The Regressor Likes Cider (6)
The Regressor Likes Cider (6)
"All done!"
Dok Su-hee, who'd been clinging to the wolf's corpse for ages, tucked the finely chopped wolf heart pieces into her coat.
"...Why are you holding onto that?"
"For enchant materials! I can imbue the attribute I want on my own, but having actual ingredients like this lets me get a much better effect!"
"Really? Then... shall we head out? Looks like we've rested enough..."
"Just a moment... let me wipe off the blood!"
Behind us, Dok Su-hee was beaming about her good materials.
"..."
Meanwhile, my head was full of suspicion toward Kang Chan.
Kang Chan. 'Suspicious' didn't even begin to cover it.
Honestly, judging by this cycle alone, suspecting Kang Chan might seem like overkill.
But think back to the last cycle. When I didn't warn anyone about the monster in advance, Kang Chan didn't wander off.
If anything, he was busy digging around the cavern and showed no sign of noticing a monster at all.
Yet in this cycle, the moment I mention there's a monster, he vanishes? Then he slips back after the fighting is over, claiming he 'went and killed another monster,' and shows off the loot?
It doesn't add up. If Kang Chan really had detected the monster, he should've wandered off the same way in the last cycle. At the very least, he should've noticed the wolf hiding in the ceiling.
"...That's strange."
In other words, Kang Chan's claim that he killed a monster is almost certainly a lie. That red marble he showed wasn't a reward from killing a monster — it was probably a reward from a previous floor.
Then the question we need to reconsider is why Kang Chan ran off.
There are two main possibilities.
One: Kang Chan has some unavoidable reason that prevented him from fighting just then, and he had no choice but to slip away.
Two: Kang Chan is actually a total pushover, and he's been fronting the whole time.
And the latter possibility looked far more likely to me.
Given the overwhelming presence Kang Chan has shown so far, why suspect him? Because a similar stereotype already exists, and that's exactly why I'm suspicious.
Among story genres, there's one called the 'misunderstanding genre.'
The protagonist is actually a nobody with nothing, but everyone around him perceives him as an incredible powerhouse.
They revere him with cries of 'Ooh, as expected of So-and-so!' and famous powerhouses from around the world come to him, nod, and say, 'Hmm... not bad,' acknowledging him.
But in reality, the protagonist is trembling in fear and cycling through petty worries like 'What do I do now?' — the fun comes precisely from that gap in perception. That's the misunderstanding genre.
Now, with that in mind, think it over again.
What if... Kang Chan's ability is entirely 'projecting killing intent' and nothing more?
What if subduing the fairy was actually a fluke, barely managed because a series of coincidences stacked up?
But because everyone around him revered him — 'As expected of Kang Chan!' — his stock soared day after day, and whenever anyone doubted him, he just radiated killing intent and maintained his reputation that way?
If that's the case, Kang Chan running away makes perfect sense.
He got scared because a monster was right in front of him, fled, and was probably huddled in some corner, trembling and shedding tears, muttering, 'I'm so scared...'
Kang Chan. From the name alone, he somehow sounded tough as hell. But in truth, he was just 'Weak Chan.'
"..."
I turned my head and shot a glare at Kang Chan, who was walking along with a blank expression.
Of course, there's a chance I'm wrong. This is nothing more than my guess — 'maybe it's like this.'
Anyway, the moment I regress, Kang Chan is the first person I meet. I can check then.
"We're here?"
I'd been walking along, lost in thought about Kang Chan for a while.
When we returned to the cavern where the wolf had been, the stone door that had blocked the path was gone.
"Hrm..."
Beyond it stretched a pitch-dark corridor without a single torch. I pulled a torch off the wall and thrust it into the darkness; I could see the way forward, but the atmosphere was deeply unsettling.
"...We have to go, right?"
I really didn't want to go, but I had no choice.
Once you're inside this Tower, the only thing you can do is press forward.
***
Thud.
"Agh..."
Ahn Gyeong-jun groaned in pain.
You'd think someone might worry about him, but the other three of us simply walked on in silence.
That was because this wasn't the first time Ahn Gyeong-jun had bashed his head into a stone wall. It had already happened maybe five times.
"Tch..."
The reason was simple. Ahn Gyeong-jun, in his possessed state, had crushed his glasses, so he couldn't see well ahead of him.
What should I even call Ahn Gyeong-jun now that his glasses were gone? Should I just call him 'Jun'? I entertained that pointless thought as I walked along the damp cave path.
We'd been walking like that, wordlessly, for about ten minutes.
"By the way, why did the possessing spirit break your glasses?"
Dok Su-hee broke the silence with a question.
"Well... the spirit really, really hates glass and mirrors."
"...Is there a reason it hates them?"
"It says it can't stand how they distort the human form... Even when it possessed me before, the first thing it did was smash my glasses."
Ahn Gyeong-jun sheepishly scratched the back of his head as he spoke.
"Could I ask something too?"
Since Dok Su-hee had opened the door, I decided to ask about something I'd been wondering.
"That spirit — can you see it with your own eyes, Ahn Gyeong-jun?"
"Yes. I can see it."
"What does it look like?"
