324 - Regression Is Too Much

**Chapter 324 - Past (3)** The President, intoxicated by burning passion. "Silence." "..." With a single word from Jeter, the President's mind snapped back to reality. Michael Jeter embodied self-control. He loved to joke, but never cursed, and he was always respectful toward the President. Jeter, swearing? "Let’s assume the book has that function." Of course, this was all deliberate. Michael Jeter, who tended to be calm and composed in slow moments, thought he had to resort to strong words to bring the President back to his senses. "Let's assume that if we truly use that book, it is possible to prove the existence of a regressor." "…" "In an all-powerful and god-like book. How much sacrifice do you think would it take to leave a tiny mark?" "…" "It might be possible if we unite America's power." "It might be. But it's just a possibility." The previously consumed President now began to understand what Jeter was trying to convey. "Let's say we gather all the resources of the United States and dedicate them to this book. Let's say we do manage to leave a mark. But what if no one experiences regression?" "…" "The United States would squander all its resources on a trivial and insignificant brand, and you’d be responsible and would have to face the consequences. Does that sound reasonable to you?" "Well, but. If there's a time traveler, they'd be like a god..." "If there really is a time traveler, what would you do next?" Even if the President's plan succeeded, it was still a problem. "If we prove their existence. Then what?" "..." "..." "Let's say we are immensely, incredibly lucky and regression does occur. Suppose we don't leave a mark, but it ends up where we intended." Jeter’s words pierced the President’s heart deeply. "What changes? It just proves a regressor exists. Who is the regressor, what are their intentions, is there any way to know? Self-satisfaction in proving the existence of god-like powers. Beyond that—" "…That's enough." Heh-heh-heh—the President chuckled, unable to hold back his intoxication, and rested his forehead on the table. "I-I think I might have had a bit too much." Alcohol. Power. Influence. The President realized he had misspoken. Jeter was right a hundred, a thousand times over. What if they did as the President suggested, and it led to nothing? It would be akin to throwing America's future in the trash. So what if there is a regressor? It wouldn’t change anything. We'd merely know that such transcendent power exists, but there’d be nothing we could do. Should we prepare to face it, or should we attempt something to counter it? A godlike being who could foresee the future and remain untouchable. Knowing of its existence wouldn't change anything. It simply meant that what the President was attempting was merely self-satisfaction. "…Let's forget about today." "Yes." The President's words, ‘I hope you forget,’ carried many implications. He wanted to forget his slip-up, and he was also grateful to Michael Jeter for holding him back from speaking nonsense. Similarly, Jeter didn't wish to delve too deep into this matter. The current President was doing well enough, and there was no one who could replace him. Naturally, because his emotions were finely tuned, he was capable of making efficient decisions, but it was only human for someone to become intoxicated with power and act irrationally. The two drank as if nothing had happened and, after some time, went their separate ways. They carried on with their daily lives as usual. However, they couldn't really return to how things were before. Their relationship had become strained since that day. That's how changes always occur. You can't go back. ** Once more. A week later. Michael Jeter climbed the tower. The Association was moving swiftly, and America had solidified its position as the ruler of the new order. "Wow." He had just surpassed the 14th floor. He wanted to climb higher, but there were many documents that needed his attention. If he weren’t the head of the association, he would've already scaled to the pinnacle of humanity. But it was inevitable, he thought. – Knock knock. "Come in." Jeter, seated at his office desk with his eyes fixed on the documents, permitted the visitor to enter. "What?" Within 0.1 seconds, he sensed something odd. The sound of footsteps, the location of the knock on the door, and the person he remembered didn't match. "Nice to meet you. My name is Mahesh." The person who opened the door and entered was a friendly-looking Indian man. He appeared slightly nervous but seated himself in the chair opposite Jeter. "…How did you get in here?" "Is it because you're too strong? Security has been loose from the start. It was easy to get in because they know the shift schedules." He mentioned targeting the guards' shift changes. Easier said than done, but acquiring such information was no simple feat. "I'll ask again." Moreover, Mahesh's words were completely true. "How did you get in here?" Jeter had no need for an escort. Bullets, poisonous gas, not even a nuclear bomb could harm him. It would be easier to strangle the man right now than taking candy from a child. Mahesh swallowed hard, perhaps feeling pressure from Jeter's demeanor, but he didn't hold back from saying what needed to be said. "I… have the ability of prophecy." "Prophecy?" "A limited form of intelligence, you might say. It brought me here. It said, ‘Find the strongest person.’ The definition of the strongest might be arguable, but you are undoubtedly the strongest." Mahesh, the Indian man who proclaimed himself a prophet. He claimed that he came to meet Jeter because he had foresight. "I want to help you. I believe that’s how I can contribute to humanity." "…" An Indian man who suddenly appeared. His nature was highly dubious. The opportunity was too tempting to dismiss. Normally, I would hesitate. "Alright." Jeter took the bait. It was because he was confident in his ability to handle it, and also because he'd been feeling a shortfall recently. He felt a lack of power. Not in personal strength, but in influence. The President's case showed that humans are unstable. Their behavior can change at any moment depending on the situation. What if a leader somewhere suddenly lost their mind and launched a nuclear bomb? Or what if a crazed player committed a massive terrorist attack? Jeter could defeat them personally, but it would be meaningless if everything else was destroyed. He considered himself the strongest, but there was a limit to what he could achieve alone. Sensing the need for the right kind of power, Jeter accepted Mahesh’s offer. This was the beginning of Jeter’s personal organization, 'Alpha.' "Now you can head to Cambodia. Precisely at 2:13, downstream from this river." "Understood." Mahesh could pinpoint the locations of players who were wasting their talents, and Jeter could approach them and act as a guardian. Recruitment was easy. "Oh, thank you! Thank you so much for saving my life!" A long-distance teleportation user. "… Give him a name. Thank you." Someone with the ability to transform into an animal. "What about my secret base… Hehehe… You’re the president of the player association, right? Okay. That’s intriguing." Someone with the power to convert their body into electrical signals and infiltrate computers. And then. "My ability… is inventory." This was when Dok Soo-hee, a high school girl, joined. Players with various deadly abilities gathered under the name of Michael Jeter. "This is the special unit that will assist with training." The players who joined 'Alpha' received professional training. Not only did it help them use their abilities more effectively, but they also… mastered skills from martial arts, infiltration, to conversational techniques for extracting information. They accumulated knowledge that rivaled experts. Naturally, they utilized items from the U.S. Treasury Department as if they were water. "Hey! That ice cream is mine!" "You’ve got plenty in your inventory. Give me some." "I don’t have any!" The training period was short, but during that time, the bonds between the organization's members grew stronger. Naturally, their skills also increased dramatically. After completing their training, the members of Alpha were divided into two groups. "Items obtained from climbing the tower will be stored in the common warehouse. We'll pool resources in one place and use them where they are most needed." Those dedicated to climbing the tower and gathering items. "What are we supposed to do?" "You just need to carry out your missions in the real world." And those who wielded influence in reality. Jeter's goal was world peace, and the world was full of seeds that could destroy that peace. "This person is a violent rapist. He has the ability to transform into an object. Find him." "What do we do once we find him?" I'll say it again. "Kill him." Jeter was devoid of emotion at this point. ** Just two and a half months to the present. It had been two and a half months since the first tutorial. Mahesh had just passed the 15th floor and found a ‘timer’ statue, while Kim Jun-ho shivered in the snowy mountains on the 10th floor. "I’m holding a meeting. Please gather." By this time, the President of the United States had practically claimed the seat of Earth's ruler. Attending the meetings he held was now regarded as a power in itself, and his intervention in other nations' policies was recognized as a right, not an intrusion. Though only two and a half months had passed, the book's impact was immense. Simultaneously, Jeter had secured a strong leadership position among the players. There had been some ‘interventions’ in public opinion, but the results achieved through Jeter's efforts were undeniable. To be frank, Jeter didn’t appreciate the President’s methods. He aimed to create a world for the players, so he questioned the value of consolidating political positions. The feeling was mutual for the President. Seeing Jeter gathering players with dangerous abilities was enough to make the government feel threatened. If the blade he'd honed was pointed at the President's neck, he was considered as good as dead. In other words, they viewed each other as thorns in their side. They didn't like each other. Nonetheless, they maintained a cooperative relationship. They never invaded each other’s territories, and each did their best in their respective domains. The reason was simple. Their goals were the same: to maintain human order and world peace. Jeter was convinced that the current situation would continue. They would respect each other's authority, refrain from interference, and protect the world. He believed that a relationship more akin to cooperative companies rather than an alliance would persist in the future. "Chairman." "What is it, Mahesh?" "I think you should take a look." "… A prophecy?" That was what Jeter expected.