The Regressor Plays the Game Too Well - Chapter 158

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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 158
158
In defense-type games, concentration is arguably the most crucial element.
And that’s surprisingly difficult to maintain.
Monsters keep pouring in relentlessly.
Truthfully, managing MP efficiently and dispatching these creatures properly matters, but…
Right now, it doesn’t.
They’re exploding left and right from basic attacks alone—what’s the problem?
Jin-woo watched the monsters charge forward, feeling increasingly bored.
Ancient Skyborn?
They’re just humanoid creatures with wings attached, really.
I thought they’d be decent fighters.
They’re nothing of the sort.
‘They just mindlessly rush in.’
All those preparations I made for ranged attacks feel foolish now.
I paused to consider something.
Did I kill them without even giving them time to prepare for something like that?
I waited a moment wondering if that was the case, but nothing remarkable happened.
Weak opponents are always the problem.
They can’t even take what you give them.
With that thought, I swung Mjolnir with fierce intensity.
More Ancient Skyborn burst apart.
I shook my head watching them.
After obliterating the last ones, a message appeared.
Stage 2 was complete.
“Hmm.”
I glanced toward Gia just in case.
She didn’t seem exhausted yet.
Her MP reserves appeared quite substantial too.
Normally, Stage 2 should be somewhat tight.
But seeing her still intact suggests she’s quite capable.
‘Then I shouldn’t help just yet.’
After all, I can handle all these Skyborn alone.
My plan was to push her to her absolute limit, then assist when she reached it.
That way I could rest a bit.
But what’s this?
[You have cleared Stage 2.]
[Quest completion is now possible from this point.]
[However, if you continue, rewards will increase.]
[Even if you attempt further stages and fail, the Quest completes at Stage 2.]
Upon reading the message, it felt strange not to attempt it.
No risk, but an opportunity to challenge myself—what more could I ask for?
Wouldn’t anyone take that chance?
Of course, death was still possible.
But if only the Celestial Statue shattered, it counted as a failure.
If things got too difficult, I could simply destroy it myself and avoid death.
But Jin-woo would never do something like that.
Gia seemed to share the same thought.
“It’s only natural to do as much as we can, right?”
“That’s right.”
“Then I’ll go!”
After checking with Jin-woo and receiving his approval, we proceeded.
I nodded and began again.
A message like this was certainly justified.
Since the rewards were enhanced, the defensive structure had changed slightly as well.
The passages that originally opened to the four cardinal directions now had one additional opening each.
In other words, twice as many enemies were pouring in as before.
For others, this might have been a critical juncture, but for us?
It made no difference whatsoever.
Even Gia was swinging her sword with vigor, slaughtering them left and right.
Of course, their numbers weren’t the only thing that increased.
Something white and gleaming appeared in the distance, flying rapidly toward us.
Whoosh!
Swish!
I evaded the arrow streaking through the air and smirked as I gazed into the distance.
There stood one Skyborn—tall but gaunt.
Judging by its height, which exceeded even the other Skyborn, it appeared to be the boss.
So from the third stage onward, there’s a boss present.
Thinking it might be more interesting, I checked other directions and confirmed that everyone had already noticed the boss’s presence.
Yellow Dragon and Luna didn’t even need to be mentioned, and Gia had also blocked the sudden volley of arrows skillfully.
Everyone seemed to be handling themselves fine.
Then why not enjoy this a bit?
‘Let’s see if you can block this too.’
With that thought, I unleashed Mjolnir’s wide-area normal attack.
Boom-boom-boom-boom-boom-boom-boom-boom!
A tremendous thunderclap echoed as if lightning were descending from the heavens.
The thunder wave swept through the entire legion and continued forward until it reached the creature wielding the massive bow at the rear.
The creature was startled by the sudden onslaught of thunder.
It tried to retreat and dodge, but the thunder wave relentlessly pursued it.
Had it realized it couldn’t escape at its current speed?
Confirming that the Thunder Wave was right before me, I quickly drew my bowstring and released an arrow.
The arrow, infused with dark energy, momentarily halted the Thunder Wave’s advance, and in that instant, it rapidly escaped toward the ceiling.
Crash-crash-crash-crash-crash!
The Thunder Wave belatedly engulfed the spot where it had been standing.
It let out a cackling laugh as it watched, then shouted.
-Even your desperate strike has come to an end! Now it’s my turn!
Jin-woo watched it evade and thought, oh, quite useful after all.
But then, hearing its words, I clicked my tongue and shook my head.
I gripped Mjolnir lightly and thrust it forward as if throwing a punch.
Not throwing Mjolnir, but activating a skill.
The moment I extended Mjolnir, a white aura enveloped it.
A white spear-like energy burst forth at tremendous speed.
It was so fast.
Incomparable to something like the Thunder Wave.
The white energy reached right before its face in an instant.
Realizing it couldn’t evade, it quickly crossed both arms to block.
But then?
Could it block?
A Weapon Sphere that ignores all defense?
Crack!
Watching its upper body vanish along with the blocked arms, I let out a quiet chuckle.
Seeing the boss fall so pathetically, I shook my head, but thought that was possible since it was still stage three.
Well, honestly, it’s still possible at this point.
For now, anyway.
Once the stages increase, won’t they provide anticipation rather than disappointment?
I waited with that thought in mind.
Wondering what kind of creatures would appear next.
Meanwhile, Gia was grinding her teeth at stage three, which proved more difficult than expected.
Her MP management was going well.
