The Regressor Plays the Game Too Well - Chapter 132

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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 132
132
Climbing the Snowy Mountain is said to be arduous.
Yet at its summit lies a breathtaking vista.
But I hadn’t struggled much at all, and I was already savoring that magnificent view.
One might say I was indulging in considerable luxury.
Well, perhaps.
I didn’t particularly care about it.
The scenery was beautiful, certainly, but so what?
It wasn’t as though it converted into currency or experience points.
Why bother admiring it?
At first, I did gaze and marvel at it somewhat.
But while climbing the mountain, I’d have to see it continuously anyway.
I couldn’t spend the entire ascent marveling at the view.
I was almost there.
Besides, I had far more pressing business.
Barkal.
A battle with that creature.
It might be the first time in ages that I’d need to fight with my full strength.
Perhaps even then, it could prove difficult.
Well, if that happened, I’d simply retreat.
I had confidence in my ability to escape.
But still, I should fight as much as possible.
Barkal, possessing the core of a typhoon, was truly formidable.
I already knew well why Barkal was so strong.
How could I, having regressed, not know that a creature close to a water dragon possessed what amounted to a half-completed orb of power?
That was impossible.
Knowing such circumstances, I let out a faint laugh.
Could I actually win?
Running simulations in my mind?
It was uncertain.
It seemed nearly evenly matched, though I might lose by a slight margin.
In other words, I was prepared to crush approximately five of the Great Guild Alliance on my own.
I figured I could manage that much.
In truth, even that was absurd.
I had defeated hundreds of the most elite warriors.
Hundreds of elite members from five Guilds.
Though calling them “hundreds” hardly did them justice—each one could easily handle dozens of ordinary soldiers.
A force numbering in the thousands at minimum, tens of thousands at maximum.
And I was saying I could defeat that.
A matchup that was frankly absurd.
But I was confident.
At least I wasn’t inferior to them.
I simply had to pour out everything I possessed.
Or rather.
‘Fighting them might actually be better than facing Barkal alone.’
That’s what I thought now.
I had quite a few skills specialized in area-of-effect attacks rather than single-target ones.
With these, I could honestly deal over a hundred casualties in a single strike using area skills.
That was something even Barkal couldn’t do.
If I had fought the major Guilds instead?
It might have been worth attempting.
But Barkal was different.
A single opponent.
How was I supposed to handle such a creature?
That was a problem I’d figure out as I went.
By fighting that beast right in front of me.
“SKRRRAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!”
Barkal, resembling a dragon with a roar that could tear the heavens asunder.
How could anyone call that a sky serpent?
To anyone’s eyes, it was unmistakably a true dragon.
Its size and majesty were absolutely tremendous.
If anything, it seemed more like a half-dragon.
But this wasn’t the time to quibble over such details.
I let out a slight chuckle at the sight.
“Heh!”
Nervous?
Of course I was.
But that’s when I burned even brighter—that was who I was.
I read the message that appeared before my eyes.
The message reminding me of Barkal’s existence.
[Raid Boss, Sky Snake King Barkal is watching you.]
[Warning! Warning!]
[Your opponent far exceeds your level.]
[Escape is impossible.]
[Combat is not recommended!]
Ominous messages.
I scoffed at them.
“Hmph.”
Run away?
There had never been any hesitation to begin with.
Unless things became truly dire, of course.
At this point, even death held no particular concern for me.
I was resolved to see this through to the bitter end.
And watching me, Luna followed suit.
“Pfft!”
Mimicking my dismissive snort, Luna turned her head away with a petulant pout.
The sight of her melted away what little tension I’d been holding onto.
Yes, this was it.
With that thought, I faced Barkal, who continued to observe me without making a move.
Despite that menacing appearance, the creature was a non-aggressive monster.
In other words, this meant one thing.
I would receive the first strike and then begin.
If that were the case, I ought to deliver the most devastating blow possible.
The strongest skill I could unleash right now.
“Fusion Combat.”
Naturally, I activated Fusion Combat.
And I began weaving skills into it from every direction.
The ones capable of unleashing my maximum power at this moment.
The foundation would obviously be Sky-Splitting Strike.
An overwhelming skill that ignored all defenses and left the opponent paralyzed.
With Sky-Splitting Strike as the base, I naturally wove in Space Slash—Dimensional Confinement.
Just combining these two consumed an unfathomable amount of MP.
But I couldn’t stop here.
I continued adding more.
Six-Light Slash, Weapon Spear, Slash, Power Strike.
My MP was beginning to run dry.
Then I wove in the Alchemist’s Elixir as well.
And I blended in Draconic Heart to replenish my mana, along with Superior Mana Circuit.
But even this wasn’t enough.
It still lacked the finishing touch.
“Krrgh?”
Sensing something amiss, Barkal flinched slightly, regarding me with what seemed like alarm.
Judging that it couldn’t simply endure what was coming, the creature raised the Typhoon Core it had been gripping and unleashed its power.
In an instant, a raging tempest enveloped Barkal entirely.
Watching this, I smirked and thought to myself.
The creature was using wind attributes?
Then I could do the same.
You’re not the only one! I have it too!
With that sentiment, I wove in Attribute Bestowal—Wind.
With this, I should be able to penetrate that defense to some degree.
Above all, trying to block it with Heavenly Sword Technique would be utterly futile.
But that creature couldn’t possibly know that.
Still, just in case, I imbued it with an attribute.
Insurance is always worth taking out.
One last thing.
I could have mixed in one more.
If I’m thinking about the battle ahead, I need to use that final one.
And I’ve already thought it through.
“Heavenly Punishment.”
The most powerful single-target magic skill.
