The Regressor Plays the Game Too Well - Chapter 116

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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 116
Episode 116
Monsters vary in difficulty depending on their type.
Well, that’s obvious.
Among them, attribute-type monsters are those that are difficult to deal with—you could count them on one hand.
Among attribute-type monsters, there were far too many that lacked physical form, making attacks ineffective against them.
Of course, the Lava Golem wasn’t one of those.
It was an attribute-type monster, but a rare one that possessed a tangible form.
Then did that lower its difficulty?
Not quite.
Think about it. A golem made of lava.
What happens when you attack such a golem?
Every strike sends lava spraying in all directions.
Could such a creature truly be easy to face?
Hardly.
‘It’s always been a nightmare opponent for users.’
Jin-woo watched the Lava Golem charging toward him.
Even from ten meters away, the scorching heat was formidable.
That alone told me how intensely hot the lava truly was.
If that lava splattered from my attack, how much damage would I take?
I didn’t even want to imagine it.
But Jin-woo charged forward nonetheless.
Normally, I would have used magic to dispose of it, but I didn’t.
Why?
Because golems are creatures that magic doesn’t work well against.
In other words, they’re monsters that epitomize difficulty.
So I chose to face it in close combat.
Of course, there was a method.
Whoosh!
Jin-woo kicked off from the scorching ground, generating a whirlwind as he charged forward.
Faster than ever before.
I didn’t activate Berserk because the ambient heat was gradually draining my health.
I simply wanted to test how much my physical abilities had improved.
The Lava Golem showed no particular reaction to Jin-woo’s charge.
It was too fast to respond to.
But it didn’t need to.
It merely had to maintain its steadfast resolve and time its attack to match Jin-woo’s charging speed.
As Jin-woo charged, it simply thrust its fist forward.
The timing was precise.
But.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
I step through the air itself, defying the laws of physics as I pivot at an impossible angle.
The Lava Golem flinches, its massive frame trembling with surprise.
Its fist cuts through empty space as I slip past the blow, angling both blades toward its exposed flank.
Two swords, both twisted to the right.
I pivot at the waist, spinning them around before unleashing a massive swing.
Shhhhwaaaack!
The sound of the blades cutting through something almost liquid reverberates through the air.
In that same instant, lava erupts in all directions.
But none of it reaches me.
I calculated the trajectory perfectly—the lava scatters away from my position entirely.
By accounting for the trajectory, the speed of my swing, and the precise angle, I emerge completely unscathed.
The creature, however?
“Grraaaaaaagh!”
It shrieks in agony, quickly filling the gaping wound in its side with flowing lava.
It appears to regenerate, becoming whole once more.
But I know the truth.
I know the magnitude of the damage I’ve inflicted.
A level 150 Lava Golem, brought low by pure stats alone—it’s almost laughable.
I smirk to myself.
The test is over.
Only one thing remains.
‘A massacre.’
Still smiling, I channel the Jade Light Slash skill into both blades.
And as I consider the angles, the speed, the trajectory, I grin.
My slaughter begins.
* * *
Is it truly possible to massacre creatures nearly 60 levels higher than yourself?
Put simply, it’s equivalent to a level 10 player defeating a level 70 orc.
By any reasonable standard, it should be absolutely impossible.
Yet I’m doing it.
And I’m not merely succeeding.
Dozens have already fallen.
Without tiring, I bring down another.
Boom!
The flowing lava hardens and solidifies as the Lava Golem collapses.
Like basalt, it lies motionless on the ground, and I smile at the sight.
“Too easy.”
Far easier than I anticipated.
Coming here was definitely the right call.
The experience points were quite generous, and more importantly, the material items these creatures dropped were exceptional.
Lava ash and lava crystals.
Any other player would have cursed them as trash, but not me.
Lava ash, when used as a polishing agent, increases the hardness of iron.
Lava crystals, when mixed with coal and placed in a furnace, generate far greater heat, allowing iron to melt faster and produce purer steel.
Everything here had value—nothing was wasted.
For me, there was no better place than this.
I’d definitely want to return here again after obtaining the hammer handle imbued with a soul.
Material grinding is unexpectedly entertaining.
I honestly thought it would be tedious, but it turned out far more enjoyable than expected.
As the materials accumulated steadily.
I gazed toward the final Boss Chamber and smiled.
Even normal Dungeons had bosses, after all.
Once I defeated this creature, I would obtain the final material for Mjolnir and receive a Quest.
What reason was there to hesitate?
I would go straight in.
With that thought, I pushed open the Boss Chamber door.
But then.
[You currently possess a Powerless Hammer Head.]
[It resonates with the Hammer Handle imbued with a soul.]
[A faint soul becomes embedded in the Ancient Lava Golem boss.]
[A fragment of the ancient spirit Surtr dwells within the Ancient Lava Golem.]
“Huh?”
What was this sudden development?
I had no record of this happening in my memory.
At least not in Barmon’s footage.
Which meant.
It had been hidden.
In other words.
Something smelled like a jackpot.
And not just any ordinary jackpot!
The Pantheon, as its name suggested, was a game rich with tales of the gods.
But for Surtr from Norse mythology to appear in such a game?
This is absolutely a jackpot.
It had to be, given its connection to Mjolnir.
Surtr’s soul had awakened in response to Mjolnir, after all.
