Not A Regressor - Chapter 42

—————
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 42
Secluded Training (3)
Two months had passed.
-Boom!
A weighty vibration resonated through the air.
A silver arc of light, swift as a flash, tore through the desolate Divine Temple.
“Ggh!”
I desperately pursued that luminous streak, raising my spear to meet it.
‘Spear Thunder!’
Crackle!!
A fan-shaped burst of electricity swept across the space before me.
But.
“You know that won’t work, don’t you?”
A voice sounded from directly behind me.
Riak, who had been charging from the front, now stood at my back.
“Tch!”
There was no time to think.
I stretched my right arm upward and twisted my wrist.
-Twang!
As the wire launched, my body shot upward.
“Indeed. Your escape is swift, I’ll grant you that.”
Riak gazed up coldly at me as I moved toward the ceiling along the wire, his lips curling in derision.
“However.”
He lowered his stance lightly.
“You cannot win a battle by running alone.”
Boom!!
He drove his foot into the ground with brutal force!
“Damn it!”
My face drained of color.
Suspended in mid-air.
With my movement constrained, Riak charged toward me like a rocket.
“T-timeout!”
“Do you think combat has such things?”
Riak’s lips curved upward in a smirk as he raised his fist.
As he swung his fist toward me, clinging to the ceiling like an insect.
“━Well, of course not.”
Smirk.
I felt my own lips curve upward.
“…What?”
Riak’s expression twisted harshly.
-Crackle, crackle, crackle!!
The wires embedded in the ceiling unfurled like a net, ensnaring him.
“Blast!”
Crackle, crackle, crackle!
A dizzying surge of electricity flowed through the wires, detonating in rapid succession.
Riak’s body trembled slightly.
“A shallow tactic.”
But that was all.
Even after taking the destructive electrical strike, Riak’s movements did not cease.
Whoosh!
Riak raised his hand and lightly traced the air.
Lightning claws formed along the trajectory, hurtling toward O-jin.
“Ugh!”
Seeing and evading was impossible.
O-jin drew a sharp breath and spun his body in a circle.
He concentrated the stigma’s mana into both legs.
Boom!
His body, having kicked off the ceiling, plummeted rapidly downward.
“Slow.”
Riak spoke coldly as he “stepped” upon the azure lightning blazing around his body.
Landing faster than O-jin, he raised his fist.
The gazes of the falling O-jin and Riak crossed.
And.
‘Now…!’
O-jin raised his spear with the momentum of his descent.
The overwhelming speed difference was something he had already learned well through two months of sparring.
Then.
‘Lightning Strike!’
If he predicted Riak’s actions based on the premise that he was ‘faster’ than himself, that would suffice.
-Crackle, crackle, crackle, crackle!!
Electricity far more powerful than two months ago opened its fierce jaws toward Riak.
With a deafening roar, a tempest of azure lightning swept through the surroundings.
‘That landed!’
A smile spread across O-jin’s lips.
But.
“━Weak.”
“Gasp?!”
Riak, surging from within the lightning, seized O-jin’s throat.
He arched his waist backward as if throwing a baseball, then swung his arm violently.
-Boom!!
“Cough!”
Thud, thud, thud!
My body, hurled through the air, bounced across the Divine Temple floor like a skipping stone.
A dizzying wave of pain shook through me.
“Ugh… damn it. I thought I’d actually landed a hit this time.”
I pushed myself up from where I’d been driven into the ground, exhaling heavily.
“Hahahaha! The kid bounces so damn well. Are you a rubber ball?”
Hae-un appeared with her familiar laughter.
She placed an ice pack directly on top of my head.
“Is your head okay?”
“No. It hurts like hell.”
“Come here, you brat. Your sister will blow on it for you.”
“Ugh.”
“Huh?”
“Ah, I rolled around on the floor so much my stomach’s feeling weird.”
“You little bastard.”
Hae-un flicked my head lightly.
It hurt.
“How much time did I last?”
I asked while rubbing my aching head with my hand.
Hae-un quickly showed me the smartphone screen she was holding.
“52 seconds.”
Damn it.
Why can’t I ever make it past a minute?
“Tsk.”
Two months ago.
I’d been completely destroyed in just three seconds when we first started sparring, so in a way, this was significant progress. Yet after two months of training with the same opponent, I couldn’t even last a minute.
‘He’s ridiculously strong.’
I glanced back at Riak and let out a deep sigh.
And this was while he was holding back, taking it easy on me—not even going all out.
