Regression is Too Much - Chapter 152

WeTried Translations

Translator: ZEROSUGAR

Editor: Abstract

◈ Regression is Too Much

Chapter 152

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The regressor is training (13)

My top priority right now is 'clearing floor 12 at least once.' The reason’s simple enough. I felt like my mental state was wavering all over the place. Spending 11 days doing absolutely nothing turned out to be much more painful than I'd initially thought. I needed to meet Choi Ji-won again to ease her worries and pull my own mind back together.

That led to one obvious question though. 'How' was I going to clear floor 12? There were currently two major problems. First, there was a man who didn't properly understand the limits of his own abilities and kept challenging floors that were way too difficult for him. Second, there was a short-haired woman who would scream and end up burning all her remaining teammates alive whenever a teammate died. I wasn't sure how things would develop later, but for now those were the two main issues I had to deal with.

What if I just swung my sword around like in previous floors to intimidate them, then activated my Awe trait to force them to listen to me? I didn't think that was the right answer. Their egos were simply too strong for that approach.

'There's a high chance the Awe trait won't activate easily.'

The Awe trait didn't work well against people who were arrogant or thought they were strong. The trait was most effective against opponents who were mentally cornered or when there was a huge gap in power between me and them. Of course, the power gap between them and me was indeed huge, but there was a high chance they wouldn't accept that fact in their hearts.

What about just beating them up until it activated naturally? Even that kind of 'simple' intimidation would definitely cause more harm than good. Since no one could interfere when choosing rewards, they might pick the most difficult rewards in the final test with a 'let's die together' attitude, which would put me in a tough spot.

Of course, there was one brutal possibility remaining. If this test system continued even when people died, simply skipping the reward selection phase for dead people and moving on, then I could definitely clear it by killing all four of the others.

But naturally, that was a hard pass. Killing people to make things easier wasn't my way of doing things. In web novels and manhwa, regressors who proceeded that way never ended well either. If you killed this person for this reason and that person for that reason, you'd end up with no one left by your side. More importantly, neither Ji-won nor I wanted to become accustomed to murder in the first place.

Anyway, for the reasons mentioned above, forceful intimidation was out. That meant I had to guide them to clear this floor without threats or violence.

"Do you remember what I said earlier? That the [1] mannequin was incredibly weak."

"And what about it?"

"But you also said the [6] and [7] mannequins were still pretty strong, right?"

In the previous cycle, since I had chosen [10] and then selected [1], the others had to handle 9 or 8, but this time I chose [1] and took responsibility for [1], so the numbers were a bit lower. That's why the bespectacled woman's glasses hadn't broken, and none of the people had gotten injured.

"In my opinion, it seems like the mannequins' strength increases dramatically as the numbers get higher. We need to be careful."

That's why their carelessness and arrogance were even greater than in the previous cycle, and I was pointing out exactly that aspect.

"Ah, okay."

"Hmm."

But the other players just brushed it off with a 'sure, whatever' attitude. They were naturally overconfident, and since they had just won easily, they wouldn't even listen to my words with half an ear. I had expected this. However, these seemingly meaningless words would gain significant power later on.

-Then, before starting the second test, each person will select their reward. Please take your seats.

[10] Custom Item Box (A- ~ C+)

[15] Elixir of Experience (Medium)

[20] Random Trait Box (Unique)

And following the voice's guidance, we sat down again, and message windows appeared before our eyes. Just like the previous cycle, [10] was the lowest reward. Was this fixed? Or had someone really lied and chosen [10]? I wouldn't know unless I tried killing the other four.

"Hmm."

After thinking briefly, I pressed the [10] button firmly. Then the protective barrier disappeared along with the number [85] floating above the elevator.

"I'll say it upfront, I picked 20."

"Me too."

The short-haired woman and the mole guy confidently declared they had chosen [20].

"I picked 15."

"Oh, me too."

The bespectacled woman and acne guy claimed they had chosen 15.

The sum of the numbers they chose was 70. But the number floating above the elevator was 85. Considering that I had chosen 10, there was a liar among them this time too. In the last cycle, that lie had snowballed into the mole guy's death.

"Ah, I chose 15. The numbers match perfectly this time."

But what if I lied too? If someone had called out a number 5 lower, I would call out 5 higher. That would eliminate the source of all this conflict. Of course, this would probably make them suspect I was lying, but as long as I cleared the floor, that didn't matter at all.

"Really? Then let's go. I'll enter first."

"Wait, hold on."

"I'll be back."

Whether the others were flustered or not, the mole guy got on the elevator as soon as he realized the numbers matched perfectly. This time, the number he entered was [20].

"That's right."

I smiled broadly in my heart. This was exactly what I had been aiming for.

The mole guy had lost by a hair's breadth when he entered [25] back then, or at least that's what I suspected. So if he didn't get greedy with 5 extra points and entered 20 instead, he should at least not lose.

