The Regressor Is Kind of Strong (3)
The Regressor Is Kind of Strong (3)
Okay, I admit it. I got careless.
She's the perceptive, sensitive type.
And kind enough to share food with total strangers.
I should have considered she'd come running from the clearing if she heard a scream.
If I'd known this would happen, I would've just jumped out without hesitating and bought some time.
Could've scored approval points with Choi Ji-won and gotten info from the fallen woman.
Missed a two-birds-with-one-stone opportunity.
"...It's fine. It's fine."
But it is fine.
Why? Because I'm a Regressor. That's why.
As long as I endure three days of annoyance... I can recreate the exact same situation.
Just thinking about mowing through all that grass again was getting on my nerves, but who's there to blame?
The regression was my own screw-up.
Ah, right. Since it's a regression, there was something I meant to do.
"Status Window."
[Name: Kim Jun-ho] [LV:3]
[Traits]
-Regression [EX]
"What?"
It's right after regressing, and my level is 3. It does prove my hypothesis that levels carry over through regression, but...
"Why is it 3?"
I couldn't figure out why it was 3 instead of 2.
The last time I checked my level, it was 2. And after that, I didn't kill a single goblin.
So why did my level go up? There was no reason for it to go up.
Maybe the experience bar was teetering at the edge of level 2, and killing a few goblins was enough to tip it over, but...
Instinct told me that wasn't it. Felt like there was another reason.
"..."
If I'm curious, what can I do?
Gotta grind it out again, I guess.
Shit.
**
Long ago, the sage Siddhartha reached a single realization after long, painful austerities.
'Ah, inflicting physical suffering on the body is utterly meaningless.'
Yes. At the end of his trials, he realized that asceticism itself was nothing but pointless self-abuse.
"...Shit."
O, Shakyamuni.
Please, Great One, grant me the grace to cut some grass.
You're used to this sort of thing, right? All that penance? I'm telling you, I can't handle it.
I've always hated repetitive tasks, so mowing grass was so mind-numbingly boring I was about to lose my mind.
At first, I thought, 'Maybe I'll get used to it and it'll get easier if I just keep at it,' but...
I reached the exact same conclusion as Shakyamuni.
This was nothing but meaningless abuse. I could feel my mental energy draining away in real time.
"...Is this the third day?"
Slept twice, so yeah, it should be the third day.
In my memory, I finished cutting through the grass around the afternoon of Day 3, and then I heard the scream...
Looks like about three more hours of mowing, and I'm done. At least I can see the end.
Snikt.
"...Huh?"
The cut felt light. A little shallow, maybe.
Snikt! Snikt!
Sensing something was off, I swung the sword a few more times, and finally, for the first time in what felt like forever, my feet hit solid dirt.
It wasn't just the end in sight. It was over. I'd escaped the grass at last.
"...Hm."
My speed was faster than last cycle.
Is this the power of leveling up? Even if there's no visible difference... it seems clear that things like strength and stamina do improve.
Well, I mean, come on. Did it make any sense for them to toss me a single regression ability and just say 'deal with it'?
The way I am now, even if I became a swordmaster, I couldn't beat Choi Ji-won. Her strength and agility are dozens of times higher than mine to begin with.
Maybe someday, after I've ground my level to the max... I might be able to beat her?
"...Status Window."
[Name: Kim Jun-ho] [LV:3]
[Traits]
-Regression [EX]
"Tch."
Too bad my level didn't go up. Still don't know what I have to do to raise it.
Seriously, how unhelpful can a Status Window be?
Well, I'm out of the grass, anyway...
Now, once a scream rings out, I'll head over there and...
"Ah?"
Come to think of it, there's no way a scream would be happening. The timeline's about three hours ahead of schedule.
At this point, instead of screaming, they're probably all la-di-da, strolling around without a care.
"..."
So this... is the privilege of a Regressor.
My heart's pounding for no good reason.
This time, for real, I'm going to change the future.
**
I arrived again at the place I'd reached after hearing the woman's scream last cycle.
I scouted the area with extreme caution, mindful of the goblin that had been lying in ambush with a bamboo spear, but there was no sign of any goblins.
Guess they aren't here yet at this point in time.
Did I come too early? Timing this is tricky.
I lay down nearby and waited for something to happen.
"...I'm getting sleepy."
Soft, plush grass.
A balmy breeze blowing cool and gentle.
I forced myself to keep my eyes from closing on their own.
If I fell asleep here, Choi Ji-won would show up and chop my head clean off. I really didn't want to do the weeding all over again.
And so, for a long while, I pinched my thighs and fought off the sandman.
