The 7th-Run Regressor Collects Calamities - Chapter 33

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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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Episode 33. Incheon Gate (6)
Song Ji-hu’s gaze swept quickly across the three creatures.
Deep within the cavern. Inside a transparent crystalline body where darkness swirled, a spider-like entity writhed. In place of legs, translucent tentacles made of rippling waves extended outward in all directions.
A ranged attacker that amplified fear and auditory hallucinations through sonic waves.
The second stood at the vanguard—a massive armored knight three meters tall, its neck severed. Above the stump floated a corroded crown belching crimson flames.
One gauntleted hand gripped a colossal executioner’s blade; the other clutched a shattered scepter.
A tank-class boss that raked the ground with its executioner’s blade and regenerated by absorbing shattered armor.
The third defied definition—a churning mass of black mist that writhed endlessly.
Within the fog, grotesque human faces surfaced and vanished in endless succession. A creature that spawned clones to spread illusions and launch attacks.
The patterns of all three bosses materialized simultaneously in Song Ji-hu’s mind.
“Reorganizing our formation.”
Twenty-four hunters instinctively turned their attention to Song Ji-hu’s voice.
“We’re going from four teams to three. Each team takes one boss.”
Song Ji-hu began rapidly calling out the team assignments.
“A C-rank is commanding us?”
Someone muttered in astonishment. But they’d already witnessed his instructions in the labyrinth—they were always precisely correct.
“Team One focuses on tanking. Handle that knight-like thing in the center. Ranged units, target that crown hovering above his neck as much as possible. And when he stuns, focus your attacks on the joints.”
“Understood!”
The first team drove the armored knight to one side.
“Team Two must pierce that crystalline body. That’s how the internal core will be exposed. Its regeneration is fast, so concentrated fire. Under no circumstances approach before the core shatters.”
“Roger!”
And finally, the third team.
“Target that shadow mass in the center. You have to strike when it materializes—those windows are brief.”
Eun Seo-jin drew her paired blades without a word. The cold radiating from the steel chilled the cavern’s oppressive heat.
“Focus on your assigned targets. Don’t interfere with other teams. If support is needed, I’ll coordinate.”
Song Ji-hu nodded with satisfaction at the perfectly divided groups and shouted.
“We begin.”
***
“Move!”
Team One’s main tank charged forward, a massive shield held high, directly at the armored knight.
Whoosh—!
The armored knight raised its executioner’s blade overhead, then drove it straight down toward the stone floor.
Crash—!
The cavern’s slate floor shattered in a cross pattern, sending shock waves rippling outward in all directions.
“Shield!”
Stone fragments erupted from the ground like rain.
The tank channeled all his weight through his shield, deflecting the shockwave.
The armor rattled and clanked, its boots grinding deep gouges into the slate, but held.
“Team One—the crown!”
At Song Ji-hu’s cry, everyone reflexively concentrated their fire on the crown above the knight’s neck.
“Pour it on!”
Just as the tank narrowly blocked a second executioner’s strike, a melee dealer from the rear vaulted off a pillar into the air.
Mid-spin, his spear tip pierced the crimson crown with perfect accuracy.
Clang—!
The crown tilted, its crimson flames thrashing wildly. In the same instant, the armored knight’s massive frame shuddered and froze.
“Stun lock! Target the joints!”
Melee dealers rushed in together, unleashing attacks on every joint, and the corroded armor began to crack and fall away in pieces.
“Stun window holding! Maintain pressure!”
“Confirmed!”
North side of the cavern. Team Two’s ranged dealers surrounded the spider-form boss.
Screech—!
Darkness swelled within the transparent crystal, then a low-frequency vibration poured out and resonated through the entire cavern.
Hiss—!
It sprayed webs infused with the sonic attack outward in all directions.
Each time the scattered webbing vibrated, waves pulsed forth, releasing horrific sound blasts.
But a mental barrier blocked them.
The waves struck against the silvery shield and dissipated, their intensity reduced by more than half.
“Unleash everything!”
At the Team Two leader’s cry, magic, arrows, and mana bolts rained down upon the crystalline body.
Spider-web-like cracks spread across the creature’s body, but it regenerated smooth again faster than it could be destroyed.
