317 – The Regressor… (1)

Cheonma died. He didn’t move anymore.

“… The soul?”

“It’s gone.”

The soul of a dead body slowly disappears, and it was the same in Cheonma’s body. I could clearly see the two souls slowly disappearing.

“Is Guntar dead?”

“Is he really dead?”

“That… I think he was a Cheonma pretending to be Guntar.”

“No, no…”

“I’m sure… I said he was the real Guntar.”

“We were all fooled.”

“… But.”

I tried to explain it to the beastmen as best I could, but they were not convinced. This was especially true for the cat beastmen, who had always been overjoyed by the fact that his friend had recently returned.

“Didn’t you say there was a way to make it better?”

“… I’m sorry. There was no way.”

“… Was there really… a monster called Cheonma inside?”

“Yes.”

“…”

He groped around for Guntar’s fallen body, then bowed his head. The other beastmen gathered around and patted him on the back.

“It was the real Cheonma. Didn’t you see me admit it earlier?”

“… Go.”

“… Yes.”

Maybe I should be thankful that they aren’t shaking me by the collar right now. I hadn’t explained the plan to them in advance, and it hadn’t even been an hour since I told them that Guntar might be Cheonma.

So we left the people and returned to the waiting room from earlier.

“Then… let’s get out of this floor.”

We started to climb the ranks mechanically. Climbing the ranks was easy. We took our time.

After reaching 100th place, we escaped right away. I asked the angel about the reward, but he only said thank you, and didn’t give us any reward.

“I don’t have the authority… When the Archangel comes back later, he’ll definitely thank me!”

“…”

Likewise, killing Cheonma didn’t raise your achievement level or give you additional items. He was literally a ‘mistake’.

Anyway, we returned to reality. When I saw the traces of the room as before, it finally felt real.

“… I won.”

I won. I tricked Cheonma, who I thought I could never kill, and finally won.

“I… won.”

I stopped Cheonma’s resurrection.

I

won.

**

“Are you okay?”

“Okay.”

It was Choi Ji-won’s request that I kill Cheonma herself. This was actually her first murder, and she said she wanted to share the burden I was carrying.

“I can’t leave it to you alone.”

“… Thank you.”

Anyway, returning is now prohibited. If I return now, the Heavenly Demon will come back to life, and then a monster I can’t even imagine will be born.

Entering the 29th floor is a must.

However, unlike before, when I would ‘go to the next floor as quickly as possible’, I decided to take a break for a moment. It was a plan that was just as difficult and took a long time. I was mentally and physically exhausted.

I ordered a lot of delicious food, watched interesting movies together, and played games until I got tired of them. I didn’t feel like all my fatigue had gone away, but I still felt good about wasting time like this.

And that night.

“Do you remember? Back then?”

“Ahaha, I remember. Do you know how funny you were back then?”

“No, it wasn’t that bad.”

“BungBung is right? He said it was really ugly.”

“… Hey. Come out.”

We reminisced about the past while eating snacks. Sometimes, when we start talking about the past, we feel like talking about old stories. That was today for us.

A pleasant intoxication, moonlight shining through the curtains, a beloved lover, bittersweet memories.

“Wow, when I think about it this way, I really worked hard.”

“That’s why I like you.”

“What are you going to do if I say I’ll throw everything away?”

“I knew you wouldn’t?”

“… That’s right.”

Stop chewing on the squid legs and look at the moon to recall your memories.

The tutorial where you first realized your abilities. When the goblin shaman betrayed you, I thought it was really the end. It was also sad to be separated from Jiwon.

The first floor, which serves as your base. The second floor, which had a ‘no violence’ clause. I heard that it has become a healthy training center these days, but I’m curious. I wonder how the second floor, which I changed, has changed.

The third floor, where I met a precious relationship. An Gyeong-jun, Kang Chan, and… Dok Soo-hee. The golem that deflected the attack was despair itself.

The fourth floor was so hard. I think all my basic swordsmanship skills were honed there. Killing monsters, killing them, and killing them again… If I had levels like everyone else, I would have gotten to level 2000 there. I also remember the stupid things I did to not disappoint Choi Ji-won.

Oh, there was also William Smith, who had the ability to heal. There was also Yoon Joong-hyun, an association employee. There was also an old man with the ability to be lucky. Baron Jorge must have returned to his original world. I wonder if he is doing well now.

The 5th floor where I fought my clone. If I had polished my basics on the 4th floor, I would have built up my skills on the 5th floor. In a situation where we were both regressing, my clone created a swordsmanship for me. I am still grateful to him. I respect the time he had to endure.

It took me a week to be summoned to the tutorial and get to the 5th floor. However, it took me a month to get from the 6th to the 11th floor, and most of that time was because of the cold I caught on the 10th floor.

Now, Han-gi is a great strength. I still don’t know why I gain such strange powers when I spend a really, really long time on the 10th floor mountain, but whatever. I guess I should just think I was lucky.

After that, the 11th floor where the dwarves and players were at odds. I played the role of the grim reaper and reconciled the two groups. It also took a long time.

The 12th floor, where there were no people, required two weeks of waiting. I had to choose the difficulty level and fight dolls, and I remember them being timid.

