Not A Regressor - Chapter 21

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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 21
Unleash the Hound (2)
The Awakener Association headquarters located in Yeouido.
Passing by the Awakeners who had gathered for registration assessments as usual, I stepped into the elevator reserved for staff only.
—Knock, knock.
“Yes, come in.”
A deep, gravelly voice emerged as I rapped on the team leader’s office door.
Click.
Upon opening the door, a muscular giant seated at the office desk came into view.
‘Is that chair going to break?’
Creak, creak, creak.
The moment Team Leader Han lifted his buttocks, a suppressed groan erupted as the chair emitted a protesting screech.
“How have you been?”
“Thanks to you.”
I exchanged pleasantries and settled onto the sofa.
I wanted to immediately interrogate him thoroughly about the absurd sum of 2 billion won in the request, but there was something I needed to do first.
“Have you ever heard of the Black Star Society?”
“The Black Star Society?”
Team Leader Han Jun-man shook his head in response.
“No. It’s my first time hearing of it.”
“Then… have you ever seen this stigma?”
I picked up a sheet of paper and drew the owl-shaped stigma to show him.
“This is… just a moment.”
Team Leader Han retrieved a thick manual from his drawer and flipped through the pages rapidly.
Soon, he narrowed his eyes and rotated the paper with the stigma drawn on it back and forth.
“This stigma is… the owl-shaped stigma, isn’t it?”
“You recognize it?”
“I don’t know the exact details, but… I’m certain it’s one of the ‘forgotten stigmas.'”
Forgotten stigmas?
What in the world is that?
“When the Constellations first appeared on Earth eight years ago, there are definitely records of their existence, but now they can no longer be found. We refer to such stigmas as forgotten.”
Forgotten stigmas, then.
“Was it not recorded why they disappeared?”
“Yes. The situation at that time was… not one worth documenting.”
Team Leader Han offered a bitter smile and scratched his head.
“Ah.”
I let out a short exclamation and nodded.
Eight years ago.
When the Gate connecting to an alien world first opened.
The nightmarish era when dozens of nations vanished and two-thirds of Earth was consumed by monsters.
In that case, I could understand why proper records hadn’t been kept.
‘Who would bother recording anything when people looked like they’d die any day now?’
Those were times when merely surviving each day was considered a miracle.
‘If the Owl’s Seat constellation mark has existed for eight years…’
That meant the Black Star constellation mark had been around for a full eight years.
‘Then perhaps the Black Star Society too…’
It could mean they were an organization that had been operating in the shadows for all eight years.
‘It wasn’t hastily assembled.’
If they were an organization that had quietly grown in strength over eight long years to achieve their goal, they wouldn’t be a small-time operation.
‘This is turning out to be bigger than I thought.’
I furrowed my brow.
It seemed I’d poked a hornet’s nest, not just a beehive.
‘I need to prepare more thoroughly.’
I had a few methods in mind, but nothing that really grabbed me yet.
“Hmm.”
Han, the team leader who had been studying the paper with the Owl’s Seat constellation mark drawn on it, turned his head toward me.
“By the way, where did you get this constellation mark…?”
“A few days ago, there was some trouble at a Gate.”
“Trouble?”
“Yes. I found a Holy Relic at a Gate, but an Awakener named Yujin suddenly attacked me, claiming it was his.”
I explained the events from a week ago with just a slight exaggeration.
“A-are you hurt anywhere?”
“As you can see.”
“Phew… thank goodness.”
Han Jun-man, the team leader, let out a short sigh of relief and asked.
“So the Awakener who got into a dispute with you was the one carrying the Owl’s Seat constellation mark?”
“Yes.”
“Ah, then by any chance, the Black Star Society…?”
“Haha. You’re quick on the uptake, as expected. Yes, that’s right. He said he was a member of a place called the ‘Black Star Society.'”
“Hmm.”
I shrugged lightly and continued.
“In any case, since I was suddenly attacked, I asked to find out his identity.”
“I see… understood. We’ll look into the Owl’s Seat matter on our end. And the Black Star Society you mentioned as well.”
Han, the team leader, nodded with a hardened expression.
“Thank you.”
I chuckled and shook my head.
If the Association directly stepped in to investigate, I could expect good news.
No matter how much the Association was disrespected elsewhere, it was the largest government-affiliated organization.
In terms of information gathering, most Guilds couldn’t even touch their feet.
“There’s one more thing I’d like to ask, if you don’t mind?”
“Ah, yes. Of course.”
“About how much do you think this will fetch?”
I retrieved the fist-sized Holy Stone I’d received from Yujin and placed it on the table.
“Oh… this is quite a high-quality Holy Stone.”
Team Lead Han let out a brief exclamation as he examined the fist-sized Holy Stone.
“Holy Relics require separate appraisal, but… with just this Holy Stone alone, you should be able to receive at least 500 million won.”
500 million won!!
I desperately suppressed the corners of my mouth from rising at such a staggering sum.
‘Damn! The Black Star Society is the best!!’
To earn this much in less than five minutes just by moving my tongue—it was incredible.
A thrilling sensation rippled down my spine.
“Can the Association handle the sale for us?”
“Of course. I’ll make sure you receive a better price than market rate.”
Team Lead Han laughed confidently and squared his shoulders.
