Regressor Instruction Manual
chapter-22

“I’m not sure if Kim Hyun-Sung is alive,” Park Deok-Gu said.

“I’m sure he is,” I answered.

Park Deok-Gu started talking once he broke through some of the monsters that were around us.

He seemed a bit worried. After I told him that Park Hye-Young wasn’t coming back, I guess he started feeling restless because Kim Hyun-Sung basically took all the monsters with him, so Park Deok-Gu was worried that he might not come back, just like Park Hye-Young.

But even if Kim Hyun-Sung was on the defensive side, it was difficult to imagine him getting ripped to shreds by the monsters and once he actually started moving fast, it was difficult to follow him with the naked eye, so I was sure that he wouldn’t have any trouble losing a group of monsters. I was certain that he had escaped from that area by now and there was a good chance that he was worrying about the same thing as me.

We put in a lot of effort for this hunt, so if we returned to the shelter with one of us dead, it would surely dampen the morale of the others back there.

This expedition had to be successful no matter what. Of course, Kim Hyun-Sung was still unaware of the fact that Park Hye-Young died, but I was certain that this incident alone would give him a headache.

“It’s unfortunate. I wasn’t exactly close to Park Hye-Young, but she seemed like she was always trying her best…” Park Deok-Gu said.

“We could have all died because of her, so we got off pretty easy,” I commented.

“T-That’s true, but.”

“Right now, we need to be thankful for the fact that we are still alive. There isn’t much that we could do since she didn’t listen to us, it was her fault for getting aggroed after acting wildly and she was the one that kept on screaming as if she wanted all the monsters to hear her. To be frank, if you or Ha-Yan died instead of that woman, I wouldn’t have been able to forgive her,” I explained.

It wasn’t as simple as ‘not being able to forgive her.’

I might even want to kill her myself since Park Deok-Gu and Jung Ha-Yan were precious cards to me.

When I slightly glanced over, both Jung Ha-Yan and Park Deok-Gu looked at me with strange expressions. Jung Ha-Yan looked as if she was touched and Park Deok-Gu looked as if he was slightly embarrassed.

“Oh…”

“Well, I-I probably would have done the same thing,” Park Deok-Gu said.

Even though Jung Ha-Yan was the one that killed Park Hye-Young, I didn’t want to think about that.

Excluding Kim Hyun-Sung, these two people were the only ones that I could really rely on. Park Deok-Gu was a meatshield whose endurance and stamina stats were high, while Jung Ha-Yan had potential that was difficult to measure as a mage. The fact that these two were relying on me was a disadvantage, but in some ways, it was an advantage. The problem was that one of them was like a bomb that I couldn’t control, but based on her nature, there was a good chance that she could be of use to me.

“So how are you going to explain this to the people back at the shelter?” Park Deok-Gu asked.

“There’s nothing to explain. There was a mistake, a person died and that’s it. If they get scared because of this…”

“If they do get scared?” Park Deok-Gu asked.

“No matter how much help we provide them with, they’ll eventually die. You have to keep in mind the fact that we’re in a tutorial. We should assume that things will become even more dangerous once we enter the actual game,” I explained.

There were times when we forgot that we were in a tutorial because we were nervous at the possibility that we could die if we made a single mistake.

But everything had only just started.

Once we enter the actual game, it could be filled with people that Kim Hyun-Sung wouldn’t be able to control and there may be a lot of monsters that were even more powerful than the monsters we were fighting right now.

‘We can’t be satisfied with this.’

If we become satisfied and complacent like the people back at the shelter, we would all die. Excluding Lee Ji-Hye, who seemed to be the only one with a brain, everyone else were idiots. I was surprised by the fact that none of them were useful and it was to the point that I couldn’t understand why Kim Hyun-Sung was so obsessed with them. I thought that maybe he had some kind of connection to these people in his past life, but I didn’t have the luxury to dig into this past.

“We’ll sleep over here tonight,” I said.

“We’re not going back to the shelter?” Park Deok-Gu asked.

“It’s too far,” I answered.

“I thought we were close…ugh. I don’t know how you’re able to memorize the paths so well, hyung-nim,” he said, complimenting me.

“This is nothing. I left recognizable marks from the beginning,” I told him.

“You even left marks?”

‘This guy…’

I never expected Park Deok-Gu to use his head, but seeing his reaction, I was certain that even his brain was filled with muscles.

Park Deok-Gu must have seen how speechless I was because he flinched and Jung Ha-Yan quickly continued the conversation.

“Ex-Excuse me.”

There was a noticeable small mark on the wall that was made by scraping the wall with a spear.

