Chapter 74

 

I’ll be hones-No. I’ll admit it:

 

I seem to have grossly underestimated dodging arrows.

 

For starters, I don’t have much combat experience. So, dodging arrows wasn’t exactly second nature to me.

 

You ask what am I talking about?

 

Looking back, all my battles ended in a single strike. Given my position as someone who would regress with just a graze, I avoided prolonged engagements at all costs, choosing only battles where I could swiftly defeat my opponents.

 

The only close combat I engaged in was against feeble enemies. Be it mutant goblins, thugs wielding psychokinesis, or even the Minotaur in the tutorial, and the master of the city on the second floor, they all fell in one hit. It’s somewhat amusing to say, but I haven’t been fully utilizing my body’s capabilities.

 

However, perched at the peak of my ignorance, I embarked on all this with a ‘just do it’ attitude... only to come to the stark realization of my incompetence.

 

At least I could dodge arrows at the beginning of the passage, relying on my physical prowess, but the real trouble began in the middle section.

 

From all directions, even from above and below. Arrows flew from everywhere at almost unpredictable moments. Magic or something else caused flames to erupt from the walls, disorienting my vision.

 

“Ugh!”

 

My body, of superior performance, managed to detect where the arrows were coming from in a split second, but my feet tangled up as I moved.

 

Gravity weighed down on my body, and the ligaments in my ankles twisted in a direction they shouldn’t...

 

 

 

I regressed.

 

***

 

 

 

I regressed again.

 

***

 

 

 

Once more, I regressed.

 

***

 

“Damn it, damn it, damn it...”

 

The problem wasn’t just my body.

 

In truth, the process of crossing through the passage was a success. The more I repeated the regression, the more steadily I advanced forward.

 

Even when arrows flew in incredibly challenging patterns, knowing in advance allowed me to endure somehow. Whether it was throwing a shield ahead to cover the ground or layering leather armor, I could awkwardly but effectively counteract the threat-

 

“...Are you okay?”

 

“No.”

 

-The issue is reaching the trap corridor.

 

If I had only focused on crossing the passage, my condition would have remained relatively intact. The real problem was the time it took to reach the ‘arrow traps’.

 

Waking up in the cave, greeting people, picking up weapons, walking through the caves, preparing in advance, successfully hunting wolves, then convincing people to prepare for the mirror maze and passing through it only to finally reach the trap.

 

Without a watch, I can’t be certain how much time has passed, but at the very least, it’s been 3 hours. Each regression requires repeating actions that took 3 hours.

 

Having regressed about 10 times, I’ve been repeating the same actions for 30 hours now. My mental strength is dwindling in real time.

 

Yet, so far, I’ve been okay. I could feel my movements improving, and I was making progress step by step. Holding onto this small satisfaction, I could endure the next 3 hours.

 

It’s okay. You’re doing well.

 

***

 

I’ve regressed 20 times.

 

Now, I feel like I somewhat understand the rules of this trap-filled corridor.

 

First, the traps are activated by stepping on the floor. And once stepped on, that ground becomes safe again.

 

And the further I advance, the more cunning the traps become.

 

Initially, only arrows were shot, but at some point, flames began to burst out, and just now, thin spikes were launched. In the dark corridor, it was impossible to dodge. It’s utterly unfair.

 

But still, I’m making progress. I can do this.

 

***

 

After around 40 regressions:

 

I found myself yearning for the flash steps I used on the second floor.

 

The sensation when Baron Licht controlled my mana is vivid in my memory, but I couldn’t do it myself. It’s a tickling feeling of incapability; I should have committed to learning how to manipulate mana if I knew this would happen.

 

It would be nice to just whoosh past with a flash step. Then I wouldn’t have to deal with all this crap.

 

It seems I’m nearing the end of the middle section now. Just a moment ago, the floor flipped, stabbing me with sharp spikes. It was incredibly frustrating, but with no one to complain to, I just screamed like a madman right after regressing.

 

Kang Chan looked at me with disdainful eyes.

 

***

 

70? 80? I can’t quite remember. Anyway, I’ve regressed many times.

 

This time, I intended to lie down on the ground to rest, but I had no choice but to get up due to Kyung-Joon’s incessant nagging.

 

“...Hey.”

 

“...Me?”

 

“Try doing this.”

 

Perhaps it was because Kyung-Joon looked somewhat annoying.

 

My slightly addled brain decided to push Kyung-Joon into the trap.

 

“...”

 

The moment Kyung-Joon, possessed by spirit under Kang Chan’s murderous aura, stepped into the corridor, arrows flew from all directions.

 

“…!”

