How To Use Regressors

13 – Three Musketeers (2)

As time passed, the entrance opened.

“Alright, everyone please come in. Shall Mr. Yoon Sung personally guide the newcomers? The others can help with the food brought, and I will briefly inspect if there were any significant changes while I was away.”

The newcomers were in awe as the situation inside the building seemed much better than they had imagined.

A man named Kim Ho-won spoke up.

“There… seems to be a lot of people gathered here. How on earth… does it look like there’s plenty of food? How is this possible?”

“…I was not one of the original people here, but I heard that Miss Yoo-joo had been leading these people and fending off the monsters.”

“…”

The man fell silent after hearing my words. Hyun-jin’s reaction wasn’t much different.

A woman named Kang Yiseo muttered to herself, as the situation here was different from her expectations.

“… Damn. I almost got screwed if I had just gone there.”

“Milady… Watch your language… There are others here too.”

“It’s okay. Since we suddenly came here from Earth, it’s impossible not to swear. I swear a lot too. Hahaha…”

“Oh… Even if it’s not because of that reason, I’m grateful for at least pretending to speak informally.”

“Milady… What is informal speech for someone we are meeting for the first time… Did you forget about manners…?”

“This guy…!”

Bang!

“Ouch! Why’d you hit me? It hurts…!”

“I hit you because it hurts…! How dare you act so high and mighty.”

Hyunjin and the woman named Kang Isora seemed quite friendly. The man named Kim Howon didn’t react as if it were a familiar sight.

Well, I didn’t think much about the fact that the girl was speaking informally. In a place like this, using informal language was common. It was nothing in a place where some people pulled out their swords as soon as they met.

“… Hm, well, if informal language bothered you, I apologize… No, I… I’m sorry. More importantly, how old are you?”

“I’m twenty-six.”

“Oh, really, we’re the same age. You can speak informally to me too, then. Is that okay?”

“I guess… easy to figure out.”

Personally, I don’t get along well with people of this personality.

In my case, my words and thoughts are often at odds, whereas people like this just blurt out their thoughts directly.

I find it difficult to adapt to people of this type. They are the most challenging for me to deal with.

“Well, the biggest reason is that it’s tiring to deal with them.”

“No, thank you. I find it more comfortable to use honorifics… Uh… Can I call you Seo-si? You can speak informally to me. I don’t really mind.”

“It seems like you’re quite shy. You may seem like the type of guy who is a player on Earth, but you’re surprisingly different.”

“Damn… Is she crazy?”

It seemed as if there was no filtering in her brain before she spoke.

Hyun-jin touched his forehead and said,

“… Hyung. Please understand me a bit. She… isn’t a bad person, but she has a bit of a crazy temperament.”

“Haha… It’s alright, man. Well, you’re honest and it looks good on you.”

“See? That’s why she thinks you’re a player. You’re so kind. Whether that’s your true feelings or not, your attitude is quite charming. It’s a reasonable assumption, isn’t it? If you’re kind to a guy like me, most girls would fall for that face of yours ~.”

“… Stop it, you jerk… Haven’t you changed at all since you’re not on Earth anymore?”

“No, old man. Am I wrong? You can tell just by looking at his face!”

Ignoring the woman’s words, he asked Hwon Ahjussi.

“Were you two acquainted from Earth?”

“Well… um…”

During Hwon Ahjussi’s hesitant response, the woman answered my question.

“Oh, when I was leaving the orphanage and becoming independent, Ahjussi helped me a lot. We were close even when we were on Earth.”

As soon as Kang Isuh spoke, everyone, including me, didn’t know how to respond. I hastily apologized to her.

“Uh… I’m sorry. That… “

“Don’t worry about it. I don’t care about stuff like that.”

“… I don’t know if these words can be comforting, but I’m an orphan too. So, I understand your hardships. It must have been really tough for you.”

The woman looked surprised at my words, her eyes widening. It seemed like she hadn’t even considered the possibility of me being an orphan. Hyunjin and Mr. Howon appeared quite surprised too.

“… We have something in common, don’t we? I’ll cancel what I just said about making fun of the girl. Um… it was just a joke. I hope you’re not upset.”

“Haha. I won’t do it over something like this. Actually, I’m flattered by your compliment.”

“Pfft… I’ll cancel what I said about canceling. You seem really good at flattering girls after all.”

“… I’ll take it as a compliment. Anyway… this is where you’ll all be staying. Food is distributed at regular intervals, prioritizing those who go on expeditions.”

“Expeditions, you say… Can I ask what that means?”

“Our group plans to go on periodic expeditions, just like the one our team went on today. The goal is to kill monsters, grow stronger, secure food, and gather clues to clear the tutorial. But… since we’ve procured a lot of food today, we probably won’t have food shortages for a while.”

“… I see.”

“As a personal hope, I would like all of you to participate in the expeditions, but I won’t force anyone. Oh, and feel free to speak comfortably, even to your elders.”

“… Thank you. We’ll do that. We’ll probably go on the expedition. We are aware that we need to clear the tutorial. However, I do have one question.”