"...I said I'll just look, okay?"
"We made an agreement, bro."
"You don't trust me? I'm serious, I'll just look."
Voices sounded nearby, so I pulled myself together.
Walking from that direction was a group of four men and one woman.
The men had all been lying collapsed in a bloody heap, so I didn't know their faces, but I remembered the woman's face.
She was the one who nearly got roughed up by the goblins.
"Ah, geez... bro, let's not do this. I want to trust you too."
"I can't trust you anymore, though? How am I supposed to believe you didn't stash them somewhere?"
Watching quietly, it looked like one guy with bleached-blond, punk-style hair was in a standoff with a guy wearing glasses.
"Bro! We agreed to gather five marbles and swallow them together, didn't we? We've got two now, just three more. Hang in there a little longer, okay?"
Listening to Glasses's words, it seemed their deal was to gather five marbles and swallow them all at once.
Honestly, that's the most rational plan.
If you swallow the marbles as soon as you find them, the group's combat power drops in real time. The last person left ends up having to search for marbles all alone.
But if you gather enough marbles for everyone to escape first and then leave together, you can preserve your full strength to the end and deal with the next threat.
I mean, the second you swallow a marble and move on, you could get jumped by a few dozen goblins, for all you know.
"...I'm just, I just want to check that they're okay. Yeah? I'll just look with my eyes."
With no real counterargument to sound logic, the dyed-blond punk just kept saying he wanted to see the marbles, not even bothering with an excuse.
He said he'd only look, but anyone could see what he was really after.
That prick just wanted to gulp one down and bolt.
"...Bro. You can use telekinesis."
"...So what?"
"...You know what."
The punk stabbed his toe into the innocent dirt a few times. He seemed to mull something over, then held out an open palm to Glasses.
"Fine. I guess I was a little on edge. I'm sorry for not trusting you."
"...Thanks for understanding."
"Jun-woo and I are gonna go smoke a cigarette, cool our heads off. Let's rest for a bit, then head out again."
The punk slung his arm around the rail-thin guy beside him—Anchovy—and then walked my way.
"..."
They didn't seem to notice me, luckily, as they lit their cigarettes. As a non-smoker, I had to make a real effort not to cough. Ugh, the stench.
"...Jun-woo."
The punk muttered in a low voice as he smoked.
"Yeah, bro."
"You really planning to carry these bastards who don't even have traits?"
"...Setting aside the others, weren't we supposed to take Min-ji with us?"
The punk glared over at Glasses, who was waiting behind them.
But Anchovy didn't look thrilled.
"Hey, we busted our asses for three days and only got two marbles. Nearly died a bunch of times, too. No food, too many mouths to feed. I've been saving my smokes like crazy, and this is as far as it's gotten us. How long do you think we can last at this pace?"
"But..."
"Plenty of women in the world. You gonna die without that Min-ji chick? No, you're not. We survive first, think later. Got it?"
The punk was persuading Anchovy. Judging by the conversation, 'Min-ji' was likely the woman who'd almost been killed by the goblins.
"Let's take them out right now. You saw how Glasses was eyeing me, right? We might not get another chance."
"..."
"If they secretly hide the marbles at night and come back this way, we're completely screwed. This is the last chance, man."
These bastards. They were plotting a backstab.
Only two marbles.
Five people.
Unless you were an overpowered monster like Choi Ji-won, getting your hands on food was precarious too.
From the perspective of an ordinary person, betrayal might've been inevitable.
"Go handle it quick. I'll stall."
"...Got it, bro."
Anchovy headed off somewhere, and the punk grinned as he walked back to the group.
"...Where's Jun-woo going?"
"Said he needs to take a dump. Hey, more importantly..."
The punk smoothly changed the subject.
I more or less had a rough outline of what went down, but... one question still bugged me.
Where the hell had the goblins popped out from?
No matter how I looked, there were no goblins around here.
But in the last cycle, those three were nearly finished off by goblins.
It's not like my interference changed the future. I hadn't done anything. I just watched.
This isn't Schrödinger's cat—me looking at it shouldn't change the outcome.
Something... something else was at play...
In the middle of all my mulling, I heard Anchovy's footsteps.
I carefully turned my head and saw him walking back slowly, looking jittery.
"...What the hell."
The problem was that behind him, a dozen or so goblins were creeping along with spears strapped to their backs.
A bizarre sight, like a commanding officer and the soldiers following behind him.
It was absurd, but...
"...A trait that lets him control monsters, huh."
I'd forgotten for a moment.
When even regression is possible, nothing's impossible in the Tower.