Not A Regressor - Chapter 192

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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 192
Monsters of the Sacred Oil Site (3)
Screeeech!
A blood-red sea teeming with Anthons.
Kwon O-jin’s body shot forward rapidly, cutting through the waters.
The deeper I descended into the sea, the more intense the heat became—so fierce it was difficult to keep my eyes open.
‘It feels like I’ve entered a volcano rather than the sea.’
If that were the case, then perhaps these Anthons filling the waters were like lava flowing from a volcano.
I wrapped my entire body in mana and activated the Toad Constellation’s stigma.
My skin shifted to a murky gray hue, and the searing heat that threatened to scorch my flesh dulled considerably.
‘The straightforward physical enhancement effect is certainly convenient to use.’
It wasn’t merely an increase in strength—my durability and agility rose proportionally as well, granting overwhelming versatility.
“Grrrrgh!”
“Kuoooooo!”
The Anthons shrieked as they swam rapidly through the sea.
I used the Canis Major Constellation’s stigma to sharpen my vision, surveying the writhing mass of Anthons like a swarm of ants.
‘Found it.’
A buoy drifting among the Anthons, marked with a warning: “No Entry.”
It was the Colgrand Family Territory I had encountered when swimming with Vega.
‘There should be a Gate somewhere around here.’
And there was a high probability that a dragon vein flowed within that Gate.
I gazed down at the seabed, where Anthons swarmed so densely that the bottom was invisible.
“So I’ll need to break through that first.”
A technique powerful enough to pierce through hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands of Anthons.
Among the countless techniques I could currently employ, the most devastating was without question.
‘Thunder God’s Body.’
My eyes grew cold and resolute.
It was a technique with considerable burden due to its power, but in this situation, there was no alternative more efficient than Thunder God’s Body.
“Charging.”
Crackle!
I gripped the spear in my left hand while extending my right arm downward.
Fierce blue lightning coalesced along the extended right arm.
‘Charge, charge, charge.’
A second time, a third, a fourth.
With each successive charge, the blue lightning blazing across my right arm grew increasingly violent.
“Ugh.”
A pain as though my skin were being flayed and my muscles torn apart.
My blood vessels tangled like jump rope, and my mana circuits burned with scorching heat.
When the pain exceeded its threshold and I thought my arm might simply burst apart—
Cracklecracklecrackle!
My right arm, engulfed in azure lightning, transformed into the lightning itself.
The transformation extended from my fingertips to my shoulder blade.
Tremendous power surged forth from my right arm, now bearing the flesh of the Thunder God.
“Krrrgh?”
“Kuooo! Karrrgh!”
Perhaps they sensed the overwhelming magical aura blazing like a sun above my head.
The Anthons, who had been swimming frantically across the beach with eyes rolling back in frenzy, suddenly turned their gaze toward me in unison.
The Anthons trembled as they looked up at the Thunder God’s arm.
Those swimming in the sea converged at a single point, stacking their bodies atop one another to form a tower.
Just as the giant had first risen from the depths of the ocean.
A colossal swarm composed of countless Anthons leaned its massive form toward me.
A tidal wave of monsters crashed down upon me like a massive tsunami.
“Too late, you bastards.”
I twisted my lips into a smile as I watched the Anthon tsunami bearing down on me.
Extending my right arm, now transformed into azure lightning, straight forward.
“Split asunder.”
Crack
—
—
—
—
le!
With that quiet incantation.
Blue lightning erupted from my outstretched right arm, cleaving the surging tidal wave in two.
A pungent, acrid stench assaulted my nostrils.
Severed limbs and entrails of the Anthons rained down like a deluge.
“Haa, haa!”
I exhaled ragged breaths, biting my lip.
How many had I killed in a single strike?
A thousand? Ten thousand?
I couldn’t say for certain, but one thing was clear.
‘This is insane.’
It was already a formidable technique, powerful enough to incapacitate a high-ranking awakener of Polaris in a single blow.
But with Heukcheon’s seventh bloom, its destructive power had grown even further.
Of course, with such power came an equally devastating recoil.
“Krrrrgh!”
