The Regressor Only Protects Me Chapter 148

Episode 148. Order (2)

Jin Jae-hee carried the unconscious Kang Si-on and walked through the ruined area.

I walked without any purpose or direction.

I just wanted to get him out of here as quickly as possible.

In fact, Jin Jae-hee had difficulty even walking.

His whole body was covered in wounds, and his left eye wouldn't open, either because of the flowing blood or because of some other problem.

'Choi Hyun-ji… … Where is… …?'

Jin Jae-hee looked around while holding Kang Si-on in her arms.

Zombie ghouls bared their teeth and threatened to attack the two, but fortunately they could not reach them.

Even if he ran right up to me, I would quickly get scared and fall backwards.

It was all because of the magical energy that Kang Si-on gave off.

At that moment, Choi Hyun-ji, who had spotted the two people from a distance, approached them.

She was coming, dragging Choi Myeong-jun, who had passed out, like a sack of barley, while wrapping him in a black object.

As soon as she arrived at Jin Jae-hee's house, she started to fuss.

“Hey, what happened?! You guys didn’t turn into zombies either, did you? Where were the bite marks? Huh? Little brother… …!”

Choi Hyun-ji threw Choi Myung-jun aside and ran out to examine Jin Jae-hee's body.

Jin Jae-hee calmed down Choi Hyeon-ji.

And then he looked at Kang Shi-on in his arms and said.

“Don’t worry. He just fell asleep. Hey. Can you get me a soft object?”

“Huh? Oh, oh, oh. Oh, oh! A bed? Yeah. Yeah. I will. But, is it okay?”

Jin Jae-hee smiled kindly and comforted Choi Hyun-ji, who was asking questions in a rude manner.

“Don’t worry. It’s okay now.”

Choi Hyun-ji's black object slowly swelled and took on a soft, marshmallow-like shape.

Jaehee slowly laid Zion down there.

He was sleeping soundly, like a baby.

Jaehee smiled pleasantly as she looked at his sleeping figure.

Then, she lifted a strand of his hair and straightened it.

'what……?'

Choi Hyun-ji looked at the two people alternately, standing in an odd position.

Of course, Kang Si-on was trying to kill Jin Jae-hee just now.

I don't know what kind of curse or black magic he was under, but at that moment, not only did Kang Shi-on's appearance change, but his fighting prowess also became incredibly strong.

As if from another dimension.

And he, who had changed, began to indiscriminately attack his colleagues, whether conscious or unconscious.

Honestly, from Choi Hyun-ji's perspective, it's something to go crazy about.

When trying to attack Kang Si-on, Jin Jae-hee tries hard to stop him.

But if we left it alone, it felt like Jin Jae-hee would die.

So, she often burst into tears and went to take care of Choi Myeong-jun according to Jin Jae-hee's will(?).

But when I came back, the ending was this situation.

‘What is this situation… … .’

It seemed like things were going well, but I was still a bit uneasy.

Choi Hyun-ji held her head and tried to grasp the situation.

But before Choi Hyun-ji could organize her thoughts, the surroundings became chaotic again and a howling sound was heard.

-Kuaaaaaa… … .

-Krrrrr… … .

-Gyaaaaaaah… … .

Ghoul zombies were emerging from the buried ground and slowly approaching the expedition team.

Currently, Choi Hyun-ji is the only person in the expedition team capable of fighting.

It was a difficult situation where she had to deal with zombies that would come back to life no matter how many times she beat them to death, but Choi Hyun-ji had a solution.

Before entering Man-gyeong, the thing that I had to worry about the most while living as a wanderer was safety while getting a good night's sleep.

Because she spent a lot of time alone in the ruined city center, she was exposed to many dangers.

So the idea was to make a small house out of black stuff.

Choi Hyun-ji decided to use that experience to her advantage.

First, she slowly let the black substance seep into the area.

And then he released his power to form a certain shape.

The black object first created a flat ground, walls, a ceiling, a roof, and now a bed, a makeshift table and chairs, and even a clothes rack.

This was the optimal environment for Choi Hyun-ji's lifestyle as a wanderer.

Choi Hyun-ji sighed as a black house stood tall in the midst of the empty ruins.

If they stay inside, the expedition will be safe for a while.

Zombie ghouls surrounded the house and knocked on the windows.

Making a strange noise.

Meanwhile, Choi Hyun-ji, who was inside the black house, woke up Jin Jae-hee, who was nearby.

“You two, stay here until you recover.”

At those words, Jaehee looked around.

A cozy house that looks like a fairy tale cabin.

It looked quite presentable, with a bookshelf, a chair, a desk, and even a fireplace.

Except everything is black.

Jin Jae-hee said, pointing to the zombie ghouls trying to stick their hands through the window frame.

“What if they come in?”

“Huh? Oh, zombie? It’s okay. I can last about a week. This ability has more endurance than you think.”

