EP.3 1. The 10th regression – 03

As a nation located in the south west of the continent, Kaldea kingdom was a rich kingdom that possessed the largest breadbasket1 and coastline on the continent. 

Worthy of the richest kingdom on the continent, the capital city Ninea was a bustling city and the square located in the centre of Ninea had more people going in and out and could not help being crowded. 

So, to reiterate, standing in the most crowded and bustling place-

“Are you alright? You’ve been standing here spacing out staring at the sky for a while. I was wondering if you’re okay?”

…like this, there is ample possibility that you might run into nosey people who would go as far as to care about the health of a total stranger. 

“I’m alright. I was just a bit dizzy. Thanks for the concern.” 

As Jin slightly bowed his head to thank the middle-aged man, the middle-aged man lightly nodded his head putting on an expression of relief.  

“I was worried since you were spaced out for a few minutes. Still, it’s a relief that you are okay.”

Smiling nicely, the middle-aged man laughed heartily. 

This was the first time that Jin and the middle-aged man had met in their lifetimes, however saying that they were complete strangers was an awkward, subtle relationship. 

That’s because, after he had arrived in this world, and every time he had regressed, this was the very first face he ran into. 

‘Thanks to him, the first time Jin had arrived in this world was really crazy.’

Thanks to the middle-aged man that possessed a kindness enough to strike up a conversation with a fool who was looking around his surroundings like a puppy that had lost its owner, Jin had attempted to illegally enter the kingdom and had become a criminal – Even though it was technically something similar to a foreign labourer – he had been harassed with forced labour for at least 3 months. 

Even though he had somehow explained that he was not a spy that had trespassed from a foreign kingdom and gotten released, those were memories he could not easily forget even after 100 years. 

‘Although, he did gain the lesson that this world was not flowing with milk and honey like the ones that appear in fantasy novels.’

Letting out a rather low sigh, Jin collapsed and sat on a bench near the fountain that was installed in the middle of the city square. Screw the regression, he planned to take a break. 

His head hurt. Doing this and that, he had spent a lot of time without rest facing that lizard bitch, and as a result, his heart was pierced through by that damn bitch. 

Of course, once he had regressed, everything ended up as if ‘nothing had happened’ at all, and the state of his body had gone back to its original state, although the mental fatigue was another issue. 

After dazedly perching on the bench for a while, Jin suddenly looked down and touched his body. 

Squishy.

“Fuc….”

The body that had been extremely trained by going through a lot of real-life combat for over 10 years before the regression had disappeared without a trace. 

And instead, a feeble body full of extra fat, that couldn’t even do a single push-up properly let alone had any muscles was left. 

It may be obvious to say but, having regressed back to 10 years before, his body had also returned back to the body that he had when he was first summoned to this world.  

Simply put, it meant that all the hard work and effort he had put into training his body to prepare for the apocalypse over the past few years had instantly vanished into thin air. 

Of course, it was something he was used to. Since it was something he had experienced over nine times now, he could brush past it and – 

“Brush past it my ass. Fucking shit!”

So, what if he was used to it? It was so frustrating, he felt like he’d lose his shit. 

Those that have tried exercising at a gym, even a little bit, would understand. Between exercising from scratch without even knowing any basics vs starting exercising while having some idea and having built some muscle, which one is more difficult and tiring. 

If you didn't know anything from the beginning, you wouldn't know how much the thought of cultivating and training this weak trash of a body made him feel sick. 

Without paying much attention to his surroundings, Jin who had been going crazy let out a sigh. 

Is there any point in going crazy like this. He’s going to have to train his body again anyway. 

“…Ah, come to think of it I haven’t done the thing yet.”

He had almost forgotten to check, as he always did after every regression. 

However, before doing that, Jin stealthily checked his surroundings. 

Even though he knew very well that no one was paying him any mind, he still somehow looked around without realising. 

That’s because, having to this do kind of thing at his age was a bit embarrassing. 

“Status Window.”

As soon as Jin recited those words, a partially see-through screen that was only visible to him started to light up in front of him.

  -■■■-

    ■■! ■■ ■■■to ■ ■ ■■  ■■ ■■ ■■ ■. ■■■  ■■ ■■■ ■ ■  ■ ■■….     

    ……

“Sigh.” 

Looking at the crumbled letters that looked like a broken code and were illegible, Jin felt tongue-tied. 

Actually, it wasn’t something that surprising. From the beginning till now, it has always been this way. 

Or rather, the words are broken up this time round. There were spaces in the words this time around. 

Back in the day, the words were all blank making it hard to decipher what on earth the message was. 

Status Window. 

Usually appearing in novels or games, it’s one of those cliches that would be regrettable if it didn’t make an appearance here. 

Without knowing why, Jin who had arrived in this world and had the ability to summon the status window, however he was in no way happy about it.  

What was he supposed to do with being able to summon a faulty product whose words you couldn’t even see clearly. 

However, saying that it was completely useless was also a bit of a stretch. 

After all, it was because of the Status window ability that he realised that this world was a world inside [Ragnarök] and he was also able to figure out and have an idea of what he needed to do. 

