Chapter 44 - The Regressor Takes Action (1)

“I told you, just hand over the token and go.”

“Whew... Do you think kidnapping someone is easy? The residents have their own vigilantes.”

“We know it’s hard. That’s why we’re telling you to hand it over. Huh? You can just do it again, can’t you? We don’t have the ability.”

When I walked over to that familiar alley, the woman with the golden symbol floating above her head was arguing with the three thugs blocking her way.

“Fuck off.”

Without giving them so much as a chance to react, I slammed my elbows into the backs of their heads. I used my elbows because these bastards were such blockheads that I might scrape my fists.

I’d always dreamed of smacking obnoxious assholes in the back of the head like this. Man, that felt good.

“...! Are you insane?”

The woman’s eyes went wide as though she’d seen something horrifying, while the three thugs rolled their eyes back and passed out.

‘One... Two...’

Ignoring them completely, I counted in my head.

I’d committed an undeniable act of violence.

Now... how long would it take the city’s ruler to arrive?

‘Three...’

When roughly three seconds had passed by my reckoning...

“Assault. The sentence is three hours’ imprisonment.”

BOOOOM!

A flash filled my vision, and I lost consciousness on the spot.

[You have taken damage.]

[Regressing to the moment you first entered Floor 2.]

* * *

“Fine, fine. Just fine.”

Honestly, I’d thought I would at least get to see the city ruler’s face. I hadn’t expected to lose consciousness instantly.

Hell, I hadn’t even felt any pain. Now that was clean work.

I didn’t know whether I’d died or merely been knocked out... but I had confirmed that the city’s ruler was far beyond anyone I could hope to take on.

Honestly, I didn’t even know what had hit me. With Choi Jiwon’s sword, I’d at least seen an afterimage. I hadn’t seen this at all.

Could I win if I gathered every resident in the city and activated my Hero trait?

No... probably not. Gathering everyone would be a problem to begin with. I didn’t even know whether the residents would perceive the city’s ruler as an enemy.

“There is a way to exploit this, though...”

Still, there was a loophole in Floor 2’s rules.

The city’s ruler didn’t appear the instant someone committed violence.

Three seconds. There was a three-second grace period before her attack arrived.

And with my current physical abilities... it did seem possible to reach the angel if I sprinted flat out from the alley entrance for about three seconds.

“If it seems possible, I might as well try.”

I was sick of digging into Floor 2’s hidden circumstances.

I didn’t want to puzzle over the perfect solution, either.

The tower’s unfair structure? How it encouraged people to do evil?

There would be time enough to change the complicated stuff later.

A regression would erase it all anyway. Right now, I’d deal with what was in front of me.

Let’s get the Platinum reward first and think afterward.

Let me say it again... this time, I’d do whatever the fuck I wanted.

“First...”

I wanted to beat the shit out of that bastard Baron Licht.

“A pleasure. I am Baron Li—Gah!”

As Baron Licht smiled and extended his hand, I smashed him straight in the face.

He immediately lost consciousness and crumpled.

THWACK!

After delivering one powerful soccer kick to his crotch, I wasted no time taking a Platinum token from his waist and tucking it inside my clothes.

A platinum-colored symbol flared into existence above my head. It was enormous, and its light was dazzlingly bright.

I was literally a walking electronic billboard. If I left the mansion like this, word would spread in an instant.

People would come swarming from the other streets to form a human wall, while the Players on this street would hold me up asking how I’d gotten a Platinum token.

And I couldn’t use violence against them. Why? Because the city’s ruler was watching like a hawk.

Simply stepping outside the mansion would restrict my every move. The whole setup let someone else’s greed obstruct my achievements.

There was no normal way for me to leave this mansion... but that was fine. I had a plan of my own.

I discreetly called out to a resident who happened to be passing in front of the mansion.

“You there, sir. Ah, I’m on the mansion’s second floor. Look up.”

“Uh, um... Yes?”

“I’m a climber. And I just knocked that obnoxious Baron Licht out cold. As proof, there’s a platinum-colored symbol above my head.”

“Ah, uh... Yes. So there is.”

“You’re grateful, right?”

The resident nodded reluctantly.

“... I suppose? He was an obnoxious bastard, after all...”

