Five Time Regressor Walks the King’s Path - Chapter 26

Chapter 26

I swept my hair back and walked out into the hallway.

I looked down at the first floor bustling in the morning.

There stood Sword Queen, who had helped me, conversing with people. I scratched my head as I glanced at her.

“Sword Queen.”

I made my way down the stairs and called her name, causing both her and those gathered nearby to turn toward me.

Many of those standing around were high rankers.

Lord, second place. Magician, fourth place. Apsara, sixth place. Finally, in ninth place, Sword Queen.

‘Is everyone here over level 100?’

Still too weak in my eyes.

However, if this was like the original regression, reaching that high was a tremendous growth achievement. However, if this was like the original regression, then reaching that height would be a tremendous achievement.

Everyone here was once Emperor’s bodyguard, so I guess that was to be expected.

And it looks like those bodyguards have come together again.

“Ha Chun-Sung, so you were the one Sword Queen talked so much about.”

Apsara spoke after looking toward me.

She had a dark scarlet eyeliner on her fairly young face. I had encountered her in the past, but it seemed like I hadn’t put much effort into remembering her.

I mean, countless people aside from me stood on the frontlines.

It’d be natural for those who were previously Emperor’s bodyguards, the best of the best, to not remember me.

‘As for Sword Queen, I’m acquainted with her.’

However, the rest of them I was unacquainted with.

“Hmph. According to Sword Queen, you’re strong. But to see you faint from our first meeting…”

Apsara was smirking as if to tease me, so I turned my attention to Sword Queen.

“Sword Queen, let’s make it even with this. The help you gave me as repayment for the hint I previously gave you.”

“Oh my, did I just get ignored?”

Covering her mouth, Apsara laughed exaggeratedly.

She was even more of a veteran than me, being on her eighth regression.

I knew how annoying things would get if I let a serpent-like woman like her get what she wanted.

“Saying it’s repayment for giving me a hint… In many ways, you’re one amazing man.”

“Hoho, isn’t he a funny man?”

Magician applauded at Sword Queen’s words, who just seemed drained.

I’m guessing the person who healed me with their recovery skill was this man.

In the past, the one called Magician was famous for being the healer of Emperor’s bodyguards.

“Don’t think badly about it. I could tell at a glance that he’s strong.”

Lastly, Lord stared at me with slit eyes.

“Why did such a person not keep climbing, instead getting caught by us?”

Apsara intervened.

Since she made a good point, everyone turned their gaze to me, including Sword Queen who seemed to want to know this as well.

“None of your business.”

“Wow, touchy! So cold. Well, no surprise there. All the strong ones are like that.”

Of course, I wasn’t thinking of telling them anything.

While Apsara was clapping and bursting out into laughter, I turned away.

“I gave my thanks. Bye now.”

“Wait, Ha Chun-Sung. You’re leaving just like that?”

“Do we have more to talk about?”

“Well, no. Nothing like that.”

Sword Queen looked a little disappointed. As if she made up her mind, she took a step closer to me.

Then, she opened her soft-looking lips.

“Ha Chun-Sung, there’s a reason you stayed here, right? If so, why don’t you join us? Like Apsara said, there must be a reason why you aren’t clearing the Floors. We have completed the preliminary investigation of this Floor. If you join us, it won’t be difficult to attack Floor 25.”

I frowned a little at that, because she wasn’t wrong.

“I don’t believe you could be of any help for me.”

The atmosphere dropped a few degrees.

Not that I gave a damn.

To Ha Il-Sung, who had a similar level of power as me, these people were more or less toys.

Even now, with a flick of my sword, all of their lives would be in danger.

“How can you be so sure?”

Sword Queen turned to me.

Her eyes staring at me contained some sort of nostalgia, which made me avert my gaze.

“I’ve learned enough from the incident with Yashin and Emperor. The only person I can trust is myself.”

I looked squarely at the faces of each of the four high rankers.

“I am going to clear Crown Road. Alone.”

I was putting it out there that the four were of no use to me.

Catching on to what I said, Apsara gave a fishy smile instead of a lively laugh.

“You’re quite fearless to do something that even Emperor couldn’t manage. Alone, and while completely disregarding us as well. Sword Queen, just leave him be. Keeping a child like that around would only cause more anger.”

Hearing Apsara’s words, Sword Queen’s face scrunched up.

She looked at me with a last, wishful look.

However, I was adamant. On the path I planned to walk, I didn’t need these people.

So I walked past the four.

“Forget it, forget it. There are many others who are much better than him.”

“Hoho, half of the people in the world are men. If you look carefully, you’ll find a better man.”

“That wasn’t what I wanted to talk about.”

Hearing those last words from Sword Queen, I left the inn and realized that quite a few rankers had climbed up to Floor 24.

They were continuously advancing in order to return to Earth.

‘Let’s head up.’

Training’s finished.

The only thing left was to climb.

As I started going up again, I was grinding my teeth while thinking of Ha Il-Sung.

* * *

[You have entered Floor 25, Stage ‘Those Who Have Been Devoured by Illusions’, administered by ‘Cruelty-Stained Greeting’.]

[The ‘Proprietor of Floor 25’, ‘Cruelty-Stained Greeting’, greets you in an impudent manner.]

Words popped up in front of my eyes, and I noticed I was floating in a dark space.

[The ‘Proprietor of Floor 25’, ‘Cruelty-Stained Greeting’, informs you.]

[This is a Scenario Floor. It is connected from Floor 25 to Floor 28, and whenever you clear a scenario, you will move on to the next Floor.]

After seeing the Constellation’s notification, I rubbed my chin. It was a method I’d seen a few times before.

It was a great advantage to be able to clear three Floors at once with a Scenario Floor, but due to the large worldview, it sometimes took longer to clear than a normal Floor.

