WeTried Translations

Translator: ZEROSUGAR

Editor: Abstract

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◈ Regression is Too Much

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Chapter 206

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The regressor endures (3)

"...Can we even call those things angels? They force their standards on us. What, are they our masters or something?"

"...They might be."

I left Choi Ji-won fuming behind me and sank into thought for a moment. In tower-climbing stories, the protagonist keeps getting stronger, then near the end gains divinity, devours even the gods, and becomes an absolute being. That kind of ending always left me with a lot of questions.

Are the beings who built the Tower idiots? Or are they creatures longing for death? Even if they observe the tiny creatures inside and enjoy watching them grow, what is the point if that growth gets them killed in the end? I honestly never understood why climbers were allowed to get stronger so recklessly.

But if they intended to create "a world where a few powerful beings coexist with ordinary people," then it made sense. Unless every single human being is good, rational, and reasonable, this situation is no different from a bomb with a lit fuse.

"If the god who made the Tower is a creator god... does a creator god not know this? Or are they pretending not to?"

Humans are not purely good or purely evil to begin with. So this structure, where one person with a rotten heart can destroy everyone, is a structure doomed to collapse. If god made humans, there is no way that god would not know that.

If this whole situation is exactly as god intended, then yes, they are trying to wipe us out. They have decided to abandon humanity. But there is one flaw in that logic.

"...Regression."

That flaw is that my regression ability was probably given by god too.

Sure, it comes with a brutal penalty, but Regression is still an obvious cheat trait. By itself, it is an overpowered ability that can change the history of humanity, no, the world. And it is not a one-time ability. It is not even limited-use. I can regress endlessly, over and over, and that has made me half-immortal.

"..."

If someone really wanted to destroy the world, why would they give a human an ability this broken? That is what I cannot understand.

"No point overthinking it."

Even if I spent my whole life thinking about it, I would not find the answer. Unless I reach Floor 66, grab god by the collar, and ask them myself, I will never get a complete answer.

Whatever the intention is, what I have to do is already decided.

"I climb the Tower."

And in that process, I stop the destruction that is meant to come. That is the best I can do, and the only way I can stick it to the archangels and gods. I am up against a god capable of creating the Tower, so even I feel suffocated and tight in the chest... but I cannot give up just because it is painful.

"Should we rest one day, then go right back in?"

"Let's do that."

Floors conquered: 20. Floors remaining: 46.

We still had a long way to go, so we needed to pick up the pace.

-You have entered Floor 21.

Like I always say, whenever I enter a floor for the first time, I push my tension to the limit. So far, there has never been a case where "a monster appears the instant you enter the Tower," but I cannot be sure that will always be true.

"...Huh."

That was why I felt an immediate sense of wrongness. There was something heavy in my hand.

"This is..."

A rectangular object. The back was finished in clean white, and the front looked like black glass. Weight, roughly between 0.5 and 1 kilogram. It felt cold against my palm, yet somehow snug in my grip.

This was...

"...An iPad?"

The same iPad I had often seen Choi Ji-won using in the real world was in my hand.

"Is that cosplay?"

"Are they filming a movie? Or YouTube?"

"Can I take a picture? That looks cool."

"I think that sword is real."

"I'm posting this on Insta."

Only then did the whispers around me register. Some people were looking at me and taking pictures, even covering their flash and speaker with their fingers. Compared to their modern clothes, my dwarven armor looked obviously out of place.

"..."

Flustered, I focused mana into my ears, sharpened both my hearing and vision, and took in everything happening around me.

"Oppa. Did you see that duck on the screen? It's so cute, right?"

"Babe, that's a mandarin duck."

"Oppa. Just agree with me."

"Sorry. I'm a T..."

A couple walked by arm in arm, laughing.

"Dad! Dad! Can I pet that puppy?"

"Hansol-ah. That's an animal hospital. You can't go in there."

"But it's smiling at me. It's so cute...?"

"Hey, no crying. If you behave until Christmas, we'll get you a puppy then. Okay?"

"Really? Really? Dad, you're the best!"

"Honey!"

A father promising a puppy, a son bouncing with excitement, and a mother who almost smacked his back but held herself in.

