WeTried Translations
Translator: ZEROSUGAR
Editor: Abstract
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Regression is Too Much
Chapter 153
──────
The regressor is training (14)
"Oh, you're back? That was really fast..."
"...But you don't have any injuries?"
The moment I stepped out of the elevator, the bespectacled woman greeted me, while acne guy and mole guy stared at me with wide eyes, as if they couldn't believe what they were seeing. Well, I suppose it made sense, they had seen me pick difficulty [1] earlier, so their surprise was understandable.
"Hmm, well, what happened was..."
This was my moment. Just as I confidently drew my sword, ready to demonstrate my strength.
"I-I'll go in next..."
"..."
The short-haired woman slipped right into the elevator. Hey, shouldn't you at least listen to my explanation before you go?
Anyway, the short-haired woman who had entered [20] disappeared, and the remaining number was [25]. The other two would probably just split it as 12 and 13 to clear it.
"So... anyway, I'm actually pretty strong."
Whoosh!
I struck a casual pose and sliced through the air quickly with my sword, the threatening sound of cutting wind ringing out. This level of display had been effective enough back in the Tutorial and on floor 4.
"...Ooh."
"Wow."
For some reason, their reactions were lukewarm. Wait, couldn't they appreciate the beauty contained in that swing I just made? That single downward strike alone contained no less than three different possibilities...
"But with this much skill, maybe you could try difficulty [20]..."
Ha, right. So it wasn't that I was strong, it was just that mole guy was weak? Acne guy had lost his wits and was spouting nonsense.
"Hey."
"...Yes?"
"Shut your mouth."
"..."
I grabbed acne guy's wrist tightly and squeezed, and finally the bastard went quiet. He wouldn't get all offended by this light bit of intimidation and pick a harder difficulty out of spite, would he? I had to believe he wouldn't.
"..."
"..."
And so, about ten minutes of silence passed in the awkward atmosphere created by my 'light' threat.
"I cleared it..."
Finally, the short-haired woman returned. Her armor was heated to a red glow from the heat, with various wounds here and there, but none of them were in critical locations. It looked like she had won by taking only the hits she could afford to take.
As expected, the short-haired woman seemed to be the strongest among these four people. Given the nature of her hard-to-control ability, it was also convenient for her to unleash her full power in one-on-one situations where there were no allies.
"N-next I'll go in..."
"M-me too..."
Next, acne guy challenged difficulty [13] and won, then the bespectacled woman challenged difficulty [12] and returned victorious. Her claim about getting careless on difficulty 8 or 9 hadn't been a lie, there were no deep wounds, but from her heavy breathing and slight sweat, it seemed she hadn't won easily either.
So... I could estimate that acne guy and the bespectacled woman had their limits around 16 or 17. Mole guy had cleared 20, so I should put him at about 20, and the short-haired woman still had energy to spare. I had roughly assessed our side's combat strength. This would be useful information later.
-Then, before starting the final test, each person will select their reward. Everyone please take your seats.
In any case, since everyone had succeeded in clearing the test, it was time to face the final test. No matter what reward came up, I was planning to choose the lowest difficulty. Clearing it was the most important thing after all.
"..."
"..."
Unlike before when they had been lively, the players hesitantly took their seats. The moment everyone sat down, a message window appeared before our eyes.
[20] Book of Possibilities (Unique)
[30] Elixir of Choice (Unique)
[40] A-grade Trait Selection (Unique)
"Wow."
This time, each option increased in difficulty by a whopping 10. Moreover, items with the descriptor (Unique) appeared in every single choice.
I skimmed through the item descriptions, the Elixir of Choice was an elixir that increased a chosen stat by 20... and the Book of Possibilities was a book that showed a person's possibilities. And... an A-grade Trait Selection? Are you insane? Is it okay to give something like this on floor 12?
Anyway, my choice was already decided. Since I was planning to clear floor 12 as quickly as possible, I picked [20] without even hesitating, and the protective barrier surrounding me vanished.
"Huh?"
"H-hello..."
The short-haired woman greeted me awkwardly. Besides me and the short-haired woman, the other three were still making their choices, still covered by their protective barriers. Unlike before when they had picked rewards without much thought, this time it seemed to be taking a while.
-All climbers have completed their selections.
And so, about three minutes later, the protective barriers finally disappeared and everyone's selections were complete.
Now, let's see what number came up. I casually turned my head to check above the elevator.
[130]
"...?"
"Huh? Didn't you pick 40?"
"...No, I didn't?"
Somehow, a number I couldn't even have imagined was written there. 130? 130? How?
"J-just so you know... I picked [30]... I was going to invest it in my Mana stat..."