‘It’s the regeneration that’s the problem.’
They had to punch through at a single point, no matter what.
“Stop dispersing fire! Concentrate all attacks!”
At Song Ji-hu’s shout, the dealers of Team Two scrambled to reposition their formation.
“Mark it!”
One dealer placed a red mark on a section of the crystal.
“Pour everything into that red point!”
The moment all firepower concentrated on that single spot, the crystal’s regenerative power finally reached its limit.
Crack!
The crystal shell shattered, exposing the black core inside to the open air.
“Attack!”
The crystal began reconstructing itself almost immediately, and the dealers rushed to unleash their attacks on the exposed black core.
And in the central cavern, the black mist billowed forth by the shadow mass engulfed the entire space.
Eun Seo-jin stood facing the shadow mass, dual blades raised.
From within the dispersing mist, four figures emerged that were identical to Eun Seo-jin in every detail.
Silver hair, dual blades, even the stance of their breathing — perfect copies of the original.
“This is rather tedious.”
All four versions of Eun Seo-jin spoke the words simultaneously in a low murmur.
The USAA hunters froze.
For a moment, they couldn’t tell which was the real Eun Seo-jin, or which one they should target.
Then Song Ji-hu’s voice cut through the confusion.
“The fakes are at three o’clock, two o’clock, and twelve o’clock.”
A faint smile played at the corner of Marcus’s mouth. The information transmitted through their mental link proved far more reliable than anything the eyes could see.
“Copy.”
Marcus unleashed a barrage of attacks on Eun Seo-jin’s clones while she herself charged straight through them toward the main body at the center.
Ignoring the illusions and pressing forward with unstoppable momentum, Eun Seo-jin’s speed caused the mist to ripple violently, and the true form of the creature burst through.
“Now!”
Shwing!
The moment Song Ji-hu gave the command, Eun Seo-jin’s blade sliced through empty air.
Screech!
The strike landed on the main body, and the mass of mist recoiled with an otherworldly shriek.
***
Three battle fronts were advancing simultaneously.
Information from Marcus and Eun Seo-jin through their mental connection, combined with visual updates on the other fronts.
His head felt ready to split. Blood dripped from his nose. His temples throbbed with a relentless pulse.
Yet even under such strain, Song Ji-hu’s commands never wavered by even a single second.
The battle was unnervingly quiet for what should have been a boss fight.
Like a player who had memorized every pattern of a dungeon boss, the hunters efficiently exploited its weaknesses with surgical precision, never once in danger.
“It’s like looking down at an enormous chessboard from above….”
“What kind of brain structure does he even have?”
As the impossible unfolded before their eyes, the USAA hunters couldn’t help but let out breathless exclamations of awe.
This system — created by Song Ji-hu’s control — sent chills down their spines.
Just as the health of all three bosses dropped below half.
A piercing screech erupted.
Suddenly, the attack patterns of all three bosses twisted in unison.
“What — what is this!”
As the armored knight let out a grotesque roar, fragments of armor that had been scattered across the floor reversed course and shot upward, embedding themselves across its body as sharp, spike-like protrusions.
The spider unleashed a sonic blast. Its legs transformed, sharpening into blade-like edges.
No longer content to remain at range, it began advancing, swinging its knife-sharp legs in vicious arcs.
“The pattern changed!”
The shadow no longer hid within the mist. It had fully materialized.
It had transformed into a massive humanoid form and was now capable of physical attacks.
“Insane — all three are entering their next phase at the same time?!”
“Defensive formation!”
The formation that had been executing without a single error suddenly wavered.
It was common for dungeon bosses to shift their patterns as their health decreased, but for all three to change simultaneously — that should have been impossible.
‘Here it comes.’
Song Ji-hu quickly wiped the blood from his nose with his sleeve and immediately began recalibrating the formation.
‘I need to stay sharp.’
Song Ji-hu rapidly analyzed the altered pattern.
‘Armored Knight counters on close approach. Spider blocks short-range attacks. Shadow takes physical damage, but gains attack power.’
Drawing on experience, Song Ji-hu read the boss patterns and adjusted formation immediately.
