Not A Regressor - Chapter 251

—————
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 251
Cheon Joo-ryong (3)
The next day.
Kwon O-jin, Ha-eun, and Isabella headed to the Holy Relic Research Institute located within the Association.
“Why are you coming along?”
Ha-eun asked, casting a sidelong glance at Isabella.
“Oh my, shouldn’t I check if there are any suitable holy relics for me as well?”
“Yesterday you said you didn’t need anything as long as Kwon O-jin was there.”
“I’ve changed my mind.”
Isabella linked her arm through Kwon O-jin’s with a faint smile.
No matter how one looked at it, this didn’t seem like a trip to the Association to acquire holy relics.
“Hmph.”
Still, she couldn’t just refuse outright when they were supposedly going to examine holy relics for the subjugation operation.
Ha-eun swallowed her frustration and linked her arm through his on the other side.
Kwon O-jin, sandwiched between the two women, could only sigh with an awkward expression.
“Over here, hyung!”
As they approached the research institute, Kim Si-hu, dressed in a white coat that reached his thighs, waved enthusiastically with a bright smile.
“What’s this, hyung? You’re quite popular, aren’t you?”
Kim Si-hu wore a playful smile as he observed Ha-eun and Isabella, each clinging to one of Kwon O-jin’s arms.
“Sigh. Our manager has gone his whole life without a single girlfriend, yet someone here can’t be satisfied with just one and has two….”
“Isabella isn’t Kwon O-jin’s girlfriend though.”
“Precisely—’not yet’, Elder Sister.”
“Who gave you that?”
“Kwon O-jin isn’t an object that can be given and received, is he?”
A tense psychological battle unfolded between the two women.
“Both of you, that’s enough.”
Kwon O-jin sighed and peeled Ha-eun and Isabella away from him, who were clinging to him like cicadas.
‘At first, they seemed to be trying to get along.’
When they had just begun living together, Isabella had showered Ha-eun with gifts, trying to win her favor.
Perhaps it was after being trapped in the Demon Realm.
Isabella’s behavior had become far more provocative.
It was like a track and field athlete who had been content running leisurely behind first place with a silver medal suddenly began sprinting frantically in pursuit of the gold.
‘But that doesn’t mean they’re on bad terms either.’
If the two of them truly had a poor relationship, Kwon O-jin would have stepped in to stop it himself.
However, aside from their psychological sparring a few times a day, Ha-eun and Isabella’s relationship was fundamentally sound.
In fact, it was quite good.
They had even gone shopping together before and received aesthetic treatments.
It was something like a subtle, friendly competition.
This wasn’t a sporting match between a man and woman, and Kwon O-jin, caught in the middle, could only feel helpless.
‘But then again, this is all my fault, isn’t it.’
I pressed my forehead, as if my head was throbbing.
Since I was dating Ha-eun, I should have pushed Isabella away without hesitation, but somewhere along the way, while I made excuses and failed to do so, we had already become closer than I could easily undo.
‘I don’t know anymore. Whatever happens, happens.’
When did I start living by such meticulous standards?
As long as Ha-eun was fine with it, I planned to maintain this relationship for now.
Of course, ultimately I would prioritize Ha-eun’s decision above all else.
“Is this what they call a hero’s weakness for beauty? It feels like watching a martial arts novel.”
“Be quiet, kid.”
By the way, do kids these days even know about martial arts novels?
“Our manager reads them all the time, so I know about them.”
Kim Si-hu chuckled and turned his body around.
“Come inside. I’ve already finished all the setup.”
I followed Kim Si-hu into the research institute.
After unlocking about three complicated locking mechanisms, I entered the institute.
Inside, dozens of monitors were arranged like a checkerboard, just as I had seen before.
“Let’s start with yours first!”
Kim Si-hu’s eyes sparkled.
I nodded and pulled out a folding knife from the sheath at my waist.
“Dantalian.”
As I called the name, the blade of the folding knife trembled.
A chilling aura filled the laboratory, as if I had entered a haunted ruin or abandoned hospital.
“Put it on that shelf.”
“Got it.”
As I placed Dantalian on the shelf, Kim Si-hu sat down in front of the computer and began typing rapidly on the keyboard.
Dozens of monitors erupted with cascades of incomprehensible characters pouring down like a waterfall.
“Wow. I thought he was just a brat, but he’s different from what he looks like….”
“Quiet.”