I had a hunch about what Mr. Howon wanted to ask. It was probably about the scenes he witnessed here. Most people just accepted the food given to them without doing anything else.

“The people I’ve seen here seemed like they’ve mostly given up on fighting monsters. Are they… not doing anything?”

“…When we go out, we do clear the entrance stones, but to be honest, we rarely do that.”

“Hmm…”

Upon hearing my words, Mr. Ho-won let out a sigh.

“Well, then, what’s the difference between the people here and the beasts that are just fed and devoured? Do you all procure food and distribute it to them? This is… damn, not even livestock…”

I expressed what I had told Seo Yoo-joo more vehemently, and the woman’s thoughts mirrored my own.

Well, anyway, the remaining food is now in short supply, and when it becomes scarce, we can reduce the food we distribute to them or stop altogether.

After all, they…

‘After the tutorial, there will be consequences for doing nothing here.’

It’s a simple guess, but it won’t end with just a guess. This place called Erasa didn’t look easy at all, just from the tutorial.

“…Honestly, I can’t deny it either. Anyway, please take a break, and we’ll talk about the schedule after that when you come back with the others.”

“Alright.”

Leaving them behind, I moved to where Seo Yoo-joo was. Fortunately, the group had begun to gather after finishing the task of moving the food.

“Miss Yoo-joo, I’ve guided them.”

“No, thank you. You’ve worked hard, Mr. Yoon. How are they? Are they okay?”

“Yes, they all seemed to be good people. Since we briefly talked about the exploration mission beforehand, it will be convenient for you to discuss it later.”

“Thank you always, Mr. Yunseong. If there’s anything you wish for from me, please feel free to tell me.”

“No, it’s not really a difficult task.”

“Anyway, Mr. Yunseong, you have worked hard, and everyone else has too, so take a break for a while. Oh! Please come back here in two hours. We need to have conversations with the new people.”

******

After about two hours, Seo Yujoo nodded her head, confirming that everyone had gathered.

Seeing the new trio also present, it seemed that Seo Yujoo had sent someone separately to give them a hint.

“Thank you all for coming. I called you here today because I have something to discuss regarding the exploration mission tomorrow.”

Mr. Howon began to speak to Seo Yujoo.

“…. I have heard about the exploration mission. You’re looking for clues for clearing the tutorial…”

“Yes, that’s right. I’ve made some guesses about clearing the tutorial, and I’m thinking of exploring the central area in more detail.”

“Surprising. I thought you would explore the buildings…”

“I have thought about it, but we already have enough food, and I don’t think we need to recruit more people. And, above all, I have realized one thing.”

I asked her.

“May I ask what you have realized?”

“… I’ll ask you all the opposite. Have any of you ever thought that something strange about this terrain?”

Everyone looked puzzled, not knowing what she was talking about.

Not knowing either, I waited attentively for her to continue. Suddenly, she started drawing a map on the floor using the window as her canvas.

“Here. This is the area we are in. The North Start Zone. And… this is the South Start Point, where Yoon Sung and his sister began.”

Seeing her drawing the map on the window, I realized that she, as a returnee, was explaining what she knew to us.

“And… the western point we went to yesterday. Everyone there was dead, but that’s not what matters. Hyun Jin said he came from the South, like Yoon Sung, so the two newcomers probably came from the Eastern Start Point.”

Mr. Ho Won nodded in agreement.

“Yes.”

“I think this place is very similar to an RPG game that existed on Earth. If this place is similar to a game… then the tutorial is probably about clearing a dungeon,” she speculated.

This conversation was reminiscent of when Jo Chan Ho was still with us. We also speculated about the existence of dungeons back then.

“Wait… where is Jo Chan Ho?”

Suddenly, I thought about Jo Chan Ho. What is that guy doing?

The speculation that he was killed by a monster… while not entirely impossible, I didn’t think it was likely.

“Then where is someone killing people?”

Since it was definitely not the people in this camp who were still alive, I thought it was a plausible guess.

Ultimately, because the problem didn’t have a conclusive answer even after thinking about it, I erased it from my mind.

“Well, anyway, if a dungeon actually exists… looking at the map that I drew, there are buildings in the east, west, south, and north, and ultimately the center is empty. Well, you could say that I’m thinking too simply… but if a dungeon actually exists, I think the chances are high that it would be in the center.”

A doubt arose in me, so I asked her.

“…. Yuju, wait a moment. Isn’t it true that there is someone who has been to the center among all of us?”

The actual place where she and I had met was near the center. It meant that someone had passed through the center if people were coming from the north and south buildings and meeting there.

“That’s right. It’s not like no one has been to the center at all. But… what if the dungeon is hidden?”

‘… Hidden?’

Since it was Sooyooju’s words, it was likely that her assumption of there being a dungeon in the center was not just an assumption, but a fact. However, the question was whether, unless the size of the dungeon was incredibly small, it would be possible for no one to have discovered it even if it was hidden.

“When I said it was hidden just now, I meant it as a guess from a very worldly perspective.”

“What do you mean?”

Everyone waited for her response with curious expressions.

“We… can use a power called magic here that didn’t exist on Earth. If we use magic, maybe we can discover the hidden dungeon?”