367 – Regression (15)

“What do you think you’re doing?”

“Ah? Oh… sorry. Sorry.”

Looking at my cold eyes, Um Hong-gil lets go of my hand and backs away.

“Holding your hand made you uncomfortable? Some people are sensitive to that kind of touch, sorry, sorry.”

“…”

He seems to think the reason I’m annoyed is because ‘I touched your hand.’ Is he acting? Or… I don’t know.

Actually, the first thing that came to mind was the possibility of a ‘shared regression.’ I remembered being amazed by this man, and if that feeling triggered a shared regression in him too… I thought, maybe that’s why things are so different.

But that theory has its flaws. I’m guessing the ‘memory transfer’ triggers when I re-enter each floor. So if that’s true, my memories should have returned the moment I entered the 4th floor. But the timing is off.

From the moment I entered, people were waiting for something, the atmosphere was chaotic. If it was a shared regression, the reaction would have come a little later.

“Come with me for a moment.”

“Uh, uh…”

I immediately grab the man’s hand and move to the edge of the barrier surrounding us. The gazes fixed on me are still there, but if I block sound with magic, it’ll be fine.

“What have you done?”

“Well…”

Um Hong-jun’s eyes dart around at my direct question.

“I just… liked it?”

“Is that your explanation?”

“No, really. I just liked it. I was walking around, even dancing a little because I was so excited… Maybe that’s why people are staring. Is that it? I’m sorry.”

So, this guy caused a whole ruckus and changed fate? Then why did he cause this ruckus?

“I just felt like… someone really interesting was coming. Originally, I wanted to climb that mountain up there, but this looked more fun… so I got excited… Sorry…”

This Um Hong-jun, he was the man who kept disappearing saying climbing mountains was fun. But thanks to him, we were able to avoid the monster wave. Back then, I simply brushed it off as ‘He’s crazy, but it’s a worthwhile try,’ and I never tried to figure it out. Saving the people on the 4th floor was more urgent.

“You felt that interesting vibe from me?”

“Yeah. So I waited a bit. Sorry if I made you feel bad. I’m kinda a nuisance, I always am…”

So, to recap, Um Hongjoon used his ability to sense that I was coming, and that caused a fuss that made everyone notice my appearance beforehand.

Well, it’s not exactly a butterfly effect, so I guess that’s a relief, but on the other hand, this guy’s ability is pretty impressive. He doesn’t seem to realize it, but isn’t it the ability to find a direction favorable to him through something he calls ‘fun’?

If climbing the mountain in the first place was also led by his ability, then it makes sense. Similarly, his coming to find me now is also guided by his ability. If I had to guess, that ability is something like ‘luck,’ or ‘an ability that induces movement in a direction that is advantageous to him.’

Was I not a good enough option to trigger that ability before my regression? Now that I’ve become strong enough after my regression, have I entered the range of his ability? Interesting.

“Do you… not know exactly what kind of ability it is?”

“Ability? What ability?”

“If you look at your… status window?”

“Status window? What’s that? Status window! Oh, what’s this? But I don’t need this stuff!”

Of course, this guy also seems crazy, so I couldn’t figure out the exact conditions. Actually, there’s no need to figure it out right now. Clearing the 4th floor is the priority, and I can look into it in detail after regressing later.

“Hmm…”

Anyway, now that I know it wasn’t triggered by an angel’s intervention or a shared regression, there’s nothing to hold back. The shield will disappear soon…

＜Floor 4＞

-Clear Condition: Survive for 5 days. Upon timer expiration, you will automatically clear and move to Floor 1.

-120 : 00 : 00

“Perfect timing.”

Inside the stone fortress, another black shield disappeared, revealing the isekai people within. As expected, Baron Jorge was standing at the front. He was tense, but tried his best to hide it with a rigid expression, scanning his surroundings.

“H, huff!…”

Then, sensing my magic, Baron Jorge’s face turned pale. I put my finger to my lips, telling him to be quiet, and then turned to Um Hongjoon to speak.

