After Regressing, I Gained the Power of the Demonic Dragon - Chapter 20

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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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Episode 20
Beneath the notification, a deep crimson information window unfurled.
[Retrieving Physical Adaptation records.]
[Adapted regions: Right arm / Right shoulder]
[Adaptation status: In progress]
「A Level 10 growth power candidate has been generated.」
[Candidate power: Blood of the Demonic Dragon]
Sang Hyuk’s gaze lingered on the newly emerged name.
‘Blood of the Demonic Dragon.’
The power was still locked.
Below the name, two unlock conditions followed.
[Unlock condition 1]
[Accept externally absorbed magical power into the heart of the apocalyptic demonic dragon and mix it into your bloodstream.]
[Status: Fulfilled]
[Unlock condition 2]
[Endure a powerful status ailment while spreading the demonic dragon’s power throughout your entire body.]
[Status: Not fulfilled]
A low hum resonated.
At that moment, the Spirit Vein Circle: Sprout drew in the surrounding magical power, and the blue marks on his wrist glowed brighter.
The magical power that seeped into his body reached his heart.
Thump.
Passing through his heart, the magical power turned dark crimson and flowed down his right shoulder and arm all the way to his fingertips.
The changes that began on the sixth floor grew more vivid with each floor climbed.
On the eighth floor, he’d pushed back the oppression of Silence, and on the ninth, his right arm and shoulder had endured powerful magical pressure.
But it had yet to reach his left arm and both legs.
Sang Hyuk clenched and unclenched his right fist, rereading the second condition.
‘So I need to make my entire body adapt to the demonic dragon’s power.’
He’d already grasped the thread for spreading it across his whole body.
While enduring the pressure on the ninth floor, the dark crimson energy had already spread through his chest, back, and waist.
Though not yet fully settled, a few more similar stimuli would surely see the second condition fulfilled before long.
Just as Sang Hyuk was about to close the information window, a new notification followed.
「You have reached Level 10.」
「A new growth area has opened.」
[Level 10 Restricted Cooperative Battlefield]
[Entry condition: Level 10 or higher]
[Standard matching participants: 4 players]
[Levels do not increase in the Cooperative Battlefield.]
[Merit and special rewards are granted according to contribution on the battlefield.]
[Restricted Cooperative Battlefields are only open on designated floors.]
[Level 10 section Cooperative Battlefield entry points]
[Floor 10 / Floor 15]
[Entering the Cooperative Battlefield does not consume personal climbing challenge tokens.]
[Previously opened Cooperative Battlefields can be challenged repeatedly.]
Sang Hyuk slowly reviewed the newly opened guide.
The Cooperative Battlefields in the Level 10 section opened on floors 10 and 15.
It was a stage where four players of the same level bracket gathered to complete shared objectives.
While levels didn’t increase, you could earn merit and special rewards based on your contribution.
Since it didn’t consume personal climbing challenge tokens, it wouldn’t interfere with his plan of one floor per day.
‘Finally, this is here.’
He’d already confirmed thoroughly how powerful Annihilation was when fighting alone.
Now it was time to see what kind of gap he could create when standing on the same battlefield as players of the same level.
It was also his first cooperative combat since returning.
Before reaching Level 20 and entering the Channel League, he needed to synchronize his movements with other players at his current strength.
Of course, he had no intention of leaving with mere experience.
He planned to secure both first place in contribution and the special reward.
Coincidentally, in the Level 10 Cooperative Battlefield of Frozen Canyon, the status ailment Freezing accumulated rapidly the further one strayed from the protection of the Warmth Core.
If he could endure that pressure while spreading the demonic dragon’s power throughout his body, he could fulfill the second condition as well.
‘I’ll take everything I can get.’
Sang Hyuk summoned the entry guide.
[Do you wish to enter your first restricted Cooperative Battlefield?]
[You can set your public name and appearance before entering.]
[If you choose not to disclose your appearance, you may select a protective appearance provided by the system.]
[The protective appearance grants no additional equipment effects.]
Sang Hyuk’s gaze lingered on the appearance-concealment notice.
Entering the Cooperative Battlefield and revealing his identity were two separate matters.
He set both his public name and appearance to private.
[Please select a protective appearance.]
Several protective appearances appeared in succession.
Mist that concealed the face, a hood pulled low.
There were also a white mask and an iron half-mask.
His gaze came to rest on the final form.
A Black Mask with neither eyes nor mouth carved into it.
[Protective Appearance: Black Mask]
“This one.”
The moment he made his selection, the Black Mask settled over Sang Hyuk’s face.
He felt no weight.
It didn’t obstruct his vision either.
