The Regressor Is Obsessed With Me Chapter 14

14. Base Camp (1)

We were heading toward the mountain peak at the center of this area.

“It’s easier to grasp the overall terrain from higher ground.”

According to Joo Yeon-woo, that was the best first step.

Well, even if we didn’t climb it, he probably already knew the layout of this floor…

But since we had to act naturally so no one would suspect he was a regressor, I followed without complaint.

It was also the most reasonable choice from the perspective of someone who “didn’t know anything.”

[The Goddess of Fate complains that the forest won’t end.]
[The Harmed Sister is bored.]

The path was rough, covered in dirt and stones.

I had grown somewhat used to trekking through forests over the past week, but I still made mistakes here and there.

“Ah.”

“Are you alright?”

I slipped slightly, and Joo Yeon-woo steadied me.

“I’m fine.”

“The ground is uneven. Please watch your step.”

“Yees….”

[The Harmed Sister’s eyes sparkle.]
[The Harmed Sister donates 100 Grace!]

What in the world did she see that prompted her to donate?

I had no idea, but arguing was too tiring, so I let it go.

“Thank you.”

Walking through rough terrain wasn’t a serious problem as long as I was careful.

The real problem was something else entirely.

Grrr—

“…Are you hungry?”

“...A little.”

For some reason, embarrassment washed over me.

Come to think of it, how do we get food here?

Buy it with Grace from the shop? Hunt?

“Let’s look around and see if there’s anything edible nearby.”

“Agreed. It’s best to conserve Grace as much as possible.”

“We can’t eat monsters, right? They disappear after dying.”

Monsters on the first floor had turned into dust or mist upon death.

Nothing physical remained.

Well—except points.

“Since this is a different floor, the monsters’ properties might differ. They could leave materials behind. Even then, eating unknown creatures is dangerous. It’s better to find another option.”

“If we do eat something, it should be something similar to what we know.”

“Yes. That would be best.”

…Since this regressor likely had knowledge of safe food sources, we probably didn’t need to worry too much.

If I just ate whatever he ate, I probably wouldn’t die.

Just as I was wondering how far we had walked, Joo Yeon-woo suddenly said something strange.

“It seems someone has come to greet us. Good—saves us time.”

I was about to ask what nonsense he was talking about when a scream came from above.

“Uwaaaah—!”

A very familiar voice.

“…Huh?”

I looked up—and saw a very familiar face plummeting toward us.

Branches snapped as something crashed through the trees and slammed into the ground.

[The Abandoned Princess bursts out laughing.]
[The Harmed Sister is thrilled!]

“Ow, damn it… Dongwoo, that punk. If he’s gonna send me here, can’t he do it properly? Why is it always like this…”

It was a pitiful sight.

But pitiful or not, I recognized him instantly.

My mouth moved on its own.

“Chae Saebyeok?”

Grumbling, he stood up and turned at the sound of his name.

“Yeah, Chae Saebyeok. Your brother.”

What an unbelievably unexpected reunion.

Who would expect their brother to show up by falling face-first out of the sky?

Joo Yeon-woo didn’t seem surprised at all. He merely greeted him calmly.

“You’ve arrived.”

“Oh, you’re here too. You two came together?”

Joo Yeon-woo nodded and answered matter-of-factly.

“We arrived just moments ago and were exploring to assess the situation.”

Chae Saebyeok nodded along.

“Just now, huh. So you really were the last ones in?”

“Yeah. We’ve only been here a little while.”

“Well, at least you’re not hurt… Oh, and you know about the quest, right? The altar that asks for sacrifices.”

“Yeah. There was an altar right near where we appeared.”

“Figures.”

“Weren’t you here before us, Sae byeok? Sounds like you know a lot. Tell me everything you know.”

At my words, Chae Saebyeok grumbled while brushing dirt off his face.

“You never give a guy even a second to be happy to see you.”

“Is this the time for that? Our lives are on the line.”

“Well, that’s true.”

He straightened his clothes and stood in front of me.

“Alright, fine. I’ve got time anyway. I’ll explain while we walk. Follow me.”

“Follow you?”

