The Regression of a Challenger-Level Player - Chapter 18

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Episode 18. So Easy It’s Anticlimactic (2)
When I’d first asked about a collaboration, Teya wanted to do a broadcast introducing me while we played the channel together.
But the moment I mentioned I was preparing for a Rank Match, she immediately changed her approach.
‘Because we can’t play Rank Matches together.’
In the Placement Exam, where individual evaluation must be unambiguous, it’s forbidden to connect from outside as a team.
Otherwise, players could manipulate their performance by just coasting on points from stronger teammates.
‘The highest rank most players can achieve in a Rank Match is top-tier Iron.’
While the initial placement rank is Iron, a player only needs to win a couple more matches before climbing to the Bronze Promotion Match—that’s what top-tier Iron means.
Every renowned player worldwide started at top-tier Iron, and in Korea, Nam Si-woo from K1 is famous for being placed at top-tier Iron.
‘Nam Si-woo.’
It’s a name I haven’t heard in a while.
By now, he should be serving as K1’s captain and a member of Korea’s national team.
“…Tsk.”
I decided not to think about that bastard right now.
Dwelling on something pointless before an important match is an easy way to mess it up.
[Connecting to the channel.]
As the message appeared, my entire body was engulfed in light, and that distinctive sensation washed over me.
The ground gave way beneath my feet, and in an instant the landscape twisted around me.
[Rank Match: Placement Exam – Solo
[Genre: Survival]
[Map: Magical City of Astria]
[Objective: Defeat more players than your opponents!]
[Time until start: 5 minutes]
As the darkness lifted, the cityscape of a place suffused with mystical atmosphere came into focus.
Gothic architecture and a spire that looked as though it held the Milky Way itself rose so high it seemed to pierce the heavens.
‘The Magical City of Astria.’
This place too was designed in a way that made skirmishes spring up naturally.
‘Survival’ map material through and through.
“Whew…! Let’s do this!”
“Finally, the Placement Exam!”
More and more people materialized around me.
Everyone’s faces were bright with excitement and nervousness, as befitted the Placement Exam.
-Why does Jae-ha look like he’s not nervous at all?
-How is that a Level 10 attitude?
-Dude, this takes me back to my Placement Exam… I lost all 3 and started at the bottom of Bronze
-Do a dance for us
Chat messages suddenly materialized in front of me.
“Ah, you startled me.”
Because Teya’s broadcast was synchronized with me, I could see the chat as well.
Though I wouldn’t hear it—by now, outside, Teya should be running a live commentary.
‘In that case, I should probably put on some kind of show, right?’
As it happens, I know one thing about this map.
‘It’s not a Hidden Quest, but there’s one undiscovered Quest that remains.’
The only difference is, it’s not one I receive before the match starts.
It’s a Quest that requires accumulating at least 10 kills beforehand.
‘So, for now.’
I need to show what I’m capable of.
[Players are entering….]
[Time until start: 1 minute]
As more and more players streamed in, the start time drew near.
I slung a large Combat Hammer over my shoulder, then pulled something from my pocket.
-What’s that?
-Candy?
Candy I’d bought before coming here.
“Before any important match, I pop a piece of candy. It’s a kind of ritual, you might say.”
My body no longer needed to chew Mana Capsules to function.
And yet it still craved this sensation before combat.
I placed a single piece of candy in my mouth.
Crunch!
And crushed it between my teeth.
[All players have assembled.]
[Beginning the game!]
Rank Match Placement Exam.
Start.
***
The moment it began, attacks rained down from all directions.
Arrows, magic, spears, daggers — and Warriors closing in for direct melee combat.
-That’s why I said don’t go where there are lots of people;
-Survival is supposed to be about picking off kills from a corner, that’s the basic rule
-Blew the first round
-???: I’ll make a wager. That you place Bronze or higher on the Placement Exam.
The moment I appeared to be in danger, the chat reactions shifted entirely.
Truth is, what they’re saying isn’t wrong.
Starting a free-for-all Survival with multiple enemies nearby is a quick way to die.
But then again.
‘It also means there are plenty of kills to scoop up!’
Gripping the hammer in both hands.
[Gravity Field]
I activated the skill.
Thrum-thrum-thrum-thrum!
A purple force field bloomed outward.
The air in the vicinity grew dense in an instant, crushing down on the other players trapped within.
“What… what is this?!”
“My body’s so heavy…!”
“Ughhhh?!”
