Chapter 17 - The Status Window Is Too Unfriendly (4)

“Whew... Relax...”

That had been a fucking ridiculous way to regress... but what was done was done. A regressor had to know how to keep his head on straight. With his mental fortitude intact, a regressor could accomplish anything. But the moment he lost it, he would plunge into an eternal, unrelenting hell.

Besides, hadn't I read countless success stories in novels and webtoons? Rather than getting pointlessly angry and screaming until the veins bulged in my neck, I needed to stay calm and gather information. That was what a regressor did. And wasn't there something I needed to check as soon as possible?

“Status window.”

[Name: Kim Junho] [LV:5]

[Traits]

-Regression [EX]

-Awe [C]

Just as I thought. Traits and levels persisted through regression. Good thing I'd chosen carefully. If I'd picked something like “Disgust,” I might have ended up disgusted with regression itself.

All right, there was one more thing left to check.

“The system will explain the details... Let the tutorial begin!”

As soon as the fairy dropped the weapons and disappeared, I hesitantly got to my feet.

“Everyone, could I have your attention for a moment?”

Was I trying to farm affection points with Choi Jiwon again? No. This time, I was going to try something a little different.

“I can't explain everything, but I actually used to be a government secret agent. Naturally, the South Korean government knows a fair amount about this forest as well.”

My face felt a little hot from spouting such shameless bullshit... but I pushed through and continued.

“I have a general idea of how to escape. I need twenty volunteers. Those I point to, please stand up.”

With a solemn expression, I pointed at a man with a clueless look on his face.

“Please stand. You two on either side of him, too.”

“...”

“I said, please stand up.”

“...”

A chill settled over the clearing. An awkward silence, like when someone took a joke too far at a drinking party. Everyone was looking at me like I was a complete fucking idiot.

“... Fuck.”

The experiment was a failure. To cool my burning cheeks, I slapped myself hard across the face.

SMACK!

[You have taken damage.]

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

* * *

“Hmm...”

What I'd just tested was my newly acquired trait, Awe. Tapping Awe in the Status window brought up this description.

-Awe [C]

-Praise for your greatness. Fear of what cannot be understood.

Awe was roughly the feeling of respecting someone for how impressive they were while also fearing them. But the people in the clearing had reacted more along the lines of, Who the hell is this guy? Are we supposed to do what he says? That wasn't how you reacted to someone you both respected and feared.

If Awe had affected everyone in a wide area, I thought they should have hesitated but ultimately given in to the atmosphere and stood up. The fact that they hadn't meant either the ability hadn't activated, or its effect was extremely weak because of its low rank.

“What was different about the conditions...?”

Let's think back to how the three survivors and Scrawny had reacted before my regression. The three survivors had been so tense they could barely breathe, but after I gained the trait, they'd relaxed and cooperated with me. Scrawny, who'd been trembling on the ground in terror, had calmed down and practically submitted to me. What was the difference between them and the people in the clearing now?

“... Emotions?”

I still wasn't sure what conditions I'd fulfilled to acquire the trait... but I'd definitely gotten it from Scrawny. He'd felt three emotions toward me, and I'd acquired one of them as a trait...

“Ah.”

Could this trait's function be to “amplify” emotions? It more or less made sense if Scrawny's disgust and fear toward me had grown relatively weaker while his awe intensified. The three survivors must also have felt some degree of awe after seeing my swordsmanship.

That would also explain why the people in the clearing had been so unmoved by my speech. They'd just met me and felt nothing toward me. It hadn't exactly been a brilliant, awe-inspiring speech, either. Rather than making anyone feel awe just because I approached them, it seemed more likely that the trait only amplified awe they already felt.

“... Shall we test that?”

Of course, this was all just speculation, so I decided to run a simple experiment.

“I think a spear would be better. For one thing, it's long.”

“No way. Don't you know the sword is the king of all weapons?”

A group of men stood in front of the weapon pile, debating what to take. I approached them—the same group that had once offered up their jackets to me.

“Hello.”

“... Oh, yes. Hello.”

“Would you like me to show you how to use a sword?”

Without warning, I picked up a sword from the ground and deftly twirled it with my wrist.

My current achievement level was five. I didn't know which achievements had raised it, but after killing the punk, it had gone from three to five. In other words, my physical abilities had improved considerably.

SWISH! SWOOSH!

My sword whistled through the air. I slashed this way and that with all my strength, tracing dazzling arcs.

I snapped into a finishing pose, deliberately exaggerating it to look cool. I was certain of it. I must have looked fucking awesome.

“O-ohhh...”

“... Wow.”

