The Regressor Makes an Effort (1)
The Regressor Makes an Effort (1)
Wooong.
The blue portal faded away.
Baron Jorge had told me about it in the previous cycle. Since I'd learned about it thanks to him, I figured it was only fair to return the favor to the people of his territory.
Well, the portal's taken care of now...
"Let's get back to work. Ah, just so you know, I wasn't implying I view all you otherworlders as livestock. You get what I mean, right? That, uh, earlier apple comparison thing..."
"...I understand."
Baron Jorge nodded with a grave expression.
Unless the baron was mistaking me for some kind of dimensional bigot, his thoughts were obvious. He was wondering, 'How does this guy know all this?' And I'd basically answered with, 'Don't ask.'
What did it matter how I knew? Survive first, ask questions later.
**
Time flew by.
"Hey, so we just smash this down? Like, roughly?"
"That's what he said, right? He told us to connect the rooms, so..."
"Sigh... is this really okay..."
"Didn't you see that guy earlier? He seems like a total nutjob, so just do it."
The players' 'Great Room' creation project had begun. Of course, I hadn't given them detailed explanations, so they were obviously thinking, 'Why do we have to do this?' but...
"What's going on over there?"
"Well, it's..."
"I see hammers. Why aren't you moving faster?"
"...Yessir."
When I showed up to glare at them a bit, they cooperated quite diligently. Yeah. That's right. Shut up and work.
Why don't I just tell the other players the future? The reason is simple.
Yun Jung-hyun, William Smith, and Baron Jorge are competent. They can think. They know how to assess a situation. They weigh the pros and cons of my actions, run their own calculations, and cooperate actively.
But there's no guarantee the rest of the players are like that. Far more likely, they'd take a one-dimensional view and rebel, thinking, 'Isn't that bastard crazy?' And I have a better chance of getting cooperation if they see me as 'just a crazy bastard' rather than 'a crazy bastard who thinks he knows the future.'
The former earns contempt, but the latter inspires fear. In that case, I'll happily be a crazy bastard.
"Break it down carefully, just to the point where the ceiling won't collapse. You know what I mean, right?"
Regardless of the players' enthusiasm, the work speed was phenomenal. Breaking down a stone wall barehanded is hard, sure, but it's not impossible with gauntlets. Plus, the overwhelming majority of players had high Strength. The tower mostly hands out melee weapons, so people just dump points into Strength.
-112 : 14 : 11
The wall demolition was done before sunset. That was predictable—the task was just smashing things down, no fancy technique required.
"Alright, now..."
"Now?"
"Rest. That's enough for today. Feel free to maintain your weapons or eat. I'll see you tomorrow morning."
We had ample time, since we'd skipped the useless processes of exploring the castle, fighting each other, and debating opinions. We also needed to sync our tempo with the otherworlders. The work planned for tomorrow couldn't be done by players alone.
"Well, if that's it..."
"Hey, let's search the castle a bit more. Who knows, maybe there's a hidden piece."
"Shall we?"
The players dispersed in small groups. For the record, I'd collected the hidden pieces long ago. The 'Emergency Escape Stone' that Yun Jung-hyun should have found was already sleeping peacefully in my subspace. Search all you want, see if you find anything.
Now, with the interior done... I headed outside the castle toward the main gate. The gate fortifications were nearly finished.
"Baron, how are things here?"
"See for yourself. This should be enough, wouldn't you agree? As you said, even if monsters appear, the main gate will hold. We've reinforced the side gate roughly as well..."
Under a sky dyed in twilight hues, Baron Jorge showed a satisfied smile.
The first day was over.
**
The sun rose on the second day. The front courtyard of the castle had been bustling since morning.
"I believe everyone knows that foundation work is the most crucial. I trust you've all at least fixed your own floors at home. You haven't? Was that you just now, Enrique?"
"Baron, this bastard Enrique still lives with his parents! His dad fixes the floors!"
"Haa... Enrique... what will you do about marriage? If you keep acting this way, I'll have to create a law forcing bachelors to pay higher taxes."
"Pwahahahaha!"
The otherworlders were in good spirits. They were tightly bonded by their absolute trust in Baron Jorge, ready to believe the baron even if he claimed beans could make soy paste.
And Baron Jorge had taken the stance of, 'He's suspicious, but I'll trust Kim Jun-ho for now.' There was no need to persuade every otherworlder individually.
Meanwhile...
"So... we have to prepare everything to block the corridors, but we can't actually block them?"
"Yes."
"We get everything completely ready right up to the point of blocking them, and then do nothing?"
"Exactly."
"What kind of bullshit is that?"
"...My thoughts exactly."
The players' morale was a hair's breadth from hitting rock bottom.
Yun Jung-hyun was earnestly explaining 'what to do next,' but the players found it utterly unconvincing. Saying 'If we block the corridors in advance, the monsters will bring a countermeasure!' had zero persuasive power. I mean, who's this guy? He's not some time-traveling bastard—how would he know that?
Convincing them was impossible.
"Aren't you working?"
"No, I mean..."
"What."
"...Nothing."
Since I saw no need to convince them individually, I just crushed them with force again. Given that these were people who'd climbed to Floor 4 quickly, they had sharp senses; no one outright challenged me.
Of course, that means no one 'outright' challenged me.
"Hey, no matter how I look at it, this is wrong. What the hell are we even doing right now?"
"If this keeps up, aren't we completely fucked? The mission is survival, survival."
I could feel the discontent simmering beneath the surface approaching its limit. People whispering insults about me had increased. I could hear all of it, though.
"Hmm..."
Still, this was within my predictions. If I could have it my way, I'd grab one of them and explain point by point why I'm right, but...
Showing them would be faster than a hundred words.
**
Day 3. A pitch-black night, with not even the moon visible.
The castle, which should have been deeply silent, was noisy for some reason. Because I'd woken everyone in the dead of night and ordered them up onto the walls.
"Ah, you son of a bitch..."
"Hey, he'll hear you. Keep it down."
"So what if he hears, fuck it. Let him hear. How long are we gonna nod along to that crazy bastard's bullshit? What time is it right now?"
"Can't someone just step up and kill this guy? I think we could take him if we all jumped him."
The murmuring wouldn't stop. The atmosphere felt like a middle school classroom with a burnt-out old teacher lecturing.
"Shouldn't we... make an example out of someone? The mood is getting dangerous..."
Yun Jung-hyun sidled up and whispered. His suggestion was the correct one, honestly. Pick out one of the loudmouths and beat them down, and they'd never think of talking back again.
"Leave them be."
But I'm unkind, not a tyrant. I have no intention of suppressing the players. I've only temporarily suppressed their autonomy out of necessity. I was actually open to accepting a decent opinion if one came up.
Of course, only my opinions were the decent ones.
After enduring the biting wind on the wall for about thirty minutes, signs of monsters started to appear.
"Look here, mister. What the hell do you think you're doing right now? More importantly, who the hell are you? You haven't even given your name..."
"Shh. Shut it."
One player had stepped up to play spokesman and call me out, but now wasn't the time to debate petty right and wrong.
"Is there a woman here who, perhaps, has a protruding chin? Someone skilled with fire..."
"...It doesn't protrude that much."
"Alright, just fire your ability in that direction."
I called over the woman who used fireballs, told her to launch one where I pointed.
"Hup!"
Fwoooosh!
Just like the previous cycle, the fireball flew through the darkness.
"Ah, fuck it. I can't take this anymore. Are you fucking with us right now?"
"Hey, you, step out here. Think you're tough shit?"
I'd ignored their complaints, and now I was suddenly shooting fireballs into the air. The players, who'd been holding back until they couldn't anymore, were on the verge of exploding.
"Huh...?"
"Did I see that wrong...?"
The brightly shining fireball illuminated a horde of monsters, far too many to count.
And then... it slowly died out.
"..."
"..."
The players were speechless, horrified. They rubbed their eyes as if they couldn't believe what they'd just seen.
Suddenly? Monsters? That many? Come to think of it, the mission was survival... and now that they thought about it, could that construction they'd been doing possibly be...?
The moment their eyes widened in dawning realization.
"Nice to meet you all. I'm Kim Jun-ho."
Only then, after three days, did I reveal my name. Because earlier, I would've just gotten myself insulted.
"I never put it into words, but I foresaw this situation from the very moment I was first summoned to Floor 4. That's why I drew up countermeasures in advance. Think back on every task I instructed you to do. And picture that monster horde approaching right now."
I walked slowly along the wall, making eye contact with each player. Everyone whose gaze met mine promptly looked down at the ground.
"You seemed quite dissatisfied earlier... does anyone still have complaints?"
"..."
The castle fell into an infinite silence. Everyone watched my mouth move with trembling eyes.
"I'm glad you all seem to understand."
I could feel their emotions.
Horror. Fear. Doubt. Admiration.
And... anticipation.
The anticipation that I would protect them.
"Well then, shall we start preparing before the monsters arrive?"
[The Hero Trait effect activates!]
[The Hero Trait effect activates!]
[The Hero Trait effect activates!]
[The Hero Trait effect activates!]
[The Hero Trait effect activates!]
I had no intention of betraying that anticipation.