The Regressor Plays the Game Too Well - Chapter 152
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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 152
Chapter 152
Young-jin and Hye-jung.
I heard they started dating after the class reunion.
I never expected to run into them like this.
For reasons I couldn’t quite explain, I barely suppressed the nausea rising in my throat, raised my hand with an awkward smile as I looked at the two of them.
And Yu Ji-a wore an equally awkward smile.
Young-jin and Hye-jung seemed somewhat flustered at first, then smiled knowingly as they took in the situation.
Look at that, look at that.
They seem to be under quite the misunderstanding, don’t they?
I should step in quickly and say something…
As Jin-woo was thinking this.
Young-jin spoke to Jin-woo.
“You haven’t sent game footage in ages, but you have time for a date?”
“Oh my, it’s been so long since I’ve seen you, and you’ve gotten quite smooth, haven’t you~”
They say couples start to resemble each other.
Hye-jung teased along with Young-jin.
Jin-woo let out a short sigh and shook his head.
I knew this would happen.
Well, it wasn’t so bad being mistaken for dating a woman.
It didn’t feel entirely unpleasant.
But what I felt didn’t really matter here.
This situation could be uncomfortable for Yu Ji-a.
Young-jin and Hye-jung understood that, so they stopped there.
But Yu Ji-a’s reaction was unusual.
“A, a, a date?”
Her voice trembled severely as her body quivered.
Young-jin and Hye-jung looked at her with expressions of curiosity, while Jin-woo glared at them both with annoyance.
She must have been quite flustered.
It was certainly bewildering to be called it a date when it wasn’t one at all.
Jin-woo tried to calm the situation.
But Young-jin had a peculiar smile on his face as he watched.
“Huh?”
“Ah. It’s nothing. Anyway, that was Yu Ji-a, right? A second-year?”
“Ah, yes, she’s my senior.”
“Ah, I wasn’t sure since it’s been so long, but it really is her.”
“Do you know her?”
At Young-jin’s words, Hye-jung asked as if wondering what was going on.
Whether the two of them knew each other.
To Hye-jung’s question, Young-jin smiled knowingly and answered.
“Oh right, I mentioned it before, didn’t I? That blind date I went on ages ago—Jin-woo went in my place. Yu Ji-a here is our junior from school. She was the one on that blind date with Jin-woo.”
“Oh! It’s nice to meet you.”
“Ah, yes, yes.”
Yu Ji-a answered awkwardly to Hye-jung and Young-jin’s words.
Jin-woo simply observed the exchange.
It wasn’t an inaccurate explanation, and the strange atmosphere from before had dissipated somewhat.
Young-jin’s social skills really did come in handy at times like this.
We almost ended up watching the movie in awkward silence.
“So how did you two end up together…?”
Young-jin asked again, deliberately avoiding the word “date.”
At Young-jin’s question, I finally let out a small laugh and answered.
“Ji-a said she wanted to treat me to a meal as thanks for helping her with something. So we’re grabbing food and now heading to catch a movie.”
At my words, both Young-jin and Hye-jung suddenly stared at me with dumbfounded expressions.
Not understanding what the problem was, I looked at them questioningly.
Well, anyway.
I deliberately ignored it.
Meanwhile, Yu Ji-a seemed somewhat deflated upon hearing my explanation.
But since those two were just teasing.
Thinking it was understandable, I looked at Ji-a and spoke.
“Young-jin you already know, and this is Hye-jung—she’s Young-jin’s girlfriend and my high school classmate.”
“Oh! Hello! So you’re the senior’s girlfriend.”
“Ah, yes. It’s nice to meet you like this.”
After answering, Hye-jung continued with a subtle smile.
“Well then, we have somewhere to be, so we’ll be heading out.”
The way she smiled was unmistakably teasing.
Young-jin was also grinning mysteriously as he prepared to leave.
Not that I could stop them anyway.
Hmm?
Wait a minute.
There’s always a way, isn’t there?
I smiled as the idea came to me.
And as I watched the two of them try to leave, I asked.
“Were you two planning to catch a movie too?”
“Huh? Yeah, that’s right?”
“Then why don’t we book the same showing and watch together? Since we’re already hanging out, it’d be fun.”
