The Tales of an Infinite Regressor

Chapter 12 – Seed of Rebellion III

[Proofreader – Gun]

Chapter 12 – Seed of Rebellion III

“Saintess, is it really him?”

[Yes, it is. He is the person using the username ‘KoreanVillage’ on SGNet.]

“Hmm.”

I stroked my chin.

‘Well, well. I guess these things happen.’

My surprise didn’t last long.

Ultimately, the person wasn’t that important to me. Sure, Sim Aryeon wasn’t entirely unrelated to me, but we certainly didn’t have a close relationship.

As for how Busan Station’s waiting area looked to me in brief terms:

[Extra A] [Seo Gyu ← Important!] [Fairy of the Tutorial] [Vending Machine] [Extra B] [Extra C] [Silent Cooking ← ※Dangerous※] [Gift Shop (Must Farm Silver Bells)] [Extra D] [Gravestone] [Extra E] [Uehara Shino] [Extra F] [Extra G]……

And in that mix, Sim Aryeon precisely fulfilled the role of [Extra B].

Unless specifically pointed out with an arrow, they would never catch any reader’s eye, no matter how observant they were.

To exaggerate a bit, Sim Aryeon’s existence was essentially to scream “Hieek!” every time Seo Gyu died, adding a unique touch to the scene.

‘His awakening ability was… healing.’

Of course, as a regressor, I was well aware of the abilities of such extras.

‘A healing ability user, but not particularly competent…’

In gaming terms, a second-tier healer.

To put it a bit harshly, they were like a healing item given out for free just by logging into the game.

Initially useful, but eventually phased out as the difficulty level increased. The type of Awakened who would be kicked out of the party with a ‘We’re kicking you out of the party. You’re way too underpowered for us’ recommendation.

And my story didn’t have tags like #regret #obsession #degradation. What am I talking about? Just getting kicked out and that’s it.

In the first few runs, I owed Sim Aryeon a debt. But that was mainly because I was such a newbie back then.

After that… well? Not much?

Except for events like the joint funeral in run 10 or the construction of the impregnable fortress in run 24. Apart from those events, I didn’t have any significant memories.

‘How did a third-rate Awakened manage to survive in Busan and somehow end up in Pocheon?’

Thinking about it, I’ve practically traveled from the southern tip to the northern edge of Korea.

Somehow, I felt a bit bitter.

It was less about the annoyance towards KoreanVillage Villain’s character and more about curiosity towards Sim Aryeon’s life.

‘I should hear them out.’

Ultimately, it was a good call to satisfy my curiosity.

When I dragged Sim Aryeon into the living room after knocking them out, Jooho, who followed me, rubbed his forehead.

“…Wow. I can’t believe that the same guild member, [Angel of Healing], was an aggressor who wrote things like that.”

“Indeed, you two knew each other… yes?”

Just now, it sounded strange, or rather, not strange but somewhat eerie and embarrassing.

“‘Angel of Healing’?”

“He’s quite well-known around here.”

Jooho’s face was a mix of embarrassment and confusion.

“And besides, he’s the person who worked as both a school nurse and an art teacher at the elementary school where you and I first met. And he also works as a librarian.”

“Really?”

“That’s what I said earlier, didn’t I? He’s the one who looks after the kids among our guild members… That’s him.”

???

I turned my head and looked up at the ceiling.

[He is correct. Doctor Jang. Please don’t doubt it.]

I quickly looked back down at Jooho.

“By ‘work colleague,’ do you mean…?”

“Yes, both in the guild and at school… The world may have collapsed, but the medical infrastructure didn’t completely crumble. There were more people dying from illnesses than monsters.”

It was a fact I was also aware of, having witnessed it repeatedly during my regressions.

Without antibiotics, modern people died so easily.

The rapid unification of funeral practices in the ruined world into cremation, and even the busy schedule of Jooho’s senior, the magician who dealt with fire magic, all contributed to this. Burning was the most effective way to prevent the spread of disease.

“But around here, there are no more absurd deaths from such patients.”

Jooho continued, looking at KoreanVillage Villain.

“This person… Angel of Healing, he’s been famous for treating everything from minor illnesses to serious diseases with his own abilities. Since about a year ago.”

“Really?”

Him?

A second-tier healer?

“He became well-known for taking care of patients and students without asking for anything in return. He even looked after my father whenever he wasn’t feeling well. Without him, my father might not have been able to get out of bed…”

Jooho furrowed his brow.

“Um, Doctor Jang, are you absolutely sure he’s KoreanVillage? There might be some misunderstanding or confusion…”

“No, that part is certain. There’s no room for misunderstanding. You can ask this person directly once they come to their senses in a moment.”

“…”

Jooho eventually fell silent.

Actually, if we’re talking about confusion, I was the one more affected.

‘Aryeon displayed healing abilities on the level of curing cancer…?’

I’ve never experienced someone demonstrating that level of ability throughout all my regressions.

At best, they’d be someone who could slightly alleviate knee pain or assist in recovering from a common cold or flu within a week, like taking Pamprin Q.

How on earth?

“I’ll wake them up.”

Jooho nodded at my words.

