Not A Regressor - Chapter 120

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

I Am Not a Regressor Chapter 120
Where the Dragon Sleeps (3)
I used a helicopter that Isabella had arranged to reach Baekdudsan.
In the past, crossing North Korea by helicopter to reach Baekdudsan would have been unthinkable.
‘But now it’s just an abandoned wasteland where no one lives.’
North Korea was one of many nations that vanished during the Gate Incident nine years ago.
The fortunate survivors still lived on in small villages, but the nation itself had ceased to function entirely.
‘It’s rather bleak.’
Kwon O-jin clicked his tongue as he gazed at the city sprawling beneath the helicopter.
The completely ruined city, abandoned for nine years, felt remarkably desolate.
“We’ll arrive shortly. Prepare yourselves, Kwon O-jin.”
“Got it.”
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!
A gentle voice cut through the deafening roar of the propellers.
“But how are we supposed to land this thing?”
Ha-eun tilted her head as she surveyed the area around Baekdudsan.
The rugged terrain offered no apparent landing space for the helicopter.
“We’ll have to use these.”
Isabella held up a backpack containing parachutes and smiled brightly.
Ha-eun’s eyes sparkled.
“Oh, that’s kind of like special forces.”
“Well, with this much firepower, we could legitimately be called special forces.”
An 8-star awakener of Draco and a 6-star awakener of Lyra Constellation.
And even a 6-star awakener of Aries from the Zodiac Twelve Palaces.
More than enough power to easily sweep through any ordinary special forces unit.
‘Though in reality, she’s not an awakener of Aries.’
Isabella’s true identity was a high-ranking awakener of the Leech Faction.
While her exact star rank remained unknown, the fact that Marco Giordano—a 9-star awakener—couldn’t even properly use his hands against her suggested she was at least a 10-star awakener or higher.
‘At that level, it wouldn’t just require special forces—an entire nation would need to mobilize to stand against her.’
Kwon O-jin exhaled softly as he watched Isabella hand over the parachute bag with her innocent smile.
“Have you ever used a parachute before, Kwon O-jin?”
“No, this is my first time.”
“Hehe, then we’ll share mine. I have my certification after all!”
“Then what am I supposed to do, you brat?”
Ha-eun glared at Isabella with a spark of irritation.
“Oh, Ha-eun will have one of our family’s security personnel accompany her.”
At Isabella’s gesture, a large Black man sitting quietly in the helicopter’s co-pilot seat grinned and gave a thumbs up.
His white teeth gleamed almost blindingly.
“Just trust me~!”
He spoke in heavily accented Korean, apparently without using a translation device.
“I’ll head down with this gentleman. Isabella, you go down with my sister.”
“Oh. Why, why?”
“Just because.”
The thought of that bodyguard sticking to Ha-eun like glue as they descended filled me with an inexplicable sense of dread.
It felt like some unmarked videotape would mysteriously arrive at my house later.
“U-understood. Then I’ll head down with Ha-eun and myself.”
“I’m counting on you.”
Kwon O-jin grinned and leaped from the helicopter alongside the Black bodyguard who had been sitting in the copilot’s seat.
A sharp wind lashed across my cheek, sending a dizzying thrill cascading down my spine.
“Whoooooooo!!! Do you feel it?! Lightning Wolf!!”
“What?”
“This is the sensation of ‘flying’ through the sky!!”
“Ah, yes.”
“There are no wings in falling! It’s the inexorable logic of Newton!!”
“What the hell is this bastard doing?”
I was grateful I hadn’t paired him with my sister for a different reason.
-Whoosh!
After a brief descent, I deployed the parachute and began falling slowly.
Despite his screw-loose dialogue, the bodyguard’s skill was quite impressive—he maneuvered the parachute with precision and landed us perfectly on a narrow clearing halfway up the mountain.
“Well then, I’ll be on my way! Please safely conquer the Dungeon with the young lady!”
The bodyguard flashed a brilliant smile and gave a thumbs up.
I nodded lightly, and he grinned before turning to leave.
“Oh, by the way! My name is Vittorio!”
Like I care.
“Feel free to call me ‘Rio-boing’!”
“I’d rather not.”
What the hell is this guy?
“Come on~ Don’t be like that! Just call me once!”
“Get lost, please.”
“Holy molly…! Even when a Korean Wolf curses, it’s beautiful!”
I’d have to ask Isabella about this later.
Why she kept someone like this as a subordinate.
“Hahahaha!! Then I’m really going now!”
Thud thud thud thud!!
Vittorio turned and descended the mountain in a cloud of dust.
Despite his personality, his skill was undeniable—the speed at which he descended the mountainside suggested he was worthy of being a Colgrand Family bodyguard.
‘Whether he’s a Colgrand Family bodyguard or an awakener from the Leech Faction, I’m not sure.’
Either way.
He’s someone I’d rather not encounter again.
[…Truly a peculiar fellow.]
A soft chime rang out.
The pendant glowed, and Vega materialized before me.
“Indeed.”
