300 – Regressor’s Fight (19)

“Jun-ho, there are many reasons why you have to fight.”

Choi Ji-won gently covers my hand.

“It’s because I think Han-gi would be a good match. It’s also because I don’t like regressing too much. It’s also for your personal growth, Jun-ho.”

“Hmm…”

If I think about it carefully. And if I consider the future. Right now, it makes sense for me to defeat Cheon-ma. I couldn’t help but agree.

“Right?”

“…Right.”

“Then it’s fine. Now, there are three things we need to check.”

Ji-won Choi, who expanded the terminal on her wrist to resemble a blackboard, writes clearly.

“First. Why does Cheonma use various weapons? Are there any restrictions?”

The reason why Cheonma uses various weapons.

“Second. There is power dormant in Cheonma’s body. Is that power not being used? Or is it not being used?”

The reason why Cheonma hides its power.

“Third. Does Cheonma’s cold energy work? If it does, how far does it work?”

Whether or not my magic power works on Cheonma. The information that I had to check from now on was clearly organized.

There was no fault to find no matter where I looked. I found myself nodding without realizing it.

“You’re really smart…”

“You have to be smart to fight well. Even when you use your body to the limit, the smart one wins. In addition to psychological warfare, you can also use rules.”

Choi Ji-won, who claims that athletes are often stupid, is because they don’t delve into academics, and that their innate intelligence is often excellent. Certainly, I thought that made sense. Why, I think I read an article somewhere that said that guys who are strong but dumb are easily destroyed and can’t last long.

I was a little jealous because I thought that people who are good at using their bodies are also good at using their heads, but I was also proud because I thought that someone like that was my girlfriend… That’s all for my awkward thoughts.

“You can just do the third one. What about the first and second? Do you have a plan?”

“Uh. Yes.”

Does Cheonma ‘have to’ use various weapons? And whether Cheonma ‘doesn’t’ use his power or ‘can’t’ use it is not something that can be intuitively confirmed. There’s no way he’d answer even if you asked. You have to find out indirectly.

“The first one is easy. You just have to show his weakness blatantly.”

“Weakness?”

“Cheonma will use his sword this time too, right? Watch him change his swordsmanship. Watch him change his weapon. You just have to intentionally expose a big weakness. You can check it by seeing if he reacts.”

“Oh…”

“The second one is the problem. I can only find out this one when I’m right before I beat Cheonma… It doesn’t look easy right now.”

If Cheonma ‘cannot’ use his power, Choi Jiwon will win anyway. However, if he ‘doesn’t’ use it, he probably won’t use it. There must be a reason for hiding his power, and more than that, it means that he has to push him to the point where the immediate fight is urgent.

But to drive him to that point, he has to defeat Cheonma while he’s hiding his power. What kind of mysterious strategy does Choi Jiwon have?

“He doesn’t have one?”

“… Huh?”

“Junho, you have to figure this out.”

Ah. It was up to me to figure it out.

“I’ll figure out the secret of Cheonma’s weapon this time.”

Choi Jiwon smiled faintly.

“First, let’s keep our memories.”

“… Good.”

[You’ve taken damage.]

[You return to the point where you first entered the 28th floor.]

***

Choi Jiwon fought brilliantly this time too. He almost pushed Cheonma back. (At least that’s what it looked like to me.)

But he still failed to draw out his ‘hidden power’. As soon as I saw Cheonma use his magic, I returned. I returned to the small room I was in before.

But now I had information. Cheonma’s core secret…

“Ugh…”

“What’s wrong?”

“I don’t know…”

I couldn’t figure it out.

“First of all, I know that the various martial arts Cheonma uses are not compatible. It’s impossible to mix the secrets of martial arts. Even when I exposed his weakness, he didn’t show any signs of trying to attack it. Rather, he seemed interested when I realized that he was exploiting his weakness.”

“What’s the reason? Is it because you stole it?”

“That’s… I don’t know yet. But what I still don’t understand is why he’s so obsessed with so many different weapons.”

