The Regressor Is Conditionally Strong (1)
The Regressor Is Conditionally Strong (1)
"The number of people gathered in this clearing easily exceeds fifty, even at a glance. That means none of them can swallow a Golden Orb and move on to the next stage. This Tower is driving us toward division."
Familiar words. A familiar situation.
If you think you've seen this somewhere before, you're probably right.
In the past, I once played the good guy to get Choi Ji-won's attention.
I pretended to be a man with lofty ideals but pitiful strength, and I succeeded in getting her to teach me swordsmanship...
This time, I'm doing the same thing.
I'm going to play the role of a good person.
"But the message says that if we defeat the boss, a portal will appear. That means there is absolutely a way for all of us to survive together."
Am I the good guy? A hero?
No.
I don't have the makings of a hero like Choi Ji-won's father. I'm just an ordinary person who can't even fully trust himself half the time.
But there's a reason I go out of my way to act like a good person.
Cooperation.
For my plan to succeed, I needed everyone's absolute cooperation.
When it comes to securing that cooperation, I judged that playing a 'hero' was far more effective than playing a deranged psychopath.
...And besides, assuming I clear the Tutorial this time, wouldn't it be better for my reputation to end up positive rather than negative?
"Everyone. Rather than fighting each other, we need to combine our strength."
In past cycles, when I gave the exact same speech, the response I got was utter indifference and mockery.
But this time is different.
"Uh... umm..."
"Hmm..."
People were fully engrossed in my speech, listening with complete attention.
Even Firefighter Park Cheol-jin, who had refused to believe in things like the Tower or Status Windows, was nodding along quietly.
It was only natural. With the A-rank trait 'Curiosity' at work, they couldn't help but lend me their ears.
The old me was 'a young man with high ideals but not enough strength, crushed by frustration.' Now, I'm 'a young man with high ideals and real strength.'
I'd gained the power to take the initiative.
Now it was time to shift gears. I had a separate objective all along.
"Everyone. I am strong."
Swish.
I raised my sword toward the sky.
"I am probably stronger than everyone here combined."
These were people who didn't even have levels yet. Aside from Choi Ji-won, it was only natural that I was stronger.
Now, let me show you a performance.
Be awed.
"Hoo..."
I gathered my energy.
I tensed my muscles and widened my eyes.
My target — my long-standing nemesis.
Grass.
"Hup!"
Slice!
My sword, swung with full force, cleanly bisected the grass.
From an ordinary person's perspective, the sword probably wasn't even visible.
But ending here would lack impact.
Slash. Slash. Thrust. Spin. Slash.
I pushed my physical abilities to their absolute limit.
Just like when I had shown off for Anchovy in a previous cycle, I poured everything into displaying my swordsmanship. The eyes of the people watching blankly grew wider and wider.
Astonishment. Admiration. Surprise. Fear.
I wasn't acquiring any traits, but their emotions felt vivid and clear.
"Haa..."
At last, my sword dance came to an end, and I drove the blade hard into the ground.
The look in their eyes had changed.
At first, I had only read curiosity. Now I could see respect, awe at my ability, and a faint trace of fear.
The 'Awe' trait had activated.
Everything up to this point had gone according to plan. Start with the Curiosity trait, then chain into the Awe trait — a devastating combo.
I'd succeeded in seizing control of the clearing's atmosphere.
The only variable would be Choi Ji-won butting in... but she seemed to be observing the situation for now, standing with her arms crossed and watching.
Now for the finale.
"Everyone... I can feel it."
I picked up a new sword from the weapon pile and pointed it toward where the Minotaur was sealed.
"Because I am stronger than all of you, I can feel it. Over there, there is a terrifyingly powerful foe. That thing is targeting us."
Normally, even if I claimed I could sense a monster, no one would have believed me.
But thanks to the combined effect of the Curiosity trait and the Awe trait, they were already overwhelmed by my presence.
"That thing... is targeting us. It's sharpening its fangs to slaughter humans. It is coming to gorge on our blood!"
"Uh... uwaaah..."
One man was so thoroughly swept up in my words that his legs gave out and he collapsed to the ground.
"But... it's all right."
Now it's time to reassure them.
I tried my best to put on the coolest smile I could manage.
"I will protect all of you."
[The Hero Trait effect activates!]
"I will be your shield!"
[The Hero Trait effect activates!]
[The Hero Trait effect activates!]
"So... please trust me."
[The Hero Trait effect activates!]
[The Hero Trait effect activates!]
