WeTried Translations

Translator: ZEROSUGAR

Editor: Abstract

Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried

◈ Regression is Too Much

Chapter 086

──────

The Regressor is flustered (7)

Even if you called it a deal, the contents were simple.

“No matter what happens from now on, I will do my absolute best to protect you.”

They might have thought it was an empty promise. They could have wondered what I was banking on to make such a claim, especially when I'd just regress if I got so much as a scratch.

However, I had my own reasons for being confident, as there were at least several hundred people on the 4th floor.

-Hero [C]

-In a moment of crisis, people think of you. You become stronger when you fight to protect someone.

I hadn't been able to use it because the conditions were never right. With the power of this trait, I was confident I could handle most monsters on my own.

Of course, it wouldn't have the same impact as when it activated while I had thousands of goblins at my back. But compared to the past, my own specs had gotten much stronger, and the grade of the Hero trait had also increased.

“I can't guarantee that I'll be able to save everyone. But I will do my best to protect all of you, to the best of my ability.”

“…Are you saying that as the leader of the players?”

“No. I'm saying this as an individual.”

“…Alright. I don't know how strong you are, but you'll clearly be a great help. This isn't a bad deal for us at all.”

Baron George opened the door to the room, took a torch from the hallway wall, and mounted it inside. The room became bright once again.

“But you called it a ‘deal’. What is it that you want from us?”

“Not from ‘us’... rather, there's something I want from you, Baron George-nim.”

“…Speak.”

Baron George's expression remained unchanged, as if he was carefully controlling it, but even he couldn't prevent the corners of his mouth from tightening slightly. I wondered why he was so tense. The condition was really nothing special.

I subtly checked for any presence outside the room, then whispered quietly.

“Please teach me how to handle mana.”

“…Mana?”

Baron George's eyebrows furrowed and his mouth fell slightly agape. It seemed he found my request so absurd that he failed to maintain his composure.

“…Are you joking right now? No, my apologies. It seems I've failed to grasp your hidden meaning. Give me a moment to think…”

“No. You can take my words literally. I want to learn how to handle mana.”

“…You don't know how to handle mana?”

“No.”

“…”

For a moment, Baron George's expression went blank, then contorted slightly, before returning to normal.

“I see, that's possible. Our worlds are different, I shouldn't have made such a hasty generalization. I simply never considered the idea that a warrior as strong as you wouldn't be able to handle mana.”

In Baron George's world, it was common sense that training your body and cultivating mana were essential to becoming stronger. Since he didn't know that we could just raise our stats through a status window, his misunderstanding was only natural.

But even after correcting his misunderstanding, Baron George's expression remained sour.

“It's not a cultivation method, just how to handle it… I can teach you that… but I'm only a 3rd-rank. My knight, Thomas, is also inexperienced with mana cultivation methods…”

The terms of the deal were clearly satisfactory for him, yet Baron George continued to show signs of hesitation.

Ah. I realized what part was making Baron George hesitate.

“It's alright.”

“…”

“From my perspective, this isn't an unfair deal at all. In our world, there's no one who knows how to handle mana. Because of the Tower's influence, we possess mana, but the vast majority of us don't know how to use it.”

He felt that this deal wasn't fair.

He had been agonizing over whether it was right to receive my protection in exchange for something as simple as teaching me how to handle mana.

But according to the results of my internet searches, there were currently no humans who knew how to handle mana. At least, not online.

“…Are you sure about this?”

Baron George asked cautiously, confirming that my guess had been correct.

“Of course.”

I smiled brightly and extended my hand to him.

“…”

After hesitating again, Baron George finally shook my hand.

And with that, the deal was struck.

I felt certain that I would be able to gain a lot from the 4th floor.

The deal to learn mana had been made, but this wasn't the time to start learning something right away. There were too many things that needed to be done immediately.

There was a sense of urgency, a feeling that we had to do something to survive, but there was no immediate crisis right in front of us, and while a roughly patched-together set of rules had been established, it was far from solid.

Also, while I had temporarily taken on the role of leader… it wasn't a position that held any real authority. For now, they listened to me because I seemed to be the strongest, but the players' solidarity was by no means firm.

“We'll set the guard duty roster randomly. The castle is large, but everyone's physical abilities are excellent, so we'll form teams of ten for each watch.”

“Um… when I checked earlier, one side was just a mountain range. Do we really need to post guards in a place like that?”

“This is the Tower. It wouldn't be strange for monsters to come down from that mountain range. Guard duty is more important than exploring inside the castle, so please maintain your focus at all times.”

This meant that things only progressed when I personally took charge and did the legwork.

“If your trait is specialized for exploration or gathering information, please raise your hand. When exploring the castle, the act of searching is important, but accuracy is far more crucial.”

Explaining things logically.

“Your trait's grade is low, you say? Your level is low too? I understand that you're scared. But isn't it fine as long as the people with you are strong? Even if you can't help much, just having the numbers is important. I already told you to just run away if anything comes out of the basement, right? It's not dangerous.”

