WeTried Translations

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

Editor: Abstract

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Regression is Too Much

Chapter 025

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The boss is too weak (5)

"...I didn't think that a goblin could talk."

That was the first thing Firefighter Park Cheol-jin said.

"Ke-reuk… I cannot see, and I cannot hear well… Only my sense of smell is sharp. Ke-reuk. I didn't even know you all were here. Ke-reuk."

"..."

So he's saying he noticed me because of my smell.

I couldn't take a proper bath since there’s no river, but I did wash myself diligently with water…

"So, the plan is to roll the Minotaur into the swamp?"

Ji-won asked me with her arms crossed.

I gave a small nod.

"Normally, it would be impossible, of course... but we're superhumans. We can't think with common sense."

"It seems like it might be possible if we do it right..."

Ji-won shrugged one of her shoulders.

"I'll tell you this in advance, the people from the clearing are all low-leveled or have no level at all. Meaning, they won't be of any help."

Ji-won stated it bluntly, a fact I was already aware of.

"Frankly speaking, it's a gamble. I can't say the chances of success are high."

This time, Firefighter Park Cheol-jin spoke with a grin.

"But… I like it."

He seemed to like the part about being able to save everyone without any sacrifices.

"Let's see… I'll try to gather people from our group, but there aren't many who have invested heavily in strength."

"How many do you think will be possible?"

"...Five. No more than that."

In that case, we had Choi Ji-won, Park Cheol-jin, and five from Park Cheol-jin's group. We needed at least three more people.

Why am I not counting myself? I can't, because I'll regress if I go near the swamp.

"First, let's gather the people who don't belong to the clearing or Cheol-jin-ssi's group."

If the plan succeeded, we couldn't have people starving to death somewhere without even knowing about the portal.

Gathering the people who were wandering around on their own was a necessary step.

"And once the people are gathered, let's take volunteers from there, shall we?"

Getting cooperation from the strong among the gathered people would be a bonus.

"...Hmm. I think I can handle gathering the other people in the forest. I have a colleague with a search-type trait."

Firefighter Cheol-jin nodded.

To say it again, the biggest advantage of this plan was that there were no sacrifices.

If we succeed, no one has to die. Everyone can survive, and we can defeat the Minotaur at the same time.

"Alright, I'll stay here and protect the Goblin Shaman, so everyone please split up and..."

"Ke-reuk… Human. There will be a problem if you do that."

"What?"

The Goblin Shaman, who was already on his last legs, suddenly threw in a sliding tackle worthy of the player Kim Min-jae.

"If you go rolling that outer shield around and around like that, the seal's mana structure will break. Ke-reuk."

"...It'll break?"

"To be precise, it will explode. Ke-reuk. About half the island will be blown away."

"..."

Then... this plan is meaningless.

But the Goblin Shaman wasn't finished.

"But there is a solution. Ke-llock. Ke-llock. We just need to reinforce the outer seal's mana structure. Ke-reuk."

Thump. 

The Goblin Shaman slammed his staff down with great effort.

"I know that you humans search for small, golden trinkets that hold a mysterious power. Ke-reuk. I need those."

"...The Golden Marbles?"

The Goblin Shaman was demanding 'golden trinkets with mysterious power'.

It seemed that what the creature was asking for were the Golden Marbles.

"Ke-llock, ke-llock… As you can see, I am dying. I lack strength. I must borrow the power of the golden trinkets. Ke-reuk."

"How many do you need?"

"The more, the better. Ke-llock… There is no time, human. I will die soon…"

"..."

Now that Golden Marbles were required, I felt the risk of the operation skyrocket.

"...Hey. Isn't there another way? You said you had a good idea earlier."

Feeling a bit disappointed, I tried asking the Goblin Shaman for another method.

"I can release the outer seal for about three seconds while maintaining the inner seal that binds the monster. Ke-reuk. You can just wail on the monster for those three seconds. Ke-reuk."

"...Does that one not require Golden Marbles?"

"No. Ke-reuk. The golden trinkets are needed for both methods."

The method the Goblin Shaman was originally going to propose also required Golden Marbles.

Firefighter Cheol-jin turned his head to look at me.

"Jun-ho… what will you do?"

We stood at a crossroads.

The path of sacrificing Choi Ji-won was already out of the question.

Assuming we provide the Golden Marbles to the Goblin Shaman…

Do we face the Minotaur with a three-second advantage?

Or do we bet on the gamble of rolling the beast into the swamp?

"The Golden Marbles are our last resort. Can we trust a goblin?"

Firefighter Cheol-jin asked.

"..."

Can I trust this goblin?

The deliberation was short, and the decision was swift. There's a saying that the enemy of my enemy is my friend.

"Let's trust him. Let's roll it."

And I was a natural-born gambler.

The people who were staying in the clearing.

The people who were with Firefighter Cheol-jin.

And the people who had been wandering in their own groups, who joined us after hearing our plan.

When we gathered them all in one place, there seemed to be about 90 to 100 people.

Considering that 200 people were first summoned to the clearing, the number had been cut by about half.

The number of people who died must have been overwhelmingly higher than those who escaped by eating a marble.

"The marbles have all dried up anyway. This is our only hope."

"Rather than surviving by killing my friend… I'll bet on the possibility that everyone can live."

What was unexpected was that more people than I thought were on board with our plan.

There were some considerable powerhouses mixed in, most of whom were people who had been summoned to the Tower with their lovers or friends.

