Grab the Regressor by the Collar and Debut - Chapter 116

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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116. The Reason for Action (3)
In the end, Kang Ha-jin had to spend considerable time soothing Thirteen before any proper conversation could begin.
Only after promising never again to treat his own body like a broken-jointed doll, no matter what happened, could he move forward.
“Right, well. Anyway, it’s good to see you again.”
[System Alert: I agree completely!]
[System Alert: (๑•᎑<๑)ｰ☆]
After our rather intense reunion with Thirteen, I straightened my posture. There was so much I needed to hear, and so much I needed to say.
"First, let's talk about compensation later. I'd like to hear an explanation of the situation first."
[System Alert: I thought you'd say that, so I've already prepared!]
With a mechanical whirring sound, a familiar PowerPoint presentation appeared.
【Report on the Cause and Resolution of the Chosen Regressor System Error】
Presenter: Time Manager 13
※ Warning ※
This report contains
numerous disparaging and
derogatory remarks regarding
'The One Who Returns'.
(The raw frustration and anger
from the time of writing
will be conveyed
without any filtering, so please note.)
…That's quite the ominous disclaimer.
However, I didn't raise any objections. Instinctively, I understood that touching Thirteen the wrong way today would spell serious trouble.
With a click, the slide advanced to reveal 【01. What is the Mental Care System?】
[System Alert: Before the incident briefing, I'll explain the current structure of your system.]
"Kang Ha-jin" – the normal version of yourself with no regression experience
"Chosen Regressor" – yourself across the nth regression with accumulated timelines
[System Alert: As you speculated before, in our Time Management Authority's records, you currently have two separate personalities registered.]
[System Alert: The basic profile of the human 'Kang Ha-jin', and the 'Chosen Regressor' Kang Ha-jin who has experienced regression across countless timelines.]
[System Alert: The Mental Care System serves to help the personality of the 'Chosen Regressor' integrate smoothly with your 'base personality'.]
With a click, the scene changed.
As I repeated through past cycles, scenes of the Mental Care System malfunctioning—where I'd lost my grip on reason—flashed by like film frames.
[System Alert: As you've already experienced, there are grave dangers in humans perceiving timelines.]
[System Alert: You know what happens when you think, 'I'll just regress anyway', don't you?]
"…Yeah, I don't do that anymore."
Thirteen quickly swept away a photo of me lying sprawled in the Emergency Exit with a fractured femur, as if unwilling to even look at it.
[System Alert: Don't you ever do that again!]
[System Alert: (ʘ言ʘ╬)]
"…Yes, understood."
With a heavy sigh (=3), Thirteen continued the explanation.
[System Alert: In any case, when situations like this arise, we typically handle it by deleting this special personality.]
[System Alert: A human becoming aware of regression is harmful to the human themselves, and even after deletion, the core personality remains intact, so there are no major fluctuations in the timeline.]
[System Alert: If we had caught the Chosen Regressor and The One Who Returns just a bit faster, Kang Ha-jin would have also had the timeline restored in that manner.]
I'd heard this explanation once before.
How they would have found the regressor, prevented the regression, and erased Ha-jin's memories.
'So that's what it meant.'
If I forgot all the memories of my regressions, I would simply remain as the twenty-year-old Kang Ha-jin I remembered myself to be.
Considering that most human choices tend to flow similarly anyway, it seemed like the right remedy.
[System Alert: But well, as you can see, that's where we are now. We failed, and we're receiving your assistance.]
[System Alert: So in this case… through the Mental Care System, we needed to integrate your core personality so it could properly accept and process everything that's happened up to now.]
[System Alert: Moreover, the Ha-jin of the timeline aware of regression carried a mental debuff called 'Wandering and Drifting Mode,' making this Mental Care System all the more critical.]
[System Alert: What if you repeatedly made the choice to abandon life like you did this time, unable to accept endless regression and timeline intersections?]
[System Alert: And if that repeated countless times…. we might reach a situation where we can't intervene.]
Only then did I understand why Thirteen had been so angry with me, emphasizing that I should cherish my body.
Of course, there must have been some signs I noticed along the way….
'My mind really was in a dangerous state. I only managed because the Mental Care System supported me, and my original personality was positive enough to endure.'
The twenty-year-old Kang Ha-jin was more stubborn and confident than I am now.
Even after quitting as a trainee, I had found other dreams, and this was the period when I was making new friends to share a long friendship with. It was around this time that I had overcome the trauma from ostracism to some degree.
So it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that my ability to endure this much was thanks to 'the twenty-year-old Kang Ha-jin.'
'Right…. At twenty-nine, I really wasn't in my right mind.'
Back then, I had no motivation for anything, no confidence that I could do it, no courage to face the world again. Without confidence in myself, I didn't want to meet people, and without meeting people, I just dug tunnels inward.
When I met someone and they asked, 'How are things going these days?' I had nothing to answer, which only made me more depressed.
Knowing how I used to shine among people just a few years before, the disconnect felt even greater.
Only now could I properly understand and face my own state back then.
"Thank you. Without the Mental Care System, I probably would've been in a coffin long ago."
[System Alert: ….]
[System Alert: That's not quite right.]
I spoke with sincerity, but Thirteen didn't seem pleased at all. Then, unusually hesitant, the "composing (…)" indicator appeared multiple times.
[System Alert: …I'm sorry.]
[System Alert: The truth is, it's our fault that you ended up like this.]
Soon, incomprehensible white text appeared across the blue window.
"What? What are you suddenly talking about?"
[System Alert: When we first discovered that your timeline was entangled with the Chosen Regressor.]
