Regression Is Too Much-Chapter 164

Humans can endure anything… as long as they have a goal.

That’s a universal truth.

Everyone sets goals—big or small.

From buying that outfit you really liked… to building a family and living a full, happy life.

It’s that sweet reward at the end of the road that helps us survive the miserable, boring parts in between.

Which is why… the easiest way to break someone’s spirit is:

“…Hasn’t it been three days already?”

“Yeah. It has.”

Right before someone reaches their goal—

—Take it away.

That’s what was happening to the players trudging across this wasteland.

The mustached man from the start said the journey would take three days.

But here they were, still walking… on day four.

If they’d been told up front that it would take five days. Or seven. Or ten—it would’ve been easier.

But they’d locked themselves into a promise:

Just three days. Just hang in for three days.

And now? That promise was broken.

The realization cuts deep, and it chips away at the mind.

Negativity starts to spread.

Normally, this is the part where irritability spikes, arguments break out, and someone finally snaps.

Desperate people under stress tend to lose their grip on reason.

“How much longer do we have to go?”

“I’m bored out of my goddamn mind.”

But… the players walking on the 13th floor right now?

They weren’t snapping.

They weren’t even complaining much.

Mentally, they were fine.

Physically, they didn’t look particularly tired either.

“…She’s a literal monster, isn’t she?”

“Dude, I hear you.” ƒгeewebnovёl.com

At the front of the group, walking side by side with her teammates, was Choi Ji-won.

She’d been the one leading them. The one eliminating every threat before it even became a problem.

During the day, she fought alongside them and wiped out every ambush.

At night, she stood guard—alone—protecting the entire camp.

Because of her, the others had been able to preserve both their stamina and their sanity.

Sure—on a purely physical level, staying awake for three days is doable.

These players were superhuman, after all. They had talent and training.

But the real challenge isn’t physical.

It’s mental.

Keeping your senses sharp and your guard up around the clock, standing sentry through the night without letting your nerves collapse?

That’s not something just anyone can do.

Even if someone tried to tough it out with brute force and willpower, they’d look like a walking corpse by now.

“…And yet…”

Ji-won, still leading at the front, looked completely fine.

Her eyes were clear. Her senses razor-sharp.

Her steps—strong and steady.

Sure, her body could be sustained with potions.

But that look in her eyes?

No potion in the world could fake that.

“This is seriously unfair. I heard she was a kendo prodigy even before entering the Tower… And now her Trait is busted too?”

“Uh, are you really the one to talk? You were a total loser until you got your Trait and flipped your whole life around.”

“…Okay, fair.”

While some players whispered about Choi Ji-won behind her back…

“Hey… Bung-bung.”

“What?”

“You really don’t feel anything? Nothing at all?”

“You realize this is the third time you’ve asked me that? Quit nagging and just let me concentrate.”

Bung-bung scowled, clearly annoyed by my question.

Yeah. The reason Ji-won could preserve her mental stamina so perfectly?

It was thanks to an absurd little trick called:

“Tag-teaming with Bung-bung.”

Staying constantly alert would burn anyone out.

But if one body housed two minds?

Easy. Take turns. One rests, the other keeps watch.

During the day, Ji-won was in control.

At night, Bung-bung took over the body.

Right now? It was still daytime, but Ji-won wanted a break, so Bung-bung was front and center.

Strangely enough, Bung-bung never showed signs of fatigue, not even during repetitive tasks.

Ji-won once explained that since Bung-bung was originally a sword, she didn’t really get why keeping still and alert was supposed to be hard.

…Yeah. I guess I’d been thinking too much like a regular human.

“Hmmm…”

Still, hearing “I don’t feel anything” again made me sigh internally.

It’s been four days already, and not a single sign of anything unusual.

To be fair, I didn’t really believe we’d arrive at Kalada Village on Day 3.

There was no countdown timer, no system message. Just some vague comment from the mustached guy at the beginning.

“…But this is too smooth.”

What really bugged me was how smoothly everything had gone so far.

Suspiciously smooth.

Every ambush?

Just waves of red-eyed animals.

Actually, not animals. Their strength far exceeded normal wildlife. Might as well call them magical beasts.

Either way, every attack had been a direct charge by brainless beasts.

They were fast, powerful, and dangerous—but they were just big, dumb targets.

No intelligent enemies muttering cryptic lines.

No creepy movement or voices coming from inside the carriage.

Not even a single arrow carrying a mysterious letter.

“Something’s gotta be up…”

There had to be something I was missing.

Just like every other Tower floor, some hidden trap—designed to sow distrust among players, push them to fight, and eventually implode.

Something unfair. Something twisted.

A setup where liars win big and everyone else gets punished.

I just hadn’t figured out what it was yet.

If I really think simply, maybe… the cargo in the carriage is the trap?

Like, maybe it’s all rigged to blow up the moment we open it?