With the settings complete, Sang Hyuk moved his will.
‘Enter.’
「You are being transferred to the waiting area of the Level 10 Cooperative Battlefield.」
Flash!
The white settlement space was swallowed by brilliant light.
In that brightness, Sang Hyuk’s form vanished completely.
* * *
At that same moment.
A new entry appeared on the public record board for Level 9.
[Private Player, South Korea]
[Level 9 Clear Evaluation: SSS]
[Clear Time: 02:39]
[Stops: 0]
[Current Level: Lv.10]
Players who had been waiting for the record to update captured the screen first.
The same information spread rapidly across multiple channels.
[South Korea/Lv.42] SojuInRiceBowl : Level 9 also SSS. Cleared in 2:39. This record is insane.
[South Korea/Lv.33] NewbieGuardians : Wait. So that means SSS on all levels 1 through 9?
[South Korea/Lv.42] SojuInRiceBowl : Yeah. Nine consecutive floors.
The messages that had been flowing quickly slowed.
Nine consecutive SSS ratings from Level 1 to Level 9, not a single miss.
And on Levels 1 and 5, the Hidden Battlefields and Hidden Trials were completely conquered as well.
The nature of the trials changed each time.
Yet the Impossible One’s Evaluation Rank never faltered.
[South Korea/Lv.33] NewbieGuardians : Isn’t this basically confirming them as a candidate for the next Heavenly Seat?
[USA/Lv.61] IronJack : They’re only on Level 9. There are countless super rookies who shine for the first few floors, then their records just vanish.
[South Korea/Lv.42] SojuInRiceBowl : Did any of those super rookies hit 2 Impossible Accomplishments at Level 1 AND fully conquer the Hidden content twice?
[China/Lv.68] BeijingBladesman : Special talent, no doubt. But you need to see them at least through Level 20 before talking about Heavenly Seats.
[South Korea/Lv.33] NewbieGuardians : So you’re saying they’re gonna match the 20 consecutive SSS record of the current Wuji Seat, then break it on Level 21?
The highest record for consecutive personal SSS clears ever made public was 20, set by the current Second Seat, Wuji, during their rookie days.
No one had yet maintained a perfect Evaluation Rank all the way to Level 21.
[South Korea/Lv.47] WujiRecordsPreservationSociety : Now they’re comparing a rookie who just cleared Level 9 to Wuji? ㅋㅋ That’s ridiculous. Go check the difficulty of Level 21 first.
[South Korea/Lv.52] WujiVideoOnlyWatcher : I admit the Impossible One is impressive. But Wuji’s 20 consecutive—no one has beaten it yet.
[South Korea/Lv.42] SojuInRiceBowl : How many times has the phrase “no one has beaten it” actually been broken by the Impossible One?
Still, there were more voices saying it was premature to even bring up Wuji’s record at this point.
Yet as the Impossible One climbed each floor and extended their streak, Wuji’s 20 consecutive SSS ratings began to be mentioned alongside them more and more.
As the debate continued, the conversation shifted to the Cooperative Battlefield that had just opened at Level 10.
[Japan/Lv.55] TsukiKage : So the Level 10 Cooperative Battlefield has opened now.
[South Korea/Lv.33] NewbieGuardians : Will we finally see people who’ve seen the Impossible One in person?
[Japan/Lv.55] TsukiKage : If they entered today, we should get the first eyewitness account.
[South Korea/Lv.33] NewbieGuardians : Waiting for witness testimonies.
Until now, all people could verify were the clear times and Evaluation Ranks.
Neither the public name nor the face was known, nor what equipment and Powers had been used to set those records.
But in the Cooperative Battlefield, he had to fight in the same space as other players.
Though he could maintain his hidden name and protected appearance, he couldn’t conceal his combat style.
[China/Lv.68] Beijing Swordmaster: Don’t get ahead of yourself just because of your solo trial records. The Cooperative Battlefield and Channel League aren’t places where individual skill alone determines the outcome.
[Japan/Lv.55] Tsukikage: That’s true. Solo climbing and multi-player combat are different beasts.
[Korea/Lv.42] RiceBowlWhiskey: That’s exactly why people want to see it. Whether he’ll dominate in the Cooperative Battlefield the way he does when fighting alone.
[USA/Lv.61] IronJack: If he secures first place in Contribution even in the Cooperative Battlefield, expectations for him in the Iron Rookie League will shift entirely.
[Korea/Lv.33] NewbieSentinel: First, can someone who matched with him today give us a review?
The moment Sang Hyuk conquered the ninth floor with an SSS rating and reached Level 10, PlayerNet’s attention pivoted immediately to the Cooperative Battlefield.
