After Regressing, I Gained the Power of the Demonic Dragon - Chapter 13

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 13
Sang Hyuk looked at Yun Chae Rin.
“Tell me.”
“There are two conditions.”
Yun Chae Rin opened her mouth to speak the first condition.
Knock-knock.
At the sound of the knock, she stopped mid-word and turned toward the door.
“Come in.”
The moment Yun Chae Rin responded, the door swung open and staff members entered carrying the ordered food.
They set plates before the two of them and filled the empty glasses with water.
“Enjoy your meal.”
After the staff withdrew, the door closed again.
Steam rose from the freshly prepared dishes, but neither of them reached for their utensils.
Yun Chae Rin resumed where she’d left off, holding up one finger.
“No matter what damage results from using the Yeongmaek Hwan, Tae Sung cannot be held responsible.”
The Yeongmaek Hwan was an artifact cursed to drain every last shred of the wearer’s magical power.
If one’s mana was completely depleted, it could cost you your life.
Yun Chae Rin watched him as if checking whether Sang Hyuk truly grasped the terms.
Sang Hyuk answered without hesitation.
“Agreed.”
“That means you won’t hold Tae Sung accountable even if you lose your life.”
“I understand what I’m accepting.”
Yun Chae Rin pressed no further and held up a second finger.
“The second condition is that you don’t disclose anything we discussed today regarding Executive Kang to anyone outside.”
“I accept that condition too.”
Since both terms fell within what he’d anticipated, Sang Hyuk continued directly.
“But I have a condition of my own.”
This time, Yun Chae Rin waited for him to speak.
“Transfer complete ownership and disposal rights of the Yeongmaek Hwan to me.”
“We already agreed to transfer it as alimony.”
“Make it so that later, no matter how the state or value of the Yeongmaek Hwan changes, you can’t ask for it back.”
Yun Chae Rin’s gaze fixed on Sang Hyuk.
“Are you suggesting the value of the Yeongmaek Hwan could change?”
“I’m saying I want to inherit that possibility as well.”
“Is there a way to break the curse?”
“That’s something I’ll need to look into.”
Sang Hyuk spoke calmly.
“Tae Sung bears no responsibility for any damage caused by the Yeongmaek Hwan. In return, you won’t ask to have it back later, no matter what value it gains. That’s only fair.”
Yun Chae Rin couldn’t counter immediately.
Everything he said was right.
Moreover, the Yeongmaek Hwan was an item that Tae Sung had poured considerable resources into over many years without managing to break its curse.
In the end, it had been deemed unusable and sealed away in storage.
The transfer itself had already been approved.
But she couldn’t unilaterally decide to give up rights to any future value that might emerge.
“I’ll need to confirm that clause again.”
“Confirm it.”
Yun Chae Rin picked up her mobile phone and sent a brief message.
Not long after, the phone chimed softly.
After checking the reply, she pulled a tablet from her bag.
“It’s been approved.”
Yun Chae Rin opened the draft agreement and added the terms they’d just negotiated.
A moment later, the revised document appeared on the screen.
[Engagement Dissolution Non-Disclosure Agreement]
[Public Reason: Mutual Agreement Due to Personality Differences]
[Internal Reason: Initiated by Yun Chae Rin’s Side]
[Alimony: Transfer of Artifact Yeongmaek Hwan in Kind]
[All responsibility for use arising after transfer is attributed to Sang Hyuk]
[Ownership and disposal rights of Yeongmaek Hwan are confirmed to Sang Hyuk]
[Regardless of any change in state or value of Yeongmaek Hwan, no return can be claimed]
[Private information confirmed during the agreement process shall not be disclosed to external parties]
Sang Hyuk reviewed the agreement from beginning to end to confirm every detail he’d requested was included.
Once satisfied, he immediately picked up the digital pen and signed his name in the signature field.
Scratch.
[Sang Hyuk]
Sang Hyuk slid the Tablet across toward Yun Chae Rin.
But she didn’t reach for the pen at once.
Her eyes flickered between his signature and the Engagement Ring lying between them.
She’d arranged this meeting precisely to uncover why Sang Hyuk had changed.
She’d wanted to confirm what Awakening he’d undergone, how far his involvement went in repairing the One-Star Equipment.
