237 – Are Regressors Brave? (5)
The protagonist wakes up in an unknown space. Even though he knows it’s ominous, he has no choice but to move to escape. At one point, he encounters a fearsome monster and is brutally murdered…
But the next moment, he woke up at the very beginning. Was it just a nightmare? Or something that actually happened? He wipes his wet, sweaty neck and starts moving again.
‘aah!’
And again, he is brutally murdered. And again, I wake up. Where it all began.
Only then do you realize it. The fact that this place is a gigantic sand hell from which there is no escape…
This story is often used in ‘horror’ type creations. The main character, trapped in a nightmare from which he cannot wake up, either rolls and rolls to escape dramatically, or he thinks he has escaped, but it is still a dream.
Oh, by the way, I watch horror games and movies through YouTube editions. It was too scary to do it in person, but it was fun to watch on video.
Anyway, back to the main topic.
“Nightmare.”
If the design of this floor is similar to the creations I know… There is a strong possibility that this space is a dream space. I’ve seen many endings where people overcome all ordeals and finally escape and return to reality. Should I say it’s a positive version of ‘Oh Fuck Dream’.
So, what should I do to wake up from a dream? The first thing that comes to mind is, of course.
“… Suicide?”
It is suicide.
There are many creative works that describe people returning to reality when they die in a dream. I’m not sure because I’ve never actually committed suicide in a lucid dream, but they say that the shock of death wakes me up from the dream. Therefore, the first solution that comes to mind is suicide.
However, it is difficult to just commit suicide because there is also an ending of the type of ‘I committed suicide and could never come back’. If a person dies in a nightmare, their mind dies and they become a vegetable forever in reality.
What if I commit suicide and my mind actually dies, and that doesn’t trigger a regression? Then it’s a scam. As a subject with the revolutionary ability of regression, my journey ends here.
I don’t know if suicide is actually the answer or a trap. However, when comparing the risks, I know one thing that it is right to beat the 24th floor using the straight method.
In case of suicide, clear immediately or eternal death
It takes a long time to do the regular method, but you can overcome it someday
If asked to choose between the two, everyone would choose the latter. If you try to go 30 minutes early, you could end up 30 years early.
“I have a direction.”
The next thing to experiment with is the hallway.
Close your eyes and fall into the depths of your mind. Enough to reach the consciousness, the unconsciousness below it, and even the soul below it.
As I stood still, as if meditating, I immediately felt the outline of my soul. When the fog tightened on the 23rd floor, it could not be used because the situation was urgent, but it is a technique that can be used if enough time is given, like now.
But even though it’s a dream, why can I feel a soul? As expected, it seems to be something between a dream and reality. It’s a good thing I didn’t commit suicide.
“Right foot… Left foot… “
As I was still conscious of my soul, I put half of my body out into the hallway. I can’t feel it yet, so a little more. A little more. The moment my entire body was exposed to the hallway.
“… !!!”
An energy filled with the feeling of ‘fear’ comes from all directions… ! I didn’t have anything to resist or go to sleep, so I quickly returned to the hospital room.
“Wow.”
Was it the 17th floor? On the magic testing floor, I felt like a very thin thread was connected to my soul. All you have to do is concentrate and gently cut the thread.
But that hallway… It felt like I had thrown myself into a swimming pool. It is like immersing oneself in a place full of energy that directly affects the soul. It is the same as if you slash in a swimming pool with a sword and there will be no change.
“… I’m sure.”
It wasn’t an illusion. It is certainly. The moment you leave this room, your range of thoughts decreases tremendously. To be precise, we forget the very fact that ‘I can resist.’ This floor is designed that way.
Fear comes from the inability to resist. It comes from not being able to cope. As soon as you see it, you should feel like you have to run away. That is fear.
But the player goes out and wields a weapon to become a musou? That’s not fear. Action adventure. Therefore, the moment one leaves this hospital room, one loses the driving force to resist.
“I have a general feeling.”
The same goes for horror games. As you run away frantically, at some point the ghost stops chasing you. The safe zone has been entered, and at this point the player can pat his chest in relief. Sometimes, the moment you complete a specific operation deep inside the map, the ghost disappears. You don’t win by fighting, you win by running away.
Dancing ghost? Probably somewhere in a hospital room connected to a hallway… There will be an item that can help you escape from this guy. There are only one or two hospital rooms, but you just have to work hard to find them.
