Not A Regressor - Chapter 41

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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 41
Closed-Door Training (2)
-You’re saying you won’t be reachable for a while?
Han Jun-man’s bewildered voice came through the phone.
“Yes. I’m planning to focus on personal training for some time.”
-Ah… and how long is this training period?
Han Jun-man trailed off, his tone uncertain.
He clearly hadn’t anticipated that I would step away at such a critical juncture.
‘Well, he must be swamped right now.’
The news of the Apostle of Polaris appearing in South Korea had drawn the world’s attention to the nation.
Not only Korean guilds but massive foreign guilds were now watching the Awakened Users Association, which I was affiliated with—so it was understandable that Han Jun-man would be flustered by my sudden absence.
“I’m thinking roughly three months.”
-Three months… the timing is rather awkward. Just the meeting proposals that have come in for you already number in the hundreds.
I understood.
Everyone was desperate to establish favorable relations with the Apostle of Polaris by any means.
‘That’s precisely why I’m disappearing.’
Of course, if they all approached me with pure intentions, there would be no reason to avoid them.
‘But.’
Could pure intentions truly exist in this world?
They spoke of favorable relations while their minds churned, calculating how they might exploit me.
‘At least if they’re only thinking of using me, that’s a mercy.’
There would certainly be those extreme enough to think: if I can’t have you, I’ll destroy you instead.
‘I need more time.’
I had to cultivate enough strength to defend myself against those who approached with ulterior motives.
While it was true that I had grown incomparably faster than other Awakened Users, I was still only a 3-Star Awakened User.
“In any case, I intend to focus on personal training, so please decline all meeting proposals.”
-Understood. Now that I think about it, it does seem wise for you to keep a low profile at the moment.
As expected.
Our team leader was easy to work with.
“Oh, and there’s one more thing I’d like to ask.”
I almost forgot about this.
“Could you contact the Starlight Lake Guild for me?”
-The Starlight Lake Guild?
“Yes. I was gravely insulted by an Awakened User named Choi Jong-chul.”
At the time, I had promised to let it slide if he would do me this favor, but I had no intention of actually letting it go.
-What exactly did he say to insult you?
“He picked a fight with me, calling me the Association’s dog and saying I had no right to act so brazenly.”
I deliberately omitted the matter involving Ha-eun.
-…He said such a thing?
Han Jun-man’s voice carried clear displeasure.
Well, that’s true.
How could I feel good hearing someone disparage the organization I belong to?
-Leave that to me. I’ve been meaning to decline the meeting proposal from Starlight Lake Guild anyway, so I can use this as an excuse.
“Haha. I appreciate it.”
At my team leader’s cool response, a smile naturally spread across my face.
-Oh, by the way, where are you thinking of training?
“Ah, that…”
I chuckled softly.
The location for my secluded training was already decided.
The optimal place where I could focus on training without worry, even amid the swirling attention.
It was none other than.
“Star Palace.”
-…Pardon?
The divine realm where hundreds of Constellations reside.
That was the place I had chosen for my secluded training.
* * *
[━So this is what you meant by wanting to be together 24 hours.]
Three Divine Temples located at the highest point of Star Palace.
I had arrived at the colossal temple where only Constellations bearing the title “Polaris” could reside.
The interior of Vega’s Temple, which I hadn’t seen in a long time, remained as desolate as ever.
“Did you know what I meant?”
I asked playfully with a smirk.
[Hmph! How noisy you are!]
Vega huffed indignantly with her arms crossed, turning her head away sharply.
“Haha. Sorry. No matter how much I think about it, there’s no better place than here.”
On Earth, Vega could only manifest for a few hours a day at most.
That alone wasn’t enough for me to learn how to handle the Lyra Constellation stigma from her.
‘But in Star Palace, things are different.’
Within Star Palace, the “Constraints of Law”—the shackles binding Constellations—were greatly weakened.
Manifesting for a full 24 hours was entirely possible.
[Is it alright to leave Ha-eun alone?]
“My sister isn’t a child.”