“You knew about it too, noonim,” Park Deok-Gu said.

“It’s good to keep an eye out on your surroundings. What will happen if we get into the same situation earlier and we got separated…”

“Ahem, I don’t think that’ll happen again…” Park Deok-Gu commented.

Seeing how he didn’t finish his sentence, I guess he was feeling a bit flustered. The way he looked around with that embarrassed look before sitting down was a sight to see.

I wasn’t thinking about nagging him at a place like this, so I sat down with this tired body of mine. Jung Ha-Yan sat right next to me as if she became a cicada on an oak tree and when Park Deok-Gu saw her, he had a cunning look on his face.

“Ahem…hyung-nim, I’m going to go look around the area real quick,” he said.

“Is that necessary?” I asked.

If possible, I wanted him to stay here.

“There might be monsters nearby that we haven’t noticed yet,” he said.

He wasn’t wrong.

“Hyung-nim, you’ve used a lot of that magic or whatever it was…so I think it’ll be best if noonim looks after you…” he suggested.

“Oh! P-Please leave it to me, Mr. Deok-Gu,” Jung Ha-Yan said excitedly.

“Just don’t get lost,” I told him.

“I’ll just look around the area for a bit,” he said.

I nodded, but when I saw him leaving the area, I was worried about the fact that I would be left alone with Jung Ha-Yan. I knew that she wasn’t crazy enough to suddenly use magic on me, but the scene I saw earlier kept replaying in my head. Jung Ha-Yan was giggling while Park Hye-Young was wriggling with her arm and leg severed. I couldn’t help but be scared of Jung Ha-Yan.

“Status window.”

When I called for the status window, my information was naturally reflected in my eyes.

[Checking Player Lee Ki-Young’s Status Window and Stats.]

[Name - Lee Ki-Young]

[Title - None. Please work harder.]

[Age - 25]

[Nature - Cautious Strategist]

[Job - Mage]

[Job Effect - Acquired basic magic knowledge]

[Stats]

[Strength - 10/Below average growth limit]

[Agility - 11/Below average growth limit]

[Stamina - 14/Below average growth limit]

[Intelligence - 25/Above epic growth limit]

[Endurance - 12/Below average growth limit]

[Luck - 23/Above epic growth limit]

[Magic - 05/Below average growth limit]

[Gear - None]

[Attribute - Mind’s Eye]

[Overall Review - You’ve grown a tiny bit. I’ve confirmed that your stamina, magic and intelligence has grown a lot. I guess you had to use your brain a lot. I can see that your intelligence stat has grown and reached a record high, but don’t become too arrogant. Your stats are worse than the monsters’ secretions.]

I didn’t know whose opinion this overall review was based on, but I didn’t like it. Although I wouldn’t be able to come this far without this, I still wanted to do something about this overall review.

However, I couldn’t help but feel a bit happy about how much my stats had grown.

I noticed that my magic stat had increased by two points and I guess I really did use my head a lot because compared to the other stats, my intelligence stat was the highest. I still had no idea about the exact reason as to why the intelligence stat existed in the first place, and just what exactly it improved, but I was certain that my basic thinking skills had improved compared to before.

‘Luck.’

I still had no idea how the luck stat worked, but it increased by two points as well.

I was happy because it seemed it was telling me that Jung Ha-Yan’s condition didn’t affect me in a negative way.

‘Not bad.’

Considering how my trash stats had been at the lowest at the start, yet now, when compared to other people’s stats, my stats weren’t all that bad anymore.

“Did your…stats go up?” Jung Ha-Yan asked.

“Yeah, did anything change for you?” I asked.

“N-No. Nothing yet…still, my magic stat increased a bit. Also, my stamina and strength…”

“That’s a relief,” I said.

[Checking Player Jung Ha-Yan’s Status Window and Potential.]

[Name - Jung Ha-Yan]

[Title - None. Please work harder.]

[Age - 21]

[Nature - Innocent Supporter]

[Job - Mage - Average Rank]

[Stats]

[Strength - 11/Below rare growth limit]

[Agility - 11/Below rare growth limit]

[Stamina - 15/Below epic growth limit]

[Intelligence - 23/Above epic growth limit]

[Endurance - 14/Below rare growth limit]

[Luck - 23/Above epic growth limit]

[Magic - 18/Above legendary growth limit]

[Gear - None]

[Attribute - How to become a mage - Epic Rank]

[Overall Review - Be careful. Nice boat.][1]

I opened Jung Ha-Yan’s status window out of curiosity and didn’t see any big differences compared to before. The only thing that caught my eyes was her magic stat, which increased by three points. Her nature was still innocent supporter; if she could still be considered as being innocent despite her current condition, then I guess she was. I had no complaints there, but I wish it made it easier for me to understand.

