Regressor Instruction Manual-Chapter 1165. Internal Stability (4)

“Mr. Lee Ki-Young! This way!” William shouted.

“Okay.”

On the fifty-third try, he immediately chose to run as soon as the loop began.

“Aaaargh!”

In the end, he died, but he held out for a pretty long time.

I liked his destination. The fact that he immediately ran toward the temple of the Flower and Fertility told me that he was thinking of a way to escape this hell.

From his point of view, he probably thought that it wasn’t a complete loss. After all, he managed to do something before dying.

“Mr. William!” I called out.

“Mr. Lee Ki-Young... ugh...” William groaned.

On his fifty-fifth try, excessive bleeding was the cause of his death.

It ended with him watching me getting dragged away while he was dying.

“Aaaaargh!”

On his sixty-seventh try, I could feel William's frustration because he charged at the demon with his sword in hand.

However, he couldn’t land an effective attack. Like his first death, he was split in half, meeting a tragic end.

On his eighty-ninth try, he seemed to be thinking a little more logically, but he knew better than anyone that it was a meaningless struggle.

Thinking that all of this was just warm-up, I decided to just watch him until his hundredth death, but his progress was slower than I thought.

‘I’m hoping it ends within five hundred deaths.’

The problem was that he was still showing no signs of becoming even stronger despite dying a hundred and thirty times.

‘Maybe this isn’t right.’

I couldn't help but think that way because Will was gradually becoming a wreck.

“Uh... uh...”

In the real world, only two days had passed. Of course, many things happened inside the dream, but it seemed like he had been completely ruined in just two days, so I wasn’t feeling really good about this.

I thought this infinite regression event would help Will overcome his limits—both mentally and physically—but it seemed like he ended up developing a mental illness instead.

First of all...

‘He’s not letting go of his sword.’

He usually wore basic armor, but his habit had become a lot worse.

It was like he was relying on his armor to save his life.

To make things worse, he always had his hand on the hilt of his sword so that he could unsheathe his sword as quickly as possible. His left hand was touching his sword even while he was eating. His hand would still be on his sword even during meetings.

Secondly, he would suddenly feel dizzy and feel suffocated. He vomited often as well. He was having a hard time eating, and he was also afraid of going into dark areas. His third symptom was that he spent most of his time in the temple of the Flower and Fertility.

He had always been a religious person, but he started praying to the Goddess of Flower and Fertility for an unusually long time.

Besides these, there were many other symptoms, but since I wasn’t a psychiatrist, I couldn’t diagnose him properly.

However, the biggest problem was that he wasn’t aware of the issue.

‘Ah, man. I hope he doesn’t end up being a fool in a wheelchair.’

Others would have lost their minds before dying thirty times. I executed this plan because I believed in Will’s steel-like mind and his unwavering belief that seemed like it would never kneel before anyone.

‘I’m doing all of this because I care a lot about you...’

Of course I was worried, but if this was enough to make him lose his sanity, then Rohen basically had no hope from the start.

“Mr. William," I said with my hand on his shoulder.

William looked back with a surprised look. Seeing him immediately place his hand on his sword made me think that he was going to cause a big problem eventually. When he saw that I was the one who grabbed him, he took a deep breath to calm himself down.

“Yes?”

“Are you okay?” I asked.

“Yes, I’m... fine,” William answered hesitantly.

‘You don’t look fine. How are you going to go through the meeting in this condition?’

The things happening in the dream were problematic, but what was going on around Saint Bell was pretty serious as well.

The Monarch of Sunset had given us a grace period of one week, but the people of Rohen had already decided to face their fears.

Sun Hee-Young had to have realized that the humans were going to confront them, as she made the undead surround Saint Bell.

There were issues with supplies and reinforcement, and the fact that we had to engage in a defensive battle despite the significant difference in power was enough to make people nervous.

The one thing I was relieved about was that the people hadn’t been neglecting their tasks.

‘But they seem to be neglecting them today.’

“How are the preparations for the defense war coming along?” I asked.

“I think the walls will be done in time, Commander,” Emilia answered.

“That’s good,” I said.

“However, the mages are complaining about feeling mentally exhausted. They need enough rest before going into battle—”

“Okay, please make sure they get enough rest, Miss Emilia,” I interrupted her.

“Okay.”

“Any word from Arhendel?” I asked.

“Unfortunately, no...” Emilia answered.

“I see. In that case... I think we should walk around Saint Bell again today,” I suggested.

Of course, most of the preparations were complete.

This defense war was part of Operation: Dawn, so we didn’t need a lot of time to do the briefing.

The troops, excluding a few special units, were already familiar with their duties.

The troops had been building, maintaining, and repairing the walls over the past few days. The members of the command center, including myself, had other tasks we needed to handle.

‘Like encouraging the troops...’

Like a candidate running in an election, I patrolled the mission zones and took care of the troops. I would often grab their hands while telling them not to lose hope.

