Not A Regressor - Chapter 72

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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 72
The Genius Awakener’s Stream (1)
“F-five stars?! Didn’t you just reach four stars two months ago, Kwon O-jin?”
“I did.”
“Then what the….”
Han Manager trailed off, his mouth hanging open in disbelief.
The expression of someone who simply couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
Kwon O-jin casually pulled down his shirt to reveal the constellation mark on his chest.
‘It’s a bit awkward showing my chest to this gorilla of a man, but what can I do.’
There was no helping it.
There was no more direct way to prove my ‘star rank’ than this.
“Huh.”
A short exclamation escaped Han Manager’s lips as he saw the five clear lines etched beside the constellation mark.
“Y-you really did reach five stars in just two months.”
I awakened the Lyra Constellation mark around November of last year.
Since it was now June, I had reached five stars in just over half a year since awakening.
And that was while bearing the constellation mark of Polaris, no trivial mark at that.
“…This isn’t something we can even publish as an article.”
Han Manager pressed his forehead and let out a deep sigh.
There were already rumors that the Association had fabricated the article about Riak reaching four stars in less than half a year, so if we announced that I’d reached five stars, no one would believe it anyway.
People would likely just call me a fraud and grow even more skeptical.
“Well, there have been awakeners who reached five stars in half a year before, haven’t there?”
“That’s only true for trivial constellation marks that are easy to rank up.”
Among constellation marks of the Zodiac Twelve Palaces or higher, no one had ever reached five stars in half a year.
‘At best, among the Seven Stars, Lucun Star rose relatively quickly.’
But even that wasn’t half a year.
“In any case, I think it would be best to keep this secret for now.”
If a 100-meter sprint record came in at 9.58 seconds, it would be praised as a world record, but if it suddenly came in at 6 seconds, wouldn’t people suspect fraud rather than praise it?
“That’s a shame, though.”
As I mentioned before.
Fame and honor become tremendous power in their own right.
Even Starlight Lake Guild didn’t hesitate to expel Choi Jong-chul, a guild executive, at just one complaint from me.
At that time, I was three stars and Choi Jong-chul was a six-star awakener.
They unhesitatingly cast out a six-star awakener at the complaint of a mere three-star awakener.
‘That’s the power of fame.’
If I could only prove that I reached five stars two months after awakening to four stars, I would undoubtedly gain even more solid fame than before.
No one would refuse a lottery ticket guaranteed to win.
‘Well, I’ll have to listen to what Han Manager says here.’
Even if I took a photo of the five lines etched on my chest and posted it, people would definitely suspect it was edited.
The reaction would be the same even if I uploaded a video demonstrating my constellation mark.
People are naturally inclined to doubt things that fall outside their common sense.
“Then I’ll come back in a week.”
I planned to dedicate the remaining week to recovery.
* * *
One week until the weapon was complete.
During that time, I focused on physical recovery, eating well and resting as planned.
Following Riak’s advice, I didn’t skimp on food.
Nutritional juice made from ground chicken breast and vegetables, fresh salmon and meat, various nuts and supplements.
I bought every food that was supposedly nutrient-rich and forced them down my throat.
‘I never knew eating could be this agonizing.’
At least 4,000 calories a day minimum.
For someone like me who usually ate sparingly—almost fasting—a diet consisting of five or more meals a day was nothing short of torture.
‘Well, still.’
The results were undeniable.
In just a week, I’d gained weight rapidly, and my muscles had swelled noticeably.
The protruding ribs that once defined me were now nowhere to be found.
“Damn. This really happens in just a week?”
Standing shirtless before the mirror, I let out an exclamation of amazement.
With the proper weight gain, my physique had become so impressive that I could easily pass as a fitness model.
‘My stamina increased too.’
Perhaps Riak was right about achieving balance between mind, energy, and body.
All I’d done for a week was eat, rest, and repeat, yet my strength and endurance had grown considerably.
