Not A Regressor - Chapter 10

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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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I Am Not a Regressor Chapter 10
Registration Assessment (2)
“I’ve brought everything!”
Boxes stacked upon the table.
Park Jung-woo, who had procured multiple boxes instead of bags to prevent the cakes from being crushed, had carefully packaged each cake with the meticulous care of a professional pastry chef.
“You’ve worked hard.”
Kwon O-jin gazed down at the neatly arranged boxes, his expression settling into a satisfied smile.
“By the way, did you come here because of the registration assessment?”
“Y-yes! I came to achieve excellent results and make Pandinius’s name known!”
Park Jung-woo answered with the crisp posture of a fresh recruit just out of basic training.
“Hmm. I see.”
Kwon O-jin chuckled and nodded.
It was about time the Association staff returned, so it was time to wrap things up.
“I should see firsthand what level of skill Pandinius’s Guild’s promising prospect possesses.”
“…Pardon?”
Park Jung-woo’s eyes widened at what felt like a bolt from the blue.
An Awakened User who appeared to outrank even the Guild Master would be observing his registration assessment.
It was no different from when a division commander visited the unit and said he wanted to check on the usual training results.
“That… well… that’s a bit….”
“Tsk tsk! Since it’s someone that Shin-hyuk picked, they must be incredible! A prodigy! Yes! A prodigy who will shoulder Korea’s future!”
Trembling.
Park Jung-woo’s face turned ashen as his legs shook.
‘I’m screwed.’
He bit his lip with an anxious expression.
In truth, he had arranged beforehand to take the test under an Association staff member he had paid off for this registration assessment.
A high score was guaranteed even if he took the test half-heartedly.
But.
‘What… what do I do?’
If the test was conducted under someone else’s observation, such tricks would be impossible.
“Hmm? Why do you look so lifeless?”
“Oh, no. That… ah, it’s nothing.”
Squeeze.
Park Jung-woo clenched his trembling fists.
His mind felt like it was burning white-hot.
He had thought he would enter a large Guild and live a smooth, prosperous life, but suddenly he found himself facing a towering cliff.
“Are you perhaps feeling unwell?”
“Ah… yes.”
Kwon O-jin continued with a concerned expression.
“Then shouldn’t you avoid taking the registration assessment today? You might tarnish the Guild’s reputation if you take the assessment in poor condition.”
He asked in a subtle tone.
‘He’ll probably ask if I’m okay with it.’
No guild member would want to see an evaluation conducted by an Awakened User who clearly outranked their guild master.
‘Unless he had genuine confidence in his abilities.’
The truth was, his casual demeanor and the aura he projected fell far short of what one would expect from an Awakened User of the Scorpio constellation, one of the Zodiac Twelve Palaces.
I even doubted whether he had any intention of conducting a proper evaluation in the first place.
‘There are cases where people slip money under the table to get higher scores.’
Whether Park Jung-woo had actually attempted such tricks or not didn’t matter either way.
The moment he heard that I would be observing the registration evaluation, his expression had twisted like a dog desperate to relieve itself—it was clear he didn’t welcome my presence.
“…!”
Park Jung-woo’s eyes sparkled like someone who’d discovered an oasis in a barren desert.
“Ah, I understand! To be honest, I haven’t been feeling well today anyway.”
“Just as I thought.”
Look at that bastard’s lips curling up.
Is he really that pleased?
“Come here for a moment.”
“Pardon? Why all of a sudden….”
Park Jung-woo, startled, trailed off in a subdued voice.
“You said you weren’t feeling well, didn’t you? Let me take a look.”
“Oh, no! That’s, that’s really not necessary…!”
“Being sick isn’t a crime. Why are you being like this?”
I grabbed Park Jung-woo’s wrist and pulled him closer.
“Ugh, ughh.”
He squeezed his eyes shut with the rigid expression of a high schooler caught smoking.
‘Cute bastard.’
