The Regressor Only Protects Me Chapter 164

Episode 164. Gladiator (2)

A day at the Colosseum was uneventful.

There was no routine other than the twice-daily distribution of food and gymnastics to the applause of the guards.

As sunlight streamed through the bars and the prisoners inside the cell began to wake up one by one, the guards walked into the hallway one by one.

They banged on the bars with their clubs, waking up the prisoners who had not yet woken up.

Once everyone is up, the guards conduct a headcount check and prepare for the hand-to-hand exercises.

At this moment, even the most rotten of prisoners stood up and stood in line.

The reason for the headcount check was simple.

The first is to check how many people died during the night, and the second is to calculate the number of people to be distributed that day.

So, food distribution is always based on the number of people. If you don't stand in line, it's as good as no food distribution that day.

“Gymnastics – Get ready!”

Clap, clap, clap, clap.

The guards began to clap their hands to a certain rhythm.

As for gymnastics, most people did not follow it.

The prison guards didn't criticize him much for this.

After the aerobics class, there was one breakfast, and after that, it was completely free time.

The area was quite large.

The groups were spread out in the large playground that could rival a soccer field.

Closed spaces, hungry people.

Prison life was extremely boring for them.

That's why this place had a unique and closed culture.

They would pick up rocks rolling on the ground and make marbles to play games with, or they would save up tasty treats whenever a special meal was served and use them as currency.

Of course, there was also the act of buying and selling bodies here, and people had their own personal space, making their own rooms with provided blankets and boards.

Although they were all prisoners, there was clearly a class society.

First, there was a leader of the group called the captain.

The de facto leader of the group that everyone relies on and follows, and the person who solves everything that happens behind bars.

And the beings led by that captain are the gladiators.

Because they were recognized for their strong fighting ability, they were often called out as gladiators, so no one could touch them except for the captain.

The rest were mostly common prisoners called squatters.

The cadets were in charge of handling matters judged by the captains and gladiators, and were in charge of all sorts of miscellaneous tasks.

Below that are the commoners.

Even within this prison, the life of the commoners in prison was so miserable that they were not treated like human beings.

The commoners were also responsible for clearing up waste and disposing of dead bodies.

Anyway, the prison had its own rules.

When Jin Jae-hee returned to his room after finishing his daily exercise, the prisoners were divided to either side like the Red Sea.

If you were to attain the position of leader within the clan, you would enjoy more power than if you were in society.

Of course, that was possible because he had physical strength.

In the case of Choi Hyun-ji, who mainly relied on the power of artifacts, she spent her time like any other prisoner.

Choi Hyun-ji couldn't do anything without the power of the artifact.

She was a player who relied solely on the power of artifacts.

But one thing that was fortunate was that Choi Myeong-jun, who was unrivaled by anyone in terms of strength, was able to join the gladiator group.

No one touched Choi Hyun-ji and Choi Myeong-jun.

That's why she was able to concentrate on her work.

Square-. Square-. Square-.

Choi Hyun-ji hid her body in a blanket and began digging into the cement on the wall with iron chopsticks.

Well, I didn't have any grand escape plan or anything, I just kept on scratching at the wall without saying anything.

Cement slowly peeling off.

At that moment, someone hit Choi Hyun-ji's head, which was covered with a blanket.

"ah!"

Flutter-!

Choi Hyun-ji kicked away the blanket and looked at him as he hit her head.

“Why are you hitting me!”

There was Choi Myeong-jun, covered in sweat and with a puffed out chest, as if he had just come from working out.

“Are you kidding?”

"what?"

“Will it work?”

“It’s better than being reckless like you.”

“Hey, you stupid bitch. How many people are there here? You think you won’t get caught if you turn your blanket over your head? Please, live with some sense of reason.”

At those words, Choi Hyun-ji's face distorted.

“I don’t want to hear it from you alone.”

“Did you hear that Jin Jae-hee won the gladiator tournament this time?”

“Huh? Really?!”

Choi Myeong-jun squatted down and picked up a small branch that was on the ground.

Then he bit it between his lips and chewed it as if it were a cigarette.

“Yeah. So our goal is the same. We just have to let Hyung-nim and Ha-yoon-ha know that we’re stuck here. I don’t know where Hyung-nim is, but we just have to go to the game and let people know that we exist. Then everything will be solved. But the problem is that these guys won’t let me play. But if I just play, it’ll be fine. If I just play.”

Tamar-!

At that moment, Choi Myeong-jun hit his palm with his fist.