When the dark-skinned, muscular man straightened his shoulders, he looked exactly like a male gorilla flexing to impress a female.
“What about taxes…?”
“Of course there are none.”
What?
I think I’m falling for this gorilla.
“Oh, by the way, could you also appraise this?”
I presented the Holy Relic that the Black Star Society had switched with the black goblet.
“Is this the Holy Relic that caused the dispute?”
“Haha, yes. That’s right.”
“To think you’ve already found a Holy Relic….”
Team Lead Han Jun-man let out a brief exclamation.
While Holy Relics weren’t unheard of in Gates, it was extremely rare for a newcomer who’d just completed registration to possess one.
‘Though, if it’s Oh Jin, it might be possible.’
The natural sophistication emanating from him was far from ordinary to dismiss him as a novice just because he’d recently completed registration.
‘The skill of someone who’s been rolling around inside Gates for years.’
Though it was impossible he’d been a normal civilian before awakening.
Team Lead Han accepted the blue goblet I offered.
“I’ll submit a request to an appraiser connected with us.”
“Thank you.”
I bowed my head respectfully.
I briefly considered processing the mutant Holy Stone as well, but decided to hold onto it for now.
‘It might be connected to those Black Star Society bastards.’
It could prove useful later.
“Well then. Is there anything else you’d like to ask?”
“No.”
I nodded my head.
Hm!
I exhaled an excited breath through my nose, my eyes sparkling.
‘Now it’s time for the main course.’
The biggest reason I’d rushed to the Association the moment I received the call, my palms already sweating.
“So what’s the request about?”
“Ha ha. I was just about to explain that.”
Team Leader Han took a casual sip of coffee from his mug as he spoke.
“The emergency request was made by Valhalla Guild.”
“…Valhalla Guild?”
It was a guild name I’d never heard before.
‘If they threw 2 billion won at the request fee alone, they must be a fairly substantial guild.’
I furrowed my brow and racked my brain trying to recall the name.
“You might not have heard of them. They’re a guild that’s been rising rapidly in recent times.”
“Ah, is that so?”
“Yes. It’s a guild composed of a select few, and it’s well-known that each of its members possesses exceptional skill.”
A select few, then.
I’d thought it was a large-scale guild, but it seemed they invested in quality over quantity.
“Most notably, their guild master is formidable. They’re even being mentioned as a candidate for the next generation of the Seven Stars.”
The Seven Stars.
A term referring to seven Awakeners said to possess the most powerful strength and authority in the entire world.
To be mentioned as a candidate for that position meant they were no ordinary Awakener.
“Well… personally, I think Ojin is more impressive.”
Team Leader Han shrugged and continued speaking.
“I’m confident that Ojin will eventually become one of the pillars of the Seven Stars.”
“You’re placing quite high expectations on me.”
Ojin let out a modest laugh and shook his head.
I was being humble, but honestly, I wasn’t entirely lacking in confidence.
If I kept growing at this rate, I’d get there eventually.
‘The Seven Stars, huh.’
They were said to be powerhouses far beyond humanity, but I’d never actually seen them, so I couldn’t quite grasp their level.
‘And there’s only one in Korea.’
With six of the seven located abroad, it wasn’t easy to get news about them.
Besides, the one Seven Star in Korea wasn’t the type to be actively involved in public matters.
“Ahem. Anyway, back to the main point—the request details. It’s difficult if it’s difficult, and easy if it’s easy, that sort of thing.”
What kind of answer is that?
“What exactly is the request?”
“…Finding a person.”
Finding a person?
“Like a private detective agency—finding someone, investigating them, that sort of thing?”
But the reward is 2 billion won?
‘No matter how much money is rotting away, it costs 2 billion won?’
I looked at Han Team-leader with a questioning gaze.
He shook his head lightly and opened his mouth.
“It’s not a request to investigate someone, but literally to find a person. More precisely, to find a missing person.”
“Ah.”
So that’s what it was.
If they were looking for a missing person—especially one who disappeared inside a Gate—they needed a skilled Awakener.
“Who is the missing person?”
“Let me see… just a moment.”
Han Team-leader shuffled through the request form.
“Ah, here it is.”
He pulled a single sheet from the pile of documents and placed the request form on the table with a thud.
“The disappearance date is November 6th.”
“So about two weeks have passed.”
Since today was the 22nd, it had been exactly two weeks and two days.
“As for the location of disappearance… they say the trail goes cold after that morning, so they’re not sure. They believe it’s likely one of the 1 to 2-star Low-rank Gates in the Incheon area.”
“I’ll probably need to check around eight locations.”
Currently, there were eight Low-rank Gates in Incheon.
Since I’d spent the past few years running scams primarily in Low-rank Gates, I knew that area inside and out.
‘Eight places—that’s nothing.’
Now that I’d reached 3-star, I could complete the investigation of all of them in two days, three at most.
“The gender is male. Age is mid-to-late twenties, height 182 centimeters. Black hair and a lean build, they say. Oh, and the name is… let me see. Ah, it’s written here.”
Han Team-leader, who had been reading through the documents, pointed to a specific section with his finger.
“Lee Shin-hyuk. The missing person’s name is Lee Shin-hyuk.”
“━What?”
Who the hell is that?
“So, do you think you can find him?”
No.
Find what.
‘I already searched that guy.’
This is driving me insane.

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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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