After Regressing, I Gained the Power of the Demonic Dragon - Chapter 18

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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 18
Sang Hyuk’s eyes widened slightly.
‘Physical adaptation?’
The Apocalypse Dragon’s Heart began to reshape Sang Hyuk’s body itself this time.
It was a change he’d never experienced before.
Sang Hyuk immediately looked down at his right arm.
‘It’s altering my blood flow?’
As his heart beat again, the dark red current flowing beneath his skin trembled once more from his fingertips.
It was a force that hadn’t vanished even after he’d dismissed Extinction.
Sang Hyuk slowly clenched and unclenched his right hand.
‘What exactly has changed?’
The notification didn’t specify what Blood Flow Adaptation would alter.
Just as Sang Hyuk was about to investigate directly, the sixth-floor battlefield surrounding him began to fade to white.
Whoosh!
The three sluice gates and the black sand piled on the floor scattered into light.
The gray floor disappeared, and all around transformed into a pristine settlement space.
「Distributing the reward for clearing the sixth floor.」
「Your level has increased.」
[Lv.6 → Lv.7]
Whoosh.
Warm mana surged into his body.
The mana he’d spent opening the sluice gates recovered all at once.
A portion of the newly replenished mana flowed into the Apocalypse Dragon’s Heart.
Thump.
The heart, receiving the mana, beat powerfully and drove the dark red aura down his right arm.
The aura spread rapidly along his blood vessels all the way to his fingertips.
Sang Hyuk removed the ring from his left wrist to verify whether this current could continue without the aid of the Spirit Vein Ring: Sprout.
Click.
The external mana flowing into his wrist cut off.
Yet the dark red aura coursing through his right arm didn’t fade immediately.
Sang Hyuk watched the transformation with the ring removed.
Thump.
Even as his heart beat again, the aura remained in his right arm.
But it didn’t last long.
Soon a sharp pull ran through the inside of his arm.
“Hnn.”
A thin pain spread along the inside of his arm as the dark red aura quickly dimmed.
Sang Hyuk opened and closed his right hand, organizing the sensations that had changed.
Even after removing the Spirit Vein Ring, the dark red aura lingered briefly in his right arm.
Yet it wasn’t stable enough to maintain for long.
New information followed shortly after.
[Blood Flow Adaptation is progressing from your right arm.]
[Current status: Unstable]
[Progression will continue as you circulate mana repeatedly and develop your body.]
Sang Hyuk gazed at the Spirit Vein Ring: Sprout he’d removed.
On the sixth floor, the mana the Spirit Vein Ring: Sprout drew in flowed through the Apocalypse Dragon’s Heart and down his right arm.
The stimulation he received in that process seemed to have triggered Blood Flow Adaptation.
It wasn’t developed enough yet to be called a proper Authority.
Its exact effects remained unknown.
Still, now that the system had shown him how to advance it, there was no need to rush.
As he continued climbing the tower while circulating his mana like this, one day it would naturally bloom into a proper Authority.
Click.
Sang Hyuk fastened the Spirit Vein Ring: Sprout back around his wrist.
‘I just need to keep going up.’
While Sang Hyuk gathered his thoughts, the settlement completion notification followed.
「All settlement is complete.」
「Returning to reality.」
Whoosh!
White light enveloped Sang Hyuk’s body, erasing the settlement space.
* * *
The next day.
Sang Hyuk entered the seventh floor of the Infinite Tower as scheduled.
As the white light faded, a long corridor of gray stone came into view.
Before Sang Hyuk could even survey his surroundings, a stone door deep within the corridor ground open violently.
Clang!
The sound of stone striking stone grew rapidly closer from inside the door.
Soon a stone statue with elongated limbs burst over the threshold and tumbled into the corridor.
Thud!
As the statue landed, a blue sphere embedded in the center of its back glowed brightly.
Light extending from the sphere wrapped around its legs, and the rigid joints moved with fluid grace.
