The Tales of an Infinite Regressor

Chapter 50 – Survivors III

[Translator – Jjsecus]

[Proofreader – Gun]

Chapter 50 – Survivors III

The Academy City was both dead and alive at the same time.

They grew together like one giant zombie.

I used to criticize the lack of realism whenever settings like the Academy City appeared in fiction. Now, I realized I was wrong. I had to reflect on how narrow-minded my past self was.

Indeed. Surprisingly, the Academy City existed. Its economic power surpassed any other city, equipped with transcendent scientific technology that could create something out of nothing. And at the pinnacle of governing this Academy City was none other than the student council president. And yes, all of this was true.

“This is real…?”

Even the usually composed Tang Seorin was taken aback by the unexpected debut of the Academy City.

“Vice Guild Master. Is there something wrong with the Korean Peninsula? Did Grandpa Tan-gun fall for a real estate scam when he was building the country? It’s already hard enough dealing with the Ten Clans, but where did these crazy groups come from?”

“They came out of the gates. Did you know that? It’s said that Baekhwa High School’s swimming pool has no water, only zombies in swimsuits wriggling on the rail floor.”

“….Let’s just pretend we didn’t hear that.”

Those with even a hint of brain in their heads adopted the same attitude toward the Academy City.

Complete disregard.

Even in the runs where I started operating independently under Tang Seorin’s authority, the basic strategy remained unchanged.

Don’t look. Don’t show interest. Don’t talk.

The so-called 3-N policy was indeed the right way to deal with Baekhwa High School. Truly, this was the best way to protect the durian-sealed Pandora’s box.

Even though some guilds were tempted by the promotional slogan of ‘historic necromancer’ and tried to take a bite, I desperately stopped them. No, don’t! If you eat that, you’ll get an upset stomach.

“Huh? Who are you to stop our guild?”

“With a necromancer, we can defeat Tang Seorin!”

Of course, not all guilds obediently followed me from the beginning. Some guild leaders stubbornly refused to listen and contributed to the establishment of the Academy City.

But I didn’t get angry. Looking at my long lives as a regressor, they were like immature newborn babies. If I continued to care for them with love and attention, eventually, they would realize their parents’ worried hearts.

“Well, if you say so, Doctor Jang…”

“Yeah. Thinking about being a necromancer makes me feel sick. Messing around with corpses, what’s up with that?”

Ah…

How can you make prideful awakened individuals submit? It’s very simple. Become a regressor and defeat the Ten Clans. Then, even the toughest tsundere types will become dere in front of me.

And so, starting from the 10th run when the suppression of the Ten Clans began, guild leaders also obediently followed my orders.

Always, the entrance to Baekhwa High School was overgrown with tapes like spider webs.

[No Entry] [Safety First] [Danger] [Human Flesh Caution] [Control Zone]

It was a really simple solution, but surprisingly, these yellow tapes had a power that rivaled even barriers.

Unless they were disturbed from outside, Baekhwa High School was safe. I became so curious about what they were doing inside that Cheon Yohwa and her student council rarely made public appearances.

Really, occasionally when Cheon Yohwa herself went out to procure supplies, Saintess would immediately whisper to me, ‘The student council president has appeared.’ Yet, major incidents rarely occurred.

Even after the 30th run.

Even after the 40th run.

Even after the 50th run.

Yellow tapes were still stretched in front of Baekhwa High School’s ‘gate’. I can guarantee that except for the runs where I went on vacation, the seal here was never broken.

In other words, if I set aside the runs where I pushed aside my regressor duties and went on vacation, there was a very high probability of no appearance of an ‘Academy City’.

The same was true even for the 108th run when I returned from Mount Hua hunting with Marquis.

Once again, the Korean Peninsula was proving why this land was once called ‘Hell Joseon’ and instilling fear in everyone.

-Ge҉ru҉gu҉wi҉lo҉go҉!

“Eternal Fire! Eternal Life Flower! Akrigongjeong!”

“Boss, here’s two portions of tteokbokki!”

Lonely gourmets from the Ten Clans. Heretical religious Shinbul. And now, the largest Academy City in history, Baekhwa High School!

My old friends from home greeted me warmly.