Those suddenly caught in the gravity prison twisted their faces in confusion.
Naturally, all the arrows and weapons that had been flying at me plummeted to the ground before reaching me.
“It’s my skill. I can intensify the gravity around me.”
I explained kindly for the bewildered viewers.
-A gravity skill? Is this person a Mage?
-That explains why that ghoul just collapsed on its own in the underground prison…
-But doesn’t that mean they can’t move either?
“Ah, that’s not a problem for me.”
From the area of intensified gravity, I leaped forward with obvious ease.
“I can still move just fine!”
The added weight meant I barely scraped the ground, yet the impact erupted with tremendous force.
Channeling that force as my weapon, I swung with full strength.
“Huh!”
The Combat Hammer.
“Wait, just a moment—”
I unleashed my attack on the Warrior struggling under the increased weight.
Mana flowed seamlessly from my heart through to my fingertips.
And on top of that.
[-The stronger the gravity, the higher the destructive power of the attack.]
The Constitution Effect of the Gravity Sovereign.
Boom!
With a thunderous roar, my opponent’s entire body went flying backward.
As if struck by a massive cargo truck.
[You have defeated a player!]
[Kill Count: 1]
One shot, one kill.
-???
-In a single blow…?!
-And on a Warrior no less?! Not a Mage or Support class?!
This was the same attack that had shattered the Training Room’s special reinforced version.
Moreover, my current stats far exceeded what was typical for Level 10.
In a place like this.
“There’s no way they could stand against me.”
I laughed easily and turned around, only to see a couple of players stumbling as they tried to get up.
“Ugh…! Is it because of that bastard that our bodies feel so heavy?!”
Phew!
He was growing accustomed to the pull of the Gravity Field.
Without artificially boosting the output by shrinking the range, this level of gravity was something superhuman players could navigate once they adapted—which was the whole point.
After all, it was still only D-rank.
‘Not that it matters,’ he thought.
It wasn’t as if they could beat him now.
He sidestepped the incoming spell with ease, wheeled around, and dispatched the three mages in the rear simultaneously.
Crack! Boom! Boom!
Each swing of the hammer shook the earth as if an earthquake had struck.
“You bastard!”
One of the swordsmen attempted to exploit an opening, activating a skill and lunging at him.
“Is that all you’ve got?”
A blade that thin.
Before a hammer of that size, it was mere paper.
[Swing] (E)
As the hammer traced a violet arc through the air, the sword shattered completely.
“What—?”
“Much obliged—”
He seized the swordsman’s throat, eyes glazed with shock.
“There!”
Then he brought the hammer down with all his strength.
Crunch!
The ground caved inward, and the swordsman’s eyes rolled back.
“Gah—agh—!”
His body went limp, then dissolved into particles of light.
[Player eliminated!]
[Kill Count: 5]
Five players eliminated in less than a minute.
He dusted off his hands and straightened up.
“Ah… Ahhhhh!”
“M-monster!”
The surrounding players recoiled in horror, backing away in small, hesitant steps.
‘Why are they all acting so lonely?’ he wondered.
If they wouldn’t come forward, he had no choice.
“Here I come.”
He’d have to go to them.
.
.
.
[Kill Count: 12]
It took less than ten minutes to eliminate all those players single-handedly.
“That area’s cleared.”
—Cleared? You mean…?
—This is Survival, right? Not a hunt?
—Just overwhelming…
—How does he get a guaranteed kill with one swing of that hammer lol
Frankly, even he was exceeding his own expectations.
Thanks to the Constitution Effect amplifying damage, his already devastating strikes—heavy-hitting and lightning-fast—were proving devastating to the players in this bracket.
“Now then…”
He looked up at the sky and saw a massive scarlet magical formula slowly taking shape overhead.
“Spirit Flame first, then.”
This map, the Magical City of Astria, had a special mechanic.
Every interval, colossal spells rained down across the entire arena.
There were three types—Spirit Flame, Lightning, and Tempest—and to survive them, you entered the Safe Zone that appeared around the Spires scattered across the map.
Of course, not any Spire would do; the Safe Zone only manifested around those marked with the constellation corresponding to that spell’s element.
Since this one was Spirit Flame, he’d need to reach a Spire bearing the flame constellation.
—Where are you going?
—There’s no flame Spire over that way.
He headed in an entirely different direction.
At the end of his path stood a Spire marked with the form of a tempest.
“I’m sharing some special information exclusively for those watching today’s broadcast.”
He grinned and placed his hand atop the Spire.