"Hmm..."
Ahn Gyeong-jun mulled it over as he kept walking.
"It has dark skin... and it's wearing what looks like a feather headdress on its forehead. Its upper body is bare, and since its lower half can't manifest in spirit form, I can't really tell about that part. Oh, and it carries a very intricately designed spear on its back."
"..."
From the description, I imagined something like a jungle native. The javelin-throwing fits too — it seems like the kind of being that would go elephant hunting in Africa.
But actual African natives don't have the ability to summon wooden spears out of thin air. I've met a mage who used magic on Floor 2, so it's more reasonable to assume this is a spirit from an otherworld.
"Must be tough."
The thought slipped out of my mouth before I realized it.
Gentle Ahn Gyeong-jun, stuck with a violent spirit.
Being attached to someone fundamentally incompatible with you is misery. In the military, you see how fast a person breaks down when they get the wrong superior. And Ahn Gyeong-jun has to be stuck with that spirit even in his sleep... I felt a swell of sympathy for him.
"...It is tough, but I'm fine."
Instead of hanging his head, Ahn Gyeong-jun offered a faint smile.
"I don't really do anything myself... but just by lending it my body, I'm contributing, aren't I? To clearing the Tower."
"...You are."
"Climbing this Tower ultimately amounts to contributing to humanity... so I'm content."
"..."
I didn't reply and turned my gaze straight ahead.
Listening to him talk, I could tell. This man is kind and good-natured.
And precisely because of that, I can't afford to get close to him.
Anyone can die while we're progressing through Floor 3-5.
If I repeatedly watch a kind, gentle companion die, my heart will wear down fast.
I quickened my pace a little to put distance between myself and Ahn Gyeong-jun.
"Well, now that I've bored you with my story... I'm curious about yours, Dok Su-hee."
"Oh, me?"
"Yes. You look like a student at a glance... how old are you, if you don't mind?"
"Ah, I'm in high school..."
Clatter.
The ground shook once, and Dok Su-hee's voice cut off mid-sentence.
"Ahead..."
At the end of the dark path we'd been following by the light of a single torch, a familiar stone door blocked the way.
"..."
Four palm-shaped grooves, inevitably carved into its surface.
After exchanging glances, the four of us each placed a hand on a groove.
Rumble...
Slowly, along with vibrations, the stone door began to move.
"Hrm..."
When the stone door vanished, the sight that greeted us was startling.
"...Mirrors?"
Mirrors. Mirrors. Mirrors.
A space filled entirely with mirrors.
The path before us was made of mirrors — the floor, the ceiling, the walls.
Was it just me, or did it bring to mind a mirror maze at an amusement park?
A pitch-dark space relying on torchlight. The flickering flame and the four of us were reflected back in warped, distorted shapes in every direction; an eerie wind howled like the background music of a horror movie.
"Hrm..."
These weren't going to be ordinary mirrors. This was a mirror maze installed on Floor 3-5. It'd be more reasonable to assume there's some kind of trap or unusual gimmick at play here.
Would you get kidnapped to another world if you touch a mirror? Or are they doppelgangers? Or assassins that leap out of the mirrors?
I was racking my brain and running through the possibilities when—
"Jun, Jun-ho!"
Dok Su-hee urgently tapped my shoulder.
"What's wron—"
Snapped out of my thoughts, I turned my head to look at Dok Su-hee.
"No... no...!"
Behind Dok Su-hee, I saw Ahn Gyeong-jun clutching his head and groaning in agony.
"Too many... mirrors..."
Drool dripping from his mouth, face flushed bright red, Ahn Gyeong-jun was clutching his head.
"Ah."
Ahn Gyeong-jun had said it earlier.
The possessing spirit loathes mirrors and glass with a passion.
From that moment on, the world seemed to shift into slow motion.
The three of us, myself included, spun around and started backing away from the mirror maze.
"...You dare try to beguile me again, tireless as ever!"
Ahn Gyeong-jun's eyes had completely rolled back. He summoned that worn wooden spear of his.
Crash!
Ahn Gyeong-jun's spear shot out with the speed of a ray of light and shattered a mirror.
Driven by that monstrous strength, the mirror fragments burst apart and scattered in all directions, showering through the air.
"Aargh!"
I tried to run as far away as I could, but it was already too late.
Ting-ting-ting!
I twisted and turned to dodge, but I couldn't stop the fine mirror shards from embedding themselves in my exposed skin.
[You have taken damage.]
[Regressing to the moment you first entered Floor 3-5.]
Slowly, my vision began to blur.
***
Sorrow. Anxiety. Despair. Fear.
This fucking sucks.
I like catharsis.
I like nothing more than a protagonist smashing through the trial in front of them with clean satisfaction. Catharsis.
But what is this? Why do I always have to get unfairly screwed over like this?
What, the spirit possessing someone I'm tackling Floor 3-5 with hates mirrors and smashes a mirror maze, and I get hit by the fragments and regress?
It pisses me off.
I can't hold back my anger.
"...Get up, punk."
Maybe it was because anger had clouded my vision.
"...Hey."
"...?"
"Let's fight."
I lunged at Kang Chan.