WeTried Translations

Translator: ZEROSUGAR

Editor: Abstract

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Regression is Too Much

Chapter 203

──────

The regressor runs into trouble (6)

"...An immortal sage?"

"Yeah. A real immortal sage."

About a week later, Choi Ji-won came out after clearing Floor 18. She listened to my story, and her expression turned oddly complicated.

"Not the fake immortal sage I was acting as... I mean the kind that feels mystical just by standing there."

"...What's the difference?"

"Honestly, the aura coming off him was similar, but... you know that depth old masters have? That part was different."

A pressure that naturally seeped out from the difference in experience and stature. I had lived longer than an average young man too, so maybe someday I could recreate it. I could probably imitate it with the help of traits, but I was not sure I could capture something close to the original.

"Interesting... I wonder if the Overseer I passed had something hidden like that too. Mine just let me through after I beat him in a spar. Finding him was harder."

"You probably have to show something far beyond that person's standard. If I had not offered an elixir on the level of thousand-year snow ginseng, he probably would not have revealed his true form either."

"Thousand-year snow ginseng? What's that? I never saw anything like that."

"Ah. I never explained?"

Right after I got back to reality, while waiting for Choi Ji-won, I had already eaten the thousand-year snow ginseng. The moment I swallowed it, freezing energy burst out and my mana boiled violently. I spent an entire day just trying to control it. Thanks to that, the inside of my studio apartment froze solid white, and thawing it all out was a huge pain. I think mold even started growing on the wallpaper.

Still, thanks to the elixir, my mana reserves clearly increased, and my chill grew stronger too. I got thousand-year snow ginseng simply because it was what I could find, but somehow it turned out to be the perfect elixir for me.

"Then... are you going to regress now? Usually when we get an elixir, you regress and copy it."

"I thought about that too, but the situation is a little awkward."

The pills I got in the Tutorial that increase power, or those occasional items from other floors that raise status window stats, are always pure profit if used through regression. The status window is power that carries over through regression, and even if duplicate use is impossible, I can just give it to Choi Ji-won or someone else.

But this "thousand-year snow ginseng"... it was unclear whether it affected the status window at all. My mana reserves definitely increased. The cold presence in my mana got stronger too. But unlike normal elixirs, there was no message in front of my eyes like [Strength stat has increased.]

The soul handles mana, but the body stores it. So what happens to traces of this elixir when I regress? Do they carry over as they are? Or do they vanish in the cracks of time?

There was no need to take that risk. Even if I regressed and fought again, there was no guarantee I could summon that immortal sage old man again.

"So... I decided not to regress."

I had already reduced the clear time as much as possible. The only realistic improvement left would be preserving Choi Ji-won's memories so she could look for hidden pieces too... but that was not something that would be done in a day or two, so there was no need to force it.

More than anything, "thousand-year snow ginseng" is an elixir that cannot be properly digested unless you handle cold mana like I do. It was not very appealing to sell or trade either. It made the most sense for me to consume it myself, like now, and move on to the next floor.

"I agree. I do not think spending more time here would improve anything."

Choi Ji-won agreed with me, so after one day of rest, we moved to the next floor without hesitation.

-You have entered Floor 19.

The task on Floor 19 was simple. Organize your realizations, write them into a book, and submit it. Those realizations could be about mana, martial arts, or even how to live life.

"Whatever it is, write a valuable book and submit it. If you want, I can provide a computer keyboard. If you prefer a brush, pencil, or pen, I can provide those too."

"...Will this book be placed on Floor 16 by any chance?"

"No. It will be shredded immediately. Do not focus on the final product of the book. Focus on the process of writing it."

At first, I thought this was the easiest floor so far. You just write one book and submit it, and that is it. Honestly, could this not be cleared in a day?

"Hmm..."

But when I actually tried to seriously put my realizations into words, there were problems everywhere. It was like when someone asks, "What are you good at? Can you explain it in detail?" and your mind goes blank.

"..."

What am I good at? The area where I am ahead of others is... first, my achievement level. But that only rose naturally because I kept trying different things through repeated regressions.

Then am I talented at effort? Is my strength mental endurance from repeating regressions? Not that either. Compared to the iron-blooded regressors in novels, my mental fortitude is weak, and compared to heroes who save the world, I am not all that righteous or impressive.

Swordsmanship? There are countless people better than me at that too. To be blunt, even if someone said all of it was just my regression advantage, I would have no rebuttal.

After thinking and thinking, I finally realized one thing I truly did well.

"...Chill. This is what I handle best."

Mana. And among all mana, cold mana was my specialty. Could someone say I only got used to mana by grinding it out over time? Yes. That is true. But I am also the person in the world who has researched "chill" the most.

What kind of strain excessive chill puts on the body. How to fight without damaging the heart. How to control chill spread thinly through the air. All of that came from hard-earned effort.

"Urgh..."

Of course, turning what I understood by feel into writing was difficult, and organizing it so others could understand was even harder. Translating intuitive knowledge into objective language was not a simple task.

After three weeks. Or maybe four. I finished the book.

"'On Handling Chill'... this is a fine piece. I can see the traces of deep thought. You pass."

"Thank you."

That was how I cleared Floor 19. In the process of organizing everything, I realized both what I knew and what I did not know, and my control over chill improved too, so it worked out exactly as the archangel intended.

"..."

Archangels. What exactly are these bastards after? It had been like this since Floor 11. The Tower kept steering players toward becoming stronger. It taught martial arts to people who only knew how to brawl, then taught mana, and now even gave us a chance to consolidate it all. There was clearly some intention behind this, but I still could not see its true shape.

"...Jun-ho, can you wait a little?"

I was deep in thought when Choi Ji-won tapped my shoulder.

Right. She needed a lot of time this round too.

"Honestly, I could probably clear if I just wrote something rough... but I want to organize my thoughts properly this time."

The swordsmanship she had completed on Floor 16 was still unfinished, and she said she wanted to perfect it through this chance. I had neither the intention nor the justification to refuse, so I agreed.

So the days repeated. Swinging swords in the daytime, writing at night. Three months passed like that.

"You still have not decided on a name?"

"Yeah... nothing really clicks..."

Choi Ji-won finally completed her swordsmanship as a book. I read it once before she submitted it to the angel... honestly, it was not easy to understand. Maybe its direction was different from mine, or maybe it was just too advanced...

"Amazing! Truly amazing!"

The angel, on the other hand, seemed deeply moved by Choi Ji-won's book, and kept praising her while shaking her hand. Was my level just too low? No, let us just say our directions were different.

"Anyway... that clears it."

"Yeah. Let's go back."

We cleared Floor 19, but because Choi Ji-won took a full three months to organize her realizations, a lot of time had passed. At this point, regression was certain anyway. But that did not mean we had fallen behind. One-time tasks become the easiest tasks the moment you add "regression" to them.

Writing a book for the first time? Hard. Writing it a second time? You just rewrite what you already wrote, so why would it take long? Floor 19 had now become an easy floor to clear. It probably would not even take five hours.

And when you have an easy floor, and regression is already guaranteed, there is always something you should do.

"Ji-won. Can you still contact the Association right now?"

"Yeah. Are we going this time?"

"Let's go."

The timing was right, and we were in a position to gather information, so I decided to handle the homework I had been putting off.

"Let's go to America."

A regressor's privilege.

Time to use knowledge of the future to go after treasures in the present.

Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried