WeTried Translations

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

Editor: Abstract

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Regression is Too Much

Chapter 059

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The Regressor likes a satisfying resolution (1)

A small, wooded mountain somewhere in Seoul.

I was doing something I'd never done in my life—hiking. Thanks to my vastly improved physical abilities, it wasn't very strenuous, which made it more bearable than I'd expected.

It was like all the difficult parts of hiking were removed, leaving only the fresh air and beautiful scenery for me to enjoy.

Walking at a brisk pace, I climbed the mountain swiftly and, before I knew it, I had reached the summit.

"You've arrived."

"It's good to see you."

Choi Ji-won and Park Cheol-jin were waiting for me.

"Looks like you had a tough time?"

"...It certainly was difficult."

Ji-won was wearing a hat, a large mask, and even sunglasses, which wasn't an incomprehensible fashion choice considering the entire nation of Korea was in an uproar about her right now.

"...Still, it's something I have to endure. This is the path I chose."

Ji-won’s story spreading so widely was the result of her own volition.

Back when we were planning to clear Floor 2, Ji-won had wanted to become a Hero herself.

She wanted to become a brightly shining milestone for the people who were holed up on Floor 1 with no intention of climbing the Tower, and she also wanted to improve the chaotic social atmosphere caused by the ability user crimes happening everywhere.

Because of that, her face became unbelievably famous... but speaking from my perspective, having seen the future, Ji-won's face was going to become famous anyway. The government gives her an award and praises her as the 'Hero of Korea'.

I just gave a little push in that direction. It's not my fault...!

"Jun-ho-nim. Did you get a good rest?"

"You can speak comfortably with me. You're my elder, after all..."

"...Ah, um. Should I? No, is that really okay?"

"Of course."

Right before we cleared the 2nd floor, Ji-won, Cheol-jin, and I exchanged contact information, and as a result, we were now gathered on this mountain.

Unlike other people, we shared the common goal of 'climbing the Tower to solve this disaster'.

"By any chance... what did you all get for the diamond reward... no, no. what did you get?"

Firefighter Park Cheol-jin asked casually while gazing at the scenery below the mountain.

"...I received the Heart of Lightning Flash Trait."

It was Ji-won who answered.

"I believe what I lack is explosive power. My fundamentals are solid, but... in the Tower where special abilities run rampant, I felt I needed a single, sharp, decisive blow."

I also thought the Heart of Lightning Flash suited Ji-won.

No matter how much of a genius combat sense she possessed, she was ultimately a fighter who used her body. The Heart of Lightning Flash, which could serve as a trump card, suited her better than Flash Step, which was more advantageous for surprise attacks.

"I received the Elixir."

To be honest, I didn't have a choice. Since I already had the other two traits, it was impossible to select them again as duplicates... I just had to pick the Elixir.

"...Since you can copy it just by seeing it, you don't even need to receive it as a trait, I suppose."

Ji-won mumbled something, but she spoke so quietly that I couldn't hear her properly.

"I got the Elixir too."

Lastly, firefighter Cheol-jin. It seemed he had also unexpectedly chosen the Elixir.

"Wouldn't it have been better to get the Heart of Lightning Flash like Ji-won-nim?"

"...My wife had cancer."

"...Ah."

"Don't make that face. I mean, she drank the Elixir and was cured as if it was washed away. The doctors called it a miracle and asked to run some tests. This is a situation to be happy about, so why is the mood like this?"

With a playful smile, he stood up from his spot and looked down at the forest swaying in the wind.

"There's a lot of talk these days about ability user crimes and whatnot... but isn't it true that even a poison can become a medicine depending on how you use it?"

Whoosh.

The wind brushed through the trees.

"During my main job, you know, while working as a firefighter... there was a time I saved someone I never would have been able to save normally, all thanks to my trait and stats. In that moment, I realized it. The fact that this Tower is an opportunity for me."

Cheol-jin, clenching his fist, turned his head to look at us and grinned.

"Even though I'm far less capable than you two... I plan to climb the Tower more diligently than anyone. For the sake of the people."

"I like that."

Ji-won smiled faintly as well.

Since we were at the mountain's summit, the wind blew fiercely, but the air between us was warm.

Of course, I was just wearing a slightly awkward smile, feeling like we were getting a little too friendly...

After talking like that for a good while.

"Oh my, it seems we've lost track of time."

Cheol-jin said, looking down at his wristwatch. There was one reason we gathered on this mountain.

It was because if Floor 3 was a floor where multiple people progressed simultaneously like Floor 2, it was unconditionally more advantageous to enter together.

"Well then..."

"I'll see you on the 3rd floor."

We each opened a portal to the 1st floor.

And we all threw ourselves into them.

[You have entered the 3rd Floor.]

"...Oh."

The first thing I saw when I opened my eyes was a massive stone door.

A stone door with a rough texture. It looked less like a carefully crafted structure and more like someone had just placed a huge slab of rock there.

The noteworthy point was that there were five identical stone doors lined up in a row. Rough carvings, as if gouged by a knife, were engraved on each door, from one to five lines.

"...The atmosphere is a bit dark."

Looking around, I saw nothing but stone. When I came to my senses, I also noticed my clothes had been changed into the leather armor provided on the 2nd floor.

