Chereads / The Hellish Regression Journal / Chapter 5 - Growth and Survival

Chapter 5 - Growth and Survival

The next week passed by surprisingly quickly. Even though it was fast, it was still a time that I thoroughly put to use.

There was only a two month period between the beginning of everything, and the appearance of the apocalypse dragon. In other words, I barely had 8 weeks to spend until I regressed again...at least, I assumed that if I died, another regression would be the outcome. But I wasn't pinning my hopes on that.

For all I knew, my ability may just be a one-time deal. That meant that every day, let alone every week was incredibly important.

So, choosing to spend this entire week solely on the growth and survival of Liliana and I was no mistake.

"-haaap!"

I shouted, barely managing to jump and clear a gnarly, twisted branch that shot out of the ground towards my core.

More branches shot out of the ground, aiming for my upper and lower body at once - clearly meant to throw me off. I twisted my body, spinning sideways in the air and sliding in-between a tiny gap to emerge unscathed.

"And you call yourself 'normal', sir?!"

Liliana shouted in exasperation. She was a good distance away from me, and kept running to put distance between us. Her blue eyes glowed with an emerald green light, and her curly blonde hair was tied up in a ponytail.

I felt a little sorry for her. But this lightness of my body was something I wasn't fully used to, either. Maybe because I knew that I was indeed an ability user now, I was more easily reaching their level of superhuman physicality. 

I didn't depress her by saying that I was still on the lower rung of ability users. My experience advantage over her was doing a hard carry.

"Focus!"

I demanded, to which she flinched. It was an opening, and I immediately closed the distance with an air-light step off of my back foot. I sped across the ground, outpacing all of the roots, vines, and trees that tried to ensnare me. I reached my hand out towards her and - 

"There, I win."

Flicked her on the forehead.

"Ouch..." Liliana winced, bringing her hands to her forehead. It wasn't a real hit, but it hurt all the same.

"Seriously...you've gotten good at learning to create distance, and using your power to attack and trip up opponents...but what about defense? You didn't lay any traps incase someone got close? What about having a root or vine constantly ready on your body or near you? You're still thinking too simple."

"A-ahhh....I'm sorry, sir..." Liliana murmured, her dejection visible. Her shoulders dropped and her head lowered in a way that was a little too sincere for my comfort.

I stared at her quietly for a while. Honestly, this display wasn't rare. For as in-control and calm as Liliana was, she was also overly polite and tended to apologize a lot of she felt she had done something wrong. Especially since she seemed to take me as some sort of authority figure.

It wasn't exactly a weakness. After all, she still moved in moments of action, and didn't waver when I gave her direct advice or commands. But, well...it troubled me, seeing her act like this over the past week.

"...hey, Liliana." I folded my arms, giving her a pointed gaze. She lifted her head just a little. I almost bluntly asked, 'Why are you always apologizing?' But I wasn't sure if she had some trauma or history she didn't want to share. Instead, I asked, "You remember what I said on that first night, right? That from then on, you didn't need to apologize to or ask me for every little thing?"

"Yes...I do remember." She murmured, her hands held behind her back. Now that I thought about it, that was the only time she had called me 'Alan'.

"Well, that didn't apply just that one time that I said it. And I didn't say it just to make you comfortable, either." I narrowed my eyes at her. "Liliana, you're not my slave, porter, or some living weapon. What we have is a partnership." I tentatively placed a hand on her shoulder. "You follow my orders for whatever reason, but I don't own you. So...don't feel so pressed to treat me that way. Alright?"

Liliana flinched at my touch, something which didn't escape my gaze.

"Right...thank you for that, Sir Alan."

The weirdly stiff 'Sir' refused to go away. Still, she managed to say my name. It was a fair amount of progress.

"So! How's about we eat?"

Her eyes brightened, and I swore I could see a flower blooming in her pupils.

It was only a week after everything went to hell. That meant, for now, most preservative-filles foods were still good. Chips, candy, chocolates...that sort of junk food hadn't gone bad yet.

In a month, it'd be a completely different story. But tasty food would be the least of our concerns at that point.

