The Regressor Plays the Game Too Well - Chapter 43

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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 43
Episode 43
To anyone’s eyes, Jin-woo looked like a mere fool.
Based on his visible level being lower than hers, she had dismissed him as a novice.
But Jutie quickly sensed something was amiss.
‘How did he even get here?’
Jin-woo had arrived with memories from before his regression.
But there was no way Jutie could know that.
‘There’s no way he should be able to reach this area.’
Doubt flickered through her mind.
This entire vicinity was concealed by illusions.
A remote space that couldn’t be discovered unless one knew exactly where to look.
Yet he had made it here.
That could only mean he knew something.
Would someone who knew something truly be weak just because his level was low?
Impossible.
Whether he was suppressing his power or not, he wouldn’t be weak.
Moreover.
‘He arrived here without a single scratch.’
Hadn’t she and her allies lined the surroundings with undead while cloaking the area in illusions?
Yet he had broken through all of it and appeared completely unharmed.
Jutie could now be certain.
That man was strong.
But even so, he wouldn’t be a match for her.
‘The fact that I, Jutie, have contracted with an intermediate demon.’
An intermediate demon, no less.
No matter how skilled he was relative to his level.
He couldn’t compare to her.
Though borrowing such power didn’t sit well with her.
There was no choice.
To face Jin-woo, half-measures wouldn’t suffice.
The moment Jutie made her resolve.
She unleashed her power.
“Kyahahaha! I don’t know how you got here, but I’ll make you regret it!”
Along with her maniacal laughter.
Jutie’s body began to transform.
Crack, crack, snap.
The sound of bones and muscles tearing and reforming.
Demonification—a forbidden magic granted only to dark mages who have contracted with entities from the Demon Realm!
The transformation into a demon itself!
Among users, she was commonly known as a dark mage of the type called a Demon Sorcerer.
And Jutie was an entity who had contracted with an intermediate-tier demon.
The power of demonification was divided according to the grade of the contracted demon.
Look at her now.
Jutie, who was barely 160 centimeters tall, had transformed into a monster standing 2 meters high.
“Kyahahaha!”
Intoxicated by the power, Jutie’s mind was half gone.
No matter how charitably one described her appearance, it was no longer human.
Her lower body resembled that of a goat, while her upper body appeared feline in nature.
Her face alone retained its original human appearance, but the pair of black horns sprouting from her head made it abundantly clear that she had abandoned her humanity.
Thoom.
With just a single step, the ground trembled—such was the overwhelming force she now wielded.
With this power, even Jin-woo, who appeared formidable for his level, would be helpless.
She couldn’t manifest the full strength of a true intermediate-tier demon.
But she could certainly draw upon the power of a lower-tier demon.
That would suffice.
Now then, shall I make short work of him?
‘After that, I’ll need to discover how he found this place.’
It was possible he’d already been discovered by others, forcing me to relocate.
Well, that hardly matters now.
Eliminating Jin-woo takes priority.
Only then can I extract information or do whatever else is necessary.
“I’ll have you in my grasp!”
Whoosh!
With a powerful thrust against the ground, Jutie closed the distance to Jin-woo’s face in an instant.
The power borrowed from the intermediate-tier demon defied imagination.
Even with her enlarged frame, she had bridged the gap in a heartbeat.
And that was merely the beginning.
From both hands, she extended sharp claws befitting her feline upper body.
And then she swung her right hand forward.
Since she had closed the distance while attacking, the speed of her movement added to the velocity of the strike, making it even faster.
Shhhhh!
Even the sound of air being torn was razor-sharp.
To take a hit from this would certainly inflict considerable damage.
Yet why did something feel amiss?
Jutie sensed something odd.
It was certainly a clean strike.
An attack executed while moving—claws extended and swung in one fluid motion.
Clean and devastating.
Yet the expression on Jin-woo’s face as he met that devastating attack was far too composed.
‘Unfazed?’
That couldn’t be further from the truth.
This intermediate demon’s power is immense!
He’ll surrender to me soon enough.
I poured strength into my right hand and swung faster.
This was an attack drawn from my absolute limit.
Nothing could surpass this!
He would suffer a fatal wound from this strike and bow before me.
But contrary to Jutie’s expectations.
Jin-woo lifted the sword in his left hand and simply flicked away Jutie’s claws.
Clang!
The metallic clash rang out, and Jutie was driven backward.
“Ugh!”
Wait?
I was pushed back?
Me, empowered by an intermediate demon’s strength?
Jutie’s face filled with shock at the realization.
No, that’s impossible.
He must have blocked it with his own maximum power as well.
‘This is my chance!’
Jutie pushed off from her retreating position and charged forward.
This time, she swung her left hand.
There’s no way he can react to this.
