The Regressed EX-Class Martial God Decided to Become a Thousand-Star Hunter - Chapter 32

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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 32
32.
Fear and confusion mingled in the old man’s eyes—the one called the Seer.
‘Cheonsal-seong vanished? That can’t be……!’
Even as the Seer’s throat remained gripped in Jin Woosung’s hands, the question pressed on.
“Answer me. Seer. That Cheonsal-seong you spoke of—the power of transcendence, the star of my destiny—why has it disappeared?”
“Gasp…… gasp…… cough…….”
“Ah, right. You can’t speak in that condition.”
Thud—!
Jin Woosung released his grip and gazed wordlessly down at the Seer, who collapsed weakly to the floor.
“Cough…… coughing fit—!”
The Seer’s body trembled as he lifted his head, breathing ragged gasps into the air.
The confusion that had clouded his expression moments before had drained away entirely.
He was blind.
Unable to see the present.
Instead gifted with sight of the future, he turned his gaze toward where Jin Woosung stood, his voice quavering as he spoke.
“Cheonsal-seong was…… certainly there.”
“But it’s gone now. I tore that damned Man-eater to shreds with these hands and confirmed it myself—there’s no room for doubt.”
“Then…… someone must have stolen your Destiny…….”
“Stolen my Destiny?”
The Seer nodded slowly.
His clouded eyes moved past Jin Woosung, beyond the building.
Across desolate lands that had once flourished but now lay in ruin, his gaze stretched into the distance.
He spoke.
“Three days. Grant me three days, and I will find the usurper.”
“Finding the one who stole my Destiny—is there any point to it?”
The Seer nodded.
“Of course. There is only one star of Destiny. Kill the usurper, and that power transfers to another—”
“I kill him and reclaim Cheonsal-seong?”
“Precisely. Find the target, and it will come to pass. Because that is the original Destiny.”
“Kheh kheh…….”
Jin Woosung laughed.
“Destiny—such a meaningless word, isn’t it? Called one way when it suits, another way when it doesn’t.”
And yet.
“I can’t let someone else keep what was originally mine.”
He turned away.
The contorted expression that had twisted his face melted into an easy smile, and the composure befitting a king of the Grey Zone returned in full measure.
Jin Woosung settled into a chair positioned at one corner of the building, and as a beautiful woman peeled grapes and pressed them into his hand, he drew her close by the waist and spoke.
“As you wish, I grant you exactly four days. Seer. If you fail to find the usurper by then…….”
“I will offer my head at the feet of the King.”
“Insufficient. I’ll see to it you find no peace, not even in death. Go forth with that resolve.”
Shudder—!
The Seer’s body trembled.
He understood well that Jin Woosung’s words were no mere jest.
Among the Villains banished from the city to the outside, there were many who practiced Necromancy and corpse magic—and if he wished to avoid a gruesome fate, he would have to succeed.
Desperation quickened his movements, and he staggered to his feet.
Gripping the walking stick that supported his frame, he hurried toward the exit.
Jin Woosung, eyes cold as frost, watched the old man’s departing back and opened his mouth.
“Hae Seong, Gwang Ho. Assist the Seer.”
“Yes!”
“Yes, Captain!”
The two answered in unison and swiftly pursued the Seer.
“The rest of you—get out.”
An order to clear the hall.
Those who had gathered within the building to celebrate his return with the promised star of Destiny hastily filed out.
“Yelp—!”
Jin Woosung shoved the beauty from his lap and stretched out across the chair, eyes closing.
He could not focus on anything at all.
‘Cheonsal-seong.’
The transcendent power that had originally been his own.
That word echoes endlessly through his mind.
How dare someone steal something so precious?
‘Whoever this bastard is…….’
I’ll find him, and I’ll kill him.
Not quickly, either.
‘I’ll tear his limbs to shreds…….’
And throw him to the monster hordes in the Grey Zone.
Grind—!
Jin Woosung’s teeth clenched savagely.
* * *
Joo Do Gyeom’s living space had changed.
He’d left behind the cramped studio in the perilous Red Zone for a sprawling apartment at the apex of the Blue Zone.
Lee Seo Ah had given him the place as a gift.
He’d thought there would be much to move, but the reality proved otherwise—there was almost nothing to carry.
This was because Lee Seo Ah hadn’t merely given him a house; she’d personally purchased all the necessary furniture and appliances, filling the space completely.
