WeTried Translations

Translator: ZEROSUGAR

Editor: Abstract

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◈ Regression is Too Much

Chapter 078

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The Regressor racks his brains (9)

The four climbers who had entered Floor 3-5 decided to split into two pairs to tackle their respective trials.

"...Phew, that was tough, wasn't it?"

"...Good work."

And here.

Having defeated the dolls made of mud, Chan and Gyeong-jun arrived before a space that resembled a strange mine shaft. The two of them were waiting for Jun-ho and Su-hee.

"The other room... it seems to be taking them a while."

"...Yeah."

Before, the combination of the shy Gyeong-jun and the taciturn Chan was a recipe for awkwardness, but a strange bond had formed between them in the process of overcoming the trial back-to-back. It was what you might call the suspension bridge effect. This unlikely pair had, at some point, become comfortable with each other.

"Hehe, but that voice from before? Do you remember what it said?"

"...Voice?"

"Yes. The voice we heard when we first entered."

"...Ah."

The solemn voice had spoken.

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

"Does that mean we've become comrades-in-arms who've shared blood? The souls did the fighting, but..."

Gyeong-jun grinned.

"...Ha."

Chan also gave a rare, slight lift to the corners of his mouth and said.

"Weren't we already comrades-in-arms?"

"Ha, haha... Were we?"

The atmosphere was friendly. Gyeong-jun, though shy, seemed to be the type to talk a lot once he got comfortable. He chattered endlessly about his personal life, and Chan listened silently, nodding his head.

How much time had passed like that.

Thud. Thud.

"Oh, I think they're coming."

The sound of footsteps echoed from far down the cave path. Had Jun-ho and Su-hee finally cleared their trial? The moment Gyeong-jun was about to go out to meet them.

"...Wait."

Chan stopped Gyeong-jun.

"Why, what's wrong?"

"...There's only one set of footsteps."

Thud. Thud.

Chan was right.

There was only one set of footsteps.

And... two people were supposed to be coming.

"..."

"..."

The wide smile on Gyeong-jun's face stiffened.

Because now, he could smell it too.

The bitter, metallic, and thick scent of blood.

Thud. Thud. Thud.

Finally, the footsteps stopped.

"..."

Gooooooh!

Chan unleashed his killing intent with all his might.

The reason was clear.

Jun-ho stood with his head bowed low. His hair was stained red. No, it wasn't just his hair.

Drip drop drip.

Blood was caked under his fingernails. His leather armor had absorbed so much blood that its color had changed. His entire body was dyed in crimson.

"...Where is Su-hee?"

Only at Chan's question did Jun-ho raise his head. A smile full of madness was on his lips. A grin so wide it was chilling.

"...She's right here."

He pushed something red and white towards Chan.

"I only brought the necessary parts."

It was Su-hee's severed right hand.

"Ugh, fuck!"

And so, I shot up from my seat, spitting out a curse.

That's right. This place was the familiar stone chamber, and what I had just seen was a nightmare shown to me by the Tower.

"Hah, haah..."

It seemed the Tower had realized that I was no longer fazed by just any sight, as it kept showing me visions of myself breaking down.

It appeared to have figured out that what I feared most was my mind breaking and crossing a river of no return.

Yes, to be honest, it wasn't that I hadn't considered the idea of just cutting off her wrist and using it... but I couldn't shake the thought that it was just wrong. It seemed too psycho.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."

I slowly turned my head to look down at Su-hee, who was shedding tears.

If I followed my heart, I wanted to kill her. Forgiving her for her betrayal at the very, very end was something only a saint could do.

I'm an exceedingly normal person, and if anything, I'm the petty type. You couldn't expect me to be like some great hero and just brush it off with an 'It is what it is!'.

It was a good thing I was a regressor... If I didn't have Regression, the other three would have been done for without a chance. After all the hell we went through on the 3rd floor, we wouldn't have even been able to claim our rewards. Su-hee had to pay the price she deserved.

