The Regressor Tunes Up (6)
The Regressor Tunes Up (6)
Yun Jung-hyun handed over a massive report. Boiled down to its essentials, it said this:
First. If you don't try to protect the otherworlders, the difficulty won't rise any further.
Second. The moment you do try to protect them, the difficulty spikes.
Third. Even if you prepare for the monsters' appearance in advance, a new monster that invalidates your preparations will appear the next day.
The first and second points aren't things I can change. Since I've already decided to save all the otherworlders, I have to shoulder the increased difficulty.
But the key point is the third. Anything you prepare gets invalidated the very next day.
"So you're saying we need to prepare things in advance, but we shouldn't use them all at once."
I think the "Combined Room" trick has so much potential that we could hold off until the very last day to use it. It's the recommended defensive method for this floor, Floor 4, and it worked well in the previous cycle.
"This is the highest floor, the fourth floor, so breaking down a few walls won't make it collapse. If you're genuinely worried, we can leave some walls standing. The main point is creating space."
Why hold anything back? I explained everything that was going to happen. Even that monsters would appear at dawn on Day 3, and that the difficulty would rise every time we tried to counter them. (I didn't mention that the otherworlders seemed to be the targets.)
So here's my plan. On the third day, for the first wave, we hold it off by maximizing our individual skills. With a bit of trickery, we do our best with everything we've got.
You ask if it'll be hard? Of course it will. But look at it inversely: the third day is the most manageable day. If we prepare thoroughly and use everything available—including magic devices—we should be able to defend without necessarily blocking the corridors.
After we get past the third day, it'll be easy.
Day 4: We block the castle corridors. Just like on Day 3 of the previous cycle, we block as many corridors as possible and hold out in the remaining ones. It's already a proven method, so there's no way we'll take damage.
But if we keep this up and wait until Day 5, a slime that melts broken bricks will appear and completely blindside us—just like before. That's where the "Giant Room" we're preparing comes in.
Unbroken bricks won't melt from the slime. If we can block the narrow entrances of the giant room that connects the rooms, we'll definitely be able to hold out easily.
Does it sound a bit too simple? It really is that simple. But it's a strategy that can only be derived after fully grasping every gimmick.
I'm in a position where I regressed after experiencing the future firsthand. But do I only know my own experiences? Thanks to Yun Jung-hyun's report, the sample size spans dozens of cycles.
Failing to be perfectly prepared at this point would be incompetence. Knowing the future and still falling for it is just foolishness, isn't it?
"Alright. Mr. Jung-hyun and Mr. William Smith, have the players prepare with hammers. We won't start right now."
"Understood."
"Will do."
"And Baron Jorge... since we won't be tearing down the fourth floor for materials yet, just do what you can for now. You can block up the main gate today."
"Understood."
I gave the instructions quickly and then issued the expulsion order. The three people left the room.
Only after I was certain they were far enough away did I let out a sigh of relief.
"...It went better than I expected."
I'd been watching their reactions the whole time I was talking. I was curious how people would react when I openly spouted future knowledge in such a confident tone.
From what I saw, the reactions right now are split exactly down the middle.
Half are thinking: "I have no idea what that crazy bastard is saying, but judging by what he showed us earlier, he seems ridiculously strong, so let's just pretend to listen for now!"
The other half are thinking: "Hmm... but is there actually something to him? Does he actually know what he's talking about? He's way too detailed for this to be a simple bluff. He's overflowing with confidence too. Just in case..."
I never expected them to believe me completely from the start. When someone suddenly starts spouting future knowledge and ordering you around, only a fool would readily believe it. The fact that they're suspicious is actually proof that they aren't stupid.
Anyway, as long as no major problems arise, the atmosphere of them following my lead has been established. If things keep going like this, their suspicions will peak on Day 2, and on Day 3, when the monsters appear, public opinion will shift to my side. It's all going according to plan.
"Whoa. That feels incredibly refreshing, though."
A strange thrill tickles my chest.
This is the first time in my life I've laid out future knowledge so openly. I've always been wary of my status as a regressor getting out, but now that I've actually done it, I feel completely unburdened.
Things are so much easier when you openly act like you know everything. Maybe from now on I should just reveal that I'm a regressor and then regress again later if needed. I feel like an idiot for hesitating all this time.
Some web novels have a plot where "A Transcendent is watching, so you must never reveal the fact of your regression," but nothing like that ever happened to me. If such a condition existed, something significant would have shown up and informed me by now.
Now then, even as I review the plan again, the design is perfect. All that's left is to execute it.
