"Have you ever played a game called 'Maple Leaf Story'?
In this game, daily quests or events force you to defeat a certain number of monsters. But it can't be just any monster; it has to be one within a specific level range of your own. They're colloquially called 'Level-Range Monsters' or 'Lev-Ran Monsters'.
This is to prevent players from slaughtering overly weak monsters and easily reaping the rewards. But...
[The level difference with the monster is too extreme; you cannot gain experience.]
[The level difference with the monster is too extreme; you cannot gain experience.]
[The level difference with the monster is too extreme; you cannot gain experience.]
... [and so on]
Seeing this message reminds me of that game.
"Ugh..."
If I were to make an educated guess... the word 'level difference' in the message is particularly troubling. The tower probably sees me, with my EX-grade skill, as an absurdly overpowered character. And, to be honest, it might not be wrong. Given enough time, I might become an unbeatable monster. Just the fact that I can regress indefinitely means I've already ascended dozens of notches in terms of being. But right now, this feels like a slap in the face.
How many goblins have I slain? How hard have I worked to clear those forests? I've put in the effort, but because I possess a cheat-like skill, I can't use the standard stat window or gain levels like everyone else? From my perspective, this situation is utterly infuriating. If I could gain regular levels, having verified that regression levels remain even after regressing, I could've become much stronger more quickly. The author who gave me the ability to regress probably didn't want things to be too easy for me.
I sighed and turned my attention to Anchovy, a sudden suspicion arising after hearing about the items obtained from the powerful goblin.
"Anchovy."
"Yes, boss?"
"Tell me everything you got from the big goblin."
"Well... gold beads, experience, and..."
"And?"
"Oh, I got a bundle of 500 milliliters of water, a can, and two boxes of large chocolate bars. I fed some to the goblins I control, but would you like the rest?"
"... You got chocolate bars?"
"Yes!"
Chocolate bars and a bundle of water. It's a familiar set of items. Specifically, items I often saw when I was idly in the vacant lot, doing nothing.
"Hmm..."
The sharp-eyed Choi Jiwon, who trained in a corner of the vacant lot, swinging her sword yet always alert. What if she had been targeting only strong monsters, and all the food she brought back was from them? She might have earned many gold beads each time. And the problem is that I'm just finding this out now.
She hid the fact that she had the gold beads.
"This doesn't have to do with the recent murder, right?"
"No, it's unrelated."
"Alright, keep up the good work."
I felt like I had gleaned enough information from Anchovy, so I let him be. I learned a secret about the status window, acquired a new characteristic, both good and bad, discovered how to get gold beads, and gained a lot from this iteration. But I had no intentions of regressing just yet.
There are three crucial pieces of information I need to uncover through multiple regressions:
First, how to secure gold beads and their locations.
Second, the location of the boss.
Third, the location of the Minotaur that killed me.
I've figured out the first one. If I continue to regress, I'll accumulate data on their exact locations. Given enough time and iterations, I might even pinpoint all 50 locations of the gold beads. And the reason I'm curious about the Minotaur's location is simple: the Minotaur is truly, incredibly powerful. Even Choi Ji-won, who boasts an unparalleled might thanks to her overpowered ability, cannot guarantee a victory against it; that's how insanely strong it is. Those who've read web novels might have noticed something here: this creature has the aura of a hidden boss. It's a monster that appears in tutorials and is so formidable you'd think it wasn't designed to be defeated. The protagonist, after regressing from the future, manages to barely defeat the hidden boss using some mysterious technique, and then claims a precious reward that no one else has ever found. My goal was the same.
Perhaps, once I become strong enough, I could defeat the Minotaur? If there comes a day when I advance beyond the tutorial stage, it will be after I've defeated the Minotaur. And to do that, I first need to know its location. Since a single hit sends me into regression, it's inefficient to simply wait around in the vacant lot for a week for it to come to me. It makes more sense for me to relentlessly seek it out.
Lastly, what I need to know is the location of the boss, which is currently my primary objective.
"Wow, this place is vast."
Even if the deaths of others aren't my responsibility, I'm not heartless enough to stand by and watch people die without feeling anything. As a regressor, if I can identify the location of the boss, defeating it will only be a matter of time. When I have the means to save everyone, it seems cruel to just selfishly move on to the next stage alone. Of course, I'd exclude those with malicious intents like the thugs I killed earlier... The point is, I have the intention of saving everyone.
"Damn..."
I must've walked in a straight line for about two hours. The repetitive scenery of grass, trees, and rocks persisted until it suddenly changed. There was no sign of a suspicious-looking cave or primitive shelter that might house a boss. The only noticeable change was a smell, a faint stench reminiscent of rotting fish. Even though the terrain here resembles a jungle, the scent of rotting fish is out of place.
"...I should check it out."
Whenever something unusual is encountered, it's natural to investigate. Following the pungent scent, I arrived at a destination: a seemingly endless swamp. It was vast, stretching as far as the eye could see in every direction. I'd never seen a swamp this large; it felt like looking at the ocean. It's illogical for a swamp to be this vast, but then again, this is the tower. Based on what I'm seeing, the tutorial area seems to be an island surrounded by this massive swamp. It's a tower, after all, so it's logical for the explorable area to have limits.
Musing to myself, I contemplated the idea of diving into the swamp. The waters, bubbling ominously and tinged a sickly purple, didn't seem inviting. Just by looking, one could tell it was poisonous, and the absence of any signs of life only intensified this belief. No matter my regression ability, diving in was not an option. It looked like a surefire way to die.
"...Maybe I should explore elsewhere."
I considered walking along the perimeter of the swamp, thinking the boss might be nearby. In games, one can push monsters off cliffs. Similarly, if I could lure the boss into the swamp, I might win without a real fight.
"Alright then..."
Just as I was about to take a step, a familiar yet bitter taste hit my lungs. It was a taste I knew all too well: the taste of blood. [ You have taken damage. ]
[ You will regress to the moment you first entered the 0th floor. ]
"Damn it."
I didn't expect to regress just from smelling the poison.
Really... this is just so unfair.