Chapter 18
Chapter 18
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: Companions I
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Shin Noah
1
Let's talk about Dang Seo-rin, the leader of the Three Thousand Worlds guild.
"There's venom living in your eyes."
"……."
"You're the one, right? The sole survivor near Busan Station. The weirdo who wanders around asking people strange questions."
The first time I met Dang Seo-rin was in the 4th regression.
Unfortunately, I hadn't yet mastered [Perfect Memory Ability] at that point. I acquired it in the 5th regression.
So, there might be slight discrepancies in my recollection of that first encounter with Dang Seo-rin. No, it's not that I don't want to admit it—there are definitely errors.
After all, more than a thousand years have passed since then.
"What's your name?"
"…Undertaker. It's a title."
"The guy who buries people, huh? Not bad. The depth of a person depends on how many corpses they've buried in their own heart."
Perhaps Dang Seo-rin said "There's spirit in your eyes" instead of "venom." Maybe she called me "you" instead of "hey you."
It might have been raining that day, or maybe not. I remember hearing the sound of water, but it could have just been the flow from my own heart.
Even so, the atmosphere from that time, the outline of the air, remains crystal clear in my mind.
Because to live, humans don't just breathe the oxygen floating in front of them now—they must also draw breath from the air of the past that's already slipped away.
"How about it? Want to join our guild?"
"What's the guild name?"
"Three Thousand Worlds. Shortened to Three Thousand. It's my personal ambition to one day recruit three thousand Awakeners for real. Undertaker, help me out. I need your strength to subjugate the Ten Tribes."
A woman who occupied a significant share of my breaths lifted the corner of her mouth and extended her hand.
At the time, I had no reason or leisure to refuse.
"Oh, by the way, anyone who joins our guild has to wear a conical hat no matter where they are."
"…A conical hat?"
"Yeah, you know, the hats witches wear in fairy tales? That's our guild symbol. You've gotta carry a broomstick staff too. Haven't had lunch yet, right? There's a great spot only I know about—I'll treat you as a joining bonus."
"I withdraw my membership."
I couldn't withdraw.
Later, changing the broomstick to a staff-sword was the best I could do.
Dang Seo-rin was cunning, stubborn, and an expert on local eateries. People called her the Witch of the Train Station, the creator of Song Enchantment, and the Solitary Gourmet.
…Come to think of it, that last nickname might have been one I used alone.
Of course, there was another title I used most often.
What was there to hide?
Once upon a time, she was my guild leader.
2
What might now be dismissed as a joke from the past was, in the very early days of my regression life—before the 10th regression—a boss monster that blocked Korean Awakeners like the Wailing Wall.
"Wait a sec. What the hell is that?"
"Uh, uhhh… It's coming this way!"
Ten Tribes.
According to the later classification system established by the Library Society wiki group, it was City-level (Polis) threat. Identification name: "Crawling Baby Cthulhu."
"Crazy! How is it that fast?"
"Cthulhu! It's Cthulhu!"
"What the fuck is that…? Alert! Sound the alert first, you bastard!"
There were divided opinions on how it came to be called the Ten Tribes.
The most plausible theory was that it had no legs where legs should be, but instead wriggled dozens or hundreds of tentacle-like appendages resembling human arms, hence the name.
Personally, though, I supported the theory that "that fucking son of a bitch" got garbled into "tentacle tribes" over time.
The first boss monster on the Korean Peninsula, the Ten Tribes, brought us immense despair.
"If we take that thing down, we can reclaim everything south of the Han River and push the divided front lines back to the DMZ."
Dang Seo-rin didn't despair.
More precisely, she rallied the despairing Awakeners, formed a guild alliance, and was elected as its leader.
Call it the Anti-Ten Tribes Coalition Army.
Unlike the Anti-Dong Zhuo Coalition from Romance of the Three Kingdoms, where Yuan Shao was the nominal leader, Dang Seo-rin was an exceptionally competent commander.
"Undertaker. You lead the elite members from the other guilds on the front lines and hold back the Ten Tribes' movements for as long as possible."
"Understood."
After I learned of Old Man Show's existence, he took charge of the martial arts faction, but before that, I handled the vanguard by default. It goes without saying how pathetic the Awakeners' levels were back then.
Oh, and for reference, I used formal speech with Dang Seo-rin when I was in the Three Thousand guild.
"My adjutant died yesterday, so I'm a bit short-handed… I'll do my best. How many minutes should I buy you?"
"Somehow hold out for 30 minutes. I'll set up a grand magic ritual to back up the suicide squad."
"Understood."
I nodded.
"That's an easy task."
It wasn't easy.
-Groooaaarrrghoo!
The Ten Tribes bellowed.
