WeTried Translations
Translator: ZEROSUGAR
Editor: Abstract
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Regression is Too Much
Chapter 114
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The regressor gets to work (9)
Inside a quiet cafe, a silence broken only by the sound of calm music filled the air. It was because Ji-won was at a loss for words.
“…Pardon?”
“I said… I’m a regressor.”
“…”
What would it feel like to go to someone you know for advice because things are tough, only for them to suddenly claim they are a regressor. I had no idea. Wouldn't it be just absurd?
However, Ji-won’s reaction was far more extreme than I thought.
“Are you out of your mind? Dammit.”
“…Pardon?”
“Does this look like a joke to you? I asked to talk, and what? A regressor? Just because I called you Junho-nim, you must really think you're someone special, huh?”
Ji-won’s reaction was much colder than I had anticipated. She glared at me with chilled eyes and a completely blank expression.
It was a sight that brought back the PTSD from the Tutorial. Right, I used to get beaten down by Ji-won when she had that look on her face and would end up regressing. Seeing it after a long time felt new.
And I could guess the reason for Ji-won’s sudden outburst.
“Are you by any chance Bung-bung?”
“…What?”
“I knew it.”
It was Bung-bung, the main culprit who made me regress countless times in the Tutorial. I had a feeling it was that fucker.
I hesitated for a moment because their way of speaking had become much more lively than before, but there was no way the real Choi Ji-won would act like that.
“No… you… how…”
Bung-bung’s words trailed off into incoherent rambling. It seemed extremely flustered, fidgeting and waving its hands about, and then, as if at a loss for words, went into hiding. This meant that Ji-won’s consciousness had returned.
“How… did you know?”
Ji-won wore a similarly shocked expression. She hadn’t told me about Bung-bung back on the 2nd floor. It wasn’t strange for her to be flustered, seeing as someone who shouldn't know her secret was aware of it.
“I told you. I’m a regressor.”
“…Wasn’t that a joke?”
“No. I’ll explain everything that has happened from the beginning, step by step.”
With that, I cleared my throat and began to slowly lay out the story of everything that had occurred until now.
“We first met in the Tutorial.”
The story of how I chose Ji-won in the clearing of the Tutorial to learn swordsmanship.
How I tried to lie my way through, only to be cut down by Bung-bung countless times.
How we met the Goblin Shaman, and how everything went wrong when he betrayed us.
The moment we exchanged our true feelings when my regression was certain. The time I spent with a true friend who genuinely cheered for me.
“You remember the 2nd floor, right? We cleared it together before moving on to the 3rd floor.”
The story of how we resisted the unfair structure of the 2nd floor, struggling with all our might.
How I waited for Choi Ji-won to arrive, and how we finally liberated the master of the city.
“We were separated on the 3rd floor, weren’t we?”
The story of meeting new people on the 3rd floor.
How I repeated my regressions to get past the arrow trap.
And at the very, very end, how I was betrayed by Dok Su-hee and ended up blowing her arm off.
“I think the 4th floor was the hardest. It was cold, long, and people died…”
The information I had gathered through numerous regressions on this recent 4th floor.
And the fact that I was in a situation where I had to choose between saving the people on the 4th floor and persuading Choi Ji-won.
"Phew, I'm thirsty."
After unraveling a tale that would have spanned at least 110 chapters if written as a novel, I took a sip of my Frappuccino to wet my throat.
“So?”
“…So what?”
“Your thoughts.”
“…”
Slurp.
Instead of answering right away, Ji-won drank her Iced Americano. After a brief pause, her lips parted.
“I believe your story about regressing. But I don’t know.”
“…”
“I just… don’t know.”
My story that Ji-won didn't know. Ji-won's story that she herself didn't know. Just because I suddenly told her all of this, there was no way she would feel an inner sense of closeness to me.
She would simply understand it as, ‘I see.’
“There are many lighthearted things I could say. ‘That must have been hard,’ ‘you’re amazing,’ ‘that’s cool,’ and so on… but I don’t think that would be my honest opinion.”
Ji-won didn’t offer the kind of cliché remarks anyone could make. Just as I had been serious, she intended to answer me with the same sincerity.
“Honestly, I’m curious. Why are you telling me this story? Why did you bring up the 4th floor.”
Ji-won took Bung-bung out of her bag and stroked it gently. The cafe part-timer’s eyes widened for a moment, but the owner, as if this was a familiar sight, stopped the part-timer from calling the police.
“In the Tutorial… we were really close, right?”
“That’s right.”
