Chapter 67 - The Regressor Accepts Fate (3)

A regressor inevitably ends up lying a lot.

And making those lies convincing is simple.

“This passage... Doesn't it seem suspicious?”

Just spout some bullshit that sounds profound.

And pour heartfelt emotion into it at the same time. If nothing else, I thought my acting had improved by leaps and bounds from repeating the tutorial.

“Every passage we've been through so far had torches on the walls. They were bright, with good visibility. But this one... For some reason, it's pitch-black.”

I already knew the outcome.

Meaning I already knew that walking down this dark passage would bring us to a stone door, with a mirror maze beyond it.

“I believe this is a clue that the trial will involve ‘sight.’ It's hinting that we shouldn't trust what we see in front of us.”

In other words, all I had to do was work backward from the outcome. Making up a plausible story wasn't hard.

“So, if this passage has an end... How about we all put on blindfolds before proceeding? There's a good chance the mechanic involves ‘sight,’ and I believe we can overcome it by covering our eyes.”

Of course, it only sounded plausible on the surface. The reasoning was absurdly flimsy. All I was really suggesting was, ‘There are no torches from here on. Shall we wear blindfolds?’

“... I'm not convinced.”

Naturally, they wouldn't be convinced. It was literally bullshit.

I couldn't coast through this with my Awe trait like I had in the tutorial, either. In my experience, the stronger someone was, the less likely the trait was to work on them. Awe had never activated on Choi Jiwon. Not once.

In other words, I had to make them believe something would work when, by any common-sense standard, it was ridiculous.

But making bullshit convincing is simple.

CRUNCH.

Just make sure the bullshit is right every time.

[You have taken damage.]

[Regressing to the moment you first entered Floor 3-5.]

* * *

“... Hmm. I think there will be weapons up ahead. Judging by these patterns...”

“Goblins will pop out around here. The shape of the cave is artificial.”

“Judging by the shape of this cavern, I think there's a monster here. Probably... a wolf. Wolves have symbolic significance in primitive civilizations.”

Three times.

I'd spouted bullshit a full three times, and every prediction had come true.

“Oh...”

“I knew it...”

As a result, my utterly meaningless bullshit had acquired authority. Simply because I'd been right several times.

And so my ‘sight trial theory’ became convincing, too.

“... But wouldn't wearing blindfolds be dangerous?”

“We can all sense presences anyway, right? If anything happens, we can just take them off. Here, I'll tear up my leather armor to make blindfolds.”

“...”

Dok Suhui put on her blindfold, looking as though she couldn't believe any of this, but would trust me one more time since I'd been right so far.

“Oh, Boss Chan? Could you direct a little killing intent at Gyeongjun...? Just in case something happens. You know?”

“...”

Once Ahn Gyeongjun's Spirit Possession was activated and everyone had their blindfolds on, I said,

“Now, place your palms on the door! Don't take your blindfolds off until I say so!”

RUMBLE.

We each placed a palm on the stone door, opening it.

“...”

Certain I'd made every preparation possible, I quietly slipped off my blindfold.

I'd deliberately tied the leather covering my eyes loosely. I'd said we probably shouldn't look ahead, but if I actually went without looking, who knew what might happen?

“... I heard something.”

“...”

But the tribesman possessing Ahn Gyeongjun's body apparently heard even that faint rustle of leather. His ears pricked up alertly. The bastard was like an animal.

“... Let's head in now. Make sure you hold on tight to my shoulders.”

Holding one another's shoulders like schoolchildren playing trains, we slowly entered the mirror maze.

“... Smooth and cold. Like a mirror that confounds a warrior's soul...”

Instead of holding my shoulder as instructed, Ahn Gyeongjun was running one hand over a mirror beside him.

“No, no, how could that be? Why would there suddenly be mirrors in an underground cave? It's probably obsidian or something, isn't it?”

“Strange...”

Despite my desperate explanation, he remained suspicious and kept stroking the mirror.

“...”

Since Ahn Gyeongjun was fine after touching it, the trap apparently wasn't the kind triggered by contact with a mirror.

“Whew...”

Still, I'd stopped him from going berserk. Nothing prevented us from clearing the maze for now.

There were two main variables left to consider.

First, the mirror maze's own mechanic.

And second... Ahn Gyeongjun himself.

But the latter could wait. There would be time to think about it after we cleared the maze.

“Let's go, then.”

And so our party ventured deeper into the mirror maze, leather strips wrapped around our eyes.

* * *

How long had we been walking through the mirror maze?

WHOOOO.

An eerie breeze swept past.

I was making steady progress through the maze using the left-hand rule.

“...”

Walking through a mirror maze that reflected me endlessly was an ordeal. I could barely tell the passages from the walls, and seeing every movement repeated dozens of times made it feel as though my brain was being scrambled.

I gulped.

Was my brain getting tired?

Just now... I could have sworn my reflection had moved.

It seemed to have curled its lips into a chilling smile.

But common sense said mirrors couldn't move.

