Not A Regressor - Chapter 93

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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 93
Constellations of Antiquity (4)
“What do you want to eat?”
Ha-eun tugged at my arm as she asked.
“I’m not sure.”
Nothing in particular appealed to me.
“How about tteokbokki?”
I’d once seen a news article while scrolling through headlines stating that tteokbokki ranked first among favorite foods for women in their twenties.
‘My sister isn’t in her twenties, though.’
The year had changed, and the first digit had shifted to three.
But judging purely by appearance, she could easily pass for someone in her early twenties.
‘I think they said aging slows down as your rank increases.’
I’d heard that once Awakened Users reached rank 9 or higher, aging stopped entirely.
‘Well, not that it matters much.’
Even if she eventually became a hunched old woman, nothing would change between us.
“Tteokbokki? We could afford something more expensive, you know.”
“I just feel like eating it.”
“Hehe. Sounds good! Let’s go with tteokbokki then!”
I headed to a nearby tteokbokki restaurant with Ha-eun.
We were eating tteokbokki, blood sausage, and fried snacks when
“Did you hear? A Non-Awakener Security Management Center just opened in Daerim-dong too.”
“Oh, really? Did the Association build it?”
“Of course. Those Guild bastards don’t care about anything outside their own territory anyway.”
“True.”
I overheard two men sitting at the next table chatting.
“When you see stuff like this, it really seems like only the Association actually cares about us non-Awakeners.”
“But… that’s not exactly how it is either.”
“Huh? Why?”
The dark-skinned man let out a sigh and continued.
“The executives are managing the center right now, but our great Association President apparently told them the budget was too high and that they should cut back on the Non-Awakener Security Management Centers.”
“What?”
“Originally, they were supposed to set up management centers in both Guro-dong and Daerim-dong, but because the Association President opposed it, the executives ended up spending their own money to build the centers.”
“Damn it. So we’re not even worth a human life to him?”
“The guy’s so busy kissing up to the big Guilds while not even knowing who pays the taxes he pockets. Unbelievable.”
The two men sat there hurling harsh curses at the Association President.
‘…The Association President opposed expanding the centers?’
This was something I hadn’t heard from Han Manager.
‘I should ask him about it later.’
I needed to verify whether this was just idle gossip
or if there were actual reasons behind his opposition.
‘Anyway… it seems the Association President’s image really isn’t good among non-Awakeners.’
It was unavoidable.
Given the nature of the Black Star Society, they had consistently pursued policies for non-Awakeners.
‘The problem is that it’s not helping them out of pure intentions.’
I recalled the documents Jang Seok-ho had given me.
Non-Awakeners who became Awakeners after receiving the ‘Stigma of the Black Star’ from the Black Star Society apparently suffered drastically shortened lifespans as the price.
‘If it were just a shortened lifespan, that would be fortunate.’
Kwon O-jin furrowed his brow.
The documents Jang Seok-ho provided were filled with information about Black Star Society members who failed to adapt to the Stigma of the Black Star, descended into madness, or whose flesh twisted grotesquely and melted away, transforming them into monster-like creatures.
‘It’s a structure that inevitably produces side effects.’
Each person has their own unique stigma that suits them.
If someone forcibly accepted a different stigma, the vital energy throughout their entire body would twist, resulting in instant death.
‘Like Lee Shin-hyuk.’
Especially among non-Awakeners, many cases existed where the ‘stigma’ itself didn’t suit their bodies, so they weren’t chosen by any Constellation.
Yet they had forcibly granted stigmas to such people.
It would be stranger if no side effects occurred at all.
“Huh? Mm. What are you doing?”
Ha-eun dipped a hot fried piece into the tteokbokki sauce and popped it into her mouth as she asked.
“Nothing much.”
I followed her lead and put the remaining tteokbokki into my mouth.
“Ahh! That hit the spot!”
After paying the bill.
Ha-eun stepped outside and stretched, patting her belly.
“So what should we do now?”
“What do you mean? We should head home and train.”
