Not A Regressor - Chapter 137

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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 137
Extinguished Starlight (3)
“—Ah.”
As if recalling a fact I had forgotten.
Riak’s blue pupils dilated.
“Kkhahaha!! Yes! That’s right!!”
The expression of someone who had discovered a single ray of light in darkness where nothing could be seen even an inch ahead.
Riak’s body trembled with a thrill as he opened his mouth.
“You were a regressor…!”
Flinch.
Riak, who had been about to cry out in jubilation, suddenly cut himself short.
He turned to look at Ha-eun with a flustered expression.
“I already told my sister. That I’m a regressor.”
“Ah, r-right, of course.”
Riak exhaled a sigh of relief as if thanking the heavens.
“R-right! O-jin is a regressor!”
Ha-eun suddenly looked at Kwon O-jin and nodded her head like a broken machine.
‘Just stay quiet, sister.’
At her awkward demeanor, I pressed my forehead with a grimace of pain.
“So, what exactly is this Adam’s Apple?”
Riak swallowed hard and asked.
My explanation continued.
“When I fought the Heavenly Demon, he was so powerful that the Constellation itself participated directly in combat. The sacred relic I used back then to reduce the constraints was Adam’s Apple.”
“But until now, I’ve never heard of such a sacred relic existing….”
“Of course you haven’t. At this point in time, it would have been a sacred relic that no one had discovered yet.”
“Hmm.”
Riak narrowed his eyes and spoke.
“But from what I heard before from Vega, the future has begun to change… Is this Adam’s Apple definitely something that exists?”
“It became obtainable now because the future changed. Originally, the signs of the ‘Divine Tree’ wouldn’t appear until much later.”
“Signs of the Divine Tree…?”
“You said the chains of light binding Vega suddenly became fifty, right?”
I continued speaking while gazing beyond the firmly closed door.
“That’s the sign that the Divine Tree bearing Adam’s Apple has grown. Back then, the constraints of Divine Law decreased for no apparent reason, and I discovered it while searching for the cause.”
“I, I see.”
Riak nodded with a vacant expression.
It was a story difficult to believe easily, but I was a regressor who had traveled back through the past.
A star of defiance meant to save the world.
No matter how absurd a story might be, its credibility varies greatly depending on who tells it.
‘Even if it’s hard to believe, there’s no choice but to accept it.’
A psychological experiment I had seen before came to mind.
An experiment: if a doctor told patients coming in for treatment that they could only diagnose illnesses by making an elephant’s trunk with their nose and spinning in place, would they follow those instructions?
Even though people rationally understand that making an elephant’s trunk and spinning has absolutely nothing to do with diagnosing disease.
Remarkably, most people reportedly followed the doctor’s absurd instructions without question.
Was it simply because they were foolish?
‘Not at all.’
The authority inherent in the title of “doctor.”
Before that authority, people naturally complied with the absurd instructions.
Of course, Riak was not human, but he possessed intelligence and social awareness equal to humans nonetheless.
Before the authority of the Retrograde Star—incomparable to any mere doctor—he could only submit.
‘And it’s not as ridiculous as saying you need to grab an elephant’s trunk and spin to diagnose a disease.’
The fact that the chains of light, which should have numbered one hundred, had been reduced to fifty was something Riak himself understood.
Even Riak wouldn’t have believed such a thing happened without any reason.
When people encounter a plausible explanation for a phenomenon they cannot otherwise understand, they tend to follow that explanation blindly.
“So if we obtain this Adam’s Apple, we can free Vega from the constraints?”
“Possibly.”
“But… where do you intend to find such a precious holy relic?”
“Leave that to me.”
Eyebrows raised slightly, gaze unwavering.
Shoulders squared, voice brimming with conviction.
It was simple facial acting, the kind used in job interviews, but when Kwon O-jin employed it, an audacious spirit emanated as if a seasoned general were marching to conquer enemy territory.
“I will definitely obtain Adam’s Apple.”
“You youngster….”
Riak gazed at Kwon O-jin with trembling eyes, visibly moved.
“Grrrowl! If you speak with such resolve, I cannot simply stand idle! I too shall lend my strength to obtaining Adam’s Apple!!”
Huh?
That’s not what I meant, damn it.
“No, Riak, you’re staying here.”
“What do you mean by that!”
“If Vega is under the constraints of Divine Law, your power must be severely limited as well, right?”
“That is… well….”
“And we can’t leave Vega alone in that condition.”
“…Ugh.”
Unable to think of a counterargument, Riak swallowed hard and lowered his head.
“While I obtain Adam’s Apple, I’m counting on you to protect Vega, Riak.”
“Grrrowl.”
Riak nodded, releasing a fierce growl.
“Fear not, youngster. Should anyone dare enter the Divine Temple with intent to harm Vega, I myself shall tear them limb from limb.”
“I’m counting on you.”
Kwon O-jin burst into hearty laughter and extended his hand.
Riak grasped the offered hand with all his strength.
—Crunch, crunch.
‘My hand’s going to break. This crazy bastard.’
I felt the crushing pressure as though my hand might shatter.
I desperately maintained my smile and turned my body.
