Not A Regressor - Chapter 154

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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 154
Adam’s Apple (1)
A box of apples I had casually picked up at the mart.
I took one out and placed it on the table.
I drew a long line across my palm with a knife to draw blood, then spread it thinly across the apple’s surface.
‘Transformation.’
The apple, which had been an appetizing red, shifted to gold as if melted from precious metal.
A bead of cold sweat trickled down my forehead as I gazed at the golden apple I had created.
‘Maintaining it isn’t easy.’
Using Transformation on a body part separated from my body consumed considerable mental energy.
It felt like moving my hands with a mouse and keyboard instead of my brain.
While I could change the form freely to some extent, maintaining that transformed state for extended periods consumed an enormous amount of mental power.
‘I wish it were just mana being consumed.’
There was nothing I could do about mental energy depletion.
“…The problem is, this isn’t even the end.”
I frowned and looked down at the golden apple in my hand.
I couldn’t simply pretend that merely changing the apple’s color made it a divine artifact worthy of the grandiose name ‘Adam’s Apple’.
Just as the ‘Dragon’s Heart’ I had discovered in the dungeon before.
Sacred relics imbued with extraordinary power naturally emanated an intense presence that seemed to suffocate even when left alone.
“A cheat item that can reduce the Divine Law’s restrictions shouldn’t emit such a bland aura.”
I channeled mana into the golden apple I had created using Transformation.
Now if I used ‘Dark Veil’ to change the aura of the mana—
-Crack!
The apple in my hand shattered into pieces.
“Damn it.”
I sighed and tossed the shattered apple into a bowl.
The bowl was already filled with pathetically fragmented apples.
‘One box won’t be nearly enough.’
I sighed and picked up a piece of the broken apple with a fork, putting it in my mouth.
According to Vega, I possessed remarkable talent in handling the mana of stigmas.
Yet here I was, struggling to even control the mana enough not to destroy a single apple.
‘If I just blasted mana everywhere, it wouldn’t be difficult.’
The problem was that I needed to infuse only a minimal amount of mana that the apple’s durability could withstand while creating an aura befitting the name ‘Adam’s Apple’.
Too little mana made the aura weak, but too much mana would shatter the apple.
“This is driving me insane.”
I crushed the now-empty apple box and let out a deep sigh.
“Why don’t you just use something other than an apple?”
Ha-eun, who had been watching me, tilted her head and asked.
‘Adam’s Apple’ didn’t necessarily have to take the form of an actual apple.
Even the Dragon’s Heart, despite its name, was just a translucent crystal that emitted a blue glow in appearance.
“Still, I’m going to try making it with apples if I can.”
“Why go through the trouble?”
“Well, it’s good practice and serves multiple purposes.”
The enhanced transformation and shadow veil abilities that Heukcheoni gained through its sixth bloom.
These two traits would become the most crucial abilities for me going forward.
I would need both of them to deceive the Constellations and play the role of a regressor.
‘I can’t give up over just one apple.’
I knew well enough that there were other ways to create the “Adam’s Apple” if I only cared about the result.
But if I didn’t take this opportunity to master precise control over my abilities, I felt I’d regret it later.
“Hmm, is that so?”
Ha-eun, who had been lounging on the sofa playing with her smartphone, swung her pale legs and nodded with a dissatisfied expression.
We’d just returned from our memorable first date in a wonderful atmosphere, and here my boyfriend was, completely absorbed in some apple slice instead of the police uniform she’d bought with such determination—her displeasure was entirely justified.
She moved her long legs and poked my side with the tip of her bare white foot.
“What?”
“I’m just annoyed.”
“But why?”
What did I even do?
“I don’t know, you idiot. Anyway, you’ve used up a whole box of apples, so there’s nothing left to do, right?”
“I need to buy more.”
“Buy apples at 1 AM? Stop talking nonsense—if you’re done, why don’t you give your older sister a leg massage?”
Ha-eun sat up on the sofa and placed her left leg across my thigh.
I narrowed my eyes and grabbed her ankle, tickling the sole of her foot.
“Kyaaaah!! What, what are you doing, you crazy bastard!!”
“We need to pack and get ready to leave. Why would I massage your legs, woman?”
I turned to look at Ha-eun, who was writhing on the sofa with tears streaming down her face, and let out a quiet laugh.
Now that I thought about it, this reminded me of something from before.
‘Just because we started dating doesn’t mean everything changes.’
It felt good to exchange jokes like this, just like old times.
There was something peaceful about it.
“Gyaaaah! Stop! I’m telling you to stop!!”
Though my older sister didn’t look particularly peaceful.
* * *
“Hmm. You’re leaving already?”
Sakaki swallowed hard with a regretful expression.
“You could stay a few more days if you’d like.”
“I have things I need to take care of back in South Korea.”
“Well… if a man has duties to fulfill, there’s nothing to be done about it!”
Boom!
Sakaki stomped his foot and laughed heartily.
“A true man laughs loudest when parting ways! It’s been an honor meeting you, brother!!”
“I’ve received considerable help from you as well.”
“Kahahaha! Compared to what you’ve done for me, what have I really given you?”
He patted my back with a hand the size of a pot lid, thump-thump.
Without a shred of exaggeration, the impact shook my body as if my stomach might leap out through my mouth.
“Well then, head on in! If you ever need anything, just reach out! I’ll come running at a moment’s notice!”
With Sakaki, it genuinely seemed like he’d sprint across the Sea itself.
“I’ll be in touch.”
“You got it!”
I turned away from Sakaki and headed into the Airport.
As I made my way to get my ticket and check my luggage, Ha-eun suddenly clung to my side and whispered softly into my ear.
