Chapter 11 - The Regressor Is Fairly Strong (2)

"Hup!"

SLICE!

"Hyah!"

SLICE!

I hacked away at the goblins with my sword.

It was a fairly grotesque sight, but rather than revolting, it felt incredibly satisfying. A bit like playing a violent video game.

Having already heard people’s dying screams several times probably helped. I was somewhat mentally prepared.

Besides, if we were talking about sheer grossness, beating them to death with my fists was worse.

"Whew... Whew..."

As the sun began to sink, I decided I wanted a rest, gathered up my swords, and headed toward the clearing.

It was about time to replace my sword, too. The entire edge had gone dull.

I’d killed more goblins today than I had in all my previous attempts combined. It would have been strange if the blade were still intact.

Once I became as skilled as Choi Jiwon, would I be able to cut down goblins without damaging the blade? Hell, forget cutting grass.

I’d probably be able to split the sky and cleave the earth.

Entertaining those pleasant fantasies, I returned to the clearing and found food and water neatly set out at the entrance where I’d begun cutting the grass.

"... Oh."

I turned toward Choi Jiwon. Her back was to me as she silently practiced her sword swings.

"..."

She really was kind.

As if looking after everyone in the clearing weren’t enough, she even set aside food for the lunatic who spent all day cutting grass.

I poured out a little water and wiped the sweat and blood from my face.

Ah, that felt refreshing.

'Thanks, Choi Jiwon. I’ll make it up to you. I promise.'

After thanking her in my heart, I wolfed down my meal and fell asleep in no time.

I had a pleasant dream that night, though I couldn’t remember what it was about.

* * *

Repeat. Repeat. Repeat again.

As I continued the grueling grind, a thought suddenly occurred to me.

"... Status window."

[Name: Kim Junho] [LV:2]

[Trait]

-Regression [EX]

"Hmm..."

Nothing had changed. Except that I was level 2 now, I supposed?

I’d killed so many goblins this run that... Well, I still didn’t know whether my level carried over or was limited to the current run...

The important thing was that I’d killed dozens of goblins in this run alone.

I was different from the other people who simply made their way quietly through the undergrowth.

Noisily hacking through the grass drew far more aggro than they did, and having to cut my way forward slowed me down, so I’d encountered waaaay more goblins.

Even a conservative estimate put my kill count at twenty... and I’d only gained one level?

Was it just me, or was everyone having this problem? These days, games tended to throw levels at you until you got your first class.

And second.

"... I guess I shouldn’t count on getting lucky with a level-up."

I’d gained a level without even realizing it.

What did that mean?

It meant leveling up didn’t instantly heal all your wounds and restore you to full health.

As a regressor, I’d been considering deliberately timing my level-ups, but that didn’t seem like it would work.

I didn’t think I’d even seen a separate message saying [You have leveled up!]

Of course, there could be exceptions. If levels only went up while you slept, I might not even know I’d leveled up.

But even then, I still couldn’t use it in combat...

I could probably forget about exploiting level-ups.

"... Tsk."

I tried idly clenching and unclenching my fists, but I couldn’t feel any major change in my strength or stamina.

I had a status window, but without being able to see my stats, I couldn’t really tell how much stronger I’d become.

Oh well. It would probably become more noticeable once I gained a few more levels.

I was cutting the grass while my thoughts wandered when—

"Whoa!"

My sword swung through empty air, throwing me off balance.

I barely managed to stay on my feet... Fuck, that had been close.

But why had my sword missed?

Slowly raising my head, I saw the ground.

"..."

The ground I hadn’t seen in so long because of the thick grass. Soil. Earth. Mother.

At last... I’d escaped that grassy hell.

* * *

I’d escaped the stifling prison that had held me captive all this time... but there wasn’t any dramatic change.

The grass was much shorter, only reaching my ankles, and there were a lot more trees. That was about it.

Surprisingly, there were no monsters in sight.

If anything, there seemed to have been more monsters inside the undergrowth.

"... Maybe that makes sense?"

On further thought, there probably shouldn’t be many monsters here.

I’d escaped the undergrowth through a wildly abnormal progression process...

But from anyone else’s perspective, they’d only just cleared the tutorial’s tutorial.

If powerful monsters attacked the moment they stepped out of the grass?

Unless they were as ridiculously overpowered as Choi Jiwon, everyone would end up dead.

