The Regressor Plays the Game Too Well - Chapter 110

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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 110
Episode 110
Living Armor’s Tomb.
A dungeon with a hidden piece.
This dungeon had one peculiar characteristic unlike ordinary dungeons.
What is it, you ask?
‘It’s an open-type dungeon.’
Normally, whoever enters a dungeon first becomes its master.
That impression was quite strong.
But open-type dungeons were different.
Places that were opened like fields but had become dungeonified.
Those were precisely what we called open-type dungeons.
For that reason, they were difficult to discover.
Huh? Why, you ask?
You’d think being open would make them easier to find, but it doesn’t.
It’s quite the opposite.
When people go hunting, what kind of place do they typically choose?
A place packed with monsters in this difficult Pantheon?
Or somewhere moderately quiet?
Obviously the latter.
But what if no monsters were visible at all?
Would anyone really go there?
‘Not a chance.’
Open-type dungeons are dungeons where monsters only begin appearing once someone enters.
Because of this, they were actually harder to discover since there were no monsters present.
At first glance, they looked no different from an ordinary hill.
It was a dungeon type that commonly appeared in urban areas.
Well, it wouldn’t be discovered easily anyway.
Still, one never knows.
I checked the first-discovery reward.
And then.
[You have discovered the hidden open dungeon ‘Living Armor’s Tomb’!]
[As a first-discovery reward, experience and drop rates increase threefold upon clearing.]
[Hidden Collector effect increases clearing rewards.]
[Dungeon Hunter effect grants stat acquisition upon clearing.]
[Lone Wolf effect increases rewards when clearing solo.]
‘Oh!’
At least no one else had discovered it yet.
I was honestly a bit worried about that.
After all, this was a region in the late level 50s.
Typically, mid-level 40s are challenging enough for late-stage rankers to attempt.
And if they’re rankers.
Most of those who’ve arrived in this city are already rankers.
Those who’ve reached mid-level 40s.
Of course, top-tier rankers like Barmon and Yuna had already broken into the early 50s.
Even rankers can reach the late 40s if they’re skilled enough.
In any case.
All the Hunting Grounds around here are in the late 50s level range, so it seems no one has come yet.
I couldn’t remember who had hunted here before, which made me uneasy.
Thankfully, it really does seem like no one has come.
“Let’s go in.”
Jin-woo entered without worry.
Well, since it’s an open-type Dungeon, naturally even if someone had entered, another person could enter later.
But was that something I should worry about?
Of course not.
Rather, it would be those who entered after me who should worry, wouldn’t it?
Of course, unless they attack me first.
Surely they wouldn’t be that reckless.
Think about it for a moment.
Would they dare touch Jin-woo, who solos the places they can barely manage as a party?
Well, if they did, I’d have to seriously question their intelligence.
‘Anyway, let’s just go clear it.’
* * *
Around the time Jin-woo entered Living Armor’s Tomb.
How much time had passed?
Several users began to gather.
More than ten users in total.
They didn’t look like a simple party.
They appeared to be a Guild.
The Moru Guild stood before the open-type Dungeon and smiled.
The Moru Guild.
They could be called the leading Guild operating in the crafting city of Jerba.
In fact, they were the pioneers who arrived in this city second only to Barmon.
Because of that, they were able to grow rapidly.
“Is this the place?”
“Yes, that’s correct.”
“With no monsters around, it’s definitely an open-type Dungeon.”
“Yeah, looks like it. Must be a first discovery?”
The Moru Guild members chattered excitedly among themselves.
It had been quite some time since they arrived in the city.
Of course, I was well aware of open-type Dungeons.
What if there were no monsters nearby?
That’s why I came to check it out.
It wasn’t a loss either way.
It didn’t take much time, after all.
That’s why they gathered like this to prepare to enter.
But the problem always arose at times like these.
“Huh? Guild Master?”
“What is it?”
“There are traces of someone being here?”
The guild master furrowed his brow as he listened to this report.
Tesian, the guild master of the Moru Guild, displayed a distinctly displeased expression.
Clearly, there was no guild ahead of the Moru Guild.
But didn’t I already know?
About Barmon’s existence.
There’s no way I wouldn’t have known.
I fell behind in level, but hadn’t I seen him a few times before?
Of course, it had never escalated to an actual fight.
But I’d lost count of how many times I’d missed out on Dungeons and advantages because of that bastard.
“Ugh! Is it that bastard Barmon again!”
“It seems likely. The traces suggest a single person.”
“How predictable!”
Seeing Tesian’s indignation, the guild members fell into contemplation.
They understood well why Tesian was so furious.
Why did their paths overlap so often?
That bastard always stayed one step ahead.
But this time was different.
Tesian’s eyes blazed as he shouted.
“Has he already cleared it?”
“No, that doesn’t seem to be the case. It looks like he’s still inside the Dungeon?”
“Kehehehe.”
At those words, Tesian laughed like a madman.
This time, it seemed he wouldn’t miss his chance.
Tesian then spoke to his guild members.
“We’re catching that bastard.”
“Heh, we’ve been waiting for those words.”
“Honestly, he’s been getting on my nerves.”
“It’s about time we settled this.”
“Isn’t he the one who got crushed incredibly fast by Hwang Kyung-ma-jeol? We’ll have no trouble taking him down.”
“He’s one of the top 128 rankers, but he’s the weakest among them, isn’t he? He was eliminated right after making it to the main tournament.”
They all chuckled foolishly, spouting nonsense.
