WeTried Translations

Translator: ZEROSUGAR

Editor: Abstract

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◈ Regression is Too Much

Chapter 161

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The regressor grows stronger (6)

Eleven days had passed since Kim Jun-ho regressed to challenge the [70] difficulty. Actually, he wasn't sure if eleven days had truly passed. At minimum, that was how much time Choi Ji-won felt had gone by.

Rustle. Rustle.

"..."

Ji-won sat in her chair, expressionlessly turning the pages of a book. The cover of the book she was reading said "Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder." It wasn't just the book in her hands, either. All three or four books stacked on the desk were related to human psychology.

"The best option is... probably going to a hospital."

Every book she had read emphasized the same thing: "For mental health issues, seek professional help." And if Jun-ho actually went to a hospital... they would probably diagnose him with needing plenty of rest. The easiest way to cure an illness was to remove its cause.

That wasn't the direction Ji-won wanted to go.

"It's about time."

After closing the book she had been reading, Ji-won swept all the books from the desk into her bag in one go. Jun-ho would be returning soon, so she needed to put the books away.

"He said he was challenging [70] difficulty... so it'll probably take a while?"

Maybe she should handle the messages she had been putting off. Ji-won flipped over the phone she had left face-down and checked her accumulated contacts one by one. Her messages to friends were full of "hahaha" but her expression remained blank.

Ji-won had far fewer cycles of memories compared to Jun-ho, but she had repeated this time period several times over. In other words, the contents of all the messages she was checking were already stored in her memory. Since she already knew what they said, there was no reason to feel particularly moved.

"..."

And if Ji-won was like this, what about Jun-ho? Ji-won's eyes grew heavy.

"...I should make something delicious for Jun-ho when he gets back."

'Chicken? How about chicken? It's rich in protein and tastes good. If we order about ten pieces from different menu items, that should do it, right?'

"No way. I saw you buying beef and shabu-shabu broth earlier this afternoon. Tonight's dinner is shabu-shabu."

'With how much you two eat, will that be enough? And when you use mana, you need to eat even more.'

"...Fine, let's just order two portions."

Just as Ji-won and Bung-bung reached a dramatic compromise after bickering over the dinner menu.

-Whoooom.

"Jun-ho?"

"Ugh, I'm exhausted."

Jun-ho returned to the studio apartment through a blue portal. Much earlier than Ji-won had estimated.

"You're back? That was pretty fast?"

Ji-won greeted Jun-ho with a smile, while her sharp senses simultaneously swept over every inch of his body. His physical condition looked fine, and his expression was decent too. Even if he had regressed without her knowing, it didn't seem like he had done it many times.

Inwardly relieved, Ji-won poured a cup of warm water and handed it to Jun-ho.

"What happened? Did you beat the [70] difficulty mannequin?"

"Hmm... I'm not sure if you could call it a win..."

Jun-ho scratched the back of his head while drinking the water.

According to him, the [70] difficulty opponent had been flawless. Fast, powerful, and technically excellent. Moreover, it was an uncommon martial artist type that fought with fists and feet, making it difficult to adapt to.

"After about three regressions, I started to get the feel for it. Ah, this isn't going to work."

The sword couldn't cut through it. When he thought he had deflected an attack, he had fallen into the opponent's trap. The chill he gently emanated couldn't constrain the creature's movements. Jun-ho's chill was lethal to most living beings, but its effectiveness dropped sharply against opponents who had surpassed a certain threshold. (Ji-won had also frozen up at first, but had quickly adapted.)

In the end, Jun-ho instinctively realized that a direct confrontation wouldn't work. Given the circumstances, he decided to go all out without thinking about the consequences.

"When I used my mana at full power, I did manage to defeat it. The problem was that my heart stopped right afterward. So I regressed, cleared floor 12, and came straight here."

Jun-ho's full power was strong. So strong that it was problematic because even he couldn't withstand it.

Thud. The empty water cup was placed on the table. Some water had spilled while he was drinking, leaving droplets on the surface.

"I don't think spending more time on it would make things better. Let's go up to floor 13."

"..."

Ji-won also wanted to head straight up to floor 13, but she couldn't do that right now.

