The 7th-Run Regressor Collects Calamities - Chapter 4

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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 4. The Seventh Regression (3)
Song Ji-hu, a C-rank Hunter with the Mental Barrier skill.
It took less than a day for the name Song Ji-hu to strike like lightning through the Hunter industry.
In this world, rumor was reputation, and reputation was power. There was no need to apologize for his paltry C-rank status, no need to laboriously prove himself—just a name that carried undeniable weight.
Song Ji-hu gazed at the Hunter community forums where his name climbed and fell, a cold smile playing at his lips.
‘The fear of Mental Contamination still spreads unchecked across the world.’
The dread sown by the Abyss Lord. Hunters worldwide lived with a time bomb called Mental Contamination, never knowing when it would detonate. It was no mere PTSD, but a genuine erosion of the soul by alien energy.
And hope alone—the hope that he could slow that corrosion by even one percent.
That single hope was enough for the name Song Ji-hu to be etched into the minds of every Guild and Hunter.
The day after the lottery results were announced.
“Congratulations on your win, Mr. Song Ji-hu.”
Inside the bank’s VIP room, the teller handed over the passbook with envious eyes.
The amount printed in the account that had held barely a million won just days ago: roughly two billion. A fortune that might be a lifetime’s dream for someone. But Song Ji-hu accepted the passbook with indifferent eyes, unmoved.
Ignoring the teller’s investment pitches, Song Ji-hu stepped out of the bank building and looked up at the sky where fine snow drifted lazily.
‘This much money won’t even buy me one S-rank weapon.’
In a world where a single S-rank Artifact cost ten billion won or more, two billion was merely seed money to establish a foothold.
‘First things first—I need to find a weapon.’
Since his profession itself had changed from his six previous lives, he needed new equipment to match.
***
Yongsan-gu, Seoul. Hunter Commercial Street.
Since Gates first appeared twenty years ago, this place had transformed into a vast market where all manner of Hunter-related goods and human desire were bartered.
“Combat reinforced suits for sale!”
“Check out our latest weapons!”
“Body enhancement elixirs—cheap! Lowest prices in town!”
Song Ji-hu tuned out the hawkers’ calls like background noise and browsed several shops, but his brow furrowed.
‘Nothing but mass-produced garbage.’
The Mental World he would enter through Mental Dive was not governed by physical force—it was the realm of the soul. And for that reason, he needed specialized weapons that could strike directly at the Spiritual Body.
‘Hm… Maybe I was foolish to think I’d find anything here.’
Just as he was about to leave the fifth shop empty-handed.
“No! I told you, I can’t match that price for this grade!”
A sharp voice of refusal. A commotion was unfolding at the shop entrance.
“You don’t even know the going rates! You youngsters shouldn’t be trying to pull fast ones like that! Now get out of here!”
At the end of the shopkeeper’s contemptuous gaze stood a young man holding an enormous Sword Case.
“…I understand.”
His voice was low and measured. But beneath it lay suppressed disappointment and a faint anger that Song Ji-hu’s Mental Detection caught in a dim glimmer.
Song Ji-hu’s footsteps came to an abrupt halt.
‘That face… I know it from somewhere, don’t I?’
A blacksmith by trade, yet his skin was unmarked white, not a speck of soot. Sharp, delicate features carved with an air of detachment.
The opposite of what you’d expect from a blacksmith drenched in sweat and oil—rather, a handsome man who looked more like an artist.
As Song Ji-hu racked his memory, searching for where he’d seen that face in his previous lives, a long-forgotten name flitted through his mind.
There were differences between the face in his memory and the one before him now, true enough. But those sharp, piercing eyes were identical.
‘Ryu Jin. Yes… it’s definitely Ryu Jin.’
The genius blacksmith who had appeared in only three of his six previous lives.
And only ten years from now—appearing with horrific burns covering his body, crafting weapons that transcended even S-rank before vanishing into thin air. A tragic artisan with whom even Song Ji-hu had shared a connection only once.
