Regression Is Too Much - Chapter 369



369 – Regression (17)

“Ah, achoo!!!”

The frigid wind whips around the citadel’s outskirts. Though torches are hung here and there, it’s not nearly enough to dispel the bone-chilling cold.

“Ah, fuck, seriously…”

“Don’t curse so much.”

“How can I not curse? Fuck. Damn it. Shit.”

A player, kicking the damn ramparts in frustration.

“Seriously, what’s with this patrol in this weather? Nothing even shows up.”

“…Yeah. I guess you’re right.”

The player trying to calm him down shakes his head in agreement, understanding.

Today marks the third day since Floor 4 started. Players like Yoon Jung-hyun and William Smith, who’ve taken it upon themselves to be leaders, have established some rules, and one of them is to take shifts on patrol.

“Survival, my ass. Surviving this cold is the point, isn’t it? I’m freezing to death. Goddamn it, why does it have to be today…?”

Nothing much had happened for three days, and it wasn’t even a patrol during the relatively warm daytime; they’re stuck patrolling at night, so it’s understandable that they’re complaining. On top of that, the initial tension of the players is slowly letting up. And it’s a big factor that Kim Jun-ho, who could command everyone before, is no longer around.

“There’s nothing inside the fortress, nothing outside either, unless we get rewarded for killing each other, what the hell is this survival thing?”

“…Hey, shut up.”

“No, think about it. Seriously…”

“Shut your mouth. Someone’s coming.”

The sound of people approaching from the direction of the fortress. A group of them is coming, faces set and hardened. The complaining player, sensing the unusual atmosphere, shuts his mouth.

“…Kyung-jun, are you sure?”

“Yes. According to my trait, ‘Analysis Complete’… something’s coming from that direction.”

Ahn Kyung-jun, one of the group, nods, and Yoon Jung-hyun, acting as the players’ leader, gives a signal. A moment later, a huge ball of fire is created by one of the players.

“Please, fire it that way.”

The huge ball of fire flies off, and the darkness gradually begins to lighten.

“Wh-what the…”

Until the flames started to dim, there was nothing in particular visible. Nothing but eyes. Eyes. Eyes. Eyes… And countless eyes.

Eyes gleaming with madness. Eyes filled with murderous intent. Eyes that are oozing blood from excitement.

“…Wake all the players.”

Yoon Joong-hyun bit his teeth without realizing it.

“Monsters… Monsters are swarming.”

So, *this* was the meaning of ‘survive’ on the fourth floor.

The current situation of the fortress was different in many ways from when Kim Joon-ho was here.

Without Kim Joon-ho, an overwhelmingly powerful force, their unity was weak, and because of that, the players weren’t properly controlled.

Since they weren’t under control, there were several clashes with the otherworlder groups (because they thought they were NPCs). Cooperation was out of the question, and they were lucky if they weren’t drawing swords at each other.

“How’s the situation with the otherworlders?”

“Um… the NPCs… they’re gathered separately, doing something.”

“Understood.”

Of course, they weren’t stupid, so they would help with defense, but you couldn’t expect all-out support. Therefore, the all-out war… it had to be accomplished only by the players’ power. Since there was no regressor, they couldn’t even fix the fortress walls, so blocking the entrance was also a problem.

“Ha, the experience points are gonna be fucking insane.”

-Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.

“…My weapon feels a little heavy today.”

-Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.

“…Haa.”

“Hoo.”

-Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.

“…”

“…”

From noble mtl dot com

The resounding footfalls of the monsters, the vibrations growing closer to the tips of our feet, inversely quieted the fortress.

-Gulps-

The sound of swallowing was deafening.

Extreme tension. The torches in people’s hands trembled. The thought that something might come was there, but never had anyone imagined such a horde of monsters, charging with such ferocity.

A threat to life, felt for the first time since the tutorial. The sensation of a cold blade pressed against the neck. Blood drained from the head, the heart pounded, a high-pitched ringing filled the ears, and somehow the vision seemed to narrow. If there hadn’t been people behind, I would have fled. I don’t want to die. Mom, Dad… somebody, somebody help—

“Get a grip!!!”

Then, a voice boomed, echoing throughout the fortress.

“Focus. If you don’t focus… we all die.”

Humans are easily swayed. Swayed by the threat of death closing in from all sides… yet they can also regain their resolve through the strong will of another.

