Not A Regressor - Chapter 105

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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 105
The Swindler’s Path to Victory (7)
-Crackle, crackle, crackle!!!
A torrent of azure lightning engulfed Cheon Woo-sung.
The black wings that had wrapped around his body were torn to shreds.
His form laid bare.
“…What?”
Cheon Woo-sung’s eyes, shrouded in brilliant light, turned toward Kwon O-jin.
“What…is this?”
Eyes wide open.
He stared at the azure lightning blazing before him in disbelief.
“What else, you bastard.”
I hurled the shattered window aside and clenched my fist.
My knuckles were crushed from condensing mana beyond my limits.
Ignoring the dizzying pain coursing through my arm, I unleashed my fist with all my power.
“An express ticket to meet your mother.”
Whoooosh!!
My fist, condensed with azure lightning, pierced through Cheon Woo-sung’s chest.
My hand emerged from his back, a pulsing mass of red blood within it.
“Ugh, cough!”
Blood gushed from Cheon Woo-sung’s mouth as his heart was torn away entirely.
“Why… why…?”
Still unable to comprehend what had happened.
He collapsed to the ground with wide eyes.
“…Exhale.”
A low sigh escaped my lips.
“Mother… mom….”
“….”
I looked down at Cheon Woo-sung, collapsed on the ground, pathetically calling for his mother.
Perhaps it was because he was an Awakened User on the verge of reaching 9-Star.
Despite his heart being torn away, he clung desperately to a thread of life.
“Tsk.”
A bitter taste filled my mouth.
An unpleasant, murky sensation enveloped my body, as if I’d stepped barefoot through muddy water.
‘What’s so special about that bastard’s mother.’
Abandoned by parents I’d never even seen since birth.
I couldn’t fully understand why Cheon Woo-sung cried out for his mother with such desperation.
“Mom….”
“Shut your mouth, you bastard.”
After spitting out a harsh curse toward the whimpering Cheon Woo-sung.
Kwon O-jin exhaled a sigh as he rifled through Cheon Woo-sung’s belongings.
‘As expected.’
True to form for a mama’s boy.
A photograph of his mother appeared in a small notebook carefully preserved in his breast pocket.
An ordinary Korean woman with a permanent wave hairstyle.
The kind of unremarkable face you’d see once every thirty seconds walking down the street.
Yet for Cheon Woo-sung, she was an existence significant enough to overturn his entire life.
‘Transformation.’
Crack, crackle!
My face shifted and reformed.
“…Huh?”
Light flickered back into Cheon Woo-sung’s dimming eyes.
“M-Mom?”
“….”
There was no need to answer.
Kwon O-jin simply gazed down at him in silence.
“Ha, haha! M-Mom!”
Tears streamed down Cheon Woo-sung’s cheeks.
“I… I missed you so much… So very… much.”
Trembling, trembling.
His quivering hand reached toward me with pitiful desperation.
“I’m sorry… Mom….”
Thud.
The pitifully outstretched hand never reached me, falling instead to the ground.
The light vanished completely from Cheon Woo-sung’s eyes.
“….”
A quiet, suffocating silence descended.
Kwon O-jin clicked his tongue once more and walked toward Cheon Woo-sung’s fallen form.
‘This kind of thing really isn’t my style.’
But still, for one final moment.
It wouldn’t hurt to let him close his eyes within the illusion.
“Let’s see what we have here.”
I reached toward the collapsed figure.
‘Black Heaven.’
Rumble, rumble, rumble.
Dark clouds consumed the gaping hole where Cheon Woo-sung’s left chest had been.
I was slightly uncertain whether absorption would work with the heart already extracted.
-Rumble, rumble.
But there was no need for such needless worry—a dizzying surge of mana flowed in through the dark clouds without hesitation.
‘Quite impressive indeed.’
A density of mana far beyond that of Park Geon-woo, who was also an 8-star awakener.
It wasn’t so much the sheer quantity, but rather the quality of the mana was far more concentrated.
‘With mana this dense.’
Even using the same amount of mana, I could unleash far greater power.
For Kwon O-jin, who had been struggling due to his narrow mana circuits, this was mana beyond measure.
As I deepened the dark clouds further and accelerated my mana absorption.
-Uuuuuung!!
The constellation mark etched on Kwon O-jin’s left chest blazed brilliantly.
Radiant light pouring from the constellation mark enveloped my body.
‘This is.’
A phenomenon similar to what happened with Cheon Woo-sung earlier.