[The Hero Trait effect activates!]
[The Hero Trait effect activates!]
[The Hero Trait effect activates!]
[The Hero Trait effect activates!]
A feast of messages flooding my vision.
Yes. This was exactly what I was aiming for.
A real enemy. And me, protecting people from that enemy.
The 'Hero' trait can stack.
So... if I fight while protecting every single person in this clearing?
I can stack the trait nearly 200 times.
I could feel vitality surging through my whole body.
My body felt light. Power overflowed from my muscles. Right now, I felt like I could turn everything I had only ever imagined into reality.
Euphoria. I felt euphoric.
The me right now... can do it.
I can crush the Minotaur!
"Now, everyone. Please follow me. From this moment on, we're going to hunt the boss—"
Clang!
"Hk..."
I barely deflected a sudden sword strike.
If not for the stacked traits right now, it would have been a blow at a speed I couldn't have reacted to.
There was only one person here who could launch such an attack at me.
"...You. What are you?"
Choi Ji-won. She had swung her sword at me.
"Where you learned that swordsmanship is a secondary question... What exactly are you planning to do by taking all these people with you?"
Choi Ji-won glared at me as if I were some kind of cult leader.
"...You must feel it too. The presence of the monster."
Choi Ji-won nodded.
"Yeah. I can feel it too. But is there really a need to drag everyone along with you?"
"...It's the effect of my trait. The more people I protect, the stronger I become. I'm not taking them along just so we can all die together."
"...Protect? You?"
Choi Ji-won let out a short laugh.
"Ha... Sorry for the misunderstanding. And sorry for speaking informally. But look at me properly."
"...?"
"Look properly, and feel it."
"..."
Instead of answering, I did as she said and looked squarely at her.
Because I'd grown stronger now, I could feel it. How stable her stance was. What her forward right foot signified. What meaning lay in the way she gripped her sword.
And... just how strong she was.
"You're right. You are strong. But you're weaker than me. And that monster is stronger than me."
"..."
"If the two of us combined our strength, we might barely manage to win... but you're bringing every single person here with you? We can barely win as it is, and now you're going to fight while protecting them? Do you even have the strength to protect them?"
Her words were true.
I had stacked the Hero trait close to 200 times, but...
I was still two levels below Choi Ji-won.
The Minotaur was a foe so powerful that even Choi Ji-won couldn't guarantee victory.
In this situation, there was no way I could defeat the Minotaur without taking damage.
"If you want to fight, go alone. Don't drag these people into it."
Choi Ji-won delivered her verdict with a rigid expression.
"..."
The soaring feeling that had made me feel as if I could fly through the sky crashed into the abyss in an instant.
The plan was to stack the Hero trait to an absurd degree and crush the Minotaur in one go.
My plan had failed. The reason — I simply lacked the strength.
But there was no way to get any stronger now.
I had acquired every trait there was to acquire, and I'd scraped up every last bit of Achievement Level I could.
Grinding levels by killing goblins wasn't possible either, so it was fair to say I had hit my growth ceiling.
My limit... was right here.
"..."
Should I give up?
I'd put in all that grinding, only to find I still wasn't strong enough.
Just... saving whoever I can save and moving on wouldn't be so bad.
There's no obligation to save everyone, is there?
"No. I'm not giving up."
Think.
Use your head.
There must be a way.
But the only combat-related trait I had... was the Hero trait.
And I was already in a state of protecting everyone in this clearing.
There were no more people left to protect, which meant there was no way left for me to grow stronger.
A good method.
A way to get stronger.
A way to protect more people.
-Hero [C]
-In moments of crisis, people think of you. You become stronger when fighting to protect someone.
Someone. Is there anyone?
A person? Someone?
"...There is."
Smack!
[You have taken damage.]
[Regressing to the moment you first entered Floor 0.]
***
A space that was, if anything, familiar.
"Grruuuuugh..."
The Minotaur, bound tight in its seal, eyes glaring.
"Kerrek... Kelok, kelok..."
The Goblin Shaman, struggling to breathe, coughing in this space.
I carefully sat down cross-legged beside the Goblin Shaman.
"Kerrek? Human... I smell a human..."
"Hello there."
I leaned close to his ear and greeted him.
The Goblin Shaman flinched at the sound of my voice, then his mouth gaped open.
"Human! A human has come! Human! He..."
In past cycles, he had begged me to defeat the Minotaur, saying he needed my help.
But.
"Goblin Shaman. I need your help."
This time, the one who needed help was me.