The 7th-Run Regressor Collects Calamities - Chapter 16

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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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Chapter 16. First Gate (4)
The scene churned with frantic activity, yet at the very heart of all that chaos stood Song Jihoo, his attention fixed elsewhere entirely.
A few paces from the assault team, Song Jihoo reached out into the empty air.
[Name: Song Jihoo]
[Level: 5]
‘From 1 to 5….’
The rewards for clearing a B-rank Gate with special conditions had been generous enough.
But what captured Song Jihoo’s attention wasn’t the level-up notification.
At the top of his inventory window, beside the icon of a worn leather pouch, new text had appeared.
[Acquired Item: Old Knight Commander’s Key]
[A key the deceased kingdom’s knight commander held until the very end. It seems capable of opening some door.]
‘…What is this?’
Song Jihoo’s gray eyes narrowed. Ordinary dungeon rewards ended where you found them.
Monster cores, unrefined Mana Stones, monster byproducts used for crafting equipment—whatever it was, all rewards were meant to be self-contained within the Gate itself.
But a key was different. A key meant there was a door somewhere that it could open.
He’d cleared thousands of dungeons, yet this was the first time he’d ever obtained an item that connected to some other place. And he couldn’t even discern where this key led.
Then, the Compass in his pocket began to vibrate softly—a pleasant tremor that felt like it was telling him something.
‘It must be connected to the Compass. For now, I’ll keep it. I’ll find out naturally in time.’
But the surprises didn’t end there. At the bottom of his skill window, below the five existing skills, a new line had appeared.
[You have acquired a new skill.]
[Skill 6: Mental Link – C-rank]
“A pleasant string of surprises, it seems.”
“You have pleasant news, sir?”
To Eun Seojin’s question, Song Jihoo gave a slight shrug.
“Ever heard of a skill being created new—rather than derived or evolved from an existing one?”
“Ah, well… I confess I haven’t.”
“Exactly. It’s an immutable law. Just as Mental Contamination cannot be healed.”
Song Jihoo pressed the detailed information of the skill with trembling fingertips.
[Mental Link – C-rank]
– Temporarily share senses and intentions with up to 2 touched targets.
– Transmit sensory information—sight, hearing, touch, and more—bidirectionally. Exchange intentions without speech.
– Number of targets: 2
– Effective range: 30 meters radius
– Consumes the caster’s mental energy.
‘…Connection.’
Song Jihoo gazed at the location where Silent Watcher’s Fortress had stood, turning the skill’s meaning over in his mind.
‘It’s a highly useful skill. If I can share vision and senses with Eun Seojin, it means we can communicate even when separated.’
Clearing dungeons was going to become far easier from now on.
A low laugh escaped his lips.
The sound he couldn’t suppress tumbled free.
Mental Detection, Mental Barrier, Residual Thought, Thought Projection, Mental Dive. And now Mental Link.
“So… I think I’m starting to see the pattern.”
What role this seventh life wanted from him was becoming obvious to anyone watching.
Across his six previous lives, Song Jihoo had fought directly. He’d killed with his own hands, shed his own blood, shattered his own body.
He’d had comrades, yes, but Song Jihoo had always stood at the fore. And all six times, it had ended in utter failure.
But this seventh life was demanding something different. Not fighting alone—but joining broken blades back together and wielding them without hesitation at the perfect moment.
From the seat of a true leader.
‘…Fine. If that’s the rule of this life.’
Song Jihoo closed his skill window, the corners of his mouth rising.
‘Yes, if it’s to kill the Abyss Lord, I’ll gladly take on whatever role is needed.’
New variables. Unknown elements that existed only in this seventh life continued to accumulate.
In a regression, multiplying variables spelled danger—but positive variables were also a chance to veer from the trajectory toward inevitable ruin that had been written.
***
Yoon Youngsu collected the body camera from the last hunter and organized the critical details before stepping aside.
Mental Contamination readings. Measurement time. Device serial number. Comparative data by hunter. No matter how many times he reviewed it, the numbers remained unchanged.
‘…There’s no way I can avoid reporting this.’
Yoon Youngsu pulled out his phone and pressed the first contact in his list.
Ring—ring—
The call connected as the signal sounded for the second time.
“Association Director, this is an urgent report.”
What’s happened?
Yoon Youngsu conveyed the essentials as concisely as possible.
B-rank Gate cleared. It was a special dungeon, but Song Jihoo essentially solved the clear conditions alone. His combat ability also exceeds the C-rank category. Formation reorganization and tactical judgment skills confirmed.
“And… the Mental Contamination levels of the hunters who explored the dungeon with him have decreased.”
Silence came through the phone. A rather long silence.
What did you just say?
Yoon Youngsu swallowed dryly at the low, rumbling voice.
“We suspected equipment malfunction and remeasured with backup devices. The results are identical. While the figures are minimal, some hunters’ contamination levels have definitely decreased.”
A long silence continued, but Yoon Youngsu waited calmly for the next instruction.
Send a written report straight to me. Don’t go through the approval chain.
“Understood.”
Park Jungho’s voice was lower than usual.
And, Yoon Youngsu.
“Yes.”
Stay at that bastard’s side by any means necessary. You know this is an opportunity, don’t you?
Click.
Yoon Youngsu slipped his phone into his pocket and removed his glasses, wiping them with a handkerchief. There wasn’t a single fingerprint on the lenses, but if he didn’t wipe them, his trembling hands would show.
An opportunity. Park Jungho had spoken that word aloud.
Former association director’s secretary. Top of his cohort. But what that top position meant was clear: if he wasn’t going to be a mere secretary forever, he’d face the end within five years.
