Chapter 137
Chapter 137
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 137
Chapter Title: Pretender II
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Shinnoa
3
“Eek. Wait a minute, Mister!”
O Dok-seo jumped in surprise as she listened to my story. She spoke so urgently that some espresso splashed onto the table around us.
“Th-that means that Japanese person was a regressor!”
“Calm down.”
“How can I calm down? Besides that No Show geezer and you, Mister, if there's someone else, that makes three regressors in total!”
“Well. Just calm down first.”
I calmly wiped the table with a handkerchief.
O Dok-seo’s gaze, which had been solely focused on sightseeing the Monkey’s Paw at first, had now completely shifted to the diary.
Just in time, the diary lay open to the page with the line I had mentioned. “Time is turning back.”
“I got pretty excited when I read that line in the diary, just like you.”
It was only natural. How could my heart not race?
If a “third regressor” truly existed, it would be an incredible discovery.
Even if that person had been found as a corpse at Seongsan Ilchulbong, it wouldn’t have mattered. There was ample chance they survived unscathed in the next round.
But to spoil it ahead of time—no such miracle occurred.
Not in the next round, nor the one after that.
No matter how much time passed, the hairy corpse remained motionless in its corner of Seongsan Ilchulbong.
“C-can I read it too? That diary?”
“No problem at all. Unlike the Monkey’s Paw, that diary really is just an ordinary notebook.”
“Thanks, Mister!”
Flip.
O Dok-seo hurriedly flipped through the pages.
For a moment, her touch overlapped with my own from the past.
My fingertips, back when I first discovered that diary.
4
――――――――――
《Day 5???》
Again. Centaurs attacked again, and they started killing our party.
Why do I keep looping back to Day 5? Was it because I made a wish on the Monkey’s Paw?
I have no idea anymore.
Knowing the ambush was coming in advance, this time no one died, and we successfully drove off the centaurs. My party members are praising me, saying I’m amazing.
Even that blunt Yo-u stared at me with a surprised look, but for some reason, it didn’t make me happy.
――――――――――
To all of you, this last testament note probably looks like neat handwriting, but the reality was different.
The diary’s handwriting grew messier and messier, turning into the frantic scrawls of a madman.
Occasionally, when they regained their senses, the strokes became tidy again—but even that was only skin-deep.
The content of the last testament itself. In other words, the diary’s owner’s mental state was already plummeting into the abyss at an uncontrollable speed.
――――――――――
《Day 12??????》
It’s certain. No matter what I do, I can’t get out of this dungeon.
Next time, I’ll catch that “fairy” who seems to be the host of this death game and interrogate her. She should know something.
――――――――――
《Day 13??????》
The fairy ran away the moment she saw me.
“Hoeeek! Not here! I got it wrong!” or something. No idea what that means.
I wanted to capture her by force, but honestly, it was impossible. When the fairy swung what looked like a magic wand, people died easily, and she turned invisible in an instant.
I reached the final stage again. The mountain that Koreans call Seongsan Ilchulbong.
The others got enveloped in a bright light at the summit and vanished somewhere on their own. But I’m still stuck inside the dungeon.
Why?
Why can’t I get out of the dungeon?
I begged the Monkey’s Paw over and over to let me leave this dungeon. But nothing changed. Why?
I wished to see my family and friends again, but there was no response. Why?
I got angry and threw the Monkey’s Paw away. When I woke up the next day, it was back on my chest.
――――――――――
《?????????????》
Someone, please help me.
――――――――――
《Day 5??????????????》
Back to the Day 5 ambush.
This is getting seriously annoying. This time, I didn’t stop the centaurs—I let them be.
I even joined the centaurs’ side. I attacked my party members from behind as they fought the centaurs. Without Yo-u and me, they’re useless, so the group collapsed laughably easily.
I saved Yo-u for last. She glared at me, eyes wide.
“You―――.”
Yo-u tried to say something.
At that moment, a centaur’s massive body crushed past her.