I hadn’t been able to train satisfactorily today because I’d stopped by the Association.
“Aw, we just got out. It’d be a shame to go right back in.”
Ha-eun pouted and pinched my side.
“Let’s take a drive for once!”
“Hmm.”
Well.
Since I usually devoted myself intensely to training, taking a break occasionally didn’t seem like a bad idea.
“Then let’s call Vega and Riak too.”
“Huh? Why those two?”
“We’ve never properly shown them around Seoul. They’re always stuck at the Star Palace, so it’d be nice to go sightseeing together like this.”
“Ugh.”
Ha-eun puffed out her cheeks, clearly displeased.
“I wanted it to be just the two of us.”
“Huh? What did you say? I didn’t hear you.”
Obviously a lie.
Thanks to becoming a 5-Star Awakener and my heightened hearing, every word came through crystal clear.
“Ahem! Oh, it’s nothing!”
Good grief.
Why is my sister so adorable, seriously.
“Hehe. So I should call them?”
Kwon O-jin touched the necklace after getting into the car parked in the garage.
-Whirrrrr!
Light burst from the silver necklace, and Vega and Riak materialized.
[Has something happened?]
“No, nothing like that.”
Kwon O-jin started the engine and continued.
“I thought I’d take my sister on a drive for a change, so I called you both along.”
[A drive…?]
“You know, riding in the car to see the sights outside or go somewhere fun.”
[Ooh! Wonderful! I’ve been wanting to leisurely experience the human world for myself!]
Vega’s eyes sparkled as she clung to the top of Kwon O-jin’s head.
[But… you’re the one driving, aren’t you?]
She asked with a worried expression, as if old nightmares had surfaced.
“I’m good at driving now, so don’t worry.”
[Uh, um. I shall trust you.]
Vega swallowed hard and nodded.
“Grrrr. I hadn’t heard from you in ages, and you summon me for this?”
Riak shook his head with a disapproving click of his tongue.
“A true warrior must never neglect training for even a single day!!! Where is there time for sightseeing nonsense?!”
Click.
Even as he spoke, he opened the car door and quickly climbed into the back seat, then rolled down the window and poked his head out.
“Acting like you don’t want to when you clearly do.”
“I-I don’t want to! Would a true warrior get excited over mere sightseeing?!”
-Swish swish.
Right.
His tail wagged enthusiastically, making his words ring hollow.
“Ahem! Oh, just a tiny bit! I’ve merely developed a slight interest in the human world, that’s all!”
Riak hurriedly lowered his tail and cried out.
“But you and Vega watch TV together at home these days, don’t you?”
Recently, Riak and Vega had been sitting in front of the television frequently under the guise of studying the human world, watching dramas, news, and movies.
Particularly Riak seemed fond of sports channels, often spending entire days glued to the screen watching baseball, soccer, and other sports that were popular before the Gates appeared.
‘He kept going on about feeling the warrior’s spirit and all that.’
Honestly, I’m not sure if he even understands the rules.
[Hehehehe. But watching on television and seeing it in person are different things, aren’t they?]
Vega tugged gently at his hair and snorted.
“That’s true enough.”
Kwon O-jin drove slowly through the streets of Seoul.
Towering buildings packed densely together, and people bustling about the sidewalks.
[…So this is where so many children of humanity dwell.]
Vega sat atop Kwon O-jin’s head, gazing at the streets with a distant, nostalgic gleam in her eyes.
“Is this your first time seeing it?”
[I have never observed with such leisure before.]
“Hmm. But didn’t the Constellations say they were managers of Earth?”
Wouldn’t managers be expected to understand Earth far more thoroughly than ordinary people?
[Constellations can only perceive macroscopic matters—a star’s destiny, its rise and fall, crises and such. We cannot know how each individual being upon a star lives their life.]
I see.
[Well… Constellations with many Apostles often possess extensive knowledge of the human world. But I had no Apostles before you, so… observing human lives up close like this is truly my first experience.]
“I should have shown you sooner.”
If I’d known, I would have taken you out more often like this.
