Chapter 48

How a Regressor Conquers the Tower of Urban Legends

Chapter 48

Human history basically began with fire.

Once people discovered fire and learned how to use it, humanity started to advance.

Which meant that, back then, practically everyone knew how to start one.

I knew how too.

At least in theory.

That was the problem.

<Still not done?>

"It's not that easy, you know."

<Didn't I already explain everything?>

I'd been spinning the stick until my hands were covered in red blisters, but the fire stubbornly refused to start.

<What a waste of precious time. Spending it all trying to light a fire.>

"Then couldn't you have called me after I got the fire going?"

<You never let a single comment go unanswered. You remind me of myself when I was young.>

"Is that a compliment?"

<An insult.>

I sighed and focused on the fire again.

In the end, it took quite a while before I finally managed to get one started.

"Haah..."

<Well?>

"What?"

<You've finally tried the method you were thinking of.>

"..."

I paused at his words and looked around.

The shadows of the trees flickered in the firelight.

"Not yet."

<True.>

Following the caller's instructions, I gathered dry branches and fed them into the flames.

Maybe because it never rained here, they caught fire almost immediately.

"Hoo..."

I blew into the flames, making them grow.

The shadows of the trees writhed along with the firelight.

<Still, you succeeded in the end.>

"Yeah."

<It's not a bad idea. Trees generally dislike being burned.>

Exactly.

That had been my original idea.

If trees hated fire, then maybe I could simply burn the forest down.

I'd only held back because the mascot had opposed the plan so strongly.

When I explained that to the caller...

<That one and I simply think differently.>

"Think differently?"

<That one prefers stability. I tend to disregard risk a little more.>

"Isn't stability better?"

<Considering how many lives you have, I think some risks are acceptable.>

"..."

<In fact, actions taken to preserve your life can sometimes increase your chances of losing it.>

"That's..."

<It's good to tap a stone bridge before crossing it. But some stone bridges collapse precisely because you tap them.>

"..."

<If every cautious choice had been correct, that mascot would still be standing beside you right now.>

"Don't insult the mascot. I'd have died several more times already if it hadn't been there."

<Touchy, aren't you?>

So it was just a difference in perspective.

I understood what he meant.

I just didn't particularly enjoy hearing it.

"Anyway, I get it."

I held the phone in one hand and raised a burning branch with the other.

Because I did agree with him.

I carefully pressed the flame against a tree.

Smoke rose.

Then, not long after...

Crackle.

The bark caught fire.

The flames spread from one tree to the next.

The trees began shaking.

<You look calm.>

"Can you see my face?"

<No. I'm speaking through a phone. Why would I be able to see your face?>

"..."

<But I imagine you look calm.>

"Why?"

<Because you're going to die.>

"..."

<You're not denying it. That mascot must mean quite a lot to you.>

A sigh came through the phone.

<People who stand before death often become strangely detached. Those who fear death, on the other hand, are always anxious.>

"Why are you suddenly telling me this?"

<Because whenever you're talking to me, you're usually anxious.>

"I feel like I've been calm during plenty of our calls."

<Not in my memory. Whenever I call, you're always desperately trying to avoid dying. If you've already accepted death, then from my perspective, that usually becomes something that never happened.>

"..."

I stared at the burning trees.

They shook as though writhing in pain.

<You could just keep pushing forward from here. You only need to find the exit, don't you?>

"Well, I'm going to push as far as I can."

<You know that's not what I meant.>

"I'll pretend I didn't hear it."

<As you wish.>

The heat scorched my face red.

I narrowed my eyes and looked ahead.

<Move.>

"All right."

Holding the phone in one hand and the torch in the other, I started forward.

The trees moved away from me.

Or maybe they were moving closer.

<Run.>

"..."

The instant he said it, I started running without hesitation.

I sprinted through the smoke-filled forest.

Before I knew it, I'd broken through the trees and emerged outside.

"Haa... haa..."

<That went pretty well, didn't it?>

The caller spoke softly.

"Was that actually the proper way to escape?"

<There is no such thing as a proper escape method.>

His voice was calm.

<There is no single correct way out. This place isn't a puzzle meant to be solved. You use every tool and method available, struggle however you can, risk your life, and somehow climb one floor at a time.>

"..."

<I won't remember saying this anyway, but you will, so I'll tell you now.>

"..."

<There may be answers, but don't become obsessed with the method. Up until now, you've usually found something close to the best answer, but it won't stay that easy forever.>

<Do everything you can to survive. Because you need to stay alive.>

A stairway appeared ahead.

It led down one floor.

"Understood."

<The call will probably disconnect soon. I'll take one final question.>

One question...

What should I ask?

