The Regressed SSS-Rank Supporter Who Turned Dark - Chapter 107

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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 107
The instant Eun-sung moved.
“He’s won.”
The moment Wi Tae-woong saw Eun-sung’s movement, he predicted the outcome of the final match.
“The first Royal Road will be born. Heh heh.”
“It’s not even an important record.”
Lee Hyun, returning from the restroom, wore an indifferent expression as if it were trivial.
By now, he had dismissed the qualifying tournament records as sour grapes, showing no interest whatsoever.
“Winning streaks rely more on luck anyway. Why should we rate it highly?”
On the surface, Lee Hyun’s words held merit.
In qualifying tournaments, the number of consecutive wins depended heavily on bracket placement and matchup luck.
But Wi Tae-woong’s perspective differed.
“Of course it should be rated highly. Luck is a skill too.”
“What…?”
“I understand your frustration, but you should speak plainly.”
Wi Tae-woong cast a look of pity toward Lee Hyun.
“Luck is a skill.”
“Luck is a skill…?”
“Answer me one thing. Is receiving the blessing of Ether a skill?”
“That… isn’t, is it?”
“Awakening as a Warrior class?”
“….”
“Birth itself is luck. Which family you’re born into, how you’re born, what era you’re born into. If you’d been born decades before the Transition occurred, do you think you’d be living as comfortably as you are now?”
Lee Hyun fell silent, unable to offer any rebuttal.
There was nothing he could counter.
“I’ll say it again—luck is a skill. It affects life far more than you realize.”
“….”
Lee Hyun ultimately offered no response.
“And watching that movement, you feel nothing?”
“What movement?”
“Tsk.”
Wi Tae-woong clicked his tongue.
“You’re good at everything, but your vision is too narrow. That’s your weakness.”
“What’s wrong with my vision?”
“You don’t know how to fight.”
“Me?”
“You’re skilled at killing. But your judgment is poor.”
“I don’t quite understand. What’s wrong with me?”
“Do you think Cha Eun-sung is moving thoughtlessly right now? There’s no way.”
A twisted smile played across Wi Tae-woong’s lips.
“That beast is cunning. He gives what he must give, and takes what he can take.”
“Gives what he must…?”
“He won’t even show his face in unfavorable positions. Even if it’s slower, he’ll only claim the flags he can devour.”
“…?”
“He’s probably thinking like this. Fine. You eat first. But in return, I choose the final battlefield. And….”
Wi Tae-woong’s voice turned glacial.
“The moment the opponent enters, he plans to kill them.”
“Where is this final battlefield?”
“The Forest.”
Wi Tae-woong answered without the slightest hesitation.
“That’s where the advantage of ranged weapons fades the most. His movements are all calculated for that. Once Kim Chang-won secures three flags, he’ll realize his own defeat.”
“So that’s… how it is.”
“You’re a fine blade, but that’s all you’ll ever be.”
“What do you mean.”
“It means you need someone to wield you. A blade cannot fight on its own. But Cha Eun-sung is different. He’s the greatest sword, because he’s the greatest swordsman. Heheheh.”
“….”
Lee Hyun walked forward in silence.
Had he listened any longer, he might have committed insubordination against Wi Tae-woong.
He hated admitting it.
But he couldn’t deny it either.
Even now, Eun-sung wasn’t simply fighting.
He was herding his opponent in the direction he desired.
And all while looking like he could collapse at any moment.
“Kim Chang-won acquires the second flag!”
“Ooooh―!”
A sharp grin spread across his face.
Wi Tae-woong’s lips curved into a smile.
“Humans are truly amusing. I don’t understand how they so uncannily find the exact place where they’ll die. Kuhkuh.”
It was a remark only possible because he doubted his own judgment not one iota.
In Wi Tae-woong’s eyes, Kim Chang-won now resembled a moth hurling itself into flame.
* * *
Lee Hyun found a place where no one’s gaze could reach him.
He didn’t want Wi Tae-woong—or anyone else—to see him as he was now.
Jealousy, inferiority, and anxiety.
