'Why don't you don't regress?'
After hearing my words, Armonia fell silent for a moment before speaking.
[…I didn't think you would be unaware of that part. Let me explain. The ship's…]
'No, I know. Hehe...'
Armonia couldn't infer the meaning of my words and expressed confusion.
[…? I'm sorry. I don't understand the current situation.]
'Armonia.'
[Yes.]
'I've found a way to deal with regression.'
[…Really?]
Even Armonia, who is usually calm, sounded surprised as she communicated.
I lay on the bed, swaying slightly, and continued communicating.
'Yeah, I think it's possible.'
[Just in case, I think it's better to let me know in advance.]
'Alright... The method is... warp.'
[…Warp, you say?]
I explained to Armonia.
Han Yeo-reum's regression was being facilitated by a blessing.
And the blessing system could only be used on this planet, Yggdrasil.
Naturally, the regression system only affected those within Yggdrasil.
If...
'What if, before the protagonist dies, I warp to the ship and then return to the original state?'
[…It's possible. Warp can be used twice in succession. I can immediately summon you to the ship and then return you to the regression point.]
'Great!'
[…I'm sorry. Even though I'm in charge of warp, I didn't think that far ahead.]
'Haha... No need to apologize... I only realized it by chance.'
Being caught up in the absurd ability of regression, both Armonia and I were in a state where we couldn't think straight.
As a result, our perspective narrowed, and we tried to find solutions from within.
For now, I had found the most important solution.
But...
[However, there's still a missing piece.]
'...Right. We don't know when that idiot will die...'
If we couldn't solve that, it would only be a half-baked solution.
There wouldn't be a problem while we were in Zephyrum.
Because the only situation where Han Yeo-reum could die was during the boss battle here.
And when Shock Bee fires its paralysis wave during the boss battle, I could use warp.
As long as I didn't stupidly fall over and die, the worry about regression would disappear while in Zephyrum.
So, the one who would fill the other half of the solution...
'It must be the blessing...'
[It seems that the 5th round you thought of everything after seeing Shock Bee's paralysis wave.]
Seeing is believing, and experiencing the situation firsthand allowed me to come up with a solution instantly.
And thanks to Han Yeo-reum, who suggested delaying the boss fight, I was able to buy time to find the solution...
Now, it was time to focus on the blessing that would complete the half-baked solution.
'Stasis...'
[The problem is that we ultimately have to associate it with regression, and writing a blessing related to regression would require an astronomical amount of points.]
The moment the word "regression" is written in the blessing, it demands an astronomical number of points.
"Armonia, can you show me the blessings I've been trying to write so far?"
[Of course. Please wait a moment.]
Shortly after, a list appeared before my eyes.
- Retain all memories and abilities when regressing.
- Retain all memories when regressing.
- Retain all abilities when regressing.
- Refund all points used in that regression round.
- ...
All of them started with "When regressing..."
Well, that's obvious.
Right now, solving regression is the most important thing for me.
But all those blessings require an astronomical number of points, making them impossible.
Even something as simple as refunding points...
'Thanks, I'll call you if I need you. Go ahead and help Lena for now.'
[Understood. Call me if you need anything.]
I stared at the list, lost in thought.
Time would surely solve it.
The problem was that time wouldn't wait for me forever.
I had to find a solution before Han Yeo-reum developed the awareness and skill to defeat Zephyrum's boss.
***
"What!? Again today?"
"Yes, if we continue like this, I'm afraid I'll only be a burden during the boss fight on the last day."
"...Sigh!"
Han Yeo-reum looked like he was about to explode with irritation as he leaned on his crutch and glared at me.
This bastard... He's so damn tall...
Even the party members, who had been quiet yesterday, started to complain.
"Um... Alchemist-nim. If we continue like this, won't it be a problem even on the last day?"
"That's right... We already lost a lot of time yesterday."
"Exactly. If we knew it would be like this, we would've found someone else earlier."
Compared to Han Yeo-reum, their complaints were milder, but this time, they didn't let it slide quietly.
To continue staying at the hotel, a certain amount of points had to be continuously earned.
Moreover, for the future, we had to think about saving as many points as possible...
But it seemed like they hadn't earned enough points yesterday.
"By the way... What about the archer?"
"Sigh... That's none of your business."
I had poked at it, wondering if they might suspect that Min Ha-yeon and I were close, but Han Yeo-reum's facial recognition confirmed it.
'They don't seem to know that Min Ha-yeon and I hunted together and drank.'
[Min Ha-yeon doesn't think highly of Han Yeo-reum, so she probably handled that part well.]
In fact, even if I ignored them and left, I wouldn't face any sanctions from Yggdrasil.
The problem was that Han Yeo-reum might not include me in the party in the next regression, so I decided to play the fool.
"I'm not saying I'll leave. Out of apology, I'll give you 1,000 points each."