“Team One! Create distance from the Knight and switch to ranged attacks! Don’t touch those thorns under any circumstances!”
He then swiftly repositioned several hunters.
“Team Two! Defensive stance! Spread out and ranged only!! Team Three! Push with firepower!”
The moment the command fell, the hunters responded instantly, and the wavering line snapped back into formation.
Just as the battlefield stabilized once more, something foreign caught against Song Ji-hu’s acute senses.
***
The darkest corner of the cavern.
In the shadows of a blind spot where three bosses thrashed about, a single blotch clung to the wall.
Its form was indistinct. The stain seeping into stone observed the combat from the cavern’s hidden angle with meticulous care.
‘…The Gardener.’
One of the Lord’s subordinates. A creature that parasitizes the dungeon itself, creating gates.
At the same time, it manipulates the environment—the hidden hand behind dungeon mutations and difficulty adjustment.
Song Ji-hu had tried to track it many times in his previous life, but never once succeeded in catching it.
‘Why did it emerge?’
His mind raced.
‘Because of the Shepherd.’
The Shepherd had taken a solid hit from Song Ji-hu in Ollie Barkley’s mental world and fled. It must have reported this.
Moreover, with abnormalities surfacing in a managed dungeon, the Gardener coming down to inspect in person was the natural course of events.
‘The pattern errors, the abnormally high poison concentration in the corridors—all of it bears this creature’s fingerprint.’
Song Ji-hu’s mouth curved up slightly.
‘It’s walked right into the snare of its own feet.’
Song Ji-hu shared his line of sight with Eun Seo-jin and Marcus, their minds already linked.
Eun Seo-jin’s shoulders shifted subtly. Marcus too tensed, his gaze flicking toward Song Ji-hu.
They didn’t know precisely what Song Ji-hu was signaling about, but his warning was enough.
“All units, shift to defensive formation!”
Song Ji-hu called out.
“Team Three, keep the Predator pinned! Teams One and Two, maintain distance! Reduce attack frequency, defense first!”
The hunters faltered.
A phase change meant the bosses’ health had dropped significantly—so why suddenly play defense?
They didn’t understand, but Song Ji-hu’s orders had never been wrong until now, so they obeyed.
“Defensive positions confirmed!”
Meanwhile, from the rear, Song Ji-hu began slowly erasing his presence.
And then.
Song Ji-hu started moving along the cavern’s edge, slowly—very slowly.
With each step stripped of any aura. His breathing itself controlled to a crawl.
***
The opposite side of the battlefield.
The Gardener narrowed its eyes in the darkness, watching the combat unfold.
“…Hmm.”
A formless voice resonated from the shadow.
‘All three patterns have appeared… This is definitely an error.’
In the dungeon system it managed, typically only one pattern was deployed, with the rest held in reserve for recycling.
Three bosses manifesting simultaneously was impossible unless the system had glitched.
And what was stranger still.
Despite all three bosses having emerged, there were almost no casualties.
‘At this rate, they should have been wiped out long ago.’
The hunters before its eyes showed no panic, advancing through combat with impeccable order.
‘Someone is controlling the board flawlessly.’
The Gardener’s gaze swept the cavern rapidly, searching for the commanding presence.
‘Is it the one the Shepherd spoke of?’
The Gardener’s eyes traced across the hunters one by one.
‘But I don’t see anyone like that… Did the Shepherd misread the situation? Hmm…?’
One, two, three.
Twenty-one, twenty-two, twenty-three.
It remembered twenty-four hunters entering the boss chamber, yet only twenty-three were visible.
One was.
Missing.
The moment the Gardener turned its head in dawning realization.
Thump!
“Shrieeeeeek!”
A Seventh Return Returner Collects Calamities
Author
: Song Tan
Production Date
: July 13, 2026
Publisher
: Aces Media Co., Ltd.
Editor
: Aces Media Editorial Team
Address
: 10F Urban Bench Building, 325 Teheran-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
Email
: [email protected]
※ This work is published by Aces Media Co., Ltd. under contract with the copyright holder,
and its contents may not be used in any form or by any means without permission from the publisher and author.
This e-book is a work protected by copyright law, and unauthorized reproduction or duplication may result in legal liability.
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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