WeTried Translations

Translator: ZEROSUGAR

Editor: Abstract

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◈ Regression is Too Much

Chapter 143

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The regressor is training (4)

"...I'm famous?"

"Yes. But before we get to that, please come into my room."

I had definitely come here to decide how to deal with this crazy kid who was a young troublemaker serial killer Grim Reaper, but suddenly the topic had shifted to my supposed fame. With a somewhat sour expression, both of us entered Yuuki's room.

"Please, have a seat here."

Yuuki gestured for me to sit on his bed while he perched casually on the chair in front of his desk.

"The fact that two famous figures came all the way from Korea to here... must mean you've figured out that I'm the 'Grim Reaper'..."

Suddenly hardening his expression, Yuuki clasped his hands together and covered his mouth, a pose that looked exactly like an anime villain.

"I have been expecting a day like today for a very long time."

The kid acted leisurely, as if he had predicted this situation would unfold.

His tone was calm and his expression cold, but I could see his nostrils flaring, which made it seem like he was desperately trying to suppress his excitement. This bastard was putting on an act. When people get caught up in their delusions of grandeur, they often prepare seriously for scenarios that would never actually happen.

"..."

However, if I directly exposed his bluff, there was no telling what kind of reckless behavior this kid might display, so I decided to just keep my mouth shut and listen carefully to what he had to say. When someone's weakness is exposed, they tend to react aggressively.

"Ordinary people think I don't leave any traces behind... but as expected, people of your caliber must have picked up on the clues I left behind. Excellent. Well, it did take longer than I thought it would."

Not knowing what I was thinking, Yuuki recited what seemed like a prepared script while pretending to be relaxed. I was certain he had a script because Yuuki's speech was getting faster and faster. You know how some people get so focused on reading their prepared lines that they don't realize their speech is speeding up? That was exactly what Yuuki looked like right now.

"I don't yet know whether you've come to help me... or whether you've come to judge me. However, there's one thing I must tell you."

Unclasping his hands, Yuuki quickly pulled out a dagger from his desk drawer.

"You two. Don't you think you've been too careless, entering the territory of this 'Grim Reaper'?"

Whoooosh.

The moment thick magical power surged from Yuuki's body, his form holding the dagger began to slowly blur and then became completely transparent.

"Huh, what?"

Choi Ji-won shot up from the bed, and even drew Bung-bung, showing how startled she was. Ji-won's detection ability was arguably the best in the world, yet she couldn't sense anything at all.

"Haha, are you flustered? My voice sounds like it's echoing from empty air, and you can't hear the breathing that should naturally be audible, right? My trait grade is a whopping S-grade. This much should be expected, shouldn't it?"

The Grim Reaper's voice, trembling with excitement, echoed from all directions. Just as he said, it was impossible to determine his location from the source of his voice. From Ji-won's confusion, it seemed she couldn't detect his body heat or breathing either.

I could understand how this kid had managed to assassinate top-tier players. With this level of stealth ability, he could literally kill anyone. Being a player didn't mean you couldn't have a blade stabbed into your body.

"I believe the essence of the world ultimately depends on perception. The world takes on substance based on how we perceive it. And now, since no one can perceive me as a human being... I could be considered to have disappeared from reality. Existing, yet not existing..."

"...What are you doing over there?"

However, for some reason, I could clearly sense the kid's location.

"Haha, there's no point in bluffing."

"You. Are you currently crouched under your desk?"

"?!"

The reason I could pinpoint the Grim Reaper's location was simple. It was because of magical power.

All players have magical power. The moment they acquire a status window, they're automatically given 10 points in the mana stat. Higher-tier players often invest more points in mana to use their traits more smoothly.

However, even the highest-tier players don't fully understand and utilize magical power. They simply use mana artificially through the status window's authority according to their will.

Of course, I'm different.

Baron George from floor 3 had told me that if you keep being conscious of magical power, you'll naturally become able to handle it. Since magical power is originally like a part of your body, anyone can learn to control it over time.

And at this point in time, I'm the human most familiar with this mysterious force called magical power. Why? Because I've lived the longest due to my regressions.

Therefore, my magical power detection ability had reached a level far superior to other players... and it wasn't difficult to locate Yuuki, who hadn't mastered the power of mana and was leaking magical energy from his entire body.

If he had been somewhat familiar with magical power, he would have been able to contain the residual energy emanating from his body. In fact, I couldn't sense his internal mana at all, so if Yuuki had been skilled with magical power, I wouldn't have been able to find his location.

But that was only a hypothetical scenario.

"Come out."

"This can't be, this can't be happening..."