I was imagining it, right?

“...”

Countless horror movies had taught me that brushing something like this off with ‘Must be my imagination’ would get you killed.

Besides, this maze was part of the tower. Anything could happen here. Staying on guard was the right choice, not letting my guard down.

As I walked with my senses sharpened to a razor's edge...

“Junho.”

“... What is it, Suhui?”

Dok Suhui suddenly spoke to me. I'd repeatedly stressed that they shouldn't talk to me inside the maze. It must have been something urgent.

“Huh? Me?”

But despite having spoken first, she tilted her head as though she had no idea what I meant.

“... Didn't you just call my name?”

“No? I did?”

“...”

Right. So that was how it was going to be.

Let's see how long you keep trying to make this scary. If you were going to be this blatant, I had a plan of my own.

Just as I gritted my teeth and opened my eyes wide...

“...”

I met my own eyes in the mirror.

The thing stared at me with strangely hollow eyes.

Then its lips spread into a radiant grin. So radiant that the sight sent chills down my spine.

As the corners of its grinning mouth rose, twisting grotesquely until they nearly reached its ears...

“Hahahahahahaha!!!”

It lunged straight at me!

“Knew it.”

But I was already mentally prepared. There were only so many possible mechanics for a mirror maze.

A common one was for someone who touched a mirror to be dragged into a mirror world, while a monster from that reversed world impersonated them.

This was no different. The moment I met my reflection's eyes, I'd already anticipated its attack.

“Hah!”

SLASH!

I smoothly dodged its slashing claws by a hair's breadth, then seized the opening to cut off its head.

“Easy.”

This cheap horror act couldn't shake a regressor's nerves of steel. If the Archangel wanted to rattle me, he'd need a more threatening trap.

With a confident look, I flicked the blood from my sword. That was when...

“...?”

In the mirrored wall beside me, I saw something that absolutely shouldn't have been visible.

“... Mirrors.”

“...”

Ahn Gyeongjun's eyes were showing.

“So many mirrors...”

He stood there with blood running from between his eyebrows, his face twisted into something demonic.

“...”

Apparently, the monster's slashing strike had cut through his leather blindfold.

Should I have blocked instead of dodging? That was a mistake.

“Fuck...”

I let out a sigh and gently closed my eyes.

“... Will you never tire of trying to beguile me?!”

CRASH!

[You have taken damage.]

[Regressing to the moment you first entered Floor 3-5.]

* * *

CLANG!!!

“Ack!”

This time, I expertly knocked aside the mirror monster's claws before cutting off its head.

I'd instinctively been avoiding blocking attacks because of the recoil, but in situations like this, I needed to make a conscious effort to block.

“Wh-what was that sound?”

“I smell blood...”

“Nothing important. Let's keep moving.”

“I'm stepping on something squishy...”

After stepping over the mirror monster's corpse and wandering for another thirty minutes or so...

“I think you can take your blindfolds off now.”

At last, the end of the mirror maze came into sight.

* * *

“...”

Setting aside Ahn Gyeongjun's meaningful stare, and Kang Chan and Dok Suhui's looks that suggested they thought I'd eaten something funny...

Objectively speaking, the mirror maze had been extremely easy.

There was a monster lurking inside, but it wasn't particularly strong...

Except for the part where Ahn Gyeongjun went berserk, it was incomparably easier than the monstrous wolf.

“...”

Yes. Except for the part where Ahn Gyeongjun went berserk.

A suspicion was taking root in my mind.

What if his going berserk was factored into the difficulty?

If so... perhaps each room had been custom-made. That ominous thought occurred to me.

“Oh, I see something.”

“...”

My foreboding reached its peak when we arrived at the next room.

A long passage stretched straight ahead.

The densely placed torches provided plenty of light, but its emptiness bothered me.

Was another monster going to jump out? No, it was too narrow for that.

A passage running in a straight line like this...

“... Could you step back?”

After having the others move back, I cautiously took a step forward.

CLICK.

The sound of steel engaging rang out.

WHOOSH!

Immediately afterward, exactly five arrows shot toward me!

“Oh, shit!”

I'd more or less expected this, so I managed to leap backward and narrowly evade the hail of arrows.

“...”

But a drop of cold sweat trickled down before I knew it, as my ominous premonition seemed to have come true.

This was definitely a trap room. The click I'd just heard, the hail of arrows coming from all directions... There was no mistaking it.

In fiction, protagonists usually weathered endless volleys of hidden projectiles by keeping them away from their vital points, barely surviving and patching themselves up with potions afterward...

But even a single graze would send me regressing.

I'd encountered the worst counter to my ability since entering Floor 3.

“... Heh heh.”

A laugh escaped me before I knew it.

It really was the worst possible counter. I knew that clearing this place the normal way would take hundreds, if not thousands, of attempts.

But that was fine.

“... Boss Chan.”

“What is it?”

“Can you smash everything up ahead?”

I had a cheat code of my own now.

A Word from the Author (Afterword)

Thank you, as always, for reading.