The Regressor Only Protects Me [EN]: Chapter 13

#13. Leaps and Bounds (2)

[You have acquired Skill Enhancement]

[Skill Enhancement: You can synthesize identical weapons to acquire higher-grade weapons. Current Artisan Level: 1]

Synthesize?

If it refers to identical weapons, it means the two ‘Crude Spears’ I’m holding now.

I held both spears.

Then, the Synthesis window appeared.

[Crude Spear]

[Enhancement Success Rate: 10%]

[100% Equipment Destruction on Failure]

10%.

It might be because my proficiency level is low, but even considering that, the probability was too low.

The synthesis skill seemed to require more proficiency to be viable.

Of course, statistically, one out of ten might succeed right away, but I couldn’t rely on quality in a numerically unfavorable fight.

I gave up on synthesis and continued making spears.

Each time, my proficiency increased slightly.

“Oh? Look at this. It’s a synthesis window.”

It seems Lee Juyeon, who was next to me, also had the synthesis window appear.

Since our work speed was similar, it was about time for her too.

I made another spear.

Then, Lee Juyeon casually synthesized her equipment.

“Synthesis is better, right?”

“Wait, hold on.”

I was startled and tried to stop her, but it was already too late.

Fwoosh-!

A bluish light rose into the air above her and then burst in mid-air.

Bang!

“Oh! It succeeded. It was a 10% chance.”

“Ah.”

Fortunately, the enhancement succeeded.

Otherwise, she would have lost two weapons.

I calmed my pounding heart.

It was a good thing it succeeded.

But Lee Juyeon grinned and then picked up a +1 enhanced spear and a normal spear at the same time.

“Oh. +2 is 3%. Life is a gamble. Let’s go!”

“Don’t do it.”

I immediately snatched the weapons from her hand.

* * *

In her previous life, Jin Jaehee started the game in a university building located in Haeundae, Busan.

Therefore, she knew nothing about the current match.

Nevertheless, Jin Jaehee was not anxious or nervous.

Because Kang Sione was by her side anyway.

Because she was with the league’s strongest player.

Her only goal was to survive this damn game.

And to restore the world to its original state.

Kang Sione is the man closest to winning.

At least within South Korea, there is no one who can stand against him.

That is a fact proven in her previous life.

Kang Sione was a character who pierced through the world, and his companions remained until the very end, eventually achieving victory.

In her previous life, Jin Jaehee was with him for three years and survived until the end thanks to him.

Although she failed to pass the final round, no one other than them had ever reached the final round.

The only regret that came to her mind when she failed in the final round and faced death was this:

‘If only we had met sooner.’

If that were the case, more companions would have advanced to the final round with them.

They would have cleared the entire league together.

And now that opportunity has been given.

Jin Jaehee met Kang Sione, and the league began.

The immediate future is unknown, but she knows about the important matches that will take place afterward.

That way, she will achieve victory with Sione.

Of course, as time goes on, the aspects will change from her previous life.

8th floor, elevator.

Grrr. Clunk!

Applying force, the elevator door opened.

The pitch-black interior of the elevator loomed before her.

Jin Jaehee swallowed hard and carefully looked down.

The elevator was stopped on the 2nd floor.

Since this is the 8th floor, she wouldn’t die if she fell, but at least her leg would break.

In this world, getting injured means death.

‘I have no choice.’

Nothing is as important as early reconnaissance.

She had to do it.

Jin Jaehee stepped back twice and jumped in at once.

She reached out and grabbed the steel cable connected to the elevator.

Clang, creeaak.

Veins popped out on Jin Jaehee’s hand gripping the steel cable.

Her body swayed from side to side as the steel cable swayed.

“Haa. Haa.”

She was out of breath.

Returning to the past didn’t mean her stats remained the same.

She focused on her forearm muscles and slowly grabbed the steel cable and climbed up.

The Blue Team would never have imagined that someone would infiltrate through the elevator shaft.

It was a difficult path, but it was the safest path.

In any case, the purpose of the first round is to select players.

In other words, only leaders with adaptability can go to the real battlefield.

The battlefield is not limited to this narrow building, but the world beyond this building.

Monsters and players.

The power struggle between survival and players.

The managers above them.

That place is a battlefield filled with slaughter and the smell of blood.

Jin Jaehee finally reached the 11th floor.

And she stepped on the edge of the 11th-floor elevator and slowly opened the door.

* * *

1st floor. The Red Team’s base.

I had fallen asleep at some point.

I wasn’t much of a sleeper.

Before this happened, I slept a maximum of 5 hours a day, and an average of 4 hours.

That’s how little sleep I needed.

But today, I was incredibly tired.

When I made the last spear, I fell asleep as if I had fainted and soon had a dream.

Is this what they call a lucid dream?

I was clearly sleeping and dreaming, but I was aware of it.