‘At this time? Like this? Here? I’ve searched for him across lifetimes and never found him.’
As had been true in his six previous lives, most of existence was not fixed.
A trivial variable could trigger a Butterfly Effect, reshaping the entire course of events. And Ryu Jin was the very symbol of such variables.
Song Ji-hu walked toward Ryu Jin without hesitation, unwilling to let slip a stroke of fortune that had wandered into his path of its own accord.
“Excuse me.”
Ryu Jin turned. His sharp eyes assessed the stranger before him.
“…Yes? What is it?”
“You look like a blacksmith. I’m in need of a weapon. Would custom work be possible?”
Ryu Jin’s eyes went cold with wariness. In this business, an unknown blacksmith was easy prey for con artists.
“…I’m sorry. I don’t take private commissions.”
Just as Ryu Jin turned to leave, Song Ji-hu dropped a decisive remark.
“I’ll pay the full amount upfront.”
Ryu Jin’s footsteps stopped.
“…You’re serious?”
“I have neither the time nor the reason to con you.”
Ryu Jin hesitated a moment, then nodded. He needed the money.
‘Whatever his reasons might be.’
That initial stifled disappointment had clearly come from one source: his inability to sell the sword.
“…Please, follow me. I’ll show you to the workshop.”

At the far end of Hunter Commercial Street, a twenty-minute walk from the main thoroughfare, lay the basement of a weathered building where hardly a soul ventured.
Screeeeak—
At the bone-chilling sound of the iron door, Song Ji-hu couldn’t help himself. A laugh burst from his lips.
“Pffh….”
The workshop was absolute chaos. Metal scraps lay strewn across the floor with barely an inch to step, and walls were plastered with blueprints of indeterminate purpose.
A space that stood in complete opposition to his meticulously composed, almost obsessively neat appearance.
“W-what’s so funny!”
Ryu Jin’s face flushed crimson, apparently thinking his own workspace was indeed rather untidy.
Seeing no place for a visitor to sit, he hurriedly began clearing tools from the floor.
“No, it’s just… reassuring, that’s all.”
“…I’m sorry?”
“I’m reassured that I’ve found the right place.”
Song Ji-hu spoke words only he would understand, settling himself at the least cluttered table in the chaos before getting to business.
“I’m looking for a sword that works against spiritual or phantom enemies—ones with no physical form.”
“…Pardon? What do you mean?”
Ryu Jin’s hands went still. This wasn’t some ordinary request about attributes or lightening. It was abstract, fundamental—a commission born of genuine need.
“Well, I understand, but… what about the shape and size?”
“That’s the blacksmith’s domain, isn’t it?”
Song Ji-hu met Ryu Jin’s gaze directly.
“I don’t know swords. But you do. You see the essence that dwells within the material, and you find the form that suits it best. That’s your craft, isn’t it?”
“…!”
Ryu Jin’s eyes widened in astonishment. This was his first time meeting someone who saw a blacksmith not as a mere technician churning out weapons, but as an artisan who perceived truth—someone who understood his art.
“Give me your account number. I’ll transfer a 1.5 billion won deposit right now.”
Song Ji-hu delivered the words like a coup de grâce.
“What? Fifteen… billion? H-here’s my account!”
Ding—
The deposit notification chimed, and seeing ‘1,500,000,000’ displayed on his phone screen, Ryu Jin’s hands trembled faintly.
1.5 billion. Without a shred of doubt in his skill, this man was committing such an enormous sum all at once?
“Since this is all I have on hand, I can’t place an S-rank commission. Can you work within that price?”
“Absolutely! But I still don’t understand why you’d trust me so…”
Ryu Jin, meeting him for the first time today, was baffled as to why he’d hand over such a fortune so readily.
“What’s your name?”
“R-Ryu Jin. That’s what I’m called.”
At that, Song Ji-hu smiled and extended his hand.
“Song Ji-hu. Ryu Jin… that name really does inspire confidence.”
“Song Ji-hu…! You’re not the one with the Mental Barrier skill, are you!”
