Not A Regressor - Chapter 300

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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 300
Sky Mountain Range (6)
“Ignite.”
A flame like a firefly coalesced at the tip of the cigarette.
I flicked the cigarette held between my middle finger forward, launching it ahead.
“Burn bright.”
Whoooosh!
The flame spread like a fan, transforming into a fierce tempest that swept across the surroundings.
Horrible shrieks echoed from all directions.
The acrid smoke rising from charring flesh mingled with the hazy mist.
“Kiiieeeek!”
A spider beast burst through the flames, lunging toward Ha-eun.
Kwon O-jin and Riak, who had been standing beside her, moved to intercept the swarm of spider beasts.
A spear wreathed in azure lightning and claws tore through the spider beasts.
“Both of you, please fall back for a moment.”
Isabella, who had been circling the area and scattering blood, spoke to Riak and Kwon O-jin.
Kwon O-jin and Riak, who had been leading the charge against the spider beasts, nodded and retreated.
“Bloom.”
Crimson flowers blossomed from the drops of blood scattered on the ground.
The petals of the blood flowers spread widely around like cherry blossoms scattering in the wind.
“Kiiiek! Kieeeek!”
The bodies of the spider beasts touched by the blood flower petals withered like mummies and crumbled to dust.
A profound silence settled over the path where the blood flowers had swept through.
“Is it over?”
Ha-eun, about to pull out another cigarette, looked around cautiously.
Then.
From among the withered corpses of the spider beasts, one survivor leaped toward her.
“Grrrrgh!”
Poppy sprang upward and swatted the jumping spider beast down with his front paw as if catching a cockroach.
Splat.
Unpleasant green fluid burst from the spider beast’s body.
Kwon O-jin patted Poppy’s back while glaring at Ha-eun.
“The moment you said that, another one appeared. That’s on you.”
“How is that my fault?”
“It’s your fault.”
It was practically the same as chanting a resurrection spell.
“This is the worst.”
Ha-eun looked down at the corpses of spider beasts covering the area and lit another cigarette.
They were troublesome opponents despite their numbers being manageable.
The real problem was that we were only at the entrance of the Sky Mountain Range.
“Wouldn’t it be better to just turn back?”
Trouble had struck right at the entrance of the mountain range, and the thought of descending deeper into it made my head spin with dread at how many demonic beasts awaited us.
“I’d like to, but it would take far too long.”
We’d already wasted days just reaching the Sky Mountain Range.
Retracing our steps and detouring around the mountain range would take an eternity, even with Poppy’s help.
“Come to think of it, don’t you have a flying technique, Kwon O-jin?”
Was she referring to Cloud Step?
“It’s a bit different from that. Even if I use it, crossing the mountain range would be difficult.”
Cloud Step was designed for gaining advantageous positioning in combat or executing movements that defied physical laws—not for traversal.
If I used Cloud Step multiple times like skipping stones, I’d simply plummet downward.
And if I had to carry Ha-eun and Isabella while doing so, it would be even more impractical.
[I wouldn’t recommend using Cloud Step either.]
Vega narrowed her eyes, studying the thick fog blanketing the surroundings.
[This fog wasn’t created naturally.]
Right.
If fog that dulled the senses had formed naturally, that would make no sense whatsoever.
“Then what?”
[There may be a power hidden here, one potent enough to distort natural phenomena like a dragon vein.]
A dragon vein, she said.
[The danger is that if you attempt to fly across the mountain range, you could be caught in that power’s grasp.]
“So we either turn back entirely or push through on foot.”
The choice had already been made.
“Let’s go.”
“Ugh… these spider creatures are so gross.”
Ha-eun grimaced and grumbled, yet stayed close beside me.
“Grrrrr!”
Poppy lowered her body, as if inviting me to ride.
I stroked Poppy’s head and shook my head.
“From here on, we walk.”
“Gr… grrr?”
Had she interpreted it as me leaving her behind?
Poppy’s eyes widened, glistening with tears.
I chuckled softly and tickled her chin.
“You can follow carefully from behind, right?”
“Grrr! Grrrrr!”
Poppy’s eyes brightened as she stepped back.
“I’ll take point.”
Riak stepped forward.
Even with the thick fog dulling our senses, Riak’s keen perception and swift movements made him the most efficient choice for leading.
“Oh right, everyone gather for a moment before we leave.”
Kwon O-jin pulled a long length of wire from the wire shooter strapped to his forearm.
“Everyone, let’s connect ourselves with this.”
“Ah, it’s a method climbers use often, isn’t it?”
“Right. With this, we should be fine even if we’re separated by some distance.”
“Hmm. I’d prefer to stay pressed right up against you, Kwon O-jin.”
Isabella wrapped the wire around herself and Kwon O-jin with a playful smile.
“Isabella.”
“Hehe. Just teasing.”
Isabella stuck her tongue out cutely and properly reconnected the wire.
With their bodies bound together by wire, Kwon O-jin’s group ventured deeper into the Sky Mountain Range.
“….”
“….”
Everyone moved forward cautiously, their expressions tense.
The deeper they went into the Sky Mountain Range, the thicker the fog blanketing the surroundings became.
“This is driving me crazy—I can’t see anything.”
Just as Ha-eun said, the oppressive weight and tension of not being able to see anything around us was unbearable.
