The Regression of a Challenger-Level Player - Chapter 2

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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 2. Let’s End This
“Do you even realize what you just did?!”
“I just taught that unlucky bastard a lesson.”
My casual answer twisted the coach’s face.
“You still don’t grasp how serious this is, do you? If Park Gyu-bo hadn’t covered it up, you’d be facing major disciplinary action!”
“He didn’t cover anything up—he just swept it under the rug. A first-tier starter getting beaten one-sidedly by a third-tier trainee? That’s humiliating for him too.”
Park Gyu-bo hadn’t held me accountable for my actions at all.
Not out of any concern for me, of course—purely to protect his own reputation.
If word got out that he’d been beaten by none other than the trainee he usually bullied and kept close, it would damage him far more than taking a few bruises himself.
In fact, he’d been grinning at everyone else, claiming he was just playing along and letting me land some hits.
“Tch. Acting tough when you passed out foaming at the mouth.”
“Shin Jae-ha!”
The coach slammed his hand on the desk.
“What’s gotten into you? You’re not yourself. Have you been drinking since this morning?”
“People can change in a single day, Coach.”
If I told him I’d already witnessed Earth’s destruction and lived through regression, he’d have me committed to a psychiatric ward without question.
For now, I’d decided to keep that knowledge to myself.
I spun my chair around to face the massive emblem visible through the glass window.
A logo rendered sharply—an eagle and clouds entwined.
Sky Epic.
One of the major teams in the Korean Player League’s Division One, no less.
Though they’d never won a championship, they regularly finished in the upper ranks and showed genuine promise.
‘I remember being so thrilled when they first scouted me here.’
In this professional circuit, a trainee scouted by even a second or third-tier upper-bracket team would be considered incredibly fortunate, let alone being overlooked by the elite.
So when a heavyweight like Sky Epic came calling for me?
Turning them down would’ve been absurd.
‘But.’
Coming to this team had turned out to be the worst mistake of my life.
Blatant discrimination inside and out? Constant insults and abuse whenever they got the chance? Physical violence? Being forced into a development path that wasted my stat growth?
Honestly, I could’ve endured all of it.
To become a pro, to become a starter in Division One, that level of pain and effort was something I could bear.
But they’d done something they should never have done.
“…So.”
I crossed my legs and stared at the coach with dead eyes.
“Surely there’s something else you wanted to say besides a reprimand?”
“What?”
“You wouldn’t call me all the way here just to lecture me.”
This coach was the same man who’d openly ignored me whenever I wanted to discuss training or development plans.
He’d insisted that a head coach wasting time on a third-tier trainee was a waste of resources.
“Well? Out with it.”
“…So you do have some sense, after all.”
The coach cleared his throat and held out a single sheet of paper.
Paper on Artificial Mana Circuit Expansion Possibility
The title was exactly what I’d anticipated.
I didn’t even need to read the complex terminology and references listed below.
“It’s a paper that came from one of the facilities we personally sponsor. As you can see, it’s research showing that you can artificially expand your mana circuit and increase your mana stat.”
……
“I’ll be blunt. Shin Jae-ha. Get this surgery.”
The words matched those in my memory perfectly, not a syllable out of place.
I couldn’t help but laugh bitterly at this point.
“Honestly, your Constitution and your skills are completely at odds with each other, right? If your mana stat were higher, you’d at least be usable, but all you gain is physical stats. It’s been a real headache for our team.”
The coach scratched his head, as if concerned.
Now that I knew this was all an act to sway my emotions, it just made me feel disgusted.
“This procedure would bump your mana stat at least two times higher than now… no, three times faster. Then you, stuck as a perpetual trainee, wouldn’t be dreaming anymore?”
“Oh, is that so?”
“Of course. You might not make the starting lineup, but you could definitely put on a decent show as a backup, right?”
The corners of the man’s mouth curved upward slightly.
A smile that resembled a snake’s.
“What do you say? Will you do it? You will, of course?”
