309 – The Returner’s Fight (28)

Right after I returned. After making a very brief remark to Jiwon Choi, I hid as if I was dead. I refused all the matches offered at the arena, only ate indoors, and did not communicate with anyone. It was like I had become a hikikomori who never went outside. Later, when I ran out of money, Jiwon bought me food and brought it to me, but it was very miserable, like a mother putting food in her son’s room where he never came out.

“…”

Is this because I suddenly became introverted? Or am I going crazy from the shock of being betrayed by Cheonma? Is it because the loner inside me has come out? No, this is an experiment.

I was betrayed by Cheonma. He stabbed my heart. In the process, I felt betrayal, pain, irritation, and anger. Yes, I tried to suppress it, but I may have felt ‘intense emotions’.

To be honest, I think I controlled my emotions pretty well, and I think the probability is low. But it was too fatal to just say ‘it probably isn’t’. If Cheonma really retained his memories, it would be a big deal. I have to be very careful.

So, how do I know if he regressed or not?

“… Just watch.”

If I don’t influence the world at all, the world shouldn’t change. The only ones who can influence it are Choi Ji-won and me. We are beings who are free from the shackles of time, so we are exceptions. If we regress to the past, the world will flow the same way. This is the law.

So if the future changes, it will be Cheonma’s doing. It will change because someone else has influenced it, and there is no one else who can influence it besides Cheonma.

Let’s say I am Cheonma and my memories are preserved. Then what will I do?

“…”

First, he will want to find me. He will search for the person named Kim Junho. Since he returned to the past right after killing me, isn’t the timing really coincidental? It is highly likely that he will infer that I am the cause of the regression

. At the same time, he will realize that he didn’t do anything like that in the previous round. He was just quietly eating food, and I came to find him. Because of that, Cheonma will not be able to act rashly.

“And regression is a scam in the first place.”

In addition, Cheonma will be suspicious. Why did he return with me? Is regression a power that a human can have in the first place? Is there no limit to the number of times he can return? His head will be so complicated that it will explode. In

any case, Cheonma can only take one of two stances. He will either realize that I am a regressor and cooperate belatedly. Or maybe he’s thinking of removing the obstacle called the Regressor. Whether it’s the former or the latter, I have no intention of cooperating with Cheonma.

I plan to invest in Cheonma for about three rounds from now. I plan to change his behavior and movements to check if he’s acting. I have to be that careful. For future plans.

After that, I went into hiding for about three months, and Cheonma eventually regained his original power by killing humans. Judging from the terrifying aura I felt from afar, it seems he’s regained his former power. Since he didn’t make a promise with me this time, I think he’s planning to kill the humans and then leave the tower.

“Hmm…”

It’s the same as when I didn’t intervene. I don’t know yet. I decided to wait and see a little longer and returned.

“I plan to escape the tower. So the situation you’re worried about won’t happen. Cooperate.”

“How should I cooperate?”

This time, I approached Cheonma in the same way and decided to cooperate. Cheonma regained his power in the same way, and told me a story from the past. As expected, it was no different from the appearance of Cheonma in my memories.

It didn’t seem like he had regressed at this point, but just in case, I regressed one last time.

“Huhhh…”

This time, when Cheonma was competing with a player, I sat in the front row of the audience, crossed my arms, and glared at Cheonma. I also unleashed my magical power like crazy. The guy looked back every now and then, perhaps because he was concerned about me, but he eventually focused more on the other player in front of him. I

didn’t approach him at all and just glared at him from afar, but Cheonma didn’t really approach me. At first, he reacted, but later he just ignored me like a cow or a chicken. Three months passed and Cheonma regained all his strength. I was finally able to regress with peace of mind.

“From Cheonma’s perspective, there’s no memory of the ‘original’ round.”

From my perspective, it’s the rule that Cheonma regains his strength after three months, but from Cheonma’s perspective, who retained his memories, that never happened. It was a memory that never happened. No matter how much Cheonma tries to act ‘naturally’, he can’t perfectly act out his own unaware self. If he could erase his own memories, then maybe.

“… Can everyday memories be erased?”

No. There was no such thing. And no one knows if erased memories will return. We can rule that out.

Anyway, after confirming that Cheonma has no memories, I called Jiwon in. She had been away from me for the past three times to eliminate variables, so she seemed happy.

After talking about our recent events, catching up, and finishing up various tasks, I told Choi Jiwon about what had happened with Cheonma.

“Cheonma has limitations… and is hiding his power…”

“Aha…”

Choi Jiwon, who had been nodding and listening, suddenly frowned.

“But Junho… if that’s what you said, aren’t we in big trouble?”

“Hmm.”

“Cooperation is impossible. And we can’t win a fight either. What are we going to do…?”

That’s true. I can’t win a fight with Cheonma. I can’t cooperate with Cheonma. But I can’t just leave Cheonma behind either.

The guy is a huge obstacle that cannot be touched or left alone. I know what to do, but it is a boulder blocking the path that no one can step through. It is truly a hopeless situation.

“No.”

Still, I have an advantage.

“Information superiority.”

I learned about Cheonma. I understood Cheonma. I found out what kind of guy he is, what kind of past he has, and what kind of personality he has. It seemed like he was cornered, but I could clearly see a way out.

I can’t fight him. I can’t run away.

But… I might be able to kill him.

“How?”

“Using Boongboong’s method.”

It’s not like I was doing nothing while watching Cheonma. I was also busy making plans, imagining various possibilities.

This is the plan that came to mind during that time. The plan with the highest probability and the highest probability of success. I am refining Boongboong’s plan a little.

Boongboong’s plan that was originally said to be impossible. Is there anything that has changed now?

Yes. I also gathered trivial information about Cheonma and found out how he became stronger. In fact, the ability itself is not important. What’s important is that I understood Cheonma as a person.

“First of all… Cheonma is arrogant. And he gets angry easily.”

“You say he gets angry easily?”

“Yeah. When people who are ‘bad’ by his standards get on his nerves, he always gets murderous.”

Having a dirty personality is a blessing. It means that it becomes easier to satisfy the ‘intense emotions’ needed for regression.

“And Cheonma has strong pride. Should I call it narcissism? He’s the type of person who can tolerate insulting ‘Guntar’ but can’t tolerate insulting ‘Cheonma’.”

Cheonma was also very proud of himself. He loved himself to the extreme. It was a natural temperament, but Cheonma was very serious about it.

“The reason why Boongboongi’s plan was difficult is because it was too easy to find out that Kim Junho was the one responsible for the regression.”

In the end, in order to deceive Cheonma, I had to not let him find out that I was deceiving him. But in order to regress, both parties have to feel intense emotions towards each other. Let’s say I do, but it was hard not to be caught by Cheonma.

But Cheonma has a dirty personality? I can solve this. I can overcome it by spreading countless smokescreens.

Also, I’ve heard Cheonma’s past. I’ve learned his story in quite a bit of detail. With this… it’s possible to play with Cheonma’s emotions.

“It’s a risky plan, yes.”

If I fail, Cheonma will realize that I’m regressing and be released. Maybe… I could really be ‘sealed’. There’s that much risk involved.

But if not, I don’t see a way to beat Cheonma. There’s no way to win. Cheonma is that strong.

Thanks to my regress, I’ve always fought without risk. When others risked their lives and made dangerous bets, I safely watched from behind.

Now is the time. Now is the time for me to take a risk. Right now, at this moment… it’s time to gamble.

The core of the plan is simple. Make the most of the difference in information, really the most of it.

So I can say it. I dare to declare it.

Cheonma.

“You too, experience it.”

Now you are a regressor.

I will show you what it feels like to be too regressed.