WeTried Translations

Translator: ZEROSUGAR

Editor: Abstract

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◈ Regression is Too Much

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Chapter 242

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The regressor is certain (1)

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Regression. And the Center of the World. What kind of relationship did those two have, and how did they affect each other?

"...Ugh."

Even in sci-fi, the most headache-inducing parts are always the ones about time. Parallel universes, multiple dimensions, time differences between black holes and white holes... you read it and still end up thinking, "What the hell is this supposed to mean?"

For now, let me sort out only what I know for sure.

If something in the Center of the World is destroyed, regression cannot bring it back. It is gone forever, regardless of the flow of time.

"...I think I've seen something like this before. Was it about the fourth dimension?"

I once read that the first dimension is a line, the second is a plane, the third is space, and the fourth is time. A 2D being can see all of 1D. A 3D being can see all of 2D. So the point was that a 4D being could see the past, present, and future of 3D.

If the Center of the World is 4D... then if something disappears there, it disappearing from the past, present, and future would make sense...

"My head hurts."

I am not an expert in this field, so I cannot push it any further. Even when I read sci-fi, if unfamiliar terms came up, I usually just went, "Ah, okay," and moved on. I never sat down and worked through every concept.

Still, I know this much.

Regression stands above the Tower and the archangels. And the Center of the World stands on the same level as regression. Those two are connected somehow.

Regression stands above the Tower. On Floor 17, the Tower was fooled into thinking I had never entered, but regression still worked normally. That proves their criteria are different.

Even archangels cannot easily notice my regression. If they could, it would have been exposed back on Floor 2.

So this power of regression must have come from something above even the archangels...

Only one existence comes to mind.

"...God."

The god said to have created this Tower. If it is that bastard, then yes, it is possible. The Center of the World is probably related to god too, one way or another.

Of course, one question remains. If regression was made by god, and the Tower was also made by god, then why does regression function as the higher power? I still do not know. Not enough information.

There is another mystery too. The archangels can access the Center of the World. If they can store aberrations there, they must have at least partial access. So why can they not detect my regression? That is still an unsolved secret.

"Ughhh..."

I do not know. Feels like my head is going to explode.

For now... I should do what I need to do. Clearing Floor 24 is basically guaranteed anyway.

-Grim Reaper. There is something I need you to do.

-Just give the order.

-I want you to investigate the conflict between the United States Government and Player Association President Michael Zetter.

-Yes.

-I left something useful in a Seoul subway locker. It is a notebook that burns on its own when someone lies. You can tear out each page and use them separately.

-Yes.

The notebook I gave the Grim Reaper was the reward notebook I picked this cycle. I was planning to gather information and regress anyway, so I chose it from the start to hand over to him. (For reference, Choi Ji-won picked the mask.)

"This could get messier than we thought."

"Yeah."

Now that I think about it, Floor 24 rewards are items that can heavily affect reality. You can pretend to be someone else, catch liars, and monitor enemy infiltration.

For now, it is fine because not many players have cleared Floor 24 yet. But in the distant future, when most players can reach Floor 24... would that not cause serious chaos?

"How long are we waiting this time?"

"About two weeks?"

"Will two weeks be enough?"

"Yeah. Just check whether Michael Zetter is still holding his ground. Going all the way in... let's do that after Floor 30. After we clear Floor 30."

If I can clear Floor 30, I will be much stronger than I am now. At that point... I should have enough force to change the future. Michael Zetter has already cleared up to Floor 29. I will move toward the future while staying exactly one step ahead of him.

"By then... we can beat the tiger... and the dragon... right?"

"The first one was Floor 15, remember? Of course we can. Look at you now, how much stronger you've gotten."

Even without levels, it is true we have grown a lot, technically and mentally.

Floor 30. I set Floor 30 as my goal. I will clear up to there, stop climbing, and wait for the future.

"Until then... should we rest a bit? How about Japan?"

"...Jun-ho. If I want to leave the country, I have to contact the government."

"...Ah."

Anyway, while waiting for the Grim Reaper's report, I got in touch with people I knew. I had meals with players I was close with, including Kang Chan and firefighter Park Cheol-jin. (I even got introduced to the tutorial hometown group Ji-won belongs to.) I also called people I knew before the Tower appeared and talked about old memories.

-Hey, do you remember that thing back then? It was so damn funny.

"Y-yeah. I remember."

While talking on the phone, I realized how much my old memories had faded. Maybe it was because too much information kept piling up in my brain. Things that should have been memories felt dim now. Would my memories with Choi Ji-won become like this too someday? That thought scared me.

"Dok Su-hee..."

And Dok Su-hee still had not contacted me. Did she really change, was she acting, or did she have some other motive? I would only know if I met her in person. But I had no way to check because I could not reach her.

Did I remember her number wrong? No, that cannot be it.

Dok Su-hee. She did not die while climbing the Tower, right? No, she could not have. I met her in the future and talked to her just fine.

I sent one last text, and just in case, I also contacted Michael Zetter's side. I thought Michael might be too busy to check, so I contacted Martin, the guy I had seen before, too...

"What about Michael Zetter?"

"No reply."

Maybe he was too busy. Michael Zetter did not answer.

