The Regressor Plays the Game Too Well - Chapter 120

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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 120
Episode 120
Of course, it wasn’t just the men who were interested—the women had come to this group meeting too.
Though it was a gathering between fourth-year and second-year students.
Rather than the atmosphere of “let’s try becoming lovers,” it felt more like everyone was here to expand their networks.
The number of people was more like a mentor-mentee scale, wasn’t it?
So I came without much expectation, but what’s this?
Two fourth-years and one alumnus were supposed to show up.
The alumnus replacement turned out to be quite an impressive man.
Naturally, it was Jin-woo.
Above all else.
The women observed the atmosphere among the men.
From what I understood, since he was a sudden replacement, the men hadn’t had a chance to get close to each other yet.
But.
“Ah, Jin-woo, is there anything you’d like to eat later?”
“Hmm? Well, I suppose a meat restaurant or a bar would be safe, wouldn’t it?”
“Ah! Perfect! That’s definitely the standard for a 3v3 gathering!”
The fourth-year male seniors were practically fawning over him.
Which meant Jin-woo held the initiative.
In fact, at a glance, he was wearing decent clothes, and his appearance was quite handsome.
He didn’t seem to be forcefully commanding the atmosphere.
You might call it subtle charisma.
He definitely had that quality.
The women watched and carefully posted messages in their group chat.
[Da-in: The last oppa isn’t bad, right?]
[Ji Eun-mi: Yeah! I was thinking the same thing! The way he dresses and everything—he’s got serious presence, you know?]
[Da-in: Right? But anyway, regardless of who claims him first, let’s just play it naturally?]
[Ji Eun-mi: Good! I think that’s better too! It’d be funny if we fought among ourselves and ended up with nothing.]
[Da-in: True. That wouldn’t be good. What about Yu Ji-a?]
[Yu Ji-a: I’m fine with whatever.]
Even Yu Ji-a, who spoke so bluntly at the end.
Once everyone agreed, they all nodded.
They’d play it naturally.
In other words, the initiative ultimately lay with Jin-woo.
Once they made that decision.
The atmosphere seemed to improve, as if everyone felt more at ease.
“So Jae-hyun, are you preparing for employment right now?”
“Ah, yes. I’m still worried about job hunting, but I figure with a degree in visual media, I should be able to find work somewhere.”
“Well, I’m in a similar situation, but I’m thinking of going into editing. There are so many PanTube channels these days that the pay isn’t bad either.”
“Ah, PanTube! But isn’t the competition fierce there?”
“That’s true enough.”
The atmosphere felt less like a blind date and more like a mentor-mentee dynamic.
Naturally, Jin-woo was just sipping his coffee throughout all of this.
What on earth was this conversation about?
I tried to follow along at first.
But I didn’t say much.
Still, even though they’re only second-year students, they must have concerns about employment.
I figured that made sense.
I’d thought female students typically didn’t worry about jobs until later, but apparently that wasn’t always the case.
Clearly, I was wrong about that.
Then, at that moment.
Da-in subtly caught on and spoke to Jin-woo.
“Oh, I think we’ve just been talking about ourselves this whole time…”
At those words, everyone turned to look at Jin-woo with an “Oh!” expression.
They seemed worried they’d left him out.
They looked at Jin-woo with apologetic eyes.
The first to take action was none other than Da-in.
“So what kind of work do you do, Jin-woo?”
It was the safest question to ask in a situation like this.
At Da-in’s question, Jin-woo answered without much hesitation.
“Oh, I do PanTube. I stream, and I also sell items through Pantheon. I’m a full-time Pantheon player.”
“That’s really hot right now!”
“But to actually make money from that—isn’t that really impressive?”
“Well, yeah! Not just anyone can do it.”
“Both Jae-hyun and I play Pantheon, but we’re not making money—we’re just pouring money into it and it’s still not enough.”
Everyone gave Jin-woo thumbs up as they talked.
He seemed a bit embarrassed by this, offering a shy smile.
I wasn’t sure what to say in response.
Then, at that moment.
Yu Ji-a’s eyes, which had been quiet until now, changed.
“You do Pantheon full-time? Which city?”
Yu Ji-a had been silent until now, not asking any questions.
But suddenly she showed interest and asked a question?
Everyone was a bit surprised, but they figured it made sense.
Jin-woo was also a bit surprised.
But he thought it was natural that she’d be curious if she played Pantheon too.
“I’m currently in Kantara.”
“Oh, isn’t that a city in the Deron Kingdom?”
“Huh? You know about it?”
“Yes, I’m in Margantia, which is also in the Deron Kingdom.”
“Huh?!”
“What?!”
“Yu Ji-a is inside the city too?”
“Insane.”
Being inside the city right now was practically equivalent to being a ranker.
But a player in such a city?
That meant there were two rankers here.
Everyone had every reason to be shocked.
These days, women play games too.
It was obvious, but both Da-in and Ji Eun-mi played Pantheon.
Pantheon was a revolutionary game, after all.
It was a game that young and old alike tried at least once these days.
But to have two rankers—a rare breed among them—in this very place?
It was truly astonishing.
Jin-woo paused to think after hearing that.
‘Margantia… isn’t that where Yuna is?’
Could Yu Ji-a also be part of the Han-sung Guild?
With that thought, Jin-woo asked.
He was curious, after all.
“If you’re in Margantia, are you with the Han-sung Guild?”
Everyone gasped and turned to look at Yu Ji-a.
Of course they would.
Han-sung had that kind of power.
Especially as Korea’s most famous guild.
The largest and strongest guild.
One of the top guilds in the world.
To be in such a place?!
Jin-woo asked as if it were obvious, but Yu Ji-a shook her head.
“No. I didn’t want to join a guild, so I’m going solo.”