"Well, I asked the Association, and apparently there probably aren't many people on floor 13 right now. I don't know much about what floor 13 involves, but... we can't have another situation like this time, right? Let's wait about a week before going in."

"...Really?"

Jun-ho's eyes sparkled at the suggestion that he should rest. Jun-ho probably thought he was keeping it well hidden, but... he was genuinely delighted every time Ji-won suggested they take a break. It made sense, considering he was escaping repetitive situations to spend time with someone he loved, but...

"..."

Ji-won's heart wasn't at ease watching him.

Ji-won didn't want Jun-ho to stay in reality for long periods.

A week had passed since clearing floor 12. Honestly, he would have liked to rest a bit longer, but... when you sit, you want to lie down, and when you lie down, you want to sleep. People have inertia, so you have to act when it's time to act.

Anyway, as before, he briefly assessed how the world was turning, brought his body to perfect condition, and entered the portal together with Ji-won.

-You have entered floor 13.

As he gently opened his eyes, the brilliant sun pierced his vision intensely. At the same time, hot air licked his entire body, and he could feel small particles pattering against his skin.

"...A desert?"

No, it wasn't a desert. "Wasteland" would be a more appropriate description. It wasn't that there was no sand, but not enough piled up to call it a desert, and he could see sparse dry grass growing here and there.

"I think I've seen this kind of scene in dramas."

It was a landscape where cowboys would roam, tumbleweeds would roll around, and Indians might be hiding with poisoned arrows. Honestly, the sprawling wasteland was quite impressive, but thinking about having to struggle here made him sigh involuntarily.

"Hmm..."

First, as a test, he raised his mana and wrapped it around his body. Naturally, white mist emanated from his body along with cool air that surrounded him. He had thought the smoke coming from his body was water vapor, but seeing it appear even in such a dry environment, it must be some kind of magical phenomenon.

"Now then..."

He had finished checking his condition, and now it was time to figure out what kind of floor floor 13 was.

"?!"

Whoooosh!

Behind him. Not too far away, he sensed a terrifying presence. Enough to make the hair on the back of his neck stand on end instantly.

It was approaching him, fast, violent, and deadly. He couldn't understand why he had only just noticed it now. Was he an idiot?

Before reason could reach any conclusion, instinct drew his sword first. It's coming. I need to react. How's my stance? Are my legs spread appropriately? What about mana? Should I go all out? Should I start with a slash? Or a thrust? In a split second, countless possibilities rose and fell.

"...Haha."

However, the closer the human figure came, the more strength drained from his sword-gripping hand. Because the shape running toward him was all too familiar.

"Jun-ho!"

"It was you."

"Of course. I sensed your presence and ran straight here."

Ji-won brushed the dust from her hair. Since they had always been unluckily separated until now, he hadn't immediately thought of the possibility that the approaching presence might be Ji-won. Right, it wasn't his fault. The Tower was the problem.

"But how did you find me so quickly?"

"Ever since you learned to handle that 'chill,' you have this cold presence, I guess? Anyway, you've become much easier to detect. With how hot it is around here, you really stand out."

Ji-won said this while gently clinging to him.

"Ahh, so cool."

The dwarven armor had some kind of magical treatment that prevented it from heating up, but this place was just hot weather-wise. Of course, players of their level wouldn't be affected by heat, but... still, cool was better, wasn't it?

"Let's stay like this for a bit."

After Ji-won stuck close to him for ten minutes to cool down.

"I saw other players on my way here. They were over there?"

"...Shouldn't you have mentioned that first?"

Ji-won said she had seen other players on her way. They were sitting around five wagons cooling off from the heat, and she could recognize them from a distance because they were wearing dwarven armor.

"There was [17/20] written on the wagon. This floor is probably designed for 20 people."

"Hmm... should we go take a look?"

"We should. There's nothing else to do here anyway."

And so Jun-ho and Ji-won began walking toward the direction where the wagons had been spotted.

Wagons in the wasteland. He still couldn't get a sense of what kind of floor this was or what kind of task it would present.

But one thing was certain.

Right now, Jun-ho and Ji-won were in a state where they could combine their full strength.

"Won't we clear it quickly?"

That alone made floor 13 look far too easy.

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