293 - Regression Is Too Much

Chapter 293 – The Battle of the Regressor (12) Jake, the 'new lover', is most likely an angel. I would say there's a 99% chance. "Guntar." "What?" "Guntar, you've succeeded." "... I don't really understand what you're saying." "There's a wolf beast. Why are you pretending not to know?" And as I've mentioned before, I'm unbeatable in the early stage of my regression. I have no narrative to establish, and there's no risk at this point. I can do many things, but I can't be responsible for them. "You're an angel." "Oh, no." "Explain. Why are you doing this?" "I don't know." "Take off your clothes." "I don't remember." I pressed him hard. I demanded him to admit that he was an angel. And with all his strength, Jake also fought hard to deny it. He flailed his hands wildly, wanting to use some kind of angelic power, but he couldn’t because he was pretending to be ‘part of the tower’. There seemed to be no end to this. Unless I heard the whole story from the angel's mouth, there would be no progress. How can I… get something useful at a time like this? "Ah." Realizing I had something that might work, I took out a small ring from my pocket. "Hey. Do you know what this is?" "T-That...!" "Me? What? What? That. With Raphael, yeah? I did it all, buddy." A ring that I received from Archangel Raphael on the second floor. I held it up in front of his nose as if it was some token of friendship. "I'm not doing this to hurt you. I'm doing this to help you. See this?" "…" "I'm on your side. I can help. Is there anything I can do to help? Okay?" It’s true that the Archangel gave me a ring, but it was a gift, not a sign of camaraderie or anything like that. Normally, I’d probably just ignore it. "Excuse me…?" As you could tell from the fact that he was cosplaying as a punk… the angel was in a very confused state. He looked extremely anxious. His tone of voice suddenly became polite. "Ugh… Phew, alright. Follow me." The man led me somewhere deep inside this large building, then stopped in front of an old door. It was a wooden door that shouldn’t exist in a modern, sci-fi setting. "Come in." When I opened the door and entered, it was completely dark inside. Is this the 25th floor? It was an empty space like the one I'd seen there before. The reason I was brought here was probably… to avoid surveillance. "So. Why has the 28th floor become like this?" I was confused inside my heart, but I acted as if I knew everything. I crossed my arms and spoke with confidence, like a relief pitcher coming in to save the game. Angel Jake seemed to draw confidence from this demeanor as he shrugged off his loose clothes, revealing his wings. Once the Halo returned, he appeared more like a handsome man cosplaying as a gangster. Or maybe he was just a guy with a taste for trendy fashion. “How much do you know…?” “I only heard that you were supposed to come for support, but I don’t know the details.” “Wow… I really need your help… But it’s not that there’s no evidence…” Jake gazed at the ring given by the archangel on the 2nd floor. “The 28th floor is in complete ruin… It’s because of the Emperor…” He began to speak slowly. ** Every Archangel has its own philosophy. Each angel has virtues they wish to test. There is an aim that says, ‘You have the qualities necessary to pass this floor.’ In the case of the 28th floor, it’s violence. Victory. Survival. Not just for humans, but a battle to prove that living beings are deserving of life. Life is a fight, a competition, a political struggle. The ideology of the 28th floor is the same. To climb higher. To gain rewards. To win. To fight. To overcome. To achieve. In that sense, a space known as the ‘Arena’ is a special area for combat. It can be said that it’s a space that aligns perfectly with the Archangel’s purpose. It’s a place where you continue to fight, receive rewards, and fight again. In other words, it was inevitable that the Archangel would use the largest arena in the universe as the backdrop for the 28th floor. The arena incorporated in the tower was truly a marvel. (From the Archangel’s perspective.) Fighting, fighting, and fighting again, until you finally feel the thrill of victory… A magnificent space that awakens the inherent fighting spirit of humans. A masterpiece. It was a space that could be called a masterpiece. “The Emperor… So the Emperor is the problem…” Currently ranked 1st among Earth’s inhabitants. With the emergence of the Irregular Emperor… the situation became complicated. “The Emperor… So… Ah, may I say this? The Emperor has no mercy.” The Emperor is resolute in actions, in other words, and ruthless in a bad way. He shows the rank difference and gives the opponents a chance to surrender. If they don’t surrender here… he kills them. And this is the greatest arena in the universe. The lower and mid-ranks might be fine, but the higher ranks, and even the top ranks, are filled with people proud of their own skills. Some feel the rank disparity with the Emperor and surrender, but there are many more who can’t accept the reality and rush back in. “Many have died.” They all perished. A significant proportion of the proud beastfolk fell. The arena rankings changed in the blink of an eye. This is where the problem started. “The Archangel... is cautious about a situation where too many rankers die, and the difficulty of the arena itself is lowered…” Thanks to the Emperor, the arena itself became easier. To pass the 28th floor, one must reach the top 100 places. Previously, there were