Five Time Regressor Walks the King’s Path - Chapter 1
Chapter 1. Teamwork Only in the Beginning
“Haa, it’s finally over.”
It’s been 24 years since I was born as the youngest son of a wealthy family that owns Korea’s leading conglomerate, holding trillions of corporate assets.
Due to my strict father, I couldn’t even leave the army. But now, there were only ten days left until my discharge.
As the youngest with the least expectations from people, all I had left to do was spend the pile of money that never shrunk.
“Sergeant Ha, you’ll be going back to society soon.”
“Yeah. Call me when you get out. I’ll specially teach you what life is all about.”
I patted Corporal Kim, the hardest working person in the army unit, on the shoulder and walked into the restroom whistling.
I smoothed down my short hair in front of the mirror and smiled.
‘Soon, my hair will also be restored to its original state.’
While having trivial thoughts, I put the beret back on my head.
However, as soon as I saw the situation unfolding before me, all I could was stare dumbly.
It was because the space I’d been standing on was suddenly shifting into another.
“Huh? What’s this?”
The moment I thoughtlessly uttered those words, letters forming words appeared before me.
[The ‘Creator of Crown Road’, ‘Celestial’, delivers a message.]
[You are soon destined to die. However, if you conquer Crown Road, you will be able to escape that fate.]
“What? What bullshit!”
As soon as I cursed, the words in the air suddenly changed.
[Subdue the Final Boss, Crown, on Floor 100 within five years. If you are unable to do so, you will return to the day you first started.]
I wasn’t the only one here.
There were countless people here, and some of them were walking toward a distant door with familiarity.
As if they’d been here before.
I hurriedly grabbed the shoulder of a person walking casually.
“Wait… Wait a minute! You there!”
When he turned his head, I couldn’t help but feel a shiver run down my spine.
His eyes were different from those of normal people.
Those eyes looked impoverished, as if they had faced and crossed numerous trials.
He shook off my hand and continued on his way, making me frown.
I didn’t know what was happening, but first and foremost, I had to get out of here.
If I pass through that white space in the distance, I might find some answers.
However, I didn’t know then…
With ten days left before discharge, I believed that all I had left to do in my life was to go around and spend money as the youngest son of a wealthy family.
…That I was stuck in an eternal cycle of hell.
* * *
[First Regression]
Although I was in a state of panic, humans were creatures of adaptation.
Crown Road, which was divided into one-floor units, was like a tower.
All would end if regressors climbed up the tower and knocked down the boss, Crown, on Floor 100.
In addition, there was a safe zone in between every Floor, where those who still maintained their humanity formed villages.
“I’m sure those idiots can take care of clearing the tower.”
They had five years to do so.
Besides me, there were as many as 50,000 participants in Crown Road.
Anyway, I was a latecomer with not one ounce of experience.
There were people who had already experienced regression several times, so I wouldn’t be of any help.
Above all, this place was worth making money in compared to the military.
There was a woman as well.
Was there any reason to take risks and climb up?
Those were my thoughts, and I adjusted to Floor 1.5 of Crown Road and lived a comfortable life.
By that time, I’d nearly forgotten the time limit of Crown Road.
By the time five years had passed…
…Just like the beginning, I was back as a soldier.
[Second Regression]
When I was having a good time with Cheren, whom I met on Floor 1.5, the space suddenly began to change and I was left blinking like an idiot for a good few seconds.
Not long after I recognized this was the same starting point as five years ago, my body began to tremble.
“Fuck.”
The first word that left my mouth was a swear.
I realized right away.
The guys who were clearing the Floors had failed to clear Crown Road.
I wasted five years on the safest Floor 1.5, thinking I could go back home soon enough, only for that dream to quickly pop like a bubble.
Youthful face.
Old uniform worn down by a year and a half of use.
Short hair. Again.
Suddenly, I had a thought.
‘If I come back here again…’
That’s ten years.
[The ‘Creator of Crown Road’, ‘Celestial’, delivers a message.]
[You are soon destined to die. However, if you conquer Crown Road, you will be able to escape that fate.]
The same exact words that I saw my first time around floated in the air.
“What the hell are they doing?! Those pieces of shit!”
With that, I chucked the beret away. This time, I stepped up.
