Not A Regressor - Chapter 117

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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 117
The Man Without M (1)
The incident at Paju Prison shook South Korea once again.
A shocking event where over two thousand Black Star Society members became crippled in an instant.
According to the testimonies of the prison guards, Choi Jong-chul, the warden, was marked as the primary suspect, but since he had a solid alibi of being out on official business at the time, the case fell back into mystery.
━Someone had disguised themselves as Choi Jong-chul and entered to judge the criminals.
The culprit’s identity remained shrouded in darkness, as they weren’t caught on CCTV or security magic, and for some reason, all the Black Star Society members who were attacked refused to speak.
This incident drew heavy criticism toward the Guild Union for failing to properly manage the captured criminals, and there were some unexpected developments like public opinion suddenly improving toward the Association, which had been quiet.
For the Guild Union, it was a blessing in disguise.
This incident, which had initially become a major issue, quickly faded from public attention.
‘That makes sense.’
Since the Black Star Society members who were attacked were all vicious criminals from Cheolwon Prison, most public opinion actually found this incident refreshing.
The Guild Union didn’t even conduct a proper investigation to catch the culprit, as if they wanted the incident to be forgotten as quickly as possible.
“Everything went exactly as I planned.”
Kwon O-jin smiled as he watched the news.
I had gained tremendous magical power, reached the Five-Star Blooming of the Black Heaven, and as a bonus, slightly improved public opinion toward the Association.
‘All that hard work paid off.’
It was worth taking the gamble of infiltrating the Black Star Society’s headquarters alone.
“The magical power though… it was a bit disappointing when I actually used it.”
I had thought that by absorbing the magical power of over two thousand Awakened Users this time, I wouldn’t need to worry about magical power shortages in the future.
‘So this is the problem with lower-quality magical power.’
It wasn’t an issue when using ordinary techniques.
But when using advanced skills like Encephalitis, Exceed, or Charging, the consumption rate of lower-quality magical power differed by nearly ten to twenty times.
‘It’s like having a huge health pool but no defense, if I had to compare it to a game.’
The quantity was substantial.
But since the consumption rate increased proportionally, it couldn’t be called omnipotent.
‘Absorbing large quantities of low-quality magical power won’t have much meaning going forward.’
Considering the blooming stage of the Black Heaven and the rising stars of the Lyra Constellation stigma, low-quality magical power had excessively poor efficiency.
It was better than nothing, but there was no need to actively seek it out.
“Well, I’ve handled all the major tasks with this.”
Before going to find the sacred relic buried in Baekdudsan, it seemed like a good idea to take a brief rest period and focus on training.
‘I want to know what changed after reaching Five-Star Blooming.’
Especially, I needed time to investigate the mysterious trait called ‘Heavenly Path’.
‘Before training… should I call our goddess after all this time?’
Recently, I had infiltrated the Black Star Society’s headquarters and absorbed the stigmas of captured Owls.
Since I had been doing things I couldn’t possibly show Vega, I had been operating without the pendant, so I hadn’t seen her face in quite a while.
“Vega.”
I channeled magical power into the pendant and called for Vega.
Whirrrrr!
Soon, a silvery shimmer rippled, and a thirty-centimeter-tall phantom figure floated up into the air.
“Vega?”
[….]
Summoned by Kwon O-jin’s call, Vega materialized with her arms crossed, her eyes narrowed to slits as she glared at him with barely concealed irritation.
“What’s wrong, Vega?”
[…Hmph.]
Vega snorted dismissively and turned her entire body away from him.
‘What’s this about.’
Kwon O-jin’s expression hardened visibly.
Could she possibly have discovered what he’d done?
‘I don’t think I made any mistakes…?’
Kwon O-jin watched her with anxious eyes.
“Hey… Vega?”
[I do not wish to speak with you.]
“…What do you mean?”
[I have told you—I wish not to mingle words with thee.]
“Huh?”
Why was our goddess suddenly acting like this?
[Do you truly not understand?]
“Um, well…”
[Truly! You do not comprehend?!]
