WeTried Translations
Translator: ZEROSUGAR
Editor: Abstract
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ Regression is Too Much
Chapter 074
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The Regressor racks his brains (5)
To be perfectly honest, I think I took dodging arrows way too lightly. I'll admit it.
First of all, I don't have much combat experience, so I’m not very accustomed to dodging arrows.
What do I mean by that? Looking back, all of my fights ended in a single exchange. Since the slightest graze would cause me to regress, I avoided trading blows as much as possible, choosing to fight only on battlefields where I could take down the enemy in one swift move.
The only opponents I had any real close-quarters combat with were weak goblins. The mutant goblin, the thug who used telekinesis, the Tutorial's Minotaur, and even the master of the city on the 2nd floor, all of them were finished in a single blow. It sounds a bit ridiculous, but I wasn't using my body's full potential.
But here I was, at the pinnacle of my own foolishness, starting this whole thing with the mindset of, 'I'm sure I can just do it, right?'. The result was me realizing just how pathetic I was.
I managed to get through the early part of the passage somehow, relying on my body's raw performance, but the problem started when I entered the middle section.
Front, back, left, and right. And even from above and below. Arrows flew from everywhere with almost no warning. Flames, whether from magic or something else, shot out from the walls, blurring my vision.
"Ugh!"
My body's outstanding performance succeeded in detecting where the arrows were coming from in a split second, but my own moving feet got tangled up.
The gravity pressing down on my body crushed my ankle, and the ligament in my ankle bent in a way it shouldn't have.
[You have taken damage.]
[Returning to the moment of first entry on Floor 3-5.]
I regressed.
[You have taken damage.]
[Returning to the moment of first entry on Floor 3-5.]
I regressed again.
[You have taken damage.]
[Returning to the moment of first entry on Floor 3-5.]
And again, I regressed.
"Fuck, fuck, fuck..."
The problem wasn't just my body.
In truth, the process of clearing the passage itself was successful. With each regression, I was steadily making progress.
Even when arrows flew in an incredibly difficult pattern to dodge, as long as I knew about it in advance, I could endure it somehow. I could find a crude way through by throwing my shield on the ground beforehand or by wearing a double layer of leather armor.
"...Are you alright?"
"No."
The problem was the time spent walking through the cave.
If I had only been focused on repeatedly clearing the passage, I would have been in relatively better shape. The problem was the time it took just to reach the ‘arrow trap’ itself.
I had to wake up in the cave, greet people, pick up my weapon, walk through the passage, finish the prep work, successfully deal with the wolf, then persuade people to prepare for the mirror maze, and only after passing through the mirror maze could I finally reach the arrow trap.
I didn't have a clock, so I didn't know exactly how much time had passed, but it was at least three hours. For every single regression, I had to repeat the same actions for three hours.
I think I've regressed about 10 times so far, which meant I had been repeating the same actions for 30 hours. My mental fortitude was being chipped away in real time.
Still, it was okay for now. I could feel my movements improving, and I was moving forward, one step at a time. I could hold onto that small sense of satisfaction to endure the next three hours.
‘It's okay. You're doing well.’
I regressed 20 times.
I felt like I understood the rules of this trap passage to some extent now.
First, the traps are triggered by stepping on the floor. And a spot you've already stepped on is safe to step on again.
And the further forward you go, the more elaborate the traps become.
The traps that initially only shot arrows started to spew flames at some point, and just now, they shot thin needles. It was a dark passage, so there was no way to dodge them. It was so unfair.
But I was still moving forward. I can do this.
I regressed about 40 times.
I found myself desperately wishing for the Flash Step I used on the 2nd floor.
The sensation of Baron Licht controlling my mana back then was vivid, but I couldn't do it myself. It was a frustrating feeling, like something was just out of reach. If I knew it would be like this, I should have properly set aside time to learn how to handle mana.
It would be nice if I could just go swoosh with Flash Step. Then I wouldn't have to go through this shit.
I think I've reached the end of the middle section now. Just a moment ago, the floor flipped over and I was stabbed by a sharp spike. It was incredibly frustrating, but I had nowhere to vent, so as soon as I regressed, I just screamed like a madman.
Kang Chan stared at me with a look of contempt.
...70? 80? I don't remember clearly. Anyway, I regressed a lot.
In this cycle, I was planning to lie on the floor and rest, but Gyeong-jun kept pestering me, so I had no choice but to move.
"...Hey."
"...Me?"
"You, try this."
Was it because Ahn Gyeong-jun was starting to seem a little annoying?
My mind, having gone a little crazy, decided to push Ahn Gyeong-jun into the trap.