If we weren’t able to achieve the goal within the given time period, all five years of hard work would be wasted since we’d return back to step one.
If so, we should clear it as quickly as possible and return to Earth.
Because a life full of luxury was waiting for me.
[The ‘Proprietor of Floor 1’, ‘Mocking Cinderella’, welcomes your second regression.]
That “welcome” could go die in a ditch.
‘If those fools can’t clear it, I’ll do it myself.’
With that, the challenge began.
In the beginning, there were a few times I’d faced death’s door, but I stubbornly stayed among the living and reached out toward my goal.
After adjusting to some extent, I followed other regressors to gather information. I chose an excellent ‘Skill’ and rapidly grew.
Then I developed a sense of fellowship as I got along with other people, so I broke through the Floors with them.
Floor 58.
The highest Floor I’d ever reached.
Five years.
Another five years had passed.
And I was back to being a soldier.
[Third Regression]
I came back without even a glimpse of Crown, who resided on Floor 100.
“Ffffuuuuck!!”
The moment all my hard-earned skills, levels, and stats crumbled to dust, the bubbling anger inside me erupted.
I was back to this dumbass look.
From my short hair to my military uniform, everything felt like shit.
I threw my beret to the floor and stomped on it. My eyes were ablaze.
With this regression, I realized it clearly.
This could not be done alone.
[The ‘Proprietor of Floor 1’, ‘Mocking Cinderella’, cheers you on for your third regression.]
I gathered people I knew from last time and raised my level by desperately utilizing my memories to obtain items from my second regression.
Along the way, a famous guy who repeated Crown Road several times more than me stepped before us.
Crown Road Candidate, ‘Emperor.’ Under his leadership, we pierced through Crown Road.
The participants’ hearts united as one and aimed for the same goal: to get out of Crown Road.
This time, we’ll clear it.
We’ll definitely clear it.
And so passed another five years.
I was back to being a soldier.
[Fourth Regression]
My expression was different from before.
[The ‘Proprietor of Floor 1’, ‘Mocking Cinderella’, looks forward to your fourth regression.]
As soon as everyone returned again, we cooperated to break through Crown Road at full speed.
As a result, we reached Floor 90 for the first time in history.
In the last regression, we had failed again, but we gained that much more experience.
So we could do it this time.
It was possible to clear it.
With ‘Emperor,’ it was surely possible.
And the moment we reached Floor 99, with much tenacity and expectation.
An incident broke out.
[We are not going back. We will forever reign in this world.]
Yashin, a guild created by Candidates, and ‘Yashin’, an elite among elites, betrayed us.
They killed ‘Emperor’ and sparked a war amongst the participants.
A war between those who wished to stay and those who wished to leave.
As a result, there were far more casualties than when we broke through Floor 99, and more than half of the participants were killed.
In the end, we couldn’t even challenge the final boss on Floor 100, Crown, and only lost capable regressors.
And once again, I was back to being a soldier.
[The ‘Creator of Crown Road’, ‘Celestial’, delivers a message.]
[You are soon destined to die. However, if you conquer Crown Road, you will be able to escape that fate.]
I stared blankly at those words before me.
Another five years without even challenging Crown.
I rubbed my palm against my face and forced myself to restrain the scream I desperately wanted to let out.
My fourth regression with Emperor was the only opportunity.
The best opportunity when competent and experienced regressors were alive.
However, most of the capable regressors died.
Now, new participants will fill their spots. Those newbies who haven’t ever experienced Crown Road.
It was obvious.
Any and all opportunities were gone.
“Fucking hell.”
I let out an empty laugh.
Crown Road.
I was just a piece on the board for the game the Constellations played, once again.
Grind.
The sound of teeth clashing rang out.
I clenched my fist so tight blood seeped out.
Whatever.
I don’t need anyone.
“I’ll just do it by myself.”
24-year-old Ha Chun-Sung.
20 years of Crown Road experience.
Crown Road, Fifth Regression.
To return to Earth, I will challenge Crown Road with a mouth full of venom.
* * *
Crown Road.
A roguelike world that repeated indefinitely until all 100 Floors were cleared and the final boss, Crown, defeated.
The total number of participants was 50,000.