‘The mana circuits still leave something to be desired, though.’
Well, that wasn’t something easily resolved without raising my ‘rank’ anyway.
-Click.
“Let me organize the things I’ll need for the Gate…”
Ha-eun’s jaw dropped as she entered the room.
“Your… your body?”
“How is it? Much better than before, right?”
I flexed my arms like a bodybuilder, making an O-shape.
“…gulp.”
A dry swallow traveled down Ha-eun’s throat.
She turned her flushed cheeks away and fanned herself with her palm for no particular reason.
“It’s… it’s hot in here.”
It was June.
It was hot, sure.
But somehow I didn’t think that was the real reason.
“Heh. Why are you suddenly sweating so much?”
I approached her playfully.
“Kyaa!”
She screams and bolts away.
Her reaction is quite entertaining.
“You little brat… are you really going to mess with your sister?”
Her panic is short-lived.
She snorts dismissively and approaches me without hesitation.
“I’m your sister, remember? What, you’re going to get flustered over something like this?”
With trembling hands, she places her fingers on Kwon O-jin’s shoulder.
Kneading.
She touches the firm, bulging muscles.
“Oh my. I’m, I’m losing it over this.”
Getting caught up in the moment, her hand ventures past my shoulder, creeping toward my chest.
“Hey, how far are you planning to go?”
This sister of mine?
“Shh, just hold still.”
Ha-eun traces my body with an expression of pure excitement.
“Huh, hehehehe. Hehe. Hahaha.”
Now she’s even letting out strange laughter.
Soon after, she nods with a satisfied expression.
“I really did raise one fine man.”
“Anyone listening would think you actually raised me.”
“It’s practically the same thing. Anyway, keep eating well and grow up strong, alright?”
She grins and pats my backside repeatedly with her hand.
Casually touching someone else’s rear like that.
“This is sexual harassment.”
“What? What’s sexual harassment to your sister? Sexual harassment.”
“Then I get to touch you too?”
“Huh, what?”
Flinch.
Ha-eun’s shoulders tremble.
She clears her throat and spins around.
“Hehe. You little brat, so you wanted to touch your sister’s butt that badly?”
Sway, sway.
Right in front of me, she shakes her hips provocatively and seductively.
“Kyahahaha! If you want to touch, go ahead and….”
Squeeze.
“Hmm.”
She’s real.
“Kyaaaaa!! Y-you actually did it, you little bastard!”
“But you said to go ahead.”
“I-I was just speaking hypothetically!! Anyway, you little punk!”
Ha-eun pinched my side lightly with a huff.
It tickled more than it hurt.
“What?”
I wasn’t about to take that lying down—I pinched her side in return.
“Kyahahaha! S-stop, it tickles!”
“You started it.”
“Why you!”
And so we went on, pinching each other’s sides and giggling like fools.
[…So. When exactly are you planning to leave?]
Vega, perched atop Riak’s head, asked with narrowed eyes.
She seemed quite displeased, her legs crossed as she tapped her feet impatiently.
[Here you are, laughing and chattering away so carelessly on the eve of a life-or-death battle with a monster. It strikes me that you lack proper vigilance. A true warrior must compose both mind and body before engaging in combat….]
She continued muttering like she was scolding a child.
Clearly, she didn’t approve of how cheerfully O-jin and Ha-eun were laughing together.
“Hmph.”
Ha-eun turned to look at Vega and smirked.
“If you’re jealous, just say you’re jealous.”
[J-jealous…!]
Crackle!
Vega’s silver hair sparked and stood on end.
[How dare you speak so rudely when I’m offering you such valuable counsel!]
“Oh my~ Is that so?”
[You brat!]
Now Vega and Ha-eun had started bickering with each other.
‘Looks like my sister and Vega have gotten pretty close.’
Well, it made sense.
With our recent activities taking longer, we’d been spending more time together, so growing closer was only natural.
Ha-eun wasn’t the type to be intimidated just because Vega was a Constellation.
