After Regressing, I Gained the Power of the Demonic Dragon - Chapter 23

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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 23
PlayerNet.
Countless users were waiting for the record and first eyewitness account from the 10th floor Cooperative Battle Arena—the impossible one’s challenge.
[Korea/Lv.33] Newbie Guardians : If it’s Impossible One, couldn’t he break the <Eternal Frozen Core> too?
[Korea/Lv.42] JejuSpringBlackPig : Was going to say no way, but thinking about everything Impossible One’s done so far… I can’t even argue ㅋㅋ
[Japan/Lv.55] Tsukikage : Still, that’s a different beast. There’s a reason no destruction records have been confirmed in the 4 years since the Infinite Tower opened.
[China/Lv.68] BeijingBlademaster : Right. It’s not just that the core itself is hard. Even using every resistance method available on the lower floors, the <Freezing> makes reaching the core difficult in the first place.
[USA/Lv.61] IronJack : I won’t claim it’s impossible, but honestly, it won’t be easy.
It was just as the debate hung suspended.
Ding.
A World Achievement notification appeared across all channels, east and west.
[World Achievement: <One Who Ended Eternal Freezing>]
[Achiever Public Name: Undisclosed]
[Affiliated Nation: Republic of Korea]
[Republic of Korea Achievement Points +30,000]
The chat fell silent.
[Korea/Lv.33] Newbie Guardians : ……What? This achievement?
[Korea/Lv.42] SojuInRiceBowl : Wait. Ended Eternal Freezing?
Almost simultaneously, the public record for the 10th floor Cooperative Battle Arena updated.
[Korea/Lv.42] SojuInRiceBowl : Good grief. The <Eternal Frozen Core> status on the leaderboard shows destroyed. He actually did it!
[Korea/Lv.33] Newbie Guardians : No way. He really pulled that off?
[Korea/Lv.37] TowerClimbingStartsTomorrow : Wow ㅋㅋ Now there’s literally no way to say he isn’t the impossible one.
[USA/Lv.61] IronJack : 30,000 points. World Achievements really do operate on a different scale. I thought this one would be as hard as it gets, but he’s defied expectations again.
[Korea/Lv.42] SojuInRiceBowl : Wait. Check the Republic of Korea’s national status now!
Soon, a screenshot of the Republic of Korea’s national status appeared.
[Republic of Korea This Quarter Predicted Deficit Points: 0]
[Current Estimate: Outside Rift Generation Range]
[Korea/Lv.42] JejuSpringBlackPig : Whoa, zero! It actually says zero.
[Korea/Lv.33] Newbie Guardians : Seriously? If the quarter ends like this, Korea won’t have a single Rift open?
[Korea/Lv.37] TowerClimbingStartsTomorrow : Oh, heavens! Korea finally……!
[Korea/Lv.33] ImpossibleOneDevotee : Impossible One! Is he a god?! Impossible One! Is he a god?! Impossible One! Is he a god?!
[Korea/Lv.42] SojuInRiceBowl : A Lv.10 nobody who’s been climbing for 10 days covered an entire nation’s remaining deficit alone—is this real?
[Korea/Lv.33] ImpossibleOneDevotee : Blasphemy! To speak such disrespect before a god!
[Korea/Lv.33] Newbie Guardians : Even thinking about it seriously, it genuinely makes no sense ㅋㅋ
Though the quarter settlement hadn’t yet concluded and the result wasn’t final, all current projections suggested that the Republic of Korea would not see even a single small Rift open.
The players’ excitement soon erupted into debate about how high Impossible One would climb.
[Korea/Lv.33] Newbie Guardians : No joke—isn’t this Celestial Seat level performance? If he enters the Channel League, I bet he’d shoot straight to Legend tier.
[China/Lv.68] BeijingBlademaster : You can’t measure Channel League performance on a single Cooperative Battle Arena clear. The opponent isn’t a monster—it’s a player.
[USA/Lv.61] IronJack : It’s definitely a record worth discussing in terms of Celestial Seat caliber talent. Still, we’d need to see PvP on a public stage to be sure.
[Japan/Lv.55] Tsukikage : Korean players probably shouldn’t inflate their expectations recklessly. Though, so far, whoever’s lowered their expectations has always been the one proven wrong.
While praise and caution collided, attention naturally shifted toward the strategy itself.
[Korea/Lv.33] Newbie Guardians : But seriously, how did he break the core?