After walking for several hours like this.
“Should we take a break?”
With our stamina, walking for just a few hours shouldn’t have required rest.
But the constant tension from the fog surrounding us had brought fatigue crashing down quickly.
“Yeah. Let’s eat something while we’re at it.”
I pulled out ingredients from my backpack.
“I’ll handle the cooking.”
“Then I’ll set up some alarm devices around the area.”
The alarm devices were simple contraptions—just wires strung between trees with bells attached—but they were far better than nothing.
After finishing the alarm setup, I ate the food Ha-eun and Isabella had prepared.
“Ahh~! At least having something in my stomach makes me feel a bit better!”
Ha-eun stretched, extending both legs out in front of her.
“Feels nice~”
Once her stomach was full, her tension eased, and Ha-eun moved closer to me.
Before I could stop her, she rested her head on my thigh and curled her body up like a cat.
“I’m tired, so I’m gonna sleep for just 20 minutes. Wake me up then, okay?”
“…You can sleep in a situation like this?”
“People need sleep to survive, after all.”
In a way, I envied this carefree personality of hers.
I sighed and gently stroked her head as she rubbed her cheek against me like a cat seeking affection.
Now that I think about it, cats.
“Isabella, do you know anything about the Felis Constellation?”
“The Felis Constellation?”
“Yeah. You mentioned before that you knew the executor of the Felis Constellation.”
“Ah, yes. That’s right.”
Isabella nodded and continued speaking.
“I also know very little about the Black Star Constellation. Unlike other Constellations, the Black Star Constellation isn’t someone you can meet at the Star Palace.”
“That’s true.”
Even if it were possible, only a handful of Awakened would actually make the journey to the Star Palace to meet a real Constellation.
After all, Constellations weren’t beings you could casually encounter like friends.
“Ah, but I have heard that they’re quite jealous.”
“Jealous?”
“Yes. Most Awakened of the Felis Constellation tend to have strong jealous tendencies, and I heard that’s due to the Constellation’s influence.”
Among Awakened, it was fairly common for those bearing a Stigma to be influenced by the personality or certain traits of the Constellation that granted it.
Isabella’s struggle with bloodlust was also due to the influence of her Stigma.
“Strong jealousy, then.”
Kwon O-jin, who had been pondering for a moment, turned his head toward Vega.
“Have you ever met the Felis Constellation, Vega?”
[I have not. I have spent most of my time in the Divine Temple.]
That made sense.
Even among Constellations, who were fiercely individualistic, Vega held a position of isolation.
There was no way she could have any connection with the Felis Constellation, who had been exiled from the Star Palace in the distant past and demoted to a “Satellite.”
“Now that I think about it, why were those Constellations called Satellites exiled from the Star Palace?”
[There are various reasons. Some had overly brutal temperaments, others caused major conflicts with different Constellations, or their Stigmas themselves carried significant problems like bloodlust.]
Regardless of the others, I could guess which Constellation was exiled due to bloodlust.
[I only know what I’ve heard, so I don’t know the details, but that was the reason.]
“…So you really weren’t close with the other Constellations.”
Sometimes when we talked, there was so much Vega didn’t know that I’d wonder if she was really a Constellation at all.
[B-but there is a Constellation I can call a friend!]
“Oh, I know about Spica… who else is there?”
[T-that is…!]
Vega’s expression wilted as she hung her head in dejection.
It seemed I’d asked a rather cruel question of someone in her position.
“Kwon O-jin. You shouldn’t say things like that.”
“Sorry. Vega. I really didn’t know you had no close Constellations besides Spica.”
[Q-quiet!]
When I offered sincere consolation, Vega’s face flushed red as she burst out indignantly.
[I have merely done my best to fulfill my responsibilities and duties as a Constellation!]
Sure, sure.
Our goddess could have made as many friends as she wanted if she’d set her mind to it.
It wasn’t that she couldn’t make friends—she simply chose not to.
[Do not look at me with those eyes!]
Smack!
Vega’s palm struck Kwon O-jin’s forehead with force.
Kwon O-jin chuckled and nodded.
“Then shall we get moving again….”
Ding.
A faint bell chime echoed through the mist.
Kwon O-jin swiftly rose to his feet, drawing Dantalian from his waist.
Agh!
Ha-eun, who had been resting her thigh against him, screamed and tumbled away.
“It’s coming from that direction.”
“Understood.”
Kwon O-jin and Isabella turned toward the source of the sound.
The fact that the bell chime could be heard even through the mist that dulled their senses meant whatever approached was dangerously close.
I circulated mana throughout my body, bracing for an ambush.
“Meow.”
A black cat emerged from beyond the mist, padding forward with deliberate grace.
“A cat?”
The cat that had walked out of the mist licked its fur with its tongue, its tail swaying gently.
For a moment, the gesture was so endearing that one’s guard naturally weakened.
“…Don’t be fooled.”
“I know.”
There was no way a cat could exist in the Sky Mountain Range, even called a “forbidden zone” in the Demon Realm.
Crackle.
As lightning wrapped around the spear’s tip, the cat’s gaze shifted toward Kwon O-jin.
“Who are you, meow?”
“…Huh?”
Fluent speech flowed from the cat’s mouth.

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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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