The Regressor Is Mentally Weak (10)
The Regressor Is Mentally Weak (10)
Half. A leaf cut diagonally in two. What that meant was...
"...I've got it."
Finally. I finally understood.
"I know what the leaf means."
The frozen leaf. It's a mark—proof that you're "human." If the seven who'd received leaves were actually monsters, there would have been no reason for my past self to leave me a leaf.
But I still had a leaf. So the frozen leaf is definitely a mark for "human," not "monster."
That raises a question naturally. If the other two were human, why didn't they have a leaf? And why was I holding a leaf with only half remaining?
"The key is saseon—the diagonal line."
"...What?"
"It's not just half. It's saseon."
A line drawn diagonally: saseon. If the intent had simply been to indicate "half," the leaf would have been cut straight across horizontally. But it's diagonal.
A line drawn at an angle. Saseon (斜線): a diagonal line. A diagonal rising from left to right symbolizes connection and integration, while also carrying the meaning of "half."
A brush with death. Saseon (死線): the line between life and death. It means this "disadvantage" will be unbearably difficult to endure.
Four lines. Saseon (四線): four lines. This refers to the four cardinal directions: east, west, south, north.
"...Hey. Don't you think you're reaching a bit? With just a leaf cut in half..."
"Shut up and listen."
I'm probably only half-right. The proposition that there are no monsters and everyone is human is true. The fact that the bottom half of the leaf remained means "we are all humanity sharing the same roots." Therefore, that man and woman are human.
"Hey, someone stop this bastard. He keeps talking nonsense..."
"I said shut up and listen."
"...!"
I paralyzed the heckling player's mouth with a burst of mana, then continued my deduction.
Then why was it cut in half? Why was the leaf split? The part I had wrong is simple.
"There's no need to wait until a monster appears. What it's telling us is to go out and find it ourselves."
The whole premise that this is "a floor you can clear by hunkering down and waiting" is wrong. It's also telling me to act before I collapse. Look at this leaf. It looks like it was sliced clean through with a single sword stroke. It means don't wait—take action.
"The four lines mean the four cardinal directions. From now on, we scatter to the east, west, south, and north, and we find the monster. If we have to, we demolish buildings. If buildings aren't enough, we'll tear up the ground. The monster is hiding somewhere. That's a certainty."
"...Is this motherfucker insane."
"Wait, wait. Listen, friend."
A player who'd been about to speak up with an appalled expression was held back by another player, and they exchanged a few words.
'If that guy goes berserk, we'll have a problem.'
'For now, let's give him what he wants and buy some time.'
"Alright, so we just need to knock all the buildings down, right? Let's do it."
"..."
Did they think I couldn't hear them? Looks like they still don't believe me. Well, watch and see. This is "Perfect Kim Jun-ho's" plan. There's no way it's wrong.
-Boom!
-Rrrumble!
Well, whatever the process... the players began smashing this dreary town to pieces. At first, some questioned why they were doing this, what the point of it was.
"This is kind of fun, actually?"
"KWAHAHAHA!!!"
Soon, they began to enjoy the act of destruction itself. They hadn't said it out loud, but they'd probably been under a lot of stress.
"...Poor bastards. Must've been rough. Looks like they've completely lost their minds."
"...?"
The player next to me smashing stone blocks gave me a weird look. Seems he was embarrassed his inner thoughts had been exposed.
-CRASH!
The gloomy but well-maintained town's original shape was now nowhere to be found. All that remained was a massive amount of dust, heaps of rubble, and the oddly refreshed faces of the players.
"I feel a bit better."
"Definitely better. Ahh, that was refreshing."
Sometimes people feel like wrecking everything in sight. The act of destruction itself carries a strange sense of catharsis, releasing mental fatigue.
But even after all that destruction... the "monster" I'd insisted existed was still nowhere to be seen.
"..."
"..."
Just as the skeptical gazes were turning my way again.
"H-hey, there's something here...!"
The naked man, who'd been under suspicion the entire time, called the players over, saying he'd found something. There was a clearly artificial-looking burrow, cleverly hidden among the stone blocks so it wouldn't normally be discovered. Now that the stone blocks had been smashed, its outline was exposed.
"...I'll go in."
One player with a grim expression entered the burrow, and after a moment, came out holding two writhing masses of tentacles. The tentacles gave off an aura so foul that just looking at them made you grimace, and as I stared, an extremely traumatic scene began replaying in my head...
-RIIIP!
Just as it was about to resurface, the player holding the tentacles tore them apart.
-Two false existences have been eliminated.
-No climbers have died. Clear Reward has been improved.
-False existences were eliminated before they emerged to hunt. A great feat! Clear Reward has been substantially improved.
-Floor 23 has been cleared.
With a low hum, a blue portal opened.
"..."
"..."
The players who'd been staring at the portal for a moment turned to look at me again. The look in their eyes now wasn't the look you give a madman, but closer to the look you give a prophet.
