Not A Regressor - Chapter 396

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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 396
Fate-Reversing Star (9)
The Training Grounds stretched across several hundred square meters, vast and unobstructed.
In the center of it all, Kwon O-jin’s eyes widened at the sudden revelation of pale, bare skin.
“Wait, I thought this was supposed to be a sparring match!”
Why had she suddenly torn off her perfectly intact dress?
Or rather, it wasn’t so much that she’d torn it off—the dress itself had melted away like liquid, pooling on the ground.
Either way, Cassia’s naked form was now fully exposed in the center of the vast Training Grounds.
Of course, Cassia possessed at least a modicum of decency, as the remnants of her dress clung to her slightly swollen chest and the space between her legs, preserving her final line of defense.
Yet that partial concealment, combined with Cassia’s slender frame, created an unexpectedly alluring effect.
“That’s right. Sparring.”
“…What?”
Cassia gazed at the bewildered Kwon O-jin, a dark smile playing at her lips.
And then.
Ssssshhhhh, shhhhh.
A chilling sound echoed through the air.
From the black shadow created by her melted dress, hundreds—thousands—of serpents crawled forth.
‘This is…’
Distracted by Cassia’s exposed form, I hadn’t noticed until now.
But I was now completely surrounded by black shadows.
“…Tsk.”
Now that I thought about it, when we’d fought in the Abandoned Building before, I’d seen her dress’s hem melt away to create shadows.
‘So the entire dress was made of shadow.’
Using the dress to reshape the surrounding environment to her advantage.
It was similar to the Sacred Domain that Constellations used.
‘Though, of course, it’s not a true Sacred Domain.’
Where a Sacred Domain creates something from nothing and transforms the environment, her method involved releasing the shadow condensed within her dress and spreading it across the surroundings.
Though the phenomena appeared similar, it was fundamentally different from a Sacred Domain.
But there was one similarity.
‘This entire area has now become Cassia’s domain!’
Shaaaaaaah!
The serpents crawling from the shadows lunged toward Kwon O-jin, their fangs bared, moving at a terrifying speed.
“Ugh!”
The spear blade wreathed in blue lightning cleaved the head of the charging serpent in two.
Lightning tendrils spread in a fan pattern along the spear’s path, incinerating the serpents.
Just as I’d confirmed in our previous fight, the serpents emerging from the shadows had poor durability despite their swift movements.
‘With the power of the Lyra Constellation mark now…’
I spun the spear shaft and angled the blade downward.
Craaack!
Centered on the spear piercing the ground, a torrent of blue lightning surged outward in all directions.
Shadow snakes swept up in a storm laden with powerful lightning crackled like ant colonies scorched by a flamethrower, reduced to ash and scattered away.
Overwhelming firepower that drew an involuntary laugh.
With just a single attack, the Training Facility protected by cutting-edge barriers trembled as though it would collapse.
Despite unleashing an explosion equivalent to a tactical weapon, Kwon O-jin charged toward Cassia without pause, spear still gripped firmly in hand.
‘I need to press the attack before the shadow snakes crawl back out.’
Even while sustaining internal injuries, she had summoned hundreds, thousands of snakes.
With her body in perfect condition now, she would undoubtedly summon them faster and in greater numbers than before.
Now, having swept away all the snakes at once, was the optimal moment to strike at her.
Whoooosh!
The spear, thrust forth following the principles of Compass, aimed directly at Cassia.
The time it took to obliterate all the shadow snakes and reach mere inches from Cassia’s face was a mere three seconds.
A speed that would leave even moderately high-ranking Awakeners unable to react, let alone properly comprehend the situation.
“Mm.”
Cassia’s eyes gleamed with interest as she raised her arm.
Shadows spread wide, flowing up her body and coalescing into the form of a blade.
Despite her leisurely expression, the sword strike descended with the ferocity of lightning.
Craaash!
A deafening roar that defied imagination erupted through the Training Grounds as spear and blade collided.
“Heh.”
Kwon O-jin let out a wry chuckle at the tingling shock reverberating through the spear shaft.
“So you can wield a blade too?”
