The Regressor Plays the Game Too Well - Chapter 39
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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 39
Episode 39
After logging into the Pantheon, I headed straight for the Hunting Grounds.
But something felt off about the location.
Shouldn’t I be heading to the Felsia Common Cemetery to clear the Hidden Nobility Quest?
That wasn’t wrong.
Unless you’re missing what truly matters.
‘Right now, the Nobility Quest isn’t the priority.’
Marquis Jihokin’s Quest?
Of course it’s important.
But everything has its order of priority, doesn’t it?
I’m no exception!
Clear the Hidden Nobility Quest right now?
That’s too good.
Isn’t that the Quest to obtain a Demonic Sword?
Yeah, a Demonic Sword is nice.
But I need to be able to use it first.
‘Right now, I should focus on the job class that can wield a Demonic Sword, not the sword itself.’
According to my original plan, the job I was supposed to obtain was Sword Master.
But the Quest I’ve obtained now isn’t Sword Master.
It’s God Warrior, which I suspect is the superior job class.
Some might say it doesn’t matter since it’s better, but that’s foolish thinking.
Isn’t it better because it’s a God-series class?
That’s true.
I think God Warrior is better than Sword Master too.
No matter what, it’s a God-series class after all.
But there’s one problem.
‘The issue is that I don’t know God Warrior’s abilities yet.’
It could have been a fortunate dilemma.
There was only one reason I wanted to obtain Sword Master.
Because it was a job class that could use all swords.
Looking at just this, one might say it’s rather mediocre.
But as I’ve mentioned before, there are weapons that only certain special job classes can use.
The Demonic Sword is one such weapon.
And in my mind, there’s also a route to obtain a Holy Sword, not just a Demonic Sword.
Holy Sword and Demonic Sword.
If I combine the power of both, Sword Master becomes the only Hidden Class job that can rival the God-series classes.
That’s why I was going to choose it.
But then.
‘What if God Warrior is a direct upgrade of Sword Master and retains the effect of being able to use all swords?’
It becomes significantly better.
I needed to confirm that first.
If that wasn’t the case, I’d have to adjust my plans in a different direction.
And postpone obtaining the Demon Sword for now.
Fortunately, the Hidden Nobility Quest had no time limit.
‘I’ll obtain the Divine Vessel first!’
Besides, I’d made considerable progress on the Hidden Nobility Quest.
As a result, I’d deviated quite significantly from the original route.
Compared to the Parson situation, it would be far more streamlined than the original Quest route.
‘The original route was about gathering information, but I’ve already collected most of it.’
So I was trying to obtain the Divine Vessel before it got any later.
If I delayed further and my actual plan went seriously awry, that would be problematic.
Nothing frustrated me more than a carefully laid plan falling apart.
In any case, I arrived at a different Hunting Grounds.
Now was the time to hunt higher-level monsters.
And an easy-to-catch mob?
There happened to be a suitable one nearby.
“Gwaaaaagh!”
The creature shambled about, lurching clumsily through the area.
None other than a zombie.
Its movements were sluggish, and its reactions were slow.
It was one of those monsters people avoided simply because it had high HP and a repulsive appearance.
But would I actually care about such things?
If anything, being slow meant I could defeat it even faster!
Plus, since it was an unpopular mob, it gave more experience points—that’s the real deal!
To skip out on such a goldmine of a monster?
That would be a waste, pure waste!
‘Time to hunt.’
That single zombie visible in the distance.
I charged straight at it.
And I activated Charge.
Whoosh! Crack!
The zombie struck by my charging assault was driven backward and fell into a stunned state.
Ten bullets descending upon it while it was stunned.
Pap-pap-pap-pap-boom!
An explosion erupted, and the zombie burst apart violently.
But I hadn’t completely killed it yet.
The damage seemed to fall a bit short.
Once you reached the level-50 range, this was how it went.
The HP became so high that hunting became far from easy.
There’s a level difference involved, sure.
But the truth is, they get stronger from this point on.
“Gwoooaaarrrghhh!”
A zombie lurches forward, flailing wildly at Jin-woo.
However, its movements are sluggish as it stumbles about.
Normally, such movements would be threatening.
But for Jin-woo?
I sidestep lightly and evade, then swing my axe in one fluid motion.
With the cooldown refreshed, I channel a powerful strike into the axe—straight for its skull!
Splurch! Sssssss.
If I keep this pace up.
I’ll fill the gauge in no time.
‘Should I pick up the speed a bit?’