“Crazy, solo all the way to the city?”
“Wow…”
“I-I knew Yu Ji-a was good at the game, but not to this extent.”
“R-right.”
Hearing that, Jin-woo felt something stirring in his memory.
A feeling he’d experienced before somewhere?
He’d felt it even when he first saw her, but he’d dismissed it.
This changed things.
A ranker from Margantia.
He tried to think of who it could be, but no one came to mind immediately.
Sometimes reality and the game didn’t match up, after all.
Well, things will come to mind as we chat slowly.
I decided to continue the conversation with that thought.
“So everyone’s interested in Pantheon?”
Of course, the topic was Pantheon.
It’s the hottest topic on PanTube these days, and it’s the biggest social issue, isn’t it?
How much did we end up chatting?
Jae-hyun and Byung-gun had become comfortable enough to drop formalities.
The atmosphere had grown much more intimate as well.
That’s when Jae-hyun took the lead and spoke.
“Since we’ve gotten closer, should we grab some food or drinks?”
“Sounds good!”
“I’m in!”
“I’m down for it.”
When everyone agreed.
Jin-woo and Yu Ji-a also nodded.
Since everyone was in agreement, we stood up from our seats.
This place was somewhere we all knew well, after all.
“I know an amazing restaurant.”
“Oh? I know a great bar with a nice atmosphere!”
“Ooh! Either sounds good, but where should we go?”
“Food is a bit awkward, so how about a bar, Jin-woo?”
“Sounds good.”
I had become comfortable enough too.
I answered in casual speech instead of formal language.
Once I gave my approval, everything moved forward smoothly.
We quickly decided where to go and everyone stood up from the Cafe.
There were six of us, after all.
But there was no problem getting there.
However, while we were heading there, my eyes stopped at an arcade on the street.
“An arcade.”
“Actually, it’s nice to play a round or two at times like this.”
“Oh! That’s right!”
“Should we stop by?”
“Sure.”
Yu Ji-a, who had been passive until now, was enthusiastic enough to agree.
Everyone pretended to resist but headed toward the arcade.
In the past, arcades on the street only had punch machines or soccer ball kicking machines at best.
But these days, virtual reality games are the trend, aren’t they?
So arcades have developed tremendously.
Most arcades were equipped with everything from simple dive machines for fighting games.
This place was no different.
Jin-woo gazed at it with considerable interest.
A fighting game called Golden Fist.
I used to play that quite a lot when I was younger.
My friends must have seen me playing it so much that they suggested I try Pantheon.
Thanks to that, things turned out this way.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say it was the game that created the current me.
“That Jin-woo… um, would you like to play a round with me?”
It seemed awkward for her to call me oppa.
At Yu Ji-a’s hesitant words, Jin-woo let out a soft chuckle.
Golden Fist after so long.
This should be fun.
Especially against a meeting opponent who seemed quite skilled.
I wondered how such a thing could even happen.
But Jin-woo nodded confidently.
I had accepted the challenge.
The reactions of the other people watching?
“Ooh! A battle between rankers!?”
“Crazy, we have to see this!”
“This is something you rarely see even on PanTube!”
“Kyaa! I want to see how good Ji-a really is!”
Everyone was watching with eager eyes.
But Yu Ji-a’s gaze was different.
A person in the same city as her.
And a duel against such a person.
Eyes that wanted to confirm who was superior.
In other words, eyes brimming with competitive spirit.
Jin-woo hesitated for a moment watching that.
Still, she’s twenty now, isn’t she?
Should I go easy on her?
While Jin-woo was deliberating like that.
Yu Ji-a spoke to him seriously.
“Let’s do this seriously.”
“Ah, yes, let’s do that.”
While the men spoke casually to each other, Jin-woo felt it was awkward to speak informally to a woman, so he answered politely and climbed onto the game machine as is.
It was a fully immersive game machine, but unlike a capsule, it was a game machine where you only wore goggles.
It couldn’t be helped since this was an arcade.
As the two of them sat down at the game machines.
A character selection screen appeared on the central display.
Ji-a selected her usual character, a female swordsman, and Jin-woo also selected a male swordsman.
There were other characters like the Warrior, but.
Since she wanted to play seriously, I chose the Swordsman—my main character.
“Ooh! You both picked the same character!”
“Swordsman versus Swordsman!”
“Kyaa! Ji-a, win this!”
“Ji-a, fighting!”
The match began amid everyone’s cheers.
The moment the “Fight!” message appeared, Ji-a rushed forward first.
Whoosh!
Among all the characters, the Swordsman had the fastest charge speed.
That’s why she could dash in so quickly.
In contrast, my character stood perfectly still.
Ji-a’s eyes narrowed as she watched.
She’d said to play seriously.
Was I planning to go easy on her?
Because she was a woman?
‘Don’t underestimate me.’
Anger flared as she moved swiftly and swung her blade.
A diagonal slash rising from below—an upward cut.
The speed was fierce and the strike point low, making it a difficult attack to counter.
Even if blocked, there was a high chance of being cut by the ricocheting blade.
But I stepped back one pace from that assault.
Then, watching her blade rise from below, I drove my sword down like piercing the earth, and rotated it smoothly, completely altering its trajectory.
Clang!
Ji-a’s blade traced a graceful arc through empty air.
I watched as the ricocheting sword failed to enter its intended path.
Then I simply swung my rotated blade lightly.
Thwack!
“Ugh.”
Ji-a staggered backward from the impact.
And I looked down at her.
It was just one exchange, but it was enough time for us both to gauge each other’s skill.
And the others watching couldn’t say a word.
What they’d just witnessed was beyond their level of comprehension.
All they could manage was.
“Insane.”
“W-what just happened?”
“H-how did that…?”
“I-I don’t know, but that was sick.”

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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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