Exactly two minutes into the engagement, one of its tentacle strikes punched another hole through my skull. What could I do? Even a Regressor can't die gracefully when an expressway gets paved straight through their brain.
Holding out for two minutes was heroic on my part. The other Awakeners had their heads harvested in the blink of an eye. It was sickle work that would make autumn farmers drool. I lasted until the end, becoming rice stubble alongside Dang Seo-rin.
4th regression end.
5th regression start.
"Undertaker. You lead the elite members from the other guilds on the front lines and hold back the Ten Tribes' movements for as long as possible."
"That's fucking hard."
Instead of posturing in front of the guild leader, I decided to be a bit more honest. Dang Seo-rin widened her eyes.
"It's tough?"
"Yes."
"I thought with you added to the coalition forces we've secured, we could definitely pull off a delaying battle. Is there bad data?"
"The data is correct. That Ten Tribes bastard is hiding its power."
It was lamentable how the world turned. I, the Regressor, was supposed to be the one sandbagging strength, but this dogshit boss mob was doing it instead.
"Those legs it parades around aren't all of them. More can sprout from its body like tentacles at any time. Honestly, forget 30 minutes—I can barely hold five."
"…Vice Guild Leader. If that's true, we'd have to abandon the raid entirely."
"Yes. Let's abandon it."
"Yeah, let's do that. How about retreating to Busan?"
"Sounds good. The traditional haven of trust."
"Lots of great eats, right?"
We withdrew to Busan. It was more than sufficient to satisfy Dang Seo-rin's palate, who always sought out local spots first no matter where they went. It was our guild's home base to begin with.
The problem was that the Ten Tribes wasn't a gate-stuck monster—it was a free spirit roaming fields at will. Much like Dang Seo-rin, this bastard toured regions hunting for delicacies. Its menu was fixed at human flesh, though.
After razing Seoul, the Ten Tribes zigzagged across the nation, proving itself worthy of starring in the Solitary Gourmet series.
It only sought out "densely populated human areas." Probably equipped with some sixth sense for detecting human life. Thanks to it, Korea's cities were reduced to ash, and the Ten Tribes achieved the local decentralization no politician had ever managed.
It took just five years.
-Groooaaarrrghoo!
The Ten Tribes bellowed.
"Fuck."
We formed a final defensive line at the Nakdong River, only to become Awakener shish kebabs together.
Even abandoning the subjugation taught us that as long as the Ten Tribes lived, we were all living on borrowed time.
5th regression end.
6th regression start.
'This… might be impossible?'
The 5th regression ended in a wipeout to the Ten Tribes, but in the grand scheme of my Regressor life, it held immense significance. That's when I acquired [Perfect Memory Ability].
From then on, I remembered exactly what dilemmas I pondered, who I met when, and what conversations we had.
"Vice Guild Leader. Do you have time right now?"
"Hm? What's up?"
Just as I was agonizing over whether the world was screwing humanity over, the breakthrough came from the world's savior.
"Vice Guild Leader, a guest from outside is here to see you."
A silver-haired guild member opened the KTX train aisle door and spoke to me.
Her name was Yoo Ji-won, a talent I'd promoted starting in the 5th regression to serve as my adjutant. She was a total psycho—more on that later.
"A guest from outside? Where are they?"
"They've come all the way to our train station platform."
"What the hell is security doing?"
"They tried to stop them, but the guest was too strong. Holding them at the platform was the best they could do."
"Hm."
Why were we talking on a KTX train? Well… the Three Thousand Worlds guild's base was always a train.
It wasn't because us guild members, myself included, were rail otakus finding metaphysical beauty in immobile scrap metal.
It was entirely the taste of our boss, Honorable Dang Seo-rin.
Whenever Dang Seo-rin moved the guild to another region, she'd commandeer the best-preserved luxury train there as our base.
In her words, "A witch has to live on a train for the romance, right?"
As you can tell from the conical hat, her mental world wasn't exactly normal.
Anyway, back to the point.
"So, what's the guest's name?"
"Yes, the name is… Emi… Schopenhauer? Ah, Schopenhauer."
Static.
My adjutant tilted her head at the noise from the radio.
"They say he's German?"
3
Emmett Schopenhauer.
Swordmaster. Sword Saint.
An Awakener with countless titles and even more monster heads sliced off.
But to me, he was simply Old Man Show.
"Um… hello? What brings you here?"
"……."
Old Man Show silently stared at me.
My first impression was honestly "What an asshole personality."
It was still only the 6th regression.
The German old man, who had come to Korea following his wife only to get caught in the gate incident, hadn't learned Korean yet. He communicated in halting English, body language, and smartphone translators.
If I'd been good at English, communication wouldn't have been an issue, but sadly, I had zero talent for languages.