My movements were executed with absolute conviction.
Yet Jin-woo moved in sync with Jutie.
And at a slightly faster speed.
Whoosh!
How is this possible?
How could someone at a lower level than her, empowered by an intermediate demon’s strength, be faster than her?
It’s impossible!
Impossible.
But the double-bladed axe that rushed faster than Jutie’s claws proved it was reality.
At this point, I had to block it somehow.
So I blocked the double-bladed axe with the left hand I was about to attack with.
Or rather, I tried to.
Boom――――!
“Cough?!”
Jutie’s eyes widened in bewilderment as an intense impact sent shocks rippling through her entire body.
How was this even possible?
She clearly possessed an enhanced body strengthened by an intermediate demon’s power.
So it’s possible to possess strength that surpasses that?
Even at a lower level than oneself?
It’s impossible.
Absolutely impossible.
Of course it should be.
Something is wrong.
“Kyaaaaaaah!”
Jutie screamed and extended her claws with greater force, attacking with both hands simultaneously.
Each strike was razor-sharp and precise.
If one had assumed that as a dark mage, her physical techniques would be lacking, they would have been sorely mistaken—her movements were remarkably fluid.
Yet even against Jutie’s relentless assault, Jin-woo didn’t so much as blink.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang! Clang!
In a single breath, they clashed dozens upon dozens of times.
And Jin-woo was defending with only the sword held in his left hand.
What in the world was this?
Just as Jutie was about to intensify her desperate struggle, unable to comprehend what was happening—
Jin-woo murmured to himself.
“The axe is stronger after all.”
And with that, he switched to the axe he hadn’t used until now.
Clang! Boom! Clang! Crash—!
“Ugh!”
First, he blocked her attacks with the sword.
Then, the incoming strikes were naturally parried with the axe.
Jutie had no way of knowing, but it was happening because the axe’s base attack power was far superior.
Normally, even if the axe’s base attack power were higher, the sword enhanced by beginner swordsmanship would have been stronger.
But now, with the Ten Thousand Return to One technique, both weapons received attack power bonuses.
As a result, the axe was now the stronger weapon.
Jin-woo, having recognized this, was satisfied with his own understanding.
Jutie’s pupils couldn’t help but tremble as she witnessed this.
‘What… what is he doing?’
He dares to think of something else while facing her?
Such arrogance!
Yes, for now he might be pushing me back.
But if I do this, things will be different!
The recoil was too severe, which is why I’ve avoided using it.
But at this point, I have no choice.
I don’t need to capture him—I must kill him, no matter what.
Extract information?
That’s only something you do when you have the luxury.
When I’m about to die myself, what good is information!
‘I’ll kill you.’
Jutie’s objective shifted.
The atmosphere transformed entirely.
A technique that gathered demonic energy from intermediate-level demons and unleashed it all at once.
With this, that creature would surely perish.
But gathering the demonic energy required time.
Naturally, there was a countermeasure for that.
“Bind him!”
At Jutie’s command, massive tree roots—thick as an adult man’s waist—suddenly erupted from the ground beneath Jin-woo.
The roots coiled around Jin-woo’s body.
There seemed to be no possible escape from this state!
This was exactly what she’d aimed for.
Jutie gathered demonic energy into her horns without hesitation.
Uuuuuung.
Black demonic energy accumulated drop by drop.
And before long.
She unleashed the demonic energy, now the size of an adult’s fist.
“Die!”
This was the end.
No matter how formidable that creature was, there was no way it could survive a direct hit from that.
But why?
This unease in my heart.
The moment the demonic bullet rushed toward Jin-woo.
Jin-woo shouted with an expression of perfect timing.
“Fusion Combat.”
Then ten fireballs materialized.
But their state was strikingly different from before.
The fireballs, which should have been crimson, burned with a brilliant white.
The radiant white fireballs collided directly with the demonic bullet hurtling toward Jin-woo.
A massive white inferno engulfed everything around them.
――――――――!
An overwhelming blast of heat.
Only one person suffered from the debris of the collision.
“Krraaaaaaagh!”
Jutie’s entire body became covered in wounds.
Her expression was grave.
Her pupils trembled violently, as if witnessing the impossible.
Her own demonic bullet had been overwhelmed, and the backlash struck her.
Was it truly possible for a mere human to achieve this?
Above all.
Just moments ago, Jin-woo had been ensnared by the tree roots, yet now he had vanished without a trace.
‘Where… where did he go?’
Jutie’s anxious gaze swept across her surroundings.
Jin-woo was chuckling softly from behind her back.
His condition was completely intact… how was that possible?
Meanwhile, she was covered in wounds?
There was no way to defeat him.
He was someone to whom all common sense did not apply.