Would he demonstrate overwhelming dominance in the arena where he fought alongside other players, just as he had in the solo trials?
Three people already waited for the matching queue, eager to be the first to confirm the answer.
* * *
At the same moment.
Level 10 Restricted Cooperative Battlefield waiting area.
Restricted Cooperative Battlefields opened only at levels 10 and 15 in the tenth tier—designated growth zones separate from regular content.
They were also established as spaces where players could sync their abilities with others before entering the Channel League, which opened at Level 20.
In the Cooperative Battlefield, levels didn’t increase, but players could clear the same arena repeatedly.
Once players learned the basic strategies, they could gather Tower materials and crafting supplies with relative stability, which was why many stayed here even after their first clear.
They could re-enter after leveling up.
But since matchmaking only paired players of the same level and the arena’s difficulty scaled to that level, the efficiency of repeated clears dropped significantly.
For players without guild or corporate backing, Level 10 was the best time to prepare equipment and consumables.
This was why the pattern of farming thoroughly before ascending to the next level had become an unwritten rule among low-tier players.
The three members waiting for their final teammate in the circular chamber had chosen to remain at Level 10 for the same reason.
[Current Matchmaking: 3/4]
Baren, wearing a gray coat over metal armor, examined the edge of his round shield.
Including this clear, it would be his sixteenth time here.
Hong Ryeon, the flame mage in a crimson robe, was on her twelfth attempt.
Chugbok Eunyuryeo, dressed in white priestly robes with a blue shawl draped over her shoulders, was waiting for what would be her twenty-fourth clear.
Baren, noticing the clear count displayed on the matching window, threw out a jest.
“Twenty-four runs? Aren’t you setting up house here?”
Chugbok Eunyuryeo laughed bitterly at Baren’s quip.
“I need money for Magical Power recovery potions and equipment for the next level. This time, I’m hoping for a crafting material that fetches a decent price.”
Hong Ryeon gazed at the last empty matchmaking slot.
“I hope the fourth member is another flame mage.”
Baren raised his eyebrows.
“Are you aiming for the Eternal Frozen Core?”
“If the opportunity presents itself. Getting the same basic reward every run is starting to wear on me—I keep thinking about the perfect clear bonus.”
The perfect clear condition for Frozen Canyon was the destruction of the Eternal Frozen Core.
Yet not a single team had succeeded in destroying it so far.
“Once you step outside the Warmth Core’s range, Freezing keeps stacking. You can’t even get halfway to the core before your body locks up.”
Chugbok Eunyuryeo nodded in agreement.
“Even with my mitigation ability active constantly, I could only slow the rate at which Freezing accumulated.”
Even if players endured the Freezing and reached the core, destroying it was an entirely different matter.
Hong Ryeon added her thoughts.
“Last time, there was another flame mage besides me. The two of us barely made it to the core and unleashed torrents of fire, but the surface that had melted refroze instantly.”
The core was impervious even to the scorching flames of mages—not a scratch left behind.
Four years had passed since the Infinite Tower’s emergence, yet no one had achieved a perfect clear record. There was good reason for that.
Hong Ryeon sighed and suddenly focused on the matching window.
“By the way, didn’t Sang Hyuk reach Level 10 today?”
“He did.”
Baren’s eyes brightened.
“If he jumped straight into the Cooperative Battlefield, he might be in matchmaking right now.”
“Wouldn’t it be incredible if he ended up in our group?”
Chugbok Eunyuryeo, listening to their conversation, tilted her head in confusion.
“Who is Sang Hyuk?”
Hong Ryeon looked at her in disbelief.
“You don’t know Sang Hyuk? You didn’t see the recent Impossible Accomplishment notification?”
“The Korean player, anonymous, who destroyed the two targets declared indestructible in the tutorial and earned SSS ratings from floor one through nine.”
After hearing Baren’s explanation, Chugbok Eunyuryeo let out a belated exclamation.
“Ah, that Impossible Accomplishment notice. So that’s what people call him?”
“Yes. His ninth floor record went up today, so he might be entering the Cooperative Battlefield for the first time.”
It happened in that exact moment.
Ding.
The last empty slot in the matching window floating at the center of the stone chamber flared with light.
[South Korea / Lv.10 / Name Undisclosed]
“Huh?”
[4-Player matching has been completed.]
A pillar of white light dropped onto one side of the stone chamber.
As the light faded, Sang Hyuk emerged, wearing a Black Mask that had no eyes, no mouth.
The three of them let their gazes shuttle between Sang Hyuk and the undisclosed name tag on the matching window.
A brief silence fell.
Hong Ryeon opened her mouth cautiously.
“Could it be…… the Impossible One?”

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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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