After my parents passed away, my brothers and I lived in a semi-basement villa that was 30 years old.

The toilet would flood in the summer, and snow would blow in during the winter.

There was an iron bar on the toilet door frame that the previous owner had left behind.

The time was dawn.

My younger brother was sleeping soundly in what was both the living room, the kitchen, and the main room, and I silently headed to the toilet.

In front of it, I silently tied an old rope into a round shape.

I was trembling terribly in front of it.

It was my body, but I couldn’t control it, and the dream continued as if I were watching a first-person video.

I slowly stepped onto the toilet and grabbed the rope.

Overcome with fear, cold sweat poured down my body.

When I put the rope around my neck.

Creak-.

The toilet door opened.

There was my younger brother, Junho.

Junho was rubbing his eyes with both fists and couldn’t see properly because he had woken up in his sleep.

“Hyung [older brother], what are you doing…? I need to pee.”

“Ju, Junho.”

Junho asked me nonchalantly.

Junho didn’t know anything.

Even at that moment, the rope was still around my neck, and my hands holding the rope were shaking like crazy.

“…Kang Junho. Junho. Junho.”

This had to be a dream.

It had to be a dream.

I quickly got off the toilet before my brother saw me.

And I hugged my brother tightly.

“Hyung…?”

“I’m sorry… really. I’m so sorry.”

Until now, I had only been thinking about myself.

Because of the fear of the future, I tried to give up because life was bound to be more painful.

But after I leave, what about my brother who is left alone in the world?

My brother is more pitiful than me, but I was thinking of dangerous things just to make myself comfortable.

“Hyung, I need to pee.”

I hugged my brother, who was fidgeting with his lower body in his hands that dawn, and sobbed.

The tears that I hadn’t shown even in front of my parents’ funeral, I poured out like crazy that day.

Only after crying for a long time was I able to wake up from my dream.

“Haa!… Haa.”

Rough breaths came out.

My heart felt like it was about to burst, like a marathon runner who had just finished a sprint.

My mind was hazy for a moment, and then cold sweat was pouring out of my body due to the sense of emptiness.

When I came to my senses and looked around, a black coat was covering me.

And what I saw was Lee Juyeon’s face.

“He’s awake. Hey, Sebeom. He’s awake.”

Lee Juyeon stared at my face and shook a man named Lee Sebeom.

He was the man who called me a friend.

“Are you okay? You were sweating a lot. You know, like in dramas. Sebeom, you know, when the main characters in dramas have nightmares and sweat.”

“Okay, stop it. Noona [older sister].”

“Wow, I’ve never seen that before. It was a bit weird at first, but it was amazing.”

“Ah, stop it.”

Sebeom cautiously approached and handed me a towel.

Parted hair, rimless glasses, tall height, and handsome appearance.

Normally, I wouldn’t just accept favors from others.

Because I don’t know what they’re thinking inside.

But right now, there was too much sweat on my face to not accept the towel.

I carefully accepted the towel.

Lee Sebeom said to me.

“You must have had a terrible dream?”

“It’s none of your business.”

I said coldly and took off the coat.

Then I asked Lee Sebeom.

“More importantly, what’s the situation? What about the Blue Team? Has Jin Jaehee returned?”

“Jin Jaehee, you mean that woman who was next to you?”

“Yes.”

“She hasn’t returned yet, and neither has the Blue Team.”

When I turned my head to the left, there were spears, water, and food that had been made all night.

When I turned my head to the right again, people were doing their jobs.

They were carving wood with blades.

It was something I didn’t even tell them to do.

The only people who weren’t working here were me and the two siblings in front.

“What is that?”

I pointed to what the people were making, and Lee Sebeom glanced at it once and then looked at me and answered.

“I told them to do it.”

I frowned.

“Who are you?”

Sebeom stared at me for a moment and then said nonchalantly.

“I’m nothing. At least not now.”

As I woke up, the senses in my body slowly returned.

And the headache that had been dormant also rushed in.

I pressed my temples and said to him.

“What did you tell them to do? Everyone needs to conserve their energy. Because we don’t know what will happen in the future.”

I don’t know how long I slept.

I was supposed to sleep for about 4 hours, but for some reason, it felt like I slept longer.

Sebeom rested his chin on his hand and looked at me.

“You need to rest. You look overworked.”

“Don’t change the subject, I told you not to worry about me.”

“I can’t help but worry. If you don’t care about your stamina and use your body, you’ll definitely become their target. And you’ll die right away when your stamina runs out.”

I looked back at him again.

Then he finished his sentence.

“If you die, we die too. That’s the rule, right?”

Sebeom handed me a tumbler.

The tumbler contained warm water.

Juyeon gave a thumbs up, leaving the tumbler.

“It’s lemon tea. It’s really delicious.”

As she said, a tea bag was placed on top of the tumbler.

It’s probably a tea bag for guest hospitality.

I still glared at him and took a sip of the tea.

