Not A Regressor - Chapter 231

—————
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 231
A Hero for the Small (1)
“…What?”
I furrowed my brow at the sound of the scream.
It wasn’t the scream itself that made me frown—it was something else about it.
‘That sounds like a child’s voice?’
I pivoted off the stone beneath my feet and fired my wire shooter toward the direction of the scream.
Whoooosh!
I rocketed through the air with tremendous speed.
It took barely ten seconds to reach the source of the screaming.
“Kyaaaah! Help me! Cough, cough. Ow, my throat hurts from screaming so much.”
There, crouched in the cave, was a girl coughing and sputtering.
She looked to be around ten years old.
She had distinctive hair with a green streak running through it.
“Grrrrrowl! Roaaarrr!”
A monster stood about ten meters in front of the girl, snarling menacingly.
The creature let out a vicious cry and lunged at the girl with bared fangs.
“Roooaaarrr!”
Crackle!
But only for a moment.
A green necklace around the monster’s neck flared with light, causing the beast to thrash and stumble backward.
“Hehe. Mad, are you? Come get me! Come get me~!”
The girl stuck her tongue out at the monster that couldn’t reach her, taunting it.
“….”
I let out a hollow laugh, watching what felt like a poorly executed comedy sketch.
‘So this is what they mean by safety measures for civilians.’
The monster’s eyes blazed crimson as it repeatedly tried to lunge at the girl, but each time the necklace activated and pushed the beast back.
“Oh, mister! Over here, over here! There’s an innocent citizen being threatened by a scary monster!”
Upon spotting me, the girl beamed with a bright smile and waved her hands frantically.
When I first heard there would be missions to rescue civilians, I hadn’t quite understood how they’d work, but now it was starting to make sense.
“Grrrrrowl!”
Had the monster noticed me as well?
Its blazing red eyes turned toward me.
The creature, with legs like a leopard’s, dug into the ground and charged at me with terrifying speed.
For a tournament featuring the Seven Stars, it was an impressively powerful monster—the kind you rarely saw.
“Thunderspear.”
But it was no match for me.
Crackle-crackle-crack!
A fan-shaped burst of blue lightning engulfed the monster.
“Roooaaarrr!”
Wreathed in lightning, the monster thrashed wildly.
I ducked beneath its flailing arms and drew the folding knife from my waist, thrusting it forward with practiced speed.
Shing, crack!
In the blink of an eye, the blade transformed into a spear, piercing through the monster’s neck and burrowing into its skull.
—Ding!
[You have defeated a Green-rank monster.]
[You have acquired 5 points.]
The blue message window didn’t appear in empty air like a system interface.
The voice emanated from the silver bracelet adorning my wrist.
Lowering my gaze to the bracelet, I saw the number that had been zero was now five.
“Wow! You took it down in one shot!”
The girl laughed cheerfully and clapped her hands.
I approached the girl and asked, “How long have you been here?”
“Ah! Sir, you lose points! That’s insensitive!”
What?
“You should have asked if I was hurt first!”
“….”
I had clearly seen with my own eyes that the necklace around the monster’s neck prevented me from laying a single finger on the girl—there was no way she could be injured.
‘So that’s how they’re scoring this.’
The girl was right, certainly.
If this had been a real rescue of an actual civilian rather than a prepared actor, asking about their safety first would have been the correct approach.
“Sorry. Are you hurt anywhere?”
“Hehe. Since you apologized quickly, I’ll overlook the point deduction. Yes! As you can see, I’m not hurt at all!”
The girl sprang to her feet and brushed the dirt from her knees with quick pats.
Now, if I could safely escort this girl to the Safety Zone, I would be able to acquire points.
‘My plan has changed somewhat.’
Originally, I had intended to head to the Underwater Terrain and monopolize monsters while accumulating points.
But given the circumstances, finding the Safety Zone while escorting her seemed to be the priority now.
“You’re Noe-rang, right?”
“Noe-rang is correct, but not ‘sir.'”
“I’m totally a fan of yours! A huge fan!”
This damn brat.
“What’s your name?”
“Oh, my name is ‘Civilian Number 2’!”
That was an inhumanely impersonal designation.
“Hehe. They said I’m not allowed to reveal my real name according to the rules. So… calling me Civilian Number 2 feels a bit off, so please call me ‘Io’!”
Io beamed brightly and raised her hand with a flourish.
I chuckled and nodded.
“Let’s move.”
Let’s move for now.
The moment I tried to move to find the Safety Zone.
“Oh! Sir, you lost points! More points deducted!”
Why again?
“With such a delicate girl here, you should hold her hand while walking! What would happen if she went alone?”
“Holding hands makes it difficult to move if a monster attacks in an emergency. It’s safer to stay close and move together instead.”
I offered a reasonable counterargument.
“…Huh?”
Noe-rang widened his eyes in surprise and scratched his head.
“N-now that you mention it, that makes sense. Hmm. I’ll cancel those deducted points!”
“Our examiner certainly has strict standards.”
“Hehe. The regulations say I need to grade fairly, you know.”
Noe-rang scratched his head sheepishly.
‘That was sarcasm, not praise.’
I chuckled and descended the Mountain Path with Noe-rang.
“Do you know where the Safety Zone is?”
“We don’t know either! But I heard that when you get close, it shows up on that map thing!”
I looked down at the silver bracelet on my wrist.
So far, nothing had appeared on the map except for my own position.
‘I guess I have no choice but to wander around aimlessly.’
