WeTried Translations

Translator: ZEROSUGAR

Editor: Abstract

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◈ Regression is Too Much

Chapter 155

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The regressor is training (16)

Right after Ji-won finished her roughly thirty-minute phone call with the Association.

"So... there's information related to reality, and then there's information related to the Tower. Which do you want to hear first?"

"...Reality first."

"Got it."

Ji-won cracked open a can of cola she had just bought from the convenience store, handed it to me, and began talking.

"First of all... the reason you had to wait for a whopping 11 days was, in a way, because of me."

"...What?"

Apparently, the top-tier players had been so stimulated by Ji-won's overwhelming performance that they had agreed to not climb the Tower for a full two weeks. Which meant the people I'd been stuck doing floor 12 with were merely upper-mid-tier at best.

"And it turns out I wasn't being ostracized. Apparently, various groups were engaged in a tug-of-war trying to recruit me."

"...So like, America's shocked and China's panicking, that kind of thing?"

"Pfft, yeah. Pretty much."

The truth was that the difficulties we had been facing in gathering information were due to power struggles among numerous organizations. And that the world was already watching Ji-won closely.

"And you know the Player Association president, right? Michael Zetter."

"Yeah, I know him. Why are you bringing him up all of a sudden?"

"He hasn't been seen in quite a while, apparently."

"...What? Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I'm sure the Association didn't tell me everything, but this much is certain."

The Player Association president who had left that post on floor 2, Michael Zetter, had apparently gone off the grid recently.

On top of all that, Ji-won said she had received files containing a list of promising players and the groups they had formed. In truth, this was the information I needed most. The Tower doesn't change. The content of each floor is fixed, so there are no variables. In other words, all variables come from people. And now that we had secured a player list? There was no way it wouldn't be useful.

"Oh, and they talked about you too."

"...Me? Kim Jun-ho?"

"Yeah. They didn't seem to know we're in a relationship, but they were speculating that we're in some kind of cooperative relationship based on how we acted together on floor 2 and the fact that we both obtained elixirs on floor 4."

She also said the Association suspected that Jun-ho and Ji-won were in a cooperative relationship. The reason I had drawn attention was naturally because of the elixir, and according to Ji-won, it seemed like Yoon Joong-hyun had kept his loyalty since they didn't seem to know the details. She said it didn't differ much from what the Grim Reaper had told us.

But could the Association really not know that Jun-ho and Ji-won were in a relationship, given their intelligence capabilities?

"Well, now that I think about it, there really is no way for them to know."

When I thought about it, there truly was no way for them to find out. In every cycle where I went out with Ji-won, I had always regressed at the end, and I always maintained a minimum buffer period before moving to the next floor. No traces were left behind.

Surveillance? I could say with confidence that the person with the sharpest detection abilities across all of humanity right now was Choi Ji-won. Putting surveillance on her was simply out of the question.

In any case, that more or less wrapped up the reality-related discussion.

"Then, shall we hear the Tower talk now?"

"Hmm..."

It was time to hear the Tower-related information, but Ji-won seemed very hesitant to speak. I waited patiently until she was ready.

"Hoo. To get straight to the point, when I cleared floor 12, there was no base score at all. I did floor 12 with some Russian players, and the numbers came out exactly as each person claimed."

"Then..."

"Yeah. It means there's a liar among the people you did floor 12 with."

"..."

I had suspected it when the score jumped by a whopping [20] in the last cycle, but hearing it directly from Ji-won's mouth was still quite shocking. So there really was one piece of trash among them.

"And the Association connected me with a player who had already cleared floor 12, and that person said the lowest reward in the second test was [5]. It seems like your guess was right, that the next test's difficulty is determined based on the highest-numbered reward chosen."

"...Haa."

On top of that, hearing that the next test's difficulty was determined based on the highest-numbered reward made it certain that someone had chosen [10] in the first test.

Ugh, my head hurt. I had a rough idea of who the culprit might be. That was something I could investigate through further regressions later.

"By any chance, were there any cases among other players where someone died?"

"I asked about that too, but they said there weren't any. Though even if there were, they'd probably hide it."

