The Regressor Plays the Game Too Well - Chapter 50

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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 50
Episode 50
Yuna didn’t understand what he meant at first.
But what was this?
Hitting on her?
Anyone could see that wasn’t his intention!
Yuna’s face flushed crimson with embarrassment.
And her voice came out in a rush!
“W-what did you say!?”
This was the kind of experience that made for good stories.
Her voice trembled noticeably.
Flustered, bewildered, and indignant all at once!
The party members had said they’d sit out to participate in the item auction.
So I came to hunt alone.
When I mentioned that it looked dangerous for a beginner to head to a high-level Hunting Ground!
And now this was the response I got.
‘I had absolutely no such intention!’
I was so wronged I could jump out of my skin.
My face was burning hot.
And I’d asked with genuine, pure intentions too.
It just seemed familiar somehow.
But the response was that I was hitting on him?
This was absurd beyond belief!
‘Sure, asking where we’d met before might have been sudden, but still!’
Suddenly accused of hitting on him!
How could he possibly interpret it that way?
“….”
After calming down a bit and thinking about it.
I suppose it could look that way.
I needed to clarify this somehow.
Right.
Let me calmly set the record straight.
Just as Yuna was about to correct him.
Jin-woo suddenly spoke up.
“Well, wouldn’t anyone think you were hitting on them if you said it like that out of nowhere?”
“That’s not what I meant!”
He wasn’t wrong, though!
Which was why I couldn’t calm down.
A sharp cry escaped Yuna’s lips.
At that moment, I was grateful the party members weren’t here.
My dignity as Guild Master would have been completely shattered.
It’s not like I have some kind of obsession.
Do I really think every woman who speaks to me is hitting on me?
It’s ridiculous.
In any case, Yuna watched Jin-woo like this.
‘Sure, he’s handsome, but… not THAT handsome!’
In that moment, a strange thought made her already flushed face burn even hotter.
Ignoring him is the answer in times like this!
Ignoring!
“Anyway! That area is a high-level Hunting Ground, so please go somewhere else!”
Yuna said this and quickly left her position.
True to a user who had maxed out Agility.
Watching Yuna disappear into the distance, Jin-woo smiled faintly.
Originally, I had planned to escape, but the roles had reversed.
Everything went according to plan.
Truly, everything went according to plan.
Though her eyes seemed somehow sad.
Didn’t I succeed?
Success…
‘That’s right. It was a finishing blow, a finishing blow.’
I’m not sure who died.
But it was definitely a ‘finishing blow.’
Then I remembered Falcon.
Right, this is all because of Falcon.
Having such a good skill!
Making me come here!
Causing me to taste such humiliation before Yuna.
I cannot forgive this.
Ah, I absolutely cannot forgive this!
* * *
Falcon.
Isn’t the name itself that of a flying-type monster?
A flying-type boss monster that resembles a hawk.
Hunting it is naturally not easy.
Even before hunting, finding it in the first place was difficult.
That massive bird-like form visible far in the sky.
It was one of the common sights in Falcon Village.
That’s right.
That creature is Falcon.
As befitted a flying-type monster, it spent far more time in the sky.
So according to the original strategy, the idea was to strike when it descended to the ground for rest.
But Jin-woo possessed an incredible skill that could skip that entire process.
‘Teleport.’
I activated Teleport toward Falcon, who appeared impossibly distant in the sky above.
The moment I invoked it, the landscape twisted around me.
A violent gust of wind crashed down!
Whoooooooosh!
‘Shoulder Charge.’
I nearly got swept away by the tempest, but managed to hold my ground with a quick Shoulder Charge.
Hovering in the sky wasn’t easy either.
Before, I could float in midair using a magical barrier.
Not anymore.
I’d need to acquire a similar skill.
Well, I could get one right away.
All I had to do was kill my sworn enemy, that wretched bird Falcon!
“Screeeeeee!”
A sharp, piercing cry from the raptor—raw and primal.
Falcon suddenly became wary of the figure that had materialized on his back.
My ears were ringing.
I scowled deeply.
What was that bird so proud of?
While I was thinking that to myself, a message appeared.
[Warning! Warning!]
[Hidden Boss Falcon of the Skies is wary of you.]
[If you remain on his back, Falcon will turn hostile.]
I came here to hunt anyway—this was it!
‘Time to test out these new skills.’
In any fight, seizing the initiative wins the day!