“Ugh!”
A short groan escaped Kwon O-jin’s lips as his chest burned with searing pain.
But the pain was fleeting.
-Ding!
[The Lyra Constellation mark has been promoted to 6-star!]
A sixth stroke was inscribed beside the constellation mark, and power surged throughout my entire body.
“Haa.”
Physical growth.
My skeleton hardened and muscles became more resilient.
A transcendent strength capable of tearing through steel reinforcement with bare hands settled into my body.
‘And.’
A smile crept across Kwon O-jin’s lips.
Physical growth meant.
The mana circuits flowing within had also expanded.
-Crackle crackle crackle!!
“That’s right.”
Blue lightning blazed fiercely in Kwon O-jin’s palm.
Upon reaching 6-star, the amount of mana I could handle at once increased significantly.
‘Well, even so, compared to my total mana reserves, it’s like drawing water from a garden hose out of a 100-ton tank.’
But that was only because the mana I possessed was so extraordinarily vast—compared to awakeners of the same rank, it was hardly a small amount.
‘If our goddess found out, she’d tease me about it again.’
6-star in less than a year since awakening the constellation mark.
If this were a game, one might suspect I’d purchased a jump ticket with real money—the growth rate was that absurd.
But.
“There’s still a long way to go.”
Satisfaction was far too premature.
The star that defies heaven.
To play the role of humanity’s savior,
I needed far more overwhelming power.
‘I need to grow stronger.’
So that no one dares to challenge me.
So that no one can even touch what is mine.
“Hm?”
Just as I was steeling my resolve.
-Click.
‘A transmission?’
My vision inverted along with the familiar sensation.
Kwon O-jin focused his mind on the memories of Cheon Woo-sung flowing into his consciousness.
-Why do you need that?
-Hehehehe. You don’t need to know. Stop worrying about it.
In a forest of unknown origin.
An elderly man with wrinkled skin offered Cheon Woo-sung a gentle smile.
-More importantly, is the plan proceeding well?
-Yes. If this operation succeeds, I’ll be able to seize the entire Association.
-Hehehehe. You’re doing well.
-….
Conflict flickered across Cheon Woo-sung’s eyes.
-Father. Perhaps this matter….
-Woo-sung.
As if caressing a precious treasure.
The old man placed his hand on Cheon Woo-sung’s cheek.
-Have you forgotten about your mother?
-…That, that’s…!
Cheon Woo-sung’s expression hardened rigidly.
-Hehehehe. Don’t think of useless things.
The old man gently stroked Cheon Woo-sung’s head with a tender touch.
-You need only follow this father’s words.
-….
As if under hypnosis.
Cheon Woo-sung’s eyes became momentarily vacant.
-Yes… Father.
With Cheon Woo-sung bowing deeply.
-Ding!
[A portion of Awakened User ‘Cheon Woo-sung’s’ records have been successfully transmitted!]
[The stigma of Owl Constellation becomes completely subordinate to Black Heaven!]
[You have acquired the new trait ‘Dominion’ for Black Heaven!]
[You can exert dominion over Awakened Users bearing the stigma of Owl Constellation.]
The memory cut off.
“Oh.”
A short exclamation escaped Kwon O-jin’s lips.
‘Is this what happens when I’ve absorbed so many Owl Constellation stigmas?’
To wield dominion over Awakened Users themselves.
I hadn’t tested it yet, so I couldn’t determine its exact capabilities, but it seemed like a remarkably useful ability.
‘Regardless.’
Kwon O-jin narrowed his eyes, recalling the face of the elderly man that had appeared in Cheon Woo-sung’s memories.
‘Cheon Do-yoon.’
The King of Owls.
‘Did he… incite Cheon Woo-sung?’
It occurred to me that Cheon Do-yoon might be responsible for keeping Cheon Woo-sung as merely a ‘boy’ on the surface, never truly maturing.
‘What scheme is he plotting?’
From the conversation alone, it seemed Cheon Do-yoon was searching for something.
But I couldn’t determine what it was because the beginning was cut off.
“Hmm.”
Kwon O-jin furrowed his brow and swallowed hard.
I pondered for a while, but there were too few clues to speculate on what Cheon Do-yoon was planning.
‘For now, I have no choice but to be as cautious as possible.’
As for Cheon Woo-sung, that’s one thing.
Cheon Do-yoon is not yet an opponent I can afford to challenge.
‘He’s probably a high-ranking Awakened User like Isabella.’
