WeTried Translations
Translator: ZERO_SUGAR
Editor Abstract
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◈ Regression is Too Much
Chapter 066
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The Regressor accepts his fate (2)
“…”
“…”
I stole glances at Chan, trying to see what he was thinking. Without an inkling of suspicion, he was carefully touching the wall of the cavern.
Even though a good ten minutes had passed, the monster wolf showed no signs of appearing.
“…”
Maybe… It was scared?
Could it have been frightened by Chan hyung-nim's overwhelming presence? It made sense. Wolves have always been sensitive creatures.
The wolf was probably perceiving Kang Chan's aura, which I could faintly feel even from this distance—dozens of times more intensely.
If that's the case, I guess I have to give it a little push.
“Oh, uh! Up there!”
I pointed to the wolf's two glowing eyes on the ceiling, pretending to be startled.
“Gr, grraaaawr!”
The wolf let out a flustered cry, as if it really had been intimidated.
It hesitated on the ceiling for a moment before seeming to decide it had no other choice, and it launched itself directly at Chan hyung-nim.
“What the?!”
But Chan hyung-nim was just as surprised.
The wolf's desperate lunge was so fast that it was already too late for him to dodge.
In the end, Chan's fist began to glow once more.
The monster wolf dove down from above. Chan, looking up at the ceiling, thrust his fist toward the wolf's snout.
Flash!
“…Wow.”
Because there was some distance between me and Chan, I was able to fully appreciate his punch.
Crash!
A powerful stream of light erupted from his fist. It was less like a punch and more like a phenomenon.
A natural disaster that destroyed everything it touched.
Just before the monster wolf could connect with Chan hyung-nim's fist, it was engulfed in light and its form simply vanished.
“Ugh, aghhhh!”
A moment later, a fierce, cutting wind whipped through the cavern, heralding the aftermath of that punch.
“A-As expected…!”
While groaning against the wind whipping through the cavern, I didn't forget to marvel at Chan hyung-nim's fist.
The heavens had not abandoned me. I may have missed the Choi Ji-won bus, but another super-sized bus named Kang Chan was waiting for me.
Bring it on. Kang Chan is a god, and I'm invincible…!
Rumble.
While I was busy being an idiot in my head, an ominous vibration echoed from the ceiling.
“Huh?”
Chan hyung-nim's punch had blown a huge hole in the ceiling, and the shockwave sent cracks spreading across its entire surface.
The cracks extended down to the walls, and one by one, the torches began to fall to the floor.
“…”
Crack!
Finally, as the ceiling began to collapse and countless rocks started to fall from above.
“Shit…”
I calmly closed my eyes.
[You have taken damage.]
[Returning to the moment you first entered Floor 3-5.]
Chan hyung-nim wasn't at fault.
If anything was to blame, it was the weak cave ceiling that couldn't handle his punch.
But regardless of who was at fault, the fact that I couldn't rely on Chan hyung-nim's help to deal with the wolf was a critical problem.
It seemed like the ceiling would collapse even if Chan hyung-nim used his fist after knocking the wolf to the ground.
Chan hyung-nim was just too strong, and the cave walls were just too weak. We had to take care of the wolf ourselves.
Therefore, when we reached the entrance to the cavern, I stopped everyone.
“Everyone.”
“…Yes? What is it?”
“How about we take a moment to explain our abilities in detail? That cavern ahead looks quite suspicious.”
I didn't mention that the wolf was hiding on the ceiling. If I did, Chan hyung-nim would just go off to hunt another wolf.
What I was aiming for was to get Gyeong-jun and Su-hee to reveal their abilities. If I didn't get this information in advance, what I was about to say would seem very awkward.
And so, I fostered an atmosphere where everyone shared their abilities.
"Mine... is the Spirit Descent ability. When I sense my life is in danger, a spirit that's skilled with a javelin takes control of my body."
"I have an Enchant ability."
"...Fist."
"My specialty is being good with a sword. To be precise, it's the 'Swordsmanship' trait."
Just like in the previous regression, they each shared their traits. With that, the stage was set for me to take the lead.
"First off, wouldn't it be better to prepare thoroughly before entering that cavern? We don't know what might jump out. Right?"
"...Right?"
"Then wouldn't it be more advantageous for dealing with variables if Gyeong-jun-nim enters the cavern already in a state of Spirit Descent?"
"...Right?"
"But Gyeong-jun-nim doesn't feel like his life is in danger right now... so what if we could forcibly induce his Spirit Descent?"
"...Is that possible?"
At Gyeong-jun's question, I turned my head to look at Chan hyung-nim.
“Chan hyung-nim.”
“…What is it?”
“I saw earlier that your presence is incredible... by any chance, is it possible to focus your killing intent on a single person? Ah, you can emit killing intent, right? I apologize for assuming.”
“…It is possible.”
