CH 11

Chapter 11: The Regressor is Quite Strong (2)

"Hup!"

Swish.

"Haat!"

Swish.

I swiftly cut down the goblins with a sword.

It was quite a grotesque sight, but it was more refreshing than repulsive. It felt somewhat like playing a violent game.

Having already heard people's dying words several times, perhaps I was mentally prepared for it.

In truth, if you only consider the disgusting aspect, it's more unsettling to kill someone with your fists. But swords were swift and precise.

"Hoo... Hoo..."

Around the time when the sun was setting, I felt the desire to take a break. I sheathed the sword and walked towards the vacant lot.

It was also time to change the sword. The blade had dulled already.

Today, I had killed more goblins than I had the whole time since coming to the tower. It was odd to have such a fine day.

If I become an expert like Choi Ji-won, will I be able to cut down goblins without damaging the blade? No, what am I thinking?

I would probably be able to even split the sky and the earth.

Lost in pleasant imagination, I returned to the vacant lot. To my surprise, there were some water and provisions placed at the entrance where I had started cutting the grass.

"Uh..."

When I turned my gaze toward Choi Ji-won, she was silently swinging her sword with her back facing me.

"..."

Indeed, that woman is kind.

Not only did she take care of all the people in the vacant lot, but she also separately prepared food and water for the crazy guy who spent the whole day cutting grass.

I poured a little water and wiped the sweat and blood from my face.

Ah, what a refreshing feeling.

‘Thank you, Choi Ji-won. I will definitely repay you.’

After expressing my gratitude in my heart, I quickly ate my meal and fell asleep in no time.

I had pleasant dreams tonight. I couldn't remember the details, though.

Repeat. Repeat. Repeat again.

While repeating the arduous labor, a thought suddenly crossed my mind.

"...Status Window."

Name: Kim Jun-ho [LV: 2]

Attributes:

- Regression [EX]

"Hmm..."

Nothing had changed. It's just that my level is now 2?

Must be because I killed so many goblins this time, but... I'm not sure if the level increase is permanent or limited to just this round.

What's important is that I killed dozens of goblins in this round alone.

I'm different from others who quietly head out of the bushes. Since I aggressively cut down the grass, I attracted much more aggro than others and my progress was slower. As a result, I encountered a much larger number of goblins.

Even if I conservatively estimate, I killed at least 20 of them... and my level only increased by 1?

Is it just me or is it the same for others? 

These days, it's become a trend to quickly raise levels until before the job change. I was no different.

And the second thing.

"...I shouldn't expect miracles from leveling up."

Even though my level increased, I didn't even realize it had gone up.

What does this mean?

It means that at the moment of leveling up, all wounds are not healed, and the condition does not return to normal.

As a regressor, I had been thinking about intentionally controlling the timing of leveling up, but it seemed impossible.

I don't think I even saw a message window saying, [Your level has increased!] either.

Of course, there may be exceptions. If there's a setting that says levels only increase when sleeping, I might not even realize that I've leveled up.

But even in that case, it's useless in combat, so...

I can forget about utilizing leveling up.

"...Sigh."

I tried clenching and unclenching my fist, but I didn't feel a significant difference in strength or increased stamina.

Although there's a status window, I can't see my stats, so I have no idea how strong I am.

If I level up a little more, maybe I'll be a bit better and see the difference…?

While lost in thought, I continued cutting the grass.

"Oops!"

I suddenly lost my balance while swinging, because the sword only cut through the air.

I managed not to fall, but it was a close call.

But why did the sword hit only air?

As I slowly raised my head, I saw the ground.

“…”

The ground that I couldn't see for a while due to the dense thicket. 

Soil. Earth. Mother.

Finally... I had escaped the thicket hell.

I had escaped the suffocating prison that had confined me, but... there was no dramatic change.

Only the height of the grass was much lower, reaching up to my ankles, and the number of trees had significantly increased… That’s it I guess.

Surprisingly, I didn't see any monsters.

If anything, it seemed like there were more monsters within the thicket.

"...Could this be reasonable?"

But upon closer thought, it wouldn't be good to have too many monsters.

Although I managed to escape this thicket through a rather abnormal growth process...

From the perspective of others, it's like I've just cleared the tutorial within a tutorial.

But what if as soon as I come out of the thicket, powerful monsters attack?

Unless I'm on the level of Choi Ji-won, I won't be able to defeat them all without a scratch.

