Chapter 102
Chapter 102
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: -14
Chapter Title: Mansion of Regressing Time
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"Is this the right place?"
"If there's no mistake in my memory."
"The vibe does feel like a tale might crawl out any second."
Fortunately, we hadn't run into any major trouble getting here.
We'd bumped into a few monsters along the way, but nothing we couldn't handle—either I took care of them, or Hyeok Tae-jun did.
It was ironic, feeling real threats just approaching a tale without even stepping inside one. But with the world in its current state, there was no room for complaints.
"Then let's head in."
We stepped into the mansion, a sprawling old ruin overgrown with scraggly vines that evoked images of an abandoned estate.
A wooden door about twice my height lay in splinters, as if a monster had once forced its way inside, its frame shattered beyond repair. The interior was a mess.
I gestured to Hyeok Tae-jun, signaling him to stay cautious—monsters might still be lurking.
After a month of traveling together, he got the message with a quick nod and lightened his footsteps.
"…"
"Looks like it's empty."
A brief search confirmed it: no monsters inside.
Traces of them stood out only near the entrance. A little farther in, and there was nothing.
"Where to now?"
"I'll take the lead. Follow close."
I slowly recalled the map from my memory.
Guided by it, I headed for the stairs, glanced back to make sure Hyeok was keeping up, then spoke.
"Once we enter the tale, we won't have much time. So I'll explain the key points while we move."
"You explaining for once...? Well, got it."
"The time inside the tale regresses rapidly toward the past."
"The past? I'm not misunderstanding that, right?"
"Yeah, literally the past. The moment you blink, your physical age will start dropping bit by bit. Once it hits a certain point, your mental age follows."
"So it's a time attack, then."
"Exactly."
We carefully climbed the rickety stairs and reached the upper floor, facing a massive hallway at least three meters wide.
For a moment, I was stunned by how much grander it was than in the game, but I quickly turned left and kept moving.
"The tale's gimmick is deduction. You've got to identify the culprit within the time limit. There are clues to help with that, but... I already know them all. No need to spell them out."
"…Right."
"What, got a problem?"
"No, it's nothing."
"Just remember this: the culprit's name is Ed, the youngest of the three sons."
"Got it."
"Oh, and the thing we need to grab inside is a clock."
With a few more pointers, we navigated past four doors with practiced ease and arrived at the pendulum clock—the gateway into the tale.
"The clock hands are turning backward…"
"Grab that pendulum hand and turn it the right way. That'll take us in."
I rummaged through my bag as I spoke.
"Mind giving the hand a turn?"
"Uh... okay, doing it?"
🔔 Ding— Ding— Ding— 🔔 I'd just pulled out the wristwatch for trading with Paradoxical Time from my bag when the three tolls rang out—and I realized the problem.
Hyeok Tae-jun was gone.
The pendulum clock had frozen. I couldn't enter the tale.
What that meant was clear.
"…What the hell? This tale only lets one person in?"
Cold sweat trickled down the back of my neck.
"We're screwed."
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Hyeok Tae-jun realized something had gone wrong with Shin Jin-seong in under three minutes.
"This is fucked."
He couldn't pinpoint the details, but one thing was certain: Shin wasn't coming.
"Guess I've gotta handle this solo."
As much as he hated to admit it, Hyeok was pretty confident.
His considerable strength was reason one. Shin having laid out most of the critical details was reason two.
"Calendar reads 1723... and the room decor screams that era."
That confidence stemmed from never encountering a tale that raw violence couldn't crack.
Every tale so far had bowed to force, win or lose. So he figured this one would too if push came to shove.
"Eh, just head straight for the culprit and call it a day."
Hyeok threw open a door and strode into the mansion's heart.
There, smack in the center, a husband and wife—plus what looked like their child—were leisurely soaking in the fresh air.
The wife hummed happily at her sewing machine. The man perused his newspaper.
The sight tugged at memories of Han A-ram and his two nephews, darkening Hyeok's face for a beat before he shook it off.
"Uh, excuse me?"
Recalling Shin's warning that time was the only real danger, he approached the family.
A normal person might've balked at blindly trusting Shin's word. But the bizarre knowledge he'd demonstrated over their time together was convincing enough.
Of course, Hyeok's trust ran deeper—rooted in camaraderie.
