The Regressor Accepts Fate (1)
The Regressor Accepts Fate (1)
"Hey."
"...?"
"Let's throw down."
"..."
Kang Chan shut his mouth and scowled.
"...Get a grip, you lunatic."
He spoke in his usual low, rumbling voice.
Get a grip? A lunatic?
Was I out of my mind?
Maybe I was. The constant railroad of unfair nonsense had made my head fuzzy.
And from Kang Chan's perspective, I must have looked like a total lunatic.
He tells the guy who just entered the floor to wake up, and suddenly that guy starts picking a fight and demanding to throw down.
It would be extremely bewildering.
"What, you scared?"
"..."
"Come on! Oi! You said you caught a wolf! Show me what you've got!"
"...You're completely insane."
Still, I had this burning itch to see Kang Chan's martial strength firsthand. I wouldn't be satisfied until I did.
Since I'd just been summoned to Floors 3-5, I had no weapons. (Everything except items vanishes when you enter the Tower.) But if Kang Chan was the pushover I assumed, I could subdue him easily even empty-handed.
I clenched my fists tight and raised my guard like a boxer.
"...I don't fight meaningless battles."
Kang Chan shook his head.
"It's meaningful to me. It's extremely meaningful—it's fact-finding."
"...Haa."
"I just don't think I'll be satisfied until I fight you, you know?"
Seeing that I wasn't giving up, Kang Chan let out a deep sigh.
Fwoosh!
He began to emanate an overwhelming killing intent.
As expected. My skin prickled, and I saw a vision of blood dripping from his eyes.
Demon. Monster. Beast. Slaughterer. All sorts of negative images superimposed themselves onto Kang Chan, and my legs trembled faintly, as if fear had gripped me without my notice.
If I fight him, I'll definitely lose. That was the thought that came to me.
If I resist that indescribable something, I'll be overwhelmed by despair and humiliation and regress in an instant.
"Heh heh..."
But because the despair was so immense, it ironically solidified my conviction that Kang Chan was weak.
That killing intent. Its potency is absurd.
Assuming no regression, my martial strength is among the absolute top tier of the Tower. Of course, since I met him on Floors 3-5, this guy must also have top-tier ability. But it's strange for a simple killing intent to feel this viscerally thick.
Wouldn't it be more reasonable to view the 'killing intent' itself as his ability?
Having reached a conclusion in my head, I slowly lowered my body.
"...What are you doing."
I relaxed every muscle in my body, keeping my gaze forward.
I took a deep breath, and the moment I felt ready.
Fwat!
I exploded every muscle and lunged at Kang Chan!
"What?!"
Kang Chan reacted to my attack in an instant and backstepped, but I was faster.
Kang Chan's face winced in shock. I thought I'd seen that blank expression break for the first time. A petty satisfaction bloomed in a corner of my heart.
"This..."
With a look of resolve, Kang Chan belatedly threw a punch, but the timing was far too late. My fist reaching his jaw would be much faster.
Now, Kang Chan. Once I knock you out, I have a lot to ask. Why you entered Floors 3-5. What your trait is. Whether you really killed the Tutorial Fairy.
I was stretching out my fist, those pleasant thoughts running through my mind, when—
"Huh?"
I thought I saw something flash from below.
Kwaaaaang!!!
My consciousness cut out.
[You have taken damage.]
[Regressing to the moment you first entered Floor 3-5.]
***
"..."
"...Get up. Greenhorn."
What? What just happened?
It was exactly the same as when I was hit by the City Master. I didn't know what hit me, and again, I felt no pain.
"..."
Let's try again.
This time, I didn't even speak to Kang Chan. I slowly coiled my body.
Fwat!
I exploded every muscle in my body and shot forward in one burst!
"What?!"
This time, Kang Chan's eyes flew open wider than I'd seen in the last cycle. He must have been truly startled.
He pulled his body back to dodge my oncoming fist, but sensing it was too late, Kang Chan again swung his own fist at me.
But this time, my goal wasn't to land a hit—it was to observe his fist.
Now, show me again. That technique that sent me packing in one shot.
Even as I extended my fist, my gaze was locked onto his right fist.
Maybe it was thanks to the hellish training with Choi Ji-won.
The angle of the shoulder. The stance of the legs. The veins on the muscles. By observing his body, I could roughly trace the trajectory of his fist.