At my words, Young-jin’s expression darkened.
Was this guy really this oblivious?
His expression suggested doubt, but reading the look in my eyes, he could be certain.
He really was.
How could someone be this dense?
While Young-jin was lost in such thoughts.
Jin-woo narrowed his eyes and glared at Young-jin, asking a question.
“Why are you cursing under your breath?”
“Your perception is absolutely infuriating.”
“What?”
“Never mind. And you’re interrupting our date? Not that it matters to us, but…”
It felt as though he’d left the unspoken question hanging in the air.
As if asking, “Are you really going to keep this up?”
At Young-jin’s words, Hye-jung chimed in agreement, linking her arm through his as she gazed at Jin-woo.
Her expression seemed to ask, “Will you really stand your ground?”
“Ugh, let’s go! Come on, Ji-a. Let’s go.”
“Ah! Yes! I’ll see you both next time.”
At Jin-woo’s words, Ji-a bowed respectfully to Young-jin and Hye-jung before following Jin-woo toward the ticket counter to purchase advance reservations.
Watching the two of them disappear into the distance, both Young-jin and Hye-jung shook their heads.
“Sigh, he’s my friend, but really…”
“I know, right?”
“What can you do about a perpetually single guy? We just have to leave him be. The only option is to wait for his junior to confess first out of frustration.”
“Jin-woo’s always been like that.”
“Yeah, that’s true.”
Come to think of it, Jin-woo had always been incredibly popular since his school days.
He just never noticed it himself.
Looking at Ji-a’s reaction now, well…
Wasn’t it obvious?
“How can he not notice when she reacts like that just hearing the word ‘date’?”
“Let’s just leave him alone. He’ll figure it out on his own.”
Hye-jung and Young-jin said this, let out a quiet laugh, and left the area.
There was no point in saying more—it would only tire them out.
Jin-woo would deny it outright even if they told him plainly.
* * *
Uncomfortable with the awkward atmosphere, Jin-woo and Ji-a went to a Cafe instead of the movie theater, had a casual conversation, and parted ways.
On the way back home.
Ji-a kept replaying the earlier situation in her mind.
The moment when she’d met Jin-woo’s classmates—a couple.
How unusually flustered she’d become when they suddenly asked if it was a date.
“Sigh…”
Why had she reacted that way?
Ji-a shook her head with a self-deprecating thought.
She should have acted more naturally.
More than anything, because she’d become self-conscious afterward, they’d gone to a Cafe instead of the movie.
How self-conscious must Jin-woo have been as well?
I hadn’t brought it up at the cafe, but should I apologize now?
Yu Ji-a entertained such thoughts before shaking her head.
‘…No.’
Apologizing now would only make things more awkward.
Hadn’t we managed to refresh the atmosphere at the cafe by discussing the game?
There was no need to create another strange mood.
Besides, Jin-woo might not even care.
But why did it feel this way?
If Jin-woo truly didn’t mind, that should be a relief.
Yet this vague sense of displeasure lingered.
“…I shouldn’t worry about it.”
We’d agreed to meet again in the game next time.
If I made the atmosphere awkward over something like this, it would be my fault.
This was a golden opportunity for us to hunt together.
Above all else.
‘I can be helpful to Jin-woo too.’
Once I advance to the God of War class, it will be even more so.
I hadn’t thought the gap had truly narrowed yet.
Still, I was far ahead of other users.
Wouldn’t the day come when I could be of use?
Yu Ji-a held firm to this belief.
She resolved to work as hard as possible until that day arrived, then hurried back home.
We’d decided to hunt together soon.
So until then, I needed to level up as much as possible.
* * *
Shortly after the small commotion.
Lee Yeon let out a soft sigh as she observed Yu Ji-a—or rather, Lin—the newly born protagonist of the God Series.
“Sigh.”
The God Series classes.
Most of the highest-tier hidden classes were obtained by users through their own efforts.
Lin was no exception.
The Sword God she’d obtained initially.
This was one of the God Series designed to create conditions where the user who handled swords best—excluding other God Series members—could naturally acquire it.
The condition was to defeat a considerable number of monsters in the City using only a sword.
Lin was able to meet that condition quickly.
