Not A Regressor - Chapter 227

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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 227
The Seven Star Council (3)
The Seven Star Council convened at the Shanghai Tower, located in Shanghai, China.
A colossal high-rise building that soared to an astounding 127 floors.
The magnificent structure, its exterior curved as though a dragon were ascending to the heavens, was surrounded by dignitaries from across the globe and broadcast personnel crowding around to capture the spectacle on camera.
“Wow… at this rate, there’s practically no need for a separate year-end awards ceremony, is there?”
Ha-eun let out a hollow laugh, muttering that she should have dressed up in formal attire.
She glanced around at the throngs of people swarming the tower’s perimeter and clicked her tongue disapprovingly.
“Still, this is supposed to be a competition to select the Seven Stars—shouldn’t it feel more serious than a festival?”
“From the people’s perspective, it might as well be a festival.”
To the masses, the “Seven Stars” represented something symbolic in nature.
They were awakeners who embodied the heroes protecting humanity.
For that very reason, the existence of the Seven Stars could not remain shrouded in secrecy—it had to be as widely known to the public as possible. A symbol no one knew of held no value whatsoever.
“There are so many awakeners here that I’ve seen on television before.”
Ha-eun looked around with wonder, her head turning this way and that.
True to her words, the area surrounding the tower was teeming with world-renowned high-ranking awakeners—those who had achieved remarkable feats in monster subjugation, guild masters commanding guilds with tens of thousands of members, and other luminaries of the awakening world.
Perhaps since the emergence of the First Rift, one could count on their fingers the number of times so many high-ranking awakeners had gathered in a single place.
“Our O-jin… he’s pretty famous back in South Korea, but coming here, he’s practically invisible, huh?”
“Quiet.”
With so many celebrities present, the attention directed toward Kwon O-jin was virtually nonexistent.
It was rather like a famous Korean actor going to Hollywood and becoming a has-been.
“Hehe. But don’t worry—no matter how much our O-jin shrinks into himself, this unnie will stay right by his side.”
Ha-eun burst into giggles and swatted Kwon O-jin’s backside with her palm.
‘I knew this would happen, which is why I wanted to come alone.’
Ha-eun had insisted so stubbornly on coming along that he had no choice but to bring her with him.
‘Not that there’s anything for her to do anyway.’
Since Kwon O-jin was the sole representative from South Korea competing in the tournament, all she could really do was cheer him on from the sidelines.
“Right now, these kids don’t pay you any attention, but once the tournament starts, they’ll be so shocked they’ll do triple backflips in the air.”
“What kind of crazy reaction is that?”
Well, regardless.
“When you come back as one of the Seven Stars, I’ll give you a special gift, so do your best out there, okay?”
With Ha-eun by his side, he felt an unexpected surge of motivation.
“What kind of gift?”
“Hehe. That’s a surprise for when you return.”
Ha-eun winked playfully and offered a suggestive smile.
Beyond the Dragon Vein, there was now another reason to become one of the Seven Stars.
“By the way, how many candidates are participating?”
“I heard there are twenty-eight.”
“That’s quite a lot, isn’t it? Our country only sent one.”
“Apparently, each country has a different quota for how many candidates they can send.”
The Seven Star Council allowed stronger Awakener nations to send more candidates.
China, the United States, and the United Kingdom—ranked as the strongest—each sent four candidates to compete in the Seven Star Council.
“…Was our country ranked that low?”
“On a global scale, we’d be considered middle tier.”
Originally, thanks to Cheon Sang-gil, South Korea had been ranked relatively high, but after his death and the Cheonhye Guild’s annihilation, our standing had dropped significantly.
“Countries below us can’t even participate.”
Nations like Japan, which had no high-ranking Awakeners at all—commonly called the Land Forsaken by Stars—couldn’t participate in the Seven Star Council whatsoever.
In other words.
South Korea was the lowest-ranked nation eligible to participate in the Seven Star Council.
“Those bastards are absolutely petty.”
Ha-eun frowned, clearly displeased.
“But isn’t it absurd in the first place to give different allocations based on which country you’re from when selecting the Seven Stars?”
Logically speaking, Ha-eun’s complaint made perfect sense.
“The Seven Stars wield enough influence to sway an entire nation.”
Considering what happened to South Korea after Tamrang Star’s death, I could understand why they’d adopted such a crude method.
Though I couldn’t say I accepted it.
“Well, whether it’s one candidate or four, it doesn’t matter.”
Either way, I’d have to defeat all the other candidates to become one of the Seven Stars.
“Look at you, so confident.”
Ha-eun chuckled and poked Kwon O-jin’s ribs playfully.
While I was chatting casually with Ha-eun like this.
“Ah, there you are.”
Han Jun-man, who had come along as our guide, approached us.
“Now that candidate registration is complete, shall we head to your room?”
“What’s the schedule for the tournament?”
“The main tournament will begin in two days. There’s a light opening ceremony this evening, and tomorrow all candidates will gather to receive detailed tournament rules and precautions.”
Han Manager continued explaining as he handed over the schedule he’d received from the organizing committee.
“Until two days from now, you’re free to use the training rooms inside the tower, and if you need meals or anything else, just let the organizing committee know and they’ll prepare it immediately.”
Two days from now.
It was certainly a tight schedule, suggesting that selecting the Seven Stars was urgent.
“Do you have any information on how the tournament will be conducted?”
“No, it will probably be announced tomorrow.”
I nodded and followed Han Manager into Shanghai Tower.
The room we were shown to was on the 15th floor.
