least I was handling it much more stably—and skillfully—than before.
– You have passed all tests.
– Rewards will be granted upon return to the 1st floor.
– 12th floor cleared.
Now that the glasses girl had stopped lying, clearing the 12th floor was no longer a challenge.
Even the mannequin at [40] difficulty could be taken down effortlessly with my special mana.
There was no issue at all.
I just kept regressing and collecting all the rewards I’d previously missed.
[10] Customized Item Box (A– ~ C+)
[15] Teleportation Scroll
[25] Scroll of Appraisal
[30] Elixir of Choice (Unique)
After finally gathering everything I’d failed to get before…
I realized something: they weren’t as amazing as I’d hoped.
The Teleportation Scroll was handy, sure—but it was a one-time use item.
I drank the Elixir of Choice after selecting the Strength stat.
I wanted to choose Magic Power, but… honestly, I was scared my heart might stop.
As for the Customized Item Box, it gave me something unexpected—a consumable.
– Noble Ox Calming Pill (C+)
- A herbal pill that clears the mind and sharpens focus. Contains various rare elixirs and is traded at high prices.
Getting the lowest-grade item listed in the box made me feel like I was playing some mobile gacha game, which was more than a little annoying…
But hey, it was still useful.
My biggest concern wasn’t physical—it was mental fatigue.
So this was, in the end, a very helpful item.
Finally, the Scroll of Appraisal… I hadn’t used it yet.
It seemed like something that would definitely come in handy at some point…
But whether I forgot about it or just never found a situation worth using it in—I hadn’t figured out its purpose.
For now, I’d keep it stored. I’d use it eventually.
After collecting and evaluating all my rewards, the only thing left to do was officially finish the 12th floor.
Further regressions weren’t helping me make progress with magic anymore, and I’d run every experiment I could think of.
It was time to ascend to the 13th floor.
Since traits were retained through regressions, and items were not, I decided to follow the most efficient route to maximize what I could carry over:
the [5] – [10] – [25] path, which gave me the largest variety of items.
To put that in item terms:
I planned to bring the Recovery Talisman, the Noble Ox Calming Pill (C+), and the Scroll of Appraisal with me.
That was, in my view, the best possible loadout.
But before I could officially wrap up the 12th floor…
There was still one more thing I had to do.
“You’re going to challenge the [70] difficulty?”
“Yeah.”
I wanted to test the limits of my own strength.
– – End of Chapter ––
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