Chapter 9 - The Regressor Is Too Lazy

Was this clearing really a safe zone?

Surprisingly enough, it really was. I hadn't encountered a single threat during my stay.

There were goblins everywhere beyond the grass, but for some reason, they never entered the clearing. The air was warm, and no rain came to sap away our body heat.

I'd stayed on edge, thinking something might happen... but when absolutely nothing did, my tension melted away in no time.

At last, the real rest and relaxation had begun.

* * *

Five days had passed since I'd decided to do nothing.

Which meant it had been six days since my regression.

Why the sudden time skip?

Because there wasn't much to say. That's just how life works.

For people out on life's front lines, working their asses off and burning themselves out, every day brings a story worth telling.

So-and-so did this today, I heard that over there, turns out there's this rumor about that person I mentioned before, and so on.

But unemployed bums who spend every day holed up at home, scratching their bellies and fiddling with their computers, don't have much to talk about even when they meet their friends.

Yesterday, I spent all day on the computer. Today, I spent all day on the computer. Tomorrow, I plan to spend all day on the computer.

The only thing that changes is what's on the menu. Sometimes even that stays the same, so it's fair to say a monotonous daily routine is about a million light-years away from an interesting story.

What had I done over the past five days? Nothing.

I'd lie around, eat when Choi Jiwon brought food, sleep when I got bored, and occasionally pray for someone's soul when I heard a scream.

Life was so peaceful it was hard to believe I was inside the tower.

If I turned this story into a web novel, the title would be something like "Relaxing All Alone in the Tower Tutorial" or "Even a Scratch Makes Me Regress, So I Just Want a Quiet Life."

Wasn't I bored?

Of course I was. But being bored beats having a hard time.

Besides, it wasn't all boredom. I'd managed to find people to talk to.

"Seriously, can you believe that guy? He told me to come with him because he'd protect me, but he had this really sleazy smile!"

"Oh, the guy with glasses and a bowl cut? I think I've seen him too."

"Yes, that's him! I was so scared I got goosebumps... But then Jiwon glared at him, and he flinched! Then he just left."

"Haha, she can be pretty scary."

"Hehe, isn't she just so cool? She's my role model."

Who was I talking to? That bob-haired woman, of course.

Remember her? The one who'd asked if we had any food that night.

Her name was Baek Dahye.

Apparently, she'd been a college student before being summoned to the tower.

She scared easily, but she seemed kind by nature. She had a cute face, too.

If she hadn't been summoned here, she probably could have enjoyed a vibrant social life with guys fawning over her... What a shame, in more ways than one.

"Oh, this is my friend! Say hello!"

"... Did you know each other before? You seem really close."

"No! We became friends after coming to the tower!"

"... So this is what a social butterfly looks like?"

She also introduced me to the woman who always sat beside her.

Her name was... Kim Sein, I think? I hadn't gotten close to her yet. She was so quiet that we hadn't talked much, either.

She glared.

"... Uh, did you want to say something?"

"..."

"Guess not..."

Sometimes Kim Sein would give me this probing glare, and it sent chills down my spine every time... Honestly, I didn't think we'd ever get close.

Still, there was something special about the gloomy Kim Sein: she was blonde.

Apparently, one of her parents was a foreigner. The pretty mixed-race blonde was Kim Sein. That seemed like an easy way to remember her.

As for some of the others...

The digging guy had suddenly disappeared yesterday.

The hole he'd dug was still there, and so was his shovel. Only the man himself was gone.

Had he actually found some hidden rewards? Had he taken a legendary elixir and found himself unable to contain his surging power?

Or maybe he'd found the entrance to a secret dungeon and was in there tackling it right now?

I decided to find out what had happened if I got the chance next time. I could just hide nearby and jump him.

For the record, the guy who'd been searching the weapon pile had given up and left the clearing ages ago. Apparently, he hadn't found a legendary weapon.

What a shame. If he'd actually found one, I could have snatched it up as soon as I regressed.

I didn't know the names of the rest of the people in the clearing, but we recognized each other's faces.