On top of that, the more regressions he went through, the more the warped and broken words changed so that he could understand some of them. Even though it was a minimal change, he would periodically check the status window every time he repeated a regression. 

“I can’t even guess what that’s supposed to say anyway.”

At least 100 years had gone by since he got the status window ability, and he’d also been through nine regressions but there were only at most a few words that he could decipher. 

So, just how much time and effort would he need to put in until he could completely understand what nonsense this damn status window was saying. 

That is why Jin thought that this was only half of that damn status window. 

He was already on the verge of losing his mind because of frustration so there was no need to add another source of stress. 

‘… what’s this?”

Jin, who was scrolling down the status window began to notice something. 

-■  ■ ■-

    ■ ■ ■■ ■ ■, Erekaya ■ Pen■■gon ■■■■ ■. ■■’s ■er■ happy■■ make■■ ■■’s ■■■ more■ ■  ■■. ■ to ■ that ■■ ■■ apocalypse■ to ■■ ■ ■■ ■.   

“Some words became readable.”

In truth, it was something startling. Readable parts of the contents in the status window that he previously couldn’t make sense of because the words were all broken up had appeared!

Of course, because there were more words that he couldn’t read than those he could, he couldn’t grasp what the darned status window was jabbering on about but it was still something great considering. 

It was a far more welcome sight compared to before when the status window didn’t show anything and all the words were broken apart. 

“Apocalypse, Erekaya… and happy?”

Firstly, he knew what the apocalypse was. In fact, he knew better than anyone in this world. 

Since the creation of this world, there have been seven elements destined to destroy the world someday. The lizard bitch Azidahaka, who pierced a whole in Jin’s heart was also one of them. 

Jin assumed that the apocalypse was part of [Ragnarök’s] scenario. It meant that it was no different from a game system or game tree that had to occur. 

That’s because Jin had experienced nine regressions and no matter what he did he could not delay the apocalypse or he would try to prevent it beforehand but would fail and end up regressing back. 

With every regression, the cause of the apocalypse would automatically change however there had not been a regression in which the apocalypse did not occur. 

It was until then that he realised. The fact that it seemed like part of a restriction that meant that humans could never prevent the apocalypse with their strength alone. 

“And Erekaya, Erekaya….. it’s a name I’ve heard a lot somewhere.”

He was sure of it. It’s a name he’s definitely heard somewhere. And not long ago either, recently. 

However, he couldn’t remember where he’d heard it. Just where did he hear this name from.  It must definitely be a name worth remembering if it was vaguely in his mind…

- Stupid

Erekaya Del Pendragon. Isn’t that the name of the heart of the kingdom, the Duke of Pendragon’s one and only heir. Although he couldn’t see the name clearly because of the broken-up words on the status window, there was only one noble woman in the kingdom with the name Erekaya and it was feasible to point to her in this case. 

“Ah, oh yeah. Erekaya Del Pendragon. I finally remember. I was wondering where I’d heard it, turns out the name of that old man’s granddaughter was Erekay-”

In that moment, Jin ended up shutting mouth. Obvious to say, the status window was only visible to Jin. Other people could not see it let alone knew anything about it. 

However, someone was whispering in his ear as if they could see the contents of his status window. 

Who was it, and from where and using what method were they sneaking a peek at his status window and giving him advice?

“Who is it? Is this magic right now? Or amplification? Just where are you peeking at me from?

As soon as Jin whispered those words into the air, a clear elegant voice from somewhere answered back in his ear. 

- What do you mean peeking?

That’s real funny. Do you think yourself so great that someone would want to take a peek at you? I mean, it’s not like wizards are so jobless that they would use magic to peek on a man who looks so stupid. 

“Stop messing about. Aren’t you the one who started talking to me without having to go far. From your voice you sound like a girl, you must be a wizard who really has nothing to do. Or an old maid hungry for a man.”

- Hmm. It’s true. You must be a professional at guessing wrong. All your guesses are wrong. Firstly, I’m not hungry for men and I’m also not a wizard. And I’m definitely not talking to you right now. 

“Not talking to me? Nonsense. Then what is it that I’m hearing in my ear right n-“

And in that moment, Jin felt goosebumps all over his body. It was as if that girl had said. That girl really wasn’t talking to him. Thinking that someone else was talking to him was Jin’s mistake. 

That was because, the voice was not coming from somewhere else, it was in his head. A mysterious voice was directly communicating in his head in the form of ‘thoughts’.

“…You, just who are you?”

- You asked that pretty quickly. That’s a question I should have asked you. Of course, if you were that smart you wouldn’t have gone through nine regressions. 

As she said that, her voice flowed with snickering laughter. It was enough to make someone feel bad but she did have a point. 

- In that case, let me officially introduce myself. My name is Erekaya Del Pendragon. 

- The sole enemy descended from the Duke of Pendragon and owner of the family, and at the same time…

- The immoral person who will without any hesitation kill blood relatives who share the same blood and cause the destruction of my family.

1 T/N: Breadbasket - breadbasket refers to regions that supply cereals, grains, and rice to the whole world. i.e., the USA is the breadbasket of the world. ↩