“My, even as frail as my body appears, surely I’m capable of wielding a sword?”
“No, that’s not it. You didn’t use one before.”
“Hehe. My body was a bit under the weather back then.”
Cassia smiled faintly, gripping the shadow-forged blade.
‘I never expected she could engage in close combat too.’
Kwon O-jin, who had been categorizing Cassia as a ranged mage type until now, wore the expression of someone who had been caught off guard, raising his spear.
“Well then, let’s see what you’re really made of.”
Boom!
He charged toward Cassia with a rough stomp, kicking off the ground.
Clang! Crash! Craaash!
Spear and blade clashing.
A fierce exchange of offense and defense unfolded at a speed that would make even moderately skilled Awakeners hesitate to follow with their eyes.
‘Stronger than I anticipated.’
The power behind the shadow blade was menacing—so much so that I wondered where such force could possibly emanate from that slender frame.
Whoosh!
I twisted my body to evade the savage sword strike.
While the swordplay itself wasn’t particularly refined relative to the power and speed behind it.
‘That’s meaningless anyway.’
Excluding rare cases like Murok Star Allen, pure martial skill was uncommon among Awakeners.
To put it bluntly, people who had lived ordinary lives before awakening could hardly be expected to suddenly master martial prowess simply because they bore constellation marks.
Moreover, martial arts held little value in combat against awakened ones.
Martial arts were fundamentally designed around human-to-human combat.
They were techniques ill-suited for battles against awakened ones who possessed physical abilities and strength far transcending humanity.
What mattered most in combat against awakened ones was not the technique of wielding weapons, but how seamlessly one could synchronize their weapon with their constellation mark.
And in that regard, Cassia’s skill in harmonizing her blade with her constellation mark was nothing short of extraordinary.
Whoooosh!
The shadowy blade that had been sweeping past suddenly coiled like a serpent and abruptly changed direction.
Though I deployed the Sacred Domain to shield my body, her blade pierced through it effortlessly and slashed across my flank.
“Ugh…!”
A sharp pain shot through me, and from the wound carved by the shadow blade, I felt my magical circuits seizing up and locking tight.
A venom far more potent than when I’d been bitten by the shadow serpent before now spread through the wound.
“So, how does my skill seem to you? Not bad, right?”
Cassia asked with a slight smile.
“Impressive.”
I could only nod, swallowing hard.
Honestly, I hadn’t anticipated Cassia would be this formidable in close combat.
‘But.’
Crackle, crackle!
As I drew upon more of my constellation mark’s power, the venom spreading through my body ignited in lightning and vanished without a trace.
‘She’s not beyond my reach.’
Cassia was certainly far stronger than when we’d fought in the Abandoned Building before.
But I had grown stronger as well.
Crack, crackle, crackle!
Ferocious lightning surged forth.
Silver light flowing from my constellation mark slowly began to consume the shadows around me.
It wasn’t enough to dye the entire surrounding area like Vega could, but the scope was incomparable to when I’d first used the Sacred Domain.
“Hah!”
Lightning erupted from the silver-tinted earth, engulfing Cassia.
As if standing in the heart of a tempest, lightning assailed her from all directions.
Burn marks from the lightning began accumulating on Cassia’s body one after another.
‘At this rate… she won’t last much longer.’
Without access to the Sacred Domain, a prolonged battle was disadvantageous for her.
“Huff.”
Cassia drew a deep breath and drew upon even more of her constellation mark’s power.
And then.
“Hm?”
Cassia’s body dissolved into the shadows and vanished.
My spear, which had been relentlessly driving her back, found nothing but empty air to slash through.
‘Where is she?’
As I turned my head to survey my surroundings.
“It’s this way?”
A voice came from directly behind me.
“Tch…!”
Kwon O-jin urgently swung his spear toward the rear.
Or rather, to be precise.
He tried to swing it.
-Hehe, you fell for it, didn’t you?
The moment I turned my body to swing the spear toward the direction of Cassia’s voice.
Suddenly, a vision flashed through my mind—Cassia surging forward from the front with a broad smile, her sword raised high.
‘This is….’
There was no time for thought.