The 13th floor, where I had to escort a carriage in the wilderness. This also took three days. The 14th floor, where I cleared it in one day by taking Choi Ji-won’s bus.

And the 15th floor, where I met the old man. The truth about this world that I heard from the old man was shocking, but I also remember meeting Michael Jeter and hearing that monsters would appear.

Up until this point, it had been four months since Michael Jeter cleared the first tutorial. By my standards, I had only reached the 15th floor in three months.

After that, I made an agreement with Ji-won to personally witness the monster invasion. At this point, I also heard rumors of a warehouse, and I waited for 10 months to defeat the tiger that appeared in Namsan. I also confirmed that Dok Soo-hee had memories.

After that, I returned. Next was the 16th floor, where I had to scratch the rock. In fact, the twist was that the success criterion was my own subconscious.

The 17th floor, where I had to become aware of my magical powers in order to break through. Since I had already become aware of my magical powers, I learned how to sense souls here. It’s one of the techniques that I still use usefully.

The 18th floor, where I had to go to the world of martial arts. Here, I met a real immortal. The ‘immortal acting’ that I often overuse was something I learned here. The

19th floor, where I had to write and publish a book. At this point, I was already so familiar with magical powers that I think I wrote about them.

Next… I went to check the warehouse in America, but it was strangely empty. I guess it was some kind of butterfly effect.

After returning like that, I met the Archangel’s clone on the 20th floor. (He also said he was away, but it seems like the archangel who was supposed to be there isn’t.

The 21st floor where I had to save Arami. Here, I honed my power to control ‘souls’. The power I learned on the 17th floor was useful on the 21st floor, and the girl’s cheer I got as a reward on the 21st floor saved me later.

The 22nd floor of the simulation world where I didn’t regress even when I got hurt. Here, I confirmed the strength of the ‘me who doesn’t regress’ and gained confidence. I’m strong because I don’t regress even when I get hurt. I’m really strong. I can train some pretty strong people.

After that, I heard about the book of truth. I met Michael Jeter. I set my sights on the 30th floor

. The 23rd floor where I had to go through with my memories lost. I believed that I would have already regressed countless times, but because of that, the strange phenomenon that happened to be the clue to clear the floor. It was also the floor where I confirmed that the regressor without memories was a retard.

After that, the 24th floor where ghosts appeared. It was scary, and it was the floor where I first confirmed that there are things that don’t come back even if you regress. What, they say that if you disappear from the center of the universe, you disappear forever. (By the way, I heard that there are no archangels here either. Where did they all go?)

Next, the 25th floor where I saved my life thanks to the girl’s encouragement. No, whose idea was it to release poison gas in the maze? Without Jiwon’s help and Arum’s help, I would have been trapped here forever. You could call it just a trash floor.

Next is the 26th floor, which acts as a kind of checkpoint. I wondered how the top players communicated, but I found out that it was possible because there was this communication channel. I also sold items here. The

27th floor, where I fought the warlock. Here, I learned humility and madness. I shouldn’t become like that kid.

And… the most recent 28th floor. I tricked the impossible enemy called Cheonma and won. Honestly, I still can’t believe it.

When I organize it like this… I really, really tried hard. It was hard to get here, and I was lucky.

But I can be sure.

“No, to put it bluntly, I caught Cheonma. What can’t I do?”

Choi Jiwon. Regression. And my will.

With these three things, there’s nothing to be afraid of in the tower. If I invest enough time, I can do anything.

I have a pretty and incredibly strong girlfriend, a fraudulent ability called Regression that makes me virtually invincible, and the will to move forward. Now I can overcome whatever comes my way.

30th floor. 30th floor is coming soon.

After clearing the 30th floor, I will prepare. The day when monsters come to Earth.

Before, I had to helplessly return. But now it’s different. I have become incomparably stronger than I was on the 15th floor.

After clearing the 30th floor, I will protect this world. I will save it from the invasion of monsters.

Yes, like the hero I have always admired.

“After clearing the 30th floor, should I wear a mask and act?”

“… You said it was really disgusting that your identity was revealed.”

“That’s true. If you wear a mask, you won’t get caught.”

“Do whatever you want. My identity has already been revealed. Isn’t that right?”

“It’s kind of creepy when I see your elementary school photos floating around.”

“It’s fortunate that I was pretty when I was little.”

“…”

“What.”

We laughed out loud and lay down on the bed. The future ahead of us may not be bright, but it won’t be dark either.

One floor up to the 30th floor.

After resting for a week, we confidently entered the 29th floor.

Nothing could stop us.

**

“You.”

“…”

“This is… This isn’t it…”

“I won’t say I did well. I was wrong. I made a mistake.”

“… This isn’t something you can just let go of as a mistake.”

“I’ll take care of it. Just wait a moment.”

“No. I just confirmed it. If everything goes according to plan, there won’t be any problems.”

“Stop. That plan is… wrong.”

“Isn’t that the plan you made?”

“… I’ll go there. I think it would be better to have a talk.”

“It’s already too late.”

“Mr. President.”

“I… have a lot on my shoulders. It can’t end like this.”

“…”

“Now.”

Nothing.

“You can’t stop it.” You ca

n’t stop it.