The Regressor Plays the Game Too Well - Chapter 17

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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 17
Episode 17
A monster capable of driving back Orc Karan.
At the very least, a boss monster on par with Orc Karan.
Before my regression, I’d never even heard of such a thing.
Where would you find a player venturing deep into the forest on the very first day?
Other villages might be different, but Nen Village certainly didn’t have any.
The most developed were the Mountain Guild and the Teleportation Mage Waygen.
Naturally, it was the Mountain Guild that claimed the first kill on Orc Karan.
I was genuinely envious.
They snowballed with the Cobolt set and ended up securing the first kill on Orc Karan.
The Hidden Piece that only appeared then still glimmers in my memory.
And now it’s right within reach!?
This is incredible.
‘Of course, I have to defeat that creature to obtain it.’
Challenge it immediately after acquiring a good skill?
Only fools do that.
I absolutely cannot proceed without a plan.
What? Why am I going then?
Obviously. My experience is on a different level!
Sure, it’s a monster I’m seeing for the first time, so I won’t know its patterns.
But even if it’s a Hidden boss, a boss is still a boss.
It wouldn’t have been created if it couldn’t be defeated.
Above all else.
‘If I don’t go now, I won’t get another chance like this.’
My instincts spoke to me.
I absolutely cannot miss this opportunity.
To be completely honest, I’d say the odds are fifty-fifty.
Including my regression.
Even knowing all the patterns, I could still lose.
Relying on instinct and charging in recklessly?
That’s not entirely wrong.
But I can deduce something crucial from this.
It’s far more than mere instinct.
‘First and foremost, Guardian is stronger than Orc Karan.’
This premise is the most absolute clue.
Why?
As I explained before, Orc Karan requires massive caloric intake.
That’s how its regeneration works.
And the Plains have nothing to eat.
Even in the future, Orc Karan frequented the forest so often that he depended on it for sustenance.
But looking around in all directions, do I see any corpses of deer or other monsters?
Corpses consumed by a Boss Monster always leave traces behind.
That’s how the system works because of the Quest.
In any case, there’s a clue here.
Orc Karan is weaker than Guardian, yet the future Orc Karan traverses the forest?
Interesting, isn’t it?
‘Orc Karan is weak now, but eventually he kills Guardian.’
This conclusion is established by information from the future.
Then my uneasy feeling becomes reality.
Orc Karan kills Guardian and absorbs the Hidden Piece that Guardian possesses!
That’s my conclusion!
Jin-woo reached that conclusion.
Quite a remarkable deduction.
But it doesn’t end here.
To capture that Guardian bastard, it won’t be just that simple.
So what else could there be?
‘If the future Orc Karan who obtained the Hidden Piece is stronger than Guardian?’
This part is a bit ambiguous.
Orc Karan won, so obviously Orc Karan is stronger, right?
Am I an idiot?
Don’t I know what matchups are?
That Orc Karan loses now but wins later means Orc Karan lost now, but there’s a reason he’ll win later.
And Jin-woo already knew the answer.
‘The answer lies within the problem itself!’
The Hidden Piece that Orc Karan drops.
It was clearly a Hidden Piece entirely different from the troll’s regenerative trait and the orc’s combat characteristics.
This is precisely why Jin-woo realized the Hidden Piece came from Guardian.
What he drops is none other than a ring.
A Unique-grade ring, no less!
Kuh!
Why am I so pleased?
Of course.
‘In Pantheon, rings are quite an attractive element.’
Among equipment items, they’re probably what people desire most?
Why?
Because you could equip up to ten of them.
If it were just this alone, it might be manageable, but add one more condition here and it becomes broken.
What is that?
Simple.
Rings boast the most respectable and diverse options.
They can have skills attached, and various effects can be applied as well.
Among all items, rings showcase the most varied options.
That means depending on how I equip ten rings, my playstyle will vary dramatically.
‘And the ring that Orc Karan drops is called the Ring of Indestructibility.’
In other words, a ring that grants invincibility for a certain duration.
With options like this, it deserves to be called a hidden piece.
Which means?
Guardian possesses an invincibility pattern.
At first glance, it seems like the strongest pattern, but it comes with equally significant drawbacks—that’s what I’m saying.
If you understand this much, you should realize it now.
That I’m not going in recklessly.
And finally, I made my last preparation.
“Status window.”
[Jin-woo]
*Level: 15
*Title: 『First Epic』 and 23 others
*Strength—42 (30+12)
*Stamina—42 (30+12)
*Agility—42 (30+12)
*Mana—42 (30+12)
*Additional Points—34
It’s time to allocate all my stat points.
