WeTried Translations

Translator: ZEROSUGAR

Editor: Abstract

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Regression is Too Much

Chapter 142

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The regressor is training (3)

An 'association' is usually a tool for avoiding responsibility while securing as many rights as possible, but unlike other associations, the Player Association was competent. Perhaps it was because the basic requirement for serving as an executive in the Association was being a player, or maybe it was thanks to the 'Intelligence' stat in the status window.

Nevertheless, the Grim Reaper had not been caught until now. This was despite countless security experts and white hat hackers throwing themselves at the problem.

The reason was simple. The Grim Reaper, Azai Yuuki, was quite clever for a middle schooler.

[The reason we haven't been able to catch the Grim Reaper until now is because he only used other people's electronic devices.]

When the Grim Reaper was active on the internet, he left no traces of himself. He took photos with his dead victims' smartphones, naturally left no hair or fibers at the scene, and even showed meticulousness by using a VPN when uploading photos.

In the end, since there were no traces left on the web, they had to track his movements in the real world to catch him, but whatever the Grim Reaper's ability was, this guy traveled between multiple countries without leaving any trace. On top of that, he possessed the martial strength to take the heads of top-tier players, so he truly had abilities befitting the name 'Grim Reaper.'

Yeah, up until he started the livestream today.

[It was a very emotional decision. Rumors spread that he was dead, and his identity of only killing evildoers was denied, so he probably started the livestream in a fit of anger. And it’s on the platform with the most people possible.]

Even though the Grim Reaper impulsively started the livestream, he took his own precautions. He wore a mask, used voice modulation, and used a VPN when logging in. The location where he was broadcasting was also a warehouse in Russia, and the phone he was using wasn't his own.

With such confidence, the Grim Reaper started his broadcast and, with a corpse in the background, delivered a lengthy speech about how he had only killed evildoers, that he was a guardian of justice, that he sought to suppress crime.

At first, things seemed to go according to his plan. Even those who thought the Grim Reaper was simply evil listened to his words, and were shocked to learn that the dead Russian player had been such a vicious person.

However, unlike the deep web which didn't require an account, YouTube required creating an account, and...

[For his ID, he used an account that was just his usual ID with the numbers changed at the end, so his personal blog hinting at Grim Reaper activities was discovered.]

"..."

[His name is Azai Yuuki. He lives in Shimane Prefecture, Japan, and is in his third year of middle school.]

The Grim Reaper, who had been thoroughly erasing his tracks, made a mistake in a truly absurd area. He carefully covered aspects others wouldn't think of, yet made a mistake in something far too obvious, truly befitting a middle school kid.

"So, did the Association find out the Grim Reaper's identity?"

[That's the problem, it wasn't us.]

It was true that the Association provoked the Grim Reaper to draw out a reaction. However, the one who actually revealed the Grim Reaper's identity wasn't the Association but a user on a Japanese anonymous community. What's the difference between the two, you ask?

[Too many people saw the Grim Reaper's identity.]

The Grim Reaper's identity had become public property.

Two days passed.

One day was enough for the self-proclaimed Grim Reaper, Azai Yuuki's family to be utterly destroyed.

News articles had already appeared in droves, and the Twitter real-time trend was the name 'Azai Yuuki.'

Someone claiming to be a friend of his classmate appeared and uploaded his elementary school graduation photo, and calls poured into Yuuki's father's workplace. His older sister had to throw away her phone, and his mother withdrew from the mothers' association.

Weren't they afraid of the Grim Reaper's revenge? At first, people were scared and cautiously tested the waters with their insults, but the atmosphere changed in an instant.

-If you killed people like that, you should've been prepared to take what's coming.

-Wow, he killed people so cruelly but then shamelessly pretended to be normal at school? Disgusting.

-Fucking bastard. You breathing is Japan's shame.

-Leave Japan.

This is generally the end result of vigilante justice. The logic that since he committed crimes, he deserves to suffer miserably was applied right back to the Grim Reaper. People don't hesitate when throwing stones at sinners. Because they stand on the moral high ground.

Moreover, players were, knowingly or unknowingly, objects of envy for ordinary people. This was because the media had a strong tendency to glorify players as heroes. For various reasons, Japanese player-criminals' identities hadn't been splashed across the media, so this was the first time such a big fish had been caught. (Mainly to utilize criminals who had been 'declared dead' in various ways.)

