Yoon-seok went back to five minutes ago, told Dracar the name Rosaline, and reset the Pocket Watch’s cooldown. Then the Queen appeared, and a wave of darkness…
Whoosh-!
He died again and again without knowing what had slain him.
[You died.]
[The Old Pocket Watch (Rank S+) returns the owner to 5 minutes ago.]
He repeated this routine over and over again. Nothing had changed yet. He couldn’t even figure out how to withstand the first blow, let alone her weakness. However, as the cycle continued, minor information was piling up.
“Fuck you Queen.”
—Kyahahaha, kyahahahahahahaha!
The fake Queen didn’t remember the time before his return. Plus, she was a kind of voyeur. She watched the Expedition 24 hours a day and appeared when someone insulted her or aroused her interest. So what if Yoon-seok didn’t do anything?
—Kyahahahaha! Will this be the end of despair?
Everyone was annihilated in the palace, where they arrived on the 30th day. In that round, Yoo-seok realized a new fact.
“This time, the sea came out!”
Five minutes at a time, he could rewind a day if he died 288 times in a row. However, it wasn’t infinite. The limit to return was the 7th day. This was only possible back to the day when the dimension was twisted and Dracar appeared. In other words, it was impossible to normalize the mission by returning before the death of the former Expedition Leader or the Guardian Dragon.
“Please don’t cast that Butchery.”
Since he had come all the way here, he tried to prevent the armor from being dismantled. He wondered if Dracar’s help that the Queen mentioned might not only mean infinite regression. However…
“…I can see why I gave you that name.”
As soon as Yoon-seok returned his armor, Dracar immediately ran away using the return system. It was truly a terrifying moment. If it hadn’t been for resetting the pocket watch first, that would have been the end.
‘Maybe there was a task I couldn’t find.’
From then on, Yoon-seok changed his mind. Dracar’s role was all about resetting the cooldown. What would be different if they were to fight together with him inside his armor in the first place? A slight power increase wouldn’t help. No, if one day they succeeded in killing the Queen, it was most likely related to the reset.
‘Let’s start from the beginning.’
He started again on the 7th day and searched all over the place like a madman for an important existence on par with the Guardian Dragon. However…
‘Damn it.’
This, too, was a no-go. By the 29th day, he found no singularities. He killed himself about 7,000 times to head back to the 7th day. In the end, it was in vain. But, Yoon-seok realized something.
—Trying, huh…? You’re not even praying.
Why Dracar laughed then, he must have anticipated this from the moment he heard about the Pocket Watch. Infinite regression wasn’t a cheat; it was just an ability that let him struggle as much as he wanted.
‘…Not yet.’
He suffered thousands of deaths, and in the end, he eventually returned to the starting point. Then so what? Yoon-seok continued to do what he had to.
“Jeffrey, would you tell me what the senior challenger said after completing this mission?
It was time to look back on the information he might have missed.
“Dracar! You said last time you saw the Queen crush a dimension, right? I would love to hear more about it.”
He collected more information about the Queen, but there were no significant results. He only came to realize how twisted this mission was and how powerful the original Queen really was. There was still a long way to go.
However, Yoon-seok didn’t give up. As long as he didn’t give up, even if he didn’t know what to do now, one day, he would be able to arrive at their final destination.
“The Queen? Do you mean the one that comes out at the end? Don’t worry too much. She is nothing like me…”
Once, Cheon-ma provoked the Queen. It wasn’t something she thought deeply about, but it was understandable to look down on her before seeing it in person.
—Kyahahahah! She said she would kill me?
But as a result, Yoon-seok learned something surprising.
Whoosh-!
Slash-!
When the darkness raged around her, Cheon-ma slashed back.
“…Did you say it was the Queen? What a strange power she has.”
Once, twice, thrice. He couldn’t track the fourth.
Whooooosh-!
Because before that, the angry Queen had killed all the Expedition members, including Yoon-seok. However, Yoon-seok cackled.
“Hahaha! Hahahahahaha!”
Finally, he saw the way.
* * *
It was absurd, but he didn’t know Cheon-ma had this ability until he died thousands of times. The reason was simple: she couldn’t do that at the palace on the 30th day when they met her. At that time, everyone was exterminated without even a word. After that, he didn’t think it was possible to block her.
“Were there any restrictions before that?”‘
He wasn’t exactly sure of the cause, but one thing was certain.
‘We can’t go until the 30th day. It must be done before then.’
Yoon-seok’s eyes glinted. He hadn’t solved the issue of survival, but at least he found the right timing. Plus, this wasn’t the only thing he had achieved.
“Rosaline.”
“…How many times is it?”
“7,103 times.”
“…Crazy bastard.”
Yoon-seok reset the Pocket Watch first. Dracar mumbled something, but there was nothing new about it. When he told him that he died a thousand times, Dracar looked at him like he was crazy, and he had started murmuring it on the 4,000th time.
Yoon-seok immediately ran to Cheon-ma.
“How did you do it?”
“What’s that all of a sudden?”
Cheon-ma tilted her head. After realizing that an explanation came first, Yoon-seok held out his Pocket Watch without saying a word. It must not be put into words. After all, the voyeuristic Queen could overhear them.
