The Regressor Plays the Game Too Well - Chapter 196

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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 196
196
As Jin-woo’s life grew increasingly blissful.
There was another who savored an equally joyful existence.
That person was none other than Lee Yeon.
The Secretary stared at Lee Yeon with such a dumbfounded expression.
She wore an unpleasant smile while humming a cheerful tune.
It was enough to make one’s skin crawl.
The Secretary didn’t want to ask.
But.
“Hm-hm~ hm-lul-la~ hm-hm-hm-hm!”
She desperately wanted that grating humming to stop.
She already knew the reason, which made it all the more unbearable to hear.
Still, it would be better than enduring that infuriating sound.
“You seem to be in quite a good mood, ma’am?”
“Hm-hm~ Huh? Well, of course I am! It’s been over a month since Jin-woo’s user logged in!”
“Ah, I see.”
“Sure, Lin’s user has been climbing at an incredible pace, but compared to Jin-woo’s user, it’s nothing but child’s play. At least there are no world-altering Quests happening, right?”
The Secretary nodded at Lee Yeon’s beaming smile.
Her own workload had decreased, so she was in good spirits too.
In fact, that was genuinely true.
Originally, if Jin-woo hadn’t regressed, things would have stabilized further and required minimal intervention.
But these past few months had been hellish because of Jin-woo.
Well, that wasn’t the case anymore.
Jin-woo’s user simply wasn’t logging in now.
“Just to be safe, I’ve set up an alarm—like a siren—to go off the moment Jin-woo’s user logs back in!”
“Isn’t that… a bit excessive?”
The Secretary wondered if this was overkill.
But Lee Yeon shook her head dismissively, wagging her index finger as if the Secretary were foolish.
“Tsk tsk, how naive.”
“….”
“After a whole month without logging in, what do you think Jin-woo will do when he returns?”
“Um… play like a madman, I suppose?”
“Exactly! Then we’ll have no idea what chaos will unfold, and we’ll be anxious all over again. And now he has summons, the Abyss Knight too! It’s going to be absolutely insane!”
“Hmm, I suppose you have a point.”
Considering what Jin-woo had done before.
A siren going off was entirely reasonable.
The Secretary had to concede.
Lee Yeon hummed contentedly and turned her attention back to the monitor.
Jin-woo still hadn’t logged in.
Even if all the other rankers stirred up trouble simultaneously, they couldn’t match the chaos Jin-woo alone could create.
That said, it wasn’t as though everything ran perfectly smoothly.
But they were just minor issues.
Before Jin-woo’s regression, each one would have been quite a significant incident.
Lee Yeon’s mindset had transformed completely since Jin-woo’s arrival.
She’d grown adept at handling things with a casual “this much is manageable” attitude.
She didn’t simply ignore problems—rather, her work efficiency had accelerated far beyond what it used to be.
The Secretary observed this and reflected.
She felt she owed Jin-woo considerable gratitude.
‘The Chairman has certainly changed a lot thanks to Jin-woo’s account.’
Lee Yeon had always been mentally fragile and lazy.
She’d created artificial intelligence in the first place to share her workload, hadn’t she?
Yet now, laziness was nearly impossible to find in her.
She’d developed the habit of handling tasks ahead of time rather than postponing them.
Why?
Because if she procrastinated, Jin-woo would inevitably cause some incident later, making her even busier.
She’d formed the habit of completing existing work before Jin-woo could cause trouble.
The Secretary had inadvertently become grateful to Jin-woo.
It was at that moment.
Weeeeeeeeeng!
“Oh! Could it be?”
Lee Yeon stared urgently at the screen, and sure enough, Jin-woo had logged in.
Unable to let her guard down, Lee Yeon fixed her gaze on Jin-woo’s screen.
And she witnessed something unexpected.
“Huh?”
“Mm?”
“Why, why is he doing that?”
“I, I’m not sure either?”
“L-let’s just wait and see for now.”
At Lee Yeon’s response, the Secretary nodded and smiled slightly.
He truly was unpredictable.
The downside was that there was never a moment to rest because of it.
* * *
Young-jin was leisurely resting for the first time in a while, having no work.
There had been no work yesterday or today.
That’s why he’d had drinks with Jin-woo yesterday.
“Hehehehe, that bastard Jin-woo owes me gratitude for life.”
Recalling yesterday’s events, Young-jin chuckled to himself and muttered, then smirked before deciding against calling Jin-woo.
He’d said he fell asleep after talking late into the night.
He might still be sleeping.
Anyway.
Young-jin was one of those who benefited most from my generosity.
If it weren’t for me, who would have recognized Young-jin’s worth?
No one would have known.
Above all, I was grateful for placing him as an editor at the Han-sung Guild and Barmon Guild afterward.
I should suggest we do a double date sometime.
‘He’s truly an amazing guy.’
Grateful and amazing.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say my life changed because of him.
I had no intention of forgetting this debt of gratitude.
Even my relationship with Hye-jung was, in a way, thanks to him.
‘I’m bored not working. I should study more.’
Just then.
A message came through for Young-jin.
A message that had arrived before Young-jin went to sleep.
Looking at it now.
[Jin-woo: Got editing work. I’ll send you the video next time.]
He chuckled at the message and muttered.
“Of course he would.”
Right after starting to date Gia, he’s already sending new videos.
Still predictable as ever.
* * *
“Yaaaaaawn.”
Though the sun was high in the sky.
Only now did I stretch and rise from bed with a languid yawn.
The silver lining was that I didn’t immediately lie back down and fall asleep again.
For someone waking up in the afternoon, that was something.
Yet even this behavior seemed dignified when done in a luxury apartment worth 30 billion won.