[Rushing Stone Statue]
[Lv.8]
The statue glanced back at Sang Hyuk once, then lowered its body as if preparing to charge forward.
The moment the statue took its stance, the trial information unfolded.
[Floor 7 Trial: ]
[Time Limit: 5 minutes]
[Objective]
– Defeat the Rushing Stone Statue before it passes through the final gate.
– Obstruction entities strengthen each time a gate is passed.
[Evaluation Criteria]
– Pursuit Duration
– Number of Gates Allowed to Pass
– Mana Efficiency
Sang Hyuk studied the lowered stone statue and the corridor stretching before it, viewing both sides of the information window.
‘Just as I saw in the strategy guide.’
Between the Rushing Stone Statue and the first gate stood tall stone walls arranged in a staggered pattern.
The path on the ground wound through them in multiple turns.
The standard approach would be to chase the statue along the winding path while dealing with obstructions.
Since the creature was so fast, few players managed to stop it and achieve SSS Rank before it passed through the first gate.
Sang Hyuk’s gaze shifted to the walls above the ground path.
‘There’s no reason to follow the prescribed route.’
Unlike the winding corridor, the top of the wall ran straight to the first gate.
“The trial begins.”
Boom!
The moment it started, the statue kicked off the ground and bolted forward.
Rather than follow, Sang Hyuk pivoted toward the stone wall beside him.
Tap!
He kicked off the wall surface and bounded onto its top in one fluid motion.
His balance remained steady even through the sharp leap, thanks to the Collapse Walker’s Boots.
As Sang Hyuk ran in a straight line along the top of the wall, the distance to the statue closed rapidly.
Crack-crack-crack.
Then the wall ahead jolted, and an obstruction entity in stone armor rose to its feet.
[Chase Obstruction]
[Lv.7]
The entity immediately thrust a stone spear at Sang Hyuk, but he did not slow his pace.
Instead, he gathered mana into his right arm.
‘Extinction.’
Whoosh!
As Sang Hyuk swung his right hand, both the stone spear and the entity’s body scattered into black sand at once.
He passed through the dissolving form and kicked off the final wall with all his strength.
Tap!
Sang Hyuk’s body arced over the statue’s head.
Mid-flight, he twisted and reached his right hand toward the blue sphere embedded in its back.
‘Extinction.’
Screech!
As the blue sphere touched by Extinction crumbled into black sand, the light wrapping the statue’s legs flickered out.
The statue’s legs went rigid, and its running body collapsed before reaching the first gate.
Crash!
Sang Hyuk stepped lightly across the fallen statue’s back and landed on the ground with ease.
[The Rushing Stone Statue has stopped.]
[Checkpoints Allowed Through: 0]
[Chase Time: 00:43]
[Mana Efficiency: Peak]
「You have completed the 7th Floor Trial.」
[Clear Rating: SSS Rank]
「Your Level has increased.」
[Lv.7 → Lv.8]
Fresh mana flowed into the Apocalypse Dragon’s Heart.
Thump.
As the heart beat powerfully, hot blood seemed to race through the inside of his right arm faster than before.
The dark crimson energy spread along that current, flowing to his fingertips with newfound grace.
[Blood Flow Adaptation has progressed one stage further.]
Sang Hyuk opened and closed his right hand gently.
With each floor of the tower, his body was growing accustomed to the dragon’s power, inch by inch.
* * *
At that same moment.
The China Player Association’s Overseas Talent Analysis Division.
Screens covering the walls displayed rising talents from each nation in the Eastern Channel.
Japan, India, Vietnam, Thailand, and others.
Names, levels, and traits were meticulously catalogued alongside guild affiliations and possibilities for contact.
The division’s purpose was to identify promising players from other nations before anyone else and recruit them for China’s strength.
If potential showed, they dangled major guild contracts, growth resources, and citizenship to seduce them.
Those who still refused faced surveillance and threats.
They did not hesitate to use family members as leverage or to kidnap the player and force a change of nationality.
