The Regression of a Challenger-Level Player - Chapter 10

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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 10. Why Are You Staring Like That?
After watching from the sidelines for a while now,
I’ve reached a single, inescapable conclusion: this team is fundamentally hopeless.
‘Not a professional squad, just a bunch of twenty-level recruits pulled together yesterday. What was I expecting?’
Even so, not a single order I’ve given since entering the 4th Room has gone right. It’s absurd.
At this rate, they’ll wipe before we even tackle the 5th Room—the halfway point of this whole bet.
“Mage, you’re sitting this one out. Swordsman, fall back and let the Supporter heal you.”
“U-uh? Then what about this Ghoul…?”
“There’s only one Warrior on this team, and that’s me.”
I loosened my shoulders, drawing the Mana flowing through my body into focus.
My Stat rose to 7, and with it came a slight increase in the Mana I could handle.
For someone like me—someone who squeezes every drop of efficiency from their reserves—that’s a substantial boost.
A low hum built, then—Crack!
I kicked off the ground and gripped the Club with everything I had.
“Ghouls have one advantage: their attack power is nothing to scoff at—”
Crunch-crunch-crunch!
“But their defense? Pathetic.”
As I swung the Club, the rotted torso crumbled to pieces on contact.
After dispatching a few in quick succession, fresh ones shamble forward immediately.
One of the Ghouls’ most irritating traits: sheer overwhelming numbers.
But that’s no problem for me now.
Undead carrying corpses—decayed flesh and hollow bone—
Gravity Field.
We’re the perfect match.
Crunching-crushing sounds filled the air!
A violet field rippled outward as the gravity in the space intensified.
The pressure slammed down on me too, my shoulders buckling under the weight,
“Grrrrgh…! Keeegh!”
“Kaaaaah!”
But for these corpses—muscles already rotted through, joints crumbling, bones riddled with holes—
the gravity proved far more lethal.
Unable to bear the weight, Ghouls crumpled one by one, crushed beneath the force.
Once I confirmed every Ghoul nearby was neutralized, I released the skill
and—Whoosh! Crack!
returned to hammering them with the Club.
[Struck down numerous enemies in a single blow with a blunt weapon.]
[E-Rank Skill, ‘Swing,’ has been created.]
The newly minted Swing Skill—
I felt each Club strike grow marginally more potent.
“U-u-whoa…”
“Stay focused. We’re not done yet.”
“Y-yes sir!”
The streamer kid had been gawking at me. A single word snapped him back to attention, and he refocused on the hunt.
After several minutes of silent Ghoul-slaughtering,
“Hah.”
I crushed the final Ghoul’s skull and cleared the 4th Room.
[Room Cleared: 4]
Only once I confirmed the numbers had risen properly did I let my body relax.
“H-how is this…?”
“Are you really Level 6…?”
The Mage—her color restored by the Supporter’s efforts—and the Swordsman, his wounds sealed, stared at me with their jaws hanging open.
They couldn’t believe I’d taken down all those Ghouls without support from the Mage, Supporter, or even covering fire from the Archer.
‘Well, if the monsters hadn’t been Ghouls, it might’ve been harder. The absolute stat gap is nothing to ignore.’
Even so, I wouldn’t have struggled.
My Mana Stat stands at 7, but accounting for efficiency and output, it’s not far behind Level 20.
“Wow… Jae-ha, I’ve got to say—I’m really seeing you in a new light. Where were you hiding all that power?”
Te-ya approached with an intentionally light tone, his tone playful.
“Ha! If you’re this strong, you should’ve stepped up sooner. We almost got wiped out back there!”
“I was simply following the team leader’s orders. Wasn’t my role to stay back and do nothing?”
“Ah, w-well, that’s…”
I answered flatly on purpose, and his lips trembled slightly.
“It was because I didn’t know that you were this strong, sir!”
“But I told you clearly. The reason I was matched with your team is because our levels are compatible, and you even saw me catch that ambushing rat in the 3rd Room—you should have known I wasn’t hiding my true abilities.”
I studied the streamer’s eyes, partially hidden behind his bangs.
“Why didn’t you reallocate positions based on the shift in power?”
“That’s….”
“The moment we entered the 4th Room, you arbitrarily switched your position from Archer to Warrior without discussion. Multi-positioning does have the advantage of fluidity, but sudden, unagreed changes only compound confusion. Because of that, the Swordsman was badly injured.”
…….
There was more where that came from.
I stepped toward the Swordsman and the Mage.
“Your handling of the vanguard was sloppy as well. A standard Swordsman is closer to a dealer than a tank—placing them too far forward and using them as monster fodder drastically reduces efficiency.”
“That’s… you’re right.”
The Swordsman nodded as if entranced, agreeing with my words.
“But what shocked me most was the Mage.”
The moment I named her, the woman’s shoulders stiffened.
She misunderstood—thinking I meant to reprimand her—and bowed her head low.
“You noticed her casting times growing longer as the battle progressed, didn’t you?”
“…Yes.”
“Yet you never once checked on the Mage’s condition.”
I approached her and extended my hand.
“Would you mind letting me have your hand for a moment?”
“Oh? I… yes.”
I took her hand carefully.
“Oh!”
The Mage gasped softly, a blush creeping up her neck, but I continued without hesitation.
“Cold. And slightly trembling. This is Mana Depletion Phenomenon.”
Mages who rely on Mana Stats experience depletion when their reserves run dry.
It’s precisely why Mana Capsules were invented in the pre-Regression world.
“A Level 20 Mage cannot sustain casting large-scale spells in succession. Yet your leader pushed forward without considering that, giving her no time to restore her Mana.”