To Choi Jiwon, it would have been nothing but clowning around, but apparently it looked impressive to ordinary people. The men stood with their mouths hanging open.

THUNK!

I drove the sword into the ground almost as though throwing it, then clasped my hands behind my back like a lofty immortal sage.

“What do you think?”

I deliberately kept my face expressionless. Staying nonchalant after pulling off an incredible play was always the coolest approach. Getting all worked up and yelling, “Holy shit, that was awesome! Did you see that? Did you?” would ruin whatever coolness you'd had.

“That was really, really amazing.”

“Could you teach us swordsmanship, too? We'll definitely repay you!”

Sure enough, the men rushed toward me with sparkling eyes, apparently captivated by my performance. At this point, it was safe to say they felt awe toward me.

“Now, now. I can teach all of you swordsmanship, but there's one condition.”

“... What is it?”

The men shrank back a little at the word “condition.”

“Tell me your traits. That's my only condition.”

“... Uh.”

The mood instantly cooled. It was like everyone had gotten excited about a female celebrity coming to visit, only for a middle-aged trot singer to show up.

“That's a bit...”

“In webtoons and stuff... they say you should keep those secret... Sorry...”

Things had become incredibly awkward. But I'd gotten the information I wanted. Judging by the momentary change in their expressions, Awe had definitely taken effect. Yet they'd immediately refused my request to reveal their traits.

Let's consider Scrawny in the previous run. Even when I'd blatantly dragged him away and ordered him to copy his Status window onto the ground, he'd obeyed without the slightest sign of resistance. Presumably, his awe toward me had been much stronger, making the trait's effect stronger as well. These men did find me impressive and frightening, but to a much lesser degree.

It looked like my guess had been right. With that question answered, it was time to move on to the next step.

WHACK!

[You have taken damage.]

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

* * *

I could have wandered around inside the tower again, looking for the boss's and the Minotaur's lairs, but I chose to get stronger first. Now that I'd confirmed a powerful enemy called a mutant goblin existed, I couldn't be sure I was safe with my current combat abilities. I'd win if I fought to the end, but I wasn't in a position to do that. I had to get stronger.

As things stood, there were three main ways for me to grow stronger.

First: somehow raise my achievement level, even though I barely understood the requirements.

Second: learn swordsmanship from Choi Jiwon.

Third: acquire traits.

The second option was the one I wanted to dig into. As for my next goals, first I'd figure out the exact conditions for acquiring traits... and I'd rattle Choi Jiwon to pry more information out of her.

Choi Jiwon was my benefactor, the person who'd taught me swordsmanship, but she was also a psychopath who'd kick the shit out of me the instant I did anything remotely suspicious. Frankly, being that strong and choosing to guard a clearing full of losers instead of putting that strength to use wasn't normal to begin with. Of course, I didn't care whether she was a psychopath or a lover of those pathetic little pet creatures called champi.

What mattered was that she was the strongest person I'd ever seen. If I wanted to get stronger, I had to make use of her somehow. I could keep learning swordsmanship through repeated regressions... and if traits really were acquired from other people's emotions, I might be able to get a new one from her. Even the emotions of a weakling like Scrawny seemed pretty useful. How powerful an effect would Choi Jiwon's emotions have?

Either way, I clearly needed to understand her better to make use of her. What her family life had been like. Why she'd become a lunatic who resorted to violence first whenever someone acted suspiciously. Where she'd learned swordsmanship, and what trait she had.

Choi Jiwon. I'll uncover everything about you, bitch.

WHOOSH!

WHOOSH!

As always, Choi Jiwon was swinging her sword in a corner of the clearing this run. What could I say to fluster her? What could I do to pry information out of her? A good idea happened to come to mind, and I decided to put it into action immediately.

I strode confidently up to her.

“Excuse me.”

“...”

She kept swinging her sword without even looking my way. All right, let's see how long you can keep that expressionless face. I decided to deploy my secret weapon of a line.

“Do you have a boyfriend?”

“... What?”

Her sword arm stopped. Her face rapidly twisted into a scowl.

“... You crazy bastard.”

THUD!

[You have taken damage.]

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

* * *

“... Urgh.”

She'd elbowed me in the stomach. I'd been hoping she'd blush and say, “Wh-what kind of stupid question is that?!”...

Apparently, Choi Jiwon wasn't the type who acted tough but secretly couldn't handle men. Had that fantasy been a little too weeby?

“... All right.”

It was fine if I failed. I had unlimited attempts anyway. Let's see who wins.

A Word from the Author (Afterword)

Operation Win Over Choi Jiwon... begins...!

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