I stared down at my right arm, now tattered like a worn-out rag, and bit my lip.
From unleashing just a single bolt of lightning, my arm felt as though it were being torn from its socket, and all sensation drained from it.
My vision twisted momentarily, and my consciousness flickered in and out of focus.
‘I have to leave now.’
I could see the Anthrone tsunami split in two slowly regenerating as it writhed.
Tens of thousands of Anthrones were instantly killed in the lightning strike.
Yet the number of Anthrones still covering the sea of San Fruttuoso remained dizzingly vast.
If I missed this opportunity, finding the Gate beneath the waves would be nearly impossible.
“Hgh!”
I kicked off toward the sea where fragments of Anthrone corpses drifted.
Splash!
A column of water erupted around my body as I plunged vertically downward.
‘Ugh.’
As I descended into the sea, I squinted against the dizzying heat that felt like plunging into boiling oil.
The viscous blood scattered by the deaths of tens of thousands of Anthrones had transformed what should have been a beautiful emerald sea into a ruby-hued expanse.
‘Seahorse Constellation’s Sacred Mark.’
Whoosh!
Activating the Seahorse Constellation’s Sacred Mark and kicking lightly, my body shot forward as if propelled by a motor.
That wasn’t all.
‘I can actually breathe underwater like this.’
After realizing I could breathe freely in the murky blood-stained sea, I swam unobstructed toward the deeper waters.
As I passed the buoy with warning signs and ventured deeper, the heat intensified further.
A terrible heat as if I were diving into molten lava itself.
‘Found it.’
I narrowed my eyes, barely enduring the fierce heat that threatened to incinerate my entire body.
What appeared before my eyes was a massive Underwater Cave.
Or more precisely, what appeared to be a place that ‘had been’ an Underwater Cave.
‘It’s completely destroyed.’
Perhaps it had collapsed from the impact when the Anthrone swarm burst through the Gate.
The Underwater Cave, which should have protected the Gate like a sturdy shell, lay in ruins.
“Grrrrgh!”
“Crackle!”
Hundreds of monsters swam toward me as I approached the Gate.
I twisted my body and thrust my spear roughly.
Crackle!!
Blue lightning spread through the seawater, electrocuting the approaching monsters.
‘There’s no time.’
I had to find the location of the dragon vein quickly.
I narrowed my eyes and surveyed my surroundings.
Through the collapsed rocks, I could see the Gate emitting brilliant light.
Enormous mana was flowing out of the Gate as if it were running rampant.
‘There it is.’
As I approached the Gate, I closed my eyes tightly.
A place created by the tangled flow of abnormally massive mana.
Dragon Vein.
I slowly extended my hand toward it.
‘Heukcheon.’
A low rumble echoed through the water.
Black ink-like clouds billowed from my hand, spreading wide through the sea.
The roiling crimson mana that erupted like a volcano was swallowed by the black clouds.
‘Ugh!’
Vertiginous mana surged forward, riding the clouds.
Heukcheon greedily devoured the Dragon Vein, and vast quantities of mana seeped into my body.
‘Still, the amount of mana is less than before.’
I desperately clung to my flickering consciousness as mana crashed over me like a tidal wave, channeling the Dragon Vein’s power into Heukcheon.
The Dragon Vein’s mana was completely absorbed into the boundlessly vast black sky.
I felt the temperature of the seawater, which had been heated like boiling oil, gradually cooling.
And then.
A sharp crackling sound.
Brilliant light erupted from the stigma carved on my left chest.
Seven lines carved beside the Lyra Constellation stigma.
I felt an eighth line being newly inscribed beneath them.
-Ding!
[You have successfully absorbed the Dragon Vein’s mana!]
[The ‘Lyra Constellation Stigma’ has been promoted to 8-Star!]
8-Star.
I had finally taken one last step before reaching the realm of a high-tier awakener.
‘I was thinking it would be about time soon.’
After achieving Thunder Spear Level 10 and acquiring the new technique Thunder Body, I had thought I might ascend to 8-Star before long, but I never expected to reach 8-Star by absorbing the Dragon Vein.
