The Regressor Is Panicked (12)
The Regressor Is Panicked (12)
"Kueeeek!!!"
"Krooooar!!!"
It was a pitch-black night. Monstrous cries echoed from all directions.
A demonic harmony thick with pain, rage, and malice. The faint of heart would have turned pale from the sound alone, overcome with vertigo.
"The castle wall..."
"This is absurd..."
The wall trembled. The shaking wasn't severe, but the fact that the previously unyielding wall was moving at all was shocking.
"Can you see anything?"
I tore my gaze away from the quivering wall and looked at the person standing beside me: Baron Jorge.
"Hmm..."
A low groan escaped Baron Jorge's lips. A blue light shimmered in his eyes.
"...The situation is unfavorable."
Baron Jorge was a mage, and the spell he had invoked was a detection-type magic called the 'Eye of the Sky.'
The effect was simple: it gave him a bird's-eye view of his current location from above.
It might seem like a trivial ability, but there was no better magic for grasping the tide of battle. In this otherworld, it was standard-issue combat magic—a spell any noble would learn.
"What's the situation? Does it look like the wall will be breached?"
"...I've been contemplating how best to describe it."
As beads of sweat began to form on Baron Jorge's forehead, his lips finally parted.
"...Have you ever thrown a large rock into a stream?"
"I have."
"Right now, that is precisely our condition. We are that large boulder sitting in the middle of a stream."
The monsters were countless. They felt less like individual entities and more like the flow of a liquid.
"The vast majority are simply crashing headlong into the wall. Some die instantly from the impact. Many more are crushed to death by the monsters pressing in from behind."
"...That explains the racket."
Just as a stream endlessly laps at a boulder, so too did the monsters ceaselessly crash against the castle wall. That was the reason for the trembling walls and the echoing howls.
"And these creatures seem to have a destination."
According to Baron Jorge, the monsters weren't specifically targeting us. They were merely heading somewhere, and this castle happened to be in their path.
But the sheer scale of the horde meant the castle was naturally surrounded.
"Finally, as for the wall... the monsters are piling up."
Beasts that rammed into the wall died. They were crushed by the pressure from behind and above. Their corpses dissolved into Light Clusters the moment they perished, and thus far, the castle wall held firm.
Yet, some monsters were sturdy and resilient enough to endure the crushing force. These ones pressed themselves flat against the wall, swinging their arms like madmen. The problem was that these tougher monsters clustered together and began acting as a foundation.
Slowly, a ramp that the monsters could climb began to form. Of course, the creatures forming the ramp were not invincible; they continually died and vanished, the ramp collapsing repeatedly... but an environment where monsters might vault over the wall at any moment was being created.
"...It seems that moment is nearly upon us. I'll be heading inside the castle now."
His territory residents were waiting inside. Since they were of little help in the current battle, they had simply been moved somewhere out of sight.
"Hoo."
With a sigh, the blue light faded from Baron Jorge's eyes. I'd been told that the 'Eye of the Sky' was a taxing spell. He didn't show it, but he was likely considerably fatigued.
"More importantly... Are you alright?"
Pausing on his way into the castle, Baron Jorge turned his head to look at me. A complex swirl of emotions flickered in his eyes.
"What do you mean?"
"...Never mind."
Come to think of it, Baron Jorge's hand was trembling slightly. His expression seemed as calm as ever, but he couldn't hide the quaking of his hands.
"...Let's survive this."
With those parting words, Baron Jorge vanished into the castle. I turned my head to gaze back toward the wall just in time to lock eyes with a wolf.
"...What're you looking at?"
"Grrrrrrr..."
Led by the wolf that met my eyes, a swarm of monsters began to reveal themselves atop the castle wall. The 'ramp' Baron Jorge had mentioned was complete.
"Gruesome."
Gleaming eyes. Dripping saliva. Blasting snorts.
Unable to contain themselves, the monsters leaped from the wall in droves. Some landed gracefully and charged straight at me; others crumpled on impact, spraining their legs. And using those fallen creatures as a cushion, more monsters tumbled into the castle courtyard.
"Krooong!"
A wolf lunged at me first, baring its fangs. Compared to the monster wolves I'd dealt with on Floor 3, this thing was a joke.
Mechanically, I swung my sword. The sensation of piercing thick fur, cleaving flesh, and shattering bone traveled up my hand just as the wolf's severed head spun in the air and dissolved into light.
But the wolf was just the beginning. Orcs. Goblins. Monstrous beasts with heads shaped like a dog that I had no name for. The monsters kept falling without end.
"...Fuck."
The struggle had begun.
**
Around thirty minutes after the monsters crossed the wall.
I cut.
I cut.
