WeTried Translations

Translator: ZEROSUGAR

Editor: Abstract

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◈ Regression is Too Much

Chapter 149

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The regressor is training (10)

"..."

The number [31] written inside the elevator and the number [4] written outside.

To confirm my hypothesis, this time I erased the number [31] and entered [25] instead.

[10]

Just like magic, the outside number changed back to [10]. This confirmed that the sum of the inside and outside numbers was fixed at [35].

"What are you doing?"

"..."

Whether acne guy spoke or not, I rubbed my face and gathered my thoughts. As I’d suspected, I was right. This elevator could only hold one person at a time. And unlike a regular elevator, it had a "confirm" button which meant...

"Wait a minute! Could everyone please step away from the elevator?"

The moment my suspicion turned into certainty, I heard the bespectacled woman's voice from outside.

"Huh? Why?"

"I think I understand floor 12. Everyone gather around! Come sit here!"

With a triumphant attitude, the bespectacled woman placed her hands on her hips. She strode into the elevator, grabbed mine and acne guy's arms, and dragged us outside.

After seating us on the metal chairs, the bespectacled woman began her explanation.

"Alright, listen. I think this is some kind of loyalty game."

The woman pushed up her glasses as she spoke. Her voice was filled with confidence.

"I briefly touched the number panel inside earlier, and the maximum number you can input is 35. Coincidentally, the number written above the elevator is also 35. And they said only one person can take the 'test' at a time, and each person can only enter once per round. Do you understand what this means?"

"...I don't get it."

"It means we each have to enter the elevator once and fill up that number [35]."

Surprisingly, the bespectacled woman had made the same deduction as me. The glasses on her face weren't just accessories after all.

"My theory is this. Each time we enter the elevator, we can input a certain number and press the confirm button to take some kind of 'test'. When all five of us have taken our turns, the sum of the numbers we chose should equal 35. The higher the number you input, the more difficult the test will be."

Five people could each choose a number and enter the elevator once. In other words, the five of us together needed to make the number [35].

"Oh, ohhh..."

"Well, I'm guessing that number [35] is probably the sum of the numbers written next to the rewards we chose... Everyone, the numbers were 1, 5, 10, right? What rewards did you all pick?"

Had my expectations been too low, or was this woman actually exceptional? Still, seeing the bespectacled woman show such sharp thinking, I nodded satisfactorily. Yes, this was it.

"First, I chose 10."

Since I had nothing to hide, I confidently said I had chosen 10. For 1, 5, and 10 to add up to 35 five times... you'd need 10 twice and 5 three times. In other words, besides me, there was one more person who chose 10, and the rest chose 5.

The standard strategy for this floor was simple. Each person would input their chosen reward number into the elevator and take the corresponding 'test'. It was like paying your fair share in a group meal.

"Is that so? I chose 5. What about you guys?"

"...I also chose 5."

"I went with the safe choice of 5 too."

"I also chose 5 since it was my first time."

"..."

The problem was... there was already a freeloader. As I mentioned earlier, two people chose 10. But the other four were all claiming they chose 5. One of them was lying.

"Hey. Are you guys really going to be like this?"

Realizing there was a liar, the bespectacled woman frowned deeply and glared at everyone. I had heard that the other four besides me were a team, but this situation was unfolding.

"We may have only been together for a short while, but we're still a team, aren't we? How can you act like this?"

"...You said you've only been together for a short while?"

"Ah, yes. We started traveling together from floor 11..."

"..."

Come to think of it, floors 6 through 10 were solo floors. It wasn't strange that their teamwork would be loose.

"No, I really chose 5!"

"Not me. Really, really. I swear on my mother."

"...I also chose 5..."

Regardless, the other three kept appealing their innocence. Judging by their expressions alone, they really seemed to have been falsely accused... Or was the bespectacled woman attempting a bluff? No, I shouldn't jump to conclusions. Anyway, since there was regression, the truth would eventually be revealed. For now, it was more important to defuse the situation and gather information.

"Now, everyone. Please don't fight. Since the Tower blocks information anyway, finding the culprit is impossible. Let's move past this and think about it later. The important thing is passing the test, isn't it?"

"...Right."

"There's one thing we're overlooking, which is that we don't even know what this 'test' is in the first place."

