[…Wait.]
“…Huh?”
I have no idea how many tis I’ve regressed by now. I never counted, and even if I had, I would’ve forgotten by now.
“…You… you can talk?”
But this was the first ti my clone had ever spoken to . Literally the first ti. Until now, he’d just muttered to himself. Suddenly, he was speaking human words, so naturally, I was shocked.
“Why… why now, all of a sudden?”
I didn’t even consider the possibility that he might be pretending to talk as a trap. Traps or one-ti betrayals don’t hold much aning for a regressor. And besides, my opponent is myself. If he were going to set a trap, he wouldn’t have done it so crudely.
[…]
“…Hey, why’d you start talking and then stop?”
The clone fell silent again, but this silence was different. It wasn’t the usual silence filled with madness; it was the kind of silence where he seed to be carefully choosing his words as if language itself was foreign to him.
[…]
“…”
After a long pause, he finally spoke again, and his question was simple.
[…Is this your first ti?]
“…What do you an?”
[It’s your first ti.]
The clone slowly nodded as if understanding sothing. This might be the first ti he’d spoken to , but it felt like he was talking about sothing else entirely.
[Sit.]
With that, he plopped down onto the ground. I hesitated, but eventually, I sat down as well. After making sure we were both seated, the clone began to speak.
[Why are we fighting?]
“…Because you attacked ?”
[And why did I attack you?]
“…How am I supposed to know that?”
[That’s what I want to talk about.]
A faint smile spread across the clone’s face.
[My mory is hazy… but I’ll explain as best as I can rember.]
The story my clone began to tell… was nothing short of shocking.
***
Clone’s Perspective:
Entering the 1st Floor
[…1st floor?]
When I ca to my senses, I found myself surrounded by darkness. I stretched out my foot and tapped at the space in front of , feeling sothing solid. Looks like I’m trapped sowhere.
[Sss…]
Just monts ago, I had sliced through a Minotaur with a single slash and stepped into the portal that had ford above the Goblin Shaman’s corpse. And now, I’m here, suddenly, in this dark space.
This tower really doesn’t give you a mont’s rest, does it?
[It’s okay. Let’s calm down.]
There’s no need to panic. Just like I handled the tutorial, I can overco this if I take it one step at a ti. After all, it’s only the first floor. Surely, it won’t be anything too extre.
I took a deep breath and waited quietly. Gradually, the darkness around faded, replaced by a bright light shining from all directions.
[Ugh…]
As my eyes adjusted to the light, I saw what appeared to be a white temple. The pillars surrounding resembled sothing out of ancient Greece, though slightly different—pure white columns supporting a grand temple.
[…]
Just a mont ago, I was in an open field in the tutorial, and now, a temple? I stood there, slightly dazed by the drastic change in environnt, when a ssage appeared in front of .
1st Floor - Clear Condition: A monster resembling your image has appeared. Defeating it is your only way to survive.
[…A monster?]
In the distance, I spotted a silhouette. Is that supposed to be the monster that looks like ? It seems my task for this floor is to defeat that creature over there.
[Hmm…]
Reluctantly, I twirled my wrist, gripping my sword tightly, and began to approach the silhouette. I didn’t know much about the structure of this floor yet, but following instructions seed like the best course of action. As long as I clear it adequately and don’t move to the next floor, there’s still a chance for a flawless completion.
At the sa ti, it seed like the creature had noticed my presence, as it began to walk towards as well. We both approached each other and in no ti, the distance between us closed.
[…]
“…”
Finally, we were close enough to reach each other with a swing of the sword.
“…Ha, really? How cliché.”
The monster let out a scoffing laugh, as if amused. It looked exactly like , down to every detail, except for its clothing. On closer inspection, its expression seed darker, more intense.
[Uh, uhh…]
“Yeah, I can feel it. This is real.”
Just as the creature tightened its grip on its sword, ready to charge at —
[W-wait a second.]
“…?”
I instinctively held out a hand, stopping the creature in its tracks. The aura it exuded was no joke.
If we fought, I would lose. There was no question. I’d be crushed without a doubt.
[How about we… try to settle this with words instead?]
After all, solving everything with violence is the way of beasts.
For those with intelligence, there’s a more sophisticated way to resolve things.
***
[So, you’re saying you’ve already cleared up to the 4th floor?]
“Right.”
[And this is the 5th floor now?]
“Exactly.”
[And I’m just a clone created based on your mories?]
