WeTried Translations

Translator: ZERO_SUGAR

Editor: Abstract

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◈ Regression is Too Much

Chapter 068

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The Regressor accepts his fate (4)

I could tell with just one look.

It was a room in the shape of a long corridor. I had only taken a single step when a hail of arrows flew at me from every direction.

Arrows were flying from the very start, so I couldn't even imagine what might pop out if I went deeper.

Poison? Thorns? Flames?

Whatever it might be, from my perspective where even a graze would trigger a regression, it was a trap that was nearly impossible to clear. No matter how I looked at it, this room wasn't designed for evasion. It was made to be endured by taking light hits.

But it was fine.

“…Chan hyung-nim.”

“What is it?”

“This path ahead, can you destroy it?”

Because I had a cheat key.

“…My power is the kind that shouldn't be used carelessly.”

But Chan hyung-nim showed a hint of hesitation.

“Ah.”

It seemed he was worried about these fragile cave walls. After all, there was a precedent where he used his power incorrectly against the giant wolf and the ceiling collapsed.

“I understand what you're worried about. But in my opinion, I think it will be alright.”

“…”

But this time, I was confident it would be fine. The reason was simple.

“This path ahead, it's obvious there are traps, right? That means there must be intricate mechanical devices installed.”

It wasn't a relatively natural den like the hollow where the wolf was hiding before. The walls and floor were smoothly carved and there were artificial traces.

Furthermore, since the device that shoots the arrows seems to be hidden behind the walls…

“It means that simply destroying it won't cause this entire cave to collapse. Since they've hidden complex devices, it's clear there must be some degree of shock-resistant design.”

I left out the 'probably' at the end. Because if it turned out I was wrong, I could just regress.

“…”

Despite that, Chan hyung-nim continued to deliberate over and over.

Even though all my predictions had been correct so far and I had earned his trust, it seemed he was still worried that we might get hurt.

“Um…”

It was Su-hee who stepped in to provide backup.

“I've put almost all my stats into mana… so I'm incredibly weak against these kinds of traps… If we proceed by the book, I'll end up looking like a porcupine…”

Su-hee looked at Chan with teary eyes that didn't match her sharp features at all.

“Couldn't you please…?”

“We're counting on you, hyung-nim…!”

And so, the two people who wanted to avoid the arrows at all costs clung to Kang Chan.

“…Understood. Step back.”

Unable to withstand their gazes, Chan took a stance.

Rumble.

Chan's fist began to slowly glow.

Wind whipped through the narrow passageway, and in the moment that Chan's fist, which had been gradually brightening, became fully radiant.

Crash!

Chan's fist exploded into the trap-covered passage.

“Whoa…”

I was standing far away, worried that I might regress from the aftershock, so I couldn't watch the punch in its entirety.

Rumble.

Through the violently shaking floor and walls, I could indirectly feel the extent of Chan's power.

As the vibrations subsided.

“…It doesn't seem to have collapsed.”

When Kang Chan lightly shook his fist, I peeked my head out and looked at what 'used to be the trap passage'.

“Ha, haha…”

What caught my eye before the various hidden weapons stuck haphazardly everywhere as if the mechanisms had malfunctioned, and before the distorted and collapsed stone walls here and there, was…

…a gaping hole punched straight through.

“…The hole is shaped like a fist.”

How to easily pass the worst of traps?

Borrow the power of an overpowered character.

“…”

Chan hyung-nim seemed to have consumed a great deal of power with that punch, as his complexion had grown slightly pale.

Then again, if one could use that much power wantonly, it would be more correct to call them a god, not a munchkin.

In fact, weren't the gods who descended upon Earth wielding their powers however they pleased?

“Should we rest a bit before we go?”

“…I'm fine.”

After passing through the trashed trap passage and walking straight for about five minutes.

“…It's a forked path?”

The path before our eyes was split in two.

“Hmm…”

On the left, there was a primitive-style drawing of a man fighting a monster, and on the right, a drawing of a man clutching his head in agony.

There were two palm-shaped grooves carved into each stone door. The intention seemed to be for us to split into pairs to proceed.

“I will go to the left.”

It was obvious that a mental trial awaited on the right.

And to emphasize again, the most important thing for a regressor is mental management.