Given that they rank 3rd and 6th respectively, he’s likely weaker than Isabella.
Yet as one of the executives leading the seven factions of the Black Star Society, he would possess tremendous power.
‘If I use Isabella…’
As I continued my thoughts, I shook my head.
The risk was far too great.
Isabella was far too formidable for me to control.
‘Then.’
Kwon O-jin’s eyes gleamed sharply.
‘For now, there’s no choice but to accumulate strength before Cheon Do-yoon makes his move.’
To the point where I could win even against a high-ranking Awakened User.
I had no choice but to become stronger.
“Hmm.”
Kwon O-jin continued thinking with narrowed eyes.
‘A way to build strength quickly, then.’
There is one.
I have a method in mind.
‘Though I’m uncertain if it will work as planned.’
It was certainly worth attempting.
“Well then. Let me try contacting Jun-man at least.”
Kwon O-jin rose to his feet with a slight smirk.
‘This reward is going to be quite lucrative, isn’t it?’
Not only did I plan the operation to capture Cheon Woo-sung, but I even caught him as he tried to escape—in terms of merit, it was embarrassingly incomparable to anyone else’s.
Given the Association President’s nature, he would provide a reward befitting my achievements without me even having to ask.
‘Just how much will he give me?’
Hehehehe.
Kwon O-jin’s lips curled upward as he chuckled, seemingly delighted just imagining it.
It wasn’t that I desperately needed money.
But there was no harm in having as much as possible, was there?
“Let’s see then.”
Just as I moved my arm to pull out my smartphone from my pocket.
Throb!
“Ugh!”
A dizzying wave of sharp pain surged through my arm.
Frowning as I looked down, my mangled arm came into view.
‘It’s become a complete mess.’
After the battle ended, so many chaotic events had piled up one after another that I’d completely forgotten about it, but now I realized my entire body—not just my arm—was battered and broken.
“Ugh.”
Wasn’t it always the case that wounds you didn’t know about didn’t hurt, but the moment you noticed them, the pain became vividly clear?
This was exactly that situation.
As I became aware of my body’s condition, pain and profound exhaustion weighed down upon me.
‘Damn it.’
Thump.
Kwon O-jin collapsed to the ground, unable to even properly support his own body.
“I need to… make contact…”
Whirrrr!
I tried to activate the Aquarius constellation’s stigma to heal my body, but even that was difficult now.
The blue light gathering at my fingertips kept scattering away.
‘Damn, I’m so drowsy.’
Perhaps the tension had all released at once.
Overwhelming fatigue and drowsiness crashed over me all at once.
“Just… five minutes…”
In the ruined Underground Passage.
Kwon O-jin leaned his body against the passage wall and slowly closed his eyes.
* * *
“Don’t you think this is really too much?”
Tap tap tap!
High heels struck the ground irritably.
“How could you not send even a single message or make a call?”
“That is… well…”
A woman with her legs crossed, biting her lips anxiously.
She swept back her platinum blonde hair, which shimmered beautifully as if forged from molten gold, and questioned the elderly man bowing before her feet with an accusatory tone.
“What have I neglected to provide you? I’ve stayed by your side constantly, nursed you through your illness, and even prepared your meals with my own hands.”
“Y-Your Majesty has done her absolute best, I assure you.”
“Then perhaps my appearance displeased you?”
“That could never be the case!!”
The elderly man shook his head vigorously, his eyes wide as if questioning what she was saying.
“What man in this world could fail to be captivated by Your Majesty’s exquisite beauty!!”
The old man shouted, his neck straining with emotion in a way that belied his dignified appearance.
His neatly groomed gray mustache trembled slightly.
“Then.”
The woman’s eyes flashed with savage intensity.
A deep crimson aura surged forth, undulating around her.
Rumble, rumble, rumble!!!
The entire Mansion shook as though an earthquake had struck.
“Why haven’t I heard from him at all?”
“That is… well…”
“Wasn’t it Roberto who said I should wait quietly without contacting him first in situations like this?”
“I-I sincerely apologize, Your Majesty!!”
Gulp.
Roberto, the elderly man bowing before the woman, swallowed hard.
His immaculately pressed butler’s uniform was now damp with perspiration.
“Never mind.”
The woman crossed her smooth legs as she sat in the luxurious chair.
Her pristine white legs, revealed between the folds of her dress, gleamed like precious gems.
“Since it’s come to this, I’ll have to meet him myself.”
She extended her tongue and licked her crimson lips.

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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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