Regression Is Too Much

Chapter 126

​Chapter 126

Have you ever heard of a mysterious creature called Yeti?

If you have, you probably imagine a towering humanoid over two meters tall, covered in white fur. I first learned about Yetis through a card game I used to play.

Anyway, this Yeti species typically resides in cold mountain ranges, brings snowstorms in its wake, and serves to block climbers from ascending the mountains. When you think about it, it’s just a big, white-haired gorilla.

“Grooogh… Grrrgh…”

Because of that, I once considered Yetis to be a joke. After all, I had superhuman physical abilities granted by my trait levels and sharp swordsmanship honed through endless training with my clone. As humanity’s supreme species, having gained these miraculous abilities, why would I ever fear a mere white gorilla?

“Just… die already…”

“Grooo…”

However, the Yeti I met in person was far more dangerous than I had anticipated. It was easily one of the most terrifying opponents I had ever faced.

10th Floor Clear Condition: Defeat the ruler of Mount Luft, the Yeti.

At the snowy mountainside, where sharp conifers reached toward the heavens and massive snowflakes poured from the sky, there was something pale crawling across the snow with emaciated limbs, barely dragging itself forward. That pitiful white thing that looked like a furry worm—that was the Yeti I mentioned earlier.

Why does it look so miserable, you ask?

“It’s already… been two weeks…”

I had been in a prolonged battle with this Yeti for two weeks. But before diving into that, let me explain what had happened up until now.

After barely clearing the 5th Floor, I took a two-week break with Ji-won and then regressed. After that, I cleared the 5th Floor quickly and moved straight to the 6th.

6th Floor Clear Condition: Defeat Medusa, the cursed woman.

Warning: If you make eye contact with Medusa, your body will gradually petrify.

“Oh…?”

The themes of the 6th through 9th Floors were surprisingly straightforward. Mythical monsters appeared, and the players had to defeat them alone. At first glance, this seemed extremely difficult, but…

Charging head-on is certain death. However, your most valuable asset isn’t your fragile body but your brilliant mind. Use what’s given to you wisely, and anyone can survive.

The one who designed Floors 6 through 10 had made sure that even the weakest players could find ways to survive.

For instance, Medusa on the 6th Floor could be reduced to nothing more than a woman with snakes on her head by wearing glasses sold in a nearby village.

The banshee on the 7th Floor could be incinerated instantly by sprinkling holy water obtained from an old church.

The vampire on the 8th Floor could be dealt with by simply waiting in a cabin until sunrise.

And the giant boar on the 9th Floor would collapse after greedily eating poisoned bait.

As long as you used the information obtained upon entering the tower, Floors 6 through 9 were relatively easy. It felt more like solving puzzles than engaging in life-or-death battles.

The problem was the 10th Floor.

I had already figured out the Yeti’s weakness—it only remained active for six hours a day and spent the other 18 hours sleeping in a cave. During its rest, I could easily kill it by slipping a blade past its thick fur and into its neck.

So why hadn’t I done it yet? The problem was the Yeti’s magical frost aura.

Because Yetis bring snowstorms with them, the air around them was unnaturally cold. Approaching the creature would instantly slow my movements, and my skin would turn bluish as frostbite set in.

Yes, my skin would start necrotizing. Which, of course, meant I’d regress.

Throwing a weapon at it from a distance didn’t work either because its thick fur rendered it ineffective. And approaching it was impossible due to the frost aura.

It was the absolute worst opponent. A monster capable of countering a regressor like me, on par with the golem I faced on the 3rd Floor.

I began to think I might never escape the 10th Floor. The freezing mountain range brought back nightmares of the 4th Floor.

However, through careful observation, I discovered the Yeti’s weakness.

It couldn’t leave a certain range. Judging by the fact that it always roamed the same areas, its territory seemed strictly limited.

“…So, you eat after all?”

Moreover, despite being a mythical creature, the Yeti ate food. It used its frost aura to slow down birds and antelopes before hunting them. The key point here was that it did, indeed, need to eat. So I decided…

“…”

If I couldn’t kill it directly, I’d starve it to death.

I began killing every animal within its territory and tossing the bodies over the cliffs. Some of the meat I cooked and ate myself.

“GUOOOOHHHH!!!”

“You’re slower than me, you bastard!”

At first, the Yeti was puzzled by the sudden disappearance of animals. But soon, it caught on to my presence and started chasing me. Despite that, my agility gave me a clear advantage. I maintained a tantalizingly close distance, eradicating every living creature it could potentially prey on.

“Grrooo…”

Two weeks later, the result of my strategy was evident: the pitifully thin, furless worm of a creature lying there now.

“…Just die already…”

Of course, I was reaching my own limits too. The food I’d been eating was nothing more than hastily grilled wild animals with a stench so foul it made my stomach churn. Sometimes, I didn’t even have time to cook it—I ate it raw.

Every other creature on the mountainside had been thrown off the cliffs, leaving no living beings behind, not even for me to eat. I was out of food too.

“…”

“…”

The Yeti, with great difficulty, raised its head and glared at me. I stared back just as fiercely.

‘Hurry up and die. Please, just die already…!’

Perhaps my desperate wish had been conveyed.

“Groo…”

The Yeti’s head drooped lifelessly.

10th Floor Cleared.

