After returning, He became the greatest returner of all time

Episode 14

Episode 14: The Thorn Forest (4)

I was shot down with a sharp sound.

A very elastic movement, like a flat, pressed-down spring springing back.

Hwaaaaaaaah!

A strong wind swept over my entire body, and the entrance to the thorn forest that had been far away came into view.

It was close enough that the surface of the thorn tree, as smooth as an iron pillar, could be seen at a glance.

I threw myself into it without hesitation.

-Let’s go to stage 5!

-Is something definitely different?

-Oh! This is my first time seeing stage 5 lol

-It looks so tough!

The surroundings grew dark with the cool air. The thorn trees were so thick in the forest that they created thick shadows.

“Koooooooooo-!”

Then, from deep within the forest, a loud noise like a ship’s horn was heard. The trees were crying.

I immediately drew the sword I had on my waist.

This time, I too must be nervous.

Gooooooooooo!

As the roar that shook the area stopped, the trees that had been standing upright nearby began to sway like mist.

-Why is the atmosphere like this? ㄷㄷ

-It’s so desolate lol

-Mom, I’m scared!

The thorn trees were alive and moving.

The gently swaying branches looked like living tentacles, or like a woman’s long hair swaying in the water.

The bizarre sight I encountered in a world surrounded by ashes and an atmosphere as dark as night was so eerie it made my hair stand on end.

I ran through it at full speed.

‘3 minutes.’

The time limit for how long I can maintain this pace.

There is no more after that.

So, you have to cross the finish line within it.

I thought it would burn briefly and intensely like a fierce flame.

Shhhhhhhhhhhhh!

With a noise like the air was being torn apart, tentacle-like branches began to shoot out.

He drew his sword towards those blocking his way.

The silver rings that bloomed around me cut off the branches that were covering all around.

Although it is an event dungeon, it is a 1-star dungeon.

The strength of the tree branch was not strong.

But this is just the beginning.

Ss …

I could hear the branches slithering like snakes.

Then the thorn trees shoot out like spears.

It was a sharp and keen trajectory, like a spear aimed at me. And there weren’t just one or two of them.

Pishu shu shu shu shu shoot!

This time I can’t block everything with my sword.

He cuts off the first one with his sword, then twists his body to dodge the next one. Then he kicks the ground hard.

Then, terrifyingly, shadows began to creep into the place where I was.

As they pull their bodies out, the floor is riddled with honeycomb-like holes.

If I get hit by that, my body will end up like that too.

-Wow what the f*ck, your movements are crazy?

-ㄷㄷㄷ This is so cool

-Will it be successful?

I sharpened my senses like the tip of a knife.

From now on, you can’t make a single mistake.

‘This is ultimately a battle of concentration.’

Just follow your instincts without thinking too deeply.

Avoid what’s in front by bending down.

The next thing is, after cutting it down, I kicked my foot hard, and the tree branch that had been shooting from the left tore through the air.

And at the same time you realize.

​

‘That’s why it all failed.’

I’ll know for sure once I try it myself.

The fact that even the most talented players were unable to clear stage 5 was due to a lack of physical strength, but the biggest factor was a lack of experience.

The average trap is static by nature.

This means that it was launched into a pre-determined orbit.

But the thorn trees were different.

It follows you all the way like a guided missile.

-You’re so tough

-Close;;

-Ah, it’s getting chewy.

That’s why split-second judgment was especially important.

That is, in order to clear this stage, you must proceed while making only the best choices.

But the actual challengers are all 1-star players.

Even if you invest hundreds of millions of dollars to raise your stats to the main number limit, you are still just a rookie who has just become a player.

There are many things on the battlefield that you can only know by experiencing and feeling them firsthand.

That is why experts have concluded that this dungeon cannot be cleared with the abilities of a 1-star player.

But I’m different.

‘Because I’m a regressor.’

There were things that had been built up from a previous life.

Even though it went back in time, it remained like a fossil.

It was natural.

Because they were all things I realized while crossing the line.

Because these were things I learned from the death of my colleague.

That’s why.

Because it was piled up so high.

‘I can move forward easily now.’

With one step of precisely marking the square, the thorns that were shooting without a single gap rip through the air.

The space blocked by the horizontally drawn trajectory opens up.

Even though it seems like there is no answer to the thorns shooting out in droves, everything is nullified with a simple movement.

The chat window that was watching the scene in real time was burning even hotter.

-What is it?

-What did I see?

-??

-F*ck, this is 1 star?

-lol

-No, that makes no sense.

