After Regressing, I Gained the Power of the Demonic Dragon - Chapter 8

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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 8
“What’s this about?”
Sang Hyuk asked, and Yun Chae Rin glanced around the area first.
Researchers and journalists who had finished their verification were still scattered throughout the testing ground.
“Let’s move somewhere else.”
The two of them stepped into the corridor beside the Verification Ground.
As the door closed and the journalists’ voices and the sound of equipment being cleared grew distant, Yun Chae Rin spoke first.
“You were at the Ilseong Technical Zone today, weren’t you?”
“That’s right.”
“I understand only Association verification officials are allowed in there.”
Sang Hyuk looked at Yun Chae Rin.
“What are you trying to say?”
“Did you have something to do with the equipment repairs?”
Yun Chae Rin glanced back at the closed Verification Ground door.
“After the verification ended, Kim Seo Yun and the researchers looked for you first.”
“So you think I was involved in the equipment repairs?”
“A problem that hadn’t been solved until yesterday disappeared today.”
“My sister and the research team figured it out overnight.”
“A problem that only occurred when the monster’s mana touched it? In a single night?”
Sang Hyuk’s eyes narrowed.
“You knew the conditions for the equipment to malfunction.”
Yun Chae Rin paused for a moment, then answered calmly.
“Taeseong is also a stakeholder in this evaluation. I simply confirmed what’s been circulating in the industry.”
“All right. I’ll take your word for it for now.”
Sang Hyuk didn’t press further.
At that, Yun Chae Rin softened her voice as she studied his expression.
“Then let’s leave work matters here.”
Yun Chae Rin lightly brushed her finger across the Engagement Ring.
“Shall we talk about us instead?”
“Us?”
“Even after getting engaged, we haven’t really talked properly. We don’t even know how each other’s been doing.”
A faint smile played at the corners of her mouth.
“Before our families bring up marriage again, I think it’d be good for us to spend some time together first.”
“Time?”
“Let’s grab a meal together this week. I’m curious about what happened today, and I’d like to hear how you’ve been managing.”
Before the Regression, even when Sang Hyuk asked to meet first, Yun Chae Rin rarely made time for him.
Now, she was using the engagement itself to create a moment for just the two of them.
It wasn’t as if she’d suddenly developed feelings for him.
‘She’s curious about the changes she saw at Ilseong today, so she’s using her position as his fiancée to get closer and sound him out better than anyone else would.’
Her calculation was transparent, but he had no reason to refuse.
Sang Hyuk needed a chance to end this engagement anyway.
“Fine. Send me the place and date.”
Yun Chae Rin’s smile deepened slightly.
“I’ll contact you within this week.”
“Good.”
Sang Hyuk added,
“I was actually meaning to talk to you about our engagement too.”
“What kind of talk?”
“I’ll tell you then.”
The finger of Yun Chae Rin, who had been brushing the Engagement Ring, froze.
Just as she was about to speak again, the Verification Ground door behind them opened, and Kim Sang Jun stepped into the corridor.
“Sang Hyuk. Father’s looking for you.”
“Got it.”
Sang Hyuk gave Yun Chae Rin a slight nod.
“Let me know once you’ve set the date.”
In the past, this man would have been overjoyed just at her agreeing to meet, checking the schedule several times over.
But the current Sang Hyuk never once looked back.
His changed demeanor and the way he’d stood among the Ilseong research team kept nagging at her.
Yun Chae Rin decided to find out exactly how involved he’d been in today’s events.
Moments later, back in the Taeseong waiting area, Yun Chae Rin opened her tablet.
[Ilseong Group Phase 1 Practical Suitability Verification — Results Report]
The cursor blinked across the blank report form.
Yun Chae Rin typed out her findings, recalling the conversation she’d had in the hallway moments before.
[Ilseong prototype sabotage — failed.]
[Sabotage neutralization method — unable to confirm.]
[Sang Hyuk confirmed present in Ilseong Technical Zone on verification day.]
[Confirmed contact between Kim Seo Yun and research personnel.]
Yun Chae Rin added one final line.
[Clarification required: involvement in equipment modification process.]
She designated the report’s recipient.
[Recipient: Director of Strategic Planning Kang Tae O]
Click.
[Report transmitted.]
Yun Chae Rin stared at Sang Hyuk’s name — flagged for further investigation — then closed the tablet and looked down at the engagement ring on her finger.