Of course.
The fact that Surtr now dwelled within the boss’s body meant.
This would not be an easy opponent to face.
Even I might need to be on guard.
I wondered if such a thing might occur.
With that thought, Jin-woo tensed further as he observed the Ancient Lava Golem before him.
The creature that bore the faint soul of Surtr.
【…How irritating. The stench of that wretched hammer vibrates all the way here. I shall incinerate it all!】
From those words, Jin-woo could sense it.
This was no creature one could reason with.
Then again, mythology had been the same.
What would be different here?
With that thought, Jin-woo activated his buffs to exert his full power from the start.
First, naturally, came Berserker.
It consumed HP continuously, but that was fine.
He’d been saving it for the boss battle anyway.
Then he activated the various buffs attached to his items.
He used Attribute Bestowal—Wind as well.
Finally, he applied All-Rounder from his title to Strength.
Then.
[You have activated All-Rounder—Strength.]
[Combat Power absorbs the buff effect of All-Rounder.]
[Combat Power increases.]
He’d never used it since obtaining Combat Power Awakening.
To think it would yield such a result.
Jin-woo smiled as he gazed upon the faint soul of Surtr.
And the final skill he activated.
From his entire body, an ominous blade pierced through crimson mist like blood—a violet aura.
The aura spread, enveloping Jin-woo’s form completely.
Asir’s Curse.
The most useful skill among Jin-woo’s arsenal had been unleashed.
‘It’s been a while.’
Come to think of it, aside from the recent event tournament, had he ever fought with such sincerity?
No, absolutely not.
It truly had been a long time.
Even the event tournament hadn’t felt like he was going all out.
He’d focused on control, certainly, but this—this was Jin-woo’s true full power.
As Jin-woo closed his eyes and opened them again.
The faint soul of Surtr began to emit light.
【Kuhahahaha! Die, descendant of Thor!】
It seemed the creature felt this way because it possessed Mjolnir.
But since he wielded Gram, wouldn’t he be closer to a descendant of Sigmund?
Or perhaps, since he also possessed Brewnack, he could be called a descendant of Ru.
Well, what did it matter anyway.
Let me savor this moment.
I gazed at Surtr’s spirit as it charged toward me.
That colossal fist, intent on pulverizing the ground itself.
If I took a direct hit from that, even with Asir’s curse, the surrounding terrain would be devastated, turning the battlefield against me.
So I threw myself forward first.
I needed to escape that spot quickly.
The creature’s fist slammed directly into the earth, and the ground beneath it collapsed, a sea of lava surging upward.
Damn.
The molten tide flooded outward, consuming everything around it.
I’d evaded into the air, but the creature still had one fist left.
As expected.
Burn it all to ash!
Surtr’s spirit bellowed that same tiresome line over and over again.
I smiled as I watched the incoming fist.
Could I not evade it?
No, I could evade it.
But should I?
The moment that thought crossed my mind, I shook my head.
Anyone who’d seen that previous impact would instinctively choose to dodge.
But I was the opposite.
I felt like I should give it a try.
Looking at the incoming fist, it was weaker than before.
Since it was throwing a second punch after the first, its stance was unstable.
Even a golem needs proper form to maximize its power.
I recalled a particular skill.
I wanted to unleash my most powerful skill in this state.
Brewnack’s area attack would be the strongest option, perhaps.
But there was something I wanted to test instead.
A skill I’d only recently acquired and hadn’t used yet.
The class-exclusive skill: Shattering Spear Technique.
A terrifying skill that ignored all defenses and inflicted a status ailment with 100% certainty.
I smiled at the thought.
Of course, there was something I needed to do first.
Wrath Blade.
The skill of the magic sword Gram.
The Wrath Blade skill, which had grown far more powerful after its recent level increase.
Let me activate this incredible skill that raises all stats by 300% for one minute.
A jet-black aura erupted from my entire body, consuming the crimson aura and the sword-violet aura alike.
Then, radiating a blood-red aura, I revealed a form akin to death itself.
This was my true power.
Even Surtr, upon witnessing this, seemed to realize his mistake—his body trembled slightly even as his fist was in mid-flight.
But it was already too late.
Jin-woo, fighting with everything he had.
Unleashed another skill without hesitation.
“Heavenly Rend Thrust.”
A killing technique that ignored all defense and struck with absolute force.
Tremendous energy began gathering into Jin-woo’s twin blades.
Ping――――――――!
The twin blades trembled violently.
Unable to withstand the intense aura, a fierce metallic shriek echoed through the surroundings.
At that same moment, brilliant light began emanating from the twin blades.
A sword aura that seemed capable of severing anything.
No—could even the sword techniques from martial arts novels compare to this?
A blade aura that could cut and split all things manifested fully within the twin swords.
The lava giant’s outstretched fist, which had seemed capable of destroying the world itself, appeared utterly insignificant before the overwhelming power of the twin blades.
Feeling that aura, Jin-woo smiled and swung his blades without hesitation.
Shing――――――――!
And in that instant, he severed the lava giant’s arm.
Watching the lava giant’s arm fall to the ground with a dull thud, Jin-woo understood something fundamental.
This was the true power of a technique that ignored all defense.
And he realized.
‘I’ve obtained something truly extraordinary.’
Something truly, genuinely extraordinary.

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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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