How a Regressor Conquers the Tower of Urban Legends
Chapter 49
What did he mean by be careful of the ones who aren't human?
I stared at the words, unable to make sense of them, then continued reading.
Maybe I'd understand if I kept going.
[11. Anyway, if I had to give advice about the next floor...]
[11. Be careful of the ones who aren't human.]
[11. Good thing my memories came back. If they hadn't, I would've been in serious trouble.]
[11. First, there is an elevator, but don't take it.]
[11. I haven't tried it myself, but the design is strange. My instincts tell me something's wrong with it too. I've never been wrong about this kind of thing before, so you can trust me. No. 9 also said there are five in total.]
An elevator.
At least I would need to enter that one.
I could update my checkpoint.
With that thought, I turned back to the notebook.
[24. I hope No. 11 made it through safely. I will continue from here.]
[24. I believe I understand what was meant by "be careful of the ones who aren't human."]
[24. This is a small village. There are not many households.]
[24. Once night approaches, someone will insist that you stay in their home because it is dangerous outside.]
[24. What we need to do is receive an invitation into the home of an actual human.]
[24. I decided to follow a trustworthy elderly woman...]
[24. I do not know the exact standard for distinguishing humans from non-humans, but perhaps because of my profession, I found it easier than expected.]
[24. Remember this. Only humans tell the truth. Monsters lie.]
[24. Sharing the exact details of how I made my judgment may only confuse you, so I hesitate to explain further.]
[24. Observe them.]
[24. If observation is still too difficult, listen carefully to what they say.]
[24. Think carefully.]
[24. Or you may choose to trust my decision. I followed an elderly woman with a severely bent back.]
[30. Judging from No. 24's entries, he survived past this floor, right? So the old woman must be the correct answer. I'm following her too.]
[32. I have a bad feeling about this, but No. 24 made it through, so it should be right.]
[32. no.]
[32. wrnog dont cmoe]
[32. old womna not it]
...
[51. To summarize, which residents are human seems to change each time.]
[51. If you blindly follow the answers of the people before you, you can die like No. 30.]
[51. It would probably help the people who come later if everyone wrote down what clues they used to decide whether someone was human.]
[51. For me, it was kindness. Someone being too kind felt suspicious.]
[51. Anyway, I survived.]
[77. I realized that my judgment and observation skills weren't good enough to make a meaningful choice.]
[77. So I decided to trust my instincts instead.]
[77. Looks like it worked?]
[77. Sorry. I don't really have any useful advice.]
[77. There was a scrap of paper inside the other elevator, but it didn't say much.]
[77. Still, someone with more context might understand it differently, so I recommend looking for it.]
[79. Finding a common pattern is seriously difficult.]
[79. For now, I'll explain what happens when you choose correctly.]
[79. Once night falls, the homeowner locks the door.]
[79. Then they'll tell you to sleep. Just sleep.]
[79. When you wake up the next day, the route onward will be open.]
[79. See you on the next floor.]
[81. Then I guess I'll explain what happens if you choose wrong.]
[81. If you fail, the lights inside the house go out and you start hearing strange noises.]
[81. I don't know if hiding can save you. I'm hiding right now.]
[81. I keep hearing clicking noises around me, and it's searching for me...]
[81. I honestly don't know if I'll survive.]
[81. I thought about kicking the door open and running, but it seems to be locked, so that's probably impossible.]
[81. I hope everyone survives. I think this is it for me.]
...
[149. You can survive. But playing something that isn't even really hide-and-seek with a non-human thing inside a tiny house is not something a person should have to do.]
[149. I don't think I could've made it without my ability.]
[149. Just do everything you can to choose a human. If you fail, then from that moment on, run like your life depends on it.]
[149. There isn't really a trick to escaping. I'm simply very good at running away. Without that, I would've been screwed.]
"..."
I lowered the notebook with a soft thud and thought.
I roughly understood.
Inside the village, I needed to find a safe house.
The deciding factor was simple.
Was the homeowner human or not?
If I failed to find a human's home, I died.
If I found one, I lived.
"...Doesn't sound too hard."
Maybe for other people.
For me, though, it wasn't particularly difficult.
If repeatedly dying eventually let me reach the solution, that was honestly very helpful.
Not that I enjoyed dying.
"Anyway, help me look for a human too. I'm counting on you."
"!"
The mascot nodded.
I looked ahead.
Let's go.
We slowly descended the stairs.
Once we left the stairwell, a small village came into view.
It looked like something from a movie.
There were around five houses.
Modern enough, but old-fashioned in appearance.
And an old elevator was embedded into one of the walls.
I approached the elevator first.
Its design was familiar.
Maybe not to the others.
But it definitely was to me.
"...It's the same kind of offstage elevator we saw at the hospital."
"..."
The mascot nodded.
At least I knew I shouldn't ride it.
Then again, anyone reckless enough to gamble their life on something completely unknown probably would've died long before reaching this place.
I slowly stepped inside the elevator.
Unfortunately, there was no notebook.
It would've been nice if there were.
I clicked my tongue and started to step back out.
Then...
"...?"
I noticed a small scrap of paper where the notebook would normally be.
This must be the note No. 77 mentioned.
I carefully unfolded it.
There was only one sentence.
[To my friends who became monsters and can no longer sleep in peace, I sincerely hope death reaches you someday.]
"..."
"?"
"...Nothing. Let's go."
