WeTried Translations

Translator: ZEROSUGAR

Editor: Abstract

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◈ Regression is Too Much

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Chapter 265

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The regressor proves himself (5)

No need to overthink it. Just look at the core of the matter.

That dark mage from earlier? Smart, no question. It figured out within moments that Choi Ji-won was the leader of our group and started a psychological game with her, and since it knew it couldn't hurt Choi Ji-won or me, it went after the weakest one first, the Italian man. From the angle of weakening our overall strength and improving its own odds, that was the most rational choice it could have made.

The skeleton soldiers had probably just been testing the waters. The real threat was those hands rising out of the ground, or something equivalent to them. Anael had warned us about this back on Floor 26 for a reason. Players who walked in here half-heartedly wouldn't make it through. Especially anyone who hadn't trained properly on Floor 1.

"Still won't cut it against Choi Ji-won, though."

Choi Ji-won was strong. Absurdly strong. Strong even on an ordinary day, but once she activated Heart of Lightning Flash, she became unstoppable. Judging by the presence of the other players I'd seen on Floor 26, she was strong enough to be discussed as the strongest in the world. Even if she wasn't literally number one, she was close enough.

The dark mage? Strong, sure. But Choi Ji-won was stronger. If Floor 27 produced an opponent the current Choi Ji-won couldn't beat, then this Tower simply couldn't be cleared, period, and we could give up with a clear conscience.

The problem was that Choi Ji-won was kind. When she used Heart of Lightning Flash, excess mana inevitably leaked out, and any living thing near her got sparked just by standing close. And obviously, the "warriors" fell inside that range too.

Choi Ji-won hated hurting allies by nature, so for her to fight at full strength, the warriors needed to be out of the picture. That much was plain fact.

<Floor 27>
-Help the warriors defeat the "dark mage under contract with a demon."

The part that nagged at me was that phrase, help the warriors. If we beat the dark mage without them, would the floor even count it as cleared?

"Well, no harm in trying first and worrying about that later."

If clearing "without the warriors" didn't register as a clear, I could sort that out afterward. It seemed a lot easier to scope out the dark mage first and figure out how to bring the warriors in later than to struggle through the fight dragging them along from the start.

"So, what was it you wanted to say earlier?"

We were inside the log cabin the Captain had arranged for us. One of the Italian men left the reeking meat and bread untouched and leaned his head toward me.

"You said you had something urgent, then Mr. Exhibitionist barged in and cut you off."

"That exhibitionist isn't me, right?"

"I meant the blond Captain, but hey, not exactly wrong either way."

"..."

I left the self-sinking French woman to her own devices and tapped the table lightly, choosing my words with care.

"First off... I have an acquaintance who has the ability to implant memories."

"...Implant memories?"

"Yes. Not well known, and given how dangerous the ability is, I can't give a name."

I summoned up a fictional "acquaintance" for the occasion. Ever since the status window and traits appeared, the world had seen every kind of bizarre ability imaginable. Teleportation, shapeshifting into animals, turning your body into steel. So "the ability to implant memories" was well within the realm of plausible. Might even be real, for all anyone knew.

"That person implanted a memory of clearing Floor 27 into me. Before I even walked in here, I didn't even know I had that memory. I couldn't perceive it."

"But once you entered Floor 27, the memory came back?"

"Right."

"Hmm..."

Speaking as someone who'd already run this experiment with Choi Ji-won on Floor 25, this tactic checked out. After clearing Floor 25 and regressing, Choi Ji-won's memories of it came flooding back the moment she stepped back onto that floor. The only "minor" catch was needing some means to keep the memory or pass it to someone else.

Hold on. Did that mean Dok Su-hee might have future memories too? Hadn't thought that far yet. Anyway.

"Because I have this person's memory, I know where the status window's 'dark mage' is hiding. There's a cave about a day's walk from here. Ah, that's the estimate for a sturdy average person. If it's just us players, half a day should do it. We can move much faster."

"From how you're framing this... you're saying we go without the exhibitionists out there? To hunt the dark mage?"

"Yes."

The Italian man glanced out the window at a child gnawing on raw meat.

"Why, though? Might sound cold of me to ask, but more allies is generally better, no matter how you slice it. And didn't we agree to set out together tomorrow anyway?"

Cold, sure, exactly as he said, but I figured it was a fair thing to say when your life was on the line.

"Only if they'd actually help."

"..."

"We're up against a dark mage. It raises corpses. And more than anything."

I pointed at Choi Ji-won, who'd been listening quietly this whole time.

"My companion here, Ji-won, probably can't fight at full strength with the warriors around. You'll see what I mean once you've fought alongside her."

"Hmmmm..."

The Italian man rubbed his chin. The other two players looked like they were chewing on it too.

"Honestly, that's hard to believe."

"Yeah, and you just dropping that on us out of nowhere..."

