WeTried Translations

Translator: ZEROSUGAR

Editor: Abstract

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Regression is Too Much

Chapter 136

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The regressor is cunning (3)

The one who destroyed the dwarves' storage was, naturally, me. Of course, the process wasn't easy.

"I had no idea it would be plastered with so many traps..."

At first, I thought I could just rush in and smash the storage. However, as it was a core facility of the fortress, the storage's defenses were far from ordinary. Not only were guards constantly on standby, but all sorts of traps were installed as well.

But nothing in this world is perfect. After investing an entire cycle solely into figuring out the guards' movement patterns, I was able to find a thread-thin opening.

"What? Why are you here alone for the shift change?"

"Well, because of the recent unpleasant incident, you know. A replacement will come soon, but they said they'd come after finishing tanning work..."

"Tsk. Fine. Good luck."

Until now, the dwarves' stubbornness and single-minded nature had been emphasized, but originally dwarves were also a boisterous and warm-hearted race.

"Someone's family died, we have to give them time..."

The dwarves weren't heartless enough to assign guard duty to those who had lost family. Their hearts were already troubled enough, so making them do guard work on top of that would be too much, wouldn't it?

"When will Greg-ssi arrive..."

However, if someone rests from work, there's bound to be someone who fills in for that duty. This was also the reason why black companies make it difficult to freely take vacations, but the dwarves were different from wicked capitalists and didn't make those resting feel guilty.

Instead, another dwarf simply filled that position.

And when duties overlapped, times inevitably became slightly staggered. After all, work can drag on or finish early depending on how it goes.

"Well, he'll come soon enough."

In reality, the dwarf in charge of tanning would arrive in five minutes. However, for a superhuman, five minutes was more than enough time.

"I hope he brings snacks or something when he comes... Kuk!"

"Please rest for a bit."

Subduing one person versus subduing two people were tasks of entirely different difficulty levels. Especially if the guards were wearing whistles around their necks.

After subduing the guard who was waiting alone, I could finally enter the storage.

But the real problem started here.

"Why are there so many traps..."

The dwarves' storage had various strange traps installed.

You had to enter the storage with your left foot first, you couldn't be taller than a dwarf when passing between shelves, you couldn't step on certain planks... countless traps were laid that you had no choice but to trigger if you didn't know about them.

Of course, I used regression to figure out all the traps, then successfully infiltrated the storage and smashed all the contents inside.

How exactly did I use regression to figure out all the traps, you ask?

"..."

How do you think I figured them out? Please don’t ask these kinds of questions.

Anyway, with this, the dwarves could no longer hide like turtles.

"I'm really almost done..."

Now it was time to watch the dwarves' reaction.

Late at night. Inside the meeting building.

The dwarves filled the spacious building until it was packed. The important point was that their expressions were utterly somber without exception.

"We need to reinforce the barrier. Now that it's confirmed someone can leap over the barrier, we can't leave it as it is."

"With the storage collapsed, we need to obtain food and water. We don't even have anything to eat for tomorrow morning."

"We should increase the number of guards too, the blacksmiths don't have much work these days, right?"

"My beer, my beer..."

It was a crisis. Truly a crisis.

While dwarves were a race that wouldn't hesitate to face death to protect their pride, they weren't an enlightened race that could accept death without any problems.

"The culprit is most likely that murderer threatening the climbers."

The meat had become covered in dirt, and the barrels storing beer and water were smashed. The culprit who destroyed the storage hadn't taken anything. They had simply cut off the dwarves' food supply.

If they had at least stolen the meat, they could have suspected the other players, but since nothing was taken, it was difficult to suspect the players.

"Let me summarize the current situation."

The shop owner calmly read the lines he had written in advance on tree bark.

"First, we need to obtain drinking water. This is the most urgent."

As for food, making a hundred concessions, if they thoroughly cleaned and ate the trampled meat covered in dirt, that would be a temporary solution.

But the real problem was water. All living creatures cannot survive without water. And right now, all the water containers inside the fortress were smashed.

"Of course, everyone knows there's a river twenty minutes away, but..."

There was indeed a river near the fortress. Unless you built a water pipe, it was common sense to build a residence near a water source. Obtaining drinking water wasn't difficult at all.

"The problem is that going outside the fortress itself is burdensome..."

That is, if there wasn't a crazy murderer roaming around outside.