"If you don't come out, I'm really going to kill you."

"Yes sir."

The 'Grim Reaper' Azai Yuuki surrendered.

"I'm sorry. I presumptuously tested you both. But I swear, I had no intention of harming you. Please believe me."

Yuuki politely knelt on the floor. At first, he had shown genuine signs of panic, but now his expression had changed to one that seemed to say, 'Well, of course you should be able to do at least this much.' No, who are you to think so highly of me?

Well, anyway, we finally had an environment where we could have a proper conversation. Ji-won and I stood with our arms crossed, looking down at the kneeling Yuuki.

"Jang Roe from China. Did you kill him?"

"Yes. I killed him."

"Why?"

"Because he deserved to die."

Yuuki's shoulders, which had been hunched up, slowly straightened. It was like watching a computer science student at a drinking party when a topic he knew came up.

"Do you think you're qualified to judge someone?"

"I'm not. But he was clearly someone who was better off dead."

Yuuki tilted his head as if he genuinely couldn't understand what was wrong.

"The vicious criminals I killed were extralegal entities that couldn't be stopped by current human laws. If someone doesn't stop these lawless scoundrels who have escaped the net of the rule of law, it would result in more victims in the end."

"Don't deliberately use difficult words."

"Yes sir."

I cut off Yuuki's attempt to show off by using complex vocabulary again and let out a deep sigh. What Yuuki said wasn't entirely wrong.

If the Grim Reaper hadn't killed Jang Roe... as he said, there would have been more victims in the future. By killing one person, you could say he had saved dozens to hundreds of future civilians.

"Yeah, I partly agree that there are bastards who deserve to die. But according to my investigation, among the people you killed, there were some who were completely innocent and others who were ambiguously evil. How do you explain that?"

"That was... an unavoidable sacrifice."

Yuuki frowned. Is this bastard actually getting annoyed with me right now?

"Player crimes are cunning to begin with. Since they use abilities for their crimes, there's no direct physical evidence left behind, only unreliable rumors. You can't get proper information without torturing them."

"...So you just torture them indiscriminately first?"

"As I said again, it's an unavoidable sacrifice. If I could save a thousand innocent people by killing ten innocent people, I would gladly do it."

"..."

Yuuki's eyes glinted dangerously while still kneeling.

From our conversation so far... this kid definitely isn't stupid. Considering his age, you could say he's quite smart.

However, perhaps because of his delusional syndrome, his ideology is too radical. He would gladly kill ten people to save a thousand? Would he still say such things if he were the one dying? Could the people who die do so willingly?

"I... at a time like this, I don't have the heart to deny your activities entirely. But I still can't shake the feeling that you're going too far. And you're too young."

"No, why don't you understand when you're someone of your caliber? Are you perhaps testing me? My resolve is firm. There's no need for that."

Yuuki pounded his chest in frustration. Seeing that made my annoyance flare up too.

"Someone of my caliber? Ha, yeah. Well said. You said you know me, right? What exactly do you think you know about me?"

"Aren't you a dark hero operating in the shadows?"

"..."

The expression was a bit cringey, but I was genuinely surprised because it was more accurate than I expected. After all, there was actually a 'Hero' trait brazenly existing in my status window.

"You save people, and I kill people... weren't we supposed to be a yin and yang combo operating in the darkness? But Jun-ho-nim coming at me like this really disappoints me. The reason I started operating as the 'Grim Reaper' in the first place was because I saw you..."

"No no, what are you talking about?"

"I scoured gore sites day and night practicing torture techniques. I trained with daggers until my hands blistered, and there were many times I couldn't sleep properly because I had to sneak into airplane cargo holds. But to think you don't understand my feelings...!"

This kid started his activities because of me? He said his first murder was a month and a half ago? That would be when I was still wandering around floors 4 and 5.

"Ugh, urgh...!"

Yuuki finally started shedding tears. It was impossible to imagine this was someone who had tortured and murdered numerous people. No, what the hell is this?

"Wait. Wait a minute. So why exactly am I famous? How did you find out about me?"

"...That's because of the elixir."

"Elixir?"

I've obtained an elixir a total of two times. Once on floor 2, once on floor 4. But what does that have to do with anything?

"How did you obtain the elixir on floor 4?"

"...Well, I got it as a 50,000-point reward for saving everyone."

"..."

"Ah."

Point rewards are given to all players who clear floor 4.

And I saved every single living being that entered floor 4. Naturally, that included the other 99 players besides myself.

In other words.

"I'm fucked."

Because of me alone, 99 lowest-grade elixirs were released into the market.

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