The Regressor Plays the Game Too Well - Chapter 121

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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 121
121
The fighting game Geumgwon.
To be honest, Yu Ji-a was confident.
Her opponent was someone who operated in the same Pantheon city as her?
Then they were both rankers.
The fact that they earned money doing this full-time meant
they had to be at least more skilled than Yu Ji-a.
But Geumgwon would be different.
Unlike the full-dive capsules used in Pantheon, Geumgwon used goggles for full-dive, making the feel extremely stiff and clunky.
It was like using a very outdated capsule in comparison.
That’s why she was confident.
Yu Ji-a had played Geumgwon frequently since childhood.
The control she’d honed over all these years—
So why?
‘What’s going on?’
When someone launches a rapid, ambush-like attack first, the opponent usually panics.
I thought Jin-woo would panic too and freeze up.
But he didn’t panic—he simply blocked the sword and countered?
I tried to retreat and dodge, but I took the hit before I could evade and had to fall back.
I watched Jin-woo.
He wasn’t rushing at me.
It felt like he was giving me a moment to recover.
‘He’s saying he won’t win through ambush?’
The moment that thought crossed my mind, I felt my face flush hot.
What did that make me, then?
I was embarrassed by Jin-woo’s conduct for a moment.
But I quickly regained my composure.
I wanted to win no matter what.
So I decided to push forward with pure skill, abandoning tricks and cheap tactics.
I’d been too careless.
My opponent had also played Geumgwon to some degree.
So I couldn’t let my guard down.
And if he did this professionally?
‘He definitely won’t be adapted to this goggle-type dive.’
The sense of dissonance was incredibly severe, after all.
Moving would be difficult for him.
But there was one thing Yu Ji-a didn’t know.
Until just recently, Jin-woo had been using an outdated capsule.
Of course, even that was far better than goggle-type full-dive.
They were evenly matched.
I could feel the weight of the weapon, but I knew how to handle it.
However, Yu Ji-a didn’t know that and charged forward once more.
I had the advantage through my adaptation.
That’s what I believed.
As she rushed in, her feet and blade gleamed with the Swordsman’s skills—Leap and Slash.
If things went this way, I’d have no choice but to use a skill as well.
Of course, that was Yu Ji-a’s thinking.
Yu Ji-a believed I would use a skill as she charged.
But what was this?
‘He’s not using a skill?’
I hadn’t used a skill until the moment Yu Ji-a charged.
She bit her lip.
Furious.
Was he looking down on me?
With that thought, anger flared as she was about to swing her blade.
My blade suddenly began to glow.
Suddenly?
Yu Ji-a was startled by the sight, but it was the same skill after all.
The same Swordsman’s Slash.
The stats were identical too.
But!
Because she had the momentum from charging from a distance using Leap.
She had the advantage.
That’s certainly what she thought.
Clang!
Screeeech!
“Ugh!”
It was Yu Ji-a who was pushed backward by the impact.
Utterly incomprehensible.
And her friends watching felt the same way.
“What, what is this?”
“Didn’t they use the same skill?”
“No way! Yu Ji-a used Leap too and had acceleration, so how could she be losing?”
“Right, exactly!”
“A bug?”
“No, where would there be a bug in an arcade game!?”
“That’s… that doesn’t make sense either!”
It was such a shocking occurrence that they were searching for bugs in an arcade game.
But I wore an unbothered expression.
Yu Ji-a stood frozen, staring at her own blade in disbelief.
There was no reason she should have been pushed back.
There were no factors that would allow it.
She had acceleration from her leap, and her power balance was perfect as she charged forward.
Even if her opponent had superior control, this shouldn’t have been possible.
Their blades had clashed at the exact same angle.
So why was she the one being driven back while Jin-woo remained unmoved?
It made no sense.
What on earth was happening?
Yu Ji-a found herself utterly bewildered.
But there was no time to dwell on it.