…Was it really okay to just follow him?

I glanced sideways at Joo Yeonwoo. He didn’t react at all.

Judging by that, it seemed safe enough.

“Where are we going?”

“Base camp.”

When I asked out of necessity, he grinned proudly.

“A place I made.”

Chae Saebyeok said he chose a Constellation on the 2nd floor.

“You were alone?”

“Yeah. They said everyone was alone on the 2nd floor.”

Apparently everyone—whether they chose a Constellation or not—had been placed alone in that space.

I fell silent and glanced at Joo Yeonwoo.

As expected… being with him in that space wasn’t normal.

Just as Joo Yeonwoo himself had said.

“I see. Anyway—when did you come up to the 3rd floor?”

I changed the topic.

“You must’ve been here for a while if you built a base camp. A few hours ago?”

“I came up about five days ago.”

“Five days?!”

I couldn’t hide my shock.

He shrugged, as if he’d expected that reaction.

“Well, I don’t know the details, but… the flow of time is different between the 2nd and 3rd floors? Something like that. The time difference between people is huge.”

He said some people had already passed through this floor entirely.

“A time difference, huh. I guess it’s possible—there are skills and constellations, after all…”

“I was pretty shocked too when I first found out. Luckily, Dongwoo and Dohwa arrived around the same time.”

“What about the others?”

“No idea. I’m looking, but they might’ve gone ahead. Probably only a few days’ difference, but… with no way to contact them, who knows.”

That time difference was definitely a big factor.

“So I decided to set up a base camp and wait about a week. More people did show up during that time, but aside from you guys, I didn’t find anyone from the 1st floor group.”

“It’s really lucky we ran into each other like this.”

At that moment, the previously quiet Joo Yeonwoo finally spoke.

“For the next floors, we should establish some rules in advance.”

“Yeah, I was thinking the same. For floors with time limits or high danger, we should pass through quickly. For safer ones, we can wait… maybe?”

“Even if a floor seems safe, unpredictable events can occur. I suggest a waiting period of minimum three days, maximum one week—just as Mr. Chae Saebyeok did.”

“Isn’t that too short?”

“We must consider that others may already be ahead. If one side waits indefinitely, the gap between groups will only grow.”

“…Yeah, that makes sense.”

We agreed that if we met any of the others we’d been separated from, we’d explain the rules we just established.

It seemed safest for everyone to stick together as much as possible.

But… something had been bothering me for a while now.

“Are you sure you’ve been doing okay?”

“Huh? Yeah? I’ve been fine.”

…He looked worse.

Even dirtier than before. His clothes were even more ripped.

I stared at the more-hobo-than-usual Chae Saebyeok with a sour expression, and he snickered.

“This is doing great. Give it three days and you’ll be a wreck too. There’s no point shop here, you know?”

“There’s a Grace Shop. Did you use it?”

“A little? But everything there is ridiculously expensive. I couldn’t buy squat.”

I silently activated my skill.

[Analysis Eye (D) is activated.]
[Chae Saebyeok]
[5 Constellations are watching you.]
[Grace: 2300]

…He’s richer than me, what the hell.

I barely had 500.

“You’re whining for nothing.”

“I’m not whining!”

He complained he had something he wanted to buy but it was too expensive.

I only half-listened.

Whether he looked like that because he was poor or because he was being cheap wasn’t my problem.

He’d deal with it himself.

“We’re here! Over there. See?”

Thanks to steady walking, we finally reached our destination.

Where he pointed, I saw a group of around twenty people gathered.

“Oh wow, that’s a lot of people.”

“Yeah… it just sort of turned out that way.”

“Will it be alright? With that many people, it’ll be hard to manage.”

He wasn’t wrong.

Too many people meant too many problems.

Especially when it was a cluster of strangers with no ties to one another.

At Joo Yeonwoo’s words, Chae Saebyeok gave a wry smile.

“Yeah… there’s been a bit of trouble because of that.”

“Trouble?”

“Uh, well… let’s go in first!”

I stared daggers into my brother’s back as he rushed ahead.

Because that awkward smile of his…

…was the exact one he always made right after causing a mess.