"Well... I guess..."
"Wow! Really?"
Han Yeo-reum and the three beauties didn't care where the 4,000 points I had came from; they were just happy to receive them.
Han Yeo-reum, who had been wearing a rotten expression, seemed to have calmed down, as his expression softened to just three levels of rottenness.
In the end, the rotten expression didn't change.
I used the points to quell their anger and went to meet Min Ha-yeon.
└Guardian of the Gay-Like Dick: LOLOLOL You're giving alms to beggars LOLOLOL
"They're still beginners. It's a big deal for them."
└Guardian of the Gay-Like Dick: Someone earned 60,000 in a day LOLOLOLOL
"Hey! I'm not a beginner. It's unfair to compare me to them. Hehe..."
I chuckled and headed to the herb shop first.
[…? What's the matter with the herb shop?]
'I'm going to buy some Zephyrum Moonlight Grass. It's better to spend points than to use Enel if I can.'
Even if the value was the same, using points was more useful than using Enel.
I quickly found the Zephyrum Moonlight Grass.
However, there was one disappointing thing...
'Ah... There's a limit on the number of sales.'
[It's probably because it's a rare item. But there are 25 stalks, so it should be enough.]
'I'll buy them all.'
I spent 50,000 points and bought 25 stalks of Zephyrum Moonlight Grass.
└Guardian of the Gay-Like Dick: ...Crazy, your points are rotting away...
"Well, I earn as much as I spend."
After buying the Moonlight Grass, I headed straight to the west entrance of the village.
There, Min Ha-yeon was waiting for me, checking the condition of her bow.
When she saw me, she smiled brightly and said, "Hey! Late fee of 10,000 points!"
"Haha..."
***
"Phew..."
"Good job. Let's take a break and finish with the last hunt."
"Sure."
Min Ha-yeon... no, Ha-yeon and I headed to the safe zone after finishing our third hunt.
Her archery skills were artful, and with the potions, she moved through the hunting grounds like an elf, skillfully handling her bow.
However, there was one problem...
"Those bugs are tough."
"Yeah, there are a lot of them, and they're fast, so it's hard to deal with."
The Zephyrum field had slimes, bats, and cricket-like insect monsters.
The slimes were slow and posed no threat, and the bats, while fast, mostly flew around to assess the situation before being shot down by Ha-yeon's arrows.
The problem was the cricket-like insect monsters.
Crickets the size of human faces would swarm together, and upon spotting an enemy, they would all jump and fly at once.
Melee fighters hated them because they were disgusting, and ranged fighters hated them because of their sudden charges.
The problem was that these troublesome creatures appeared more frequently in the west.
'But we can't hunt in the east either...'
If we hunted in the east field just because it was a bit annoying and ran into Han Yeo-reum's party, it would be troublesome.
However, this hunting ground wasn't all bad.
The western forest was a place people avoided, so we rarely ran into anyone.
As a result, we rarely had to share monsters with other parties.
Besides, since Ha-yeon could take down monsters in one or two shots after drinking the potion, we didn't need help anyway.
"Here, have a potion."
"Thanks."
I gave Ha-yeon a potion, and we resumed hunting.
***
"Wow... Today... 140,000... Really..."
Min Ha-yeon let out a hollow laugh as she looked at the point settlement screen.
Seong Suho and I had formed a party and started hunting again today.
Perhaps we were lucky, but more monsters appeared while we were using the potions, allowing us to earn even more points.
Min Ha-yeon recalled yesterday's events and started the distribution.
Exactly 70,000 points each.
Then she smiled and said, "I worked hard today too, so it's okay if I treat you, right?"
"Haha... We earned the same amount... Well, I can't say no. Let's go."
The two of us chuckled and headed into the village.
While heading to the Zephyrum inn like yesterday, Seong Suho suddenly spoke up as if he had just remembered something.
"Ah... Ha-yeon, sorry, but can you go ahead first?"
"Huh? Why?"
"I think I need to stop by the herb shop for a bit..."
"Then... let's go together."
Seong Suho scratched his head awkwardly and said, "Ah, you don't have to trouble yourself. Just go ahead."
"What are you talking about? We're going to eat together anyway. Come on, let's go~"
Min Ha-yeon forcibly dragged Seong Suho to the herb shop.
As soon as they entered the herb shop, Seong Suho said to Min Ha-yeon, "I'll be quick. Wait a moment."
"Okay."
Min Ha-yeon looked around after hearing Seong Suho's words.
The herb shop was smaller than expected, and there weren't many types of herbs.
'Is it because it's a beginner village?'
While Min Ha-yeon was looking around the shop, she noticed the herb Seong Suho was buying.
"...? Zephyrum Moonlight Grass? What's it used for?"
Min Ha-yeon opened her mouth to ask, loud enough for the chat to hear.