"Fucking monster."
"Fucking monster… You mean the Ten Tribes? The Ten Tribes? Looker? Tentacles? Flailing around like this?"
"Yes."
"Uh. Sorry, I can't speak English."
"……."
Old Man Show grimaced.
He looked incredibly frustrated.
"Different. Operation."
"…?"
"You died before. Here."
KTX dining car. Also used as the guild reception room, a map of Korea lay spread on the table.
Tap. Old Man Show pointed to the center.
The line from Seoul to Gwacheon. The place where, in the 4th regression, I'd foolishly challenged the Ten Tribes and gotten wrecked instead.
"But didn't die."
Slide.
His finger moved downward. It stopped precisely at the Nakdong River.
"……!"
"Five years. Too big difference."
Old Man Show's gray gaze fixed straight on me.
Could it be? No way?
My heart pounded. With the table between us, we stared into each other's eyes for a long time. And we knew our heartbeats flowed at the same rhythm.
The old man's mouth slowly opened.
"Return?"
No matter how tin-eared I was, I couldn't miss the intent of that question.
Silently, I drew a number on the table with my finger.
6.
Only then did the old man's expression soften as he grinned. It was the number of times we'd repeated our lives.
Perhaps out of consideration for my English illiteracy, Old Man Show kept his sentences short. The old German swordsman knew how to pack emotion into brief words.
"My friend."
With Old Man Show joining, the battlefield dynamics shifted dramatically.
It wasn't for nothing that I always named him as the strongest Awakener in history.
Not water rocket bullshit—even evaluating now past the 1000th regression, Old Man Show's potential was insane.
"We should put this guy on the vanguard? You sure?"
"Yes, Guild Leader. I'm certain."
"Hmm. Looks-wise, he doesn't inspire much trust. But if even the Vice Guild Leader vouches that hard… Still, we need a skill test, right?"
"Of course."
50 minutes later.
"Make this guy the core asset of this raid immediately."
Let me say it again: Dang Seo-rin was a competent leader.
Even amid the chaos of top Three Thousand Awakeners being carted out on stretchers, she didn't bat an eye. She even secured an interpreter to stick by Old Man Show.
"Interpreter, ask him what he thinks of the conical hat."
After conversing with Old Man Show, the interpreter's face darkened.
"I'm really sorry, but he says he's not interested in joining the guild. Prefers going solo."
"Is that so? Too bad. But didn't he just say 'arrogant homosexual' or something? Did I hear wrong?"
"Oh, seems like he was trying to joke, but I didn't catch it. Sorry. Haha."
"That happens. Vice Guild Leader, isn't there a great blood sausage soup place nearby? Wonder if Germans like that."
"Anything but radish, they'll eat fine."
I saw it. The interpreter faintly smiling beside me.
He was a wise man.
I didn't know German then, so I let it slide, but Old Man Show had actually said: "What kind of bullshit is that? That Harry Potter knockoff hat you morons wear? Next you'll be raising owls and shit. Arrogant homosexuals, tell them that. Even my house dog wouldn't wear that crap."
For the record, I agree.
The reason I stopped joining Three Thousand starting the 7th regression and traveled separately with Old Man Show was largely that damn conical hat. That fashion… no, not even fashion. Only Dang Seo-rin could pull off witch cosplay.
And it made sense.
Dang Seo-rin wasn't cosplaying a witch—she was a grand magic caster and multi-ability Awakener who claimed to be one for real.
"Undertaker. Sword Saint. Hold out for 25… no, 30 minutes, by any means necessary."
South of the Han River. The cursed land where countless civilians vanished in an instant without knowing why.
There, Old Man Show and I, Three Thousand Guild Leader Dang Seo-rin, and a total of 1,500 Awakeners gathered. Including military units and civilian volunteers, even more.
The warzone concentrating nearly all available Korean forces—we stood at its vanguard.
-Grrooooaaarrrgh!
The now-familiar roar echoed.
Far off, the Ten Tribes' massive body began to emerge. The horizon trembled. Ruined buildings couldn't withstand its thrashing and snapped like matchsticks.
"25 minutes. Can you hold?"
"It's tough."
I spoke as the raid team's representative.
The difference from previous regressions was that now I could add one more thing.
"But doable."
Dang Seo-rin nodded.
"After it's over, let's hit up some local spots. Oh. What's Seoul's signature dish? Something rustic."
"Hmm. Nothing famous comes to mind."
"Yeah?"
Dang Seo-rin gazed at the horizon with a hum.
Countless tentacles like human arms writhed.
"After today, it'll be raw octopus sashimi."
"Ah, raw octopus isn't bad."
"Right. All hands to battle positions. Today, we reclaim Seoul."
Combat initiated.