Regressor (2)

I read his stats slowly once more.

I hadn’t misread them.

This is insane...

No matter how hard I rubbed my eyes, the title Regressor didn’t change.

He actually did it? Time reversal?

It was only natural that I couldn’t believe it.

Now that the existence of monsters had been exposed, I supposed I might even believe someone was secretly running a prank show using me as the target.

The swordsman who was beginning his second life.

I was so stunned I couldn’t even speak.

If my unique ability, Mind's Eye, wasn’t lying to me, then the man standing before me had already experienced this situation once before.

Come to think of it, he hadn’t looked terrified back at Start Point, either.

Damn it...

The curse slipped out before I could stop it.

I had always understood, in some abstract way, that the world was unfair, but I hadn’t expected to feel that unfairness this acutely in a place like this.

High stats, high latent potential, a class, and a Heroic-rank trait.

Can I even inspect the trait?

The moment I thought it, the information appeared.

Nice.

I couldn’t tell how attack power was calculated, but the fact that training time would definitely translate into results made it feel like a truly excellent trait.

I had no idea what other traits he might possess, but what he had was extremely favorable for building the foundation of a swordsman.

I bit my lip at the feeling that something about this was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠deeply unfair, but if he really had come back here by reversing time, then maybe all of that brilliance of his was at least a little more understandable.

“Sir...”

“My name is Kim Hyunsung.”

“I’m Park Deokgu.”

“And this one is...”

“That one over there is Hyung-nim, Kiyoung.”

“You’ve fought before... haven’t you?”

“Well, as you can see, yes. Hyung-nim made the leather armor for me, and I’ve gotten used to hunting a bit by now, too. We haven’t fought all that much, but still. Hyung-nim was the one who smashed the monsters’ heads in first with his spear. Seeing that gave me a bit of courage.”

“For someone who says that, you seem rather... accustomed to it.”

“Well, it’s all thanks to Hyung-nim. More than that, you look even more accustomed to it yourself... Didn’t you just run one through in a single shot?”

“I was lucky.”

His gaze shifted and pinned me in place. He was looking at me because of what Deokgu had said.

That mouth of ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠his...

It wasn’t easy to keep acting like nothing was wrong.

My head was full of all kinds of thoughts.

The instant our eyes met, I got the bizarre sensation that he was looking right through me.

It didn’t feel great to be stripped naked like this. More than that, some strange sensation made my body tremble.

Killing intent? Mana?

I had no idea what it was, so it didn’t really matter which one it was. Whatever it was, it was strange.

“What...”

Does he know I’m reading his status window?

He was making the sort of pose someone struck when they were reading something.

It was an obviously unnatural motion.

The alignment listed on his status window was good.

But that didn’t mean he was some harmless do-gooder.

He had returned to the past for some purpose. The odds were low, but if he decided I was an enemy, he might draw his sword without hesitation.

No, before that, I’d rather not get suspected for no reason.

At that moment, Park Deokgu gave a quiet laugh and spoke up.

“Hyung-nim, maybe you should stop staring ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠at that status window already? Did you get a class or somethin’?”

Nice one, Park Deokgu.

“Something like that. I’ll tell you about it in a bit.”

I still didn’t feel calm.

Rather than speaking to him right away, I turned toward the woman named Jung Hayan and took a step forward.

She was still breathing hard, as if she had been shocked badly, but before long she looked up at me and opened her mouth.

“T-thank you.”

“No need. We were looking for survivors ourselves.”

“Ah...”

“Please, get up. I’ll help you.”

“N-no, I can’t impose any further...”

She was already at her limit.

When I quietly reached out my hand, she took it as if unable to refuse.

My face tingled under Kim Hyunsung’s gaze, which was still fixed on us.

I spoke to him quietly.

“Thank you for your help. My name is Lee Kiyoung. This was my first time dealing with three of them at once... if not for you, things could have gone badly.”

“I’m Kim Hyunsung. Come to think of it, you’re a familiar face.”

“I remember receiving help at Start Point as well. I was truly grateful back then.”

“Ah... back then...”

“Yes. You were running away then, weren’t you? I was so flustered that...”

He didn’t seem to remember properly.

Given the circumstances at the time, that wasn’t really surprising.

For some reason, the memory of the woman I hadn’t been able to save being torn apart by those things flashed through my mind.

After a small shake of my head, I continued.

“Are you traveling alone, Hyunsung? It must be difficult...”

“For now, yes... but right now, I’m gathering survivors. I do have others moving with me.”

“Pardon?”

“I’m gathering survivors. I just happened to be passing nearby when I heard screams, so... for now, you should come with me. We’ve set up a camp in a suitable place.”

I noticed Park Deokgu looking at me quietly. He was asking what I wanted to do.

Perhaps realizing that his own words had been a little rude, Kim Hyunsung spoke again.

“Ah, I was out of line. Would you like to come with us?”