[Korea/Lv.42] SojuInRiceBowl : Anyone who was in the same group! Please post a write-up!
[USA/Lv.61] IronJack : There were 3 other participants. Someone will verify the record soon.
Yet no matter how long they waited, no participant verification appeared.
The three people who had entered the arena with Sang Hyuk answered no one’s questions.
All that was public was the first complete clear, the World Achievement, and the top-ranked contribution from the undisclosed player.
Who broke the core and how, what the other three did—none of it could be known.
For the first time, there were witnesses who had stood on the same battlefield as Impossible One, yet the mystery surrounding him only deepened.
Then someone recalled Impossible One’s next milestone.
[Korea/Lv.42] SojuInRiceBowl : Wait. Impossible One just got his 9th consecutive SSS Rating on Individual Climbing, right?
[Korea/Lv.33] Newbie Guardians : That’s true? If he gets an SSS on 10th floor Individual too, that unlocks <Flawless Climbing>, yeah?
[Japan/Lv.55] Tsukikage : Correct. The Cooperative Battle Arena record is separate from Individual Climbing, so just one more to go.
[Korea/Lv.33] ImpossibleOneDevotee : After the World Achievement comes Flawless Climbing! I’ll be watching the leaderboard!
The gaze of those waiting for eyewitness accounts turned to the public record board for 10th floor Individual Climbing.
* * *
The next day.
While players had spent the night discussing him, Sang Hyuk had already prepared to climb the next floor.
The Cooperative Battle Arena’s rating stood apart from his Individual Climbing streak.
As Sang Hyuk opened the entry gate, a new notification appeared.
「I am checking your Individual Climbing consecutive clear record.」
[Individual Climbing consecutive SSS Rating: 9 times]
「A Special Record candidate has been generated.」
[Special Record candidate: ]
[Unlock condition: 10 consecutive SSS Ratings in Individual Climbing]
[Current progress: 9/10]
[Warning]
[If you receive a rating below SSS, your current consecutive record will be terminated.]
Sang Hyuk stared at the newly appeared name for a moment.
‘Flawless Climbing.’
Right after returning, he had never imagined he would find himself challenging this record.
Yet somehow, he had already cleared all nine layers with SSS ratings, and if he succeeded just one more time, a new Special Record would open.
Having come this far, he had no intention of stopping at ten.
This time, even after surpassing the highest record, he meant to keep the SSS streak alive.
No one knew what rewards might be granted while maintaining .
But since the Tower itself recognized 10 consecutive layers of SSS as a separate Special Record, rare rewards like an wouldn’t be surprising.
Just to confirm that possibility, he resolved to give his all on every floor for as long as the record held.
‘Let’s keep pushing this record.’
Sang Hyuk closed the notification and placed his hand on the door leading to Individual Layer 10.
「You are entering Individual Climbing Layer 10.」
Whoosh!
Ash poured from the crack in the door and swallowed Sang Hyuk’s body whole.
Thud.
His feet touched solid stone beneath him.
Before his eyes stretched an endless corridor.
Ash fell from the ceiling like snow.
The walls and floor were all gray as ash.
Scattered at regular intervals down the corridor were small altars embedded with blue crystals.
All of them were dark.
The door behind Sang Hyuk swung shut.
Boom.
In that instant, blue flames ignited in the braziers on either side of the entrance.
Whoooosh!
The two fires converged through the air.
A blue flame the size of a palm coalesced before Sang Hyuk.
「Individual Trial Layer 10 is beginning.」
[Trial Name: ]
[Objective]
– Transport the to the exit altar at the end of the corridor.
– The Guide Flame is sustained only while the player supplies magical energy.
– If the flame is extinguished, it can be rekindled at the ignition altars in the middle of the corridor.
[Evaluation Criteria]
– Number of re-ignitions
– Duration of magical energy supply interruption
– Number of times struck
was a trial where one had to constantly supply magical energy to the flame while breaking through soldiers blocking the corridor.
The fundamental difficulty lay in maintaining magical energy for both the flame and combat simultaneously.
If one focused power on abilities, the flame would go out; if one focused on protecting the flame, attacks and movement became sluggish.
To aim for SSS, one had to reach the end of the corridor without depleting either.
But Sang Hyuk was an exception.
As Sang Hyuk extended his left hand, the blue flame descended into his palm.
[Guide Flame Maintenance Rate: 100%]
[Re-ignition Count: 0]
[Magical Energy Supply Interruption Time: 0.00 seconds]
Click.
drew ambient magical energy and replenished what was supplied to the flame.