For her, this dinner was no mere formality to parade before both families; it was an opportunity, from her position as his fiancée, to directly observe Sang Hyuk’s changes and his role within Ilseong.
* * *
Following Kim Sang Jun out of the Verification Ground, Sang Hyuk climbed into the Ilseong company car where Kim Do Hyun was waiting.
As the vehicle pulled away, the partition between the driver’s seat and the rear rose slowly.
Whirr.
Outside noise was sealed away, yet Kim Do Hyun didn’t speak immediately.
On his tablet lay the verification results the Association had just issued.
[Phase 1 Practical Suitability Verification: PASSED]
[Phase 2 Comparative Performance Evaluation — Participation eligibility maintained]
Kim Do Hyun studied those two lines for a moment, then set the tablet aside.
“Two World Achievements came through Korea yesterday.”
Sang Hyuk said nothing.
“Both of them from the Tutorial.”
Destruction of the Imperishable Scarecrow.
Defeat of the Guardian of the Unbroken.
The achievers’ names weren’t made public, but their affiliated nation was listed as the Republic of Korea.
“And that same day, your characteristic awakened.”
Kim Do Hyun’s gaze fixed on Sang Hyuk.
“Today you showed up at the research facility carrying a hero-grade Record Stone you supposedly obtained from the tower.”
Kim Do Hyun had witnessed firsthand the shift in his son’s eyes during yesterday’s conference room meeting, and the hidden component emerging from the Record Stone.
The timing was too precise to dismiss as coincidence.
“The unnamed Player who defeated the Guardian of the Unbroken.”
Kim Do Hyun asked quietly.
“Was that you?”
Sang Hyuk met his father’s eyes.
He had no intention of revealing the truth about Regression or the Heart of the Apocalypse Dragon to anyone, but there was no reason to hide from his father that he was the unnamed Player.
Kim Do Hyun was not a man who would leverage a secret tied to his son’s life for personal gain.
Until Sang Hyuk became strong enough to protect himself, his father could shield him under Ilseong’s name and security network; he also had the authority to connect the records brought from the tower to Kim Seo Yun and the research team, transforming them into tangible achievements.
“Yes.”
Sang Hyuk answered.
“It was me.”
Kim Do Hyun’s finger stilled on the tablet.
Though the light from the car windows swept across his face, his expression remained unchanged, and when he finally spoke again, the silence stretched longer than usual.
“Looking back on it, you singled out Taeseong even before examining the prototype. You determined that through your characteristic, didn’t you?”
Without flinching from his father’s gaze, Sang Hyuk replied.
“I didn’t learn that from my characteristic.”
“Then you had separate information.”
“I did.”
“What’s your source?”
He couldn’t tell him it was from memories before the Regression.
That secret alone, he’d decided, he would never share with anyone.
“I can’t tell you.”
Kim Do Hyun’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“Not even me?”
“No.”
Silence settled over the car, but Sang Hyuk neither made excuses nor added another word.
Revealing that he was a Private Player and confessing to his Regression were two entirely different matters.
After a moment, Kim Do Hyun nodded.
“I understand.”
His father didn’t press further and shifted his line of questioning.
“Who knows that you’re a Private Player?”
“Only you, Father.”
“What about Kim Sang Jun and Kim Seo Yun?”
“They know I’ve Awakened and that I possess a Record Stone. But they don’t know I’m Private.”
“The researchers?”
“They won’t know either. I haven’t let any hint slip that I’m Private.”
Kim Do Hyun fell silent for a moment, then asked again.
“Still, Kim Sang Jun and Kim Seo Yun know when you Awakened. The researchers saw your abilities firsthand. Couldn’t someone else connect those dots the way I did?”
“All they saw was me using my eyes to identify equipment malfunctions and demonstrate them through the Record Stone. I never showed my combat abilities.”
“They’ll assume you Awakened in a line specialized in research and analysis.”
“Yes. It would be hard for them to connect a rookie like that with a Player who defeated the Guardian of Collapse. They’ll chalk the overlapping Awakening timing up to coincidence.”
After hearing his answer, Kim Do Hyun picked up his phone.
“Still, we need to eliminate any clues that could lead back to your identity. Publicly, I’ll have it documented that Kim Seo Yun and the research team found and fixed the defect.”
His fingers moved quickly across the screen.