Association director? That’s a position only hunters can reach anyway.
But that dead end had just—
‘…opened.’
Yoon Youngsu slowly shifted his gaze to Song Jihoo. His profile as he exchanged a brief word with Eun Seojin.
According to records, he hadn’t even been awakened a full month. Yet something was off. He showed not a single symptom typical of newly awakened hunters.
No exhaustion from output control failures, no adrenaline reaction after first combat.
‘Where the hell did this guy come from? Is he really a new hunter? Where was he trained? Does some organization exist that the association hasn’t identified?’
The files in Yoon Youngsu’s mind began surfacing information about Song Jihoo one by one. Awakening records, residential registration, family relations, academic history, medical records. Not a single thing seemed suspicious.
That was what was suspicious.
His past was suspiciously ordinary compared to the abilities he displayed now.
‘Just… do what I need to do.’
Yoon Youngsu steadied his breathing without realizing it and adjusted his necktie with one hand.
Now that he’d witnessed what Song Jihoo displayed in this dungeon, thinking of him as he had before was impossible.
‘A monster outside specifications that not even the association director could control.’
Stick to that man’s side. By whatever means. No matter how long it takes.
‘Then the association has no choice but to get information through me.’
His standing within the association would rise incomparably.
‘Calculations end here.’
Yoon Youngsu straightened his appearance and walked toward Song Jihoo.
“Hunter Song Jihoo.”
As Song Jihoo turned his head, Yoon Youngsu bowed deeply at the waist.
“I’m Yoon Youngsu, newly joining the Zero Point Guild. I look forward to working with you going forward.”
Song Jihoo scanned Yoon Youngsu with vacant eyes. Yoon Youngsu was certain that this man already knew everything—why he was here, what Park Jungho wanted, even what calculations he himself was making.
“…All right. Yes, I look forward to it.”
It was a sign of acceptance nonetheless. Yoon Youngsu lifted his head and carefully withdrew a tablet.
“I’m sure you’re tired, but the association director has a gift for you. Would you like to check it right away?”
“A gift?”
“Yes. He said it’s absolutely unacceptable for a nation’s S-rank talent to reside in such a shabby place. We’ve assigned you an S-rank exclusive apartment near the association.”
Eun Seojin, listening from the side, looked back and forth between Yoon Youngsu and Song Jihoo with an uncomfortable expression.
The fact that someone who’d been spouting procedures and regulations just yesterday could change this drastically was the first shock.
And then there was what Song Jihoo had said after finishing the meeting with the association director.
“What are you talking about? It’s already handled.”
She hadn’t mentioned the housing issue at all, yet it truly had been resolved. She found herself wondering just how far this man’s foresight extended.
“Hunter Eun Seojin.”
Yoon Youngsu bowed respectfully to Eun Seojin as well.
“Your lodging has also been reassigned. It’s right next to Hunter Song Jihoo’s. Would you like to move now? If you’re tired, we can postpone it.”
Eun Seojin looked toward Song Jihoo. When Song Jihoo nodded lightly, Eun Seojin followed suit.
“Let’s go take a look now.”
Yoon Youngsu flashed a confident smile and opened the rear door of the black sedan he’d arrived in.
“I’ll guide you in my car. After all, I’m now a member of Zero Point, aren’t I?”
And just as they were about to leave.
“Excuse me! Song Jihoo! When will the next raid be?”
“A blank check is fine! Just please run dungeons with us!”
“If you need hunters for dungeon runs, contact us anytime!”
Until the moment they entered the Gate, the hunters had harbored doubts. Now their attitude shifted entirely, and they swarmed toward Song Jihoo like moths to flame.
‘Word of mouth won’t be a problem, then.’
It was exactly the result Song Jihoo had wanted.
“This won’t do.”
Yoon Youngsu stepped forward and began to organize the situation.
“Dungeon applications must follow proper procedures. For coalition raids, please submit applications through the established process once details are finalized.”
He collected the business cards the hunters offered and noted down their contact information.
“Wait, aren’t you an Hunters Association liaison? Is the Association managing this?”
“As of today, I’m an employee of the Zero Point Guild.”
Yoon Youngsu answered the other hunters’ questions deftly and led Song Jihoo toward the car.
“Are there any planned activities going forward?”
“Since the guild was only recently established, nothing’s set in stone yet. We’ll move according to the guild master’s plans.”
Eun Seojin watched Song Jihoo as she observed Yoon Youngsu’s skillful maneuvering.
“Did you anticipate all of this?”
“Yeah. His practical competence is among the best even within the Association.”
And besides, his ambition for advancement would find more than enough fulfillment here.
“Organization is complete. I’ll compile the information we just received and submit it as a report.”
Yoon Youngsu, who had tidied up the surroundings and taken the driver’s seat, continued his briefing with practiced efficiency.
“And… there’s one more thing to report. The guild establishment procedures were completed as of today.”
“That’s good news.”
Yoon Youngsu began driving while watching Song Jihoo’s expression in the rearview mirror.
“Then I’ll take you to your quarters.”
The Seventh Regression Collector of Calamities
Author
: Song Tan
Production Date
: July 13, 2026
Publisher
: Acesis Media Co., Ltd.
Editor
: Acesis Media Editorial Team
Address
: 10F Urban Bench Building, 325 Teheran-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
Email
: [email protected]
※ This work is published by Acesis Media Co., Ltd. under contract with the copyright holder.
No part of this work may be reproduced or used in any form or by any means without permission from the publisher and author.
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UCI
: G720:N+A129-20260709064

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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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