Regression is Too Much - Chapter 88

WeTried Translations

Translator: ZEROSUGAR

Editor: Abstract

◈ Regression is Too Much

Chapter 088

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The Regressor is flustered (9)

The sun was hanging just beyond the horizon, dyeing the sky in a faint, lingering light. It felt like it was almost six in the evening.

"Baron-nim! Would you please take a look!"

"Hmm... I think this should be enough."

Baron George carefully inspected the area they had sealed off with stones.

The work he was leading was finally starting to show its end. Aside from a small side gate that led toward the mountain range, the castle walls were now completely cut off from the outside.

"Jun-ho-nim. We've finished searching up to the second floor. We found a room filled with what seem to be 'magical tools'. We plan to experiment with them to figure out their uses once the sun comes up."

The search of the castle was also progressing quickly. The man with the narrow eyes, Yoon Joong-hyun, was quite competent. He knew how to place people in the right roles and possessed the charisma to command those under him.

"Ah, and we plan to search the third floor tomorrow."

Yoon Joong-hyun said this casually, brushing the snow from his shoulders.

"...I don't think we need to search the third floor."

"...Pardon?"

I smiled as if it were nothing and stopped the search, and though Joong-hyun frowned with a look of incomprehension, he immediately schooled his expression back to normal.

"...But."

"You've worked hard. Let's head inside. It looks like the sun will set soon."

"...Yes."

When I cut him off decisively, Joong-hyun didn't press the matter any further and disappeared into the castle. He didn't show it openly, but he was probably very offended. After all, I wasn't in a position to be giving him ‘orders’.

We were in a temporary alliance, and I was the temporary leader. It wasn't a proper hierarchical relationship, yet I had acted like I was sitting above him, so it was understandable that his stomach would be in knots.

"...It can't be helped."

I didn't know what might be on the third floor, but now that a portal had been discovered on the fourth floor, any further searching was meaningless. No, in fact, it was highly likely to have a negative impact.

It was a portal that only five people could pass through. Setting aside its usefulness, the very method of dealing with the portal was the problem.

Should I tell everyone about its existence? As long as there was no way to punish those who entered the portal, everyone would drop what they were doing and run for it.

Then should we peacefully select five people to go inside? No matter which method we chose, complaints were bound to arise. No one would just sit back and let a lifeline that had come down to them in a life-or-death crisis pass by. The moment the portal's existence became known, a scene of pandemonium was all but guaranteed.

If the portal on the fourth floor was like this, it was reasonable to assume that something intended to sow discord among us was also hidden on the third floor. There were hidden secrets in the basement, the first floor, the second floor, and the fourth floor. It would be strange to think that only the third floor had nothing.

"..."

After glancing at the orange-tinged mountain range, I turned my steps back into the castle.

It was probably... about the time for complaints to really start erupting.

Just as Kim Jun-ho had predicted, discontent was secretly spreading among the players. The complaints were varied, but their core could be summarized in a single sentence.

"Is this really it?"

It’s human nature to change your tune once the immediate danger has passed. At first, they had cooperated actively out of fear that they might die, but it was already the night of the second day and nothing had happened. The passage of time, weakening the effect of the 'Awe' trait, was likely one of the reasons.

"Is anything actually going to show up...?"

"The mission is survival, but..."

The mind is like a rubber band.

The players, who had been stretched taut with tension, had now become looser than ever in a rebound effect, and they soon began to question the very situation they were in.

The questions they harbored were as diverse as the individuals themselves, but they could be summarized as follows.

"The way I see it, that crazy strong bastard is screwing us over. He's getting us all distracted, then taking all the benefits for himself in secret."

First, the Kim Jun-ho mastermind theory.

"But what benefits is he supposed to have taken?"

"I don't know that. It’s obvious he would have hidden it thoroughly."

"..."

Of course, this opinion didn't gain much support. From the start, it lacked evidence.

"No matter how you look at it, the otherworlders are suspicious."

"What's suspicious about them?"

"The mission clearly tells us to survive, but right now there's no sign of any monsters, is there? Besides the otherworlders, what else is there that stands out?"

Compared to the first, the ‘otherworlder betrayal theory’ had some basis. The only potential threat right in front of them was, after all, the otherworlders.

"But... it's already the second day, and there hasn't been any harm done yet, has there?"

"The structure of this castle is such that it would be hard to find someone even if they just vanished... If they were going to do something, I feel like they would've done it already."

However, this too was not persuasive enough to gain much traction.

"The way I see it, there were never any monsters to begin with."

Therefore, the theory that received the most enthusiastic support was the ‘player division theory.’

"This Tower wants us to tear ourselves apart. The very act of doubting, arguing, and fighting each other seems to be the Tower's intention. Wasn't the tutorial like that in the first place?"

The argument was that there were no monsters from the beginning, and the real thing to be wary of was division.

"The cold weather. The desolate old castle. The sudden appearance of otherworlders. The narrow passages. The small rooms. It's all perfect for putting us under psychological pressure. In my opinion, as more time passes, an event will probably occur that makes us suspect one another. That will be the real crisis."

It was certainly a plausible opinion. If what he said was true, it explained why not a single monster, or anything for that matter, had shown its face.

"As I thought, there's no way I'm that petty."

"Agh, so it was the Tower's fault."

It was an opinion that rationalized the negative emotions, including the irritation, that the players harbored, shifting the blame from themselves to the situation.

Frankly, it might have been fine up to this point. No one would object to the idea of cooperating instead of fighting amongst themselves.