"...Ah, right."
I almost forgot.
There was one last thing to prepare.
**
"Heave, ho! Heave, ho!"
When I arrived at the main gate, demolition work was in full swing. Since we hadn't started the construction on Floor 4 yet and had no materials, they were breaking down the door first.
"Baron Jorge."
"Philip, if you throw the debris like that, someone is going to... Ah, what is it?"
Baron Jorge stopped giving orders and turned his head to look at me. It was a bit out of the blue, but I decided to get straight to the point.
"The territory residents summoned to the tower. Do you know them all?"
"I do. They are my territory residents."
When those otherworlders died in the previous cycle, Baron Jorge had named them one by one as he buried them. It was proof of his deep concern for his residents.
"Then among those summoned," I continued, "are there people you feel you absolutely must save?"
"...?"
Baron Jorge couldn't completely hide his "Why the sudden question?" expression, but he still gave a proper answer.
"...There are about three."
Luke, a young man with exceptionally nimble hands. Phil, a boy who was scheduled to enter the academy. Milia, a girl with an innate talent for predicting the weather.
The three people Baron Jorge picked were all young boys and girls with promising futures. Only three, though.
"I need five people. Try picking two more."
"...If you insist..."
"Ah, and bring them here immediately. I plan to have a very important conversation with them."
"Understood."
Thus, five otherworlders were selected and now stood in a line before me.
Of course, every single one of them had an expression that screamed, "What in the world is this situation?" Come to think of it, that's completely fair.
They were suddenly summoned to the tower, told to enter the castle and put on winter clothes. Then they were abruptly mobilized for work. And now, in the middle of that work, they're being called over again? It must be one incomprehensible situation after another.
"Alright, I'll explain as we go. Please follow me as well, Baron Jorge."
"...Very well."
I led the six otherworlders into the castle, walking and climbing the stairs. As we walked, my mouth itched to talk, and I found myself striking up a conversation with Baron Jorge.
"Baron. Suppose an apple so delicious that everyone in the territory covets it has grown. It's an extremely rare variety, so you don't know when it might grow again."
"...And?"
"The apple is so sweet everyone wants to eat it, but there's only a single one. If the entire territory grinds to a halt because everyone is fixated on that apple... how would you handle it?"
"Hmm..."
Baron Jorge fell into thought as he climbed the stairs. When we reached Floor 3, he finally opened his mouth.
"If it were me, I would feed that apple to the livestock."
"A precious apple like that? Why?"
"If it's that precious, a fight is bound to break out no matter who eats it. No matter how fairly you handle it, hidden resentment will build. In that case, wouldn't it be better to just feed it to the livestock and be done with it? It would be a pity, but there'd be no conflict."
"I was thinking the same thing."
While I said this, I guided the six otherworlders into a small room on Floor 4. The players' construction work would begin soon. There was no time.
"But, why are we here...?"
Baron Jorge asked in a slightly trembling voice. He followed because he had no other choice, but now that we were here, ominous thoughts seemed to flash through his mind.
"Well, it's nothing much..."
I planted my heel against the thin wall and kicked hard. Bang! The wall crashed down with a loud noise.
"Eeek!"
"W-whoa!"
The territory residents flinched, thinking this was some demonstration of force, but Baron Jorge alone watched what I was doing.
"T-this is..."
"I'm going to throw it away too. The apple."
-Woom.
As the wall collapsed, a blue portal revealed itself. The portal flickered, emitting a strange light.
[Amazing Achievement Notifier!]
-You have discovered a hidden escape route.
-Passing through the portal in front of you will clear Floor 4. (5 people remaining)
"Hup."
Without delay, I grabbed one of the otherworlders and threw them into the portal.
"Whoa, whoooa!"
The man disappeared into the portal with a bizarre scream. I think his name was Luke.
"Wow, this actually works."
I had done this while thinking, "Since the player can pass through the portal, I wonder if otherworlders can too?" And it really works.
Relieved, I threw the remaining four otherworlders into the portal.
[Five people have passed through.]
[The escape route is closing.]
Only after swallowing a total of five people did the portal slowly start to disappear.
I dusted my hands off and looked at Baron Jorge, whose mouth was still hanging wide open.
"A precious apple just seems to cause fights if it's left lying around."
In the previous cycle, a fight broke out because of this portal. I even heard some people actually got hurt.
But ta-da? The portal is gone. So there's no reason for players to fight among themselves.
Good for me, good for the players. Isn't this practically a virtuous deed?