It was a world where, from Floor 50 and up, participants from nine other worlds completely different from Earth would join, making the grand total 500,000 people.
Among them, there were those who repeatedly regressed like me, or those who were summoned as new members to replace those who died in the previous round.
And I, belonging to the former and on my fifth regression, stood in front of the black space.
“Haah, fuck.”
I could only curse out of annoyance, having to face the scene that I had already seen numerous times.
Some people who were summoned to the starting point again plopped down in a sense of despondency, and there were a few who went insane.
Those who were faced with this situation for the first time were trembling or taken aback, while those who already experienced it a few times walked through the white embroidered door between the black spaces with familiarity.
‘What of those damn Yashin?’
I wildly turned my head around to find those Yashins.
But it seemed like they went into hiding as soon as they returned. There was not a single Yashin that caught my eyes.
‘None. Damn it. There’s probably more that haven’t revealed themselves. There’s a limit even if I want to find them.’
Countless regressors led by Emperor died in the war against Yashin, and participants who were chilling in the far lower Floors did not even know about the fact that Yashin betrayed us.
All the outstanding regressors were fighting together on the frontlines.
‘Because of that, there’s barely anyone I recognize now.’
In the last round, war between forces, betrayal, and veiled enmity killed an unprecedented number of participants.
There were more deaths from stabbing our own than from the monsters.
What hurt the most was that the dead were talented regressors.
Crown Road wasn’t so easy that one could simply take newbies to clear it.
‘So that is why… I will do it alone, without considering others.’
I made up my mind.
I don’t care about joining forces or whatever. I’ll do everything myself.
‘What I need are two F-rank skills.’
After experiencing a war between humans, I thought of one method that could help me succeed once I decided to go it alone.
One breakthrough I found in a skill I’d been researching.
I found a trick that could make me strong enough to clear Crown Road.
“Wh-What? Where am I?!”
While I was busy organizing my thoughts, I heard a woman’s voice next to me.
She had black bobbed hair and a mole near her mouth. She was dressed in a suit.
Seemingly an office worker, she was clearly a newbie. I just ignored her and walked away.
“Ex-Excuse me! Please, wait! Mr. Soldier!”
Hearing the word “soldier”… That made me scrunch up my face.
How many times have I seen this rotten uniform?
My hair was back to being short, so it would take me months to grow it again.
Crown Road just had to summon me ten days before my military discharge. Just thinking about it made me sick.
“You know something, right? Why am I here in a place like this? I was working as usual, just a few minutes ago! Where in the world am I?!”
I turned toward the woman who was chasing me, an urgency in her voice.
She flinched and stood still when I made eye contact with her. I looked at her for a few seconds before opening my mouth.
“Get lost. Go ask some other guy.”
Her face turned red after my words.
She looked seconds away from screaming at my face, so I simply ignored her and stepped through the white door.
At that moment, the space where I stood changed.
[The ‘Proprietor of Floor 1’, ‘Mocking Cinderella’, mocks your fifth regression.]
A Constellation’s mockery.
“You bitch. I’ll definitely kill you someday.”
[The ‘Proprietor of Floor 1’, ‘Mocking Cinderella’, wishes you the best of luck.]
[‘Mocking Cinderella’ offers you the option to choose an F-rank skill.]
[‘Mocking Cinderella’ warns you. Skills cannot be changed once selected.]
‘Skill.’
A breakthrough in Crown Road where participants could gain abilities and become stronger.
Thanks to skills, even an ordinary human could fight like a powerful being.
The problem is, however, despite this particular asset, nobody has seen Crown.
Back to the main point, the efficiency of your ability in Crown Road depends on how well you combine skills.
This world, which is similar to a game, is one where the main focus is to combine skills, raise levels, and strengthen stats. So skills were the most important factor here.
With each regression, I’d chosen a skill superior to the one from before. Even so, I couldn’t meet the final boss, let alone defeat him.
That meant all previous skills could be disposed of.
Things had to be different this time.
I had to get skills strong enough to defeat Crown by myself.
Standing before the wall with scrolling lists of various skills, I moved my finger without hesitation.
“Skill selection, Time Reset.”
[Do you wish to select F-rank [Time Reset] as your skill?]
