The Regressed EX-Class Martial God Decided to Become a Thousand-Star Hunter - 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
Episode 33.
Ju Do-gyeom opened the email urgently.
The content was simple.
「Who?」
Who is this?
That brief question was all.
Typical of Vivienne.
Once she warmed to someone, she became talkative and playful, but her wariness and caution were exceptional—the type people called feline in temperament.
Ju Do-gyeom checked the message he’d sent earlier.
It wasn’t anything remarkable.
‘Vivienne, there’s something important I need to discuss with you.’
To begin with, only a handful of people knew Vivienne’s personal email address.
The fact that he’d sent a message there alone was enough to compel her to respond.
Cats were cautious, yes.
‘But they’re also curious.’
Something Vivienne herself had said to Ju Do-gyeom many times.
He hesitated for a moment.
He needed to reply, but how should he do it?
If he were too sensational, he’d trigger her wariness.
Conversely, if the content was too bland, she’d lose interest and stop responding altogether.
‘I can’t mention the Regression.’
Setting aside the fact that her caution could run just as extreme as her curiosity.
Writing about it in an email—something that left a trace—was far too reckless.
Sitting at his desk with arms crossed, Ju Do-gyeom stroked his chin.
Should he write about some near-future event?
He did have stocks he’d been planning to invest in regardless of what Lee Seo-ah said—perhaps something about that?
He shook his head.
Vivienne was already wealthy.
That sort of thing wouldn’t interest her.
Then what about some major global change?
‘An event capable of captivating Vivienne…….’
There were plenty.
The timing was the problem.
This reply alone had taken months to arrive, hadn’t it?
He couldn’t expect an even longer waiting period.
‘And it would be problematic if the event never occurred due to the Butterfly Effect.’
His thoughts deepened naturally.
“Hmm…….”
A short hum escaped him.
Then Ju Do-gyeom’s eyes lit up.
‘This could work.’
His awkward, bird-like typing struck the keyboard.
* * *
The next morning.
Ju Do-gyeom woke early and went shopping.
A spacious kitchen, cooking implements that looked far from ordinary at first glance, and his newly evolved Holy All-Things Chef skill besides.
His fingers itched to try something—anything—right away.
But he held back from attempting anything grand just yet.
Tomorrow, Lee Seo-ah, the guest who’d given him this house, would arrive.
Lee Young-sik, the chairman he hoped to maintain a long-term relationship with, would likely join her.
‘It’s better to wait until then.’
More precisely, he intended to let the necessary cooking ingredients age even briefly.
That way the umami would deepen and the texture would improve, or so the saying went.
Instead, for something simple he made for himself: a salad of Dungeon Tomatoes and vegetables.
On top of that he placed cheese made from goat’s milk—rare and expensive now on Earth, specifically in Korea.
『Skill, Holy Culinary Skill (Level 4) promoted.』
Ignoring the message, Ju Do-gyeom looked at the result and nodded with satisfaction.
‘Excellent.’
Then he put the food in his mouth and—
Rising.
Mana.
And he hadn’t even melted a single Magic Stone.
That wasn’t all.
『You consumed a Vegetable Salad blessed with the Blessing of Abundance.』
『For 3 hours, your elemental resistance increases slightly.』
“Hah……”
A low whistle escaped unbidden.
He found himself thinking anew just how extraordinary it was.
‘So this is the Holy All-Things Chef.’
The evolved form of the All-Things Chef class.
The changes, as evident from the current situation, broke down into four key transformations.
First.
Ju Do-gyeom was no longer constrained by Recipe Skills.
Which meant he could now prepare a diverse range of Dungeon dishes without being tied to Magic Stone Stew or All-Things Tonic Soup.
Naturally, those two Skills had vanished.
Or more precisely—they had merged.
『Abundant Sacred Cooking Method (Level 3)』
『The All-Things Chef’s knowledge becomes your Recipe. The dish’s effects increase with Skill level.』
That was not the only consolidation.
The chef’s knife techniques and blade proficiency had also unified into a single Skill.
The one he’d just been promoted to.
‘Holy Culinary Skill.’
This Skill encompassed a great deal.
Blade work, heat control, water control, timing instinct, even plating technique.
In a sense, it was the pinnacle of cooking Skills.
This Skill consolidation was the second transformation.
And the third—
‘I can now raise Mana even with dishes that don’t use Magic Stones.’
Of course, the effect is stronger if Magic Stones are included.
But the possibility of raising it without them—that’s what matters.
It freed him from the constraints of Recipe limitations even more.
But above all that, added to these, came the fourth and final transformation.
The buff effects of Holy Cooking.
‘A slight increase in elemental resistance for 3 hours……’
Good.
Undeniably good.
One could complain that the buffs were time-limited and represented only marginal boosts to auxiliary stats rather than fundamental attributes—but the sheer convenience of having these effects apply automatically just by eating was absurdly powerful.