“Thank goodness… … that’s it.”

“You should get some rest too, little brother. To be honest, you don’t even have the energy to talk.”

“No… … . Energy… … .”

As he said that, Jaehee's eyelids closed slowly.

“Okay. Okay. Don’t worry about it anymore. Just go to sleep.”

A black object wrapped around Jaehee and laid him down on the bed.

“I see. I wasn’t staying at Man-gyeong back then… … . Relationships are annoying, after all. … … Wait. But I think I forgot something. Kang Shi-on is there. Jin Jae-hee is there. And me. Well. Everyone’s here.”

Choi Myeong-jun, who had been abandoned outside, was completely forgotten, and Choi Hyeon-ji muttered while preparing to rest.

Jin Jae-hee fell into a deep sleep while listening to Choi Hyun-ji's complaints that weren't really complaints.

* * *

When I opened my eyes again, my body and mind felt refreshed, as if I had been born again.

I don't know if this analogy is appropriate, but it was similar to the feeling I had at home when the construction site was closed for three days in a row due to a typhoon in the past.

On days when I had to rest, I always slept all day.

This is exactly what it felt like to wake up from that sweet sleep.

I feel so light both physically and mentally.

Above all, my head felt refreshed.

I don't know how many days I slept.

What was certain was that when I opened my eyes again, Jin Jae-hee was beating me mercilessly.

At first I was taken aback, but then I thought about it again and realized there was no way she would attack me for no reason.

That means it has to do with another me I met in my dreams.

Although it was an important issue, I wanted to put the complicated thoughts aside for now.

At least for now.

I really felt like I was born again.

All my worries and concerns were gone, and now the road seemed clear.

The order of the universe.

Way to mess it up.

I finally figured out the answer.

Meanwhile, a loud noise could be heard throughout the house.

The black object was still wrapping around my body.

'… … .'

Lying face down on the bed, I looked around and saw black tentacles moving around all over the house.

And soon the voices of my colleagues began to be heard.

“Put some cola in it. It’s like sprinkling some salt and pepper on meat.”

“You cola-obsessed bitch. Please. Who puts cola in meat? Do you put cola in samgyetang?”

“No, it’s an attempt. An attempt. All cooking starts with an attempt.”

“If you like cola so much, why don’t you just stick your nose in it and die?”

“Oh, that’s my wish?”

“Stop it. I’ll just do it.”

Jin Jae-hee calmed them down, grabbed a knife, and started cutting something.

I sat up in my squishy black bed.

He wasn't wearing a top, and he was wearing Choi Hyun-ji's borrowed pants.

Churruk-. Churruruk-. Churrururuk-.

Various ingredients were hung on tentacles and moved between the kitchen and the living room.

It seemed likely that all the materials came from the supplies that arrived from Man-gyeong.

The three of us, excluding me, were bickering about who was right and who was wrong in a space that looked like a kitchen.

I swept my bangs up to straighten my hair.

At that moment, Choi Myeong-jun, who was in the kitchen, found me and smiled broadly.

“Brother-nim!!! Are you awake?”

He bowed deeply to me.

“Oh. You’re finally awake.”

Almost at the same time, Choi Hyun-ji also looked back at me.

I looked at the two of them and smiled with relief, saying that everything was okay now.

And finally.

Jin Jae-hee, who was busy moving around in the kitchen, turned around and met my eyes.

She said with a faint smile.

“… …Are you awake?”

* * *

Someone had been knocking on the door for some time, and it turned out to be ghouls.

These monsters kept knocking on the door for three days and nights.

Fortunately, no matter how much they knocked on the door, the black object had a soft, fluffy texture, so the sound wasn't loud.

Although the sound wasn't loud, it was definitely annoying.

The expedition team, excited about having a proper meal for the first time in a long time, began to lose patience as they sat down at the table and the noise seemed to be getting louder.

In the meantime, Kang Shi-on picked up his chopsticks and chewed the nepenthes marinated in soy sauce on top of the mashed altolan.

The expedition's table was filled with a variety of foods.

A red soup made with the meat of an unidentified monster caught here, seasoned Altolan Nepenthes, and about a quarter of ramen soup.

Immediately after waking up, Kang Shi-on ate his food quietly without saying a word.

However, the remaining three, excluding him, were engaged in a heated discussion.

The one who opened the door was Choi Myeong-jun.

“Ah, X. I can’t sleep at night because of those zombies. It’s so noisy I could die.”

“Are you the only one who has a hard time? I can’t even sleep comfortably because of the maintenance of the artifact.”

“But no matter what I do, I won’t die?”

“Yeah, little brother. I was so pissed off yesterday that I tried to make huge thorns grow all over the house and turn it into a beehive. But it didn’t work. They don’t die. They’re zombies.”

“It’s complicated.”

“Don’t worry, little brother. Even though you were here for two days, you were safe, right?”

Choi Hyun-ji smiled and reassured him, but Jin Jae-hee was very worried.