Chuckling inwardly, I examined various parts of his body before grasping his wrist and taking his pulse.
“Hmm… your mana is certainly unstable. Your breathing is also irregular.”
I nodded while spouting some impressive-sounding words.
“It seems like simple fatigue. Nothing serious, so don’t worry.”
“Th-thank you!”
“But fatigue is the root of all ailments. Postpone the registration evaluation for now and get some proper rest today.”
“Haha. Yes. I understand. I can’t afford to strain myself and tarnish the guild’s reputation.”
“Right, right. You’re absolutely correct. There’s nothing more important than health, after all.”
Park Jung-woo sprang to his feet and bowed deeply.
“Thank you for the wise counsel! I apologize once more for my rudeness earlier!”
“Tsk tsk. Why make such a fuss over that? Now go on inside.”
“Yes!!”
“Give my regards to Chan-hyuk.”
“I will!”
Park Jung-woo, bowing repeatedly, opened the Waiting Room door and fled outside.
O-jin settled back into the sofa and waved his hand lazily.
With that, the annoying nuisance who had been grating on my nerves vanished.
Of course.
There was a risk that troublesome matters might arise later, but—
‘Honestly, it’s more likely he’ll just pretend he didn’t see anything.’
A low-ranking member of a major guild and a guild master would rarely cross paths anyway.
Since there was nothing to gain, there was no reason for him to have a private audience with the guild master just to relay some meaningless concern.
‘Even if he did.’
He’d probably just get cursed out for spouting nonsense and that would be the end of it.
Whatever happened after that—whether he came seeking revenge or anything else—it didn’t matter.
‘I’d just crush him when the time came.’
Regardless of being a promising prospect of a major guild, I was an apostle of Polaris.
Considering how helplessly he’d been dragged along when I grabbed his wrist earlier, I didn’t think I’d lose even in a proper fight.
“Clean work.”
I’d driven away the nuisance and wrapped the cake nicely to bring to Ha-eun.
And most importantly.
“Well then, let’s see how much this cost, shall we?”
I let out a gleeful chuckle and pulled out an elegant leather wallet.
Earlier.
When I’d checked Park Jung-woo’s condition under the pretense of examining him, I’d quietly snatched it from his pocket.
“Oh wow. The bastard was carrying quite a bit of cash.”
I pocketed the bills filling the wallet and grinned wickedly.
They said the salary for major guild members was insane, and it seemed that rumor was true.
“Hm? What’s this?”
While rummaging through the wallet, a black gemstone about the size of a 500-won coin caught my eye.
‘Is this… a mutant’s constellation stone?’
It was similar in size to the constellation stones I’d harvested from the Anthons I’d hunted.
‘Why would he have this?’
Since mutants appeared with extremely rare probability, constellation stones from mutants weren’t something one could easily obtain.
But why would this suddenly appear in Park Jung-woo’s wallet?
“…I should look into this.”
Something felt off about just taking it without question.
-Whoosh.
After tossing the wallet into the trash and waiting about ten minutes, I heard footsteps in the hallway.
Thud, thud.
Heavy footsteps that I could feel even from outside the door.
Click.
The door opened and a man entered.
“I apologize for making you wait so long.”
He appeared to be in his late thirties.
A dark-skinned man standing nearly 190 centimeters tall with muscles that seemed ready to burst from his frame.
“….”
The overwhelming pressure of facing a tank left Kwon O-jin momentarily speechless.
“You are Kwon O-jin, the Awakened User bearing the stigma of Lyra, correct?”
“Ah, yes, that’s right.”
“My apologies for the late introduction. I’m Han Jun-man, Team Leader of the Disaster Response Headquarters under the Special Disaster Security Management Association.”
The large man extended his hand.
As I grasped his callus-covered palm, a dizzying surge of power coursed through my arm.
‘Wow.’
He was a powerhouse incomparable to someone like Park Jung-woo.
“Could your constellation be….”