"..."
The moment Gyeong-jun, who had used Spirit Descent after facing Chan's killing intent, stepped into the passage, arrows flew from everywhere.
"...!"
He was able to get through the initial part of the passage with ease thanks to his spirit's reflexes, but once the number of arrows increased and their timing became staggered, even Spirit Descent couldn't do much.
"...Hm."
Even in the midst of a shower of arrows like a downpour, Spirit Descent Ahn Gyeong-jun parried what he could and dodged what he could. But his body was covered in shallow wounds.
"...It's poison."
Coming from the guy who carries around a wooden spear, his declaration that 'it's poison' had a high degree of credibility.
"It's not a lethal type. It's a paralysis poison. But it's the type that builds up in the body over time."
"..."
I see, only then did I understand the intention of this trap passage.
The arrowheads were blunter than I thought. Even if you were hit head-on, you would be injured, but not to the point of death.
The bastard who designed this trap probably wanted people to take turns to overcome it. They must have wanted us to clear the passage by switching out before too much poison accumulated.
"Uh, ugh... it's tingling..."
As soon as Spirit Descent wore off, Gyeong-jun started making a fuss, rubbing his arm frantically.
"...Gyeong-jun-ssi."
"...Yes?"
"I'll be counting on you."
It seemed like I could get Ahn Gyeong-jun's help in tackling the latter part of the passage from now on. This was a very big gain.
I regressed over 100 times. After that, I stopped counting.
"Heh, heheh..."
I ran through the passage with my eyes closed.
By now, I could dodge the traps in the early and middle sections with my eyes closed. All I did for three hours while walking the cave path was image training, so the trajectory of the arrows was clear even with my eyes closed.
The various traps, like arrows, flames, poison needles, spikes, throwing stars, and holes suddenly appearing in the floor, were no longer a match for me. The part in the latter half that spewed out a countless number of needles was very troublesome... but I passed that off to Gyeong-jun. He used his spear as a shield, spinning it in a circle, and it was so marvelous that I was in awe just watching him.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
Footsteps taken with conviction.
The rain of arrows pouring from all directions, and my body rotating smoothly.
The barrage of arrows was so dense it was more like a surface than a collection of points or lines, but in the end, not a single arrow touched my body.
It was truly the result of the right posture, the right movements, and the right distribution of power.
"..."
The arrows were no longer flying.
Only then did I take a step forward with a smile on my lips. The familiar mechanical click was not heard.
"...Ah."
The color of the floor had changed. It was no longer the smooth stone material of the trap passage, but the damp and slick floor of a cave.
The trap passage was over.
"...Did I go and do it now?"
I looked down at my left hand and shook my head.
After countless attempts, I was able to completely understand my body. I had filled the void of lack of practical experience in evasion to my heart's content.
Now, to the insurance of Regression, the spicy kick of marvelous movement had been added. If I could just get my hands on an attack power on par with Kang Chan's... I would become completely invincible.
"Heheh, heheheh..."
I laughed manfully and spun around to look at the other party members.
"..."
"What is this..."
"...This doesn't make any sense."
There was Chan, his expressionless face unable to hide his wavering pupils, and Su-hee, her eyes wide with astonishment. And Gyeong-jun, who had covered his mouth with his hand.
From their perspective, I must have looked like an unbelievably overpowered character. I had dodged countless hidden weapons pouring from all directions with light footwork, moving forward without fear.
Of course, behind it all was my effort of pouring in hundreds of hours, and the excellent physical ability created thanks to my achievement level, but... there was probably no need to mention that.
"Now, you can cross by stepping where I stepped."
I encouraged the other party members to cross with a smile.
"..."
"..."
But the others didn't move and just stared blankly at my face.
"...What's wrong?"
"Jun-ho-nim... how are we supposed to remember where you stepped?"
"...Ah."
[You have taken damage.]
[Returning to the moment of first entry on Floor 3-5.]
In the end, after a series of comical acts that involved smearing a large amount of wolf's blood on the bottom of my leather boots to mark the locations I stepped on, our party of four was able to successfully pass through the arrow trap. Gyeong-jun suffered some minor injuries in the process of blocking the needles, but the wounds were by no means severe.
I cleared the arrow passage without Chan's fists.
My efforts had finally borne fruit.
"Wow, you're really amazing... Look at these needles... There's liquid dripping from them..."
"I… I thought I was watching a movie..."
Su-hee and Gyeong-jun showered me with praise. It wasn't empty flattery, but admiration that came straight from the heart.
"..."
But for some reason, I wasn't very happy.
Unpleasantly so.
Footnotes:
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