Not A Regressor - Chapter 116

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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 116
Night Owl Hunt (7)
“Ugh…”
“Gack. Hack.”
Ragged breathing echoed through the space.
The agonized screams that had filled the Prison interior, thick with violet mist, gradually faded away.
“You’re not dead yet, so cut the act, you bastards.”
Kwon O-jin gazed at the Owls bound in restraint suits, a faint smirk playing at the corners of his mouth.
“You can’t die here.”
Death would have been far too merciful for them.
“Ah… ah…”
An Owl stared at me with tear-filled eyes.
The expression of someone begging to be killed instead.
Kwon O-jin shook his head leisurely.
“You have to live and pay for your sins, don’t you? Right?”
“Hah… uh… ah.”
A broken moan escaped as they nodded their head weakly.
‘This should be enough.’
I didn’t necessarily need to kill them.
In this weakened state, I could absorb their stigma’s mana without much difficulty.
‘There was no condition that the target had to be dead to absorb a stigma.’
Though absorbing from someone in peak condition was still impossible.
But from someone on the brink of death—that was a different story.
‘Black Heaven.’
A low rumble echoed.
Black clouds of mist stretched from my palm, intermingling with the violet haze and spreading throughout the Prison interior.
The dark clouds writhed greedily, as if alive and conscious.
The black clouds moved toward the left chest of each bound Owl.
“Haah.”
Krrrrrrrgh!
The stigma’s mana flowed in through the channels of Black Heaven’s clouds.
All the Awakened captured here bore the same Owls stigma, so I wouldn’t gain a new stigma—a shame, certainly.
But being able to drain mana from over two thousand Awakened was an extraordinary opportunity.
‘Kyaha! This is like a miracle elixir!’
Naturally, the mana was qualitatively far inferior.
But the overwhelming quantity more than compensated for that shortcoming.
-Kurrrrgh!!
‘This is insane.’
As mana surged in like a tidal wave, a brilliant smile bloomed across my face.
This was the fastest way I’d ever conceived to grow stronger.
‘Consistent training is important, certainly.’
But nothing compared to outright devouring someone else’s power.
“I won’t have to worry about mana shortages anymore.”
Not that I was ever truly lacking before.
Now I’ve accumulated such a staggering reserve that I could burn through stigmata recklessly and still have plenty left over.
‘And…’
If I’d absorbed the stigmata of over two thousand awakened beings in a single act.
‘…Could it be?’
Kwon O-jin gazed down at his left chest, anticipation flooding his features.
As if in response.
-Kurrrrrrrrgh!!!!
Black clouds erupted explosively from his left chest, surging skyward.
-Ding!
[You have absorbed a vast quantity of stigmata!]
[The fifth blooming of ‘Black Heaven’ is beginning!]
“Of course.”
Kwon O-jin grinned wickedly, snapping his fingers.
‘Absorbing the stigmata of over two thousand awakened beings at once—naturally this should happen.’
From the start, this plan had been crafted with the blooming of Black Heaven in mind, rather than the mana I’d never particularly felt lacking.
-Kurrrrgh!!
The black clouds that had been swirling explosively around my body were sucked inward.
[Black Heaven has reached ‘Five-Star Metamorphosis’.]
[The effects of Black Heaven’s properties are enhanced.]
[A portion of the sealed power of the Lyra Constellation stigmata is released.]
[You have acquired the new property ‘Heaven’s Opening’!]
Along with the message that Black Heaven had reached Five-Star Metamorphosis.
Intense power surged forth.
“Haa.”
Crackle! Crackle crackle!
Thicker, darker tendrils of lightning blazed ferociously.
I savored the heat flooding through my entire body, but only for a moment.
My gaze shifted to the message window displaying ‘new property’.
‘Heaven’s Opening?’
What is this?
“Let me see.”
Kwon O-jin opened his status window to check the detailed information on ‘Heaven’s Opening’.
[Ευχαριστώ που ψάχνατε, έγραψα οτιδήποτε]
Crackle!