“I’ll manage all data related to your abilities and the Record Stone directly. And I’ll have the researchers who participated in yesterday’s repair work sign separate confidentiality agreements.”
“What about Kim Sang Jun?”
“I plan to have him search only for internal collaborators. There’s no need for him to know that you’re that Private Player.”
After sending off a few instructions, Kim Do Hyun set his phone down.
“The fewer people who know a secret like this, the better.”
As Sang Hyuk nodded, Kim Do Hyun asked directly.
“Can someone else use that Record Stone if they take it?”
“No. It’s bound to me.”
“What if they try to transfer just the records inside it?”
“That’s impossible too. However, I can show records I approve to others.”
“So you decide who sees what records?”
“Yes.”
Kim Do Hyun paused in thought, then continued his questioning.
“Going forward, can you continue recording everything you encounter in the Tower?”
“If I see it directly, yes.”
“Monsters too?”
“Not just monsters—equipment, magic circles, barriers, anything.”
“Then we can keep bringing back materials for Kim Seo Yun and the research team to work with.”
“They’ll find ways to put it to use.”
The Record Stone had already been put to work reviving Ilseong’s prototypes.
The higher Sang Hyuk climbed the Tower and the more new monsters and mechanisms he encountered, the more material Ilseong would have to research.
“You keep the Record Stone with you.”
“That’s what I intended.”
“Show Kim Seo Yun only the records she needs.”
“Understood.”
“You find new powers and techniques in the Tower, record them, and bring them back.”
As Sang Hyuk looked at his father, Kim Do Hyun continued.
“And Ilseong will handle making them usable in reality.”
It was the answer Sang Hyuk had been hoping for.
He would find clues to power and technique in the Tower, while Kim Seo Yun and the research team would transform them into equipment Players could use.
The technology and equipment they accumulated this way would become the strength that grew Ilseong and protected his family.
But Kim Do Hyun’s expression still hadn’t relaxed.
“If your identity were exposed, where would move first?”
“China and Russia, I’d imagine.”
“They won’t just target you.”
“They’ll pressure the family first.”
“You understand that much.”
“That’s why Ilseong is necessary.”
Sang Hyuk continued.
“Until I become strong enough to face them alone.”
“How long do you think that will take?”
“I don’t know yet.”
Sang Hyuk paused, choosing his words carefully before continuing.
“I’ll do my best to climb as fast as possible.”
Kim Do Hyun’s fingers tapped once against his knee.
“If you need anything, tell me immediately.”
“How far may I speak freely, sir?”
“Equipment, people, locations, funds—whatever you need.”
Kim Do Hyun continued without hesitation.
“Ilseong will provide everything we can.”
“Understood.”
Kim Do Hyun picked up the tablet displaying the Association’s verification results.
[Phase 1 Practical Suitability Verification: Passed]
He stared at the passing judgment for a moment, then spoke in a low voice.
“Well done.”
Sang Hyuk couldn’t respond immediately to those brief words.
He’d never heard them before the Regression either.
No—Kim Do Hyun had never been one to hand out praise easily to his son.
Instead of words of approval, he provided what was needed; instead of expressing worry, he quietly supported from behind.
Now, for the first time, his father was verbally acknowledging what Sang Hyuk had accomplished.
After a brief silence, Kim Do Hyun spoke again.
“Until you become so strong that no one dares touch you carelessly, I will guard your back.”
Before the Regression, his father had struggled alone to protect Ilseong as it crumbled, and Sang Hyuk had been powerless to help from the sidelines.
This time, they each had something to offer.
Sang Hyuk would bring strength and skills down from the Tower, and his father would use them to rebuild Ilseong.
“Thank you.”
Kim Do Hyun nodded briefly.
The emblem atop Ilseong Headquarters flashed past the car window.
Before the Regression, it was a light that had finally gone out in the flames.
This time, Sang Hyuk was determined not to let that light die.
* * *
That evening.
Back in his room, Sang Hyuk checked his phone first.
[Ilseong Group, Basic Mana Defense Equipment Phase 1 Practical Suitability Verification Passed]
[Phase 2 Comparative Performance Evaluation Participation Eligibility Maintained]
Related articles were uploading rapidly.
On the same day before the Regression, the headlines had been the opposite.