If Sang Hyuk still harbored feelings for her, she could have leveraged their engagement to keep him close, to watch him.
Instead, all she’d learned was this single fact: that he’d Awakened.
Worse—her relationship with Kang Tae O had been exposed, and now she faced notification of the Engagement Dissolution, with the Yeongmaek Hwan being handed over as Alimony.
Her gaze settled on the Alimony clause in the agreement.
She still couldn’t fathom why he clung so stubbornly to that cursed failure.
“Sang Hyuk.”
She lifted her eyes from the agreement and looked at him.
“Do you really intend to use the Yeongmaek Hwan yourself?”
“I wouldn’t have asked for it if I had no intention of using it.”
“If you wear it without breaking the Curse, it’ll drain all your Mana. Tae Sung has had multiple Mana exhaustion incidents.”
Sang Hyuk held her gaze.
“It’s not your concern anymore.”
Yun Chae Rin’s lips pressed firmly closed.
After a moment of studying him, she lowered her eyes to the agreement and picked up the digital pen.
The pen’s tip hovered briefly above the signature line.
Scratch.
[Yun Chae Rin]
As her signature registered, a completion notification appeared on the screen.
[Private Agreement Signature Completed.]
[Agreement being transmitted to both parties’ legal representatives.]
[Initiating ownership transfer procedures for Artifact Yeongmaek Hwan.]
The Engagement Dissolution and Alimony transfer were confirmed simultaneously.
Sang Hyuk rose from his seat.
“Have the Yeongmaek Hwan sent today.”
“It’ll arrive today.”
“Then we’re done.”
Sang Hyuk left the Engagement Ring on the table untouched and turned to leave.
The untouched food on the table continued to cool as he walked away.
Without hesitation, he opened the door and stepped out.
Click.
Even after the door closed, Yun Chae Rin couldn’t tear her eyes from where he’d gone.
Sang Hyuk never once looked back.
Until now, he’d always been the one to reach out first, the one waiting.
Even when she answered tersely or refused to meet him because she was busy, he’d contact her again without showing any disappointment.
So she’d believed his feelings would never change.
When he’d suggested dinner at the Inspection Hall and said he would work on their relationship, she hadn’t expected to be refused.
But the moment he set down the Engagement Ring first and notified her of the dissolution, that certainty shattered.
Yun Chae Rin’s gaze dropped to her left hand.
The Engagement Ring was still on her finger.
She rested her hand on the ring for a while, then slowly removed it.
Tap.
Two Engagement Rings lay side by side.
Sang Hyuk had already removed his during their conversation, but Yun Chae Rin only took hers off after all procedures were finished and he’d left.
She’d assumed it would naturally be she who ended this relationship.
At least, until she met him today.
The finger where the ring had been felt unfamiliar.
Beep.
Her Mobile Phone vibrated on the table.
[Kang Tae O: Hand over the Yeongmaek Hwan.]
[Kang Tae O: Instead, verify every move Sang Hyuk has made since his Awakening.]
As she read the order to investigate Sang Hyuk, the clause that had been added to the agreement moments before returned to mind.
Yun Chae Rin opened the settlement agreement instead of replying.
[Cannot claim return regardless of changes in the state and value of the Yeongmaek Hwan.]
Yun Chae Rin read the sentence slowly again.
The Yeongmaek Hwan was an item that Tae Sung had deemed unusable after failing to break its curse for years.
It was something Tae Sung itself had abandoned, yet Sang Hyuk was looking ahead to the possibility that it might gain value later.
Then she recalled Sang Hyuk’s face as he avoided answering.
‘Could he actually break the curse?’
Yun Chae Rin closed the agreement and returned to Kang Tae O’s message.
[Please expand the investigation scope to before One-Star Equipment verification.]
* * *
An alert arrived on Sang Hyuk’s mobile phone as he left the Hotel.
[Item: Yeongmaek Hwan]
[Ownership transfer has been completed.]
[Secure transport is commencing.]
Sang Hyuk checked the screen and pocketed his mobile phone.
The Hero Grade artifact that Tae Sung had discarded was now his.
That evening.
A transport worker set a black metal case on Sang Hyuk’s desk.
Thud.
The Tae Sung Group’s security transport seal was stamped on the lid.
When Sang Hyuk placed his hand on the receipt device the worker held out, a short confirmation tone sounded.
