The Tales of an Infinite Regressor

[Proofreader – Gun]

Chapter 101

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Collaborator II

3

The world was an endless hell.

I labeled the first strange entity I encountered as “Endless” (Endless Hell) because the word was etched into my subconscious as the proper name for this world.

“Hoeee! In this stage, 31 people have died!”

“……”

“Not a bad number, but it’s still a poor performance compared to other dungeons. You need to try harder! With results like this, the rewards I can offer you will be utterly pathetic. Hoi!”

“…This is…”

“It’s Pig Slop! I heard it was a common food for residents during wartime here!”

Few people immediately realized that the war referred to was the Korean War.

None of the survivors knew that Pig Slop was food cooked without separating the food waste and cigarette butts from the trash thrown away by the American soldiers.

“The smell is terrible, but I removed the toxins that are fatal to humans. Even though the rules state that I’m not supposed to show such consideration and favoritism, this is my small act of kindness after watching your hard work and struggle…”

“……”

“Anyway, this is your food supply after two days! Please enjoy your meal!”

The fairy disappeared. In the dining area of Busan Station’s sixth underground floor, which should not have existed, there were 56 survivors and 56 bowls of Pig Slop left.

Even those who were initially horrified by the smell began to move their hands slowly. There were no spoons. Since the scent from each of the 56 people was equally wretched, it wasn’t too difficult to consume food with a similar stench.

Cries were heard here and there.

Eating could not be a sin.

If eating were a sin, life would be a divine punishment.

An article in the Kyunghyang Shinmun on May 20, 1964, contained such a sentence. The contributor’s name was Shin Young-gak. The column was titled “Starving Masses.”

The 56 starving masses frantically appeased two days’ worth of hunger.

Perhaps due to historical accuracy, the bowls were not actually bowls but aluminum cans. The sound of fingers tapping and scraping food from the cheap aluminum surface filled the air.

Eating could not be a sin…

If eating were a sin, life would be a divine punishment…

Since hell is where sinners condemned by divine punishment live, the world was hell.

Occasionally, gagging sounds briefly echoed in the dining area, but it was more likely due to life itself rather than the food. Something people could neither swallow nor digest slid down their throats.

The following cries of “Mom” or “Damn it” were probably burps.

Jingle.

The sound of a bell rang out. People who had finished eating turned to look.

It was the sound of my bell. I couldn’t remember if I used aura to spread the bell’s sound widely before the fifth round, but…

This silver bell was an item I always farmed in every round, even in vacation rounds.

I could picture the farming location with my eyes closed. The souvenir shop in the waiting room. Turn left at the entrance, the seventh shelf, the fourth compartment from the top.

Even after looters ransacked the store, this useless bell, which only made noise and attracted monsters, was always left behind.

I needed it.

“Doctor Jang…”

“Where’s Jung Sohee? He’s alone…”

“Shh, don’t look at him.”

“You’ll be dragged into the abyss.”

People in the dining area whispered. Among them were faces I still remembered and faces that had disappeared from reality.

Soccer player Kim Joocheol, who had been sealed in time in the fourth round, would have been there too.

I kept thinking. If this were the third round, the number of survivors in this stage would be 11 instead of 56, and Lee Baek would have been among them.

“Hey, Doctor Jang! Plague!”

Then Lee Baek would stand up and shout like this.

“Did you come to beg for Pig Slop? Sorry, but we don’t have any food to spare for a plague like you! Everyone! Don’t share your food with that solo player who thinks he’s so great. We don’t have the luxury to take care of him too!”

Probably in that voice. Probably those lines.

Trying to restore the content of the novel Oh Dokseo had read, as if restoring a newspaper published decades ago, Lee Baek seemed to have said that to me.

According to Oh Dokseo’s interpretation, Lee Baek spoke this way to “consolidate his power over the survivors” by “selecting an outsider as a scapegoat,” making “eating Pig Slop a privilege,” and giving the impression that he was “bearing harsh words on behalf of others.”

My reaction was simple.

“Is there anyone who wants to escape from hell?”

“……”

“Anyone who wants eternal peace? Anyone?”

The dining area fell silent.

Even Lee Baek.

I looked around lightly, enough not to be intimidating, but thoroughly enough to miss no one’s face.

“Shut up and get lost!”

If it were Lee Baek, he would have swung a club in anger at his momentary hesitation.

“Um, I…”

In another round, someone might have cautiously raised their hand.