As I called out, all those skills began to converge.
They fused into one.
Barkal was a non-aggressive monster.
What would happen if it took this head-on?
Even I smiled with the thought that I didn’t know anymore.
I’m genuinely so curious.
Victory or defeat?
Such things were utterly unimportant now.
What mattered was how far this skill—my skill—could truly be unleashed in this very moment.
That was what I needed to know.
Barkal trembled with fear as well.
I couldn’t stop here.
“Berserker, Asir’s Curse, Omni-Mana.”
I activated every buff I could muster and gripped the now-heavy sword.
Normally I would have wielded dual blades, but even that felt too burdensome now.
So I held only the magic sword.
And finally.
‘Wrath of the Magic Sword.’
I called out and activated Gram’s special effect as well.
My attack power surged in an instant.
Seeing this, Barkal seemed to realize it truly wouldn’t do and opened its maw wide.
It comes.
The breath of Barkal, once called the Storm Dragon.
But it’s fine.
I have one move too.
Barkal’s breath crashed down over the Mountain Peak where I stood.
Or rather, it tried to.
But as the breath bore down on me, I swung my blade.
Swiftly?
No, it was quite the opposite.
The sword’s descent from upper left to lower right was extraordinarily slow.
Like a petal drifting down on a spring breeze.
As if a scene from a film, the blade fell with such deliberate slowness that the world seemed to focus entirely upon it—all sound vanished.
The fierce winds of the Snowy Mountain ceased.
The cacophonous roar of swirling snow fell silent.
Even Barkal’s breath attack—his final cry—made no sound.
Silence.
It wasn’t merely that sound had stopped.
The entire world seemed frozen in that singular moment, impossibly serene.
Was this what it felt like to be left alone in the world?
When time itself seemed to halt and the world grew still.
The blade descended slowly.
And I felt it.
Ah, this is magnificent.
With that thought, space itself was cleaved.
Shwiiiiiiiiiiing.
Though the Snowy Mountain lay blanketed in white snow.
It was unmistakably visible.
It hadn’t severed the breath attack.
Space itself had been cut asunder.
A sinister grey sword aura erupted forth, tearing through everything in existence.
The grey aura, splitting even space itself as it shot forward, cleaved the breath attack in two.
It wasn’t merely what the eye could perceive.
The very space where the breath had existed was torn apart.
Severance.
Against that slash which cut through all things, Barkal’s breath attack was helplessly bisected.
Space itself was being severed by this strike’s power—what could Barkal’s breath possibly do?
There was nothing it could accomplish.
The slash continued forward, striking Barkal directly.
Barkal realized that if he were caught by a slash that severed space itself, even he would perish instantly.
Therefore, he did not remain idle.
Though the slash moved with speed as if the world had frozen.
Barkal too was a transcendent being who reigned supreme in this realm!
He could not simply endure this passively.
As the grey aura rushed toward him, he invoked the typhoon’s core once more.
This tempest now enveloping his body?
He could not rely on it.
He had to evade at all costs!
Thus, using the typhoon’s core, Barkal struck himself with tremendous force.
Crash-crash-crash-crash-crash-crash-crash-crash-crash!
A tremendous typhoon drove Barkal backward without mercy.
Barkal was pushed back rapidly.
But in that instant, a gray sword aura swept across the space where Barkal had been standing.
――――――――――――――!
“…!”
Even Barkal couldn’t utter a single word, his jaw hanging slack at the overwhelming power.
Did I evade it?
No—only half of it.
Barkal stared at his own severed tail.
It seemed roughly a third of my body had been sliced away.
Rage?
I felt none of that.
I’d sustained a grave wound from the typhoon’s core, but if I hadn’t dodged?
It wouldn’t have been my tail that was severed—it would have been my neck.
A chill ran through me.
The thought that I might have died if I’d taken the full brunt of it.
Taking heavy damage to push myself back had been a divine move.
But.
“That’s not the end, is it?”
Seeing Jin-woo suddenly appear with a sinister grin, Barkal tried to evade.
But my body wouldn’t move.
The effect of Heavenly Rend mixed into Jin-woo’s base attack.
Stun had activated.
If he’d only used Heavenly Rend, the stun would have been brief.
But not now.
He’d blended together tremendous skills to create an overwhelming technique.
And so Barkal couldn’t move for a considerable time.
And there Jin-woo stood before me.
A chill ran through me.
For the first time, Barkal felt fear.
Was this creature truly human?
The moment that thought crossed my mind.
“Six-Light Slash!”
Slash! Slash! Slash! Slash! Slash! Slash!
“Aaaaaaaaaahhhhh!”
An agonizing flurry of strikes descended upon me.
Followed by a cascade of Weapon Spear and countless other skills.
After such a devastating barrage, did he still have strength left in reserve?
Barkal trembled with fear.
As the stun effect began to wear off.
I called out once more.
“Heavenly Slash Technique.”
Crack!
I attacked the creature again and applied another stun.
Since the stun was already in effect, it landed far more easily.
I frowned inwardly as I assessed Barkal’s remaining health.
To be honest, it still wasn’t enough.
I should have finished it with the Fusion Technique just now.
My current MP reserves are critically low.
Just to be safe, I disabled Asir’s curse as well.
At this critical juncture where MP consumption is paramount, rapid MP recovery is what matters most.
Right now I was managing with Black Heart and Dragonic Heart alone.
But even those won’t last forever.
‘This is nerve-wracking.’
But isn’t that precisely what makes it thrilling?
I smiled at that very thought.
Behind me, Luna watched intently and cheered me on with all her might.
“Chirp! Chirp chirp! Chirp!”

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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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