“Will you come with me?”

“Oh, yeah! That sounds fun!”

Without a word about where we were going or what we were doing, Uhm Hongjun readily agreed. There were reliable people here anyway, like Yoon Junghyun and William Smith. They could probably stop the otherworlders from doing any harm. Come to think of it, I need to figure out what to do with William Smith, too. But I’ll worry about that later.

Anyway, while the otherworlders and the players were facing off, I snuck into the fortress, grabbed some quick snacks and a sleeping bag, and then quickly slipped out and headed in the direction the monsters had come from.

“Get on my back.”

“Alright!”

It felt kinda weird carrying a guy old enough to be my uncle, but it was necessary for moving fast. (Uhm Honggil didn’t seem to mind at all.)

After getting Uhm Honggil on my back, I channeled mana into my legs and took off running. After a good while, I stopped to catch my breath, grabbed some food, and asked him,

“How does it feel now?”

I was wondering if Uhm Honggil’s power might be giving him a signal or something. We were heading toward the source of the monsters, after all, so I figured he might get some kind of reaction.

“Well… I’m not sure.”

“Huh?”

“Usually I get a *bam!* feeling, but… now it’s, like, I don’t know what to say?”

Uhm Honggil scratched the back of his head awkwardly. It seemed like his power was so strong that he couldn’t control it himself.

Honestly, since it seemed like such a useful ability, I’d been briefly considering if he might be a good addition to my team. But with no control over it, and no idea what his power even is, I decided to settle for ‘let’s be friendly.’ Adding him as a regression companion needed more careful thought.

“Rest enough? Let’s go again.”

“My legs hurt, but… okay…”

With the whining old man on my back, I started running again. A whole day passed, and by the time it was afternoon the next day,

“Hmm…”

Honestly, at this point, I was starting to think my plan might be wrong.

The speed I’d been running at was clearly beyond human. It went without saying, but it was way faster than the speed of the monsters that had been coming towards the fortress.

So, roughly calculating, we should’ve reached the monsters’ origin point ages ago, but there isn’t a single trace of anything nearby.

Even though the heavy snowfall makes visibility poor, I have magic. At least within a 3km radius, I didn’t sense any kind of signal.

Did I get the direction wrong? I was wondering if I made a mistake when…

“Wait, hold on.”

After being quiet this whole time, suddenly Um Hongjun tapped me on the shoulder and spoke.

“Let’s go around that way. To the right.”

“…Go around?”

“Yeah. The front… looks kinda boring.”

“…”

There’s nothing in front of us. Even spreading my magic, even awakening my soul to change my perspective, it’s just a snowfield.

But because Um Hongjun showed me something, I obediently turned and headed right.

“…There’s nothing here?”

“I guess not.”

Just like before, we walked for a long time across a blank snowfield. The longer we walked, the more suspicion crept into my gaze towards Um Hongjun, and he also subtly started avoiding my eyes when…

“?!”

Suddenly, I felt like I passed through something, and my vision shifted. The snowfield was still there, the sky was still blue, and you could still see the mountains in the distance.

But in that distance. A spreading, pure white light. What was there is…

“Uh, um… senpai.”

“What, what is it now, what. What is it?”

“Um, that, you know, that part where you adjust the monster population.”

“Hah… I told you that 10 years ago. Still not getting it together?”

“S-Sorry!”

“I can’t live like this, I just can’t. So, this here…”

A button-shaped control device, carved into white marble. A massive amount of power swirling around it. Two figures bickering.

“You get it? You can control monsters that have already left, like this. This is the last time I’m showing you…”

“S-Senior?”

“I told you I hate being interrupted the most.”

“No, that’s not it… over there… humans…”

“What nonsense… Haaack!!!”

There were two angels.

“Hey, run. Run!”

“M-Magic power isn’t moving. No, my body won’t move!”

“Where do you think you’re going?”

It seems like today is a day for demanding explanations.