The Regressor Gets Stronger (8)
The Regressor Gets Stronger (8)
Clop. Clop. Clop.
Clunk. Clunk. Clunk.
The horses walked leisurely, unfazed by the scorching sun.
"..."
"..."
Twenty players surrounded them, walking. Not a word passed between them. Not because of the heat—they simply had nothing to say.
Just a short while ago, at Choi Ji-won's suggestion, the players had agreed on their primary objective: 'Escort the carriage first. If the situation changes, we'll deal with it then.' So they'd been walking alongside the carriage without incident.
"Nothing's happening?"
"Ugh..."
For about three hours, nothing happened. Nothing changed. The sun beat down harshly, bits of grit kept stinging my eyes, and the horses trudged on at the same steady pace.
The steady thud-thud of footsteps settled into a rhythm so hypnotic it almost made me forget who I was or where I was.
"Now, this is exactly when we mustn't let our guard down. Ambushes always hit when you're most relaxed, when you're most exposed. That man said three days at most, so we have to stay alert—"
"I know, you idiot."
"..."
A player who liked to act knowledgeable started rambling, but a skinhead shut him down immediately. It was obvious. Ambushes always target you when you're most vulnerable.
Everyone knew that, which was exactly why they were walking with their mouths shut... but even knowing it, the tension was bound to fray eventually.
"..."
As I watched those players, I was concentrating on keeping my own mouth shut. In my case, I was worried I'd raised too many flags earlier.
The floor was just starting, and I'd spent the whole time saying, 'It'll be easy, it'll be easy.' That's practically a death-flag on the level of pulling out a family photo on the battlefield. Floor 11 had been easy in itself but still went completely sideways. Things could turn shitty at any second. I had to stay sharp.
But somehow... my guard kept slipping. It felt like I could just lie down in the carriage and wake up perfectly fine. My head understood, but my heart kept urging me to rest.
"Stop."
"Huh?"
"I said stop. Move again and you're cut."
"..."
Choi Ji-won halted a player who, taking advantage of everyone's distraction, tried to sneak a look under the carriage's cover.
"Didn't we agree not to touch the carriage? So what are you trying to do?"
"Well, it's just... I was bored..."
"There won't be a next time."
The reason my guard kept dropping was simple. One of Choi Ji-won's greatest strengths was her detection ability.
Even back in the Tutorial, she'd tracked everything happening across that wide clearing. Now that she was far stronger, her perception had only sharpened. Choi Ji-won was monitoring the slightest movement of every player present. The instant anyone tried anything stupid, she would catch them.
"...Sorry."
"..."
The other players, who had been secretly curious about the carriage's interior, saw Choi Ji-won's swift response and locked away their shady intentions. This... this was impossible. They weren't in her league. The rumor that she'd faced the Death God head-on on Floor 11 and crushed him—it wasn't a lie.
The players swallowed hard, realizing the sheer gap in power. Right then—
"Hey, I see something!"
"Incoming! Something's coming!"
A player at the front pounded on his armor and shouted at the top of his lungs.
A dust cloud was visible far in the distance. Through the approaching dust, dark shapes loomed.
"...Cows?"
A herd of black cattle with curved horns, charging toward the carriage at terrifying speed.
"Moo, moooo!"
They were obviously no ordinary herd. Their eyes glowed red, drool dripped from their mouths as they barrelled forward, and their cries sounded eerily distorted. I didn't know the details, but it was clear they'd been bewitched—likely sent by whoever was after the carriage.
"About a hundred head?"
"This isn't a joke..."
Even so, a hundred cattle were nothing compared to the monster wave on Floor 4. But a hundred massive bodies, all charging with wild eyes—that mass had its own kind of crushing pressure.
"Can't we avoid this? Anyone know how to handle horses?"
"It's no use. They're completely ignoring us."
Some players tried to steer the horses and turn the carriage, but the animals ignored them completely and kept walking straight ahead. In other words, at this rate, a head-on collision between the herd and the carriage was inevitable.
"...What are we supposed to do about this?"
"Dammit..."
In theory, they could just block the herd. One-on-one, even a mid-ranked player could handle a single cow—no need for a top-ranker. But a hundred cows at once? That kind of mass had its own horrifying pressure. One misstep and you'd be stomped to death before you could even kill one.
"Move aside."
This was my moment to step up. I released the mana I'd been suppressing and dashed toward the herd with confident strides.
"Whoa, whoa!"
"Sir! Be careful! You'll die!"
