WeTried Translations
Translator: ZEROSUGAR
Editor: Abstract
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Regression is Too Much
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Chapter 214
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The regressor is too strong (1)
When I got back to my studio apartment, Choi Ji-won was already there, a hair ahead of me.
"...You're back?"
Ji-won greeted me calmly. Usually, when I came back after that many regressions, she would be startled by how wrecked I looked. This time, she barely looked surprised.
"I kind of expected it. Knowing your personality, I figured you would not just let it go. I thought you probably went through a crazy number of regressions."
We entered at the same time, so we probably cleared at the same time too. Which also meant she experienced the same Floor 21 I did.
"What about you? Floor 21. I want to hear what happened on your side."
"...At first, a bunch of people who looked like secret agents rushed in. So I drove all of them back. I deliberately held out in crowded downtown areas. After that happened about three times, they were the ones who asked to talk."
"Professor Kim?"
"...I do not know if his last name was Kim, but yes, I talked to someone who looked like a professor."
Ji-won crushed every agent that came at her with overwhelming force. She also played it smart by holding out in the city, so the lab could not use dangerous weapons like guns. Normal experts had no way of handling Ji-won's strength anyway, so ending in "talks" was inevitable. She also did not have my penalty where one solid hit sends me into regression, and her base combat power was high enough to pull this off.
"After that, I listened to the lab's side too... I do not know. I know sacrificing Areum is wrong, but if there is a path to the future, ignoring it does not feel rational either..."
"So what did you do?"
"I volunteered to become the test subject myself. I also left a few potions behind while I was at it. They were not actually touching my body anyway. They said I just had to stay still in a designated spot."
"Hmm..."
If Ji-won volunteered as the test subject, then yes, Areum was no longer needed right away. The mana from Ji-won's body would be dozens, maybe hundreds, of times greater than Areum's. The lab probably welcomed it.
"But what happened after you left? What were they going to do after that?"
"...That bothered me too... but I could not think of a better solution. That is also why I thought you would have regressed."
"Hmm... Looks like I won this round."
"What did you do, Jun-ho?"
"I erased Areum's mana completely."
"...That does sound like a solution, but it also feels weirdly off... no, wait. Hold on. That is even possible?"
Ji-won's eyes went wide. It was a new power I had gained by repeating regressions this time, so her reaction made sense.
"Still, it was hard even on someone weak like Areum. If I want to use it on players, I will have to get way, way stronger than I am now."
As a practical combat option, it was still hard to call it usable. It took serious effort even against someone as weak and fragile as Areum. To use it successfully on people far stronger and tougher than her, I would have to become absurdly stronger from here.
"Still, it ended well. That is a relief."
"I did go through a huge number of regressions... but yeah, I am relieved too. More than that, I wonder how the others cleared."
"Want to ask now? I will contact the Player Association."
Ji-won tapped rapidly on her phone. While she did that, I quietly opened my status window and checked the new trait I had gained.
[Name: Kim Jun-ho] [LV:79]
[Traits]
-Regression [EX]
-Flash Step [S]
-Heart of Lightning Flash [S]
-Curiosity [A+]
-Awe [A+]
-Hero [B]
-Meditation [A+]
-Swordsmanship [A+] [Specialization Acknowledged]
-Chill Affinity [A]
-Mysterious Aura [D]
-Quick Reflexes [C]
-Excellent Cardiopulmonary Endurance [C]
-Right Mindfulness [C]
-Girl's Cheer [A]
"Whew, that is a lot."
My head spun for a second, but I focused and looked for what had changed. First, my achievement level had gone up. I think the leading number was 6 last time, but now it was 7. My Swordsmanship trait had also become A+. If this improved a little more, would it reach S?
"Someday, I can become an SSS-grade swordsman too, right?"
Ah, and now that I looked closer, Mysterious Aura, Awe, and Curiosity had each gone up in grade. Wait, even Hero had gone up? Did trait grades always grow this fast? Or was I really getting stronger that quickly?
I already knew I was superhuman, but now I could feel signs that I was crossing beyond even that. It felt like I was moving from Hawkeye and Captain America level fights toward Hulk and Iron Man level. Honestly, even I could not fully grasp how strong I had become.
