REGRESSOR INSTRUCTION MANUAL

Chapter 1135: Fallen King’s Tomb (1)

“Mr. Lee Ki-Young…”

“…”

“Are you alright, Mr. Lee Ki-Young?”

“…”

I had to be looking unwell because William was looking at me worriedly and nervously. I realized that I had been silent for a while, lost in thought about Hyejin, which had to have made William's kind heart feel worried about me.

For a moment, I was puzzled, but I stayed silent a little longer to observe him, and I understood why he was so worried.

“You must be going through a lot. But… but no one can blame you for this. I don’t know if my words will be of any comfort, but...” William paused.

“…”

“We can't save everyone,” William continued.

He seemed to be thinking that I was troubled about abandoning the survivors in the Ashen Sunset Region.

‘It’s understandable.’

Dark Hyejin's appearance had confused me so much that I couldn't grasp how William was perceiving me at the moment. Naturally, I displayed a melancholic expression once again. Instead of answering William, I displayed a gloomy and distant expression.

It wasn’t the best alternative, but I lowered my head, and clear tears began falling down my cheeks.

Who wouldn't want to save them?

Ignoring those in pain was unlike the Saint of Flower and Fertility. I acted strong and confident, but behind the facade of a genius commander, I was still just a twenty-three-year-old young adult from Earth.

I was still clinging to the habits of my life on Earth.

William understood that abandoning them was not an easy choice for me.

‘It's frustrating...’

The fact that I had no choice but to wait and the fact that I was utterly powerless to protect them made me feel infuriated.

I gnashed my teeth and clenched my fists because I was powerless.

I tried to hold back the tears, but I couldn’t.

I already knew the truth.

The Beginner’s Trial taught me that saving everyone was impossible, but despite that, the sense of despair enveloping me refused to leave me.

“Mr. Lee Ki-Young…” Emilia mumbled.

Emilia standing next to William was also looking at me with a slightly bitter expression. She had to be thinking that it was too soon for me to experience the pains of growing up.

“I’m fine, Miss Emilia…” I reassured her.

Of course, the only way to deal with this was to bite down and tough it out.

“…”

“This is no time to be sad,” I added.

“If it’s too much… you don’t have to force yourself. You really don’t need to—”

“No. I am also a citizen of Rohen and a member of the Flower and Fertility familia. Just because I haven’t been here long doesn’t mean I can ignore this. Besides, you asked for my help, Mr. William,” I interrupted him.

William immediately focused. He had to be thinking that I was going to say something important.

‘I like that kind of focus.’

I could never expect Woo Hyo-Yeol to show the same expression as him.

I could tell William was listening closely so that he wouldn't miss out on anything I was about to say.

“We need to focus on conserving our strength and growing stronger. The allied families of the Flower and Fertility familia must do that, at least for now,” I explained.

“I see.”

“This is going to be a lengthy battle. Even if our enemies want a short battle, we must plan for a prolonged fight. Sending out an expedition team right now would be really… really reckless. They’ll probably…” I trailed off.

“We won’t be able to stop them,” William remarked.

“It will be tough, but please try to stop them,” I begged.

'Was her name Francoise? She didn't laugh, so make sure to look after her.'

This situation was the same as when we had to increase the overall stats of our allies before the war with the Outer Gods. Back then, we had to seal Han Sora to trigger Jung Ha-Yan’s awakening.

The problem was that we were running out of time. Overall, there were a few named players with great potential, but compared to the Demon King of Sunset’s Castle, they were weak.

‘I need to create a distraction to buy time.’

Starting a war could be an option. What if I shifted their focus from the mainstream event to a danger right in front of them? If not that, then we’d need to keep creating a distraction that would stall them.

Kim Hyun-Sung probably knew my location. He was probably trying to expand the Ashen Sunset Region as efficiently as possible, so if I were to spread rumors that fragments of my memories were hidden somewhere on the Rohen Continent, we could buy ourselves a few months.

“Well… I’ll be heading out now, Mr. William,” I said.

“Okay.”

“…”

“Excuse me… Mr. Lee Ki-Young. I heard you’ll be raiding dungeons soon,” William said.

“I can’t just sit by and watch. I… need to work hard so that I can be an asset to Rohen,” I told him.

“If that’s what you desire…” William mumbled. I felt like he was disappointed. He probably believed that I’d be more useful by helping with the expeditions instead of running around, but I also needed to train my party members.

If this were as simple as leveling up, I wouldn’t go this far.

‘Regressors are bound to grow stronger on their own, anyway.’

Woo Hyo-Yeol would grow stronger regardless of what was going to happen. The only difference was how fast or slow his growth was going to be.

The important part was building a bond with him, which was why I had chosen Woo Hyo-Yeol over William. Whether I could use the Regressor Instruction Manual on the certain individual or not was the key here.

Personally, even if Woo Hyo-Yeol reached the maximum level, I felt like he still wouldn't be able to defeat Kim Hyun-Sung.

