Room of Infinite Regression (4)

I spread my hand open. My palm supported the empty air above it. The will of flames transferred into that space, and an image took form.

A spear of fire. A flaming lance formed from a mass of flames hurtled straight toward the man’s heart.

Shwaaak!

The spear of fire pierced the ice and buried itself in the man’s chest. Fierce flames erupted from the point of impact, racing across his torso and then devouring his lower body. Whoosh—!

The blaze swallowed him whole, turning him into a massive, roaring torch.

Did it work?

I thought it was over. All that remained was for him to crumble into ash…

What the hell.

An unimaginable anomaly unfolded. The raging flames that had covered his body began to shrink, then vanished like a candle snuffed by the wind.

In the place where even the last embers had been torn away stood the man, completely unharmed.

He remained in the exact same posture as before the ice had formed, standing tall without a single scorch mark from head to toe. Solid. Flawless. Not a thread out of place.

He grinned. That arrogant smile declared that childish flame magic like mine couldn’t even singe a single hair on his head.

Combining opposing attributes created a synergistic boost in power. That was why I had layered ice and fire. Yet—

There’s zero damage.

Full-power defensive magic, restraint magic, freezing magic, and flame magic. A quadruple spell several times more destructive than what I had used against the undead horde. And he had neutralized it without lifting a finger.

It had been a strike that delivered maximum firepower in the shortest possible time. Did that mean even this was useless against him?

I thought it was worth a shot. Was it too much after all?

There was an essential wall that couldn’t be overcome by simply amplifying firepower or pouring on physical force. Otherwise none of this made sense. The source of that decisive gap was obvious.

The blue energy.

It wasn’t just the man who had survived. That vibrant blue aura flowed across his body like blood, brimming with vitality, openly mocking every spell I had unleashed.

That energy destroyed my magic.

Analyzed coldly, the blue aura could dismantle my spells, but my current level had no way to dismantle it. I’d felt an ominous premonition from the first glance, and sure enough, that monstrous energy of his was the true culprit anchoring me down.

Well, well.

No matter which angle I viewed it from, I was hopelessly outmatched. In that case, there was only one thing to do.

I’ll aim for the next opportunity.

Where was I? The Room of Infinite Regression. If I couldn’t do it this time, I could simply try again in the next round. I lifted my chin, inviting death.

Hurry up and swing that sword like a lunatic. I wanted to die as fast as possible.

The man let out a deflated huff, as if he couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

"The greatest fear in my life is losing magic and being severed from it forever. Nothing else scares me."

If you ever fell for its charm, you’d end up just like me.

Life really was ironic. Here I was, hoping to be cut down by the very blade I had once struggled to avoid. The sword flashed. As my consciousness faded, I made a solemn vow.

Next time, I will definitely kill him.

Cynthia sat perched on a tree branch, taking a long drag from her flower-scented cigarette before exhaling. The violet smoke that slipped from her lips blended with the crimson silhouette of the sunset, spreading like watercolor.

"I wonder if the newbie’s doing all right."

Code number ERD-337. The erosion officially named the Room of Infinite Regression. By nature, erosions were targets for elimination—to prevent them from exploding or the monsters inside from spilling out and causing catastrophe.

Some people might naively ask why we didn’t simply destroy the entrance. They didn’t understand. Erosions weren’t convenient things you could erase just because you felt like it.

The reason they weren’t so simple? The methods required to annihilate them varied wildly. Some required defeating the boss monster, others demanded wiping out every creature inside, and still others hinged on completing specific missions. Each erosion had its own clear conditions.

When those conditions were kindly provided, things were easy. When they weren’t, you had to roll up your sleeves and investigate the hard way. Sometimes you discovered the answer even if it meant overtime and all-nighters. But there were times you never found it at all.

Those erosions were classified as unconquerable and labeled for management. They were placed under continuous observation, with regular checks to ensure no new changes or hazards appeared. This particular erosion fell into that category.

At this point, he probably hasn’t even reached the middle yet.

Erosions were ranked from F to S according to difficulty and danger. F was the lowest, S the highest. This one was F-rank, but it was anything but easy. Individual monsters weren’t particularly threatening, yet their numbers grew with every room. The pressure of sheer quantity made the difficulty spike.

You also had to deal with alien species like the Jin race. And if you died in battle?

You regressed. Everything reset to the beginning.

That’s what drives people insane.

That was the true horror of this place. You fought with everything ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you had to reach the later rooms, only to die right before the end. Then you had to start the climb all over again. Mental strength eroded. People fell into the traps of frustration and helplessness.

It was hard enough for anyone, let alone beginners experiencing an erosion for the first time. Only those armed with true inner strength—perseverance, patience, fighting spirit, and a clear sense of purpose—could handle it.

There was a saying that true relationships revealed themselves in times of hardship. That applied not only to others, but to the relationship you had with yourself, the one living the life. When the waves of frustration and failure crashed down, your true self emerged: what kind of relationship you had built with your own soul, and what sort of navigator you truly were.

You could call it a test.

It was also why we brought every new recruit here as their first course. That didn’t mean it was impossible. The repeated regressions were brutal, but if you possessed an unbreakable will and kept challenging it, even novice mages could eventually clear the final room and escape.

The new recruits who had joined Team 3 so far had taken around twenty-four hours. They usually entered in the morning and emerged the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠next morning, collapsing the moment they stepped outside, looking like nothing but skin and bones.