‘What’s with the overall review?’

For some reason, it gave off an ominous vibe.

“I-It’s all thanks to you o-o-oppa,” she said.

“No, I didn’t do anything,” I told her.

It was true. I truly hadn’t contributed much in helping her grow her stats.

When I quietly smiled, Jung Ha-Yan started smiling brightly. Her smile did look a bit scary, but I couldn’t make it look obvious that I was startled, so I lightly patted her head and then I saw her lowering her head. She was no longer the crazy woman that smiled after having severed Park Hye-Young’s arm and leg. In this situation, I couldn’t help but realize once again that she truly had feelings for me. Right now, Jung Ha-Yan was the person that I was most worried about because I had to find a way to control this uncontrollable bomb.

‘I have two choices.’

First, push her away very slowly. I am not saying to push her physically away from my arms. She liked me more than a lover and I would push her from that to a brother and sister type of relationship. It wouldn’t be an affection between a man and woman anymore, but between siblings.

Jung Ha-Yan wouldn’t use her magic to cut off my limbs just because she was jealous; and honestly, it was the safest and most rational method.

Second, quickly make her mine. The second choice was for us to truly have an intimate relationship.

I would have to develop a relationship where not only would she trust and follow me, but she would do anything I ask of her, no questions asked.

Honestly, I wanted to go with the first choice and even though I knew it wasn’t going to be easy. There was still room to direct our relationship in that way.

When I patted her head again while thinking about different things, she grabbed my hand that was on her head. Honestly, I was a bit surprised by what she did.

“Ahem…ahem…”

Park Deok-Gu returned from his patrol.

“Hey, you two look good,” he commented.

“Sorry? Oh…no. It’s not like that…”

Jung Ha-Yan appeared very flustered.

Park Deok-Gu displayed the same cunning smile as before and spoke towards Jung Ha-Yan.

“I asked you to look after hyung-nim, but it seems like you have a bit of a sly side, noonim.”

“I-It’s nothing like that,” she said.

She must have felt pressured by Park Deok-Gu’s snicker because she stood up from her seat and quietly started heading to a corner. After seeing that, he snickered again and sat next to me.

“Hey, did I come back too early?” Park Deok-Gu asked.

“What are you talking about?” I asked.

“Weren’t you having a good time with noonim?”

I had no idea what this guy was talking about. No, thinking about it now, he was 23 years old and Jung Ha-Yan was 21 years old, so I wasn’t sure why he was calling her noonim. No matter how you looked at it, Jung Ha-Yan looked younger than Park Deok-Gu.

“You do know that Jung Ha-Yan is younger than you, right?” I asked.

“Of course, but she’s going to be yours sooner or later, so as your brother, I shouldn’t treat her like a younger sister,” he answered.

“Bull…”

‘Shit’ was what I was going to say and now that I think about it, there was something strange.

What I wanted from Jung Ha-Yan from the start was a familial bond and not a romantic relationship. It was probably true that the environment she was in led her in the wrong direction, but despite that, there was a piece of the puzzle that didn’t quite fit.

But it felt like that last piece finally fit. So, it was all because of…

‘Damn it…’

The wingman.

“Don’t forget about me if things end up working out. Honestly, I didn’t say it, but after you asked me to look after her, I was secretly helping her,” he told me.

“What…how…”

“Ahem…I said things like you two looked good together and hinted that you may have feelings for her…I discreetly asked her about it, but there were too many moments that I can’t really remember…hehe…you don’t have to thank me…”

“...”

“I thought you had an interesting taste…ahem! As your younger brother, it’s only right for me to help! In my opinion, I think you’re almost there. You know, despite looking like this, I was known as Park Deok-Gu, the love doctor in Gangwon-do,” he explained.

He probably didn’t know how I felt because he continued talking about himself with a smile.

I was speechless.

I couldn’t help but realize that choosing between the two choices was meaningless.

‘Park Deok-Gu, you pig…’

The checkmate move was almost perfect. I couldn't think of a move to stop the designs of this pig with brains for muscles.

1. Nice boat is usually used in response to witnessing something exceptionally violent or gruesome. It was a meme born from 4chan from the cancellation of the anime "School Days" in Japan. Instead of the regular episode airing, boats were shown instead. Finally, someone commented "Nice boat." which ended up becoming a meme. For more details: https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Nice%20boat ☜