The Regressor Only Protects Me [EN]: Chapter 64

New Ruler (2)

A bizarre and cheerful laughter, like that of a witch, echoed.

Sion frowned and looked up at the sky.

A familiar face appeared in the sky.

“Ah… Finally met! I’ve been waiting for so long!”

The space between the skies opened, and a woman popped out with baby angels.

The one with her eyes covered, the Administrator.

It was K.

The crowd, facing the Administrator, fell silent.

She looked at Sion, smiled, and said,

“Long time no see, Sion. I really missed you.”

* * *

“Actually, I expected it would take at least a year for you to regain the position of Ruler, but as expected, it’s you, Sion. It only took about half a year. Amazing numbers. You can be proud!”

I didn’t answer and glared at her.

K looked around at the crowd in the air and approached me.

The crowd was silent.

None of the citizens questioned the Administrator’s abilities or role.

As Round 2 progressed, most of the citizens would have known what situation they were in.

And K reappearing in front of us meant that there would be another huge change.

“It’s rare for a leader from a building to become a Ruler again, unless they are a Ruler of a street or mountain. It’s because the starting points are different… But as expected, it’s you, Sion!”

K shouted, very excited.

“I knew you could do it, Sion. You’re amazing. Sion, you’re finally close to becoming a Ruler. It’s a result that far exceeded everyone’s expectations. In just half a year.”

“……”

*Everyone*, she says.

Who exactly is she referring to when she says *everyone*?

No one would have expected that I would take the position of Ruler within a year inside this police station.

Then there must be another group of their own.

Or it could be a communication space only for the Administrators who manage the League.

Bang, bang-!

Then, the baby angels set off firecrackers.

It was a celebratory salute.

But no one applauded or cheered.

The crowd, who had been cheering for the execution of the Chief, all fell silent at the appearance of the Administrator.

The Administrators of the system.

They are the messengers of God who pushed us all into this hell.

Now, there was no one to welcome her or like her.

But K didn’t show it.

“But to become a Ruler, you must go through the final process. That is the re-election vote. It’s simple. How much support can the leader reset by the system get from the citizens? Basically, a coup is against the system. Originally, it shouldn’t be allowed. But the system is giving Sion a chance. The approval rating that the system requires from Sion is over 90%.”

“What?”

I frowned.

90%.

An absurdly high requirement.

Getting 90% approval in a vote, not even a majority, was an unreasonable demand.

You can only get 90% support in a dictatorial country where people’s trials are rampant.

K came down to the ground and whispered so that only I could hear.

“I know. I know. 90% is a really crazy number. I tried to stop it too, but ‘they’ didn’t allow it. ‘They’ want you to be special. They want you to be the best player so that they can satisfy their own selfish desires, to an extent that is incomparable to others. So… they want dramatic changes, dramatic results, and stimulating progress.”

Swoosh-.

K’s hand caressed my shoulder in a strange way and went to the other side.

I asked her.

“What happens if I don’t achieve 90%?”

“……”

K put her hands behind her back, walked towards the crowd, and looked back at me.

And answered.

“I can’t tell you according to the regulations.”

In that voice, I said to K with some emotion.

“…Don’t be ridiculous. 90% approval rating? That’s impossible. It’s absurd. Your gods are absurd and arbitrary.”

Then K shook her head and approached me.

“No. No. Absurd? Arbitrary? No. No. Not at all, Sion. Let’s think about it this way.”

Thump.

K slowly approached me and put her finger on my left chest.

The difference in height between her and me was clear.

K was much taller than me.

So I had to look up at her.

“Have you ever thought about the rights of ants? Have you ever stood up for the rights of ants? No, you are a kind of germ. A bad cosmic germ.”

“What?”

I frowned.

K continued without paying attention to my feelings.

“To ‘them,’ you are smaller than those ants and more insignificant than germs. So you decorate yourself for your own interests. You express to ‘them’ that *I am here, pay attention to me*. And that expression is cruelty and slaughter, and your extraordinary story. To put it nicely, I might be… your coordinator. You are a star on the stage.”

Then, K came close to my ear so that no one could hear and finished the story.

“Trust me. After today, I’ll make you the best star.”

“……”

K moved away from my face again.

And turned around, opened her arms, and shouted to the crowd.

The crowd was still staring at us on the guillotine.

“Now! It’s your turn to choose! There is only one candidate. It’s Kang Sion, who is in this position! The voting method is simple. I will give you 60 seconds of voting time. If you acknowledge Kang Sion as the new Ruler of the first power in Manan, raise your right hand! If you think someone else should take the position, raise your left hand! By the way, even if Kang Sion here doesn’t become the Ruler, you won’t be eliminated from the League! Don’t worry and feel free to vote.”

As soon as K finished speaking.

Ting-!

A huge timer floated in the air.

It was pointing to exactly 60 seconds.

Clap!

K clapped her hands.

“Let’s start. The voting.”

“Kyak kyak kyak! Let’s start! You idiots!”

“Kok kok kok! Let’s start! You fools!”

The baby angels spun around in the air, raising the atmosphere of the polling place.

The voting began.

I looked around at the crowd.

10 seconds, 20 seconds, 30 seconds, 40 seconds…….

Until then, no one in the crowd raised their hand.

But soon, an amazing result unfolded.

* * *

I don’t express my emotions on my face.

Expressing emotions is, after all, revealing my inner thoughts to others.

But the sight in front of me was so surprising that even I couldn’t help but be amazed.

One by one, the crowd began to raise their hands.

Hundreds of people surrounded me.

All of those crowds raised their hands.

Men, women, children, the elderly, and even those groaning from injuries.

Everyone raised their right hand without exception.

The voting time was over.