When I said I hadn't picked [40], the short-haired woman spoke in a trembling voice. Red energy was rippling from her body, she was genuinely flustered.
"...I picked 20. What about you guys?"
"I… I also picked 20..."
"Me too..."
A situation where all four remaining people were claiming they had picked 20. If you add 80 to 30, that's 110. The number written up there right now was 130. Wait, did someone cheat with 20 this time? Isn't that going a bit too far? Or is there a base score of 20? That seems excessive too.
"No, well, uh, um..."
I didn't know what to say. They say when a person is too dumbfounded, they can't even get angry. I was in exactly that state right now. I didn't know how to react.
No, actually, this was just how the Tower worked. Whether the Tower was screwing us over or some bastard was hiding among us didn't matter. Clearing this floor was the most important thing. Right, I'd do it all myself.
"Huu... Fine. I'll take on the [40]. Everyone just handle what you picked."
I didn't know if I could beat a difficulty 40 enemy or not. But I had to do it, even if it meant regressing repeatedly. That would be the fastest way to clear floor 12.
"..."
"..."
However, even though I had made up my mind to take on the remaining portion with great resolve, for some reason the players' reactions were lukewarm. The others avoided my gaze, staring at the floor instead.
"Um... perhaps..."
The first to speak was mole guy.
"Could you take on just [10] more from my portion?"
"...What?"
"My armor is destroyed... and even though I healed my wounds with potions, I used up a lot of mana... I'm in pretty bad shape..."
"..."
"If you told me to fight a difficulty [20] mannequin again right now, I have absolutely no confidence I could win. You seem like an incredibly strong expert, so couldn't you please take on just a little bit of my portion..."
That was right. Mole guy wasn't in perfect condition right now. His armor was stripped off, his spirit was broken. In that state, he couldn't be confident about beating a [20] mannequin again.
The problem was that the lowest difficulty that could be chosen right now was [20]. This must have been why mole guy had hesitated over his choice. The easiest one was [20] difficulty, but he had no confidence he could clear [20] difficulty. So what should he do? Ah, he could just dump it on that bastard.
"I don't need a full [10]. If you could just take on about [5]..."
"M-me too, if you could just take on [5]..."
Acne guy and the bespectacled woman chimed in with similar pleas. So... right now, the reward I had chosen was worth [20], but they were asking me to handle [60]? When I glanced at the short-haired woman, she shook her head, meaning she had no capacity left even with [30].
"Ah..."
If they had just dumped it on me, if I had needed to clear [40], I would have understood.
If there had only been a liar, if I had just needed to handle [40] including the liar's portion, I would have understood.
But when these two misfortunes overlapped, my head spun and I couldn't bear it. [60]? This wasn't some joke, they were telling me to clear [60]?
Should I just kill them all and clear it alone? Murderous intent surged from within my chest. At the same time, I felt a hot energy from my waist. I instinctively understood that a sword formed from materialized 'killing intent' was about to be created.
"No, well, uh..."
"B-but we can't just die either..."
The players backed away hesitantly, having sensed my murderous aura. These same people who had arrogantly talked about growth opportunities and whatnot before were now making pitiful excuses. Useless bastards. Bastards who thought they were so great. Bastards like vermin. Do I have to go through this hell because of bastards like you?
I just wanted to give up on everything. Kill the annoying bastards, monopolize the rewards, and climb this Tower comfortably. It didn't seem like killing a few pieces of trash would have much impact when I was trying to save all of humanity. Then there'd be no need to agonize, no need to suffer. Why was I volunteering for this suffering anyway?
"...Give up?"
But suddenly the words 'give up' stuck in my mind. Originally, if you don't like a temple, the monk leaves, and if you don't like the hero's party, the mage quits.
Was there a way for me to quit right now?
There was.
"..."
"Wh-where are you going?"
"To the elevator."
I strode into the elevator.
[1]
With very natural hand movements, I entered [1].
<Floor 12>
-Pass three rounds of 'tests.' Each person can participate in each test only once, and if you fail the final test, no rewards will be given.
-All rewards will be given individually after clearing floor 12.
A single possibility that had just occurred to me. I focused on the phrase written there, 'if you fail the final test, no rewards will be given.'
If you fail the final test, no rewards will be given. At first glance it seemed like an obvious statement, but there was something suspicious about it. If you fail a test, of course you wouldn't get rewards, right? Or wait, wouldn't you just die if you failed?
The real meaning implied by this sentence was that 'test failure' and 'rewards' were separate matters. Of course this was just a hypothesis, but there was enough possibility to try it out.
In other words.
"I'm not doing it."
Even if I failed the final test, floor 12 might still be cleared. I decided to bet on that possibility.
Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried
