Glancing around, I sneakily observed Kangchan. Without any suspicion, Kangchan was carefully touching the shared wall. Even after 10 minutes had passed, the monstrous wolf didn’t show any intention of revealing itself.
Could it be... scared?
Was it intimidated by Kangchan's overwhelming aura? It's possible. Wolves are naturally sensitive. Even from this distance, the wolf might sense Kangchan's aura many times stronger than I do.
In that case, I should give it a push.
"Hey, up there!"
Pretending to be startled, I pointed at the glowing eyes of the wolf on the ceiling.
"Growl!"
Seemingly caught off guard, the wolf hesitated on the ceiling before finally deciding to pounce on Kangchan.
"Oh no!"
But Kangchan too was caught off guard. The wolf's leap was so swift that it was impossible for Kangchan to evade in time. Then, Kangchan's fist started to glow. He aimed a punch at the monstrous wolf descending from the ceiling, and his fist shone brilliantly.
"Wow..."
Because there was some distance between me and Kangchan, I could fully appreciate the brilliance of his punch.
A beam of intense light emanated from his fist, more like a phenomenon than a punch. It was a natural disaster, capable of obliterating anything in its path. Just as the monstrous wolf was about to make contact with Kangchan's fist, it was enveloped in light and vanished.
"Argh!"
A fierce gust of wind blew through the cave as an aftereffect of the punch.
"Amazing..."
Even as the wind buffeted me, I couldn't help but admire Kangchan's punch. The heavens hadn’t abandoned me. I might've missed the bus named Cho Ji-won, but there was another big bus prepared for me, named Kangchan.
Bring it on. Kangchan is a god, and I am invincible!
Suddenly, a menacing rumble echoed from the ceiling.
"Huh?"
Kangchan's punch had created a massive hole in the ceiling, and cracks spread everywhere. The cracks reached the walls, and torches started to fall.
Rumble!
As the ceiling began to collapse and countless rocks started falling, I resignedly closed my eyes.
"You've taken damage."
"You will return to the moment you first entered the 3-5th floor."
Kangchan wasn't at fault.
If anyone was to blame, it was the fragile cave ceiling that couldn't withstand his punch. But regardless of who was at fault, not being able to rely on Kangchan's help against the wolf was a significant disadvantage.
Because when Kangchan used his punch after knocking down the wolf, I thought the ceiling might collapse.
Kangchan was too strong, and the cave walls were too weak. We need to deal with that wolf right here and now.
So when we reached the entrance of the cave again, I stopped everyone.
"Everyone."
"Yes? What's wrong?"
"Shall we take a moment to explain our abilities in detail? The cave ahead looks quite suspicious."
I decided not to mention the wolf hiding in the ceiling. If I did, Kangchan might go after another wolf.
What I wanted to induce was for Angyeong-jun and Dok Su-hui to reveal their abilities. If I didn’t get information now, what I planned to say next might seem very awkward.
As I encouraged everyone to share their abilities,
"I have the power of Kangshin. When I sense life-threatening danger, a spirit that's proficient with a spear takes control of my body."
"I have the enchant ability."
"... Fist."
"I specialize in wielding a sword. Specifically, the 'swordsmanship' trait."
Just like before, everyone shared their abilities.
With this, I was in a position to lead the situation.
"Firstly, shouldn't we prepare thoroughly before entering that cave? We don't know what might jump out at us, right?"
"... Right?"
"So, wouldn't it be advantageous if Angyeong-jun went in first in his Kangshin state to handle any variables?"
"... Right?"
"But Angyeong-jun isn't sensing any life-threatening danger right now... What if we could forcibly trigger his Kangshin state?"
"... Is that possible?"
To Angyeong-jun's question, I turned to look at Kangchan. "Kangchan."
"…What's up?"
"I noticed earlier that your aura was truly impressive... Is it possible to focus and direct that energy towards a single person? Oh, you can emit this aura, right? I apologize for assuming."
"…It's possible."
Having experienced Kangchan's aura firsthand, I knew its power.
That aura is too overwhelming to withstand with an average will. Even with my strengthened will from repeating regressions, it was tough to bear.
But what about the frail Angyeong-jun?
