How To Use Regressors

5 – Episode 5 – Tutorial (5)

“Hmm… This is troublesome… I had just gathered the prey.”

I thought to myself as I beheaded a monster.

The situation had taken an unexpected turn.

In order to pass the tutorial, it seemed impossible to rely solely on my own strength, so I had intended to use the meat shield to my advantage, even if it meant killing it. But now the monsters behind the bushes had gone unnoticed, and things had turned out like this.

“Sigh… Should I have just not held back and attacked them?”

The fact that I had to give up on the precious prey annoyed me.

I remembered how happy I was when I first opened my eyes in this place and received someone’s guidance. A world centered around powerlessness!

How stressful it was to restrain my desires on Earth and commit crimes without getting caught. Compared to that, this place was heaven for me.

I could kill people without anyone knowing. Because there were no CCTV cameras or police here. If there are no witnesses, you can simply kill them.

And then I noticed that there was still one prey left.

The prey that had always annoyed me by constantly whining behind me, followed me.

“Heh… heh! Byeongok-ssi, let’s go! Huh? Just a little slower…!”

“In any case, this situation is no good. I’ll have to kill her, even if it’s this woman. She’s utterly useless anyway.”

“Kyungsil ajumma, are you okay? Should we take a break here for now?”

“Oh, thank you, Byeongok. Who would have thought a monster would come out of there all of a sudden… But it’s such a relief that you’re here, Byeongok… Gasp…”

“Kyungsil ajumma, do you have provisions with you?”

“Well… yes, of course. You just make sure to protect me if the monster comes. I’ll take care of the provisions.”

Truly, among all the people she had encountered, this woman was the most foolish. She had reached this age and didn’t even bring a weapon when running away.

Her ability to assess the situation was garbage. While she had considered dealing with the others later, as they might have some use, she had already planned to take care of this woman in the near future.

“Haha… Kyungsil ajumma, I’m not Byeongok.”

“Huh? What do you mean? Byeongok is not Byeongok… What…?”

Squelch –

“Aaah! My… my leg! Ugh…”

“Hoo-ha! Hoo-hoo… What will you do if you lose your precious leg?”

“Ugh… Byeongok, please, save me. Why are you suddenly doing this… Please, save me…”

“My name is not Jo Byeongok, it’s Jo Chanho. Why are you calling me by a different name? You’re quite disrespectful, hahaha.”

I took immense pleasure in watching her squirm. I can’t even express how much I wanted to see her like this every time she opened her mouth.

I knelt down on one knee and came face to face with the writhing caterpillar in pain.

“You already know, right? Once a person’s leg is severed, there’s no way to survive. Hehe…”

“Please… please don’t do this! Byung, no, Chanho… I was wrong!”

“Still… you’re quite foolish even in your dying moments. If it were me, I would have cursed instead of begging for mercy. No begging.”

I stood up, gripping the sword in reverse with both hands, and aimed it at the wretched, writhing caterpillar.

“Don’t worry. In your next life, you’ll be born as a bug that suits a lady, not a human.”

“Ugh… w-wait…! Spare me…!”

*Swish*

As I brought down the sword, a life that had been writhing slowly ceased its movement. I cherished this feeling too much because it gave me a real sense of being alive.

“Heh… not bad at all.”

My planned thoughts had gone awry, but it didn’t matter.

I could always meet people again, and dealing with a few monsters was no big deal.

As I wiped the blood off the sword and prepared to move, I heard the sound of footsteps. And there, a figure emerged.

“… A woman?”

It was a woman, holding a spear, and what stood out most was her extraordinary appearance. She had long black hair, and among all the women I had seen in my life, she had the most exceptional beauty.

The woman spoke.

“As expected… You’re still garbage, Jo Chan-ho.”

A shiver ran down his spine.

“She knows my name…?”

He wasn’t sure how she knew his name, but right now, his situation was incredibly dire. He was holding a sword, and in front of him lay the lifeless body of the person he had just killed.

“Haha… You’re mistaken. This man attacked me, aiming for my provisions. Moreover, do you know me?”

The woman glanced at the corpse and said.

“No need to make excuses. You know I called you a psychopathic murderer.”

“What’s with this woman…? How does she know me? Has she seen me on Earth?”

No, even if she had seen him on Earth, there was no way she could know that he was a murderer. After all, the police hadn’t been able to catch him.

Each time he killed someone, he planned meticulously and cleaned up the evidence thoroughly, so there was no way anyone could know.

“Whether she knows me or not, it doesn’t matter… Besides, she’s quite attractive.”

“Hmm… So you know me? How do you know? But more importantly, why are you here?”

She spoke with confidence in this situation, as if she had no fear. He chuckled inwardly.

“Don’t worry. You won’t get what you expect. But, I have some questions to ask.”

“You seem quite confident. What do you want to ask?”

“Do you know Lee Yoon-seong?”

“…. Why are you looking for him?”

‘What’s going on? Do they know each other?’

It didn’t matter. Cho Chan-ho prepared himself as he answered.

“Yes… I know him. But what does that have to do with anything?”

He subtly shifted to a position favorable for swinging his sword.

“Where is he?”

“Haha… Why should I tell you that?”

“I’ll make your death less painful if you answer.”

“…… Hahaha!”