“Me too…”

The number of hands raised would have been more in the first round than in the third, more in the third than in the fourth, and more in the fourth than in the fifth.

These were hands that had scooped Pig Slop, hands that had killed monsters, and hands that had murdered other humans.

An elderly woman knew that she had no grandchildren or family to caress with those hands.

“Young man. Do it for me. This… funeral, you called it?”

“If you fall into a dream with my ability, everyone will forget about you. No one will remember you.”

“It doesn’t matter.”

The old woman muttered.

“It doesn’t matter, that kind of thing.”

A transparent tombstone was erected.

Whether I was in Busan Station or outside, there was never a lack of tombstones in my path. While I couldn’t remember exactly, I knew at least 500,000 tombstones had been erected.

Even when the round restarted, the tombstones never disappeared.

Every time a new round began, hundreds of thousands of people would vanish “in an instant.” No one knew about their disappearance.

Except for one person.

The world was hell, and the sound of bells always echoed there.

I was a prisoner serving life for killing the most people in this hell.

4

Thousands of years later.

“Hey, mister. I can confidently say I am your one and only true understander.”

A cheeky little brat dared to say that.

Hairstyle? Short red hair. Weapon? A baseball bat. Fashion? A rapper’s cap, a jumper, and jeans with three holes, dripping like candle wax.

Her signature pose was blowing an ordinary piece of gum into a balloon until it popped, covering her entire mouth with gum.

Oh Dokseo.

In short, she was a mess.

This girl, who clearly needed psychological therapy, boldly claimed,

“I’ve read the entire novel [Omniscient Regressors Perspective] which chronicles your life. I’ve read all your inner thoughts and monologues. I know you better than you know yourself.”

“I see. Should I sue you for invasion of privacy then?”

“Huh? No… I mean, help me. I’m going to die if my shield runs out.”

Bang bang bang bang!

Oh Dokseo crouched down. A transparent barrier formed around her, while three goblins enthusiastically beat against it with clubs.

-Ukikik! Kkihik!

-Kkiiik, Kkuek! Kkehek!

They were common monsters in the tutorial dungeon.

Three against one. In this scene straight out of a gang fight handbook, Uehara Shino, our party member, stomped her feet anxiously.

“Um, Jang-san. Shouldn’t we help her, no matter what…?”

[Proofreader – Gun]

“No. It’s a necessary part of her training.”

“Ugh. Dokseo-chan! Do your best!”

“Never mind doing my best, help me! Please!”

Bang bang bang bang!

At first, the goblins found the transparent drum interesting, but now they were treating it like an instrument. Bang! Bang! The rhythm of their Dionysian instincts echoed, turning this place into a rock festival.

Incidentally, Dionysian followers had a tradition of tearing humans apart and sharing the pieces after the festival. Judging by the goblins’ eyes, Oh Dokseo was already marked as the sacrifice for this festival.

-Kkihihihik!

“Eek?! Hey, mister! Please save me! My shield only has 30 seconds left!”

Absolute Defense.

She called it [AT Field]. A shield that nullifies the enemy’s attacks.

This was one of Oh Dokseo’s abilities.

In my opinion, it probably reflected her mindset of viewing herself as a ‘reader who fell into a novel world,’ separating herself entirely from this world, which was directly reflected in her skill.

It was a god-tier ability but had a fatal flaw: it could only be used once a day and lasted for only one minute.

“Dokseo. I’ve told you many times. No matter how godly your skill is, if you don’t train yourself, it’s useless.”

“But I’ve already killed 11 today! I’m exhausted! I’m tired! We’ve been walking for six hours since dawn. Please help me now! Eek? It’s cracking, I heard a crack, really, it’s breaking!”

“Stop whining.”

With a shattering sound, the shield broke, and the goblins’ clubs rushed in. Oh Dokseo let out a strange scream and swung her baseball bat.

“Hyaaaah!”

The baseball bat was imbued with a red aura.

Thud!

A goblin’s head exploded. Foul ball.

-Kkik?

-Kkuik?

The goblins, who thought their opponent was a KBO batter, were stunned by the sudden Major League-level swing.

Regardless, Oh Dokseo used the staff technique she had been personally trained in by me over the past few days.

“Haaah! Die! Die! You monster, just die!”

-Kkuiehek?

Foul. Foul. Two strikes with no pitchers left on the opposing team. Disqualified for not meeting the requirements, Oh Dokseo wins.

Oh Dokseo dropped her shoulders and baseball bat, panting heavily.