K, who was watching the scene, exclaimed in admiration.

“Puhahaha…! Ah, what a great result. What an amazing result! Even if it’s a small group of less than a thousand people, how can you get such an approval rating, haha. Hahaha! As expected, it’s you, Sion. You’re amazing.”

Along with K’s broad smile, notification windows were created one after another.

[Voting has ended.]

[Total voters: 851.]

[For: 851 / Against: -]

[The 5,578th Ruler has been born in Manan-gu [district].]

[Announcing.]

[As of this moment, the Ruler of the first power in Manan is Kang Sion.]

100% approval rating.

They were all looking at me and raising their right hands.

They didn’t discuss with each other.

They didn’t whisper.

It was an amazing result created by everyone’s own will.

K shouted.

“Everyone! At this moment! A new Ruler of the first power in Manan has been born! Rejoice! Cheer! He is our new Ruler!”

Bbambabam-! Bang bang bang!

The baby angels blew fanfares again and set off firecrackers.

The various colors of light emitted by the firecrackers began to fill the sky.

The firecrackers were shining more brilliantly than ever, celebrating my becoming the Ruler.

And at that moment, countless status windows began to pop up in front of me in droves.

It was the system window given only to the Rulers I saw in Round 1.

[Manan 1st Power Ruler: Kang Sion]

[Capital: Manan Police Station, Manan-gu [district]]

[Resources

●Cities held: 1

●Number of citizens: 851 (Injured 541 / Minor 503, Serious 38)

●Number of players: 1, S-class (1)

●Ranking in residence: 1st

●Food: 35 days (+3)

●Water: 12 days (+4)

●Approval rating: 100%

●Military power:

103 troops / Special Forces (48), Undecided Volunteer Army (55)

135 weapons / F grade (87), E grade (47), A grade (1)]

The Ruler’s status window wrapped in a gold frame.

It was more splendid and larger than any status window I had ever seen.

When you move your finger from top to bottom, it naturally scrolls and continues.

The details of each item could be viewed in detail.

The number of citizens, players, food, water, and strategy.

In addition to the simplified figures, all the details were available.

As Round 2 began, I could no longer see the status window.

Because I didn’t have the qualifications of a Ruler.

All I had was an inventory, minor notification windows, and publicly announced notices.

But I now realized that that was only a small part of the system.

Since Round 2 began, I had forgotten.

Perhaps I had no choice but to forget because I was focusing all my attention on taking over the police force.

This is a League.

It is a game of the gods in which rounds are played under set rules and settings.

It’s not just a simple disaster.

K is right.

They only see us as beings less than ants, not as individual personalities.

Quests, status windows, notification windows, rounds.

All of this is just a system designed for their fun.

And the overwhelming number of ‘Ruler-only status windows’ in front of me now made me realize that what I had seen before was just the tip of the iceberg.

‘…Now I understand why the Chief knew my plan.’

I looked around at the crowd.

Above the heads of all the crowds, the individual’s status was visible.

Name, status, occupation, gender.

Those designated as workers had the ‘worker’ mark.

Those designated as special forces had the ‘special forces’ mark.

And ordinary people who didn’t have any jobs had the ‘citizen’ mark.

Gender and name were means to distinguish the person.

Status, the degree of injury, and emotional state were briefly available.

Not only that.

The detailed map of this force that I currently control was all available in the status window.

In addition, the map showed the markings of ordinary crowds, the markings of the bridges connecting the rooftops, and even the ogre I had captured in Ilbeonga.

The information on the restarted boiler was available, and the detailed materials for restarting it were specified.

Again, I took out the military dagger from my pocket.

●

Military Dagger (+0) (Combination)

Rank: E

Attack power: 20

Durability: 5

Special effect: x

Now it started to show.

Human emotions, names, occupations.

The characteristics, attack power, and durability of the tool.

And even the map of the police station, which was clearly visible as if filming with a drone.

This is like…….

“God… right?”

I held the dagger, turned my eyes away from the status window, and looked back at K.

K smiled and spoke to me.

Yes, as she said, this was truly the power of God.

It was an existence that could know all information just by looking at it.

A Ruler chosen by God was such an existence.

“There are various other powers as well. You can use artifacts and update the Ruler’s abilities. That’s an ability you have to figure out on your own.”

I put the dagger back in.

The status window naturally disappeared.

“In the case of an item that has been completed once, the crafting method is shared and remembered in the inventory like this. Boiler, ogre capture method. This item represents the results you have achieved. So it will be easy to make the next boiler, right? Because the crafting method has already been created like this.”

K said, referring to the three crafting method scrolls in my inventory.

One was ‘Apocalypse Boiler Crafting Method,’ another item was ‘Ogre Taming Method,’ and ‘Rooftop Bridge.’

This was information resource.

Not just a simple material resource.

“All the results you have achieved are stored in the system like this. And this is a really great achievement. Didn’t you know? Other Rulers will start to react soon…? Shall we take a look?”

I checked the status window and looked back at K.

K started touching something in her status window and soon sent something to me.

[Connecting to the Ruler Trading Market.]

[The Ruler of Manan 1st Power has connected to the Trading Market.]

[There are registered products. Would you like to check?]

Trading? Product?

“Let’s see… First of all, the police chief, that pig bastard, uploaded your achievements to the trading market, right? Let’s put that up for free auction first… and do it like this… and do it like that…? Done!”

[A product has been registered in the market.]

[Loading the auction progress for boiler, ogre taming, and rooftop bridge.]

“Check it out. Sion. How great you are. How valuable the results you have achieved so far are. This is the result.”

Along with K’s voice, my notification window almost went crazy in just a few minutes.

I couldn’t help but be surprised.

(Continued in the next episode)