WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS
Translator/Editor: Ryuu
Discord: https://dsc.gg/wetried
◈ I'm an Infinite Regressor, But I've Got Stories to Tell
Chapter 12
──────
Troublemaker ⅠⅠⅠ
“Saintess, is she really the right person?”
[Yes, Mr. Undertaker. It's her.]
The Saintess immediately responded as if she was watching my movements in real time through her clairvoyance.
[This person uses the nickname 'OldManGoryeo' on SG Net.]
“Huh.”
I stroked my chin.
‘Well, these things happen.’
My surprise did not last long. It was mainly because the person in question wasn't very important to me. After all, Sim Ah-ryeon and I were not without connection, but it wasn't deep enough to say we had a 'significant' relationship.
To briefly describe how the Busan station waiting room appeared to me right now, it would be something like this:
[ExtraA]
[Seo Gyu←Important!]
[Tutorial Fairy]
[Vending Machine]
[ExtraB]
[ExtraC]
[OldManGoryeo←※Danger※]
[Souvenir Shop (Silver Bells to be farmed)]
[ExtraD]
[ExtraE]
[Uehara Shino]
[ExtraF]
[ExtraG]......
That's about it.
And there, Sim Ah-ryeon was exactly playing the role of [ExtraB].
Unless specifically pointed out with an arrow, she was the type of character who would never catch any reader's eye.
To exaggerate a bit, Seo Gyu, upon dying, would often exclaim, "Hieeek!" That was the essence of Sim Ah-ryeon's existence.
‘Her awakening ability was... healing, right?’
Of course, as a regressor, I had kept track of such abilities of all the extras.
‘I remember her not being particularly skilled as a healer...’
In game terms, a 2-star healer.
It might be a harsh analogy, but like a healer who is thrown out for free just for logging into the game. Initially useful but eventually dropped from the party as the stages get harder. 'You're expelled from the party. You are too insufficient compared to us,' she was told as she was recommended for dismissal.
And my story's genre wasn't tagged with #regret #obsession #misery. What does that mean? Just expelled and that's it.
In the first, second, and third runs, I had relied on Sim Ah-ryeon, but that was when I was still a novice.
After that... Well? Not particularly?
Except for events like the joint funeral in the 10th run, or building the impregnable fortress in the 24th run. Other than those, I didn't have many significant memories.
‘A third-rate Awakener was lucky to survive in Busan and somehow made it all the way to Pocheon.’
Thinking about it, she had traveled almost from the southern end of Korea to the northern tip.
Somehow, that made me feel a bit sad.
More than the annoyance over OldManGoryeo's personality, a slight curiosity about Sim Ah-ryeon's life grew inside me.
‘I should hear her out.’
In the end, it was good that I indulged my curiosity.
As soon as I knocked Sim Ah-ryeon unconscious and dragged her to the living room, Lee Ju-ho who followed behind touched his forehead and exclaimed,
"...Oh my. To think that a fellow guild member, and even 'Healing Angel' herself, would write such trash and stir up trouble."
"Indeed, you two knew each other... right?"
Just then, a strange sound, or rather, a somewhat eerie and embarrassing sound seemed to have been heard.
"Healing Angel?"
"Someone famous around here," Lee Ju-ho replied, his face a mix of confusion and distress.
"And, she's also a school nurse, art teacher, and librarian at the elementary school where we first met."
"What?"
"That, as I mentioned before. Among the guild members, she's the one looking after the kids... This is her."
???
I turned my head and looked up at the ceiling.
[It's really OldManGoryeo, Mr. Undertaker. Please don't doubt it.]
I quickly brought my gaze back down to Lee Ju-ho.
"Are you saying she's your colleague?"
"Yes, in the guild and at school... After the world fell apart and all medical infrastructure collapsed, people started dying from minor colds or small wounds turning into tetanus... More people died from illnesses than from monsters."
That was also something I knew well, having seen it countless times during my previous regressions.
Without antibiotics, modern people would die easily.
The reason cremation quickly became the standard method of funerals in the ruined world, and why ZERO_SUGAR's senior, a fire mage, was always busy, was precisely to prevent the spread of disease by burning the bodies.
"But in this area, such needless deaths have ceased," Lee Ju-ho continued, looking at OldManGoryeo.
"This person... Healing Angel has been curing everything from minor illnesses to serious cancers with her ability for about a year now."
"Really?"
Her?
A 2-star healer?
"She's well-known for treating patients and students without asking for any compensation. Even my father, whenever he was ill, she would take care of him... If it weren't for her, he wouldn't have been able to get out of bed..."
Lee Ju-ho narrowed his eyebrows.
"So, Mr. Undertaker, is it really OldManGoryeo, this person? Could there be a misunderstanding or mistake?"
"No, that part is certain. There's no room for doubt. Ask her yourself when she regains consciousness."
"......"
Lee Ju-ho eventually fell silent.
Truthfully, I was more confused than anyone.