 

Thanks to the spirit’s reflexes, the early part of the corridor was easy to cross, but as the number of arrows increased and their timing became erratic, even the empowered Kyung-Joon had no chance.

 

“...Hmm.”

 

Even as a barrage of arrows rained down like spears, Kyung-Joon managed to deflect what he could and dodge the rest. However, there were light wounds scattered across his body.

 

“...It’s poison.”

 

The trustworthiness of the claim was high when the guy carrying a wooden spear declared, “It’s poison.”

 

“It’s not lethal. It’s a paralytic poison. It just accumulates in the body over time.”

 

“...”

 

Finally, the intention behind this trap-laden corridor became clear.

 

The tips of the arrows were blunter than expected. A direct hit might cause injury, but not death.

 

The designer of this trap probably hoped that people would take turns navigating it, avoiding the accumulation of too much poison before switching out to continue through the corridor.

 

“Ah, ugh... It’s numb...”

 

As soon as his empowerment wore off, Kyung-Joon started fussing and massaging his arms.

 

“...Kyung-Joon.”

 

“...Yes?”

 

“Please take care of me.”

 

It seems I might be able to rely on Kyung-Joon’s help in navigating the latter part of the corridor. This is a significant gain.

 

**

 

I’ve regressed over 100 times. After that, I stopped counting.

 

“Heh, hehe...”

 

I sprint down the corridor with my eyes closed.

 

By now, I could dodge the traps in the early and mid-sections blindfolded. Walking through the cave for 3 hours was essentially a form of image training, allowing me to envision the trajectory of the arrows even with my eyes shut.

 

Arrows, flames, poison darts, spikes, shurikens, and sudden holes that appear on the ground - the myriad traps no longer pose a threat to me. The latter part, where countless needles are spat out, was quite troublesome... but I left that to Kyung-Joon. Watching him spin his spear circularly as a shield was almost awe-inspiring.

 

Step. Step. Step.

 

Steps taken with conviction.

 

Arrows pour from all sides, but my body rotates smoothly through them.

 

Though the barrage of arrows seemed almost like a solid plane rather than points or lines, not a single one touched me.

 

It was the result of perfect posture, movement, and distribution of force.

 

“...”

 

The arrows stop coming.

 

Only then did I allow a smile to form on my lips and take a step forward.

 

No familiar clicking sound follows.

 

“...Ah.”

 

The color of the ground had changed. It was no longer the smooth stone floor of the trap corridor, but the damp, slippery floor of a cave.

 

The trap corridor had come to an end.

 

“...Did I overdo it?”

 

Looking down at my left hand, I shook my head in disbelief.

 

After endless attempts, I had come to fully understand my body. I had filled the gap in my practical experience regarding evasion to my heart’s content.

 

Now, with the insurance of regression and the added spice of extraordinary agility, if I could just acquire attack power on par with Kang Chan... I would be invincible.

 

“Heh, hehehe...”

 

With a laugh, I spun around to face the other party members.

 

“...”

 

“What is this...”

 

“...This doesn’t make sense.”

 

Despite his impassive face, Kang Chan couldn’t hide his surprise, his eyes shaking, alongside Dok Su-Hee, who was gaping in shock, and Kyung-Joon, who had his hand over his mouth.

 

From their perspective, I must have seemed like an unbelievable prodigy, effortlessly dodging a barrage of weapons from all directions, fearlessly advancing forward.

 

Of course, behind this was the foundation of hundreds of hours of effort I had put in and the excellent physical abilities afforded by my achievement levels... but there was no need to explicitly mention that.

 

“Now, if you just step where I did, you can cross over.”

 

I encouraged the other party members to follow, smiling.

 

“...”

 

“...”

 

However, they remained still, staring intently at me.

 

“...What’s the matter?”

 

“Jun-ho... how can we remember where you stepped?”

 

“...Ah.”

 

 

 

***

 

Eventually, after a comical process of smearing wolf’s blood on the bottom of my leather boots to mark where I stepped, all four of us managed to successfully cross through the arrow trap. Kyung-Joon sustained some minor injuries while blocking the needles, but they were not severe.

 

We cleared the arrow corridor without Kang Chan’s fists.

 

My efforts had finally borne fruit.

 

“Wow, that’s really amazing... look at this needle... it’s still dripping with poison...”

 

“I thought I was watching a movie...”

 

Dok Su-Hee and Kyung-Joon kept sending me praises. Their admiration wasn’t just empty words; it genuinely came from the heart.

 

“...”

 

But for some reason, I didn’t feel greatly elated.

 

Uneasily so.

– – – End of Chapter – – -

 

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