WeTried Translations

Translator: ZEROSUGAR

Editor: Abstract

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Regression is Too Much

Chapter 127

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The regressor is tired (2)

A month passed since I cleared Floor 5.

A month might seem like a terribly long time, but when you look at an entire lifetime, it isn’t all that long.

If you assume a human lifespan to be one hundred years, a single month represents roughly 0.08 percent of that life. Probably no one would despair over wasting 0.08 percent of their existence.

Was bringing up a whole lifetime a bit much? Then how about the mountains and rivers? If you figured it took ten years for the landscape to change completely, a month would be a period when only about 0.8 percent of that transformation had occurred. Either way, it was an utterly insignificant figure.

『Player Association Launches... Inaugural President is 'Mighty Michael' Michael Zetter.』

『Korean Government Awards Presidential Citation to Player Choi Ji-won... First in the Nation to Successfully Climb to Floor 10.』

However, in a tumultuous period like this, one month was more than enough time to turn human society completely upside down. From a player's perspective, it was only natural since their own lives had changed, but even ordinary people who couldn't perceive any information about the Tower at all could feel its influence on their very skin.

『Actor Lee Min-ho Reveals Awakening as Player... Trait Not Disclosed.』

『He's in His Sixties... The Secret Behind Running 100 Meters in 10 Seconds?!』

From an ordinary person's standpoint, what hit closest to home was the very existence of players themselves. A slender woman lifting a car with ease or someone conjuring flames in midair—these things no longer even drew interest. After all, hadn't the American Vice President created a block of ice on live television?

YouTube's algorithm had already been conquered by player-related videos, and seeing players on broadcast television had become part of daily life. That was how people came to accept the fact that humanity had awakened superpowers.

『Player Crimes on the Rise... Controversy Over Korean Government's 'Delayed Response.'』

『71 Dead in Random Subway Terror Attack During Morning Commute... Perpetrator is 'Yet Another Player'』

『Why You Should Be Wary of Players Missing Body Parts』

Of course, that didn't mean players had become well-liked. The government might have been working to turn certain players into heroes, but one of the problems that had emerged because of the Tower was precisely the criminal acts committed by players. It was the result of giving power to the mentally unstable.

A player granted stats and traits could kill an ordinary person more easily than twisting a child's wrist. Moreover, they didn't carry visible weapons, their very bodies were the weapons. Assassination incidents erupted worldwide and preemptive response was impossible.

『Korean Government Declares 'No Compromise.' Grants Authorization for Live Ammunition in Unprecedented Move...』

『Is Japan's 'Concrete Prison' Effective? (Exclusive Column)』

Naturally, the leaders of each nation weren't idiots, so they took action. First, any player causing trouble was immediately shot and killed. No matter how extraordinary a player was, their base was still human, so getting shot meant death or perhaps a state where death would have been preferable.

What about players who quickly passed through a portal and hid on Floor 1? They exploited the fact that when returning from Floor 1 to reality, the portal appeared at the same location it had been entered, setting traps at the portal entry points or simply filling them in with concrete. When the hiding spot was right in the middle of a city, the economic losses were enormous, but... well, what could you do? It was better than people dying.

『The Remarkable Results Shown by the Vigilante Group Given Authority by the American Association... Possibility of Introduction in Korea?』

Additionally, the newly launched Player Association organized its own vigilante force and took the lead in maintaining public order. Who knew what would happen later? For now, the Player Association was playing a somewhat positive role.

Why bring up the Association all of a sudden?

[Mighty Coin.]

[+19,832.41%]

[Kim Jun-ho-nim's Balance: 1,983,241,000 won*]

*Approx. $14,10,054

"...Wow."

Thanks to Player Association President Michael Zetter, the ten million won I'd buried in Mighty Coin had become two billion.

Two billion. Money I'd never held in my hands in my entire life. The things you could do with two billion won were, quite literally, endless. I could order a hundred thousand chickens, or buy ten flashy sports cars outright. I could enjoy almost every pleasure human society had to offer.

There were only a few things this fortune couldn't accomplish. Hmm... it was slightly short for buying a house in Seoul, and far short for buying intermediate-grade potions or higher.

Since potions came up, these days intermediate potions were more expensive than houses. Because potions that could heal pretty much any injury and cure all illnesses had shown humanity the Tower's possibilities.

Research institutes around the world hounded the wealthy day and night to study the principles behind potions, and the wealthy also wanted to stock at least one bottle of this miraculous liquid in their homes. Naturally, potion prices skyrocketed to astronomical heights, and it had turned into a situation where ordinary people couldn't even glimpse the first letter of the word potion.

