The Key (1)

It fit perfectly, which further convinced me that this was the key.

But as I waited for a few minutes, I noticed that nothing was happening.

"What?"

I tried to pick up the round object, but it was impossible.

It fit perfectly in the hole, and it was impossible to get out.

Trying to use my strength didn't work either. The ground was too hard for my fingers.

I unsheathed my sword and tried to cut it out. But it was like the ground was made of the hardest metal; I couldn't dig it out at all.

After trying for a long time to get it out, I gave up.

I sat down on the mountain, and I looked at the world below me.

I closed my eyes for a moment, letting the wind hit my face.

'Taeho, the best part of climbing a mountain is not the journey... It's the view'

I suddenly remember the words my grandfather said.

It was after I lost my parents that he suggested that we should climb up the mountain.

I remember the journey being so exhausting, and I kept complaining all the way till we reached the peak.

But after we reached the summit, my grandfather looked at the skies above.

'Taeho, whenever you feel down, Look at the skies above and know that your parents will always watch you'.

"Gramps, I know that I am not there. But remember to take your meds."

"I know you don't like them; that's why I always mixed them with your food".

I know he couldn't hear what I was saying, but I hoped it somehow reached his ears.

My grandpa was still on earth, waiting for me to come home.

But this floor was taking a little time to clear.

The dream appeared in my mind.

"Maybe it was impossible from the start?" I said it with a tired voice.

Will I never return to earth again?

I didn't even say goodbye to Gramps yet.

'Just like my parents'

I felt something bright hit my eyes.

As the first rays of the sun peeked over the horizon, I opened my eyes.

The sky, mixed with a canvas of soft blue and pink, was getting brighter every second.

The sun was slowly rising, and it cast its golden light across the grassy fields below.

Transforming them into seas of emerald and gold.

"Is the sun already rising so soon?"

As I said that, I could feel a presence approaching me.

I looked at the source, and I noticed a young girl climbing up the final few steps of the mountain.

Her steps were slow and steady, each one taken with a determination that seemed to hide her exhaustion.

'Park Jihye?'

I forgot that this was around the time she would appear.

But how did I not notice her on the way here?

As she reached the summit, our eyes met briefly. For a few seconds, there was silence.

She didn't speak, and neither did I.

"I thought there would be something here." She interrupted the silence with a confused tone.

"What would be here?" I asked.

"It doesn't matter now". She responded as she found her own space a little further, and she sat down.

'Ah!'

The hidden exit would usually be here, but because I pressed [No], the hidden exit was closed.

Therefore, she did not get the announcement as she normally would have.

'My bad, but I will make it up to you by regressing later'.

I wanted to regress so I could get the object again and try a different approach.

'Couldn't I ask her for help?'

If I had to regress, then it wouldn't hurt to ask for help. And I have always wanted to know how she knew that the hidden exit was up here.

With that in mind, I approached her.

"Why did you climb up here?".

I didn't explain my regression or the situation that I was in.

I had to know why she always climbed up here.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt to tell you, as it wasn't here anyway. It was because of my skill that activated earlier tonight that it told me that the way to clear the floor was here". She explained it to me.

I knew it was her skill, but it only activated earlier tonight. Is that why she never told me about it before?

So her skill told her about 'the way'. Which is the reason why she has been climbing up this mountain.

The hidden exit was not the true way for me to clear the floor. If it was, my skill wouldn't have been activated and sent me back to the start.

So her skill must be talking about the hole and the object. So my theory was correct; this was the way to clear the floor.

"Did it specifically say that?" I asked with a questioning tone.

"No, it said it in a confusing way, like a riddle". She looked at me confusedly and said, "I just gave my interpretation of it".

"If you don't mind, can you tell me specifically what your skill said".

"Well, I don't mind." She made a little pause and continued,

"At the peak where earth meets sky,

Using the power of the universe, that applies.

On the end, which he denies,

The way to return can be found,

And only there can the loop be unbound."

'At the peak where earth meets skies'. That must indicate the highest point of this floor, namely the mountain.

'Using the power of the universe that applies' It was probably to use your body to find it.

'On the end that he denies'. I didn't really understand this.

'The way to return can be found' It probably meant the way to clear the floor was on top of the mountain.

But there was something else that shocked me.

'And only there can the loop be unbound'.

Will the loop be unbound?

I was starting to doubt that it was talking about my regression ability.

But how did her skill know? It didn't make any sense to me.

Maybe I was overreacting; it probably didn't mean me. The loop it could be talking about was probably about the clear condition.

Killing 1000 monsters could be interpreted as killing a monster again and again.

Because if you use the hidden exit, then there would be no need to kill any monsters.

Which could technically make the 'loop unbound'. But if it were talking about my regression ability, it would be a whole different thing.

This time, I need her help.

"Park Jihye, my name is Kim Taeho, and I know about Nari".

I explained to her that I was a regressor and about my situation.

This situation would have been confusing for a normal person. But somehow, she has always been calm and composed.

"So you put the object in the hole, but nothing happened?" She asked while rubbing her temple.

"Yes".

She kept rubbing her temple, trying to think.

"Can I see this hole?"