A soft thud resounded as the doors of the Regressor's room in Symphonia opened up. Greeting us was a black cat that mewled at the sight of the white-haired regressor. And much like a cat, the regressor shot through the door and dived into the house.
"Make yourself home, sir!" He screamed as he swung open a closet and shoved himself inside. I couldn't even step in before he closed the door of the definitely cramped closet and let out a sigh of relief.
"The heck?"
Well, whatever.
The regressor's room, as dark as it may be, was more familiar to me than any other place in this world. Twelve hours ought to count for something.
I slammed the doors shut and took off my coat. The lights that barely came in through the pulled drapes left the room in a strangely comfortable yet uncomfortable spot. It felt like knowing you're on a strict diet yet eating chocolate cakes. I felt the need to open the windows and let this godforsaken refuge see the light of the sun, but the sun was fake anyway.
Without any thought, I flipped over the sheets on the regressor's bed and closed my eyes.
"Meoow!"
The cat cuddled up.
And sleep took me away.
***
"Hey, Mr. XXX where is that damned report?"
"On it, sir!" He said. "I am finishing it right up."
"Goddamn it!"
Another voice called.
"Hey, you. You're not even a newbie anymore, why the heck are you making all these mistakes?"
"What mistake? I don't see anything wrong with the numbers—"
"Credits, asshole! That stupid boss tore up everything because you didn't put his name first. Add in a paragraph about his contribution too."
"But he didn't—"
"Think I care?"
Work piled up from all sides.
Over and over.
Unending work, unending complains, unending errands.
At first, it seemed like the entire world was against him.
But then…
"Hey, the boss scrapped this entire project. You have to make a new one on the same deadline."
"Understood, please leave it at my desk."
"Mr. XXX, how long has it been since you've been home?"
"I went home just two days back, it's alright."
Things that seemed to weigh down on him, started to become numb.
He smoked cigarettes.
He drank when he was back home.
He tried to play games, movies, even light drugs.
But nothing helped. Nothing changed the dullness of his everyday life.
Except.
"[Latest Release: The Tower's SSS-Class Hunter]"
***
I woke up with a slight headache.
The cat still sleeping near my arm and the regressor still stuck in the closet, I pushed myself off the bed and turned towards the windows.
The light that previously peered in had now turned crimson, on the verge of fading away.
"Tsk…"
My head hurt.
I pushed off the blankets and hopped down the bed, pressing my head.
Just as I moved toward the kitchen to get some water, my eyes fell on the low desk and the small laptop that was still flared up.
It was connected to the internet. Though not on the floors above, we had still managed to connect at least radio waves from the tower to the outside world for the first floor. This laptop was one of the few things that could still provide a window outside the tower.
Curious, I sat down and clicked around on the web.
Stocks, real estate, consultancies, interpretation. Behind the mask of anonymity, the regressor was hyper-competent. I had thought that all his achievements in the novel were a work of luck, but thinking again, there was no denying his skill.
From the corner of my eyes, I noticed.
A web novel platform was in the bookmarks of the browser.
"Heh?"
I clicked the tab and the page loaded right away.
Many stories flooded my eyes, half of them one couldn't show others. This strong feeling of keeping things personal to you was what made web novels interesting.
I clicked on the top novel on the site.
A reincarnation book, similar to ones from Earth.
A man having turned into a monster now navigated the fantasy world. Of course, with a lot of overpowered cheats.
One chapter.
And then the next.
But…
"This isn't fun…"
No matter how much I read. None of it was fun anymore.
My mind flashed to the battle I had just had.
The way my heart had raced at the edge of death.
I slowly scrunched over, wrapping my arms around my knees.
This.
This world.
This life.
A smile tugged at my lips as I closed the laptop.
My hands flat, I lightly slapped my cheeks.
"Let's go… Ativan."