I watched Liliana beside me, her composed and elegant image ruined by the way she eagerly chomped down on chips and drank a bottle of soda.

Yes. Another thing I noticed about Liliana was that she seemed to love junk food.

"This is so delicious!! Tell me, what do you call this flavor of soda?"

"Uhh...Orange...?"

"Amazing! To think that there really were such delicious things out in the world..."

...despite not knowing anything about most junk food. She was, in fact, clueless about many things. It made me worry about what sort of life she must have been living before, but that was none of my business.

"So, A-A.la..Mr. Alan, you mentioned that we would be doing something else once we trained ourselves somewhat. What do we have planned?"

"To be honest, I wish we could've had more time and training, but we can't take too long."

'...if we do, we'll get beaten to the punch.'

"Soon, the Pixies are going to act again. When they do, they'll bring these places called 'dungeons' with them."

Dungeons.

If one had read, watched or played enough comics, webnovels, manga, fantasy books, anime, video games, etc...you probably knew what a dungeon was. In summary, did it really need explanation?

"Done...shaun?" Liliana mimicked poorly.

Yes. It really needed explanation.

"As you've experienced, Pixies have the ability to give out tasks. You can also get according rewards for them." I began to explain while Liliana nodded in understanding. "A dungeon is like an automatic reward-giver, minus the Pixie. The only difference is that you're always accomplishing the same general task - you have to clear the dungeon, make it to the core of the dungeon, and then..." I left it open, slowly looking at Liliana.

"...you get a reward?"

"Right." I clapped my hands together, ending the explanation there. "Once dungeons show up, they're going to become a focal point of this world. Whoever controls the dungeons will eventually control the entirety of the territory around them."

"Wow...you really do know a lot, sir." Liliana murmured, looking more amazed than suspicious. I knew she wasn't dumb, so I wondered why she wasn't bothering to ask how I knew this information...but I wasn't the type to look a gift horse in the mouth.

"It's not much. Just some knowledge from here and there." I folded my arms. "What I'm trying to get at is...we need to find a dungeon and take control of it as soon as the chance arises. The only problem is that, without any reliable means of communication, dungeons are only going to be talked about through word of mouth. Once rumors are spreading, well...it's probably too late."

I stood up, but before I could say anything, Liliana was giving me an expectant, hopeful smile. 

"...what." 

She giggled. "Well, it's obvious, isn't it? You know where to find one, don't you, sir? You always know this sort of thing." I laughed a little awkwardly, momentarily taken aback by her easy reveal of her suspicions, but also by the fact that...they were less suspicions, and more something she just seemed to accept about him.

Liliana really was mysterious. Or maybe it was this still-unfamiliar thing called a 'companion' that was the most mysterious here.

"Well, since you know already...let's go."

"Alright!" Liliana cheered, happily following behind the still bashful and blushing me.

"...shit."

"Well, that's not exactly a polite way to greet someone, now is it?" 

When we got to the location after a day or two of extra travel, training more along the way, we were met by an extremely unpleasant sight: that is, the presence of a person.

I could've handled it if it were just some average person. It wouldn't be pretty, but Liliana and I were at that level. But...

Just looking at her made shivers run up my spine.

An out-of-place nun's outfit, a chilling, psychotic smile, and a pair of matching silver eyes and hair...

"You're the 'Saintess', aren't you?" I moved my hand in front of Liliana, instinctively. I don't know why, but I wanted to guard her. Liliana gave me a curious glance, before shaking her head, and stepping in front of my arm. I didn't bother trying to force her again. Obviously, it was her own will.

"It's surprising...my name shouldn't have spread that far yet, but you already know me? That's truly, so, interesting...you're not really that interesting yourself, though." The Saintess's psychotic, sharp-toothed smile gleamed in the sunlight. Her hands were behind her back, but I got the feeling that she could do anything, even from that awkward position.

"What do you want, madam?" Liliana insisted in my place, her blunt words giving the Saintess pause. She faked confusion, tapping her chin...before immediately saying,

"Ah, so polite. 'Madam' feels way too stuffy, though. I'm here for the dungeon, of course. What else?" Her words were blunt, switching between annoyed and interested. She didn't have the image or style of speech you'd expect from a truly pristine Nun.