"That's not all. We need to reinforce the barrier higher, increase the number of guards, and we need people to hunt for food..."

There was a mountain of work to be done. However, outside the fortress wasn't safe. Even inside the fortress wasn't completely safe.

"I didn't want to say this either, but..."

In the end, the dwarves had no choice left.

"Let's cooperate with the climbers."

In a crisis situation, a temporary alliance was formed.

Player representative Choi Ji-won. Dwarf representative, the shop owner.

After the two representatives held talks throughout the night, a temporary alliance between dwarves and humanity was formed.

The players would provide full support for the dwarves' reinforcement work. In return, the dwarves also promised full support to the players. When you looked at it, this was an alliance where both humanity and the dwarves gained benefits.

The dwarves gained manpower. Whether fetching water from the river, hunting in the nearby forest, or even reinforcing the fortress, the players' presence would be a great help. Players were fundamentally superior in physical abilities and thus skilled at work, and if the crazy murderer attacked, at least minimal resistance would be possible.

Conversely, the players gained an abundant sanctuary. Instead of sleeping with the sky as their blanket, they would be given soft beds and warm blankets, and once the food supply normalized, they were promised delicious meals.

"Wow, look how sharp this is."

"The armor too, it's really light."

Moreover, the players assigned to the escort role were given dwarven-made equipment for free, and the equipment's quality was so good that the players continuously exclaimed in admiration.

"But if we wear this, we'll have to fight, right?"

"Hmm..."

The problem was that all the players were people who had run away because they were scared of the murderer. Because of that, the number of players volunteering for the escort role, including Ji-won, didn't exceed five.

In the end, the majority of players were assigned to the barrier reinforcement task...

"..."

"..."

Anyone who's done manual labor would know, but construction is work that requires more communication than you'd think. Construction proceeds smoothly only when hands and feet move in perfect sync following the craftsman's orders.

"Bring the cut logs over here."

"Fine, whatever."

But just because an alliance was formed, could the awkward relationship between the two races suddenly close in an instant?

From the dwarves' perspective, humans were disgusting beings who killed their own kind, and from the humans' perspective, dwarves were just crazy racists who persecuted them for things they didn't do.

There was absolutely no reason for either side to like the other, and since their relationship was actually bad, the construction site kept grinding and creaking.

First day of construction. Work ended with a tense atmosphere.

However, perhaps the saying "time will solve it" existed for a reason.

"With five players moving together, the murderer isn't approaching!"

"We brought water! Take a bowlful each!"

"We caught three forest oxen! Tonight's dinner is meat, meat!"

"What's a forest ox?"

"I don't know, does it matter?"

Thanks to the players' efforts led by Ji-won, the drinking water problem was quickly resolved, and the food problem also showed signs of being solved soon. Since the dwarves knew the geography of the area inside and out, obtaining necessary resources wasn't too difficult.

"Wow, isn't that Choi Ji-won scared at all..."

"She's different all right..."

Moreover, Ji-won showed a performance worthy of the reputation of being a hero and moved freely, to the point where voices of recognition began to flow not only among the players but also among the dwarves.

"In contrast, those bastards..."

"Ugh, tsk..."

"..."

And when the neighbor's kid gets good grades, our son gets scolded, that's an eternal truth. As Ji-won showed remarkable performance, the players in charge of barrier reinforcement couldn't help but feel anxious.

"Fuck, I'm a pretty successful player myself..."

"Being ignored feels really shitty..."

The ignored players didn't stay still.

They had hidden inside the fortress out of fear, but they still had pride as top-tier players. If they were going to stay quiet while falling behind like this, they wouldn't have been able to climb this far in the first place.

Thud!

"Finished moving all the logs!"

"A-already? Then now that pile of stones over there..."

"Already moved all the stones too. What's next!"

When the stimulated players seriously threw themselves into the reinforcement work, the reinforcement work also began to flow smoothly. Hadn't it already been proven on floor 4 that when superhumans seriously engaged in construction, they could do the work of five people?

And naturally, as they concentrated on work while rubbing sweaty bodies together...

"You've got good strength..."

"Your handiwork is as plentiful as that thick beard..."

Somewhere in their hearts, camaraderie was bound to spring up.

"Perfect."

Watching that scene from afar, I carved a mark on a tree to send to Ji-won and then left.

It was time to move on to the final stage.

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