Chapter 44: Regressor in Action (1)

 

“Why don’t you just hand over the mark and leave?”

 

“Haah... You think kidnapping someone is easy? There’s a kind of vigilante group among the residents too.”

 

“Isn’t it because we know it’s hard that we’re asking you to hand it over? You can just complete the quest again anyway. We can’t.”

 

When I walked down that familiar alley, a woman with a golden symbol floating above her head was being confronted by a trio of thugs.

 

“Get lost.”

 

Before the thugs could react, I forcefully elbowed them at the back of their heads. I used my elbow instead of my fist, thinking these blockheads might injure my knuckles on impact.

 

It had always been my dream to strike these insolent jerks like this. Ah, it feels so refreshing inside.

 

“...! Are you crazy?”

 

The woman asked with wide, shocked eyes, and the three thugs blacked out with their eyes rolled back.

 

‘One... Two...’

 

Ignoring them, I silently counted in my mind.

 

I had acted out violently without restraint.

 

I wonder... how long will it take for the City Lord to arrive?

 

‘Three...’

 

Roughly 3 seconds, as I perceived it, had passed when...

 

“Assault. The verdict is 3 hours in prison.”

 

Flash!

 

Everything went white, and I blacked out.

 

 

 

***

 

“Alright, alright. Fine.”

 

To be honest, I thought I’d at least see the face of the City Lord, but I never expected to lose consciousness in an instant.

 

Actually, I didn’t even feel any pain. Her work was exceptionally clean.

 

Whether I died or just passed out, I don’t know... but I’ve confirmed that the City Lord isn’t someone to be trifled with.

 

Honestly, I don’t even know what hit me. At the very least, I had seen the afterimage of Choi Ji-won’s blade. But against the City Lord, I couldn’t see anything.

 

If I gathered all the city’s residents and activated the hero’s trait, could I win?

 

No... It doesn’t seem likely. The very act of gathering everyone is a challenge in itself. It’s also unclear if the city’s residents even perceive the City Lord as an enemy.

 

“Though I could exploit ‘that’ if I wanted to...”

 

However, there was a loophole in the rules of the second floor.

 

The City Lord doesn’t appear immediately after an act of violence.

 

3 seconds. There’s a 3-second grace period before their attack reaches me.

 

And with my current physical abilities... I believe I could sprint from the alley’s entrance and reach the angel in about 3 seconds.

 

“Hmm, then I should give it a try.”

 

I’m tired of uncovering the hidden backstory of the second floor.

 

I don’t want to spend time contemplating the perfect solution.

 

The illogical structure of this tower? Designed to bring out people’s worst traits?

 

Fixing complexities can be addressed later.

 

After all, if I regress, all this will be undone. For now, I’ll focus on what’s right in front of me.

 

First, I’ll claim the platinum reward and think later.

 

Let me say this one more time... This time, I’m doing things my way.

 

“First...”

 

Baron Licht… I really want to give this bastard a good thrashing.

 

“Nice to meet you, I’m... Gah!”

 

While Baron Licht was smiling slyly, reaching out his hand in greeting, I smacked him square in the face.

 

Instantly, Baron Licht collapsed, unconscious.

 

Whack!

 

After delivering a powerful kick to the fallen man, I quickly pulled a platinum mark from his waistband and tucked it into my pocket.

 

Woosh!

 

Immediately, a platinum symbol appeared over my head. Its size was massive, and the brilliance of its shimmer was blinding.

 

It was like walking around with a billboard on my head. If I were to step out of the mansion in this state, word would spread in no time.

 

People from other streets would all flock to form a barrier around me, and the players in this area would surely question how I obtained the platinum mark and try to stop me.

 

And I can’t resort to violence against them. Why? Because the City Lord is watching...

 

Just by stepping outside the mansion, my every move is restricted. The greed of others threatens to obstruct my achievements.

 

Under normal circumstances, I wouldn’t be able to leave the mansion...

 

But that’s alright. I’ve got a plan of my own.

 

I discreetly called a resident passing by the mansion’s entrance.

 

“Hey, resident there. Oh, look up! On the second floor of the mansion.”

 

“Um, yes?”

 

“I’m a climber. And I just knocked out that hateful Baron Licht. As proof, you can see the platinum symbol floating above my head.”

 

“Ah, yes... I see it.”

 

“You’re thankful, aren’t you?”

 

The resident nods nervously.

 

“...I think so… He was a hateful guy.”

 

“Can you help me then?”

 

“How can I... I’m just an ordinary resident. I don’t have the power to help.”

