The Regressor Gets in Trouble (4)
The Regressor Gets in Trouble (4)
So, imagine an ordinary unemployed guy, Mr. A. No talent, no connections, no money, nothing.
What's the easiest way to turn him into a millionaire? Status Window? Get isekai'd as a hero and return to modern times? Turn him into a cute girl and start streaming online?
Answer: Send him back to before 2010.
Bitcoin, that modern miracle, has completely twisted the plot of every "regress to get rich" novel. No need to regress and start a business. No need to regress and invest. No need to regress and build connections. Just work a part-time job and steadily stack Bitcoin.
In 2009, one Bitcoin was worth less than a single won. In 2013, one Bitcoin was about 100,000 won. And now? One Bitcoin is worth more than a decent car.
Of course, even without Bitcoin, the power of "regression" itself is more than enough of a cheat. If you know the future and still can't make money, you're a complete idiot. The only variable is speed.
And my goal? Get the elixir within one month. It won't be easy, but it's not impossible either.
If there's one piece of know-how I've gained as a professional regressor, it's that you have to gather information first.
In the modern world, a few clicks on a computer and high-quality information pours out. But in a martial arts world like this, information is money and power. Sitting around on your ass isn't going to make any information fall into your lap.
I decided to exploit a wonderful cultural institution that even exists in modern China: guanxi.
"I saw a cat wandering around. It looked so exceptionally refined that it was clearly no ordinary cat, so I made inquiries and learned it was your household's cat."
"M-Meow-meow!!! Thank you! Truly, thank you!"
First, it started with getting to know the wealthy household where I'd previously found their cat. I was offered the position of a household retainer to save face, since they owed me a favor, and I accepted.
The wealthy man who had lost his cat was a successful merchant guild leader, and a house that large naturally saw a constant stream of guests coming and going.
"I heard the Wang family's tanghulu shop over there went under..."
"That Wang fellow should have been a bit kinder... tsk tsk."
"They say an Inspector is coming from the capital... our guild will be fine, right?"
"Hah! Look how honestly we run things! There's nothing we could get caught for—aside from two or three bribes!"
I could pick up a huge amount of information from the comings and goings. Watching useful and useless information naturally sort themselves out over time was quite fascinating.
And so, after a month as a household retainer.
"This is all?"
"Just eat it."
"..."
When the food I was given had degraded to herbs and a tiny saucer of soy sauce, I realized I had overstayed my welcome. Staying over a month when all I'd done was find a cat—had I pushed my luck? I regressed without regret.
After regressing, I repeated the cat-finding routine.
"Sir. I've heard that an Inspector is coming from the capital."
"...Is that true?"
Using information from the previous cycle, I strengthened my position a bit more, then used that stronger position to get my hands on even more information. Each regression lifted my standing higher and higher, like climbing stairs.
"Brother Kim. Here's your lunch."
At first, a mere household retainer.
"Brother Kim. The guild leader has invited you to an evening dinner with the other retainers."
Then, a fairly useful and reliable retainer.
"Teacher Kim. The guild leader has invited you to the banquet."
After that, not just a retainer but an advisor and collaborator.
"Teacher Kim. The guild leader wishes to dine just the two of you and asks whether you have plans this evening."
Eventually, part of the guild and a business partner.
"Teacher Kim? Ah, I know him. Isn't he the young gentleman who's been the most successful these days?"
"Teacher Kim predicted the future correctly again, they say. Rumor has it he's an Immortal Sage who cultivated the Way in the mountains—could it be true?"
"I just want to share a single meal with Teacher Kim..."
Regress. Regress. And regress again.
Each regression gave me access to more and more important information. Each regression let me seize more and more in my hands. Each regression won me better treatment.
I'll be honest. For the first time, regression felt enjoyable.
Repeating regression just to get stronger is boring. Constant fighting is exhausting. But climbing higher and higher in the social order based on information—that was like a drug. Because I could see their reactions changing and feel how differently I was being treated.