By the time she regained her senses, she could see Jin-woo charging at her from a distance, using his leap for acceleration.
Oh no!
She had assumed he would remain still since he had been doing so until now.
He had let her prepare beforehand and observed her, but now he was fighting back properly.
Since this was what she had wanted, Yu Ji-a harbored no resentment.
But.
This was overwhelming.
His charging speed was also quite formidable.
The speed itself matched her own from moments ago.
Yet how had he delivered such a more powerful strike than she could?
The thought crossed her mind before she shook her head.
Focus on defense for now.
With that resolve, she activated the swordsman’s skill that bolstered defensive capabilities.
She channeled her robust physique.
And raised her blade to block.
But then.
A sharp scraping sound.
“Ugh!”
His blade suddenly twisted at an impossible angle, the attack slipping through.
Normally, changing the angle mid-swing would be nearly impossible.
Yet Jin-woo had accomplished it.
Flexibility?
No, it wasn’t that simple.
This was an arcade game, after all.
A game where inertia and physics could be defied to a certain extent by common sense.
Jin-woo was exploiting that to its fullest potential.
Bending what shouldn’t bend at the moment it shouldn’t bend.
Naturally, it was an attack no one could have anticipated.
Everyone had thought Yu Ji-a had blocked it.
To allow an attack to land on me.
“Did he really get deflected back there?”
“It wouldn’t happen in the Pantheon, but this is an arcade game. I knew the laws of physics were a bit looser in Geumgwon, but….”
“Is that guy using that?”
“Wow, I really thought Yu Ji-a would win….”
“Yu Ji-a?”
“Yeah. We come to the arcade sometimes and play Geumgwon with her. But I never thought Yu Ji-a would get pushed back like this….”
“Right?”
“Wow!”
“That guy really is incredible.”
They all gazed at the screen in admiration.
They knew Yu Ji-a was skilled.
But to be pushed back this far.
And Yu Ji-a felt the same way.
I never expected to be overwhelmed like this.
I thought even if I lost, it would be by the narrowest of margins.
But to be pushed back this far.
Setting aside pride, I was facing a result I simply couldn’t believe.
But this wasn’t the time to get caught up in shock.
I took a hit from his blade, but I’m fine.
I was glad I activated Robust Body beforehand.
But I need to counterattack now.
‘Here I go!’
Just as Yu Ji-a was about to launch her attack.
Jin-woo stepped back and swept his leg at her abdomen.
Boom!
Yu Ji-a flew backward as if struck by an explosion.
And Jin-woo had created distance between them.
The difference was that Yu Ji-a lost her balance from the kick, while Jin-woo landed perfectly intact.
In the moment her posture wavered from losing her footing.
Jin-woo rushed in again.
Faced with his relentless assault, Yu Ji-a tried to block again.
But.
His blade gleamed brilliantly.
This wasn’t some ordinary slash skill.
A swordmaster’s ultimate technique.
None other than Aura Blade.
A skill that could only be used after landing countless successful hits.
He’s bringing that out now?
‘I can’t block this with Robust Body.’
I need to evade like this.
Fortunately, Leap had just come off cooldown.
I had to dodge while praying for Aura Blade’s duration to end.
There was no other choice.
He couldn’t possibly keep up with me once I used Leap.
That’s what Yu Ji-a thought.
Of course, it was sound logic.
Leap was a skill that granted incredible speed, after all.
But Leap had a duration limit too, didn’t it?
Yu Ji-a knew this well.
The Swordsman was her main character, after all.
And Aura Blade’s duration was a full five seconds.
Meanwhile, Leap’s duration was merely two seconds.
To create distance, I’d have to keep running continuously.
‘I’ll fall back for now, and once Aura Blade wears off, I’ll counterattack.’
And I counted the seconds.
The distance between us remained unchanged.
Then five seconds passed.
Fzzzt.
With a crackling sound, I watched Aura Blade disappear.