Most importantly.
“I’ll distribute them evenly across the board.”
The absurd stats that resulted from that decision.
[Jin-woo]
*Level: 15
*Title: 『First Epic』 and 23 others
*Strength—53.2 (38+15.2)
*Stamina—53.2 (38+15.2)
*Agility—53.2 (38+15.2)
*Mana—53.2 (38+15.2)
*Additional Points—2
Are these even human stats?
Every stat increased by 11.2.
I spent 32 points and gained 44.8 in total.
The efficiency is insane.
Since it’s percentage-based efficiency, it only gets better as I progress.
But what Jin-woo was aiming for wasn’t stat enhancement.
Raising this won’t grant an overwhelming stat boost.
[You have unified all stats above 50 for the first time.]
[You have acquired the First Title ‘All-Rounder’.]
[You have acquired a First Title.]
[Through the Title Hunter effect, you gain an additional stat point.]
Yes!
This is it!
This!
I always thought I’d get it eventually, but to obtain it on the first day—
It’s absolutely incredible.
『All-Rounder』
→First Title
→A title granted to the first user to unify all stats above 50
→You can use a stat buff once per hour.
→Strength: All attack power increases by 200% for 10 minutes when used.
→Agility: All speed increases by 300% for 5 minutes when used.
→Vitality: Restores all health when used.
→Mana: Cancels up to 3 magic skills that touch your body when used.
*The mana buff cooldown only applies after all 3 charges are exhausted.
A skill-type title, no less.
Heh!
Isn’t it beautiful just to look at?
In other words, I’ve gained four skills.
And every single one of them is powerful.
The only shame is that they can’t be stacked and used simultaneously.
Even if my conscience were completely shattered, I wouldn’t go that far.
Tsk, what a waste.
‘Phew.’
I took a shallow breath and rose from my seat.
All preparations are complete.
It couldn’t be more perfect than this.
I’ve prepared with relentless thoroughness.
If I lose here?
It would be a considerable loss.
Not only access restrictions, but I could lose experience and items as well.
But I won’t give up because of that.
Whenever there’s risk, there’s always a return to be had.
With that quiet resolve, I gazed toward one edge of the forest.
‘I always wondered why there was a ruin in the forest of Nen Village, but now I understand.’
Before regression, I had discovered one of the mysteries surrounding Nen Village.
I’ve already figured out where that creature is.
Now it’s time to capture it.
Let’s go!
Time to get the Hidden Piece!
* * *
Invincibility patterns.
At first glance, they seem incredibly broken.
Well, that’s not wrong.
Invincibility means you take no damage.
How is that not broken?
But just as life has its ups and downs, there must be downsides to the good things, right?
This invincibility pattern was no exception.
Naturally, every invincibility pattern has a weakness that must exist.
Otherwise, why would it be designed to be broken?
But in the Pantheon, no such thing exists.
You couldn’t defeat the boss? You can’t see the gimmick to break it?
I can say with certainty:
That’s on you.
Or you were simply too weak.
Guardian would be no different.
That’s what Jin-woo believed with absolute conviction.
But standing before the Altar deep within the Forest,
I came to a realization.
‘I could actually die here.’
I was still weak.
The Altar gleamed with teal light.
Before it stood a four-legged creature radiating that same teal brilliance, adorned with mystical fur and magnificent horns that shimmered with subtle gold—standing with noble, dignified grace.
A being of boundless nobility and pride.
In this place, such a creature is called:
A Spirit Beast.
It towered over me from a height exceeding six meters.
Like a divine messenger.
Or perhaps, the Forest’s own emissary.
Faced with such an overwhelming presence, I thought:
Does the Hidden Piece drop with a grade upgrade?
*Gulp.*
It was a thought ill-suited to the moment.
But at least my fighting spirit blazed on.
[Warning! Warning!]
[Hidden Boss Argon of Verdant Green has set its sights upon you.]
[If you display hostile behavior, I will recognize you as an enemy.]
At least it’s fortunate that it’s a non-aggressive monster?
Truly befitting a spirit beast.
How remarkably kind.
To let me strike first before we begin.
Then I shouldn’t be polite about it—let’s start.
Jin-woo thought this while twisting his mouth into a grin.
With a smile plastered across his face, he immediately kicked off the ground.
‘It hasn’t moved yet.’
It seems merely charging forward isn’t judged as hostile behavior.
To be allowed the first strike.
This is a precious opportunity.
Then I won’t hold back!
‘All-Rounder—Agility.’
[For the next 5 minutes, all speed increases by 300%.]
