125 – The Returner is Surprised (7) (End of Part 1)
[This situation… Couldn’t it be used?]
“… ?”
Original Kim Jun-ho tilts his head slightly as if asking what he is saying. But then, as if he understood my suggestion, he narrowed his eyes.
“… Are you saying we’re going to fight? Here? Continue?”
[Exactly. Couldn’t this place be used as a room of spirit and time in comics?]
A person named ‘Kim Jun-ho’ understands his position quite objectively. The strength of the main body, excluding regression, exceeds the upper level, but falls short of the highest level. In other words, he already knows that his strength is not enough. Especially when it comes to swordsmanship, it is still embarrassing to compare him to Choi Ji-won.
Nevertheless, the reason why he does not lock himself away somewhere and practice swordsmanship is surprisingly simple. This is because swordsmanship training itself can be a trigger for regression.
In various creative works, the training process is skipped over in one or two episodes, saying, ‘I just trained!’, But anyone who has actually learned martial arts will know that. What an arduous process training is.
The human body is not suited for combat. And training, or training, is the act of adapting the body to martial arts.
Of course, this means that it is completely natural for skin to peel, bleed, bruise, bones to break and reattach, and calluses to form during the process. The problem is that these are all actions that trigger regression.
Of course, after clearing one floor, you can come back to reality and train on the first floor… If you get injured in the process and return, you will have to clear the tower again. The process is very long and complicated.
Therefore, Kim Jun-ho could never train until his body was damaged. No, I was very cautious about attempting the act of training in the first place. I just sharpen my senses through repeated actual battles. This is also the reason why his palms are still so soft and there is not a single scar on his body.
[But it’s different here.]
However, if ‘one floor’ itself is a training ground, the story is different. Do I have to go back and break one layer again? What if training itself is the process of clearing the tower in the first place? An environment is created where one can fully devote themselves to swordsmanship training without any wasted processes.
[I don’t know what will come out of the tower in the future. It would be wise to move on now, once you are strong enough. To begin with, you said you were unskilled in swordsmanship against humans?]
In reality, there comes a moment when you lack strength and have to make an ‘inevitable choice.’ There comes a time when you have to weigh two values on the scales and choose one. To avoid such a situation, the original had to become stronger.
However, there is an environment where two people with the same talent can fight endlessly, each holding a sword. It can only be described as a literally heavenly environment.
“Um… I understand that this is a great training ground. There’s a sword, a sparring partner, and there’s no one in the way other than the chattering Archangel. “It’s perfect for fighting with repeated regressions.”
Original Kim Jun-ho nods slightly.
“But why are you telling me not to go back? “I don’t understand that part.”
[If you clear the 5th floor, what do you think will happen to me?]
“… Ah.”
When the original clears the 5th floor, there is a high probability that I will disappear. Since the tower is a randomly created creature for the 5th floor, deleting it will be simple.
[But the important thing is whether my memories continue.]
However, when the original returns after clearing the 5th floor, my memories may continue, or they may disappear altogether. Will the memories of the ‘extinct’ returnee continue? I wanted to avoid unnecessary risks.
“… However, that alone is not enough of an explanation.”
[There is one more reason.]
Aside from the terrifying risk of my existence disappearing, there was one more problem.
[Junho Kim. Do you think you have strong willpower?]
“… No?”
[That’s it.]
If the original Kim Jun-ho’s memories are intact and he returns to the 5th floor to fight, the atmosphere will be cheerful.
“… ?”
Yes, it will be amicable. Without being desperate. I don’t have very strong willpower, so at some point I felt strongly about giving up.
In order to scold myself for being lazy, the original must not know the plan itself.
[This is my plan.]
To prevent the original Kim Jun-ho from knowing about this plan, the alter ego Kim Jun-ho returns first. And then it pounces on the original. Until you have developed enough skills to be able to return to the original.
“… From then on, won’t I be regressing?”
[That’s right.]
The moment when the original Kim Jun-ho, who ‘sees me for the first time’, is defeated and the memory of recognizing me as an enemy is imprinted… Infinite regression begins.
It is a battle with no end in sight, with each party trying to defeat the other.
[When I become stronger, you must return to defeat me who has become stronger… As you become stronger again, I will have to become stronger and defeat you. In this constant back-and-forth battle, you will be able to make tremendous progress.]
“… Instead, if you do that, it won’t end. “If the two of us fight in the first place, we can’t win until one of us goes crazy.”
[No, if I surrender, the end will come.]
I have already confirmed that if I admit defeat, the 5th floor will be cleared. There is something else that is important.
[The core of this plan is… I shouldn’t go crazy.]
In order to open the portal in the first place, I must truly admit defeat. But what if I go crazy along the way and forget all that? What if I go to sleep in defeat and just become a laughing, drooling psychopath?
We could really both be trapped here then. Therefore, the most important thing is the limits of my mental power.
[I’ll tell you something before I really, really go crazy. We have now agreed to this, and the fights we have had so far have all been in the process of training you.]
“… “
[So, I plan on muttering throughout the fight. You can’t forget, you can’t forget. It will look crazy to you, so you can fight more fiercely.]
No matter how many times I think about it, the plan is perfect. This will greatly reduce the time it takes for the body to become stronger.
“… Good. Everything is good. If everything goes according to our plan, I will definitely become stronger.”
However, the facial expression of the original was very bad.
“But… This plan amounts to shifting the burden on my mind onto you. “It’s like you are taking on the burden that I would have to bear while training.”