[My child, are you truly certain about accepting this request? Did you not say before that this Isabella was an enforcer of the Black Star Society?]
“Well, for now at least, it doesn’t seem like she’s planning to do anything to me.”
[Hmm. Still, I am uneasy.]
“I’m suspicious too. But I didn’t want to pass up this opportunity.”
[Is the sacred relic you mentioned truly hidden within that dungeon?]
“I’m not sure. I’ll have to check it myself.”
There’s no way to know without seeing it firsthand.
“Anyway, Vega. Just in case, stay with me the entire time we’re clearing this dungeon.”
If the worst comes to pass, I’ll have no choice but to rely on Vega’s power.
[Understood! Trust in me! Should that girl attempt anything foul against you, I shall bestow my blessing upon her at once!]
“Thanks. Oh, and you know I can’t tell Isabella that you’re a Constellation, right?”
[Of course I know.]
“I’ll tell Isabella you’re a guardian spirit—a contracted spirit bound to me. Just play along.”
[Very well.]
Now let me go meet up with my sister and Isabella.
“O-jin! Over here!”
Ha-eun’s voice called out from not far away.
Following the sound, I spotted Ha-eun and Isabella.
“Did you have any trouble coming down?”
“Trouble? Well, there was some.”
“Oh? Did Vittorio say something rude?”
He did.
Quite a lot, actually.
“I’m sorry. Vittorio has such a preference for men that…”
“…What?”
“I was trying to assign someone to your tastes so you wouldn’t feel uncomfortable.”
“No.”
You should have mentioned that from the start, you little troublemaker.
‘So I could have been the star of that mysterious videotape?’
Holy molly.
“Don’t worry though.”
Isabella smiled sweetly.
She flashed a gentle grin.
“Vittorio prefers to be the one receiving, if you know what I mean.”
“Stop it.”
I didn’t want to imagine it, but the image was already forming in my mind unbidden!!
“Anyway, where’s the dungeon entrance?”
“It’s over there.”
Isabella guided us toward the densely overgrown vegetation.
As we passed through the narrow crevice between cliff faces, a Gate entrance roughly three meters in size came into view.
‘This is…’
The dense magical energy emanating from the Gate entrance.
My eyes widened at the sensation—as if a colossal river made of pure magical energy flowed through the surrounding area.
[This is… a dragon vein.]
“A dragon vein?”
[Did the opening of Gates not affect Earth’s ecosystem? We call places where the stars’ magical energy flows abnormally thick a dragon vein.]
A place where the stars’ magical energy flows abnormally thick.
‘Is the sacred relic Lee Shin-hyuk mentioned really hidden here?’
Seeing a dragon vein flowing through a dungeon already known for generous rewards, it seemed like something extraordinary must be concealed within.
“You said you have a contract with a spirit, Kwon O-jin? It’s fascinating that it knows about dragon veins too.”
[I was once a servant of the Constellations. I possess some knowledge regarding the stars.]
“Huh. I’ve seen spirits a few times before, but this is my first encounter with one possessing such clear intellect.”
“My guardian spirit is rather special.”
I placed Vega on my shoulder and entered the Gate.
-Ding!
[You have entered ‘Where the Dragon Sleeps’.]
[You can clear the dungeon upon satisfying specific conditions.]
The moment I stepped inside the Gate, a blue message window materialized before me.
‘Where the Dragon Sleeps, huh.’
I committed the dungeon’s name to memory and surveyed my surroundings.
Exclamations from Ha-eun and Isabella echoed beside me.
“Wow, what is this place? It’s so damn glittery.”
“What a beautiful place.”
A colossal cavern with a height easily exceeding two hundred meters.
Like stars shining in the night sky, the blue crystals embedded in the cavern ceiling emitted a soft luminescence that illuminated the entire cave.
“Stay alert—we don’t know what might emerge.”
“Yes!”
“Heh, whatever comes out, I’ll just roast it crispy.”
Ha-eun laughed confidently and strode forward into the depths.
Though her steps radiated confidence, the way she created multiple candle-sized flames and scattered them throughout the area showed she wasn’t neglecting her surroundings.
‘Well, my sister’s got plenty of experience.’
No matter how confident she was, she wasn’t foolish enough to let her guard down inside a Gate.
-Crunch, crunch.
Soft footsteps echoed through the massive cavern.
Our party advanced slowly into the dungeon without even exchanging idle conversation.
“…Wait.”
Then.
Ha-eun, who had been leading the way, came to a halt.
She extinguished the candles she had scattered around and fixed her gaze ahead.
“There’s something up there.”
“A monster?”
“Probably.”
Just as she said.
As we ventured deeper, a pack of monsters came into view.
‘Reptilians…?’
Monsters I had encountered once before in the Seoul Station Underground Sewers.
Bipedal lizards were clustered together deep within the Dungeon.
Their numbers were considerable, but they were merely 3-star class monsters at best.
Under normal circumstances, they were the type of monsters I could sweep away with a simple gesture.
-Crunch, crunch crunch crunch.
“What are those things eating?”
The sound echoed loudly through the space.
