Not A Regressor - Chapter 80

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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 80
The Saint of Rome (1)
The next day.
Kwon O-jin arrived home from Busan with the car, dumping a sack brimming with star stones into the warehouse room.
“Wow, seeing it all like this, there really is a lot.”
Ha-eun gazed at the star stones glimmering with a soft blue radiance and let out an exclamation of wonder.
“Oh right. I’m taking these star stones separately.”
“Huh? You’re not exchanging them for money?”
“I have a use for them.”
“Mm.”
She shrugged with apparent indifference.
“Well, most of this came from you winning the bet anyway. Do whatever you want with them.”
“Thanks.”
“Ugh. Anyway, I still have some hangover left, so I’m going to get some sleep.”
Ha-eun yawned widely and turned to leave.
Click.
As she opened the door to enter, she glanced back with a mischievous grin.
“Want to sleep with our older sister O-jin?”
There it was.
“I have work to do, so please get some rest first.”
“Tch. Impotent bastard.”
“No.”
Ha-eun snorted and closed the door behind her.
A quiet silence settled over the living room.
But only for a moment.
[Ugh, uuugh… my child….]
A voice echoed in my ears—the moan of a zombie wandering the streets in search of flesh in a world devastated by a zombie virus.
[My stomach… is so queasy….]
A Constellation suffering from a hangover, no less.
Among the millions of Awakened Users, was there anyone besides me who had witnessed such a sight?
“You should have drunk more moderately.”
I cradled Vega in my hand as she swayed unsteadily on my shoulder.
Vega leaned her body into my palm as if collapsing.
I gently rubbed her back to ease her discomfort.
[Hic.]
“Hmm? Feeling worse?”
[Ah, no, not at all….]
Vega shook her head urgently.
[Ugh. This throbbing in my head… truly a fearsome poison it is. How do humans drink such things without hesitation?]
“Ha. It’s fine if you drink in moderation.”
[A small whimper.]
Vega sprawled across my palm without hesitation.
[Mmm. How cozy.]
“Are you feeling any better?”
[I’m still exhausted.]
She pouted her lips petulantly, then grasped my index finger and dragged it onto her belly.
[I shall grant you the honor of stroking this one’s belly.]
She spoke just like my older sister.
Had we been together so long that she’d picked up her mannerisms?
“Alright.”
Following her instruction, I began gently stroking her belly.
[…Did this one spend such moments with you in your past life as well?]
Suddenly,
Vega asked.
“No. Back then, we never spent time together while you were this small.”
I smiled faintly and continued naturally.
“We mostly met at the Star Palace.”
My gaze drifted upward as though recalling distant memories.
“I stroked your hair often, just like now. I never called you my child, but… I cared for you as though you were one.”
[….]
As if it were nothing,
I wove false memories.
[Then what did this one call you?]
“From the very beginning, you simply called me Kwon O-jin.”
I answered calmly.
[From the beginning… What was our first meeting like?]
“Our first meeting was….”
I imagined it.
A time that never existed,
Memories between us that never were.
“I was fighting the Fire Demon’s forces and became a bloody mess, so I fled to the Star Palace. I’d lost so much blood that I thought I was going to die… but you appeared and saved me.”
[…I see.]
“Haha. After that, I started visiting you often. And that’s how we grew close.”
Vega, who had been listening quietly, suddenly averted her gaze.
[…My feelings are complicated.]
She murmured in a voice heavy with emotion.
“What do you mean?”
[Imagining this one from your past life spending time with you like that… for some reason, my heart aches.]
Perhaps it was because the stories about herself—memories she didn’t possess—felt unfamiliar to her.
Vega looked up at me with an anxious expression.
[Is the original you from back then… the same as now?]
“Different.”
[…!]
I chuckled softly, watching her eyes widen in surprise.
“You’re more beautiful now.”
[Tsk, tsk! Flattery directed at a Constellation! How utterly audacious!]
Despite the rebuke, the corners of her mouth rose as if ascending to heaven.
[…In any case. The original you from your past life never called you ‘my child’, did she?]
“Right.”
[Hehehehe.]
Vega lifted herself lightly into the air.
[Then I shall continue to call you ‘my child’ from now on.]
She reached out and gently stroked my head.
[Mmm~ My child’s hair is so soft. It’s quite pleasant to touch.]
She even hummed a little tune, clearly delighted.
“Oh right, Vega. Do you happen to know what ‘Thunder God Body’ is?”
During my fight with Hydra.
I recalled when my two legs had been replaced with ‘thunder lightning’.
The situation had been too urgent to pay it much mind then, but the memory of my body shooting forward explosively remained vivid.
[Thunder God Body is an ability that transforms the flesh itself into that of the Thunder God, just as the skill name suggests. A body composed of thunder lightning can transcend physical laws and perform numerous miracles.]
“Huh?”
What?
Just from the description, it sounds like an incredibly powerful skill?
[It truly is an exceptionally formidable skill. Its drawback is the extreme consumption of mana, but in terms of sheer power, it ranks among the highest techniques of the Lyra Constellation’s stigma.]
“I had no idea it was that strong.”
I had only obtained a clue to it and couldn’t use it freely yet.
But if Vega spoke of it in such terms, it seemed worth investing time to train and master it.
[Of course. At your current level, it’s absolutely something you shouldn’t be able to learn… but.]
Vega let out a short laugh and continued.
[You might be different.]
“How many stars would normally be required to learn this technique?”
[You need at least 9-Star rank to learn it.]
“….”
Even I couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh this time.
‘9-Star?’
9-Star and above was considered a realm beyond humanity.