“The problem here is that time is distorted, Zion. Is the status window okay?”

“Yeah. It’s still the same.”

Zion stopped eating and checked the status window in response to her question.

Rather than saying it's the same, it would be more correct to say it hasn't been updated.

The monarch's status window showed an overall indicator of his power.

So, even if only a day passed, something would change, but the status window remained silent and unresponsive.

I couldn't help but think that it hadn't been updated.

Anyway, time passes more slowly here than outside.

“Choi Myeong-jun. How many weeks has it been since we entered the forest?”

“Ah. Maybe four weeks and… five days have passed, brother.”

“Four weeks… … five days.”

Zion thought.

Four weeks here may feel like at least four years outside.

Of course, the expedition team was just thinking about what was convenient for them.

In reality, I don't know if 4 years have passed or 40 years have passed.

Zion thought as he chewed the skin of a vegetable that looked like a bell pepper.

'Fortunately, there doesn't seem to be any problem with Man-gyeong… … .'

If Man-gyeong had collapsed, something would have changed in Kang Shi-on's life as well.

But the fact that there has been no change so far is proof that Man-gyeong is still cruising.

That was a fact that could be confirmed in the letter that Ha Yoon-ha sent to the expedition team.

Phew-.

Suddenly, Zion spat out the vegetable peel he was chewing onto the plate.

Jin Jae-hee looked at him in surprise and asked.

"what's the matter?"

She was worried that Zion might faint again or that a transcendent being might appear.

Jin Jae-hee wasn't the only one who was nervous.

The same was true for Choi Myeong-jun and Choi Hyeon-ji, who were eating at the same table.

But Zion bit his lip once and answered nonchalantly.

“… …Wow, it’s so tasteless.”

“… … .”

“… … .”

“… … .”

At those words, Jin Jae-hee let out a deep breath as if the energy had gone out of him.

“Then should I give you something else? Or maybe ramen.”

“Okay. No.”

Zion frowned as if the bitter taste still lingered in his mouth.

'It's strange.'

He has always chewed his food thoroughly, no matter how tasteless it was.

It was because I had a keen sense of the preciousness of food since I was young.

He had resolved not to leave a single grain of rice behind when he emptied his bowl.

'I feel like I've become more sensitive.'

I feel like my five senses have become more acute.

Could this also have something to do with growth?

Zion looked closely at his fingers holding the chopsticks.

There was nothing special about the appearance.

At that time, Choi Hyun-ji looked at Kang Si-on and asked.

“So. Your Majesty. What’s our next destination? We can’t go to Suwon. We can’t go back to Man-gyeong. I don’t want to spend my whole life seeing those guys.”

Choi Hyun-ji pointed to the zombie ghouls filling the window with a spoon.

Zion glanced at them along her spoon as she answered.

“There’s no point in hunting those zombies, is the witch dead?”

“The quest was not cleared.”

“You said the quest changed? Kill the witch. But the witch is dead?”

Jaehee nodded cautiously to Zion's question.

“Right… … . In your hands.”

Zion became more and more thoughtful after hearing Jin Jae-hee explain what happened when he fainted.

“The witch is a field boss, and she can’t be killed by normal attacks. You might not be able to get out of the forest until all those zombies are dead.”

bang-!

Then, all of a sudden, Choi Myeong-jun shouted, hitting the desk with a fork and knife in both hands.

“Brother. Should I take care of everything? I will.”

“Those guys that Jin Jae-hee killed for three days and nights and still came back to life… … There’s no way you could harm them.”

“Ah. That’s. Yes… … . That’s right. Yes… … .”

Choi Myeong-jun quickly became gloomy and sat down.

At that moment, Choi Hyun-ji joined the conversation, slamming her fist against her palm.

“Oh, wait. Do you remember what the witch said, little brother?”

"what?"

“You clearly said so yourself. You said you wouldn’t die for ‘three days.’”

Jin Jae-hee tilted his head.

“Was it so?”

“I told you so! With your own mouth. Definitely. I wouldn’t die for three days. Oh, wait, wait, wait. What day was it today? Choi Myung-jun woke up first, and my younger sibling woke up a day later. Yes, today is the last day.”

Jin Jae-hee asked back with a slight frown.

“Are you sure?”

“Oh, I’m sure. I’m sure. I’m absolutely sure. Today is the third day. In terms of time, there’s about… … eight hours left.”

As Choi Hyun-ji spoke with a smile, Kang Si-on stood up from his seat and wiped his mouth with a handkerchief.

“That’s good.”

He got up from his chair and walked in the opposite direction.

As he got up from the chair, the black object immediately sank.

“I had something to talk about. There are enough hours left to talk about it.”

Everyone stopped eating and looked at Kang Shi-on.

And Kang Shi-on's subsequent words shocked everyone.

What he means by 'disrupting order' is this.

(Continued in the next episode)