"..."

But, was it right to kill her for that?

Did I have the right to judge someone for something that hadn't even happened yet? Besides, Su-hee hadn't tried to kill us, she only tried to subdue us.

My head was a mess. The Jun-ho who screamed, 'Kill her!' and the Jun-ho who tried to stop him, saying, 'Hey, hey, killing her is a bit much...' were fighting.

"Oppa... I'm sorry..."

"Hmm..."

After turning it over and over in my mind, I made a decision.

"...Su-hee-nim. Please get up."

"Huh, ah?"

"Can I ask you something?"

Whether it was an emotional appeal or something else...

First, I would decide after hearing her story.

"Wipe your sweat..."

"...Thank you."

Su-hee and I sat facing each other in an awkward atmosphere. I decided to be the one to start the conversation.

"...Did something happen in the tutorial?"

I got straight to the point.

"I didn't mean to listen, but I heard you earlier when you were in pain. You were saying things like, oppa, I'm sorry, tutorial, shaman..."

She hadn't actually said the words 'tutorial, shaman' here... I just took a guess. I had seen what happened before I regressed, after all.

"..."

But Su-hee didn't answer. Well, it would be strange if she confessed right away. I suppose I had to be the one to speak first this time, too.

"Do you happen to know... about the tutorial's boss, the Goblin Shaman?"

"How did you…?!"

Only then did Su-hee react, her eyes widening.

How did I know, you ask. I knew because I saw you use the Goblin Shaman's protective barrier.

"...I was also there..."

But I hid my true thoughts and let my voice trail off sorrowfully.

Maybe it was because I had regressed so many times, but my acting now felt incredibly natural.

"...Jun-ho-nim..."

Su-hee's eyes filled with a wistful look. I didn't miss this chance and continued speaking.

"...Could you... tell me your story...? When I was having a hard time... talking about it helped a lot..."

I had just implied that I, too, had a nightmare about the tutorial.

"..."

Su-hee, who had been deep in thought, finally.

"...Yes."

She opened her mouth.

"...You know that there's a hidden boss in the tutorial, right?"

"I saw it. The Minotaur."

"...We killed that thing."

In the tutorial where Su-hee and her oppa were summoned, there were, she said, an exceptionally large number of strong people.

"Everyone was strong, kind... capable... They were all amazing people."

Tutorials normally devolved into a dog-eat-dog, every-man-for-himself atmosphere.

But this tutorial was different.

"Fifty people gathered. They said let's try to catch the boss. The mood was that rather than fighting tooth and nail over the Golden Marbles, we should all just try to survive together."

Even the weakest among them possessed a B-grade trait. They were literally the elite of the elite.

It was easy for them to find Golden Marbles and escape the tutorial. But, despite that, they didn't escape.

These fifty or so heroes, who were both capable and responsible, chose the path of defeating the Minotaur and saving everyone, even if it meant accepting some sacrifices.

And so the seal was broken, and one monster clashed with fifty humans.

"...It was a bloody battle."

Thirty out of the fifty died. The remaining nineteen suffered serious injuries or lost limbs. The only one who was perfectly fine was Su-hee, who had focused on supporting.

"Still, we won. We survived. So we were able to smile."

...Until the Goblin Shaman leaped into the swamp, leaving only a single staff behind.

"...We searched the island from top to bottom. In the pockets of the dead, we were able to find a Golden Marble that hadn't been eaten."

Many people. One marble.

If they stayed on the island, starvation was a certainty. They were put in a position where they had to choose who would survive.

"The one chosen then was..."

"Yes. Me."

Our injuries are too great. Your trait has the highest potential. You are the youngest.

Because they were such wonderful people, they yielded the chance to survive to Su-hee.

But no matter how virtuous a saint might be... a meaningless death would still have been frightening. They would have wanted to think they had been helpful, in some way.

"...People said to me. That I could definitely clear this Tower. That my trait was useful, so I could do it. That they believed in me."