Kim Si-hu cut off Ha-eun’s words with a voice that felt almost cold.
The atmosphere shifted dramatically, as if a different person had taken over.
Ha-eun observed the transformed Kim Si-hu without displeasure, rather with interest.
While Kim Si-hu examined dozens of monitors simultaneously with a focused expression, he suddenly dropped his head as if he had lost consciousness and slid down from the chair.
“Hey kid! What’s wrong?!”
Ha-eun rushed urgently toward Kim Si-hu, who had collapsed on the floor.
His face was pale, his breathing was ragged, and beads of cold sweat formed on his forehead.
“Oh, O-jin, call an ambulance, call one quickly!”
“…Elder Sister.”
Kim Si-hu grabbed Ha-eun’s arm.
“Wait, just wait a moment! I’ll call an ambulance right now!”
“Elder Sister, I….”
He continued speaking in a voice so faint it seemed ready to break at any moment.
“Give me something sweet….”
“O-jin! Why aren’t you calling an ambulance already? Huh? What did you say?”
“Candy, chocolate, snacks—anything works. Just hurry.”
“….”
Ha-eun looked down at Kim Si-hu with an expression of utter disbelief.
Isabella, who had been about to call an ambulance on behalf of the motionless Kwon O-jin, also froze mid-motion.
“Here.”
Only Kwon O-jin, maintaining a composed expression, produced a calorie bar from his pocket and held it out.
“Thanks, hyung!”
Kim Si-hu sprang to his feet and began munching on the calorie bar with gusto.
“Are you serious? You just had a meltdown because your blood sugar dropped?”
“Do you have any idea how crucial glucose is for researchers? That was harsh.”
“The harsh one is you, you little brat.”
“Ow!”
Ha-eun scowled and rapped Kim Si-hu on the head.
Kim Si-hu clutched his head and cried out indignantly.
“I didn’t do it on purpose!”
“Yes, you did.”
“…Ah, you caught me?”
I chuckled softly and helped the collapsed Kim Si-hu to his feet.
“So, did you find out anything?”
“Hmm. A few things, maybe?”
Kim Si-hu sat down and pointed at the monitor.
“First of all, Dantalian is the name of a ‘King’ in the Demon Realm.”
“What?”
A Demon Beast King.
I had learned of its existence from Cassia, but to suddenly see a spear and call it a ‘King’?
“To be precise, one of the Demon Beast Kings’ souls dwells within this.”
“So from the beginning, the weapon itself didn’t have consciousness—”
“Right. Consciousness arose when the soul took residence. Think of it like a haunted object—that might make it clearer.”
“….”
My eyes narrowed.
A spear infused with the soul of a Demon Beast King.
“Then why did Living Armor have it….”
“I can’t figure that part out.”
Kim Si-hu shook his head.
I examined the black spear with sharp eyes.
‘Could it be Cassia’s doing?’
Since Living Armor had been Cassia’s subordinate, it was certainly possible.
“But for something infused with a Demon Beast King’s soul, its performance seems rather….”
“Second, the incantation carved within this hasn’t even activated to ten percent yet.”
Not even ten percent activated?
“You mean its power is sealed?”
“Simply put? The faint sense of self seems to be a side effect of that seal.”
“How can we break that seal?”
“That’s… I’m not entirely sure myself.”
Kim Si-hu swept back his disheveled hair and shook his head.
“For now, the incantation will only activate once the sense of self returns, so it would be best to call its name consistently and use it frequently.”
“Hmm.”
So there’s no way to break the seal in a short timeframe yet.
“Thank you.”
Still, just learning that the soul of the Demon Beast King dwells within this blade was a significant discovery.
“Oh, and one last thing—I can tell you what Dantalian roughly looked like.”
“You can determine that too?”
“Souls are naturally influenced by the body they inhabited in life.”
I watched Kim Si-hu nod calmly and let out an exclamation of admiration.
I knew he was a genius, but to this extent?
“Here, this is what Dantalian looked like in life.”
On the monitor Kim Si-hu pointed to, a 3D model displayed a grotesque creature with an eagle’s head, a lion’s body, and a serpent’s tail.
“…Poppy?”
“Huh?”
“No. Never mind.”
I shook my head with a bewildered expression.
“Kwon O-jin, that demon beast… it’s the same one that was tracking you in the Demon Realm before!”
“Huh? Oh, yeah. Now that you mention it, they do look similar.”
