Chapter 57

How a Regressor Conquers the Tower of Urban Legends

Chapter 57

Three items.

There were only two hours left, so I could just buy whatever I needed and enter Floor 11.

I carefully examined the items.

First, the portable charger.

[Portable Charger]

[Once every two floors, it relaxes the usage requirements of an item.]

"...Relaxes them?"

What exactly did that mean?

The only thing I could think of using it on was the flip phone.

The price was...

"Ten."

If I spent everything I had, I could afford it.

But "relaxes the usage requirements" was too vague.

Hard to judge.

The next one looked like a chocolate bar.

[Chocolate Bar of Opportunity]

[Once on the floor where it is consumed, you will revive even if you die.]

Price: eight.

Pass.

Maybe it was useful to other people.

For me, it was completely pointless.

The last item was a wristwatch.

[Wristwatch of Opportunity]

[Returns you to the time before you make a fatal mistake.]

[Breaks after three uses.]

"...Twenty."

No wonder it was expensive.

If I didn't have regression, even I would've wanted it.

But...

"..."

I looked back at the portable charger.

Honestly, from my perspective, that was the only remotely useful one.

Which meant I had to decide whether it was worth it.

I stared at the charger for a while.

Then...

"Let's just go."

"???"

"Yeah. I don't think I need to buy anything."

I'd gotten ten ornaments after clearing Floor 10.

If I cleared another two floors, I'd probably earn at least ten more.

I could just buy something from the next shop instead.

Let's skip this one.

Saving the ornaments might let me buy something better later.

I turned away from the three glass cases.

A moment later, they slid down with a mechanical sound.

Good.

I checked the remaining time.

Not much left.

The moment I stood in front of the elevator—

Ding.

The doors opened.

I carefully stepped inside.

Then, with a clunk, they closed.

I immediately reached for the notebook beside me and opened it.

<Floor 11.>

The doors opened with the groan of old metal.

I stared ahead.

Outside was a single old apartment door.

A sheet of paper was taped beside it.

The layout felt strangely familiar.

But before checking the paper...

Notebook first.

I quickly opened it and read what the others had written.

[9. Play your assigned role? I'm going to die.]

[11. No. 9 called them assigned roles, but I don't think it's as difficult as it sounds.]

[11. This time it's kind of like acting.]

[11. A drama, maybe?]

[11. Or role-playing.]

[11. You just need to play along with the role you're given.]

[11. My role was the fool who frolics above the sky.]

[11. And my job was to do foolish things and entertain others.]

[11. Anyway, just perform the role you're assigned.]

[24. As you can see, the role each person receives is completely censored.]

[24. I do not know why.]

[24. Since explaining exactly what role you had does not seem particularly important anyway, I will only add a few things.]

[24. Do what you are told.]

[24. It is rather amusing for someone from the Management Bureau to keep repeating such advice...]

[24. Do not sympathize.]

[24. We cannot know whether the things with us are human or not.]

[24. Therefore, focus on surviving first.]

[24. I believe anyone who has reached this point will manage well enough, but even so, I wish to tell you this again.]

[24. Always be careful.]

"..."

I turned a few more pages.

[38. This place is pretty easy. You just need to finish your role.]

[38. But like No. 24 said, depending on what you get, you may need to harden your heart.]

[38. If I had to describe my role without getting censored...]

[38. I had the final role.]

[38. Mostly, I waited and helped the earlier roles complete what they had to do.]

[38. Thanks to that, I got out pretty comfortably.]

[38. I basically rested in bed doing nothing, then handled my part and left.]

[51. Cleared.]

[51. What advice can I give?]

[51. There are five roles in total.]

[51. The missions differ depending on the role.]

[51. Personally, I think the second role is the hardest.]

[51. Not because the difficulty itself is high, but because there are many moments where you need to steel yourself.]

...

[149. I'll roughly summarize the tips above.]

[149. There are five roles.]

[149. Each role has a different mission.]

[149. Depending on the role, you may need a certain amount of guilt tolerance or decisiveness.]

[149. Difficulty seems to follow age order? The oldest role is the hardest and the youngest is the easiest. I think.]

[149. Most people already said what needs saying, but if I had to add one hint...]

[149. Think about what people usually do at home.]

[149. I'm moving on.]

"..."

Think about what people usually do at home?

What did I usually do at home?

"...Lie down and sleep?"

"?"

"Nothing."

I waved off the mascot, which tilted its head at me, and thought again.

Things you do at home...

"...No idea."

Nothing came to mind.

I'd have to face it directly.

Anyway, I'd already gotten most of the useful information.

"Let's go."

"!"

I carefully stepped out of the elevator.

Then I approached the metal door.

[Unit 120349]

120349?

What floor was that even supposed to be?

I cautiously looked outside the apartment corridor.

Beyond the window was a bottomless abyss.

"If I fall, I die, right?"

"?"

The mascot looked at me as if I'd asked the most obvious question in the world.

I looked back at the door.

Nothing unusual about it.

Which meant it was time to read the paper beside it.

I carefully lifted it.

[Warning!]

[Do not jump out of the window.]

[Of the people who jumped out, two died of heart attacks during the fall, and two others have now been falling for 3,000 days.]

[Once inside, follow your role.]

[No matter what happens, follow your role.]

"..."

That's it?

I stared at the paper, then turned toward the door.

The atmosphere around it was bleak.

"Whatever."

"!!"

I opened it and stepped inside.

The mascot followed.

An old apartment entryway greeted us.

"Haah..."

