The 7th-Run Regressor Collects Calamities - Chapter 25

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

Chapter 25. Ollie Barkley (3)
Rick Wesley sat outside the isolation chamber, fingers tapping with anxious rhythm against his knee.
He wasn’t asleep. Eyes closed, he was simply remembering the day he’d first met Ollie Barkley.
The year the Gate first opened.
The world transformed. Hunters emerged as a new existence. American intelligence had descended into chaos.
In those days of pure pandemonium, Rick Wesley—a former military man and A-rank hunter—was laying the foundation of USAA.
“We need manpower. Ideally S-rank.”
The man he’d met that day was Ollie Barkley.
A Texan. Tall, broad-shouldered, wearing a cowboy hat, leather jacket, and dual revolvers strapped to his waist.
“So this is the place where you beat up the world’s worst criminals?”
The moment those words came out of his mouth as he walked into Rick’s office, his first impression was nothing short of absurd.
“S-rank awakener. Energy attribute?”
“Guns are my weapon. When you think America, you think guns, right?”
He could never forget that grinning face as Ollie extended his hand.
“So when do we start beating up the bad guys?”
Ollie Barkley was a quintessential Texan.
Strong, independent, just, free-spirited, and always cheerful.
“You haven’t even passed the interview yet.”
“What? But I’m S-rank?”
He never lost his sense of humor, no matter the situation, and he would stake his own life for his comrades.
Together they had built USAA.
From a handful of founding members to the world’s strongest guild, Ollie had always stood at the very front.
America’s finest marksman.
When Ollie’s gunfire rang out on the battlefield, enemies fell without exception.
And a year ago.
After the Fallen Dungeon Break, Ollie Barkley began to change.
At first it was subtle. His jokes grew sparse. He spent more time alone. By the time Rick noticed, it was already too late.
He’d hidden it as much as he could, but even that had its limits.
“We have to take action!”
“Surely you know better than anyone what an S-rank rampage would mean!”
The moment Ollie’s corruption index exceeded 90, Rick Wesley found himself at a crossroads.
“I’ll have to think about it. Give me time to think.”
A decision: that he must kill a colleague, a friend, a comrade of twenty years.
Crushed under the weight of that decision, unable to sleep, one night he learned the news of mental corruption treatment.
He didn’t believe it at first.
But when he confirmed it through internal intelligence channels and saw that Un Seo-jin’s corruption readings had genuinely changed, Rick didn’t hesitate for even a second—he decided to go to Korea.
“Please…”
All those moments flashed before him like a lantern show. Watching Ollie collapse under mental corruption, snarling like a beast—it was agony worse than death for Rick.
“Please, save him.”
And then.
*Cough!*
*Thud-bang!*
Beyond the isolation chamber’s door where Un Seo-jin stood guard, Song Ji-hu coughed up blood and collapsed.
“Guild Master!”
Un Seo-jin lunged forward and caught him, supporting his weight. Rick Wesley felt his heart drop as he rushed over.
“Mr. Song!”
Rick Wesley shot to his feet.
His appearance was ghastly. Dark red blood streamed from his eyes, nose, and mouth. His complexion was pallid as a corpse.
“Did it fail? What happened? Medical team! Get the medical team now!”
Something had gone wrong. Had it failed? Tension coiled around his throat.
“Oh—his corruption index! The reading is dropping!”
Behind them, a medical technician monitoring Ollie Barkley’s vital signs let out a cry.
“What?”
“From 96… down to 61!”
Rick Wesley snatched the measuring device and gripped it tight. His eyes trembled as he stared at the numbers on the screen.
[Mental Corruption Index: 61.2%]
From 96.4 to 61.2. A decrease of 35 points.
Terminal to moderate stage. A single dive had shaved off 35 points.
His hands trembled violently at what was an unprecedented miracle in human history.
“…Rick…?”
From inside the isolation chamber came the hoarse voice of Ollie Barkley, who had been unconscious for a year.
Rick Wesley’s feet moved toward the isolation chamber.
Ollie Barkley, bound in restraints, blinked as if trying to focus.
For the first time in a year, his eyes—now clear and sharp—looked directly at him.
“Ollie…!”
Rick Wesley’s voice trembled.
“Are you awake?”
“How long… have I been asleep?”
“Long enough, buddy. Time to get up now.”
Ollie Barkley watched Rick Wesley’s tears streaming down his face as he registered the question.
“Did the Texas Cowboys win the championship?”
At that, Rick Wesley broke into a broad laugh.
***
The next day.
A luxury guest house provided by USAA.
Song Ji-hu lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling. USAA’s support had been meticulous.
Despite Eun Seo-jin’s presence, a USAA security detail stood watch outside the door in twenty-four-hour shifts.
Beside the sickbed lay mountains of premium recovery potions and supplements airfreighted from America.
The physical wounds had healed, but the mental exhaustion lingered.
He had been forced to dive while maintaining consciousness with Ollie Barkley, battling the Shepherd throughout. On top of that came the shock of the forced disconnection caused by Ollie Barkley himself.
Click.
“Pardon the intrusion.”
The door opened, and Rick Wesley entered, his face radiating genuine gratitude.
“How are you feeling?”
“I’m all right. I’m used to this much.”
Song Ji-hu pushed himself up. Eun Seo-jin quickly adjusted a cushion behind his back.
“Thank you.”
Rick Wesley sat in the chair beside the bed.
“Ollie’s contamination level has finally stabilized at sixty. It dropped another point overnight. He’s still fatigued, but he can talk now.”
Rick Wesley paused, then lowered his head.
“You saved Ollie Barkley, myself, and USAA too. I truly cannot thank you enough.”
It was the strongest expression of gratitude Rick Wesley could muster.