Noise erupted across the status window, incomprehensible characters flickering into view.
“What?”
I’d tried several times, but the result was always the same.
‘What’s going wrong?’
If that wasn’t it.
‘Then it’s information I still can’t access.’
Since I’d never encountered this phenomenon before, I couldn’t determine which was correct.
“Ugh.”
After attempting a few more times, Kwon O-jin exhaled a sigh and shook his head.
‘There’s no way to confirm it right now.’
I couldn’t afford to waste time on something I couldn’t understand no matter how much I pondered it.
“Then….”
Kwon O-jin sat atop the gas canister and closed his eyes gently.
As the awakening stage of the Black Heaven advanced, what could be obtained wasn’t merely tremendous power.
For him, who was pretending to be a regressor, perhaps something even more important than strength.
—Crackle!
[As the awakening stage of the Black Heaven advances, transmission begins.]
‘Here it comes.’
The memories from Lee Shin-hyuk’s first regression flowed into my mind.
—There’s a sacred relic buried on Baekdudsan?
—Yes. It’s reliable information that Sun-young brought.
Lee Woo-hyuk nodded and sat before Lee Shin-hyuk.
—The False Star Sect bastards are searching for that sacred relic with their eyes ablaze.
—What grade is it?
—I don’t know that much.
Lee Woo-hyuk shook his head.
—But seeing how desperately the False Star Sect bastards are searching, it’s probably no ordinary sacred relic.
—True, they’re not the type to move so easily.
Lee Shin-hyuk’s eyes gleamed.
—If we find this, wouldn’t that be jackpot?
—…Brother, that’s not what’s important here.
—Ugh.
He flinched.
Lee Shin-hyuk’s shoulders trembled slightly.
—Eliminating the False Star Sect bastards is more important than finding the sacred relic.
—Ugh. Ah, I know that already.
—…Sigh.
Lee Woo-hyuk sighed deeply as he watched Lee Shin-hyuk avert his gaze.
—Well, if we have time, let’s search for it. If we intercept the sacred relic they’re desperately hunting for, we can use it as bait too.
—Right, right? That’s what I was trying to say!
—Yes, yes. Understood, brother.
Lee Woo-hyuk chuckled softly and nodded.
—By the way, hyung….
—Ah, wait a moment.
Lee Shin-hyuk suddenly pulled out his smartphone and stared intently at the screen.
The corners of his mouth twitched upward.
—…Did Ha-eun message you?
—Huh? Oh, yeah.
—What did she say?
—That she’s going to sleep now after taking care of her brother, and to sleep well too.
—…You were that happy just from seeing that?
Lee Woo-hyuk let out a hollow laugh and clicked his tongue disapprovingly.
—W-what! Is there a problem with that?
—Seriously, hyung. When are you planning to confess at this rate?
—I-I!! You haven’t confessed to Seon-young yet either!
—C-cough!
Lee Woo-hyuk’s cheeks flushed as he let out a forced cough.
—Anyway, this brother of Ha-eun’s.
—Yeah.
—Have you met him?
—…No.
—Hmm. You don’t even know what he looks like or his name, do you?
—No.
Lee Shin-hyuk exhaled deeply and nodded.
—For some reason, I got the feeling that her brother doesn’t like me much. He apparently told her not to even tell me his name.
—Could it be that Ha-eun and this brother of hers are dating? You said they’re not blood siblings, right?
—T-that’s not it!!
—Bang!
Lee Shin-hyuk slammed his fist on the table and shot up from his seat.
He then scratched his head with an awkward expression before sitting back down.
—I… asked her about it once before. Whether she was dating this brother who takes care of her.
—And?
—She said no. They’re not in a romantic relationship.
Lee Shin-hyuk shook his head.
—So then, are they like family? You said they’ve been together since the Orphanage days.
—No, she said it’s not that either.
—Huh? Then what exactly is their relationship?
Lee Woo-hyuk widened his eyes and tilted his head in confusion.
—…That’s…
Lee Shin-hyuk bit his lower lip tightly and clenched his fists.