‘Which means I can receive these buff effects inside Dungeons too, as long as I can source ingredients there.’
For someone like Ju Do-gyeom, who had a high likelihood of knowing which Dungeons he’d tackle in advance, it amounted to one more strategic option—simply pack cooking tools and ingredients into his Inventory and adapt accordingly.
‘And since these effects apply to party members too.’
With this, Ju Do-gyeom had become a figure capable of filling every position: a boss-killer fighting alone, a sweeper who could handle multiple enemies, and a support specialist buffing the team—it was hardly an exaggeration to say he’d achieved a level of versatility few could match.
‘Definitely a worthwhile class. The All-Things Chef.’
No—the Holy All-Things Chef.
And not merely because he could draw on the martial techniques from his past life as a Martial Saint.
By his own assessment, even without any other martial arts, the Holy All-Things Chef wielding nothing but a single kitchen blade would possess combat prowess sufficient to take on a boss—such was the caliber of this class.
‘Though I’m more comfortable with this Great Axe for now.’
In any case, after savoring the salad, he’d lightly grilled some meat for protein.
Then he ate rice he’d cooked directly in a pot.
『Minotaur Sirloin blessed with the Blessing of Abundance.』
『For 12 hours, your agility and stamina recovery increase moderately.』
『White Rice blessed with the Blessing of Abundance.』
『The essence of an intermediate-grade Magic Stone has been infused within.』
『For 12 hours, your Mana recovery increases slightly.』
Time-limited buffs layered themselves in succession while his belly grew satisfyingly full.
And that was not all.
『Mana Rank increased: D- ⇒ D』
Even his Mana Rank, which he’d thought was nearing its ceiling, had risen.
Ju Do-gyeom’s eyes gleamed.
Inwardly, he marveled once more.
‘Yes, this is good. Holy All-Things Chef.’
As I washed the dishes after finishing the meal, a faint smile kept playing at the corners of my mouth without my realizing it.
* * *
After the meal.
Once Ju Do-gyeom had prepped the ingredients for the next day and placed them in the aging storage, his next destination was none other than the Hunter Training Center.
The moment he showed the VIP Card that Lee Seo-ah had given him to the facility director, the man jumped out with a startled expression and personally guided him inside.
There was quite a bit of chatter that followed.
This training center, completed late last year, now employed the world’s most cutting-edge systems and maintained the highest level of support by hiring professional Hunter trainers and so forth.
He had little interest in any of it.
What Ju Do-gyeom wanted was one thing alone.
A private training room that wouldn’t draw anyone’s attention.
And this facility was the Taesung Group’s training center, currently in preparation for the recently completed Hunter Guild.
Naturally, private rooms existed here as well.
Among them, the VIP Personal Training Room was something special.
“We’ve poured Magic Stones into it to push durability to its absolute limit, and it’s been designed to allow for as diverse an environment as possible. Here’s the options menu you can check directly.”
When the director touched a pad on one wall of the VIP Personal Training Room, a translucent holographic display materialized.
Inside, there were indeed various options, just as the director had said.
Drone laser training and AI robot technical training, and beyond that, gravity adjustment capable of increasing or decreasing up to threefold, all the way to temperature settings for extreme conditions.
With a professional trainer attached to such a setup, even a middling Hunter could be made to pull their weight.
‘Even when I heard about it in my previous life, I thought it was impressive, but…….’
Ju Do-gyeom opened his mouth to speak.
“It’s remarkable.”
When Ju Do-gyeom nodded his head in genuine admiration, the director’s expression broke into a pleased smile as he replied.
“It’s all thanks to our Chairman’s benevolence. In our country, Taesung is the only corporation genuinely committed to the Hunter business to this degree.”
There were likely various reasons for that, but at this point it would only be used for good purposes, so there was no problem.
Ju Do-gyeom nodded.
“Well then, I shall take my leave. If you need anything, please summon me using the emergency button on the side.”
The director bowed and departed.
Ju Do-gyeom was left alone in that spacious, empty room that looked even larger than his own home, and after briefly surveying his surroundings,
he adjusted the options.
‘First, tripled gravity, and the drone laser training at maximum difficulty.’
Then he pressed the activation start button.
Whirrrrr—!
The space that had been blank and white trembled with vibration, and immediately his body felt heavier.
But that wasn’t all.
Buzz-buzz-buzz—!
Over a hundred drones appeared throughout the training room, their red laser points blinking.
‘So I just need to dodge all the attacks from those drones?’
This did seem like it would be quite grueling training even at his current level.
Just as he thought this,
[VIP Drone Training System activated.]
[Please evade the drones’ laser fire.]
[The training will end after three hits, and your personal record will be logged.]
[The training will also end if you destroy all the drones.]
[Of course, that would be impossible.]
A wry smile appeared at the corners of Ju Do-gyeom’s mouth.
‘So the machine can trash-talk too.’
Of course, it was just a programmed system.
