The Regressor Plays the Game Too Well - Chapter 63

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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 63
Episode 63
Before Jin-woo could rendezvous with Yuna’s party.
In three hours at the Library, I managed to master every foundational spell available.
Combining public magic and basic spell skills, a total of fifteen.
I had already learned all the foundational dark magic beforehand.
Including ten dark magic spells, all normal-tier magic skills totaled a staggering twenty-five.
My skill count had doubled.
Yet I had originally intended to test these skills anyway.
A strength assessment for twenty million won?
That’s far too advantageous.
This would have been unimaginable before.
I surveyed my party members.
The woman who appeared to be a Mage and the woman who appeared to be a Warrior seemed unbothered.
But the Male Warrior’s gaze toward me seemed decidedly unfavorable.
More precisely, he seemed to believe my abilities would fall short.
Well, that’s understandable.
A new mercenary had suddenly been recruited, after all.
Hadn’t I experienced such situations quite often myself?
‘That user was Pandel, wasn’t he?’
One of the elite members of Han Yu-na’s faction.
I remembered him as someone without exceptional talent, yet who had maintained a fairly high ranker position.
Well, it didn’t concern me.
Even with basic magic, I’d be overkill at my current level.
I’d need to hold back appropriately.
“Here it is.”
“Hmm.”
[Goblin’s Deep Burrow]
Not a Hidden Dungeon.
Just a regular Dungeon.
I wondered if I could properly test these basic spells in such a place.
My stats would need to be sufficiently high.
I’d have to exercise maximum restraint.
“Shall we begin then?”
“I’m ready whenever you are.”
At Yuna’s words, I nodded in acknowledgment.
Everyone prepared themselves and stepped forward.
Naturally, Ellen and Pandel, both Warriors, took the lead.
I followed directly behind them.
Once we established our positions and entered the Dungeon, a message appeared confirming our entry.
I simply ignored it and pressed forward.
It wasn’t long before—
“Kee-rook, kee-rook!”
“Keh-hel-hel-hel!”
“Keh-rek!”
Three goblins emerged.
A rather small number.
But it was reasonable for the entrance.
The two Male Warriors gripped their shields tightly for show.
Though there was no real need for that.
Why not have a bit of fun first?
‘Mist, Sticky Poison, Shock.’
A combination of basic magic and dark magic.
First, I deployed the basic magic—Mist.
Toward the fog spreading across the area, I dispersed the fundamental dark magic—Poison.
Then, using Shock, another basic magic, I delivered an impact that sent the poisoned mist billowing forward.
A verdant haze formed like a curtain.
Perhaps because it matched their skin tone?
The charging creatures rushed forward without hesitation.
“Gack!”
“Keh-huk!”
“Kuh-hak!”
Each one clutched at its throat and collapsed.
They’d been poisoned.
Seized by the toxin, the momentarily paralyzed creatures became targets for another spell I unleashed.
‘Silence, Negation Bullet, Acid Bullet, Mana Bullet.’
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
A complete bullet-type magic set!
And conveniently, there were exactly three of them.
The skill sequence completed and flew true.
Their foreheads were pierced clean through, and they fell.
Thanks to Silence, the sound was minimal.
A flawless response that didn’t attract any other monsters.
Certainly effective, isn’t it?
Even basic magic alone could produce results like this.
It would be quite excellent for control purposes.
‘Better than expected?’
The effect of the skill combination was substantial.
Silence really does seem genuinely useful.
Though the other bullet series spells seem to have weak damage output.
Still, it was quite decent.
Quite useful as a restraining tool.
It won’t be very effective at my level, though.
It should be quite useful for maintaining consecutive strikes.
But,
‘Why are they reacting like that?’
Everyone’s just staring blankly.
What’s wrong?
Did I make a mistake?
That can’t be it. I handled it cleanly enough, didn’t I?
This is a skill test, after all.
And I’m testing out my abilities while I’m at it.
I should try using as many skills as possible.
‘Undead Summon—Basic.’
I cast the skill toward the three goblins that had collapsed from the poison fog.
The three goblins transformed into bone and rose from where they fell.
Despite being created from goblins, they manifested as standard human-sized skeletons.
Even when using corpses as a medium, only ordinary skeletons are summoned.
So it really was a basic-tier skill.
I didn’t stop there, though.
I cast dark magic skills on the skeletons.