“I’m a 6-Star Awakened User of Taurus.”
Taurus, like Scorpio, belonged to the Zodiac Twelve Palaces.
Having reached 6-Star, it was only natural to feel such suffocating pressure.
“I heard the Association’s Awakened Users were nothing special, but that was clearly a lie.”
“Ha ha. Well… it’s not entirely a lie.”
Team Leader Han Jun-man smiled bitterly and nodded.
“But are you truly bearing the stigma of Lyra?”
He asked with an expression of disbelief.
Well, that made sense.
Globally, there were only twelve Awakened Users who had received stigmas from the Constellation known as ‘Polaris’.
Moreover, all twelve of them had received their stigmas from Deneb.
Those bearing Deneb’s stigma were called the Apostles of Polaris, and each had earned a reputation as an extraordinary powerhouse.
Because of the wondrous power they displayed, natural interest had turned toward the other two Constellations of Polaris as well.
But Vega and Polaris were only known to exist—they had never created an Awakened User before.
In other words, I was the world’s first Awakened User to receive Vega’s stigma.
It would be stranger not to be suspicious.
“I’ll show you.”
Showing him directly would be faster than explaining.
I unbuttoned my shirt and revealed the stigma inscribed on my left chest.
“Hmm….”
Team Leader Han Jun-man examined the stigma with a grave expression.
Still unconvinced, it seemed.
“You came for registration assessment, correct?”
“Yes.”
“…Would it be acceptable if I personally conducted your assessment, Kwon O-jin?”
“You personally, Team Leader?”
What kind of registration assessment required a 6-Star Awakened User to conduct it?
‘This is going to complicate my plans….’
Just as I was about to open my mouth to refuse.
‘Hmm… come to think of it, maybe it’s not entirely a bad thing?’
Perhaps this approach might actually be better than the original plan.
“Yes, I understand.”
“Thank you. Then let’s head to the Test Arena right away.”
I nodded and followed behind Team Leader Han.
“—Then.”
After walking for about five minutes along the complex corridor, a spacious Test Arena located within the Association came into view.
The training grounds specially constructed for Awakened Users were covered with reinforced glass mixed with star stones.
‘They’ve cleared out the spectators.’
I’d heard that since observation wasn’t explicitly forbidden, spectators would occasionally slip in during the registration examination, but it seemed Team Leader Han had personally controlled access.
‘Unexpectedly good sense.’
Looking at his appearance, he seemed like he could chew through solid metal.
“Since you mentioned the warrior class, we’ll keep the examination method simple—a sparring match.”
Team Leader Han Jun-man, protective gloves fitted over his fists, took his stance.
“Can I use this instead of actual training weapons?”
O-jin tapped Lee Shin-hyuk’s spear, which he’d left at the storage before entering the Association building.
“Haha. Of course.”
“…Then.”
Since they said it was fine, there was no problem.
‘A 6-star Awakened User.’
No matter how broken the stigma of Compass was, could it bridge a 4-star gap?
Against an Awakened User bearing a stigma from the Zodiac Twelve Palaces?
‘Only one way to find out.’
That’s why I accepted the examination in the first place.
“Hssss.”
I took my stance and drew in a deep breath.
Long and measured breaths.
I moved my body according to the ‘Spear Technique of Compass’ carved into my mind.
‘And.’
Uuuuuuung!!
The stigma on my left chest blazed with azure light.
Crack, crackle crackle!!!
Blue lightning erupted fiercely.
“Haaah!!”
Boom!
I stomped the ground roughly and charged forward.
I thrust the spear wreathed in blue lightning with all my strength.
-Clang!!
The spearhead struck Team Leader Han’s forearm and bounced back violently.
The sensation was like piercing solid iron, not human flesh.
“…Hm?”
Han Jun-man’s expression hardened as he effortlessly parried the spear thrust, his face growing rigid with shock.
“What in the—”
His mouth fell open in astonishment.

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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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