I gazed down at the eighth line carved on my left chest, my eyes gleaming.
‘But… is this really over?’
As I absorbed the Dragon Vein, the seawater that had been heated intensely began to cool, and the mana that had been pouring out madly disappeared.
Though not visible here now, with the Dragon Vein’s mana severed, the Anthrons attacking the village would surely feel its effects.
Turning my head to look at the monsters swimming toward me, I noticed their movements were far more sluggish than before.
‘It ended more easily than I expected.’
Of course, this was only possible because I possessed Heukcheon, an extraordinary power capable of absorbing the Dragon Vein’s mana.
But it was true that I had managed to conclude the incident without much trouble.
‘I should head back soon.’
Though the Dragon Vein’s mana had vanished, the Anthron horde wouldn’t simply collapse like puppets with cut strings.
I would need to personally sever the life force of these weakened creatures who had lost their source of power.
Just as I turned to head back toward the beach where Ha-eun and Vega were.
‘Hm?’
Something glimmered between the collapsed stone debris.
A fragment glinting with blue light.
‘…A Sacred Relic?’
No.
More precisely, it was the remnants of an already-used Sacred Relic.
Kwon O-jin narrowed his eyes, surveying the scattered fragments of the Sacred Relic across the space.
Every massive pillar that had been supporting the Underwater Cave bore fragments of the Sacred Relic, and around them lay the unmistakable traces of a tremendous explosion.
There was only one conclusion to be drawn from these traces.
‘It hadn’t collapsed from natural causes.’
Someone had deliberately destroyed the cave and triggered the dragon vein into a rampage.
‘Why?’
Kwon O-jin’s eyes narrowed further.
What possible benefit could there be in triggering a dragon vein into a rampage?
“….”
No answer came to his question.
The seawater that draped around his body like a curtain was slowly losing its warmth.
* * *
“Grrrraahhh!”
“Kuoooooo!!”
Monsters rampaged across the entire village.
Isabella attempted to hold back the surging monsters by deploying the Colgrand Family’s hired hands, but their sheer numbers were overwhelming, and her defensive line was gradually crumbling.
“Haa, haa.”
Beads of sweat trickled down her pristine forehead.
Ragged breaths escaped from Isabella’s lips as she gripped the golden staff that shimmered with radiant light.
‘I can’t hold out like this.’
Yet she couldn’t afford to retreat any further.
The moment this defensive line she was maintaining collapsed, not only the tourists who had come to visit San Fruttuoso but also the villagers living in the nearby settlements would be torn to shreds by the monsters’ fangs.
“Tch.”
Isabella glanced up at the blazing sun overhead, her expression anxious as she bit her lip.
“I’ll hold this position. Everyone, please head toward the village.”
“Pardon?”
“B-but we can’t possibly leave you behind….”
“Are you suggesting you’d defy the orders of the next Family Head?”
Isabella’s eyes gleamed with cold authority.
The hired hands exchanged uncertain glances with one another.
“If you don’t disappear from my sight within five seconds, you’re all fired.”
“Y-yes!”
“We’re leaving at once!”
The hired hands, who had been hesitating, turned pale and quickly spun around.
“Haa.”
Left alone, Isabella narrowed her eyes and turned to face the surging monsters.
A sharp pain radiated from her left chest, where the stigma had been etched by the influence of the ‘Curse’.
‘I’d preferred not to use my power in broad daylight if I could help it.’
But the current situation left me no other choice.
“Grrrrrowwwl!”
“Kwooooo!”
Isabella turned her gaze toward the monsters, her eyes cold and lifeless.
A sudden hush.
The frenzied creatures charging forward froze in their tracks.
“Pathetic things.”
A thick, metallic stench of blood spread through the air as a crimson aura enveloped Isabella.
She stretched her hand toward the monsters with deliberate slowness.
Splurt! Crack! Crunch!
The monsters’ bodies swelled like balloons inflated to their absolute limit.
From the bodies of thousands upon thousands of creatures, blood erupted like fountains.
“Hah… hah…”
In the sticky pool of blood, the Leech Queen clutched her chest with a twisted expression.

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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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