The Regressor Plays the Game Too Well - Chapter 60

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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 60
Episode 60
‘Pantheon isn’t a game designed for rapid leveling.’
Coming from Jin-woo, who had been grinding at a breakneck pace until now, the statement lacked credibility.
Yet it was true.
Before regression, a month of stagnation in the Beginner Village.
Those who would later be called rankers had easily reached level 30 within a week of that month.
Level 30 was where the problems began.
From level 30 onward, experience from Beginner Village monsters plummeted.
In simple terms, a level 30 player couldn’t gain experience from killing level 1 monsters.
After all, the Beginner Zone only spawned monsters up to level 20.
How could experience gains be sustainable?
That’s why, during that month of stagnation, what people discovered were skills.
Everyone realized it then.
‘Pantheon is less about rushing forward and more about building a solid foundation.’
Of course, rushing forward has its merits.
Look at Jin-woo.
His stats had become monstrous from monopolizing everything.
But internally, he was hollow.
He’d skipped over and neglected to learn fundamental skills.
While he’d acquired a considerable number of skill books, it hardly mattered.
‘Even with the Charge and Corpse Explosion I just obtained, I only have 25 skills.’
It would’ve been 26 if I had Basic Swordsmanship.
Well, that was integrated into the Sword Saint’s skill anyway.
Still, level 57 with only 25 skills?
Even excluding skills attached to items, it was far too few.
For now, my stats were so overwhelmingly superior that it wasn’t a problem.
But what if I encountered a player with similar power and stats later?
It was absurd to even consider such a scenario at this point.
But if that happened?
With fewer skills, I’d be destined to lose.
So instead of leveling immediately, I should take a break and learn more skills.
‘More skills make tackling stronger bosses far easier.’
The fact that my combat style was so rigid proved I lacked skills.
With more skills, I could adapt to diverse situations and manipulate my opponents, that’s the point.
It’s only natural that having more cards in hand gives an advantage in strategy.
Most normal skills could be learned.
Plus, the available skills increased with each level.
At my current level, I should be able to learn most of them.
Above all.
‘The more skills I acquire, the more boundless the applications of Fusion Technique become.’
This is quite promising.
I feel as though I haven’t yet witnessed the true nature of Fusion Technique.
In combat, it sometimes manifests as a devastating finishing blow.
Sometimes as an exquisitely brilliant masterstroke.
A skill with versatile applications across multiple domains.
So the first skills I’ll master are magic-based ones.
Before my regression, I only learned close-combat skills.
That’s what I’m most curious about.
‘I know plenty in theory.’
But I’ve never actually used them in practice.
I’m quite eager to try.
With such anticipation, I logged into the Pantheon.
Since I slept almost the entire afternoon yesterday, it’s already the fifth day.
The last time I collapsed from exhaustion was on the fourth day.
By now, the top rankers should be starting to stand out, right?
‘Most rankers should have reached level thirty by this point.’
However, without finding the Quest, they won’t know the way to escape.
The developers’ intention was also to have players build their skills solidly.
It was harder to find than expected.
I logged in, and the familiar landscape of the Demon Realm greeted me.
I considered heading straight to Falcon Village.
But I shook my head.
By now, most users should be equipping gear.
If I wandered around in beginner clothes, I might actually stand out instead.
Didn’t Han Yu-na already catch me that way before?
So it would be better to unequip my usual gear and wear something else.
Since I’m going to do this, might as well do it properly.
‘Let me disguise myself as a mage.’
I’m going to learn magic skills anyway.
Conveniently, I had two types of mage-exclusive equipment.
One was the ‘Dark Mage’s Skull Staff’ and ‘Dark Mage’s Robe’ I’d obtained from Felsia before.
I’d planned to sell them along with the Dark Mage advancement scroll.
But since Hero-grade seemed too early, I’d shelved those items.
The other two were a staff and robe of the same slots.
Namely, the ‘Staff of Blissful Thunder’ and ‘Robe That Swallows Lightning’ I’d obtained after defeating the Twin Demons in the Demon Realm.
Those two are a pass.
Is it because they have different level requirements despite being the same grade?
They’re far too flashy.
I want to wear something this conspicuous and hope people don’t notice me?
This is undoubtedly a serious mental illness.
‘I should go with the Dark Mage path.’
I already have two Dark Mage-exclusive skills anyway.
It might actually suit me better?
Though that might be a bit of a bias.
Dark Mage equipment tends to look a bit worn and shabby, so it doesn’t seem like expensive gear.
Alright, I’ll go with this.
The effects are quite good anyway.
『Dark Mage’s Skull Staff』
*Grade: Hero
*Magic Attack: 150
*Durability: 300/300
*Equip Restriction: Dark Mage-class jobs, Magic Power 100 or higher
→When wielding the Dark Mage’s Skull Staff, Dark Magic skill efficiency +10%
→All Dark Magic skill cooldowns -10%
→Casting delay -5%
『Dark Mage’s Robe』
*Grade: Hero
*Defense: 15
*Magic Defense: 135
*Durability: 50/50
*Equip Restriction: Dark Mage-class jobs, Magic Power 100 or higher, Level 30 or higher
→Skill ‘Focused Meditation’ becomes available
→When using ‘Focused Meditation’, all MP recovery speed +300% while standing still
→Cooldown: 1 hour
*However, the skill deactivates if you move from your position.
→Maximum MP +5%
→MP consumption -10% when using Dark Magic spells
‘These are pretty good.’
Jin-woo’s standards have gotten high from the Holy Spear and the Demon Sword, that’s all.
These are actually quite excellent.
If I threw these on the Auction House right now, people would go absolutely insane like they’d just seen legendary items.
In any case, these are genuinely amazing pieces.