After loosening my shoulders, I looked back and saw the prison I had escaped from.

“…”

It looks even more eerie from the outside.

The thicket grows thickly in a circular shape... It wasn't just meant to be a safe zone.

It's just that even if I were a monster, I wouldn't want to pass through that.

Well, leaving that aside.

I absentmindedly scratched my head.

Now what should I do...?

My primary goal was to escape from this place... but now that I've escaped, I don't see any immediate objectives.

They told me to find a golden bead, but I don't even know how can one get that. I can't see any monsters either.

It feels like I've lost my goal.

Should I go and look for water like that firefighter guy before? Or should I climb up a tree to get a better look at my surroundings?

While I was contemplating for a moment...

"Quaaaaahhhhhh!"

I heard the scream of a woman from quite close by.

“…”

My next destination was just decided.

If there are level-based monsters in the tutorial, what could they be?

The first ones that come to mind are goblins and slimes.

Both represent the weakest creatures in the fantasy world and have significant popularity.

However, goblins are weak only when they are just ordinary goblins.

When an adjective is added before the word 'goblin,' the triviality disappears.

Goblin! It just sounds like some insignificant creature.

But if you say Warrior Goblin! Elite Goblin! It gives off a strong and formidable aura.

"Quaaaaahhhhhh! Help me! Quaaaaahhhhhh!"

The sight I encountered was no different.

Two men were lying on the ground, bleeding profusely and devoid of strength, while a terrified woman was screaming.

"Kekeke... Kekeke..."

Five or six goblins armed with wooden spears surrounded the woman, and the remaining three goblins were rummaging through the belongings of the fallen men.

“…”

Both men had wounds on the back of their thighs.

Both of them being wounded from behind meant they were ambushed. And the nature of the wounds, being puncture wounds rather than cuts, indicated that they were struck by a wooden spear, not teeth or claws.

First, they targeted the thighs to deprive them of mobility, then they weakened them from a distance with long spears, carefully retracting their strength.

It's an intelligent hunting method. It's similar to how humans hunt.

In many ways, they seemed to be on a different level than the goblins in the thicket. If those creatures were beasts, these ones seemed to have the intelligence of skilled hunters.

"Someone... Someone..."

The woman screamed with a hoarse voice.

"Kekeke... Hic... Kick..."

The goblins approached while drooling.

“…”

It's indeed a dilemma, even though it's the right thing to help.

To begin with, I invested a lot to reach here.

For three days straight, I cut grass all day long to escape from the thicket.

As the opportunity cost is high, I'm hesitant to invest this opportunity for someone I don't know.

Besides, I didn't want to spend another three days cutting grass...

Another problem was the fact that goblins were armed with spears.

Although the saying goes ‘King of all weapons is a sword," in fights, a long weapon does have its advantages.

While the goblin's spear wasn't 2 or 3 meters long, it was still longer than my sword.

If I even grazed that spear, it would be an instant regression. 

I have only dealt with goblins using their claws. I have no experience dealing with a spear.

It's almost impossible to win without any injuries.

"...No way..."

While I was hesitating, the woman was captured by the goblins.

“Kiruk… Kirrrrruk… Kekeke… ”

One of the goblins laughed unpleasantly, rummaging through its waist.

Could it be... Are they going to make a mess of her?

Are they trying to turn the genre into R-19?

"Kek!"

No, what he pulled out from his waist wasn't a disgusting object I was thinking of, but a sharp stone knife.

Although they're both R-19, the genres are quite different.

Very different.

Still, I can't just stand here and watch as a fellow human. Since I’m eventually going to regress anyway, let's save her quickly.

Just as I was about to stand up from my unsteady position to aim for their back.

Ssuaaaaak!

"Huh?"

Along with the sound of a sharp wind-

"Kek?"

-In the blink of an eye, all the goblins' heads disappeared.

It feels like watching a low-quality special effect from a B-grade movie.

Were their necks cut off at a speed so fast that it can't even be seen?

Among the people I know, there's only one person capable of something like this.

And from that person’s perspective, this situation also seems very misleading.

"No, it's not like I purposely didn't save her..."

I hurriedly tried to explain, but...

"You perverted bastard. Die."

Whack!

Choi Ji-won struck the back of my head with the sheath.

Unfortunately, Choi Ji-won was a crazy bitch whose attacks were faster than words, so I wasn't even given a chance to explain.

Status: Injured

Regressing back to the time when you first entered the 0th floor.