Not A Regressor - Chapter 210

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

I Am Not a Regressor Chapter 210
The Head of the Snake (3)
“Ugh….”
My head throbbed as if it might shatter.
Kwon O-jin slowly opened his eyes, cradling his aching head.
‘Where am I?’
A sky shrouded in dark, roiling clouds.
Jagged rock formations jutted upward like the inverted blade of a giant’s sword, and between them sprawled bizarre flora unlike anything I had ever witnessed.
Seven black stars gleamed with an ominous light through the gaps in the suffocating clouds above.
Ordinarily, black stars shimmering against a cloud-covered sky should be indistinguishable—like black ink dropped onto black paper.
Yet these seven black stars, radiating that sinister luminescence, remained starkly visible even through the oppressive darkness.
A grotesque landscape that could never exist on Earth.
It did not take long for Kwon O-jin to comprehend where he had awakened.
“…The Demon Realm.”
The colossal Gate that had opened at the North Pole, spanning fifty kilometers in diameter.
The world of monsters, said to be accessible only through the First Rift.
I had been pulled into that unknown world.
And in the most absurdly simple manner imaginable.
“Ha.”
Kwon O-jin let out a hollow laugh and pressed his palm to his forehead.
‘Did I let my guard down?’
In truth, it was difficult to call it a lapse in caution.
I had summoned Vega directly to verify whether the Rift was safe before touching it.
And despite having entered Gates hundreds of times before, I had never encountered one that expanded to dozens of meters in size the moment a single finger made contact, swallowing everything nearby.
[My… child?]
Vega, who had collapsed nearby, rose to her feet.
She pressed her small hand to her forehead as dizziness seemed to plague her, then glanced around and suddenly shot into the air.
[W-we’re inside the Demon Realm?!]
“It appears so.”
[W-what in the world is this….]
Vega’s expression grew bewildered as she recalled what had just transpired.
The memory of how the black Rift had swallowed her the instant my hand made contact, like a serpent devouring its prey.
Vega’s face drained of all color.
[This is my fault.]
It was Vega herself who had declared the Rift safe.
“No. This isn’t anyone’s fault.”
Who could have anticipated such a thing happening merely because my fingertip had made contact?
[The Rift’s condition was utterly stable… I cannot fathom why this occurred.]
Vega furrowed her brow in confusion.
She might not understand, but there was something nagging at me.
‘It reacted to Heukcheon.’
The moment my hand touched the black rift.
Heukcheon showed a subtle response.
The black rift began to expand rapidly, resonating with it.
In other words.
That rift had been a trap designed from the start to pull Kwon O-jin into the Demon Realm.
There was no need to wonder who had done it.
They had left their mark plainly before the rift.
What mattered wasn’t who had done it.
‘How… did she know I possessed Heukcheon?’
How could the Snake Zodiac Queen have known what even the Constellation of Polaris hadn’t detected?
Kwon O-jin bit his lip hard and clenched his fists.
‘I’ll think about that later.’
For now, I needed to find a way to escape this place as quickly as possible.
“Ugh… damn it. What the hell is happening?”
“Are you hurt anywhere, Kwon O-jin?”
It was fortunate that I had bound my body with wire before being pulled into the rift.
Ha-eun and Isabella, who had collapsed not far away, walked toward me.
“I’m fine. How about you and Isabella?”
“Nothing except feeling like my head’s about to split open.”
“I’m okay too.”
Seeing the two women seemingly unharmed, a sigh of relief escaped my lips.
‘But that aside.’
My eyes narrowed.
“Did you… not hear a voice when you were pulled in?”
“Huh? What voice?”
“No, I didn’t hear anything.”
The two women shook their heads.
“Why, someone whispering ‘I was waiting for you.’ Did nobody really hear it?”
“Maybe you’re hearing things?”
Ha-eun tilted her head in confusion.
It seemed both women hadn’t heard the voice.
I turned to Vega, but the answer was the same.
[This one did not hear it either.]
“…Is that so?”
Then who was the owner of that voice?
“Could it have been the Snake Zodiac Queen’s voice? I think she’s probably the one who created this rift too.”
“…No.”
I shook my head quietly.
Kwon O-jin shook his head at last.
At first, I had wondered if it might have been the Snake Zodiac Queen’s voice.
“But it was a man’s voice.”
I couldn’t quite remember what that voice sounded like exactly.
But one thing was certain—it was a man’s voice, not a woman’s.
“Could the Snake Zodiac Queen perhaps be… equipped?”
What was this Elder Sister going on about?
“No, why. You know, what do you call it… Oh, that’s right! A futana….”
“Be quiet.”
I pressed my finger against Ha-eun’s chattering lips.
“Mmph!”
Ha-eun, her eyes narrowing as if asking what I was doing, suddenly stuck out her tongue and licked my finger.
I felt the soft, wet sensation.
Kwon O-jin furrowed his brow and withdrew his hand.
“What the hell are you doing?”
“Then who told you to just grab someone’s lips like that?”
Ha-eun snorted and tilted her head back to gaze up at the sky.
“What the hell, why is the sky so damn gloomy?”
She clicked her tongue and pulled a cigarette from her pocket.
Ssshhhhh.
The tip of the cigarette burned brightly, and firefly-like sparks danced around the area.
The dark surroundings became as bright as midday.
“Thanks, Elder Sister.”
“But where did Grandpa and the Cheonhye Guild members all go?”
“Who knows. Let’s search this area first.”