The move felt almost perfunctory, as if he’d done nothing but show up—there had been no real point in delaying it.
As Joo Do Gyeom stepped into the spacious, quiet living room with its high ceilings, Lee Seo Ah approached from behind and spoke.
“I considered adding training equipment and fitness machines, but I decided against it. I believe a home should serve primarily as a space for rest. Instead, I’d recommend using a VIP membership to our group’s newly completed Hunter Training Center. It’s not far from here, and if you’d like, I can arrange for a helicopter to land on the apartment’s rooftop, so there shouldn’t be any real inconvenience.”
Lee Seo Ah withdrew a Black Card from her hand and offered it to him.
Joo Do Gyeom accepted it and spoke.
“I’ll use it well.”
Moments later.
“Whew…….”
Lee Seo Ah released a deep sigh.
Joo Do Gyeom tilted his head curiously.
“I was worried you might refuse. You don’t seem like the type to accept everything offered to you.”
“If it’s necessary, I accept it.”
A predetermined destruction approaching in the future.
What grounds did he have for hesitation?
Had it been as Lee Seo Ah suggested, he would have refused this apartment as well.
At Joo Do Gyeom’s composed response, Lee Seo Ah let slip a small sound of realization.
“Ah…….”
A thought naturally drifted through her mind.
‘Then perhaps the guild membership Father suggested…….’
Was it something he refused because he deemed it unnecessary?
Even though Lee Young Sik had offered him such authority.
No, Lee Young Sik had been even more insistent than his words had implied.
Lee Seo Ah gazed at Joo Do Gyeom’s profile.
‘Is he surprisingly shy?’
His face was too rigid, too composed, to suggest such a thing.
She was still musing over this when—
Joo Do Gyeom turned his head, and their eyes met.
Lee Seo Ah’s gaze darted away first.
“Anyway, do you like the apartment?”
“I do. The location is ideal as well. I’m grateful for it.”
“Hehe…….”
Lee Seo Ah laughed shyly.
Joo Do Gyeom felt a sense of strangeness wash over him once more.
‘I’ve never seen her in this life before…….’
So why does she feel familiar?
He couldn’t say.
As that thought deepened, she spoke again.
“By the way, how much cash are you currently holding?”
“……?”
“No, I’m not that kind of person!”
“I know.”
Why would a conglomerate heiress resort to fraud out of want?
He’d merely looked at her with genuine curiosity, but Lee Seo Ah, feeling guilty for no reason, had gotten in front of his question with a denial.
“Anyway…… the reason I asked about your cash was…… it seems a waste to let it sit idle…… so I wondered if you’d ever considered investing…….”
“…….”
“No, I’m not that kind of person!”
“I understand. I was simply waiting to hear what you’d say next, so why…….”
“Your eyes—there’s something, something about them……!”
“Is there a problem?”
“Not a problem, exactly…….”
How to put it—the way his gaze seemed to pierce straight through her heart.
Lee Seo Ah shook her head vigorously.
Her long black hair, glossy and lustrous, rippled like waves in motion.
She continued speaking.
“Anyway, I’ve always had a knack for this sort of thing. Even my father acknowledged it.”
“I see.”
“If it’s convenient for you, would it be alright if I visited tomorrow or the day after to show you a few recommended options?”
“Ah…….”
“Don’t get the wrong idea! I just think it’s much safer to deliver these things in person rather than by text or email, so there’s absolutely no other intention behind it!”
“I understand.”
But why had his expression been like that just now?
Lee Seo Ah’s ears had flushed crimson under Joo Do Gyeom’s gaze; she quickly bowed her head and spoke.
“Then I’ll visit tomorrow!”
Without giving him a chance to say anything more, she slipped out of the house.
Joo Do Gyeom fell into thought.
‘Tomorrow, right away?’
The timeframe seemed too short to prepare anything proper.
Even if she had merely accepted what he owed her for saving his life, he’d received more than enough from her; he wanted to treat her as she deserved.
With that in mind, he sent a text message.
Joo Do Gyeom – Tomorrow is rather short notice. Would the day after tomorrow work?
The reply came immediately.
Lee Seo Ah – I’m so sorry! I’m not usually like this, but I was in a hurry. (ㅠㅅㅠ) The day after tomorrow is perfect!