The magical energy that had turned blood-red after passing through the heart of the Final Demon Dragon spread simultaneously through both hands and both legs via the .
This allowed him to maintain the flame while keeping the magical energy for and movement unbroken.
As Sang Hyuk advanced deeper into the corridor, the heap of ash ahead stirred violently.
Crack-crack-crack!
Ash-colored soldiers pushed through the rubble and rose in succession.
[Ash-Gray Soldier]
[Lv.10]
The soldiers immediately leveled their weapons, barricading the passage.
Sang Hyuk didn’t break stride as he swept his right hand through the air.
Whoosh!
Wherever the Annihilation Form passed, weapons and soldiers crumbled into black sand.
The flame in his left hand never once diminished.
Sang Hyuk swept past all three beacon platforms and pressed straight through to the corridor’s end.
The gatekeeper standing watch at the final passage was no different.
[Ash-Gray Gatekeeper]
[Lv.12]
The Annihilation Form erupting from his right hand erased the massive greatsword before consuming the crimson core lodged in the creature’s chest.
Sang Hyuk stepped over the collapsing gatekeeper and placed the flame upon the exit altar.
Whoosh!
Blue fire erupted from the altar, announcing the trial’s completion.
For Sang Hyuk, it had been far easier than anticipated.
‘The effect of the Demon Dragon’s Blood Flow is stronger than I expected.’
Merely reducing abnormal status effects by thirty percent was powerful enough on its own.
When he added the force of channeling magical energy simultaneously across his entire body, the constraint of having to fight while protecting the flame became meaningless.
“The Guide Flame has reached the exit altar.”
[Flame Lost: None]
[Relight Count: 0]
[Magical Supply Interruption Time: 0.00 seconds]
[Hit Count: 0]
“You have completed the tenth-floor individual trial, Ash-Gray Corridor.”
[Clear Rating: SSS]
“Your level has increased.”
[Lv.10 → Lv.11]
A warm energy flooded through his entire body.
The magical power he’d expended in the corridor refilled swiftly.
This was his tenth SSS rating.
But the settlement wasn’t finished yet.
As the previous notification faded, a new window bordered in black unfolded.
“You have achieved ten consecutive SSS ratings in individual climbing.”
[Floors 1–10]
[Consecutive SSS Rating: 10]
“The special cumulative record, Flawless Climbing, has been unlocked.”
[Current Consecutive Record: 10]
[The consecutive record will end if you receive any rating below SSS.]
New information followed.
[Cumulative Record Bonuses]
[15 Consecutive]
– Hidden bonus objectives for individual climbing will be revealed.
[20 Consecutive]
– You will receive one selection of an Irregular Arena.
[Record of All Time Broken]
– Reward: Hidden
Sang Hyuk’s gaze fixed on the final bonus—breaking the all-time record.
The reward remained hidden, and to reveal it, he would first need to surpass the existing record.
But if he faltered even once and missed an SSS rating before then, all the progress he’d built would end where it stood.
The all-time records appeared immediately after.
[Flawless Climbing: All-Time Record]
[Individual Climbing SSS Rating: 20 Consecutive]
[Record Holder: Second Celestial Seat, Wu Ji]
Second Celestial Seat Wu Ji.
A player who rose to prominence only after First Celestial Seat Chang Tian had already reached the summit.
His start came late, but his growth rate surpassed even Chang Tian’s.
Combat prowess, defense, survival, magical energy control.
Throughout his novice years, even as he climbed to the twentieth floor in individual trials, Wu Ji never once failed to achieve an SSS rating, regardless of how the trials’ formats changed.
When he reached the Second Seat, people still didn’t consider it his destination.
Only one position remained above him.
The First Seat.
Wu Ji, who was praised for surpassing even Chang Tian in pure talent alone, was forever tagged with the epithet of next First Seat.
But that prediction never came to pass.
Before the Dimension League opened, Wu Ji entered a Destruction-class Rift that appeared in reality and never returned.
The announcement made public at the time was brief.
[Second Seat deceased in an accident during Destruction-class Rift subjugation.]
What kind of accident had occurred.
Why had the Celestial Seat, granted the privilege of reconstructing his body even after death, not been revived.
The details were never made public.
All Sang Hyuk knew was what had been announced at the time.
Wu Ji simply vanished.
