Chapter 37: Natural Disaster and Regressor

No wonder they were shouting not to wake them from the dream during the battle earlier.

Perhaps they already knew it was a dream. But even if it was an illusion, there was a hope they wanted to achieve so badly they couldn’t cast it aside. That’s likely why they couldn’t break free from the pearl’s influence.

And so, those three races with their futile hopes met their end once again at the hands of Sephiroth.

‘No matter how I look at it, this guy is the source of all evil.’

I glanced at Sephiroth. When he looked back at me with a “What’s your problem?” vibe, I quickly averted my gaze.

…Wait, is this dangerous? To think I can tell what he’s thinking just by the way that iron armor moves…

The feeling of unease was indescribable. I awkwardly turned my head away. Like all NPCs here, the Mermaid—already intoxicated by her own emotions—continued her lines whether I was paying attention or not.

“However, seeing as those children did not come this time, I can see that you are changing the world. They were children who lost their families and friends to something akin to a natural disaster… It is lonely, but a happy thing.”

“Ah, yes…”

Right. Sephiroth is indeed a problem on the level of a natural disaster. The “natural disaster” in question just shrugged and looked away, pretending not to listen. Meanwhile, the Mermaid sighed, looking down sadly.

“But I have waited far too long.”

“Pardon?”

“It is nothing.”

That sounded incredibly significant. I furrowed my brows and stared at her face, but the Mermaid had already hidden her expression and looked up with a blank stare. Her lips parted.

“You who know the future, I have a request.”

“Please, tell us.”

A quest! My ears perked up. At my words, the Mermaid recited the quest as if she had been waiting for the prompt.

“Please realign the twisted axis of this world. Help me, so that I may finally leave this realm. I am one who is dead yet cannot die, one who exists in the past yet remains in the future. To break this infinite cycle, I need the help of those who exist in the present.”

“Okay. So, what do we need to do?”

“You, the child from the future… you will know best.”

…Again?

“Wait, hold on. You have to tell us the next path before you go! Hey!”

“My name is Ignas. Do not forget me.”

As she reached the end, her voice grew deeper, eventually sounding like a man’s. It felt a bit strange, but stopping the disappearing Mermaid was more urgent.

I called out to her frantically, but the Mermaid—having only offered her name without being asked—began to dissolve into seafoam. The scene of her pale body melting into five-colored bubbles was certainly beautiful, but the aesthetics weren’t the point.

No, you haven’t even fixed the twisted axis yet! Why are you turning into bubbles? Are you the Little Mermaid?! Fine, you look like a princess, but you can’t just leave like this!

Regardless of my protests, the Mermaid’s body vanished. As I stared blankly at the spot where she had been, Sephiroth spoke.

“You won’t be able to do this alone.”

You’re telling me I have to run with this guy again…?

<You have cleared the dungeon ‘Doltec’s Castle’ for the first time!>

As the event ended, all five of us were transported back onto Lake Deuya. The melted lake was frozen solid again as if nothing had happened. Our reflections stared back from the smooth ice. The ruins of the grand palace that had been submerged were nowhere to be seen.

AngelA was talking to Sephiroth. I saw the Black Armor nodding half-heartedly. They were probably discussing the dungeon. Speaking of which, I needed to take care of the friends who had answered my call.

Looking back, the bearded shielder Park Seong-jin was stroking his beard while staring into space. He was likely checking his inventory. Beside him, the Net-kama Han Gyu-tae was brushing dust off his suit. In reality, he wouldn’t care if you drew all over his face, but in the game, he acted like he had extreme mysophobia.

“Thanks for coming on such short notice.”

I approached the two who were busy with their own tasks. Han Gyu-tae gave a curt nod, his black hair swaying slightly. Beside him, Seong-jin closed his inventory and looked at me. The bearded middle-aged man gave a refreshing smile, looking as satisfied as someone having a beer after a hard day’s work.

“Don’t worry about it. We’re the ones who are thankful. We got a Hidden Piece for clearing the hidden dungeon.”

“What did you get?”

“Helper of the Regressor?”

Just as Sephiroth had received a buff to remove his infamy penalty, it seemed some kind of buff had been granted to Seong-jin, Gyu-tae, and AngelA for clearing Doltec’s Castle with us.