I tossed an empty soda can towards KoreanVillage Villain.

The aluminum can hit KoreanVillage Villain’s head precisely. Since I added a bit of aura to it, it probably felt like their entire head was tingling as if electrocuted.

“Uh… Ugh! Uhh…”

KoreanVillage Villain, also known as the Angel of Healing, groaned while slowly blinking their eyes.

“Are you coming to your senses?”

“Huh… Uh, what…?”

After he regained consciousness, I explained the situation to him.

Naturally, he was horrified.

“Heeek…! H-how did you know I was here and…?”

“I receive a bit of love from the Constellation.”

After casually lying like it was nothing, I stared at him.

“Why did you do that?”

In response to my straightforward question, KoreanVillage Villain hesitated to answer.

An awkward silence filled the living room.

“Um, well… Actually, um… What happened was… Uhh…”

But that very awkward silence was revealing all the answers.

“Huh.”

Jooho looked crestfallen.

Upon realizing that his acquaintance was an internet provocateur, he seemed to lose all enthusiasm for life.

He muttered quietly.

“…Mr. Sim. Could taking care of patients have stressed you out?”

KoreanVillage Villain blinked rapidly.

“Uh… Y-yes…?”

“So, you didn’t really want to take care of patients, right? But because of your abilities, you couldn’t refuse them… And the elementary school kids were always causing trouble. So, you created a different persona online to vent your stress, right?”

“Wow.”

I exclaimed from the side.

It was a neat guess, typical of a sharp young man.

I’ve seen cases where abilities don’t match personalities quite often.

Moreover, in a world like this, having healing abilities was a double-edged sword. It was rare to find someone with the mentality to be able to say, ‘Am I a healer? Then I must be a noble and you all must be commoners,’ and bully others because of it.

Quiet, introverted, and unable to refuse others’ requests, they just end up being dragged around.

I’ve seen countless cases where they get into accidents and cause trouble just because they can’t handle their abilities.

But in response to this rational yet highly credible hypothesis, KoreanVillage Villain, Aryeon, expressed her opposition by shaking his head vehemently.

“N-no! That’s not it! It’s because of my skills…!”

“So, it’s about the skill, huh? Mr. Aryeon doesn’t want to use the skill, ‘Mobile Hospital,’ but is forced to because of the patients—”

“N-no, it’s another skill! My second ability!”

Aryeon began to explain his second ability while flailing his arms.

“Just wait a moment. I had a hard time discovering this ability…”

Since abilities don’t neatly appear like skill cards (if they did, it would have been much easier for me to go around as a regressor), following Aryeon’s voluntary disclosure, his second ability was as follows:

――――――――――

[Resentment Jade]

It’s said that those who receive curses live long and healthy lives.

You are a superior version of that. The more you’re cursed and hated, the more you surpass mere longevity, being able to share that longevity and health with others.

* This effect is stronger the more people hate and curse you.

* If you have medical or healing skills, those skills will also be enhanced in solidarity.

――――――――――

KoreanVillage Villain looked at the notes and Jooho’s mouth dropped open.

By the way, mine did too.

“Wait, what kind of messed-up skill is that…?”

It was shocking enough to have such an ability, but it was even more surprising to have detailed it after discovering it.

Again, unless in very abnormal cases, Awakeneds didn’t have screens like status bars or stats. Discovering their own abilities required a lot of trial and error.

What kind of trial and error did Aryeon go through to uncover ‘Resentment Jade’?

It seemed like the person engulfed in shock and horror wasn’t just me.

[I can’t help but marvel at the mystery of awakening abilities every time.]

Said the saintess. It seemed she too had been secretly observing, curious about the situation.

[Proofreader – Gun]

I stared into the void and moved my lips thoughtfully.

“Didn’t you know, Saintess?”

[No… Did you not know? Yes. I can observe Awakeneds when I want to, but I can’t read their minds. I had thought of it only as a matter of stress, like Mr. Jooho, taking care of patients.]

Well.

As they say, sharing astonishment makes it lighter. As I conversed with the saintess, my emotions gradually calmed down, and suddenly, a new perspective dawned on me.

‘The KoreanVillage Villain situation.’

It was a series of events that could be called as such, unfolding before my eyes.

“…Indeed. There must have been a reason why he came to be known as ‘Healing Angel’ from this run onwards.”

The world had collapsed.

The internet infrastructure had crumbled.

People had no choice but to interact face to face, just like in the pre-internet era.

In this lonely world, even receiving ‘hatred’ was not an easy thing.

Especially for someone with a delicate personality like Aryeon.

So, during the previous runs, Aryeon’s second skill never showed its true colors, and his first skill was limited to being nothing more than a health aid.

But now, it was the 50th run.

SGnet, which had never existed before, had emerged.

In a world where there was an ideal opportunity to draw aggro, Aryeon opened his eyes.

He transformed into the KoreanVillage Villain, ascending to the peak of loathsome beings.

Even SGnet consisted entirely of Awakeneds. Among them, there were quite a few who truly believed they would kill the KoreanVillage Villain if they got their hands on him.

The overflowing aggro converged perfectly into ‘Resentment Jade.’

