Regression Is Too Much

You have entered the 12th floor.

“…”

As soon as I regained my senses, I collapsed onto the bed. When people suffer psychological shock, they instinctively want to lie down. And if the shock is severe enough… they never get up again.

‘That Mole Guy bastard.’

Weren’t you confident? You cleared difficulty level 9 with ease. But at level 25, only your body returned without the head? Ha, f*ck. Can you not even assess your own abilities properly?

‘And that woman.’

The fire woman. Was that the first time she had seen someone die? She couldn’t even manage basic control and ended up causing this mess. Didn’t she see people die on the 4th floor? You guys haven’t known each other for long anyway. There shouldn’t be any deep loyalty.

“…No, that’s an asshole way of thinking.”

I forced myself to refocus, reining in my thoughts before they spiraled out of control. Lately, my mindset has been off. My thoughts kept veering toward violence. To be honest, it started on the 3rd floor—when I cut off Dok Su-hee’s arm. After dodging arrows in that trap hundreds of times, my mind started feeling… strange.

…Fuck.

“Alright, let’s get it together.”

Now wasn’t the time for this. Lying in bed, wallowing in frustration, wasn’t going to change anything. I needed to organize the information I had and plan my next steps.

For the next eleven days.

“…”

I should start by going over what I’ve learned. First off, the Mole Guy cleared difficulty level 9 relatively easily. His armor had only suffered minor scratches, meaning he had completed it without much struggle. However, at difficulty level 25, it took him a long time, and in the end, he failed. He returned as a headless corpse.

The key detail here is that it took him a long time. The enemies on the 12th floor are black mannequins. I doubt they toyed with him or deliberately dragged out the fight—they didn’t seem intelligent enough for that.

Which means… the enemy at difficulty 25 and the Mole Guy were fairly evenly matched. They fought for twenty minutes before he ultimately lost by a narrow margin.

In wuxia novels, fights sometimes last three days and nights, but in reality, a one-on-one battle between evenly matched opponents drains an insane amount of stamina and energy. Even twenty minutes is a long fight.

Didn’t I fight for three days and nights on the 4th floor? Sure, but that was thanks to my Hero trait, and my enemies were much weaker than me.

“So basically… level 25 is way too difficult.”

Which means the Mole Guy’s skill level is slightly below difficulty 25. He’s probably around level 23. If he had chosen difficulty 20 from the start, he would have survived. But he got greedy, picked 25, and died for it.

This raises three key questions.

First: Just how strong are the people clearing the 12th floor with me?

“…”

At first, I had no doubt that the others progressing with me on this floor were top-tier players. But as time went on, I started having doubts.

I may have wasted a lot of time here and there, but the fact remains—I climbed the Tower quickly using regression. And the people I met along the way were all exceptionally skilled.

Kang Chan and Ahn Kyung-Joon on the 3rd floor. William Smith, Yoon Jung-hyun, and Glasses Guy(Ahn Kyung-Nam) on the 4th floor. Felix from Germany on the 11th floor, along with other top-tier players. Especially the ones on the 11th floor—some of them were strong enough to force me to regress multiple times. These were people with talent, powerful traits, and unshakable determination.

But the ones here… feel different.

They didn’t farm enough on the 11th floor. They lacked tension and focus. And more importantly, they didn’t have that sharp, instinctual presence that top-tier players usually exude. When standing next to them, I didn’t get that odd sensation—the kind that made my muscles tense up or my neck prickle.

At first, I thought I was imagining things. But seeing that guy die at difficulty 25… makes me think I wasn’t wrong.

Of course, there’s still the possibility that level 25 is just ridiculously hard. I’ll need to verify that later.

That brings me to the second question: What happens if someone dies during the test?

If a participant dies mid-test, does their score still get deducted? The score was 90 points before the Mole Guy attempted difficulty 25. Now that he’s dead, is the remaining score 65? Or does it stay at 90? It happened so quickly that I didn’t catch what happened.

And what if five people take the test, but not all points are used? If there are 90 points to spend but only 80 get used, leaving 10 left… does that mean we fail?

<12th Floor>

Pass a total of three rounds of “tests.” Each person can only participate once each round. If the final test is failed, no rewards will be granted.

All rewards are distributed individually after clearing the 12th floor.

That was the message that appeared when we entered the room. The key word here is “fail.”

How exactly is success or failure determined? At first glance, it seems like a team challenge.

But then I have to remember the 11th floor’s twisted design—how it was set up so that one crazy bastard could ruin everything for everyone else.

If this isn’t a team challenge but an individual one… then success and failure might only apply on a personal level.