It’s just that the Holy Spear Brionac came along recently, but this is a solid piece too.
After equipping all the Dark Mage gear.
Jin-woo smiled with satisfaction, as if ready for what came next.
And if I pull the robe down over everything like this?
Perfect.
‘Should I head out now?’
It feels like barely any time has passed.
It felt like it had been forever since I last visited Falcon Village.
Well, a lot had happened in the meantime.
With that thought, I held a staff in one hand and the Demon Sword Gram in the other, opening a portal to Falcon Village.
I materialized in a secluded corner, just like the first time.
Once linked, the cooldown was a week.
But while linked, I could freely travel between the Demon Realm and here.
Regardless, Falcon Village was quite bustling when I arrived.
As expected, on the fifth day of Pantheon, there were plenty of people.
But surely this would keep me inconspicuous, right?
Contrary to my thoughts.
“Wow, insane. Check out that gear!?”
“Gulp, they must be high-level.”
Hey, watch it. Even with Guard Soldiers around, what if we get PKed!”
“Shh! Keep it down.”
“But seriously, they look strong.”
“Must be a mage.”
“Wow, they’ve already advanced classes. I’m so jealous.”
“They must be skilled!? A ranker!? This is crazy!”
Damn.
I was far too conspicuous.
Gulp.
My standards had become too refined from the Holy Spear and Demon Sword—I’d misjudged.
Even though this was my most modest equipment, it was still drawing this much attention.
I moved away immediately.
With so many people crowding around, switching gear wasn’t even an option.
‘Should I use teleportation here?’
No, that would only add fuel to the fire.
I’d just go quietly.
As I headed toward the Adventurer’s Guild in the Beginner Village, everyone nearby reacted.
“Oh! They’re heading to the Adventurer’s Guild.”
“Ooh, should we follow?”
“Sure! How does a ranker play?”
“Wow, they’re definitely a ranker, right? This is insane.”
“Hey! Keep it down. They’ll hear everything.”
They’d already heard it all.
Did I even intend to hide in the first place?
More importantly, were they seriously following me so openly?
It was irritating, but there was nothing I could do about it.
If I were part of a Guild, they’d probably block this kind of thing.
If Jin-woo were affiliated with a Guild, they would block that sort of thing too.
That’s not it either.
Times like this are always such a hassle.
But there’s no helping it.
I can’t go to another Village anyway.
It’s better to head to the next region—the Capital City—from here instead.
‘Besides, there’s no way I’ve obtained a Quest right now.’
I should go learn some skills.
Users will follow me, but I can’t help that.
Learning skills at the Adventurer’s Guild was information that had been unlocked on the first day or the second day anyway.
There was no reason to hide it, nor any value in hiding it.
I’d go openly.
Since it was the Beginner Village, the distance itself wasn’t that far.
And so I arrived at the Adventurer’s Guild.
I ignored the few users who had desperately followed me and headed toward the library where I could learn magic skills.
A place where I could obtain information and learn all magic-type skills!
There’s no goldmine quite like this.
“Ah, looks like you came to find information.”
“Or maybe you came to learn skills.”
“Normal skills?”
“For someone of his caliber, he’d probably focus on the fundamentals. Something like that, maybe?”
“Ah, didn’t they say new learnable skills increase as your level rises?”
“That’s right!”
“Wow, truly impressive. So that’s how you equip gear like that.”
“Right. His skill must be incredible.”
“Please maintain silence in the library!”
“Ah, ah! S-sorry! P-please, let us go inside!”
“Ah! Me too!”
“Silence! Quiiiiiet!”
The users were cut off at the library entrance because their chatter had grown too loud.
Thank you, Librarian!
Thanks to you, I can read books in peace!
I seized the opportunity and slipped inside, venturing deep into the library.
As expected of a library, countless skills were available.
So many I didn’t even know where to start.
‘Let me check out all the dark magic skills first.’
I gathered over ten books alone.
‘Curse Aura’, ‘Cursed Touch’, ‘Undead Summoning—Basics’, ‘Curse Bullet’, and so on.
These were dark magic fundamentals among fundamentals.
Skills I already knew well.
But that was from the perspective of being on the receiving end.
What if I learned it directly?
‘So the Curse Aura is a skill that buffs undead summoned using MP.’
I carefully verified everything while reading the skill book.
When I could use it and when I couldn’t.
How long had it been since I started reading carefully?
The message I’d been waiting for appeared.
[You have mastered the Normal Skill ‘Curse Aura’ and acquired the skill.]
Oh!
It doesn’t seem like much time has passed, yet I’ve already learned it.
I’m lucky.
Is it because my comprehension is excellent?
Let me check the next book too.
I moved on to the next book immediately.
Next was Unholy Touch.
[You have mastered the Normal Skill ‘Unholy Touch’ and acquired the skill.]
This time, I hadn’t read it for very long either.
The message appeared.
Something feels off.
No matter how high my skill comprehension is.
I hadn’t even finished reading it completely, yet I acquired the skill?
As far as I knew, magic skills required reading the entire skill book to acquire them.
Yet I acquired both skills before finishing either book.
They said this happens occasionally with good luck, but twice in a row?
Just to be sure.
Let me verify once more.
Sure enough.
[You have mastered the Normal Skill ‘Undead Summoning – Basics’ and acquired the skill.]
It happened again.
This meant I was special.
But why was that?
In that moment, one possible cause came to mind.
Could it be?
‘Is this the effect of the Godly Vessel class?’
Thinking of it that way.
The library looked different from before.
Until just now, it had seemed like a place filled only with books.
Why did it now look like a tempting buffet spread before me?
That’s right.
There’s something I should say at a time like this.
‘Time to dig in.’
If you don’t say grace before eating, you’re bound to get indigestion.
Yeah, you’re telling me.

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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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