If they could not be brought in by contract, they would be taken by force.
Such was the way of this place.
China held first place in the Eastern Channel, and even among P7—the world’s seven greatest player nations—they competed for the lead with the United States, which dominated the Western Channel.
Talent acquisition by any means necessary was one of China’s secrets to holding that position.
The record they most closely watched now sat at the very bottom of the South Korea section.
A player whose name had not yet been confirmed.
[Public Name: Undisclosed]
[Confirmed Guild Affiliation: None]
[Real Name and Contact Route: Unconfirmed]
[Management Classification: Special Observation]
Then a notification chimed from one corner of the screen.
Beep.
“The South Korean anonymous player’s record has been updated.”
Every gaze in the room snapped to a single point.
[Country of Origin: South Korea]
[Public Name: Undisclosed]
[Current Level: Lv.8]
[Growth Tower Floors 1–7 Clear Rating: All SSS Rank]
[7th Floor Chase Time: 00:43]
[Checkpoints Allowed Through: 0]
“7th floor is also SSS?”
The man seated at the head of the table leaned forward.
“Yes. He destroyed the Galloping Statue before it could pass through the first checkpoint.”
The analyst pulled up the earlier records alongside the new one.
[Tutorial World Achievement: ]
[Indestructible Entity Destroyed]
[Tutorial Impossible Achievement: ]
[Non-Target Defeated]
[Floor 1 Hidden Battlefield Complete Clear]
[Floor 5 Hidden Trial First Complete Clear]
“Is this the player PlayerNet has been calling the Impossible One?”
“Yes. The public name and country of origin have been consistent since the first two tutorial achievements, and the timeline of the records matches up perfectly.”
The analyst expanded the records from floor 1 through floor 7.
Seven SSS marks appeared across the screen in sequence.
The man slowly scanned through the achievements from the tutorial to the 7th floor records.
“Quite impressive, I must say.”
“Yes. It’s a record that bears the fragrance of a Celestial Throne.”
It wasn’t an exaggeration.
Currently, most of the Sixteen Celestial Thrones maintained SSS ranks straight through the first ten floors during their rookie years.
The current Second Seat, Infinite, recorded twenty consecutive SSS ranks from floors one through twenty.
Of course, the Impossible One had only reached the seventh floor so far.
But judged purely on his track record to date, he was not falling behind the Celestial Thrones’ own rookie performances.
In particular, the two achievements he’d set in the tutorial were records that none of the current Sixteen Celestial Thrones had managed to accomplish together.
The man tapped his finger lightly against the desk.
“He might genuinely possess Celestial Throne caliber talent.”
His gaze dropped to the profile information below the screen.
“Have you found any clues to his identity?”
“Nothing yet. There’s no confirmed guild or backing force, and no matching figure on the South Korean Player Association’s official roster of new awakened.”
“Find him as quickly as possible.”
The man looked at his analysts one by one.
“Activate every channel in our South Korean network. Cross-reference every unaffiliated player who awakened recently and whose ascent timeline matches.”
“Yes, sir.”
The analyst’s fingers moved across the keyboard.
[Administrative Classification: Special Observation]
[→ Top Priority Overseas Recruitment Candidate]
[Identity Confirmation Priority: Standard]
[→ Urgent]
The man pointed at the nameless record glowing on the screen.
“Prepare for recruitment with no compromises. Make sure we can offer everything—premier guild selection, exclusive equipment, growth resources, and complete relocation and settlement support for his family.”
One of the analysts ventured carefully, “What if he refuses to come to China even with our best terms?”
A thin, icy smile curved the man’s mouth.
“If he won’t listen to reason,”
His gaze fixed on the nameless South Korea entry.
“then we use force.”
* * *
The next day.
Sang Hyuk challenged the Infinite Tower again without fail.
「Will you enter the Infinite Tower?」
‘Enter.’
A brilliant white light enveloped Sang Hyuk’s body.
Moments later, his feet touched the cold stone floor and the light receded.