They had hoped their deaths would be meaningful, and they left their will with Su-hee.

And that will... became a heavy burden, pressing down on Su-hee's two shoulders.

"...Ever since then, I have nightmares every day... I'm scared to fall asleep... Maybe I should have been the one to die there..."

Unable to continue, Su-hee shed tears. She said she had been summoned to the tutorial with her older brother.

And that oppa probably...

"..."

Separate from what Su-hee had done, a feeling of pity bloomed in my heart. Because I had been through a similar situation.

"...I went through the same thing."

"..."

"After the Goblin Shaman committed suicide in the swamp with the Golden Marbles. I had to leave my most precious friend behind in the tutorial and run away."

That day, the day the Goblin Shaman betrayed us.

In the clearing of the tutorial as the sun was setting. I lost my first-ever confidant, companion, and friend.

"...That wound still stings."

"..."

"But... I am still trying my best. Because if I give up, that sacrifice will become meaningless."

This was my sincere feeling, without a single shred of falsehood.

The Ji-won I saw that day had already vanished from this world. The Ji-won that exists now is a different Ji-won from that one.

And my friend, Choi Ji-won, told me. That I could do it. So I should move forward.

...Regression is painful, but I move forward. For the friend I can no longer see.

"...You're amazing."

Su-hee, tears streaming down her face, nodded her small head.

"I... I act like I'm fine on the outside, but I'm rotting on the inside. But you, Junho-nim... I can feel that you've overcome it, and I think that's so amazing. Because I... I... I don't think I can..."

This wasn't the cold demeanor she first showed.

Nor was it the cheerful personality she had shown until now. Su-hee, who had been hurt and had suffered, revealed her true self and was smiling at me.

"..."

Slowly, emotions flowed in from Su-hee.

-Awe [B] >>> Awe [A]

-Your trait has evolved.

-Awe [A]

-Praise for your greatness. Fear of what cannot be understood.

-You can use a degraded version of a trait from a target affected by Awe one time.

-Dok Su-hee: Inventory (SSS) >>> Synthesis/Explosion (B-)

"..."

An SSS-grade, huh. Thanks to that, my Awe trait evolved.

No, more than that, it was the first time in a while that I'd felt that transfer of emotion. I could feel that she genuinely thought I was amazing.

"...Jun-ho-nim."

After wiping her tears with the back of her hand, Su-hee looked me straight in the eye.

"The reward for the 3rd floor. If it's a distributable reward, not an individual one... I want to receive it all. Please invest in me. So that I can clear this Tower."

"..."

"I believe you, Jun-ho-nim, will understand. No, perhaps no one but you could understand me. If I break down here, then the people who died for me will have died for nothing."

I hesitated to answer. The two Jun-hos in my head were fighting more fiercely than ever before. They had even started grappling on the ground by now.

"And... I have a way to subdue Gyeong-jun and Chan. First, for Chan, if I use the Goblin Shaman's staff I got from the tutorial..."

"...?"

Until Su-hee started saying strange things.

"Um..."

"Yes? What is it?"

"Why subdue them..."

"Because I have to take all the rewards. It's true that they are amazing people... but I can use the rewards much more productively. I thought you would have understood, Jun-ho-nim?"

"Uh..."

"My trait grade is probably higher... I'm smart... and I'm responsible... Besides, it's for the greater good, so you can understand... It's not like I'm going to kill them..."

"..."

Choosing my words carefully, I had no choice but to offer a fundamental solution.

"Don't subdue them. I'll try to persuade them. Don't do anything rash. Got it?"

"...Okay."

Su-hee nodded after a long silence.

'This is a bit...'

'I told you she was a crazy bitch, you idiot.'

The two Jun-hos in my head, who had been trading submissions with each other, stopped fighting.

Because the eyes of Su-hee, who had revealed her true self... were tinged with a deep madness.

"...Let's go."

And I was finally able to make a decision about Dok Su-hee.

Footnotes:

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