About 20 minutes later.

"Oh, you're back. Why do you look like that? Are you okay?"

"Ugh, urgh..."

Proving my speculation correct, the mole guy returned alive, though he looked like a wet rag. His dwarven armor was horribly mangled, and though he had a big wound near his cheekbone, his life was still intact. Perhaps because of this, even the short-haired woman's skin had only reddened a bit instead of spewing flames.

"Potion, drink a potion first. Ugh, I can see your shoulder bone..."

"Huff, huff, huff..."

The mangled armor was basically a weapon in itself, so we had to forcibly remove it. After tearing off the precious dwarven armor and having him drink a potion, the mole guy's complexion improved somewhat. There would be some scars left, but at least we had put out the big fire.

"So what happened?"

"The mannequin, the mannequin was... freaking strong..."

The mole guy said an enemy mannequin wielding a scythe had appeared. He said it was his first time fighting against a weapon called a 'scythe.'

"It didn't use any special supernatural powers or anything. It just fought way too well. That's all."

A spear versus scythe battle. The spear had the advantage in range. In the first place, a scythe was extremely unsuitable for stabbing or slashing, since its shape was designed for chopping.

However, the mannequin had pushed the mole guy to his limits. It gripped the scythe short and constantly closed the distance, persistently targeting the man's neck.

"If I hadn't deflected the attacks with my armor, I might have died long ago."

While the man got tired, the mannequin never got tired. Realizing that time was against him, the mole guy made a decisive choice. He trusted in his armor's performance and took the neck-targeting scythe with his shoulder, then took down the mannequin while the scythe was embedded in his shoulder.

"Damn it, I let my guard down. If I had known it would be this difficult..."

He started to speak but kept glancing at my face. Now he must have remembered too. The fact that I had warned him to 'be careful since it could get much harder.'

That's right. This was exactly the picture I had orchestrated. Having the mole guy barely survive while warning about the danger level of this floor.

"..."

Now that they had visual evidence right in front of them, even these guys who had been overflowing with confidence were completely deflated. Their expressions looked like they were thinking, 'Am I going to end up looking like that too?'

"Then I'll go in next."

That's why I was able to board the elevator and enter [20] without any interference. Shouldn't I be entering [15]? That's right. I just wanted to see how difficult [20] actually was.

Whirr.

After about 30 seconds, the elevator doors opened to reveal the familiar pure white space.

-We will begin the test.

"Hmm."

Since it was the same difficulty [20], the black mannequin wielding a scythe that the man had described rose up. I also drew my sword from its sheath and approached the creature.

"Come at me."

If I was really lucky, I might be able to clear it in one try. But I was mentally prepared for at least 3 regressions. 'Defeating an enemy without taking any damage' was never an easy task. When I evaluated myself as not quite reaching the top tier, that assessment included the fact that I regressed after taking even one hit. Unless there was a really significant skill gap, winning without taking any damage was impossible.

As the distance between the mannequin and me gradually narrowed and we reached a range where swinging swords would connect.

"...!"

The mannequin suddenly gripped its scythe and charged at me. At first glance it seemed to be targeting my abdomen with a low, deep horizontal swing, but its footwork was shallow. In other words, that attack was a feint.

Whoosh!

The blade that had been lying sideways suddenly stood upright, and the sharp scythe aimed for my face. Due to the scythe's long blade, just rotating the weapon slightly created a threatening change. But there was no way it would work on me when I had already anticipated it.

"A bit slow."

Moreover, since its physical abilities weren't particularly outstanding, the attack itself was quite slow. If I had to rate it, it seemed to be about the level of Dok Su-hee from floor 3. In other words, it wasn't a match for the current me.

I tilted my head back to avoid the scythe while simultaneously grabbing the scythe's handle with my left hand. My physical abilities were far superior. I could handle both of the creature's hands with just one of mine.

Thunk!

The mannequin immediately let go of the scythe caught in my hand and rushed toward my lower body. It was trying to use wrestling techniques to bring me down.

Crack!

However, the moment the mannequin charged at me, I struck its jaw hard with my knee, and its neck bent about 90 degrees as it stopped moving.

"Phew."

The closed elevator doors opened. It wasn't an easy enemy, but it wasn't that difficult either. The mole guy was more of a weakling than I had expected. Or was I just too accustomed to fighting?

"Still, difficulty 15 should be pretty easy at this level."

I boarded the elevator with relief once again. The short-haired woman definitely looked stronger than the mole guy, so she should be able to clear difficulty 20, and the bespectacled woman and acne guy were the problem.

Since I had lowered it by 5, they should be able to clear it safely too. The second test had a high probability of success with this approach.

But at that time, I didn't know.

The real ordeal would be the final test.

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