“Hmm… Could they be the same species?”
Isabella furrowed her brows in confusion.
‘Why is Poppy showing up here of all places?’
I was equally bewildered.
Why did Dantalian’s appearance in life happen to look identical to Poppy?
‘As Isabella said, they could be the same species.’
It wasn’t uncommon for demon beasts to resemble each other.
I set the thought aside for now and transformed Dantalian back into knife form, slipping it into my pocket.
“So, shall we make a Holy Relic for Elder Sister to use next?”
Kim Si-hu turned to look at Ha-eun.
“Yeah. I’ll make sure to pay you well, so pick something good.”
“Then first, go inside there and move around the way you normally fight, Elder Sister.”
Just as I had done before, Ha-eun entered a cube fitted with dozens of cameras.
-Is it okay if I smoke?
Ha-eun’s voice came through the speaker.
“This is a non-smoking area… why?”
-This is my weapon, duh.
Ha-eun smirked and pulled out a cigarette, lighting it up.
The tip of the cigarette burned away like incense.
A flower of flame bloomed from the cigarette’s end, coiling around her body.
Ha-eun moved with sharp precision, unleashing bursts of fire in a way that wouldn’t damage the walls.
“Hmm.”
Kim Si-hu’s eyes gleamed with interest as he analyzed Ha-eun’s movements.
About five minutes passed like that.
“That’s enough.”
-Can I come out?
“Yeah.”
Click.
Ha-eun stepped out of the cube.
“So, you’re basically a ranged mage type who doesn’t need a separate weapon.”
“Well, that’s why I’ve been fighting just fine without one all this time.”
“The way you materialize the concept of ‘fire’ through the cigarette was really innovative.”
Kim Si-hu rewound the recorded footage of Ha-eun, nodding thoughtfully.
“Oh, but your close-range combat doesn’t look half bad either? Did you study martial arts somewhere?”
“I learned some boxing back in the day.”
Ha-eun smirked and threw a few light punches.
“In that case, a gauntlet-type Holy Relic would be ideal… actually, gauntlets might be overkill. Gloves would be perfect.”
“Gloves sound good.”
“But there’s one problem…”
“A problem?”
Ha-eun tilted her head curiously.
“For Elder Sister to get the full effect of the Holy Relic, a Holy Relic that boosts the output of the stigma’s mana itself would be best…”
Kim Si-hu scratched his head awkwardly.
“The thing is, the price is… quite steep.”
“How much are we talking? Elder Sister has plenty of money anyway.”
Ha-eun tapped her chest confidently.
Thanks to consistently selling Holy Relics, nearly two billion won had accumulated in her account.
“The Holy Relic stones alone would cost around thirty billion won.”
“…What?”
Ha-eun’s mouth fell open.
Thirty billion won? For a single piece of equipment? That was insane—spending hundreds of millions just to make one item?
“Holy Relics that boost mana output are naturally the most expensive. In games, items that increase attack power are always the priciest, right?”
“But… even so, thirty billion is…”
Ha-eun’s face fell as her voice trailed off.
It was three times more expensive than the Dragon’s Eye that had fixed her vision.
No matter how much money Awakened Users earned, there were few people who carried around that much cash on them.
“Would you like me to cover it, Elder Sister?”
Isabella calmly withdrew a black card from her wallet.
Sparks of interest ignited in Ha-eun’s eyes.
“You’ll… you’ll pay for it? Really?”
“Yes. However….”
Isabella smiled deeply, her gaze turning seductive as she looked toward Kwon O-jin.
“I’d like to go on about ten dates with Kwon O-jin. Of course, just the two of us.”
“That, that’s—”
She was essentially asking Ha-eun to sell Kwon O-jin for money!
“That’s… that’s impossible—”
“Think carefully, Elder Sister. Thirty billion won? Even for a high-ranking Awakened User like you, that’s not easy money to accumulate.”
“But!”
Ha-eun clenched her fists, her expression bristling with indignation.
“Are you trying to buy my Ojini with money right now?! No way! I can’t accept that money!”
The sum was simply too enormous to refuse outright.
“W-would… five dates work instead?”
Ha-eun’s voice grew smaller as she lowered her head in defeat.
“Hehe. That works for me.”
Isabella smiled brightly and clasped Ha-eun’s hand in agreement.
Ha-eun’s hand trembled faintly in her grip.

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