"What about Martin?"

"He said... he has no idea. Said it is his first time hearing the name Dok Su-hee."

Martin said he did not know anyone named Dok Su-hee at all. Dok Su-hee herself said she worked with Michael Zetter, and Michael confirmed it too, so they were definitely on the same side. Then why did Martin, who worked in the Association, not know her?

The answer came out two weeks later, through the Grim Reaper.

-The investigation is complete. The notebook helped a lot.

-Good work. Put the information on a USB and leave it in Korea.

-Yes. But the situation is chaotic, and everyone says different things, so the quality of information is low. Please filter it carefully as you read.

-Got it.

-With this, we have taken one more step toward a better future for humanity. Call me anytime.

"...Ugh, that is so cringey."

I told Choi Ji-won, "I got intel from a mysterious collaborator," and brought the USB the Grim Reaper had left.

"This one?"

"Yeah. Let's look at it together."

The information inside was shocking.

"The fight between Michael Zetter's side and the government side is evenly matched... the actual combat has cooled down, and now they are in a standoff?"

"...So there was a reason we couldn't reach him."

At first, Michael Zetter had tried to reclaim the Association through politics. That failed, and now an armed conflict had begun.

What surprised me was that Michael Zetter and the United States Government were fighting on nearly equal footing. I had assumed Zetter would crush them.

First, Michael Zetter's private organization surfaced. Its name was Alpha. It was said to be so well hidden that even players with information-type traits did not know it existed. As Alpha began moving openly, many strange ability users who had never been revealed also came to light.

From Long-range Teleportation users (I have seen that one a lot), to animal shapeshifters, to someone who can convert their body into electrical signals and infiltrate computers. All kinds of ability users were exposed during the conflict. Their common trait was this: rather than being useful for climbing the Tower, their powers were better suited for modern society.

They openly revealed themselves and struck key United States Government facilities. Most players guessed there were many more ability users still hidden. (There was still no mention of the prophet player who predicted the monster invasion.) The deep web was full of wild predictions, and there was so much information that finding the truth had become even harder.

There was even a rumor that Choi Ji-won was part of Alpha, but I ignored it. Total nonsense.

There was no mention of Dok Su-hee at all, but the unit she belonged to was clearly Alpha. Why I could not get any information on Dok Su-hee even after repeated regressions? Because this Alpha organization is good at controlling information and staying out of sight.

"She really went completely dark."

If even war-time Michael Zetter could not mobilize her, then Dok Su-hee really is not coming out of the Tower. I probably will not be able to contact her for a while. I will have to postpone judging whether she has actually changed.

Next was the United States Government side. Their forces mainly consisted of top-tier anti-Zetter players, players dispatched by various governments, the military, and the media. Since governments pooled their power, they were very good at media operations. (There was also a rumor Ji-won belonged to this side too. She really is everywhere.)

It said this conflict stays on the deep web and does not surface because they have a tight grip on media coverage.

But everyone mentioned so far was only support. The real core was a man called Mr. X.

He was both a key member of the government's experiment and a top-tier player. Whenever the government seemed to be losing ground, Mr. X appeared and cleaned up the battlefield. Zetter's side is elite but small, and the government side has major powerhouses too, so Zetter's side is avoiding full-scale war and dragging things into guerrilla warfare.

Of course, there was a note saying to take all of this with caution. Better to treat it as reference than as fully reliable fact.

"What kind of book causes all this?"

What exactly was the Book of Truth, that these two factions were waging war over? And how should we respond now?

"Hmm..."

"For now, should we just clear up to Floor 30 and think about it after that?"

"Yeah, that sounds better."

We will think about it after Floor 30. If Michael Zetter loses, we will help then. If Ji-won and I jump in now, it gets politically messy, and there is no point piling onto a fight someone might win anyway.

"So what now?"

"I regress."

I can get more detailed information once I jump in directly. What matters now is climbing fast. First get stronger, then handle all the real-world problems at once.

Dok Su-hee, the United States Government, people around me, even healer William Smith, probably worrying somewhere in America.

With enough force and regression together, I can do everything.

[You have taken damage.]

[Returning to the moment of first entry on Floor 24.]

Floor 24 was just as barren as before. The number of aberrations had dropped sharply, and as a result, the difficulty became much easier.

"Already done?"

"Yeah. I ran like hell."

Maybe because I fully committed this time. I cleared faster than Choi Ji-won, who also had her memories. Total time was barely over an hour. Considering we spent a full week on Floor 23, we were climbing at a ridiculous pace.

Ah, and I picked the mask as my reward.

After that, I took about a day off to recover my condition.

"You have all your gear, right?"

"Obviously."

Once we finished preparing,

"Ready?"

We entered Floor 25.

-Girl's Cheer [A]
-5 seconds before danger strikes, you can sense an ominous premonition.
-The trait activates and is removed from the status window.

"Aaagh..."

"J-Jun-ho? What's wrong?"

No, right before entering, my head suddenly buzzed with sharp pain, and I could not step into the portal.

"G...Girl's Cheer?"

This was the trait I got from clearing Floor 21. It was A-grade, so I was happy when I got it, but it never activated, and I forgot about it.

Why was it activating now?

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