The pack of blue-scaled Reptilians were gnawing away at blue crystals embedded throughout the cave wall like ants.
Crunch. Crunch. Crunch. Crunch. Crunch.
Voraciously. Greedily.
They scraped the blue crystals with their needle-like bones and extended their long tongues to suck in the fragments.
“…Kwon O-jin.”
“These don’t seem to be ordinary Reptilians.”
Kwon O-jin’s eyes narrowed.
The aura emanating from them was on an entirely different level from the specimens I had encountered in the sewers.
‘At minimum… 6-star class?’
I couldn’t say for certain.
I wasn’t some master from a martial arts novel, nor did I possess the ability to discern an opponent’s strength completely just by meeting their gaze.
“Heh, but they’re still just Reptilians!”
Whoooosh!!!
Ha-eun stepped forward and spread both arms wide.
Red flames unfurled like a curtain, as if opening a fan.
“Wasn’t your name Isabella? You said you were an Aries Awakener, right?”
“Yes.”
“Then give me a really powerful buff. I’ll sweep those bastards away in one shot.”
“Hmm… I was hoping to give the buff to Kwon O-jin.”
Isabella raised the staff in her hand with a displeased expression.
The golden jewel embedded at the tip of the staff gleamed with brilliant light.
“《Sanctuary of the Lamb》.”
Golden light poured from the jewel, creating a luminous platform on the ground.
As I stepped onto the platform, I felt a tingling surge of vitality coursing through my body.
‘Is she using that staff to mimic the power of Aries?’
I stepped back and observed Isabella carefully.
Golden light streaming from her left chest mingled with her staff, burning brilliantly.
‘At first glance, one might mistake her for an Awakener of Aries.’
From the magical power I sensed to the effects of the constellation mark.
I couldn’t believe she was an Awakener bearing the Leech Constellation mark.
“Kyahahat! This effect is incredible!”
Ha-eun stomped her foot fiercely on the golden floor with a heavy thud.
“Kiek?”
“Krrrrgh!”
The Reptilians, who had been mindlessly gnawing at the blue crystals, turned their heads toward her.
“Urashhhhhhh!!”
Ha-eun formed her hand like a gun and thrust it forward.
Massive flames coalesced at the tips of her pressed index and middle fingers.
Whoooosh!!!
Condensing flames. Intense heat that felt like it would scorch skin blazed throughout the entire cave.
“Receive the baptism of fire!!!!!”
Booooom!!!
A massive tidal wave of flames swept across the Reptilian horde.
“Kieeeeeek!!!”
“Kiek! Krrrgh!!”
“Kishaaaaht!”
These Reptilians had grown abnormally strong from consuming the blue crystals.
But before Ha-eun’s flames, they were meaningless.
-Sizzzzzzle!!
The acrid stench of burning flesh mixed with a savory aroma spread through the cave.
“They say lizard meat tastes similar to chicken, and the smell does seem kind of like fried chicken, doesn’t it?”
Ha-eun smiled wickedly and turned to look at me.
“Wow! You said she’s an Awakener of the Dragon Constellation, right? This is my first time seeing it in person, and the firepower is incredible!”
“…Heh.”
Exclamations escaped from both Isabella’s and my lips.
‘She became this strong just from gaining one point of magical power?’
I had known that her skill in handling constellation marks was extraordinary, but I hadn’t anticipated it to this degree.
And she hadn’t even used ‘Dragon’s Eye’ yet.
Even with Isabella’s buff, to obliterate dozens of mutant Reptilians in a single strike.
“Hehe, how about it, O-jin? Your sister’s amazing, right?”
Ha-eun laughed brightly and poked my ribs with her elbow repeatedly.
“Yeah, pretty amazing.”
“Kyahahat!! Right? Right? This big sister will drive you around smoothly, so you just buckle up and sit tight, okay?”
“I’ll trust only you, noona.”
Certainly.
When it came to sweeping away a wide range of enemies with overwhelming firepower, Ha-eun was several steps ahead of me.
“Hehe. How should I collect the bus fare~?”
“I-I cast buffs on you too!”
“Ah, the buffs were pretty strong. Honestly, I didn’t expect to wipe them all out in one shot either.”
Ha-eun’s eyes gleamed as if she was seeing Isabella in a new light.
While the two women exchanged words for a moment.
Kwon O-jin headed toward the scattered corpses of the charred Reptilians.
He drew a knife and sliced through the bodies, harvesting the essence stones.
‘The essence stone is blue.’
Then it wasn’t a mutation.
‘Did they become abnormally strong because of this dragon vein?’
Kwon O-jin narrowed his eyes and examined the Reptilians.
I wanted to verify how much stronger they’d become, but Ha-eun wiped them out in one strike, so I couldn’t properly assess them.
“…Hm?”
Then.
Where the blue crystals embedded in the wall had been blasted away by Ha-eun’s inferno storm, a gap appeared.
“…!”
Kwon O-jin’s eyes widened as he stared at the exposed cavity.
“What is this.”
His voice rang out low and rigid.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————