Of course, suppressing unnecessary rumors and controversies was part of my job. The 8-hour criminals had proven the effectiveness of the Monarch of Sunset’s plan.

It was impossible to end that controversy alone. The command center kept telling people that demons would never negotiate and that I was the hope of mankind.

Fortunately, their actions were effective.

‘Look at their eyes. It’s like they’re looking at their savior.’

Of course, I couldn't have done this by myself.

‘It’s a good thing that we didn’t kill them.’

The idiots had almost died at the hands of Jo Hye-Jin, and they were spreading the fact that demons would never negotiate with them.

Considering that their goal was to protect Rohen, it wouldn’t be surprising for them to become desperate in response to that kind of manipulation. Of course, they probably wanted to rid themselves of guilt or seek forgiveness, but deep down, their main focus was protecting Rohen.

‘You guys are still going to die.’

They were already on my bad side.

Anyway, the chaos continued, and the command center kept holding meetings to calm everyone's nerves. Every action of a master from a famous familia or a named player had a lot of weight at the moment, but...

‘What’s with his eyes? They look completely empty.’

William was behaving in a way that could easily make soldiers distrust him.

‘His condition is really bad today.’

“What do you think about the wall, Mr. Lee Ki-Young?” Emilia asked.

“I think this is perfect, Miss Emilia. I can see... how hard the soldiers worked... If I could, I would hold the hands of everyone, but I’m sad that I can’t do that,” I answered.

“...”

“This wall all of you built will be remembered as the wall that protected Rohen in the future,” I said.

“...”

“I know that you’re worried, but at times like this, you must cling to hope even more. Thank you very much, everyone. I’m really thankful to everyone who joined this fight to protect Rohen.”

I said this while grabbing the hands of the soldiers with perfect discipline.

Due to the situation, I couldn’t really create a scene of being hugged by passionate supporters, but moving around with my adjutants was enough to boost their morale.

“Rohen will win no matter what. I firmly believe that together, you, I, and humanity will overcome this crisis. Mr. William, please say a few words,” I said.

“...”

‘You shouldn’t have come if you were going to act like this. I’m sure that’ll help them dream of a Rohen full of hope.’

William was staring at a strange place with a pale face.

After hearing my voice, he came back to his senses and muttered, “Thank you... everyone... for your hard work. Yes... thank you...”

‘That’s it?’

It’d be strange if they couldn't realize that something was wrong with William.

Emilia and the members of the Family and Fertility familia had been asking me about William’s condition. Since it would be more problematic for ordinary soldiers than the command center...

“Mr. William, I think it’s best... if you take a break,” I suggested.

“...”

“Mr. William?” I said.

“Yes? D-Did you say something? I’m sorry, Mr. Lee Ki-Young. I just—”

“I said I think it’s best if you take a break. Y-You seem kind of exhausted,” I interrupted him.

“No, I’m... fine. More importantly, about tonight...” William said.

“Right, I think it’s best if we move according to the path you explained. There was clearly some progress...” I said.

“When we ran toward the Flower and Fertility Temple. A-Actually... I think you’re right, Mr. Lee Ki-Young. I think it’s best... if I make preparations for tonight... After praying to the goddess... Yes... I should probably do that,” William mumbled.

I saw him walking while spacing out. Would it be strange for me to think that he was leaving to escape reality rather than prepare for tonight? I was worried that he was going to do something drastic... but it wasn't the case.

This was a bit unexpected...

“Look at him...”

— Oppa, I think he’s trying his best to avoid falling asleep.

“So he’s just going to leave me alone.”

— I knew this was going to happen. I’m sure he wants to rest for at least a day. He looked like he could feel himself falling apart... and a lot of things were happening at once. But if you really want to, I can make him go to sleep... What should we do?

“Just leave him alone. With his personality, this might be more effective,” I answered.

— Well... that’s true.

I hadn't expected that Will would hold out and refrain from sleeping. He knew this wasn’t a real solution, but he was so terrified that he couldn’t make a reasonable decision.

‘The defense war will start soon, so I’m sure he wants to take care of himself before then. Above all, he’s probably scared to sleep.’

Upon falling asleep, he’d die over and over again. He would have to withstand the pain of hundreds of deaths at the hands of the demon he despised so much, so I would instead be worried if he were calm about all of this.

In his eyes, that dream probably felt more like hell than hell itself.

‘But did you know? With your personality, reality can be more hellish for you.’

***

As expected, William looked anxious as he said, “Mr. Lee Ki-Young... yesterday...”

“I’m really... really... glad, Mr. William,” I said.

“Excuse me?” he asked.

“Thankfully... thankfully, it didn’t seem to have affected you, Mr. William. I was worried that you might’ve experienced something awful because of me...” I told him.

“...”

“I’m really... glad. Thanks to you... I think the demon’s influence... has decreased,” I said.

I looked at him as if I were genuinely worried about him.

The unwavering and innocent air emanating from me was enough to make his arms tremble.

“...”

Will looked like he was hating himself.