Regressor Instruction Manual

“I… I did it…” a woman mumbled.

“...”

“I… I… I did it! O-Oppa… S-Sora, I did it!” the woman shouted.

“...” “He… hehehe… hehehehe! Hehehe… pfft!” The woman giggled.

“...”

“O-O-Oppa! Hehe… hehehehe!” the woman shouted.

It was a pitiful sight.

“Hehehehe… hehehehehehe…” The woman giggled.

I[1] was sure I wasn’t the only one who felt this way, and just as I expected, I saw people casting pitying gazes at her. This sight was actually common in Rohen. People like her appeared pretty often here, so she couldn’t be considered a special case at all.

There were many reasons behind her mental state. She could have gone on a monster hunt or a dungeon expedition, but she was the only survivor and lost every person close to her. She could have also participated in a war and witnessed some awful scenes on the battlefield.

There was also a chance that she encountered a psychic-type monster capable of inflicting mental-type attacks.

Some people kept on denying the fact that they had been summoned to another world, while some couldn't adapt during the tutorial dungeon.

The Rohen Continent was cold and indifferent, especially toward those with weak minds.

More often than not, death wasn’t what awaited those who weren't chosen by the GENIUSES or couldn’t make a connection with a familia. They would usually become like her. The sight wasn’t a big deal, but her outfit was the reason people were looking at her with pitying gazes.

‘A dress and… white heels.’

Her outfit seemed more suitable for Earth than Rohen.

The woman was mumbling and smiling in the middle of the square, so she was probably summoned here recently.

She wasn’t a low-ranking player on Rohen but a rookie who had just arrived on the continent. Either she didn’t join or was kicked out of the Beginner’s Academy. She had to have been unable to adapt to her circumstances, which led to her becoming homesick and eventually mentally ill.

I could tell by the two small dolls she was holding tightly in her hands.

Actually, were those even dolls? The poorly rolled-up cloths were shaped like humans, and their faces looked like they were drawn by a child. I noticed that they were sewn, and she had to have made them with great difficulty, as evidenced by the fact that her fingers were wrapped in dirty rags.

She even looked horrible. Clearly, she hadn't washed up for months because I could smell her stench all the way from here, and her hair was in a mess. There were unknown stains on her white dress and heels. She also had a habit of biting her nails and scratching her head vigorously.

Had she been living outside the city and had just entered the city? I wasn’t really interested because there was no need for me to know the horrors that she had to endure outside, but…

‘How did such a small… and cute child…’

End up with such severe emotional scars?

What kind of trauma had she experienced that she was wandering around the square looking like that?

“Unni, you’re not having strange thoughts again, are you?” a woman asked me.

“Huh?”

“You’ve been… staring at her for a while now.” She pointed out.

“...”

“You remember saying that the last time was the last time, right?” she asked me.

“It’s not… like that,” I mumbled.

“I’m just reminding you… that we don’t have any room. We’re not volunteers… and bringing in more people will make things harder for us. It’s different from taking in stray cats and dogs. Not only that, she’s also crazy."

“...”

“Only major familias can do charity work. We’re a party that just started settling in… and Se-Hyung oppa left the party last time because you meddled so much. You promised that won’t happen again…” the woman said, reminding me.

“But… I think she’s Korean… We’re from the same country, so we should help each other out,” I argued.

“Who cares?! No one cares about that here! If you’re going to bring that up, the last person who backstabbed us last time was Korean as well! Just thinking about that asshole running away with our money makes my blood boil…” the woman complained.

“But she doesn’t have any place to go… Don’t you think it’s too cold-hearted for us to ignore her? I think we should at least offer her a place to stay for the night and offer her warm food,” I said.

“One night becomes one month, and one month becomes forever, unni,” she argued.

“But… I still feel bad for her. If she continues living like that, she won’t last a week. Actually… I don’t even know if she’ll get through today… Someone should do something,” I told her.

“...”

“...”

“Ahh! Do whatever you want. Gosh!” Chae-Ryeong roared and stomped away, but she seemed like she wanted me to take care of that woman as well. She was also in a horrible state when she was rescued, so I was sure that woman reminded her of her past self. Just as I expected, I saw her immediately heading toward the square.

“Hey, you…” Chae-Ryeong called out.

“You’ll scare her if you talk that way, Chae-Ryeong,” I said.

“...”

“Excuse me… do you have a moment?” I asked.

“...”

“Excuse me… um… umm… do you… have a moment?” I asked again.

The woman finally heard me because she looked at me.

‘Huh?’

Something about her seemed off, but that feeling was erased as soon as I sensed her being extremely wary of us. Perhaps it was because we were standing too close to her. With that in mind, we took a step backward to tell her that we meant no harm, and I saw her relaxing a bit.

However, she was still scared, and I could see her hunched over, seemingly in fear.

The sight broke my heart, so I took another step backward and asked, “I’m Nam Goong-Seon. And you are?"

“...”

“...”

“...”

After a while, she stammered, “J-Jung Ha-Yan…”

“Ah, that’s a pretty name. Ha-Yan… Jung Ha-Yan,” I said.

“...”

“If you don’t mind me asking… do you have a place to stay?” I asked.