Vega’s eyes snapped open sharply as she glared at Kwon O-jin.
From the atmosphere, it seemed I had indeed made some mistake.
Yet no matter how hard I racked my brain, nothing came to mind.
[How long has it been since you last summoned me?! These past few days you’ve left the pendant behind without a care…!]
“Ah.”
So that was it.
She was sulking because I hadn’t called her in so long?
‘What did I think it was.’
Kwon O-jin felt his heart lighten as a faint smile escaped his lips.
[This is no laughing matter!]
“I’m sorry, Vega. You must have been lonely without hearing from me.”
[L-lonely? That is not… I mean, well…]
Vega’s face flushed crimson as she pressed her index fingers together and turned away bashfully.
[The Divine Temple feels rather empty when I am alone, that is all.]
So she was lonely after all.
‘When did our goddess become so adorable.’
The solemn and mysterious presence she had displayed when we first met was nowhere to be found—lately, she revealed herself to be far too honest and endearing to be considered a goddess.
‘But thinking about it, this was always Vega’s true nature.’
Hidden beneath the mask of being a Constellation of Polaris.
The true face of the woman called Vega.
‘To show me such vulnerability… she’s come to trust me.’
A bittersweet smile played across Kwon O-jin’s lips.
But it was fleeting.
He reached out carefully toward her, her cheeks still puffed out in stubborn indignation.
“Why was Riak alone?”
[Riak is… hmm.]
Vega twisted a strand of her hair hesitantly.
[He asked me to keep it secret from you, but… he has been concentrating his training recently to overcome the ‘wall’.]
“The wall?”
Now that she mentioned it, I had heard about this before.
‘He said he’d been blocked by the wall of enlightenment for hundreds of years.’
When I first met him.
Riak had been in despair over transcending the wall of enlightenment.
No—beyond despair, he had given up entirely.
‘I haven’t experienced such an emotion myself yet.’
I had never stagnated enough to feel a ‘wall’ blocking my path.
But.
‘I understand now how unbearably agonizing it must be.’
Even forgetting where I’ve placed something and spending an hour searching is torturous.
How excruciating must it be to persistently train, chasing after an enlightenment that slips through your grasp like water?
Riak had endured that distant agony.
For one year.
For ten years.
For over a hundred years, repeating it endlessly.
“…Tsk.”
Kwon O-jin clicked his tongue softly.
It did weigh on my mind, but this was something Riak had to overcome on his own.
“If Riak hadn’t been there, I suppose it would have been quite lonely.”
I nodded, recalling her empty Divine Temple.
[…That’s not quite it.]
“Not quite?”
[Even before, I often guarded the Divine Temple alone. But then… I was never so lonely, never so desolate.]
“….”
[It’s only since meeting you that I’ve come to feel such emotions.]
Her wavering gaze turned toward Kwon O-jin.
[I myself don’t quite understand why I’ve come to feel this way.]
A faint smile graced Vega’s lips.
Her gentle hand caressed Kwon O-jin’s head.
[Hehe. Perhaps some miracle occurred and fragments of my past life’s memories were transmitted to me.]
“….”
No.
That wouldn’t happen.
The memories I supposedly shared with her in my past life were nothing but lies I fabricated with my own tongue.
[Regardless! From now on, call her a bit more often!]
“Ah, yeah. Got it.”
Kwon O-jin, who had been watching her with complicated eyes, nodded awkwardly.
[By the way.]
Vega opened her mouth as she watched the news flowing from the television.
[Was this the war you spoke of?]
The conflict between the Black Star Society and the Guild Union.
It was so one-sided it was almost embarrassing to call it a ‘war.’
But in terms of scale alone, it was certainly a major event worthy of the name.
“Originally, it wouldn’t have ended this easily. There would have been far more casualties.”
[What did you do to end the war so cleanly?]
“I leaked some information.”
[Ah… Then you are the anonymous informant who revealed the locations of the Black Star Society’s headquarters and branches!]
“Yeah.”
Vega’s eyes sparkled as she clapped her hands.