She didn’t need to use other skills because she had the Legendary-grade divine beast, Yellow Dragon.
A sword alone was more than sufficient.
Thanks to this, she quickly obtained a Quest to advance to the Sword God class.
The problem arose here.
The problem occurs here.
Lin, who was obtaining the Yellow Dragon’s master, acquired the Quest of the Celestial God, one of the highest-tier God Series, under the condition of obtaining a God Series Quest.
In other words.
“If this weren’t for Jin-woo the player, there’s no way Lin the player would have obtained it.”
What kind of impact was already being exerted on the game?
I truly had nothing to say.
The highest-tier God Series hidden class.
The God of War and the Celestial God.
There is one more besides those.
But not even a sign of it has appeared yet.
Let’s move past it.
So then, can Lin clear the Quest?
The answer here is simple.
The Celestial God’s condition is a Quest that can be obtained with just an Epic-grade divine beast.
But the grade of the divine beast Lin possesses is Legendary.
In other words?
‘Without question. Sigh.’
The only thing I could call fortunate was that Lin the player wasn’t a troublemaker?
I should be satisfied with this.
I need to properly manage Jin-woo the player.
‘The construction of the Ancient Empire isn’t something to be taken lightly.’
For now, Count Zapin was told to act autonomously until he formulated his plans.
He shouldn’t cause any incidents in the meantime.
That’s what Lee Yeon thought.
Tomorrow the Guild patch will begin soon.
I should focus on that.
No one will cause trouble for now.
Lee Yeon, harboring such naive thoughts, had no idea.
What would happen due to the Guild patch that would occur tomorrow.
And she had no idea that Jin-woo and Lin would meet soon.
* * *
Jin-woo, who had gone out yesterday after a long time to keep a promise and returned, rose from his seat with eyes brighter than usual.
Was it because the stress had been relieved?
I was able to sleep much better than usual.
“Phew, that was fun.”
I was fortunate enough to purchase Rolex and had quite an enjoyable time playing.
Though I did make an unexpected promise in the game.
Since there was nothing to do for a while, I made the promise right away.
I was about to log in right away today, but I shook my head.
I decided to take it easy for a bit.
Entering the capsule right after waking up seemed too much like an addict.
I checked if there were any messages, just in case.
Sure enough, there was a message from Young-jin.
“This guy’s no gentleman either.”
We met yesterday and now he’s reaching out like this.
Is he trying to mess with me again?
Looks like I need to throw my weight around a bit.
Time to remind him who the boss is!
With that thought, I tapped on the missed call from Young-jin.
The call connected right away.
Young-jin picked up almost immediately.
-Hey! Did you check it?
“Geez, you scared me! What are you talking about?”
He’s asking if I checked something out of nowhere.
What kind of nonsense is this?
I responded blankly.
Young-jin spoke with obvious frustration.
-You gaming addict, you still haven’t seen it?
“Seen what, exactly?”
-The Guild patch update that just dropped.
“Oh, the Guild patch? That was today?”
-Yeah! It started early yesterday morning and they’re still running it.
Hearing that, I glanced at my watch without thinking.
It was still only 9 AM.
So the patch was taking quite a while.
Suddenly, irritation flared up inside me.
Wait—Young-jin knows the patch started at dawn and is still going? Doesn’t that make him a gaming addict too?
I had that thought, but I didn’t bother arguing.
After all, I was an addict myself.
“Ahem. Anyway, what’s the point?”
-One of the patch notes mentions a large-scale Guild War.
“Huh?”
Was that already being patched in?
I found myself unconsciously licking my lips.
A large-scale Guild War.
After that patch went live, Guilds had indeed been constantly opening Guild Wars to determine their rankings against each other.
Now they could hold Guild Wars even across different cities.
Many praised it as an excellent patch, but there was considerable opposition as well.
Of course, it did clarify the Guild hierarchy and gave viewers plenty of entertainment.
But that’s not what matters right now.
-After that update dropped, Kaiser officially declared hostility toward several Guilds.
“Already?”
At a point when the patch hadn’t even finished?
I thought it was reckless of Kaiser, but.
When I considered that it was possible.
I could hear a story I’d anticipated.
-The Han-sung Guild was included among them.
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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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