“Then you should know what my answer will be.”
That’s right. The Ji-won I know would never appreciate a situation where I abandoned the people right in front of me to come and help her. Also, there were quite a few practical problems as well.
“Besides, even if you came and told me in person… there’s no guarantee I could save everyone, is there? I don’t have the ‘Hero’ trait you mentioned, nor the Curiosity or Awe traits… and more than anything, I wouldn’t be sure that this is the right path. Since you said you had to be indirect about it.”
“…”
“It means the chances are slim.”
Ji-won was reciting the very problems I had been thinking about. Her expression was endlessly melancholic.
Ji-won's strengths were her swordsmanship, combat sense, physical abilities, and her detection skills. She shared my weakness of being ineffective in large-scale battles. Her compatibility with the 4th floor was not good.
“So, coming back to the original question… Why did you tell me this story?”
“…”
The reason I revealed to her that I was a regressor. The reason I wanted to meet her again and talk.
“I wanted to know.”
“…Know what?”
“I wanted to know what I think of you.”
I wanted to see how I would react while talking with her.
It had been a truly long time since I had last met Choi Ji-won, thanks to all the time I spent on the 4th floor. I wondered what kind of emotions I would feel upon seeing her. How I would treat her. That's what I wanted to know.
Telling her about my past was as much for my own sake as it was for hers. I was retracing my past, caressing the path I had walked.
And the emotion I felt while telling the story… was sadness.
I was sad that I couldn't perfectly wrap up the 2nd and 3rd floors.
I was sad about this situation where I had to choose between the people on the 4th floor and Choi Ji-won.
I was sad that the Choi Ji-won in front of me was so distinctly different from the Choi Ji-won I remembered.
I was sad that she, who once gazed at lofty ideals, was now discussing impossibility.
I was sad for her, who had faced death and been broken by it.
Of course, that doesn’t mean she isn’t precious to me. Even though she has no memories and we have a relatively distant relationship… She is still a comrade climbing the Tower with me. A talent who will lead the world.
But… we are not friends anymore.
She calls me Junho-nim, and I call her Ji-won-nim. Business partners. It was a reaffirmation of that exact distance between us.
“I’m sorry.”
“…”
“For my rudeness… I am sorry.”
The Choi Ji-won from the clearing and the Choi Ji-won before me are different people. We are not close anymore.
Could there be anything more unpleasant than projecting one person onto another? I had committed a great discourtesy.
I stood up from my seat, bowed deeply in apology, and turned to leave the cafe. I would need to train my mana sufficiently, and then regress.
"Huu."
With that, I had more or less sorted out my feelings. If I were to regress, I would give up on Choi Ji-won.
In fact, hadn't perfectly conquering the 4th floor been a remarkable achievement in itself? This wasn't a compromise. How could it be a compromise when it was impossible in the first place.
I shouldn't cling to the impossible, but look forward and move on.
I had completely given up on my feelings for Ji-won.
“Wait a moment.”
Right, I almost did.
“…?”
“Sit down.”
With hollow eyes, Ji-won grabbed my wrist firmly. Her grip was so strong that if she squeezed just a little harder, I might have regressed.
“Wh-why are you doing this?”
“In the end, you’re sad because the ‘Tutorial Choi Ji-won’ and the ‘current Choi Ji-won’ are so different, right?”
“…In extreme terms, yes.”
“How are they different?”
“…”
Many words came to mind, but none came out smoothly, like a crowd stuck at a narrow entrance.
The differences between the current Choi Ji-won and the Choi Ji-won from back then. If I were to list them, there would be countless differences. The most basic level of intimacy was different, for one. But if I had to summarize it in one sentence, the Tutorial's Choi Ji-won was a brightly shining hero.
Someone I could look up to, follow, and respect. That was Choi Ji-won.
But now, that perception has faded significantly. It was partly because I had gotten stronger, and partly because the current Choi Ji-won was suffering after tasting bitter failure.
The gap between the past Choi Ji-won I envisioned and the real Choi Ji-won made the sense of dissonance even more severe. Perhaps it was also because the past Choi Ji-won had grown too large in my mind.
“So…”
Just as I was about to articulate this into words, my eyes met Ji-won's.
“Say it again, clearly.”
Was it simple curiosity? Or was her pride hurt? Or maybe both?
The moment I looked into Ji-won’s eyes, where complex emotions swirled, I had to stop talking.
“What kind of person is the Choi Ji-won you remember?”
Because in her pupils, a light had slowly begun to sparkle.
Footnotes:
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