The Regressor Is Mentally Weak (8)
"Look. I get that you're some kind of... big deal. You said you designed this leaf yourself."
One player shook the Frozen Leaf. Perhaps due to the instability of the mana, a corner of the Frozen Leaf tore off on its own.
"But now you're telling us to stop? Because that leaf split in half, you want us to stop? I don't even know what you're trying to do anymore."
"Yeah. You gave us the leaf, but... isn't interpreting it up to us?"
With cold eyes, they stared at the two people who had gone pale. When had it happened? The distance between the pair and the others had grown considerably.
"To clear this... killing them has to be the answer."
"Probably."
-Shing.
Players drew their weapons and aimed them at the man and woman.
Some joke about wanting to be summoned to the Tower, but the Tower is never easy. More than half die in the Tutorial, and the other floors are no different. Without a decent trait, without the quick-witted talent to use it, and without an unbreakable will, climbing the Tower is a challenge every moment and a life-or-death trial. A few floors are safe, but climbers have no way of knowing that before they enter.
And these were players who'd climbed this far in a short time. They weren't pushovers. Killing monsters was practically routine, and they were ready to kill people if necessary. Some had probably already done it. Once they realized the figures before them were inhuman things wearing human forms, there was nothing to hesitate about.
"It's not true, we're not... please..."
"We were wrong... spare us... please..."
"..."
But even those who'd hardened their hearts... weren't ruthless enough to kill people begging so pathetically for their lives. There wasn't a single monster here who had completely abandoned their humanity. At least, not in this group.
"Why aren't you resisting? Are you giving up without a fight?"
"...We're two people. You're eight."
"If you fought back, you could take one or two of us with you."
"...What would be the point? We're all people who gathered here to work together."
"...Or it could be a monster acting to make us let our guard down."
"Yes, that's also a possibility. I won't ask you to drop your guard. But... please, don't kill us. Please. I have to survive."
"I also, I also have to survive... you can tie us up... you can even cut off both our arms... just let us live..."
The man and woman, realizing that their pitiful begging was working, began to bow so low their heads nearly touched the ground. The other players could only swallow hard as they watched.
Could they kill them? They could. If one person acted first, the others would likely follow easily. They had no hesitation about killing monsters.
The first trigger. Everyone was hesitating to pull it. These two were claiming they were human. They were groveling, begging just to be kept alive. They didn't know what was inside yet... but their outward appearance was still human. Starting this by saying "let's just kill them and see" was not something a normal mind would do.
In the end, what they needed was certainty. Certainty that those two were monsters was what it would take to kill them.
"Wait, wait a moment."
And the person who had to provide that certainty was muttering to himself, staring at the leaf split in half. He kept repeating only "wait a moment."
"..."
"..."
The players exchanged glances, then slowly stepped back and lowered their weapons.
"Move a bit farther away. Where we can still see you."
"Leave your weapons on the ground... no, just take off all your clothes and go over there."
"Th-thank you, thank you!"
"As I said, we haven't lowered our guard. We're just waiting for a judgment."
Out of the corner of their eyes, the players watched Kim Jun-ho—that is, they watched me. Since I was the one who handed out the leaves, they seemed to have decided to trust me for now.
"Ugh..."
But I didn't have the presence of mind to care about their stares. Because my head was really, truly... incredibly tangled.
I didn't know how this floor was structured. No, to be precise, I had known, but the smoke made me forget. The problem was, these "forgotten memories" were far too broad.
"How many... times... did I...?"
I vaguely remembered entering Floor 23, looking around, discovering the desolate town, and arriving at the campfire. But beyond that... I didn't know. Had I regressed? Or was this my first time? It was a complete blank.
And this leaf, split in half. What did it mean? What was I trying to communicate?
"..."
I glanced at the man and woman, shivering naked. Had I, before my memory loss, predicted this situation? I didn't know. I couldn't remember, so I didn't know.
