WeTried Translations

Translator: ZEROSUGAR

Editor: Abstract

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

Chapter 319: The regressor... (3)

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Day two wasn't much different either. No variables, no urgency, plenty of slack. A day with none of that so-called "dopamine" at all.

"Whew."

"Let's go."

First, we got up from our assigned quarters and did a lap around the base. Even though Floor 29 was practically the highest floor humanity had charted so far, there were quite a lot of people, likely all here chasing the same "extra reward." People who made it this far understood how much rewards mattered.

Every floor of the Tower is a trial, but also a chance to grow stronger. There are minor exceptions, but generally, the higher the floor number, the higher the difficulty.

So what happens if someone breezes through Floor 29 for the sole reason that it's easy, and misses out on the "maximum reward" available here? Not only would they fall behind other players, they'd also struggle to keep up when tougher floors inevitably appeared.

And Ji-won and I at least had a goal, preparing for the monster invasion after reaching Floor 30. Other players didn't have that kind of goal. The being known as god had urged everyone to climb the Tower, but there was no clear time limit, and there wasn't really any competition among players forcing anyone to stay ahead of the pack.

From what I'd observed while regressing and watching reality, fights between players were surprisingly rare. There were occasional deaths from stubborn idiots too proud to back down, but it was rare enough to be notable, and most players in the real world treated each other more or less indifferently. (Inside the Tower would be different, but out here, that's how it was.)

Either way, players were far stronger than ordinary people, made good money, and were celebrated figures. Basically, "chosen" people. It wouldn't be a stretch to say a sense of privilege existed among them, along with a kind of camaraderie.

I got a little sidetracked there, but the point is, the players who made it this far, at this point in time, struck me as people obsessed with training themselves. Far more of them were motivated by "I want to get stronger" rather than "I want to save the world," which was the motive for people like me, Choi Ji-won, or firefighter Park Cheol-jin. People like that would never let a chance to get stronger on Floor 29 slip by.

Either way, after scouting the base, we headed outside to study the monsters' behavior once. The monsters mostly ate humans, or their own kind, cannibalizing each other so much that it was baffling how they even maintained their numbers.

"The monsters spawn naturally because of the demonic energy! Until the Demon King is defeated, monsters will keep appearing forever!"

A spirited soldier offered us this solid piece of information while we were puzzling things over, but the more I learned, the bigger my questions got.

"Ah, is there a Demon King here too?"

"Not right now, but he'll return eventually!"

"...If there's no Demon King, why do monsters keep spawning?"

"That... I don't know!"

So basically, monsters spawn because of demonic corruption, but the actual Demon King isn't even here. When I asked why, the soldier stammered and couldn't give a proper answer.

"No, but I mean..."

"Just accept it as is, man."

A passing player clicked his tongue at Choi Ji-won, who was trying to reason with the soldier.

"Those soldiers, they come back to life even after dying. Don't understand real-world talk either. They're basically NPCs, so don't push too hard."

"..."

Monsters that regenerate endlessly. An absent root cause. Soldiers who resurrect no matter how many times they die. This felt... really like a stage set specifically to show players what a battlefield looks like. The one exception was probably the Hero. Whatever the case, it left a genuinely unpleasant feeling. Weren't these people literally being used as tools?

Of course, feeling bad was one thing, information was another. We spent the rest of the time bustling around the base gathering more data, and improved our understanding of this floor considerably. Nothing decisive turned up, but plenty of it was useful.

"Jun-ho, I think we've gathered enough info."

"Then let's go see the Hero."

We finished our exploration, caught one weak monster, and received the Hero's approval. I felt some relief thinking I could return to reality tomorrow, but also worried about how long it would take to fully clear this floor. Anyway, since there was nothing urgent to do right now, Ji-won and I were mapping out our plans for the future.

"Once we get the reward from this floor, we could pick up some decent gear on Floor 26..."

Suddenly, my head spun and a dizzying wave of vertigo hit me. It felt something like standing up too fast after lying down for a very long time.

This had never happened since I'd gotten the status window and my body got stronger. My body no longer even needed much sleep, and I always felt full of energy.

"Jun-ho, you okay?"

"No, it's... my head's suddenly spinning... ugh."

"What's wrong?"

"...My head hurts."

Now, on top of the dizziness, a throbbing ache had set in. My Mana wouldn't obey me and churned wildly, and when I focused on my senses, even my soul was rippling like disturbed water. My body burned. Every part of me ached. It felt like a monstrous flu.

"...Something's wrong."

Even groaning through the pain, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. My body suddenly getting sick? That could happen. Someone could have secretly poisoned me, or maybe I'd just coincidentally caught some disease that only affects players.

What was so strange about this whole situation was—

"Why... isn't it triggering regression?"