Before I could properly think it through, the words were already leaving my mouth.

"Just something I'm curious about."

<Go ahead.>

"When the people after me come here, will the forest still be burned?"

<...Haah. Your questions are always incredibly irritating.>

A sigh came through the phone.

<No. Not here.>

"Understood."

Another sigh followed.

Then the line went dead.

I turned around and walked back into the fire.

Heat roasted my entire body.

As I stood among the flames, I looked around and thought.

I needed to think.

From the prey's perspective, how would it kill me?

Would it strike me with branches?

No.

Trees didn't work like that.

Plants weren't active in the same way animals were.

Maybe underground they could compete aggressively with their own kind and other plants.

But above ground, their defenses worked differently.

Poison.

Thorns.

Things like that.

Which meant...

I looked quietly at the ground.

Every question except one had been answered.

And until the flames swallowed me completely, I simply stood there.

I did learn one thing.

Burning to death was not a pleasant experience.

I closed my eyes and surrendered myself to the pain.

I didn't know how long it took.

Eventually, I finally died.

"...Cough!"

I sat up while coughing violently.

It still felt as though my lungs were full of smoke.

I coughed several more times, trying to expel smoke that no longer existed.

Then a soft hand began patting my back.

I looked up.

The mascot was staring at me with obvious concern.

"..."

I watched it silently for a moment.

Then spoke.

"Let's head down quickly."

Finding the route itself wasn't difficult anymore.

I looked ahead.

Only one question remained unanswered.

And we still had a very long way to go.

I had to clear two floors again.

In the end, clearing those two floors was incredibly easy.

Maybe because I'd already done them once.

It took less than an hour.

And once again, the mascot and I stood before the forest.

I walked straight inside.

"I've been thinking."

No. 24's writing came into view.

Evolution.

How had trees evolved in order to prey on humans?

The answer wasn't difficult.

Plants were different from humans.

There was no malice involved.

Every action a plant took had a reason.

[Prey evolves in order to survive predators.]

[Of course, from the perspective of evolutionary theory and current academic consensus, humanity advanced too quickly for such adaptations to properly appear...]

[But what we see is different.]

[...I do not remember where I belonged, but the organization I was part of already knew a great deal about things unknown to ordinary people.]

[Saying too much would not be good for you, so I will leave only a small amount of information.]

[There were also trees that evolved specifically to resist humans.]

I remembered what No. 24 had written.

"The strange thing was assuming the trees were actively trying to hurt us."

Using a shard of stone I'd brought from the beach, I carved words into the bark.

[No. 150. Close your eyes, cover your ears, breathe through your mouth, and walk forward. Do not rely on your senses.]

[Even if you feel lost, don't panic. Listen to me. Ignore the fear. Fear is only an emotion you're experiencing.]

"The trees don't need to kill us."

"??"

"They just need to make us lose our way."

I'd made the problem too complicated.

I'd judged the trees too much by human standards.

How had the people before me solved this?

Had they found their own way through?

Or had they died and never returned?

I didn't know.

And it wasn't something I could change anymore.

But at least I could leave advice for the people coming after me.

I put on the headset and closed my eyes.

I ignored sound.

I ignored sight.

I pinched my nose shut and breathed only through my mouth.

Then I stretched one hand forward and began walking.

Even without seeing it, I could practically feel the mascot panicking beside me.

I ignored that too.

How long did I walk?

"..."

At some point, my feet stopped catching on roots.

I slowly opened my eyes.

The stairwell door I'd seen earlier was standing alone in the middle of nature.

"That was easier than I expected."

"?!?!?!?"

The mascot threw both hands up, clearly asking how I'd done it.

I gave it a faint smile and opened the door.

"Thanks to you."

"?"

"Nothing."

I walked past the confused mascot and went inside.

There was only one thing I still hadn't solved.

What had the mascot seen?

The mascot.

I knew it acted for my sake.

But whenever I asked why it helped me, it never gave a proper answer.

It only pointed toward the sky.

If the mascot was helping me because our interests happened to align...

What would happen when those interests no longer matched?

Would it betray me?

Or would it simply leave and follow its own path?

I didn't know.

And I couldn't force it to be loyal to me over something like that.

We trusted each other.

But we knew almost nothing about each other.

I swallowed the bitter feeling and opened the notebook.

A familiar entry appeared.

[9. There are five people here. I'm going to die.]

[11. Everyone's still alive, right? Please tell me you're alive. I don't even know how many days I've been wandering around here.]

[11. My memories suddenly came back, and that saved me. I never realized how difficult it was to live without memories.]

[11. Anyway, if I had to give advice about the next floor...]

[11. Be careful of the ones who aren't human.]

Once again, it was a message I couldn't understand.