Whoosh.

Before me, the long-awaited blue portal appeared.

“Huff, huff…”

I stepped into the portal without delay, not even bothering to check the rewards, and returned to my apartment.

“Are you okay? What happened?”

As soon as I arrived, Choi Ji-won approached me with a worried look. It was natural for her to worry; she had cleared the 10th floor quickly, but I had been stuck there for two weeks.

“Did you… fail to approach the Yeti?”

“…Yeah. The moment I got close, I regressed. So, I just waited for it to starve to death.”

“…Oh my god.”

Understanding the situation, Ji-won shook her head in disbelief, then threw herself into my arms.

“…I was so worried. I kept thinking something might’ve happened to you.”

“To be honest, I was worried I’d never get out of there either.”

“Hey!”

“Okay, okay, I’m sorry.”

“…As long as you know.”

“…Yeah.”

Our awkward conversation about our well-being came to an abrupt halt. Our eyes met, and since we were standing so close, her pleasant scent tickled my nose.

“…”

“…”

No further words were needed. Ji-won gently closed her eyes, and as our lips slowly drew closer…

“Sniff.”

“…?”

I involuntarily sniffled. A runny nose? That hadn’t happened since I’d gained my status screen.

Now that I thought about it, my throat felt slightly scratchy, and a tingling sensation teased my nasal passages. This feeling—though long forgotten—was unmistakable.

“Ji-won…”

“Yeah?”

“I think… I might be catching a cold.”

“A cold? You?”

I wasn’t coughing. I didn’t have a fever.

But I could feel that faint, unpleasant feeling unique to colds creeping through my body. Somewhere deep in my throat, a virus lay in wait.

Was it because I’d spent two weeks in the snowy mountains barely eating? Perhaps because my Hero Trait hadn’t activated, unlike on the 4th floor?

Even with a superhuman body, prolonged exposure to extreme conditions could result in illness. It was a revelation I could’ve gone my whole life without knowing.

“…”

Still, the fact that I’d gotten “just” a cold was proof my body was far beyond normal. A regular person would’ve long since died in that environment.

Besides, these days, calling a cold an illness almost felt insulting. While medicine didn’t cure it any faster, it wasn’t life-threatening. A bit of coughing, a mild fever, and maybe a day or two of discomfort before resuming normal life.

“What if I regress because of a cold?”

But what about a regressor, someone who returns in time when they are harmed? If the cold virus itself counted as “harm”? What if the moment the cold fully developed, regression triggered?

What if the illness peaked just after entering the tower, trapping me in an eternal loop of time?

“…”

“…”

Ji-won’s face stiffened, realizing the gravity of the situation. Even though it was just the beginnings of a cold now, it could evolve into something far more dangerous.

“Jun-ho.”

“Yeah?”

“Take a potion. Now.”

Without hesitation, Ji-won handed me a mid-grade potion, worth as much as its weight in gold in the real world. I took it and went straight to the 1st floor, where the potion was replicated by its effect, and gulped it down.

“…Why isn’t it working?”

Even though the potion could heal severed limbs, the scratchy sensation in my throat persisted. Had my prolonged exposure to the Yeti’s magical frost aura made it immune to the potion? A cold so stubborn, even a mid-grade potion couldn’t cure it?

“Sniff…”

Of course, I still had the low-grade elixir I’d obtained from the 5th Floor… but it felt too precious to waste on a cold. After assessing my condition, I returned to my apartment through the portal.

“How is it?” Ji-won asked.

“It’s not working.”

“...”

Ji-won bit her lip gently, realizing the situation was worse than expected.

“Want to regress? If you regress, there might be a way to clear it without catching a cold. It’s not like I’ve done anything significant, so I don’t mind if my memories disappear.”

True to her bold nature, Ji-won proposed regression without hesitation.

“…I’ve tried everything, but starving it to death was the only option.”

Unfortunately, I didn’t have a miraculous method to kill the Yeti at my disposal. It was clever enough to avoid traps and refused to eat anything it hadn’t hunted itself.

“...”

“...”

In the end, my best course of action was to prevent this cold from worsening.

“For now… just lie down. I’ll make you some porridge. No complaints, and keep yourself wrapped in a blanket, even if it’s hot.”

“…Uh, okay…”

“And don’t even think about moving until you’re fully recovered. Got it?”

“Yeah…”

Thus, I found myself confined to my blanket cocoon for two weeks, eating nutritious meals prepared by Ji-won.

『 U.S. Government officially recommends climbing the 2nd Floor… “Survival rate study shows minimal risk.” 』

『 Tower items to become humanity’s future resources? Global corporations launch investigations. 』

『 Player Association Established… The first President is “Mighty Michael” Michael Jeter.』

『 Korean Government Awards Presidential Commendation to Choi Ji-Won… First Domestic Player to Climb the 10th Floor.』

Time flowed on relentlessly. Three months had passed since the first tutorial began; two months since I’d entered the tutorial myself, and one month since I cleared the 5th Floor.

In other words:

[Mighty Coin]

[+19,832.41%]

“Wow.”

I had become rich.

– – – End of Chapter – – -

[TL: Join Patreon to support the translation and to read up to 5 chapters ahead of the release: /HappyCat60 ]

---

Support /novel/178019

Join /invite/SqWtJpPtm9