The kind designed to motivate the trainee.
He didn’t think it was a bad thing.
‘Though this chairman might be in trouble if I actually destroy all of them.’
But since he’d been provoked,
‘if I pull it off, it’ll actually be more helpful.’
Destroying every drone that darted about, dodging the barrage of lasers, all while gravity was tripled.
Ju Do-gyeom retrieved the Great Axe from his Inventory.
A voice sounded.
[Training begins in 3 seconds.]
[2.]
[1.]
[Start!]
At the same moment.
Bang!
Ju Do-gyeom’s body rocketed toward the ceiling.
* * *
Seon-woo Gyeol was recognized as an authority in the field of magical engineering—not just in Korea, but across the entire world.
Magic and engineering.
In a discipline where these two had become inseparable, the common titles for him were “genius” or the magical engineering world’s “Einstein.”
His accomplishments, achieved in his mere thirties, made those epithets seem entirely fitting.
This very man had taken charge of the magical engineering research division at the Taesung Hunter Training Center.
The space that demanded his closest attention was the VIP Personal Training Room.
With the massive capital of one of Korea’s leading conglomerates flowing in, he’d poured his complete dedication into realizing the dream space he’d only imagined in his mind’s eye.
Which was why he could say with certainty:
The VIP Personal Training Room as it stood now was his masterwork.
Several months had passed since its completion, yet he inspected its condition and status without fail every single day.
There were few users of the VIP room to begin with, but he wouldn’t allow a single complaint to slip out when they did visit.
He maintained the systems with meticulous care, and whenever circumstances allowed, he continued pushing toward improvements.
What appeared on Seon-woo Gyeol’s monitor—a live feed from the magical engineering CCTV showing the VIP room’s current situation—made him freeze.
He couldn’t help but widen his eyes.
The VIP, weaving between torrents of crimson laser fire from the cooperative drones he’d personally programmed, moved with breathtaking dynamism.
When the figure pushed off from the wall and flew across to wield the Great Axe in hand, six drones hovering and banking through the air were shattered simultaneously and crashed to the floor.
The barrage of lasers that followed was evaded with only a ghost-like afterimage remaining, and the figure landed safely on the ground.
Then, launching skyward again toward the ceiling to dodge the next attack, they carved out gaps in the space before the laser lines could weave too densely.
He couldn’t believe what his own eyes were showing him.
‘This isn’t some acrobatic act…….’
The VIP room’s circular interior—every surface except the floor—was being traversed as freely as if running across flat ground.
And more than that.
‘……not a single hit so far?’
The difficulty level remained at the maximum he’d estimated from the drone count.
Had he set the gravity modifier as well?
‘Triple gravity? Triple?’
Seon-woo Gyeol’s already wide eyes bulged further in stunned disbelief.
Though he had set it himself, the truth was this was a difficulty level he’d designed to be absolutely unbreakable.
So when someone selected those conditions, he’d boldly included a taunting message.
Destroying drones in this extreme circumstance.
If you can manage it, go ahead and try.
It was something he’d done while riding high on his pride in the masterwork he’d created.
But at this rate, that impossible thing seemed like it might actually happen.
What was most astonishing was that the VIP wasn’t deploying any grand area-of-effect skill.
Though moving with an acrobatic flair,
As a single person, with a human body, they were fighting like a painting—utilizing the space around them.
“Whoa…….”
An exclamation escaped him unbidden.
A spark of light flashed through Seon-woo Gyeol’s mind.
‘Wait……!’
His movements became urgent.
He entered the access code and immediately connected to the prompt system that controlled the drones’ behavior.
Directly intervening with the AI system as it surged to respond to the VIP’s movements, which were tearing through the interior like some boundless force.
He inputted a more complex movement protocol to expand the drones’ adaptive capacity, and activated the system’s learning algorithms to maximum output.
At the same time.
‘Additional drone generation.’
He issued orders to the magical engineering fabricator directly connected to the VIP room to produce additional training drones.
To prevent Ju Do-gyeom’s perfect clear?
Because his own taunt couldn’t be allowed to crumble?
That wasn’t it at all.
Before he was an Awakened One, Seon-woo Gyeol was a researcher.
Though he’d left that provocative message, he wasn’t truly the prideful type to care about eating those words.
The reason he suddenly intervened in the training was singular.
‘This is a chance to gather data.’
A VIP of this caliber.
There had been no one like this among all the VIPs who’d used the Taesung Hunter Training Center until now.
If I could obtain that data, I could advance the training system itself far beyond its current state.
It would become something that transcends a masterwork—something greater still.
Perhaps something that could be called legendary.
To let that opportunity slip through my fingers, right before my eyes?
Absolutely not.
If I were to do that, I’d have to strip away the label of magical engineer entirely.
‘I’d sooner die.’
Behind the glasses of the one called a genius magical engineer, his eyes burned.
A glint of madness flickered in that gaze.

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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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