"Yes. Of course. Of course. Ah, about that part, I'm on a business trip right now, so..."

A businessman rushed past.

"..."

"..."

Most people walked by with their heads buried in their phones.

The language people spoke was clearly Korean, and the writing on signs and phones was Korean too.

More than anything, this street...

"...is near my studio apartment."

No wonder it looked familiar.

The setting of Floor 21 was Earth.

I did not know whether to call it fortunate or unfortunate, but Floor 21 was a little different from reality.

"Who are you?"

"Do you live here?"

"Ah, yes."

"...Sorry about that."

First of all, my studio apartment had a new owner. She was a woman I had never seen before, and when I peeked past her, she even had a cat. For reference, pets were banned in this building, so that had changed too.

"Um, by any chance... someone named Choi Ji-won..."

"Who? I'm Ms. Park."

"I'm sorry."

It was the same with Choi Ji-won's place. No, this was not just about me and Choi Ji-won.

Past presidents. Celebrities. Historical figures. Even recorded history itself.

This world was extremely close to the Republic of Korea I knew, but only in broad outline. The details were very different. It was a timeline where Hitler, that infamous war criminal, did not exist, and Britain instead revealed its ambition and tried to conquer Europe... same shell, different core.

"...Looks like there are no other players either."

No, it went deeper than that. There was no Tower and no players in the first place. Superpowers? Supernatural abilities? Stuff you only see in movies. I searched SNS, and there was zero mention of players or a Player Association.

If I had to describe it, it was a kind of parallel world. I had come to a place very similar to Korea, and it resembled my world before the Tower appeared.

Moderately peaceful. Moderately conflict-ridden. Moderately stable.

"...Damn."

Because it was that kind of world, I could not believe the message window that appeared before my eyes.

<Floor 21>
-Survive for 7 days.

Survival. Survival. Survival.

I had seen that line on Floor 4, and I knew exactly what it meant.

"Fuck."

Soon, something was going to happen.

I tried to start gathering information right away, but I had overlooked one thing.

"Uh... um... if you give me a card, I can process the payment for you."

"Ah."

In my original world, I had lived without worrying about material constraints. This world was different. No card, no phone, no bank account, nothing.

I had planned to grab a cheap motel room and observe the area, but that was impossible now. Leaving the motel employee staring at my armor with a strange look, I ran to a nearby park and sat on a random bench.

"The armor..."

If I wanted to blend into this world, armor was useless. But this was still inside the Tower, even if the setting looked modern. Taking it off was not a smart choice.

Now I had to decide how to move. But I had almost no information at all, so there was little I could do.

"iPad."

Other than checking the tablet clenched in my hand.

When I turned on the screen, there was no lock. A video popped up immediately without me pressing anything.

"..."

After glancing around, I played the video.

"Hello, climbers."

A mysterious angel greeted me from the screen. An angel in white stood against a black background, but something about it felt slightly unnatural.

"What do you believe is the value of humanity?"

It brought over a docile cat from somewhere, placed it on its lap, and began stroking it.

"Courage is humanity's greatest value."

Its voice carried delight.

"Animals cannot overcome instinct. Hunger. Sexual desire. Sleep. Animals that seem to overcome desire are only twisting their instincts through processes close to abuse. Overcoming one instinct is simply another instinct."

In a way, "training" is abuse. You teach that one behavior earns reward, and another earns pain. So a trained animal's behavior is still rooted in instinct: "I don't want to get hurt," or "I want something tasty."

"But what about human courage?"

Humans can overcome fear of death. Humans can abandon basic desires. Humans can go against instinct to uphold the values they believe in. We call that courage.

"The sight of courage is beautiful. The person who ignores instinct's warning and takes one step forward is the one who shows why we live. Don't you agree?"

The angel set the cat down, looked straight at the screen, and gave a faint smile.

"Tomorrow, 9 a.m. The trial begins. I hope you will show your courage."

With that, the video ended. The time on the pad was 3 p.m. The Tower's trial would begin in 18 hours.

"Courage, huh..."

I did not know what kind of image the angel wanted from humans... but it picked the wrong target. I would not call myself a courageous person.

"Just wait."

I was, at least, someone who had overcome fear of death.

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