[Ilseong Group Mana Defense Equipment Defect Officially Confirmed]
[Phase 2 Comparative Performance Evaluation Participation Eligibility Lost]
Starting from that article, follow-up supply negotiations had been handed over to Taeseong.
Research personnel defected and investment dried up, causing Ilseong to lose ground in the Player equipment market.
This time was different.
The prototype had been salvaged, and they’d maintained eligibility to advance to the next evaluation.
Sang Hyuk closed the article.
All he’d blocked today was Ilseong’s first failure.
Before the Regression, Taeseong had continued to steal Ilseong’s technology and personnel, and when Korea collapsed, they’d sold not just Player equipment technology and Tower resources but state secrets as well to China and Japan.
This time, he intended to restore Ilseong to the center of the Player industry and crush Taeseong standing in the way first.
For that, strength was paramount.
Sang Hyuk opened his status window.
[Name] Kim Sang Hyuk
[Level] 1
[Trait] <Heart of the Apocalypse Dragon>
[Open Authorities] <Annihilation Devouring>, <Dragon’s Eye>
Merely Level 1.
Taeseong had connections not only with major domestic guilds and high-level Players, but with overseas forces as well.
If he confronted them head-on now, he wouldn’t damage Taeseong—only invite harsher interference against Ilseong’s equipment business.
And Taeseong wasn’t the only reason Sang Hyuk needed to grow stronger quickly.
Roughly one year until Korea collapsed.
Four years until humanity lost the Dimension League.
Climbing the Tower at the same pace as everyone else would be too slow.
‘One floor a day.’
That was the goal Sang Hyuk had set for himself.
Most Players would have called that pace reckless.
But Sang Hyuk had already accomplished the impossible twice over in the Tutorial.
He’d shattered the indestructible Vajra Scarecrow, and brought down the Guardian of Collapse, which wasn’t even marked as a target to defeat.
So there was no reason to decide this goal was impossible before even attempting it.
Every day he entered the Tower, pushing through one floor at a time with the highest evaluation he could manage.
With the strength, materials, and records he gained from that process, he built both himself and Ilseong Group together.
How far he could go would only be known once he tried.
Sang Hyuk moved his will.
‘Infinite Tower.’
A notification appeared before his eyes.
「Enter the Infinite Tower?」
Sang Hyuk didn’t hesitate.
‘Enter.’
Whoosh!
White light surged from beneath his feet, swallowing both Sang Hyuk’s body and the room.
In that instant.
Thump.
His heart beat loudly.
A beat later, a far heavier resonance overlaid it from deep within his body.
Boom!
The room and the white light vanished from his vision.
Before him stretched a black wasteland where not even stars or moon were visible.
At the horizon’s edge, something enormous lay prone, breathing.
At first, he thought it was a mountain range.
But the black surface that stretched like a ridgeline swelled slowly, then subsided, and with each exhale, dust from the earth was pushed outward in all directions.
It was a dragon.
A black dragon so vast its head alone covered a mountain.
The moment Sang Hyuk’s gaze touched its face, the sealed eyelids moved slowly.
Slip.
Red eyes emerged from the darkness.
The enormous eyes stared directly at Sang Hyuk.
Boom—!
The second resonance shook the black earth.
And at that same instant, an identical resonance erupted from deep within Sang Hyuk’s chest.
The moment Sang Hyuk reflexively pressed his hand to his chest, the scene before him cut off abruptly.
「Entering Floor 1 of the Infinite Tower.」
As the white light cleared, Sang Hyuk stood in the center of a pristine white space.
Beneath his palm pressed to his chest, his heart beat at its normal pace.
Thump.
Thump.
The heavy sound that had resonated from deep within his body moments before was already gone.
‘What I just saw…….’
The moment Sang Hyuk tried to open his status window, a new notification appeared first.
[Floor 1 Trial: Battlefield of Choice]
[Measuring the Player’s combat aptitude.]
Hum.
Three blank panels appeared before him.
In a typical first floor, the names of three battlefields suited to aptitude would now display.
But just before the battlefield names could appear, another notification cut in.
「Reviewing the Player’s combat record.」
Text scrolled upward rapidly.
「Holder of an Impossible Achievement detected.」
「Adding special option based on Impossible Achievement.」
Hum!
A single dark red panel appeared below the three blank panels.
And across the dark red panel, an unfamiliar battlefield name slowly rose.
「Hidden Battlefield is now open.」

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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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