The woman burst into laughter at his words, but she remained silent, unaffected by his attempt at intimidation.

“Is that so? What a delightful offer. Huhu… If that’s the case, I might consider telling you!”

With that, she stomped her foot, signaling the start. The distance between them was sufficient. The woman hadn’t even raised her weapon yet. Whether she was overconfident or had retired from her former profession, Cho Chan-ho couldn’t tell.

“But I’ll let you live! You’ll be injured, of course, but you’ll live!”

It happened in an instant. The woman ducked to avoid the swing of the sword and delivered a kick straight to my unprotected abdomen.

“What the hell…! What kind of move is this…?!”

I urgently blocked her attack with my arm, which I hadn’t swung the sword with.

Crack!

“AAAAAAAAAH!”

Although it was just a kick, it felt like my arm had been broken. In unimaginable pain, I let out a scream. Gritting my teeth to bear the pain, I hastily retreated.

“Mmm…ugh…what…what the hell is this kick?!”

How could a person’s kick possess such destructive force? I couldn’t possibly comprehend it. It was beyond common sense for an arm to be broken in just one kick.

“You managed to block that. I thought I’d make you a halfwit.”

“You…you bitch…!”

I had to stay calm. This woman was different from any prey I had hunted before.

“Phew…alright…you want to know Yoon Seong’s whereabouts, right?”

“Yes, where is that man? You must have met him.”

“…Will you just let me go if I tell you?”

“Fine. If you tell me, I’ll let you go. But first, answer me.”

“……”

“Speak.”

“…Puhyu…you have no intention of letting me go. You plan on killing me.”

“……”

I could tell that the woman’s words of letting me go were a lie. As someone who has killed many people, I could read it from her expression alone. That face was the same expression she had when she lied to her prey about sparing them.

“Tch…Fuck…this…bitch…”

I couldn’t tolerate being treated like prey when I was the one hunting.

I raised my sword again and headed towards where the corpses were. There was no way I could lose.

I don’t know about that woman, but I have my own unique trait. Thanks to the woman I killed earlier, the conditions were set.

[Name: Jo Chan-ho]

[Age: 29]

[Occupation: Intermediate Inspector (Rare Grade)]

[Title: None]

[Unique Trait]

Silent footsteps (Grade assessment in progress) – The probability of being detected when approaching someone decreases.

Murder Festival (Grade Assessment in Progress) – The strength and agility stats temporarily increase as you commit more murders. However, the maximum increase in stats is limited to 10. Additionally, if there is blood nearby, you can use it to heal yourself. However, self-healing with your own blood is impossible.

[ Traits ]

Intermediate Understanding of Swordsmanship (Rare Grade) – Understanding of swordsmanship increases to some extent.

[ Stats ]

Strength – 18 Agility – 20

Endurance – 16 Luck – 05

Magic Power – 00 Resistance – 10

Touching the blood, the pain gradually subsided. The broken arm didn’t return to normal completely, but the pain was hardly noticeable.

“Sigh…. Good. It’s enough to have confidence.”

“Ha… You don’t bother with honorifics, huh? Does informal language only come out automatically when you’re in a hurry?”

Ignoring the woman’s provocation, he slowly approached her. There was no need to rush like before.

Walking slowly, he observed carefully how the woman reacted.

“But I’m curious. Why are you asking where Lee Yoon-seong went?”

“What’s it to you?”

“No… Just wondering if you two were close. If so, my condolences. I’ve already sent Lee Yoon-seong to a place similar to where the lady lying there is.”

As soon as she heard my words, the woman’s expression contorted with hostility.

“…. I know it’s a provocation, but you’re the one with a filthy temper.”

As soon as the woman finished speaking, she grabbed a spear and thrust it into the ground. I was startled. The speed at which she approached was too fast.

“This is insane! How can she be this fast?!”

Desperately, I swung my sword towards the spear coming at my legs.

Clang!

“Ugh… What are her strength and agility stats, for crying out loud!”

I only managed to deflect her simple attack, but the impact made my arm ache.

The woman had vanished in an instant. Suddenly, she swung her spear from behind.

“What the… You brat!”

I attempted several strikes with my sword, but none connected. While I exerted all my strength to block her attacks, she easily evaded mine.

“Now!”

Amidst the exchange of blows, I noticed an opening on the woman’s side. Her spear was momentarily blocked by the sword I held in my right hand. Seizing the opportunity, I kicked towards her side.

“What… is this?!… Ugh!”

But the result was the opposite. Instead of her, it was I who ended up rolling on the ground. Just before her kick could land on me, she gracefully sidestepped, hooking my leg and causing me to stumble.

*Puff!*

“Kuhaaack!”

The pain from the spear thrust into the arm holding the sword made him release the weapon.

“Kkuuhh….”

“Don’t exaggerate. Now, are you ready to answer? Where is Lee Yoon-sung?”

“Heh, that bastard, I cut off his limbs and fed him to the monsters a long time ago…”

Squelch—

“Aaaah! You crazy son of a biiitch!”

“Next time, it won’t be your finger; it will be your wrist. Come on, I’ll ask again. Where did he go?”

“Kkuuhh… How many times… I killed that bastard… Puff!”

“… Where did he go?”

“Kkuhuuuh… You madman…!”

Afterward, the sounds of something being cut in the forest and the screams of a person continued to echo.