The Regressor Plays the Game Too Well - Chapter 150

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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 150
150
“Ugh…”
I was exceptionally exhausted today.
After obtaining the Wrath of the Flooded Land, I met Count Zapin, cleared the Hidden Dungeon, and even had a conversation with him afterward.
The playtime had been long, and mentally, I was drained.
After all, I was the type who found listening to people talk the most tiring.
But it wasn’t as though I gained nothing.
Quite the opposite—I was overflowing with gains.
I even obtained a Mythic-grade skill.
On top of that, Luna also acquired a Pet Growth Elixir that could unseal her power.
Luna unlocked new strength and obtained a skill as well, but I haven’t confirmed it yet.
Since I’m too exhausted today, I can check it later.
Still, it’s a bit disappointing.
‘If only my stats would be released soon along with the skill.’
It’s a shameless thought, I’ll admit.
If that happened, I probably would have become so strong that there’d be no worthy opponent.
This ambition of mine truly knows no bounds.
I chuckled to myself while thinking that.
The most important thing was this.
None other than the Quest related to the Ancient Empire.
The Bark Empire, which had toppled the Old Empire.
And the sole bloodline of the Old Empire’s imperial family, who continued as nobility in the Bark Empire—that was none other than the Jafin Count’s Territory.
In the future before my regression, this had never been revealed.
Or perhaps, if I had progressed further, it might have been uncovered.
‘It was a period when many ancient artifacts were appearing.’
By the time I consumed the Unique item at the end, there were many hints about ancient artifacts.
Thinking about it, perhaps stories related to the Old Empire might have emerged.
Just not as a major event.
Besides, back then, my level wasn’t nearly as high as it is now.
The average level of rankers at that time was around the late 400s.
My current level was nowhere near that.
The reconstruction of the Old Empire takes that much time.
The problem is.
‘I have to help with it.’
A task that takes this long.
But curiosity filled me, so I deliberated.
Honestly, isn’t that what makes the game fun?
However, the deliberation was meaningless.
As the holder of the Old Empire’s Emperor’s Mark, I was bound to participate in this mandatory Quest.
I’d wanted to do it, but I never expected it would be like this.
Still, since I’m doing it anyway, isn’t it better to think positively about it?
Besides, there isn’t much else for me to do right now.
Spinning my thoughts toward the most positive angle, I let out a soft chuckle.
‘I’ll need to focus my activities in the Bark Empire from now on.’
Kaiser does irritate me a bit, though.
They said guild-related patches would be coming soon.
Kaiser will be busy with that for a while.
But.
‘Moving alone is rather inconvenient.’
Joining a guild or creating one wasn’t my preference.
Being a free mercenary was my style.
But even that had its limits.
Looking at myself alone, I’m rampaging with such overwhelming power that it seems boundless.
Yet in reality, there were far too many tasks that required manpower.
For instance, situations where I needed to obtain materials.
Of course, I could acquire them through the Han-sung Guild.
But that alone wasn’t enough.
‘I need to establish trade with other guilds.’
The most useful one I could think of was none other than Barmon’s Guild.
I’d heard that Barmon had recently established his guild as well.
It originally started as Barmon’s party.
In the future before the regression, it began the same way at first.
Though it does seem a bit accelerated, that’s probably due to my appearance.
I thought that way and decided to establish trade with Barmon as well.
But even that wasn’t quite enough.
Was there a better approach?
‘For now, let me just think this far.’
At least my activity restrictions in the Bark Empire had loosened considerably.
Thanks to Count Zapin.
Rather than focusing on guilds, should I travel through major nations like the Deron Kingdom and the Bark Empire, building connections with NPCs?
That might actually be better for me right now.
I could operate more effectively in the Deron Kingdom where Gruen and Wirun are.
Above all, hadn’t several nobles benefited from my help?
Countess Amelia benefited from me last time too.
‘There seem to be more useful people than I thought.’
As I was about to move on with that thought, something suddenly occurred to me.
I’d meant to rest, yet here I was thinking about work again.
I was a workaholic through and through.
Now I really needed to rest.
Haven’t I been pushing myself too hard lately?
I need to rest a bit.
Maybe I should skip logging in tomorrow and take it easy?
If I focus too much on the game, my condition will suffer.
Just as I closed my eyes with that thought, I received a message.
A message I hadn’t seen in a while.
From Yu Ji-a.
[Yu Ji-a: Oppa, are you sleeping?]
I hesitated whether to reply, but decided it was better than thinking about work, so I picked up my phone.
[Jin-woo: Nope. Still awake.]
I sent a simple reply.
Not long after sending it, the typing indicator disappeared and a message came through.
[Yu Ji-a: Oh! Thank goodness!]
[Yu Ji-a: Then, do you happen to be free tomorrow??]
At Yu Ji-a’s sudden question about whether I was free tomorrow, I paused to think.
I had been pushing hard lately.
I had been thinking about taking a break.
I had planned to rest well for at least a day tomorrow.
Besides, I had nothing else to do.
Normally, I would have gone to my parents’ house.
‘But it’s a weekday.’
I thought of my father and mother, who wouldn’t be home until evening.
What about my sister?
Why would that matter?
I chuckled and nodded to myself.
Yeah, hanging out with Yu Ji-a wouldn’t be so bad.
Just as I was about to reply, I saw another message from Yu Ji-a.
It seemed my response had taken too long.
[Yu Ji-a: It’s just that you helped me hatch my pet and I’m grateful for everything, so I wanted to repay you somehow!]
[Yu Ji-a: If it’s too much trouble, you can refuse!]
[Yu Ji-a: (laughing rabbit emoticon)]
I chuckled after reading that message.
Was she always this timid?
Well, it’s possible.
I replied to her message.