“Let’s head out soon.”
I stopped the two of them from arguing and gathered our equipment.
Click.
I fastened the wire shooter I’d received from Han Manager yesterday around my wrist and gripped a metal rod the size of a flashlight in my hand.
‘If I channel mana into this, it becomes a spear, right?’
I gently channeled mana into it, and the flashlight-sized metal rod transformed into the shape of a long crescent-blade spear.
“Nice, this is perfect.”
The chronic weakness of spears—their poor portability—had been easily solved.
“Kid. Are we going hunting?”
“Yeah. You’re coming too, right?”
“Grrr! Of course. A warrior cannot shy away from the battlefield.”
Riak’s lips curled upward as he stretched his body, eager for action after so long.
“Then let’s go.”
Click.
I opened the door and stepped outside.
We headed down to the parking lot, got in the car, and drove toward Busan.
-Vroom vroom!
After driving for about five hours, we arrived at the Gate.
A considerable crowd had gathered in front of the Gate.
“Wow, it’s packed with people.”
Ha-eun shook her head with a fed-up expression as she gazed at the throng assembled before the Gate.
“Did our country really have this many five-star or higher Awakened Users?”
“Well, people went crazy when they heard constellation stones were dropping in pairs.”
I’d expected the crowds.
“But can we actually hunt with all these people here?”
“I heard the interior is incredibly vast. And plenty of monsters spawn inside.”
We’d just have to venture deeper.
“Alright! Let’s check it out!”
Ha-eun grinned widely and strode forward with purpose.
Riak and Vega followed behind her.
I watched their retreating figures and let out an involuntary laugh.
‘A Constellation and a Spirit, an Awakened User of the rare Lyra Constellation, and the Apostle of Polaris all in one party.’
I doubted such a party existed even across all the worlds of the first regression.
As I was thinking this while heading toward the Gate—
“Hello everyone~! Viewers! I’m Jerry Kim, your skilled Gate-clearing streamer!”
A cheerful voice came from beside us.
“Today I’m here in front of this hot-topic Gate where constellation stones are supposedly duplicating! Ha ha! You’re wondering if I only come here lately? But how could I not come here?”
A handsome young man with orange-dyed hair lifted a large sack placed beside him.
“This is the constellation stones I farmed here over the past month! How could I not come here!”
Hahahaha!
He burst into bright laughter and proudly shook the sack.
“Everyone collects like this, right? Nah, it’s because I’m me that I collected this much!”
The young man continued talking to the camera, his shoulders puffed up with pride.
“…What is that?”
I tilted my head and looked back at him.
“You don’t know Jerry Kim?”
“Jerry Kim?”
I’d heard the name somewhere before.
“He’s pretty famous. Jerry Kim, a six-star Awakened User of the Sagittarius Constellation. He hunts Gates solo without guild affiliation while streaming online.”
“I see.”
Sagittarius was a powerful constellation belonging to the Zodiac Twelve Palaces.
A six-star Awakened User of the Zodiac Twelve Palaces would be welcomed with open arms by any guild, yet he was streaming without affiliation.
“Do internet broadcasts make a lot of money?”
“Well, the successful ones rake it in. But it’s not really about the money, is it? It’s more about the desire for fame and recognition. The viewers shower them with attention in real time.”
Fair point.
A 6-star Awakened User belonging to the Zodiac Twelve Palaces wouldn’t need to broadcast for money.
‘Broadcasting, huh.’
I found myself intrigued.
“Anyway, forget it. Sure, there are perks, but the downsides are huge. One slip of the tongue and you’re done for.”
“Yeah, that’s true.”
Reputation is always hard to build but easy to destroy in an instant.
If I were desperate for money like before, it might be different.
But since I’m not in that position, there’s no reason to stake my reputation on broadcasting.
“Let’s stop thinking about it and head in.”
“Okay.”
With that, I followed Ha-eun into the Gate.

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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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