We were like awkward neighbors who exchanged a nod when our eyes happened to meet. A little community had formed here in the clearing.

Were there any inconveniences to living here?

Hmm... The biggest one was answering nature's call.

One man whose name I didn't know had spent ages wrestling with the grass to make a makeshift toilet.

You could dig a hole with a shovel, do your business, and cover it back up...

The problem was that everyone could hear everything. The women were dying of embarrassment. And even covering it with dirt couldn't keep some of the smell from escaping.

Still, things had gotten a little better since the digging guy left, because we could use his pit as a toilet.

Thanks, mister.

If you really are tackling a dungeon... sorry. Your hole's going to stink to high heaven when you get back.

Another inconvenience... was the messages the tower tossed out now and then.

[Golden orbs remaining: 27/50]

"Oh, come on."

The message blocked my view as I lay there relaxing.

The tower would take these little jabs at me every so often.

It felt like it was nagging me. Hey, everyone else is out there working hard to gather golden orbs. What are you doing? Don't you want to escape the tower?

I'll handle it myself, all right?!

"Junho! Jiwon's back!"

Baek Dahye called to me cheerfully. I turned to find Choi Jiwon standing there with both hands full of food.

"Oh, Jiwon! Stay right there! Let me help!"

Since I was eating her food, I ought to help with something. I felt guilty just lying around, too.

I took a pack of bottled water from her, casually tore open the plastic, and began handing out the bottles.

All things considered... I was having fun.

* * *

The next day.

It was a day like any other.

I lazed around, chatting with everyone about this and that.

Choi Jiwon practiced her swordsmanship, then briefly left the clearing to gather food, apparently deciding it was time.

Everyone in the clearing knew she'd return with food and water in about an hour.

It felt like we'd become baby birds waiting for their mother to bring them food...

But so what? Both mother and babies were happy with the arrangement.

"I wonder what's on the menu today? I'm hungry already."

Baek Dahye rubbed her belly playfully. Come to think of it, I was getting hungry too.

"Those chocolate bars we had last time were good. Filling, too."

"I know. I'd love another chocolate bar. Jiwon should be back any minute. I can't wait."

DRUMROLL...

Baek Dahye drummed on the ground, making drumroll noises with her mouth.

"Hey, stop banging on the ground. You're making it wobble."

Not only was she kicking up dirt, but the ground seemed to be shaking a little, too. The earth must have been soft enough to shake just from her drumming on it.

"Come on, stop bang—huh?"

"..."

I turned to look at Baek Dahye. Her expression was frighteningly rigid.

Glancing down, I saw that her hands had stopped moving a while ago.

But I could still feel the ground shaking.

THUD. THUD. THUD. THUD.

Was Choi Jiwon up to something again?

Or was Choi Cheolsun, the firefighter who'd gone out with that huge axe, chopping down a tree?

THUD. THUD. THUD.

No. When I put a hand on the ground, I could feel the vibrations traveling through it.

These really felt like the tremors of something massive moving...

"Run! It's coming your way!"

BOOOOM!

An enormous boom erupted at that very moment.

I thought I'd heard Choi Jiwon's voice, but it was drowned out by what sounded like an explosion, so I couldn't make it out properly.

"..."

Apparently, I hadn't imagined it. Everyone in the clearing had frozen. Only the blonde, Kim Sein, had sprung to her feet.

What was happening? Had monsters started fighting each other? But could they really make a noise that loud?

And why... had the shaking stopped?

"Kim Junho!"

The blonde Kim Sein called my name urgently.

I thought this was the first time I'd ever heard her say it.

"Up! Above youuuu!!!"

She let out a piercing scream.

Come to think of it, it was unusually dark around me.

As though something had cast a shadow over me.

My instincts, honed over multiple regressions, were screaming a frantic warning.

You're fucked.

I slowly raised my head.

"ROAAAAAAR!"

"... Fuck."

The last thing I saw was a gigantic bull-headed monster roaring as it fell from the sky.

BOOOOOOOOM!!!

"No!!! Ah..."

[You have taken damage.]

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

A Word from the Author (Afterword)

Of course the clearing wasn't a safe zone!

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