‘Negation Aura, Profane Touch, Corrosion, Curse, Sticky Venom.’
All skills that inflict negative effects on living creatures.
But for the undead skeletons, it was the opposite.
Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!
Crack crack crack crack crack!
Tap-tap! Crack crack!
Look at them rattling with such vigor, clearly delighted.
Truly incredible.
The moment I attack with these skeletons, the corrosion and sticky venom splash back, even dealing reflected damage to the enemy.
But if I stopped here, I wouldn’t be myself.
Aren’t there enhancement effects among the basic spells?
Even in common magic.
‘Armor Reinforcement, Haste, Heaviness.’
Whoooosh!
Is this about right?
Let me apply all the buffs and wrap this up.
Looking at my party members staring blankly, I opened my mouth.
“Shall we go then?”
* * *
When I first encountered the goblins.
I deliberately chose not to intervene.
I only intended for the two Warriors to hold the line with their shields.
Everyone wanted to observe and gauge Jin-woo’s true capabilities.
But what was this?
The moment mist began to coalesce in the air, poison wove through it.
And I even hurled that poisoned mist at the goblins charging forward with a shock.
It was a flawless response.
No, more than that.
‘Isn’t that a Dark Mage foundational skill?’
‘Is he using both dark magic and magic skills simultaneously?’
‘How is that even possible?’
‘…That’s incredible.’
Everyone, including Yuna, was left in shock.
Fundamentally, Dark Mage class jobs cannot learn basic magic skills.
The reverse is equally true.
Mage class jobs cannot use Dark Mage foundational skills.
Yet Jin-woo was wielding both simultaneously.
What on earth was his true identity?
And on top of that.
‘The power is exceptional too.’
It meant his magic power stat was abnormally high.
Neira, the Mage of Yuna’s party, could tell.
Even at level 30, had he dumped everything into magic power?
Even so, that wouldn’t be enough.
Even with everything invested, it would be impossible without additional bonuses.
Neira hadn’t invested everything into magic power, but she could still tell.
‘This is truly extraordinary.’
The multiple bullet spells that emerged then.
Neira found herself swallowing hard without realizing it.
Those spells, fired with barely a sound, felled the goblins outright.
In an instant.
Could she have done the same?
Even with poison applied, in a single strike?
Gulp.
Just as Neira reacted this way, so did the other party members.
Pandel was hit especially hard.
“W-what is that?”
He was only using basic magic at most.
Could basic skills really accomplish something like that?
For a moment I considered it, but without thinking, I shook my head.
Even Yuna, who had received multiple privileges stacked upon her, couldn’t accomplish something like that.
But what in the world was Jin-woo, who was pulling this off?
‘What… what have I done?’
To confidently declare that someone like this possessed inferior skill compared to ourselves.
My face burned with shame.
But the surprises weren’t over yet.
When Jin-woo summoned skeletons and deployed every single enhancement spell.
Everyone couldn’t help but gasp in astonishment once more.
“Gasp!”
“Huff!”
“Eek!?”
“Whoa.”
The skeletons appeared remarkably powerful.
This absolutely couldn’t be basic dark magic.
Everyone was certain of it.
It had to be at least a Rare-grade skill, if not higher.
They were that convinced.
Because anything less made no sense.
While everyone stood in shock.
Jin-woo spoke.
“Shall we head in then?”
At Jin-woo’s words, everyone thought the same thing.
Perhaps… we’re not needed here at all?
Witnessing what Jin-woo had just demonstrated, they couldn’t think anything else.
It was simply too overwhelming.
A one-man army incarnate.
Everyone swallowed hard and nodded in agreement.
* * *
Five skeletons clattered as they fought.
Their opponent was none other than this dungeon’s boss—the Hobgoblin.
But the creature couldn’t mount any real resistance.
Why, you ask?
Simple.
‘Heavy, Slow, Sticky Poison, Curse, Mist, Negation Aura.’
Jin-woo had already shut down every move before it could even attempt anything.
And with skeletons charging in like madness on top of that.
What could the Hobgoblin do?
There was only one option left.
“Groooaarrr!”
A piercing shriek tore from the Hop Goblin’s throat.
Watching the pitiful creature writhe, Yuna’s party each harbored the same thought.
‘This seems faster than our record?’
‘It’s not just seems—it’s definitely faster.’
‘This is insane.’
‘One person is stronger than all four of us combined.’
‘…I saw it with my own eyes, so I can’t deny it.’
