Regression is Too Much - Chapter 61

WeTried Translations

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

Editor: Abstract

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Regression is Too Much

Chapter 061

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The Regressor likes a satisfying resolution (3)

The tutorial fairy.

A merciless villain targets the well-meaning citizens who have just entered the Tower, serving as a being that awakens them to the fact that this place is not the reality humanity has known, but a space called the ‘Tower,’ where one must struggle to survive and stake their life on the line.

It is the first strange phenomenon one encounters—a creature that physically teaches modern people, who have lived peacefully within the confines of the law, the cruel principle of nature that is the survival of the fittest. That is the tutorial fairy.

-Anyone seen someone get their head popped by the tutorial fairy?

-You think?

-I saw some ahjussi about to go off on the fairy, but someone next to him stopped him. Honestly, who doesn't know about the tutorial fairy these days?

However, these days, awareness of the fairy has become so widespread through creative works that there are literally next to no people whose heads get crushed by its evil clutches.

After all, the situation where a hot-tempered middle-aged man or a delinquent with bleached-blond hair talks back to the tutorial fairy, gets blown up, and horrifies everyone else has been used so often in webtoons and web novels that it’s practically a cliché.

Of course, the fact that there are no victims does not diminish its status.

The tutorial fairy was still an object of fear, a hungry beast searching for any excuse to burst someone’s head open.

-You guys know there's a dude who beat up the fairy in the tutorial?

Until the story about that man, Kang Chan, began to spread.

Hard to believe, right? I don't believe it either. I was just spacing out after being summoned to the tutorial for the first time, when suddenly this really scary-looking guy gets up.

At first, I just watched, wondering what was going on. But this guy just stood there without saying anything, and I don't know if I should call it killing intent or presence, but it was a feeling that made it genuinely hard to even look at him. I was so scared I was just staring at the dirt floor, and then a little later, I suddenly heard a Thwack!

I guess I wasn't the only one staring at the floor, because after the sound, everyone slowly raised their heads. The tutorial fairy (I didn't even know it was the tutorial fairy at first) lay collapsed on the ground, and a single stream of blood was flowing from its head.

I heard later that the fairy shot something like magic at the man's head, but he dodged it with a graze and knocked it out with a counter punch. In the end, another fairy appeared, took the unconscious one away, explained the background knowledge, and gave us weapons before leaving.

I don't think I've ever seen such a terrifying person in my life. I can still picture that murderous gaze and expressionless face…

===

-stfu

-I was in the same tutorial as this guy, it’s all facts. There were a few guys who were having a power struggle in the clearing at first, but after they saw him take down the fairy, they bowed their heads, saying they’d serve him as their hyung-nim. The atmosphere was seriously intense.

-He wouldn’t have had a level at the point he was first summoned to the clearing, but he took down the fairy? Wow…

-How good must your trait be for this to be possible? I have a C-grade trait and I feel so deprived…

-Don’t call him ‘this man.’ Show some respect, the Master’s name is Kang Chan.

The man's name later became known as Kang Chan. Though no concrete facts were confirmed because the specific details like his appearance, skills, and age varied with every person who claimed to have seen him…

-I heard the fairies don't threaten to pop your head anymore.

-After getting schooled once, they know to back off now lololol

-God Chan kekekek

What was certain was the fact that he was an immense powerhouse who had subdued the tutorial fairy with a single punch.

Ji-won, who defeated the master of the city on the 2nd floor alone.

Kang Chan, who subdued the tutorial fairy with his bare fists.

And finally, the mysterious man who was said to have beheaded the hidden boss, the Minotaur, with a single slash.

If you were to pick the three hottest people in the Korean community right now, everyone would pick these three…

Definitely.

Even if the stories I saw on the internet were only half-true, he was a person who was not just qualified, but overly qualified to be on Floor 3-5.

He was wearing stiff leather armor, but that ominous presence of his could not be hidden.

“…Hmph.”

Kang Chan, who had been receiving our gazes with his eyes closed, soon opened them slowly and, without a word, strode towards the stone gate.

“…”

Was he implying that the chit-chat was over and that we should hurry up and proceed with the 3rd floor?

After a brief exchange of glances, Gyeong-jun and I gave a small nod and likewise took our places in front of the stone gate.

And so, the four of them stood before the large stone door.

The moment each of them placed a hand on the palm-shaped grooves.

Rumble!

With a deafening roar that shook the ground, the stone door slowly moved.

The clearing of the 3rd floor had officially begun.

Step. Step.

How long had it been since we started walking, relying on the light of the torches hanging on the walls?