thousands of strong players waiting, and ranks 1 through 50 represented a kind of challenge, a barrier that was tough to climb but provided a sense of achievement... "The Emperor… destroyed it…” That "wall" was utterly demolished. In an irreparable way. “The 28th floor isn’t set for each player but maintained as a single world... If such damage occurs... we have to undergo a manual repair process.” We can’t just let it be. The Archangel responsible for the 28th floor is very strict, always wanting to maintain the ‘desired level of difficulty’. However, after the appearance of the Emperor, the 28th floor clearly became easier. We need to take action. “There are two major issues here.” First, the Emperor seems to have no intention of leaving. He mercilessly obliterates even the remaining strong players. And secondly, “Could it be that the Archangel cannot be contacted?” “You know.” The absence of the Archangel. Was it the 17th floor before? Because I realized my magical power too quickly, there were hints about the ‘absence of the Archangel’ even in situations where it was confirmed that I ‘never entered the tower’. The old man on the 15th floor seemed to say something similar. Oh, was it on the 23rd or 24th floor? The angel in charge of the mental hospital in my dream also said the same thing. Something about what would happen if the Archangel returned. It seems the same issue is occurring on the 28th floor. The Archangel currently in charge of the 28th floor has disappeared somewhere. “The Archangel said. Always maintain the same level of difficulty. There’s a vacancy, so it must be filled, but…” “Can’t it be filled?” “… Yes.” They are not Archangels, just individual angels. It’s impossible to wield power and replace a new face. “In other worlds... Oops.” Jake paused briefly. “This situation has happened before. There have always been instances where one extraordinary person destroys everything on their own. At those times, an Archangel would choose a suitable life and imbue them with talent.” Thankfully, the 28th floor is one ‘world’ in a time like this. All you have to do is choose one person living in the vast universe, grant them power, and give them a worthy story to enter the arena. A new strong player would emerge to fill the empty ranks. “But you don’t have an Archangel now?” “That’s the issue…” However, there is currently no Archangel. No manager to fill the position. The person at the top with the responsibility and authority has left, leaving only subordinates with nothing. Jake's expression looked extremely uneasy. “The Archangel had set up some countermeasures… Those closely tied to the arena, strong enough, yet far from the arena’s reach… He prepared some ‘reserves’ like that.” To be more specific—people like Guntar. “But the problem is that with our own power… it’s impossible to bring them to the arena. First of all, they’re all exhausted from the arena, or off seeking something more valuable… even if they try to use their power, the Archangel’s strength is already spent, so the effect would be minimal…” Yet, the angels remained powerless. The Archangel had overestimated them, and their master, the Archangel, had left, leaving them helpless. “Wait a second.” A small question popped up. “Can’t we just leave it like this?” “Absolutely not… If the Archangel returns and sees this scene…” Jake trembled. He was truly scared. According to him, even among the Archangels, tendencies vary. When a climber creates a variable, some would leave it alone, saying, “This must also be God’s will,” while others would actively try to fix it, saying, “This is not what I intended.” The Archangel responsible for the 28th floor clearly belonged to the latter category. The reason Dok Soo-hee was ousted from the 26th floor was the same. “So, to conclude.” The goal of the angels is to maintain the arena at a consistent difficulty level, but that’s been disrupted by the Emperor. Since the Archangel who should maintain the difficulty is gone, the angels must act on their own. “What does this have to do with Guntar?” “Well…” Jake let out a deep sigh. “Guntar… is our mistake…” “Mistake?” “Yes… Guntar actually died. It was an unforeseen accident during his journey.” The 28th floor is a world. There are many minor variables, and as a consequence, many things don’t conform to their original purposes. Guntar was one such case. Originally, he was a reserve player prepared for the arena, but he died in an accident during his travels. “… Did the angels revive him?” “Yes… It’s much easier to resurrect the dead than to touch living beings in the tower…” Jake spoke calmly, stating that resurrecting the dead is easier. “No way…” “Because the soul has already left the body, the restoration itself is much easier. As you know, the soul is typically a constraint in such interventions…” “…” "The problem arose during the implantation of a new ego..." Whether I was shocked or not, Jake spoke, biting his lower lip. "What we wanted was an adversary who could manage the players well enough… someone with a slight hostility towards humans, skilled, with a personality that enjoyed fighting and was suited for the arena..." "…" "…" "Perhaps due to the disposition of our archangel… the angel on duty… did not consider enough…" The combative angel responsible took a risk to overcome the Emperor. "I inserted a soul that shouldn’t have been inserted," Jake said. "What ended up there was…" the angel began. "It was an old man formerly known as 'Cheonma'..." You've got a problem.