Not A Regressor - Chapter 232

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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 232
A Hero for the Small Ones (2)
“Screeeech, screeeeech!”
An unpleasant metallic screech, like fingernails scraping across a steel plate.
A monster bearing sickle-like front legs bent at sharp angles flapped its wings and soared into the air.
“Ah! Mister! Up, it’s up there!”
Io cried out in urgent alarm.
Unlike the flustered Io, Kwon O-jin raised his spear with a calm gaze, his eyes tracking the monster that had climbed to a dizzying height.
“Screeeeech!”
The monster, now hovering some thirty meters above, wildly swung its sickle-like front legs in every direction.
A pristine white blade aura coalesced along the monster’s limbs, then shot forth with savage intensity.
Blade aura possessing such formidable cutting power it could cleave through thick steel plating in a single stroke.
“Now what—monsters wielding blade aura too?”
Where in the world were these creatures being sourced from?
I let out a soft chuckle as I gazed upward at the torrential barrage of white blade aura descending at a terrifying velocity.
‘The Horologium constellation’s stigma.’
The world slowed as if caught in slow-motion video.
I evaded the hail of white blade aura with leisurely movements.
So narrowly that the attacks merely grazed my collar.
Minimizing motion, reducing movement to extremes, preventing wasteful expenditure of energy.
“Screech?!”
Shock flickered across those grotesque eyes, resembling a fly’s compound vision.
If someone walked leisurely through a downpour without a single thread of their garment dampened, would the creature not react thus?
Sensing something amiss through primal instinct, the monster thrashed its wings violently and climbed even higher.
“Screech! Screeeeech!”
A wingless human could never follow to such heights.
Having secured its safety, the monster settled its agitation and lowered its head.
“Intelligent or not, it’s still foolish.”
I curved my lips into a smirk as I aimed my wire shooter at the airborne monster.
Twang!
Six strands of wire shot forth like arrows, coiling around the monster’s body.
“Screeeeech!”
The monster thrashed desperately, its sickle-like front legs flailing in all directions.
Its tremendous strength sent my body soaring skyward like a weight suspended at the end of a string.
“Ah, mister! It’s dangerous!”
Io cried out, her face pale as she watched me being hurled high into the air by the monster’s raw power.
“Dangerous, yes.”
Using a foothold strike to gain momentum, I launched myself even higher than the airborne monster.
Positioning myself at the monster’s back while airborne.
“Not for me—for that mantis bastard.”
Whirrrrr!
With the roar of the motor spinning to life, the wire connected to the monster retracted at tremendous speed.
I plummeted downward with my spear aimed below, accelerated by both gravity and the wire’s pull at a terrifying velocity.
‘Lightning Strike.’
Crackle!
A bolt of blue lightning pierced through the monster’s body.
The creature died instantly without even a final scream, its corpse shattering into fragments that rained down.
“Phew.”
Three Green-rank monsters and one Blue-rank.
I gazed at the points that had accumulated to nearly 300 and smiled faintly.
‘Still, hunting every monster I encounter along the way adds up surprisingly well.’
Of course, if I’d focused solely on hunting without Io, I could have accumulated far more points.
“Mister, you’re amazing! That was seriously so cool!”
Watching Io’s eyes shine with excitement as she made a fuss, my regret vanished entirely.
“By the way, aren’t you hungry?”
It had been two hours since I started moving with Io.
Regardless of how long I’d been waiting in the Forest beforehand, it was about time my stomach started growling.
“I’m starving!”
Io rushed up to me excitedly, practically drooling from her mouth.
“Here, eat some of this then.”
“What is this?”
“A calorie bar.”
One bite was enough to fill you up completely.
“…Do you always carry things like this around?”
“Two of these can sustain me for a whole day.”
I hadn’t eaten them often since getting scolded by Riak last time, but back then, calorie bars were practically my staple—an incredibly efficient food for the price.
“Wow, that’s really unexpected.”
“Unexpected?”
Io bit into the calorie bar with a crunch and continued speaking.
“When I think of Noe-rang, I picture some kind of natural genius. So I thought you were born into a good family and were an elite.”
“Like Namgoong Hui?”
“Oh, yes! Exactly!”
I chuckled softly as I watched Io nod with her bright, eager eyes.
I never imagined ordinary people would hold such an image of me.
“I’m from the Orphanage too.”
“Really?”
Io’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Why, are you disappointed it’s different from your image?”
“No! I actually like you even more now!”
Io grinned widely and clenched her small fists together.
“So if I awaken later, I can become a cool hero like you too, right?!”
I wasn’t sure if I was the sort of person who deserved to be called a “cool hero.”
Kwon O-jin gently stroked Io’s head with a faint smile.
“Yes, you’ll be able to.”
“Hehe. Meeting you here must have been fate!”
Kwon O-jin turned away, leaving Io beaming behind him.
“Let’s move on.”
“Okay!”
Io clung closely to Kwon O-jin’s back.
After walking for about ten minutes or so.
Whoooooosh!
A refreshing breeze mixed with mist arrived alongside the crisp sound of a waterfall.
‘Have we entered the Underwater Terrain?’
The terrain I had originally targeted.
True to its name, a fierce current flowed beneath a massive waterfall.
“Wow! Sir! Look at the waterfall!”
Io clapped her hands and bounced up and down like a seal discovering water.
“Watch your footing.”
Whatever artificial mechanism had been installed, an incredibly violent current was flowing.
Even an Awakened One could be swept away if they lost their balance and fell in—if an ordinary person without strength were to fall, there would be no hope for them afterward.
‘Since I’m here, I might as well hunt some monsters.’
As expected, there didn’t appear to be any other Awakened Ones nearby—
“Hm?”
