Chapter 71 - The Regressor Takes a Beating (2)

"..."

Kang Chan, a taciturn young man, came to in an unfamiliar clearing.

"Wh-where are we?"

"Is this some hidden-camera prank?"

Unfamiliar people. Unfamiliar surroundings. Anyone would have been on edge in a situation like this, and Kang Chan was no exception.

"... Why does that guy look so murderous?"

It was just that his expression stiffened the more nervous he became, leading the people around him to jump to conclusions. His naturally fierce looks surely played a part as well.

"Mom..."

"Fuck, fuck..."

Time passed, and feelings of anxiety, agitation, and fear gradually subsided.

"... So where are we?"

"It's hot and muggy..."

Just as people were beginning to take an interest in where they were, a man murmured quietly.

"... Status window."

His voice seemed to have been drowned out by the murmuring crowd for most people, but Kang Chan, seated right beside him, heard it clearly.

"H-huh?"

He also saw the man's eyes widen in surprise a moment later.

"... Status window."

In a way, it was only natural that Kang Chan would murmur the same words.

It was simple curiosity. He had no intention of taking the initiative in a situation like this. With what people called his "hard-ass" looks, he often found himself the subject of needless misunderstandings. As a result, he trusted the saying "Keep your head down and you're halfway there" above all others.

But even he couldn't maintain his composure after seeing his Status window.

-Intimidation [S+]

-The weak ought to look up to you. Exude an aura that inflicts fear on surrounding living beings.

"...!"

Startled, Kang Chan sprang to his feet. The letters "S+" had left him so flustered that he failed to notice every gaze turning toward him.

"... Intimidation?"

The instant he murmured the word—

WHOOOOM!

It was like a predator's gaze. The aura of a murderer for whom killing had become routine.

An aura that any living being would fear emanated from Kang Chan's body, and every person in the clearing instinctively lowered their eyes without knowing why.

"..."

Only after looking around did Kang Chan realize what he'd done. He had drawn an insane amount of attention from strangers in an unfamiliar place.

The best thing to do now would be to turn off his trait, sit down, and act as though nothing had happened...

The problem was that he was still unfamiliar with using his ability. It felt like trying to write with his left hand. Control seemed tantalizingly within reach, then slipped away.

Even so, one thing was clear: he had to deactivate it. Someone was trembling under the crushing killing intent so badly that they were wetting themselves. Kang Chan strained, focusing all his attention on turning off Intimidation.

"..."

Perhaps he was concentrating too hard on deactivating his trait.

"Hello! To all of you enthusiastically wasting your lives... Huh?"

Kang Chan failed to notice the strange winged creature, the size of a small child, coming right up to him.

"What are you doing?"

"...!"

When the Tutorial fairy thrust its face toward his, he was utterly startled.

An unfamiliar environment. Unfamiliar people. An ability he couldn't control. With his stress already at its limit, a monster suddenly shoved its face into his.

CRACK!

No one could blame Kang Chan for instinctively delivering a headbutt, calling him a barbarian or a thug for it.

But however appropriate an action might be to the circumstances, the person who took it still had to bear full responsibility.

The Tutorial fairy's eyes rolled back, and it hit the ground like a puppet with its strings cut.

Intimidation, which had been active the whole time, finally deactivated.

-[Impossible Achievement Alert!]

-You are the first in human history to subdue an angel!

-You may evolve one of your traits!

-You will receive a random B-rank item!

The instant a message window appeared before his eyes to the sound of a cheap fanfare...

"..."

Kang Chan had only just entered the tower and knew nothing, but there was one thing he could be sure of.

Things seemed to have gotten royally fucked up.

* * *

It was the result of one coincidence piled on another.

The angels who guided Floor 0 were low-ranking even among the nine angelic orders, assigned to menial tasks. Naturally, they were weaker than humans in combat, and their nature was so lowly that they were not even permitted the halo that symbolized angels.

Thus, there was no such thing as a Tutorial fairy. The angel in charge of Korea's Floor 0 simply knew a great deal about human culture and had a nasty disposition, so it had played the part of a monster that burst people's heads.

But perceptions were based on others, and the underlying reality hardly mattered. The unfamiliar circumstances made people passive, leading them to mistake an angel of the lowest rank for a "Tutorial fairy."

"... Wh-what's that? Something's lying on the ground."

"Did anyone get a good look? What did he do?"

"... My legs suddenly started shaking, so I was looking at the ground."

"Wait, wait! Look closely at it. Isn't that... a 'Tutorial fairy'? This is exactly that kind of situation, isn't it? We suddenly get summoned somewhere, and a winged monster the size of a child appears..."

"Then that guy just took down the Tutorial fairy? Right after getting summoned? How does that make sense?"