‘Sim Ah-ryeon had demonstrated a level of healing capable of curing cancer...?’
She had never shown such capability in any of my previous regression lives.
At most, she had been able to slightly alleviate the pain from scraped knees, or help recover from a cold within a week— abilities akin to Panpyrin[1].
How could this be possible?
"I'll wake her up."
Lee Ju-ho nodded in agreement.
I threw an empty soda can at OldManGoryeo.
The aluminum can, thrown with a bit of aura, must have felt like a shock of electricity when it hit OldManGoryeo's head.
"Uh... Huh! Ugh...?"
OldManGoryeo, also known as Healing Angel, groaned as she slowly blinked her eyes open.
"Are you up?"
"Uh... Ugh, what... Yes...?"
We waited until she regained consciousness, then I explained everything from the beginning.
Understandably, she was shocked.
"Hieeek...! How, how did you know I was here and come all this way...?"
"I'm rather favored by the Constellations."
I lied as easily as breathing and looked at her.
"But why did you do it?"
She hesitated in response to my direct question.
An awkward silence followed in the living room.
"Um, the thing is... Well, um..."
However, that very awkward silence spoke volumes.
“Huh.”
Lee Ju-ho looked desolate as he realized that his acquaintance was indeed an internet troll.
He said softly,
"...Miss Sim. Was taking care of patients stressful for you?"
OldManGoryeo blinked rapidly.
"Hiek. Yes... Yes...?"
"So, you didn't really want to take care of patients. I mean, it was so annoying, and you couldn't refuse because of your ability... Elementary school kids are always causing trouble. So, did you wear an internet mask to relieve stress?"
"Wow."
I was impressed.
A neat guess, fitting for a refined young man.
The mismatch between ability and personality was a scenario I had often seen.
In this world, having healing powers was a double-edged sword. 'I am a noble because I am a healer, and you are commoners,'— a mentality possessed by very few.
Quiet, introverted, unable to refuse others' requests— such people just end up being dragged around.
But one day, they snap and cause trouble.
However, to this logical and credible hypothesis, OldManGoryeo, Sim Ah-ryeon, spun her head around, indicating her disagreement.
"No, no, no! It's not like that! It's because of my skill..."
"That's right, your skill. Ms. Ah-ryeon, you actually don't want to use the skill [Mobile Hospital], but you have to because of the patients—"
“No, it’s a different skill! My second ability!”
Sim Ah-ryeon began to explain her second ability, flapping her arms about.
“Just wait a minute. It was tough to figure out this ability because...”
Since abilities don't appear neatly like skill cards (if they did, I could have easily announced my regressor status), we have to rely on Ah-ryeon's voluntary disclosure. Sim Ah-ryeon’s second ability was as follows:
――――――――――
[Grudge Orb]
It is said that those who are cursed will live long and healthy lives.
You are an enhanced version of this. The more you are cursed and hated, the more you not only live long and healthy by yourself but can also share that longevity and health with others.
* This effect strengthens as the hatred and curses against you are stronger and more numerous.
* If you possess medical and healing skills, those skills will also be enhanced in cooperation.
――――――――――
Lee Ju-ho, who was reading the notes about OldManGoryeo's powers, gaped in astonishment.
For the record, I was gaping too.
“What the hell kind of stupid skill is that...?”
It was shocking enough that she had such an ability, but even more astonishing that she had managed to detail and document it.
Again, aside from very abnormal cases, Awakeners don’t receive a status screen or anything like that. Discovering one’s abilities normally requires endless grind.
What kind of digging did Sim Ah-ryeon have to do to uncover this ‘Grudge Orb’?
It seemed I wasn’t the only one engulfed in shock and awe.
[The mysteries of awakening abilities are always fascinating to behold.]
The Saintess spoke, apparently she had been secretly observing, curious about the true nature of the situation.
I looked into the air and articulated clearly.
‘Saintess, you didn’t know either?’
[What... Did I not know? Yes. I can observe Awakeners whenever I want, but I can't read their minds. I, too, thought like Mr. Ju-ho that she was just stressed from caring for patients.]
Indeed.
Shock shared is shock halved. Talking with the Saintess helped calm my emotions, and suddenly, a new perspective dawned on me.
The ‘OldManGoryeo Situation’. That’s what this series of events seemed to be unfolding before my eyes.
‘Indeed. There was a reason she started being called 'Healing Angel' from this cycle.’
The world had fallen.
Internet infrastructure had collapsed.
People had to interact face-to-face, just like before the internet existed.
In this lonely world, even receiving ‘hatred’ was not easy.
Especially for someone with a gentle disposition like Sim Ah-ryeon.
That's why her second skill hadn’t stood out in previous cycles, and her first skill had only amounted to a health supplement.
But now, in the 50th cycle, SG Net, which never existed before, had appeared.
In an ideal world for drawing aggro, Sim Ah-ryeon finally awakened.
She transformed into OldManGoryeo, becoming a top-tier aggravator.
