Regressor Instruction Manual

Chapter 1080: Picnic (43)

I[1] felt something warm. When I opened my eyes slowly, I saw the sunlight shining brightly into the room. It felt like I had been asleep for a really long time. It seemed so surreal to the point that I questioned if I was still dreaming, but a thought popped into my head, waking me up.

I looked around the room and saw that it was slightly messy.

The first thing I saw were the liquor bottles all over the place. Not only were there empty bottles on the table, floor, and on one side of the bed, but there was unidentifiable trash stacked on one side of the room. To make things worse, there were traces of destroyed furniture, making it seem like a beast had been living here instead of a human being.

‘I’m right.’

I couldn’t help but think that I was right because it was not an exaggeration to say that I had really been living like a beast over the past few days.

“...”

“...”

‘I'm an ungrateful jerk.’

I couldn’t understand why I acted that way.

If I had to give an excuse, I'd say that I had no choice but to be stubborn, as I couldn’t resolve the issue through ordinary methods. Going to another continent to save those suffering was something I couldn’t understand at all. We had sacrificed so much to achieve this peace, and saying that the God of Sacrifice and Revival had saved the continent wasn’t enough.

It could be said to be a happy ending, but we had to sacrifice and give up many things in exchange for it. Everything seemed perfect, but it was still rotten and bruised on the inside due to the many hardships that we had to go through.

For those who had gone through those hardships, the present was a time for them to recover from that pain. Unfortunately, he had to walk on the path of hardship again because of those damned Templars, who I really wanted to tear to pieces, but even doing that would certainly not satisfy me at all.

Saying that he had to walk on a similar path as before, that he had to walk on the thorny path, and save the continent with another regressor… No matter how much I thought about it, I just couldn’t understand why he was willing to do that.

Thus, I believed it was natural for me to be upset.

The problem was that I had expressed it the wrong way. I had made a mistake.

“Mr. Ki-Young,” I mumbled. He was a strong but fragile person. He'd always smile as if nothing was wrong, but he suffered more pain and suffering than anyone else. After hearing the story from Chanelia Hermes, I was sure that story had been on his mind all this while, and he had been suffering more than anyone else from it.

Lee Ki-Young was a man born to love everything, and he couldn’t ignore other people’s misfortune and pain. His every action resulted in goodness, and he was always giving joy to the world, delivering it from pain.

When he heard Chanelia’s story, I was sure Mr. Ki-Young was more confused than me.

He was always beside me whenever I was going through a hard time.

‘But I couldn’t do the same for him…’

I was embarrassed to call myself his friend. I had ignored and rejected him. Not only had I refused to carry the burden with him, but I had probably increased his burden.

I had ignored him when he watched the sunset alone and pushed himself to his limits. Despite knowing that he had no one to lean on, I had turned a blind eye to him, which probably pushed him over the edge.

“I’ll talk to him again,” I said.

'Yeah, I’ll do that. He did say… he wanted to talk again today. I was embarrassed by what I did yesterday, but…'

‘It’s a good thing I was being brave.’

It was a disgraceful and messy method, and I couldn’t remember exactly what I said because I was drunk, but I was able to convey my feelings. I realized too late that the solution was to talk it out rather than engage in a cold war. ℞𝐀𝐍ＯβƐS̈

'It’ll be difficult to come to an agreement… but if we talk it out, I might be able to find another way. I’m sure there's a way to satisfy both parties.'

I got up quietly to clean up the empty bottles in my room. I remembered Mr. Ki-Young telling me to quit drinking. I smiled bitterly and couldn’t help but think that it was thanks to them that we were able to reconcile.

[Mr. Ki-Young, I’m really sorry about yesterday. There are many things I want to tell you, and I want to talk to you about them face-to-face. There are things I haven’t told you yet… and I’d like to… officially apologize to you. If you let me know when you’re available, I’ll definitely visit you.]

After sending the message, I waited for a reply, but he hadn't read the message yet.

I was sure he’d reply late, as he hadn't gotten any sleep yesterday. Of course, it was all my fault. I went to the bathroom to wash up. As I thought about how to apologize to him and talk to him about Rohen, time flew by quickly.

‘Right, Chanelia Hermes.’

She was here.

I had some time left, so I thought it'd be better to hear more about Rohen from her than spend my time here mulling over my own thoughts. I wasn't the type to take charge, but I could offer help through other means.

I went outside and saw a familiar figure.

‘Jo Hye-Jin.’

Naturally, my actions last night popped up in my head. Jo Hye-Jin seemed to have remembered what had happened yesterday as well, as she flinched at the sight of me.

However, she greeted me as if nothing had happened.

“Miss Hye-Jin… and Miss Alps, hello,” I greeted.

“Woof! Pant, pant, pant! Woof!”

“H-Hello, Master,” Alps greeted.

“Did you sleep well, Master?” Jo Hye-Jin asked.

“I did, Miss Hye-Jin. I know this is sudden… but do you know where Miss Chanelia Hermes is?” I asked.

“Woof! Woof!”

“I believe she’s still in her room. What business do you have with her?” Jo Hye-Jin asked.

“There’s something I need to discuss with her,” I answered.

