The Regressor Plays the Game Too Well - Chapter 192

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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 192
192
The Death of Marquis Kawen.
Upon witnessing his corpse transformed into a demon, the already tilted scales of victory became even more firmly fixed.
With the revelation that Marquis Kawen, the pillar of the Empire’s forces, had made a pact with demons, the Empire lost not only its soldiers but its very justification.
Yet Count Zapin’s faction refrained from slaughtering the Empire’s soldiers, instead capturing them alive, and the war drew to its conclusion with minimal casualties.
After achieving a decisive victory on the Plains, we entered the Imperial Palace.
Even amid a war that determined the very fate of the Empire, the Emperor indulged in debauchery without restraint.
Drowning in wine, women, and pleasure—having lost even reason itself—the Emperor presented a sight that none of Count Zapin’s faction could regard with anything but contempt.
The entire Baroque Empire had been impoverished by nothing more than this puppet.
It was truly lamentable.
Count Zapin severed the Baroque Emperor’s neck in a single stroke, and raising the severed head aloft, declared himself the new Emperor.
Thus the Baroque Empire crumbled, and the Zafin Empire was rebuilt as the ancient empire reborn.
As the new empire was established, neighboring nations showed more resistance than anticipated.
Yet only the Deron Kingdom openly supported the newly risen Zafin Empire, and other nations, watching the powerful Deron Kingdom’s stance, had no choice but to acquiesce.
The players who had supported the Empire’s side naturally suffered greatly, with many unable to lift their heads in defeat.
Raigan and Valen were hit especially hard.
They had desperately sought victory and the restoration of Kaiser’s Guild.
But it all came to naught.
Those who had chosen Count Zapin’s faction could obtain useful items and buffs from the Merit Store according to their contributions.
Naturally, the greatest beneficiaries of this affair were Barmon’s Barmon Guild and Yuna’s Han-sung Guild.
The Han-sung Guild also shifted its primary allegiance from the Deron Kingdom to the Zafin Empire.
And what of Jin-woo?
Jin-woo was being revered by Count Zapin—now Emperor Drayven—as a founding hero of the empire.
Due to various imperial matters, the commendation ceremony had not yet been held.
But it was declared by imperial decree that he would be featured prominently at the grand festival to come.
Naturally, it became a massive sensation, with his name constantly on everyone’s lips.
Meanwhile, what was Jin-woo himself doing?
Sprawled across the sofa scratching his belly, he was simply watching television.
“Yaaawn.”
Jin-woo yawned contentedly while munching on snacks—the very picture of a lazy dog with nothing to do.
Well, the house was of the highest quality and absurdly spacious.
Could one call him a wealthy unemployed dog?
The dream of the masses—a wealthy idler.
An enviable position, yet Jin-woo felt nothing but boredom.
The Pantheon’s popularity soared with each passing day.
Jin-woo merely shrugged.
“There’s really nothing left to do now.”
The reconstruction of the Empire—what could be called the final content.
Having accomplished even that, there was truly nothing left to achieve.
At least for now.
I needed to level up obsessively, but even that felt tedious.
There were similar players, and competition made things fun, but not for me.
Against my overwhelming strength, nothing could excite me.
The top rankers were only in their 60s and 70s now.
My level had already surpassed 150.
So how could anything be entertaining?
Before, at least I needed to earn money.
Now there was no need for that anymore.
PanTube earnings were astronomical, and my bank account was overflowing.
There was no reason to work.
‘I’m bored.’
So here I was, lying in front of the TV munching on snacks.
Well, I didn’t know when I’d be able to log in again after attending today’s Merit Ceremony.
‘Still, it’s fortunate that I have something to look forward to.’
What remained?
Just one thing.
‘Gia’s growth has been faster than expected, which is fortunate.’
Her level was already in the 90s, wasn’t it?
She was leveling up quickly with the Yellow Dragon leading the way.
There was something fun about exploring new regions while funneling experience to Gia.
It was essentially dating within the Pantheon.
How could it not be fun?
Adventures across various lands while dating.
That’s quite romantic, isn’t it?
I was only looking forward to that now.
Gia’s level would reach 100 soon, they said.
I was just waiting for when we’d move to the next region together.
As I was idly watching TV, my phone alarm rang.
Has it already gotten this late?
I chuckled softly at that thought and sat up.
Now it was time for the Merit Ceremony to begin.
Should I log in then?
* * *
The Imperial Capital, where the Merit Ceremony was to be held, was flooded with countless people.
NPCs and players alike—an enormous crowd had gathered.
This Merit Ceremony had been changed to allow all players to participate regardless of nation or region.
So even more people had gathered.
Of course, those who couldn’t attend participated through live broadcasts of the ceremony.
-Wow, I can’t believe that Hwanggyeongmajeol is the founding hero of the Zapin Empire.
-Lmao, a mere player became a founding hero of the world’s empire.
It’s really Hwang Kyung-ma-jeol lol lol lol The Emperor is shocked and the Demon Realm is in despair!
-Why isn’t the Demon Realm content coming up? Can’t we go back to the Demon Realm?
-That’s true, but now that the empire has been founded, I can’t even imagine what kind of content will come out.
lol
-What rewards do you think he’ll get?
-Whatever it is, it’s gotta be insane
-Hahaha, that’s what I’m saying.
Most of the chat was about Jin-woo.
Naturally, it was.
In truth, without Jin-woo, victory might have been impossible.
Marquis Kawen possessed power of that magnitude.
Though Jin-woo had defeated him almost effortlessly, he was a formidable opponent nonetheless.