It’s so nostalgic that tears are coming. If meteor showers fall here, the Four Heavenly Kings of the Korean Peninsula will be completed altogether.

It was better to quietly regress than to directly confront that mess, and that’s exactly what I did.

“Hmm.”

As we returned to Busan Station after finishing a vacation season, it was time for philosopher time.

Vacations really did wonders. Diseases unique to infinite regressors like ‘Why me’ syndrome, ‘I’m tired now’ syndrome, ‘Nobody remembers me’ syndrome, were all miraculously cured.

Instead, diseases that were the complete opposite, like ‘But I still have to fix it’ syndrome, ‘I’m perfectly fine’ syndrome, ‘Even if everyone forgets, I’ll remember everyone forever’ syndrome, emerged again. Oh well.

Isn’t human life just a record of battling diseases named unhappiness or happiness?

A regressor was nothing more than a long-term patient who, like everyone else, dealt with the same diseases but more deeply and skillfully.

I’ve been in this hospital for a long time, in other words, I’ve returned to this world. And until then, I quietly observed the situation on the Korean Peninsula from an angle I had never thought of before.

“Compared to Saintess, maybe Cheon Yohwa is a very rational conversational partner?”

It was truly a paradigm shift!

After all, having dealt with the legendary lunatic Saintess for a whopping 6 years, I finally had this realization.

Indeed, compared to a dog covered in poop, a dog covered in mustard was like an adorable Shih Tzu.

“A high school student council president? Compared to nobles from some island country, they’re completely normal.”

There was no longer a regressor from the 5th run trembling at the sight of student zombies. There was only the awakened from the 109th run, just back from experiencing a sequel to the Reign of Terror and the eruption of Mount Hua.

People do grow, don’t they?

I, Doctor Jang, lightly admired my own growth as I prepared for my tasks.

I cured SG Man Seo Gyu’s anger management disorder, formed an alliance with the perennial hikikomori Saintess, and after defeating the Ten Clans and clearing up the Udumbara, I trained on Ulleung Island and laid all the groundwork by pulling out Marquis, who was training in martial arts.

And then, several months later.

I headed to Baekhwa High School alone.

“What brings you here?”

An NPC was standing at the school gate.

It was the familiar face of a security guard.

Just as the gates of Dante’s Inferno bear the inscription “Abandon all hope, ye who enter here,” this NPC was in charge of the entrance to a terrifying dungeon.

“Sorry, but if you don’t have any business, please leave. This is a private school. Outsiders cannot enter casually.”

“Ah. Thank you for your hard work. I’m not an outsider.”

But to me, who had cleared Saintess and returned, the security guard was nothing more than a trivial monster.

The Guardian that couldn’t kill me only made me stronger.

“I’m this person.”

“Hmm? What’s this…?”

I politely handed him a printout.

The printout had the Education Bureau’s mark kindly stamped on it.

[Notice from Baekhwa Girls’ High School Alumni Association]

“…Oh.”

The security guard’s pupils shook.

I grinned.

“Hello. I’m a graduate visiting here this time for the Baekhwa High School Alumni Association. Nice to meet you.”

“…”

The zombie guard stumbled, frozen like an NPC encountering an unexpected move from the player.

Of course, the document was forged.

But what did it matter?

Would they bother calling the alumni association to verify if it’s real or not? By this time half of Seoul is relocated to Mars.

[Translator – Jjsecus]

[Proofreader – Gun]

“Um… isn’t this a girls’ high school?”

“Ah. I’ve had a gender change. It’s what they call TS syndrome, I’ve awakened to that ability.”

“Uh…”

If the zombie guard were to react, questioning where such a crazy ability exists in this world, they wouldn’t know if they were being discriminatory or not. It was a harsh situation for an NPC programmed to act according to a set pattern.

“Um. No, uh… could you please come in and wait? I’ll call the responsible person.”

“Oh, I already called earlier today regarding the alumni association visit, but it seems the message didn’t reach the security guard. Well, go ahead and wait then.”

“T-Thank you…”

I effortlessly entered Baekhwa High School’s premises.

Have you seen it?

This is the daily bread of a 109th turn regressor.

[Is this really the best way…?]

I ignored the Saintess’s lament in my ear.

“Um, you’re our school senior?”

Blink.