‘….’
They were left speechless.
Even accounting for the fact that Jin-woo’s level was lower back then.
He hunted faster alone than their entire party’s record from that time.
The display of power was overwhelmingly dominant.
And he was only using basic skills.
If they knew that Skeleton was also a basic spell.
How much more despair would they feel?
In any case, the boss hunt ended anticlimactically.
I’d anticipated it from the first hunt.
Though it was called a skill test, I didn’t expect only I would step forward.
Yet the boss fell without anyone else lifting a finger.
[You have cleared the dungeon.]
[You have gained experience.]
Everyone saw the dungeon clear message.
Their expressions grew hollow.
Honestly, weren’t they themselves elite enough to be called the best?
Yet they couldn’t measure up to Jin-woo alone.
Ignorant of the truth, they could only feel more deflated.
All except Yuna.
‘This is insane.’
This doesn’t make sense.
In the footage, Jin-woo appeared only as a Warrior.
But he’s a Mage too?
It doesn’t add up.
Without seeing it herself, Yuna would have believed he was a different player.
Without Tensor’s composite sketch.
Yet he’s this powerful?
‘He must be at least level 50.’
He’d definitely leveled up elsewhere and come here.
To achieve this much by day five?
She couldn’t imagine any way to compete.
Quite the opposite, in fact.
Admiration bloomed naturally within me.
When someone is this overwhelmingly dominant, jealousy doesn’t even arise.
But how can they be both a first-rate Warrior and a first-rate Mage simultaneously?
The answer was simple.
A Hidden Class.
‘They’ve already advanced to a Hidden Class.’
That’s why they could sell the Dark Magic advancement scroll so casually.
Yuna’s deduction had been accurate.
I wanted to pursue this connection further.
But today ends here.
Pushing for more could cost me everything.
I had no choice but to be satisfied with this.
“Is the skill test complete?”
“Ah, yes! O-of course!”
“It’s e-enough!”
“You’re truly a-amazing!”
Pandel, Neira, and Ellen all responded.
Jin-woo, his face hidden behind a mask, gazed at Yuna.
Since everyone could see that Yuna was the leader.
There was no way they wouldn’t pass.
Yuna nodded as well.
“Yes, you were truly impressive.”
After hearing Yuna’s response, Jin-woo nodded too.
The dungeon had been satisfactory for him as well.
‘I’ve tested all the basic skills now.’
It was time to learn other fundamental abilities.
I should focus on mastering close-range combat first.
Since it was most familiar, I could learn it quickly.
Next, should I try learning archery skills?
It feels like I’m becoming a jack-of-all-trades.
But I’m confident I can master everything.
Rather than a jack-of-all-trades, wouldn’t I be a master-of-all?
While Jin-woo was entertaining these idle thoughts.
A sudden, unexpected message appeared.
‘Huh?’
A message? But why would one appear?
I hadn’t done anything.
With that thought, I checked the message.
My eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets.
[The auction period for all items in the Auction House has ended.]
[Please confirm the winning bid.]
Insane!
Now that I think about it, today was the day.
After sleeping for so long.
I’d lost track of time.
I need to check this right away.
With that thought, Jin-woo turned to his party members and spoke with some urgency.
“Since you mentioned the test is over, I’ll be taking my leave. Something urgent has come up.”
“Ah, yes! W-we’ll see you next time.”
“Yes.”
Jin-woo said only that and logged out immediately.
The other party members, seeing this, grew restless and looked toward Yuna.
“Oh no, what do we do? It seems like we upset him?”
“Ugh! This is all Pan’s fault!”
“…I apologize.”
Faced with Neira’s reproach, Pandel had nothing to say.
It was indeed his mistake.
The problem was that he’d been too cocky.
But Yuna shook her head as she looked at her party members.
“We can make up for it the next time we do a Quest.”
“We’ll have to, one way or another.”
“He’s undoubtedly a user who rivals that Hwang Kyung-ma-jeol player.”
“That’s right, Yuna. We absolutely must recruit him.”
Watching everyone speak about Jin-woo, Yuna nodded in agreement.
“Yes, we must. Someone like that can’t be bought with money alone, so let’s all do our best.”
“Yes!”
Everyone was cheering enthusiastically.
But contrary to Yuna’s expectations, Jin-woo was—
“Kyaaah! H-how much is all this?! Insane!”
They had no idea who Jin-woo really was.

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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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