Chapter 38: Rapid Changes on Earth (3)
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One might think my claimâthat humanity would self-destruct within a mere decadeâis an exaggeration.
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However, the reason I think this way is because there are mainly two types of people who are passionately climbing the Tower right now.
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Either heroes who risk their lives for the sake of humanity out of a sense of duty, or lunatics who can risk their lives without a second thought simply to become stronger.
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The problem lies with the lunatics.
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They are likely growing by leaps and bounds as they fervently ascend the Tower.
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Even at this moment, I could probably win a gold medal if I participated in the Olympics. But what if a year goes by, or five years, or ten?
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What if immense power that can part the sea and level mountains ends up in the hands of a madman?
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What if a lunatic, who could destroy Earth âjust for fun,â emerges?
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Humanity wouldnât stand a chance.
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Thatâs why I think humanity will be doomed in 10 years.
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Itâs the same reason why modern political systems distribute power in fragmented pieces here and there.
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Power that is consolidated is strong, but itâs also unstable. Everything would be reliant on that one individual who wields the power, after all.
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In the end, the task at hand is simple.
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Climb the Tower as quickly as possible. Conquer this Tower before people become too powerful. And prevent the Earth from being destroyed as someoneâs twisted joke.
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But first, I decided to wait for about another month to observe how things would unfold.
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ă U.S. Government Officially Recommends Climbing to the 2nd Floor... âInternal Investigation of Survival Rate Proves Itâs Not Dangerous.â ă
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It seems that the floor embargo might apply to players as well, as I was unable to access information about the 2nd floor. Probably because Iâm still lingering on the 1st floor.
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All I could learn was that it was ârelatively safe.â
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ă âTowerâ Items: The Future Resource for Humanity? Global Corporations Begin Investigations. ă
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Since it was revealed that items could be brought back from the Tower, countries started to systematically support Tower expeditions.
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They also began to craft hero narratives around native players who showed visible achievements.
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ă U.S. Government Launches Player Association... Inaugural Chairman is âMighty Michaelâ Michael Jeter. ă
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The United States was the first to take action.
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They churned out special legislation at an impressively rapid pace, as if they had been preparing in advance.
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They also created a âPlayer Associationâ to officially support players. But the âsupportâ mostly consisted of connecting them with special forces instructors, promoting them as national heroes, and providing generous financial backing.
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Though players who have reached the first floor might not see much benefit in this... it was surprisingly effective.
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Of course, Players could lead materially abundant lives on the first floor, but⊠As is always the case with humans, they were not aloneâŠ
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ă High-Grade Potion Auctioned for 2 Billion Dollars in New York. ă
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âŠFor their families, for their friends, for their lovers, or because they aspired to be heroesâthe number of people registering with the Player Association continued to grow day by day.
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ă Korean Government Awards Player Choi Ji-won Presidential Commendation... First in the Country to Successfully Climb to the 10th Floor. ă
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Another familiar name appeared in the Korean news.
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Choi Ji-won. Given that sheâs an incredible overachiever, her rising prominence seemed inevitable.
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The media even took the opportunity to put her father back in the spotlight.
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The reason governments around the world were elevating heroes was simpleâTo placate an enraged public, visible achievements were needed.
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They needed something to show that the government was taking action.
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The politicians chose players as that symbol.
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ă China Announces Worldâs First Successful Climb to the 20th Floor. Credibility Low. ă
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In the current situation, there was no way to verify how far anyone had actually climbed.
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Society had not improved. Incidents of crimes by Players hadnât decreased. But thanks to the existence of these heroes, the people could see a glimmer of light.
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Of course, if I set my mind to it, I could regress and find myself right beside Choi Ji-won. No, eventually, I could even become the worldâs best player and monopolize wealth and fame.
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But there was a reason I chose not to.
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It might seem out of the blue, but survivors of the tutorial, officially called âplayers,â wanted to share their stories.
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Those who had gone through extreme experiences had been mentally drained, and they found solace in sharing their stories.
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But, only a player could listen to anotherâs story and empathize with another player.
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Thus, the establishment of a site called âPlayerNetâ was, in a way, inevitable.
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The reason I suddenly brought up PlayerNet was simple.
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Because my story got posted there.
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<Sharing a story where everyone survived the tutorial.>
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{You know, Iâve read all the tutorial-related posts you guys wrote? Really, fighting through life-or-death situations... it seemed grueling.
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But hereâs the kickerâI never fought. To be precise, I didnât do anything in the tutorial. Sounds impossible, right?
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I find it unbelievable myself.
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First of all, just like you guys, I woke up in an empty lot after fainting. I was so out of it that I was just sitting there, staring into space, until this elf-like creature appeared.
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Then suddenly, some guy stood up. I canât remember his name, but he had this oddly captivating aura about him. Not model-level good-looking, but you canât help but keep watching him, you know what I mean?
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Anyway, this guy starts going on about how we need to stick together... but I wasnât listening. I was too busy checking out his face. Then he suddenly picks up a sword and starts dancing with it.
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Honestly, it was the first time Iâd ever seen someone handle a sword that well. Should I say I felt a little overwhelmed? After his sword dance, he looked like a different person. Cool but also a bit frightening.
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I was slightly intimidated, so I just sat still. Then this guy started chatting with some woman, told us to wait for a moment, and vanished after cutting some grass. He reappeared about an hour later and told us to follow him.
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When I followed him, I saw literally thousands of goblins fighting among themselves, and he just told us to ignore them and keep walking;
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I was so freaked out I almost ran away, but then thought, âscrew itâ and followed him. I felt like this guy must have some sort of plan.
