The Regressor Trains (9)
The Regressor Trains (9)
"Finally, finally!"
I had been lying in bed, listlessly tearing pages out of the book, but I shot upright. Someone had finally come. I wasn't sure if I should be happy it only took 11 days or disappointed... but anything was better than 20 or 30.
"...No. Calm down. Wait."
I was about to charge out of the room with a grin of pure relief when I caught a glimpse of my current state and froze. My hair hadn't been washed in over three days. A clear trail of dried drool stained my cheek. And, most importantly, I wasn't wearing a single piece of clothing. If I went out like this, I was highly likely to cause a massive misunderstanding.
"...Let's wash up first."
I roughly tossed the clothes scattered on the floor toward the bathroom and jumped into the shower booth. A man, if he has to, can finish a shower in under three minutes.
"Hey, I can hear running water."
"What is that? Grab your weapons. Stay sharp."
"Where's Jin-su? Has anyone seen Jin-su?"
"Just a moment! I'm a person! And I'm washing up! Please wait just a little!"
Hearing murmuring outside my door, I yelled out before quickly finishing my shower. It was enough to be presentable... no, I didn't shave. But the noise outside was getting louder, so I had no choice but to come out of the bathroom.
"Isn't that Jin-su in there? There are exactly five doors."
"Hello?"
"As I see it, in here there's... Hello."
The door opened to reveal two men and two women, who immediately stopped murmuring among themselves and stared at me. Four pairs of wide, sharp eyes fixed on my face.
"..."
My first impression of them was... they're young. Not middle or high schoolers, though. They looked about the age of university freshmen. There was a certain youthful freshness about them. Probably around twenty years old.
"Are you here alone?"
A man craned his neck around me to look behind. His eyes thoroughly scanned the room but didn't seem to find what he was looking for.
"First, um... should we move to the next room to talk?"
**
About 10 minutes later. After sharing our stories, the tense atmosphere from before had loosened considerably.
The four people in front of me had become friends through the internet. They said they were originally a 5-person party, but the man named 'Jin-su,' who happened to be their leader, had gotten separated from them.
"So, you've been here for 10 days?"
"11 days, to be exact."
"Whoa..."
A woman with glasses covered her mouth with both hands in surprise.
"Mister, have you seen a guy our age? His name is Jin-su..."
"I haven't seen him. And why do you keep calling me Mister..."
"Ah..."
The short-haired woman became visibly depressed upon hearing that the man named 'Jin-su' was missing.
"Well, I think we've got the gist of things, so shall we proceed?"
"This mister must be bored. Let's clear it quickly. Real quick."
"No, seriously, why do you keep calling me Mister..."
Even the two men were shrugging their shoulders and rushing to get Floor 12 over with.
How should I put it? They were full of baseless confidence. They didn't seem to feel any tension at all. They lacked the sharp edge that top-rank players have.
"..."
If this were the usual me, I might have just brushed it off with 'Hmm, are they stupid?' But right now, if I regressed, I'd have to spend another 11 days here. If we proceed without any tension, someone might die or we might fail the clear.
"Everyone, I get that not being tense is important, but should we at least make some minimal preparations?"
That's why I spoke in a very gentle tone, trying to stir a minimal sense of alertness in them. But—
"Pfft, Mister. Don't worry."
"We're pretty strong, you know? Just watch."
—the two men actually burst out laughing and shook their heads. They kept sneaking glances at the two women, clearly trying to impress them. Fuck, are they peacocking just because the ladies are here?
Should I beat the hell out of them right now and activate my Awe Trait? No. Hold on. I can do that once the floor's mechanics are revealed—it won't be too late. I drew the Chinese character for 'Patience' in my mind and continued what I was going to say.
"Still, shouldn't we at least know each other's abilities before we go? It could be a floor that requires cooperation, like Floor 3. First, my Trait is the 'Swordsmanship' Trait. It gives me mastery over the sword."
"Huh... is that all?"
"Alright."
With that, the four of them revealed their abilities. The two men had Traits that enhanced their physical abilities, and the woman with glasses said her Trait visualized an enemy's weaknesses. The short-haired woman's ability was unique, though.
"My Trait makes fire shoot out from my whole body... but there's a problem..."
"A problem?"
"It's... always active... so I always have to hold it in..."
Her whole body was constantly burning because of her Trait, and she was suppressing it with sheer willpower. So I guess you could view her as a female version of the Hulk.
