The Regressor Is Too Strong (2)
The Regressor Is Too Strong (2)
-Entering Floor 22.
My consciousness surfaced from the blackout. I circulated the mana drifting languidly inside my body and at the same time radiated it outward, securing my surroundings. The process was seamless—natural, even. I was almost impressed by myself.
On Floor 16, the Sign Angel Anael had told me, "It isn't just Traits. Everything is connected. Touch one thing, and the rest are affected." Training such meticulous mana control had made my overall mana manipulation more adept—less that I'd "grown stronger" and more that I'd become "more efficient."
More importantly, where was Ji-won? She didn't seem to be right next to me. Even when I tried to spread my mana out to find her, it wouldn't extend far—as if I were submerged in some thick liquid.
"Hmm..."
I looked around. Trees and grass. Not an oppressively dense forest—just one with a pleasantly lively feel. The sky was blue, the sun was warm... It was a forest scene so picturesque it felt surreal. Ah—something over there.
Nothing else stood out, and since I hadn't been given anything resembling a task for Floor 22, I headed straight for the thing I'd spotted in the distance.
"...A village?"
Now that I looked... a village. Wooden buildings painted in warm tones. A road paved with cobblestones. Villagers smiling as they wiped sweat from their brows. Tucked between the not-too-tall trees, the scene was practically a painting. If you asked an AI to draw a "happy medieval village," this was the sort of image you'd get.
"...?"
What ruined this idyllic village scene were the hollow-eyed oddballs in armor with darting gazes. Every last one wore gleaming armor and carried sharp weapons. They sat sprawled across the center of the village, eyeing each other. I sensed a substantial amount of mana inside them—no need to say it: players.
"Dwarf-forged armor really has become the school uniform."
On Floor 11, after I'd resolved the dwarves' conflict, every player ended up outfitted in shining dwarf-made armor. It had practically become the easiest way to identify a player. But more to the point—why were all the players here?
I felt a bit off-put, but the moment I stepped into the village entrance, all the vacant stares turned toward me.
"He's here."
"He came."
"He's strong."
"We'd better register."
They stared at me as their hands began to move busily. That synchronized, mechanical movement—the entire group acting in unison—was chilling.
"Uh, umm...?"
Creeped out, I reflexively stepped back.
Ding.
{Welcome to the 'Starting Village'!}
{Beginners, be sure to speak with Village Chief Alex!}
A message window materialized in front of my eyes. Having text pop up out of nowhere was pretty familiar by now, but something felt off.
"...Now what?"
It was different. Yeah—the UI was different. The font was different, the color of the box around the text was subtly different. If the old "message window" felt like a dry, no-frills notification, the text floating before me now was flashy and polished.
So... like a game.
<Floor 22>
-The courage to walk a path others do not. Prove your courage.
-Items obtained on Floor 22 can only be used on Floor 22.
-Rewards are determined by the rarity of the 'Collectible' submitted to the Exchange. Only one submission is allowed.
"Oh, Jun-ho! There you are!"
As the familiar "message window" appeared, I spotted Choi Ji-won approaching from the far side of the village.
First things first... I should go see the Village Chief.
**
Finding the chief wasn't hard. The second-largest building in the village was his house.
"Welcome! Have a seat."
The Village Chief greeted us with a grin the size of a washbasin. The problem was... we hadn't said a word yet. He just welcomed us like that the moment we arrived.
"Fresh adventurers like yourselves are truly rare these days. Young folks just don't have any drive. Why, back in my day... Oh, right—I hear the youth don't enjoy such talk. My apologies. Heh heh."
"...Excuse me?"
"You've only just begun your adventure. Everything must feel strange and awkward. But don't you worry! I'll do everything in my power to lend a hand!"
There were clearly two of us—Ji-won and me—yet he kept saying "you." And he ignored us even when we spoke, just saying his bit. Above all, his lip movements and voice were subtly unnatural.
"It's like a game, isn't it?"
A game. Yes—a game for sure. If this space wasn't reality but some kind of virtual space, then it made sense why my mana couldn't spread out properly. And it explained the chief's odd behavior, as well as that strange UI from earlier.
"You can find all manner of things outside the village! Animal hides, useful herbs, someone's lost bag—and with a great deal of luck, you might even discover a legendary mineral! Bring them back to the village and submit them to the 'Exchange,' and twelve hours later their value will be determined through auction."
While we pondered, the chief prattled on earnestly.