"Ah, good sir! You're awake. I trust you slept comfortably?"
Hiding his fluster, Hyeok replied smoothly.
"Yes, my thanks for the hospitality. That said… actually, no point dragging this out."
"Pardon?"
He jabbed a finger at the child eyeing him from beside the man.
"Ed. You're the culprit."
The world halted.
Or rather, it didn't—not truly.
No one could stop time in this place. But the distortion hit so hard it felt like everything froze.
Ed's parents vanished into thin air. Ed morphed into a middle-aged man.
"Wha—what?"
Confusion gripped him only briefly. Hyeok snapped to and stared Ed down.
"How did you know?"
"Had my ways."
"…That won't do."
"Huh?"
"I can't accept that."
And the world snapped back.
Ed reverted to boyhood. His parents returned to their welcoming spots.
"What the…"
Then the child—young Ed—spoke.
"Find the reason."
"But—"
"Hunt down the clues. Piece it together properly."
Had Shin been there, he'd have clicked his tongue at this unprecedented snag.
More precisely: had Shin been there, Ed would've accepted their deduction outright.
In short, Hyeok had been rejected for knowing only the answer—no clues.
"Uh…"
What did details matter now? Hyeok knew he was well and truly screwed.
🔔 Ding— Ding— Ding— 🔔 The tolls rang. From Shin, he knew it meant time speeding up.
Hyeok steadied himself.
His greatest gain from months surviving apocalypse wasn't stamina or brute force—it was rapid adaptation.
He seized a nearby mirror, checked his reflection.
No major changes yet. But his height had inched down, ever so slightly.
"No time to waste."
Pounding footsteps echoed through the mansion.
First stop: the library.
Deduction games always packed the juiciest info there. So he started yanking books off shelves at random.
Order might be a clue, though—he slotted each back right away.
"…Can't make out the language."
Translation: no hints in the text.
As he bolted for another room, a safe caught his eye.
"Dial safe…"
Clue's gotta be here.
He scanned the shelves again.
"…Huh?"
That's when he clocked it: the books were arranged deliberately.
"The cover colors…"
All bound in reddish leather, but a few gleamed unnaturally bright, like new.
He pulled them out in a trance. Their first pages bore numbers—not starting at 1.
"Line 'em up by shelf order…"
35 90 25 10.
The dial clicked over. The safe creaked open.
Inside: a single sheet of paper, oddly out of place.
"MIDDLE AGE? Middle age? Ed's true form was middle-aged, sure… but he's a kid now."
Evidence that only made sense if you already knew the answer wasn't evidence at all.
"Should've gotten the full breakdown from Shin first. Guy acts like he knows everything, then flakes at crunch time…"
No time for gripes.
Ceiling suddenly felt higher. His height had shrunk noticeably.
"Other proofs would be ideal normally… but 'middle age' cracks most of it. Still, why middle-aged?"
He listed what he knew, circling back to "time regression."
"Pre-regression, Ed was middle-aged. But no proof it's regressed that far."
Hyeok racked his brain.
"Hunt more clues? Time's burning."
Can't sit idle. Back to the mansion's core he went.
His age had dipped further en route.
Height that once topped 180 now hovered mid-170s.
"Middle schooler territory."
Then a stray thought bubbled up, source unknown.
"…Age?"
He pondered.
Ed's true age versus current? Roughly forty years apart.
Calendar said 1723. Originally, 1760s.
"1760s West… Industrial Revolution?"
His hunch zeroed in on the wife's sewing machine.
"Sewing machine invented… during the Industrial Revolution!"
🔔 Ding— Ding— Ding— 🔔 The truth dawned.
The bells tolled anew.
Time accelerated viciously.
Seconds stretched to days, half-months, squeezing tighter.
"Damn it!"
Shorter stature slowed his sprint. Voice thinned to pre-puberty squeak. Brain struggled for coherent thought.
By the time even "why am I running" escaped him, Ed's silhouette appeared.
Instinct screamed out.
"Ed! I've got proof you're the culprit!"
Time warped once more.
Ed reverted to middle age. Hyeok confirmed it—and aged back himself.
"Yes, so it seems. You've grasped my suffering…"
Ed bowed his head.
"This way out, please."
"Uh... hold on."
"Yes?"
"There's just one thing I want to take with me."
"Pardon?"