The moment those emotions laid bare, it felt like admitting his own inadequacy.
Beyond the Competition Ground.
The External Corridor.
His teeth clenched.
Lee Hyun gritted his teeth.
Honestly, he was irritated.
Not at Cha Eun-sung, but at himself for harboring such emotions.
In Lee Hyun’s mind, he was undoubtedly a special human being.
Superior to others, and genuinely leading the way.
But everything changed the moment Cha Eun-sung appeared on the scene.
People’s gazes shifted from him to Cha Eun-sung instead.
And what irritated him most was that Wi Tae-woong’s words didn’t seem wrong.
“Damn it!”
Crash!
Lee Hyun’s fist slammed brutally against the stone wall of the External Corridor.
Crack.
Stone dust cascaded down through the fractured crevices.
“Roaaaaaaaaaaaaaar―!”
A tremendous roar erupted from within the Competition Ground.
It seemed Eun-sung had just claimed another flag.
“Damn it, damn it… damn it, damn it, damn it!”
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
“Hah, hah.”
Lee Hyun breathed heavily, his chest heaving.
Inferiority.
Jealousy.
Defeat.
I despised all of these emotions.
Yet Wi Tae-woong’s words refused to leave my mind.
– You’re a fine blade, but that’s all you’ll ever be.
– But Cha Eun-sung is different. He’s the greatest sword, wielded by the greatest swordsman.
“…Bullshit.”
It was then that Lee Hyun muttered under his breath.
Thump, thump!
Two sets of footsteps echoed through the corridor.
Soon, two identically-featured youths came into view.
Twins.
Moon Dae-han and Moon Dae-sung.
They practically lived in the Jamsil Colosseum.
“Oh? It’s Lee Hyun.”
“Long time no see.”
The twins offered him a casual greeting.
“…Keep walking quietly. Unless you want to die.”
Lee Hyun warned them in a low voice.
It wasn’t merely a threat.
Right now, he felt as though he’d cut down anyone who dared irritate him.
“Whoa, whoa, calm down.”
“Why are you being so scary?”
The twins raised both hands and broke into a cold sweat.
“Something must be bothering you, but we get it—just calm down. You’re actually terrifying when you’re like this.”
Moon Dae-han soothed Lee Hyun with his characteristic narrow eyes gleaming.
“We were just happy to see you. If we’d known you were upset, we wouldn’t have said anything. Come on, lighten up.”
Moon Dae-sung chimed in cautiously.
But Lee Hyun didn’t respond.
Flinch!
The twins sensed something was amiss and quietly retreated a step.
“I said we understand, so—”
Moon Dae-han began backing away slowly.
It was true that Lee Hyun was notorious for his foul temperament, but this was different.
The killing intent radiating from him was overwhelming.
There was a genuine conviction that one wrong move would result in their heads flying clean off.
“I don’t know what happened, but… if you’re that angry, why don’t we enter a duel together? Ah, no! I don’t mean fight us—I mean join the same team for a duel! The three of us!”
Moon Dae-han, meeting Lee Hyun’s gaze, desperately waved his hands.
“Y-yeah! When stress piles up, there’s nothing better than entering a duel! Right?”
“Of course.”
Moon Dae-han agreed with his brother Moon Dae-sung’s words.
“Duels are pretty fun, after all.”
“That’s right.”
“You know as well as we do that killing people is the best stress relief. Isn’t it?”
“Here, you can kill as much as you want and nobody says a word.”
The twins laughed shamelessly.
The combat formats in the Colosseum-type Gate were varied.
Among them, the [Duel] format had no non-lethal aura applied.
In other words, it was a true killing match where blood and flesh flew.
Among the Hunters who frequented the Arena, quite a few insisted exclusively on the duel format.
There were two main reasons for this: the first was to maintain practical combat instincts.
And the second.
Those addicted to the strange exhilaration and euphoria felt when killing, and that thrilling sensation of taking a life, insisted on duels.
The twins belonged to the latter category.
They were notorious for killing their opponents as cruelly and grotesquely as possible.
“….”
Lee Hyun, who had been silently listening to the twins ramble, drew his spirit sword without a word.
