The Regressor Is Mentally Weak (1)
The Regressor Is Mentally Weak (1)
"So... you don't know the sacrifice requirements for players with S-rank traits or SS-rank traits?"
"I can't say. The book only reveals information when the threshold is met. It doesn't show specific numerical sacrifice values. If it did, we could've worked backwards and obtained far more data."
"Ah."
Choi Ji-won and Martin continued talking, but I couldn't focus at all.
No matter how I thought about it, the cause could only be Dok Su-hee. I didn't remember doing anything from Floor 16 to Floor 22 that would alter history. I might not know what happened before my regression, but after it, I'd cleared the tower quietly. Only a month had passed.
But Dok Su-hee? She could be a variable. If she'd acquired future knowledge... she could easily influence what's ahead. And as an inventory ability user, Dok Su-hee could prevent the U.S. human sacrifice plan. The disappearance of the U.S. warehouse must be a butterfly effect from that.
If the result was the Association's decline, further collapse of the U.S. government, and Michael Jeter preparing a massive counterpunch... I was ready to applaud. From where I stood, the outcome looked pretty decent.
The U.S. government, the root of all this evil? It deserves ruin.
And the Association, their puppet? No different—just another entrenched rot that needs to be swept away.
Observing from up close, Michael Jeter genuinely seemed like a decent person, so Dok Su-hee probably threw her support behind him. She must've figured that clearing out all that garbage and putting Michael Jeter on top was the ideal outcome, so she got to work. She's selfish, but she isn't thoughtless. If she were, she would've been caught before betraying me on Floor 3.
Still, whether I call it a question or a problem... I don't get why she didn't contact me directly. If she'd come to me and said, 'The U.S. government is attempting human sacrifice. I need a regressor's help,' she could've scored points with me and stopped the disaster far more easily.
Michael Jeter wouldn't have ignored Choi Ji-won's opinion either... Things would've resolved much faster... Well, she must have her reasons. Maybe she can't make contact right now, or she's tied up in some urgent mission.
Or maybe she's clever enough to want me to figure it out on my own. Good deeds done right in front of you can feel like a performance, their sincerity suspect... but if you stumble across them by chance, they feel more moving, more genuine. If Dok Su-hee was trying to advertise her own goodness, it worked.
"Why are you telling me all this?"
"Miss Ji-won... I'm hoping you'll support the Association Chairman. The path he's walking is lined with thorns. With help from a hero like you... things would go much more smoothly."
"Mm... I'm not sure I can decide that right now."
Even as my thoughts churned, Martin and Choi Ji-won's conversation continued. Choi Ji-won's relentless information-gathering went on until the auction period ended and Floor 22 auto-cleared. I hid behind a tree and listened to the whole thing.
Feels like my to-do list for the outside world just got longer.
- Floor 22 cleared.
**
We set aside the reward items for the moment and grabbed our phones.
"What about Dok Su-hee? Did she answer?"
"...No."
I sent a text to the number Dok Su-hee gave me in the previous cycle, but no reply came. Looks like my guess was right—she's in no position to be contacted.
But that just means we can't reach her right now. The situation itself is positive.
"Things are going well, right?"
"Yeah."
There's a saying: when one thing goes right, everything else follows. All according to plan.
Climbing the tower fast? I cleared from Floor 16 to Floor 22 in barely a month. If this pace holds, I could conquer the tower before the monsters even show up. Not that it'll stay this easy.
And is reality turning negative? Not that either.
At first I thought the U.S. and the Association were collapsing, but that's just Association Chairman Michael Jeter's plan. With Dok Su-hee's help, he's launched a scheme to sweep out all the entrenched rot cleanly.
Of course, all of this is just what a mid-level Association officer named Martin told us, and we still need to verify things independently... But the truth probably isn't far off. The U.S. government is incompetent and Michael Jeter is capable—I already knew that from repeated regressions.
"If we could reach Dok Su-hee... or at least get in touch with Michael Jeter, that'd be best."