Ironically, perceptions had no substance, yet they carried weight. The weight of the false reputation attached to the name "Tutorial fairy" transferred to Kang Chan.

"Did we... get it wrong? He must have only just been summoned too..."

People had been stealing glances at him with a faint trace of fear in their eyes.

"Hey, hey! Wake up! Haah... Humans, would you please wait a moment?"

But once another angel appeared, dealt with the unconscious angel, explained the tower, and left...

"... It really was a Tutorial fairy?"

"... How many people has he killed?"

Those glances turned to outright terror. The fact that no one had actually seen Kang Chan use violence only fueled their imaginations.

"Boss!"

But not everyone was simply trembling in fear.

"I want to serve you as my boss! Here in this tower, I don't think there's anyone I can trust and follow but you!"

"M-me too! Please let me serve you, boss!"

While ordinary people felt only fear from Kang Chan's killing intent, exposure to it had made admiration blossom in the hearts of a select few.

In short, they were out of their fucking minds. They wanted to stick with someone who looked as though he'd killed thousands.

Kang Chan had not the slightest desire to associate with these lunatics.

"I just checked my Status window, and my trait seems to be A+ rank! Of course, that's nothing compared to yours, boss..."

"Mine is S rank! Please let me serve you!"

The problem was that they looked far stronger than he was. For now, they were jumping to their own conclusions, but there was no telling what they might do once they discovered the truth about him.

"..."

Kang Chan clearly understood his situation.

People thought he was an absurdly powerful monster. Yet his only trait was Intimidation, an ability specialized in bluffing. In other words, he had no actual combat power whatsoever.

Broadly speaking, he had two options.

First, tell the truth: that aura hadn't been his own killing intent, but merely the effect of a trait. But as already explained, there was no telling what the lunatics now clinging to him might do.

Second, exploit their misunderstanding for whatever benefits he could get.

He could threaten others into handing over their golden orbs, or play boss to these people. As long as the illusion that Kang Chan was overwhelmingly powerful held, Intimidation was practically a master key.

But the downside was clear. The moment his bluff was exposed, it wouldn't end nicely. Every moment would be a tightrope walk.

"..."

After agonizing over it, Kang Chan finally spoke.

"... Do as you please."

If this tower resembled the towers in the fiction he knew, his life would be on the line constantly anyway.

If it was dangerous either way... he would choose the option that offered something to gain.

"My name is Kang Chan."

He deliberately roughened his voice. Kept his face utterly expressionless. Stared emptily at some point far in the distance.

From this moment on, Kang Chan would play the overwhelmingly powerful man they wanted him to be.

"... I'll kill anyone who gets in my way."

To survive in this tower.

* * *

"... That's what happened."

Kang Chan fell silent after his long explanation.

I understood that a misunderstanding had forced him into a situation where he had no choice but to pretend to be powerful. I probably would have done the same.

"... Then did you enter Floor 3-5 because..."

"Yes."

Kang Chan gave a small chuckle.

"I wanted a carry. The guys following me are weird in the head, but their abilities are outstanding."

"... Where are they now?"

"Probably working their way through another Floor 3-5. I entered last, so I got separated from them."

Kang Chan had originally intended to tackle Floor 3-5 with his followers, but Floor 3's system of grouping people into fours had forced them apart.

So I wasn't the only one who'd gotten screwed over for no reason. My attempt to get carried by Choi Jiwon had failed too.

"But that doesn't explain everything."

"... What doesn't it explain?"

"Your punch. Nothing in that story explained your punch."

"... I told you a message appeared after I took down the fairy, saying I was the first to subdue an angel."

"Oh."

"I evolved Intimidation. That should explain it."

I see.

I didn't know exactly what the "trait evolution" he'd received as a reward entailed...

But just like exuding killing intent, the evolution apparently suited his act as an "overwhelming powerhouse."

"Your earlier guess was right. This punch... isn't something I can use carelessly. It's a high-risk ability."

After that self-deprecating murmur, Kang Chan raised his head and looked me straight in the eye.

"I've laid all my cards on the table. Now it's your turn."

"... My turn?"

"If you're a regressor, you should know more about Floor 3 than I do."

All the killing intent was gone, but his gaze remained sharp.

"Do you have a plan? A plan to clear Floor 3?"

"..."

Kang Chan's ability. That insane impact-reflecting golem. The wolf. Mirrors. Trauma. Arrows. Traps. The tribesman. Throwing spears. Dok Suhui. Enchant.

Everything I'd experienced so far broke into fragments and floated through my mind.

"Um, uh... aren't you coming?"

By the time Ahn Gyeongjun, tired of waiting, approached cautiously to see what was going on...

"I do."

An answer came to mind.

Just one.

An answer as narrow as the eye of a needle.

A Word from the Author (Afterword)

Thank you, as always, for reading.