Shing!
A cold, resonant blade cry echoed softly through the External Corridor.
The twins’ expressions hardened simultaneously.
“W-wait a moment.”
“Huh?”
The twins hesitated, shuffling backward before bolting away at full speed.
Lee Hyun did not pursue them.
If he did, he feared he would truly kill them.
* * *
The match between Eun-sung and Kim Chang-won was quite the spectacle.
They exchanged stones and arrows while executing cover-and-concealment tactics with surprising intensity.
The spectators found themselves wholly absorbed in the duel.
It was proof that Aurelius, the lord of the Arena, had made no mistake in his judgment.
And that match was steadily drawing toward its conclusion.
‘Only one left now.’
Kim Chang-won seized his third flag.
At the same moment, Eun-sung claimed his second flag.
Since Kim Chang-won was not two people, it was impossible for him to completely prevent Eun-sung from obtaining a flag.
Thus, Kim Chang-won held three flags while Eun-sung held two.
‘The remaining flags are…’
Kim Chang-won’s gaze swept across the Forest of Conquest.
Two flags remained.
He could see them fluttering in the distance above the forest.
And he could see Eun-sung dashing toward the forest.
‘Wait, hold on.’
Kim Chang-won’s expression froze as he realized something was amiss.
“Damn it!”
Kim Chang-won sprinted toward the forest at maximum speed.
But Eun-sung was faster.
Since Eun-sung had targeted only the flags positioned near the forest, entering it before Kim Chang-won was inevitable.
“Ooooh―!”
Gasps of excitement erupted from the spectators.
The match had reached its final stage.
It would end if Eun-sung claimed both remaining flags in the forest, or if Kim Chang-won acquired one more.
“Where do you think you’re going!”
Kim Chang-won shouted furiously, firing arrows in rapid succession at Eun-sung as he headed toward the forest.
Twang, twang!
Several arrows went wide.
But Kim Chang-won did not relent.
He understood.
If he allowed Eun-sung to enter the forest now, it would be over.
“Hah.”
Kim Chang-won stopped running and steadied his breathing.
Shooting while moving would never yield good accuracy, so he judged it better to maintain distance and shoot properly.
The bowstring drew taut.
Kim Chang-won’s eyes tracked Eun-sung’s back as he bolted into the Forest with relentless focus.
Distance, wind direction, movement.
After calculating every variable, Kim Chang-won released the bowstring.
Whoooosh!
Thunk!
The arrow, shot with the precision of a rake’s teeth, pierced through Eun-sung’s thigh.
Crash!
Eun-sung crumpled to the ground in a grotesque heap.
“Nooooo―!”
Cries of anguish erupted from the stands.
“That’s it!”
A flush of triumph spread across Kim Chang-won’s face—but only for a moment.
“Ohhhhh!”
“Yes! Keep going!”
“Don’t give up!”
“You’ve got this!”
“Damn! You’re a real man!”
The crowd erupted in fervent cheers for Eun-sung.
“That stubborn bastard.”
Kim Chang-won clicked his tongue in exasperation.
Eun-sung was crawling forward, inch by agonizing inch.
Crawling.
Unable to stand, he would claw his way into the Forest by sheer willpower alone.
A long trail of blood stretched behind him.
It was brutal.
Truthfully, it looked pathetic.
Yet no one in the crowd mocked him.
Instead, they grew even more fervent.
“Go!”
“Just a little more!”
“You can do it!”
Cheers erupted from every corner of the arena.
“Cha Eun-sung! Cha Eun-sung!”
“Cha Eun-sung! Cha Eun-sung!”
“Cha Eun-sung! Cha Eun-sung!”
It was a hymn to the warrior’s spirit.
The death throes of a beast clawing toward victory—it was one of the Colosseum’s most beloved spectacles.
“Damn it….”
Kim Chang-won cursed under his breath and swiftly drew the bowstring again.
Whoosh!
Eun-sung twisted his body, barely evading the arrow, then hurled himself forward with every ounce of strength he possessed.
And he vanished.
Into the Forest.

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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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