"Let me check the new trait first."
I stopped overthinking and pressed the trait labeled Girl's Cheer.
-Girl's Cheer [A]
-Five seconds before a threat arrives, you can sense a feeling of foreboding. "Always be happy!"
"Ohhh."
So I had basically gained a danger sensor. It was unquestionably useful, but it came with that five-second condition. The exact scope of what counted as a "threat" was another issue too. I would need to test it to know for sure. One more thing on my to-do list.
"Ah, I just got off the phone with another player."
"Oh? What did they say?"
Ji-won came back right then. According to her, the other players' actions fell into three main groups.
First, they simply abandoned Areum.
Second, they failed to protect Areum, then worked with a reporter to expose the crimes.
Third, they volunteered as test subjects in Areum's place.
"No one really acted outside expectations."
Then again, how many people could even think of an option like mine, "erase mana itself"? And even if they thought of it, carrying it out was a different matter. Without regression, it was basically impossible.
"Ah, Ji-won, what did you get? A trait too?"
"Trait? I got an item..."
"Ah, I see."
Maybe this trait was Areum's final gift. For some reason, my chest warmed, and I nodded without realizing it.
"But Jun-ho, there is one thing bothering me."
"...Out of nowhere?"
"Yeah. I have been wondering the whole time."
While I was still soaking in that feeling, Ji-won suddenly threw me a question.
"In our world... why are there no concrete results related to mana?"
"...Good point."
Now that I thought about it, it really was strange.
The world on Floor 21 was not that different from the reality I lived in now.
It was not that mana research did not exist. As far as I knew, most universities and companies were repeatedly researching mana and items. But the results were minimal.
Come to think of it, this part had always bothered me. Was it because there was no outstanding researcher like Professor Kim? Or because the direction of research was different? I needed to investigate this separately later.
"Let's worry about that later."
Ji-won pulled me into a tight hold around the shoulders.
"If we get just a little stronger here, we can create variables when the monsters invade. We just need to climb the Tower a little more. It will not be too late to investigate after that, right?"
"...Right."
Yeah, for now, I should focus only on getting stronger. The Tower, so... Floor 25. If we climbed to around Floor 25, then even when the monsters appeared six months later, we could fight back. We could save people.
I had to get stronger than Hulk and Iron Man, all the way to Thor level. I could not stop here. I had to keep moving.
"Should we go now?"
"...Let's rest just one day first."
After a full night's rest, we headed for the Tower without delay. We did not have time to waste.
-You have entered Floor 22.
Around the time of entry into Floor 22, an international conference was held in Switzerland, on the opposite side of Earth, to prevent environmental pollution caused by mana. It was not a very noteworthy conference, just a formal event urging countermeasures.
No, it had been that kind of event. At least until world leaders from every nation "just happened" to gather in Switzerland, and "by coincidence" had matching schedules before sharing dinner in a secret bunker in a basement 300 meters underground.
"..."
"..."
The food on the table looked delicious, but no one picked up their utensils. It was not an easy sight to see leaders who appeared on the news every day swallowing hard while watching each other.
"Then... I will take this to mean everyone agrees."
The only one speaking there was the President of the United States. Their face was pale too, but they forced the words out through sheer responsibility.
"We... knew nothing. We simply forget everything and return to our daily lives. As for the Book of Truth... let us not touch it anymore."
"..."
"..."
"Those who agree, please begin eating."
The moment the President finished speaking, the room filled with the sounds of utensils moving. The leaders, all with corpse-like faces, shoved food into their mouths. They had made their choice. Instead of kicking a hornet's nest, they would pretend they had seen nothing.
"Hoo..."
The U.S. President, seated among them, cut into a piece of tenderloin steak and chewed. They tasted nothing. They kept chewing anyway. If they did not do something, they felt like they would lose their mind.
But everyone there overlooked one fact. Secrets become harder to keep as more people know them. A fact known by one person can stay secret forever, but each additional person doubles, no, squares the difficulty of keeping it hidden.
"So we are just going to let this slide..."
Humans also have wildly different ways of thinking, and even with the same information, some still reach different conclusions.
"That will not work."
Sometimes everything can be overturned by a variable people thought was trivial.
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