[All-Rounder’s cooldown is now active.]
[You can use it again after 60 minutes.]
Whoosh!
Faster than ever before!
Yet Argon of Verdant Green still stands proudly on four legs, looking down at Jin-woo charging forward.
A mere beast daring to look down upon a human.
It was deeply infuriating.
Then I’ll make it kneel immediately!
Whoosh! Slash!
By the time I moved swiftly and reached the creature’s front legs.
I swung my sword.
I cleanly severed the creature’s front knee.
Clang!
But a sound that shouldn’t have rung out echoed through the air.
A sound impossible to believe came from a living creature’s hide meeting a blade.
Yet Jin-woo laughed, as if he had already anticipated this.
I knew these weren’t simply kind creatures.
An invincibility pattern from the start?
[You have taken hostile action.]
[Argon of Verdant Green becomes hostile toward you.]
[Verdant Invulnerability envelops Argon.]
With the message, a massive verdant aura descended from the sky, enveloping Argon’s body.
The verdant light swirling around its surroundings befitted the name Argon of Verdant Green.
As the verdant light wrapped around it, the complete darkness seemed to vanish.
Argon had become a body filled entirely with verdant radiance.
To glimpse such radiance in a forest like this—I never imagined it possible.
But the message that followed was far from radiant.
It was horrifying, actually.
[Caution. Unless something extraordinary occurs, Argon of Verdant Green will enter an invulnerable state for the next 5 minutes.]
Five minutes?
That’s incredibly tight.
Orc Karan’s pattern only lasted 3 minutes.
The ring’s effect was also 3 minutes.
Which means—
If I defeat him now, the ring’s effect will last 5 minutes too!
But by then, the All-Rounder Agility buff will have already worn off.
A rather troublesome situation.
Yet I couldn’t help but smirk and call out quietly.
“Hey, if you’ve got a pattern, why not use it a little more subtly?”
This is ridiculous.
It’s far too obvious.
Even if I wanted to ignore the weakness, I can’t.
I said this while smirking.
And I pointed out one crucial thing.
“Where’s your shadow gone?”
As I spoke, the moment the verdant light fell from the sky, the darkness that vanished—his shadow—had shifted to a hidden tree.
I drove my blade straight through that tree with full force.
Squelch!
Shhhhh.
As the tree was pierced, black liquid began flowing out as if it were bleeding.
Then.
Boom!
Kuuung!
Boom! Boom!
Argon of Verdant Green, who had been standing with noble composure before the Altar, dropped to his knees on the ground.
And a message appeared.
[You destroy Argon of Verdant Green’s shadow!]
[Argon of Verdant Green’s Invulnerability shatters!]
[Argon of Verdant Green enters a groggy state for 30 seconds.]
[While in a groggy state, all damage dealt is doubled.]
Thirty seconds of being groggy?
If I can’t finish this, I’m an idiot.
For the record, I’m not an idiot.
I said this while smirking.
This is a feast. A real feast.
I’ll eat it raw.
Then I’ll dig in.
I teleported continuously while shouting my ultimate combo.
“Machine Gun Strike, Power Blow.”
In an instant, the effect of consecutive strikes stacked to 10 layers.
On top of that, ‘All-Rounder – Agility’ was also active.
My speed increased even further.
With the Charge effect from my equipment, I swung my blade as fast as possible.
In moments, the stacks reached 30, and unable to withstand any more, I continued slashing into a realm where I couldn’t even track how many layers were accumulating.
How many times did I swing?
At exactly the 87th stack, a message appeared.
Fortunately, it wasn’t a message about reaching the stack limit.
Then what message was it?
Obvious.
[You have defeated the Hidden Boss Argon of Verdant Green!]
[You have acquired vast experience points.]
[Level Up!]
[You have acquired additional stat points.] ×3
[Hidden Piece! You have acquired the Unique+ grade ring ‘Verdant Unbreakable’.]
[You have acquired a Unique grade item for the first time.]
[You have acquired the First Title ‘The Sole Existence’.]
[You have defeated a boss for the first time.]
[You have acquired the First Title ‘Boss Killer’.]
[You have defeated a Hidden Boss for the first time.]
[You have acquired the First Title ‘Hidden Boss Killer’.]
[You have defeated a boss in a groggy state for the first time.]
[You have acquired the First Title ‘Tyrant’.]
[You have experienced a Hidden Item, Hidden Dungeon, and Hidden Boss for the first time.]
[You have acquired the First Title ‘Hidden Collector’.]
[You have acquired a First Title.]
[Through the Title Hunter effect, you have acquired 5 additional stat points.]
Phew.

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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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