Therefore, the eyes of the entire world focused on the individual named Azai Yuuki. All sorts of curses too terrible to describe were a bonus.

Even when novel authors get cursed at in comment sections their mental state wavers, so how could a mere middle schooler endure the role of being cursed by the entire world?

The dark hero Grim Reaper, bundled up with responsibility and a sense of justice, disappeared. Instead, the frightened middle schooler Yuuki ran away from home. Because he didn't know any method of problem-solving other than killing. And to solve this current problem, there was no answer other than massacring all Japanese people.

His family members were branded as a criminal's family. His father, who worked at a major corporation, left a suicide note saying he would pay the price for failing to raise his child properly, then jumped from a building, and his older sister and mother disappeared somewhere without a trace.

"This isn't right."

I had no intention of defending the Grim Reaper who had produced innocent victims. But… but, wasn't this wrong?

Being beaten down by public opinion and destroyed in this manner felt far too cruel.

Does a murderer deserve to die miserably?

Then what about the murderer's family? Do those people also deserve to die? For the crime of failing to manage their family?

"Ji-won."

I felt like I might retch again from the burden, but this time my will was resolute.

"Let's regress. And let's go find him directly."

After quickly clearing floor 11, I would go find the Grim Reaper, Azai Yuuki, directly. And then I would decide how to deal with him.

Even if he was trash who deserved to die, this kind of ending wasn't right.

Even if I killed him, I would be the one to do it.

[You have taken damage.]

[Returning to the moment of first entry on floor 11.]

[You have cleared floor 11.]

To reduce variables, I cleared floor 11 using the same method as before. If there was anything special, it was that Ji-won's proficiency with 'Heart of Lightning Flash' had increased? And that I'd collected items from the dwarves' fortress a bit more shamelessly.

The method of frightening people was the same. However, this time I added a bit more detail, spouting things the 'Grim Reaper' would say, like "Hehe, I punish evildoers..." or "Die, you vermin." If the Grim Reaper was the kind of human capable of rehabilitation, this might help.

What I had to do next was obvious. Take a plane and visit Japan.

I was a wealthy person holding 2 billion won in cash. And when I regressed, the money would be restored. Since there was absolutely no need to save money, I comfortably took a plane to Japan.

"The address we're looking for is..."

Since Azai Yuuki's home address had spread widely before the regression, finding it wasn't too difficult.

When I boldly went there and rang the bell, the Grim Reaper's mother came out opening the door. Ji-won responded with a bright smile as well.

"Hello, what brings you here...?"

"Ah, we're faculty members from XX Middle School..."

Surprisingly, the entire conversation above took place in Japanese. They say that between players, language works thanks to the 'status window,' but automatic translation isn't provided in conversations with ordinary people. Nevertheless, conversation was possible because...

"May we come in for a moment?"

"Of course. Yuuki! We have guests!"

Ji-won could speak Japanese. Because her father frequently interacted with Japanese instructors, the origin of kendo, she learned it to a level bordering that of a native speaker.

Anyway, we headed to the Grim Reaper's room without any hesitation. It wasn't a two-story house like in anime, just an ordinary apartment home.

"Faculty members? Why so suddenly on a weekend..."

Despite being in his growth period, he must not sleep at night, because Azai Yuuki came out of his room with dark circles deeply settled under his eyes, scratching his messy black hair.

The moment his gaze, which had been casually yawning wide, landed on Ji-won, he froze with his mouth still open.

"Choi Ji-won...?"

His gaze, which had been on Ji-won, turned toward his mother smiling behind us. As if reproaching her, 'How could you not recognize Choi Ji-won?'

Next, his gaze turned to my face. But no matter how intently he stared, he wouldn't know who I was.

"And, Kim Jun-ho."

"...?"

Looking at me and reciting my name, the Grim Reaper Azai Yuuki. I flinched back in genuine bewilderment.

I understood him knowing Ji-won's name. She had become a globally famous figure after all. She'd risen to the ranks of Park Ji-sung, Kim Yuna, Psy, Bong Joon-ho, Son Heung-min.

But my name, how did he know my name?

Had he really awakened something like the 'eyes of the Grim Reaper'? Could he see my name and lifespan floating above my head right now? The moment I froze in confusion at this incomprehensible situation.

"You look like you're wondering how I know your name."

What Yuuki said next was far more shocking than I'd thought.

"You're quite famous on the deep web."

"Me?"

Something… something was wrong.

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