“So that Black Heaven thing you mentioned—it leveled up, right?”
“Yeah.”
“So now you can use the Heavenly Stream without my help?”
“Probably.”
I hadn’t tested it yet, though.
Considering the amount of mana released from the Dragon Vein, I felt confident I could use the Heavenly Stream on my own.
‘Even if it’s not the complete version.’
Even in its incomplete state, it was a technique that made the Black Star Society’s sixth-ranked executive wet himself like a child.
At this point, it couldn’t simply be called a ‘technique’ anymore.
‘Should I think of it more as an ability?’
Well, the name didn’t really matter.
If I could use the Heavenly Stream on my own, I’d also be able to free Vega from the constraints of Divine Law.
-My child!
The image of the silver-haired goddess gently smiling and stroking my head flashed through my mind.
I wanted to free her from Divine Law’s shackles and meet her as soon as possible.
‘But first, I need to make Adam’s Apple.’
Before boarding the plane, Kwon O-jin ordered apples through a shopping app.
* * *
“Hey! Kwon O-jin!!”
A voice that rang through the house from early dawn.
Ha-eun burst through the door roughly and pointed at the entrance with a startled expression.
“W-what is all this?!”
In front of the slightly open entrance door, countless boxes were stacked as if someone were moving houses.
“The apples I ordered.”
“How many did you order?!”
“Two thousand for starters.”
“….”
Ha-eun stared at me with an expression of utter disbelief.
Two thousand apples, and he said “for starters”?
“I can’t take this anymore, seriously.”
Ha-eun shook her head in disapproval while still helping move the apple boxes stacked in front of the entrance.
“Alright then.”
Kwon O-jin pulled an apple from the box and gripped it in his hand.
He sliced his palm with a knife to draw blood, then carefully smeared it across the apple.
‘Transformation.’
The apple shifted into a brilliant golden hue.
He gradually channeled mana into it.
‘Shadow Veil.’
The moment he converted the flowing mana into Shadow Veil.
-Crunch!
The apple exploded into fragments.
“Ugh.”
A groan escaped Kwon O-jin’s lips.
“This is going to be rough.”
The problem was that his total mana reserves had grown far too vast.
In terms of pure mana quantity alone, Kwon O-jin now possessed such an enormous amount that he could easily overwhelm even high-ranking awakeners.
‘Of course, having an absurdly large amount of mana doesn’t automatically make you stronger.’
If victory and defeat were determined solely by mana quantity, he wouldn’t have been so thoroughly dominated by Cheon Do-yoon.
His vast mana reserves were one of Kwon O-jin’s greatest strengths, but they also created problems.
The most obvious example was situations like this, which demanded precise control.
‘Just infusing mana into the apple without shattering it is incredibly difficult.’
It was like using a excavator weighing dozens of tons to lift an egg without breaking it.
Because his mana reserves were so immense, the control requirements for fine adjustments far exceeded what others needed.
“Well, I’ll figure it out eventually.”
Kwon O-jin exhaled deeply and reached for the next apple.
Crumble, crumble, crumble.
One apple after another disintegrating.
He transferred the fragments into a bowl, reluctant to waste them.
But soon the box that had held the apples began filling with shattered pieces.
“Hah, hah.”
His breathing grew ragged.
Was this what it felt like to carve a single grain of rice with a needle’s tip?
After hours of unbroken concentration, his brain felt like it was melting, his head burning with heat.
But.
-Crumble, crumble, crumble, crumble, crumble.
He didn’t stop.
There was no reason to stop.
If it was something that could be solved through endurance, it was nothing.
Even as splitting headaches crashed over him.
One by one, one by one.
I focused my mind and gripped the apple tightly.
After more than two weeks of sitting in my room, crushing and reforming the apple repeatedly except during sleep, it finally happened.
-Whoooooosh!!!
The apple blazed with brilliant golden light.
Though its contents remained an ordinary apple, the aura emanating from its surface was as mystical and wondrous as the forbidden fruit from mythology.
“…It’s… done.”
Kwon O-jin, dark circles etched deeply beneath his eyes, trembled violently as he clutched the golden apple in his hand.
“It’s done, damn it!!!”
I couldn’t even count how many thousands—no, tens of thousands of apples I’d destroyed over these two weeks.
Kwon O-jin burst into the living room with a triumphant shout.
“Apples… I never want to see another apple again….”
There, surrounded by dozens of boxes overflowing with apple fragments, Ha-eun mechanically picked up and ate apples like a broken machine.
“Sister! I did it!”
“…Huh? You did it?”
Ha-eun’s gaze turned toward Kwon O-jin.
The golden apple blazed with radiant light.
A mystical aura so powerful that merely beholding it made one’s breath catch filled the entire house.
“Are you… insane? This is really an apple?”
Ha-eun’s mouth hung half-open, words failing her.
“How is it?”
“How is it? I’m looking right at it and I still can’t believe it.”
Satisfied with Ha-eun’s reaction, Kwon O-jin smiled contentedly.
‘It’s done.’
Now I just needed to show this to Riak, and then free Vega from the Divine Law’s shackles.
‘But first.’
My body collapsed.
“O-Kwon O-jin?”
“I need to rest.”
Sprawled on the living room floor, I fell into sleep as if losing consciousness.
I didn’t notice the blue message window that appeared before my eyes.
-Ding!
[Your understanding of stigma’s magical power has dramatically increased!]
[You have achieved an incredible Achievement!]
[You have met some of the conditions necessary for the liberation of ‘Heaven’s Opening’.]
Did the sleeping man know?
Just how absurd an accomplishment he had achieved.

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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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