I loosened my shoulders and looked back at the prison I’d escaped.

"..."

It looked even more bizarre from the outside.

The undergrowth grew in a dense circle... No wonder it served as a safe zone.

Even if I were a monster, I wouldn’t want to pass through that grass.

Well, anyway.

I scratched my head for no particular reason.

What now...?

My first priority had been escaping this place... but now that I was out, there was no obvious next goal.

I was supposed to find a golden orb, but I had no idea where they appeared. There weren’t any monsters in sight, either.

I felt like I’d lost my purpose.

Should I look for water like that middle-aged firefighter had? Or climb a tree and survey the surroundings?

As I stood there considering my options...

"Aaaaaah!"

A woman’s piercing scream rang out from fairly close by.

"..."

My next destination had just been decided.

* * *

What monsters were practically guaranteed to appear in a tutorial?

Goblins and slimes came to mind first.

Both filled the role of fantasy’s weakest creatures, and both were widely recognizable.

But when it came to goblins, that only applied to ordinary ones.

The moment you slapped a modifier onto "goblin," they stopped looking like pushovers.

Shout "Goblin!" and it sounded like some weak little shit.

But "Goblin warrior! Elite goblin!" sounded strong, with an unmistakably menacing presence.

"Aaaaaah! Help me! Aaaaaaaaah!"

The scene before me was a case in point.

Two men lay helpless on the ground, blood streaming from wounds all over their bodies, while a terrified woman screamed.

"Kerrrrk... Kerrrrk..."

Five or six goblins armed with wooden spears surrounded her, while another three or so rifled through the fallen men’s belongings.

"..."

Both men had wounds on the backs of their thighs.

Being caught from behind meant they’d been ambushed. And puncture wounds rather than cuts meant wooden spears, not teeth or claws.

The goblins had probably targeted their thighs to rob them of mobility, then worn them down with repeated jabs from a safe distance using their long spears.

It was an intelligent hunting method, similar to how humans hunted dangerous wild animals.

In every way, they seemed a world apart from the goblins in the undergrowth. If those had been beasts, these seemed to have at least the intelligence of apes.

"Someone... Anyone..."

The woman cried out in a voice that had gone completely hoarse.

"Kerrrrk... Krrk... Kik..."

Drooling, the goblins closed in.

"..."

I should save her... but I couldn’t help hesitating.

For starters, I’d invested a lot in getting out here.

I’d spent nearly three entire days doing nothing but cutting grass to escape the undergrowth.

With such a high opportunity cost, I honestly balked at spending this chance on a stranger.

Besides, I didn’t want to spend another three days cutting grass...

Another problem was that the goblins were armed with spears.

People called the sword the king of all weapons, but in a fight between scrubs, longer was always better.

Being goblin weapons, their spears weren’t two or three meters long, but they still had slightly more reach than my sword.

Even a graze from one would send me straight into regression. Until now, my only opponents had been goblins fighting with their claws and Choi Jiwon.

I had no experience fighting spears.

In other words, winning without a single scratch would be almost impossible.

"... No..."

While I hesitated, the goblins seized the woman.

"Krrk... Kirrrrk..."

One let out a nasty chuckle and rummaged at its waist.

Surely it wasn’t about to...?

Was it about to switch genres and make this adults-only?

"Kerrk!"

No. What it pulled from its waist wasn’t a hideous dangling dick, but a sharp stone knife.

Still adults-only, but a slightly different genre.

A very different genre.

She was a fellow human. I couldn’t just stand by and watch this. I’d regress eventually anyway, so I should hurry up and save her.

Just as I awkwardly began rising to get behind them—

WHOOOOOSH!

"Huh?"

With a sharp whistle of wind...

"Kerrk?"

I blinked, and every goblin’s head was gone.

It felt like watching some shoddy special effect in a B movie.

Had they been cut off too fast for me to see?

All ten or fifteen goblins here, beheaded in a single instant?

Of everyone I knew, only one person could do that.

And, to be fair, this situation was very easy for her to misunderstand.

"No, it’s not that I deliberately refused to save her..."

I hurried to explain, but—

"I’ll hear your excuses later."

THWACK!

Choi Jiwon brought her scabbard down on the back of my head.

Unfortunately, she was a crazy bitch whose fists moved faster than her mouth, so I never got the chance to explain.

[You have taken damage.]

[Regressing to the moment you first entered Floor 0.]

Read Next Chapter