Take this!
‘Six-Light Slash!’
I deliberately refrained from using other buffs to properly test the skill.
If the enemy died too quickly, I wouldn’t be able to test anything.
Besides, I needed to test the demonic sword as well.
I gripped both the demonic sword Gram and Eucria’s longsword.
As I unleashed Six-Light Slash, both blades began to vibrate intensely, radiating brilliance.
The demonic sword blazed with an ominous violet-black aura.
And Eucria’s longsword, flaunting its Unique+ grade, erupted with a radiant golden radiance.
As both weapons unleashed their formidable power, my body moved of its own accord.
A movement distinctly different from my usual style.
If my normal attacks were rough and crude,
My movements were smoother and freer than ever before.
In that same instant, I scattered sword energy across Falcon’s back with both blades, three strikes each.
“―――――――!”
Falcon’s mouth fell open in a silent scream, unable to even voice his agony.
Even I could feel just how catastrophic the damage was.
And then.
[The Hidden Boss ‘Falcon of the Sky’ has entered a groggy state from the overwhelming damage.]
[All attack patterns are disabled during the groggy state.]
‘Insane.’
Groggy from a single strike?
My level is high, sure.
But this is still a Hidden Boss.
When you factor in stats and everything else, the gap really is too wide.
It seems the difference was greater than I anticipated.
But I still won’t forgive him!
Besides, I have more skills I haven’t tested yet.
‘Weapon Spear.’
A skill I obtained alongside Hexagonal Slash.
A skill that ignores defense and deals 300% damage!
As expected, the Demonic Sword Gram was wrapped in black-violet energy once more.
The moment I saw it, I drove it straight down toward Falcon’s head.
The black-violet aura enveloping the Demonic Sword Gram transformed into the shape of a spear and shot forth.
That black-violet spear, capable of piercing anything, drove straight through Falcon’s head.
Whoooosh!
“―――――――.”
Falcon’s body stretched out with a sickening sound as the black-violet spear pierced through him.
Did that actually kill him?
I had my doubts, but then a message appeared.
[You have defeated the Hidden Boss ‘Falcon of the Sky.’]
[Through the First Title ‘Hidden Boss Slayer,’ you acquire an additional stat point.]
[You have captured a Hidden Boss!]
[You gain experience.]
[Experience is shared with the Demonic Sword Gram.]
[You obtain a reward.]
[You acquire the Hero+ Skill Book ‘Wind Step.’]
[You acquire the Hero Skill Book ‘Attribute Bestowal—Wind.’]
Just two strikes!
I obtained two skill books in just two strikes.
This is too good to be true.
The only disappointment is that I didn’t get a First Title.
Well, that’s how it is.
‘It seems Achievements aren’t awarded for defeating lower-level opponents.’
It was a bit disappointing, though.
But I obtained two skills!
Let me take solace in that.
Both are quite excellent skills, after all.
First, Falcon’s corpse simply turned to ash and vanished.
Monsters that border on being spirits always have this problem, it seems.
Can’t butcher them, can’t butcher them at all.
Anyway, with Falcon gone, I began to plummet.
From such a tremendous height, the fall would take quite some time, but at this rate, I’d end up dying from the impact.
But Jin-woo remained composed, letting out a faint chuckle as I immediately used all the skill books I’d just obtained.
‘I’m absolutely not selling this.’
The skill was far too useful.
I skipped the confirmation message as well.
I quickly opened my skill window.
There was a chance it might not be the skill I was thinking of.
Fortunately, that wasn’t the case.
Excellent effects, as expected!
『Wind Step』
*Grade: Hero+
*Level: Max
→You can use empty space as a foothold.
→You can use empty space as a foothold up to 3 times maximum.
→When all uses are exhausted, the count resets upon touching the ground.
『Attribute Bestowal – Wind』
*Grade: Hero
*Level: 1
→Bestows wind attribute to weapons, armor, accessories, body, and other necessary targets.
→Upon bestowing wind attribute, general wind resistance becomes nullified.
*However, for skills from others or wind-related attacks from monsters, nullification does not apply; instead, resistance is applied.
→MP Cost: 500
→Cooldown: 180 seconds
Both effects are incredibly good!
But Wind Step is overwhelmingly superior!
Should I test it right away?
While falling, I extended my foot with the thought of stepping on wind.
Then.
Thump!
I stood firmly in the empty air.
