Not A Regressor - Chapter 164

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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 164
The Next (2)
A colossal hologram materialized above the vast Colosseum Arena.
Vega’s face appeared on the screen, and she swept her gaze across the stands filled with Constellation members before directing an icy stare toward Deneb, who sat in the seat of honor.
Kwon O-jin followed Vega’s gaze and looked toward where Deneb was seated.
‘Are those Deneb’s apostles?’
Behind Deneb, who sat in an ornate chair, ten men and women stood in a single line.
Of Deneb’s twelve apostles, the two who were absent from this gathering were two awakeners belonging to the Seven Stars, just like Allen Oskal.
Whether they had some reason or simply didn’t think it was worth attending, only Allen Oskal appeared among the awakeners belonging to the Seven Stars.
‘It’s not like they all need to come anyway.’
The rules of this proxy battle were that they only needed to defeat three of Deneb’s twelve apostles.
Since Deneb himself had declared that he wouldn’t send out awakeners belonging to the Seven Stars like Allen, there was no reason to fill the positions.
‘Let me see.’
Kwon O-jin activated the stigma of Canis Major Constellation and examined the ten awakeners lined up behind Deneb one by one.
Indeed, they were awakeners who had inherited the stigma of Polaris.
A thick, suffocating aura of magical power emanated from Deneb’s apostles.
“Is that Noe-rang?”
“For an apostle of the Lyra Constellation, they’re not much to look at.”
“Right? The aura they give off is pretty ordinary too.”
While Kwon O-jin examined them, Deneb’s apostles also gazed at him with gleaming eyes, as if intrigued.
Deneb’s apostles wore expressions of slight disappointment at Kwon O-jin’s unremarkable appearance.
“Well, he’s only been awakened for a year, right?”
“But does it make sense to reach Seven Stars in just a year? Is he lying and not actually a Seven Star?”
“Well, we’ll know once we face him.”
Deneb’s apostles exchanged idle chatter while scrutinizing Kwon O-jin from head to toe.
“Silence.”
“Yes.”
At the glacially cold voice that escaped Allen Oskal’s lips, Deneb’s apostles flinched and trembled.
“We’re starting soon. If you don’t want to bring shame upon Lord Deneb’s reputation, focus yourselves.”
“Yes, sir.”
Following Allen’s instructions, Deneb’s apostles closed their mouths and composed their magical power.
As an invisible psychological battle continued between Kwon O-jin and Deneb’s apostles.
[Ahem. Can everyone hear me?]
A voice that resonated directly in their minds like Vega’s.
It was the voice of Spica, the Constellation of Virgo whom they had encountered at the Colosseum entrance.
She soared through the air and circled above the arena once.
She brought a round orb clutched in her hand close to her mouth and cried out in her characteristic refreshing voice.
[Nice to meet you all! I’m Spica, and I’ll be hosting today’s proxy battle~!]
It was a frivolous manner of speech that seemed unbecoming of a Constellation belonging to the Zodiac Twelve Palaces.
Yet as she shook her fluffy pink hair and bounced playfully in midair, even that frivolousness was transformed into something endearing.
[Today’s proxy battle is between Vega and Deneb! A clash between apostles of Polaris themselves!]
Cheers erupted among the constellations at the spirited announcement.
A proxy battle between apostles of the same Polaris constellation—not some other constellation.
No constellation could contain their excitement at this unprecedented big match.
[The rules are simple! If Vega’s apostle defeats three of Deneb’s twelve apostles, victory is theirs!]
“Three?”
“Hmm… even one seems difficult. Isn’t that too harsh?”
Murmurs rippled through the constellations upon hearing the proxy battle’s rules.
They had all heard of Noe-rang’s, the apostle of Lyra Constellation, steep growth trajectory, but the consensus was that he still couldn’t compare to Deneb’s twelve apostles.
Yet now he had to defeat three of them consecutively.
It was an excessively harsh condition.