Trusting my instincts, I swung the spear not toward the ‘rear’ but toward the ‘front’.
Crack!
“Kyaaah!”
Cassia, struck squarely by the spear shaft, let out a shriek as she was sent flying backward.
Kwon O-jin seized the opportunity and charged after Cassia as she tumbled back.
“Tch…!”
Cassia hastily extended her arms forward, erecting a shadow veil to block the way.
Crackle, crackle, crackle!
The black-tinged lightning easily tore through the shadow veil.
“Ha… ha… I lost, didn’t I?”
Cassia gazed down at the spear leveled at her throat, breathing heavily.
She rose to her feet, recreating her black dress from shadow.
“I never thought I’d actually lose.”
Even with Kwon O-jin reaching the 11th Star, I had believed I would win as long as he didn’t use the ‘Heavenly Path’.
My expectations were thoroughly dashed.
“That’s because I was going easy on you.”
“Isn’t that the same for you, Kwon O-jin?”
“Well… I suppose that’s true.”
What Kwon O-jin and Cassia had done was merely a sparring match.
No matter how realistic they made it, since they weren’t unleashing attacks with the intent to kill, there was bound to be a difference.
“But how did you know I was in front of you at the very end?”
“That was….”
The moment I turned to look back, the image of a smiling Cassia flashed past my mind.
If I had truly swung the spear toward the rear, that future would likely have unfolded.
“Probably thanks to ‘Future Sight’.”
“Future Sight… you mean the trait you newly acquired after absorbing Polaris?”
“Yeah. I’m not entirely sure about the exact activation conditions yet, but it seems to show me a few seconds of the near future whenever I’m in a critical situation.”
Considering the significance of a single second in combat between superhumans of Kwon O-jin’s caliber, it was an extraordinary ability.
‘The only drawback is that I can’t use it freely.’
Regardless.
I’ve now confirmed the abilities of ‘Future Sight’ as well.
‘It’s incredible.’
The power I gained from absorbing Polaris far exceeded my expectations.
“Showing the future… it’s an absurd ability.”
Cassia let out a soft exclamation and took a step forward.
“Oof.”
Perhaps due to the effects of the sparring match.
In that instant, Cassia’s body swayed slightly.
“Are you okay?”
Kwon O-jin rushed to support Cassia.
Cassia wrapped her arm around his waist with a playful smile and pressed herself against him.
“My, are you worried about me?”
“…Did you do that on purpose?”
When Kwon O-jin let out a chuckle and placed his hand on Cassia’s shoulder.
‘Hm?’
A strange sensation spread down his spine.
‘What is this?’
Kwon O-jin narrowed his eyes and applied slightly more pressure to the hand resting on Cassia’s shoulder.
“Cassia! What are you doing clinging to Kwon O-jin again?!”
“Oh my~ I was just a little dizzy, so Kwon O-jin was kind enough to support me. Why are you like this?”
“Dizzy, my foot. You deliberately swayed just now.”
“Why can’t our Bella ever trust me~”
Cassia burst into laughter as she watched Isabella approach with an angry expression.
“Well then, shall I stop playing around?”
She had certainly enjoyed enough of Kwon O-jin’s warmth, which had grown hot from the sparring match.
The moment she stepped back to distance herself from him.
“Wait a moment.”
Kwon O-jin grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back.
“Eh, eh? Why, why are you doing this?”
Cassia looked at him with a bewildered expression.
Kwon O-jin stared at her intently before carefully placing his hand above her left chest.
“Kyaa?!”
Caught completely off guard by his unexpected action, Cassia trembled and her face flushed red.
“O, O, Kwon O-jin?”
So flustered that she even bit her tongue, Cassia stammered.
“What are you suddenly doing, Kwon O-jin! Don’t tell me you’re about to say something like you’re treating an internal injury again!”
[How shameless!]
“Hey, hey, what’s there to touch on something that small?”
When the three women frowned at Kwon O-jin’s sudden action and each uttered a word, I sensed it.
“I feel the aura of the Heavenly Demon.”
At the words that spilled from my lips, the atmosphere in the hall froze over with a chilling coldness.

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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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