318 - Regression Is Too Much

Chapter 318 – The Regressed One Strikes… (2) – We entered the 29th floor. “… Is this place a fortress?” The first thing I saw upon opening my eyes was a tall, beautiful woman with an air reminiscent of an older sister. As expected from a top player, both her face and physique were impressive, although a large scar on her face lent her an air of wildness. “Tents, wooden walls, soldiers… It looks like a field base. What do you think?” My sister asked while looking at me. There was nothing amiss with her observations. A tent that seemed worn yet not dilapidated. A wooden wall still undergoing repairs. Soldiers bustling about. Above all else, we stood atop a high hill. Considering the food and other aspects, it was indeed a medieval military base. “Hello?” Yet… I couldn’t respond. Owing to my past experience on the 17th floor, I start by sensing the presence of souls upon entering a floor, and therein lay the issue. “…” Can’t you feel it? There was an immense presence emanating from the center of the base. A soul force pervading the entire fortress and spilling out from it. The central tent. Inside… I felt an intimidating presence. Like the Heavenly Demon’s oppression, or perhaps something greater. The distinction was that the Heavenly Demon exuded a vicious energy seemingly intent on annihilating all living things. This energy was simply heavy, like a stone just existing there. Even if it bore no intent to harm me, its mere presence was an energy suffocating enough. Magically, I sensed nothing. The problem was that the weight of this soul was so overwhelming that I couldn’t bear it. “Junho?” “Huh, Choi Jiwon?” Choi Jiwon approached from afar. Judging by her calm expression, it seemed like Choi Jiwon felt nothing either. (My sister found herself speechless at the sight of Choi Jiwon.) “…” Junho? Are you…?” “No, it’s not that. Let’s just wait a bit longer.” Choi Ji-won frowned at my serious expression. She asked if I was regressing, but I shook my head. “Are you the new soldiers?” “Oh, yes.” “Come this way.” A soldier appeared immediately after. He was heading towards the tent located in the center of the base. Whatever it was. “…” Soon, I found myself confronting that presence directly. ** “You may enter.” “… Alright.” The interior of the tent was simple, yet arranged neatly in its own way. It was set up such that even a complete stranger would be able to say, ‘This is an office.’ From the desk to the map, to the massive monster head mounted on the wall, to the guest chairs. If a sophisticated handsome man stood to welcome us, this scene would perfectly fit the image of a ‘first meeting with a genius strategist.’ “Oh. You’re here.” However, the one who greeted us was an old man lounging sideways in an office chair. He leaned against one armrest, his legs propped on the other, casually munching on a snack without a care in the world. His hair was utterly unkempt, growing wildly and unevenly, with crumbs from his snacks caught in his beard. His armor lay discarded in the corner of the tent, and his attire was… pajamas, or at the very least, some garment that looked exceedingly comfortable. In that moment, as I took in his appearance, I noted he was indeed handsome. His physique was also muscular. He resembled more of a "hyung" or "oppa" than an "uncle." Yet, because of his disheveled state, the word “uncle” was the first thing that came to mind upon seeing him. The titanic wave of soul pressure I had felt emanated from this man. He was a monster. A monster as formidable as the Heavenly Demon, or perhaps even more. How could such a monster appear consecutively on two floors? Wasn’t this a bit much? “Oh, hold on a second. Just a moment.” Whether I appeared nervous or not, the man waved the hand not occupied with snacks in the air, closing it into a fist. <Floor 29> – Each day around sunset, your performance can be evaluated by the 'Warrior.' – You can clear the level if you receive recognition from the Warrior three times. A familiar message window appeared before my eyes. “W-what’s that? I used to be a Warrior, right? So I’m like the floor manager here.” “…” “There are a lot of monsters out there. Kill them and return to me, and I’ll assess your performance. If you meet a certain standard, I’ll acknowledge you for doing well.” The soldier unconsciously tapped the air again. “On the other hand, you can only be evaluated once a day. No matter what, you can only be assessed a total of three times. No more, no less. Got it? Now go on. Fight~.” “…” “You’re not going? Hurry along.” Choi Jiwon and I exchanged glances and slowly exited the tent, while my wild sister glanced around and followed us. Wandering aimlessly like that, once we reached the periphery of the base, “…How is he supposed to be a warrior?” My sister murmured. I couldn’t agree more. A warrior. A brave one. However, the image of the fighter was too imposing to be judged solely by ‘bravery.’ Everyone was aware of this; there’s no need to elaborate further. “When I saw him, that person was exceedingly strong. The reason I was nervous was because I could feel his presence.” “You could feel his presence?” “Yes. But... No matter how I looked at it.” A warrior seemed insufficient to describe him as a warrior. Why, if he were a warrior, wouldn’t he appear more warrior-like? “From any angle, Jiwon seemed more like a warrior…” Compared to the vagrant scratching his belly while snacking, Jiwon Choi, with her ponytail and casual clothing, seemed far more like a warrior. Not that Jiwon Choi exactly embodied the image of a warrior, but the other guy was just too pitiful. “Well, let’s set that aside for the moment.” Honestly, I didn’t care whether the soldier was an old man, a vagrant, or a beautiful woman. My task was simply to clear this floor quickly. “Let’s gather some information.” “Okay.” “What’s the deal with you two…” Despite my sister’s curiosity, Jiwon and I split up and walked around this outpost. We questioned the soldiers about various matters and conducted our own investigations. Initially, according to the soldiers, this was the front line in a war against demons. It seemed we were reinforcements summoned here. Thanks to this, the soldiers were cooperative and the guides were accommodating. After surveying the base, we headed out to hunt some monsters. The creatures I encountered appeared to be a cross between wild dogs and moles. How strong were they? Hmm… It was ambiguous. On second thought, they were akin to wild bears? I haven’t personally fought a wild bear, but based on my experience, it felt that way. Bears aren’t weak, but they’re not particularly terrifying or strong. For ordinary humans, a bear might be a source of fear, but for players, they aren’t particularly daunting. "The deeper you go into the front lines, the stronger the enemies you'll face!" According to the soldiers, the monsters I captured were on the outskirts. The further you ventured, the tougher the adversaries would become, and mole monsters only appeared in the outer fringes. “Hmm…” Armed with some questions, I returned to the tent to speak with the soldier who could be deemed in charge. “There…” “Passed.” “What?” “Passed. I acknowledge you. Come back tomorrow.” “…What?” “Off you go.” “…” But the soldier wasn’t listening to me. He kept repeating, ‘I acknowledge you,’ then ordered me to leave. “…” So, would you acknowledge me if I caught one of the weakest moles? Is it truly meant to be that way…? “Impossible.” No. It was clear this soldier was just being annoying and granting me a pass. It was undoubtedly neglect of duty, yet it worked in my favor, so I decided to overlook it. Anyway, I went back to meet Jiwon. We exchanged information and broadly figured out the situation on this floor. For now, it seemed they’d surely deem I passed. Even if I returned after capturing a silly monster, that soldier was ready to shout ‘okay.’ The issue lay in the hidden part, or in other words, the additional reward. In this type of scenario, you have to assume there’s always an extra reward. “It seems it’s going to be a bit difficult to obtain the additional reward…” However, obtaining the additional reward on this floor seemed to be more challenging than I initially anticipated. The deeper you go, the stronger the monsters become. The monsters themselves are formidable, but the distance also poses a problem. "The truly strong ones are way in deep." Suppose you spend three days moving around in search of a powerful monster. Defeating it is one thing; surviving in a demon-infested area for three days is another. “It takes three days to get back.” Three more days for a round trip. It takes six days just to go forth and return, but the kicker is you only receive one acknowledgment from the warrior for all this effort. If you repeat this process three times, it would take 18 days. Completing the floor itself is easy. Anyone can clear it in three days. However, if you become greedy and try to obtain a better reward, the time required increases exponentially. Like in a game, the harder you work, the better the reward. Well, except for that part... it’s fine. I can say it’s fine. All I need to do is capture a monster and collect the appropriate reward. “I’ll stick to what I’ve been doing.” “Let’s wrap this up quickly and reconsider our approach.” I thought the floor would be just fine. On the second night. “…Huh?” “What’s wrong, Junho?” “No, suddenly… my head…” All of a sudden… my head started to feel dizzy and painful.