“Huff, huff- huff, huff…”

“See? You can do it. Kids these days lack the grit to even try before they start complaining…”

“I’m going to kill you!”

Oh Dokseo swung her baseball bat at me with all her might, but such a slow strike had no chance of hitting me.

A swing and a miss. Out.

As punishment for daring to attack her heavenly teacher, I flicked her on the forehead. My dark aura resonated through her skull with just the right amount of pain.

‘Just the right amount of pain’ meant, well, about the level of getting kicked in the balls for a guy.

“Gyaaaah!”

Oh Dokseo threw her baseball bat down (showing poor sportsmanship for a strikeout) and rolled on the ground.

“I’m dying! I’m dying! My head’s cracked open! Aaaah! I’m dying!”

“You’re not dying. Your head’s not cracked. Get up and eat. Shino-san? Could you spread out the mat? Let’s have lunch.”

“Oh, okay.”

Our porter, Uehara Shino, adeptly laid out the mat.

This was quite different from the fourth round. We didn’t have the luxury to carry something as extravagant as a mat back then.

We cooked up some ready-to-eat food from a convenience store. We didn’t even need fire. I heated, grilled, and boiled the food with my aura. It was undoubtedly the most luxurious cooking method in the world.

Uehara twirled her pasta around a fork and took a bite, her face melting into a satisfied expression.

“Wow. This is delicious…”

“The pasta is cooked perfectly, right? I noticed you seem to like your pasta slightly al dente.”

“Oh, yes. It’s really my preference. The food you cook is even better than what I’ve had at restaurants!”

“Thank you.”

At that moment, a fairy peeked from behind a pillar.

“Ooh, it smells so good…”

“Huh? What’s this? You want some too?”

“Gasp. I’m a fair and impartial examiner. I cannot accept bribes from participants…”

“This isn’t a bribe. It’s a reward. A gift from the people for the vanguard working tirelessly for world revolution.”

“Ooh! Food made from the blood and sweat of the people… It would be bourgeois behavior to refuse this as a dedicated revolutionary.”

“Here. Try the salmon steak I made.”

“Oooh! This taste is revolutionary!”

On the mat, the laughter of a Japanese and a fairy bloomed, creating genuine harmony between past enemies and current foes.

“Ugh…”

Only the chuunibyou otaku lay sprawled next to the mat, groaning.

“Me too… Give me some food. I’m hungry…”

“Do you not have hands or feet? There’s food on the mat. Eat it yourself.”

“Why are you so cold to me?”

Oh Dokseo whined loudly.

“You make me fight the monsters! You make me train my aura! What did I do to you, huh?”

“I have high expectations for you. That’s why, kiddo.”

“Sniff. I feel like I’m going to die from sorrow. It’s too upsetting… Dammit, why is the pasta so good? This is supposed to be ready-made.”

“Um, Dokseo-chan. That’s mine…”

“Oooh. This BLT rye sandwich is revolutionary too! You deserve a culinary hero medal!”

The balance of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats in the menu was perfect. It was an overly luxurious lunch for beginners in a tutorial dungeon.

Ultimately, our fourth round exploration had turned into a luxurious trip… but it didn’t matter. I hoped these kids could enjoy luxury while they could.

After filling our stomachs just enough, we got up.

“We just have to go down one more level to reach the boss room. Once we defeat the boss, the tutorial dungeon is over.”

“Yeah. You’ll defeat it, right?”

“No? It wouldn’t be fair for an experienced player to steal the newbies’ experience points. Dokseo, you’ll clear it on your own.”

“…?”

“…?”

We continued our cheerful conversation as we stepped onto the stairs to the 13th underground floor when a strong presence was felt from the opposite corridor.

“Wait. Everyone, stop.”

The party, including the fairy number 264, which was funny, looked at me. But my mouth didn’t smile.

“People are coming.”

“Coming? How many?”

“117.”

“…”

“All the other survivors except us. Get ready. Dokseo, stay by my side, Uehara-san, stay behind.”

I positioned myself in the middle of the corridor.

“We’ll prepare here.”

As I said those words, something strange happened. My right hand moved to my waist without me realizing it.

To the empty belt, as if weapons like fire axes should have been hanging there.

My fingers groped at the air.

“…”

A strange sense of déjà vu washed over me.

Déjà vu.

A long time ago. It felt like I had experienced this exact scene in the distant past, thousands of years ago.

[Proofreader – Gun]