WeTried Translations

Translator: ZEROSUGAR

Editor: Abstract

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◈ Regression is Too Much

Chapter 189

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The regressor reflects (4)

What is a genius?

Knowing everything from birth is not genius. That falls under regression, possession, or reincarnation. If my six-year-old ever started acting like a little old man, I'd seriously suspect one of the three.

So what, then, is a genius? Someone who learns faster than others. Someone who can pull more information from the same situation than anyone else.

In other words, geniuses are people always running a triple XP coupon. Invest the same amount of time and the gap widens anyway. Inevitable. The world is kind to geniuses, so throw in a +200% drop rate buff on top of that. You grow up side by side and somehow the genius ends up with far better levels and far better items.

"Why... why won't it work?"

Common knowledge in any game: the higher your level, the slower your experience climbs. Getting from level 10 to 11 is nothing like getting from 100 to 101, and a 9th-grade CSAT student jumping to 8th is nothing like a 2nd-grade student pushing into 1st. And Ji-won, in swordsmanship, was already at the peak of her entire generation.

"Why won't it wooork..."

At first, Ji-won had been relaxed about it.

She was even glad for the chance to look inward, she said. Started her training cheerfully, with that easy confidence she always carried. Said there were a few things she'd been meaning to address anyway.

"I think this is good enough."

About a full day in, she faced the rock with complete self-assurance.

Clang!!!

"...Huh?"

Not even a scratch.

"...Maybe I wasn't going full force?"

"Hey, try using Heart of Lightning Flash. Equip all your items too."

"I suppose I should."

This was not Ji-won's real full power. She loaded herself down with every trait and item she had pulled from the Tower and came at the rock again.

Clang!!!

"..."

Another failure. The rock was... untouched.

"Um... Ji-won?"

"Ji-won says she needs some time to think."

That was Bung-bung, speaking on her behalf. Thanks to that, I ended up eating dinner with Bung-bung instead of the shell-shocked Ji-won. Being a sword, it ate just about anything without complaint.

One day passed. Then another. A full week. And then today.

"Uuugh..."

Ji-won emerged from the cave with her ponytail completely undone, hair a tangled mess. Earlier, Bung-bung had quietly told me, or so it claimed, that she was working on stripping the excess from her swordsmanship.

Take this from someone with A-grade Swordsmanship: Ji-won's technique is flawless. She always takes the orthodox path, but it's more accurate to say she has pushed that orthodoxy to its absolute limit. Sparring with her, you slowly get the sensation of being suffocated. Every exchange puts you at a disadvantage, and eventually you're forced into desperate gambles.

Someone like that was stripping excess from her swordsmanship? I couldn't see it myself. But Ji-won must have felt something I couldn't. When it came to the sword, she knew more than I did, so I decided to trust her and wait.

"I believe in our Ji-won! You've got this!"

"...Thanks, I appreciate it, but... why does my stomach hurt so much..."

Another week slipped by.

The thing I did most over those two weeks on Floor 16 was watch people. Nothing much else to do, so I kept an eye on everyone moving around. Watching the newcomers who arrived each day and guessing when each one would leave turned into its own kind of entertainment.

People came in all types.

"This is it."

Some would tinker alone at something and then flash out of Floor 16 in an instant, struck by sudden insight.

"Heaven!!! Why! Am I! Still here!!!"

Others were clearly working hard and getting nowhere, howling in despair. I asked one of them what was wrong, and he said if he could at least see some progress he'd push harder, but the path ahead was completely blank. Nothing.

"I'm... an idiot... just an idiot with decent traits... I might be stuck here forever..."

Watching a man sniffle about how his life was ruined, a question crossed my mind.

"Anael."

"Yes, Jun-ho-nim!"

"Can I ask you something?"

"Ask away!"

"What if someone just has absolutely no talent... and no matter how hard they try, they'll never be able to leave this place. Do they just stay here forever?"

The worst case I had imagined for myself. Whether someone could exhaust all their potential and become permanently trapped on Floor 16 was something I had started to wonder about.

"There is actually a way out!"

Anael's answer surprised me.

"There is?"

"Yes! All they need to do is sign this contract!"

Anael pulled a shimmering silver document out of thin air and held it out to me. I squinted and concentrated as hard as I could, but I couldn't make out a single thing on it. Just a blank sheet of paper.

"...What is this?"

"Ah, I see you can't read it! Allow me to read it aloud! The signatory, hereinafter referred to as Party A, enters into this contract in a fully rational state of mind..."

"Could you... just give me the short version?"

"Of course! Simply put, signing this means you lose everything you obtained in the Tower!"

"...Everything?"

"That's right!"