Of course she didn't. The whole nun image was just a part of her ability.

'Damn it!'

This was seriously bad luck. Out of all the dungeons to pick from my memory, I had to choose one that the Saintess would come to? Then, this must've been the beginning of her forming her guild, 'Sistine Chapel'. 

It was a given that some people moved unnaturally fast. Those with particularly good abilities, like the Saintess, had begun building up their own groups and information networks right after exiting the Tutorial.

There were a few others like her out there. I assumed that they were all beginning their guilds too - the guilds that would go on to become the most powerful, largest representatives of humanity...that's right, the soon-to-be leader of one such guild was currently standing in front of us, blocking our path to one of the few dungeons I knew about off-hand.

To be frank, even if it was just a week and a few days after the beginning of the end, we stood no chance against someone like the Saintess. She would chop us into pieces without blinking once. I had no knowledge advantage over her, and while I was good at dodging and running, I wasn't that good.

Liliana turned her head to me, and I shook my head from side to side in response. It was a shame, and a bit of a waste of time, but I was not going to give up a life just to bravely (stupidly) challenge the Saintess.

I opened my mouth to speak, ready to move to another spot-

"Then...how about we work together? We can equally split the rewards!"

Some unbelievable words came out of Liliana's mouth.

"Working together, hmm...? I hadn't considered it before, but sure. I have been getting a bit tired from taking on these dungeons alone."

And from the Saintess, came something even more unbelievable.

I was the only one left with nothing to say, stupidly looking between the two. Somehow, an unbelievable course of action had been decided on without my opinion.

"I have to say, that's a pretty darn interesting ability you've got there." The Saintess gave Liliana a curious look. In her hand was a wooden bow and arrow, grown entirely from her ability. I held a similarly-made wooden sword, and felt a little awkward for it. I still didn't know what my 'weapon' would be, but Liliana seemed comfortable with archery. She didn't use it often during our training, but she admitted being skilled to it.

"Your talent is wasted on working alongside this trash." The Saintess pointed a thumb towards me. I guess she could sense my apparent lack of ability. "How about joining me after this dungeon? I'm forming a group that can use powerful-"

"Umm...it's a good offer, but no thank you. I'm Sir Alan's companion, after all." Liliana turned her down gently, but abruptly. I was a little surprised by her reply, and so was the Saintess, if her wide eyes were anything to go by.

"Is that so? Huh. Well, it sucks, but what can I do about it. Guess you can come to me once he dies off somewhere." Shrugging her shoulders and cutting her losses, the Saintess moved ahead of us, but not too far. After all, in dungeon parties, turning your back to others could be fatal. This wasn't some fantasy story, but a world in which water would soon become a scarce, precious resource. Betrayals weren't uncommon.

I, for one, was still silent, but I kept my eyes open. The entire 'dungeon' was one long, seemingly endless dark corridor. I had heard about this dungeon, and the special 'layout' it had.

We kept walking, walking, and walking, but nothing showed up. There was only our footsteps, our flashlights, and our breathing.

"This is getting boring~....should I just wreck the whole dungeon~?"

The Saintess innocently proclaimed such a terrifying thing aloud, which prompted Liliana to give me a desperate glance.

"S-Sir, you have to share the plan with her, please...!"

Staring at the Saintess's back, I sighed. Frankly, thanks to her attitude towards me, I didn't want to share anything with her. But if I could gain some sort of favor with her here, I'd get a huge foothold in gaining significant influence with the guilds in the future. That was necessary.

Who'd listen to my advice about the Flood Dragon if nobody knew me?

That's right, an opportunity...that's what I had to think of it as.

"Alright. Truth is, I actually have a plan for this particular dungeon."

The moment those words left my mouth, the Saintess paused. She turned around, her wide smile returning in earnest. I could see the eerie curiosity bubbling behind her expression.

"Oh, you do? Why the heck didn't you say that from the start? Haha. Silly."

...I really hated this crazy nun.