That’s plausible…

But also too simple.

Way too easy to guess.

“Wait, was it the first day? Maybe we weren’t supposed to kill the stampeding cows? Just let them hit the carriage and—no, that can’t be right…”

“Why are you overthinking this, dumbass?”

“Shut up, Bung-bung.”

“Mmkay~ Love you too.”

I ignored her trolling and kept digging through my thoughts.

It’s like… having a piece of food stuck between your teeth.

You know it’s there, but no matter how hard you try, you just can’t get it out with your tongue.

There is something I’m missing.

But no matter how hard I racked my brain, no satisfying answer came to mind.

“Something… Something’s there…”

“…Jun-ho? The sun’s gone down. Maybe you should get some sleep?”

“Shut up, Bung-bung.”

“…Jun-ho?”

“Oh—sorry. That was you, Ji-won.”

And just like that, another day passed.

***

Next Day. Noon.

“…That was a little close.”

I rolled my shoulder, standing among a field of dead eagles.

Today’s attackers had been a swarm of giant birds. Their feathers were sharp enough to slice skin if you tried grabbing a wing barehanded. If I hadn’t had my “invisible gloves,” I might’ve had to regress here.

“Damn, these things were tougher.”

“Nah, the earlier ones were just too easy.”

The other players were regrouping as well—no major injuries, but it was clear that their sleepy minds had been jolted fully awake.

If there’d been any low-tier players among us, someone would’ve gotten seriously hurt.

“Hmm… Maybe we should reorganize our formation? The difficulty’s definitely scaling up. Instead of loosely circling the carriage, let’s actually divide our power strategically—”

Ji-won seemed to think this was just the beginning too and had started trying to reassign players into formation.

But then—

Clop.

“…The horses stopped?”

“They didn’t even stop to eat before. Why now?”

The horses pulling the carriage came to an abrupt halt. Up until now, they’d behaved more like machines than living creatures. They’d never once stopped during daylight hours.

Just as tension spiked in the group—

Zzzzzkt.

A sound like paper tearing ripped through the air. The space ahead twisted unnaturally, like reality itself was folding in on itself.

“Oh my! Are you the adventurers? Thank you for all your hard work.”

A kind-looking nun stepped out of the warped space. Behind her, a rustic village made of wood came into view.

“…Huh?”

“…What?”

As if space being ripped open wasn’t strange enough, now there was a nun—a motherly type in a full habit—beckoning us in.

Without waiting for permission, she led the carriage into the village.

“Oh my, the carriage is completely intact! Surely divine protection guided you. And no one’s hurt either—how wonderful.”

“Um… Is this Kalada Village?”

“Thank you so much for escorting something so dangerous safely.”

She completely ignored the player’s question, and instead, she reached out into the air like grabbing onto curtains. With a graceful motion, she pulled the “fabric” of space shut.

The space shimmered and twisted again—until both the nun and the village vanished into transparency.

Even the carriage we’d been escorting disappeared.

“…What the hell was that?”

“Was that… it?”

Left behind in the empty wasteland were 20 dazed players.

One walked up to where the village had been, reaching out—only to bang his hand against some kind of invisible wall. It felt solid.

A barrier? A ward? Some kind of spell?

Whatever it was, it was blocking access.

“Can we break it?”

“Wait… did we just get scammed? Did she steal the carriage or something?”

Just as people were starting to panic—

Ding.

—You have cleared the 13th Floor.

“…Look! A portal.”

Sure enough, a blue portal shimmered into existence in midair.

And just like that, it was over.

We’d cleared the 13th Floor.

“That’s it? 13th Floor’s kinda lame.”

“Thanks for the free ride, Choi Ji-won.”

“Good job, everyone.”

One by one, players entered the portal without a second glance.

The shaved-head guy gave Ji-won a quick nod before stepping through, leaving just the two of us alone in the wasteland.

“…You know, the scenery’s actually kind of nice. But I was so tense the whole time, I didn’t notice it at all.”

Ji-won finally relaxed, collapsing softly into the sand.

I sat down beside her, careful not to get sand inside my gear.

“…We definitely missed something.”

“You think so?”

“Yeah. C’mon, there’s no way that was it. There has to be an alternate route we didn’t catch. Let’s start gathering info as soon as we get back. You can still contact the Association, right?”

“I can. Want me to call them as soon as we return?”

“Let’s do that.”

We sat for about five more minutes, just taking in the landscape.

Then we stood and walked toward the portal.

Before entering, we took one last look at the empty desert…

And stepped into the gate—returning to reality.

At that moment, I felt pretty good.

We’d cleared the 13th floor in one go, after all.

But once we were back—

“There’s no hidden route, apparently.”

“…What?”

“Yeah. Everyone else just waited five days too. That’s it.”

“…You’ve got to be kidding me.”

There’s no way that was all there was.

---The End Of The Chapter---

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