I continued on, receiving shocked question marks from the viewers.

As I continued forward like that, I finally began to see the exit shining brightly in front of me.

Knock!

As my stamina declined and my movements became slower, I had to run while enduring most things with my body.

As it was the last, the thorns also seemed to be desperately trying to bite me and hang on.

Then at some point.

The world brightens and your vision becomes clearer.

It came out through the forest.

There was a green light drawn horizontally on the floor ahead.

It was the finish line.

[Congratulations!]
[You have cleared stage 5 of the Thorn Forest Dungeon!]
[You have gained 30 fame.]
[You have gained 5 stat points.]
[You have acquired the title, Thorn Forest Conqueror (B).]
[A log of regression has been written.]
[Episode, Thorn Forest]
[You have earned 500 achievement points.]
[Achievement Shop has been opened (1,600/2,000)]

I looked at the message containing the reward against the sky.

I was lying on the floor, gasping for breath.

“… … Gasp… … Gasp… … Gasp!”

The sky looks bright yellow.

[2 minutes 57 seconds]

It was a record I set.

Thanks to that, I don’t even have the strength to lift a finger anymore.

It felt like all the blood in my body had been sucked out, and my stomach was rumbling along with the breath hanging on the tip of my tongue.

If I had eaten anything, I probably would have had to throw it up.

His physical strength was at its limit.

But even in the midst of such intense physical reactions, I remained calm.

I was just staring blankly at the sky.

I cleared the unexplored dungeon, but there is nothing to cheer or be happy about.

‘Because I was sure of it from the beginning.’

So to me, all of this was a natural outcome.

Maybe not for some people.

“What the f*ck!!!”

* * *

An unexplored dungeon has been cleared for the first time in three years.

At that moment, the firepower of the chat room was comparable to that of a broadcast with thousands of viewers.

-??!!?!

-Is this true?

-Wow! This is seriously crazy!

-Wow haha ​​…

-Can you break this?

-You can breathe now.

-Wow, I’m really curious about the stats

-Guys, I’ve become a chicken…

-Fuck lol this isn’t what I wanted!

-1 star can never be broken, so come out X

-Can you disclose what the stats are?

-Guys, if it was going to be possible with high stats, it would have been cleared a long time ago.

-I’m subscribing right now! What the heck, it looks like another blacklisted player will appear in our country!!

Live chat goes up quickly.

The emotions of the viewers who were very excited at that speed were completely conveyed.

It was amazing that he cleared the unexplored dungeon, but the swordsman’s movements he showed during the process were truly unparalleled.

‘How well he dodged the thorns shooting from all directions.’

If you watch the video closely, it feels like you’re watching a meticulously choreographed action movie. If you look at it another way, it’s as if the thorns are moving to avoid the swordsman.

In addition to that, the judgment and quick reflexes he displayed at every moment were at a level that could not possibly be considered a 1-star player.

This can be said to be a realm of art.

As a result, the reactions of viewers who witnessed the scene in real time were uniform.

Before clearing stage 5, there were viewers who were displeased with the swordsman who seemed uninterested in the broadcast, but at least not anymore.

Everyone was expressing their admiration in their own way.

Ah, except for one person.

“What the f*ck!!!”

The moment the swordsman broke through the thornbush, Oh Woon-hyeok threw his smartphone against the wall, flipped over the desk, and roared like a lion.

A stack of documents was flying around like leaves on top of a smartphone whose LCD screen was shattered.

“Does this make any sense!!!!”

Oh Woon-hyeok shouted with a thick vein on his neck.

When I kicked the bookshelf in frustration, the books on the shelf fell down and the office quickly became a mess.

As if that wasn’t enough, he threw everything he could get his hands on and broke them several times.

“Hoooooo.”

Only then did Oh Woon-hyeok sweep up his bangs and control his rising anger.

“Fuck. How do you look at that kid?”

The confident face of the swordsman comes to mind with bloodshot eyes.

He was a guy who had been annoying me since the first time we met.

But this time, I lost the bet.

How arrogant it would be.

It’s so humiliating that I think it would be better to just commit suicide.

Oh Woon-hyeok, who had his eyes tightly shut, clenched his empty fists and trembled.

At that time, Kim Gyu-seon.

“… … Phew.”

I was watching the whole scene through the window.

Desperately holding back the laughter that was about to burst out.

I was so embarrassed that I couldn’t even hear anything even though I covered my mouth with both hands.

I can’t predict how Oh Woon-hyeok will react when he meets Geomshin, but I already feel incredibly relieved.