And here I was, learning even just a clue to it at 5-Star rank.
“Once I can use it freely, it’ll be incredible.”
[Don’t be too hasty. Just like with Exceed, techniques beyond your level will destroy your body.]
As she said.
Using Exceed alone left my body ravaged from within; if I added Cerebral Body to the mix, my physical form might deteriorate beyond recovery.
‘I should wait until my Star rank increases before seriously training with this.’
Like a sparrow trying to follow a stork and splitting its legs in the attempt.
There was no benefit to recklessly mastering techniques that didn’t match my current Star rank.
“Got it. I’ll practice this slowly.”
[Hehe. What a sensible child.]
Vega patted my head once more.
[Mm.]
She rubbed her eyes wearily as she withdrew her hand from my head.
[I suppose I must rest now.]
“Because of the hangover?”
[That too, but I manifested for far too long yesterday.]
“Ah.”
Right.
Yesterday she had manifested for over six hours.
“Understood. Go rest.”
[You should take it easy today as well.]
Vega retreated into the pendant.
“Well then.”
With Vega gone, I was alone.
‘Should I run a Quest?’
I entered the warehouse room and reached toward the sack brimming with Star Stones.
‘Black Heaven.’
Black mist flowed from my palm, engulfing the Star Stones.
‘How many will I need?’
I’d honestly gathered over a thousand, and if that still wasn’t enough, it would be quite troublesome.
-Whooooom!
As Black Heaven absorbed the blue light dwelling within the Star Stones, I felt mana flowing into my body.
It was far less than when I absorbed an Awakened User’s Star Mark.
‘Still, any increase is welcome.’
Since I’d been using Cerebral Inflammation primarily lately, mana never felt like enough no matter how much I accumulated.
-Ding!
[As you absorb Star Stones, the Quest ‘The Sky Demon That Devours Stars ①’ progresses.]
[Current Completion Rate: 2.7%]
[Current Completion Rate: 8.4%]
The completion rate climbed steadily with each Star Stone absorbed.
‘Damn, how many do I need to consume?’
By the time I’d absorbed roughly three hundred, the completion rate had reached 32%.
‘I’ll need to use all thousand to hit 100%.’
I felt dizzy thinking how long it would have taken without the bet with Jerry Kim or the anomaly of Star Stones dropping in pairs.
“Well, regardless, I just need to break through it.”
An ancient Constellation.
Curiosity bubbled up inside me—what kind of ability could it possibly be?
-Whirrrrr!
By the time I had absorbed roughly 500 Star Stones.
-Ding!
[The stellar power contained within the Star Stone is insufficient!]
[Progress will not increase.]
[Current achievement rate: 50%]
[To increase progress further, Star Stones of higher grade are required.]
“Huh?”
Right when my achievement rate hit 50 percent.
The progress suddenly hit a wall.
“Higher grade Star Stones are needed?”
Kwon O-jin furrowed his brow and pulled out a Star Stone the size of a soccer ball from another backpack.
The two Star Stones I obtained after defeating Hydra.
‘Can these fill up to 100 percent?’
I used Black Heaven to absorb the magical power contained within the Star Stones.
-Ding!
[Current achievement rate: 61.2%]
[Current achievement rate: 72.4%]
“Damn it.”
A rough curse escaped my lips unbidden.
‘So it wasn’t just a matter of quantity.’
I needed Star Stones dropped by monsters at least at Hydra’s level or higher.
‘Then I’d have to hunt down an 8-Star monster?’
Since Hydra was a 7-Star boss-class monster, to obtain Star Stones befitting that tier, I’d need to hunt at least an 8-Star monster.
No.
Even if it were an 8-Star monster, unless it was an elite or boss-class creature, there was a high likelihood it would carry Star Stones of lower quality than those Hydra dropped.
‘I’d need to hunt an 8-Star elite-class monster or higher.’
Within South Korea, which was called a relatively clean monster zone, there were almost no Gates where such powerful monsters appeared.
And even if they did exist, most were monopolized by specific Guilds.
“Hmm.”
After pondering for a moment, I suddenly snapped my fingers with a decisive click.
‘Come to think of it, I haven’t received my reward from Valhalla Guild yet.’
If I obtained high-quality Star Stones as compensation for making contact with Jang Seok-ho on behalf of Valhalla Guild, that would do it.
And while I was at it, I could relay the information I gathered back then to Valhalla Guild to pressure the Black Star Society.
“By now, they should be mostly recovered.”
It seemed I needed to make a visit to Valhalla Guild.
“Let’s go.”
Kwon O-jin tidied up the remaining Star Stones and turned his body.
When he picked up his smartphone to contact the Valhalla Guild.
—A sharp tingle.
“Ah.”
His vision wavered.
Along with a stinging pain, he felt something flowing into his mind.
‘This is.’
Kwon O-jin’s eyes widened considerably.
A phenomenon he’d grown quite familiar with by now.
[A portion of Awakened User Lee Shin-hyuk’s memories has been successfully recovered.]
Lee Shin-hyuk’s memories.
Unfolded before his eyes.
* * *
Whoooosh!!
—Aaaahhh!!
P-please save me!!!
A city engulfed by the Fire Demon.
The thick stench of blood pierced his nostrils, and horrific screams filled the city.
Kwon O-jin looked around, turning his head to survey his surroundings.
The ruins of collapsed buildings bore an architectural style not easily seen in South Korea.
‘This place….’
In the distance, the Colosseum engulfed in flames crumbled with a thunderous roar.
‘Italy?’
The identity of the ruined city was Rome, the capital of Italy.

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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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