“And the kid who fell into this trap. I’ll catch him and beat him up. I’ll beat him up really bad. I don’t know if he’s a bastard or a girl.”

“… … .”

Choi Hyun-ji looked up at Choi Myung-jun, who was saying those words, with her lips rounded and silent.

And then he said it again as if it was new to him.

“Oh, it feels new when you say it like that.”

“Hey, X-bar. Leave it alone. You can rot here. Th-.”

Choi Myeong-jun spat on the ground and returned to his seat.

But then he realized how stupid he was.

I clearly came here to tell Choi Hyun-ji something, but I can't believe I'm just going back.

Realizing this, he slowly approached Choi Hyun-ji again and asked.

“Hey. By the way. How do you create an artifact?”

To that question, Choi Hyun-ji answered while lying down on her back.

“Why is that?”

“No. So how do you make it happen?”

“Who knows? I got it right after clearing the first round.”

“Do you know Jeong Hyeon-su?”

“I know.”

“He had an artifact appear in the middle?”

“No, you idiot. From what I see, Jung Hyun-soo didn’t know how to summon the artifact or how to use it, and then he found out about it due to some reason. All of his abilities were given to him after clearing the first round.”

“Oh, really?”

Choi Myeong-jun seemed lost in thought for a moment.

And then he looked at his wrist.

Choi Myeong-jun was seriously injured.

But when he came to this nest, his body was all better.

Although it was now controlled by the red stone, something was definitely different.

* * *

It's already been four days since I stayed at the pension.

They were more sophisticated than I thought.

Not only were their every move monitored, but their range of actions was also restricted.

Although movement within the pension grounds may be free, the way they restrict it is more restrictive than expected.

From the beginning, they knew that I was alive, so they expected that I would return to power one day, and they had thoroughly prepared for it.

For the past four days, I have been controlling the servants of this pension with the power of edict.

To conclude, it was all a lie.

I commanded three people to bring me the same information at regular intervals.

But their words were all different, and sometimes the same person conveyed different facts.

At first, I suspected that the power of the edict had been diminished, but that was not the case.

The instigator has been telling false information to everyone working here as if it were true, and they are now telling me what they are saying, believing it to be the truth.

'I understand how the edict works, and I knew I would act like this. What does he want? I've confirmed that he can't treat me carelessly, but I don't know what he really wants.'

Perhaps because they fear the power of the edicts I possess.

Of course, I didn't want to use the power of the edict for something like this.

In the process of preparing for an all-out war with the enemy, using such strong power as to declare a general mobilization order entailed considerable risk.

But for me now, I didn't have that much support or justification.

I had to solve this problem by myself and my own strength alone.

There must be a way.

I couldn't just sit back and watch that guy make the first move inside this pension.

There's got to be something. That something.

A way to let everyone outside know that I exist while still sitting inside.

“… … .”

Daughter-.

The paper attached to the front door shook.

The wind began to blow strongly.

I got a hint from that species.

It was paper.

* * *

Taming an Ogre.

It was one of the most powerful powers I ever had.

Through this taming, the Ogres became the loyal combat slaves of the Mankyung and a powerful national defense force. The powerful national defense force thus formed had the effect of suppressing war.

When I first started taming ogres and putting them to work in battle and labor, the citizens of Mankyung began to unite and worship me, which helped to raise my approval ratings to the max.

Using the Ogre is simple.

Most of the individuals roaming around Man-gyeong now react sensitively to the sound of the bell.

By using that bell, I can send a signal to the entire force that I am trapped on this mountain.

At the same time, no harm will be done, and the instigator will be forced to kneel and submit.

But even if you use a bell, there are problems.

The question was how to convey the bell sound to the ogres scattered throughout each force and gather them together.

No matter how loudly the bell rings, the effect will be minimal because this area is a bit outside of the city center.

So what I thought was concrete.

Create a 'bell' using a sphere.

The bells made in this way are sent to each region of the power.

Ring the bell to command the ogres to 'assemble'.

With that the ogres will move.

They have been trained to follow absolute orders as soon as the bell rings.

And the syllables of that absolute command bell were known only to me.

With that, the ogres will gather in this area of Mt. Suri.

Jin Jae-hee told me.

When I passed out, I created all kinds of things with balls and lines.

But it is unknown whether I can do that at present.

Because I haven't tried it.

I opened my eyes half-asleep and looked at the woman sitting across from me like a doll.

“… … .”