“Then I’ll go retrieve Adam’s Apple right away.”
“How long do you think it will take?”
“I’m not sure myself.”
I couldn’t know how much time I’d need until I could use the Dark Heaven on my own.
But.
“At least it won’t take 50 years, so don’t worry and just wait.”
I was confident it wouldn’t take even a year, let alone 50 years.
‘I won’t need to raise the awakening stage of the Dark Heaven that much.’
The power of the Dragon’s Eye I’d absorbed from Ha-eun was only an infinitesimal fraction to begin with.
Since I could already use the Dark Heaven with just that much, it wouldn’t take an eternity before I could use it on my own.
“Then I’ll be going, Riak.”
“Hmph. Don’t go whimpering like a brat just because I’m not there.”
Riak spoke curtly and snorted.
I chuckled softly and left the Divine Temple with Ha-eun.
“….”
Standing before Vega’s chamber like a gatekeeper, Riak gazed intently at my retreating back.
“I shall await you, young one… no.”
Like a knight bowing before a king, he knelt on one knee and bowed his head respectfully.
“O Star of Defiant Heaven, who shall illuminate the darkness of the Dark Heaven.”
* * *
“…O-jin.”
On the way back home after leaving the Divine Temple.
Ha-eun, who had been walking quietly beside me, opened her mouth.
“That Adam’s Apple thing—is it real?”
“Of course it’s a lie.”
“…Ha.”
Ha-eun let out a hollow laugh with an incredulous expression.
“Wow, you’re seriously insane. That was a lie? Even knowing the truth, I was tempted.”
Because I spoke with such unwavering confidence, even Ha-eun, who knew the truth, had nearly fallen for it.
‘I guess I really was born with a talent for deception.’
Suddenly.
An ominous thought flashed through my mind.
“O-jin… what you said about taking responsibility for your sister—that wasn’t a lie too, right? Right?”
“What are you talking about?”
I laughed and gently pulled Ha-eun’s waist as we walked side by side.
“No matter how much I live off lies, I’d never deceive you about that.”
“C-cough, cough. I mean, anyone who talks like that is usually a con artist.”
Ha-eun poked my ribs with her finger while breaking into a grin.
“Anyway. So what’s your plan? Adam’s Apple or whatever nonsense? How are you going to break Vega’s restrictions?”
“I can use the Black Heaven.”
I shared the discovery I’d made with her.
“But that Black Heaven thing—if I absorb some of my eyes, can’t you use it? If so….”
“No.”
I shook my head firmly.
“I won’t use that method unless I know what side effects might happen to you.”
“But last time there weren’t any side effects….”
“Just because it didn’t happen once doesn’t mean it won’t happen again.”
Crossing a frozen lake safely once doesn’t guarantee the ice won’t crack the next time.
“Besides, it’s not like there’s no other way.”
“Hmm. That Black Heaven thing—is there a way to level it up?”
“Of course.”
I smirked.
A hunter’s smile, one that stalks its prey, crossed my lips.
“Until now, there’s been only one way to bloom the Black Heaven.”
Consuming more and stronger stigmas.
“You’re not thinking of just randomly attacking any awakener, are you?”
“Why would I do something so inefficient?”
Consuming low-grade stigmas wouldn’t make the Black Heaven bloom.
“…Setting aside whether that’s really an efficiency issue. So what’s your plan?”
Ha-eun tilted her head, looking at me.
I shrugged my shoulders.
“Sister, have you ever eaten a seahorse?”
“…Is there anyone who’s eaten something like that?”
“Right?”
I licked my lips, my eyes gleaming.
“So I’m planning to try eating one this time.”
The Seahorse Faction, which was running rampant in Japan.
That was my next prey.
“Hmm. I’m not sure what you’re planning. But you’re not thinking of going alone again, are you?”
Ha-eun’s gaze turned sharp and piercing.
“I need your help this time.”
“Wait! Those Seahorse Faction guys aren’t in South Korea—they’re in Japan, right?”
“That’s right.”
“Ohhhhh!!”
Ha-eun’s eyes sparkled.
“An overseas trip!! Finally, we’re going on an overseas trip!!”
And with Kwon O-jin, no less!
Ha-eun let out a joyful cry, throwing both arms up into the air.
Until moments ago, she had been tormented by guilt over Vega’s sealing, but now that she knew a method to break it existed, she had regained her usual spirits.
“Hehe. I’ll take tons of photos and tease that old woman Vega mercilessly when she wakes up~♬”
“…That’s not exactly a trip, you know.”
Kwon O-jin offered a wry smile as he walked out of the Star Palace.
Just then.
“Are you Kwon O-jin?”
An elderly man in white martial robes approached him.
“Ah, yes. That’s correct, but…”
Kwon O-jin tilted his head, studying the old man.
An elderly man with a serene face that evoked the image of a sage.
There was something familiar about him.
“Heh heh. It’s good to meet you like this.”
The old man bowed respectfully and extended his hand.
“I am Cheon Sang-gil.”
Cheon Sang-gil of the Greedy Wolf Star.
One of the Seven Stars—the mightiest awakened ones—had come seeking him.

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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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