“Yes, that’s right.”
In an instant, Ryu Jin sprang to his feet and bowed at a perfect ninety degrees.
“I swear! I will repay you with my greatest masterpiece!”
Song Ji-hu rose with a satisfied smile.
‘How could someone like this end up so broken in the future?’
The image surfaced in his mind: ten years from now, Ryu Jin covered in horrific burns, transformed into something monstrous.
Not merely in appearance. His personality had become almost paranoid, twisted and bitter.
‘Nine times out of ten, it’s because of that Abyss Lord bastard. This time will be different.’
With bittersweet thoughts, Song Ji-hu channeled his energy into the metal as Ryu Jin directed.
After the foundational work was done and Song Ji-hu was about to leave, he paused as if remembering something.
“Ah, do you happen to have a usable weapon on hand? Anything that meets even some of those conditions I mentioned—I’ll pay whatever usage fee you ask.”
Ryu Jin pondered for a moment, then opened a weathered box in the corner of the workshop.
“There is one, but… it’s a failed piece. The Rank couldn’t be properly measured….”
What he withdrew was a blade about thirty centimeters long. Its edge was a blend of black and silver, and unknown patterns were etched into the hilt.
“How much is this one?”
“That one… I’ll give it to you as a gift.”
“Then I’ll accept it as part of the commission.”
But the moment Song Ji-hu took hold of the short sword, a sharp thrill coursed through his fingertips.
As if the blade were alive, responding to his spiritual force with a strange, almost mystical sensation.
‘A failed piece? No. This is… it’s resonating perfectly with my abilities. What is this?’
To think Ryu Jin had been willing to discard something like this—he really was eccentric. There was no way he could accept such a masterwork for free.
“This is more than enough. I’ll transfer a hundred million won.”
“A-a hundred million?! You could just take it… but this is a failed work—!”
“It has that value to me. Not unmeasurable—it’s a weapon perfectly suited to me.”
Song Ji-hu swung the sword he’d just grasped with ease and satisfaction, a pleased smile crossing his face.
Ding—
At the deposit notification that chimed again, Ryu Jin’s expression went blank. He’d never imagined his failed creation could be worth a hundred million won to someone.
“Contact me when it’s completed.”
“Yes! I’ll be in touch!”
As he left the workshop, Song Ji-hu fastened the black short sword at his waist. The grip settled perfectly in his hand.
‘Lucky. Very lucky indeed.’
A laugh escaped his lips—he hadn’t expected this windfall.
‘Next is Eun Seo-jin. There’s no time to waste.’
It was time to recruit an S-rank Hunter—one he had never been able to secure in his previous life.
***
Outskirts of Gyeonggi Province.
National Hunter Specialist Hospital. A hospital in name only, the high walls and stringent security were less like a medical facility and more like a prison designed to contain those within.
From the entrance, the desperate laments of hunters drifted through the air.
“You heard the rumors? There’s someone with a Mental Barrier skill!”
“I did! I hope they’ll join our guild. If we could just slow down this contamination rate, we could do anything.”
“That’s right. Before they’re branded a disaster and put down.”
Song Ji-hu pulled his hat low and passed through them into the lobby. Reinforced glass walls, magic circles, heavily armed security—the place looked exactly like what it was: a facility for managing ticking time bombs on the verge of detonation.
“Are you here for a visit?”
At the receptionist’s kind smile, Song Ji-hu spoke his name low and gravely.
“Yes, I’m here to visit Eun Seo-jin.”
In that instant, all sound in the lobby seemed to cease. The smile vanished from the receptionist’s face, replaced by wariness.
The 7th Regression: Collecting Calamities
Author
: Song Tan
Date of Creation
: July 13, 2026
Publisher
: Acesmedia Corp.
Editor
: Acesmedia Editorial Team
Address
: 10F Urban Bench Building, 325 Teheran-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
Email
: [email protected]
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the contents may not be used in any form or by any means without permission from the company and author.
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UCI
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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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