If that's the case, then by taking one step to the left here, I could dodge the attack...
"Huh?"
The fist I'd been watching vanished in an instant.
Flash!
There was light.
Kwaaaaang!!!
[You have taken damage.]
[Regressing to the moment you first entered Floor 3-5.]
***
"..."
"...Get up. Greenhorn."
Clearly, I had been mid-punch just moments ago, but when I came to my senses, Kang Chan was lecturing me, calling me a greenhorn.
Even after being downed twice, I still couldn't grasp what had hit me.
I'd been watching his fist right up until the moment he swung.
But his fist suddenly vanished, a light flashed, and my consciousness was severed.
Could it be that? Did he get 'Flash Footsteps' as a Platinum reward from Floor 2? Those boots that let you instantaneously move 2 meters?
But when I glanced at Kang Chan's feet, he was wearing the same crude leather boots as me.
There was no sign of an item being used. So it must be an ability tied purely to that fist...
"...What are you doing all of a sudden?"
"Doping."
I pulled out the Lowest-grade Elixir I'd saved and chugged it down. Since I planned to regress anyway, I had no hesitation about using items.
"Keuh..."
A sweet and refreshing taste. The moment I drank it, my vision brightened, my heart beat faster, and my blood circulation accelerated.
I already tested this on Floor 1. Drinking an Elixir temporarily supercharges your metabolism. It'll help me track his fist.
Once again, I slowly coiled my body.
Fwat!
I lunged at Kang Chan along the exact same path as before.
"What?!"
A flustered Kang Chan. So far, same as before.
He twisted to dodge my oncoming fist, but realizing it was too late, he countered by throwing his own punch. All the same.
"Hup!"
But here, I threw my weight into my ankles and, mid-punch, hurled my body backwards. A change of direction that ignores inertia—possible only because I'm superhuman.
His fist was already glowing. Meaning he can't cancel the technique.
Now, show me that fancy fist of yours. Let's see just how strong it is.
I wore a nasty grin as I pulled way back.
"Huh???"
Flash!
A fist that shot out at a speed invisible to the naked eye.
As if trying to shatter the world itself, a monstrous wind pressure and beam of light erupted from the fist.
I might have dodged, but how could a human resist a natural disaster?
"Keu, keuaaaagh!"
My vision shook wildly, and my whole body screamed in agony.
It felt like I was being taken apart, molecule by molecule.
I let out an ugly scream, like Cell getting hit by Goku's Kamehameha. And the last thing I saw was—
Kwaaaaang!!!
—the unreal sight of the cave wall being utterly obliterated into rubble.
[You have taken damage.]
[Regressing to the moment you first entered Floor 3-5.]
***
"..."
"...Get up. Greenhorn."
"Big brother."
"...?"
"I'll follow you as my big brother."
I knelt and bowed my head to Kang Chan.
Submitting to the strong is shameful... but beneficial.
**
I was bitterly repenting for having dared not to believe in God Chan, my big brother.
Because he wasn't just the protagonist of some misunderstanding-genre story where he just runs his mouth—he was a true powerhouse with the martial might to match his stature.
Of course, as we walked along the path and I looked around carefully, I didn't see the 'terrifying wolf' that big brother Kang Chan had mentioned. All I saw were goblins and bats.
But how could I dare suspect God Chan, my big brother? He must have had a perfectly valid circumstance, a rational reason.
I will never doubt him again...!
"..."
This time, I kept my mouth firmly shut and walked silently through the cave, and naturally, we reached the familiar chamber.
"There's a door ahead, but..."
"...We need to find a hidden mechanism, I suppose."
"Sh-should we split up and look...?"
Maybe because I didn't warn him that a monster was lying in wait this time, we decided to split up and search for a hidden mechanism, just like in the previous cycle.
"Ah, wait a moment..."
"...?"
"Big brother, would you please inspect this area carefully? I'll examine that side."
"...Fine."
The place I led Kang Chan was the spot I had searched in the previous cycle. The place I was heading to was where Kang Chan had searched in the previous cycle.
Meaning, if things proceeded as they were, a giant wolf would drop down onto Kang Chan's head.
But it's fine. Because he's God Chan.
"..."
"...Why do you keep staring at me."
"Nothing, big brother."
Big brother...
I'm counting on you...!