Regression is Too Much - Chapter 97

WeTried Translations

Translator: ZEROSUGAR

Editor: Abstract

◈ Regression is Too Much

Chapter 097

──────

The night is too dark (6)

Normally, someone might have tried to crack a joke, but the old castle was in stark, chilling silence. The only sound that echoed through its halls was the groaning of the monsters outside.

The red sky, the cold air, the flurries of snow, and the final day.

There was no one here with a heart strong enough to remain composed in the face of imminent death. There were only frightened, ordinary people drenched in cold sweat, their eyes darting about nervously.

When you thought about it, their fear was understandable. This was only the 4th floor, and the majority of the people were still inexperienced. If not for the stronger individuals holding the center, it wouldn't have been strange if they had all panicked and been annihilated on the third day.

-Ah, ah. Can you hear me? This is Yoon Joong-hyun.

Just then, the communication magical tool rang.

"I can hear you."

-The preparations in the basement are mostly finished. Now... I suppose there's nothing left to do but our best.

After the rooms were assigned, I had given people the freedom to choose where they would position themselves, and so the players had split into roughly two large groups.

First, there was the group that settled in the basement. The Japanese man I saw before, Ryutaro, was part of this group. It seemed the rumor had spread that the monsters wouldn't come if you just holed up and hid in the basement.

But as that rumor spread, the number of people in the basement increased, and I wasn't sure if it would still be safe. Joong-hyun had volunteered to head to the basement himself, saying he would prepare for any unforeseen circumstances.

And second, there was the group that settled on the third floor. The placement of these people was blatant, as they all took up positions near the stairs leading up to the fourth floor. William, Gyeong-nam, and Da-hye were all part of this group.

They were trusting that I would help them if things went wrong. In fact, I did plan to help them if I had the chance.

"...Hey, if we're in this mess, how the hell are the other guys surviving on the 4th floor? I saw an acquaintance of mine, and they got out just fine..."

"They can hear everything. Shut up."

A player's voice echoed from the hallway. To be honest, I had also been wondering about this for a while. Why was the difficulty so high? If we were in this state, how on earth were the others on other 4th floors surviving?

"The monsters have entered."

My train of thought was cut off by Sir Thomas. It seemed the monsters had finally entered the first floor of the castle.

After waiting for about two minutes like that.

"...Their speed is slower than I thought."

"I know, right."

-There are monsters that have flowed into the basement, but they aren't many.

Still, not a single monster had reached me yet.

The flow of the monsters was much slower than when we were defending on the first floor yesterday. Since the passage was originally narrow and the number of monsters was so large, a bottleneck had occurred.

In the past, I had described large hordes of monsters as being like liquid, or like a wave, but in a narrow passage like this, it was a different story. They slowly pushed their way in, like a thick soup.

"The other rooms on the third floor... I think they'll be able to block them sufficiently."

Furthermore, the monsters' main target was, by all appearances, the group of otherworlders.

Because their numbers were so large, it wasn't that there were no individuals who broke away from the horde and poked their bodies into the small rooms, but the absolute majority were stubbornly flocking towards the fourth floor. That meant the burden on the other people was reduced by that much.

"How is the situation in the basement?"

-It's manageable. It's not like there are no monsters at all, but it's at a level we can sufficiently block.

The situation in the basement also seemed to be fine. With all the monsters coming to the fourth floor, their burden seemed to be much lighter. The guys who went to the basement had really lucked out.

But this entire situation was based on a single premise that I had to be able to block every single monster that entered this castle.

"Are the swords ready? We'll need dozens of them."

"I've been sharpening them all day. They'll be the sharpest swords you've ever used."

I couldn't say I was confident, but I would do my very best.

Perhaps it was thanks to receiving Baron George's mana. My body felt lighter than it ever had before. My mind was caked with exhaustion, but this was still a good condition, all things considered.

"They're coming."

"I felt it too."

I settled into my stance and looked straight ahead. The monsters that had reached the fourth floor were beginning to surge in.

At the very front was that monster cat from before. It seemed it had reached the fourth floor quickly, just as you'd expect from its agility.

"Kiyaaaak!"

"Hup!"

The cat leaped straight at me. Before it got close enough, I stretched out my sword and pierced its brow. With a final gasp, the cat disappeared, turning into a halo of light.

