The Regressor Is Convinced (2)
- Girl's Cheer [A]
- 5 seconds before a threat closes in, you can perceive a sense of ominousness.
- The Trait activates and is then removed from your Status Window.
Girl's Cheer. An A-rank Trait I obtained by repeating regressions on Floor 21. The effect, to put it simply, functions as an alarm. Or maybe like the canary miners used to carry.
"So... the Girl's Cheer Trait activated?"
"Yeah."
Girl's Cheer had stayed quiet until now... but right before we entered Floor 25, it triggered abruptly. Along with the message that the Trait activates and is then removed from the Status Window.
"The Status Window persists even through regression..."
That's exactly why I've been able to duplicate elixirs all this time. Spirit medicines affect the Status Window, and Status Window data survives regression. A core principle.
But now it gets removed from the Status Window? That means it will never activate again, across every regression cycle.
Wait, it's an A-rank Trait, and it's single-use? What a joke. A little 'single-use only' note up front would've been nice.
Comparable A-grade Traits I have include Curiosity, Awe, Meditation, Swordsmanship, and Cold Affinity. All solid, all core Traits I rely on heavily. For reference, my S-rank Traits are Flash Step and Heart of Lightning. I'd planned to use Heart of Lightning right before fighting the Dancing Ghost... and Flash Step, honestly, has been useless so far. I still don't understand why it's S-rank.
In any case, finding out an A-rank Trait is single-use stings a bit. Or maybe it's just shabby. And the way it stayed silent this whole time only to trigger now feels suspicious, too. Plenty to think about.
"No, hold on. Let's think about this from the opposite angle."
The one who cooled my head down was Choi Ji-won.
"Instead of thinking, 'this piece of junk is A-rank?,' doesn't this mean Floor 25 we're about to walk into is dangerous enough to trigger an A-rank Trait?"
"...That's a solid point."
Right, let's shift our perspective. Girl's Cheer, which only activates once, isn't a garbage Trait; rather, Floor 25 is so perilous that it triggered an A-rank Trait.
In practice, when players ambushed me on Floor 22, when I faced monsters on Floor 23, and when I fought ghosts on Floor 24, this Trait did not activate at all. In hindsight, it must be because those were situations I could handle. By that logic, Floor 25 likely holds a direct threat beyond my ability to resolve.
"Hm."
Objectively, I'm quite strong. And thorough. Every time I enter the Tower, I keep my guard up.
If someone like that ends up in a crisis the moment they step inside... what could cause it? What is so dangerous that an A-rank Trait activated?
Three main possibilities come to mind right away.
First.
"Poison."
A hostile environment, poison chief among them. That's a crisis I cannot deal with.
Poison remains... beyond my ability to address. It just is. It's been that way since the Tutorial.
Rumor has it that precise Mana Control can slow the spread, or that you can generate some kind of force field to block poison temporarily. (The rumor originates from the American Civil War. They say strange hybrid combat mixing player superhuman abilities and modern warfare tactics is ongoing over there.)
But these are methods I've never tested, and the intel itself is nothing more than hearsay, so attempting them immediately poses problems.
Moreover, even if it isn't strictly 'poison,' any floor that meets the condition of 'continuous minor damage' is hell for me.
Extreme cold could be covered by Cold Affinity, but what about searing heat, a sandstorm that shreds skin, thick hailstones falling from the sky, or even razor-sharp grass that cuts you just by walking through it? These are all environments I want to avoid.
What if it isn't any of that?
Second.
"...An Archangel."
The case where an Archangel has set a trap to catch the Regressor.
Maybe they temporarily made Floor 25 an uncleared state, set a snare that instantly seals anyone who enters, or perhaps the Archangel personally is waiting at the entrance.
This scenario only holds if the Archangel noticed the incident on Floor 24. Contrary to my expectations, the Archangel might have detected the past alteration, removed the ghosts to prevent Floor 24's collapse, and is now lying in wait on Floor 25 to deal with me.
The first thing that pops into my head, from a commonsense standpoint, is: can a being on the level of an Archangel just move around that freely? But all my notions of 'an Archangel would do this!' are purely guesswork, aren't they? You can't apply human standards to predict the movements of an unknown entity.