"Seriously... that leaf really had that kind of meaning? And that guy figured it out?"
"You two really were human all along? Not monsters?"
"W-we told you..."
"So the tower... set things up for players to fight each other, and was planning to claim you can clear it just by 'enduring'? What a load of shit."
"How the hell are you supposed to figure that out? Does that make any sense?"
"...There is a guy who figured it out, though, isn't there?"
Again, the moment their gazes turned toward me.
"What did I tell you?"
As I subtly released mana, a mysterious mist spread across the ground. The "Strange Atmosphere" trait was probably playing its part, too.
"If you just figure out the meaning hidden in the leaf, you can clear Floor 23."
All of this was a stage set up by "Perfect Kim Jun-ho." Only a fool would fail to claim the prize. I wasn't wrong. I'm not incompetent. I'm... a man worthy of standing beside Ji-won.
"...My apologies. I thought you were insane."
"We... misunderstood. I'm sorry."
"Th-thank you for helping us survive. Truly, thank you."
The players bowed their heads in apology. But just standing here accepting their thanks makes you an amateur. A real pro knows when to make an exit.
"I have no intention of blaming ignorance. Until next time."
Coolly, but with dignity, I passed through the blue portal and returned to Floor 1. Rumors about the "Immortal Sage" should spread at this rate. Hopefully, it'll be useful later.
"Hoo."
I generated a plush chair and sank into it. I opened a subspace, downed a potion, and relaxed every muscle in my body. As my stress slowly faded, my head throbbed... it seemed my memories were gradually coming back.
Right. I succeeded. Following my own self's plan, I perfectly conquered Floor 23. I had to repeat countless regressions again this time, but in the end, I seized victory...
"..."
Huh?
"?"
Something's... off. My memories feel off. Specifically, the total sum of the returned memories is ridiculously insufficient. There's no memory of the "repeated regressions" I'd been imagining, just the memory of "one regression where I formed a plan."
What the hell happened? When I slowly traced back, the full sequence of events in my memory was this.
**
Right before I headed to the campfire... so, at the start of this cycle. I had considered "the possibility that the monsters didn't exist." What if all ten people are human? How should I handle it?
The solution is simple. I just ask them.
'Do you guys know a man who looks like this? He said he was pretty famous.'
'Oh, yeah, I know him. I know the guy. He's fairly well-known. But why do you ask about him?'
'...How about this woman, by any chance.'
'Yeah. I know her. I figured it out once you gave a rough description.'
'...Damn.'
The man and woman who hadn't been at the campfire but appeared after the fog enveloped everyone... were real people. The players recognized who I was talking about just from a rough description and the weapons they used. They weren't monsters; they were real, living humans.
I'd only stopped for a moment upon realizing this shocking truth. Then I noticed the smoke already pressing in around me. There's no time.
'Here, take these, everyone. Put them on your shoulders.'
'Huh? What are these.'
'Just take them! There's no time!'
I roughly handed out leaves heavily infused with mana, then frantically racked my brain. I had to leave a message for my future self. The simplest way that came to mind was...
-SLAASH!
I flung out mana like a projectile, roughly carving letters into a nearby building wall. It was a very straightforward sentence: "The rest are human too." Unless I was an idiot, seeing this would...
'What?!'
But the moment the billowing smoke touched the wall, the carved section instantly restored itself. The leaves that had fallen to the ground also vanished in an instant. However, the leaves the unexposed players were holding were fine... Could it be that only objects players are holding are out of its influence?
If I'd known this, I would've brought a bunch of leaves, written on them, and held onto them...
'Kh...!'
I'd been lost in thought too long. In a flash, I was exposed to the fog. I tried to quickly bite my cheek, but my body wouldn't obey. I lacked the strength to detonate mana internally and force a regression. In the very last moment, all I could move was a speck of mana.
"..."
I intended to carve an X into the leaf. It was supposed to mean the remaining two weren't enemies. But maybe because I forced myself to squeeze out every last drop of strength, I failed to control the mana, and the leaf I was trying to mark with an X was torn in a diagonal line instead.
After that, well... I came to my senses in the fog, and everything that led to this chaos happened. So, I'd regressed only twice after first entering Floor 23.
Perfect Kim Jun-ho? There's no such thing. Dozens of trials and errors? There weren't any. The leaf? The leaf wasn't cut diagonally on purpose. I'd just failed to carve an X into it.
All the absolute lunacy I'd pulled this cycle?
It was all... my own delusion. Nothing more than the result of acting like a madman because I believed some grand plan existed.
"..."
So then... clearing Floor 23 in one shot? Saving everyone without a single casualty or falling for the tower's schemes?
To sum it up in a word...
"...What the hell."
I successfully, perfectly conquered Floor 23 without a single sacrifice.
All because I jumped to the conclusion that "a plan devised by my own self who's endured countless regressions exists."