As if he were forcing out words he didn’t want to say.
After his lips moved silently for a while, he finally exhaled a deep sigh and opened his mouth.
—being together is only natural, she had said.
With that sigh-laden remark as the final word.
—Crackle!
[A portion of Awakener Lee Shin-hyuk’s records has been successfully inherited!]
[《Compass Spear Technique Lv8》 skill has risen to 《Compass Spear Technique Lv9》.]
Along with the message confirming the inheritance was complete, the Compass Spear Technique ascended to level nine.
“Ha….”
As I slowly savored the memories that surfaced in my mind, a faint smile played at the corners of my lips.
‘Being together is only natural, she said.’
She too.
Had she been harboring the same thoughts as me?
“…ha.”
For some reason, the laughter spilling from between my lips was difficult to suppress.
After letting out a series of quiet chuckles, I ran my hand through my hair and opened my eyes slightly.
‘Let me organize the information I’ve obtained first.’
First, regarding my first iteration self.
‘I was receiving care, it said.’
If that were the case, had I suffered wounds severe enough to require her nursing?
‘Well, I must have been abandoned by the Anthon swarm.’
Surviving alone could be called nothing short of a miracle.
‘Then it makes sense why she avoided Lee Shin-hyuk.’
In my first iteration.
Ha-eun was saved by Lee Shin-hyuk, not by me.
Had she learned of that news.
‘…we could never have met.’
When I heard that the man who threw me to the monster swarm and fled had healed Ha-eun’s eyes.
What emotions must I have felt in that first iteration?
“….”
Who knows.
Since I hadn’t experienced it myself, the emotions I felt then were difficult to imagine.
“Well… let’s set that aside for now.”
After dwelling on these thoughts for a while, I shook my head.
I recalled the other information I had gleaned from Lee Shin-hyuk’s memories.
‘The sacred relic buried in Baekdudsan and the False Star Sect.’
The False Star Sect.
A name that appeared without fail, even this time.
‘If I go to Baekdudsan, can I meet them?’
Hard to say.
Since this memory contained no information about ‘when’ these events occurred, there was no way to determine the exact timing.
‘It must be after the point where Lee Woo-hyuk doesn’t know about the False Star Sect, so it’s probably later than now.’
I had no idea what the False Star Sect actually was.
I couldn’t understand why Lee Woo-hyuk and Lee Shin-hyuk were pursuing the False Star Sect.
“Still… it seems worth investigating.”
Since I had no idea where the sacred relic was buried, even if I went there, I couldn’t guarantee I’d obtain it.
But it was definitely worth a visit.
‘There’s no need to rush right now.’
Lee Woo-hyuk still didn’t know about the False Star Sect, so I had time.
‘I have plenty of time to familiarize myself with the power I’ve gained.’
Crackle!
Kwon O-jin conjured an even denser black lightning in his palm and smirked.
“Well then.”
I turned my head and surveyed my surroundings.
“Ah… ugh.”
“Kgh… hack.”
The Owls, their mana drained by the black storm clouds, convulsed violently with their eyes rolled back white.
From them, I could sense only the faintest thread of mana—so little they could vanish at any moment.
Mana I had deliberately left behind.
Though the amount was merely a handful, there was only one reason I’d preserved the sacred stigma’s mana.
“Domination.”
Once more.
Black storm clouds spread across the entire Prison.
“…Heh.”
“Heh, heheheh.”
Soon the Owls wore vacant, idiotic expressions.
Whether it was because Black Storm’s tier had risen and strengthened its properties, or because the Owls’ minds had completely shattered—
I succeeded in dominating over two thousand Owls at once.
“Forget everything that happened here today.”
“…Yes.”
“We… will obey you.”
“From now on, you’ll spend your entire lives atoning for your sins, you bastards.”
Kwon O-jin laughed and shut the valve on the gas canister containing poison gas.
“Well then.”
Before leaving, I spun around with a flourish.
I bowed respectfully toward the captured Owls.
“I’ll be taking my leave now!!!”
Gag.

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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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