The Regressor Tunes Up (4)
The Regressor Tunes Up (4)
What kind of person is Choi Ji-won?
Honestly, I still don't really know. There's probably a sizable gap between the Choi Ji-won I imagine and the real one.
First, the Choi Ji-won I imagine is righteous. She's good with a sword. Her will is unshakable. Even when things get dangerous, she's the kind of person who'll throw herself into harm's way to save others.
In short... the Choi Ji-won I imagine is a hero. A superhuman with great power and an equal measure of responsibility and conviction.
"..."
"..."
That's why I'd never imagined her looking this worn down.
Slightly shadowed dark circles. A disheveled ponytail. Eyes that had lost their characteristic sparkle.
"...It's been a while."
"...Yeah."
In the quiet café, Choi Ji-won fidgeted with her cup. There was no confidence in the gesture.
It didn't feel like the Choi Ji-won who used to shine no matter what she did. The gap hit me with overwhelming force.
Scrrrr. Scrrrr.
Choi Ji-won, who'd been spinning her empty mug round and round on the table, barely managed to speak.
"...Floor 4. How was it for you?"
A trembling voice. A cautious tone. That was when I understood what had happened.
At her core, Choi Ji-won is righteous. She doesn't break when crisis strikes. And she has the exceptional ability to carry that righteousness through.
But Floor 4 is the kind of floor where the harder you struggle, the more ruinously you fail.
I gave it everything I had, and I failed. It was probably the same for Choi Ji-won. Countless people must have died in front of her eyes.
"...I... failed..."
Choi Ji-won hung her head low and forced the words out.
When I fail, I can just regress. I can start over from the beginning. And even then, my mental state took a real hit this time.
If I'm this shaken, what must Choi Ji-won be feeling?
What does the worst kind of failure taste like to someone who can't start over? Just as she can't fully empathize with me, I can't fully empathize with her.
"Jun-ho... did you succeed? Did you conquer Floor 4?"
Choi Ji-won's hand was gripping her beloved sword Boongboong-yi tightly. Her voice quivered faintly. Choi Ji-won was unmistakably shaken.
"...I failed too."
"...I see."
"My preparations were perfect, but on Day 4, a stone-melting slime showed up and we got hit from behind..."
"In my case... black-glowing orcs suddenly appeared... the otherworlders were slaughtered..."
"..."
I threw out whatever words I could to break the heavy atmosphere, but things only got worse.
Sitting here were two losers. Saying things to build a sense of shared understanding didn't comfort either of us at all.
"In the end... the Tower was just too difficult. My training was insufficient..."
Choi Ji-won murmured quietly in a voice full of resignation. Her eyes were the eyes of someone who'd given up.
"..."
It pisses me off.
The Choi Ji-won in my memories was a woman who could smile even in the worst situations. A woman who soothed me when I was shaking with fear. A woman who never gave up no matter what crisis struck and kept fighting until the very end.
"If I... if I had just done better..."
She was... my idol back in the Tutorial. My lighthouse. My goal. None of that has changed even now.
She isn't supposed to be someone who despairs so pathetically like this. Even though none of this was her fault, an irrational frustration surged up inside my chest.
Of course, Choi Ji-won will get back up again. She'll brush the dust off with that conviction of hers and press forward once more.
But the memory of defeat lodged in her heart won't be erased. She won't be able to shine the way she used to.
"Ji-won."
"Y-Yes?"
"Give me a moment."
I said it as a one-sided notice, got up from my seat, and immediately returned to my rented room. I never imagined I'd regret heading straight into Floor 4 without waiting for Choi Ji-won this much.
"Sssp. Hah."
I buried my face in the pillow. The familiar musty smell made my brain start turning again.
Choi Ji-won. I have no intention of leaving her like this. I'll regress and change it.
I'll make it so she clears Floor 4 and smiles in triumph. I'll bring back the radiant Choi Ji-won from my memories.
"...How."
Is there a way? I don't know. Maybe there is.
What if I take the portal the moment I'm summoned to Floor 4?
Come back to reality, rest up for two days, and then meet Choi Ji-won right after she clears Floor 3. Even if I can't directly pass on information about Floor 4, there has to be an indirect way. It might not be visible right now, but if I search for it, the possibility exists.
And I'd already decided to try messing around with mana. I could somehow slip information to Choi Ji-won, then take my time training my mana. No, I could just train mana with Choi Ji-won altogether. While I'm at it, observing how reality changes would be worthwhile too.