This was precisely the moment to say someone didn’t know their place.
They all clamored and shouted.
“Let’s go deal with it.”
“Let’s go!”
“Let’s move!”
“What are you all doing! Let’s go!”
The Moru Guild, having completed all preparations, launched their sortie.
Naturally, Tesian, the guild master, took the lead and shouted once more.
“Barmon! Let’s go eliminate that bastard! Kahahaha!”
Never imagining who might actually be listening.
* * *
Meanwhile, Jin-woo had entered the Dungeon and was observing the monsters with considerable fascination.
Living Armor.
Naturally, it was remarkable.
Pieces of armor floated about on their own, moving like monsters.
What was interesting about this was.
“Butchering.”
When I used Butchering, material items would drop.
When these creatures—whether shaped like armor or weapons—died, they left behind iron chunks, metal scraps, or ore fragments.
Even when using the Butchering skill.
This was quite fascinating.
Well, there’s nothing surprising about it up to this point.
The Butchering skill was, after all, merely an item for extracting miscellaneous loot.
With good fortune, I might obtain cores or similar treasures.
But what cores would emerge from Living Armor, which possessed no physical body?
That was absurd.
Jin-woo faced the Living Armor with a somewhat tedious expression.
Using basic magic to simultaneously restrain and attack with ease.
It was rather bothersome.
“Hold, Magic Missile, Fire.”
Spells cast carelessly.
Naturally, though they appeared to be cast carelessly, they were not.
I was clearly testing Barmon’s techniques.
Bind the creature momentarily with Hold, then conjure mana bullets—Magic Missiles—in the interim.
What was interesting was that Magic Missile absorbed surrounding mana to form the projectile.
And if I ignited Fire in the vicinity during that gap?
A Fire Missile would be created, infused with the mana of flames.
A remarkable sight.
Was this what they called skill buildup or something like that.
Anyway, what really matters is the power, doesn’t it?
Boom!
The force was nothing like what you’d expect from a Magic Missile.
Jin-woo is strong, sure, but that’s true of all his other skills too.
But hadn’t I already tested this?
Even Jin-woo couldn’t one-shot a Living Armor with just Magic Missile alone.
But what if it were a Magic Missile infused with Fire?
A single strike was all it took!
Using that technique, I rapidly conjured bullets.
Skills with short cooldowns became even faster under the various effects.
That’s how rapid-fire became possible.
Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat!
And the Living Armors fell helplessly to that barrage.
Jin-woo couldn’t help but smirk at the sight.
How could this possibly be boring?
Tch.
Even licking my lips wouldn’t change anything.
I couldn’t just rush forward even if I wanted to.
“Butcher, butcher, butcher.”
I had to butcher them to obtain material items as well.
Gathering various materials was, after all, the most essential part of production work.
As I did this, my thoughts turned to what came next.
The Living Armor’s Tomb.
What I would do after obtaining the sword recipe from this place.
‘Jerba is certainly good, at least.’
A better city for crafting than this?
You couldn’t find one in regions below level 150.
You could find one beyond that, but it would be a level 180 area.
Even for Jin-woo, that place was a bit much.
It was better to learn the basics here first.
Of course, I wasn’t planning to skip that village either.
It was best to master everything I could in Jerba before moving on.
So then, what should I do after obtaining the sword recipe?
It’s obvious.
‘I need to complete Mjolnir.’
Of course.
I already knew where the remaining Mjolnir fragments were located.
Obtaining them wouldn’t be difficult.
The hard part was completing it.
It was a total of 3 quests, if I recall correctly.
It might be a bit difficult to pull off, but so what.
That’s what makes a Quest fun.
Jin-woo was thinking this as he moved forward.
Then he heard a strange sound.
Clang, clang.
The sound of metal striking metal.
It was odd.
The sound was coming from behind.
There was nothing visible through the vegetation.
Could there be a monster?
No, that seemed unlikely.
I’d killed every monster on the way here.
In other words, there was no reason for metallic sounds to come from behind.
‘What is it?’
Then there was only one possibility.
‘Another player?’
That was possible.
But something felt off.
I could sense their presence spreading across a fairly wide area.
Because there are no monsters?
That couldn’t be it. If there were no monsters, they’d bunch up even more to be safe.
But they weren’t bunched up—multiple people were spread out widely across the area?
That meant they were searching for something.
And if they’d come this far, they already knew this was an open Dungeon.
A message appears before entering the Dungeon after all.
Yet they’re acting like this?
It was obvious.
‘Player hunting.’
Well, I’d left obvious traces.
They’d surely noticed I entered alone at the entrance.
Were they intending to hunt me?
I didn’t even feel the urge to ask ‘why?’
It was a predictable story.
Kill and take what you want.
Isn’t that the typical mindset you’d see in games?
Besides, since it’s a game, there’s little consequence to killing someone.
At worst, a notoriety penalty?
That disappears after a few days of hunting in the Hunting Grounds.
I understood that too.
But understanding and feeling disgusted are two different things.
‘Now that I think about it… the Moru Guild was the first to discover this place!’
It all came back to me now.
Why had I forgotten until now?
Simple enough.
The guild that had charged at Barmon and vanished without a trace!
That’s why I couldn’t remember.
I didn’t have such a desperate need for information that I had to recall a guild that no longer existed.
Jin-woo chuckled softly at the thought, sensing the approaching presence drawing near.
‘Looks like I’ve found something to hunt besides the Living Armor.’

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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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