Chapter 35 - The Regressor Is Conditionally Strong (4)

"... I could have sworn I was told there were no problems."

The angel Judgeiel rubbed his chin in displeasure.

He distinctly remembered receiving a report from the ninth-rank angel: ["No problems!"]

He had been told that the angel had checked the head count, explained the relevant background information, including the Status window, and distributed the weapons before withdrawing...

Had it been a mistake to trust that angel with the task? Playful and fond of frightening humans, yes, but still the type to get the job done.

No. An angel capable of predicting this would not have remained at the ninth rank.

Whatever the circumstances, his task remained the same: measure the humans' sins and make them pay an appropriate price.

Judgeiel's gray eyes swept swiftly over the crowd.

"You first. Come forward."

At a flick of the angel's hand, a human floated into the air, pulled before the scale by a supernatural force.

"Wh-what the fuck?!"

The human dragged out of the crowd was a bald, potbellied, middle-aged man.

It was always important to make an example of the first one.

Through long experience, the wise angel Judgeiel had come to understand much about humans, God's creations. He had reached the point where he could infer their inner nature from their outward appearance alone.

In human terms, he could judge them by their "physiognomy."

And in Judgeiel's estimation, this middle-aged man had an utterly foul disposition.

He would be perpetually drinking and smoking, staggering down the street and spitting everywhere. Every sentence out of his mouth would contain a curse. A pathetic human without a shred of consideration, oblivious even when he caused trouble for others.

That was the bald, middle-aged man's true nature... or so Judgeiel concluded.

"Fuck, fuck... I shouldn't have listened to that bastard... Fuck!!!"

And astonishingly, every one of Judgeiel's bold assumptions was correct.

The man was selfish, pathetic, and utterly useless.

"A-aaaargh!"

"Now, now... Accept your fate."

At last, the middle-aged man was dragged onto the scale.

"It's all right. We will only measure the sins you committed on Floor 0."

Humans and sin were inseparable.

Ever since the first man and woman committed original sin, humans had lived with the burden of sin on their backs from the moment they were born.

THUD.

The bald, middle-aged man's heavy body was deposited on the scale, and the needles on its front and back began spinning.

"I suggest you start considering how you will pay the price."

The humans might consider this situation unfair...

But Judgeiel believed this very "price" was a demonstration of God's generosity.

After all, accepting payment and allowing them into the tower God had made was tantamount to forgiving their sins.

"Personally... I recommend paying with your stats."

The Status window and stats were all part of the grace God bestowed.

They were far more valuable than a mere human's lifespan or body parts. Even a murderer who had killed several people could enter Floor 1... provided they paid a sufficient amount of stats.

Yet most humans, particularly the younger ones, chose to pay with their lifespan.

The reason was simple.

'Greed.'

Greed for power.

They wanted to retain their strength, even if it meant sacrificing their lifespan—a price they could not immediately see.

Greed for life.

There was no death more glorious than dying in the tower. Yet they struggled hideously to preserve their paltry lives.

They could not have been more different from angels, who could sacrifice their own lives for the common good.

"Ugh... Aaaaaargh!"

"How unsightly."

That was why Judgeiel loathed humans. They were ugly to behold.

"U-ughhhh..."

Perhaps thirty seconds passed.

As the middle-aged man's struggles gradually subsided, the spinning needles on the scale abruptly stopped.

This was the moment Judgeiel had been anticipating. A smile settled on his lips.

"Now... Shall we see how much your sins weigh?"

The angel's cold gray eyes slowly settled on the scale's needle.

"... Huh?"

Then they began to waver wildly.

"Next."

Nothing.

"... Next."

Nothing again.

"..."

Nothing this time, either.

These humans had committed... no sins.

The crux of this "judgment" was how humans chose to pay the price.

Whether they paid with their lives, their stats or abilities, or got creative and offered precious memories, future relationships, or their innate luck...

The method of payment was itself the test.

But these humans had no price to pay in the first place.

Thus, there was nothing to test. Every last one received a free pass to Floor 1.

He had already sent roughly thirty people to Floor 1.

