The Regressor Plays the Game Too Well - Chapter 103

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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 103
Episode 103
Nível trembled as he gazed upon the iron ingot cradled in his hands.
It wasn’t a gentle quivering—his entire body shook as though seized by convulsions.
Could someone else have crafted this in his stead?
The thought crossed his mind, rational as it was, yet he knew it couldn’t be true.
If anyone in the Empire possessed the skill to forge such an ingot, Nível would have known of them already.
This was a piece he could only have created during his prime years.
And yet this… this novice without a single crafting skill had produced it?
Was such a thing even possible?
No. It was absolutely impossible.
Nível’s expression grew grave as he studied it.
This transcended mere talent.
“W-who exactly are you?”
“Yes, yes?”
“J-just who are you to produce something like this…?”
For a moment, Nível wondered if the god of blacksmiths himself was playing a jest upon him.
Yet Jin-woo appeared foreign in every conceivable way.
Which only deepened the confusion.
Could this truly have emerged from the hands of someone forging an iron ingot for the first time?
Had any ordinary blacksmith examined this closely, despair would have driven them to place their own hand upon the anvil and bring the hammer down.
Of course, that would only be if they knew Jin-woo was a beginner.
Observing Jin-woo’s bewilderment, Nível spoke again.
“What is your true identity?”
Watching Nível finally seem to compose himself, Jin-woo felt somewhat taken aback.
He’d simply brought the ingot, and Nível had cursed upon seeing it, yet now he was speaking with formal respect.
And now he was asking about Jin-woo’s identity.
Bewilderment was the only natural response.
Still, Jin-woo reasoned it through.
‘Even I can see this doesn’t make sense.’
Ten consecutive critical successes.
Honestly, the result was nonsensical.
No matter how closely I’d studied Zik’s instructional videos.
There were limits to what was possible.
The class bonus must have played a role.
That was the only explanation for ten consecutive critical successes.
Without the class bonus, the result would be impossible.
Of course, the Demonic Refinement talent title that followed had increased my refinement success rate by twenty percent.
Zik had mentioned his method had a success rate approaching seventy percent.
But even so, wouldn’t that bring it to ninety percent?
Ten consecutive critical successes—it defied all reason.
No wonder Nível was reacting this way.
Jin-woo pondered for a moment before answering as he observed Nível’s expression.
“I wish to become the greatest blacksmith.”
“I will teach you everything I know, without fail.”
Nível’s eyes burned with fervent passion, his hands gripping Jin-woo’s firmly.
Jin-woo felt the weight of Nível’s overwhelming enthusiasm and nodded awkwardly in response.
“Y-yes.”
The moment I answered, a message materialized before me.
[Quest completed.]
[Reward acquired.]
[Nível’s affection has reached maximum.]
[Reward adjusted to highest tier.]
[Nível intends to teach you with even greater detail and depth than he would a direct disciple.]
“Wow.”
I let out a cry of exultation upon reading the message.
Nível looked at me and spoke.
“It will take at least two days to prepare everything at the Blacksmith. Wait for me until then.”
“Ah, yes. I understand. I will wait with joy in my heart.”
“Good. I will make you the finest blacksmith in the Empire—no, the entire Continent. I will elevate you to heights even I have never reached.”
Watching Nível burn with determination, I nodded gratefully, bowed repeatedly in thanks, and finally made my way outside.
Nível then devoted himself entirely to preparing the Blacksmith.
Once outside, I paused and glanced around, considering my options.
There wasn’t much to do here.
Should I leave this place?
‘Ah! I should withdraw my cash!’
Now that the auction had concluded, I could finally withdraw the 125 billion.
Time to show off a little.
At this point, whether I invest in stocks or not hardly matters.
I laughed heartily and logged out.
Behind me stood a robed user whose eyes had widened to an almost comical degree.
“J-Jin-woo… how is he here!?”
A user who had recognized Jin-woo.
Unfortunately, Jin-woo was already logging out and couldn’t see this user.
The identity of the user who had recognized Jin-woo.
None other than the one who had lost to Jin-woo in the main tournament and been immediately eliminated.
Before Jin-woo’s regression, he had been known as the God of Magic—Barmon.
“How is he able to move between regions!?”
* * *
Meanwhile, as Barmon stood in shock at discovering Jin-woo’s presence.
Kaiser’s face had gone ashen as he trembled in his office in the real world.
‘…I’ve spent nearly all of the Guild’s funds.’
One hundred million dollars.
The Guild funds he’d obtained from his family.
Of course, he could arrange for more, but it would inevitably take time.
Needless to say, this meant the Guild’s operations would have to stall temporarily.
Did he anticipate even this?
Probably.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have used that shameful video of me for blackmail.
‘And to think he demanded one hundred million from me.’
Of course, it was one hundred million won, not dollars.
But as they say, misunderstandings are free.
Unaware of this fact, Kaiser continued to tremble.
Until now, he’d been consumed by inferiority.
But now it was different.
Fear.
Hadn’t he suffered greatly from Jin-woo’s schemes?
A truly terrifying scheme it was.
Continuously hiding his own strength, overwhelmingly defeating Kaiser, and then extracting money on top of it all.
Honestly, I no longer want to face him.
But I couldn’t afford to.
The Guild’s prestige and future glory rested entirely in his hands.
‘I must eliminate that bastard no matter what.’
Recruiting him to the Guild?
That ship had already sailed.
What good would recruiting someone stronger than myself do?
Even now, the Guild was showing signs of fracturing.
Most of them had been drawn to Kaiser’s strength.
But after his humiliating defeat to Jin-woo, Kaiser’s standing had begun to waver.
And with the Guild’s funds dwindling as well.