“Of course—”
I matched his smile with one of my own.
I matched his smile with one of my own.
Rip!
I tore the paper in half.
“I’m not taking it, you bastard.”
He was using smooth words to manipulate me, but the bottom line was that he wanted to perform an unverified illegal procedure on my body.
At first, he’d lied, claiming it had already been fully tested and was a perfectly safe procedure.
But after the operation failed, I learned that all of it was illegal.
‘The old me was so naive.’
Throwing my body away on honeyed words like that.
“W-what did you just…?”
The coach’s eyes twitched at my bold response.
“I’m not taking it. Not some unverified surgery like that.”
“Do you have any idea what an incredible opportunity this is?! We’re trying to save a worthless bastard like you!”
“Then you should have cut me loose and ended the contract long ago. Why keep me around all this time? Oh, let me guess.”
I met the coach’s eyes directly, pouring emotion into each word.
“Because I have a Constitution. You don’t want to give it to someone else, but it’s too wasteful for you to use, so you’re just experimenting with this surgery to see if you can wring something out of me. If it works, great. If I end up broken, no loss to you.”
“…!”
Among those awakened as Players, only a rare few also awaken something called a Constitution.
Not a skill, not an attribute—an innate ability given only to that particular Player.
Most high-tier Players are born with at least one Constitution.
But not every Player with a Constitution is strong.
Like me, right now.
“I’m sorry, but I’m not devoted enough to this team to sacrifice my body for some experiment like that. So I’ll have to politely decline.”
“Do you think you have a choice? This is already decided. If you don’t have the surgery, there’s no contract extension….”
“Fine.”
“…What?”
“Let’s end it. I don’t want to be on this disgusting team for one more second.”
I took off the Sky Epic jacket I’d been wearing and dropped it onto the torn paper.
“We’re done.”
The second thing I did after regression
was to avoid repeating my worst mistake.
***
“Man, after all that training as a prospect, all my stuff fits in one box.”
After somehow ending the contract,
I went to the dorms to pack my things.
A small dorm where the third-tier prospects like me lived.
“This should be enough.”
When I organized it properly, it barely filled half a box.
I felt a twinge of sadness, but I shook it off quickly.
Once I’d properly packed everything and came outside, a familiar face was waiting for me.
“Heh~ Finally getting out of here?”
Park Gyu-bo.
Despite all the times I’d trampled on this so-called superhuman, the bastard hadn’t burst.
“Out of every version of Jae-ha I’ve seen, this is the smartest—finally you understand your place and walk out of here on your own two feet.”
No matter how much I pretended not to listen, his mouth barely stopped.
A genuinely persistent bastard in every way.
“So you’re heading back to the orphanage? Ha ha ha!”
“Yeah. Your parents opened a new place and invited me.”
“W-what?!”
Watching his face flush red and pale,
I asked casually.
“Since it’s all over anyway, let me ask you one thing. Why did you hate me so much?”
He was disrespectful to many people, but he had singled me out for especially harsh treatment.
Consistently, from the beginning until now.
Back then, I was too despondent to even ask why. But now I was different.
“Why did I hate you?”
Park Gyu-bo twisted his mouth as if he found the question ridiculous.
“You came here relying on nothing but a Constitution despite having no real skill or ability, and watching you squirm around trying to do something anyway pissed me off.”
“…Is that so?”
Hearing it put that way, I was actually surprised at how flimsy the reason sounded.
“Then pretty soon you’ll have a new reason to hate me.”
“What do you mean by—”
“Before long, I’ll outpace you and become far stronger than you are.”
“You? Ha-ha-ha!”
Park Gyu-bo clutched his stomach, laughing mockingly.
“Your dreams are something else, aren’t they? I’ll cheer you on. Give it your best shot.”
“Yeah, I’m going to. When I lift the League championship trophy later, I’ll make sure to mention your name in the interview.”
“That’s sweet, actually.”
