The Regressor Trains (5)
The Regressor Trains (5)
Right now, a mid-grade potion costs more than a decent Gangnam apartment. At the same time, they trade often enough that you can buy one if you're willing to pay about as much as an apartment. From a corporate standpoint, that sum isn't all that large.
But an Elixir? An Elixir, which comes close to a true "cure-all," how much would that be worth? The fact that I've never heard a single mention of an Elixir on the news proves its value. Truly precious things are always traded in secret.
"..."
Why hadn't I thought of this? Choi Ji-won and I cleared Floor 4 perfectly. That means at least two hundred people received a lowest-grade Elixir as a reward.
In other words, excluding the ones we hold, one hundred ninety-eight Elixirs exist out there... but through all my regressions I've never obtained any information about Elixirs. That means they've been kept strictly out of the public eye. Is that even possible?
At the very least, you'd expect one person to post an Elixir story online. Or, more naturally, someone would write about the mysterious madman who appeared on Floor 4. Yet my actions on Floor 4 never seemed to spread, strangely enough.
The answer to "why?" is simple: there are people who want to control this information. If so, the real question is "how." How did they control information on today's internet?
"Anyway... about eight Elixirs surfaced in an underworld secret auction, and... snf. If you post anything about Elixirs on the surface web... snf. it gets deleted right away, so people talk about it on the deep web. Asking where on earth they came from."
When a mass of unheard-of cure-alls called "Elixirs" suddenly appeared, tracing their origin was only natural. Chasing the trail backward would eventually lead to the conclusion that they came from Floor 4.
"And that's how... snf. Miss Ji-won's and Mr. Jun-ho's names came up. Even the fact that saving every player and every NPC on Floor 4 gets you an Elixir."
Sniffling, Yūki kept talking, unaware of my thoughts. But as I considered it, I noticed a gap in the logic.
"No, so... I get that my actions on Floor 4 caused the flood of Elixirs, and digging into those Elixirs eventually made deep-web people pay attention to me."
"Yes."
"Then how did they learn my name?"
My actions on Floor 4? Those are more than attention-worthy. Now that I think about it, it's weirder that the events on Floor 2 and Floor 4 *didn't* draw attention. I drew massive aggro with countless witnesses.
But my name? How did they find out my name? There weren't enough clues to deduce that the oddball on Floor 4 was "Kim Jun-ho," right? In the final regression, I only told Yun Jung-hyun my name.
In response to my sharp, reasonable question, Yūki answered like this:
"That's... something I don't know either."
"...What?"
"Someone just... posted Mr. Jun-ho's name and face. It got deleted immediately, but I saw it."
"..."
How did the deep-web denizens learn my name? The answer is... "dunno."
We live in an era where superpowered people called traits have appeared. There are regressors, an ability that unifies sword and wielder, and even a stealth ability. In a world like this, can I be absolutely certain no one possesses an ability specialized for tracking people down? If some detection-type ability user somewhere figured out my face, I'd just have to take it.
"Hmm..."
So, what's the problem with becoming famous? As I've said every time, being exposed as a "regressor" will cause trouble. Regressors are far too vulnerable to sealing-type techniques.
'Jun-ho, don't you think it's an overreaction to assume getting famous will expose your regression...?'
'There's no need to flaunt your ability, but... I don't see a need to force yourself to hide it either.'
Choi Ji-won's words from before also circle through my mind. Am I really overreacting? No, I don't think I'm overreacting at all.
I don't know the method, but the people who control posts about "Elixirs" online... they're on a level beyond imagination, whether through money, power, or technology. Perhaps I've even drawn the attention of those at the apex of human power. An Elixir is worth that much.
Under these circumstances, assuming my regression won't be noticed is far too comfortable a thought. The world is full of people smarter than me. Besides, once I start using regression in earnest, it tends to show.
Nothing can be done about the attention I've already drawn. I have to be careful from now on. Conspiracies are conspiracies precisely because the target doesn't notice them. I hadn't known I was famous in the underworld, either. Maybe it's already too late.