[Hehe. Do not think such things. I find joy not in the human world itself, but in being together with you like this now.]
Vega gently patted my forehead, smiling warmly.
[Let us continue to venture out into the world together like this, often.]
“Of course, Goddess.”
Before, I had avoided being with her due to the pressure of pretending to be a regressor.
But once I became confident that trust had deepened between us, much of that pressure eased.
Rather, I felt guilty at how readily she believed my lies without suspicion.
‘Perhaps… I should just reveal everything?’
That I am not a regressor.
That I am the master of the Black Heaven.
‘…No.’
I had already crossed a river too far to turn back.
The deeper the trust, the greater the betrayal would be—that much was inevitable.
No matter how close we had become, I could not reveal all truths to her.
[Ooh! My child! What is that “PC bang” over there?]
Well, for now, let me just forget the complications and enjoy this drive.
“It’s a place where people play computer games.”
[Computer? Games?]
“Yes.”
Explaining this one by one would never end.
“Grrrowl! Pup! What is that place called ‘Ramen Paradise’?!”
“A specialty ramen restaurant that serves many varieties of ramen.”
“Is it Valhalla!”
“No, it’s not.”
When did this beast become such a ramen fanatic?
Looking like she’d devour raw meat whole, and yet here she is.
[My child! What is that place called “Ganda Ganda Ppung Ganda”?]
“It’s a kalguksu restaurant.”
Why the hell is the shop name like that.
[Then what about that place called “Kkotchu”?]
“It’s a place that sells flower tea and churros.”
No.
[Hoo. Then what about that place over there called “Yadong Sanghoe”—what do they sell?]
I’d like to know that too.
What in the world would they have to sell to come up with a name like that?
[There are so many interesting shops!]
Right?
Regardless of anything else, I’m damn curious about Yadong Sanghoe.
“…Why do you only find weird stuff like that?”
Ha-eun, sitting beside me, pressed her forehead as if her head ached.
I couldn’t agree more.
[My child! My child! Over there….]
Vega’s voice, which had been gazing out the window with excitement, suddenly cut off.
Vega narrowed her eyes, staring intently at something.
[My child. Smoke is rising from over there.]
“Huh?”
Looking in the direction she pointed, black smoke was indeed billowing up.
“Did a fire break out?”
“That’s the Guro-dong direction, right?”
Ha-eun rolled down the window and poked her head out slightly.
And then.
-Crash!!
“What, what is it?”
Along with a violent crash, cars came driving backward from the direction where the smoke was rising.
Boom! Crash! Screech!
The road instantly turned into chaos.
“What the hell are you crazy bastards doing!”
Drivers from the accident vehicles spewed out harsh curses.
“S-save me.”
“What?”
“Save meeeeeeeee!!”
A young man who had escaped from the backward-driving vehicle began fleeing with a deathly pale face.
“Hey, catch that bastard!!”
The driver hurriedly chased after him, but.
-Crash!!
“Get out of the way!! Move it, damn it!!!”
“Get out of the way, you bastard!!!”
The cars following in reverse collided head-on with the driver and tore down the road.
“Oh, this is insane.”
“….”
Kwon O-jin pulled the car to the shoulder with a rigid expression.
“Let’s go.”
“Y-yes!”
[Understood!]
I sprinted toward the billowing smoke alongside Ha-eun, Riak, and Vega.
There, in that place—
“Kyaaaaaaah!!”
“P-please, save us!!!”
“Aaaah! A monster!! Why is a monster here!!”
“There’s no Gate nearby!!!”
People screaming and fleeing in terror.
Hundreds, thousands of demonic beasts ravaged the streets in their wake.
“Insane! Where did all these demonic beasts come from…!”
Ha-eun’s jaw dropped as she beheld the demonic beasts swarming across the entire street.
“…No.”
Kwon O-jin shook his head, his eyes gleaming sharply.
“These aren’t demonic beasts… they’re corrupted creatures.”
Sensing the vivid aura of the Black Star emanating from the creatures.
Kwon O-jin’s expression twisted savagely.

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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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