There was... only one possible explanation for this turn of events.

"... Did they defeat the hidden boss?"

If they had defeated the hidden boss and all come through the Goblin Shaman's portal, it was possible that none of them had sinned.

Killing mere goblins did not count as a sin, after all.

"Hmm..."

He had heard of talented humans summoned to the tower in the past who had banded together to defeat the Minotaur.

Of course, not all of them had survived... but it was not impossible.

"You. Were you the one who defeated the Minotaur?"

Judgeiel pointed to a human woman with a ponytail. She was infinitely weaker than he was, but she was at least the strongest of the humans.

But the human woman shook her head. For some reason, she looked deeply troubled.

Instead of answering, she extended a hand and pointed to another man.

"... So it was you. Come forward."

Judgeiel called him before the scale.

"... As expected, you have no sins either."

The scale likewise read zero.

The only difference was the bull's-head emblem that had appeared at its center.

"This is..."

The mark of a human awarded a special reward.

Judgeiel recognized the emblem.

He had been told that this emblem would be bestowed on the occasional human who defeated a hidden boss through an extraordinary trait or innate talent.

Indeed, he had heard of talented individuals joining forces to defeat a hidden boss in another tutorial.

This human man seemed weaker to Judgeiel than the ponytailed woman from earlier... but he must have come up with some clever solution.

"First, congratulations. Defeating a hidden boss is quite rare... You have accomplished a great feat."

Judgeiel recited the prepared remarks in a businesslike manner.

"... Thank you."

The man nodded with an unenthusiastic expression. For some reason, he had his right arm raised high.

It looked as though he was ready to slam it into his own chest at any moment... but Judgeiel paid it no mind.

Humans were strange creatures to begin with. There was no point trying to understand a mentally ill one.

"Now, you have three options. Please choose one."

First, Judgeiel held out a large axe.

"This is called the 'Berserker's Axe.' The more severe your injuries, the more it enhances your physical capabilities."

"... Show me the next one, please."

This axe was quite valuable on the lower floors.

Apparently, the human had no eye for quality.

Judgeiel immediately produced the next reward.

"This is the 'Berserker's Potion.'"

"... What does it do?"

"It vastly increases your ability to heal. A miraculous elixir that lets you recover within a week even from injuries that would kill an ordinary person."

"... Show me the next one, please."

He would not choose even this potion?

Sighing inwardly, Judgeiel finally produced a small pill.

"Lastly, this is the 'Berserker's Pill.' Its effect is simple. Take it, and your Strength stat increases."

"... I'll take that one."

The human man promptly accepted the pill.

To think he had such poor judgment. Judgeiel would have taken the axe or the potion without hesitation.

Well, the choice was entirely the human's. It was not the angel's place to judge.

"Then I'll send you to Floor 1."

"Wai—"

Judgeiel summoned his divine power and sent the human man straight to Floor 1.

Roughly 170 humans remained. Judgeiel was tasked with judging them as quickly as possible.

It seemed highly likely that none of them had sinned... but work was work, wasn't it?

"Next. Step up to the scale."

Simply carrying out the work God had given him made Judgeiel happy.

[You have entered Floor 1.]

"..."

I hadn't even had time to injure myself.

If I'd known he could send me to the next floor that quickly, I would've regressed sooner.

I should have checked whether I could obtain the special reward more than once. What a shame.

Well, there was nothing I could do about it now.

I seemed to have gotten everything there was to get from Floor 0, so I had no major regrets.

It bothered me a little that I hadn't told Choi Jiwon about my Regression... but just seeing her made my heart ache too much to speak to her.

I had been lost in thought for quite a while when it suddenly occurred to me that the smell brushing my nose was familiar.

A musty... comforting smell.

"... What the hell?"

Coming to my senses, I looked around and was greeted by a familiar space.

I could have sworn I'd seen a message saying I'd entered Floor 1...

So why was I back in my apartment...?

A Word from the Author (Afterword)

I just... revised the heck out of it.

Writing "(Revised)" makes it sound a little pervy.

Thank you for reading.

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