Coaxing and placating.

“Hey, you son of a bitch. A hidden piece? Are you fucking kidding me? While everyone else is working hard searching the castle to save a bug-like bastard like you, you want to go explore outside because there might be a hidden piece? Sure. Maybe there is something out there. But if you get it, does that help us? Or does it help you? Should everyone else suffer just for your sake?”

And if words didn't work, shouting them down.

By actively using my Curiosity and Awe traits, I was able, with great difficulty, to control the group of players.

Of course, it wasn't something I could do with my strength alone, it was only possible because I had helpers.

“Everyone. Are you tired? I will heal you.”

The middle-aged Caucasian man with a healing trait, William Smith.

“Jun-ho-nim. We searched the basement and found a secret passage. There wasn't a separate reward or anything, it was just a passage connecting two rooms. I'll investigate a little more and let you know.”

The man with the sharp, slanted eyes who was turning the castle inside out with his meticulousness and keen observation, Yoon Joong-hyun.

“Do you need a buff?”

“Alright, alright, the food is here. It doesn't taste great, but at least there's a lot of it.”

And even my acquaintances from the tutorial who were actively cooperating with me, Baek Da-hye and Ahn Gyeong-nam.

Thanks to people like them, the player group was managing to function, more or less. Though it was a little creaky.

“We must show progress before the sun sets! Do you understand!”

“Yes, Baron-nim!”

In contrast, Baron George and his subjects pushed forward with their work as if they were a single entity.

The subjects, who had somehow procured tools like nails and hammers from inside the castle, emerged carrying thick sacks. They meticulously inspected the castle walls, knocking, tapping, and rubbing them down.

Crash! Crash! Crash!

First, they demolished the drawbridge.

“Hey, what are you doing right now?”

A few bewildered players approached to see what was going on, but…

“We have no reason to go outside anyway, so what does it matter? If the plan is to just hold out for five days, we're better off without it.”

Baron George was calm. And at the same time, audacious.

“The castle has four floors, you say? But do we really need a fourth floor? The space inside is sufficient, and we have watchtowers on the exterior anyway.”

Having judged that three above-ground floors and one basement floor were enough to accommodate about 400 people, Baron George began to dismantle the old castle from the top down.

He started by roughly tearing down the ceiling with hammers, intending to disassemble an entire floor completely.

“By any chance, are there any players who are good with their strength? A little cooperation would be nice.”

“…I'll provide a few people.”

The synergy of skilled workers meeting superhuman strength caused the work speed to accelerate to an absurd degree.

“Is there no water? We need water to mix with the lime.”

“There's a well, but it's already frozen, Baron-nim.”

“Is that so? Then gather snow and bring it here. I'll melt it with magic. It would have been better if we had sand, but since we don't, we'll make do with mud.”

What Baron George intended to do was simple.

His ultimate goal was to destroy all the castle's doors and then firmly block the openings with stone fragments torn from the walls and lumps of makeshift mortar.

“We'll finish by blocking the main gate today, but tomorrow we must block all the remaining doors. The night is dangerous, so everyone except the night watch should eat well and get a good night's sleep. We will resume work at dawn.”

“Yes! Baron-nim!”

As a result of continuing the work for a long time, the subjects were able to seal up the place where the drawbridge had been before the sun went down. Even considering their numbers, it was truly a remarkable result.

As expected, people who had dedicated their entire lives to a craft were different. There was a certain vibe that came from their experience.

“Jun-ho-nim.”

As I was marveling at the sight, someone gently tapped my shoulder. I turned my head to see who it was, and it was the man with the narrow eyes, Yoon Joong-hyun.

“We've searched most of the basement. We found a few secret passages and a couple of hidden rooms… but there were no hidden pieces or traces of monsters. We'll search the first floor tomorrow.”

“…”

Nothing in the basement, huh. My gaze naturally turned towards the high mountain range.

The setting sun hanging over the mountain range was beautiful. The sky was currently tinged with orange light, but soon, everything would be dark.

“The guard duty teams have been notified, right?”

“Yes. I've scheduled them in three-hour intervals. I also took their general combat strength into account.”

“Good work.“

I had done everything I could for now. The possibility of monsters appearing from the basement was low, and I had created an environment where we could respond even if monsters attacked from the outside.

I couldn't be sure, but I felt that we were dozens, no, hundreds of times more thoroughly prepared than any other group on the 4th floor.

Now…

“Where might Baron George be?”

It was time to learn about mana.

-Clear Condition : Survive for 5 days. When the timer ends, you will automatically clear the floor and be moved to Floor 1.

-111 : 02 : 30

Author’s Note:

My research on mortar was the result of a ton of Google web surfing... so it might be wrong... If it's wrong, please just chalk it up to creative license..."

Footnotes:

Join our discord at https://dsc.gg/wetried