WeTried Translations

Translator: ZEROSUGAR

Editor: Abstract

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Regression is Too Much

Chapter 070

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The Regressor racks his brains (1)

“…!”

In a fraction of a moment—a sliver of time that hadn't even amounted to a tenth of a second in the real world.

My brain was being overworked to the point of burning out. My eyes, moving with desperation, rapidly took in the surrounding situation.

Chan hyung-nim was only just now turning his body, Dok Su-hee was reaching a hand into her coat, and Gyeong-jun’s already pale face had turned a ghastly white.

It was a perfect ambush. We had never dreamed that the metal lumps scattered around us would assemble and transform into an enemy.

“…”

The situation was very, very bad.

Our formation was in disarray because we had been watching our front, never expecting to be flanked from behind. Moreover, the assembly speed the golem had just displayed was absurdly fast. It might even be a struggle just to turn and dodge the attack.

The golem's material was also a problem.

That unidentifiable metal repelled physical force. The weapon I used was a sword. Against such a hard opponent, the matchup was extremely poor. Factoring in the metal's properties, my hand would likely be torn to shreds before I could even cut the golem.

Given all this, there was absolutely, positively no way I could defeat that golem.

But…

But what about Kang Chan hyung-nim?

What if it was Chan hyung-nim's fist, which unleashed something more than simple physical force.

Whoosh.

The metal golem raised the lump that served as its arm, preparing to strike down.

Just as I had predicted, the golem's movements were abnormally fast. They were almost comparable to the movements of the giant wolf that had ambushed us from the ceiling.

Booooom!

The metal golem's arm slammed down. It was too late to dodge.

Kang Chan must have sensed this as well, as his face contorted into a grimace so deep it couldn't possibly scrunch any further.

At that moment…

“…!”

Roooooar!

An enormous amount of killing intent erupted from Chan's body.

Just before the golem's fist could reach Chan, a thick and intense killing intent, incomparable to any he had shown before, poured out of his body.

Craaaash!

With a deafening roar, a thick cloud of dust billowed up.

"Ugh…!"

The ground shook like crazy, and the dust filling the space obscured our vision.

I couldn't see exactly what happened, but judging from the sound… it was probably the sound of the golem being shattered to pieces by Chan's punch.

“…”

But Su-hee's expression was strangely rigid.

"...Wind!"

"...You can do that kind of enchantment?"

When she threw her dagger with a trembling hand, a fierce wind gusted out from it, clearing away all the dust.

"Hyung-nim…!"

I quickened my pace to support the staggering Chan hyung-nim, who must have exhausted his strength. 

However,

"...Huh?"

In the space where the dust had cleared, both Kang Chan and the golem had vanished.

Why? To where?

Something that should not have happened had occurred. Still struggling to grasp the situation, I froze on the spot.

"Snap out of it! Get a grip!"

Su-hee shook me by the shoulders.

"Hmph!"

Gyeong-jun, in his Spirit Descent state, readied not his usual old spear, but one of a rather ornate design, and scanned his surroundings.

"No, no..."

I knew I had to move, but I had no idea what to do or how to do it.

Where did Chan disappear to? And the golem? A creature that large, where did it go?

But Su-hee seemed to sense something, her face deathly pale as she hurriedly reached into her pocket.

"Damn it!"

She hastily pulled out the finely chopped wolf heart.

"Dodge!"

Only then did I notice it too. The fact that the ground beneath my feet was shaking differently than usual.

Splurt!

The metal golem burst out from right under my feet.

"Tch!"

Wham!

Startled, I stepped back while reflexively swinging my sword, striking the creature's head.

Clang!

The intense physical force, a combination of the centrifugal force starting from my waist and flowing through my shoulder, the raw strength of my arm, and the gravity from the sword's weight, was all reflected back, tearing my hand to shreds.

“…!”

Even as droplets of blood flew, my eyes remained completely fixed on the golem.

The metal golem, having sprung from the floor, was swinging its arm toward me.

And on that golem's fist were massive bloodstains.

“…”

Could it be that Kang Chan didn't run away, but…

The realization could not continue.

Because my consciousness was gradually fading.

[You have taken damage.]

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

“…”

"...Wake up, brat."

"...Hey."

"…?"

"Let's talk for a moment."

Kang Chan.

My suspicion began when this man suddenly left, saying he was going to hunt another wolf.

In the previous regression, when I hadn't told him about the wolf's existence, he had followed along quietly, but as soon as I told him a monster was hiding just ahead, he disappeared somewhere. Even a snot-nosed three-year-old, not just me, would find his actions suspicious.