The woman sat there, stolid and unblinking.

Even though this was my personal space, their surveillance continued.

I had to figure out a way to polish the artifact without their eyes.

It was simpler than I thought.

A space that even they cannot bear to see.

It was under the blanket.

'Damn. It's not easy to even move under the blanket.'

Except for going out for meals, bathroom breaks, and quick breaks, everyone stayed in bed.

I lay down with the blanket over my head, releasing the artifact and gathering the spheres.

It was hard.

In the first place, it was difficult to transform a sphere into a line.

However, it was as difficult as picking stars from the sky to precisely manipulate the sphere into a bell of a certain shape, and even among those bell shapes, to create a bell that could produce the 'voice of absolute command'.

'But I have to do it.'

One day, two days, three days.

I was careful to polish the artifact, repeating it several times.

Every day, my whole body was drenched in sweat, and I would faint several times a day.

In order to polish an artifact, you had to be prepared to put in this much effort.

And how many days passed?

While I was worrying about what had happened to my colleagues, I did it.

It created a 'bell'.

Now it was time to educate this disobedient brat.

I don't know who the baby is.

* * *

Office of the Land Commissioner.

Gil Dae-heon opened the door and came in, bowing his head to Lee Seok-jin.

Lee Seok-jin looked at him, wiping his sweaty forehead.

“How is it? So. Is there anything special?”

Lee Seok-jin had a tough day because of the meeting with Kang Nam that lasted for several days.

It was always Lee Seok-jin's job to please the Gangnam chieftains.

Gil Dae-heon reported to Lee Seok-jin.

“There’s nothing special, sir. For the first two or three days, I felt stuffy and wandered around the pension, but now I spend the day under the blankets. Other than that, there’s nothing special.”

“… … You’re just going to stay still?”

Lee Seok-jin couldn't understand the hero's actions.

If you're a hero, you'll definitely have an ulterior motive.

But under the blanket, everything would be limited.

What on earth are you doing under the blanket?

Lee Seok-jin felt frustrated because he couldn't check it himself.

In any case, I had to finish this meeting with the Gangnam ministers quickly.

It was clear that the later the action against the hero was delayed, the more dangerous it would become.

Knock, knock, knock.

Lee Seok-jin slowly tapped the desk with his fingers.

It was a habit he had whenever he thought about something.

“What’s the situation with those three guys?”

As Lee Seok-jin's voice became lower, Gil Dae-heon became very nervous and spoke quietly.

“Oh, he’s not dead yet. Choi Myeong-jun and Choi Hyeon-ji haven’t shown any particular moves, but Jin Jae-hee of the 3rd division has played a match and won.”

"what?"

Lee Seok-jin glared at Gil In-ho with sharp eyes.

Gil Dae-heon lowered his head and avoided his gaze.

At that moment, the secretary entered the manager's office.

He slowly brought the cup containing warm green tea to the manager's desk.

“It’s hot. Be careful.”

At that moment.

Thud-! Thud. Thud. Thud.

Lee Seok-jin approached Gil Dae-heon, who was bowing his head, holding a cup of hot green tea.

And then he poured it on Gil Dae-heon's head.

Choaaaah!

“?!”

“… … .”

The secretary who brought the green tea was surprised, and Lee Seok-jin, who was pouring the green tea, and Gil Dae-heon, who was soaked in the green tea, had blank expressions.

It was green tea so hot it could burn you.

But Gil Dae-heon accepted it silently without changing his expression.

Tangrang-! Tang, thurrrr-.

Lee Seok-jin threw the stainless steel cup on the floor and said.

“Take care of those three right now. I don’t care what you do. Or I’ll tear you, your family, and everything else you hold dear to pieces and kill you, turning you into ogre food.”

“… … .”

Lee Seok-jin held out his hand without saying anything, and the secretary quickly brought a towel and placed it in his hand.

Lee Seok-jin wiped the sweat from his forehead with a towel and left the manager's office.

Gil Dae-heon, who had been keeping his head down until he was completely out, finally raised his head.

He wiped the water droplets on his glasses with a handkerchief without any change in expression.

Swearing softly.

“F*ck… …. Do whatever you want, right?”

Gil Dae-heon threw his wet head up and laughed heartily.

“Okay, I understand. Just the way I was. Now I’ll do it my way.”

Gil Dae-heon gestured from outside.

Then his subordinate came running.

“… … Just prepare 30 people from Metro. From now on, I’ll do it my way.”

(Continued in the next episode)