“I’ll contact her,” Jo Hye-Jin said.

“Please tell her that I’ll be waiting in my office,” I informed her.

“Okay.”

“Also…” I paused.

“Yes?”

“I’m sorry about yesterday,” I said.

“It’s fine, Master,” Jo Hye-Jin said.

“...”

“You shouldn't apologize to me…” Jo Hye-Jin replied.

“You’re right. I plan on apologizing to Mr. Ki-Young as well. I’m ashamed for making a fool of myself in many ways to Mr. Ki-Young, to you… and the other guild members,” I told her.

“...”

“...”

“Master,” Jo Hye-Jin said.

“Yes?”

“Everyone is bound to make mistakes,” Jo Hye-Jin continued.

“Th-Thank you for telling me that,” I said.

“I’m sure the sub guild master has forgiven you,” Jo Hye-Jin said, reassuring me.

I headed to my office, and I saw Mr. Ki-Young’s room on the way there.

However, I knew that I couldn’t knock on his door.

‘I’m sure he’s exhausted.’

He’d probably wake up around lunchtime.

Soon, my hand mirror vibrated and rang.

— Master.

"Yes, Miss Hye-Jin?" I replied.

— I can’t find Miss Chanelia Hermes.

"What?"

— As I said, I can’t find Miss Chanelia Hermes.

"Could you tell me the details?"

— I visited her room, but the room was already clean. There aren’t even traces of her going outside. I tried calling for Mr. Chang-Ryeol so he could find traces in the room, but…

"Yes?"

I immediately got a bad feeling.

"I-I understand."

— She might still be in Laves, so Miss Lian and Ye-Ri are looking for her. I’ll make sure… to contact you the moment we find her.

"A-All right. Ah! Please dispatch Ye-Ri to the desert. I’ll send you the exact coordinate… and…"

— Then…

"M-Miss Hye-Jin."

— Yes?

"Has Mr. Ki-Young…"

— The sub guild master?

"Actually, it’s nothing."

A voice was telling me something, but I couldn’t interpret it clearly in my head. It’d be nice if I were just worried for nothing, but I couldn't stop thinking about the worst-case scenario.

‘What did I say yesterday?’

I said the burden was too heavy to carry together and that I was sorry for being a coward… I remembered saying something like that. I couldn't remember the exact words, as I only had fragments of what had happened yesterday, but I was sure I said that I was scared.

What if…

“Ah! Master.”

“...”

“There’s something I would like to say about the topic that will be discussed at the workshop today…”

“You’re here, Master. You’re up pretty early today, haha.”

“Mr. Kim Hyun-Sung.”

What if…

“We created a plan that will change how supplies are used during a dungeon expedition. It’s still in its early stages… but I’m sure you’ll be satisfied with the plan. I would like to discuss this with you as soon as possible, so if we could meet a little earlier…”

“Master! Supplies are important during an expedition, but I have an even better idea. There are… special beings, like chimeras…”

“Haha, it's still so early in the morning, but all of you are already so passionate. The guild master needs a break as well, don’t you guys agree?”

“We should be working night and day for the development of the continent.”

“Don’t you agree, Master? Hahaha.”

“...”

“Get out,” I said.

“...”

“...”

“What did you say?”

“Master, what did you—”

“I said, get out,” I repeated.

“Ah… ugh…”

“...”

They became tense and frozen. After sending them away, I was going to head straight to Mr. Ki-Young’s room, but I couldn’t move at all. It took me only a few seconds to get there, but my feet wouldn’t move. It was probably because I was too nervous.

I didn't want to think about it, but I couldn't stop thinking about what I said yesterday.

‘What if…’

“Mr. Ki-Young… Ki-Young…Mr. Ki-Young…” I mumbled.

What if he had interpreted my words in a different way?

“Mr. Ki-Young… i-it’s me, Kim Hyun-Sung,” I said.

What if he had interpreted it as me saying that I was exhausted and that I was scared to carry the burden together with me? It was possible, as he wasn’t the type to expect something back whenever he gave something to someone.

“Mr. Ki-Young, can you hear me? Miss Ha-Yan… Miss Ha-Yan, are you there?” I asked.

I couldn't hear any voices outside, and I couldn't sense anyone as well.

“Mr. Ki-Young! Miss Ha-Yan!” I shouted.

The connection between us that I could always feel…

‘It has disappeared...’

When?

'When did we get disconnected? Are my eyes… Are my eyes still the same…'

I looked into my hand mirror while being in denial of it, but I couldn't receive any messages. I tried calling him, but I couldn't hear any ringing from inside the room.

‘It can’t be.’

I opened the door slowly with my eyes closed.

‘No way…’

“Ahh…”

“...”

“Damn it… damn it…” I muttered.

I saw an empty space with no warmth.

***

“Damn, where are we?” I[2] questioned.

“...”

“Where’s Ha-Yan? Ha-Yan! Miss Sora!” I called out.

“...”

“Ha-Yan… Miss Sora?” I called out again

“...”

“...”

“Shiiit…”

[You have entered the Beginner’s Trial tutorial.]

“Shit.”

1. Kim Hyun-Sung’s POV ☜

2. Lee Ki-Young’s POV ☜