But after seeing Chan's overwhelming power, I had trusted him. I believed there really was a second wolf, and that he had been fighting it.

The wound on his forehead after the fight seemed a bit too neat, but I still believed him. I thought someone that strong would have no need to lie.

But let's think again about the last scene I saw.

Kang Chan disappeared somewhere right after encountering the golem. And the golem's fist was drenched in blood.

There was no dazzling beam of light that preceded Chan’s punch, nor was there a giant hole punched through the ceiling or wall.

He just… vanished.

Judging from what I saw, it was highly probable that Kang Chan was killed by the golem.

From here, a natural question arises. Why? For what reason?

This was the man who threw a punch I couldn't even react to.

This was the man who not only killed the wolf but blew away the ceiling, causing the cave to collapse.

How could a person with the power to push through a passage filled with traps with a single punch be taken down by a golem without even resisting? It wasn't like he lacked the time to react.

And here, a hypothesis emerged.

"Kang Chan."

"...Do you know me?"

"Your ability, it has a time constraint, doesn't it? A very severe one at that."

It would make sense if Chan didn't resist, not because he chose not to, but because he couldn't.

It would make sense if his combat power dropped drastically after throwing that ridiculously powerful punch one time.

If this hypothesis was true, several questions would be answered.

Why a person who could throw such a tremendously powerful punch was so sluggish when it came to dodging.

Why, despite being so strong, he tried to avoid fights as much as possible.

Why was Kang Chan, who destroyed the trapped passage, so easily defeated by the golem?

Why had Kang Chan, when he was about to punch me, agonized over it so much.

“…”

Chan turned his head away, as if I wasn't even worth dealing with. He acted confident on the outside, but he must have been quite flustered on the inside.

"Where are you going?"

Chan started to walk away, but I had no intention of letting him go, so I stuck to him persistently and spoke.

"You. Your fist ability has a damn long cooldown, right? That's why you can't use it carelessly, right? Am I right? Huh?"

"...You're insane."

Rumble.

As if I'd hit the mark, Chan focused his killing intent on me. But I had already experienced this killing intent several times, so I didn't back down.

"Show me."

“…”

"If you think my words are pure nonsense and not worth listening to, then show me your power."

"...The structure of the 3rd floor is presumed to require the cooperation of four people. I have no intention of causing unnecessary trouble."

"Is that so?"

I plopped right down on the spot.

"I won't cooperate. Not until you show me your power."

“…”

"You can threaten or torture me, that's fine. But I'm not moving until I see your power."

Even as the killing intent radiating from Chan grew stronger, I didn't budge.

Kang Chan, who had been continuously increasing the intensity of his killing intent, finally opened his mouth with a fed-up expression when I didn't move.

"...What is it that you want?"

"I want to know about your ability."

"And what will you do once you know?"

Here, I needed to provide him with a motive to cooperate.

"...I am a regressor."

“…”

"And I just progressed through the 3rd floor and died to you being killed by a golem. If things continue like this, we might never be able to clear the 3rd floor. The golem's specs are abnormal."

I briefly explained to Chan what had happened after I entered the 3rd floor.

"...And you expect me to believe that now?"

"You, you have some kind of weird red orb-like item, don't you? You brought it to pull a fast one when a monster showed up, right? To say more… I think you have two abilities, one that emits killing intent, and a punch ability with a very long cooldown. What do you think?"

“…”

Chan's expression hardened frighteningly. He too must have felt it instinctively. That I was speaking only the truth.

"Kill me if you want. I'll just regress, so it's fine."

"...Why are you telling me this? No, was that a stupid question. You plan to regress anyway, don't you? After you've gathered enough information."

"...That's right."

"...I guess this is what happens when you enter the highest difficulty. An absurd situation right from the start."

Chan, who had been slowly contemplating with his eyes closed.

"...Ha."

He let out a short, dry laugh.

Swoosh.

At the same time, the killing intent pouring from Chan's body ceased. The murderous aura, which seemed capable of killing dozens of people where they sat, vanished in an instant.

"...Yes. You're right."

His expression, once blank and rigid, slowly softened.

"I am not the monster people think I am."

The face of the man who slumped against the wall had a deep sense of weariness etched into it.

Looking at him now, his face was just intimidating, but the unapproachable feeling had disappeared.

Chan slowly lowered his head. I feel like this is his true self.

"I intentionally acted like an overwhelmingly strong person."

Chan confessed calmly, his head bowed low.

"To survive."

The story he laid out was quite shocking.

Footnotes:

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