Run away, find a way to destroy it, and move forward again. It’s okay even if you get caught by a ghost and die. The information remains. If you repeat this process, you will be able to escape. It is certainly. This is the intention of the 24th floor. Once you realize the direction, you can clear it if you invest enough time.
Yes, it is definitely cleared. It is the only way out that I found by keeping a cool head, without being overcome by fear, and with the hope that I could wake up. This is correct. This… That’s right.
“… “
But why is a dark desire creeping up in a corner of my heart?
Do I really have to wake up like this? Is this really the only way?
Since this is not reality, the limits are lifted. You can use much more force than usual without risk of regression. The dancing woman is really scary, but if I fight her, I think I’ll win, right? I think I could just cut that crazy doctor with a knife, right? Should I really turn around and go back?
If you go outside the hallway, you lose the will to fight. However, nothing changes when you are in a safe hospital room. Even if you look through the wall, the same hospital room appears over and over again. Are there any new options between these options?
Not black or white, but something in between… New… The third way…
Between…
“Between?”
Suddenly.
An idea occurred to me.
**
A wall between people. Crooked door. I open the door, stick my head out into the hallway, and look around. If you roughly draw it, it looks like this.
“Then here… “
On the left is a closed wall. In my opinion, nothing good comes from touching that wall. Even if there is a hidden piece, there is a strong possibility that something equally terrifying lies dormant.
Then what about on the right? At the end of the straight hallway, the road turns to the right again. It’s a route I’ve already taken, and I know the terrain. It means a familiar hallway. If you walk along that road, you will meet a dancing woman.
In addition, there are not only hospital rooms in the hallway, but also many other rooms. If you search through these, you will find an item that can help you escape from the ‘dancing ghost.’ Although it’s just a guess.
But here… What if I destroy the right wall of the hospital room I’m in?
-Boom!
As seen before, the same type of hospital room appears. The key here is ‘corridor’.
When you go out of this duplicate hospital room, you are connected to the starting point of the hallway. Although it was clearly moved one room to the right of the existing hospital room, it was mysteriously connected to the starting point of the hallway. This was exactly the same whether moving up, down, or breaking a wall. It is literally a distortion of space and a supernatural phenomenon.
But what if we create an environment in which this ‘wonder’ cannot occur at all? Therefore… The wall connected to the hallway is completely destroyed.
Without considering the number of cases in which it may cause strain to the body, it unleashes a large amount of magical energy and destroys the wall. It destroys not only the part connected to the hallway, but also the part where the hospital duplicate room is connected to the hallway.
“… Oh my.”
The results were surprising.
Where the ‘replicated hospital room’ was supposed to be, there was a strange laboratory. There was also a large human model. It was a visual that would jump out at a glance, but its place has now been replaced by a duplicate hospital room.
When I completely removed the wall and the ‘distortion of space’ became impossible, a replica hospital room simply took its place. I wasn’t sure if it would work or not, but fortunately it worked.
Moreover, since this space is treated as a ‘starting point hospital room’, there is no mental pressure felt. He can use magical power just fine, and he also has the will to fight. You can also draw a sword.
If you’ve seen this far, you know what I’m going to do from now on.
The duplicate hospital rooms were connected, connected, connected, and the wall connected to the hallway was continuously torn down…
“Just wait.”
I will go to the end.
**
Far away. The silhouette of a woman with scattered hair is visible. Just looking at the sight of a woman dancing in a windowless hallway with flickering incandescent lights gave me goosebumps just by looking at her.
The moment I take my gaze off here for a moment, that woman will disappear and follow me. And then I look back? Then, he will come running up to me while still attached to the ceiling and twist my neck.
“Hey.”
But this time my situation is different. The weapon is held in the hand, and the magic power can move normally. This is because it is a judgment that it is within the ‘starting point’.
The right wall of the hallway I passed through was completely torn off. The duplicate hospital room is in a repetitive pattern, and I went straight as if digging a hole to reach this point.
While using magical power to mechanically destroy the wall, he does not take his eyes off the woman. Maintain vision by blinking your right and left eyes alternately. The dancing ghost is still dancing, perhaps because of the condition that it must disappear from sight before it can catch up.
Little by little, we get closer to the ghost. Even if you use magical power vigorously, there will be no regression.
“You just wait.”
Let’s see who will win if we fight.