He hadn’t overlooked that this treatment had risked Song Ji-hu’s own life.
That image of him nearly collapsing, blood pouring from his eyes, nose, and mouth—knowing that, he had still thrown himself into saving Ollie.
There was no reason not to trust this man.
“That’s good news. You’ll likely need to go in one or two more times.”
“But we should stabilize Mr. Song’s condition first.”
Rick Wesley regarded Song Ji-hu with concern.
“I wanted to ask—Ollie sometimes wakes up and mentions feeling like someone is in his head. Is that some kind of aftereffect?”
“Yes, likely.”
At that, Song Ji-hu’s mouth twisted upward—a smile edging toward something cruel.
Ollie was beginning to sense the Shepherd’s presence on his own.
‘We met sooner than expected, but…’
It was actually positive.
If he could strike before it harvested more souls, he might be able to seize the initiative.
‘Right now, diving back into the mental world is impossible, though…’
Song Ji-hu picked up his phone from the table beside the bed and checked the date.
March nineteenth.
‘Tomorrow.’
And Lim Jae-hyuk. In every worldline where he hadn’t been saved, that gate tomorrow was the source of all calamity.
The image surfaced vividly—Lim Jae-hyuk’s soul being harvested, tears of blood streaming down his face.
[Ryu Jin: The weapon is complete.]
Song Ji-hu, who had received Ryu Jin’s text while recuperating, fixed his gaze directly on Rick Wesley.
“Guild Master Wesley. One of those three favors we negotiated—could I use it now?”
At Song Ji-hu’s words, Rick Wesley smiled and nodded.
“Name it. I will help with anything.”
“I’d like you to clear a gate with me tomorrow.”
“An S-rank dungeon?”
To Rick Wesley’s tense question, Song Ji-hu shook his head.
“No. C-rank.”
“I’m sorry?”
Rick Wesley’s face went slack, the energy draining from his expression as he stared at Song Ji-hu.
Those three hard-won opportunities, and he meant to spend them clearing a mere C-rank gate? That was the look in his eyes.
USAA, called the world’s strongest, could tackle even S-rank dungeons if they set their minds to it—yet here was this C-rank business. Rick Wesley found himself genuinely wondering, for a moment, whether he’d misheard.
“Though I suspect A-rank gates might require something closer to our full strength.”
“We’ll prepare accordingly. Since it’s a C-rank gate, however, we won’t deduct it from your three opportunities. Consider it USAA’s small token of gratitude for your dedication and sacrifice.”
The answer was so perfectly Rick Wesley that Song Ji-hu broke into a grin.
“Get ready to move tomorrow morning. There’s somewhere we need to be.”
“Understood.”
Yoon Young-su bowed his head slightly.
***
March 20th. Early morning.
Song Ji-hu sat up in bed and rotated his wrist experimentally.
Yesterday, even extending his arm had felt exhausting. Today was noticeably better.
The recovery potion USAA had provided was remarkably effective.
‘Tomorrow’s gate won’t be a problem.’
Tomorrow was the Incheon gate, and after that came Ollie Barkley’s second treatment—or more precisely, the shepherd he’d encounter in the process.
The dagger was already showing its limits.
Song Ji-hu changed clothes and left the pension.
“Then, we’ll see you tomorrow.”
Rick Wesley saw Song Ji-hu off, and Yoon Young-su was already waiting in the lobby.
“Take us to this address.”
Once Eun Seo-jin had boarded, Song Ji-hu handed Yoon Young-su an address.
“We’re departing.”
The car pulled away, and Song Ji-hu’s gaze lingered on Eun Seo-jin’s waist. The sword she’d been using since awakening didn’t look particularly impressive.
“How’s your weapon treating you?”
At the question, Eun Seo-jin touched the sword at her waist once before nodding.
“To be honest… I can’t say it’s adequate.”
After awakening, she’d been too caught up in various matters to change it, so she’d simply kept using it—but it wasn’t a weapon befitting an S-rank Hunter.
Even by the standard of three years ago, it was mid-tier, and it fell short for the Eun Seo-jin of today.
“Then have the blacksmith we’re visiting take a look. His skill is quite solid.”
Eun Seo-jin tilted her head slightly.
“I’ll think about it once I see what weapon the guild master receives.”
A weapon is to a Hunter what hands and feet are to anyone else. Which meant simply finding a blacksmith with good skill wasn’t enough.
“This is the sort of decision that deserves careful thought, after all.”
The blacksmith needed sound technique as a foundation, but also had to understand her mana wavelength and adjust the weapon design to match her combat style—finding such a craftsman meant there was no avoiding the delay.
“Right. You need to see it yourself and decide.”
Outside the car window, signboards of the Hunter district slipped past.
Beyond the busy main street, into the quieter outskirts where foot traffic thinned.
And to the very edge of the commercial district.
When they arrived at Ryu Jin’s workshop—the place Song Ji-hu had mentioned—Eun Seo-jin and Yoon Young-su’s expressions grew dubious.
“Are we certain this is the right place?”
“Yeah. The guy’s skill is flawless. When have you ever heard me talk nonsense?”
“That’s true, but…”
The building looked far too shabby for someone so skilled. Uncertain, they got out and were approaching the entrance when—
A shout echoed up from the basement below.
The Seventh Return: Collecting Calamities
Author
: Song Tan
Production Date
: July 13, 2026
Publisher
: ASESMEDIA Corporation
Editor
: ASESMEDIA Editorial Team
Address
: 10F, Urban Bench Building, 325 Teheran-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
Email
: [email protected]
※ This work has been published by ASESMEDIA Corporation in accordance with a contract with the copyright holder,
No part of this content may be used in any form or by any means without permission from the publisher and author.
This e-book is a copyrighted work 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
—————