Besides, Ha-eun needed to focus on rehabilitation training for the time being anyway.
‘Though she did seem quite upset.’
The twisted expression on her face when I mentioned being holed up in Star Palace for three months flashed through my mind.
“Well, it’s not like we’ll be apart for all three months anyway.”
Just because it was Vega’s Temple didn’t mean only those bearing the Lyra Constellation stigma could enter.
We could meet whenever we wanted.
[Hoho. Then I’ll be able to spend a long time with you.]
Vega’s lips curled up in evident satisfaction.
“I’m counting on you, Goddess.”
[Hmph! Trust only me!]
Vega exhaled a powerful breath, her arms crossed.
Spin.
She twirled like a dancer, rotating her body in a full circle.
Whoooosh!
Silver luminescence rippled outward as her form, which had been merely thirty centimeters tall, began to expand gradually.
“….”
Vega’s true form, which I hadn’t seen in some time, was still breathtakingly beautiful.
[Yes, which technique would you like me to teach you first?]
Vega approached with sparkling eyes.
I shook my head slowly.
“Merely explaining things verbally doesn’t seem to help much.”
Before coming to the Star Palace.
I had learned several techniques of the Lyra Constellation stigma from her while training on the rooftop at home.
‘I need to actually understand what she’s saying.’
Whether Vega was poor at teaching through words or my comprehension was lacking, whenever she merely explained, I couldn’t grasp what she was asking me to do.
‘What does she even mean by “manipulate mana as starlight from the Milky Way flows upon clouds”?’
I couldn’t even begin to understand how to move mana.
[Hmm? Then how do you plan to learn the technique?]
“Vega. I want to spar with you directly.”
Reflecting on my experiences thus far, I had always grown through actual combat.
Rather than complex theory, betting on instinct that emerges in extreme situations offered greater potential for growth.
Though sparring wasn’t true combat, it would still be far more helpful than merely listening to explanations.
However.
[That is not possible.]
Vega shook her head with a resolute expression.
“Why? Because of the constraints?”
I had heard that even in the Star Palace, the constraints were merely reduced, not completely eliminated.
[No. It is not because of that.]
“Then?”
Vega exhaled a short sigh before answering.
[You could die.]
“…I see.”
Certainly.
Considering the gap between her and me, it would be equivalent to an ant sparring with a human.
“What if you held back your strength?”
[Even if I suppress it to the lowest level, it would not suffice.]
So that was the magnitude of the difference.
‘I was too arrogant.’
Had I grown so confident because I’d advanced at a pace incomparable to other Awakened Users over the past few months?
Hearing such words from her own lips made me ashamed of myself for even daring to entertain the thought of sparring with a Constellation.
‘Come to think of it, that doesn’t make sense.’
She was a transcendent being, fundamentally different from humans.
Moreover, she was a Constellation of Polaris, one who was even evaluated as being in a different class among those transcendents.
‘I was far too presumptuous.’
I’d grown so comfortable around Vega lately that I’d momentarily forgotten.
Right now, I was nothing more than an existence she could effortlessly crush with a single finger.
“Then there’s no helping it. Let’s just do things the way we normally do.”
The efficiency didn’t seem particularly promising, but I had no desire to push myself into sparring while ignoring Vega’s warning.
[Hmm. Wait a moment.]
Vega fell into thought, her arms crossed.
Then, with a sharp snap, she flicked her fingers.
[Though I myself would struggle, perhaps my Star Spirit might be capable.]
A Star Spirit?
‘Is that what’s called the incarnation of a Constellation?’
Fundamentally, Constellations were bound by restrictions and could not directly interfere in Earth’s affairs.
Still, Vega, befitting her title of Polaris, could exert some degree of interference, but other Constellations couldn’t even escape beyond the Star Palace.
That’s where Star Spirits came in.
They were a type of summoned entity in which a fragment of a Constellation’s soul dwelled.
‘Of course, even a Star Spirit isn’t completely free from restrictions.’