It was like the lightness technique from martial arts novels!
No, wait—that’s jumping off the air itself.
So it’s different?
Either way, I was standing in mid-air.
Creating footholds in empty space?
This skill is absolutely broken.
‘It might not be as versatile as the Magic Barrier, but the mobility is far superior.’
Plus, no cooldown and no resource consumption!
Of course, it resets when my feet touch the ground.
Either way, it’s undeniably overpowered.
The kind of mobility you’d expect from a Unique-grade skill!
But since it’s already at Max level, it can’t grow further.
It was Hero+ rank.
I’m starting to feel like I’m becoming a monster?
But even that has its limits now.
At this point in time.
‘Acquiring anything beyond this is definitely dangerous.’
I’ve been consuming them so naturally up until now.
But it’s getting risky.
Moving to a different region?
I can only do it once a week.
That much is manageable.
But consuming every hidden piece in the region I move to like I’m opening a lunch box?
That’s likely to cause problems.
‘I need to exercise restraint from now on.’
Consuming hidden pieces naturally as I move through cities doesn’t raise suspicion.
But consuming hidden pieces in every region I visit is a different matter entirely.
I determined that catching Falcon was acceptable.
They’d chalk that up to coincidence.
So what now?
I initially planned to consume all the hidden pieces I missed from the Demon Realm gate.
But thinking about it now, that’s unrealistic.
‘If the administrators get suspicious, they could freeze my account.’
That’s genuinely dangerous.
The scary part is that it’s not an impossibility at all.
Before regression, I heard that the game doesn’t interfere unless there’s control issues or massive damage to numerous users.
But consuming all the hidden pieces through regression?
They’d be justified in freezing the account, thinking information leaked.
So mindlessly consuming hidden pieces is no longer feasible.
The Demon Realm gate is blocked from regional movement for a week anyway.
Going to Felsia right now is out of the question.
In truth, there’s little point in going—there are no remaining Hidden Pieces to be found there.
‘Most of what lies ahead is scattered well beyond level 100.’
Until I reach level 100, there simply aren’t any worthwhile Hidden Pieces available.
A veritable wasteland of a progression tier.
Perhaps it’s time to consider my future direction?
Future direction—as if I’m still a student?
The Pantheon has such considerations too.
Those who played casually didn’t concern themselves with it.
But for rankers and broadcasters, it was practically mandatory.
Ordinarily, it would be premature to think about such things at a level below 100.
But then again?
Having grown this strong, it’s about time I gave it serious thought.
‘Before my regression, I was a mercenary.’
Skilled individuals hired for raids—not guild members, but paid specialists.
Jin-woo had been a fairly well-known mid-to-high-tier ranker back then.
As a mercenary, I’d done quite well for myself.
Broadcasting had gone reasonably well too.
So could I do the same now as I did before my regression?
No, that doesn’t seem feasible.
The reason is simple.
‘Not to boast, but I’m simply too strong.’
The very fact that I possess these stats after only three days is absurd.
It defies all logic.
Even Kaiser before the regression couldn’t have managed this.
So how could someone like that work as a mere mercenary?
It’s not impossible, I suppose.
But would it really work?
It might be entertaining, though.
‘This is a dilemma.’
It wasn’t a decision to be made lightly.
My current position was the very one Kaiser had occupied before the regression.
The old Kaiser was a king.
Those who led guilds and commanded organizations.
Kaiser was called an emperor among them.
In any case.
‘Hmm.’
A guild?
Should I create one?
I considered it for a moment, but no—that’s not it.
I shook my head immediately.
I lacked the charisma and leadership to command a Guild anyway.
I preferred the comfort of traveling alone.
‘Ah, forget it! Let’s just focus on leveling up.’
Why waste time on such worries when I could be grinding levels instead!
The problem was that monsters in Falcon Village were far too weak to level up efficiently.
So where should I go then?
Hadn’t I just obtained something not long ago?
The Demon Realm, of course.
Regional movement had a seven-day cooldown, but—
There were no restrictions on entering the Demon Realm itself!
‘The Emperor was astounded, the Demon Realm despaired! Now it’s time to show them the Demon Realm!’
If it was the Demon Realm, there might be hidden pieces waiting there too?
I had no information about this place, so I couldn’t be sure.
But my intuition felt right.
‘Let’s go!’
The Emperor’s astonishment, the Demon Realm’s despair.
One of them was about to become reality.

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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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