If this continued, she would die.
Somehow, she had to survive.
As such thoughts flooded Jutie’s mind.
Jin-woo raised the axe he held in his right hand.
“W-wait!”
“Hm?”
“W-wait just a moment.”
She needed to think carefully here.
Otherwise, she would truly die.
Look at those eyes without hesitation.
She would definitely die.
Could she escape?
No, that was impossible.
After all, wasn’t Jin-woo faster than her?
She had to prove her usefulness somehow in this moment.
Then.
Words Jin-woo had spoken upon arriving here came to mind.
How he had seemed eager to learn about the Demon Sword.
The moment that memory surfaced, her actions became swift.
She had to survive by any means.
“Ah, that information you wanted to know—I’ll provide it!”
“Huh?”
“The l-location of the Demon Sword—isn’t that what you wanted to know?!”
Jin-woo also turned his gaze back to Jutie at her words.
As if urging her to continue speaking.
But Jutie was not the type to naively babble on without thought.
She needed insurance, didn’t she?
She had certainly shown a different side compared to the previous dark mage.
“If I speak, you must swear to spare my life! If you do, then I will tell you!”
Jutie was making a deal.
Jin-woo let out a soft laugh at the sight of her.
He understood well what she was banking on.
And then Jin-woo recalled a message he knew all too well.
[The dark mage Jutie, belonging to ????, demands a sworn oath from you.]
[The condition is that in exchange for obtaining information about the ‘location of the Demon Sword,’ you must spare the dark mage Jutie, who belongs to ????.]
[The moment you swear the oath, you can acquire the information from Jutie.]
[Will you swear the oath?]
An offer impossible to refuse.
Jutie had certainly heard Jin-woo ask for the location of the Demon Sword when he appeared.
Which meant she was now the most valuable source of information—that fact alone!
Having grasped this much, naturally she had to exploit it.
It was the only way to survive.
Jutie’s method was quite.
No, rather than something conceived in a moment, it was remarkably meticulous.
And it was sound reasoning too.
Of course, with one exception.
“The Demon Sword’s location? I already know that.”
Good information.
But trying to use information against a regressor?
That’s laughable.
Of course, she wouldn’t know that.
“L-lies! Even the Black Sun hasn’t found it yet…. Mmph!”
Information she’d revealed without thinking.
[You have acquired information about the Black Sun, an organization of dark mages.]
How careless.
The Black Sun.
Well, it doesn’t really matter.
I already knew about that organization well enough.
A different group from the dark tower composed of dark mages.
Well, I’ll think about that later.
I need to make it clear to her that I wasn’t lying.
“Lake of Bone Eater. You’re searching for it right now, aren’t you?”
“….”
Unlike before, she covered her mouth to avoid reacting.
But she couldn’t help the trembling of her pupils.
Would that count as information too?
While Jin-woo was thinking that.
As expected, a message appeared.
[You have acquired information about the Demon Sword.]
[The Demon Sword exists somewhere near the Lake of Bone Eater.]
‘Okay!’
Heh, being a regressor sure has its perks.
Just spouting information I already know gets me immediate acknowledgment.
From the Developer’s perspective, it might seem a bit odd.
But since I’ve already been near the Lake of Bone Eater and came back,
she won’t think it strange.
She’ll simply assume I picked up a hint from there.
‘Even if she did think it odd, she’d normally never guess the truth, right?’
How could she possibly know I came from the future?
Still, it’s better to be cautious.
I’ve already visited the Lake of Bone Eater.
And I’ve already discovered clues there that could yield information.
Thorough in the subtle details, that’s me.
Anyway, I’ve confirmed the message.
Now I need to deal with this dark mage wearing a human mask.
Just as I was about to move,
“Damn it!”
Jutie pushed off the ground with explosive speed.
But it was all within my grasp.
Because I had teleportation.
In an instant, I teleported above Jutie’s head, who had fled quite far, and materialized there.
Without hesitation, I swung my axe while channeling the Berserker and Guard Corps strength, the All-rounder’s power, and finally Asir’s curse.
Crack!
“Gasp!”
I wasn’t the type to miss my chance.
As Jutie collapsed into her true monstrous form,
the message I’d been waiting for appeared.
[You have defeated Jutie, the dark mage of the Black Sun.]
[You have acquired vast experience points!]
[You have acquired two horns, claws, and two legs of Vanisha of Long Claws.]
[You have obtained information about the Demon Realm.]
[You have cleared the Hidden Quest ‘Darkness of Felsia’.]
[You have acquired vast experience points!]
[Level Up!]
[You have acquired additional stat points.]
Reward messages are always sweet.
But this isn’t the highlight.
‘Now then, shall I go obtain the Demon Sword?’
The real treat is just beginning.

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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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