This place seemed to be part of a long cave. In front of me were five stone doors, and behind me was a winding cave path, its end blocked by a pile of rocks.

The peculiar thing was that the only light source was a torch, and despite the presence of artificial traces here and there, as if someone had tried to renovate the cave, the rough workmanship was still palpable.

Unlike Floor 1, which was like a paradise, and Floor 2, which took the form of a civilization even if people suffered, Floor 3 reeked of a barbaric feeling.

"Hmm..."

And I wasn't the only one in this cave right now. About five other people were staring intently at the doors, pondering something.

"Alright. I'm going with two lines."

One of the pondering men walked up to the door with two lines drawn on it, and as he placed his hand on it, his body vanished with a Flash! sound effect.

It seemed to be a method of choosing one of the five doors... but I couldn't be sure of anything until the floor description appeared.

"Ah, you were already here."

"Did you figure anything out?"

My appreciation of the 3rd floor was brief. Soon after, Ji-won and Cheol-jin arrived.

"...This place is a bit creepy. The air feels kind of chilly for some reason..."

The moment firefighter Cheol-jin frowned in displeasure.

<Floor 3>

-Clear Condition: Choose one of the five stone doors and proceed to the end to clear. The more lines written on the door, the higher the difficulty.

-Clear Reward: Varies depending on the difficulty.

The familiar message window popped up before my eyes.

As I thought, the number of lines on the door signified the difficulty. The idea that you get better rewards for completing more difficult tasks might be a universal human perception.

Whatever the case, there were five difficulties, and I had to choose one. The 3rd floor's design was intuitive, if anything.

In that case, obviously...

"Five lines should be good, right?"

"Four lines should be good, right?"

My voice and Ji-won's overlapped, and we looked at each other awkwardly.

"...Isn't it obviously five?"

I was the one who argued for the hardest difficulty.

Let's look at the current members.

Choi Ji-won. Park Cheol-jin. And me.

We're a party in the top 0.1% of all players, and if we can't clear the highest difficulty with this party, it's a matter of flawed design.

Of course, variables exist.

"...First of all, there's no guarantee that we'll all proceed on the highest difficulty together."

Ji-won calmly explained her opposing view as if trying to persuade me.

What she said is true.

There's a possibility that we open the door only to be told, 'This was actually an individual mission~' and get separated. There would be no merit in entering all together.

It might be unreasonable to just jump into the highest difficulty assuming the synergy of the three of us.

"And, I think the highest difficulty has a certain symbolism."

Besides, the 'most difficult' setting is, in most cases, on a completely different level.

You can tell just by looking at the 2nd floor, where catching a noble wasn't that hard, but the difficulty skyrocketed to unbelievable levels if you tried to raise the rank to a diamond reward.

In other words, it was highly likely that there was a very, very big difference between stage 4 and stage 5.

Of course, an enormous reward would be given accordingly, but...

"Since we got a hidden reward on the 2nd floor, I don't think we need to take a risk here. The way everything is dark and gloomy... the atmosphere is different from before, isn't it? Just because the 1st and 2nd floors had a peaceful atmosphere, shouldn't we be careful not to let our guard down too much."

That's why I think Ji-won's opinion could rightly be called a sound argument.

There were no suffering residents here. There was no need to brave the danger and go on an adventure.

Besides, just as she said, there was no guarantee that Floor 3 would be as peaceful as the 1st and 2nd floors.

"...Then should we split up? You two can take the four-line difficulty. I'll go for the five-line one."

But that only applies if I didn't have Regression.

Yep, I can just regress. With that mindset, there's no risk for me even if I smash my head against the highest difficulty.

What if I try the five-line difficulty and it's more manageable than expected? I can just regress and persuade Ji-won and Cheol-jin.

What if I try the five-line difficulty and it's truly, unbelievably hard? I can regress and we can all enter the four-line difficulty together.

In the first place, while others have to enter without knowing the floor's structure, I'm in a position where I can chew it up, tear it apart, savor it, and enjoy it before making a decision.

It's not high risk, high return, but closer to no risk, high return, so there's no reason not to take on the adventure.

"...Are you sure you'll be okay? I know you're strong, Jun-ho-nim, but..."

"...Jun-ho. There's a chance we could be separated, but there's also a chance we could stick together..."

Although Cheol-jin and Ji-won had seen my skills in the Tutorial, they still tried to stop me, seemingly reluctant.

"I'm fine."

But I couldn't just suddenly reveal my Regression ability. I think the best course of action is to just enter the highest difficulty first, get a feel for what it's like, and then regress.

I can then use the information I've gathered to indirectly guide Ji-won and Cheol-jin's actions. It's inefficient to argue when they don't know anything.

"...Isn't that woman Choi Ji-won?"

"...I think you're right."

Maybe because we were talking in the middle of the cave, we started drawing the attention of other people, and one by one, they began to whisper while looking at Ji-won. The sounds echoed a bit since it was a cave, after all.

"Then, I'll go in first."

It's probably best not to delay any longer here and just proceed.

For someone who can just regress, hesitating is a cancer-inducing action.

An infinite regressor must always be cool and decisive. They must forge paths others do not take and must not fear death.

With the heart of a great pioneer, I strode forward and confidently placed my hand on the door marked with five lines.

[You are entering Floor 3-5.]

"...Huh?"

...Until the message window appeared before my eyes.

Footnotes:

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