As I was thinking this and moving forward.
Rustle, rustle, rustle!
The sound of vegetation rustling reached my ears.
“Sir?”
“Quiet.”
I brought my index finger to my lips and activated Canis Major Constellation.
Through my nose, I sensed the scent of a beast.
‘One creature.’
The location was.
‘Below!’
Boom!
Dirt erupted as the monster that had been moving rapidly underground revealed itself.
Its overall shape resembled a shark, but instead of fins, it had four limbs equipped with vicious claws.
‘Blue.’
Confirming the necklace hanging around the shark monster’s neck, I gripped my spear.
“Grrrrrowl!”
The shark monster let out a ferocious cry and stomped the ground with its hind legs.
The earth rippled like waves as sharp stone fragments shot upward.
A bluish mana clung to the tips of the stone shards as they scattered like buckshot.
‘So there are monsters that wield mana too.’
Most monsters possessed mana itself, but monsters that mixed mana into their attacks like an Awakener using a stigma were uncommon.
“You’ve prepared quite thoroughly.”
Crackle, crackle, crackle!
A wide cascade of blue lightning repelled the shower of falling stone fragments.
“Thunderflame.”
Fierce azure flames blazed along the spear’s edge.
I brought the spear down hard against the charging shark monster’s head.
Clang!
The spear bounced back with a heavy metallic ring.
The impact reverberated through the shaft.
“Damn thing’s tough.”
I narrowed my eyes, studying the shark monster.
Even after deflecting my spear, it wasn’t unaffected—its body swayed unsteadily.
‘If its skin is that hard…’
I looked at the monster and smirked.
“Charge.”
Crackle, crackle, crackle!
Blue lightning gathered at the spear’s tip.
After completing three layers of charge, I waited patiently for the shark monster to regain its senses.
Based on typical monster behavior patterns, what it would do next after taking such a blow to the head was predictable.
The shark monster shook off the impact and glared at me savagely.
And then.
“Roooaaarrr!!”
“Yeah, open that maw wide.”
A roar after the daze—the most common pattern among all monster types.
I hurled the spear in my hand straight into the monster’s gaping mouth.
“Discharge.”
“Screeeech!!”
The shark monster collapsed, black smoke billowing from its mouth as lightning exploded within its body.
-Ding!
[You have defeated a Blue-grade monster.]
[You have obtained 30 points.]
“Five times the points of a Green-grade, then.”
It was certainly a monster with power far beyond that of Green-grades.
“Wow! You’re not a high-tier Awakener, are you? I heard that even high-tier Awakeners find Blue-grade and above monsters difficult to handle!”
Io emerged from behind a distant tree, clapping enthusiastically and gasping in admiration.
I’d been slightly worried about stray stone fragments hitting her, but fortunately she appeared unharmed.
“Wait a moment.”
I activated the Canis Major Constellation stigma and confirmed there were no other monsters nearby before turning to Io with a question.
“Isn’t this work far too dangerous for a child like you?”
Even with minimal safety measures in place.
It was merely the bare minimum, nothing more.
Had I failed to deflect even a single stone fragment, I might have suffered an injury.
“Exactly. That’s why when they had me sign that agreement and covenant, there was also a clause stating that the Council couldn’t be held responsible if I got hurt or died in an accident.”
“…What?”
I contorted my expression harshly.
They’d made a child barely ten years old sign such a waiver.
‘Has the Council lost their minds?’
No matter how insane the world had become, this crossed a line.
“Hehe. But don’t worry! If I get into danger, you’ll save me, right?”
“What did your parents say about this?”
“I don’t have any.”
Io continued with a bright smile.
“I heard my mom and dad left on a long trip a very, very long time ago and never came back.”
“….”
I stared at Io with a rigid, frozen expression.
Seeing my stiffened face, she burst into giggles.
“Hehe! Mister, your face is so funny!”
Io playfully poked my ribs repeatedly as she continued.
“Don’t make such a scary face. Besides, all the teachers and kids at the Orphanage treat me really, really well!”
“…Is that so?”
I, who harbored only bitter memories of the Orphanage, gazed at Io with concern.
“So you applied for this job yourself?”
“Yes! I saw the announcement and went to apply directly!”
“Why would you take on something so dangerous….”
“Because they’re paying a lot of money!”
“….”
It was an extremely simple reason.
Yet it was more convincing than any other reason could be.
“If I just stay hidden quietly for six hours, all the kids and teachers at our Orphanage can eat delicious food to their hearts’ content! Where else could you find such a good opportunity?”
A bitter taste filled my mouth as I watched Io speak with gleaming eyes.
“…Weren’t you scared?”
Even knowing it was a foolish question.
I looked down at the brightly smiling Io and asked.
“Hmm. I was scared at first. But I’m okay now.”
Io shrugged her shoulders along with a radiant smile.
“I’m way more scared of having to eat nothing but tasteless oatmeal every single day!”
It wasn’t difficult to imagine the Orphanage’s finances in this mad world where monsters ran rampant.
Who would donate to an orphanage when everyone was struggling to survive?
She had likely lived a harsh life where even one proper meal a day was a luxury.
“….”
I gazed down at Io with her radiant smile, a bittersweet ache constricting my chest.
Why was that?
In her bright expression, I saw the ghost of Ha-eun as she had been in childhood, overlapping perfectly.
“…Let’s go.”
“Yes!”
I had no luxury for such idle sentimentality.
I resumed our journey, searching for the Safety Zone.

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