It could be fighting monsters. Or it could be solving puzzles. It might even be directly inflicting pain on the brain. In any case, since we didn't know what kind of test it was, we had to avoid acting rashly.

"So I dare to make a proposal. Let's choose one brave person to input [1] and take the test."

Since we didn't know what kind of test it was, we'd have someone input 1, which was presumably the easiest, to test the waters first. I thought my proposal was quite reasonable.

"But..."

However, there was one problem here.

"Then that person would have to input 1 when they were originally supposed to input 5 or 10, right?"

"That's right."

"Then how do we make up for the missing number?"

That's right. In military training, when one person carries the log lightly, someone else has to bear that weight. But there was a solution for this too.

"Instead, I'll input [19]. No, I could even handle the remaining [34] myself. I'm confident."

Namely, I would carry that log myself. Actually, this was the method I had used to solve various floors up until now. With regression making me sufficiently strong, I would shoulder all the problems others had to bear and then clear the floor.

This method had worked excellently so far, and I had said it with the feeling of being generous, but.

"Wait a minute."

Thud thud thud. Mole guy walked over and stood in front of me.

"I think that approach is wrong."

"...?"

"If you do that, you're blocking our opportunity to grow, aren't you?"

"..."

"We entered the Tower to become stronger. But if you sweep away all the enemies like that, don't we lose our chance to grow? Both experience points and combat experience."

While his way of speaking was quite rude, what this man said was true. It was also a problem I had been constantly worrying about in the tutorial and on floor 4.

If I took the lead and crushed all the trials, other people would lose their chance to fight. Especially on floor 4. The people I saved on floor 4 survived and obtained elixirs, which were treasures, but they missed the opportunity to gain massive experience points by fighting monsters. It wouldn't be entirely wrong to say they lost out because of me.

But even so... should I just let people die? Should I just let people die just because they came here risking their lives? Police officers and firefighters do stop people from jumping from high places on moral grounds, but I'm neither a police officer nor a firefighter, and this isn't modern society. Is it right to bring existing morality here?

"We're not people you need to take care of. If you really want to choose [1] for scouting, then you do it."

"..."

Maybe this man was right too. I might have been acting too selfishly. I might have been stealing 'opportunities to grow' from other people. I thought I was being taken advantage of like a fool and losing out, but maybe it was actually the opposite.

Of course, that didn't mean I would let people die. But it was certain that me sweeping away all enemies was also wrong. I should find an appropriate compromise between the two. Hmm, it felt like I had achieved some personal growth.

Good. This time I'll go along with their pace.

"Alright. I'll choose 1 and scout ahead. Does everyone agree?"

"Yes, well..."

"That's fine."

"Understood."

After looking around once, I slowly got on the elevator and input [1]. Then the elevator began moving with a humming sound.

After moving for about 30 seconds, the elevator stopped and the doors opened, revealing a completely white space before my eyes. The walls, floor, everything was white, making it impossible to judge distance. It felt like there was nothing but a single elevator sitting alone in an empty space.

"...Hmm."

-The test will now begin.

As soon as I stepped out of the elevator and looked around, an emotionless voice rang out. At the same time, a black mannequin-like figure creaked to life ahead. This was similar to what I experienced on floor 5.

"So I just need to defeat this thing."

A black mannequin with [1] written large on its head slowly approached, holding a wooden bat-like stick. However, its movements were sluggish, and its arms and legs trembled finely, as if it were acting like a frightened person.

"..."

Slash!

It couldn't even be called a fight. I just cut off its head with my sword, and the mannequin couldn't block it.

-The test has ended. Please return to the waiting area.

"...Is it manageable?"

Even though it was 1, the difficulty was certainly easy. It felt easier than even the mutant goblins from the tutorial.

Come to think of it, the people trapped on floor 11 couldn't advance not because the floors were difficult, but because they weren't selling passage stones. For top-tier players, the lower floors of the Tower were easy. The current players' specs were so outstanding that they could be called overpowered.

The guys who were with me earlier were rough around the edges, but they were probably top-tier players too. In that case... we could clear floor 12 very smoothly and cleanly at this rate. Once I clear it, I should go back to reality and rest for a while. Ji-won would be worried. I should prepare what to explain to her in advance.

Or so I thought, back in those days.

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