“After reaching ten kills first in Astria, when you make contact with a Spire inscribed with a different constellation than that magic….”
[Quest activated.]
“You can receive a Quest.”
—What????
—For real? No way…
—Astria has Quests too?
—Another first discovery?
—Holy crap!
—How the hell did he figure that out…?
[Quest: Collect Spirit Flames]
▶The reason such massive magic pours down on the peaceful magical city of ‘Astria’ is due to excessive mana accumulation in the region. As a capable problem-solver, you have been requested to recover ‘Spirit Flames’—the crystallized mana knotted throughout the area.
▶Objective: Collect Spirit Flames scattered across the entire city. (0/30)
▶Reward: ,
Since it wasn’t a Hidden Quest, the rewards weren’t as generous as before.
But the guarantee of earning 500 Credits and one item was plenty of extraordinary information.
Whoosh!
The moment he accepted the Quest, blue spheres began appearing all across the city.
“I’ll need to grab those while racking up kills at the same time.”
In every way, Astria had proven fortunate.
There were undiscovered Quests to unearth.
‘And when players retreat to the Safe Zone, they gather there so nicely for me!’
Boom!
He channeled mana into his legs and launched himself skyward with all his strength.
The vista spread wide before him.
By convenient timing, a flame Spire stood near where the Spirit Flame hovered.
Those who had assembled there were already locked in fierce combat.
“Gravity Field.”
He immediately intensified the gravity, plummeting downward as if dragged by an invisible force.
The moment his hand reached for the Spirit Flame, it was sucked directly into his body.
[Spirit Flame Collected (1/30)]
“Now that I’ve successfully collected the flame—”
The next objective was obvious.
“Time to start collecting kills—let’s goooo!”
[A rain of flames begins to fall across all of Astria!]
[Please evacuate to the Safe Zone!]
Right on cue, the rain of fire began to pour down.
Now the players in this area couldn’t venture outside.
“Hahahaha! This is exactly why I love this map!”
“What the—what is this madness—aahhhhh!”
“Argh! Ugh!”
A Safe Zone, they called it?
‘What a joke.’
Not with me here. There was no such thing as safety.
Like a starving lion finally allowed to feed, I began sweeping up kills.
I brought my Combat Hammer down on the ground, and those caught off-balance staggered.
I seized the moment, generated Gravity Fields, and eliminated them one by one.
“Stop… stop that!”
“Is that really someone in the Level 10 range?!”
Eventually a pitiful scene unfolded where several of them formed a team just to attack me alone.
It posed no threat whatsoever.
“Everything feels so heavy…!”
“Ughhhhhgh!”
“Hack!”
I gave them a gentle tap with the hammer, and they all became my points.
I couldn’t contain tears at their touching spirit of sacrifice.
“Kehehehehe!”
Though laughing was probably better than crying anyway.
After the event where kills multiplied ended and as the rain of flames outside the Safe Zone finally ceased,
“I’d say we’re just about finished here.”
I was the only living, breathing creature left in that place.
-What the hell did I just watch…?
-Was a Rank Match always this easy?
-The skill is genuinely insane
-Smiling while swinging that hammer is straight up terrifyingㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
-So this person is the boss, right? The rest of us are supposed to figure out how to beat them?
I skimmed the chat reactions lightly, then looked around.
Another Spirit Flame came into view at just the right moment.
My appetite was whetted.
“Next, I suppose I’ll head over there.”
-Everyone take cover!!!!!!!!!
-The crazy hammer monster is coming!
-People over there, run for your lives!
-The Calamity is moving in on youuuuuu!
No matter how much they tried to stop me, my hammer never faltered.
The result.
[Kill Count: 50]
[Spirit Flame Collection (30/30)]
The first round of the Rank Match Placement Exam.
Ended with a historic record—I alone had wiped out half of all participating players.
The Return of a Challenger-Tier Player
Author
: Gi Sa-hon
Publication Date
: August 10, 2026
Publisher
: Acesmedia Co., Ltd.
Editor
: Acesmedia Editorial Team
Address
: 10F Urban Bench Building, 325 Teheran-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul
Email
: [email protected]
※ This work is published by Acesmedia Co., Ltd. pursuant to contract with the copyright holder.
Without the permission of the company and author, the contents may not be used in any form or by any means.
This ebook is protected by copyright law, and unauthorized reprinting or reproduction may result in legal liability.
UCI
: G720:N+A129-20260730114

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————