WeTried Translations
Translator: ZEROSUGAR
Editor: Abstract
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Regression is Too Much
Chapter 109
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The regressor gets to work (4)
-00 : 12 : 22
Sunlight streamed through the gaps in the collapsed ceiling. It was morning.
“Did… did we survive?”
“Haa, haa, haa…”
The scattered voices of players could be heard. Sighs of relief erupted from all over.
That's right. Sighs of relief. Not the cheers of victory, but sighs of relief.
“Minhee… Minhee…”
“Why… why did it have to be you…”
On the other side of the large room, I could see people crying while clutching fragments of corpses. The faint smell of blood unpleasantly stung my nose.
“Hoo…”
When the wave first began, I had thought I succeeded.
The strategy was to herd the otherworlders into the large room and then block the passages on both sides that led into it.
Just like the day before, I was to handle one side, and the rest of the players would take the other. It was a strategy that couldn't possibly fail.
Yes, if a jet-black orc hadn't suddenly appeared.
The black orc had strode confidently onto the fourth floor, killing other groups of monsters with its own hands as if they were just in the way.
That thing… it was strong. Its innate physical abilities were on another level. It was so strong that it took me, with my Hero trait, twenty seconds to take it down.
It had regenerative powers that could heal deep wounds in an instant. It was tall enough for its head to reach the ceiling, it had the physical strength to bring down that ceiling in one go, and its skin was as tough as hitting a thick tree.
While it couldn't compare to the golem from the 3rd floor, it was clearly a formidable enemy. Of course, it wasn't so strong that I couldn't win. It took twenty seconds, but that was only because its neck was too thick and its regeneration was too exceptional.
Yes, the creature was no match for me.
The problem was that an identical one had appeared on the opposite side.
It had instantly wiped out the group of players guarding the passage, entered the room, and massacred the group of otherworlders.
Of course, I arrived quickly and took it down… but the problem was that there were casualties.
Fewer than twenty people died. About ten players and ten otherworlders. Compared to the last regression it was an absurdly small number of casualties… but once again, I had failed to perfectly clear the 4th floor.
“What… what was the problem?”
A monster like this had never appeared in the previous regression. Even though winged monsters had shown up, there had never been a creature this strong.
Wasn't the 4th floor about exploiting a loophole? Was there something I didn't know?
Was it because there were no casualties for two days? Or was the problem the fact that we blocked them by the book on the third day? What was the issue?
No matter how much I agonized over it, I couldn't reach a conclusion. I had tried so hard. I thought I would succeed this time.
While I was racking my brain, the timer went off.
-00 : 00 : 00
[Results]
[Players] 91 / 100
[NPCs] 288 / 300 (Key NPC survival successful + 20000)
-Penalty Status (None)
-A reward equivalent to 48800 points will be given to all survivors.
-Contribution Rank 1 [Kim Jun-ho] will receive an additional special reward.
Again, when I came to my senses, I was on the 1st floor. I stared with empty eyes at the message windows popping up one after another before me.
48800 points. Assuming Baron George had also been saved, the maximum score would have been 50,000 points.
“Hoo…”
I forced myself to ignore the storm of negative emotions swirling inside me and moved my creaking body. On the other side of the 1st floor, the usual ‘reward box’ was waiting.
With this reward… I might not have to repeat this failure.
-Transparent Gloves [B]
-Transparent leather gloves.
-Meditation [C]
-Calms the mind and provides time to reflect on oneself.
For the existing rewards, I received the same ones as in the previous regression. I wondered if it was because they were customized, or if it was just predetermined... For the record, getting the 'Meditation' trait a second time didn't cause them to combine or evolve. Just a meaningless message saying, 'Your proficiency has increased,' popped up.
-20000 Points Reward : Intermediate Potion x 20
-30000 Points Reward : Panacea Elixir [Unique]
These were the new rewards I obtained. The potions were, well, the potions everyone knows about… As for the Panacea Elixir, I was told it was a miracle drug that raised all stats by 10 upon drinking, so I drank it right away.
“Hmm…”
I sat on my bed and reflected on this cycle.
It was good that I had actively used my knowledge of the future to lead people. There was some resistance in the beginning, but by the fourth day, people were stepping up proactively, trying to get on my good side.
However… the orc that appeared on the final day was the problem. It was so incredibly powerful that even upper-mid-rank players were killed by it.
What was the problem? Where did things go wrong? I had a few possible reasons in mind, but nothing was certain.
“If I don't know…”
I'll just have to do it again.
[You have taken damage.]
[Returning to the moment of first entry on Floor 4.]
“Let's just try building the walls higher.”
“What??”
“The current castle walls… they're about the height of a four-story building, right? Let's raise them to the height of a six-story building.”
“…That seems like it would be difficult…”
“Just try it for now.”
“…I understand.”
I realized it right after the construction began. Baron George was right.
Castle walls weren't something you could just whip up in an instant, even with superhumans.