Joo Do Gyeom – That’s fine.
How about evening…….
He hadn’t even finished typing the message.
Lee Seo Ah – I don’t have anything on my schedule right now! Just call whenever it’s convenient for you, and I’ll come running. (ˊᗜˋ) / ٩(ˊᗜˋ*)و
Joo Do Gyeom – Let’s set it for 6 PM in the evening. Then I’ll see you the day after tomorrow.
Lee Seo Ah – Yes! Thank you so much! Take care and rest well! (>ᴗ<)
Joo Do Gyeom – I’m the one who should thank you.
Lee Seo Ah left a heart emoji in response to his message.
Joo Do Gyeom glanced through it briefly, then pocketed his phone and looked around.
“It really is vast.”
The feeling struck him anew.
There was no avoiding it.
Surprising as it was, Joo Do Gyeom had never owned a house like this in his lifetime before.
In his previous life, he didn’t become a Hunter until five years later.
Until then, though not quite destitute, he had merely scraped by in poverty.
And then came the Dungeon Eruption.
That period—which could be called a seismic shift in the world—arrived less than a year after he became a Hunter.
Of course, the world didn’t fall into chaos immediately after the Eruption began.
‘He didn’t last even two years.’
That brief span of time.
Densely populated cities across the globe crumbled, merged with cities from other nations, and the earth transformed into something indistinguishable from a dungeon itself—absolute pandemonium.
Though outer walls had been constructed as mentioned before, the residential districts that once maintained the form of a city were completely transformed into fortress-like structures.
It had become a barren world that measured everything by pure efficiency—survival and staying alive.
Which meant that by the time Joo Do Gyeom had gained considerable fame, houses like this no longer existed in reality.
They had become nothing but dreams of the past, existing only in old footage.
Standing here now in such a place, the sensation was peculiar.
‘My parents would have loved this, had they still been alive.’
A sense of longing for those who had departed welled up unbidden.
But that time was already gone.
Instead, Joo Do Gyeom steeled himself with a different resolve.
‘This time…….’
Not only would he prevent the world’s destruction.
If at all possible, he would ensure that a future where all of this vanishes wouldn’t become an inescapable destiny.
‘I wish I could make that happen.’
A glimmer of resolve settled in his dark eyes.
* * *
The latest-model PC that Lee Seo Ah had gifted him.
Joo Do Gyeom powered it on and, on impulse, searched for Dang Ho’s name through Chinese community forums.
There was still no mention of him.
Unlike himself, who had gone unnoticed for a long time, Dang Ho was said to have gained considerable fame the moment he began his work as a Hunter—or so he’d heard.
‘Does Dang Ho become a Hunter in a year’s time, just as it was supposed to happen?’
There was no way to know yet.
It seemed he’d need to check periodically to be sure.
He also searched for several Hunter names that he knew.
Abel, Javier, Anisha, and others.
So far, they seemed little different from what he remembered.
The famous remained famous, and the obscure stayed quiet.
‘I’ll need to monitor this front continuously as well.’
Then what about the Villains?
‘There’s little difference here either.’
Unknown names appeared scattered throughout, but that could simply be a gap in his own knowledge, making it difficult to confirm whether the flow had shifted due to a butterfly effect.
As he examined the wanted list of Villains.
One name suddenly seized his attention.
Jin Woosung.
The man who would be called the world’s worst Villain—not merely in the Republic of Korea, but in the future to come.
‘…Yes. You’re active in this period too.’
Still called only the worst in the Republic of Korea at this point.
A Villain with an A+ danger rating.
How many lives had vanished in the attempt to kill him as he rampaged with both the traits of Immortality and Cheonsal-seong?
Of course, in this lifetime, since he himself had stolen the unique trait Cheonsal-seong, the same future might not repeat itself.
“He can’t be left alive.”
Jin Woosung is a dangerous man—unpredictable, mad or not.
He belongs on the list of those who must be killed, even if it means leaving Seoul to find an opportunity.
‘Be patient.’
His thoughts steeled, Joo Do Gyeom’s hand moved next to his email.
He was checking for a reply from Vivienne Ashcroft.
Given the months of silence, he hadn’t expected much.
‘What…?’
Remarkably, among the sender names in his inbox, it was there.
Vivienne Ashcroft.
The name of the great mage who had sent him back through Spatio-temporal Regression.

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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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