How to Use a Regressor

The night passed, and the sun rose. I didn’t bother waking that lady again because she’d probably just come up with more excuses.

‘…Waking her up would be a waste of time.’

Among those sleeping, Jo Chan-ho was the first to wake up.

“Mr. Yoon Seong, you’re up early.”

“Yes… Well… Did Mr. Byeong-ok sleep well?”

I had to make sure not to let Jo Chan-ho notice that I found him suspicious.

Even though I was exhausted from not sleeping, I acted calm and started the conversation as if nothing was wrong.

“After what happened yesterday, I couldn’t sleep well. But I think I’ve recovered some of my energy.”

“That’s good to hear.”

“Yes. Before we move, we should eat, so I’ll wake the others. Mr. Yoon Seong, could you take a look around the clearing?”

“Sure. I’ll grab some weapons just in case.”

I took a bludgeon and a shield. I wanted to grab some food and run, but that would raise suspicion, so I couldn’t. Besides, I didn’t need food for a quick look around.

I just needed to glance around and come back. I started walking slowly.

‘Why aren’t there any monsters? Is it because we’re too far from that building? Maybe they haven’t reached here yet…’

I looked around, but there was nothing special. It felt like hiking up a mountain with some trees.

‘I need to get a job. That way, I can do something in the worst-case scenario.’

Rustle—!

I heard footsteps. It could be a monster, so I quickly hid in the bushes.

After a while, I heard people talking.

“Sis… where are we going…?”

“Anywhere, as long as it’s far from the building. And it’s not just the monsters that are dangerous. Remember what we saw? People can’t be trusted over food and water. Yoo Hyun, you can’t trust anyone just because they’re human. We… we just got lucky.”

I carefully peeked and saw the siblings I’d seen in the building when I first woke up.

‘So they got lucky and survived… What should I do? Should I talk to them? They might know something I don’t.’

The older sister looked very cautious, which worried me, but I thought she’d be less dangerous than Jo Chan-ho.

I didn’t know when I’d meet other survivors, and as long as I didn’t threaten them, they probably wouldn’t hurt me. So I carefully stepped forward and spoke.

“Hold on.”

Hearing my voice, the girl startled, pushed her brother behind her, and raised a dagger.

“Who’s there!”

“…I don’t mean any harm. Calm down. I just want to talk.”

“No, stay back! If you come closer, I’ll stab you!”

‘She’s way too cautious… I need to calm her down first.’

I put the bludgeon and shield on the ground and raised my hands to show I meant no harm. After standing still for a few seconds, she finally spoke.

“Are you alone?… Why did you approach us?”

“No, I’m not alone. I have a group… they’re resting a bit further away. I just wanted to exchange information.”

“…How many are there?”

“Five, including me. Can I ask something now? Have you seen any other people or monsters?”

“…The monsters haven’t reached here yet. They might come later, but… I don’t know about other people. We were too out of it…”

“What do you mean they might come later?”

“Now it’s my turn to ask. To the east, a bit away from here, there’s a woman’s body… Did you do that?”

“….A woman’s body? What are you talking about? If there’s a body, wasn’t it the monsters?”

I hadn’t been to the east yet. It’s only been a day since all that chaos.

‘Why is she suspecting me? If a body was found, shouldn’t she suspect the monsters?’

As I wondered why she was suspicious of me, she spoke again.

“….The body was stripped of its clothes.”

‘…Did Jo Chan-ho do it?’

For a moment, I suspected Jo Chan-ho, but after thinking about it, I realized it couldn’t be him.

‘No. I was with him all day yesterday. It’s not Jo Chan-ho… It must be someone else.’

“No, it’s not us. Our group has three men and two women.”

“How can I believe that?”

“If it were me or my group… I wouldn’t have shown myself to you. I’d have called my group and ambushed you.”

“……..”

“I hope you can trust me. I’m being pretty humble here, right? So, can I ask you something? What did you mean about the monsters possibly coming later?”

“That’s….”

Rustle—

“There you are, Mr. Yoon Seong. Who are these two…?”



As soon as I heard the voice, chills ran down my spine. Because the owner of the voice was Jo Chan-ho.

‘Damn… how the hell did he find me here?’

I pretended to stay calm and answered his question.

“…It’s Byeong-ok. I was looking around and found some other survivors. We were just talking.”

A sturdy adult man appeared, and the woman who seemed to be the older sister shouted with an anxious expression.

“What…! Didn’t you say your group was far away?! So… it’s you guys…!”

“Hmm… I think there’s some misunderstanding. Yoon Seong here hasn’t returned for a while, so I came to look for the group. Please calm down.”

Jo Chan-ho smiled and calmed the two students. His appearance was gentle, and his tone was soft, so while the students didn’t completely let their guard down, they seemed to slowly relax since he wasn’t threatening or harming them.

“Byeong-ok… how did you know where to find me?”

“It’s been a while since you left, so I followed some traces. Luckily, since it’s a mountain path, there were footprints, so I could find you.”

‘Damn… he followed my footprints?’

It seemed like a good thing I didn’t run away recklessly. If I had just run off, Jo Chan-ho would’ve definitely noticed something strange and chased after me. With my low stats, I would’ve been caught in no time.

If it were a normal person who came looking for me out of concern, I’d be grateful. But the fact that a potential psycho killer followed my footprints was downright creepy.

“If you two are okay with it, why not join our group? In a crisis like this, having more people around is reassuring.”

“…Huh?”

“Of course, I’m not forcing you, but we need to work together to get through this tutorial, right? There’s only so much one person can do alone.”

Hearing Jo Chan-ho’s proposal, the female student started to ponder. It was true that surviving monsters and killers with just two students would be tough.

If our group were normal, it would’ve been a good offer for her and her brother. Her brother has some magical abilities and unique traits, but since he’s young, she must’ve been worried.

‘The older sister is young too… it’s natural for her to hesitate.’

“……”

While the female student was thinking, the younger brother spoke up.

“Sis. Isn’t it okay to follow them? They don’t seem like bad people…”

Yeah, given the current situation, joining our group would seem like a good choice.

‘…I can guess what her answer will be.’

If Jo Chan-ho weren’t in our group, their choice would’ve been a good one.

“Alright… but on one condition. Don’t force us into dangerous situations or make us share food and water just because we’re young. If that happens, we’ll leave the group.”

“Haha. Of course. Welcome. My name is Jo Byeong-ok.”

“…My name is Lee Yoo-rim. This is my younger brother, Lee Yoo-hyun.”

“I’m Lee Yoo-hyun. Nice to meet you…”

Jo Chan-ho smiled happily and spoke up.

“Great. Shall we move then? Yoon Seong, the others are waiting.”

“…Yeah.”

…I couldn’t stop the kids from making this choice.

—

When we all returned to the clearing, everyone was up and preparing food. Though it was just bread and water, in this situation, we had to be grateful for even that.

Hyeon-jin noticed me and spoke up.

“Yoon Seong! Where did you go? We were worried.”

“I just went to look around as Byeong-ok asked. Anyway, say hi. We have new people here.”

“Uh… kids?”

‘From my perspective, you’re a kid too. You’re only a year older than that girl…’

“Hi, I’m Lee Yoo-rim. This is my younger brother, Yoo-hyun. Nice to meet you.”

While Hyeon-jin and Yoo-rim were exchanging greetings, an older woman started complaining.

“Ugh… they’re just kids. Byeong-ok. It’s good to have new people, but… aren’t they too young?”

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