But where there was light, there were also shadows. People no longer had any intention of diligently following orders. If all they had to do was survive without fighting, the reason to carry out Kim Jun-ho's words with all their heart and soul had disappeared.

"...Hey. Did you see that otherworlder woman before? She was fucking amazing, for real."

"...Hey. What are you thinking?"

"She's an NPC anyway. Not a player."

"Is that so?"

Furthermore, the filthy gazes of some players turned towards the otherworlders.

If there were a common enemy, they would be considered allies...

But right now, they were nothing more than delectable pieces of meat.

And, as a matter of course, we were aware of this situation.

"Let's kill one or two of them as an example. What's the problem? They're the kind of guys whose lives are a waste anyway."

"Hoo. Please don't say such terrible things. Humans are meant to have a sense of decency."

"Then what do you plan to do, William-nim?"

"If it's just a matter of mincing them to a pulp with my fists, I'm sure they'll learn a thing or two."

"Hmm, that's a bit disappointing, but..."

The man with narrow eyes, Yoon Joong-hyun, spoke while twirling the dagger in his hand, and the middle-aged Caucasian man, William Smith, clutched his forehead as if he had a headache.

Me, Baron George, Joong-hyun, and William were gathered in a small room, discussing our plans for the future.

"No, more importantly, William-nim."

I cautiously called out to William.

"Yes?"

"With your fists... you're going to mince them?"

"Yes."

"...You were healing the injured people earlier, isn't your trait a healing type?"

"That is correct. In fact, I run a small church in the state of California. Ah, for reference, I am of the position that the madman who created the Tower and the Lord are separate entities."

"..."

I was so dumbfounded that I shut my mouth. I had been wondering how a healer made it all the way to the 4th floor... William's forearms were anything but ordinary.

"More importantly, I think there's some credibility to this ‘player division theory’."

It was Baron George who chimed in at the right moment.

"Setting aside the fact that a blade that has lost its way is now aimed at my people... it's quite plausible. The fact that no monsters are appearing also points to that."

"Actually, I thought so too."

It was about time something should have appeared, if it was ever going to. It was enough to make one suspect that this naturally arising conflict was the true challenge of the fourth floor.

"Assuming the situation continues to unfold like this, if we can just control the players... we should all be able to survive unharmed. Now, from this point on, let's establish some regulatory measures to prevent the players' abnormal behavior..."

"Uhm... Jun-ho-nim?"

The one who cut me off was a woman's voice.

Baek Da-hye, the girl I had seen in the tutorial, was peeking just her head into the room.

"Can't you see we're in a meeting right now?"

Just as Joong-hyun's expression crumpled and he was about to lash out in annoyance.

"Gyeong-nam-ssi said he found an important clue..."

Words that could not be ignored flowed from Da-hye's mouth.

"..."

The four of us exchanged glances without a word. She wouldn't have used the word ‘important’ for no reason.

The deliberation was short, and the decision was swift.

"Let's go."

We immediately rose from our seats.

It was an ordinary hallway on the first floor. But if you pressed a specific stone block firmly, a wall would naturally slide away, revealing a hidden room.

The revealed room was tiny, and its floor was covered with old, worn-out books. In the center of this space, which could easily be called a 'secret library', was Ahn Gyeong-nam, Ahn Gyeong-jun's brother, lost in deep thought.

"...Ah, you've arrived."

It seemed he had been incredibly focused. Belatedly realizing our arrival, Gyeong-nam stood up and gave a slight greeting.

"So... what did you discover that made you call for us?"

"Ah, would you take a look at this?"

At my question, Gyeong-nam held out an old book. It was an unremarkable book, but on the flyleaf, something was scribbled in red letters.

"What do you think? I found it after searching through every book in here."

Gyeong-nam smiled confidently.

"...I don't know. Isn't this an otherworlder's language?"

But my reaction was lukewarm. What was there to think, it was a language I didn't know. I had to be able to read it to evaluate it.

"...I don't know it either."

"..."

When Baron George also shook his head, our gazes toward Gyeong-nam turned a little harsh.

"Ah, uh, I'm sorry. I can decipher this thanks to my trait, so..."

Gyeong-nam scratched the back of his head, as if realizing his mistake.

"So... it's written like this in red letters."

After sweeping his gaze over the group, Gyeong-nam swallowed once and haltingly read the phrase aloud.

"...The moment the remaining past and the future to come become the same. You will all realize once again that you are to die."

"..."

Right after Gyeong-nam finished speaking, a brief silence fell. Everyone was mulling over that sentence in their minds.

"...Memento mori?"

The man with the narrow eyes, Joong-hyun, muttered unconsciously.

"For that, isn't the tone too harsh? It seems to mean 'death' itself, more directly."

The middle-aged Caucasian healer, William Smith, who heard the mutter, gently refuted it.

Memento mori. Remember that you must die. It was originally a phrase used to mean one should not be arrogant and should revere the gods... but in this sentence, as William said, it carried a harsh nuance akin to 'prepare to die.'

"Indeed..."

"Hmm... Was the 'player division theory' wrong then?"

"Not necessarily. If monsters really do appear, the division among people will only worsen, not lessen."

"Wait."

But while everyone else nodded, Baron George seemed to have some lingering questions.

"Alright, I understand that something disastrous is bound to happen. But how should we interpret the first sentence?"

"The remaining past and the future to come are the same. In terms of time, doesn't that mean the exact middle point?"

This time, I answered, and Baron George's expression hardened as he understood my words.

"Don't tell me..."

"Yes. That's right. We have to survive here for 5 days. That's 120 hours in time. Which means..."

When I softly uttered the words ‘status window’, a message window naturally appeared before my eyes.

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