A Regressor's Bucket List

“I’m off, then?”

[…Go or don't. It's not like you're going to listen to me anyway. Mr. Seo U-jin will do just fine on his own, I'm sure. Whether that means beating everything up or getting beaten to death.]

“Are you pouting?”

[I'm not pouting. I have simply judged that emphasizing the importance of a strategy is meaningless at this point, so I am refusing to engage in unnecessary conversation.]

Pfft—

“You’re definitely pouting.”

[I told you I'm not pouting!]

Eliya, who had been squatting, shot up to her feet, denying my words.

But I knew.

She had a habit of squatting down when she was upset.

So even if her words said otherwise, she was definitely pouting.

And just as I knew when she was pouting, I also knew very well how to cheer her up.

The method was simple.

It was to—

“Uh… Eliya, there's something I forgot to tell you.”

[What is it.]

“Right before I passed the gate down there, a system message like this popped up. [The Constellation, 'Olympus's Ruffian', does a somersault at your magnificent achievement.]… or something like that?”

[……!!]

—give her something to think about.

[Wha- what did you say? The God of War Are… I mean, 'Olympus's Damned Ruffian'?]

“Uh… well, I think it was just 'Ruffian', not 'Damned Ruffian', but yeah. Him.”

Eliya was a classic knowledge-seeking type.

In short, a scholar-type personality.

New knowledge, new realizations, new logic.

These were the kinds of things that made her tick, that were constitutionally suited for her.

So, the topic of 'whether there had ever been a Plane Transcendent approached by a Constellation in the First Gate' would surely pique her interest.

For this level of sulking, this was a much better solution than apologizing or giving her a gift.

[That's impossible…….]

“And that guy also gave me a trait called 'Slaughterer' before he left……”

At the mention of Slaughterer, her brow furrowed like a walnut shell.

Her brow creased and her mouth fell open.

[M-Mr. Seo U-jin, could you please share your trait window with me for a moment? It's normally impossible for others to see a system window, but if the owner allows it, it can be shared with an Acolyte Priest…….]

Ting—!

[Temporarily sharing the trait window with Acolyte Priest, ‘Eliya von Deina Merculurt’.]

“Is this how you do it?”

Feigning ignorance, I shared my trait window with her.

This time, her already large eyes went wide as saucers.

[Good heavens… is this possible… If so, then Are… no, that damned ruffian from Olympus will surely have his authority restricted as a penalty for breaking The Order's rules…….]

“……”

[No, wait… if catching 193 orcs wasn't just a stroke of luck but genuine skill… if so… then for the Hero-nim, perhaps it's not so strange……. I shouldn't be standing here. I should be searching The Order's archives for a precedent right now…….]

Somewhere along the line, my title had changed from 'Mr. Seo U-jin' to 'Hero-nim'.

I hadn't even passed the Gateway Zone yet… and there was still a long way to go before I shed the 'hero candidate' label and was officially awarded the Hero's medal by The Order…….

“Well, he gave it to me so I took it, but I was wondering if that's okay.”

I asked with a shrug, and an immediate answer came back.

[It's fine!! It's absolutely fine!!]

If it's fine, it's fine. What was 'absolutely fine'?

Pfft—

One thing was for sure.

At that moment, she seemed to have forgotten what she had been thinking just moments before while squatting on the floor.

[For now, actively utilize the trait, Hero-nim. I'll look into precedents and other related matters while you're clearing the Second Gate and explain everything to you again afterward.]

“Okay.”

[Ah! And… you didn't sign an 'Exclusive Contract', did you?]

“Uh, that guy was trying to get me to sign something… but there wasn't enough time and he didn't explain it properly, so I said no.”

[As I thought……. You did well. For now, do the same even if another Constellation approaches you. Tell them you'll think about it, or use my name and say you'll decide after talking with your Acolyte Priest.]

“Got it.”

Indeed.

She was a quick thinker with a flexible mind.

She had originally thought my clearing of the First Gate was a one-time stroke of luck, but as soon as she heard a Constellation had broken The Order's rules to approach me, she changed her mind.

To put it negatively, it was a complete turnaround… but rationally changing one's thoughts according to the given situation and conditions was one of Eliya's abilities I valued most.

In the War against Demons, where the very word 'common sense' didn't apply, fixed ideas were a limitation and led to wrong choices.

In my past life, when I was much more inexperienced, her disposition had helped me more times than I could count.

[As far as I know, this is unprecedented… but I'm still a novice, so I haven't read all of The Order's books. So…….]

[Are you sure? That the system window said 'Olympus's Damned Ruffian'… I mean, Ruffian. Anyway, that it popped up…….]

[I knew it… you were different from the start. How should I put it? You just had a different feel to you! Should I say you looked like you had the worst luck imaginable…….]