What if it's not an Archangel, either?
Third.
"Just... a monster might be there."
The simplest explanation. A ridiculously powerful monster simply waiting at the entrance. If that's the case, then the Girl's Cheer Trait activating makes perfect sense.
"Mm..."
All three are valid, and each has its own plausible reasoning. The problem is that the moment I poke my body in to confirm which one, I might get corner-checked.
My regression point is the moment I first enter each floor. Once I step inside Floor 25, I can't leave until I clear it. To turn conjecture into certainty, I need information—but the irony is that entering would destroy me.
How... how should I...
"Jun-ho?"
"Huh? Did you come up with a good idea?"
"Just... how about I go first? I go in, clear it, and then come tell you what was dangerous. Simple, right?"
"...No, even if you tell me, I can't perceive it anyway. Information about an uncleared floor can't be relayed."
"Mm... that's true. Then how about this? First, I clear Floor 25."
"...And then?"
"And then, we do an Accompanied Regression. Then I clear Floor 25 again. Since I'll have the memory of clearing Floor 25."
"..."
"Once I've accumulated enough information and I'm absolutely certain I can clear it no matter what... then you and I go in together and clear Floor 25 for good. How about that?"
"...What if it's a solo floor?"
"Then, well, nothing we can do about that. Still, isn't this the best option right now?"
"..."
I wanted to object. My heart felt that way. I wanted to say anything, anything at all, to prove that Choi Ji-won was wrong.
But no words came. My reason acknowledged it: Choi Ji-won's opinion was valid.
"That really is the best option..."
This is a floor where an A-rank Trait warns you to 'be careful' before you even step inside. If I just blindly charge in, I have no idea what kind of disaster might await.
If there were no regression? Then I'd just go. But precisely because regression exists, because the danger of being trapped in an endlessly repeating time loop exists... it's clear that having Choi Ji-won enter first is optimal.
"I'll go. Michael Jeter cleared it, all the other players cleared it too, right? You think I can't do it? That's not the case, is it?"
"...It's not."
"You trust me?"
"I do."
"Then leave it to me. Don't worry too much."
"..."
Choi Ji-won gathered up the equipment she had briefly set aside. Her resolve was firm.
"...Alright."
I nodded with the heart of a husband who'd been laid off, turned into a jobless bum wasting time at home every day, seeing his wife off to work. It stung my pride and pulled deep sighs out of me... but there was no helping it.
From a pure tower-conquest standpoint... this is correct.
"I'll be back soon."
"...Yeah."
Choi Ji-won vanished beyond the portal. And then there was no one. When two people were here, the space felt full, but now my rented room abruptly felt hollow, completely empty.
"..."
I did nothing and stared vacantly into the air for a moment, then thought I should do something, pulled out my phone and fiddled with it briefly, gave up, and just stared up at the clock.
Watching the person I love sacrifice herself for my sake... was agonizing. Even though I know there's no alternative, even though I know this is the right call, a force-majeure disgust sits inside me.
Frustration. Gratitude. Helplessness.
I chewed on the swirling emotions and watched the clock in silence.
Choi Ji-won returned two hours later.
**
About two hours later. Choi Ji-won returned, pale-faced, a potion still in her mouth. The veins in her neck stood out blue, her breathing visibly ragged.
"Cough, cough, urgh..."
No, now she dropped the potion she'd been holding in her mouth and ran to the bathroom to vomit repeatedly.
Seeing Choi Ji-won this weakened... at least seeing her so thoroughly cornered on a physical level feels like a first in my life.
What on earth is on Floor 25? What could be there to push Choi Ji-won this far?
"Urghhhuuuegh..."
Choi Ji-won didn't say a single word. No, she couldn't. Even if she did, I wouldn't be able to hear it anyway.
And so, the sight of her constantly vomiting, the single stream of bright blood trickling from her mouth, her lips bruised blue to the point of black, her unfocused eyes—all of it hinted at Floor 25's environment.
"...Poison, then."
A floor with the worst possible affinity for me.