“Precisely.”
[Hmm…]
Honestly, I’m completely thrown. I went through all that effort to finally clear the tutorial, only to find out that I’m actually just the clone of the original?
From my perspective… it’s hard to believe.
[But are you ‘sure’ I’m the clone?]
“…What?”
[Think about it. What if you’re actually the clone based on my mories, given implanted experiences of fake 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th floors? I an, co on, where would you find a tower that just lets you breeze through one floor for free?]
In every story, clones never know they’re the clones. When I pointed this out, the one who insisted he was the original suddenly looked very serious.
“…True, now that you ntion it, the twist of realizing I’m the clone is a classic…”
[Isn’t there so way to check?]
So, we two identical figures, differing only in clothing, sat down and began to go through each other’s mories in an attempt to figure it out.
[Sa childhood ho, sa first crush in elentary school… even the sa favorite actor?]
“Ugh…”
The problem was that our mories were completely identical. There weren’t even any “mory gaps” that clones in stories usually have. Except for mories post-tutorial, there were simply no differences at all.
[Hmm…]
“Mmm…”
As we both pondered ways to determine who the real one was, an idea suddenly struck the 5th-floor Junho.
“Regression.”
[Huh?]
“What would happen if one of us regressed?”
The 5th-floor Junho posed a question that made my head spin.
[Wouldn’t we both regress at the sa ti?]
“Hmm… That does seem likely…”
And so, an unexpected debate ensued, with countless hypotheses surfacing and then fading. But with little evidence to support any of them, we couldn’t reach a conclusion. When it cos to this kind of problem, the solution is simple: just test it.
[I’ll try regressing first.]
“Alright.”
One of the perks of being a regressor is that there’s no real cost to trying sothing risky. Stopping the 5th-floor Junho, I clenched my fist and struck my chest.
-Smack!
With the sound of impact, I regressed.
You’ve been injured. Regressing to the mont you first entered the 1st floor.
***
[So, you’re saying you don’t rember any of this?]
“That’s right.”
[Looks like we don’t share each other’s regressions…]
Surprisingly, the 5th-floor Junho didn’t rember any of this. When he tried to cut down instantly, just like before, I barely managed to calm him down enough to talk.
[Now it’s your turn to try regressing. If you’re the clone, you won’t be able to regress, right?]
“That’s true… but, hold on. Sothing’s bothering .”
5th-floor Junho propped his chin on his hand, lost in thought, his eyes darting around as he pondered sothing. Suddenly, he jolted upright.
“Hey.”
[…?]
“How are we supposed to clear this?”
[Huh?]
Co to think of it, he was right. If both of us can regress regardless of who’s the clone, this fight could go on forever.
To defeat the other, we’d inevitably need to resort to violence, but since we both regress whenever we take damage, an actual fight would likely result in an endless loop.
“Hm…”
[Hmm…]
I started to feel like we were seriously screwed… but then, a decent idea popped into my head.
[But does victory really have to be physical?]
“?”
[What if… we count it as a win if one of us gives up?]
“Let’s test it.”
Both of us, having reached an agreent, dropped our swords to the ground, focusing entirely on conceding defeat to the other in earnest.
‘I lost. He won. I am the clone. I am defeated.’
As I closed my eyes tightly and concentrated, I felt a light tap on my shoulder.
“Hey.”
[…?]
“Try touching that.”
5th-floor Junho gestured with his thumb over his shoulder. Following his gaze, I saw a blue portal hovering in mid-air. That portal must lead to clearing the 5th floor.
“If you ask , I’m a hundred percent sure you’re the clone. I just got a ssage saying I cleared the floor despite my thoughts of losing. Did you get anything like that?”
[…No.]
“Go ahead, touch the portal.”
[…]
I reached out toward the blue portal, just as he suggested… but nothing happened. Was the portal broken?
No. Deep down, I already knew. I knew that I was the clone.
5th-floor Junho’s mories were too vivid, too real. They weren’t sothing the tower could have fabricated on a whim.
“…I’m sorry.”
[…]
“Listen… should I clear the floor and then co back after regressing? Maybe there’s a way I can bring you out with …”
He looked at with a hint of sympathy, his expression a bit somber.
But whether he felt sympathy or not didn’t matter. A terrifying idea had just crossed my mind.
[Wait.]
“…Huh? What?”
[Don’t go yet.]
A way to use this situation to ‘my’ advantage.
– – – End of Chapter – – -
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