"Uoooooh!"

But before that halo of light could even fade, an orc holding a large shield charged forward, trusting in its own massive body.

Crash! Slice!

I kicked the bottom of the shield hard with my heel to break its balance, then I lopped off its exposed head. This was more efficient, and it caused less damage to the sword's edge.

Even after that, countless monsters swarmed in, but I was able to block them without much difficulty. Just as the monsters were getting stronger, I was getting stronger too. The number of monsters I had killed in the past two days was countless. My swordsmanship was gradually evolving to be able to kill enemies more efficiently.

"Sword."

"He-here you go!"

At my single word, a soldier who had been waiting behind me threw a sword. I couldn't see it from my angle, but thanks to my sharpened senses, I could feel its position.

I instantly switched swords while simultaneously cutting down the monster in front of me.

I cut. And I cut again.

A quick glance at the status window showed about four hours remaining. From experience, if I could just hold out for about three more hours, we would survive. During the last hour, the monsters hadn't been able to get over the walls.

"How is the basement?"

-No issues.

-The third floor has had some injuries, but everyone is in good condition.

It seemed the other rooms were also managing to block the monsters without much trouble. Since they just had to hole up inside their rooms and defend a narrow entrance, the difficulty had dropped significantly. The catastrophe from last night was caused by being ambushed from behind, not from a lack of ability. Now that they had formed a solid defensive line, it was only natural that they would succeed.

"The flow is good."

Just when I was mistaken in thinking things would pass by so smoothly---

"Jun-ho, Jun-ho!"

"What is it?"

I heard Baron George's trembling voice from behind me. I couldn't turn around since I was in the middle of a battle, but his voice was so desperate it sent a shiver down my spine.

"We have to, we have to break through forward!"

"What are you talking about!"

"I can see a winged monster! The fourth floor is no longer safe! It's fast! We have to push forward!"

"Shit, what did you say?"

A winged monster? In this situation?

The walls of the fourth floor were riddled with holes. On top of that, the ceiling had been torn off long ago. If a monster came from the sky... the otherworlders would never be able to hold out.

But to break a path forward? Holding one's ground and breaking a path forward are two completely different things. What's more, the horde of monsters was surging toward me. It would surely be as difficult as trying to swim up a waterfall.

"Shit, shit..."

The situation felt so absurd it was as if a monster had been tailor-made to appear. But I had to do it. If we stayed here like this, we would all be annihilated.

"To all the players on the third floor! Can you hear me!"

I gripped my sword tightly and opened my eyes wide. Even if I cut down three of them with a single swing, it wouldn't be enough. I needed help.

"We have to break through to the second floor! I will take the lead! Please help me! Just breaking the flow is enough!"

The players were already occupying the rooms on the third floor. We had to go to the empty second floor and herd the otherworlders there.

What's more, the stairs to the second floor were close. The only problem was the fact that monsters were stubbornly climbing up from there.

"Once we break through the path, we can manage somehow! We can block the ones coming from the other passages with magical tools! Please help!"

While we were breaking a path to the second floor, we could block the remaining passages with magical tools. Even if the magical tools' duration was less than ten minutes, ten minutes would be enough as a temporary measure.

The plan was crude, but it was the best I could think of in this urgent situation.

"Come out, quickly!"

I cut, and cut, and cut again. About a minute had passed, but I hadn't been able to advance even five steps. I desperately needed help.

"I'm sorry! We're at our limit too!"

"Everyone is exhausted! We don't have the strength to help!"

But what came out into the hallway wasn't people, but only whining cries that they were going to die too.

"We'll try to push them back as fast as we can!"

At least William’s room seemed to be fighting hard, but their speed was unbearably slow. It looked like it would take quite a while for them to join me.

"No, for crying out loud!"

The moment I was about to get annoyed.

"Aaaargh!"

"Kyaaaaaaak!"

"Save, save me!"

"Don't panic! Jun-ho-nim will clear a path soon! What did you bring your weapons for! Hold on as long as you can!"

Screams poured from behind me. The clanging of metal. The sound of flapping wings.

The strength was slowly draining from my body. The influence of the 'Hero' trait was weakening. What this meant was clear.

"Shit, shit, shit..."

People were dying in real-time.

Right behind my back.

Footnotes: