The Regressor Plays the Game Too Well - Chapter 51
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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 51
Episode 51
A land of ash.
The sky too was filled with gray storm clouds.
This place was none other than the Demon Realm.
Beyond desolate, it was utterly bleak.
If I stayed here too long, I’d probably develop a mental illness.
Still, hunting here had to be better than going back to Felsia.
‘It seems like it’ll give a lot of experience too.’
If I keep hunting here, truly…
Is the Demon Realm despairing?
Desolate Yellow Wasteland.
Initially, I’d only raised it as a simple aggro skill.
I never expected it would come to this.
‘I never thought I’d actually come to the Demon Realm.’
Even before my regression, I’d never been to the Demon Realm directly.
Usually, the Demon Realm was the exclusive domain of Demon King users, so I didn’t know how to enter it.
But I never imagined it would be through the Demon Sword.
Later, there might be other ways to go, but for now, that’s all Jin-woo knew.
Because of that, my information about the Demon Realm was also lacking.
Just that it was different from the Middle Realm?
Well, anyone could know that much.
But there was no helping it.
‘Especially since the Demon King users didn’t release information.’
That made sense.
They were already at a disadvantage—why reveal information too?
Only the Demon King users would lose out.
All the hidden piece information Jin-woo currently knew?
It all came from PanTube.
Most of the rankers didn’t have enough content to upload broadcast videos with just hunting and raids.
So much later, when they’d cleared old hidden pieces, there was a trend of sharing stories about those experiences.
Like, I’ve cleared this much.
That sort of thing.
In those cases, the content was filled more with self-promotion and boasting than actual information sharing.
Thanks to that, I was able to clear hidden pieces like this.
But there were also users who never revealed their hidden pieces.
‘The Three Legends of the Divine Series never released information about the hidden pieces they cleared.’
Not just the Three Legends of the Divine Series, but the highest-tier rankers among the elite.
Most users within the top 10 rankings also didn’t release information about themselves.
Only occasionally did users within the top 100 release information.
The top ten users hadn’t done the same.
Anyway!
Returning to the Demon Realm again.
The lack of information about the Demon Realm bothered me somewhat.
Well, considering the characteristics of Demon Lord users, it was unavoidable.
‘Since Demon Lords can gain experience by attacking NPCs or users instead of monsters.’
The most well-known things about Demon Lords were the Demon Sword and such characteristics.
The risk was quite substantial.
That’s why they always had to attack villages or cities and escape.
Perhaps the Demon Sword was given a skill to travel to the Demon Realm for this very reason?
Of course, with a cooldown of a week, it was somewhat disappointing.
But this was unavoidable.
A skill without cooldown would be too broken.
‘The balance is already somewhat shattered.’
Being able to go here and there.
Held a considerable advantage in this Pantheon.
First of all, being able to return to the Beginner Village was already broken.
Not that I would do that.
But it meant I could even give beginners a hard time.
It wasn’t just this alone.
Originally, there was no way for high-level users to enter the Beginner Region.
It was to prevent various things.
It was a measure to prevent control or massacre.
But with this, that naturally became possible.
‘Plus, I could subtly move to any region I wanted.’
A week’s cooldown was quite long.
But the merit was far better.
Of course, I couldn’t just freely pick and choose hidden pieces.
Still, this was something.
The advantage of being able to travel long distances in the Pantheon was considerable.
It was sufficient.
“Grrr, in, gan?”
“Oh!”
While Jin-woo was lost in such thoughts.
A wolf-shaped form made of black liquid that seemed to be clumps of various filth.
Anyone could see it was a demon beast.
Was that level a low-tier demon beast?
[You have encountered a low-tier demon beast, the Flowing Rotten Wolf.]
The message confirmed it.
But it looks stronger than I expected?
I’d say it feels roughly like a boss monster.
Could all the regular mobs really be this strong?
While Jin-woo was thinking such thoughts.
The creature attacked first.
A massive foreleg crashing down in a strike.
Moreover, since its body was composed of liquid, its limbs stretched and extended dramatically.
Crash!
Jin-woo dodged while observing the creature.
Its body stretched endlessly, its form constantly flowing like water.
This is more interesting than I expected.
Suspended in mid-air.
As if targeting this very moment, the creature swung its other foreleg directly at Jin-woo.
But that was futile.
I kicked off the empty air itself.
Skill: Wind Step.
Of course, I evaded while simultaneously closing the distance to the creature.
However.
“Grrrrr!”
Its neck stretched out as it lunged at Jin-woo, attempting to bite him.
What is this?
The difficulty was higher than expected.
I kicked off the air once more and launched myself upward.
I barely evaded the creature’s gaping maw.
Then I drew out the Demon Sword and Longsword, and shouted while facing the creature’s extended neck.
“Six-Light Slash.”
Slash, slash, slash, slash, slash, slash!
In an instant, I wrapped myself in sword energy and delivered six consecutive devastating cuts!
A skill that dealt tremendous damage.
“Screeeech!”
The moment it took the attack, its two extended limbs and neck snapped back to their original form.
It shrieked and became intensely wary of Jin-woo.
This thing is formidable.
I had gained the upper hand in that exchange just now.
But I realized the creature was far stronger than I’d anticipated.
‘It’s definitely much more powerful than Falcon.’
Falcon would have fallen into a stunned state from a single Six-Light Slash.
Yet this creature endured it.
It means this is stronger than at least the hidden boss Falcon in the Beginner Village.
Well, that’s only natural.
But this creature is not a boss.
Just a regular monster.
Yet it’s this strong!
Despair?
Quite the opposite!
‘The experience points are insane?’
Its elongating physical attacks were troublesome to handle.
But for Jin-woo with Teleport and Wind Step, it posed no problem.
Troublesome as it was, the creature had no meaningful skills beyond its body extension, so I could dispatch it relatively easily.
Still, it took longer to eliminate than I expected.
But the reward was sweet!
[You have acquired vast experience points!]
[Sharing experience with Demon Sword Gram.]
[Level Up!]
[You acquire additional stats.]
[You have slain a Low-Grade Demon Beast, the Flowing Rotten Wolf.]
[You acquire a Rare item, Flowing Dagger.]
[You acquire an Unidentified item, Torn Map Fragment.]
[You have slain a Demon Beast for the first time.]
[You acquire the First Title ‘Demon Beast Slayer’!]
[You have acquired a First Title.]
[Through the Title Hunter effect, you acquire an additional stat point.]
[You have used Butchery!]
[You acquire the Demon Beast’s Black Heart!]
‘Wow.’
Just from killing a single regular mob, Jin-woo, whose experience pool had expanded through Transcendence, leveled up.
Though I had accumulated quite a bit beforehand.
Still, sharing experience with Demon Sword Gram slowed it down considerably.
Yet a level increase nonetheless.
Above all, the loot was delicious.
A Rare equipment drop from a regular mob.
This is just a regular mob?
And a First Title on top of that?
This is too sweet.
At this rate, won’t I develop diabetes?
‘But what’s this Unidentified item?’
A torn map?
Could it be…?
Items do occasionally drop like this.
But this is my first time seeing it directly.
Is it really that?
I should check it right away just to be safe.
When I opened my inventory, what I saw was….
『Torn Map Fragment』
*Grade: Unknown
→There’s a rumor that circulates in the Demon Realm.
→Somewhere in the Demon Realm, the Seven Treasures of Legend are hidden.
→This is a map with insufficient information to decipher.
→It seems you need to collect at least 10 fragments to understand the information.
Such an unhelpful description.
A rumor in the Demon Realm?
And the Seven Treasures?
There wasn’t a single piece of certain information.
Yet Jin-woo began to grin widely at the sight of it.
My face was splitting with barely contained laughter.
And for good reason.
I’d just obtained something incredible!
‘A treasure map!’
The dream of every person?
No, anyone who knows about Pantheon couldn’t possibly be ignorant of this!
Though that would be ten years from now.
A treasure map?
It’s an item whose value is difficult to express with such simple words.
It’s nothing less than,
‘a Legendary-grade item!’
Within Pantheon, only an extremely small number of items can be called treasures.
Epic grade?
Of course, such items would be worthy of the title treasure, but not in the strict sense of Pantheon’s world.
Items that appear in legends.
Those are what we call treasures.
And now, I’ve just obtained an item that serves as the key to acquiring one.
Gulp.
I swallowed hard and looked at it again, just to be certain.
As if looking again would change anything.
It was real.
‘Insane.’
Before my regression, there was something similar.
Though it was in the Middle Realm, not the Demon Realm.
A map that revealed the location of a Legendary-grade item.
My heart began to race violently.
The Demon Sword Gram is a growth-type item, but in other words, if I compared it right now, this would be superior even to the Demon Sword Gram.
I’d obtained something incredible.
‘I’d given up, thinking it was purely a matter of luck!’
And for good reason.
Hadn’t all the Legendary items revealed before my regression been obtained that way?
I’d never disclosed any information about how I obtained the map.
I’d have to be insane to reveal something like that.
And it wasn’t just any information—it was Legendary-grade information.
It was on a completely different level from the low-level hidden pieces Jin-woo knew about.
Once you obtained the First Title, you couldn’t get duplicates.
If everyone carelessly revealed it, it wouldn’t be Legendary anymore.
I never imagined I’d obtain information I’d simply given up on because I didn’t know how to get it.
‘Phew.’
I’d obtained it far too suddenly.
And not just any Legendary item—one located in the Demon Realm itself?
This was insane.
Ever since I’d set my sights on obtaining a demonic sword, or rather the demonic sword Gram, everything seemed to be falling into place.
I’d obtained the Godly Blade that way, and various other items as well.
Wow, was it Seoul University or something?
‘This is an opportunity I can’t miss.’
Was I just going to throw this away?
That would be like quitting the game.
It was worth that much.
But how long would it take?
Obtaining other Legendary items had taken anywhere from several days to dozens of days.
‘I need to be prepared for that level of commitment.’
I might not be able to obtain it until I reached at least level 100.
But that was fine.
Because it was Legendary!
For now, I’d hunt around this area and collect more map fragments.
Since one dropped here, another would definitely appear again.
So then,
‘Let’s go!’
Jin-woo’s resolve had never been more serious.
* * *
Meanwhile, the moment Jin-woo obtained the map.
A scream erupted from somewhere.
“Ahhhhhhh!”
“….”
It was none other than the Pantheon department that managed users.
Someone was screaming in a place where many employees were present?
The ultimate nuisance!
But no one could hold it against her.
The one who had screamed was none other than….
“There! Why is that coming out from there!?”
“….”
The Developer, Lee Yeon.
Everyone was watching her reaction carefully.
Well, it couldn’t be helped.
She had just obtained a map that could yield a Legendary item.
How could she not scream?
While all the staff members were whispering among themselves.
One employee approached Lee Yeon.
What was he trying to say?
“Um, Developer?”
“Yes?!”
Even as Lee Yeon glared at him irritably, the employee didn’t flinch.
He simply remained composed.
And opened his mouth.
“I don’t think you need to worry too much about it.”
“Huh? Oh, now that I think about it, you’re Deputy Moon Sang-chul, aren’t you?”
“Yes. I’m Moon Sang-chul from the Demon Realm Items Department. I’m honored you remember me.”
“Oh, please.”
It was natural for the Developer to know her own employees.
Wasn’t she the world’s greatest developer?
For someone of her caliber to remember his name was honor enough.
In any case, Moon Sang-chul expressed his gratitude.
Lee Yeon waved it off and asked back.
“Anyway, what do you mean? That there’s no need to worry?”
“It’s about that map. It’s a dungeon that requires a party of at least level 120 or higher—and specifically, five or more Demon King-class users to clear.”
“Ah! Is that the dungeon in the Damp Ravine?”
“Yes, exactly. It’s where one of the Seven Great Treasures of the Demon Realm lies dormant. Compared to the other treasures, it has a relatively lower level requirement, but even so, Jin-woo alone cannot handle it right now.”
“Ooh!”
Truly the Demon Realm Items Department!
Indeed, with a party of five Demon King-class users at level 120 or higher, Jin-woo’s current strength wouldn’t suffice.
By rough calculation?
“Jin-woo would need to be at least level 70 to handle it alone.”
“Ah, that’s wonderful. I can’t help what I obtain later, but if I can’t get it right now, then that’s fine.”
Lee Yeon smiled with satisfaction.
Ah, this immediately puts my mind at ease.
Now that I think about it, I can’t just leave this alone.
Because I’m in a good mood!
“I should give Moon Sang-chul a generous performance bonus!”
“Ah! Thank you so much, Developer!”
“Yes, I’ll add the performance bonus to next month’s salary.”
As Lee Yeon spoke, the Secretary bowed her head and acknowledged with understanding.
However.
‘Will it really happen that way?’
She always defied expectations.
The Secretary felt a twinge of anxiety.
But she didn’t voice it aloud.
Seeing her so delighted.
I couldn’t bring myself to dampen the mood.
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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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