This was the problem with information from the Association. Since the Association functioned as a semi-official international organization, its affiliated players managed their images carefully. No idiot would honestly confess that a fight broke out during floor 12 and they ended up killing a fellow player.

"Hmm..."

"...Just so you know, even if you find the culprit, I'm against killing them."

Ji-won preempted me as she watched me deliberate.

"I really, truly believe that killing should be kept as the absolute last resort."

"...That's true, but…"

Of course, I was also aware of the negative effects murder could have on a regressor. But this floor's situation was somewhat special.

"As you know, up until now I've always claimed every possible reward on each floor before moving on, right?"

"Yeah, I know."

Up until now, I had always aimed for a 'perfect clear.' Thoroughly combing through each floor, finding the perfect solution that resolved all conflicts, and claiming every possible reward before advancing to the next floor had been my goal.

"But if I don't get rid of the liar, that looks like it'll be really difficult."

The first and second tests were fine. The other players weren't complete idiots, so they could at least pull their own weight.

But the problem was the third test. Since the short-haired woman and the mole guy chose [20] in the second test, it was certain that the third test's starting point would be [20]. On top of that, the liar would pick [40] and dump the rest on me, so...

"Even by simple calculation, if I want to claim the [40] reward in the final test, I have to handle [80] on my own. That's just not feasible."

I didn't know exactly how difficult [80] would be, but it was not a difficulty that I, burdened by the penalty of regression, could clear. This was impossible.

"No, I think it's entirely possible."

But Ji-won flatly denied my assessment.

"...Possible? Difficulty [80]?"

"I thought it was impossible at first too, but after hearing your story, I saw the potential."

Ji-won tapped my solar plexus lightly with her fingertip.

"What if you invested enough time to properly control that cold mana? Wouldn't you become much stronger than you are now?"

"...Cold mana?"

"Yeah. You told me before that the longer you're conscious of mana, the more naturally you can handle it, right?"

"...That's right."

"And when you think about it, you've been alive with mana longer than anyone else, haven't you? Then there's no one more accustomed to mana than you. Right?"

She wasn't wrong. Even if I wasn't the most talented at handling mana, I was certainly the most accustomed to it.

"Besides, you might not think of it this way, but isn't floor 12 the perfect environment for training? It's quiet, clean, and meals are provided regularly. Since you have to wait 11 days anyway, there's absolutely no downside to regressing while you train."

"...That's true…"

To be honest, I didn't really understand the nature of this power dwelling within me either. It could turn out to be nothing special once you peeled back the layers, or it could be a terrifyingly powerful force if explored deeply. But Ji-won seemed to firmly believe in my potential.

"And if it gets too hard, you can just run this cycle the same way and come see me. Rest as much as you need. I believe now is the moment for you to get stronger."

"..."

"Jun-ho, I want you to get stronger. Even stronger than you are now, so that you won't have to make painful choices."

There was that story called the trolley dilemma. One side has one hostage tied up, and the other side has five. If you wanted an ending where no one died, the solution was simple. You stop the train. Ji-won wanted me to gain the strength to stop that train.

If I invested a very, very, very long time, could I become strong enough to take down a difficulty [80] mannequin? If I could freely control the cold mana, would it be possible? Would my talent allow it? A vague sense of fear washed over me.

"You can do it. I believe in you."

Ji-won hugged me again as I sat there in silence.

"And more importantly, there's a flaw in your thinking."

"...A flaw?"

"Yeah."

She released the embrace and disappeared through a portal for a moment, then returned with a single blue piece of paper in her hand.

"Here."

"...What is this?"

"Just take it. It's a present."

I reluctantly accepted the blue paper and examined both sides, wondering what it could be. There was nothing written on the paper itself, but when I examined it closely, a message window appeared before my eyes.

-A-grade Trait Selection (Unique)

-You may select and acquire a desired A-grade trait. Can only be used once.

"...What?"

This was definitely the [40] reward from the final test. Oh, right. I had been forgetting something painfully obvious.

"Jun-ho. The number you ultimately have to handle is [70], not [80]."

That's right.

"The [40] reward from the final test? I already got it."

Ji-won had already cleared floor 12 at the highest difficulty.

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