Well, then it wasn’t a bad deal for them either. It’s a Hidden Piece, after all.

Gyu-tae, having finished dusting off his pants, stood up. His black jacket fluttered in the wind beneath his straight shoulders. It was a cool “older sister” character, but unfortunately, his swaggering expression was too frivolous for the look. The frivolous soul inside tilted his head.

“By the way, why ‘Regressor’? Did Sephiroth regress?”

“Uh… well, something like that.”

Technically, it wasn’t Sephiroth but me who regressed.

However, let’s save the explanation of my regression for school. Instead of dragging out a long story here, talking over a school meal would be a better way to save time for these two gaming addicts.

“I’ll tell you the details tomorrow.”

“At school? Sure.”

That frivolous Gyu-tae. He seemed determined to let the whole world know that we were students at the same school. Well, my real name was already out, so what did it matter? Sephiroth didn’t know me anyway. I shook my head at Seong-jin, who was belatedly trying to shut Gyu-tae up, signaling it was fine. Seong-jin sighed softly and smacked the back of Gyu-tae’s head.

Hmm. Even though I know it’s Han Gyu-tae, seeing a bearded middle-aged man hit a beautiful woman isn’t exactly a great visual. Is this why Gyu-tae chose a female character? Because he does so many things that deserve a smack in daily life…

With these random thoughts popping up, it seemed it was time to wrap up the party. I raised my hand to get everyone’s attention.

“Shall we head out?”

“Alright, good work everyone.”

In the empty lake, my voice carried easily. From a distance, the weasel, AngelA, smiled brightly and bowed. His yellow-and-brown tail wagged in the air. He was the first to leave the party. The weasel raised both arms high in a “Yahoo” pose.

“This is a hidden quest, right? Please invite us again if there’s another hidden quest we can join.”

“Sure, sounds good.”

I nodded readily. AngelA’s play today was flawless, so there was no reason to refuse. My only concern was whether the picky Sephiroth would accept Gyu-tae and Seong-jin.

“Do whatever you want. I don’t care.”

“That’s unexpected.”

“People who stay hidden in the back when told to are better. If we need to fill the numbers.”

Ah, right. You’re so great.

With those characteristic words, Sephiroth stretched lightly. AngelA, seemingly used to the verbal abuse, didn’t even twitch an eyebrow. Gyu-tae and Seong-jin didn’t seem affected by the sharp tongue either. Han Gyu-tae even looked excited.

“Wow, I finally get to eat a Hidden Piece thanks to having a good friend!”

“Is it that hard to get Hidden Pieces?”

“They’re ‘Hidden’ for a reason. Usually, you get one for being the first to clear a quest or achieving something special. Didn’t you get one when clearing Nightmare?”

“Yeah, I did.”

I felt like I had picked up a few minor Hidden Pieces while progressing through quests, but I had mostly skimmed over them. They were all ridiculously overpowered, though. Judging by Seong-jin’s explanation and Gyu-tae’s reaction, it seemed these Hidden Pieces had the power to make people endure Sephiroth’s “mother-in-law” nagging.

“Anyway, I’ll be going now. See you all next time. Noona, see you at the promised spot!”

“F*ck…”

At AngelA’s parting words, Han Gyu-tae swallowed a curse and immediately warped out. Several layers of white circles spread beneath his feet, and a flash of white light swallowed him up. A classic but reliable warp. Soon, Seong-jin and AngelA vanished in the same manner.

Before long, only Sephiroth and I remained on the vast Lake Deuya. Our forms were reflected on the thick, glossy ice. I felt as if the entire day was flashing before my eyes like a panorama.

As soon as I logged in, I had to take a new quest and call my friends; after finally clearing the dungeon, I saw that… thing with Na Eun-hyeok because of a weird event. My mental energy was definitely depleted. I pressed a hand to my forehead. Beside me, a notification that a new quest had arrived blinked, but I didn’t think I could handle another dungeon.

“Going to do the next quest?”

“Hey, I can’t.”

I waved a hand at Sephiroth, who brought up the next quest without a hint of fatigue. I was so exhausted I didn’t even want to check the quest details. It would undoubtedly be a quest requiring high mental focus and control, and doing one of those a day was more than enough.

“What do you mean you can’t?”

“I really can’t. I feel like I’ll die if I have to focus on controls any longer.”