[Jin-woo: Sounds good. What time should we meet tomorrow?]
[Yu Ji-a: Oh! Then I’ll treat you from lunch until evening!]
[Jin-woo: Ah, okay. Got it. Where?]
[Yu Ji-a: Do you know New World Department Store?]
[Jin-woo: Yeah, I know it. Let’s meet at the big lobby on the first floor then.]
[Yu Ji-a: Yes!]
[Yu Ji-a: (emoticon expressing gratitude)]
Seeing that, Jin-woo simply closed his phone.
He let out a soft chuckle and closed his eyes.
Now it was truly time to rest—I was exhausted.
Since I was planning to go out tomorrow, sleeping now seemed like the right call.
Jin-woo lay down on his bed and drifted off to sleep.
He found himself wondering just how long it had been since he’d shared a meal alone with a woman, then shook his head.
I was just buying her dinner out of gratitude—I shouldn’t let my mind wander like this.
Jin-woo closed his eyes again and tried to sleep.
It seemed that if you didn’t date for a long time, your romantic instincts would wither away entirely.
* * *
The very next day.
Jin-woo had dressed reasonably well.
But perhaps because he was conscious of eating alone with a woman?
He had put in some effort with his appearance.
He’d even sprayed on some cologne for the first time in a while.
He wore casual but neat clothing.
Since fashion’s completion is the face, and Jin-woo’s face was quite handsome, he looked rather striking.
You could call it a refined boyfriend look.
Dressed that way, he headed to the Department Store where they’d agreed to meet.
Seeing that he’d arrived earlier than the appointed time, he let out a soft laugh.
‘I came out early without even realizing it.’
He always did arrive early like this, but coming an hour ahead was pushing it a bit.
Should I do some shopping while I’m here?
With that thought, Jin-woo looked around.
Seeing numerous luxury watch stores scattered about, he headed toward the most eye-catching one.
A brand with a crown emblem.
Rolex—supposedly difficult to obtain even if you have the money these days.
He remembered that when he’d visited last time, they’d said they had no stock at all.
Still, since I’m here, let me take a look.
It was quiet, being a weekday morning.
Still, because it was Rolex.
Seeing that there were a customer or two in the store, he thought to himself that this was indeed Rolex and was about to browse when—
A staff member approached Jin-woo.
“Is there a particular product you’re looking for?”
“If you have stock, I’d like to buy something. Do you happen to have anything?”
He’d asked without holding much hope.
After all, there was that saying that to buy Rolex, you needed to visit this place several times to build a relationship with the staff and put in the legwork.
But Jin-woo hadn’t even been here a few times.
Would he readily hand over merchandise?
Even if stock existed, it was commonplace in this industry to discreetly set aside popular items for regular customers.
But what was this?
The employee grinned and spoke to Jin-woo in a voice only he could hear, away from the other customers.
“We have some of the new Dayurst line products that came in this year still in stock. Would you be interested in seeing them?”
“Really? Are you serious?”
Jin-woo asked in surprise, his voice rising with disbelief.
Such cases were genuinely rare.
Rolex products were famous for selling out the moment they arrived, regardless of how popular the line was.
The fact that inventory remained was already shocking, but to offer it to him?
Honestly, such an opportunity had never presented itself before.
Rolex watches could fetch even higher prices if sold immediately after purchase.
At Jin-woo’s surprised question, the employee nodded and smiled.
And what he added was this:
“I remembered you visiting the store several times and asking about inventory. I thought I’d mention it just in case, and it worked out well.”
“Ah, yes. If it’s Dayurst, I’ll purchase it right away.”
“Ah, then please come this way.”
The employee smiled warmly and guided him at Jin-woo’s swift decision.
The price easily exceeded ten million won.
But it didn’t matter.
I wanted a Rolex more than any other watch.
I had frequented the store because I didn’t want to buy secondhand ones sold by resellers.
To think that effort would return to me as joy like this.
I purchased the watch with satisfaction.
To think I’d acquire it this way.
My luck seems unusually good these days.
‘I’m pleased with this.’
I stepped out of the store with a subtle smile.
Not much time had passed when I could see Yu Ji-a standing at the meeting spot.
‘She’s already here?’
Well, I had suggested meeting first, so arriving early was natural, wasn’t it?
Still, with over forty minutes remaining until the appointed time, her early arrival seemed a bit odd.
Though I had done the same.
Thinking nothing of it, I approached Yu Ji-a.
Seeing me arrive before the scheduled time, Yu Ji-a was startled and blinked her eyes in surprise.
Her expression was as if asking why I had come so early.
“Ha, I came out early to buy something, and it worked out well.”
“Ah! Yes, yes, I see! I’m glad I came out early too.”
Perhaps she was embarrassed at being caught arriving early.
I could see her face had flushed slightly red.
Her long, naturally flowing hair was meticulously maintained, cascading with a lustrous sheen.
Her complexion was a striking contrast—pale and luminous.
When I’d seen her before, she’d carried an impression of cool detachment.
Proud and sharp-edged.
But now, she was utterly relaxed.
Perhaps that was why.
‘She looks adorably cute.’
She was still young, after all.
Having just turned twenty, it was natural she could appear endearing.
Not that her inherent cuteness could be overlooked regardless.
A face that was beautiful yet charming at once.
It was rare, but Yu Ji-a possessed such an appearance.
Her beauty was exceptional, yet I paid it no mind.
Why?
‘What’s the point in judging appearances?’
I wasn’t the type to obsess over such things anyway, and more importantly, I wouldn’t base a relationship on them.
More precisely, a relationship wasn’t even something I could have.
‘Would I pursue romance just because I felt good about it?’
As I muttered such thoughts internally, Yu Ji-a spoke to me.
“Shall we go then, oppa?”
“Yeah, let’s go.”

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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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