Somehow, he didn’t seem to realize
that there wasn’t a trace of falsehood in what I’d said.
“I’m leaving.”
I passed by Park Gyu-bo and headed toward the door.
Just as I was about to pass through the main entrance,
…….
I noticed a silver-haired woman watching me quietly.
Clearly a Player who held the Archer position on Sky Epic’s starting lineup.
“Baek Hee-yeon?”
…….
Baek Hee-yeon stared at me intently.
A woman whose thoughts were impossible to read, whether then or now.
When the others openly ignored and discriminated against me, she was the only one who treated me as though it were nothing unusual.
Not that it meant she was especially kind—Baek Hee-yeon treated everyone with that same dry indifference.
‘Though, she was the only one who initiated conversations with me.’
Other than that, there really wasn’t much connecting us.
“What is it? Do you have something to say?”
“Is what you said… true?”
“What I said? Oh, you mean me leaving the team?”
Apparently the rumor had already spread.
Seeing that Park Gyu-bo knew, I’d already suspected as much.
“Well, that’s how it is now. It worked out for the best anyway. I wasn’t doing anything on this team in the first place.”
…….
“Still, I was grateful. I learned more from you than from the coaching staff.”
Sometimes when I was training alone, she’d quietly come over
and offer advice along the lines of, “That’s not how you do it…”
Small pointers like that.
Honestly, it didn’t help enormously, but it was better than a coach who wouldn’t even offer that much.
“Anyway, this is our last day.”
“Is what you said before… true?”
“Which thing are you asking about?”
“What you told Park Gyu-bo. That you’d get stronger soon and win the League championship.”
That was a question I hadn’t expected.
I’d naturally assumed she was being sarcastic.
…….
Baek Hee-yeon’s eyes held seriousness.
So I answered her sincerely.
“Yeah.”
“…I see.”
With that answer, Baek Hee-yeon turned away.
“I’ll support you.”
She threw the words out casually as she walked.
Watching her small back disappear, I smiled softly and replied,
“Thanks.”
And so,
my long years as a trainee came to an end.
***
“Phew….”
Stepping outside, the reality hit me.
I had truly traveled backward through the years and returned to the past.
‘The streets are intact and there aren’t any crazy people!’
Compared to the brink of destruction, the world now was beautiful beyond measure.
On massive screens, Players displayed their mastery of Channels, and street signs bore advertisements featuring athletes from successful teams.
‘Even now, Players remain at the center of society.’
This trend only intensifies with time.
Especially after Earth began competing earnestly in the Dimension Cup.
“First, I need to organize my thoughts and get my bearings.”
I traced back through my memories and made my way to the apartment where Soo Hyuk used to live.
Even during my trainee days, I’d visited often—to vent my frustrations or share drinks—those were cherished memories.
Now, though, I was simply here because I had nowhere else to stay in Seoul.
“I can’t use the team dorm anymore.”
I’d have to impose on this place for a while.
“Hey, I’m here… though you’re probably not home.”
By now, he’d have headed to work.
I shelved the reunion with the past version of him for now.
“…Let me check first.”
I swallowed hard and activated it.
Whoosh!
My Status Window.
And immediately, I couldn’t help but let out a cry of exultation.
“It’s done…! It’s finally done!”
[▶Mana: 6]
The clear number displayed in the Mana stat.
I was no longer a body incapable of wielding Mana.
‘I’ve finally reclaimed it.’
My potential.
The Return of the Challenger-tier Player
Author
: Ki Sa-hon
Publication Date
: August 10, 2026
Publisher
: ACES Media Co., Ltd.
Editor
: ACES Media Editorial Team
Address
: 10F Urban Bench Building, 325 Teheran-ro, Gangnam-gu, Seoul, Republic of Korea
Email
: [email protected]
※ This work is published by ACES Media Co., Ltd. under contract with the copyright holder.
No part of this content may be used in any form or by any means without permission from the publisher and author.
This e-book is protected by copyright law, and unauthorized reproduction or copying 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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