"..."
But if I do that... what about the people on Floor 4? What about Baron Jorge? What about Sir Thomas?
Over three hundred otherworlders. Even with me there, I couldn't protect half of them. What happens without me is obvious. The casualties among the players would be far worse too.
One person I'm close to, Choi Ji-won. Roughly four hundred people I'm not that close to.
"...Hah."
Saving both is impossible. While I'm in Floor 4, Choi Ji-won clears Floor 3 and enters Floor 4 the very next day. The timing overlaps.
But if I take the portal to go talk to Choi Ji-won, I can't stay with the otherworlders through Day 5. A checkmate created by two events running simultaneously.
Should I send Choi Ji-won a text in advance? Or maybe a note? No. The Tower's information restriction would make it useless. The only way to create even a thread of possibility is to meet her in person.
I can't abandon the people on Floor 4, and I can't abandon Choi Ji-won either.
Is there truly no solution?
"...Wait."
Train mana together? With Choi Ji-won?
"...Is that doable?"
An idea surfaced. I might be able to save Choi Ji-won and save the people at the same time. Should I try it?
No, let's try it. Even if it's nothing more than a possibility, let's grab hold of it.
Having made up my mind, I finished reading the report Yun Jung-hyun had handed me, then bit the inside of my mouth for the first time in a long while.
[You have taken damage.]
[Regressing to the moment you first entered Floor 4.]
***
Former National Intelligence Service 2nd-grade agent Yun Jung-hyun had confidence in his eye for people.
When people think of an NIS agent, they usually picture a black suit, sunglasses, and a pistol at the hip... but the NIS has far more desk workers than field agents.
Yun Jung-hyun's job was simple. Handling people.
Having dealt with countless individuals—spies, mental patients, drug addicts, serial killers, crypto scammers, and more—Yun Jung-hyun's sharp judgment had let him rise steadily through the organization.
"Hey, pal."
"..."
"What's your name?"
And as far as Yun Jung-hyun could tell, this man was no ordinary person.
They'd just been summoned to Floor 4, yet his body was deeply relaxed. Steady breathing. Eyes that didn't waver.
Confidence is a measure of ability. Sure, plenty of rookies have baseless confidence, but no one who saw this man's presence firsthand could dismiss him as a rookie.
"I'm Yun Jung-hyun. Nice to meet you."
"..."
No answer came. He'd expected as much.
This man was unusual. His posture, his aura, his gaze. None of it belonged to an ordinary person. He gave off a vibe similar to the MI6 agents Yun Jung-hyun had encountered before.
Yet his entire body was unblemished. No large scars like the ones people who walk the line between life and death usually bear, and not even the calluses you'd expect from anyone who'd trained in martial arts. It would've been strange not to be intrigued.
"Wow, ninety-nine people already. What happens when we hit a hundred, I wonder? What're you gonna do, pal?"
He kept talking nonstop even knowing no answer would come. Whether he was ignored, glared at, or answered didn't matter. All of it was information. A fighter this strong would stand out soon enough. Even trivial information was fine. It would all become a valuable asset to the Association.
"Training."
But information, even formless, varies in quality.
"...Excuse me?"
"I'm gonna train them."
"...?"
Nonsense blurted out of nowhere could never be valuable information. It only served as proof that the man's head had gone screwy. In the brief moment Yun Jung-hyun was taken aback, a message appeared before his eyes.
<Floor 4>
-Clear Condition: Survive for 5 days. When the timer ends, the floor will be automatically cleared and you will move to Floor 1.
-120 : 00 : 00
"ATTENTION!!!"
Attention, attention, attention, attention, atten...
The moment the message appeared, the man's Lion's Roar echoed thunderously.
"Wh-what the."
"What's this?"
Everyone who'd been reading the message turned their eyes toward him. The Lion's Roar carried that much force.
"My goal is to disappear in two days. I've got mana to train, and I need to pass information to Choi Ji-won."
The man was spouting words that made no sense. But he carried a solemn presence and a sharp intensity. Overwhelmed by his force, people couldn't utter a peep and simply listened.
"It wouldn't really be a problem if I just abandoned you right now and left... but I've decided to take moral responsibility. So I'll do everything I can. In exchange, you'll all follow my control."
Boom!!! The man stomped the ground hard and made a solemn declaration.
"Starting now, I'm going to teach you how to survive."