Chapter 79
──────
The Questioner Ⅰ
Shin No-ah
1
I'll state upfront that today's episode will contain quite a few Q&A format passages.
In that spirit, let me toss out the first question to you all.
Q) Among all survivors on the Korean Peninsula, what is the 'most hated monster' by humans? (Difficulty: Lowest)
Once upon a time, this very question was the subject of a survey conducted on SG Net.
The candidates were certainly formidable, but if we list only the TOP 5:
1. The Lonely Gourmet. 'Sip-jok.'
2. Because of this bastard, my computer, my everything—all my electronics got wrecked and my life became miserable. AKA 'Gremlin.'
3. No matter which road you walk, whenever there's a fork, this thing pops up asking 'Right or left?' like a total prick. 'Trolley Dilemma.'
4. I can't mention detailed characteristics, but anyway, it has pink hair, name starts with 'Go' and ends with 'Ri,' a mysterious enigmatic existence. (Bullied Seo Gyu into adding this to the candidates, then rigged the vote count)
5. 'The Tutorial Fairy.'
The results of the four-day survey were announced.
A) 'The Tutorial Fairy.' - 82.7%
Candidate number 5, elected with overwhelming support!
Supporters embraced each other in joy and praised the winner with one voice and one heart.
-Anonymous: Fairies< -[Baekhwa]HighSchool6thYear: Huueng……. Please don't tell scary stories! ㅠ_ㅠ);; -Anonymous: Fairy trait) You pass out, and when you first open your eyes, 95% chance some plushie-looking thing is floating around. Looks cute on the outside. But who the hell knew their hobby was harvesting human skullsㅋ └Anonymous: Ahㅋㅋ. Fuck, 3 years ago my boyfriend's head flew off right in front of my eyesㅋ -[Satisfaction]CookingQueen: How interesting. -Anonymous: In the void I was in, suddenly a fairy appeared and cast 'Now kill each other' until only 30 survivors remained. -[Samcheon]Officer: Other monsters are beasts that you can't even communicate with, so at least you can try to understand them. Fairies seem like you can talk to them so it's even more infuriating. What do they really think humans are? For reference, 'Officer' is Yoo Ji-won's nickname on SG Net. Well, just saying. The important fact here is that even born-to-be psychopaths like Yoo Ji-won cannot contain their anger when it comes to the Tutorial Fairy. Perhaps some of you might think 'Huh? Are fairies that bad?' with question marks floating above your heads. After all, in my stories so far, fairies have appeared quite cutely. But I need to thoroughly correct your preconceptions with this opportunity. Fairies were indeed bastards. Just recall how our SG Man Seo Gyu died. Until I saved him in the 50th iteration, that guy got his head popped off by the Tutorial Fairy every single time, you know? Back when we were all still immature and naive as awakeners. When we didn't even have a proper concept of what monsters were or what the void was, the fairies unilaterally stamped compressed practical trauma right into our brains. "Hoeh! There are still too many survivors. If this keeps up, the seniors will scold me for not culling the ants at all……. Hmph, I hate getting scolded so I have no choice! Deploying 50 Shadow Hounds!" "I'm giving rice as a quest reward! But since you all used tricks to clear it, I have no choice but to give you a tricky reward too……. Here, receive this rice sack mixed with gravel and sand! Ehehem. I studied history books before being dispatched here, so I know very well this is a Korean specialty!" "Hwaaah. O-only 1 survivor remains……. I failed to adjust the difficulty. Can't avoid getting chewed out by seniors……. B-but one against all! A complete elite soldier! Clap clap clap! This Fairy Number 264 sincerely wishes good luck to Mr. Jang Yisa, the sole survivor of Busan Station……!" This is why people's eyes couldn't help but spin. Who would like being treated like some lab rat? Even rats probably wouldn't prefer that. Let alone Homo sapiens, a species that until just recently reigned as lords of all creation. Unable to accept the sudden change in circumstances, curses and intense reactions erupted everywhere. I also became violent like the protagonist of a violent game. "I will definitely kill you all." "Hoeh?" That was around the 2nd iteration, I think. Before I had [Complete Memory Ability], I was filled with endless hatred and cursed at the fairy. "What you've done to us. Not just you, but your kind too, I'll find even the fairy boss ruling over you, and somehow, definitely, by any means necessary, I'll take revenge." "Hoehk……. I don't understand what you're saying." My memory was probably wrong, and I likely recited different words. But I'm certain that even then, the fairy tilted its head with a blank face and an innocently harmless expression. "Humans who ignore the guide's words and don't listen are naughty children who need spanking! That's what it is!" Thud, and with a dull sound, my consciousness's vital signs were cut off. It was a moment when I learned that in the Fairy Dictionary, the definition of 'spanking' was [Noun: The act of smashing the opponent's skull and releasing its contents to the outside]. Fairy bastards. 2 And so the regressor caught the naughty fairies and punished them— If I could summarize it like this, how nice would that be, but unfortunately the Tutorial Fairies were vicious. In RPG terms, they were like level 70 guards. And I was weak. Hmm. To be precise, I lacked combat-related skills. I confess to you all……. Actually, I, Jang Yisa, was closer to a support than a dealer or tanker. This was evident just from looking at the abilities mentioned so far. [Complete Memory Ability] and [Time Seal]—none of them have much to do with combat, right? This was somewhat intentional. Because in our party, there was Sho the old man, a legendary fraudulent swordmaster born with the Heavenly Martial Body. Sho the old man handles combat, and I handle all the odd jobs as support. This was our blueprint. A truly perfect plan. Q) But the one and only dealer fled the party. What would be an appropriate line to describe this situation? A) "Well, damn." I despaired. Suddenly my skill tree, filled only with support techniques, fell into the traces of a trash character, and the genre of my life made a flashy drift toward a cliff marked with warnings of #regret #angst #obsession. In this web novel industry, the fate of a hero party whose member deserts was supposed to be miserable. Sho the old man, that bastard. Now what remained by my side? The regressor's exclusive possession. In other words, more time than anyone else. Nothing but overflowing time. Right there lay the escape route. 