“Would you like to check this first?”
Cheon-ma checked the information on the Pocket Watch, then Yoon-seok explained Dracar’s power.
“…How many times have you died so far?”
She asked the same question as Dracar. When Yoon-seok answered honestly after a moment of hesitation, Cheon-ma wore a strange expression.
“Is that alright?”
“Yes. I think we can win.”
“No, I didn’t ask that…”
Yoon-seok was a little puzzled. If not, then why the hell did she ask? Yoon-seok looked at Cheon-ma with confusion, but-
Cheon-ma let out a roar.
“…You, I mean, are you okay?”
“…”
Yoon-seok was speechless. He just had to answer yes, but the words didn’t come out easily.
“I…”
He died 7,103 times. Multiplying that number by five would give a rough estimate of the time he had struggled alone. 35,515 minutes, or about 24 and a little more than a half days.
“I…”
Yoon-seok died over and over again. It was better to die by the Queen, as it ended in a painless instant. However, it was only possible to call out the Queen up to the 29th day. Otherwise, he had to kill himself. He placed a condition of non-healing through the Lady’s Commandment, cut out his heart with a knife, and stabbed himself in the forehead. Nevertheless, it wasn’t easy because of his high physical strength and durability. He could still feel his cerebrospinal fluid running down his head. In that state, he had to wait until the b Immortality} faded away and repeat the process one more time.
But that wasn’t what was terrible.
‘Can I do it?’
Was what the Queen said true? Maybe there was no way even with this infinite regression obtained with Dracar’s help. Doubt gnawed at his mind at every step.
Yoon-seok responded after opening and closing his mouth several times.
“I am okay.”
“…”
“At least for now.”
“…Is that so?”
She didn’t seem to believe it, but when he smiled, she slowly nodded and drew a sorrowful look. Now, instead, she asked what she could do for him.
“So, how can I help?”
Yoon-seok asked what the strange ability she used was, and contrary to what he expected, Cheon-ma acted like it was nothing. Of course, there were no major problems. He only needed to call out the Queen and see her ability again. This time, unlike before, he would be able to see clearly.
“Did you say you were the Queen? Hurry up and come out. I’ll rip off your head.”
Immediately after, Cheon-ma called out the Queen as Yoon-seok wished. A creepy voice greeted them.
—Kyahahahahaha, hahahahaha!
The darkness swayed more passionately than ever before. Cheon-ma shouted as she cut it down bit by bit.
“When you meet another me again, ask about the Upper Qigong!”
This was how Yoon-seok received a clue on how to move forward.
* * *
[You died.]
[The Old Pocket Watch (Rank S+) returns the owner to 5 minutes ago.]
Time flowed backward again.
‘Another me…?’
Yoon-seok faced this question for the first time: what happened to the others when the Pocket Watch worked? Nothing could be concluded hastily. Everything might disappear, or there might be a split dimension. But Cheon-ma had guessed it from the beginning. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have said ‘another me.’
‘Damn it.’
She was smiling until the end, but didn’t any doubt or anxiety exist in her mind? He guessed it wasn’t like that. Even if she was Cheon-ma, she was also a human with emotions. Still, it must have been her consideration that she didn’t ask any questions.
“…”
Yoon-seok laughed, feeling refreshed.
“Why are you laughing all of a sudden?”
It was just time to reset the watch. Dracar, standing in front of him, frowned. Instead of answering, Yoon-seok held out his Pocket Watch.
“Rosaline.”
“What? Don’t tell me, again?”
He didn’t have to say the name. After all, from the moment they returned to the 7th day, he knew what Yoon-seok was doing. Nevertheless, it was an implicit signal and a kind of habit to say that name.
“…So how many times is it now?”
“7,104 times.”
“Ha, but this time, it only increased by one. What are you doing? Aren’t you going?”
“…?”
Yoon-seok hardened for a moment. There was one change.
“Why aren’t you cursing this time?”
“…Could it be that you enjoyed being cursed out? You crazy bastard.”
“You know it’s not like that, don’t you?”
Dracar scratched his cheek with a smirk.
“I don’t know, but your eyes have changed.”
“My eyes?”
“Our Pygmy Clan are also good at things like that. You’ve become much more reliable than before.”
“Is it like the eyes that say you won’t run away even if I give you your armor?”
“…What do you mean?”
“There is such a thing.”
“Oh, no way…!”
Dracar shouted something from behind him, but Yoon-seok let it in one ear and out the next as he headed over to Cheon-Ma.
“Could you please explain the Upper Qigong?”
“Upper Qigong? Why are you asking such a thing all of a sudden?”
“I was just curious.”
Yoon-seok didn’t talk about the time regression. If it was her consideration that she swallowed her doubts and silently listened to his request, this was the only consideration that Yoon-seok could offer in return.
“Can you tell me in more detail than you told me last time?”
“Hmm. It’s going to take a while. Will it be okay? I’d rather do it after the Mission is over…”
Cheon-ma worried over the matter of time. Yoon-seok smiled and shook his head.
“No. It’s fine.”
At least time was overflowing. He knew now what the proper use of this infinite regression was.
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