The 7th-Run Regressor Collects Calamities - Chapter 10

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

Episode 10. The Association President (2)
Song Ji-hu began drafting a list for the first step.
What mattered most going forward was having a legitimate operating background and the strength not to be pushed around.
“Right now, the most critical thing is…”
[Resources to Secure]
– Guild
– Funding
– Information network
– Weapon (Ryou Jin’s commission in progress)
The first blade Song Ji-hu could wield was his Mental Contamination Healing ability, and the second was Eun Seo-jin.
“How many people could I heal with this? As many as possible…”
His fingers froze in midair, and Song Ji-hu’s ash-grey eyes turned cold and sharp.
‘No, don’t fool yourself. I’m not a philanthropist. And certainly not a saint.’
Tens of thousands—hundreds of thousands—of Hunters worldwide suffered from Mental Contamination. Some had tragic stories, some were good people.
‘Save the ones who matter most first.’
More than a century of living had taught him one thing.
If you’re swept away by emotion, you die. If you try to save everyone, you end up saving no one.
Besides, if he killed the Abyss Lord, everything would be resolved anyway.
Song Ji-hu drew a red circle around the first item on his list: [Guild].
A fence to legitimately expand his power. A minimal foundation to minimize the Association’s interference and swing his blade freely.
In his past lives, founding a Guild had been nothing but hardship from start to finish.
Massive capital, tedious screening processes, and above all, the requirement of “at least five Awakened Ones, including an A-rank or higher Hunter.”
Building from scratch to actually hanging a proper Guild sign had taken over two years.
But this time?
Song Ji-hu’s eyes glinted with sharp intensity.
‘I have Eun Seo-jin.’
[In cases where an S-rank Hunter serves as the core member, Guild establishment is approved immediately, regardless of additional personnel or capital requirements.]
An S-rank Hunter was a walking megacorporation, a free pass incarnate, which meant the benefits were extraordinary.
And tomorrow, he had a meeting scheduled with the Association President—the highest authority in South Korea’s Hunter industry.
‘Luck is on my side. Tomorrow I need to nail down the Guild approval for certain.’
The initiative was his. Now and always.
Song Ji-hu set down his phone and lay back on the bed, staring blankly at the yellowed wallpaper of the ceiling.
The black mist that had swept through the Mental World. The blood-red eyes gleaming within it. The mocking voice that had resonated as if carved directly into his soul.
“How amusing, my little farmer. I await what this life will bring.”
He ground his teeth so hard they creaked between his jaws.
‘You’re watching, aren’t you? Watching this plaything you destroyed pull itself back up.’
Song Ji-hu clenched his fist until his knuckles turned white.
This life would be different. Definitely.
***
At the same moment, in a VIP hospital room.
Eun Seo-jin stood by the window, gazing blankly out at the city beyond the glass.
Seoul’s night skyline spread wide before him.
It was a scene similar to three years ago, but the world Eun Seo-jin perceived was utterly different from then.
‘I’m… still alive. I didn’t die.’
Just hours before, he had been as good as dead.
“I need your sword.”
That man had spoken those words to him purely because he needed a sword—to cut something, or to topple something.
Eun Seo-jin recalled the emotions he’d sensed in the Mental World, fragmentary and disjointed.
‘What goal could it be… that he endured such profound pain, frustration, and despair without breaking?’
One thing was certain: the destination that emotion pointed toward. Revenge.
But it wasn’t unfamiliar. For three years, even as contamination gnawed at him, he’d clung to something similar.
‘Only his ran so much deeper than mine…’
Knock, knock—
At the sound of knocking, Eun Seo-jin turned his head.
“Hunter Eun Seo-jin, it’s time for your final examination.”
A nurse’s voice.
“Come in.”
The door opened and medical staff wheeled in a cart laden with equipment.
“We’ve completed the Mental Contamination index measurement, and we just need to run a few final tests.”
“The final reading… what was it?”
“From 98 down to 12.3. Unbelievable, right? The professor is already beside himself. He’s saying this is dissertation material. A medical revolution the world needs to know about.”
Listening to this flood of information, Eun Seo-jin surrendered his body to the medical staff. Various machines were attached to him, blood drawn from his arm and fed into the apparatus.
“It’ll take about an hour for the results. Should I tell you tomorrow morning, or right away?”
“Tell me right away.”
“Yes, I’ll report it to the professor.”
As the medical staff bowed and left the room, Eun Seo-jin switched on the tablet screen to confirm what had happened during the three years he’d been trapped.
.
.
.
.
.
“It’s remarkable.”
The attending physician, arriving in less than an hour, marveled while checking the tablet.
“The contamination levels have dropped further. From 12 percent to now 9.7 percent. Essentially a complete recovery.”
“…I see.”
“Yes. This is unprecedented. I don’t know what method was used, but… the very announcement of this result would shake the entire world.”
Despite the doctor’s obvious excitement, Eun Seo-jin answered coolly.
“Are there other documented cases of Mental Contamination Healing besides mine?”
“Not that we know of. You’re the first, Eun Seo-jin. The world’s first. If word gets out… it’ll be massive, won’t it? People will probably start pouring in from all over the globe.”
Eun Seo-jin responded without words, merely nodding slightly as he murmured to himself.
“I’m… the first….”
Though there were other Hunters with formidable abilities, Song Ji-hu had saved his life first.
‘I owe him my life.’
A debt that absolutely must be repaid.
‘If what he wants is my blade, then…’
His hands clenched into fists.
‘I’ll offer it willingly.’
