WeTried Translations

Translator: ZEROSUGAR

Editor: Abstract

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◈ Regression is Too Much

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Chapter 252

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The regressor gets lost (6)

A white goblin holding a spear. The first living thing I met in this maze, and the first enemy I killed here.

"Come here."

"Kerurrrk!"

I snapped his spear in half in one motion, pinned both his arms, and dragged him all the way here. I thought this was the final key to victory.

"So hand the throne over to this white goblin. Right now."

What I focused on was the part that said I had to kill the King of the Maze. Is that middle-aged man over there not the King of the Maze? Exactly. My goal was to make him no longer the King.

<Floor 25>
-Defeat the King of the Maze and escape.
-Poison has spread inside Floor 25. You may not feel much at first, but movement will grow harder over time. Ordinary people last around one hour.
Climbers lose their lives within 2-3 hours. Please be careful.

The status window told me to kill the King of the Maze. Sure, there were minor obstacles, like the King of the Maze being immortal, poison filling this place, needing to roam the maze to kill him, and the Minotaur chasing me once enough time passed, but still, if I killed the King of the Maze, it was over.

Since it used the word "defeat," the Tower probably did not treat the King of the Maze as human, but whatever.

That man could not be killed easily. He could only be killed through proper procedure. Right now, that was impossible for me.

So then, what if I made that man stop being the King of the Maze? Rulers love to say the throne is granted by heaven, but in reality, a king is just whoever has power. Sometimes the youngest becomes king instead of the firstborn because of the king's whim, so all that "granted by heaven" talk is pure nonsense.

And if the youngest can become king instead of the firstborn, why can this white goblin here not become king too? They said only royals get the curse that turns them into goblins. Why would he not qualify? It is not like kings and nobles are born from some separate seed, and this one is literally of the king's blood.

On top of that, this white goblin friend did not have the tiny flaw called immortality, so he was actually a great pick for the next king.

I did not know if it would work. I just thought it made sense logically, and it felt like it might work, so I was trying it. If I regretted it, I could do that afterward.

There was only one problem here. No, two.

First. Would the King of the Maze willingly hand his throne to a goblin?

I was somewhat confident on that one. The King of the Maze was trapped here. On top of that, the world had already been ruined, whether by the Tower or by a god. If he felt anything toward gods and archangels, it was hatred, not goodwill.

The enemy of my enemy is my ally. That idea worked in every culture. For revenge alone, the King of the Maze would probably cooperate.

The real issue was the second one. If I killed the goblin after he inherited the throne, would it count as me killing the King of the Maze?

"..."

"..."

I did not show it outwardly, but inside I was tense as I looked at the King of the Maze. He sat on his worn throne as always, quietly watching me.

No, not as always. There was a difference.

His eyes had always looked deep, not in a good way. It was the depth of staring into the abyss beneath the sea. The depth of someone who had despaired, despaired, and despaired again, then let go of everything.

But now, little by little, bit by bit, light was returning. Fragments of reason that had been scattered on the ground were slowly rising again.

"...The throne."

The King of the Maze spoke.

"I never wanted to become king. I just struggled, and before I knew it, I had become one."

He elegantly drank the red wine that had sat on the table like decoration all this time.

"To protect freedom, I had to become strong, gather power... and in the end, responsibility piled up until I was no longer free. Is it not ironic?"

"..."

"I often imagined how it would have gone if someone had become king in my place. This is amusing."

I let go of the white goblin's arms. Instead of turning to attack me, he began to stagger forward. Toward where the King of the Maze stood.

"Kerrk..."

The white goblin twitched weakly. The King of the Maze gently stroked his head.

"...I do not know whether you understood what you were doing. But this one is my son."

"..."

"He had many worries, having an immortal father. He even made a plan to confine me and take the throne himself."

He spoke calmly, but I could feel his insides rotting deep down.

"Krrrk..."

"My son tried to kill me... failed... and while I was confined... the world became this... That is the story."

There were no "what if this" or "what if that." He just stroked the white goblin's head.

"Krrrk..."

Then suddenly, the white goblin burrowed into the King of the Maze's arms. He did not raise his claws. He did not bare his teeth. Like a child diving into a parent's embrace, he only buried his face and held the King of the Maze tightly.

"...!"

The King of the Maze opened his eyes wide. His slightly parted lips tried to say something, stopped, then closed again. He did not need words. He just softly stroked the white goblin's shriveled back.

"Stranger climber. What is your purpose?"

The King of the Maze, still stroking the goblin's back, turned his gaze to me. It was a question carrying many things. How did I know the goblin was originally human? Why was I doing this now?

Of course, my purpose had always been one thing.

"To see the end of this Tower without going insane."

"...I see."

The one who had been the King of the Maze removed the crown from his own head and carefully placed it on the white goblin's head.

"I do not know whether this will work. I will cooperate."

He bit his finger until it bled, pressed it to the goblin's forehead, and began drawing a geometric pattern. When the strange sigil was complete, he covered it with his palm.

He closed his eyes and pressed his forehead against the goblin's.

"...It is done."

"Huh?"

"The succession of the throne is complete. I did not know it would work either. This is my first time doing it."

The white goblin only kept growling. The King of the Maze pulled a small dagger from his robe, then gently pushed the blade into the back of the goblin's neck as he rested in his arms.

"Kerrk..."

The white goblin flinched for a moment, then stopped moving. Still held in the King of the Maze's arms, his body went limp.

-You have defeated the King of the Maze.

-A portal you can use to escape has been created somewhere inside the maze.

The message window appeared right away. I ignored it and focused on the man.

"I used to think, what if I had handed the throne to my son... I had the thought, but not the will to act. I regretted that, regretted it, and regretted it again."

"..."

"Return to where you started. The exit will probably be there."

Still holding the goblin, he lay down on the floor to the side. From far away, he looked like a father holding a sleeping child. If not for the green blood flowing from the back of the neck, it would have looked like a peaceful daytime nap.

"...Thank you."
"And I thank you as well."

I opened the wooden door and left immediately. The King of the Maze always said he longed for death. Now I understood. He did not long for death.

What he truly wanted was to change the past. He desperately wanted a chance to correct his own mistake.

For now, I wanted to respect the time those two had left. If a regressor who can turn back time tries to sympathize with their sorrow, that is nothing but deception.

How many mistakes do we make in life, and how many regrets follow?

Everyone who commits their worst mistake longs for regression, but not everyone is given that power.

"It is real."

When I returned to the starting point, a blue portal really was rippling there. How had the King of the Maze known that? Did he just realize it by instinct?

Either way... this was how we escaped. The time I had spent flashed by like a panorama.

Choi Ji-won suffering to give me a chance. Exploring this maze. Meeting the King of the Maze. All the things I did with him to get out. The Minotaur. The end of one cursed by god. The end of one defeated by god.

I let it all out in one long exhale and threw myself into the portal.

-You have cleared Floor 25.

-You cleared it unbelievably fast! Additional rewards will be given.

"...You are back?"

"...Yeah. I am back."

The moment I returned to my studio apartment, my eyes met Choi Ji-won's. She had been waiting for me here the whole time. She had stared at the place where I disappeared like a stone statue.

Just like before, words were unnecessary. We shared a tight embrace. That was enough. We understood each other completely.

In real-world time...

This happened only 13 minutes after entering Floor 25.

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