There was absolutely no sign of it triggering. Clear pain, clear dizziness, my hands even trembling faintly. And this wasn't counted as "damage"? Why?

"Ugh..."

"You look really flushed right now. Let's drink an Elixir, at least."

"...Guess so."

As Choi Ji-won suggested, I pulled out an Elixir and drank it down in one go. I felt the eyes of other players on us, but I didn't have the luxury of caring right now.

—Gulp, gulp.

The familiar refreshing sensation. That crisp sweet taste. My body was supposed to fill with energy now, my head was supposed to clear.

"...Why."

The Elixir had no effect. Genuinely, absolutely no effect.

Why? This was an Elixir that regrew severed limbs. Was it a curse? But if it was a curse, shouldn't regression have already triggered by now?

"...Status window."

I called for my status window in a trembling voice, but the status window that had always been with me stuttered and refused to open.

Ten seconds. A full ten seconds passed before the status window flickered and finally revealed itself.

[Δ†ame: ŽΔŦΩв] [LV:¨¯©¯¨«]

[ΨΟde]

-Regression [EX]

-ŒΦ [δ]

-ю！[∀]

"...What is this."

A status window shattered into garbled text. A world that seemed to be spinning endlessly. Choi Ji-won's hand gently rubbing my back felt like it was scraping against my skin. My body burned like fire.

"...Regression."

If I hurt myself right now, could I regress? Probably. Probably yes. Even on the corrupted status window, the "Regression" entry alone stayed intact.

But even if I regressed, what could I actually do? If I ended up back at this exact moment, wouldn't the same thing just repeat itself?

"Jun-ho, is it okay to move?"

"...I need to move."

It hurt. It was agonizing. But this was the time to act. I had to find even the smallest clue as to why I'd become like this. I had to do something before regressing. That felt... right.

And if I had to name the first person I should visit right now.

"...The Hero."

I felt I needed to see the Hero first, given how unbelievably strong he was. The reason was simple. It was just because he was so overwhelmingly strong.

The Hero had no motive to harm me. If anything, he seemed to have zero motivation for anything. But if an anomaly like this had occurred, it was highly likely connected to the Hero somehow. He was a strength that defied common sense.

Honestly, I had no idea what connection the Hero might have to any of this. But an obsessive urge to do something before I regressed drove my body forward.

If I get information, great. If I get help, even better. It'd be better than doing nothing. Yeah, I had to do something.

"...I'll be right back."

"J-Jun-ho?"

I dragged my unsteady body toward the central tent. Other players' stares prickled at my skin, but I ignored them and kept moving.

"..."

Even though this was the tent where the Hero lived, no one was guarding it. Maybe there was no need to.

Setting aside a moment of hesitation, I pushed the entrance open without holding back.

"...Anyone in here."

It had only been a few hours since I'd first visited this tent. The Hero had been lounging in his chair, acknowledging me easily, and I remembered leaving right after just as clearly.

But it looked different from my memory. The work desk, the guest chair, the bookshelf, the monster head on the wall—everything was the same, but—

"Hero-nim?"

The Hero himself was gone. My poor physical state had kept me from noticing before, but now I realized that overwhelming presence of soul had vanished too.

I stood there dazed at the unexpected situation for only a moment.

"...Who sent you."

The Hero's growling voice came from behind me, and at the same time, my vision twisted strangely. It felt like my body was falling downward.

Only when the pain hit belatedly did I finally realize.

"...Why aren't you blocking it?"

That my head had been sliced clean across.

[You have taken damage.]

[Returning to the moment of first entry on Floor 29.]

* * *

"..."

The situation didn't feel real. What was this? What on earth was happening? I could barely keep up.

My status window turning strange, my body getting sick without triggering regression, both were bizarre enough. But the Hero's attitude was equally impossible to understand.

The Hero's original attitude had clearly been that of a bystander. There had been zero hostility, just an overwhelming sense of not wanting to be bothered.

But he had suddenly ambushed me. Sliced my head clean off in an instant, and I couldn't fathom this shift in attitude at all.

The Hero's final words carried weight too. "Why aren't you blocking it?" That phrase had been full of genuine confusion.

I hadn't even registered his final blow to begin with, and even if I had, it probably wasn't an attack I could have blocked anyway. The Hero was on a completely different level from me, and he had to know that too.

But it wasn't "die," and it wasn't "get lost," it was "why aren't you blocking it?" Isn't that a little strange? Launching an attack I couldn't possibly block and then asking why I didn't block it? That tone was too sincere to just be some personality flaw.

Fine, let's just say the Hero snapped. That could happen. Compared to the situation I was facing right now, that felt "minor" by comparison.

How was my condition? I had just regressed. I had just returned to the past.

"...It hurts."

But my head... still throbbed with pain, even after regressing.

As if some trace of it had stayed behind.

Footnotes:

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