Surely, he would retain the title of ‘Angel of Healing.’

“Hm? But didn’t you say, Saintess, that you referred to the KoreanVillage Villain as a ‘peculiar person’ when I asked you to pinpoint her location?”

[Yes? Yes, I did.]

“Wasn’t it because you noticed that the KoreanVillage Villain, in addition to being a Healing Angel, also had this dual personality aspect?”

[Oh. Um, no. That’s… I’ll tell you later.]

At that moment, Aryeon lowered her head towards us.

“I’m, I’m sorry. I didn’t know Mr. Jooho’s father would get hurt…”

“Sigh.”

“I, I know that making excuses like this is a bad thing, but… even I’m stung by the prickling of my conscience… but still, hiccup, even if I have to bear resentment like this, even if I have to gain strength from it, if it means I can take care of one more patient…”

Aryeon, kneeling and squatting down, murmured as he moved to the corner of the room with her hips, and Jooho and I could only silently watch him.

Silence.

Jooho spoke up.

“W-what should we do, Doctor…”

“What can I do? Mr. Jooho’s decision is important.”

“Umm…”

Jooho scratched his head, seeming to realize that he was the one who had made the snide remark and then come to his senses.

Not long after, Jooho made his decision.

“Well then—”

It wasn’t a particularly difficult decision.

Most of the SGnet friends who were curious about the consequences of the family feud among the Awakeneds would have been licking their lips.

Since that day, ‘TodayJoined’ had disappeared, and KoreanVillage Villain continued her activities as usual.

-KoreanVillage: I treated the son of that arrogant bastard who came to cause trouble well lol

Even the regular posts became more malicious.

KoreanVillage Villain was not only skilled at drawing aggro but also had excellent drawing skills, attaching comics to his posts.

The comic depicted a child and an elderly person. The quality of the drawing was needlessly thrilling. The content went like this:

-Old Man: Huh? Who’s that?

-Old Man: (Frowning)

-Old Man: Isn’t that our son?

-Child: Dad, where are you going?

-Child: I want to go too!

-Child: (Smiling cheerfully)

(A drawing in a cheerful comic style of the father and son holding hands and crossing a river)

Finally, a photo that looked like a family tomb was attached.

A post-it with KoreanVillage’s nickname was even attached to the gravestone.

Naturally, conscientious SGnet members were outraged by this situation.

-Anonymous: Oh my.

-[Yuldoguk] Inquisitor: I’ll handle it this time, so reveal the address, you brat.

-[Satisfied] CulinaryQueen: The curses you pour out onto others tend to come back to you eventually. How about taking some time to reflect on yourself? Brother, you surely still harbor a bright nature within you.

└KoreanVillage: Will you please just shut up, you crazy bastard.

-Anonymous: Didn’t he say he lived in Canada? The photo looks completely Korean though?

-[Samcheon] WitchJudge: If you come to Busan, contact me.

-DolLHoUse: Furious.

-Anonymous: No, but why is this person so good at drawing? They’re a complete genius…

Of course, not all members had a conscience.

There were also those who were enthusiastic about aggro.

-Anonymous: Haha, this guy’s hilarious lol SashGathRyangHam lol

-LiteraryGirl: I thought KoreanVillage was just good at internet arguments, but damn, he’s even killing it in real fights lolol

Didn’t they say true stars drive you mad?

As I and Jooho remained silent, knowing the truth, KoreanVillage Villain was truly gathering all the aggro on SGnet.

At least now, there wouldn’t be anyone dying without receiving healing in the guild Jooho belonged to.

One more thing.

“Oh, my. How can abilities…”

By the way, Seo Gyu fell into great shock after hearing the whole story from me.

“It’s kind of… weird to know I wasn’t the only one with a strange ability. It’s a strange feeling.”

I was personally satisfied to have somewhat shed his complex about his own skill.

It was a win-win situation for everyone, but there was one thing.

There were unforeseen collateral damages.

-Anonymous: Didn’t ZERO_SUGAR comment that he got a bloody nose from KoreanVillage?

-Anonymous: He was boasting like crazy, but now he’s silent lololol Why is he so dismissive? lololol

-Anonymous: Bloody nose lololol It was actually ZeroSugar who got his nose broken lololol

-LiteraryGirl: ZeroSugar… your nose is amazing.

└[Satisfied] CulinaryQueen: Insulting others actually lowers oneself. Every human is a mirror reflecting oneself, and I am the mirror of all humans. Please respect and consider each other.

“….?”

I glanced at those comments for a moment.

Well, I made a sound, stood up, sat back down, and went to the kitchen to make myself an espresso.

The fact that I chose espresso over cafe au lait signaled that I needed a high level of concentration for the task ahead.

First, I logged into SGnet with a sub-account without any intention or purpose.

Next, I typed in a message to the administrator-exclusive chat room saying, “Seo Gyu. It’s nothing major, but could you find out some personal information about these guys?”

[Doctor.]

“Hmm?”

[Please don’t do that. Please.]

I put my phone down.

Let’s end this run with just a little bit of resentment towards KoreanVillage Villain.

[Proofreader – Gun]