I let out a long breath, looked down the corridor, and stepped farther in.

Click!

The sound of a camera shutter rang out.

A white flash burst across my vision.

And then I lost consciousness.

"...Ugh."

My head hurt.

My temples throbbed as though I'd woken from a horrific hangover.

Why did my head hurt this much?

"Ugh..."

I grimaced and sat up.

Old mattress springs squealed beneath me.

I was lying down?

I'd definitely been standing in the entryway a moment ago.

What happened?

I frowned and looked around.

A normal room.

Nothing special.

Just a room.

One bed.

One desk.

And finally, a tightly locked door.

"Are you there?"

I pressed my fingers against my temples and called for the mascot.

"..."

No answer.

"Did it get trapped somewhere else...?"

Otherwise, there was no reason for it to disappear so suddenly.

"..."

I grabbed the doorknob and turned it.

Locked.

It didn't move at all.

So leaving through the door was impossible for now.

Still pressing at my aching temple, I walked over to the desk.

There was another sheet of paper.

[Your role is the youngest child.]

[You are responsible for completing the family portrait.]

[After your parents and siblings have finished all of their roles and the door opens, you may move.]

[If you see the corpses of your family, cry and mourn them.]

[Failing to mourn them will be judged as insufficient familial affection, and you may be removed from the photograph.]

[After placing the family portrait, take a photograph.]

[The youngest child must sit in the center.]

[Do not sit anywhere else. A family portrait has a clear order and hierarchy.]

"The youngest?"

So this was what they meant by role-playing.

At least that was fortunate.

If I was the youngest, didn't that mean I had the easiest role?

I couldn't remember ever feeling particularly lucky since being dragged into this place.

Maybe my luck had finally turned around.

According to the notebook, this was supposed to be the easiest one.

I should leave a note.

[150. Looks like I got lucky. I'm the final one.]

[150. Just do what you're told.]

This was almost too easy.

I sighed in relief and looked around.

The room had that same dreary feel everything here seemed to have.

Why did every room in this place look so bleak?

I'd be happy if it resembled even half of Floor 0.5.

I leaned back in the chair.

Where had the mascot gone?

It had disappeared in the last section of Floor 10 too.

Was it going to wander off again and show up whenever it felt like it?

"Hey!"

I called several times.

No answer.

I sighed internally and decided to wait.

Something would happen eventually.

I didn't know how long I sat there blankly.

Then—

Clack.

The door opened.

At the same time, a fishy smell hit my nose.

"..."

Not fish.

I knew this smell.

I'd smelled it too many times since coming here.

"...Blood."

Why did it smell like blood?

Had someone died?

I cautiously stepped outside.

Then I saw a family photograph lying on the floor.

"..."

I couldn't see them.

Literally.

Every person in the photograph had been blacked out and blurred beyond recognition.

I carefully picked it up and started walking.

It only took a moment to reach the living room.

The apartment wasn't large.

It couldn't have taken more than five seconds.

The problem was what waited there.

"..."

Three headless corpses lay on the floor.

"Damn it."

I'd known something was wrong.

But still.

Cold sweat ran down my back as I looked away.

Photo.

Where was the photo setup?

I only had to ignore it once.

Just once and this would be over.

I squeezed my eyes shut, opened them again, and looked around.

There was a camera.

An old Polaroid camera.

I was still wondering what I was supposed to do when the corpses slowly began to move.

They rose.

Then, as if lining up, they sat down in their assigned positions.

"..."

I took several deep breaths.

Then I walked over and sat in the middle.

Something dripped steadily.

The smell of blood filled the air.

I closed my eyes for a moment.

Click.

The photograph was taken.

Then—

Clunk!

Somewhere nearby, an elevator door opened.

I immediately turned my head.

At the far end of the living room, near the balcony, an elevator now stood as though it had always been there.

Its white fluorescent light spilled into the dark apartment.

And somehow, the corpses were back on the floor.

As if they'd never moved.

I should leave immediately.

I started to get up.

Then the family photograph entered my sight.

Everyone except me was smiling brightly.

I was sitting in the middle with an expression that was hard to tell apart from a smile or stiffness.

People I'd never seen before.

No.

Not all of them.

"..."

The mascot was in the photograph too.

Only then did my gaze slowly move farther away.

And I saw it.

The mascot was lying on the floor.

Headless.

I rushed over.

"Hey!"

Maybe it was natural to panic.

It had disappeared without a word.

And now its head was gone.

Or maybe I simply couldn't believe that its head had really been severed.

I carefully examined it.

There wasn't a single drop of blood.

Instead, something like black fog seeped from the torn neck.

Then—

Fssss...

The mascot crumbled into dust and disappeared.

"What the..."

My gaze dropped to a note on the floor.

Someone must have been clutching it for a long time.

It was completely crumpled.

I carefully picked it up and unfolded it.

[Your role is the eldest child.]

[You may choose.]

[Mother and Father have failed, so from now on, it is your responsibility.]

[Complete your assigned task.]

[Your task is as follows.]

[■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■]

[■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■■]

[Do not worry if you fail.]

[Your younger siblings can continue after you.]

[Alternatively, you may join the family portrait.]

[If there is someone you wish to protect, shout that person's name and join the family portrait.]

[That person will become the youngest child and carry the family portrait forward.]

[However, the second child will join the family portrait without even getting the chance to complete their role.]

That was all.

I stared at the paper.

Then closed my eyes.

"...Ah."

I understood.

On Floor 11, the mascot had also been assigned a role.

"Damn it."

It had died for me.