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But when we got there, there was⊠umm⊠this massive bull-headed monster� The thing was as big as a truck, wielding an axe and making a racket, so I naturally shrunk back a bit.
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Then all of a sudden, the bull-headed thing charged straight at me; I was running away in panic, and then some middle-aged guy grabbed me and told me to look behind.
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I turned around, and the bull-headed monsterâs head was rolling on the ground;
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Next, a goblin shaman or something suddenly dropped dead, and a portal opened. Since I didnât do anything during the trial, they said I was innocent and let me go.
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Iâm glad to be alive, but I canât shake this uneasy feeling. They say itâs safe, but Iâm too scared to go to the second floor.
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If that guy suddenly decides to go berserk and kill everyone, I have no confidence that Iâll survive.}
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===
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-Is this for real? You expect us to believe this?
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-No joke. I was in the same tutorial as this guy, and itâs all factual, no exaggeration. By the way, that âsome womanâ turned out to be Choi Ji-won. That guy is even stronger than her.
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-Iâve seen the bull-headed monster too. It looked like it could wipe out a thousand people.
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-If this is real, isnât that guy a regressor? How does a newbie just entering the tower pull something like this off?
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-Exactly. Earth mustâve already been destroyed once, and the last survivor used some sort of regression artifact to come back. Heâs probably monopolizing all the hidden pieces.
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-If anyone knows the contact info for the person in the post, Iâll compensate you. Please DM me.
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ââŠâ
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I had no intention of playing the hero anymore.
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To be precise, I was planning to lay as low as possible.
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Even if I had to utilize my abilities, I planned to keep my identity a secret.
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I showed too much in the tutorial. In my obsession to save everyone, I unknowingly made a terrible mistake.
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The greatest vulnerability for someone like me, whoâs essentially invincible because Iâm a regressor, is âhaving the fact that I can regress discovered.â
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Why? Because thereâs a clear counter to regressors.
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Sealing.
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Death regressors are fearless. They boldly show their faces here and there, armed with the confidence that if they die, they can just restart. Theyâre inherently careless.
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But what happens if a regressor, be it through magic, items, or whatever, gets sealed?
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Their ability to regress becomes useless.
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Theyâre stripped of the right to die and restart. Their body remains frozen until the end of the world, maybe even beyond that.
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Of course, the conditions for my regression are far less stringent. I can regress with just a scratch, so if I quickly self-harm before being sealed, I might be able to avoid it. Maybe I can even regress while getting injured in the sealing process.
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But still, thereâs nothing good about being known as a regressor. Thereâs no telling when or where some lunatic will appear to target me.
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Yet, I havenât given up my dream of earning some fame.
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My goal is... to build casual relationships with the top heroes in the tower, including Choi Ji-won.
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Iâm aiming for a relationship where we know each other, but arenât overly close. A relationship that wonât mess with my mental state.
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I believe that if they are genuinely good heroes climbing the tower, they will help me out knowingly or unknowingly, even if they donât know about what Iâve done.
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Once they conquer the tower and get their rewards, I should be able to claim a spot by their side.
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To put it in a nutshell... I plan to ascend the tower as quickly and secretly as possible.
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And there was one prerequisite for achieving my goal.
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Increasing my strength.
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I must become as strong as possible. And I must ascend the tower as quickly as possible.
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After scanning the news to cram information into my head, I slammed the back of my hand with a strong fist.
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***
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âAh, itâs a bit disorienting since itâs been a while.â
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Is this my first regression in two months?
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In truth, I had been extremely cautious during this period, wary of accidentally triggering a regression.
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I had not only put up mosquito nets for fear of mosquito bites, but I had also padded my hard furniture with foam.
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I was able to safely endure two months, but experiencing this sensation again felt incredibly unfamiliar.
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âBut Iâll have to get used to it.â
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I intend to exploit this ability to the fullest from now on.
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âShall we begin?â
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The current moment is right when I entered the 1st floorâTo be precise, the instant I received the Berserkerâs Pill from the angel and entered the 1st floor without being able to injure myself.
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I wasted no time and took the âBerserkerâs Pillâ I was holding.
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A warm energy surged deep within my body. Sweat beads formed on the surface of my skin.
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Yet the stat window, only revealing a message of increased stat, continued to keep its details hidden.
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You elusive little thing. Planning to hide until the very end, are you?
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But thatâs okay. What matters is that my stats have increased, even if I canât see them.
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I slammed the back of my hand once more.
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***
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Once again, I looked down at the âBerserkerâs Pillâ in my hand.
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There was a reason why I didnât immediately swallow it after I received it from the angel.
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For an Infinite Regressor like me, such pills are more precious than anything else. If you know their location, you can consume them repeatedly.
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A senior Regressor I know, Mr. Baek, always starts his regressions by first collecting elixirs hidden in sacred mountains.
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Of course, I canât infinitely increase my Strength stat through this pill... but thatâs okay.
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The mere fact that I can increase my strength up to its current possible limit will bring enormous benefits.
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Gulp!
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I swallowed the âBerserkerâs Pillâ immediately.
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From now on, there wonât be a place where Iâll be outmatched in terms of strength. A face-to-face confrontation? Iâll overcome them all with overwhelming power.
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As I was envisioning such a rosy future and reviewing my plans...
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â...Cough!â
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Something wriggled in my throat.
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Even though I had swallowed it, the âBerserkerâs Pillâ seemed to come back to life and jump back out from my esophagus.
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â...Ha.â
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I let out a sigh of disappointment as I read the message that appeared before my eyes.
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God, you...
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You blocked this, huh...
â â â End of Chapter â â -
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