Thinking about how it was quite a troublesome type of Floor, I turned my attention to the notifications again.

It wasn’t only the high rankers that entered Floor 24. Several other rankers have reached that point as well.

‘Among the high rankers, there are a few who share their attack strategy right after they’ve cleared it.’

Because of that, those who’d received a shared strategy cleared floors faster than the previous clearers.

Maybe that was why there were some rankers on the street.

‘It must be Sword Queen sharing her strategy.’

In the past, it was Emperor’s bodyguards who shared their strategy to the people of lower floors, hoping to receive even one more helping hand.

That meant there may be quite a few who’d already begun to attack Floor 25.

In particular, Sword Queen had said that their side had already conducted a preliminary investigation.

At that moment, a bright light wrapped around my body.

After falling onto the floor, I blinked and took a moment to look around.

My surroundings had definitely changed, and for whatever reason, I was wearing a uniform.

It was somewhat dull, but the place seemed to be somewhere on modern Earth.

[The ‘Proprietor of Floor 25’, ‘Cruelty-Stained Greeting’, begins the explanation.]

[The year is 2020, the age of science. However, a past vestige, the remnants of gods, the Phantoms still remain. Throughout thousands of years of history, infectious diseases have occurred countless times. Humanity has discovered these plagues were caused by a corrupted and altered form that Phantoms take when enraged with the world and, as a result, fall… The Degenerate God. Humanity no longer wishes to be threatened by this existence. Kill all Phantoms and bring peace to mankind!]

[Floor 25 Scenario Quest — While you and a team of Phantom Hunters were chasing Phantoms, your target began to rampage. The rampaging Phantom lost their reason and fell, becoming the Degenerate God, the God of Plagues. Now, let’s try to avoid the dangerous entity and return to headquarters in order to plan out how to catch the Degenerate God. Let’s aim to become the greatest Phantom Hunter!]

“KYAAA!”

“Run! I said run away! They’ve fallen! We can’t do anything!”

Screams rang out.

Those with weapons made of bones fled in desperation, and I stood there amidst the panic, peacefully reading the transparent panel.

I wasn’t quite sure, but apparently, I needed to return to headquarters to receive answers.

“First of all, what I forgot. I’ll receive the clear reward for Floor 24.”

I thought it’d be best to receive it before I attempt the next Floor.

[The ‘Ring of Neutralization’ has been given as a reward for clearing Floor 24.]

A small box appeared in the air, and I opened it up once I grabbed it.

Inside was a ring, just like the message had said. I immediately put it on.

[Effects of the Ring of Neutralization have been activated.]

[Status Ailment Immunity: 50%.]

Oh, quite useful.

This was because status ailment immunity was more useful in many ways compared to a fixation on stats.

‘The reward from Floor 23 wasn’t particularly good.’

The reward was also a ring, but it reinforced magic power so it was useless to me.

While I was thinking of how the item could be useful for displaying a false weakness in battle, I turned my head to a presence that was getting on my nerves.

THUD.

The sound of footsteps.

A monster showed its face through the high oriental-style building. It was fully drooling, and had various strange horns protruding from its body.

It had six eyes and eight arms, and looked to be about ten meters tall with black hair.

‘Is that the Degenerate God or whatever?’

Phantoms that had fallen to become this monstrous being as a result of their rage toward the world. I looked up at the monster with its wide nose pointing at me.

It seemed like all the Phantom Hunters, my ‘comrades’, had all fled.

“KRRRAAAHH!”

At that moment, the monster let out a loud roar enough to pop my snails*.

*PR/N: This isn’t some conspiracy theory. He’s talking about the cochlea, a part of the inner ear located behind the eardrum and shaped like a spiral snail shell

I frowned at the grotesque sound that seemed to use ultrasonic waves. Without a moment’s rest, like an afterimage, I saw one of the huge arms attempting to hit me.

The Sword Path activated.

I avoided the Degenerate God’s attack easily and slammed my fist down onto its head, crushing it. With a bang, its face stamped the ground.

Black and sticky blood dripped from my hand.

“Oho, now take a look at that.”

The Degenerate God’s body wriggled on the ground as it regenerated its head, rising once again.

Regeneration. It had a very annoying ability.

“In that case…”

Sixth Form—

Ten Thousand Bolts.

Ten thousand lightning bolts sparked from the Heavenly Star Sword.

The monster was cut into tiny bits in an instant as ten thousand bolts of lightning struck the Degenerate God with sharp cutting force.

I was positive.

The sword had grown sharper.

It was the result of continuous training.

‘Now there would be no carelessness when fighting against Ha Il-Sung.’

I returned my sword to its sheath at the sight of the ten thousand pieces of Degenerate God flesh falling.

But my eyes suddenly widened.

The pieces gradually began to merge, returning to their previous form, a Degenerate God.

‘It won’t die?’

I wondered if there was a core of some sort, but considering Ten Thousand Bolts cut it to pieces, that wasn’t likely.

[The blood of the Degenerate God seeps in through your hand.]

[The Authority of the rampaging Degenerate God is ‘Contagion’. Its blood is trying to turn you into a Phantom.]

“Ha?”

I couldn’t help but scoff.

‘Contagion?’

What the fuck.

[The Ring of Neutralization is activated.]

[Degenerate God’s Wrath has stopped at 50%.]

The sound of bones breaking came from my arm. I looked at the appearance of my arm twisted unnaturally and immediately used Time Reset.

Flash.

Light flashed in front of my eyes.

However, my arm continued to twist and crack grotesquely, and at that moment I felt a tingling sensation on my forehead.

Curious, I raised my hand to feel my forehead when I realized that two small horns were growing there

At the same time, my arm was becoming covered with black scales, and my nails had turned black as well.

[You have inherited the Authority, ‘Contagion’.]