The plan is for me, the alter ego, to endlessly train my skills and raise the level of the original. But the difference in physical abilities between the two of us is enormous. Obviously, I have to work a lot harder than the original.
When the original regresses once, I may have to regress a hundred times. When the original is regressed a hundred times, I may have to regress 10,000 times.
“You… “Can you do it?”
In the end, it is no different from sacrificing myself for the sake of the original. It would be nice to think of it as powering up the original by pledging my sanity. To be honest, I don’t want to make it big either. There is a long road ahead of me, but I would be crazy if I was anxious to do this.
[But I’m an alter ego anyway, right?]
“… “
[Once you clear the 5th floor, it’s just something that will disappear. To put it a little exaggeratedly, it’s like a life with a limited time limit.]
But I am already destined for destruction. I was going to die anyway, so I wanted to be of some help. I also wanted to punch the bastards at TOP who created me.
[That’s enough. I’m the one running it anyway. You don’t have to worry.]
I felt like if I continued worrying for no reason, my resolve would only waver. It would be right to go back even now.
[Then, it returns.]
Please, I hope this will help me on my way forward.
The moment I made up my mind and raised my arm high to hit my chest with my fist.
“Well, hey. I know this because I’ve experienced regression a lot… “
The original makes me stop awkwardly.
[…] ?]
“Instead of hitting my chest, I was quick to chew my cheeks. Cheer up. Thanks.”
[…] Under.]
Pisik. I burst out laughing and immediately chewed the flesh in my mouth.
[Thanks for the tip.]
Just like that, eons of time passed.
***Main character’s point of view***
Again, present. Finally, the long story of self-immolation came to an end.
“… “
I was frozen as I realized that the alter ego I had been fighting against endlessly had actually sacrificed itself for me.
“… “How far have you regressed?”
[Innumerable times.]
“… “Is that okay?”
[That can’t be possible.]
The voice is calm. The skin is also fine. At least on the outside, the clone looked okay. When you regress, your body returns to its original state, so in a way, it is natural.
However, there is little pitch in the voice. The eyes are as gray as faded paper.
The self-immolation was rotting inside. These are the words of a regressor. The end of a person who lost his human heart and ran only toward his goal, as seen in countless creative works.
[…] Open the status window.]
An alter ego who speaks calmly.
“… Uh.”
There is a light smile on the lips of such an alter ego. It was like watching Sisyphus putting down a boulder. I somehow wanted to apologize, but it seemed meaningless, so I just quietly opened the status window.
[Name: Kim Jun-ho] [LV:42]
[Characteristics]
-Regression [EX]
– Flash beam [S]
-Heart of Seomjeon [S]
-Curiosity [A]
-Awe [A]
-Hero [C]
-Meditation [C]
-Swordsmanship [B]
“… The achievement level has risen a lot… “The swordsmanship trait has become B.”
To be honest, I don’t know how great B is. Compared to the dedication made by the alter ego, it feels a bit disappointing in the sense of playing a game. The grade B was quite ambiguous.
However, as I personally feel, I have achieved rapid growth on the 5th floor. At least in terms of ‘swordsmanship using mana’, I can confidently say that I have surpassed Choi Ji-won. The sacrifice of self-immolation was never meaningless. Thanks to him, I was able to improve dramatically.
[Enough… Was it helpful?]
The alter ego asks carefully. I think I was devastated in my own way, but nothing compared to this alter ego. This guy literally tried to the point of going crazy. Just for me.
Trapped in this narrow temple, studying the sword alone, it lunges at me.
There was no one for the alter ego. There was only me and this guy in this world. How painful has it been so far?
“… It was very helpful. I’ll remember. “What you did.”
[…] Okay, that’s great… ]
The guy dropped his sword and lay down on the floor.
[My swordsmanship is… It’s a specialized swordsmanship to make you suffer. You won’t need to learn it. Go now. I’m already broken. Don’t do anything stupid, go straight to the 6th floor.]
An alter ego that casually tells you to abandon yourself and carefully closes your eyes.
[…] I want to eat pizza.]
With those words, the clone didn’t move anymore. At the same time, a message window appears before your eyes.
“… “
After passing through the portal and returning to the first floor, I bit my cheek and immediately returned.
[You have suffered damage.]
[Return to the moment you first entered the 5th floor.]
***
[Hey, stop. There’s no need for us to fight, right?]
“… “
When I met my alter ego again, it seemed like I had truly forgotten everything. As he guessed, the moment the fifth floor is cleared, the existence of the alter ego is erased and the memory of return is reset.
“Thank goodness.”
If my alter ego was still alive after I broke the 5th floor, he would have been trapped in an empty temple forever. He thought it was better this way.
“Well, shall we close our eyes and admit defeat? “We still don’t know who the alter ego is.”
[…] ?]
I immediately cleared the 5th floor using the method I learned from my clone. Perhaps because it was a very easy floor for most players, no separate rewards were given.
-Wow.
“… I’m here? It took a while? “No, huh?”
When I returned to my room, Choi Ji-won, who had been sitting on a chair and looking at her cell phone, quietly greeted me and suddenly got up from her seat.
“What happened?”
Choi Ji-won looks very surprised. I guess he noticed something by looking at my mood.
Does she know?
How long did I fight on the 5th floor?
What a big decision my alter ego made for me.
Despite the penalty from the regression ability, how hard did you train your sword?
How many times have you thought about giving up?
How many times have I stood up again because of the people who gave for me?
“I am there… “
“Huh?”
However, if we were to summarize this entire process in one sentence, it could be summarized as follows.
“I think the regression ability is too much.”