Status window. Stat points. Level. Traits. Free access to Floor 1. And every item ever obtained from the Tower.

"You revert to your state before the Tutorial, an ordinary person's body, completely. Your memories are retained, so no need to worry about that!"

Give up everything you had gained, and you could leave Floor 16. Honestly, it was a better option than being trapped here forever, but...

"I don't think I could ever pick that."

Anyone who had tasted what the Tower offered would never choose it. You'd sooner bang your head against the wall for days on end. Going back to who you were before any of this? For me, at least, completely out of the question.

"Has anyone ever signed it before?"

"Not a single person, so far!"

The Tower had existed for less than half a year. Hardly surprising.

Thinking about it that way, the man wailing over there felt genuinely pitiable. Not out of any real sincerity. I just had time on my hands.

"What weapon do you use?"

"Oh, I, um, a sword... I use a sword..."

"Could you show me your stance for a moment?"

The man moved with uncanny speed and precision, but his direction was absolutely terrible. Even at my intermediate level, the problem was immediately obvious.

"See, the force keeps scattering here. You need to move with your waist. Follow me?"

"I suppose you're right...?"

After swinging his sword through the air for about ten minutes, the man approached the rock cautiously and brought the blade down.

Clang!

"I-I… I cleared it? Thank you! Thank you so much!"

He bent at the waist in a full ninety-degree bow, overcome with gratitude. So grateful, in fact, that the Awe trait actually activated.

"I will never forget this kindness! May I at least ask your name?"

"That's... a secret, I'm afraid."

"I understand... I still won't forget. Thank you!"

The man was beaming all the way through the portal and gone. Then heads began to turn.

"Um, by any chance, could I also..."

"That's Choi Ji-won's companion. Word is he's a top-tier instructor."

"Wait! Wait! I'll give you items!"

"P-please, stop..."

Turned out the man I'd helped was something of a known face on this floor. The unwanted attention that followed forced me to run.

Still. My advice had worked for someone. That was something.

Another week gone. Three weeks on Floor 16 now.

The remnants of Heart of Lightning Flash crackled across the ground as Ji-won lay flat on the dirt, gasping.

Another failure. Three weeks, and still no mark on that rock.

At this point it wasn't just Ji-won. I was getting restless too. If memories carried forward into the next cycle, how much more time would Ji-won have to spend here? And from that, how long would it end up costing me?

"Ji-won, it's fine. So what. This is just a chance to come out of it genuinely stronger."

I kept the anxiety off my face, helped her to her feet, and patted her on the back. She wasn't the type to sink into gloom over a failure, but I knew a few words at a moment like this could still go a long way.

"Oh? This little rock? Give it a bit and you just kind of..."

I made a show of drawing my sword and beating at the rock with exaggerated drama. No real force behind it. Just tapping for the noise.

Ding.

-You have cleared Floor 16.

"...Huh?"

A message window floated in front of me out of nowhere. I rubbed my eyes thinking I had misread it. The message was still there. Really. Actually cleared.

Wondering if something had glitched, I found myself scanning for Anael.

"Hey... Anael?"

"Yes, Jun-ho-nim!"

"Did I just clear it?"

"Yes! Would you like to leave? I can open a portal!"

"No, no, that's not necessary..."

I looked more closely at the rock. There was a mark on it, barely the size of a grain of millet. Calling it a mark was generous. A single pebble had crumbled loose, that was all. Like a crumb dropping off the edge of a cake.

But damage was damage.

Somehow, I had cleared Floor 16. Without doing a single thing.

The question was why. Why had I cleared it when I hadn't done anything?

Something had changed. Where? What? Had my mental state shifted and been judged as an overall strengthening? My combat ability? Had my achievement level quietly ticked up?

"Ah."

No. There was exactly one thing.

The Awe trait evolved, it didn't stop at simply drawing admiration from others.

It copied the traits of whoever directed their awe at me. That was how I had copied the Grim Reaper's stealth ability. I hadn't paid much attention to it since Awe only ever brought back a heavily degraded version of other people's abilities, but...

Degraded or not, I was stronger now than when I had first entered this floor. Undeniably. And apparently that was enough to satisfy the clear condition.

"Even if it's only a tiny bit... stronger is still stronger, I guess."

Floor 16 was no longer a problem for me. No matter how long I wasted here, as long as there was someone right after regression for my Awe trait to copy from, I could escape this floor.

That made things considerably easier. I could look through the martial arts techniques available on this floor and see what possibilities they held, or hole up in a cave and meditate. I could even dig back into the chill mana I had half-abandoned since Floor 12.

The real problem now was...

"...Ji-won?"

Ji-won's side.

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