The most ideal, rational option here was to regress. To regress, then carefully chew over the situation and move in a better direction.
"...!"
But what if I had already regressed several times? What if this situation had already repeated many times, and every time I regressed I took some action—but always put off the decision at the crucial moment and regressed, only to end up right back at this point? What if the moment I'm agonizing over regression now isn't the first time?
Or, what if regressing doesn't bring my memories back? What if I regressed to gain an information advantage, but after regressing, I remember nothing? What if, under the smoke's influence, I only remember that I regressed but not what happened on Floor 23? Then I'd be trapped in an eternal loop, repeating the same actions like a hamster on a wheel... no, that's not it. If that were the case, I wouldn't have thought to leave a mark with the leaf. My memories are kept to some extent.
Then let's return to the beginning. The one who set this up is "Kim Jun-ho, who possesses information about Floor 23." That's certain.
There are two possibilities I can assume here. The "Perfect Kim Jun-ho" and the "Imperfect Kim Jun-ho."
If an Imperfect Kim Jun-ho scattered these leaves... then even if I correctly interpret the meaning of this split leaf, and even if I follow through exactly, there's still a possibility of failure in the end. Because it would be an experiment by someone who didn't fully understand, trying to gather information.
But what if the Kim Jun-ho who handed out the Frozen Leaves is the "Perfect Kim Jun-ho"?
Imagine Kim Jun-ho, who regressed again and again. Kim Jun-ho, who figured out who the monsters were, who the people were, and the entire structure of this tower. Let's assume he's an omniscient and omnipotent Kim Jun-ho who grasped all causality.
If such a Kim Jun-ho designed this, then the Frozen Leaves are the product of trial and error. A precious result born from repeated failure after failure. And naturally, even the leaf split along a diagonal line is part of that.
He would have even foreseen the dilemma I'm having now. He would have already experienced it through regression. Therefore, there's no chance I'm repeating the same actions now. If that were the case, he would have added some variation and changed the reality.
"The odds are..."
Looking purely at the possibility of clearing this... it's higher if I act on the assumption that the "Perfect Kim Jun-ho" set this board.
What if a muddle-headed Kim Jun-ho set the board? No matter what, I'll gain some information from the process, and I can take one step forward based on that. Since it's certain my memories will be kept.
What if the Perfect Kim Jun-ho set the board? Then I clear it just like that. Without any need to agonize, I just have to do my best to interpret his intentions.
But what if I doubt the "Perfect Kim Jun-ho" here? It doesn't matter if a muddle-headed Kim Jun-ho set the board... but if the "Perfect Kim Jun-ho" set it, then I'm on a direct route to failure. Thinking purely rationally, it's advantageous for me to assume that the Kim Jun-ho who gave me this leaf is the "Perfect Kim Jun-ho."
No, if he truly is the "Perfect Kim Jun-ho," he would have predicted I'd reach this point. Then from now on, I just need to interpret the meaning of this leaf.
"Hmm..."
A Frozen Leaf, split along a diagonal line. Honestly... I had no idea. I hadn't even fully grasped Floor 23 yet, so there was no information I could glean just by looking at this leaf.
Should I just... kill those two? Are they really monsters? What if they're actually people, not monsters? Or some kind of helpful, beneficial monster? If not that, then NPCs? Illusions? I had far too little evidence to judge.
"..."
"P-please, spare us..."
"Please..."
Don't panic. Stay calm. Act like I always have. If I act naturally, I'll be able to grasp the meaning of this leaf in due course. If I'm the "Perfect Kim Jun-ho," then that's what I would have intended.
Like I always have. Like I always have. If I act like I always have here, what would I do? How would the "Perfect Kim Jun-ho" have predicted my actions?
"I've got it."
Right. Before I make any judgment, before I take any action, there's always something I do.
"First, let's proceed through Floor 23 normally. To gather more information."
"...Are you sure?"
"Yes. I'm sure."
Information gathering.