Cheon Yohwa, who greeted me in the student council room, blinked incessantly, observing my every move.

Even the feared necromancer couldn’t hide her bewilderment in front of a self-proclaimed graduate claiming to have TS syndrome.

“Yeah. Judging by your hair color, you must be Cheon Yohwa? I heard a lot about you from the kids.”

“Uh…”

I casually addressed Cheon Yohwa.

“It’s been going around our alumni network that a very smart and quick-witted junior got elected as the student council president.”

“T-Thank you…?”

“By the way, I also worked in the student council and now I’m the alumni association president.”

“Ah…”

Cheon Yohwa became increasingly flustered.

This is the weakness of lunatic-type Awakeneds who create their own worldview and settings inside their skulls.

They fiercely resist outsiders who ignore their settings, but become infinitely weaker in front of visitors who faithfully adhere to their settings.

“This time, our alumni association is planning a gathering, and my friends want to visit the school after a long time.”

“Oh, I see…”

And this was exactly what I intended.

Naturally, the nemesis of lunatics is another lunatic with a higher level of wit. The truth of the nutjobs was once again proven.

Why? You’re a student. You’re even the student council president of a school proud of its history and tradition.

Oh, you’re a necromancer and all, so why bother the grand senior alumni president like that?

“Yeah. We’ll avoid class hours, so could the seniors maybe use a teacher’s office after school?”

“Uh, just a moment. Please wait!”

Cheon Yohwa got up from her seat and went to the corner of the student council room. Oh, by the way, there were about ten students gathered in the student council room besides Cheon Yohwa. They weren’t zombies. They were all properly alive humans. They were probably the true members of the “Baekhwa Girls’ High School Guild.”

“What should we do? He’s a senior…”

Baekhwa’s guild members whispered to each other.

“It’s unbelievable. Can someone’s gender actually change?”

“Come to think of it, since President Yohwa’s ability is more amazing, theoretically, it’s possible…”

“But it could be a lie.”

“But how did they recognize the name without even introducing themselves as the student council president?”

“Let’s test it.”

“What kind of test?”

“If they’re a senior who graduated from here, they should know everything related to our school. Let’s test them with questions that would be impossible for anyone who didn’t graduate from Baekhwa Girls’ High School.”

Whispering.

They might think they’ve kept their voices down, but I heard it all.

“Um…”

“Why?”

“Do you happen to know what our dormitory is called?”

I expected this kind of test.

And for the past few months, I’ve thoroughly prepared for this exact situation.

The result of that preparation whispered to me.

[…It’s Baekhwa Hall. But among students, we just call it the dorm.]

Ah, this is what they call a Saintess, an Awakened with the ability of clairvoyance――.

With clairvoyance, you can observe all Awakeneds as you wish.

You might not know, but we’ve been inseparable for over half a year now. Because I specifically asked the Saintess to do so.

“Baekhwa Hall. But we just call it the dormitory, usually.”

“Oh. Where’s our school cafeteria…?”

“You go out here and go down to the first floor, then it’s on the left hallway after a short walk.”

“The name of our dorm supervisor teacher is…”

“Oh, Gorilla? She’s been working here for ages. When I was here, the dorm supervisor always had permed hair, is she still like that?”

“…..”

Cheon Yohwa’s pupils shook.

As a last resort, Cheon Yohwa took out the graduation album. Since I said I was from the 96th batch, she opened the album that corresponded exactly to that.

Of course, when she looked at the album, even the Saintess looked at it.

“Um, could I hear the names of the seniors…”

“Han Yesol. Lee Miri. Park Hayoon. Kim Jiyoo. Kim Yerin.”

“…..”

“The ones I was close with, that’s about it. But…”

I stood up.

“Why do you keep asking weird questions?”

“What do you mean?”

“Are you suspecting something about our juniors? Wow, Baekhwa has really changed a lot. When we were here, we at least sent two to Seoul National University. Are you preparing well for the college entrance exam? As the student council president, you must be aiming for Seoul National University, right?”

“……”

“Yohwa.”

“Yes…”

“I’ll be counting on you from now on.”

“Yes, senior…”

That day, the regressor gained a Necromancer junior who listened well.

– Survivor. The End.

[Translator – Jjsecus]

[Proofreader – Gun]