“...”

She was warier than I thought. My heart ached when I noticed how cautious she was with her words. She had to have been through a lot…

“Miss Ha-Yan… please listen and don’t misunderstand. We… want to help you…” I said.

“...”

“We can give you a place to stay… food… and…” I paused.

“I don’t… need your help…” she mumbled.

“What?”

“I’m… going to go meet my o-oppa…” she stuttered.

“...”

“...”

“Huh?”

“I’m… going to meet… o-o-o-oppa. A-Ah! S-Sora as well,” Jung Ha-Yan added.

She smiled brightly as she looked down at her dolls.

“D-Do you mean your older-”

“M-My boyfriend. Ah… ahh… no. M-My fiance… my fiance… he… hehe… yeah, my fiance…” Jung Ha-Yan interrupted me.

“...”

“I-I’m sure we came here together… but we got separated on the way here…” Jung Ha-Yan said.

“Ah.”

‘So he died.’

They were lucky enough to be summoned together, but his fiance had to have died in the tutorial dungeon, and the shock of it rendered her in this state. I could tell how important he was to her based on her smile while talking about him. Earlier, she was timid, but now she sounded and looked a little happier while talking about him.

“I see,” I said.

“O-Oppa… he… hehe…” she giggled.

“Unni… I think… she—”

“Don’t say anything, Chae-Ryeong. T-Then, Miss Ha-Yan, how about…” I paused.

“...”

“H-How about you rest for a moment… and take a bath?” I suggested.

“N-No… N-No…” Jung Ha-Yan mumbled.

“Ah…”

The stubborn Jung Ha-Yan finally showed a reaction. For a moment, I was shocked because she was staring at me for some reason, but I nodded after realizing what she was staring at.

She was looking at the item hanging around my neck. I was sure she was looking at her reaction reflected in the mirror. Despite being mentally unstable, she had to have realized that she was in a bad state.

‘There’s hope.’

Knowing that she hadn't gone completely mad was a great thing. It would take some time, but the possibility of her returning to her normal self made me smile.

“I-I need to wash up,” Jung Ha-Yan said.

“...”

“I-I think I need a new set of clothes as well…” she added.

“You can wash up and change your clothes. You’re going to go meet your fiance, right? Chae-Ryeong, do you happen to have—”

“Yeah, I have it. I think we’re similar in size…” Chae-Ryeong answered.

“Hold on…” I said.

Jung Ha-Yan was hesitant at first, but she eventually nodded. And

Chae-Ryeong definitely felt relieved at the sight, as I saw her sighing in relief.

“If we just walk for about twenty minutes… Ah! Have you eaten yet?” I asked.

Rumble!

Jung Ha-Yan's stomach rumbled just then. She had to be feeling embarrassed because her face turned slightly red as she lowered her head.

“You should eat while you’re there. Chae-Ryeong, let the guild house know,” I instructed her.

“Okay, unni.”

Just as I expected, things ended smoothly. Unlike the first time when she had her guard up, she wasn't running away or throwing a fit. She actually looked like she was in a hurry because she was moving faster.

I was kind of sad because she seemed more interested in cleaning herself up and meeting her fiance than getting something to eat. However, the fact that she could hold a conversation with other people and the fact that she realized her bad state told me that her condition wasn’t all that bad.

“Unni, did you hear?” asked Chae-Ryeong.

“About what?” I asked.

“About Lee Ki-Young,” Chae-Ryeong answered.

Jung Ha-Yan stopped walking just then.

“Ah, you mean the top player at the academy? The… genius commander?” I asked.

“Yeah. He rejected the Flower and Fertility Familia’s offer and all offers made by the other familias. I heard he’s heading to Harizel… According to the rumors, he received massive support and is planning on establishing a familia,” she explained.

“Really?”

“And it’s the same for Han Sora. She rejected all the offers and is heading to Arhendel… Oh… I heard they’re lovers… they even act the same way. They’re too perfect. Looks like geniuses truly end up with other geniuses. Their starting point is really different from ours…” Chae-Ryeong added.

Thud.

“Huh?”

“Miss Ha-Yan?” I said.

“W-What… did you… j-j-j-just…” Jung Ha-Yan stuttered.

Something was wrong here.

“Uh… uh… uh… hiccup… huh?”

“Miss Ha-Yan? Miss Ha-Yan? Are you okay?” I asked.

“S-S-Sora… Sora… O-O-Oppa…” Jung Ha-Yan mumbled.

Blood flowed down from her clenched hand. Her eyes were bloodshot, and a strange mana billowed out of her. My legs shook by themselves as if I were a mouse standing in front of a cat.

I couldn’t breathe properly, and I couldn’t move or speak because of the indescribable pressure. My heart was suddenly pervaded by an instinctive fear that humans would feel upon seeing something enormous beyond their common sense.

‘Something… is wrong.’

I couldn’t help but think that way as soon as I saw her eyes.

“Y-You’re… l-lying,” Jung Ha-Yan stuttered.

‘What kind of… power…’

“Y-Y-You’re!!! Liars!!!” Jung Ha-Yan roared.

1. Nam Goong-Seon’s POV ☜