"Of course, finding rare items is no simple feat. Is starting from nothing ever easy? To assist such beginners, the village shop sells various items. Naturally, they aren't free. Help the villagers with their work, receive wages, and purchase them. The details—well, experience them for yourselves! Now go—begin your adventure!"
He rattled off his lines rapid-fire, then sank into a rocking chair by the fireplace and started drinking cocoa.
"...Excuse me?"
"Experience the details for yourselves! I'll be resting for a spell."
"..."
Fine—I got the gist of it. So the structure of this village was similar to Floor 11.
Find rare items outside the village, submit them to the "Exchange," and Floor 22 was done. Though, with all this emphasis on "adventure," finding them probably wouldn't be nearly as easy as before.
"We're out."
"We're out."
The moment we stepped outside the chief's house, countless stares pinned us—pinned Choi Ji-won, to be exact.
"...What's with all the staring?"
An irritated Choi Ji-won posed the question, but no one answered. They just gulped and kept staring at her. The sight of everyone—men and women, young and old—scrutinizing her like that... was deeply unpleasant.
It seemed I wasn't the only one who felt that way. Scowling, Choi Ji-won pulled out Boongboong-yi and slung it over her shoulder.
"Are you trying to pick a fight? What the hell is this?"
"Hold on. We don't have bad intentions here."
Only then did one of the watching players speak up.
"You just got here, right? Aren't you curious why we're all doing this?"
"...Tell me."
"We're all here because of the 'Hidden Pieces.' You've probably caught on by now, but this isn't reality. It's best seen as inside some sort of virtual reality. The laws of physics are subtly different, and the way people respond is unnatural."
The player kept explaining in a hollow tone.
"Most importantly, whoever made this must have read a lot of web novels... 'Hidden Pieces' are stashed all over. Things that are hard to find or require bizarre actions to obtain—only then do you get valuable loot. If the best material you can find normally is judged [A]-rank, hidden ones can reach [S]-rank, sometimes even [SSS]-rank. I hear there are three guys in the advance party who snagged SSS-rank rewards."
"...And so, you're all doing this because of the Hidden Pieces?"
"Yeah. If we're going to clear Floor 22 anyway, shouldn't we do it while getting the best rewards to increase our survival rate later? About half the players stuck on Floor 22 are outside looking for Hidden Pieces themselves. The rest of us—that's us—are looking for Hidden Pieces inside the village. Wasting time stings, but the rewards are tempting enough to justify the risk."
"..."
"Choi Ji-won, it's not like we're hostile toward you. We're just... eager. That's why we're staring. I hope you don't misunderstand."
As soon as he'd finished speaking, the sharp focus of all the gazes slowly dispersed. I couldn't say that player had told us the whole truth, but it didn't seem like a complete lie, either.
"...Jun-ho, follow me for a second."
Staring flatly at the players, Choi Ji-won pulled me toward the village outskirts. We held a quiet discussion out of earshot and concluded that, for now, trusting those people was probably best.
"Should we regress first?"
"Let's do that. When I regress to the village, I'll give you a more detailed explanation."
"Got it. Then, see you in a bit."
I bit the inside of my cheek out of habit and began to organize my thoughts.
I'd roughly grasped the structure of Floor 22. Starting over from the beginning was a clear advantage. This time I'd need to wander the suspicious areas right away and aim for those "Hidden Pieces" they'd mentioned.
I still didn't know what "items" you could buy from the shop, and I hadn't figured out the specific reason those people were just squatting in the village square... but time would take care of that. If I kept regressing, I'd end up learning that kind of info whether I wanted to or not.
But where should I go first? The advance party had probably already licked the inside of the village clean. Anything left would just be snatched up by that lot first. The first thing that came to mind was the peak of the distant mountain. The highest point, or a cave nearby—something had to be there. Or maybe following the river all the way downstream would be a good bet. Actually finding Hidden Pieces wasn't what worried me. As long as Choi Ji-won was here, I basically had a cheat code. The question wasn't "can it be cleared"—it was "how to clear it."
"Jun-ho?"
My long train of thought was cut off by Choi Ji-won. She was looking at me with an expression of profound confusion. Wait. Long train of thought?
"...Huh?"
The inside of my cheek still stung. I ran my tongue over it—a small jolt of pain, and the coppery tang of blood filled my mouth. Yes, the taste of blood. It had been a long time.
"..."
The ominous feeling that had been creeping up my spine flooded through my body, and my blood ran cold. This place was inside a virtual reality game. Which meant—it wasn't real.
Which meant that even if I got hurt here, my real body, wherever it was, wouldn't have a scratch.
"Oh my God."
Which also meant I couldn't regress.