[System Alert: We should have deleted that regressed personality immediately and kept you from getting involved.]
[System Alert: If we had just done that…. at least you wouldn't have pushed yourself to this extent.]
I wasn't sure what he meant, but I didn't press further and waited for Thirteen's next words.
For now, I wanted to hear his explanation.
[System Alert: We first discovered your timeline on the day you took the College Entrance Exam.]
[System Alert: At the branch point where you made a completely different choice from your original path, time energy similar to the Chosen Regressor was generated.]
'Original' Ha-jin had prepared for a retake early and went to university through early admission.
On the other hand, during my first regression, I'd abandoned any lingering attachments from the start and stubbornly focused on passing the regular entrance exam—a decidedly different choice from my previous life.
[System Alert: However, the very next regression occurred immediately after, and we were able to confirm that Ha-jin's timeline had become entangled with the Chosen Regressor's.]
[System Alert: If we had recovered your regressor personality right then, there would have been no problem. But we failed to do so.]
I could sense Thirteen's hesitation. The typing indicator appeared several more times.
[System Alert: It was because we hoped that through you, Ha-jin, who had become aware of the regression, we might obtain clues about the Chosen Regressor.]
[System Alert: At that time, we were struggling to find the Chosen Regressor and the One Who Returns, but despite our efforts, the investigation made little progress.]
[System Alert: So we thought—if we observed you, another regressor emitting temporal energy similar to the Chosen Regressor's, perhaps we could uncover something. That was the conclusion we reached.]
Just a little.
Just a small clue, and then we'd restore everything to normal. That was the initial plan.
Only, the Time Managers didn't know.
Just how reckless the Chosen Regressor would turn out to be.
[System Alert: I apologize.]
[System Alert: If we hadn't made the decision back then to use you, Ha-jin, to find the Chosen Regressor… this never would have happened.]
Once again, Thirteen apologized to me.
Feeling as though I'd just discovered some secret about my own birth, I tapped my fingers against the sofa to organize my thoughts.
And once I'd grasped the situation to some degree, I asked in a calm voice.
"So, did you find any clues?"
[System Alert: I'm sorry to say this, but yes. We've made considerable progress.]
[System Alert: We've discovered quite a lot of additional information while resolving this matter.]
[System Alert: We plan to share that information with you today as well. We've already obtained all the necessary permissions.]
"I see…."
I nodded quietly at those words, then asked in a more serious tone.
"So here's the thing. After you catch the Chosen Regressor, what happens to me? Do I just disappear? Actually, 'disappear' sounds weird…. What I mean is, do all my memories vanish?"
Being the only one to remember the previous timeline was suffocatingly lonely,
but at the same time, it felt wasteful to throw away all the experience and memories I'd accumulated through repeated regressions.
Multiple thoughts crossed through my mind.
Part of me wanted to let the twenty-year-old Kang Ha-jin experience things fully and naturally.
But another part of me didn't want to abandon what the twenty-nine-year-old Kang Ha-jin had experienced.
"If my 'fixed regressor' personality disappears after you find the Chosen Regressor and stop the regression… then I'd be the 'twenty-year-old' Kang Ha-jin, right? Not who I am now. Wouldn't people around me find that strange?"
To that question, Thirteen answered calmly.
[System Alert: In your case, Ha-jin, the fusion between your 'fixed regressor' personality and your 'base personality' has already progressed considerably.]
[System Alert: The wandering and drifting mode that was activated in the previous timeline has also been deactivated through the enlightenment you've gained in this life.]
[System Alert: So when everything is resolved, we would like to offer you a choice.]
SAVE OR DELETE
[System Alert: You could live as your 'base personality' while retaining a substantial portion of the abilities and experience gained through 'fixed regression'.]
[System Alert: Or you could fully integrate your 'fixed regressor' personality into your 'base personality' and continue living as you are now.]
[System Alert: We will respect your decision, Ha-jin.]
I stared intently at the choice window that had materialized before my eyes.
This was something I'd need to think through carefully in the days ahead.
I nodded and smiled coolly.
"Right, then. That's repayment enough."
[System Alert: Are you truly certain…? You've gotten caught up in this mess because of us….]
"What can I do? Back when I worked at the Company, there were times when the editing wouldn't come together, and as the deadline approached, it was absolutely brutal. I know that feeling."
Ha-jin shrugged and settled back comfortably into the sofa.
"Besides, if I'd sold myself out and couldn't even get a lead, I'd be furious. But that's not the case here, is it? Living through this life, I've learned a lot in various ways…. I've gained plenty too. Let's just call it even."
[System Alert: ….]
[System Alert: ๐·°(৹˃̵﹏˂̵৹)°·๐]
[System Alert: Kang Ha-jin, you truly are a good person…!]
"Yeah, yeah. Now let's see the report and hear what you have to say. We've got a long road ahead of us."
Ha-jin gently patted Thirteen, who was pouring out tear effects profusely, and nodded with a smile.
Then Thirteen, barely composing herself, made a sniffling sound—apparently the update had added audio support now—and with a click, advanced the slide.
【02. Why Did The One Who Returns Attack the Mental Care System?】
The second title appeared.
[System Alert: To explain this section, there's something you need to understand first.]
Thirteen laid down a serious BGM.
'Even now?'
That thought crossed my mind, but I let it slide since she seemed excited.
Then on the presentation, the text 【The Reason for This Regression?】 appeared alongside profiles of Yoo Gun and the other Blue Flare Team members.
[System Alert: This regression occurred because of the Blue Flare Team.]
[System Alert: Or more precisely…. it's something the Chosen Regressor orchestrated 'for' the Blue Flare Team.]
What did you just say…?

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com

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