Having experienced Chan's killing intent firsthand, I knew.
That killing intent. It couldn't be withstood with ordinary mental fortitude. Even with my own mind, which had been hardened through repeated regressions, it was quite a struggle to endure.
But what about the frail Gyeong-jun?
He might not just feel a threat to his life, he might pass out entirely.
"...Wait."
"Ah, if you've sensed another monster's presence, could you please focus your killing intent on Gyeong-jun-ssi?"
"..."
Woooooosh.
And so, after Chan focused his killing intent on Gyeong-jun and disappeared somewhere.
"Ugh, uwaaaaah...!"
The moment Gyeong-jun, whose eyes had practically rolled into the back of his head, successfully activated Spirit Descent and suddenly summoned an old wooden spear with a hardened expression.
"Alright, let's go in!"
I pushed the two of them from behind without delay. Gyeong-jun's eyes were fixed on the ceiling. It was clear his sharp senses had detected the wolf's presence.
Thus, the three of us entered the cavern.
Whoosh!
The Spirit-Descended Gyeong-jun wasted no time and threw the wooden spear toward the ceiling.
"Yelp!"
The startled wolf hastily leaped down from the ceiling. It seemed it didn't expect to be discovered so quickly. Its posture was extremely awkward due to its surprise.
"Enchant! Quickly!"
I couldn't miss this chance. I charged straight at the wolf as it fell to the floor.
"Uh, um... 'Explosion'!"
Dok Su-hee promptly enchanted Gyeong-jun's wooden spear with 'Explosion'.
"Hup!"
Swish!
The monster wolf barely dodged my charging sword by leaping backward. But jumping was its fatal mistake. Because we had a terrifying ranged dealer.
"The hunt begins."
Whoooosh!
The enchanted wooden spear lodged itself in the body of the wolf, now suspended in mid-air.
CRACK!
"Keng!"
It exploded from deep within the creature's body, ending the monster wolf's life instantly.
“Huu, huu…”
His Spirit Descent released, Gyeong-jun collapsed onto the ground.
"...Bravo."
Clean. No, it was perfect.
We completely skipped the unnecessary process of running away from the wolf.
A strategy had now been established where we could take down a wolf without taking any damage.
This is the true beauty of regression. Repeating the same situation to produce the best possible outcome.
I smiled with satisfaction.
About 30 minutes later.
Chan hyung-nim returned with a trickle of blood running down his head.
"...There was another wolf."
So now both wolves have been dealt with perfectly.
The immediate challenge now is how to overcome the mirror room.
Entering the mirror room without any preparation would only lead to a predictable disaster.
“Um… Gyeong-jun-ssi?”
“Yes? What is it?”
“Could you explain your ability in more detail?”
“Ah, my ability is…”
As I opened the discussion, Gyeong-jun slowly began to explain his ability.
Gyeong-jun's ability was the spirit itself. Swapping control of the body was just an additional effect, and he said the spirit that constantly followed him was his actual trait.
“So is it a matter of sharing senses? The control of the body just changes?”
“No. The spirit perceives the world as a spirit, and I perceive it as myself. The spirit and the body just can't be too far apart.”
So it wasn't like in the movie 'Get Out', where you're sitting somewhere sharing senses, but more like the spirit is just floating around in spirit form, observing the world on its own.
“Hmm…”
That meant covering Gyeong-jun's eyes wouldn't stop the spirit from perceiving the mirror room.
If we entered the mirror maze in this state, what would happen was obvious.
The native warrior would shout something like 'Are you trying to delude me!', forcibly trigger Spirit Descent, and then start throwing spears to shatter all the mirrors. I'd get hit by mirror fragments and instantly regress.
It might be possible to avoid the mirror shards by staying far back…
But the mirror maze must have its own gimmick. If a rampaging, Spirit-Descended Ahn Gyeong-jun gets caught by the gimmick, we won't be able to proceed any further. We need four palms to open the stone gate.
A way to cover the eyes of the spirit following Gyeong-jun... a way to stop it from freaking out…
“Ah.”
Suddenly, I remembered how Chan had forced Gyeong-jun into Spirit Descent by focusing his killing intent on him to catch the wolf just now.
What if… we induce Spirit Descent in Gyeong-jun one more time, and then cover his eyes…
The spirit, now inside the body, probably wouldn't be able to perceive the mirrors, right?
I felt there was a high chance of success. No, this would work.
In that case, the important thing now is…
“Everyone.”
How persuasively can I convince the others? How can I make them understand that we need to proceed with the Spirit-Descended Gyeong-jun's eyes covered?
“Could you all… take a look over here for a moment? Doesn't this look suspicious?”
-Curiosity [A]
-Opposites tend to attract. People feel an unexplainable curiosity towards you and are instinctively drawn to you.
And this was something I'd done countless times during the Tutorial.
Footnotes:
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