Since it was a narrow cave path, the sound of footsteps echoed loudly.

“Kieeeek!”

Occasionally, a goblin that must have been hiding in a crack in the rocks would pop out with a shriek.

Stab!

Honestly, I had already become too strong to regress to a mere goblin. I only regressed to goblins in the very early stages of the tutorial; now, they were literally just mob 1.

The space was so tight that I dealt with the goblin with a thrust and flicked the blood from my blade onto the floor.

“…Maybe their eyes have degenerated from living in a cave. Their white eyeballs are disgusting…”

Gyeong-jun, who never stopped talking, as if to shake off his nervousness.

"Still, for a cave, there are no bugs or anything, you know? It’s strange~"

Su-hee, who, contrary to her sharp appearance, offered an odd observation, perhaps because she was relaxed or her mouth had loosened.

"Hmph."

And Chan, who still radiated a powerful presence, not letting down his guard.

With me in the lead, we were slowly walking through the cave.

So far, Floor 3-5… was too easy. It was so easy it didn't make sense. After the first stone gate opened, we picked up weapons we were familiar with from a room piled with various armaments.

All that followed was simply walking down a long, slippery, and damp cave path. The only enemies that popped out were goblins or bats.

You think maybe we’re just too strong? But logically, it doesn’t seem likely that someone strong enough to enter Floor 3-5 would be defeated by a goblin.

This can't be all there is to the 3rd floor. There must be… there must be some other trick…

As I was pondering this and moving forward.

“…”

The narrow cave path, which seemed like it would go on forever, was connected to a wide, open cavern.

The circular cavern was almost as large as the Seoul Arts Center Concert Hall, and the torches hanging regularly on the walls flickered eerily.

“Hmm…”

The four of us cautiously walked into the cavern. We were on high alert, scanning our surroundings, but nothing jumped out.

“There’s a door up ahead, but…”

As Gyeong-jun said, there was a stone gate of a familiar design on the other side of the cavern, but unlike before, there were no palm-shaped grooves. It wouldn't open just by the four of us placing our hands on it.

“…Shouldn’t we find a hidden device? If there are no enemies, I think there might be a puzzle!”

The one who offered an opinion was Su-hee. Her words had a point.

We had to move forward, but the door was closed, and there were no enemies. Besides, this space was quite large… The hypothesis that we had to press a hidden switch or something to move to the next room was a convincing one.

The 2nd floor was also more of a puzzle than combat-focused, so... There's no rule that the 3rd floor can't be the same.

“Sh-shall we split up and look…?”

Therefore, when Gyeong-jun suggested we split up to look for anything suspicious, no one objected.

About 15 minutes passed.

“Hmm…”

I spent a long time touching and knocking on the cavern walls, but there was no particular hidden device.

“Huuuuhm…”

Actually, I had a feeling there probably wasn't a hidden device.

The atmosphere of this cavern was just that eerie.

When you're playing a game like Dark Souls, you sometimes get this feeling.

This place, no matter how you look at it, feels like a boss room. But the terrifying boss is nowhere to be seen, only the torches burning ominously.

So, you’ve entered the boss room, but the boss itself is missing. In web novels and such, when this happens, they usually come from the ceiling…

“Huh?”

I slowly raised my head.

And in the darkness of the ceiling, where the torchlight could not reach, my eyes met with a pair of glowing yellow eyes.

“Kgh!”

The moment I saw those slit pupils, my body was already moving.

Craaash!

A monster… no, a giant wolf with white fur, crashed down on the spot where I had just been.

“Junho-ssi!!!”

“Son of a…”

The floor where the beast landed cracked apart. The monster wolf, easily the size of an SUV, turned its head and fixed its gaze on my neck.

Fwoosh!

The monster wolf immediately launched itself using its incredible elasticity. The leap was so fast that it would be difficult for even a superhuman to react.

Claaang!

When I reflexively held my sword horizontally to block the paw it swung, a sound rang out that was unbelievable for a clash between an animal's flesh and metal.

“Ugh…!”

This wolf. Its strength was immense. My body, unable to completely deflect the absurd physical force, was sent flying backward, suspended in mid-air.

Just as my flying body was about to touch the ground again, I stretched my foot back to reduce my speed…

Slip.

“Huh?”

Both feet that I stretched back to slow down danced on the slippery cave floor.

Crack!

As my body spun half a turn, my face shared a hard kiss with the cave floor.

[You have taken damage.]

[Returning to the moment of first entry on Floor 3-5.]

“…Wake up, brat.”

I heard Kang Chan’s growling voice and rubbed my face with both palms.