[Regarding this, since Vega’s apostle is only one person, this was decided to balance fairness!]
“I see. That’s true… the number of apostles is important too.”
“Still, isn’t three too much?”
Everyone nodded, seeming at least somewhat convinced, if not entirely satisfied.
The number of apostles was also an important factor in determining divinity, so they couldn’t simply dismiss it as unfair.
[Well then! Before we begin the proxy battle, would both constellations please step forward!]
Deneb, who had been sitting in the seat of honor, sprang up and landed on the ground, while Vega walked toward the center of the vast Colosseum Arena where the proxy battle would take place, her silver dress rustling softly.
[Both of you must swear by the names of stars that you will approach this proxy battle with integrity and accept its results.]
All the fussing and fidgeting from before had been an act.
Spica regarded them both with a solemn expression.
[I swear it.]
“I swear it.”
Uuuuuung!
Blue radiance burst from Vega and Deneb’s bodies, intertwining with each other.
[Both of you understand that after this proxy battle, you must settle your feelings toward each other, yes?]
Vega and Deneb nodded in agreement.
Spica smiled brightly and soared high into the sky.
[Well then! Let’s not drag this out and begin right away! First, the blue corner! Vega’s one and only apostle! The awakener famous by the name Noe-rang! Awakener Kwon O-jin!]
Clap clap clap clap clap clap clap!!!
Amid the pouring applause, Kwon O-jin walked up onto the arena.
The gazes of the constellations filling the stands converged upon him.
Noe-rang.
The constellations watched him with eager expressions, anticipating what the apostle of Lyra Constellation would demonstrate.
[Next, the red corner! The youngest of Deneb’s twelve apostles! Liu Yi-hao, famous by the title ‘White Silver Sword’!]
A young man with skin as white as fresh snow lightly kicked off the railing.
Descending with the elegant grace of a swan’s wingbeat.
Liu Yi-hao placed his hand upon the hilt of the sword at his waist as he slowly made his way onto the arena.
“Hmm.”
Upon stepping onto the arena, Liu Yi-hao fixed a sharp gaze upon Kwon O-jin.
“I heard the young master’s rank reached Seven Stars. Is that true?”
“Yeah. I got it a couple months ago.”
I nodded lightly at his question.
Liu Yi-hao let out an exclamation upon hearing my answer.
“A couple months ago… You’ve certainly progressed at an unbelievable pace.”
It had been about a year since news of the Lyra Constellation’s apostle emerged, yet I had already ascended to Seven Stars.
Of course, since there was only one apostle, I must have inherited a far more concentrated stigma than he had.
Even accounting for that, reaching Seven Stars in just one year was an achievement worthy of the word “miraculous.”
But.
“You do understand that not all Seven Stars are created equal, don’t you?”
There was inevitably a gap between Liu Yi-hao, who had ascended to Seven Stars long ago, and me.
Especially if we both possessed the “stigma of Polaris.”
“Of course I do.”
I chuckled and nodded.
Liu Yi-hao smiled faintly at my composed demeanor, which showed no trace of nervousness.
“It seems you’ve grown quite arrogant from facing awakeners with inferior stigmas until now.”
He nodded as if he understood completely.
“I was the same at first. Watching awakeners with higher stars than mine fall so easily, I was filled with pride and vanity.”
He gazed up at the sky with distant eyes, as if recalling the past.
“But.”
He then sighed deeply and shook his head.
“There is always another sky above the sky.”
“Are you a scholar or something?”
“…What do you mean?”
“Never mind. Keep going.”
Liu Yi-hao, apparently displeased at the interruption, continued with a slight frown.
“I realized it when I met Allen Oskal. Everything I had faced until then… was nothing but a shadow.”
The arrogance that could only arise from being Polaris.
The wondrous sword strike Allen displayed had cleanly severed the vanity Liu Yi-hao harbored.
“You too will likely come to understand this truth before long.”
Liu Yi-hao regarded me with calm eyes, as if looking at a child, and took his stance.
