Chapter 28

# 28

User Manual for the Regressor Chapter 028

Quest (1)

"It's going to be a tight one, huh."

"Didn't we leave more than we thought?"

"We should also consider the possibility that we might not be able to come back, right?"

"Don't jinx it. That won't happen."

"Of course, I believe in Hyung and Gi-yeong, but... you never know what can happen. By the way, it seems like Baek is watching us closely. Is that okay?"

Turning slightly, I saw Jeong Baek with a somewhat calm expression.

While he didn't react as intensely as Park Hye-young did, his expression made me curious about what he was thinking.

I was a bit worried that he might be having some other thoughts, but this level of interaction was within the safe zone.

Just having a conversation should be fine.

If the conversation involved physical contact, the situation might be different, but the distance between us made it clear that it wasn't intimate.

As I shifted my bag, Lee Ji-hye spoke again.

"You've made quite a big decision."

"What do you mean?"

"I thought you were the type who didn't like gambling."

"I don't like it."

"Then why?"

"I'm not stupid enough to throw dice in a game I can't win."

No matter how many variables I consider, our chances of winning are overwhelmingly high.

The information we have about the dungeon, the overall stats of the party members, and the existence of the regressor.

There's no chance of losing.

Of course, there are many other things to consider, but for someone like me who has to scrape by, such an opportunity is rare.

The bond formed with comrades who face danger together.

And...

'The reward for clearing the dungeon.'

It definitely exists.

The box that Kim Hyung found is likely of that kind.

After hearing my voice, Lee Ji-hye, who had been silent for a moment, continued with a slight smile.

"That's why I like you."

"Stop it."

"Anyway, come back safely, Gi-yeong."

"Got it, unnie."

Sure enough, her expression crumpled.

Despite her youthful appearance, she seemed to feel quite stressed about her age.

It seemed she believed that being younger was more advantageous for survival.

As I slowly moved, Jeong Baek quickly approached and grabbed the end of my sleeve in a hurry.

Though he didn't say anything to me, he seemed anxious.

Park Deok-gu burst out laughing, and Kim Hyung just nodded.

Jeong Jin-ho and his two lackeys, including Yoo Seok-woo, quietly waited for me.

"Let's get going."

"Sure."

The group consisted of 8 people in total.

It's a considerable number.

Four of us, and four of them.

If their party is centered around Jeong Jin-ho, then ours is centered around Kim Hyung.

We walked together, but there was a subtle distance between us. Not much conversation was heard.

At most, it was just Jeong Jin-ho and I talking. The others either chatted among themselves or spent their time alone.

"By the way, it seems like you've explored a lot. We never even thought there might be a new entrance."

"I stumbled upon it by chance. As you heard at the starting point, the conditions for leaving this place are survival and clearing the dungeon. Since we don't know how long it will take, relying on survival alone would be foolish... so I decided to try and clear it as much as possible."

"Ah."

"Perhaps the period of survival might last until someone successfully clears the dungeon."

"I hadn't thought of that..."

"It's just a guess."

"If that's the case, then clearing the dungeon would mean that everyone in the shelter can leave, right?"

"That's one way to look at it. Regardless of the method, clearing this dungeon is the most rational choice. Anyway, I'm really grateful that you agreed to my proposal."

"No, we all want to leave this place. I'm actually thankful for the opportunity you've created. We were a bit anxious about this uncertain situation..."

His smile was genuinely likable.

It was the kind of smile that made you lower your guard, but knowing his nature, I couldn't let my guard down.

Instead, I needed to help lower his guard.

Even just having pointless conversations was quite helpful.

We talked about stories from Earth, the dungeon, and the woman we heard about at the starting point. Then, a rather awkward topic came up.

"By the way, I noticed that you and Baek often stick together. Is there... something between you two...?"

No one had ever asked me about this before. I was a bit taken aback. I glanced around to see if anyone was paying attention.

Park Deok-gu and Kim Hyung seemed to be listening intently.

Yoo Seok-woo, who had once made a move on Jeong Baek, was openly looking at me.

Jeong Baek, on the other hand, was bowing his head and gripping my sleeve tightly.

He seemed very curious about what I would say.

'Don't do this...'

Not just a muscle-bound pig, but a psychopathic killer is also trying to get involved in this setup.

'Good older brother and younger brother relationship?'

Rejected.

'A developing relationship?'

No, that doesn't fit either.

It sounds like an excuse from a celebrity caught in a dating scandal.

Inevitably, I would have to get closer to Jeong Baek.

After a bit of thought, it didn't take long to decide how to respond.

I held the hand that was gripping my sleeve and said,

"It's hard to define right now, but... you might be right."

"Ooh..."