In the worst-case scenario, I might have to carry all the remaining points alone. I need to be prepared for the possibility that the others could betray me.

And finally, the third question: How much can I handle when I can’t properly use mana?

Ever since I caught that “cold” on the 10th floor, I haven’t been able to use mana at full power. If I overdo it, I take damage and regress.

Considering that I’m probably the most experienced mana user among humans… this is a major handicap.

-Gulp.

After a moment of contemplation, I reached into the subspace and pulled out an elixir, downing it in one go.

Unlike the “Lowest-Grade Elixir” I drank before, this was a “Low-Grade Elixir.” It tasted noticeably better.

As I waited for the signature refreshing sensation of the elixir to spread through my body, I slowly attempted to move my mana.

The lingering ‘cold energy’ hadn’t completely disappeared, but it had weakened significantly. When I infused my sword with mana, the external chilling effect remained unchanged. It seemed the elixir had mitigated the penalties that came with using mana.

But since I had already consumed an elixir, there was no reason to stop here.

This time, I drew mana throughout my entire body while simultaneously channeling it into my sword, letting it surge and flow. I unleashed the Mana Swordsmanship I had learned from my clone on the 5th floor with full force.

“Huuuup…”

A chilling aura filled the small room.

Frost began to form on the bed, the bookshelf, and even the microwave. A cold mist billowed from my body, swirling ominously.

Normally, inhaled air is cool, and exhaled air is warm. But now, even my breath was freezing.

Yet, my mind remained crystal clear. Strength surged through my entire body, and my grip on the sword felt solid, like it was a natural extension of my hand.

I had reached my peak state, fully focused, just as I was about to swing my sword—

“Kuh…!”

A sharp, crushing pain erupted in my chest.

Still holding my sword, I collapsed on the spot.

You have been injured.

Regressing to the moment you first entered the 12th floor.

***

“Okay.”

The test run confirmed it—drinking an elixir greatly reduced the side effects of my ‘cold mana.’

However, I didn’t want to waste my elixirs unless it was an absolute emergency. If I could clear the 12th floor without relying on them, that would be the best option.

With that, my preparations were complete.

Now, all I had to do was wait for the next eleven days.

Anyone who has served in the military knows this well—doing absolutely nothing can be an excruciatingly difficult task.

Right now, it was tolerable. But over time, that kind of inactivity builds up, weighing heavily on the mind.

“…”

I needed to clear the 12th floor with the least amount of regressions possible.

Repeating this thought to myself, I slowly drifted into sleep.

***

Eleven Days Later.

“Wow, what is this place? They even have a microwave?”

“Guys! Where are you?”

“Hello?”

Finally, after days of waiting, the group arrived on the 12th floor.

I had already washed my face and even shaved in preparation. Wasting no time, I quickly gathered them and led them toward the test.

***

- Before we begin the first test, please select your reward for the first round.

[1] Low-Grade Potion x10

[5] Customized Item Box (B~D Rank)

[10] Universal Elixir – Increases all stats by 3.

“Hm.”

Last time, I had chosen [10].

But this time, I selected [1].

It was part of a long-term plan.

Once the selection was complete and the protective barrier around us disappeared, I noticed the other players sitting in their chairs.

It seemed most of them had finished choosing their rewards around the same time.

Ah, except for Glasses Girl—she was still deciding.

- All climbers have made their selection.

A moment later, her barrier vanished as well, followed by the same mechanical voice echoing through the space.

Above the elevator, the number [26] glowed faintly.

Last time, it had been [35].

So either someone was lying again… or there was a default score of 5 points.

“Alright, hear me out. I think this is some kind of loyalty game.”

Just like before, Glasses Girl began explaining her theory.

It was the usual phase where players revealed their chosen rewards.

When I mentioned that I had picked [1], some of the guys sneered at me slightly.

A minor change from the last round, but overall… everything played out exactly the same.

The first test was cleared without any major issues or injuries.

However…

I can’t let things continue like this.

If everything plays out exactly the same way…

The Mole Guy will die.

I will be burned alive and forced to regress again.

I won’t let that happen.

I slowly stood up, drawing the attention of the group.

Right now, my goal wasn’t to earn the best possible rewards.

“Everyone, please listen to me for a moment.”

Even if it meant getting trash-tier rewards—

I was determined to escape this loop in this timeline.

– – End of Chapter ––

[TL: Join Patreon to support the translation and to read up to 5 chapters ahead of the release: /HappyCat60

Join our Discord server for regular updates and have fun with other community members: invite/SqWtJpPtm9 ]