Not A Regressor - Chapter 23

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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 23
Unleash the Hunting Dog (4)
When I was young.
My older brother excelled at everything compared to me.
Studies, athletics, even art and music.
No matter how hard I tried, there were things I couldn’t do—yet my brother always accomplished them effortlessly.
To my young eyes, my brother, three years my senior, seemed like a superhuman, a veritable Superman.
━But.
Everything changed once true superhumans—Awakened Users—appeared, shattering the fantasies of childhood.
The Zodiac Twelve Palaces’ constellations.
Unlike my brother, who was never chosen by any constellation, I was selected by the Leo constellation.
‘I can surpass my brother.’
The inferiority complex accumulated since childhood became my driving force.
I worked harder than anyone, honing my strength with brutal determination.
And so.
-Haha. Eight-star… you became an eight-star? And a Leo one at that?
I had ascended to a realm my brother could never reach.
Unaware of how my brother felt, ignorant of the despair that consumed him.
-What’s wrong with you, hyung?
My brother grew gaunt with each passing day.
He barely ate, confined himself to his room in a state of helplessness.
-No. It’s nothing… nothing at all.
He said it was nothing, but I soon realized the cause was me.
My brother couldn’t bear it.
A world overrun by monsters.
The fact that in this cruel world of blood and flesh, he could only receive protection from his younger brother.
The self-loathing of being protected by the one he was supposed to protect—his own sibling.
It had made my brother sick.
-Hyung… please.
I understood my brother.
After all, it was inferiority toward him that had driven me to this height.
But.
Because I understood.
Because I empathized.
I also knew that such emotions couldn’t simply vanish.
-…I’m sorry.
The distance between my brother and me grew wider.
The deep chasm of emotion festered, reeking with decay.
-Woo-hyuk!! I’ve awakened too!! I got the Compass constellation stigma!!
Then, my brother awakened.
I was genuinely delighted.
My heart raced at the thought of returning to those days when my brother and I were close, just like before.
Of course, with the Stigma of Compass, it was a distant dream for him to reach the same level as me, who possessed the Stigma of the Zodiac Twelve Palaces.
But it was still good.
I simply wanted my brother to regain even a shred of confidence.
━I bought him an expensive spear and equipment.
Guild work kept me busy, so we couldn’t spend much time together, but still, our relationship seemed to have improved slightly compared to before.
I held onto that hope.
I dreamed of that future.
But,
But,
But.
[Lee Shin-hyuk is currently being held by us.]
Now… what nonsense are you spouting?
[Nonsense? Hmm. I suppose I should send you proof photos then.]
Ding.
A photograph arrived.
An ominous premonition crawled down my spine.
“…This photo, it’s…”
A spear with a soft blue radiance flowing from its blade.
On the shaft was intricately carved the emblem of the Valhalla Guild—a roaring lion.
-Thump, thump.
My heart pounded violently.
Scorching heat surged up the back of my neck, burning through my mind.
‘This is…’
The spear I had gifted to Lee Shin-hyuk.
Custom-made, one of a kind in the entire world.
My brother’s spear.
“━Who… who are you.”
A sensation as if my mind were burning white-hot.
A torrent of maddening emotions erupted and surged forth.
“Who the hell are you!!!!”
I screamed as though my very soul was tearing apart.
[My name is━ Yujin.]
Yujin, Yujin, Yujin.
I burned that name into my mind.
Of course.
I knew it wasn’t his real name.
A kidnapper wouldn’t brazenly reveal his true identity.
But one thing was certain.
Lee Shin-hyuk—his older brother was in that bastard’s grasp.
“What do you want?”
[Please prepare 3 billion won in cash by the 25th and come to the Observatory near the summit of Baekun Mountain.]
3 billion won.
Had they kidnapped his brother for that?
‘No.’
That couldn’t be it.
While 3 billion won was hardly a trivial sum, it was absolutely insufficient reason to abduct the older brother of Lee Woo-hyuk—the “Black Lion” who was even being discussed as a candidate for the Seven Stars.
‘Their target isn’t my brother… it’s me.’
That’s why they were calling him.
Into the carefully constructed ‘trap’ they’d laid.
[Of course, just you alone. If you bring anyone else… you understand, don’t you?]
A crystalline laugh echoed through the smartphone.
Grit.
He clenched his teeth, barely suppressing the torrent of curses threatening to burst forth.
“If you so much as touch a hair on my brother’s head, I won’t let you off.”
[Ooh~! How terrifying! Puhahahaha!!]
“…”
Lee Woo-hyuk closed his eyes tightly.
Vwooom!!
The Leo constellation mark carved into his left chest blazed with azure light.
A savage, bestial mana surged upward.
[Oh! I got a bit carried away there! You remember what I said, right? 3 billion won in cash by the 25th. To the summit of Baekun Mountain. Haha! Let’s see… the time… yes. Since it’s the Observatory, it’d be nice to see some stars. How about evening?]
“…”
[Then. See you then.]
Click.
The call disconnected.
-Crack!
The table he’d gripped shattered into pieces.
“Yu… jin.”
Crunch. Boom! Crash!!!
Raging mana rippled outward, and every luxurious decoration in the office was obliterated and sent tumbling.
“Yujin, Yujin, Yujiiiiiin…!”
Eyes ablaze with fury.
A rage that boiled his very marrow incinerated all reason.
-Knock knock.
“Guild Master?”