Kwon O-jin took the lead, walking between the towering rocks.
“Wow, O-jin. Look at that.”
Ha-eun tugged at Kwon O-jin’s collar as she pointed to one side.
A single tree grew through a narrow crevice between the rocks.
At the end of the tree hung pale jade-green fruits that glowed with an ethereal light.
The semi-transparent fruits, so translucent you could see through them, were as beautiful as if precious gems had taken root.
“Those fruits… they’re really pretty, aren’t they?”
Ha-eun’s eyes grew distant as she gazed at the fruits.
As if entranced by something, Ha-eun moved toward the pale jade-green fruits.
Isabella urgently grabbed Ha-eun’s shoulder.
“Come to your senses, Elder Sister.”
“Huh…? Why?”
“That fruit… it smells like blood.”
Narrowing her eyes, Isabella picked up a stone fragment and hurled it toward the tree bearing the fruits.
The moment the stone struck the fruit and it swayed gently.
CRAAAAAAACK!!
In that instant, tree roots surged up from the ground, their jaws spreading wide like a ravenous beast as they swallowed the stone fragment whole.
“What… what is that?!”
Ha-eun’s eyes, which had been hazily unfocused, snapped back into sharp clarity.
She watched the tree roots crunch and shatter the stone fragment, her face twisting in displeasure as she hurled the kindling she’d been holding toward the wood.
Whoooosh!
Savage flames erupted, consuming the tree in their fury.
“Damn… if I’d been alone, I wouldn’t have stood a chance.”
Ha-eun shuddered, recalling how she’d unknowingly moved toward the fruit without thinking.
She wouldn’t have died thanks to her superhuman body as a high-tier Awakener, but she certainly would have suffered grievous wounds.
“…There’s a reason this place is called the Demon Realm, after all.”
Kwon O-jin activated the stigma of Canis Major Constellation, his senses alert to the surroundings.
As they cautiously pressed forward.
“Huff! There you are!”
Cheon Sang-gil appeared, breathing heavily.
His traditional robes were drenched in blood from multiple skirmishes with demonic beasts.
“Are you hurt anywhere?”
“We’re fine. How about you, grandfather?”
“Ah. While searching for you, a pack of demonic beasts attacked… but fortunately, I dispatched them without much difficulty.”
Cheon Sang-gil exhaled with relief, his voice dropping to a somber tone.
“I apologize. I never anticipated something like this would happen.”
“It’s fine. No one here could have predicted this anyway.”
Kwon O-jin retrieved a water flask from his waist and offered it to Cheon Sang-gil.
“Thank you.”
“May I ask you a few questions, sir?”
“Of course.”
Cheon Sang-gil nodded after taking a long drink of water.
“How far from here was the location where you first opened your eyes?”
“Well… it was quite a distance away.”
“Do you not know the specific distance?”
“Perhaps five kilometers? No, maybe around ten kilometers away.”
Certainly.
For someone who’d been pulled into the rift simultaneously, that was quite a considerable distance.
“So you immediately began searching for them upon opening your eyes?”
“That’s right.”
“Roughly how long did it take?”
“Hmm. About… an hour, I’d say. That’s how long I searched.”
“So it happened around the same time we opened our eyes.”
Kwon O-jin had also opened his eyes roughly an hour ago.
“You mentioned encountering a pack of demonic beasts on your way here.”
“That’s correct.”
“What kind of creatures were they? Their appearance, size, that sort of thing.”
“Hmm. Give me a moment. It was so dark and chaotic that the details are a bit fuzzy.”
Cheon Sang-gil took another sip of water before continuing.
“They were leopards about three meters tall. Though I say leopards, only their heads resembled them—their bodies were distinctly human.”
“Like werewolves, then?”
“Precisely.”
“How many were there?”
“Over a hundred, I’d say. They were all at least seven-star-grade monsters.”
So he’d dispatched over a hundred seven-star-grade monsters in that brief span of time.
Kwon O-jin exhaled in admiration and nodded.
“You truly are Tamrang Star.”
“Tsk. This old man’s only claim to fame is something like that.”
Cheon Sang-gil chuckled lightly and extended the waterskin he’d been drinking from toward Kwon O-jin.
Though he’d drunk quite a bit while battling the monster horde and was somewhat parched, the waterskin—its interior expanded through magic using a mana stone—still held plenty of water.
“Then, if I may, one final question?”
“Ask away.”
“Until now… oh.”
As Kwon O-jin reached to accept the waterskin while speaking, his grip slipped.
Water poured from the waterskin, drenching Cheon Sang-gil’s traditional Korean robe.
“Oops.”
“I-I’m terribly sorry, sir.”
“Tsk. No matter. It’s actually convenient—washes away the monster blood.”
Cheon Sang-gil smiled benevolently as if unconcerned, picked up the fallen waterskin from the ground, and handed it back to Kwon O-jin.
“So, what was this final question you wanted to ask?”
“Ah, it’s nothing major.”
Kwon O-jin fastened the waterskin to his belt and asked.
“Can you answer my questions in reverse?”
Silence descended.
“…What do you mean by that?”
Cheon Sang-gil regarded Kwon O-jin with a bewildered expression.
Kwon O-jin fixed him with a cold, piercing stare.
“Can you answer my questions in reverse?”
“In other words… hmm.”
Cheon Sang-gil broke into a cold sweat, his eyes darting nervously.
He avoided Kwon O-jin’s gaze and began tapping his leg anxiously.
“Why won’t you answer?”
Kwon O-jin seized Cheon Sang-gil by the shoulder.
The water-soaked fabric of his robe dampened his palm.
“I asked you to answer.”

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————