 

“It’s alright. It’s a simple task. Can you fetch me a set of clothes? If you assist me, I’ll give you a special pill. It’ll improve your strength.”

 

“...It improves strength…? Is that for real?”

 

It seems I’ve finally found a practical use for the berserker’s pill.

 

.

.

.

.

 

Just now, a player dressed in leather armor brushed past me.

 

Surprisingly, he showed no interest in me whatsoever. He didn’t even glance my way.

 

The reason was simple.

 

I wasn’t wearing the recognizable leather armor but an ordinary cloth outfit like the residents wear.

 

In the first place, it was funny that the only way to tell players apart was their clothes.

 

By deliberately changing outfits, there was no other way to identify them.

 

“...Looks similar to that Asian guy who appeared in front of me earlier.”

 

David-something, an African American, passed by, tilting his head as if puzzled.

 

Even someone who had seen my face before couldn’t recognize me just because of a change in clothing.

 

It’s because the armor is unmistakably an item. Logically, there’s no reason to take it off - Unless you’re trying to disguise yourself like me.

 

In a place where people’s outfits are standardized according to their ranks, changing clothes turned out to be an excellent disguise.

 

Of course, a question might arise here.

 

With such a large, beautiful symbol floating above my head, why don’t people recognize me? Why do they just pass by?

 

The solution is simple.

 

“You’re keeping it safe, right?”

 

“...Yes.”

 

I had entrusted the platinum mark to the resident who had provided me with the clothing earlier.

 

I was worried the resident might suddenly turn and cast magic on me, but fortunately, that didn’t happen.

 

It seems the criteria for residents’ personalities to change is determined by the ‘mark creation box’, not simply by possessing the mark.

 

Also, the symbol appears above one’s head only when a player holds the mark.

 

If a resident holds the mark, no symbol appears. That’s why when I handed over the mark to him, there was no symbol above the resident’s head.

 

In simple words, if a resident is holding the mark, there’s no attention drawn.

 

Thus, I could stroll around the streets pretending to be a resident and stay out of the players’ notice.

 

It was, without a doubt, the perfect plan.

 

Smoothly navigating the streets, crossing alleys, and nearing the square, I spotted some thug-like figures blocking the way.

 

“...Hey, aren’t they just residents? Let’s let them through.”

 

“Man, are you clueless? Didn’t you hear what Ji-hoon said earlier? Some guys changed into resident clothes and passed by here. The roadblockers only realized it after those players had reached the angel.”

 

“...That happened? How did Ji-hoon find out?”

 

“He heard it from the guy who taught him how to block the path. That guy took a gold mark as payment and moved on ahead. Hey, you two residents, come here.”

 

While we managed to disguise ourselves perfectly as residents, these guys seemed to be the professionals of road-blocking.

 

They were overly cautious, even with seemingly trivial matters - It was indeed the mindset of successful people.

 

The thug calling us over puffed out his chest and leaned in towards me.

 

“Go ahead, punch my chest. I heard residents can use violence on players.”

 

“...”

 

Is this guy some elite thug? He quickly devised a perfect way to distinguish between players and residents—As a player would be too scared of repercussions to punch him. However, for a resident, there would be no consequences.

 

But what he didn’t consider...

 

“Thank you for helping up to this point. You can give it to me now.”

 

“...Okay.”

 

...is that I came prepared to knock someone out if necessary.

 

As the resident handed me the platinum mark from his possession, a brilliant platinum symbol immediately appeared above my head.

 

“Wha, what the...”

 

At the moment when the two dumbfounded thugs opened their mouths wide in surprise, I forcefully pushed the thug who had asked me to punch his chest and immediately dashed towards the angel.

 

3 seconds left…

 

I ran, squeezing every ounce of strength from my leg muscles, sprinting as fast as I could.

 

2 seconds…

 

“Hey! Angel over there! I have the mark! Send me straight to the first floor now!”

 

I alerted the angel in advance that I had the mark. She looked a bit taken aback but nodded in understanding.

 

Then, with 1 second left,

 

Just before the City Lord’s impending punishment could befall me,

 

I hurled myself toward the newly created portal...

 

Whoosh!

 

 

 

I successfully passed through the portal, returning to the first floor.

 

My plan had worked perfectly.

– – – End of Chapter – – -

 

[TL: Mc’s trait regresses him to the moment he first enters a floor, which, in this case, means if he’s injured before entering the third floor he’ll regress to the moment he first entered the second floor. It’s because, unlike other novels, this tower doesn’t send everyone to the next floor but to the first floor to rest every time a floor is cleared.

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