[But how did you discover that information? You said you didn’t know much about the Black Star Society yourself, didn’t you?]
“I didn’t originally know the exact locations, but this time I found clues that allowed me to figure it out.”
[Hmm. I suppose it wouldn’t have been difficult for you, knowing everything that will happen in the future.]
Vega stroked her chin and nodded.
[But… does that mean you’re also responsible for turning those two thousand people into vegetables?]
Her eyes held a hint of unease.
“No. That wasn’t me.”
I shook my head naturally.
As long as she thought of me as a ‘hero’—
I couldn’t possibly tell her that I’d turned over two thousand people into vegetables, no matter how heinous a criminal they were.
[Then who on earth….]
“I don’t know.”
[You don’t know?]
“It didn’t happen in the first cycle.”
[….]
Vega’s eyes narrowed.
[The future changed when you leaked information about the Black Star Society.]
“Exactly.”
Kwon O-jin nodded with a heavy expression.
“Well… I don’t know who turned them into vegetables, but I did succeed in preventing the war.”
[Then what is your next plan?]
“There’s a sacred relic hidden on Baekdudsan.”
I recalled the memories I had obtained from Lee Shin-hyuk.
[Oh, are you planning to secure that holy relic ahead of time again?]
“That’s the plan, but I don’t know where it’s hidden yet.”
[Hmm. It seems finding it will take some time.]
“Well, there’s no immediate rush. I’m planning to search for it slowly when I have the chance.”
[Hehe. You’re truly dependable.]
Vega patted my head as if pleased with me.
[With you, I’m certain you’ll succeed at whatever you set your mind to.]
I felt the goddess’s boundless trust in me.
[Haven’t many lives been saved because of you—lives that would have otherwise perished?]
“Well, no one else will ever know about it.”
[I know.]
Vega fluttered upward with a soft chirp.
[I see how desperately you strive to change the future, how many lives have been saved because of your efforts.]
Radiant light swirled around her body as Vega returned to her true form.
[I will always be watching over you from your side.]
Vega reached out and gently pulled Kwon O-jin’s head into her embrace.
“….”
The soft sensation pressing against my cheeks.
Through the warmth of her touch against my skin, I could keenly feel just how much she trusted me.
‘I feel a bit guilty, honestly.’
She trusted me this much, yet I was deceiving her.
‘Well, there’s nothing I can do about it.’
I had already walked too far down a path that couldn’t be undone.
Now that things had come to this.
I had no choice but to play the role of a regressor until the very end.
“Thank you, Vega.”
[Hmm! Thank me a little more!]
“Thank you so much!!! Vega!!!!”
[Huh?!]
I wrapped both arms around Vega’s waist and rubbed my cheek against her chest.
[Hehe. Now you really do seem like a child.]
Vega smiled brightly as she indulged my childish behavior.
[Hmm….]
After holding me close for a while, Vega let out a sigh with a contemplative expression.
“What’s wrong?”
[…Ah, I have a proposal for you.]
“What kind of proposal?”
[Would you… perhaps call me ‘Mother’ just once?]
Huh?
What kind of nonsense are you spouting, Goddess?
[Y-You’re the one at fault! Always whining and stirring up my heart like this!]
“No. When did I ever….”
[Eeeek!! Be quiet! This is your punishment for leaving me alone in the Divine Temple for so long!]
Vega’s face flushed crimson as she lashed out in anger instead.
“….”
Kwon O-jin looked up at her with an expression of utter bewilderment.
“Ma—.”
He slowly opened his mouth.
-CRASH!
Just then.
The front door burst open violently.
“I was trying to be patient, but you’re really acting crazy!! What do you mean ‘ma’?!!”
Ha-eun stormed into the living room, breathing heavily and roughly.
She grabbed Kwon O-jin’s arm and yanked him forcefully.
“My O-jin doesn’t have a mother or anything like that!!”
“….”
Uh… well.
That’s technically true.
‘Is it… though?’
What was this inexplicably uncomfortable feeling?

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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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