Chapter 38: Rapid Changes on Earth (3)

 

One might think my claim—that humanity would self-destruct within a mere decade—is an exaggeration.

 

However, the reason I think this way is because there are mainly two types of people who are passionately climbing the Tower right now.

 

Either heroes who risk their lives for the sake of humanity out of a sense of duty, or lunatics who can risk their lives without a second thought simply to become stronger.

 

The problem lies with the lunatics.

 

They are likely growing by leaps and bounds as they fervently ascend the Tower.

 

Even at this moment, I could probably win a gold medal if I participated in the Olympics. But what if a year goes by, or five years, or ten?

 

What if immense power that can part the sea and level mountains ends up in the hands of a madman?

 

What if a lunatic, who could destroy Earth ‘just for fun,’ emerges?

 

Humanity wouldn’t stand a chance.

 

That’s why I think humanity will be doomed in 10 years.

 

It’s the same reason why modern political systems distribute power in fragmented pieces here and there.

 

Power that is consolidated is strong, but it’s also unstable. Everything would be reliant on that one individual who wields the power, after all.

 

In the end, the task at hand is simple.

 

Climb the Tower as quickly as possible. Conquer this Tower before people become too powerful. And prevent the Earth from being destroyed as someone’s twisted joke.

 

But first, I decided to wait for about another month to observe how things would unfold.

 

『 U.S. Government Officially Recommends Climbing to the 2nd Floor... ‘Internal Investigation of Survival Rate Proves It’s Not Dangerous.’ 』

 

It seems that the floor embargo might apply to players as well, as I was unable to access information about the 2nd floor. Probably because I’m still lingering on the 1st floor.

 

All I could learn was that it was ‘relatively safe.’

 

『 ‘Tower’ Items: The Future Resource for Humanity? Global Corporations Begin Investigations. 』

 

Since it was revealed that items could be brought back from the Tower, countries started to systematically support Tower expeditions.

 

They also began to craft hero narratives around native players who showed visible achievements.

 

『 U.S. Government Launches Player Association... Inaugural Chairman is ‘Mighty Michael’ Michael Jeter. 』

 

The United States was the first to take action.

 

They churned out special legislation at an impressively rapid pace, as if they had been preparing in advance.

 

They also created a ‘Player Association’ to officially support players. But the “support” mostly consisted of connecting them with special forces instructors, promoting them as national heroes, and providing generous financial backing.

 

Though players who have reached the first floor might not see much benefit in this... it was surprisingly effective.

 

Of course, Players could lead materially abundant lives on the first floor, but… As is always the case with humans, they were not alone…

 

『 High-Grade Potion Auctioned for 2 Billion Dollars in New York. 』

 

…For their families, for their friends, for their lovers, or because they aspired to be heroes—the number of people registering with the Player Association continued to grow day by day.

 

『 Korean Government Awards Player Choi Ji-won Presidential Commendation... First in the Country to Successfully Climb to the 10th Floor. 』

 

Another familiar name appeared in the Korean news.

 

Choi Ji-won. Given that she’s an incredible overachiever, her rising prominence seemed inevitable.

 

The media even took the opportunity to put her father back in the spotlight.

 

The reason governments around the world were elevating heroes was simple—To placate an enraged public, visible achievements were needed.

 

They needed something to show that the government was taking action.

 

The politicians chose players as that symbol.

 

『 China Announces World’s First Successful Climb to the 20th Floor. Credibility Low. 』

 

In the current situation, there was no way to verify how far anyone had actually climbed.

 

Society had not improved. Incidents of crimes by Players hadn’t decreased. But thanks to the existence of these heroes, the people could see a glimmer of light.

 

Of course, if I set my mind to it, I could regress and find myself right beside Choi Ji-won. No, eventually, I could even become the world’s best player and monopolize wealth and fame.

 

But there was a reason I chose not to.

 

It might seem out of the blue, but survivors of the tutorial, officially called ‘players,’ wanted to share their stories.

 

Those who had gone through extreme experiences had been mentally drained, and they found solace in sharing their stories.

 

But, only a player could listen to another’s story and empathize with another player.

 

Thus, the establishment of a site called ‘PlayerNet’ was, in a way, inevitable.

 

The reason I suddenly brought up PlayerNet was simple.

 

Because my story got posted there.

 

<Sharing a story where everyone survived the tutorial.>

 

{You know, I’ve read all the tutorial-related posts you guys wrote? Really, fighting through life-or-death situations... it seemed grueling.

 

But here’s the kicker—I never fought. To be precise, I didn’t do anything in the tutorial. Sounds impossible, right?

 

I find it unbelievable myself.

 

First of all, just like you guys, I woke up in an empty lot after fainting. I was so out of it that I was just sitting there, staring into space, until this elf-like creature appeared.

 

Then suddenly, some guy stood up. I can’t remember his name, but he had this oddly captivating aura about him. Not model-level good-looking, but you can’t help but keep watching him, you know what I mean?

 

Anyway, this guy starts going on about how we need to stick together... but I wasn’t listening. I was too busy checking out his face. Then he suddenly picks up a sword and starts dancing with it.

 

Honestly, it was the first time I’d ever seen someone handle a sword that well. Should I say I felt a little overwhelmed? After his sword dance, he looked like a different person. Cool but also a bit frightening.

 

I was slightly intimidated, so I just sat still. Then this guy started chatting with some woman, told us to wait for a moment, and vanished after cutting some grass. He reappeared about an hour later and told us to follow him.

 

When I followed him, I saw literally thousands of goblins fighting among themselves, and he just told us to ignore them and keep walking;

 

I was so freaked out I almost ran away, but then thought, “screw it” and followed him. I felt like this guy must have some sort of plan.