As she poured out a torrent of words, time passed and her excitement began to subside.

Around that time.

I could faintly feel the mana concentration at the Boundary of the Gate dwindling.

It seemed the one-hour interval provided at the Boundary of the Gate had run out again.

“Hey, I think… it's about time.”

This time, it seemed she had noticed it beforehand as well.

[Ah… yes. It certainly is.]

As I straightened my clothes, Eliya asked cautiously.

[Is there anything else you need? With 190 coins, you could buy a lot of useful items for the Second Gate…….]

Shake, shake—

“Nope. I think it's best to save it for now.”

It was an arrogant answer for a Plane Transcendent who was just about to enter the Second Gate, but perhaps as a sign of her newfound trust, she didn't argue and simply nodded.

“Well then, I'll be back.”

I raised a hand to wave her goodbye, and Eliya bowed her upper body deeply.

[Please be careful.]

“……”

[I'll be waiting.]

No more unnecessary words were exchanged.

* * *

[You have entered the ‘Gateway Zone: Second Gate’.]

[Confirming the trial assigned to the ‘Second Gate’.]

+

[Trial: Survive on the Farm.]

■Overview: The one-eyed giant Cyclops is a species of Magical Beast that cultivates a special grape at the southern tip of the Upper Plane's continent. They despise anyone entering their territory, standing guard themselves during the day and releasing their hunting dogs at night. Survive in that dreadful farm and prove your potential!

■Clear Condition: Survive for 48 hours in the Cyclops's Vineyard.

■Difficulty: [Unranked]

■Time Limit: 48 hours.

■Reward: ‘???’

+

The scenery wasn't much different from the First Gate.

It was a space lined with giant trees.

If I had to point out a difference, it was that the trees were all of the same kind.

And that all those trees bore clusters of black, grape-like fruits.

“The Cyclops's Vineyard… huh.”

All gates in the Gateway Zone are modeled after real places in the Upper Plane.

Just as the First Gate was modeled after the Orc Mountains in the northern part of the continent.

However, a place called the 'Cyclops's Vineyard' did not exist in the Upper Plane.

This raised a question.

Then what place in the Upper Plane was this, the 'Cyclops's Vineyard' that constituted the Second Gate, modeled after?

The answer was simple.

“Argos's Black Manor.”

…Like the Cyclops, Argos was also a monster that made a brief appearance in Greek mythology.

A giant with 100 eyes, he was quite famous in both the Upper and Lower Planes for his grotesque appearance.

His original role was as a retainer to Hera, revered in Olympus as the 'Queen of the Gods', and he was supposed to take the lead in subjugating the Demon King's Army on Olympus's side.

However, after getting caught in a marital squabble between Zeus and Hera and having his head chopped off, he was resurrected through a certain incident, became disillusioned with Olympus, and chose the path of a Magical Beast.

After leaving The Order and switching his allegiance to the Demon King's Army, he used his old skills from growing olive trees under Hera to start cultivating a special herb in a southern corner of the continent.

When the Demon King's Army realized the utility of that 'special herb', they granted Argos the title of 'Baron', and the scale of his operation grew immense.

And so, Argos's herb garden, established in the south of the continent, came to be called 'Argos's Black Manor'.

At the same time, upon receiving the title for the Black Manor, the Demon King's Army assigned a faction to Argos, which happened to be the 'Cyclops race', whose interests aligned as they lacked a leader at the time.

In conclusion, this 'Cyclops's Vineyard' was a 'scaled-down version of the Black Manor', created by taking the Cyclops who served as 'tenant farmers' in Argos's Black Manor.

Of course, The Order couldn't just bring in Argos, a 'Baron' of the Demon King's Army, every time a Plane Transcendent came through, so they had no choice but to change the name and create a scaled-down version when designing the Gateway Zone.

Still… this was a fairly well-made replica, and in the first place, a single Cyclops was an incomparably powerful Magical Beast compared to an orc.

I had no intention of nitpicking about such things.

Thump, thump—

“…What's important starts now.”

I just had to.

[The Constellation, 'Dog-Headed Judge', expresses interest in you…+★]

[The Constellation, 'Dog-Headed Judge', remembers your unbelievable actions from the First Gate.]

[The Constellation, 'An Immortal More Human than Anyone', expresses interest in you…+★]

[The Constellation, 'An Immortal More Human than Anyone', asks about the origin of the familiar skill you used.]

[The Constellation, 'The Dancer Who Defeated the Plague Demon', at your…+★]

[98 out of 101 Constellations observing the Gateway Zone are watching you.]

[★: 98/101]

In the environment I was given.

[Bucket List #3]

『Attract the attention of every Constellation observing the Gateway Zone.』

Do what I needed to do.