“Then please help me out.”

“How, exactly...? I’m just an ordinary resident. I don’t have the power to help you.”

“That’s fine. It’s simple. First, could you get me a set of clothes? If you help, I’ll give you a nice pill. It improves your sexual stamina.”

“... Your sexual stamina? You’re sure about that?”

It seemed I’d finally found a useful application for the Berserker’s Pill.

“...”

A Player in leather armor had just brushed past me.

Yet he’d shown a surprising lack of interest. He hadn’t even looked at me.

The reason was simple.

Instead of leather armor, I was wearing the ordinary cloth clothes the residents wore.

It was ridiculous that clothes were how people identified Players in the first place.

If someone deliberately changed outfits, there was no way to tell them apart like this.

“... He looks like that Asian guy who appeared in front of me earlier.”

The Black man, David Something-or-Other, walked past with his head tilted uncertainly.

Even someone who’d seen my face failed to recognize me just because I’d changed clothes.

The leather armor was obviously an item. Common sense said there was no reason to take it off.

Unless, like me, you were trying to disguise yourself.

Here, where everyone dressed uniformly according to class, a change of clothes made for the perfect disguise.

Of course, you might have a question.

Wait, if there’s a big, beautiful symbol floating above your head, why doesn’t anyone recognize you? Why do they just walk past?

The answer was simple.

“You’re keeping it safe, right?”

“... Yes.”

I’d entrusted the Platinum token to the resident who’d brought me the clothes.

I’d worried he might suddenly go off the rails and start firing magic at me, but fortunately, nothing of the sort happened.

Apparently, the residents’ forced transformations were determined by the token-generating boxes. Simply possessing a token seemed to have no effect.

Only Players produced a symbol when holding a token.

Residents didn’t produce one just because they held a token. After all, no symbol had appeared above a resident’s head when they handed one over.

In other words, a resident holding a token wouldn’t attract attention.

And so, by strolling down the street as though we were two friendly residents, we were able to escape the Players’ notice.

It was, quite simply, a perfect plan.

We crossed the street without trouble and made our way down the alley. Just as the square finally came into view, I spotted the thugs blocking the way.

“... Hey, aren’t those just residents? Let them through.”

“Oh, you idiot. Didn’t you hear? Jihun told me earlier. Some assholes changed clothes and pretended to be residents to get through here before. The guys blocking the way didn’t figure it out until they’d reached the angel.”

“... That happened? How did Jihun find out?”

“He heard it from the guy who taught him how to block this place off. Apparently, that guy extorted a Gold token and moved on ages ago. You two residents over there. Come here.”

I’d succeeded in disguising myself perfectly as a resident... but these guys seemed to be professionals in the field of thug-run roadblocks.

Taking every precaution over something they could easily have overlooked. They had the mindset of successful men.

The thug who’d called us over puffed out his chest and thrust it toward me.

“Come on, hit me in the chest. I hear violence is allowed between residents and Players.”

“...”

Was this bastard an elite thug? He’d instantly devised a foolproof way to distinguish Players from residents.

A Player wouldn’t dare hit him for fear of punishment, while a resident could do so without consequence.

But there was one thing he hadn’t considered...

“Thank you for all your help. You can give it to me now.”

“... Yes, sir.”

I’d come here fully prepared to beat someone up.

The resident took the Platinum token out of his clothes and placed it in my hand. A brilliantly shining platinum-colored symbol immediately appeared above my head.

“Uh, uhhh...”

The instant the two bewildered thugs gaped at me, I slammed my shoulder into the one who’d told me to hit his chest, shoving him aside, and broke into a sprint toward the angel.

Three seconds.

Run. Squeezing everything out of my leg muscles, I ran and ran.

Two seconds.

“Hey! Angel! I’ve got a token! Send me straight to Floor 1!”

I let the angel know in advance that I had a token. I could see it nodding, though it seemed a little flustered.

Then, one second.

Just before the city ruler’s stern punishment could pass judgment on me, I hurled myself toward the angel...

HUM!

[You have cleared Floor 2.]

[Please select your Platinum reward.]

My body passed straight through the portal, successfully making it back to Floor 1.

My plan had worked exactly as intended.

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