Then Lee Juyeon reached out to me and stirred the tea bag in the tumbler once.

When I silently looked at her, Lee Juyeon gave a thumbs up again.

Lee Sebeom grabbed the back of Lee Juyeon’s neck and said to me.

“Everyone in the group agreed. I just suggested it. It wasn’t my unilateral idea.”

“What did you make?”

“Crossbow.”

“Crossbow?”

“Yeah, crossbow.”

Sebeom got up from his seat and walked somewhere.

As he left, Juyeon, who was sitting next to me, stared at me intently and asked.

“But how is it? Is your heart pounding like crazy like a real drama protagonist?”

I didn’t bother to answer.

Sebeom brought the crossbow that people were making.

“You can insert a spear made of mop handle into the inner groove.”

I quietly watched what he was doing.

Sebeom inserted the mop spear into the crossbow.

And he aimed at the wooden board on the other side.

When he released the bowstring made of a band, the arrow made by carving the mop spear flew at once and hit the board.

Thwack-, Bang!

The mop spear was already half its length to be called a spear.

The length of the mop spear was divided to fit the size of the crossbow.

The end was sharply carved to increase penetration.

The power was powerful, and above all, the accuracy was greatly improved.

I looked closely at the crossbow.

The bowstring that Sebeom was pulling was a rubber band that went into baggy pants.

The bowstring was wrapped in two or three layers, giving it firmness and elasticity.

The things that fix the band on both sides of the bow were large nails.

The frame with the large nails was made of wooden boards.

Large nails. Wooden boards. Band. Mop arrows.

Most of them were recycled items obtained from the shopping mall.

It was a small size that an individual could hold.

To make such a weapon by combining these things.

Above all, the precision stood out.

I glanced at Sebeom once.

He was a talent.

“Elasticity is much stronger than human arm strength. It’s a weapon that uses that. I thought this would be more efficient, so I asked people to make it. Make it with the same materials. Of course, I left weapons for throwing spears.”

It was quite a plausible crossbow.

Even someone who touched it for the first time could easily push and pull it.

That’s why the people of the Red Team had been busy since earlier.

Sebeom lifted the crossbow to his shoulder and asked.

“If you don’t like it, I’ll restore it to its original state.”

I looked at him and the crossbow alternately.

And I held out my hand.

Sebeom naturally put the crossbow in my hand.

The item window popped up.

●[Temporary]

Crossbow (+0) (Combination)

Rank: E

Attack Power: 2 (per shot)

Durability: 10

Special Effect: x

Acquisition Difficulty: Low

“How much did you secure the arrows?”

“Approximately 50 by combining mop handles, mop sticks, and other materials. If we make more in the future, we can secure up to 100.”

I repeated what he had done.

I pulled the band, hung it on a wooden stick, and inserted the mop stick, which was an arrow, into the groove.

I raised the bow, aiming at the sight that had been finely trimmed at the end.

Thwack-!

The arrow split the wind and was stuck on the other side.

It needed to be refined further, but this was enough for now.

At least it was great for humans.

“There are about 3 crossbows secured. Precise work is required, so it takes a whole day to barely do this much.”

Lee Sebeom took the crossbow from me and said.

I drank a cup of lemon tea in a tumbler and tried to clear my mind.

It was already too late.

We didn’t have much time left, and I wanted to get out of the shopping mall as soon as possible.

Then I suddenly asked him.

“Wait, what?”

“I said there are about 3 crossbows secured.”

“No, after that.”

“Ah, I said it takes a whole day to work.”

“Are you saying I slept for a day?”

At my words, Sebeom checked his wristwatch.

Then he sighed briefly and answered.

“Yeah. You slept for exactly 25 hours and 32 minutes. I tried to wake you up in the middle. But you didn’t wake up.”

Damn it. It’s the 3rd day today.

And the 4th day wouldn’t be far off.

I knew I had slept for a long time, but I didn’t think I would sleep for a whole day.

If the Blue Team had invaded then, it would have been completely over.

And as if fate was playing a trick, the second incident began as soon as I woke up.

Doom, doom.

Baby angels walking out of the gap in the air.

They formed a line and walked out, beating drums.

In between, K was walking out, yawning.

“Ah, so~ bo~ring~~~!!! It’s boring!!!!”

K rubbed her eyes and looked around at the people of the Red Team.

“Why aren’t you fighting? Are you all cowards? That’s why it’s not fun. It’s not fun.”

K put her hands in her pockets and continued.

“We will now proceed with a special game. All three teams must participate.”

When she drew a line horizontally with her hand, a hologram window appeared there.

Everyone in the Red Team looked up at the window.

Doo-doo-doo-doo-doo.

The baby angels’ drumbeats echoed at a faster tempo.

“This 1st round, the special game is. Right.”

When she finished speaking, we all had excited expressions.

(To be continued in the next episode)