But at least they faced far fewer constraints than when a Constellation directly interfered with Earth.
‘Still, Vega’s Star Spirit, huh.’
I’d need to butter her up a bit more.
[Obey me.]
Vega slowly raised her hand.
[Servant of Vega’s Temple, Riak.]
Whoooosh!
A rift tore open in the air, accompanied by brilliant silver light.
-Pad, pad.
What emerged from the rift was a wolf with beautiful silver fur.
“You called for me, Vega.”
Riak bowed low, his fluent speech utterly unlike that of a mere wolf.
“Hmm?”
Riak’s gaze, which had been surveying the surroundings, turned toward me.
Flinch.
His silver fur bristled.
“A human? Why is a human in this place…?”
Eyes filled with wariness.
Toward him,
“It’s been a while, Riak.”
Oh Jin flashed a familiar smile and waved his hand.
The silver wolf narrowed its eyes and tilted its head in confusion.
“Who are you?”
“Haha! It’s been ages since I heard you speak so casually to me, Riak. It feels refreshing after all this time.”
“…?”
Riak turned its head toward Vega, bewildered.
Vega offered a faint smile and placed a gentle hand on Oh Jin’s shoulder.
[Do not be alarmed, Riak.]
“What…?”
[This child is a regressor who has ascended from a future time.]
“Y-you mean the Star Against Fate!”
Riak’s jaw dropped open.
A being spoken of as legend even among the transcendent Constellations.
The sole and unique hope capable of reversing the fate of a world brought to its end.
“How can the Star Against Fate be… then, that means!”
The emergence of the Star Against Fate signified one inescapable truth.
The world of the ‘future’ had already perished once.
Which meant━
“In the end, Lady Vega was consumed as the prophecy foretold….”
That the master he served had been swallowed by the darkness of the Black Heaven.
-Kwoom!
Riak pawed at the ground in frustration.
Though it was a future yet to arrive, waves of self-recrimination crashed over him for failing to protect his master.
[Do not torment yourself, Riak.]
Vega stroked Riak with a tender hand.
[Is it not for this very reason that my child has come to this place—to prevent that future?]
“….”
Riak clamped his jaw shut and glared at Oh Jin.
The aura emanating from him felt far too weak to be called the Star Against Fate.
“Are you truly the Star Against Fate?”
[Hehe. In time, you shall come to understand.]
Vega crossed her arms with an expression brimming with confidence.
“Vega.”
[I understand.]
Vega explained to Riak the purpose of Oh Jin’s arrival.
“A sparring match… with him?”
[Indeed.]
“Grrr.”
Riak narrowed his eyes and appraised Oh Jin from head to toe.
To be honest, I couldn’t trust him at all.
“If it is Vega’s command.”
Crack!
Riak’s body swelled massively, transforming into the form of a werewolf standing two meters tall.
Crackling! Blue lightning danced between his silver fur.
‘What the hell?’
Gulp.
I swallowed hard, looking up at Riak.
From the transformed werewolf emanated an aura so suffocating it made breathing difficult.
Judging purely by the power I could sense, he appeared even stronger than Vega.
‘Though that’s likely because Vega hasn’t revealed her true strength.’
Regardless.
It was an undeniable fact that he was a powerhouse so far beyond my own level that comparison was laughable.
“Then, shall we begin the sparring match?”
Riak took his stance.
I nodded and raised my spear.
‘Honestly, winning is out of the question.’
At the very least, if I could just endure—
‘I could manage—’
Boom!!
“…!”
It was too fast for the naked eye to follow.
I raised my spear on pure instinct.
-Crash!!
“Cough!!”
The spear in my grip was violently knocked away.
My palm split open, blood spraying upward.
“Ugh!”
I lowered my stance desperately to roll away, but—
“Too slow.”
Thud!
Riak kicked my abdomen as if it were a soccer ball.
“Gack! Cough! Hack!”
My legs gave out and I collapsed to the ground.
‘This is insane.’
Three seconds.
That was how long my first sparring match with Riak lasted.

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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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