Chapter 21: Second Regression

A frail body that feels a tremendous burden even from using Heaven-Shattering Fist alone, not even Divine Demon Annihilation Martial Art.

But the very fact that this frail body can use the martial art called Heaven-Shattering Fist proves the regression.

“Met an angel, learned martial arts, tried magic, experienced resurrection, and now even regression?”

Denying reality wasn’t something that suited me.

If I was done assessing the situation, I needed to quickly decide what to do next.

There were three facts I knew.

First, all Earth humans were dead except for me and nine other regressors.

While I experienced 50 years, only 10 years had passed in the Tower.

But for Earth humans to go extinct in such a short time, either the Tower’s trials were extremely difficult, or there was a force or event that orchestrated the massacre of Earth humans.

Both could be true.

Second, someone calling themselves Earth’s God gave the surviving 10 Earth humans the opportunity of regression.

True to the title of Earth’s God, they were probably the deity that ruled this Earth, but I don’t know why they caused the regression.

Maybe there’s a penalty for them if all Earth humans die, or perhaps they loved their creations—for now, I can only speculate.

“Whatever the reason, the fact that they enabled regression is what’s important.”

If it weren’t for regression, I might have been killed by some force targeting Earth humans the moment I climbed the Tower.

There’s no way to know why Earth’s God caused the regression, and knowing wouldn’t help me right now anyway, so I decided to move on.

Third, they asked to save Earth.

This phrase was also likely prepared by Earth’s God.

Since all Earth humans being dragged to the Tower is a confirmed future, the word ‘Earth’ here probably means ‘all Earth humans who will be dragged to the Tower.’

Saving even one more of them would probably help Earth’s God. Even if that’s not the case, I don’t plan to coldly abandon Earth humans anyway.

Just as I was pondering what to do first based on the given information, I felt someone frantically pressing the bell and pounding on the front door as if trying to break it down.

The only people who would come to my house are delivery people or So-eun.

I don’t remember ordering any delivery at this time, so there was a 99% chance it was Yoo So-eun.

When I checked her face through the intercom, it was indeed her.

As I approached the entrance to open the door, she seemed unable to wait any longer and just broke in.

Damn. What the hell.

And after breaking down the door, the moment she saw me, she burst into tears and rushed to embrace me tightly.

As if she would never let go again.

*

The moment Yoo So-eun opened her eyes, she couldn’t help but be startled by her surroundings.

The hell where all Earth humans were dying.

In that place where only slaughter was visible before her eyes, she closed her eyes and when she opened them, she was back in her room on Earth.

It couldn’t all be a dream.

SWOOSH.

The sensation of cutting people was still vivid, and her enlightenment was so ingrained in her body that she could cut through a table even with the pen in her hand.

And before returning, she thought she glimpsed some text.

Something about being one of the final 10. That regression was starting. To save Earth.

But for her, there was something more important than all that.

If returning to the past was real, if all of this was reality and not a dream, there was something she most wanted to set right.

Given the opportunity to correct everything she had only imagined countless times, she simply ran.

Not caring if her hair became disheveled or what she looked like, she left her house and went to Han Yeong-min’s front door.

And she prayed.

That this moment wasn’t a dream.

That when this door opened, the person she wished for would be inside.

That her wish would come true.

At first she pressed the bell and knocked on the door, but she couldn’t bear to wait even a moment longer because she wanted to see him so badly.

Though she couldn’t use magic in a world without mana, she could easily break down a mere iron door with just the enlightenment she had accumulated so far.

BANG!

Through the gap in the broken door, she could see someone’s silhouette. The person she had been waiting for so very long.

The source of all of Yoo So-eun’s regrets.

Really… it’s Yeong-min…

Han Yeong-min. It was Han Yeong-min.

The moment she saw him, her breath stopped.

And she couldn’t hold back her tears.

Her body moved naturally.

Her chest swelled up so much she couldn’t breathe properly. She could only embrace him and shed the tears she couldn’t contain.

She had waited so long.

Too, too long.

He had definitely said it.

—I’ll come see you soon.

That’s what he had said.

But reality was different.

She waited a day, waited a week, waited a month, and even after a year passed, after ten years passed, he didn’t return.

You don’t know how long that time was.

In the world where he had disappeared, she dreamed the same dream every night.

A distance her outstretched hand couldn’t reach. A space where her voice couldn’t be heard. She wanted to catch him as he turned around, but he always, endlessly moved away.

No matter how much she screamed, he wouldn’t look back at her.

And at some point, Yoo So-eun realized.

This dream wasn’t simple longing.

It was a regret.

He left because she wanted him to leave. It was a path she had chosen for his sake.

But she realized too late that it had been the wrong choice.

Even if he would resent her, even if he would hate her, she shouldn’t have left his side.

So he could survive. So he could become strong. She should have endured by his side.

But she couldn’t do that.

She believed leaving for his sake was the right answer. She had to believe that.

That’s probably why you died.

Since time in the Tutorial flows five times slower, if Han Yeong-min, who was among the first to enter the Tower, had only been in the Tutorial, he would have spent 50 years there.

A world with no entertainment and no high-performance skills.

Enduring 50 years in such a place would be impossible unless you were insane or crazy.

The Yeong-min that Yoo So-eun knew was definitely neither insane nor crazy, so he must have died while climbing the Tower.

Because of her wrong judgment, the most precious person met his death.

And that was while trying to come see her.

I was afraid you would hate me.

That’s why she couldn’t stay by his side.

It was really… a selfish choice.

But now it’s okay.

He has returned, and now she will never let go.

She embraced him in front of her even more tightly. The warmth touching her arms. The heartbeat resonating in her chest.

This isn’t a dream.