"Jin-su has a Trait that controls water, so he should be with me..."
The woman fidgeted with her hands anxiously. It seemed dangerous to be near her. I had a foreboding feeling that I might regress because of her ability.
"Alright, we're all ready, let's go!"
"Let's go, let's go!"
Either way, the minimal preparations were complete. The moment the boisterous group of five players stood before the giant door—
[ 5/5 ]
Whir.
"...Oh, it's an automatic door."
The door slid open to either side, revealing a long, gaping corridor.
"...Shall we go?"
"Let's go. I'll take the lead."
At least they weren't totally stupid; the two men who had been fooling around just a moment ago had become noticeably calmer. Good. If they had kept messing around after we entered, even I wasn't going to hold back.
"..."
"..."
Thud. Thud. Thud.
Five people carefully walking through the silent corridor. About five minutes seemed to have passed.
Come to think of it, a message window should be guiding us soon. When does the explanation pop up?
"Ah, there."
"It's a door."
Just as boredom was beginning to outweigh tension, the long corridor ended, and a semi-transparent glass door appeared. I gently pushed it open and entered a small room.
Five steel chairs were arranged in a circle in the center, and opposite the entrance was an elevator door. The reason I specifically called it an 'elevator door' was because of the up arrow button on the side.
Just as I had fully grasped the layout of the room, a message window appeared before my eyes.
<Floor 12>
-Pass a total of three rounds of 'Tests'. One person may participate in each test only once, and if the last test is failed, no reward will be given.
-All rewards are distributed individually after Floor 12 is cleared.
"...What's this supposed to mean?"
"Hmm."
Tests? Out of the blue? Is there something I'm not getting? This floor felt especially unfriendly.
-Now then, please take your seats.
Regardless of our confusion and groaning, a mechanical voice echoed through the space. There was no place to sit in this room except the steel chairs in the center. Since there were exactly five, it seemed we were supposed to sit there.
"...Should we sit for now?"
"...Yeah."
We cautiously sat on the chairs, watching each other's reactions. The moment all five were seated, the voice spoke again.
-Now then, before the first test begins, each of you will choose your reward.
[1] Low-grade Potion x 10
[5] Custom Item Box (B~D)
[10] All-Purpose Pill - Increases all attributes by 3.
"...?"
The moment the message window appeared, I looked around, but a barrier had already encased me, blocking my sight and hearing. My legs wouldn't move, as if they were glued to the chair. It seemed this reward selection was strictly an individual process.
"Hmm."
I'm not entirely sure, but... the later rewards looked better. Honestly, low-grade potions were practically useless to me now, and pills that increased stats were always precious.
But I couldn't just pick a reward thoughtlessly, because the numbers labeling each option felt oddly ominous. What did they mean? The higher the number, the worse it seemed...
"Ugh..."
Normally, I would have chosen '10' without a second thought and simply regressed if things went south. But now, since a single regression came with an 11-day penalty, I couldn't help but be cautious.
No. Let's be bold. I can't avoid regressing entirely anyway. If that's the case, it's better to gather as much information as possible and then regress. Having made up my mind, I firmly pressed [10].
-All climbers have made their selections.
As soon as the barrier surrounding me vanished, the others came back into view.
"Oh, you're done?"
"Look here. The elevator door opened."
It seemed I was the only one who had spent a long time deliberating, as everyone else had already gotten up from their chairs.
Above the 'elevator' they were examining, the number [35] was floating. The elevator door was already open, likely because someone had pressed the arrow button on the side.
"Hey, doesn't this button look weird?"
I still didn't know the names of the two men... For convenience, I'll call them Pimple Guy and Mole Guy. Anyway, as Pimple Guy said, when I looked inside the elevator, there wasn't a regular elevator panel but something closer to a calculator keypad. It even had a clear button and an enter button, making it look exactly like a calculator.
[Only one person can take the 'test' at a time.]
Ignoring the message that popped up in the corner of my vision, I typed in the number [99]. It was an action I took to figure out what this meant, but—
[You can only input numbers 35 or below.]
—again, a message window refused my entry. This time, I followed the instruction and entered [31]. As I poked my head out of the elevator to check the number above, the [35] it had shown before had changed to [4].
"Ah."
In that moment, I understood the assignment of Floor 12.
This is... a group project.