Instead of sensing a threat to his life, he might faint outright.
"...Wait a moment."
"Oh, if you sense the aura of another monster, can you focus your aura on Angyeong-jun?"
With a deep sigh, Kangchan focused his aura on Angyeong-jun and then disappeared.
"Ah, ah...!"
Half-rolling his eyes, Angyeong-jun seemed to successfully transform into his 'Kangshin' state as he suddenly summoned an old wooden spear.
"Alright, let's go in!"
I promptly pushed the two forward. Angyeong-jun's gaze was fixed on the ceiling. He had surely sensed the presence of the wolf with his sharp instincts.
Thus, the three of us entered the cave.
Swish!
In his 'Kangshin' state, Angyeong-jun wasted no time and threw his wooden spear towards the ceiling.
"Screech!"
The startled wolf quickly jumped down from the ceiling, seemingly caught off guard by our tactic. Its posture looked awkward due to the surprise.
"Enchant! Quick!"
We couldn't miss this chance. I lunged at the wolf falling towards the ground.
"Uh, umm... 'Explosion'!"
Dok Su-hui immediately enchanted Angyeong-jun's wooden spear with an 'explosion'.
"Whew!"
Slash!
I narrowly avoided the wolf's attack.
"Screech!"
The enchanted spear pierced the floating wolf.
Boom!
"Screech!"
The explosion from within ended the wolf's life.
"Phew, phew..."
With the 'Kangshin' state deactivated, Angyeong-jun collapsed, exhausted.
"...Bravo."
It was neat. No, perfect.
We completely bypassed the unnecessary process of fleeing from the wolf.
With this, we've established a route to defeat wolves without any damage.
This is the beauty of regression. Repeating the same situation to achieve the best result.
I wore a satisfied smile.
About 30 minutes later, Kangchan returned, blood trickling down his forehead.
"...There was another wolf."
Did we successfully take care of both wolves?
Now, the challenge is how to overcome the mirror room.
Entering the mirror room without preparation would be a disaster waiting to happen.
"Um… Angyeong-jun?"
"Yes? What is it?"
"Can you explain your ability in detail?"
"Oh, my ability is..."
As I opened the topic, Angyeong-jun slowly began explaining his ability.
His power is the spirit itself. Changing the body's master is just an additional ability, and the spirit that always follows Angyeong-jun is his main trait.
"So, does this mean the spirit shares sensations? Only the body's control changes?"
"No. The spirit perceives the world in its way, and I perceive it in mine. However, the spirit can't stray too far from my body."
This means the spirit floats around, observing the world, unlike in the movie 'Get Out' where one sits somewhere sharing sensations.
"Hmm..."
Covering Angyeong-jun's eyes won't stop the spirit from perceiving the mirror room.
Entering the mirror maze in this state would be predictable.
'So you're trying to charm me!' The native would exclaim, forcefully transform, and then throw his spear, breaking mirrors everywhere. I'd get hit by mirror shards and regress instantly.
While it might be possible to stay far back and dodge the mirror shards…
There must be a trick to the mirror maze. Randomly
breaking is impossible. After all, we need four palm prints to open the stone door. A way to shield the eyes of the spirit that follows Angyeong-jun... A method to prevent him from having an episode...
"Ah."
Suddenly, I remembered how Kangchan had forcibly induced Angyeong-jun into his 'Kangshin' state by focusing his aura on him when we were capturing the wolf.
If Angyeong-jun, in his 'Kangshin' state, goes berserk and falls for the trick, we won't be able to proceed.
What if... we induce Angyeong-jun into 'Kangshin' again, and then cover his eyes?
Wouldn't the spirit, once inside the body, be unable to recognize the mirror?
I felt this had a high chance of success. No, this will work.
Now, the crucial part is...
"Everyone."
How persuasively and convincingly can I get the others on board? How can I make them understand that we need to proceed with Angyeong-jun's eyes covered in his 'Kangshin' state?
"Can you please look here for a moment? Doesn't this seem suspicious?"
- Curiosity [A]
- Naturally, opposites attract. People feel an inexplicable curiosity towards you, instinctively focusing on you.
And this is something I've done countless times in the tutorial.