"Hoo."
Having organized my thoughts, I finally let out a long sigh. Right, there's no helping what's already done. What matters more is how I act going forward. Even if I take the initiative, I'll hide my name as much as possible. Or I can create a new alias.
Now, the last thing left to decide is...
"Death God. No, Yūki."
"Yes."
"Step outside for a minute."
"...This is my room."
"Go wait in the living room. Ji-won and I have something to talk about."
"...'Kay."
Deciding what to do with the Death God. How should I handle him from now on?
His ideology is far too radical. Kill a hundred innocent people to save ten thousand? Could he say the same if he himself were among the hundred who die? When he actually became a target, Death God abandoned his family and fled. He wasn't prepared to sacrifice himself.
Should I coax him and make use of him? Or should I kill him to nip it in the bud? What's the right answer?
"Jun-ho."
Watching me rub my forehead with the inside of my wrist, Choi Ji-won lightly patted my back.
"You're thinking it over, right? What to do about Death God."
"...Yeah."
Choi Ji-won's and my gazes met. We'd been wrestling with the same problem.
"I... don't know. In a truly unavoidable situation, we might have to kill someone. But are we really allowed to decide who deserves to die and who deserves to live?"
Still stroking my back, Choi Ji-won spoke gently.
"If you kill someone... there's no going back. That's the end of it. A dead person doesn't come back to life even if it was a mistake or a misunderstanding. That's why anyone who wields a sword must always be careful. That's what my father always said."
"..."
"So... Jun-ho, when you have to kill someone, I hope you'll be truly, truly careful. Even though you have regression, I hope you won't grow accustomed to killing. When killing is absolutely necessary, I hope you'll agonize through the regressions. So that you won't regret it later."
Choi Ji-won usually came across as easygoing, but in the face of "death" she was utterly careful. Come to think of it, had Choi Ji-won ever killed anyone? The exact opposite of me, who killed someone in the Tutorial without much shock.
"..."
Choi Ji-won is right. If I decide the Death God's life or death... wouldn't that make me no different from the Death God who chooses who dies? Do I have the right to judge someone else? Was my act of killing Punk in the Tutorial without much hesitation justified? Even if regression made it as if it never happened?
No. Killing the Death God is wrong. That would just make me no better than him.
But leaving the Death God alone is also wrong. If I leave him be, innocent victims will keep piling up. In that case, neutralise him without killing, leaving him unable to resume his activities? That would be a waste of his ability. That stealth ability has truly endless applications.
A way to stop the Death God while leaving room to use him. There is one method.
"The Death God has some strange expectations about me, right?"
"...He does?"
"How about we satisfy them?"
Namely, using his delusion to our advantage.
**
Before regressing, I first returned to Korea. To check in on the people around me.
"Mister Cheol-jin is doing well. He said he'll try Floor 5 soon."
Including Park Cheol-jin, Kang Chan, Ahn Gyeong-jun, Ahn Gyeong-nam, William Smith, and others... everyone with even a slight connection to me seemed to be getting along in their own way. Kang Chan in particular was rapidly gaining fame lately. It looks like he demonstrated that "punch" of his on Floor 4 as well.
After confirming how people were doing, I read the manga where writing a name in a notebook kills someone—from cover to cover. It seemed the Death God's ideology had been deeply influenced by it.
After that, I focused on gathering information: I read the news diligently, scoured internet communities, and briefly exchanged messages with Yun Jung-hyun. Collating all that information led me to conclude that there would be no disruption even if the Death God suddenly stopped his activities. The genuinely heinous criminals were either dead or missing.
Anyway, with that my preparations were complete. I decided to take in the Death God for the time being. I'll observe whether he's a villain who deserves to die, or just a middle-school boy swept up by impulse and madness. After watching long enough, I'll make my decision.
But for now, I'm going to stop his activities.
In a way that he can be satisfied with, too.
[You have taken damage.]
[Regressing to the moment you first entered Floor 11.]