Before him lay a long stone corridor, its floor blanketed in black mist stretching toward an invisible end.
「You have entered the Infinite Tower, Floor Eight.」
The fog was so thick that the corridor’s end remained hidden from view.
Along both walls stood eight stone statues, four on each side facing one another—each clutching a stone spear and stone sword.
The moment Sang Hyuk stepped into the corridor, the stone door behind him sealed shut.
Thud.
As the vibration from the closing door faded, the trial information unfurled.
[Floor Eight Trial: Barrier of Silence]
[Objective]
– Defeat all eight Silence Stone Sentries.
[Special Environment]
– All players entering the battlefield receive the status ailment Silence.
– The lower your Silence resistance, the more severely your Authority output is reduced.
– If you fail to resist Silence, your Authority cannot be activated at all.
[Evaluation Criteria]
– Clear time
– Number of hits taken
– Mana consumption efficiency
Sang Hyuk reviewed the information carefully.
The Silence on Floor Eight was not a status ailment one could endure without resistance.
Without preparation, Authority itself would be sealed.
To use Authority at all, he’d need to boost his Silence resistance through equipment and consumables.
The maximum a low-floor player could achieve was fifty percent, but few possessed such equipment.

Most had entered the trial with only 20 to 30 percent resistance secured.
Sang Hyuk withdrew a scroll etched with silver patterns from his inventory.
It was a single-use consumable provided by Il-seong before he’d entered the tower, obtained through his father’s request.
[Silence Resistance Scroll]
[Upon use: Silence Resistance +25% for 10 minutes]
Sang Hyuk unrolled the scroll and channeled mana into it.
Whoosh.
The silver patterns flared like flames before seeping into his body.
[Silence Resistance Scroll has been used.]
[Silence Resistance increases by 25%.]
If all went as expected, he could now draw roughly 25 percent of his normal output.
Sang Hyuk gazed down at his right hand.
Extinction had erased everything it touched without exception.
So then—would the power of annihilation still remain, even with his output suppressed to 25 percent?
‘I’ll know once I try.’
His gaze shifted to the stone statues lining the walls.
“The trial begins.”
Shhhhhhh.
Black mist covering the floor crawled up Sang Hyuk’s ankles.
[Status Ailment: Silence is applied.]
[Silence Resistance 25% is applied.]
[Current available Authority output: 25%]
Crunch-crunch-crunch.
The two eyes of the stone statue standing against the right wall blazed crimson.
[Silent Stone Soldier]
[Lv. 9]
The moment it tore itself from the wall, it thrust a stone spear forward.
The blood-red spearhead cleaved through the mist, aimed straight at Sang Hyuk’s face.
Screeeee!
Sang Hyuk watched the incoming spearhead and raised his right hand.
‘Extinction.’
He was about to test how far Extinction would reach at 25 percent output when—
Boom!
The Apocalypse Dragon’s Heart pounded violently.
Crimson energy surged through the veins of his right arm, flooding to his fingertips.
As that energy flowed, the power of Silence that had been pressing down on his right arm rapidly weakened.
“Blood Flow Adaptation responds to the Status Ailment: Silence.”
[Affected area: Right arm]
[The effect of Silence applied to the right arm decreases.]
[The power restriction on the right arm is eased.]
Whoosh!
The black energy that should have been suppressed to 25 percent surged past his palm and up to his wrist with brutal force.
The Extinction that bloomed was far stronger than Sang Hyuk had anticipated.
He twisted his body to evade the spear thrust, then seized the shaft.
Screeeee!
Both the stone spear and the arm holding it transformed into black sand simultaneously.
Sang Hyuk gazed down at the black energy flowering in his right hand.
In the end, he hadn’t confirmed whether the power of annihilation persisted even at 25 percent output.
Blood Flow Adaptation had driven back the Silence in his right arm first.
A technique that hadn’t even fully awakened as a proper Authority was already beginning to resist Status Ailments.

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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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