Even as the night of the third day approached, the walls hadn't gotten significantly higher.
“Hah…”
The plan to raise the walls was a failure.
[You have taken damage.]
[Returning to the moment of first entry on Floor 4.]
***
“You, you, and you. Come over here.”
“…?”
“I am appointing you as the 'Day 5 Commando Unit.' The mission is simple. A black orc will appear tonight, and all you have to do is hold out without dying. Easy, right?”
“Ah, yes, well… we understand.”
I selected only the strongest individuals and had them tie up the orc that appeared on the fifth day. The effect was clear. although they suffered serious injuries, they weren't defeated by the black orc, and as a result, they bought me time to deal with it.
My strategy had succeeded.
“Grrrrrr…”
A moment later, that is, until a black wolf appeared.
“Uh, uh oh!”
“It's going that way! Run!”
“Where is there to run in this room… Aaaaaahhh!!!”
The black wolf didn't bother fighting the players. It moved shrewdly, slipping between the players' legs, and went straight into the room to bite the necks of the otherworlders.
This time, too, I had failed to keep everyone alive.
[You have taken damage.]
[Returning to the moment of first entry on Floor 4.]
I set traps.
I tried changing the personnel assignments.
I mixed up the order of the countermeasures I used.
I actively used my knowledge of the future, but it all failed. The number of victims gradually decreased, but it never reached zero.
Wondering if I lacked power, I even spent one whole regression focusing entirely on training my mana.
I holed myself up in a room, using the 'Meditation' trait while focusing on the sensations within my body.
A day passed, then two, and after a week, I could feel something soft and clumped forming inside my body.
I hadn't learned some kind of martial arts or swordsmanship from a novel, so I couldn't bring about a dramatic change, but I could feel my physical abilities improve just by spreading mana throughout my body.
Of course, despite that, I failed. Getting a little stronger didn't change anything.
At this point, I could tell. It wasn't that my power was lacking, but that this 4th floor was a floor that wouldn't be satisfied unless it saw a victim, no matter what. It was a floor where someone had to die.
The enemy changes according to the way you fend off the monsters? Yes, that much was true.
But I'd have to add, 'if no one dies, the monsters get progressively stronger' to that rule. If the otherworlders didn't die, the monsters would grow endlessly stronger.
It felt like I was playing a game that had adopted a 'level scaling' system. The more I tried and the more thoroughly I prepared, the stronger the opponent became. My efforts didn't feel like they made much of a difference.
"Haaah..."
This cycle, three otherworlders and two players died. People were a little sad, but most were happy, and they were grateful for the simple fact that they had survived.
In truth, there was no doubt that achieving even this much was a tremendous accomplishment.
Why was there any need to save everyone? Only five victims? In a situation where everyone else was dying, what was it if not a miracle that I saved everyone except for five people.
The word 'compromise' once again surfaced in my mind. At the same time, the unpleasantness that the word 'compromise' brought with it whipped me, telling me not to compromise.
Is the answer I'm looking for on the 4th floor?
What if I had been racking my brain over a problem with no solution? What if I was just a clown dancing to unreasonable rules that seemed like they were scribbled by a child?
What if all this effort I poured in was meaningless?
What if the right answer was just... to give up at this point and pour my efforts into Choi Ji-won's side?
“…”
But I can't do that. I already know the reason why I can't.
After the first cycle, the number of victims decreased dramatically. The maximum was twenty, the minimum five. It never went outside that range.
But… just because the number of people who died was the same, it didn't mean the same people died.
Sometimes it was this person. Sometimes it was that person. Sometimes it was someone I was close to, and sometimes it was someone I didn't know well.
Every time the variables changed, the casualties also changed. It was like pulling a slot machine, with a different combination coming out each time.
“…If I give up here…”
Someone will definitely die.
And the moment I go up to the 5th floor, that result will be permanently fixed.
It's practically the same as me choosing who dies. I’m the one killing them.
In the end, I reached the conclusion that I have to save them all. But if things continue like this, there will be no end to it. I've already tried everything I can think of.
"Let's do it."
Now that the situation has been pushed this far, I too have to make a gamble.
“His name was… Eom something, wasn't it?”
A dangerous gamble that might result in great sacrifice.
But before that, there's someone I need to check on. This person probably holds a clue.
I bit my tongue to steady my wavering mind.
[You have taken damage.]
[Returning to the moment of first entry on Floor 4.]
A middle-aged man was packing food with a leisurely air. As if he were going shopping, he hummed a tune while packing provisions, including beef jerky.
“For water, I can just eat snow… I'm looking forward to it. Heh heh.”
His eyes were a little glazed over, but his expression was one of pure happiness, belying his age. What could he be planning to do that made him so happy.
“Eom… Hong-jun-ssi.”
“Oh, you know my name? More importantly, who are you?”
“I have something to ask you.”
Eom Hong-jun, who always disappeared somewhere after the first day.
I had to find out this man's secret.
Footnotes:
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