Thus, at this commendation ceremony, he was the one drawing the most attention.
And such reactions were not limited to the viewers watching the broadcast.
“I hear this Jin-woo fellow defeated Marquis Kawen?”
“Does that mean he surpassed the Sword Master?”
“We should consider him even stronger than that.”
“He contracted with the Demon Realm and became a demon, did he not?”
“Marquis Kawen was already known to have surpassed the Sword Master before that, but if he became a demon afterward, he would have been even stronger than before….”
“Truly worthy of being called a hero.”
“Indeed, quite so.”
Even the haughty nobles could not help but acknowledge it.
As Jin-woo’s renown soared ever higher.
All those who would participate in the commendation ceremony, save Jin-woo himself, gathered together.
Ren and Kan, Barmon and Yuna, and Lin as well.
All those who had achieved great deeds assembled.
And when Jin-woo ascended the platform among them.
Several could not help but marvel.
“My! I thought the rumors were exaggerated. Yet he exceeds them.”
“Truly extraordinary.”
“Even calling him a hero seems insufficient.”
“Heh, Count Zapin—no, Emperor Drayven’s trust in him now makes perfect sense.”
“I had merely thought him a traveler.”
“My. Truly extraordinary.”
“With him present, one can rest assured.”
“A precious talent has emerged in the Empire, indeed.”
It was not only the NPCs.
What kind of dignity is overflowing from him lol
-The dignity aside, how high-grade are those items for them to shine so brilliantly?
-I’ve gone mad, I’ve truly gone mad. Ah, I’m so envious.
-I thought I’d be satisfied just having Kaiser dealt with, but to obliterate this rotting Empire as well? He’s nothing short of radiant. Pure radiance!
-Jin-woo! He’s a god! Jin-woo is a god! Jin-woo is a god!
-Jin the Divine! Jin the Divine! Jin the Divine! Jin the Divine!
The users were in absolute pandemonium.
Of course, those present at the scene were no different.
“What kind of oppressive aura is that… it’s insane.”
“What was Kaiser thinking, charging at someone like that?”
“When I heard the Mountain Guild got crushed first and backed down, I thought they were cowards, but… that wasn’t it at all.”
“There’s barely any visible effect, yet it feels like the very air around him is being crushed.”
Everyone spoke in turn, marveling at Jin-woo’s display.
Regardless of what they said.
Jin-woo climbed onto the platform with an impassive expression.
Upon seeing Lin, his expression softened slightly.
“Brother, you’re late from watching the broadcast, aren’t you?”
“Ah, you caught me.”
“Hehe, but since you arrived late, I can see the atmosphere has come alive, so it worked out well.”
“Is that so? I was late, so I came as quickly as I could.”
I had stiffened my expression due to being late and rushed here as fast as possible.
Yet those around me were attributing all manner of reasons to praise me.
It seemed that one’s position truly changed how others perceived you.
Hearing the exchange between Lin and me, Barmon and Yuna smiled knowingly.
“The protagonist always makes a late entrance, after all.”
“Since it’s you, Jin-woo, it’s only natural you’d be worthy of it.”
“W-well, that’s true.”
“Of course, of course.”
As Yuna and Barmon, Ren and Kan all spoke thus.
A somewhat embarrassed Jin-woo scratched the back of his head, and then another leading figure ascended the platform.
Emperor Drayven of the Zafin Empire.
With his appearance, every user and NPC fell silent.
The noisy hall instantly became hushed at the new Emperor’s entrance, and gazing upon this silence, Emperor Drayven opened his mouth.
“I express my gratitude to all of you for gathering here. Today, we have assembled to honor the accomplishments of those who made it possible to establish our Zafin Empire.”
An air of nobility and solemnity that could not be felt from the previous Emperor emanated from him, and all present bowed their heads.
Every noble, NPC, and user alike lowered their gaze.
Those of us on the platform were no exception.
The NPCs bowed out of reverence.
The users did so due to system-imposed compulsion.
Those on the platform, rather than being forced, had taken their bow upon seeing the message.
Emperor Drayven gazed upon them with warm eyes.
How could he not find them endearing?
Had those gathered here been absent, we would have faced considerable setbacks.
Especially Jin-woo.
‘Without Jin-woo, I would never have understood my own destiny.’
Without him, I would never have learned that I carried the bloodline of an ancient imperial family descended from the Emperor himself.
Yet because he awakened me to this truth, I could achieve this vindication.
This is why I have held this commendation ceremony.
The others had indeed accomplished great deeds, but compared to Jin-woo, their contributions were merely drops in the ocean.
Therefore, I honored their merits first.
All received Epic-grade items and Epic-grade random skill books as rewards.
The reaction from other users was explosive.
And rightfully so.
This was the first time Epic-grade items had been officially released.
Until now, everything had come through Jin-woo alone.
This was the first official appearance of Epic-grade equipment.
Then what awaited Jin-woo—Legendary grade?
As everyone waited with bated breath in anticipation,
Emperor Drayven spoke words that caught everyone off guard.
“No amount of praise for Jin-woo could ever be sufficient.”
“You honor me too greatly, Your Majesty.”
“I have deliberated long on how to reward such merit. Yet I have now reached my decision.”
The Emperor continued.
“I shall bestow upon Jin-woo the title of Duke, granting him the right to govern new territories while proclaiming him an eternal ally of the Zafin Empire! Furthermore, I present to him Legendary-grade items and skill books!”
Thus Jin-woo became a Duke of the Empire.

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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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