Kim Sun-young cautiously opened the door and stepped inside.
She trembled slightly as she surveyed the devastated office.
“…What’s happened?”
The usual cold-blooded demeanor with which Lee Woo-hyuk led his guild members was nowhere to be found.
He resembled a wounded beast.
Trembling.
Kim Sun-young’s legs quivered beneath the suffocating weight of his murderous intent.
“….”
Lee Woo-hyuk clenched his jaw, his lips pressed into a thin line.
—If you call anyone else… you understand, don’t you?
The kidnapper’s voice echoed in his mind.
“It’s nothing serious….”
No—Lee Woo-hyuk cut himself off mid-sentence, sinking into thought.
He repeatedly clenched and unclenched his fists, his eyes squeezed shut.
“Guild Master? Are you alright?”
“….”
After a long moment of deliberation.
Lee Woo-hyuk slowly opened his eyes.
“Contact the Association immediately.”
“The Association?”
“Yes.”
He nodded, continuing.
“And.”
His narrowed eyes gleamed with lethal sharpness.
“Summon all guild members stationed at the Gates.”
He had no intention of falling into the trap this bastard had laid.
“━This is war.”
His voice, frozen as ice, reverberated through the room.
* * *
“Well.”
After ending the call, Ojin’s lips curved into a smile.
The bait had been cast.
Now came the waiting—for the enraged hunting dog to tear into the enemy’s throat.
‘How will he move?’
It wasn’t difficult to predict.
“First, he’ll contact the Association.”
Valhalla Guild and the Association were allies.
Even without direct support, they would have no choice but to reach out to leverage the Association’s superior intelligence network.
A small elite guild would inevitably lack information resources.
‘And once that happens.’
They would naturally discover it.
The awakened user bearing the name ‘Yujin’.
‘And they’ll hear about the Black Star Society too.’
He would come to understand exactly who his teeth should sink into.
“Though I suppose he’ll wonder why the kidnapper revealed the name ‘Yujin’ so readily.”
It didn’t matter.
Suspicion wouldn’t stop him from acting.
His brother’s life hung in the balance.
A cornered lion has no choice but to bite at straws.
‘He’ll contact me too.’
It was I who had passed information about the Awakened User named Yujin to the Association.
Whether the contact came through the Association or directly from Lee Woo-hyuk himself remained uncertain.
But contact would surely come.
‘He’ll ask for a general description and appearance.’
If that happened, it would be simple.
I would simply relay the image of Yujin I had seen directly at the Gate.
And then.
“We’ll meet.”
The evening of the 25th.
Lee Woo-hyuk and Yujin would have their first encounter at Baekun Mountain.
In the worst possible form of meeting.
‘And after that.’
A soft chuckle escaped my lips.
I laughed.
“War will begin.”
I had told Lee Woo-hyuk to come alone.
But there was no way he would actually come by himself.
‘He wouldn’t be foolish enough to walk blindly into a trap laid by his enemy.’
He would mobilize all his guild members and gather every ounce of power he could muster.
He would surely understand that this was the wisest way to save his brother.
“Now then, let me clean up the loose ends.”
-Crackle! Crackle!!
I poured electricity into the smartphone I had used to call Lee Shin-hyuk, destroying it completely.
‘Evidence must be erased thoroughly.’
Thud! Thud!
I hurled the smartphone to the ground and stomped on it relentlessly until it was unrecognizable.
All that remained was to scatter the final fragments into several sewer grates.
Even if the late Steve Jobs rose from the dead, he wouldn’t be able to tell this had once been a smartphone.
“Now what’s left is the spear and….”
I turned my head slightly and lifted the corpse of the Black Star Society member I had slung over my shoulder.
“Hmm… the build is similar enough.”
There were no distinguishing physical features.
“Good, I’ll take this too.”
This corpse will have its uses.
I gathered the body and the spear, then turned away.
‘I should stop by a weapon shop tomorrow and pick up a decent spear.’
I had plans to commission several pieces of equipment soon, but I didn’t have the luxury of waiting leisurely for custom orders right now.
“So… when will the call come?”
I moved forward with a dark smile playing at my lips.
* * *
━Late evening.
Bzzzzzz!
“Mm.”
I stirred awake at the sound of my smartphone ringing.
I threw off the blanket and pushed myself up from the narrow floor of my room.
“…Yeah. What is it at this hour?”
Rustle, rustle.
Song Ha-eun, who had been sleeping soundly in bed, pulled the blanket over herself and shifted restlessly.
“Don’t worry about it. Get some more sleep.”
Click.
I slipped on my slippers and stepped outside.
“Hello?”
[I apologize for calling at this hour, Ojin. I’m reaching out because there’s something urgent I need to discuss.]
Han Jun-man’s voice was unusually rigid and tense.
“What’s the matter?”
[It’s difficult to explain over the phone…]
“Understood. I’ll head to the Association right now.”
I hung up and went back inside to change into proper clothes.
“What…? Where are you going at this hour?”
Ha-eun asked, sitting up.
“To check on how well my unleashed hunting dog is performing.”
“…Huh? What nonsense are you talking about?”
“I’ll be back soon.”
“What the—”
Click.
I closed the door and stepped outside.
‘Not even a day has passed.’
Ssshhh.
My lips curved upward.
“I seem to have found an excellent hunting dog.”
Hehehehe.
My shoulders trembled with amusement as I headed toward the Association.

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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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