“Hehe! You pathetic bastard. Why do you always get your ass handed to you?”
Hae-un plopped down beside me and teased me mercilessly.
My eyes narrowed.
“…But why do you come here every day anyway?”
She used to visit once or twice a week at first, but now she came to the Divine Temple like it was her daily commute.
She’d even slept here a few times.
“I came to make sure our O-jin eats properly~”
Hae-un hummed cheerfully as she opened the lunch box she’d brought.
Inside the rectangular container sat rice balls that looked like cursed totems created by an ancient demon to curse humanity’s destruction.
‘Damn it.’
How in the world did she manage to make something look like that?
“Come on~ try it already!”
“….”
I looked at her pleadingly, but it didn’t work.
I took a bite of the rice ball she offered.
“Huh? What?”
Why was this actually delicious?
“Hehe, how is it?”
“It’s good.”
Despite its pathetic appearance, it had just the right amount of saltiness and spice—surprisingly tasty.
So even this older sister was capable of improvement.
“Hehe~ see? It’s delicious, right?”
Ha-eun laughed cheerfully, her nose held high.
Seeing her boastful expression made me want to tease her, but I held back.
‘Still, I’m not sure if my training is actually bearing fruit.’
I took another bite of the rice ball, narrowing my eyes.
Over the past two months, my physical abilities had improved somewhat, and both Spear Thunder and Falling Thunder had each leveled up once, but that was it.
I didn’t feel the explosive growth I’d experienced before.
‘Maybe sparring alone isn’t enough.’
I wondered if I needed some kind of greater stimulus.
“Hmm.”
As I fell into contemplation,
“….”
Riak looked down at me with deeply sunken eyes as I nibbled on the rice ball.
Whoosh.
Vega flew over quietly to his side.
[So, how does it feel after two months of sparring?]
Vega asked with her arms crossed and a faint smile.
“…What do you mean, ma’am?”
[Hehe. Wouldn’t you say it’s truly innate talent?]
“….”
Riak clamped his mouth shut firmly.
Memories of the past two months flashed through his mind.
He doesn’t seem to realize it himself,
but over these two months, Kwon O-jin has grown to a degree where the difference is distinctly noticeable.
However.
“…I cannot acknowledge it.”
Riak shook his head as if displeased.
“It’s true that for a human, his skill in handling stigmas is exceptional, but that’s all there is to it.”
He couldn’t bring himself to think of him as the hope that could overturn a fate already sealed in apocalypse.
“Is that so?”
Vega gently stroked the back of Riak, who had transformed into the shape of a wolf.
Riak turned his head away, deliberately avoiding her gaze.
“Do not be hasty. You will come to understand in time.”
“…I still don’t understand why you hold that human in such high regard, Vega.”
“Hehe. It is merely my intuition.”
Vega shrugged and turned to look at O-jin.
“That child possesses a power capable of overturning fate itself.”
Her gaze toward O-jin was filled with unwavering conviction.
“…”
Riak continued to scratch at the Divine Temple floor with a sullen expression.
Vega smiled faintly and tickled Riak’s chin.
“And who knows? Perhaps by spending time with that child, you will discover a way to break through your ‘wall.'”
“That’s unlikely…”
“Well… even I must admit that seems far-fetched. In any case, do not think so negatively about it.”
A gentle hand brushed across the bridge of Riak’s nose.
“Grrrr.”
Riak’s ears perked up contentedly.
About ten minutes passed in this manner.
Thud, thud.
Riak walked toward O-jin, who had just finished eating the rice balls.
“Human. Is your rest complete?”
“Huh? Oh, yes, all done.”
O-jin gulped down the water Ha-eun had brought and stood up from his seat.
“…”
Riak regarded O-jin with a contemplative expression.
“What?”
“No, it’s nothing.”
“Huh?”
O-jin tilted his head and looked at him, but received no answer in return.
Crackle!
Riak transformed back into his werewolf form.
“Then. Let us begin the sparring at once.”
He spoke with a fierce aura radiating from him.
“Wait a moment.”
“Hmm?”
“I have a question.”
O-jin tapped the floor with the tip of his spear as he continued.
“Is there a way to do this like actual ‘combat’ instead of just sparring?”
“…What?”
Riak let out an absurd laugh.
Wanting to experience real combat when he couldn’t even last a minute.
“I know it’s an unreasonable request.”
O-jin smiled wryly.
“But I want to try sparring as close to real combat as possible.”