“Huh? Sir, is that person actually flying over there?”
A fierce wind swept across the raging current.
Riding that wind like an ethereal immortal, a handsome young man came flying toward us.
An Awakened One I had seen before—Namgoong Hui.
“Hmm. I didn’t expect to meet Noe-rang here.”
Namgoong Hui looked at me and smiled wickedly, raising the corners of his mouth.
He gazed at Io standing behind me, his eyes gleaming with interest.
“It seems you’re searching for a Safety Zone.”
Namgoong Hui chuckled and spoke mockingly.
“How disappointing—the tournament started not long ago, yet you still haven’t found a Safety Zone.”
“You found one, then?”
“Hehe. Of course. I just finished safely guiding someone to a Safety Zone.”
Namgoong Hui shrugged and nodded.
He approached Io and asked in a suggestive tone.
“How about you, cute little girl? Won’t you follow me instead of that old man? Then I’ll take you straight to the Safety Zone.”
His words were like those of a dangerous stranger trying to lure a child with candy.
“Once you enter the Safety Zone, there’s no more danger, right? I can take you there right away.”
Namgoong Hui offered a suggestion with a gentle smile and a soft voice.
From Io’s perspective, it was a good opportunity to enter the Safety Zone directly without the danger of following Kwon O-jin around.
“I don’t want to!”
Io clutched Kwon O-jin’s arm tightly and cried out with a bold expression.
“I like my brother much more than you, mister!”
“R, really?”
Cracks formed across Namgoong Hui’s smiling face.
Kwon O-jin let out a chuckle as he watched Namgoong Hui’s fist trembling with an awkward smile on his face.
“Rejected twice now?”
“P, please stop!”
Namgoong Hui cried out with a flushed face.
Born into China’s greatest family and living like a prince in every sense of the word, such a firm rejection was an unfamiliar experience he had scarcely encountered before.
“And who said I didn’t know the location of the Safety Zone?”
“…Weren’t you searching for the Safety Zone?”
“Yes, I was searching for it.”
Before you arrived, that is.
‘The hunting dog of Lyra Constellation.’
Crackle, crackle.
Faint currents of electricity spread outward in all directions.
My heightened sense of smell traced back along the path Namgoong Hui had taken.
The route of Namgoong Hui’s movement painted itself in my mind.
“Three kilometers to the southeast… not that far at all.”
“…!”
Namgoong Hui’s mouth fell open in astonishment.
“H, how on earth did you…?”
“How did I find it? You told me yourself.”
Kwon O-jin grinned as he looked at Namgoong Hui.
“When did I ever…!”
The currents of electricity that had spread outward just moments ago flashed through Namgoong Hui’s mind as he began to protest.
“You have a tracking skill.”
Namgoong Hui bit his lip and twisted his expression into a snarl.
Kwon O-jin shrugged and turned away with an infuriating smirk.
“Well, thanks for the tip~ I was actually having a hard time finding it anyway.”
Chuckling laughter echoed across the Riverbank.
“….”
Namgoong Hui’s expression froze coldly.
A faint murderous intent rose into the air.
“If you’re thinking of causing trouble, you’d better stop. You know the candidates aren’t allowed to attack each other, right?”
Kwon O-jin turned back to look at Namgoong Hui, who was radiating murderous intent.
“Of course I know that well.”
Namgoong Hui’s lips twisted upward into a cruel smile.
“However, accidents do happen when one lives long enough, don’t they?”
Namgoong Hui withdrew a fan from his robes and fixed Kwon O-jin with a vicious glare.
“For instance, one might stumble on a sudden gust of wind and be swept away by the rapids.”
Whiiiish!
A violent gust materialized in an instant.
Caught in the whirlwind, my body lifted effortlessly before plunging into the raging river with a splash.
“Sir!”
Io called out to me in urgent tones.
“Or perhaps a sudden vortex could cause the Waterfall itself to collapse.”
Whoooosh!
Namgoong Hui spread his fan wide and swept it forcefully toward the direction of the Waterfall.
A massive vortex formed, crashing against the cliff face where the Waterfall cascaded.
Crrraaack!
The cliff crumbled, unleashing a torrent of water as if a dam had burst.
“Heh heh. From above earlier, I noticed quite a few Underwater Terrain creatures perched above the Waterfall.”
Dozens of creatures poured down with the cascading water like rain.
The creatures swept into the rapids, quickly cutting through the current toward me.
“Well, truly, the world never ceases to surprise.”
With shameless audacity, Namgoong Hui summoned wind beneath him and rose into the air.
“In such a dire situation, my abilities can only save one person… what a tragedy.”
“Kyaaah! L-Let me go!”
The wind Namgoong Hui conjured wrapped around Io’s body and lifted her skyward.
He gazed down at me, swept away in the swollen rapids, his smile carrying a bitter edge.
“Indeed.”
Pushed by the wind into the raging current, I moved through the rapids with far more ease than Namgoong Hui had anticipated.
I felt as though I were simply floating in a warm, tranquil pool.
-Ding!
[The water essence saturates the surroundings!]
[《Hydro Affinity Lv MAX》 skill efficiency surges explosively!]
[The power of ‘Seahorse’s Stigma’ increases dramatically, granting free movement and breathing underwater!]
I dismissed the blue message window that appeared before my eyes and gazed leisurely up at Namgoong Hui hovering in the air.
“Truly, the world never ceases to surprise, does it?”
Not only did he reveal the location of the Safety Zone, but he transformed the entire surroundings into a water paradise and even herded creatures for me to farm points from.
“When you’re this generous, what exactly are you left with?”
I smiled brightly as creatures converged on me from all directions.

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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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