Or rather, it was precisely the MP management that made things difficult.
‘The enemies themselves are manageable, but that archer shooting from behind is so annoying.’
The Yellow Dragon was busy as well, so this was a trial she had to endure alone.
Gia naturally didn’t wait for Jin-woo to arrive.
This was something she had to do.
Besides, he had helped me get this far.
Should I ask for more help here?
That wasn’t possible.
With that thought, Gia used some of her MP and reinforced her body.
Being a Paladin with exceptionally strong physical prowess.
Body reinforcement was far more effective.
After that, Gia saw the arrows flying toward her and instead discarded her shield.
‘The shield is just getting in the way.’
If Gia had been a tank when there were many enemies, she would have held onto the shield until the end.
But that wasn’t the case.
In a situation where Gia had to deal damage as well, the shield was merely a cumbersome burden.
As she removed the shield, she felt considerably lighter and could swing her sword more rapidly.
Since the very range of motion for wielding the sword had changed.
She could perform far more varied actions,
and her processing of these creatures accelerated.
Simultaneously, Gia used an aggro skill on herself, drawing the creatures’ attention away from the Celestial Statue and toward her instead.
But then.
Whoosh!
A black-aura-laden arrow flying from a distance.
The impact was considerable, suggesting the arrow carried formidable power.
But seeing it, Gia’s eyes gleamed and her feet moved swiftly.
It would be different if she were holding a shield, but there was no reason to take such a hit now.
Though fast, it wasn’t beyond her perception.
Thunk!
As Gia moved quickly, the arrow embedded itself limply where she had been standing.
Gia recognized this as her opportunity and advanced forward, swiftly cutting down the other Skyborn.
Roughly thirty seconds until the creature could fire another arrow.
Since it had fired a faster and more powerful arrow than usual, the cooldown might be longer.
But without counting on that, she ran swiftly through the countless Skyborn, cutting them down.
Severing their necks as she went.
As she continued forward, slashing necks, the creature in the rear who had been firing arrows suddenly panicked and rapidly retreated.
Gia’s eyes gleamed at the sight.
‘Now!’
She said she would manage her MP, not that she wouldn’t use it.
Gia immediately spent her MP and activated her charge skill.
A skill boasting tremendous charging force that propelled her forward in an instant.
The Holy Path skill.
As she charged forward, every Skyborn blocking her path crumbled to dust.
Gia reached the creature in mere moments.
The creature nocked an arrow on its bowstring, but Gia was faster.
Slice!
-Gaaaahhhhh!
A long bloody line appeared across the creature’s chest.
Gia didn’t retreat and swung her sword again.
She had used a skill to charge in, but now that she was close, there was no need for one.
Once more!
Scrape!
-Grraaah! I’ll kill you!
I swear I’ll slaughter you.
The creature shouted while nocking an arrow in one fluid motion.
Some say bows are formidable even at close range.
Is that so?
In terms of raw power, arrows can certainly exceed most melee attacks.
But when a bowman and a swordsman clash in close combat?
Would the archer truly have the advantage?
Is the arrow faster?
Hardly.
Rather, the very motion of nocking and drawing the bowstring is far too expansive—it leaves them exposed.
And if the swordsman has already anticipated this?
The archer stands no chance of victory.
Scrape! Scrape!
-Ugh!
As the attack landed again, the creature fumbled and dropped the arrow.
Gia clung to it like a leech, refusing to let distance form between them.
The Ancient Skyborn roared in fury, commanding his subordinates.
-Stop her! I said stop her!
But they could not contend with Gia’s blinding speed.
Scrape! Scrape!
Before the others could swarm back, I landed two more strikes, then dispatched the other Ancient Skyborn rushing toward me.
The creature seized that brief opening to flee.
Gia smiled at the fleeing figure.
Then she opened her mouth quietly.
“Burst Rupture.”
-W-what?
At her incantation, the wounds on the creature suddenly blazed with light.
A violent explosion erupted.
-Kugh… hacking…
The creature’s posture crumbled with the sound of labored coughing.
With no Ancient Skyborn left to shield it, Gia rushed forward and severed its neck.
Scrape!
The creature’s head fell uselessly.
She had faced the boss alone.
But there were still Ancient Skyborn remaining.
Gia grinned wickedly at them, and in that instant, they forgot their objective was the Celestial Statue entirely—they trembled before her.
Naturally, she seized the opportunity and swiftly eliminated them all.
With not a single one left standing, Gia chuckled softly to herself.
‘This is proving more helpful in combat than I expected.’
Through actual combat, I discovered shortcomings I hadn’t noticed while hunting, and I was able to address them immediately.
With monsters swarming like this, my limitations became starkly apparent.
I’ve managed to correct some issues just now.
But there may be problems I can’t fix on my own.
Still, I wasn’t worried.
The Yellow Dragon had already cleared his section faster and could help me afterward.
And…
“Oh, finished? Looks like you’ve corrected some bad habits too?”
“Yes!”
“Keep working hard. I’ll help if you need it.”
“I’ll do my best on my own.”
“That’s the right attitude.”
After all, Jin-woo was here too.
Gia resolved to work even harder without shame, thinking this to herself.
It was good that she’d defeated the boss quickly earlier, but she could have accidentally destroyed the Celestial Statue.
So she decided to be more careful.
She had used an aggro skill and charged recklessly just to be safe.
But who knows what might happen?
‘I need to be more careful.’
And so Gia continued to grow steadily.

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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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