Eun Seo-jin looked at his own hands. Shame flooded him at the sight of a swordsman’s hands rusted by three years of disuse.
‘I need to work relentlessly. Without shame.’
For now, rehabilitation would be the beginning. Even for an S-rank Hunter, three years was a considerable stretch of time.
***
That dawn, the Hunter community exploded.
[[Breaking News] Rumor: Eun Seo-jin’s Mental Contamination Cured]
[Author: Anonymous Hunter / Views: 1,146,950]
[Is this real? It’s a photo supposedly taken at Hunter Hospital. The guy with the silver hair walking around fine—that’s definitely Eun Seo-jin, the one with terminal Mental Contamination three years ago. The photo’s a bit blurry, but that silver hair is unmistakably him.]
ㄴ Why would Eun Seo-jin be walking around? He was terminal anyway, so he’d be disposed of soon.
ㄴ Deepfake, right?
ㄴ Come on, it’s 2024.
ㄴ Mental Contamination cured? More likely I get promoted to S-rank tomorrow.
Given the nature of the topic, comments from community users began pouring in explosively.
ㄴ Someone fact-check this. There’s never been a single case of Mental Contamination healing since the Gates opened.
ㄴ Even Emilia Jones can only delay it.
ㄴ The world has spent trillions over the last decade trying to cure this. Suddenly it’s happening in Korea?
ㄴ Attention-seeker trolling. What are the mods doing, not banning this guy?
Most comments were filled with ridicule and cynicism. The reaction was inevitable.
Mental Contamination was a curse no Hunter could escape.
But cured in Korea? To the point where a terminal patient could walk around perfectly fine?
ㄴ But the guy in that photo really does look like Eun Seo-jin. That distinctive silver hair and bone structure.
ㄴ Exactly—it’s edited. You Koreans doctored the photo and mainlined nationalism.
Just as that spark was about to die out, a single new photo reignited the community’s fire. To a degree incomparable with before.
[[Verified] I work at Hunter Hospital. This is real.]
[Author: Anonymous Hunter / Views: 4,540,451]
[Saw it myself this afternoon. It’s Eun Seo-jin, and the contamination levels dropping is a fact. Our entire hospital medical staff was called in as an emergency. The director personally ordered a retest—same results. From 98 down to 9.7. Believe it or don’t. Word’s going to spread anyway.]
With the commenter even verifying their employee credentials, the mood began to shift.
ㄴ Is that employee ID legit? Those holograms can’t be forged—you get arrested instantly.
ㄴ Wow. Crazy… so it’s real? He actually got cured?
ㄴ Won’t that whistleblower get fired?
ㄴ Who cares about getting fired now? History’s about to change!
Once the floodgates opened, testimonies began pouring in.
[That C-rank Hunter who just appeared with the Mental Barrier ability? That’s the one who did the treatment.]
Haha, a C-rank fixing an S-rank? Write fiction why don’t you
ㄴ Reading this post makes my trust plummet instantly.
ㄴ Mental Barrier is about delay and protection, not healing. It’s not a healing skill.
ㄴ Obviously they’re hiding skills lol. Do you broadcast all of yours?
ㄴ Hahahaha exactly. If this were real, he’d be a god. The whole world would come running with blank checks.
Mental Contamination Healing is already hard to believe, and now you’re telling me a C-rank pulled it off? The premise is too unrealistic, isn’t it?
As credible and incredible testimonies alike flooded in, Korean online communities burned white-hot, and the incident eventually crossed over into communities worldwide.
From America and Japan to Europe and China. The global Hunter community was in uproar.
Posts in every conceivable language poured out. Is it real? Did the healing actually work? How is that possible? Or is there an official statement from the Korean Hunter Association?
[By the way, that C-rank Hunter’s name is Song Ji-hu. He was briefly mentioned a while back.]
[Author: Anonymous Hunter / Views: 2,540,451]
ㄴ I don’t know about the Mental Contamination Healing, but the Mental Barrier skill alone is massive.
ㄴ If you had that skill, would Mental Contamination progress more slowly?
ㄴ It probably would, right? Korea finally has a Hunter like Emilia Jones!
ㄴ The Hunter Association absolutely has to recruit him by any means necessary.
ㄴ That’s right. Just think about the treatment Emilia Jones gets for her Mental Contamination delay skill. Every Hunter practically bows to her.
ㄴ Right. Honestly, just the Mental Barrier alone puts him at Emilia Jones’s level.
Because of Mental Contamination Healing, Song Ji-hu’s name began to etch itself into the consciousness of Hunter communities worldwide.
[I’m curious though. Did Song Ji-hu really heal Eun Seo-jin, and what exactly is the Mental Barrier skill? He hasn’t entered a Gate yet, right?]
ㄴ Right. Doesn’t look like he’s gone in yet. Once he does and comes back, word will probably spread.
ㄴ Definitely. Someone post an update quick. I’d seriously pay a fortune just to get healed.
ㄴ Lol the line’s gonna form. If this is real, we’re looking at a worldwide queue.
The eyes of Hunter Associations across the globe, along with governments worldwide, began turning toward South Korea.
Because even if only one of the rumors circulating through communities was true, there was more than sufficient reason to make contact with this Hunter named Song Ji-hu.
7th Regression: The Collector of Calamities
Author
: Song Tan
Publication Date
: July 13, 2026
Publisher
: ACES Media Inc.
Editor
: ACES Media Editorial Team
Address
: 10F Urban Bench Building, 325 Teheran-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, South Korea
Email
: [email protected]
※ This work has been published by ACES Media Inc. in accordance with the copyright holder’s contract.
No part of this content may be used in any form or by any means without permission from the company and author.
This e-book is protected by copyright law, and unauthorized reproduction or copying may result in legal liability.
UCI
: G720:N+A129-20260709064

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