Moreover, SG Net was full of Awakeners, some of whom would gladly kill OldManGoryeo if they got the chance.
The overflowing aggro gathered into the ‘Grudge Orb’.
It was more than enough to earn her the nickname ‘Healing Angel’.
‘Hm? But didn’t the Saintess say something unusual when I asked her to locate OldManGoryeo?’
[Yes? Yes, I did say that.]
‘Did you realize then that OldManGoryeo was also Healing Angel, like a person with a dual personality?’
[Oh. Uh, no. That’s... I’ll tell you about it later.]
Then, Sim Ah-ryeon bowed her head towards us.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know Mr. Ju-ho’s father would get hurt...”
“Sigh.”
“I know it’s bad to curse others... I feel a prick of conscience... But, hic, still, I need to be resented, to gain strength, to help one more patient...”
She sat curled up with her knees to her chest, scuttling to a corner of the room and muttering to herself.
Lee Ju-ho could only watch silently.
Silence.
“What should we do, Undertaker...?”
“What can I do? It’s your decision that matters, Mr. Ju-ho.”
“Uh...”
Lee Ju-ho, realizing he was the one who stormed out in righteous anger, scratched his head.
It didn’t take long for him to make a decision.
“So then―”
It wasn’t a difficult decision.
The friends on SG Net who were curious about the outcome of the real-life confrontation would probably be sticking out their tongues. After that day, 'iJoinedToday' vanished, and OldManGoryeo continued to be active.
-OldManGoryeo: Treated the son of a bitch who showed up for the fight well lol
Even the posts became more venomous.
OldManGoryeo, not only adept at stirring aggro but also an excellent artist, even started drawing comics for his posts.
In the comics, a child and an old man appeared. The drawings were unnecessarily dramatic. The content went like this:
-Old Man: Huh? Who’s that?
-Old Man: (frowning)
-Old Man: Isn’t that our son?
-Child: Daddy, where are you going?
-Child: I wanna go too!
-Child: (smiling brightly)
(A cheerful comic-style picture of the father and son crossing a river)
Lastly, a photo that looked like a family tomb was attached.
With a Post-it note with OldManGoryeo's nickname on the tombstone.
Of course, the conscientious members of SG Net were grinding their teeth.
-Anonymous: Oh my.
-[Yuldoguk] SwordMarquess: I’ll take care of this one, just give me the address, kiddo.
-[Satisfaction] CookingQueen: The curses you pour onto others will eventually return to you. Maybe take some time to reflect a bit? You surely have a kind heart.
└OldManGoryeo: Just fuck off, you crazy fuck
-Anonymous: Didn’t he say he lives in Canada? The photo is totally Korean.
-[Samcheon] WitchJudge: Contact me if you come to Busan.
-dolLHoUse: im angy
-Anonymous: But why does he draw so well? He’s really talented...
Not all members were conscientious.
There were those who were thrilled by the troll.
-Anonymous: Lol double kill lololol OldManGoryeoHam is the real deal lmao
-LiteraryGirl: Thought OldManGoryeo was just good at online arguments, but he’s really something in a real fight too lmao
They say a true star drives both fans and haters crazy.
While Lee Ju-ho and I remained silent, OldManGoryeo was truly drawing all of SG Net's aggro to himself.
At least there wouldn’t be anyone around Lee Ju-ho’s guild dying untimely deaths from lack of healing.
One more thing.
“Wow, how can an ability be like this...”
For the record, Seo Gyu was deeply shocked after hearing the whole story from me.
“It’s funny to think that I’m not the only one with a weird ability... It feels strange.”
It seemed he had managed to shed some of his complexes about his own skills.
Thus, it was a win-win happy ending for everyone. But there was an unforeseen collateral damage.
-Anonymous: Didn’t ZERO_SUGAR brag about putting OldManGoryeoHam in his place?
-Anonymous: Talks big then shuts up lol why is ignoring him so pathetic lol
-Anonymous: Big nose lol actually, it was ZERO_SUGAR who got his nose bone broken lol
-LiteraryGirl: This ZERO_SUGAR person... quite the nose.
└[Satisfaction] CookingQueen: Insulting others is actually a way of demeaning oneself. Every human is a mirror, and I am a mirror to all humans. Let’s respect and consider each other.
“...?”
I glanced at the posts for a moment.
Hmm, I made a noise, stood up, sat back down, went to the kitchen, and brewed an espresso.
The fact that I had espresso instead of Café au Lait was a sign that the work I was about to dive into required high concentration.
First, I logged into SG Net with a secondary account, without any particular intention or purpose.
Then, just as I was about to send a message in the administrator-only chat room asking 'Seo Gyu, it’s nothing big, but can you find out some personal info about these guys?',
[Mr. Undertaker.]
“Hmm.”
[Please don’t do that. Really.]
I put down my phone.
Let's just end this chapter with a little bit of disliking OldManGoryeo.
Footnotes:
[1] A Korean medicine which is used for common cold.
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