Why does Cheonma use so many different weapons? Why does he have to use so many different weapons?

“I’ll try again.”

“Okay.”

I tried again and fought hard.

“I don’t get the feel of it…”

I fought again and lost.

“What is it?”

Again. Again. Again.

When the turn was pretty close. Jiwon Choi, who had been lying face down on the table, clutching her head, suddenly sat up.

“Junho. You know what?”

“Huh?”

“Isn’t it true that Cheonma can never use the martial arts he used?”

“…”

For a moment, I listen to Jiwon Choi’s words and try to recall my memories. It’s true. Cheonma never used the martial arts he used in a round again. When we weren’t fighting Cheonma, he would defeat every human he met at once, so it wouldn’t stand out, and when we fought Jiwon Choi, he ended up losing, so we didn’t see the end. Cheonma never used the same martial arts in a round.

“Hmm…”

If this is true, two things immediately come to mind. First, cooldown. Second, deletion.

Once you use a technique, there is a restriction that you cannot use it for a certain period of time. Or you cannot use it forever. Whether it is the former or the latter, it is meaningless since we have to fight Cheonma in a short period of time anyway.

Is using the technique itself a trigger to become stronger? Or is it an inevitable restriction? I don’t know.

“Waiting until Cheonma uses up all of his techniques… doesn’t make sense. He will get stronger anyway.”

There is also no point in inducing Cheonma to use techniques. Cheonma will get stronger the more he fights anyway. What’s the point of using techniques? The main body gets stronger.

“Is it really meaningless?”

“Hmm?”

“This is just a theory.”

Choi Ji-won says, looking straight into my eyes.

“Junho, if you become familiar with all of Cheonma’s techniques…”

“…”

“Cheonma… doesn’t have any techniques to use?”

**

Several regressions were repeated after that. Data was accumulated, and in the end, it was almost certain that Cheonma ‘cannot reuse techniques he has used.’ Of course, ‘learning all of Cheonma’s techniques’ is still absurd. That’s really the last resort.

“It’s too hard to do anymore. I don’t think there’s anything left to find out.”

“You don’t think we can win at all?”

“It seems too hard. I… don’t have one move. One move to finish that guy off.”

“Ugh…”

It’s a shame, but I can’t blame Choi Ji-won. Now, we can say that Choi Ji-won has done everything she could. She did her best and provided me with enough information.

Now, there’s only one thing to test.

Whether my cold energy will work or not.

“Huh.”

I let out a tense breath.

Guntar. Or Cheonma.

The worst enemy I’ve ever faced is standing there. All kinds of weapons are scattered on the floor, and he’s staring blankly at me as he relaxes.

When I face him directly, I know even if I don’t want to know. I can feel it. His murderous intent. It’s pulsating. His vitality.

Cheonma was so strong that it was hard to believe he was hiding his strength. It wasn’t just his physical strength, his soul was different.

We call someone who is skilled in one field a craftsman. We call people who devote their lives to one field a master. Among them, a particularly outstanding and famous person is called a master. Then, that Cheonma could be called a master of battle. No, it would be more blatant to call him a ‘master of murder’. The

small step of the left foot. The hanging right hand. The left hand loosely holding the sword. The subtly bent waist. All of these are all a ploy to kill me. This country is a preparatory stage for ending humanity. The depth is different.

From now on, I must become familiar with the author’s techniques. Regardless of whether or not the cold air is effective, I must be able to respond. That was the only way to win.

It won’t be easy. But I will do it. I will win. That’s why no one else can do it. That’s why if I lose, humanity may never be able to break the 28th floor. That’s why that Cheonma is just a fucking punk. That’s why I will become incredibly strong after overcoming this ordeal. There

are many reasons, but they’re not important. I’ve already made up my mind. So I’ll do it.

“Let’s go.”

Just before taking a step.

“Ha.”

Cheonma laughed.

“You’re such a weird person.”

I laughed too. Since I can’t cry, I should at least laugh.

– Kaaang!!!