Humans trampled by horses die in the ugliest ways. It had been a while since I felt this thrill. This might be a little fun.
The problem was that the centaurs who wiped out our group hunted me down too.
Idiots, aren’t they? As expected from monsters—they don’t understand cooperation or alliances.
――――――――――
“……”
I swallowed a groan.
It was a textbook sign of corruption.
The “diary’s owner,” who believed themselves to be a regressor, was gradually losing their humanity.
Humanity is something that only holds together while living among other people.
Conversely, if my space can’t interact with others, and my time can’t intersect with theirs, a person rapidly devolves into “something that’s no longer human.”
The Saintess who fell as an Executor was a prime example.
The diary’s owner was no different.
――――――――――
《Day 17???????????????????》
I reflect on my past self.
Reflection on the past leads to the path forward. I’ve grown enough now to believe that. In this space, no external progress is possible, so only self-discipline has meaning.
Why did I hate Yo-u so much before?
Because her hair reminded me of the girl Sena cheated with? Because her expression was bitchy? Because she looked like a model student?
I reflect on my prejudices.
Now I like Yo-u. I really like her. The others break after three days at most, but Yo-u has held out for nearly three weeks.
“Rika… Rika…” She keeps mumbling the name of someone precious to her.
She says she has to get out and go back for a promise? It was so foolish, I laughed.
――――――――――
《Day 20???????????????????》
The world outside this space is surely gone by now.
There’s no such thing as “stage clear.” When you get enveloped in the light during settlement, you actually die.
So it’s definitely better to stay here with me. Monsters pop out sometimes, but it’s better than dying, right?
Around this point, the Korean group I parted with at the start line reaches the summit one by one. But I didn’t let them go.
It reminded me of that game [Fall Guys] I played with Sena. You think you reached the finish line? Sorry.
I hung Yo-u in the middle of the crater. Then I grabbed everyone approaching the summit and rolled them down.
Tumble tumble tumble. If they were lucky, they’d roll right into the center where Yo-u was. Bullseye! Hole in one.
I wondered why Korean students came here for a school trip, but now I get the charm of this place.
Every time I rolled a person, the path changed wildly based on angle and force. This game has real depth. I hereby declare this my private golf course. Private property.
One Korean saw me and yelled that I was the boss monster. Rude. I’m the young lady of the tomb.
――――――――――
《Day 27???????????????????》
My heart skipped a beat for the first time in ages.
A fairly strong-looking group ambushed me while rescuing Yo-u. Did the last survivors band together into a desperate squad?
When a spear grazed my neck, it felt like my heart dropped. I barely survived the ambush and killed them all.
I felt the thrill of life. So this is what human interaction is.
I gathered all the wounded and killed them one by one in front of Yo-u. I took extra care with the one who nearly beheaded me.
That Korean glared at me with terrifying eyes until the end.
Tough luck. Sorry, but I’ve maxed out “luck” with the Monkey’s Paw.
Yo-u made a nice sound. Isn’t the violin an instrument born from human screams? I’ve learned something new.
――――――――――
Flip.
The diary was packed with content too gruesome to recount.
Unless you’re an expert in gore or ryeonamul, to me, it was just repetitive nonsense.
Pure torture performed solely for the sake of “eliciting new reactions from others.” Even the tutorial fairy would react with “This is a bit much.”
But human reactions, like toys, weren’t infinite. Creativity had its limits.
In the end, the diary ended with one final sentence, the rest yellowed blank pages.
Shaky handwriting.
――――――――――
Sorry for being born.
Monkey’s Paw, please make me disappear.
――――――――――
Thud.
I closed the diary. Then I looked down at the hairy corpse that had been clutching this last testament note tightly in both hands.
The corpse’s pose looked almost like it was praying to someone.
5
What on earth had happened to the “hairy corpse”?
Was she really a regressor? How exactly did the Monkey’s Paw work?
An ordinary person would struggle to investigate further from here.
But I, the Undertaker, was a seasoned “true regressor.”