The chat immediately started buzzing with information.
└Oh, that's the ingredient for that thing
└Yeah, that's it
└What's that thing, you crazy guys LOLOLOL
└It's an ingredient for Artemis potions
└Yeah, that.
└LOLOLOLOLOL
Min Ha-yeon looked at the chat with a puzzled expression.
She asked again, "Why? Ingredient conversion? Didn't you say you could make it with that?"
└Well, yeah, but it's probably a mana shortage.
└If you're chugging 40 bottles a day, your mana would be drained.
└Even if your ingredient conversion level is high, if your mana is lacking, there's nothing you can do.
└Besides, you have to do both ingredient conversion and alchemy. It's tough in the early stages.
In reality, Seong Suho didn't use mana for ingredient conversion, but they couldn't think of any other reason.
Min Ha-yeon sighed and thought, 'Why... is he taking the loss alone... Or is it not that expensive?'
Min Ha-yeon carefully went behind Seong Suho and peeked over his shoulder at the price.
Zephyrum Moonlight Grass – 2,000 points
"..."
Min Ha-yeon was speechless, utterly dumbfounded.
He used 40 stalks a day, and just the Moonlight Grass alone cost 80,000 points.
He had been buying them himself and sharing the potions with her.
Seong Suho, unaware of Min Ha-yeon's stunned state, muttered to himself, "What...? Out of stock?"
"..."
Since it was a rare item, the stock only replenished when someone sold it.
"Hey, Seong Su..."
Min Ha-yeon was about to call out to Seong Suho when suddenly, a woman's voice came from beside them.
"Oh? Min Ha-yeon... and... the alchemist?"
"...Huh?"
"Huh? Uh... Jin-hee?"
"Yes... What are you two doing here?"
The woman who had called out was a member of Han Yeo-reum's party, named Jin-hee.
Min Ha-yeon and Seong Suho looked at Jin-hee with panicked expressions.
Min Ha-yeon was supposed to be resting at the hotel due to "illness," and Seong Suho was supposed to be at the inn because of his "poor condition."
But here they were, together at the herb shop?
'If they find out we're partying alone...'
This wasn't a good situation.
For Seong Suho, or for Min Ha-yeon...
Min Ha-yeon, unable to think of anything else, took Jin-hee to a corner of the shop.
Unlike the other women, Jin-hee had a simple, innocent appearance, and she looked at Min Ha-yeon, who had dragged her away, with fearful eyes.
"Huh? Wh-What..."
Min Ha-yeon looked at Jin-hee, who was trembling in fear, and smiled as gently as possible.
"Don't worry. I'm not going to do anything strange. What brought you here?"
"Ah... Well... Yeo-reum asked me to sell the items we got today..."
"Ah..."
Min Ha-yeon finally remembered.
Han Yeo-reum was the type to never move if it was troublesome.
He always asked the women to sell items for him, and this girl had unfortunately stopped by the herb shop to sell items.
'Or maybe, fortunately...'
If Han Yeo-reum himself had shown up, it would've been the perfect scene for trouble.
'Sigh... What should I do...'
Min Ha-yeon racked her brain, trying to figure out how to get out of this crisis.
Once this was seen, it was only a matter of time before it reached Han Yeo-reum's ears.
Should I threaten her?
That was ridiculous.
Such threats wouldn't work here.
It would only provoke resistance.
'Should I just be honest and say we were hunting alone?'
As Min Ha-yeon was desperately thinking of excuses, Jin-hee looked at her with suspicious eyes and said, "You said you weren't feeling well today... Why are you with the alchemist?"
"Ah... Well, today..."
"Are you cheating?"
"...Huh?"
Min Ha-yeon looked at Jin-hee with a dumbfounded expression, her mouth agape.
Jin-hee was now looking at Min Ha-yeon with suspicious eyes, her lips twitching.
'Now that I think about it... This girl likes Yeo-reum too...'
Jin-hee's expression was one of "I've caught you."
Her previously innocent expression was gone, replaced by a woman armed with jealousy.
'...Well, since it's come to this...'
Min Ha-yeon made a decision and said, "Yes..."
"...Huh?"
"I'm cheating."
"...Huh? What? Th-that..."
Jin-hee was even more flustered and looked at Min Ha-yeon.
Of course, she had never even considered that Seong Suho and Min Ha-yeon were in that kind of relationship.
Cheating on Han Yeo-reum with Seong Suho?
From Jin-hee's perspective, it was unthinkable.
Min Ha-yeon was a beautiful woman, even in Jin-hee's eyes.
She had only planned to report Min Ha-yeon's presence with Seong Suho to Han Yeo-reum.
And she wanted to create a space where she could squeeze herself into the spot next to him.
To the flustered Jin-hee, Min Ha-yeon brought her lips close to her ear and whispered softly, "Do you want to date Yeo-reum?"
***
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