‘This won’t do.’
If things continued like this, disaster would strike.
So Kaiser decided to execute a stratagem he’d been considering for some time.
“Secretary.”
“Yes, I’m here. This information was truly difficult to obtain.”
I received documents from the Secretary.
Documents containing compiled information on someone.
But they were marked as having a high probability of being inaccurate.
I’d spent a full ten million dollars to obtain this information.
And now I had it in hand.
Jin-woo, residing in South Korea.
Information about his family members—parents, siblings—down to where he lived.
It was an extraordinarily detailed dossier.
Yet Kaiser smiled at the part where he had been nothing more than an ordinary university student until recently.
“Truly impressive.”
As Kaiser spoke, the Secretary tilted her head in confusion.
Was he praising the effort to compile such information?
No, that didn’t seem to be it.
While the Secretary stood bewildered by this thought.
Kaiser shook his head and tossed the documents aside, saying:
“Dispose of it.”
“Pardon?”
This was premium intelligence that had cost ten million dollars.
And he wanted it destroyed?
How many informants had she employed to obtain this?
Certainly, making contact with Pantheon personnel had been difficult.
Which was why the report noted the information could be unreliable.
But the Secretary didn’t see it that way.
She believed it to be highly credible intelligence.
Yet he was ordering its destruction?
Intelligence that had cost ten million dollars?
It was an incomprehensible command.
Seeing the Secretary’s confusion, Kaiser spoke:
“Would someone with such keen insight truly leak such information so openly?”
“Ah.”
At those words, the Secretary could only nod in agreement.
Kaiser was right, after all.
Could someone who had cornered Kaiser with such cunning strategy really have been an ordinary university student until recently?
It made no sense whatsoever.
It was impossible.
Moreover, this person had no connection to the gaming world.
She had nearly been fooled into thinking the information was reliable simply because so much money had been spent on it.
The Secretary lowered her head and apologized for her oversight.
“My apologies. Shall I attempt to gather more intelligence?”
“No, there’s nothing more to be found that way. Besides, he won’t simply sit idle and watch. He’ll certainly take action to counter us, knowing we’re paying attention.”
Kaiser spoke thus, his expression growing tense.
They had to prepare for that moment.
“We must remain steadfast against any attack.”
“Yes, understood.”
“For now, reduce Guild expenditures and focus on consolidation rather than expansion.”
“Yes!”
“What’s the status of our key personnel?”
“They’re all in the process of recovering. At this point, it seems only those bound by contracts remain, regardless of compensation.”
Kaiser nodded at the Secretary’s words.
Raigan and Valen.
Those two had certainly vented their fury.
They’d even shed tears of rage.
Kaiser understood their feelings all too keenly.
Because he felt the same way.
Wounded beasts had gathered.
So revenge would surely be possible.
Unlike before, Kaiser was no longer driven solely by inferiority complex; fear of Jin-woo began to awaken his reason, and he slowly regained his composure.
“And what became of that person?”
“The contact was successful.”
“Inform me immediately once results come in.”
“Yes, of course. We were able to locate him right after the tournament ended.”
“Right, that one possesses skill comparable to mine and Han Yu-na.”
“Barmon, we must recruit that one without fail.”
Kaiser nodded at the Secretary’s words.
If only an opportunity to eliminate Jin-woo would come.
‘For us to achieve victory, now is the time to lie low. But don’t let your guard down. That monster is dangerous.’
Kaiser made this vow to himself and entered the capsule.
A time to strengthen the foundation.
And above all, a time to cultivate his own power.
He’d just obtained information about an exceptionally remarkable Hidden Class.
Though the timing wasn’t quite right yet.
He would obtain it by any means necessary.
And he was certain Jin-woo would attack.
Because now was the perfect moment to dismantle the Guild.
* * *
Jin-woo, who had unexpectedly benefited from Kaiser’s paranoia.
So what was Jin-woo doing?
Predictable, isn’t it?
“Hehehehe! What should I buy? Ah, should I move the house first?”
He was browsing real estate websites, deliberating over various options.
No, before that.
Something came to mind first.
Before, I’d held back from doing it right away.
Now there’s no reason to hold back.
With 125 billion won, what reason could there possibly be?
Even after paying taxes, an astronomical amount remains.
More than enough to spend for a lifetime.
So there’s no need to hold back anymore.
“Dad!”
-Huh? Y-yes?
“Are you at the office right now? Then I’ll stop by home later.”
-Yes! Okay, got it. Should I pick up some pork belly on the way?
Jin-woo shook his head at those words, having initially thought to bring Korean beef instead.
I know Korean beef is delicious.
But somehow, eating pork belly at home with family felt better than any premium cut could offer.
That’s what truly tastes good—grilling pork belly together as a family.
What does Korean beef matter? What does pork belly matter?
“You know I love pork belly.”
-Right! Got it. See you later.
“Yep!”
Jin-woo smiled softly as he thought of his father.
Yes, before buying luxury gifts, I should first pay off my father’s debt—the debt he took on for the family.
That’s the priority.
What else could come first?
The amount surpasses even a lottery jackpot.
With that thought, Jin-woo spent time pondering what else he could do for them besides settling the debt.
Then he called his mother.
“Hey, Mom, I’ll be coming over later!”
-Oh! You’re visiting often these days! Alright, I’ll prepare something delicious for you.
“Dad said he’d bring some pork belly.”
-That’s great! Then I’ll make some soybean paste stew. Oh! And don’t you dare come home loaded with expensive gifts. I don’t want you to feel burdened.
“Okay, I got it.”
After hanging up with his mother, Jin-woo chuckled warmly.
This is what family truly is.

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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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