The Regressor Has It Easy (4)
The Regressor Has It Easy (4)
"...Does that even make sense?"
"Right? ...Just a moment. I'll look into this a little more. Could you wait a bit longer? This is the first time something like this has happened..."
"Ah, sure."
Leaving the management Angel who was tapping intently at empty air, I walked over to the haughty Angel from before, who was now standing rigidly, and nudged them with my elbow.
"Um... hey."
"Y-yes..."
The haughty Angel nodded, their face pale. At first, I'd meant to ask, 'Does this happen often?' but judging by the Angel's reaction, it clearly didn't. Then again, if it happened often, they would have fixed it by now.
If I asked why, they'd just say they were checking. If I asked for a solution, they wouldn't have one ready. In the end, all I could do was sit down and wait.
About ten minutes slipped by. A cool breeze tickled my head.
"What's going on?"
"Dunno... There's two Angels over there..."
A couple of players who had been training wandered over to see what the fuss was about. The management Angel approached me, stroking their chin.
"Hmm... I've roughly identified the cause..."
"First, to confirm, I'll need the climber's cooperation... would you assist me?"
"Ah, yes."
"Could you open your Status Window for me?"
"...My Status Window?"
An Angel—and not just any Angel, but a 'management Angel'—asking me to open my Status Window sent a chill down my spine. What if I opened it, the Angel saw my traits, spotted 'Regression,' and suddenly turned hostile and threatened me?
"Ah, nothing like what you're imagining will happen. An Archangel might be able to view it, but with our level of authority, we can't see your Status Window."
Perhaps my concern showed on my face, because the management Angel moved to reassure me. I kept myself ready to cut my finger with my sword at any moment.
"...Status Window."
[Name: Kim Jun-ho] [LV:74]
[Traits]
-Regression [EX]
-Flash Step [S]
-Heart of Lightning [S]
-Curiosity [A]
-Awe [A]
-Hero [C+]
-Meditation [A+]
-Swordsmanship [A] [Specialization Recognized]
-Cold Affinity [A]
-Strange Atmosphere [E]
-Quick Reflexes [C]
-Excellent Cardiopulmonary Endurance [C]
-Right Mindfulness [C]
The Status Window showed no major changes from before. The only notable thing was that my Achievement Level had gone up a little.
"Huh?"
No, wait. The Meditation trait level had risen to A+. Was what I'd just done a form of 'Meditation'?
While checking my Status Window, I glanced at the two Angels to gauge their reaction. Seeing no response, it seemed they really couldn't see it.
"Did the Status Window open?"
"Ah, yes. It opens."
"Then it's not a problem with the Tower's connection... it's a judgment issue from when you entered."
The management Angel scratched the back of their head as if troubled, but also looked somewhat relieved.
"You have a mana-related trait, correct? A sensory-type one."
"Uh..."
"That seems to be what caused it. You must have instinctively sensed something odd and severed the link to Floor 17. The entry condition for Floor 17 is to 'Watch the Angel's projection until the end.' It's fortunate that this is a documented case."
The management Angel nodded, seemingly having satisfied themselves with their own explanation. I had nothing to say, so I went along with it.
"But what should we do about this...? This is an issue we can't resolve at our level. It seems like an Archangel will have to come to take action... but they are currently absent. I've contacted them, so could you wait a little longer?"
The management Angel explained calmly, like a manager who had stepped in to resolve a complaint.
"Ah."
Though I said it was fine, I had absolutely no intention of meeting an Archangel face-to-face. The Angels might act friendly, but it was already near-certain that the God who created this Tower harbored malice toward humanity, and highly likely that the Archangels, as God's direct subordinates, shared the same ideology.
So I needed to regress now, but...
Regression.
How exactly would regression work in this situation?
There were two possibilities.
First: my entry to Floor 17 would become an event that never happened, and I would regress to the moment I first entered Floor 16.
But that was unlikely. As I understood it, regression was based on 'records.'
Regression always used the moment I first entered a floor as its anchor point. So it would be strange if, just because it was now a state of 'never having entered Floor 17,' the regression anchor suddenly changed to Floor 16.
"Hmm..."
If regression used the last floor I entered as its anchor, then my thinking was correct. But if regression was based on my 'current state,' the story changed a little.