That was Jin-woo.
Waking up in the afternoon, yet somehow appearing distinguished.
He exuded the aura of a conglomerate heir or successful entrepreneur taking a day’s rest.
The reality was simply that I was unemployed.
Jin-woo gazed around my bedroom anew.
Nothing different from usual.
But I hadn’t always been like this from the beginning, had I?
This happened in just a few months.
Since the regression.
‘Did I really succeed?’
Thinking about it again, I had.
Originally, I would have lived in that one-room apartment for ten years after first waking up.
I had essentially become independent and never lived anywhere else.
Who could have predicted I’d end up in a luxury apartment like this?
The time elapsed hasn’t been that long, really.
It’s only been a few months since I regressed.
Yet so much has changed and transformed.
‘I’ve discovered my own talents too.’
My gaming talent, which I’d never properly understood before.
In my previous life, I would have simply thought of myself as a reasonably successful gaming streamer.
Never dreaming I possessed such exceptional control.
At first, I’d started with nothing but a vague determination to reach rank one.
I never imagined I’d become this strong.
‘So many things have happened, one way or another.’
Though it doesn’t feel like much time has passed.
The aftereffects of my car accident have vanished, and my body feels lighter.
Regression really is wonderful.
I found my talent, achieved success, and finally—romance.
Thinking about yesterday, I couldn’t help but smile again.
I’d woken up late because I’d fallen asleep talking with Gia until late last night.
Everyone thinks regression will change their life, but I felt it viscerally.
Finding my talent through gaming and achieving success—I’d thought it would happen somehow.
Still, I wasn’t without talent, and I possessed considerable knowledge about Pantheon.
While I regretted not understanding stocks and other financial elements, wasn’t I more knowledgeable about Pantheon than anyone?
So those two paths held no worries for me.
Or rather, I simply assumed success was inevitable.
With talent and future knowledge both in my favor.
It would be strange to think I couldn’t succeed.
But romance was different.
To be honest.
‘I thought I couldn’t do it.’
I genuinely thought I couldn’t.
I’d only harbored a vague desire for romance without making any real effort.
Before regression, I’d tried blind dates, but I’d turned them down, saying the timing wasn’t right.
I suppose you could say I wasn’t desperate enough?
But meeting Yu Ji-a changed things somewhat.
A group outing I’d joined without much thought, at Young-jin’s request.
Gia, whom I saw there.
When I first saw her, I thought she was pretty, but it wasn’t a big deal.
My feelings shifted when we played a fighting game together.
‘She looked so good then.’
I smiled softly to myself even as I sipped my water, lost in the memory.
Was it a competitive spirit, you might say?
I was initially puzzled by Gia’s fierce desire to win.
There were certainly many women who enjoyed games, so that wasn’t particularly unusual.
But few displayed such competitive drive in gaming itself.
Above all, there was a kind of pride in it, I suppose.
I found it endearing how she took pride in being good at games.
Perhaps I fell for her because of that.
Playing games together, helping her along the way.
My feelings began to take root.
Of course, I didn’t understand it back then.
I was just helping out a younger acquaintance.
Because she was a good person.
That’s why I started helping her.
I never expected we’d meet privately and go on dates.
Above all, Gia had to be beautiful.
How many men would think they’d ever date a woman like Gia?
I was no exception.
Besides, she seemed to come from quite a wealthy family.
Rather than feeling intimidated, I simply lacked the natural confidence to pursue a relationship.
‘That’s why I couldn’t confess and ended up looking pathetic.’
Jin-woo chuckled softly and shook his head.
I should have been the one to take courage first.
Well, at least we chatted late into the night yesterday and got to know each other better.
And we’ve already planned our next date.
The exact date hasn’t been set yet, but we’ve definitely decided on the location.
It wasn’t some ordinary date like couples do at an amusement park or such places.
Rather, it was a date to go on an adventure in the Pantheon.
That appealed to me perfectly.
However.
‘If we both use our main characters, it won’t be as fun.’
So we decided to create separate alt characters instead.
Lin had already transcended the ranking competition by a vast margin anyway.
Rather than exploring new areas, I wanted to experience the game together with others for once.
I’d monopolized many things, and so had Gia.
This idea came from wanting to enjoy the game itself purely.
Gia wanted to catch up to me, but it was practically impossible.
I also wanted to play games with Gia, but I was too strong.
So the suggestion came up—why not create new characters instead?
She said it sounded fun and wanted to start right away.
But she said she’d contact me once she’d leveled Gia up a bit more.
Even if I said it wouldn’t take long, it really wouldn’t.
Gia seemed eager to join me soon anyway.
At the latest, this week?
‘This should be fun.’
I’d achieved financial freedom, and I’d transcended the rankings entirely.
Creating a new account and enjoying the game alongside others—
Maybe that’s the real reason to play games?
Wasn’t there something a famous gamer once said?
That there are people inside the game.
It’s mostly used as a joke or witticism, of course.
But I took it seriously.
After all, it was Pantheon that brought Gia and me together.
I was genuinely grateful to Pantheon.
It changed my life and even gave me love.
I didn’t know the face of Pantheon’s Developer.
But I expressed my gratitude anyway.
That I’d succeeded thanks to them.
It wasn’t a new thought, really.
After I got up and sent replies to all of Gia’s messages,
I texted her that I was heading out to exercise.
Even if I was still unemployed, I needed to take care of my health.
Before regression, the aftereffects of a traffic accident had prevented me from exercising much.
Now I had to at least maintain my health.
The improving physique was just a bonus.
‘I can’t wait to play with Gia.’
It was remarkable how quickly someone became diligent once they fell in love.

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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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