Not A Regressor - Chapter 322

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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 322
Treasure Hunt (1)
The reconstruction of the Draconian Kingdom proceeded smoothly.
The Dragon-race, who had been sitting listlessly on the streets like the dead bereft of their souls following the Dragon God’s death, sprang to their feet as if nothing had happened and threw themselves into rebuilding their kingdom.
The Dragon-race were fundamentally a species blessed with formidable magical power and the ability to wield a diverse array of magic freely.
Though they lacked modern construction equipment, their magic-based reconstruction work proceeded faster than anything Earth’s cutting-edge machinery could achieve.
“Ugh… what am I, Rapunzel? These bastards won’t let me lift a finger outside this house.”
Ha-eun struck her chest in frustration at being confined indoors.
Given her temperament, she would have preferred to venture outside and work up a sweat rather than remain cooped up inside so obediently, but the Dragon-race’s overprotectiveness meant I couldn’t contribute even a single finger to the reconstruction efforts.
“From the Dragon-race’s perspective, you’re essentially a god.”
One couldn’t exactly ask a deity they revered to haul bricks, could one?
“But Jesus was a carpenter, wasn’t he?”
Well, there was no arguing with that logic.
“Are you really that frustrated?”
“I’m dying here. These bastards foam at the mouth and stop me the moment I even try to train?”
Perhaps the trauma of losing the Dragon God once still lingered.
Even from my perspective, the Dragon-race’s behavior seemed excessive.
“Well, you don’t need to worry about that.”
“Huh? Why?”
“I was already thinking it’s time to make a move.”
With matters in the Kan Kingdom and the Draconian Kingdom largely settled, all that remained was to head toward Niflheim, the kingdom of the Demon Race.
“You mean we’re heading straight to the ‘butt realm’?”
“The butt realm? What’s that?”
“‘Nif-‘ flheim.”
“No.”
Had my sister finally lost her mind from being cooped up inside?
A quiet chuckle escaped my lips.
“Ugh… you’re not supposed to laugh at stuff like that.”
“Hehe. How’s my sense of humor?”
To be honest, that one was pretty funny.
“…Really, Elder Sister. What kind of vulgar joke is that?”
Isabella sighed and shook her head.
“Why not? I’m stuck in this house and I can’t even make jokes?”
Ha-eun sprawled across the sofa, draping her slender legs over my lap.
“But the reconstruction still isn’t finished—is it really okay to leave now?”
“Straight to the butt—ugh, you made me think of it again because of you.”
“Hehehehe.”
What’s with the hehehehe.
“Ugh. Anyway, we’re not heading straight to Niflheim.”
We still needed more preparation before confronting the Demon Race directly.
“But after fighting them this time, it actually feels like we could hold our own? For people who supposedly received the Heavenly Demon’s power and all that, they didn’t seem nearly as strong as I expected.”
“The ones we faced this time were low-ranking among the Demon Race.”
“Really?”
They say that when you rewatch a film after seeing the ending, you notice foreshadowing you missed the first time.
Now that I understood the events in the Draconian Kingdom were a “con” orchestrated by the Heavenly Demon, the pieces that had seemed incomprehensible began falling into place one by one.
‘First, not a single executive-level Demon Race member came to the Lair.’
The Demon Race already knew of the Lair’s existence.
They couldn’t have been unaware that the war situation, which favored them when the Dragon God awakened, would flip entirely—so why hadn’t a single executive-level Demon Race like Kalike shown up?
‘The executives and above must have known.’
This entire affair was essentially a “performance” designed to strengthen Ha-eun’s power and create a following of supporters who would rally behind her.
Beyond that, the surveillance on the Sacred Wall had been suspiciously lax, and the moment Ha-eun absorbed the Dragon God’s power, they retreated as if they’d been waiting for it.
Looking back, every movement the Demon Race made was riddled with inconsistencies.
‘What’s the point of thinking about it now when it’s all over?’
Kwon O-jin exhaled a short sigh and shook his head.
“So where do we go from here?”
The Dragon-race still needed time, and the Beast-human Tribe couldn’t be deployed as full combat strength just yet.
“I’m thinking of going to meet Cheon Gwon-seong.”
“…That strange old man?”
“Yeah.”
I knew the reason he ranked first among Deneb’s Apostles wasn’t simply because he became an apostle first.
Still, the fact that he was counted among the Seven Stars meant his cultivation level was certainly no trivial matter.
‘I can’t head to Niflheim while leaving a Seven Stars-level force unused.’
The Kan Kingdom and the Draconian Kingdom were one thing.
But infiltrating the kingdom of the Demon Race—the very source of all that transpired in the Demon Realm—with just my group as we are now was impossible.
That place would be where the Heavenly Demon’s influence ran deepest of all.
“But didn’t Cheon Gwon-seong mention he was searching for some treasure?”
No matter how desperately we needed reinforcements right now.
Cheon Gwon-seong wasn’t someone who could be persuaded by mere words.
“That’s why I’m thinking we search for it together. That treasure he mentioned.”
“Ah.”
“…Right. Now that I think about it, that could work.”
I had no idea what Cheon Gwon-seong’s “treasure” actually was.
But if he’d spent years wandering the Demon Realm searching for just that one thing, there would be some progress made.
If I helped him find his treasure.
‘I could bring him in as a fighting force.’
Last time, we lacked information about the Demon Realm and every second was critical, so there was no room to help Cheon Gwon-seong with his treasure hunt. But circumstances had changed now.