The Angel just said that my current state was 'cleared Floor 16 but has not entered Floor 17.' So what if the Regression trait functioned based on my current state? 'Oh? This guy hasn't entered Floor 17 yet? Guess I'll send him to Floor 16~' — what if it worked like that?
Then I would really return to Floor 16. That would raise a lot of questions, but since it hadn't happened yet, I set the thought aside.
The second possibility was that even if I regressed, it would be to Floor 17.
This would be the case if regression worked in the 'record' format I originally imagined. Even if things had turned strange, regression would still anchor to the moment I entered Floor 17, so taking damage would send me back to that moment.
Even within that, there were several sub-possibilities.
Was the standard of 'Regression' absolute, existing above the Tower's system, making it unaffected by a mere system glitch?
Or if the same phenomenon happened when I entered a different floor, would I truly regress to the previous floor?
Or was the regression point determined by some complex, subtle process beyond my perception?
The absolute worst case would be if the regression suddenly broke and stopped working... but I decided not to think about that. Because then I'd be utterly screwed.
Everything was just speculation. And there was only one way to confirm it.
Scrape.
A Regressor should never be afraid to hurt themselves.
[You have taken damage.]
[Regressing to the moment you first entered Floor 17.]
***
"How much do you know about yourself?"
"So it's Floor 17."
Was this a relief? Or a disappointment? The moment I regressed, I heard that familiar male voice.
Instinctively, I probed my soul, and just like before, I could perceive the thinly connected thread of mana.
If I severed this now, just like the previous cycle, the management Angel would appear, calling it a 'bug.' I had no intention of repeating the same thing, so I quietly listened to the man's explanation.
"Your home. How much of it do you know? You probably know the living spaces well. But what about under the bed? Between the walls. Or beneath the floorboards. Do you know those unseen places just as well?"
But judging by the management Angel's attitude, it seemed even Angels couldn't directly interfere with the Tower's system. To be precise, the Tower felt like a machine or device, and the Angels simply maintained it. Like how a fast-food employee can't fix a broken kiosk, the management Angel had to wait for a specialist when the system glitched.
After filing away the insight that the Tower operated like a machine, I briefly considered my next move.
"Prove it."
While I was thinking about other things, the projection in my mind ended, and I returned to reality. The thread of mana that had been thinly connected to my soul had also vanished. So it was designed to disappear on its own if you waited.
"Thank you for your work."
"Ah, yes."
I strode toward the center of the village and greeted the Angel. The haughty Angel, who seemed about to explain something, just accepted my greeting awkwardly.
There was no need to hesitate. Without delay, I placed my hand on the large rock and poured in as much mana as I could.
—Hiiiissss.
The spot where my hand touched glowed blue with a hiss like meat searing. The Angel, who had been watching to see what I would do, slowly widened their eyes.
"There, I broke it. Please open the portal."
The mark of a real man.
Wasting no time.
—You have cleared Floor 17.
**
After returning to reality.
"So this thing happened."
When I sat at the table and explained my experience to Choi Ji-won, her face immediately crumpled.
"...You nearly got into big trouble, didn't you?"
"Well, for me, it's always like that."
"Hey!!!"
"...Sorry."
Right after soothing Choi Ji-won's anger, I started talking about the new enlightenment I'd gained.
"So, this mana—it comes from the soul."
I told her about how I looked back at myself in the void of nothingness.
"So, should I call it a link? I could feel it. It was really faint, but somehow I could perceive it."
I told her about becoming aware of my soul's form.
"And the soul seems to persist even after regression, so there's something to be careful about. Those wounds stay permanently."
How precious and helpful this experience would be. And how she, too, must eventually reach this realm. I compiled everything I'd learned on Floor 17 and poured it into Choi Ji-won.
"...Aha."
Choi Ji-won didn't look like she understood a thing. I hadn't expected her to realize it right away, since I wouldn't have understood it either if I hadn't invested so much time.
"Ah, and regarding the regression judgment..."
This was the main point.
"When I enter Floor 18... I'm planning to deliberately sever that link. If I can sever it, that is."
"...Are you crazy?"
"No, listen. This could be absolutely insane."
I intended to test the possibility of regressing to a previous floor.