 

But when we got there, there was… umm… this massive bull-headed monster…? The thing was as big as a truck, wielding an axe and making a racket, so I naturally shrunk back a bit.

 

Then all of a sudden, the bull-headed thing charged straight at me; I was running away in panic, and then some middle-aged guy grabbed me and told me to look behind.

 

I turned around, and the bull-headed monster’s head was rolling on the ground;

 

Next, a goblin shaman or something suddenly dropped dead, and a portal opened. Since I didn’t do anything during the trial, they said I was innocent and let me go.

 

I’m glad to be alive, but I can’t shake this uneasy feeling. They say it’s safe, but I’m too scared to go to the second floor.

 

If that guy suddenly decides to go berserk and kill everyone, I have no confidence that I’ll survive.}

 

===

 

-Is this for real? You expect us to believe this?

 

-No joke. I was in the same tutorial as this guy, and it’s all factual, no exaggeration. By the way, that ‘some woman’ turned out to be Choi Ji-won. That guy is even stronger than her.

 

-I’ve seen the bull-headed monster too. It looked like it could wipe out a thousand people.

 

-If this is real, isn’t that guy a regressor? How does a newbie just entering the tower pull something like this off?

 

-Exactly. Earth must’ve already been destroyed once, and the last survivor used some sort of regression artifact to come back. He’s probably monopolizing all the hidden pieces.

 

-If anyone knows the contact info for the person in the post, I’ll compensate you. Please DM me.

 

“…”

 

I had no intention of playing the hero anymore.

 

To be precise, I was planning to lay as low as possible.

 

Even if I had to utilize my abilities, I planned to keep my identity a secret.

 

I showed too much in the tutorial. In my obsession to save everyone, I unknowingly made a terrible mistake.

 

The greatest vulnerability for someone like me, who’s essentially invincible because I’m a regressor, is ‘having the fact that I can regress discovered.’

 

Why? Because there’s a clear counter to regressors.

 

Sealing.

 

Death regressors are fearless. They boldly show their faces here and there, armed with the confidence that if they die, they can just restart. They’re inherently careless.

 

But what happens if a regressor, be it through magic, items, or whatever, gets sealed?

 

Their ability to regress becomes useless.

 

They’re stripped of the right to die and restart. Their body remains frozen until the end of the world, maybe even beyond that.

 

Of course, the conditions for my regression are far less stringent. I can regress with just a scratch, so if I quickly self-harm before being sealed, I might be able to avoid it. Maybe I can even regress while getting injured in the sealing process.

 

But still, there’s nothing good about being known as a regressor. There’s no telling when or where some lunatic will appear to target me.

 

Yet, I haven’t given up my dream of earning some fame.

 

My goal is... to build casual relationships with the top heroes in the tower, including Choi Ji-won.

 

I’m aiming for a relationship where we know each other, but aren’t overly close. A relationship that won’t mess with my mental state.

 

I believe that if they are genuinely good heroes climbing the tower, they will help me out knowingly or unknowingly, even if they don’t know about what I’ve done.

 

Once they conquer the tower and get their rewards, I should be able to claim a spot by their side.

 

To put it in a nutshell... I plan to ascend the tower as quickly and secretly as possible.

 

And there was one prerequisite for achieving my goal.

 

Increasing my strength.

 

I must become as strong as possible. And I must ascend the tower as quickly as possible.

 

After scanning the news to cram information into my head, I slammed the back of my hand with a strong fist.

 

 

 

***

 

“Ah, it’s a bit disorienting since it’s been a while.”

 

Is this my first regression in two months?

 

In truth, I had been extremely cautious during this period, wary of accidentally triggering a regression.

 

I had not only put up mosquito nets for fear of mosquito bites, but I had also padded my hard furniture with foam.

 

I was able to safely endure two months, but experiencing this sensation again felt incredibly unfamiliar.

 

‘But I’ll have to get used to it.’

 

I intend to exploit this ability to the fullest from now on.

 

“Shall we begin?”

 

The current moment is right when I entered the 1st floor—To be precise, the instant I received the Berserker’s Pill from the angel and entered the 1st floor without being able to injure myself.

 

I wasted no time and took the ‘Berserker’s Pill’ I was holding.

 

 

A warm energy surged deep within my body. Sweat beads formed on the surface of my skin.

 

Yet the stat window, only revealing a message of increased stat, continued to keep its details hidden.

 

You elusive little thing. Planning to hide until the very end, are you?

 

But that’s okay. What matters is that my stats have increased, even if I can’t see them.

 

I slammed the back of my hand once more.

 

 

 

***

 

Once again, I looked down at the ‘Berserker’s Pill’ in my hand.

 

There was a reason why I didn’t immediately swallow it after I received it from the angel.

 

For an Infinite Regressor like me, such pills are more precious than anything else. If you know their location, you can consume them repeatedly.

 

A senior Regressor I know, Mr. Baek, always starts his regressions by first collecting elixirs hidden in sacred mountains.

 

Of course, I can’t infinitely increase my Strength stat through this pill... but that’s okay.

 

The mere fact that I can increase my strength up to its current possible limit will bring enormous benefits.

 

Gulp!

 

I swallowed the ‘Berserker’s Pill’ immediately.

 

From now on, there won’t be a place where I’ll be outmatched in terms of strength. A face-to-face confrontation? I’ll overcome them all with overwhelming power.

 

As I was envisioning such a rosy future and reviewing my plans...

 

“...Cough!”

 

Something wriggled in my throat.

 

Even though I had swallowed it, the ‘Berserker’s Pill’ seemed to come back to life and jump back out from my esophagus.

 

 

“...Ha.”

 

I let out a sigh of disappointment as I read the message that appeared before my eyes.

 

God, you...

 

You blocked this, huh...

– – – End of Chapter – – -

 

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