I kept cutting.
Despite my constant motion, my whole body was still brimming with power. My eyes were sharper than ever, and my heart pounded fiercely.
"Kuooor!"
Shhk!
An orc shoved its wooden shield forward, trying in its own way to block my attack, but I bisected the creature along with its shield.
"Yelp! Yelp!"
Four wolves pounced simultaneously. Low. High. Left. Right. A formation where blocking one meant being unable to block the other three.
"Hup!"
In that case, I just had to swing my sword four times faster. Four wolf carcasses, split in half, tumbled across the floor.
Terrifying strength that didn't seem human, and overwhelming agility that left no afterimages. This was all the effect of the Hero Trait.
I was truly a wolf among sheep. Zhang Fei at Changban. Every monster that entered the reach of my sword spilled its blood and perished. Thanks to the experience I'd accumulated in the arrow trap corridor on Floor 3, dodging was easy too.
But the situation wasn't all optimistic. No, honestly, it was more accurate to say it was going poorly.
As I cut down a goblin charging at me with a short dagger, I sank deep into thought.
If I judged my circumstances coolly... they were extremely complicated.
First, I was absurdly strong at this moment. The swarming monsters? They weren't a huge problem. The passage I was guarding was narrow, just barely wide enough for three grown men to enter, so the number of monsters that could come at me at once was limited. That meant there was no chance of me getting flanked.
Sure, stronger and tougher monsters occasionally mixed into the horde, but I could finish them in a single exchange if I focused on the cut.
Assuming I maintained my focus, there was no way I'd take a cheap hit and regress pointlessly.
But the condition I'd just mentioned was the problem. Maintaining focus itself was the issue.
Although the blood and fat vanished from my sword the moment a monster died, I was using my blades so brutally that the edges dulled in an instant. I had to periodically check my swords and switch to a new one.
The tougher individuals weaving in among the weak monsters were also a problem. They were far too weak to take me down, but strong enough to inflict minor scratches.
If I let my mind go blank and swung my sword mindlessly, I'd definitely let an injury through. I had to constantly scan with my eyes and torture my brain, calculating every possible scenario.
Yes, my body wasn't the issue. My physical body, boosted by the Hero Trait, was still full of vigor and overflowing with power. The problem was my mind.
"Haaah..."
Maintaining repetitive motions while keeping my mind tethered consumed an astronomical amount of concentration. My fatigue was severe, and because my mind had clouded over, the paths of my sword kept twisting out of form.
I could endure it. It was hard, but I could grit my teeth and keep fighting. Yet, I am a Regressor. There was a chance I'd have to repeat this shitty grind not just once, but dozens or hundreds of times. The moment I recognized that fact, every single second started to feel like hell.
Should I just take the portal and leave? It's none of my business if the others die or not.
No, I have to see this through at least once. I need to see what's on Floor 4.
"Swoosh!"
As my head grew dizzy, a sharp axe aimed for the crown of my skull. It was swung by an orc easily twice my size, but I dodged it effortlessly and slit its throat.
"...Hah."
First, survive. Then I can worry.
**
The morning sun rose.
"Is... is it over?"
"Hah, hah, hah..."
Outside the castle wall, monsters still writhed, and gruesome screams echoed from all around... but no more creatures were cresting the wall. It seemed there were no monsters sturdy enough to bear the weight of the others at that moment.
"A-are you alright?"
Yun Jung-hyun, having sprinted over gasping for breath, looked me up and down, his eyes wide with disbelief. I didn't have a scratch on me. If I'd gotten hit in the first place, I would've regressed.
"I'm fine. What about your side?"
"There are quite a few wounded, but it seems there are no fatalities."
The passage was narrow, and thanks to the ninety or so players taking turns fighting, the damage wasn't severe. Besides, except for a few individuals, the monsters weren't that strong.
"...That's a relief."
A faint smile touched my lips as I realized my suffering hadn't been in vain. It felt like achieving a difficult in-game feat.
-51 : 02 : 11
But this was only Day 3. We still had to survive at least two more days, and we needed to let our exhausted bodies rest.
"Good work, everyone. I don't know the exact conditions, but it seems we're safe for now. You must be tired, but let's post a watch and rotate in shifts to get some rest..."
"Lord Jun-ho."
A hoarse voice from behind cut me off.
The one who interrupted me was Baron Jorge's escort, Sir Thomas. The cold-weather gear he wore was completely stained with blood.
"Are you injured? The blood..."
"That isn't what matters."
I'll be honest. I was slightly giddy. I felt like I'd done a damn good job holding the line. At least, I did—until I heard the tragic news.
"Thirty-one are dead. All of them were territory residents of the baronial house."
"...What?"