But no one had surpassed the records he left in the lower floors until Sang Hyuk’s regression.
Twenty consecutive SSS Ratings spanning from the first to the twentieth floor.
Sang Hyuk stared at the two numbers side by side.
[Current Record: 10 times]
[All-time Record: 20 times]
The current record was exactly half.
‘Catch up at ten, surpass at eleven.’
Before the regression, this was a record he could only admire from afar.
This time, it would be his turn to break it.
Sang Hyuk calmly closed the settlement window.
* * *
At that same moment.
A new entry appeared at the very top of the Individual Climbing public records board.
[Special Record ]
[Republic of Korea, private player]
[Individual Climbing SSS Rating: 10 consecutive]
Players who had been waiting for the record to be updated immediately captured the screen.
[Korea/Lv.42] GukbapSoju : There it is. Tenth floor is also SSS.
[Korea/Lv.33] Newbie Guardians : Is this that Flawless Climbing?
[Japan/Lv.55] Tsukikage : Yeah. It’s a record that unlocks when you receive SSS on Individual Climbing ten times in a row.
[Korea/Lv.33] Newbie Guardians : The Impossible One’s stepped onto the path the Celestial Seats walked ㄷㄷ
[USA/Lv.61] IronJack : At least he’s on a starting line comparable to the Celestial Seats.
Someone posted the all-time records board alongside it.
[ All-time Best Record]
[Second Seat : 20 consecutive]
[Republic of Korea, private player: 10 consecutive]
The rapidly flowing messages paused for a moment.
The Second Seat’s name and the low-floor player’s name appeared on the same record board.
[Korea/Lv.33] Newbie Guardians : Wu Ji’s record is more awe-inspiring the more you look at it.
[Korea/Lv.42] GukbapSoju : Now that the Impossible One’s record’s on the same board as Wu Ji’s, the impact really hits different.
[China/Lv.68] Beijing Swordmaster : Still only half in the end. 10 times and 20 times are completely different records.
This time, no one rushed to refute it.
As the floors increased, the difficulty of the trials rose with them.
Having high Characteristic Hierarchy and good Authority didn’t mean you could earn SSS on every floor.
Each floor demanded different abilities, and you had to adjust your strategy to account for unexpected variables.
Multiple Celestial Seats had obtained .
But only Wu Ji had maintained the record all the way to the twentieth floor.
That’s why his 20 consecutive SSS was considered an absolute record that would never be broken.
[USA/Lv.61] IronJack : Most of them have their records cut before even reaching the fifteenth floor.
[Korea/Lv.33] Newbie Guardians : Even so, I can’t picture the Impossible One failing.
[Korea/Lv.42] GukbapSoju : Real talk. While clearing the Hidden Trial and achieving the first complete conquest of the Cooperative Battle Arena, he’s maintaining one floor a day.
[Japan/Lv.55] Tsukikage : That’s why he’s being compared to Wu Ji’s record.
In the old days, simply comparing anyone to Second Seat would have drawn cries of absurdity.
But now the Impossible One had his name on the same record board as Wu Ji.
The mere fact that comparison had begun showed how much the way people looked at him had changed.
Soon a new tracking list was created.
[Impossible One Tracker]
[Current Record: 10 consecutive]
[Midway Bonus: 15 consecutive]
[Second Seat ‘s Record: 20 consecutive]
[All-Time Record Surpassed: 21 consecutive]
Just days ago, people had been arguing whether the Impossible Seat could break into the Iron Rookie League before the season ended.
Now a new fascination had taken hold.
They’d begun watching closely to see when he would match the Second Seat’s record.
* * *
At that same moment.
A white-haired man sitting in a high-backed chair opened his eyes.
The thin metal ornament above his head reflected a faint golden shimmer.
The Second Seat, Wu Ji.
The day the Impossible Achievement had appeared in the tutorial.
The man who had ordered the search for an undisclosed player in the Republic of Korea.
Before him, two records floated side by side.
[Second Seat : 20 consecutive]
[Republic of Korea Undisclosed Player: 10 consecutive]
An attendant carefully spoke up.
“I will report again once the fifteenth record appears.”
“No.”
Wu Ji’s gaze shifted to the next row, still empty.
[Next Record: 11 consecutive]
“There’s no need to wait until then.”
Wu Ji tapped the blank space with his finger.
“Bring me every record from the next one onward.”
The Second Seat, Wu Ji.
He had begun to take genuine interest in the Impossible Seat.

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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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