“Let’s stick to the plan. If we’re careful about the rotation timing, theoretically everyone can survive. Don’t think about anything else. We all need to focus only on surviving. We can do this.”

Yoon Jung-hyun’s words didn’t make the fear disappear. They didn’t make the tension vanish.

But one thing was certain, a spark ignited in people’s eyes. Negative emotions sometimes fuel movement. They were ready to fight.

“They’re coming.”

The footsteps grew closer. The cries echoed from close range. They’re coming. The monsters were swarming. The horde of monsters, filling the vision, overlapping each other, over the walls of the fortress, finally surging towards the entrance!!!

“…Huh?”

“Huh?”

But something… something was strange. This wasn’t a surge. It was closer to… rolling around. The killing intent and the scattering of blood were real. But the target… wasn’t human.

What the players faced wasn’t a monster wave with eyes blazing red, intent on killing humans.

“Kerrrrrllllrrrkk!!!”

“Kuaooohhh!!!”

“Whaooohhh!!!”

“T-they’re…fighting amongst themselves…?”

A monster mob, clawing, tearing, killing each other, it was a total mess.

“Whoa!!! This is… this is pretty damn good?!”

“P-please stop!”

“If I press this and this and this at the same time… woohaa!”

“Nooo!!!”

Night three. Me and Mr. Um Hongjun were still holed up in the angels’ secret base.

Mr. Um Hongjun was enthusiastically operating the machine (it had a function that allowed us to monitor distant areas. Thanks to that, we could see the citadel directly.) and I was quietly observing the machine next to him.

“Look at this! The humans are holding them back! No, they’re just enjoying it? They say the experience points are overflowing!”

“P-please… stop…”

“If I do this… here…”

“aaahhh!”

It wasn’t the first or second time Mr. Um Hongjun had done something like that, and every time, the junior angel gave a vibrant reaction. Watching this, Mr. Um Hongjun got even more excited and worked the machine even harder. It had been like this for three days straight, but the two of them didn’t seem to get tired.

And what had I been doing all that time? Just…nothing. Eating, sleeping, and watching them. Shouldn’t I be trying to get information out of the angel? I was thinking about it at first, but then I realized it was pointless.

It was obvious the senior angel wouldn’t answer even if I asked, and it didn’t seem like the bumbling angel would know anything for sure no matter what I asked. If the result is going to be bad anyway, why bother, you know?

Of course, if it were early in the regression, I would’ve tried all sorts of things to extract information… but the current me was trying a more sophisticated approach.

“Hmm…”

For the past three days, what I’ve been consumed by is observing the angels’ machine. Not just observing, but observing with my soul wide open, pouring my magic into focused attention.

First, I figured out the angels’ machine uses divine power, not magic or the power of the soul. Its nature was unlike any power I’ve ever known.

So, really, the last three days have been more about observing ‘divine power’ itself rather than the machine. It’s absurd to still be learning, still have things I don’t know after all these regressions.

Still, after investing a full three days, I did achieve something.

“Alright, this time I press this one!”

Each time Um Hong-jun presses a button on the machine, a small amount of divine power shoots into the sky. The divine power rises, impossibly high, until it vanishes completely.

-GWooo!!!

“Look! The wolf monster has eight legs now!”

“Hey, it’s tripping over its own feet! Turn it back!”

“But it’s fun!”

The divine power that shot up into the sky comes plummeting back down, creating or transforming monsters. The odd thing is, the divine power shot up was incredibly small, but the divine power that came back down was a massive shockwave of power.

From the way he’s pressing the buttons, from the difference in the amount of divine power, I could form a hypothesis.

This machine simply sends a signal, and somewhere in the sky, *something* receives that signal and directly ‘exercises’ the divine power.

Archangels aren’t Gods (a bit of a strange way to put it) and can’t intervene in everything. Angels aren’t weak, but they aren’t powerful enough to make world-twisting interventions.

So… how are the other floors maintained? Each time a player enters, a tiny new world is created; how do they manage all that?

“…Honestly, it’s kinda pretty.”

I stared up at the divine power shooting into the sky, focusing to analyze its patterns.

If the other floors are also using a similar method…

If I could replicate that divine power pattern…

Then, maybe there would be a way for me, an individual, to interfere with the Tower’s system.

“…”

Perhaps, because it seemed like I could find the answers to all the questions I held.