* * *
Lee Yeon arrived at work early that morning and stared at the screen with a faint smile playing across her lips.
On the display was footage of Jin-woo.
More precisely, she was watching the video of him defeating Skull Golem Arur.
Since he was a key user.
All his past recordings were already being archived.
I’m glad I set that up in advance!
Or would it be better not to watch at all?
“What—how did he even manage to defeat that!?”
Well, it’s possible.
When a user is strong and skilled, these things happen.
Even supposedly impossible boss monsters get defeated.
It’s happened since the old days.
That’s right.
But what about this?
The rewards Ether gave him.
Each one was incomprehensible as a reward.
“Ugh.”
Looking at Ether’s comment.
It wasn’t wrong, technically.
She said she gave rewards befitting an impossible Achievement.
Sigh.
Yeah, that’s right. It makes sense.
There’s nothing wrong with that logic.
But the problem was that it had to be Jin-woo of all people.
“Haaaaah.”
While everyone congratulated the Pantheon on increased revenue and record-breaking global popularity.
Why did my sighs keep multiplying?
At this rate, I wouldn’t even die a natural death.
Seriously.
What came after was painfully predictable.
Looking at the abbreviated summary.
It was absurd.
‘Marquis Jihokin, and what? This is literally the next Quest—the one about finding the Demon Sword?’
I had anticipated it.
But this fast?
Compared to the original route, it was far too accelerated.
Well, it couldn’t be helped.
I had provided so much information.
It was only natural that the process would be shortened.
Jin-woo’s prediction hit the mark precisely.
“Sigh.”
“If things continue like this, you’ll obtain the Divine Vessel and even acquire the Demon Sword.”
“….”
Lee Yeon shot a sharp glare at the Secretary, who was subtly making her comment from beside her.
Who was she mocking?
But her serious expression didn’t quite match that impression.
Ugh.
That user had already slipped from my grasp.
Let’s just leave it as is.
Fine, go ahead and obtain both the Divine Vessel and the Demon Sword.
Wait?
It felt like I was forgetting something.
Something very important?
“By the way, Developer.”
“Hmm?”
“What was the Quest after the Divine Vessel? If things continue like this, even the next Quest won’t be much of a challenge.”
“Oh! Ah!”
It came back to me!
The important thing!
Upon remembering what had slipped her mind, she began laughing like a madwoman.
“Kehehehehe!”
“W-Why are you suddenly like this?”
The Secretary was startled, watching Lee Yeon laugh so wildly.
Lee Yeon shook her head at the Secretary and clicked her tongue.
As if to say that this time, absolutely nothing would go that smoothly.
What on earth could it be?
You’re so confident about this?
Just as the Secretary’s curiosity reached its peak.
Lee Yeon called out to Ether.
“Ether!”
[Yes, what is it?]
“How many stages does the God of War Quest have?”
[The Path to the God of War consists of a total of 3 stages.]
Wait?
Then this really is dangerous.
Jin-woo just needs to clear the next Quest and it’s over.
The Secretary’s expression grew anxious.
Lee Yeon let out a bright laugh.
That laugh wasn’t one of resignation.
It was pure joy—genuine delight!
“Ether? What’s the final objective of the God of War Quest?”
[Upon accepting the Quest, you will be transported to the Colosseum, where victory is the objective.]
Suddenly the Colosseum?
Isn’t that completely out of nowhere?
But then again, it’s the God of War.
Well, it does fit.
Though it’s quite different from the previous Quests.
But once you hear the details, things change.
[You must defeat 10 bosses consecutively in the Colosseum without any recovery, achieving victory.]
Wow, that’s an impressively brutal difficulty level.
As the Secretary looked at Lee Yeon with exhaustion, she smiled and said.
“It’s even harder than the other god series Quests!”
Well, that’s because the God of War is worth it.
High risk, high reward.
That’s my favorite saying.
Which means the God of War has absurdly broken traits.
But what good does that do!
“I can’t clear it!”
I’d given up, thinking Jin-woo would handle it just fine like he always does.
But now that I think about it—it’s the God of War!
This time is different!
What? Jin-woo defeated Skull Golem Arur, didn’t he?
No, I’m telling you the scope is completely different!
Then how different exactly?
I need to know the specifics.
“Ether, what’s the overall probability of clearing the God of War Quest in terms of statistics?”
[Measuring…]
[Overall probability is 0.00007% or less.]
“Then, what’s the clearance probability for the user Jin-woo?”
[Measuring…]
[The clearance probability for Irregular Jin-woo is measured at a maximum of 1.57%.]