[Alright, are you both ready?]
Spica descended to the center of the arena and asked.
I drew a metal rod from my waist and transformed it into a spear while nodding.
Liu Yi-hao also took a martial stance and bowed deeply.
[Great! Looks like we’re all set!]
Clap!
Spica clapped her hands and spread both arms wide.
Whoooosh!
A pale pink radiance burst forth from her body, engulfing the arena.
[This Sacred Domain is set up just in case! There’s no healing effect or anything like that, so keep that in mind!]
Spica continued her explanation with a cheerful smile.
[If either of you loses consciousness or becomes unable to fight, it’s over! If your opponent admits defeat, it’s over too!]
She emphasized her point by lifting her index finger sharply, like a teacher instructing a young student.
[Of course, since you’re inside the Sacred Domain, you won’t actually die… but still, the basic rule is that you must end this without trying to kill each other. Understood?]
“I will keep that in mind.”
“Yes.”
Though it was called a proxy battle to resolve conflicts between Constellations, if it devolved into a brutal massacre, it would inevitably leave lingering resentment.
To avoid such emotional rifts, the instruction was to fight in a manner closer to sparring than actual combat.
‘Whether that actually happens is another matter.’
Knowing that death was impossible within the Sacred Domain, neither could predict how much restraint the other would exercise.
[Now then, don’t forget that the ultimate goal of this proxy battle is to resolve the discord between you!]
Spica soared high into the sky once more.
[Staaaaaart!!]
Kaboom!
Pale pink light streaked across the sky like bursting fireworks.
The Constellations seated in the stands erupted in cheers and applause.
“Hmm.”
Shing.
Liu Yi-hao slowly drew his sword from his waist.
True to his epithet of “Silver Sword,” the blade gleamed with an elegant silvery-white radiance.
The moment he drew the sword, a white aura like frost swirled around him.
Liu Yi-hao turned to face Kwon O-jin with a gentle smile.
“Among awakeners, seniority is not necessarily a matter of hierarchy.”
He lowered the drawn blade slightly as he continued.
“But as a senior, I shall yield the first move to you.”
“Is that so?”
Yielding the first move in combat was essentially an open display of contempt for one’s opponent.
“Then I’ll attack first.”
Kwon O-jin grinned and lowered his body into a fighting stance.
There was no reason to refuse when the other side was graciously offering the advantage.
‘Charge.’
Crackle crackle crackle!!
I condensed lightning into both my legs.
The lightning, compressed so densely that it seemed as though my legs had become pure blue electricity, blazed like fire.
“Indeed, I can feel the formidable power befitting a stigma of Polaris.”
Liu Yi-hao watched Kwon O-jin with surprised eyes.
Observing his reaction.
‘He shouldn’t be surprised yet.’
Charge, charge, charge, charge.
Condensed lightning, accumulated across five successive layers, coiled around both my legs.
I flashed a brilliant smile and propelled my lowered body upward with explosive force.
And then.
-Crack
crack
crack
crack
crack
crack
!
!
!
A single streak of azure lightning.
Tore across the Colosseum Arena.
“-What the—”
Shock flooded Liu Yi-hao’s face, which had been wearing such arrogance moments before.
Before he could even react, my body materialized directly before him.
-Crack!
I seized his face with my right arm while sweeping my leg to shatter his back leg.
As both his feet lifted from the ground and he began to topple backward, I kept my grip locked on his face.
-Boom!!!
I drove the back of his head straight into the ground.
Dust billowed upward in thick clouds.
Liu Yi-hao lay unconscious on the devastated arena floor, his eyes rolled back.
[…Huh?]
“W-what just happened?”
“What was that…?”
The Constellations stood frozen, unable to process what they’d witnessed.
I rose slowly to my feet, leaving the unconscious Liu Yi-hao where he lay.
I flicked my hand toward Deneb, whose mouth hung agape as he stared at me.
“Next.”

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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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