Even if it seemed useless right now, I never neglected building connections with others.
Thus, I could easily inquire about the “Japanese person” dragged into the Jeju tutorial dungeon.
“Nyaang? You mean Yoo, nyaang?”
Swish. Man Yeop-myo’s cat tail swayed. Sitting across from me, she paused mid-sip of green tea and blinked.
“You suddenly want to meet Yoo? What’s that about, nyaang? Undertaker?”
“She’s your childhood friend, right? I know she came from the Jeju tutorial dungeon.”
Yo-u.
No use hiding it. The person repeatedly mentioned in the diary was actually someone I knew.
There were so many people named Yo-u that I hesitated, but various pieces of evidence convinced me.
Stronger than other Awakeners. Still had black hair even after Awakening. And above all, muttering “Rika”’s name while being tortured.
That’s right. It was mentioned several times in the Inunaki Tunnel episode.
Man Yeop-myo’s real name is Rika. And Man Yeop-myo had a childhood friend named Yo-u.
If I hadn’t cleared Inunaki Tunnel, I couldn’t have asked for this meeting.
Fate is mysterious.
“Nyaang. I did hear that Yoo got kamikakushi’d to a Korean island… nyaang.”
“I’ve been looking into the Jeju dungeon lately. Got tangled up with a real headache of a yokai. I’d like to hear testimony from your friend.”
For reference, the Magical Girl Council was extremely exclusive toward outsiders.
You could tell just from naming themselves “Magical Girl” “Council”—they interpreted public opinion as worth a rat’s ass.
“Nyaang. If it’s a request from the Undertaker, I have to grant it, nyaang. Got it, nyaang!”
And I was someone who had received a plaque of “Honorary Magical Girl” from their leader, the Grand Shrine Maiden.
It meant little to me.
In any case, in a society run on connections, my request was easily fulfilled.
Soon after, I came face-to-face with her real name Yo-u, magical girl name Black Yaoqin.
“You wanted to see me?”
Among the concept-crazed lunatics overflowing in the Magical Girl Council, the person before me was at least relatively normal.
Black Yaoqin wore a black mask with an “X” over her mouth. To anyone who’d lived through the corona era, this was just fashion territory.
“Yeah. We crossed paths briefly during the Inunaki Tunnel incident, right? Good to see you.”
“Ah… Yes. Thank you so much back then.”
“Nothing major. I heard you cleared the tutorial dungeon at Seongsan Ilchulbong on Jeju.”
“……”
“There’s a yokai we suspect came from there. To gauge its threat level, I need your testimony. Would you cooperate? Can you tell me what happened in that tutorial dungeon?”
Truth be told, I was quite cautious bringing this up.
According to the diary, the person in front of me had likely been tortured by the “diary’s owner”—with a high probability.
If even a fraction of the diary’s contents were true, Black Yaoqin would bear an indelible trauma, branded like a stigma.
When an unwanted buried story is dredged up, the other person usually reacts negatively.
A flinch, or a wince.
“I’ve never heard of that. Is there a yokai dangerous enough at that place to catch your interest, Undertaker?”
But Black Yaoqin’s reaction was neither.
Her head tilt held only pure curiosity. For someone with trauma, the response was far too nonchalant.
Feeling something off, I continued the interrogation anyway.
“…Have you ever seen this figure in the photo?”
The photo I pulled from my pocket showed the “hairy corpse.”
Only then did Black Yaoqin let out an “Ah—” She seemed to recognize something.
But still, for a reaction to someone who left an unforgettable scar—it was oddly peculiar.
“…I think I know who it is. Is what you want to know related to this person?”
“Yeah. Even the smallest clue is fine—share anything you know about her.”
“Of course I can share, but…”
Black Yaoqin furrowed her brows.
I tensed. This might be the moment I got a lead on the third regressor.
“I’m not sure it’ll help. Honestly, I don’t know much either.”
Her lips moved faintly behind the black mask.
“—Because this woman was so weak, she died almost right after the tutorial dungeon started.”