Indeed... there are many bad people, but there are still many good people in the world.

"Should we shout 'Fighting!' once before we go?"

"Sounds good. One. Two, three!"

"""Fighting!!!"""

A united front for a common goal was formed.

God must have desperately wished for our division, but despite that, humanity banded together.

"Ke-reuk… It's still not enough. Give me more marbles. Ke-reuk."

"...Hold back, Bung-bung. You can't kill it."

The number of Golden Marbles that Firefighter Park Cheol-jin and Choi Ji-won had stored totaled over 20, but the Goblin Shaman whined that it still wasn't enough.

In the end, only after I handed over two more of the Golden Marbles I had stashed away did the Goblin Shaman give a small nod.

"...This should be enough. Ke-llock, ke-llock… Everyone, step back. Ke-reuk."

The creature held a pouch full of Golden Marbles in one hand, and with the other, he waved his staff in the air.

"KUL, NAL, TAR, AR, AIS…"

As he chanted in a strange language, the spherical protective barrier surrounding the Minotaur began to glow faintly.

"Humans, now is the time! There is no time! Ke-reuk… Ke-llock, ke-llock, Ku-eeek…."

The Goblin Shaman must have overexerted himself, as he spewed a basinful of blood mixed with pieces of his internal organs.

"...Everyone, check your masks."

"Ready."

"Hoo, that bastard. Looks damn fierce."

"Let's all survive together. I never liked the idea of the marbles or whatever in the first place."

The Avengers of the tutorial stretched and warmed up their bodies.

Because I had warned them beforehand that the air from the swamp contained a weak toxin, everyone had wrapped crude scraps of cloth around their mouths as makeshift masks.

It probably wouldn't be very effective, but it was better than nothing.

For the record, I volunteered to protect the Goblin Shaman since I would regress if I breathed in the swamp air.

If someone suddenly loses it and kills the shaman, we're all screwed, aren't we?

"Alright, push on my command."

Firefighter Park Cheol-jin, his face tense, stood at the dead center in front of the sphere.

His trait was 'Iron Man'.

It was a trait that hardened his body and dramatically improved his stamina.

"Gu-uuuuuk!"

The Minotaur began to struggle, as if it realized the humans were about to do something.

"Ke-reuk… I will block it! Now!"

The Goblin Shaman's staff emitted a bright light.

"Alright, here we go! One!"

"""One!!!"""

Following Cheol-jin's command, they all began to push the protective barrier.

Veins popped out on people's arms, and the ground beneath their feet dug in deeply.

"Keu-eu-eu-euk…"

Choi Ji-won's face turned beet red from the exertion. I'd never seen her like that before.

Heave.

"...Damn it."

The protective barrier around the Minotaur shook slightly, but it didn't move. Were they lacking strength even after carefully selecting only those with high strength stats?

"Hoo. Everyone, relax. We'll take a short break and go again."

"This... the dirt floor keeps sinking, so it's not easy to put our strength into it."

A man said while rubbing his heated palms. Just as he said, the ground was giving way, preventing their power from being properly transferred to the shield.

"...I think I can solve that."

From among the people who were cheering for those pushing the shield, a scrawny young man stepped forward.

"I've been hiding my trait until now… but my trait is Hardening. I can make the ground you're standing on solid."

As the man touched the dirt, the relatively soft ground became hard.

"I... I'll help too!"

The next person to step up was the short-haired girl, Baek Da-hye.

"I... have a buff ability! The grade may be low... but I'll do my best!"

"Oh, ooh..."

As an aura extended from her hands and enveloped the people, the expressions of those who had been panting for breath became much more relaxed.

"Me too...!"

"I also have a trait that could be helpful...!"

Those with useful traits supported the ones who were directly pushing the shield.

"I don't have an ability, but... I'll cheer for you!"

"You can do it! You can do it!"

"We will... survive! We will survive this goddamn Tower!"

"Fighting! You're awesome! Let's go!"

And those who couldn't contribute in that way let out roars of support until their throats were sore.

Not everyone was pushing the shield, but everyone was of one heart and one mind.

"Everyone… thank you so much."

Firefighter Cheol-jin sniffled slightly, as if overcome with emotion.

"We must... we absolutely must survive! Let's survive together! Here we go again! Ooooone!!!!"

"""One!"""

Heave!

"Two!"

"""Two!!!"""

Ho!!!

"Three!!!"

"""Threeeeeeee!!!!!!"""

Creeeeak!!!

Was it perhaps because everyone's hearts had come together as one?

The spherical protective barrier, which had been firmly lodged in the dirt, began to move with a tremendous roar.

"...Hoo. Hoo. Hoo."

"Haak... haak... haak..."

People let out ragged breaths.

Some had clenched their teeth so hard that a trickle of blood flowed from their gums.

But this was only the beginning. The distance to the swamp was about 50 meters.

"...Goblin. How much longer can you hold on?"

The shaman's arms, holding the Golden Marbles and the staff, were trembling violently.

"Ke-llock… Ku-llock… Keu-reup… I think I can hold on, until I die. Human. How much longer do you think I have until I die?"

"..."

Time was running out.

Footnotes:

[1] Kim Min-jae is a famous real-life South Korean professional soccer player, widely regarded as one of the best defenders in the world. The "sliding tackle" is a reference to his defensive prowess, used here to humorously describe the Goblin Shaman abruptly interrupting the plan.

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