Considering Shanghai Tower had 127 floors total, it was quite a low level.
“I apologize. We had originally requested a higher floor….”
Han Manager scratched his head with an awkward expression.
“It seems our request was… not conveyed properly. Ha ha.”
Han Manager forced an uncomfortable laugh while avoiding my gaze.
I could easily discern why he wore such an awkward expression.
‘I’ve been outmatched by the other candidates.’
There were a total of twenty-eight candidates participating in the Seven Star Council this time.
Excluding Kwon O-jin, they were all high-tier Awakeners of 9-star rank or above.
Most of them possessed formidable stigmas of the Zodiac 12-star caliber.
No matter how much Kwon O-jin possessed the Polaris stigma that all Awakeners coveted, he could only receive meager treatment among such formidable candidates.
‘Or rather, possessing the Polaris stigma would make it even worse.’
The character for “envy” inherently carried the meaning of covetousness, did it not?
Harboring malice toward those who possessed what one lacked was nearly human nature itself.
“Ahem. In any case, the two of your rooms are here—Room 1 and Room 2.”
“One room would be sufficient, wouldn’t it?”
Ha-eun returned one of the key cards Han Manager was offering.
She grinned mischievously, holding the key to Room 1 and waving it back and forth playfully.
“…I see.”
Han Manager gazed at Kwon O-jin with eyes brimming with envy, as if tears of blood might spill forth.
“Well then. Please arrive at the banquet hall on the 100th floor by 7 PM.”
Han Manager turned and walked away with slumped shoulders.
In a low voice, the middle-aged man’s grumbling—”This is disgusting, I’ll get myself a girlfriend too”—faintly reached their ears.
“Ah… was I being a bit insensitive?”
Ha-eun watched Han Manager disappear into the distance, scratching her head with an awkward expression.
* * *
After resting in the room with Ha-eun for about three hours.
Kwon O-jin ascended to the 100th floor where the opening ceremony was being held.
‘This place is packed too.’
The 100th floor was filled with broadcast staff and famous Awakeners I had seen from outside the tower.
As I entered the banquet hall, the gazes of those around me instantly converged upon me.
“…Is that him? Noe-rang?”
“The only guy among the candidates who’s just 8-star?”
“Ha, someone who hasn’t even reached 9-star wants to become one of the Seven Stars.”
Ridicule and mockery poured down from all around.
I ate the food arranged on the table as if unbothered.
Perhaps it was because of the venue itself.
They were all premium dishes delicious enough to make one’s tongue melt.
“Aah. Then we shall now begin the opening ceremony of the Seven Star Council.”
As I waited while eating, a master of ceremonies took the stage with a microphone.
“Before the formal opening ceremony, we have a speech from Wei Wu-jiao, who has graciously assisted in the successful hosting of the Seven Star Council.”
Following the master of ceremonies’ words, a middle-aged man with an impressively groomed beard ascended the stage.
“First, I extend my gratitude to all the Awakeners who have gathered here to become heroes.”
He continued in a deep, resonant voice.
“In the past several months, humanity has faced tremendous trials.”
“The esteemed Cheon Sang-gil and Tamrang Star, who fought against evil for humanity’s sake, lost their lives at the hands of the treacherous Black Star Society, and countless victims have been created across the world due to the Black Star Society’s horrific acts of terror.”
“The Black Star Society is not the only threat to humanity. We’ve also been receiving reports from around the world that Named Awakeners who had been dormant are beginning to move again.”
A tedious speech droned on.
“In this moment of crisis, we need a star to serve as humanity’s beacon more than ever before.”
Wei Wu-jiao gestured, and twenty-eight spotlights illuminated the candidates.
“Allow me to introduce them! These are the Awakeners who have come to the Council to become the new Seven Stars!”
Clap clap clap clap clap!
Applause erupted from all directions.
“As the representative candidate, Awakener Namgoong Hui, representing China, will share his thoughts!”
Namgoong Hui.
Kwon O-jin had heard of him a few times—a famous high-ranking Awakener.
‘If I recall correctly, he was a high-ranking Awakener of the Leo constellation, just like Lee Woo-hyuk.’
I’d also heard rumors that he’d recently reached 10-Star.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you all. I’m Namgoong Hui.”
Namgoong Hui walked up to the podium—a handsome man with a refined jawline and flawless skin.
He offered a faint smile and bowed his head respectfully.
“As Wei mentioned, we are facing an unprecedented crisis. Perhaps even greater than when the First Rift opened and the world fell into chaos.”
Namgoong Hui clenched his fists tightly.
“But.”
His eyes blazed with intensity as they swept across the assembly.
“As always, we will rise. We will stand and fight against this great evil!”
His passionate voice resonated through the banquet hall.
“I ask you to support all the candidates gathered here, who will become the stars to illuminate humanity’s future!”
Twenty-seven spotlights illuminated the candidates.
“The renowned Iron Fist, Jason Hardy! The archer who pierces the heavens, Orlando Veil! Every candidate present here is more than worthy of becoming one of the Seven Stars!”
With each spotlight illuminating an Awakener candidate, applause erupted anew.
‘This is ridiculous.’
Kwon O-jin let out a hollow laugh at what felt like a year-end awards ceremony.
Thinking he’d just ignore it and eat, he picked up his fork.
“Oh, right.”
Namgoong Hui’s gaze turned toward Kwon O-jin.
A cold smile played at his lips.
“With one exception, of course.”
Twenty-seven spotlights converged on Kwon O-jin.

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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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