Both the Dragon-race and Beast-human Tribe needed time to strengthen their forces anyway, and having my group just sit around wouldn’t help them during that period, so it was more efficient to do something else with that time.
“Perfect! Let’s leave right away!”
Ha-eun sprang up from the sofa and let out a hot breath with an excited huff.
She seemed already thrilled at the prospect of escaping this stuffy place.
Kwon O-jin chuckled and shook his head.
“We’re not leaving right this moment. I want to have a word with Elder Baek first.”
“Grandfather?”
“Yeah.”
Kelion had mentioned having a personal connection with Baek Moo-gang.
If that were the case, he might know what the “treasure” that Heavenly Authority was searching for actually was.
“Then I’m coming with you. I should at least see Grandfather’s face before we go.”
“I’ll come along too.”
I had originally planned to meet Kelion alone.
But the two women naturally tagged along.
‘It’s fortunate that Vega and Riak are at the Sanctuary.’
They had decided to stay at the Sanctuary until we left the kingdom, worried about the constraints of Divine Law since they had been manifested outside for too long recently.
“Understood.”
Kwon O-jin led Ha-eun and Isabella toward where Kelion was.
“M-Priestess!”
“It’s dangerous if you go outside!”
The moment Ha-eun stepped out, the Dragon-race warriors guarding the area rushed over in a flurry.
Ha-eun swept her gaze across the Dragon-race warriors surrounding her and opened her mouth.
“I’m going to see Grandfather. Get out of the way.”
“We shall summon the Elder here!”
“Huh?”
Ha-eun’s expression twisted sharply.
The Dragon-race warriors flinched at her fierce, predatory gaze.
“You little bastards dare order an elder around like that?”
Ha-eun usually acted as though courtesy and propriety were beneath her.
Yet, being raised in the land of Eastern courtesy, she felt a visceral resistance to the idea of summoning an elderly elder.
“Before the Confucian dragon inside me goes berserk, get out of my way.”
“A Confucian dragon…?”
“Does another dragon spirit dwell within you besides the Dragon God?”
“Ugh! This is infuriating!”
Ha-eun charged forward like lightning and delivered a perfectly executed dropkick to the Dragon-race warrior blocking her path.
“Kugh!”
“Why aren’t you getting out of the way, you idiots?!”
Ha-eun rampaged like a drunken tyrant.
“Stop wasting time here and get back to work!”
“But we have the sacred duty of protecting the Priestess’s Divine Temple…”
“Spare me the nonsense and go haul some rocks, you fools!”
Ha-eun broke through their escort by kicking the Dragon-race warriors’ backsides repeatedly.
I wondered if it was really acceptable for her to leave so recklessly, even if she was the Priestess.
“Ah.”
“Huff, huff… The Priestess… she kicked me…!”
“Such a precious reward for lowly beings like us!”
Well, yes.
“People like Vega, I see.”
Isabella cast a cold glance at the Dragon-race members who were delighted (?) about it.
“…Never mention that to Vega.”
Kwon O-jin shook his head vigorously and headed toward where Kelion was.
Kelion was directly overseeing the reconstruction site while examining a large blueprint conjured by magic.
“Grandpa~ I’m here!”
“Hmm? What brings you here?”
“Ojini said he had something to ask about.”
Ha-eun pointed at Kwon O-jin with her thumb.
Kelion dispelled the magical blueprint and approached us.
“Something to ask?”
“You mentioned before that you were acquainted with Cheon Gwon-seong, correct?”
“Cheon Gwon-seong? Ah… you mean Baek Moo-gang?”
“Yes.”
Kelion nodded and continued.
“We’ve known each other for quite some time.”
“How did the two of you meet?”
“He came to the kingdom searching for something he called a treasure. He was quite an unusual human, but since he cleared out all the demonic beasts inhabiting the nearby gorges, I invited him to the kingdom.”
I had noticed there were almost no demonic beasts in the gorges around the kingdom.
It must have been thanks to Baek Moo-gang clearing them out once.
“Do you happen to know what this ‘treasure’ he was searching for might be?”
“A treasure, you say….”
Kelion stroked his long gray beard and shook his head.
“He never told me specifically what treasure he was looking for.”
“Is that so?”
It seemed Kelion also didn’t know the identity of the ‘treasure’ that Baek Moo-gang was desperately seeking.
“Ah, but I do know who stole his treasure.”
“Who?”
“The Golden Daemon. One of the highest-ranking executives of the Demon Race.”
“A highest-ranking executive, you say….”
That meant his rank was even higher than Kalike’s.
“One of the three holding the rank of ‘Grand Duke’ among the Demon Race.”
“….”
Now I understood why a powerful Awakener like Baek Moo-gang hadn’t been able to recover his stolen treasure even after years had passed.
“Is he in Niflheim?”
“No, the Grand Duke-class Demon Race are granted their own territories to rule. That land was once inhabited by other minority races, but… they lost it in war and had it taken from them.”
Certainly, the Dragon-race, who lived closer to Niflheim than the Kan Kingdom beyond the Sky Mountain Range, possessed more detailed information about the Demon Race.
“Where is that place?”
“It’s a location called the Black Rock Mine, where a race called Salamanders once dwelled. However… even if you go there, it will be difficult to find Baek Moo-gang. As you know, he’s not someone whose movements are easy to predict.”
“There’s no need to worry about that.”
Kwon O-jin drew a compass from his pocket with a faint smile.
“I have a way to find him.”
As he channeled his magical power into it, the needle that had been spinning came to a halt.

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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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