For reference, Ji-won and I had potions overflowing. Ji-won was too strong, and I regressed whenever I got injured in the first place. But what good was it to have expensive potions overflowing when they couldn't even cure a single cold I'd caught from the Yeti?

"...How's your body feeling?"

"It's ambiguous..."

After recuperating for the past two weeks, my condition had definitely improved. The tickling in my throat had lessened, and the faint feverish sensation had disappeared.

But improved meant the same thing as not completely cured. Somewhere in my body, the cold's energy was still lurking and writhing.

"Could this not actually be a cold...?"

Generally, a cold doesn’t last more than a week. If you eat well and recuperate properly, that period shortens even more. Could something lasting over two weeks like this still be called a cold? Could it possibly be some unknown disease I'd contracted from another world...?

"For that to be true, I'm way too healthy..."

"That's true..."

Of course, that possibility didn't exist. Ji-won, who'd been stuck with me in the same space this whole time, was still perfectly fine. The problem had to be on my end.

"Hmm..."

Letting time drag on like this was critical. Either I needed to secure some means of healing my body, or climbing to Floor 11 while carrying this cold might be one option.

My physical condition was decent considering I had a cold. I couldn't call it perfect, but it wasn't the worst state either. If I had to express it numerically, about ninety percent of peak condition. Just annoyingly bothersome.

Besides, if I really did regress because of the cold, I still had the lesser elixir as a last resort. As long as I didn't regress before consuming the elixir right after entering the Tower, there was no worry about getting trapped in a prison of time.

"..."

Even so, it was right to try everything I possibly could first. I still had one more possibility left.

"Ji-won."

My girlfriend was a celebrity whose face appeared when you searched her name on Google. Having appeared on broadcast news, her recognition within Korea had skyrocketed, and she was mentioned quite frequently on foreign communities as well under the name 'Choi Ji-won,' the one who changed Floor 2.

"Let's have you contact the Player Association."

If that Choi Ji-won personally asks the Player Association? From the Association's perspective, already in the process of gathering influence, they absolutely wouldn't miss the opportunity to create a debt with Choi Ji-won.

"...What should I say?"

"It's simple. I'll tell you now."

The plan was simple. If potions didn't work, bring in a healer. And have them cure me.

Did that mean just any healer would do? That wasn't it either. Among all the people I'd seen so far, the only and most outstanding healer was...

"Yes, yes. Hello. This is Choi Ji-won. Yes, that Choi Ji-won. The Player Association? The thing is, I'm trying to find someone... and that person is American."

William Smith. The American priest I'd met on floor 4. He had performed the miracle of healing a critically wounded person on the spot. With his tremendous healing power, couldn't this cold energy of mine also be completely dispelled? It was a gamble worth taking.

"Yes, yes. His name is William Smith, he's Caucasian, with dull blond hair, a middle-aged man with wrinkles... he's probably registered with the American Player Association... I'd like to get his contact information... oh, you know who he is?"

I had two billion won, so I could book him a first-class plane ticket. Moreover, the person asking was Choi Ji-won, Korea's top player who'd received a Presidential Citation. If necessary, I could even mention that I'd saved people on floor 4. That's why I naturally expected a positive response, but...

"...Ah, yes. Ah... yes. I understand. Yes. Yes..."

Ji-won, who'd been continuing the call with the Association, shook her head and set down her phone.

"They can't contact him either."

"Why?"

"Well..."

It wasn't that William had harbored resentment over what happened on floor 4 and was refusing to treat me. The William Smith in my memory was a kind, conscientious American with a warm impression.

The reason was simple.

"He... they say he's incredibly busy right now?"

"?"

"Treating people flooding in from all across America..."

William was currently so busy he couldn't spare a moment.

"...?"

All across America? Treatment? Suddenly?

Wondering what this was about, I turned on my phone and accessed American online communities.

After that, just searching 'William' brought up posts pouring out like bamboo shoots after rain.

-God lives in California. He's in the midst of saving the sick.

-I'm grateful to live in the same era as William Smith...

-I hate myself for doubting his abilities. This era's name is 'William Smith.'

-Florence Nightingale[1] was just an excellent nurse in the end, wasn't she?

"???"

This wasn't in my memories. I was certain. During my floor 1 days, I'd never seen posts like these. If there had been this much fuss, I definitely would have known about it.

In other words…

"...Was it me?"

The warm-impressioned healer William Smith's future had changed because of me.

[1] Florence Nightingale was an English social reformer, statistician and the founder of modern nursing. Nightingale came to prominence while serving as a manager and trainer of nurses during the Crimean War, in which she organised care for wounded soldiers at Constantinople.

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