“That’s…!”
“Yes, you’re right. The Mage shares responsibility for not informing the leader of her condition. However.”
I forced down the rising irritation and contempt, pushing the words out.
“Anticipating your team members’ status is a leader’s prerogative. The Mage sent signals of her limits several times over. Ignoring them was your failure.”
The real problem was using a “One Mage Strategy” in this level bracket—something you’d only see among Silver-tier players.
The strategy was simple: while the rest of the team bought time, the Mage prepared a massive spell to obliterate the monster in one strike.
It only became efficient once a Mage advanced to a second-tier class.
‘A novice spellcaster bottoms out after two, maybe three big spells.’
The streamer in front of me was a textbook case of someone whose eyes had grown too big.
Someone who’d watched high-level matches and competitive ranked games, then deluded himself into thinking he belonged there.
“You should have given the Supporter clearer buff directives as well. At minimum, in those final moments, you should have concentrated buffs on either the Mage or the Swordsman—one or the other.”
…….
I could keep going until tomorrow.
But I’d picked only the most critical flaws to address.
“Harsh, aren’t you, sir.”
“I told you. I want to clear this dungeon. Everything I just said is the bare minimum required to clear the Underground Dungeon.”
“Okay! I’ll take it. That was my mistake in judgment.”
I expected defensiveness or sarcasm, but Te-ya accepted it cleanly instead.
‘…No. It’s a bit different.’
I know this type of person.
Confident in their own ability, brimming with pride.
They perform the role of a relaxed, composed “genius,” but beneath the surface—
“Then how about you let me take over as leader from here on?”
—they burn with a competitive fire stronger than anyone’s.
It showed now.
His mouth was smiling, his movements light as a child’s play, but—
‘Those eyes, barely visible between the bangs.’
His pupils glittered with rage.
At least he could control his emotions to some degree. That much I could credit him for.
“We were supposed to clear five rooms, but since we’ve cleared four, how about you clear four as well, and then we vote on who’s really cut out to be leader?”
“That’s acceptable, but….”
I narrowed my eyes slightly, and my opponent raised both hands in a gesture of surrender.
“I have no intention of trolling or interfering intentionally. You haven’t forgotten, have you? We’re in the middle of a broadcast. Intentional trolling on air gets you blacklisted~.”
“If that’s the case, I believe you.”
And so, at last, the authority of leader was delegated to me.
Finally, I had the chance to reassemble this ragtag team properly.
“First.”
The first thing I did was.
“I’m going to reassign your positions.”
Change the positions around.
First, I spoke to the Mage, who had been in the Mage position until now.
“From now on, your position is no longer Mage—it’s Archer.”
“Y-yes? Archer?!”
“And Te-ya, I’m changing your position from Archer to Warrior.”
Everyone else keeps their positions fixed.
The name of the strategy I intended to use was.
“Three Knight.”
A strategy that deploys only three Warriors, excluding the Mage.
“Only three Warriors? Will that actually work?”
The Swordsman voiced his concerns, but the rationale was solid.
“The Underground Dungeon has a lot of monsters. The Sewn Rats were like that, and so were the Ghouls. So maintaining a strong frontline overall will increase our stability.”
“I-I see… But is there a reason to change the Mage girl to an Archer? She could stay as a Mage….”
“A Mage is a position like a cannon—preparing high-power magic and detonating it all at once. But right now, I don’t have the luxury to worry about the Mage’s safety.”
An Archer, by contrast, is a position that can act independently without relying on teammates.
“Mage. When you advanced to Apprentice Mage, you acquired the Magic Arrow skill, didn’t you?”
“Ah… yes, I did.”
“Unlike the magic you’ve used until now, it requires significantly less casting time and consumes far less Mana.”
“That’s right.”
“From now on, use only that skill. Provide supporting fire while restraining enemies, keep watch for monsters approaching nearby, and look after your own survival.”
“…Yes!”
The Mage’s eyes sparkled as she nodded vigorously.
“Supporter, focus your buffs on us Warriors. The Three Knight strategy relies on Warriors to handle both offense and defense, so you need to support us as much as possible. Priority order is me, then the Swordsman, and finally Te-ya.”
“Understood.”
After that, I outlined the combat tactics lightly.
‘Phew.’
Once I finished laying everything out, I exhaled quietly.
This should be far more usable than before.
“You all understand, yes?”
……
……
“Hello? Are you there?”
I called out to the Swordsman and Mage, who weren’t responding.
“Why are you staring off into space like that?”
“N-no, it’s just….”
“How are you so versed in theory? And you’re only Level 6! I thought you were some Gold-ranked player.”
“Exactly! Some of it seemed like it couldn’t be achieved through study or analysis alone. It feels like… experience, you know?”
Their words hit close to home, and I just laughed it off bitterly.
“Well then, shall we go?”
New captain, first voyage.
And the result was.
.
.
.
[Cleared Room: 5]
[Cleared Room: 6]
[Cleared Room: 7]
A seventy percent reduction in clear time, alongside.
A flawless run with zero casualties.
Regression of a Challenger-Class Player
Author
: Knight’s Soul
Date of Publication
: August 10, 2026
Publisher
: Acesmedia Inc.
Editor
: Acesmedia Editorial Team
Address
: 10F Urban Bench Building, 325 Teheran-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
Email
: [email protected]
※ This work is published by Acesmedia Inc. in accordance with the contract with the copyright holder,
and its contents may not be used in any form or by any means without permission from the company and the author.
This e-book is protected by copyright law, and unauthorized copying or reproduction may result in legal liability.
UCI
: G720:N+A129-20260730114

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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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