'Internal Energy!' A brilliant ray of light shone upon me, the time Bill Gates. 'To survive from now on, I have no choice but to build internal energy recklessly!' That's right. Depending on the culture or the person, it was called 'Aura' or 'Yoki' or various other things, but in the fact that pouring it into a kitchen knife elicits praise like 'You cut that fruit so beautifully,' it was all the same. This subtle energy was like shit—the longer it stayed in the body, the more powerful it became. Since ancient times, the martial arts genre has passed down the term 'Gapja'——. This corresponds to 60 years, and a martial artist who has accumulated 1 Gapja, or 60 years' worth of internal energy in their body, was rightfully respected as a master. It can be said to be a setting that amply reflects the desirable taste of East Asians who love ranking things by age. And what kind of person was I, Jang Yisa? Not to brag or anything, but wasn't I the man who set new records for human lifespan daily starting from around the 30th iteration? Above all, I possessed an ability that preserved muscles and internal energy even through regression, the so-called [Continue] skill. In other words? "Hey, fairy. I have a gift for you." "Hoeh? Gift? What is it, gloomy human?" "Spanking." "Huh?" Thud! Whooosh-! The Tutorial Fairy's head was launched magnificently into the air at the exact angle it had been tilting. A propulsion force that would have made any missile enthusiast living in Pyongyang clap their hands in envy. "Ahh." On that day when I finally defeated a fairy in one blow for the first time, I shed tears of emotion, not worth my age at all. How long and arduous was this time of humiliation and oppression! The regressor who evolved beyond a muscle pig into an internal energy pig was indeed powerful. No longer satisfied with just Busan Station, I went around voids all over the country and firmly harvested fairy heads. "It's Jang Yisa! Jang Yisa has appeared!" "Heeeek? The mad fairy hunter!" "Everyone run away! If you get caught by that human bastard, we'll all lose our heads together!" "Flee! Flee! Flee!" Powerful combat skills? Fancy martial arts? Don't need any of that. With 5 Gapja, 10 Gapja, 20 Gapja of internal energy, there's almost nothing impossible in this world. (Not nothing at all, though) Advanced basic attacks are indistinguishable from combat skills. My dealer-punching meta of simply stuffing aura without any special technique left the Tutorial Fairies unable to regain their senses. "W-why are you tormenting us like this! Dirty human! Wicked human! What did we fairies ever do……!" "Hmm. Well, you're right that you didn't do much. Let's see, at most discrimination, gaslighting, threats, imprisonment, torture, murder, genocide?" "I feel like I'd win if I sued!" Which country's court is that? "Anyway, all of this is false accusation! Slander! We merely followed the monarch's command and helped you inferior humans adapt to the void as quickly as possible! We should actually be thanked……! That's right! We're in a position where we should receive gratitude!" "Oh my. Why do imperialists always say the same things regardless of history and race? Hmm? Wait, monarch?" I was boiling fairy stew when I paused. Big news. "Hey, you guys had a monarch?" "Hut! Of course!" The fairy, tightly bound with rope above the cauldron, straightened its head and shouted. "Any group's social members must naturally yield their natural rights, and this is the common will of fairies! As the proxy of our will, the Fairy Monarch is the one and only legitimate ruler! Though ignorant humans wouldn't understand!" "……?" I didn't know this at the time, but fairy society was actually split between republicans and royalists. This fairy belonged to the thorough royalists. But what did it matter? I was always a cultured person who infinitely respected others' political leanings. Therefore, I casually ignored the fairy's political philosophy and slapped its cheek three or four times. "Gyaak? Gak! Gyaak!" "Hey. Who are you yelling at? Hey, fairy mister. Can't you see this cauldron boiling here? Huh? I'm going to make broth out of mister here and share it with your kind, one bowl each." "Heeeek? What barbarism! Call the Fairy Rights Committee!" "If you don't want to enter the Jordan River, answer my questions quietly. Now. Is there or isn't there a boss who leads you, who ordered you to conduct tutorials with humans?" "Heek! Boss! Watch your words! You should address the monarch with full respect and adoration, human!" "Okay. Then that bastard must be the culprit who ruined the world like this." "Hoeh? What do you mean……." "I want to check that Fairy Monarch's face. What's the method?" "Method? Don't tell me, human, you want to behold the great Fairy Monarch with that vulgar face? Heekheekheek!" For reference, that bizarre onomatopoeia was the fairy's characteristic laugh. No, seriously. These things go 'heekheek' when they laugh. "Too bad, but that's impossible!" "Hmmm." "The monarch is a transcendent being! The one free will that unifies us! There's no reason for that being to descend to this wretched earth and deliberately cover themselves in dust……!" "Really? Even if I make you into fairy rice soup right now?" "Heekheek! Even if you kill this individual, even if you exterminate all other individuals stationed on the Korean Peninsula! The Fairy Monarch will absolutely never! Descend before lowly human eyes!" "Is that so? Then I'll have to test it." "……?" Time passed. I, Jang Yisa, the end-of-century internal energy pig, regressed repeatedly and returned after building up exactly about 10 more Gapja of internal power—no more, no less. Then I captured all Tutorial Fairies remaining on the Korean Peninsula (101 individuals). Infinite regressor telling a story