Beep.
[Recipient biometric information verified]
[Ownership transfer confirmed]
The transport worker left the case and exited the room.
Once the door closed, Sang Hyuk placed his hand on the lock mechanism.
Click.
All four locks disengaged at once.
Sang Hyuk slowly lifted the lid.
Resting on black padding was a single silver bracelet.
It was a smooth, circular band sized to wrap around the wrist.
Across its silver surface were dried bloodlike stains, dark crimson and mottled.
Inside the case was a seal record from Tae Sung.
[Curse-breaking attempts: 19]
[Successful: 0]
[Mana exhaustion incidents: 5]
[Final assessment: Unusable]
Even after deploying high-level purification-type players, the result remained unchanged.
The more power they poured into breaking the curse, the more mana the Yeongmaek Hwan drained.
Only after five people lost consciousness did Tae Sung abandon all curse-breaking attempts.
For years, no one had dared touch the item—until it came to rest before Sang Hyuk’s eyes.
As Sang Hyuk brought his hand closer, the dark crimson stains writhed faintly.
Before touching the bracelet, Sang Hyuk checked the Item Information.
[Item Information]
[Name] Yeongmaek Hwan
[Grade] Hero
[Classification] Mana Recovery Auxiliary Artifact
[Equip Requirement] Lv. 1 and above
[Status] Powerful curse
[Curse Effect] Continuously absorbs the wearer’s mana.
[Original Effect] Sealed due to curse.
[Warning] You may lose all mana upon equipping.
Before regression, the Yeongmaek Hwan—once its curse was broken—had demonstrated superior mana recovery capability.
That power should still remain within the bracelet.
What Sang Hyuk needed to determine was the nature of the curse suppressing its original function.
Sang Hyuk placed the Yeongmaek Hwan on the desk.
‘Maryong’s Eye.’
Heat kindled deep within both eyes.
The color in the room dimmed, but the dark crimson aura enveloping the Yeongmaek Hwan remained starkly visible.
That aura clung to the entire ring, pressing down upon its silver surface.
Between them, a faint blue light barely seeped through.
As Sang Hyuk focused his gaze on the blood-red aura, a brief description appeared.
[Curse Bound to the Yeongmaek Hwan]
[Absorbs the target’s mana to suppress its original function.]
‘There it is.’
What Sang Hyuk sought was nothing but the curse on the Yeongmaek Hwan that Tae Sung had failed to break for years.
Sang Hyuk raised his right hand.
Curse breaking techniques weren’t necessary.
Erasing the curse itself entirely would suffice.
‘Myeol Sik.’
Whooooom!
Black energy gathered above his palm.
As if responding to that power, the Yeongmaek Hwan trembled softly.
Grooooan!
The curse enveloping the ring writhed and swelled greatly.
The blood-red aura layered thickly, wrapping the Yeongmaek Hwan ever more densely.
Sang Hyuk didn’t hesitate and pressed his palm against the Yeongmaek Hwan.
Sizzzzle!
Where the palm made contact, the blood-red aura burned black.
As a section the size of a palm dispersed like smoke, the silver surface beneath was revealed.
The black energy spread rapidly along the exposed surface, consuming the surrounding blemishes.
“The curse is being eliminated through an unconfirmed method.”
The Yeongmaek Hwan shook violently.
The remaining curse retreated inward within the ring, holding out to the very end.
But Sang Hyuk pressed his palm harder, forcing mana into the Myeol Sik.
Sizzzzle!
The black energy spread across the entire ring.
The blood-red blemishes rapidly diminished until only a single point remained.
Fwoosh!
The final blemish became black smoke and scattered into the void.
As the blood-red aura withdrew completely, the silver ring that had been hidden beneath it revealed itself.
The faint blue light that had barely seeped from within the ring brightened rapidly.
Burst!
At last, the blue light erupted between Sang Hyuk’s fingers, filling the room.
The Yeongmaek Hwan, which had been trembling violently, stilled, and the presence of the curse that had covered the ring vanished completely.
After a moment, a new notification appeared.
“The curse bound to the Yeongmaek Hwan has been completely eliminated.”
“No curse remains to break.”
“The sealed original function is now opened.”
[Status is being changed.]
[Severe Curse → Normal]

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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