It really was Han Yeong-min.

The one she had missed, her Yeong-min.

During the time she had lost him, during all the days she had walked searching for him, the resolution she had carved most deeply.

“I will never let go again.”

She will definitely protect him.

In this cruel world, amidst countless threats, she will absolutely never lose Han Yeong-min.

No one, nothing, can interfere now.

*

Seeing Yoo So-eun break down the door and continuously shed tears while tightly embracing me, anyone who couldn’t notice would not be human.

Yoo So-eun is definitely a regressor.

Seeing her cry so sorrowfully, I can guess that many things happened during the time I wasn’t there.

And now, I could vaguely sense what thoughts she was expressing through these emotions.

She thinks I died because of her in the first round…

The answer came when I thought from her perspective.

Until So-eun left, I was still intact.

Since she remembers me before I broke down, rather than thinking I endured 50 years in the Tutorial, it would be more reasonable to think I died while climbing the Tower.

Honestly speaking, if it weren’t for my promise with So-eun, I wouldn’t have endured this long either, and I might have given up halfway and climbed the Tower much earlier.

She had always been my support.

For her sake, I held her tightly in my arms and stroked her head.

“It’s okay. I’m here. I won’t disappear, so you don’t need to worry.”

First, I wanted to reassure her. How much must she have searched for me to not relax her grip even a little?

Though she was somewhat stimulated by my words, she didn’t relax her strength but raised her head to look up at me.

“Really..?”

“Yeah. You know well that I’m not someone who lies.”

So-eun shook her head and made a slightly pouty expression.

“No… you’re a liar. You said you’d come see me soon but didn’t come even after waiting 10 years.”

Even in an emotional state, she’s fundamentally smart and quick to assess situations.

She couldn’t not know.

Seeing my reaction, she seemed to have already noticed that I had memories from the first round.

So I did what I wanted to do first when I met her.

“Sorry. I wanted to come up as someone who could properly apologize to you… as someone who wouldn’t be ashamed. But that took too long. I’m really sorry. It was my fault.”

I wanted to apologize.

Having cast off all inferiority complex, jealousy, and patheticness.

To her who was hurt by my harsh words and actions, I wanted to sincerely ask for forgiveness for my wrongs.

Not simply to make myself feel better, but hoping that the wounds caused by me would heal even a little.

“…Did you think of me there?”

Though her expression softened somewhat, rather than mentioning forgiveness, So-eun asked a small question.

“Every day. Not a single day passed without thinking of you.”

It’s not a lie.

Her, who was my friend, teacher, and support.

Her, who became the driving force of my growth.

I never forgot her for even a single day.

When I wanted to apologize so much, forgetting the target of that apology would make no sense.

Her expression completely relaxed upon hearing my answer. There was even a small smile playing around her lips.

“Then… I’ll forgive you. Since you thought of me five times more than I did.”

Saying I thought of her five times more means So-eun also thought of me every day.

The time difference between the Tutorial and Tower is exactly 5 times.

Was her guilt that great?

The guilt of causing my death must have been deep enough to make her unable to forget me for even a single day.

She was such a precious friend. And I was a bastard who spat harsh words at such a precious friend.

“Thank you. But… let’s not do this here and go inside instead? We can’t keep doing this. Oh, you don’t need to report this. The door just suddenly broke, so I already called for repair service.”

People were starting to peek at us through the broken front door one by one, and I could see someone about to call the police, so I stopped them first.

“I’m fine with staying like this…”

She didn’t seem to care about other people’s actions or gazes.

I needed another way to divert her attention. That’s when a brilliant idea flashed in my mind.

“I wanted to cook for you too. I practiced hard in the Tutorial for that, so don’t you want to try the food I made?”

Her eyes lit up slightly and she nodded.

“I want to eat it.”

The plan succeeded.

“Instead, please go inside. I’ll handle things here myself.”

Just because there’s no magic doesn’t mean a master craftsman who made legendary artifacts can’t fix a simple door like this.

Though the door was somewhat dented, if I properly repaired just the hinges, I could make it look decent.

Since I’d be moving to the Tutorial tomorrow anyway, I just needed it to look good enough not to get reported to the police.

“You won’t… run away, right?”

Though she released the strength in her tightly gripping arms, she was still holding onto my collar.

She seemed worried I might disappear somewhere.

“Why would I run away leaving you behind? That will absolutely never happen, so wait just a little.”

“Okay.”

After watching her head toward the living room, I took out a small toolbox from a corner of the house.

And I took a hammer to first properly straighten the dented door.

CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!

Next, I used other tools to secure the hinges, and it took on an appearance that at least wouldn’t get reported.

As expected, my reliable livelihood Blacksmithing. How dependable.

“Phew… shall I go in now?”

Now that I’d fixed the door, I was about to go inside and cook as promised, when suddenly helicopter sounds came from the sky.

Naturally thinking it was just a passing helicopter, I ignored it and tried to enter the house, but that helicopter wasn’t moving away and was getting closer and closer to our house.

What the hell is that?

Obviously, in the first round, there was absolutely no incident of a helicopter suddenly visiting our house.

The helicopter stopped at some point, opened its door, and lowered a ladder.

And what I could see through the helicopter’s door were two familiar faces.

“Han Yeong-min!”

“Master!”

Baek Ran and Baek Ryeon.

My two disciples had come to find me. Seeing that they hadn’t lost their memories of me, though we haven’t talked yet, those two were definitely regressors too.

“They said it was a good family, but the scale is different from the start…”

Their approach was just different.

I had wondered if they might have regressed like me, but I never even imagined they would make such a surprise helicopter entrance.

Who could predict this?

Even Nostradamus would concede defeat here.

Really.