No matter how hard I focused, sparring and real combat felt fundamentally different.
That nagging thought of ‘it’s just sparring anyway’ refused to disappear from the back of my mind.
“Hmm.”
Riak let out a snort of ridicule and crossed his arms.
“There is a way, though.”
“Oh, really?”
O-jin’s eyes sparkled.
Then.
[━That is not permissible.]
Vega spoke in an urgent voice.
“Huh? Why?”
O-jin looked at her with questioning eyes.
Riak turned to Vega and spoke.
“Would it not be possible if you were to use the Sacred Domain, Vega?”
[How presumptuous.]
“You yourself said that this man possesses the power to overturn fate.”
[….]
Vega bit her lip firmly and glared at Riak.
‘What?’
I struggled to follow the flow of the conversation.
Noticing my confusion, Riak added an explanation.
“Within the Sacred Domain, it’s possible for Vega to twist the laws of physics according to her will.”
“…Then.”
“Right. It means she could even make you revive instantly, even if you were to die.”
“What?”
My jaw dropped wide open.
There’s no way a Constellation could do something so absurd.
“Of course. This is only possible because we’re inside the Star Palace and you’re an apostle of Vega just like me.”
“I see.”
If Vega could create a space where I’d revive instantly even upon death, as Riak said.
‘Then I could have sparring that’s no different from real combat.’
I turned to Vega with hopeful eyes.
But.
[It shall not be.]
It won’t do.
Vega shook her head firmly.
“Why?”
[I can resurrect one from death, but I cannot erase the agony and trauma of death itself.]
“….”
If the pain and shock of death could not be erased.
[There is a risk that your mind will collapse under the strain.]
‘So that’s what it was.’
I could understand why Vega had refused so adamantly.
‘But.’
I clenched my fist lightly and turned to face Riak.
Even though I had gulped down the water Ha-eun had brought moments ago, an inexplicable thirst lingered.
“I’m asking you, Vega.”
[But.]
“Let me try once. If I can’t endure it, I’ll tell you.”
[Sigh.]
A deep sigh escaped Vega’s lips.
[…I will stop immediately if it appears dangerous.]
“Understood.”
I nodded with a wry smile.
[Preparation will take time. Wait.]
Vega murmured an incomprehensible incantation with her eyes closed.
After waiting roughly an hour.
-Uuuuuuung!!!
The entire Divine Temple blazed with brilliant silver light.
A mysterious sensation swept across my body.
‘Is this the Sacred Domain?’
I touched the Divine Temple walls, which now emanated a soft glow, with curiosity.
“Are you ready to face the real combat you desired?”
“Good.”
I lowered my stance, gripping the spear tightly.
A cold sneer formed at the corner of Riak’s mouth.
“Then go ahead━ struggle to your heart’s content, human.”
Boom!!
As the entire Divine Temple trembled.
“…!!”
━Murderous intent explodes.
“Gasp! Cough!”
I cannot breathe properly.
My vision wavers, and strength drains from my legs.
Thump, thump.
My heart pounds like it’s going mad.
The terror of ‘death’ crawls down my spine, consuming my consciousness.
“Hmph.”
The moment Riak unleashed his killing intent, he snorted at me—still dazed and unable to regain my senses—as if he’d expected nothing less.
But that was only for a moment.
“…Hm?”
Riak’s eyes narrowed.
“Haa, haa!”
I exhaled in ragged gasps.
Even standing still felt impossible.
The dizzying killing intent that crashed down like a tidal wave set my mind ablaze with white-hot clarity.
‘This is.’
Riak’s true power.
“Ha, haa!”
It was a world apart from any sparring match we’d done before.
‘This is real.’
Riak genuinely intends to ‘kill’ me.
“Haa, ha, ha!”
Cold sweat drips down my skin.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
My heart thunders like a colossal drum being struck.
It burns as if a red-hot iron skewer has been driven into my skull.
‘I’m terrified.’
An abyssal terror engulfs me.
The sensation of all my blood draining away, desiccating.
‘Terrified, terrified, terrified.’
Yet why is it.
“Ha, haha, hahaha!”
An irrepressible thrill.
A maddening exhilaration.
Sets every nerve in my body ablaze.
“Ha.”
I extend my tongue and lick my lips.
“What? You’re not coming?”
I stare at Riak, standing motionless.
“Then.”
I grip the spear.
I plant my feet.
“━I’ll come first.”
Clang!
The wire shot out like a bullet, aimed directly at Riak.

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