I ignored the panicked shouts and focused on the mana circulating inside me. Honestly, freezing an entire cow's body was difficult. Freezing a hundred at once? Impossible.
"The leg joints are about... this height?"
But what if I aimed for a specific spot on just five cows, not the whole herd?
Wooong.
As I gathered cold energy at the tip of my sword, the blade vibrated with a strange hum. I concentrated the mana at a level that wouldn't strain my body.
"Hup!"
I swung the cold-enhanced sword in a low, wide arc, and a crescent-shaped wave of chill swept out with a hissing swish. The hot weather thinned the cold as it dispersed, so its power wasn't spectacular.
Swaaak.
"Moo-mook?"
"Moo-oooh!"
The thin cold energy struck the knee joints of the cows running at the front. Their legs, already driving forward at full power, tangled hopelessly. With their joints suddenly stiff, there was no way they could stay upright.
About three of the lead cows lost their balance and toppled.
"Moooo!"
"Moo!"
The cows behind them tripped over the fallen ones, toppling in a domino cascade. The crunch of breaking bones, the thud of bodies colliding, the sound of things shattering—it was like a multi-car pileup.
In the end, only about five cows kept charging steadily. Those were dealt with belatedly by the players, who had been watching in astonishment.
"That's incredible."
This was exactly what made Cold Energy so broken. If you didn't know about it beforehand, you'd fall for it at least once. And once the cold stiffened a part of your body—in a world where battles between superhumans were decided in a hundredth of a second—losing mobility in a vital joint was as good as a death sentence.
If I had to point out a weakness... it was trouble if the opponent fought cautiously. Excellent warriors adapted to Cold Energy quickly. If I couldn't gain an advantage with the first move, I'd naturally be at a disadvantage because I couldn't fight for long. I'd lost to the [70] Difficulty mannequin for exactly that reason.
But against a herd of cattle charging mindlessly like that, I could handle them easily without much effort. It also worked in my favor that a group charging together becomes extremely vulnerable when you trip the front-runners from a distance.
"...Who's that?"
"...They say he's Choi Ji-won's companion."
"Holy shit."
I savored the attention as I strolled back to the carriage. Once I regress and clear Floor 13, I planned to stay out of sight. For now, I'd enjoy the spotlight.
"Alright, don't just stand there gaping. Let's clear away the dead cattle. And put down any that are still alive."
Choi Ji-won stepped forward and patted my shoulder. I flashed her a grin that said, 'See? I can step up when it counts.'
"...You look like a pervert."
"...?"
Apparently my grin came off a little weird to Choi Ji-won.
**
After the cattle herd, the carriage rolled on smoothly without any major threats. By the time the sun set and night fell, we'd been walking nonstop.
"Oh, the horses stopped."
"Looks like they rest at night too. We can sleep here."
The players got ready to sleep. The last carriage held twenty personal sleeping bags, so we could bunk down there. Someone with a fire trait gathered dry grass and lit it; it wasn't exactly cozy, but it was enough to endure the night.
"Hold on. There's something we haven't decided yet."
Just as everyone was lying down to sleep, one player spoke up. A black man with a large scar near his eye.
"We need to decide the watch rotation. There could be attacks at night."
"Hmm, definitely... we need a watch."
Honestly, a watch is essential when camping. The man's suggestion was perfectly reasonable, but there was an ulterior motive behind it.
Night was the perfect time to sneak a look inside the carriage. They'd seen Choi Ji-won's absurd detection and physical prowess... but while she was asleep, it was a different story. No matter how sharp her senses, you just had to be even stealthier. Choi Ji-won was overwhelming, sure, but the other players were superhumans too. With the right traits, slipping goods out of the carriage would be child's play.
And since they'd been told to 'escort' the carriage, the contents were probably something valuable. If they could snatch something good and run, rivalling Choi Ji-won wouldn't be a pipe dream... That was the scheme.
Yet despite the seemingly reasonable suggestion, Choi Ji-won shook her head firmly.
"No, a watch isn't necessary."
"...What do you mean?"
"I'll stand watch alone. If you don't trust me, you're welcome to join me."
"...You'll stand watch alone, the whole night?"
"Yes."
"But then, then... what about tomorrow morning? The carriage will move again when daylight comes—"
"It's fine."
Choi Ji-won's trait, Sword-Body Unity. A trait where the sword gains a human heart, and the human gains the sword's steadfastness.
"I'm confident in my stamina. If I don't sleep for three days, so be it."
Choi Ji-won's stamina was indeed like steel—exactly as the name suggested.