"I already sent an email... What do you want to do? Wait for them to get back to us, then regress once we fully grasp the situation?"
"That does make sense."
Going into Floor 23 blind right now would be a hundred times worse than understanding the situation first and then regressing. Acting while knowing you'll regret it is stupid, but rushing in and regretting it is even stupider.
"So, want to rest until then?"
"Should we?"
I can't help it—the thought of resting lifts my mood. A soft bed for once, good food, some games...
I'd drawn up grand plans to just laze around, but there was one variable I hadn't accounted for.
Barely a day after clearing Floor 22.
- This is Association Chairman Michael Jeter. I was meaning to contact you first, but fate connected us anyway. I've heard the broad strokes from Martin. May we meet in person to talk?
- Sure. Shall we talk at my house, where we met before?
- Excellent. I'll come via Spatial Transfer.
Michael Jeter got in touch.
Which meant...
"Let's go, Jun-ho."
"...Hah."
There was no time to rest.
**
Choi Ji-won's house. Living room.
Michael Jeter appeared through Spatial Transfer, looking exactly the way I remembered.
Slightly wavy black hair. Deep-set eyes. Broad shoulders and a tall frame. A white man with an aura that said 'trustworthy.'
Then again, it had only been a month—of course he'd look the same as my memory. If someone's face changed in a month, that'd be weirder.
"A pleasure."
"Yes. Good to see you."
Michael Jeter extended a rough hand, and Choi Ji-won took it naturally for a handshake.
Then Jeter's gaze shifted to me.
"...Kim Jun-ho. No, Jun-ho."
"...?"
Michael Jeter blinked a couple of times, then smoothly offered his hand. What was that about? Weird. I shook his hand, a bit unsettled.
"Well then, have a seat."
Right after that brief greeting, Jeter immediately sat down and gestured for us to join him. Isn't the host supposed to do that?
"I believe you already know the broad strokes. The current Association is rotten and must be purged."
"Yes. That's what Mr. Martin told us."
"Would you be willing to publicly support me, Miss Ji-won?"
"...I still don't have a full grasp of the situation, so that would be difficult."
"I see."
Michael Jeter nodded as if he'd expected that answer.
"The reason I've come to find you... is to ask a favor."
"A favor?"
"Yes. It arose three weeks ago, when I cleared Floor 29 and decided to tear the Association down to its foundations."
"...Hold on. You cleared Floor 29?"
"That's right."
"As recently as a month ago, weren't you saying you'd cleared Floor 23?"
"Yes. From Floor 24 to 29 only took me a week. Though... I suppose that part isn't getting through."
He was on Floor 23 a month ago? My memories are all tangled from repeated regressions, but if Ji-won says so, it's true. So a month ago, Michael Jeter cleared Floor 23. That really drives home how fast we're closing the gap. We've practically caught up to the chin of a man like Michael Jeter.
And then he goes even further—Michael Jeter says he reached Floor 29 in just one week. If he did it, we could too... but he pulled it off without regression.
My awe was short-lived, though. I collected myself and noticed Michael Jeter staring straight at me.
"But before that... is there something you'd like to ask me? Jun-ho?"
"Huh?"
"Your lips have been twitching for a while... Go ahead. Feel free."
"Ah. Thank you."
Was I that obvious? Mentally kicking myself, I asked the question I'd been holding inside.
"So, um... did Dok Su-hee not come with you? I can't seem to reach her."
"...You mean Miss Dok Su-hee?"
"Yes."
Michael Jeter answered our call, but Dok Su-hee is still completely silent. If she really was the one who influenced Jeter, I have more than a few things to ask her face-to-face.
But Dok Su-hee has gone dark, and only Michael Jeter showed up. I asked because I figured a superior like Michael Jeter would know where she was...
"...How did you know Miss Su-hee belongs to the Association?"
"...Ah."
I'd completely overlooked it.
The fact that, in this uninterrupted timeline since Floor 3, I have never crossed paths with Dok Su-hee.