Woo Hyo-Yeol had a lot of potential, but there was no way he could defeat Kim Hyun-Sung, who had been meticulously nurtured by the Masked Hero for decades.

If I wanted him to defeat Kim Hyun-Sung, I'd have to connect with him using the Regressor Instruction Manual. By then, I would be able to use Woo Hyo-Yeol in the most efficient way possible, and I could find an opening as well, as I knew Kim Hyun-Sung’s pattern and habits.

‘This ability is triggered by our bond, after all.’

That was why I was focusing on Woo Hyo-Yeol…

“…”

“So… how was the meeting?” Woo Hyo-Yeol asked.

“The first expedition team was annihilated. The King of the Underground Familia is creating a second expedition team as well as a rescue team, but… they’ll likely get annihilated as well,” I answered.

“And the Flower and Fertility Familia?” Woo Hyo-Yeol asked.

“They won’t be participating in the expedition. Even if they do, they’ll be the last ones to join. Let me remind you again that, at the moment, the mainstream event is as dangerous as drinking from a poisoned cup. If you’re determined to—“

“Are you saying that we should just not care?” Woo Hyo-Yeol interrupted me.

“No, keeping an eye on Rohen’s current affairs is important. I actually want you to be interested in it more than anything, but right now… we need to focus on the dungeon in front of us,” I explained.

“…”

“…”

“You’re worrying about nothing. Isn’t it just a Level 3 dungeon?” Woo Hyo-Yeol asked.

“It’s our first expedition. I want us to clear it safely and without any issues,” I said.

‘But I’m not even sure if I can get close to this guy.’

I couldn't figure out his thoughts.

Anyway, I had to keep walking because I had to show that I had rejected the Flower and Fertility Familia and joined these guys instead. The party members looked kind of worried, which bothered me.

Old man Raymond Bolt, Ha-Yan, and Woo Hyo-Yeol seemed indifferent about it, but Nam Goong-Seon and Lim Chae-Ryeong were clearly nervous. I was sure Lim Chae-Ryeong was especially nervous since she’d never entered a dungeon before.

To make things worse, No Dam-Hye looked as if she was questioning why she was here.

When I stepped forward, a familiar message appeared…

[You've entered the Level 3 dungeon: the Fallen King's Tomb.]

True to its name, the Fallen King’s Tomb was structured like an underground mausoleum, and since the dungeon’s entrance resembled an underground stone chamber, the interior was exactly what I expected it to be.

My voice echoed loudly, so my party members could hear me clearly even if I was whispering.

“We’ve already gone over this, but I’ll review it again just to make sure,” I said.

“…”

“This isn’t a dangerous dungeon. I chose a relatively easy dungeon because I thought it was more important to improve our teamwork,” I told them.

“…”

“The Fallen King’s Tomb is a dungeon that dates back to the golden age of the Rohen Continent. Before us, a small team of archaeologists and a party of local adventurers entered this dungeon. Surprisingly, this dungeon was visited dozens of times before, and there was some research done along the way.

"They probably assumed that it had already been stabilized,” I explained.

“…”

“This was before the players were summoned, but only three people made it out of this place alive. The records about the Fallen King’s Tomb are based on personal essays documenting their experiences, research journals of archaeologists of the time, and historical records of the one called the Fallen King,” I continued.

“…”

“What’s interesting is how the survivors had described the danger that people must watch out for,” I added.

“…”

“They said, ‘Do not awaken the Fallen King.’”

“…”

“It’s more of a theme. The goal of the Fallen King’s Tomb isn’t to hunt the Fallen King. The dungeon was designed in such a way that retrieving the king’s treasure from the stone chamber is enough to clear the dungeon. The archaeologists who studied this place long ago assumed that the dungeon had already been stabilized, but…” I trailed off.

“They awakened the Fallen King,” Nam Goong-Seon mumbled.

“That’s right. Just like this,” I said.

“What?”

— Peguereina tuto la gerepita atae.

I cast a quick spell and…

Boom! Boom!

The party members looked nervous.

After a brief pause, there was another series of rumblings.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Somewhere, the deep growl of an unseen beast echoed throughout the air.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

There was a screech, and we could hear it getting closer and closer to us. Even though we couldn't see clearly in this dark space, everyone knew what exactly was happening; they weren't stupid, after all.

‘They’re running excitedly.’

“Ah… huh?!”

Lim Chae-Ryeong looked around nervously. I noticed No Dam-Hye and realized that she still had no idea what was going on, but the party wasn’t panicking yet.

Raymond Bolt smacked his shield and took a deep breath before standing up.

Just then, undead creatures in human form charged at us on all fours.

“…”

Jung Ha-Yan cast a spell, and their movements instantly slowed down.

As if time itself had slowed down, the undead creatures were moving in slow motion.

“I should probably start by covering the basics of our battle formation,” I said.

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