They could just do what the Tower told them, tag along with the warriors, and be done with it. Why take on extra risk? All because of some man's claim about a mysterious "implanted memory"?

By any normal measure, there was no reason for them to take my word for it.

"I think going is the better call."

Right, unless the authority of the name "Choi Ji-won" got thrown into the mix.

The players I'd seen on Floor 26 kept a wary distance from Choi Ji-won, with an undercurrent of quiet dismissal. I had no idea how strong they actually were, but from where I stood, they looked like they were standing at the peak of Mount Stupid.

"Hmm... if she's Choi Ji-won's companion."

"If Ji-won-ssi is saying so..."

But these people had only just climbed onto Floor 27, chicks barely out of the shell, so to speak. Sounds ridiculous, calling a Floor 27 player a chick, but that was genuinely how they came across to me. Lacking a certain composure. Still carrying that raw edge of tension.

Maybe it was the players camping out on Floor 26 who were the abnormal ones, and this was actually the normal state to be in. Either way, what mattered was that the name "Choi Ji-won" carried weight with them. The fact that this floor demanded cooperation probably helped too, since nobody would want to troll their way through it.

"You're sure about this?"

"Of course."

"Hmmmm..."

Confidence turns out to be a bigger driving force for leading a group than people give it credit for. Sailors follow orders obediently even on a course sinking straight into the deep sea, right up until the water reaches their chins. I had just secured the players' agreement, right here in this moment.

"All right, we'll slip out at night, then."

"Understood."

We tidied up briefly, then slipped out of the log cabin while avoiding everyone else's eyes, heading straight toward the mountain with the cave. Climbing a mountain in pitch darkness was reckless, and if snow started falling on top of that, it would be borderline suicidal. But with a player's physical abilities, we could move fast relying only on moonlight.

The floor seemed to be progressing more smoothly than expected...

Progressing...

"Is that a person?"

"It's following us."

"Wait for us!!!"

I'd thought we were making progress. Right up until the Captain came charging through the night, leading a group behind him.

At first I thought the mountain had caught fire. Turned out I was wrong. Those figures running frantically with torches raised were, without question, the warrior group from the village.

"Are they insane?"

"Why the hell are those guys following us?"

"Let us come! Let us fight alongside you! Wait for us!!!"

The Captain kept screaming even while gasping for breath. His booming voice echoed across the whole mountain.

"We have lived our entire lives for this one moment! Are you trying to steal the reason we exist! I won't ask you to hand it over. Just let us fight beside you!"

"..."

"Wait! Please, wait for us! Give us. Give us a chance to fight too!!!"

That wasn't the bold, thoughtless man he'd been showing us until now. It sounded more like a child on the verge of tears, desperate to protect something impossibly precious to him. Genuine. Truly desperate... aching emotion soaked thick into every word.

"What should we do?"

"Hmm..."

Sincerity has a way of getting through, always. A flicker of hesitation crossed the players' faces. They didn't know the future either, so it made sense they'd think, if he's that desperate... I probably looked heartless to them right now.

"...Let's keep moving."

But I turned my head away, cold and clear, and picked up the pace instead.

If they caught up and joined us here, it would just be a repeat of the previous cycle. Their bodies were, at the end of the day, those of well-trained adult men. If we were serious about outrunning them, there was no way they could keep up.

"Wait, please!!!"

The voice grew fainter and fainter behind us. If they kept following, they would die. This was for their own good. I kept telling myself that, focusing on nothing but walking.

No, wait, was that actually for their own good? If someone genuinely longed for death, wouldn't respecting that will be the decent thing to do?

I'd heard there were doctors who felt guilty forcing cancer patients to keep living through their agony. Doctors who turned away from patients begging to be let die. What would actually be for their sake? What was even the right thing to do here?

No, this was an arrogant way to think. I didn't have the luxury of agonizing over every warrior's individual circumstances right now. I was busy enough just trying to climb this Tower myself. I'd help the warriors if I could, but if the situation didn't allow for it, prioritizing my own position was the right call.

"..."

Right, but it still sat wrong with me. Couldn't help that.

Clear the floor first. Worry about it after, once we're back in reality. Right before a fight was a lousy time to sit around chewing on this kind of problem.

Half a day passed like that, and the five of us players reached the dark mage's cave. Nobody let their guard down, and thanks to me taking point, no one triggered a trap. I remembered the dangerous ones well enough.

"...What."

We faced the dark mage again before long. It rapped its staff irritably against the ground. Yeah, expecting a bunch of meathead warriors and getting us instead, that's a bit of a shock, isn't it?

"Rematch, buddy."

Let's have at it, then. Strip away the annoying pawns on both sides. Fair fight, one against five.

"Heart of Lightning Flash."

Only this time, we've got Choi Ji-won on our side.

Rest in peace, dark mage.

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