What if there were no Tower, and I'd just been given regression without the pressure of carrying the future on my shoulders? Maybe I would've thoroughly enjoyed regression in the modern world. Once as a successful entrepreneur. Once as a young scientific genius. Once as a soldier. Once as a politician.
That's what regression on Floor 18 was like. Within the big goal of "gathering enough information," I enjoyed life. At first, the fact that my power was limited had stressed me out, but looking at it now, it was a blessing.
Because I'd set my direction from the start toward gathering enough power to obtain information, rather than rolling around to earn it through combat, I had no reason to regress mid-battle.
Not everything was fun, of course.
"Hey. Wake up."
"...?"
One day, I came to my senses to find a bandit poking me by a river valley. The night before, I'd had a heavy drinking session with the guild people and fallen asleep. Why was I here?
"Ah."
Only then did I realize I had regressed. They must have poisoned the alcohol, or someone slipped a blade in while I was asleep. If my body hadn't been so weakened, I would've noticed with my sharp senses, but I was too feeble to react.
Right. They're keeping me in check, huh. I wasn't so much angry as fired up with competitive spirit. If I have the cheat of regression and can't even overcome this, what good is it?
"Sir. That guy over there—he's been cooking the account books."
"Wh-What do you mean! Do you have proof!"
"Yes. Here is the proof."
"..."
Pushed out the arrogant ones. Dismissed the useless ones. Scared the treacherous ones so badly they'd never try it again. My own martial strength worked as a kind of bonus.
The speed at which I built my standing accelerated with every repeated regression. Occasionally, when assassins came, I'd suppress them with my own hands. After dying to an assassin who used poison needles and regressing, I always wore thick padded clothing. As long as I didn't regress from a stray needle, the assassins were nothing to fear.
At some point, I even forgot about clearing Floor 18 and became completely absorbed in climbing up, higher and higher. Build connections, use connections to make money, use that money to build more valuable connections.
Charging forward nonstop, then at some moment.
"Lord Jun-ho. It's here."
"Hm."
I had become the head of a massive merchant guild. Dozens of people moved at a single word from me, and letters full of interesting information piled up on my office desk every day. An achievement accomplished in barely eight months.
Now, I could oversee this vast land from my seat. As a bonus, when I ordered reports on the movements of people showing suspicious behavior, a whole bunch of players got caught in the net.
What was Ji-won doing? She'd cleared Floor 18 long ago. I'd sent word through another player a few months back, so she's probably not too worried.
Now, I could obtain the elixir easily. No, not just the elixir—I could obtain anything money could buy.
"So there's no Daoist with the surname Jang?"
"No. My apologies."
The very "Jang" I'd been looking for was either holed up in the mountains or had vanished. I knew the locations of other Overseers, but since he was the man I'd originally targeted, I wanted to finish it through him. Even if I returned to reality now, America's secret warehouse was already gone, and the monsters were about to emerge soon, so there was no information I lacked. Rather than rushing to clear and return to reality, I wanted to see Floor 18 to its end.
"Bring me all information from the period eight months ago."
"Understood."
From this point on, I prepared for regression. People to visit the moment I regressed. Items to buy. Villains to blackmail. I stacked them up one by one, carefully, without wasting time—exactly like preparing a speedrun build for a game.
What I completed was exactly a one-month plan. If I stayed busy running around for a month, I would narrowly acquire enough money and power to get my hands on the elixir.
"Hmm..."
Since there was a chance of failure, I crammed more information than strictly necessary into my head, then regressed.
I put some bandits who tried to pick a fight in their place without much trouble, and according to plan, rushed around the city even on sleepless nights. There were parts where the information was off, and parts where I missed a bid by just a few hours and took a loss... but in the big picture, everything went according to plan.
"Here it is."
"This is..."
"Yes. Please handle it with care."
Just a month and a half after regressing.
I held the thousand-year snow ginseng, the supreme elixir, in my hands.