"I wonder how long this one will take?"

Unlike the others, this newbie definitely had something special. But he was still young and inexperienced. Maybe his patience and perseverance were lacking too?

"I hope I’m just overthinking it."

It would feel surprisingly disappointing to part ways with a rookie I actually wanted to work with.

My eyes opened. A room enclosed by gray stone walls. It was identical to the starting point—Room 1.

So I’ve returned.

Reviving in Room 1 confirmed it. Besides, the evidence was right in front of me.

A single sheet of paper fluttered down in front of me. The sequence was identical to my first entry. The contents of the guide were exactly the same.

"Right. Regression."

To think I would personally experience a cliché that showed up as often as meals in fantasy novels. As a veteran reader back then, I had consumed so many of them that I automatically skipped anything with a regression tag. But experiencing it firsthand? This was one hell of a cheat.

If I studied this erosion and uncovered the principles behind the regression system, maybe I could develop regression magic myself?

Still hurts like hell, though.

I rubbed my neck. The icy sensation of the blade against my skin still lingered vividly. Death wasn’t confusing or unfamiliar. I had already died once in my previous life—first from overwork, and now this was the second time.

Pain. Emptiness. A dreamlike haze. Having experienced the final kick, I had moved beyond familiarity and now felt a strange sense of detachment.

Anyway.

I had died, yet I lived. Life and death were connected as one. Since I had survived, it was now my turn to become the cause of his death.

"You winged bastard. You’re finished."

Just wait. I would become death itself and come for you.

By the way…

When I absentmindedly lifted my hem, I discovered the problem. Everything was gone. What should have been there wasn’t.

No, I had not woken up as a eunuch.

All my items have disappeared.

The dagger, bracelet, healing potions, crystal orb—every item I had collected while clearing the rooms had vanished.

It would be a lie to say I didn’t feel the loss, but since I had returned to the past, there was nothing I could do about it.

I can just collect the items again.

Zero base, except for the food Cynthia had given me.

Starting the run from scratch.

My assigned mission was to confirm the total number of rooms. To do that, I had to reach the final room. To reach the final room, I had to pass through all the rooms in between. In the process, I would inevitably encounter the Jin race bastard who had killed me. The conclusion was clear: I had to defeat him to reach the end.

This round will be different.

Drawing on my veteran reader experience, I intended to live out the classic fantasy web novel cliché—the regressed newbie who clears everything.

As I reaffirmed my goal, a skeleton materialized in the center of the stone chamber. The exact same sequence as my first visit to Room 1.

"I shall kill you and claim your soul…"

Bang!

The skeleton’s skull exploded like a water balloon. Since I had known it would appear, there was no reason to hesitate. The moment I saw it, I fired the attack spell immediately.

From the wreckage of shattered bones, I retrieved the weapon ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the skeleton had been holding. A dagger embedded with an absorption rune stone. It looked exactly like the one from Room 1 earlier.

Same as before.

Knowing the future made progress incredibly smooth. After pocketing the dagger, I moved on to Room 2. A majestic rocky canyon stretched before me. Three paths lay ahead. Last time I had mindlessly charged straight down the center.

And met that Jin race bastard.

The one who had clutched his side, tears streaming, putting on a pathetic Hollywood performance while begging me to save him.

But this time I won’t fall for it.

The middle path was surely where he lay in ambush, waiting for another sucker. Just as I expected, when I expanded my senses across the nearby area, the radar caught a single presence—exactly where the Jin had been pretending to collapse before.

I’ll find you first.

Instead of going straight, I took the path on the right.

A stealth spell that absorbed and concealed all presence within the surrounding space. The moment I activated it, the dimensional layers around me drank in every sound and trace of my existence like a sheet of wet tissue.

I moved silently along the narrow passage within the canyon crevice, circling around to approach the Jin from the right. After walking for some time, I rounded a large rock wall and saw the back of the man my senses had detected.

He was busy tearing the collar at his side, deliberately messing up his clothes and hair to complete his wounded adventurer act. Con artists always poured the most effort into their preliminary setups.

Perfect timing to cause chaos.

I gripped the dagger’s hilt, calculated the target’s position and angle, then hurled it with magic guiding its path. The impact point was the right wing joint.

Swish!

"Aaaargh!"

The dagger struck the joint perfectly. The man screamed and collapsed from the unexpected ambush. Even while sprawled on the ground, he twisted to identify his attacker.

"You…!"

The moment he saw me, he ground his teeth. I felt the refreshing blue energy circulating through his body, transforming his movements with dynamic power. He seemed to be trying to activate some kind of technique.

Not a chance.

Clatter!

His limb nerves paralyzed, the man’s body stiffened like a wooden puppet. Iron chains burst from the air and wrapped tightly around him, binding him completely. His face flooded with shock at the binding magic deployed in an instant.

"Huk!"

I walked steadily toward the chained man lying face-down.

"Nice to meet you, Mister Jin."

"W-what are you?! How did you know I’m a Jin…!"

Anger. Confusion. Naturally. He had no idea I had regressed.

"I have a question for you."

Last time I had killed him. This time I had no intention of finishing him with my own hands. He was already a caught fish. Whether I boiled him, used him as bait, or squeezed him to the bone, milking every last drop of value was far more productive.

"That energy you Jin possess—what exactly is it?"