Higher than the overall probability, but ultimately, it’s still just 1%.
A one-in-a-hundred chance at best!
It’s genuinely that difficult.
“Ehehehe, see? Absolutely impossible to clear!”
“What kind of boss design did you create to make such bold claims?”
Lee Yeon laughed contentedly, as if she’d just remembered something she’d forgotten until now.
She spoke with confidence.
“Weakened versions of raid bosses from level 50 and beyond!”
“In, insane.”
Raid bosses from level 50 and beyond?
This was essentially telling me not to clear it.
She’d prepared raid bosses designed to kill you if you didn’t know their patterns?
Cruel doesn’t even begin to describe it.
Then again, that’s proof of how good the Divine Swordsman class is.
No matter how weakened they are, all raid bosses have at least one instant-kill mechanic.
Without knowing the pattern, you simply die.
Raid groups exist for a reason.
“Unless you know all the patterns! To break through ten completely new patterns in just one or two attempts? That’s absolutely impossible!”
Lee Yeon certainly had her reasons for being so confident.
It was unfortunate.
The Secretary had been secretly rooting for Jin-woo.
This time seemed like it would be difficult.
“Well, even if the Divine Swordsman Quest fails, I can still obtain the Sword Master class.”
“Even in failure, it’s a Hidden Class.”
“Yeah, that’s true. Still, getting something other than Divine Swordsman is something. The Sword Master with a magic sword is quite good too, but it’s not quite on the level of Divine Swordsman.”
“Still, I’m curious how far he’ll get. Among the ten raid bosses.”
“I’m curious about that too.”
Where exactly would the currently strongest Jin-woo face defeat?
Lee Yeon and the Secretary stared at the screen, consumed by that single thought.
And then.
“Oh! It’s starting soon!”
Jin-woo’s Quest, which would satisfy their curiosity.
Was about to begin.
* * *
To begin with, the number of remaining monsters was twenty-four.
If I were to ask Jin-woo to hunt down twenty-four monsters stronger than himself?
This is easier than a post-meal stroll.
It didn’t even take a full thirty minutes.
If anything, traveling to the Hunting Grounds consumed more time than the actual hunt.
Child’s play.
Now then, all that’s left is to crush the skull of this zombie I’m currently fighting, and I’m done. Done!
“Grraaaagh!”
The creature thrashed about, attempting to counterattack.
How futile.
I handled the zombie with such effortless grace.
In fact, I was composed enough to entertain other thoughts while doing so.
‘Since the last Quest involved one hundred monsters of even higher level.’
The next Quest will probably be ten bosses, won’t it?
That’s too predictable—maybe it’ll be something different?
No, that still seems like the most logical progression.
After ten bosses, I’m predicting a single Raid Boss.
Conveniently, I already know of one I could hunt right now.
The problem is where to find ten bosses.
Well, I’ll figure it out as I go.
As I cleaved the skull of the final zombie in two.
Crack! Fssssssss!
Watching the zombie crumble to ash, I awaited the message.
Right on cue, the notification appeared!
Excellent! Bring on the next Quest!
[You have gained experience.]
[You have cleared the Class Change Quest (Hidden): ‘The Path to the God of Combat (2)’.]
[Rewards have been granted.]
[You have obtained the Class Change Quest (Hidden): ‘The Path to the God of Combat (3)’.]
[You are being transported to the Colosseum to progress through the Class Change Quest (Hidden): ‘The Path to the God of Combat (3)’.]
[This is a forced event.]
[You cannot refuse.]
What is this?
The moment I read the message, I was transported.
The place resembled a grand colosseum.
Wait, I’m being moved like this without warning?
Not hunting ten bosses?
“Huh.”
Caught off guard, I glanced around cautiously, my nerves on edge.
This is rather unsettling.
I have no idea what might emerge now.
I’m nervous.
What will actually come out?
While Jin-woo was tensing up.
A message appeared.
[Path to the God of Combat (3)]
*Class Change Quest (Hidden)
*Description: A Combat God who excels at fighting and battle more than any other deity.
The path leading to that Combat God is far more treacherous and difficult than any other path.
*Objective: Achieve victory against 10 weakened Raid Bosses of level 50 and above in the Colosseum.
*Restriction: Recovery items cannot be used
*Reward: Obtain Hidden Class Combat God
*Failure: Obtain Hidden Class Sword Master
“Ah!”
I let out an exclamation without thinking.
Ten Raid Bosses of level 50 and above?
“Ugh.”
I have no confidence.
No confidence in losing.
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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
—————