Physical pain can be overcome, but the life of a regressor is one where mental pain cannot be. Because the mind carries over even after regression.

In other words, I would never walk through the right door of my own volition. I would rather regress a few times and clear the left door than have any reason to insist on going through the right one.

“Th-then I'll go through the right door with Chan-nim!”

Gyeong-jun asserted, while stuttering, that he would go through the right door with Chan.

“But why with Chan hyung-nim…”

“Chan-nim has killing intent… in an emergency, you can forcibly make me undergo Spirit Descent, right?”

Hearing that, it made sense.

Chan hyung-nim could perfectly take care of himself, but Gyeong-jun, in his state without Spirit Descent, was far too vulnerable to a surprise attack from outside.

It was rational for Chan hyung-nim, who could put Gyeong-jun into a combat-ready state in an emergency, to be paired with him.

“In that case…”

“It's the two of us going, then?”

Su-hee gave a small nod and placed her palm on the left door. I looked into Su-hee's eyes for a moment, then similarly placed my palm on the stone door.

Rumble.

The floor slowly descended. It wasn't sinking abruptly like a trap, but going down slowly like an elevator.

“L-let's meet after it's over!”

By the time the rumbling sound that buried Ahn Gyeongjun's voice had ended.

“…”

The scene before my eyes had completely changed.

What I saw was a small room. A room designed to look like it was carved from a cave wall.

“There's a door, but…”

There was a stone door right in front of us, but I couldn't see any intuitive device to open it. In other words, we had to do something inside this room for that door to open.

“Hm.”

In the very center of the room was a dais made of stone. On top of the dais lay a small box and a liquor bottle from which the fragrant scent of grain wafted.

“…”

When I silently opened the box, two cups carved from stone first came into view, and in the center of the box, a sharp needle showed off its point.

A needle? Suddenly?

“What is this…”

The moment I, flustered, unconsciously let my thoughts slip out.

[What is a warrior? Their essence lies in killing the enemy, but their purpose lies in protecting. A warrior with nothing to protect is nothing more than a murderer.]

A mysterious voice flowed from somewhere.

It was a strange voice that didn't seem to be heard by the ears, but rather as if it were being inserted directly into my head.

[On a large scale, they fight to protect a nation, on a small scale, they fight to protect a family, and fundamentally, they fight to protect themselves. Therefore, a true warrior must know how to protect themselves.]

“…”

A voice that preached that a warrior exists not to kill, but to protect.

[To take this one step further, a warrior must be able to protect the comrades they fight alongside. Because when they seek to protect one another, the true power of a warrior is unleashed.]

“Hm…”

It was a plausible story. And I now understood the concept of this room.

Was it a test of their hearts to protect one another? The reason they split us into pairs must be because a trial was prepared that required two people to cooperate.

Alright, so I just have to fight while protecting Dok Su-hee. Just as I was about to give a small, absentminded nod.

[Drink from the cup of shared blood, and look your comrade straight in the eye. Fully understand the comrade who stands shoulder-to-shoulder with you. Do so, and the true trial shall begin.]

“…”

Hearing the words that followed, I couldn't help but shut my mouth. I finally understood the purpose of the needle lying before my eyes.

The intention was to prick our fingertips to draw blood, then mix it into each other's cups and drink.

Right, I knew that such a custom existed. I also knew that there was an idiom like 'blood brothers'.

Yes, I 'knew' about it. I just never dreamed a situation would come where I would have to do it myself.

“Here, I'm done.”

Dok Su-hee casually drew a drop of blood into her cup, and then naturally poured the grain liquor over it.

“Here you go.”

The needle she lightly placed on my palm felt as heavy as a log.

“…”

Really, does this Tower have no intention of letting me have an easy time?

“Haah…”

I gently closed my eyes, and pricked the tip of my finger with the needle.

[You have taken damage.]

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

“I will go to the right.”

“…Are you sure you'll be okay? The figure clutching its head looks to be in a great deal of pain…”

“Of course, I'm fine.”

Obviously, I was not fine.

As a regressor for whom mental management is especially important, there was no way I would welcome a path that brought mental damage.

But what could I do?

“I'm really… really fine.”

When there's no other choice…

Footnotes:

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