Yu Ji-a saw it and thought:
‘Now’s the moment.’
This was my chance.
With Aura Blade gone, I had to launch a counterattack.
Yu Ji-a charged toward Jin-woo.
And Jin-woo likewise rushed forward to meet her.
Yu Ji-a activated her skill immediately.
Slash.
I wasn’t sure what happened before.
But this was definitely my opening.
The moment I activated Slash and charged forward.
Jin-woo used a skill as well.
Leap.
Jin-woo’s cooldown had also reset.
His speed increased further, surpassing mine.
But that’s fine. If I just keep attacking with Slash—
I can do this.
Jin-woo would likely use Slash too, but.
He’s not using it right now, is he?
I just need to attack as I am!
Yu Ji-a truly believed that was the case.
Right up until she closed the distance to Jin-woo’s face.
Crackle, crackle, crackle!
Jin-woo’s aura blade suddenly materialized once more.
How was this even possible?
Yet Jin-woo simply smirked as if he’d anticipated this, slashing his blade forward without hesitation.
Caught off guard, Yu Ji-a’s movements froze momentarily before she launched her own counterattack.
A blade infused with cutting power clashed against a sword wrapped in aura.
Naturally, the victor was clear.
A sickening slice.
“Ugh!”
Yu Ji-a’s health plummeted as both her blade and body were cut down.
And so the game over screen appeared.
What on earth just happened?
The spectating friends were equally bewildered.
“His ultimate didn’t deactivate?”
“Right, exactly. I mean, does that even make sense?”
“Can you split up an ultimate and use it in parts?”
At Da-in’s words, Jae-hyun and Byung-gun shook their heads.
That shouldn’t be possible.
If you could split it up and use it in parts, how could you even call it an ultimate?
Yet Jin-woo had just done exactly that.
What could they even say?
As everyone stared blankly at the screen.
Yu Ji-a removed her goggles with a dazed expression and stood up.
Seeing her like that, they all understood.
Even Yu Ji-a, who excelled at Geumgwon, had no idea what just happened.
That left only one person.
Jin-woo alone.
Not long after Yu Ji-a removed her goggles and stood.
Jin-woo also smiled as he removed his goggles and rose to his feet.
“Phew, it’s been a while. That was fun.”
“Oh, oppa, how did you do that?”
“Huh? W-what?”
Jin-woo looked flustered as Da-in suddenly asked.
And she wasn’t the only one who approached him.
Of course, the one who reached him fastest and gazed at him most urgently was none other than Yu Ji-a.
“Oppa, could you possibly tell me how you did that?”
“W-well, what do you mean? Besides, aren’t you standing a bit too close?”
As Jin-woo said this, Yu Ji-a realized she had indeed stepped right up to his face and hastily stepped back.
My face had flushed a bit, and warmth crept across my skin.
But that wasn’t what mattered right now.
“Aura Blade! Why did it turn back on?”
“Oh, that?”
Everyone’s attention snapped to me at the question.
They were all curious, after all.
How on earth had that happened?
Could it actually be a bug?
While they were pondering such thoughts.
My answer turned out to be remarkably simple.
“It’s straightforward, really. The skill deactivates five seconds after using an ultimate ability, but if you use Slash Strike within those ten seconds afterward, it reactivates.”
“Huh?”
“Eh?”
They stared at me as if no one had ever known such a function existed.
I let out a soft chuckle at their expressions and added a comment.
“Ah, I used to play Geumgwon quite a bit back in the day. Haha.”
“Ahaha.”
“Haha, I see.”
In other words, I was a veteran player.
Everyone laughed awkwardly as if their spirits had deflated at that explanation.
But Yu Ji-a didn’t laugh.
‘Even so, that control was extraordinary.’
To a degree that someone like me could never hope to match.
At first, I’d regretted coming to this gaming session on a whim.
But now it seemed like the best decision I could have made.

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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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