Only then did Deokgu nod.

But it was still worth thinking over a little.

“How many people are there?”

“Around thirty, I think.”

“And how many of them can fight...?”

“Not many. If you and Deokgu join us, though, the situation would improve somewhat. Frankly, I’m hoping you’ll both come.”

That’s worrying...

Just as expected.

I couldn’t tell how accurate the alignment listed in the status window really was, but Kim Hyunsung’s title, Benevolent Mediator, wasn’t lying.

What a sucker.

If I wanted to put it kindly, he was an angel. If I wanted to be cruel, he was a ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠sucker.

If most of the people in the survivor camp could do nothing but scream, then the situation there was already serious.

Chances were, the people there were barely eating, if they were eating at all, and living every day in constant terror.

More people didn’t necessarily mean a better situation.

When five people gather, one of them is always an idiot. If thirty people gathered under circumstances like this, the problems would only get worse.

There would definitely be all sorts of complaints.

They’d gain more manpower for night watch or emergency response, sure, but the more people there were to protect, the more chaotic things would become.

Still, I had no choice but to nod. That was reality.

I had far too many questions.

What was regression? How had he obtained a class? How had he been able to start differently from everyone else? How did mana work? What secrets were tied to this tutorial?

Kim Hyunsung knew the way through this place, and beyond that, he possessed information about the continent itself.

Whether I ended up killing him or feeding him, the right move for now was to follow him.

“I’ll do that.”

“A wise decision. Then let’s set off at once. I imagine the others will be gathering soon.”

“Yes.”

“Ah. And this lady is...?”

“Her name is Jung Hayan. S-sorry, I...”

“Ah. Nice to meet you. I’m Kim Hyunsung, Jung Hayan.”

We exchanged a few simple introductions.

Supporting Jung Hayan, I slowly studied his face.

His expression was a little different from when he looked at me or Park Deokgu.

That was because his gaze had lingered on Jung Hayan for quite some time.

He looked genuinely startled.

A strange sense of accomplishment seemed to float across Kim Hyunsung’s face. I wasn’t sure if this was the best comparison, but it looked like the face of someone who had just discovered an oasis in the middle of the desert.

It was almost as if he’d found a lost family member.

Jung Hayan, too, seemed to have noticed the way Kim Hyunsung kept staring at her, and she was sending him a wary look in return.

Well, if someone stared that blatantly, anyone would be wary.

I even found myself wondering, Was he looking for her? No, maybe she really was someone he had been searching for.

“Is your body all right?”

“Yes. I’m fine.”

“If anything is uncomfortable, please tell me at any time.”

“I-I’m fine. R-really, I’m fine.”

Leaving the two of them to their careful conversation for a moment, I sank into thought.

Let’s make an assumption.

It was a little absurd, but let’s make the assumption anyway.

Suppose I got to live the exact same life all over again.

I didn’t know how his previous ending had gone.

He might have been happy, or he might have been miserable. But if he hadn’t restarted of his own will, then he was probably still attached to his former life in some way.

The One Who Could Not Overcome.

One of his titles.

Even if it hadn’t been his choice, that wouldn’t be any different.

Humans are creatures who regret. Even I, right now, couldn’t help imagining what might have happened if I had saved that woman I saw at Start Point.

If I’d had the strength, maybe I could have run away with that woman together with Park Deokgu.

If I assumed I knew everything that was going to happen in the future, and that I also knew all the talented people who would go on to play important roles, then what?

In my case, I’d try to change the things I regretted. And of course, that wouldn’t be all.

From the very beginning, I would seize everything for my own benefit.

Talent, treasure, classes, and even the currency I’d need later.

I’d also eliminate any enemies or future threats before they ever became a problem.

Funny, but...

In that sense, if he showed no particular reaction to seeing me and Park Deokgu, then at the very least it meant that we weren’t people who would block Kim Hyunsung’s path in the future, or world-shaking villains, or even characters assigned some important role.

We were nothing more than people who passed by him.

“Can I call you Hayan?”

“A-ah... yes. Thank you. Y-you can call me whatever you like.”

But this woman blushing in front of me now was different.

Jung Hayan.

A woman with explosive latent potential as either a mage or a priest.

If I linked that to my own Mind's Eye, the conclusion came quickly.

She’s a treasure.

That was only an assumption.

Still, if I gathered the small pieces of information and inferred a result, a pretty plausible picture emerged.

This woman would shake the world in the future.

I didn’t know what exactly she would do, but she would stand in a very important position.

It might all just be my imagination.

Maybe she was Kim Hyunsung’s benefactor, or a comrade he once failed to save and regretted losing.

Maybe she was one of those characters who ended up dying after accomplishing nothing, just like me or Park Deokgu.

Still, she was worth investing in.

This woman.

She wasn’t a nuisance anymore. A precious treasure had rolled right into my hands.

Of her own accord, no less.