Park Deok-gu's mouth was wide open.

Kim Hyung also nodded.

He seemed to think that my presence was beneficial to Jeong Baek.

The most interesting reaction was from Jeong Baek. His face was very red, but he was gripping my hand tightly.

'Swish... It hurts.'

He was gripping so hard that my weak durability couldn't handle it.

After considering various options, this was clearly the right answer.

The reason I didn't define it clearly was that I hadn't yet expressed my feelings to Jeong Baek.

While it might not have mattered much to put a label on it, I felt we should have a more memorable connection.

A more effective approach would be to properly convey my sincerity, rather than just being pushed into it.

Turning my head again, I saw Jeong Baek's face with a grin that reached his cheeks.

It was a bit creepy, but Yoo Seok-woo, who was watching, seemed to be in a bad mood.

If there were two people who felt the most empty about my relationship with Jeong Baek, one of them, besides Park Deok-gu, was that guy.

I had expected him to have negative feelings, but he was bad at hiding them.

Thinking that the trash of this expedition was likely to be him, I absentmindedly patted Jeong Baek's head again, glancing at Yoo Seok-woo.

As we continued to talk, the party started walking.

One of Jeong Jin-ho's lackeys, the archer, was skilled at reading the path and detecting the presence of monsters due to his profession, but there was no need to avoid the monsters.

Jeong Jin-ho seemed to be hiding his strength, but he had no trouble dealing with the monsters here, and the others, who were already accustomed, were the same.

Surprisingly, Yoo Seok-woo also adapted quickly.

Contrary to my expectation that he would act like Park Hye-young, he handled his sword quite calmly.

The others were also not bad.

While none of them were as strong as Jeong Jin-ho, they were doing their jobs well, making me think that this party was quite ideal.

'Fast and safe.'

It was on a different level from when I, Kim Hyung, Park Deok-gu, Jeong Baek, and Park Hye-young moved.

Jeong Jin-ho and Kim Hyung were prepared for any variables, and Park Deok-gu blocked the path.

While Jeong Baek and I provided rear support, the archer's arrows and Jeong Jin-ho's lackeys were much better than us.

It was a bit disappointing.

Especially with Jeong Jin-ho.

While Kim Hyung used a single sword, Jeong Jin-ho used a small shield on his left arm to control his opponents.

If he could also use magic, I would be even more impressed.

I understood why he didn't consider Park Deok-gu, me, and Jeong Baek much.

He was clearly strong.

While he didn't have any issues with Park Deok-gu, Kim Hyung, and Jeong Baek, if he could use Jeong Jin-ho as a long-term asset, it would have been quite satisfying.

"You're strong."

"Thanks to everyone's help. Do we need to go a bit further?"

"We're almost there."

I glanced at Kim Hyung, who also nodded.

A staircase with a magical aura.

I didn't know what it was, but we had to go in to find out.

I wanted a more detailed explanation from Kim Hyung, but that wasn't possible.

'What's in there?'

The fundamental question of why Kim Hyung thought it was impossible to enter this dungeon with our current strength.

Curiosity and anxiety mixed together...

"Let's... enter."

Giving up is foolish.

The staircase was dark.

After descending a long staircase, we saw a massive iron door.

Park Deok-gu, who was at the front, slowly opened the iron door, and as we entered, a familiar voice echoed.

The woman's voice from the starting point.

[You have reached the underground dungeon. A rare-level forced quest has been activated.]

[Rare-level Quest - Survival (0/1)]

"What?"

"Oh, hyung..."

"Prepare for battle."

"Preparing for battle."

Everyone was already gripping their weapons tightly, even without Kim Hyung saying anything.

"Kiiiiiiiiiiik!"

"Kiiiiiiiiiiik!"

The dog-like voices came from a distance, piercing our ears.

'Damn! Damn!'

I knew we had to take some risks, but the difficulty was a bit higher than I expected. I understood why Kim Hyung thought we needed more people.

'Defense.'

The voices were clearly not something one person could handle.

"The iron door is sealed."

Someone muttered.

"We won't run. We can win this."

"We can do it."

"Kiiiiiiiiik!"

The sound of the monsters approaching was clear.

Their voices were one thing, but the ground shaking was quite concerning.

Anxiety immediately turned into chanting spells.

Jeong Jin-ho, who didn't expect this situation, looked a bit dazed but quickly organized the formation with him at the center.

'We can block it.'

I was surprised, but we could definitely block it. The regressor believed that this strength was enough to clear the dungeon.

"Damn, there are so many."

This was the third time we were surrounded by monsters. The first was at the starting point, the second when Park Hye-young made a mistake, and now this.

Of course, it was an unavoidable situation, but...

This time,

We didn't run.