The Regressor Plays the Game Too Well - Chapter 90

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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 90
Episode 90
After Lee Yeon’s event announcement.
The attention of countless players poured in.
Could a player who could defeat Jin-woo actually emerge?
Or what kind of incredible players would appear?
There were quite a few who displayed such curiosity.
And several frontrunners who were already displeased with Jin-woo’s actions began showing great interest in this tournament.
Masters still unknown to the world.
One of them was this man.
“Hmm.”
Barmon.
A player who would acquire the Demon Swordsman class in the not-too-distant future, and one who had earned the reputation of being no less skilled than Kaiser when it came to control.
He was still unknown.
Naturally, he hadn’t yet gained fame.
But that wouldn’t last much longer.
As the saying goes, a sharp awl hidden in a pouch will inevitably show itself.
The pointed tool cannot remain concealed forever.
“A tournament, huh…”
He too had been showing interest in the Ultimate Control Tournament.
To be honest, he was confident that no one surpassed him in magical control.
Though one wondered how many who evaluated themselves that way were truly exceptional.
Barmon was the real deal.
He genuinely believed that his control over magical skills was the most precise of anyone’s.
Especially his timing calculations—they were an art form.
Casting, cast delay, cooldown—he had mastered virtually everything about magical skills.
Moreover, he prided himself on being more sensitive to nuance than anyone else.
‘This should be interesting.’
To be honest, it grated on him.
Jinu TV.
A Pantheon streamer known to be superior to anyone else.
Though it seemed there was truth to that reputation.
But what if one examined only control?
Barmon chuckled at the thought.
Most viewers wouldn’t notice from the videos.
But there were frequent moments of hesitation.
Those very moments of hesitation revealed a lack of control ability, didn’t they?
‘This championship will be mine.’
He would defeat Jinu TV, known as Hwang Gyeong-ma-jeol, no matter what.
Of course, there were other competitors as well.
Why bother worrying about what others are doing?
If anything, I’d love to see more players join in and make things interesting.
Barmon thought to himself,
and set out hunting again with an expression of eager anticipation for the coming week.
He had already left the Beginner Village alone and moved on to the next region.
* * *
Meanwhile, Kaiser’s Guild had been in quite an uproar since the announcement of the event tournament.
A sudden tournament, no less.
But everyone moved with remarkable speed.
Valen and Raigan, recently recruited members.
If Jin-woo had seen them, he would have called them the Vampire King and the Thunder Lord—and these two users exchanged glances before letting out a soft chuckle.
Though they hadn’t known each other long, both could recognize something in the other immediately.
At least, that neither was the type to serve under someone for long.
But.
“Kaiser is genuinely impressive.”
“I’ll admit he’s far superior to us.”
Raigan nodded in agreement with Valen’s words.
Honestly, at first they’d thought of Kaiser as nothing more than a rich young master.
After all, they’d never imagined someone could move such enormous sums of money just to run a guild.
They’d only seen him as a young master of extraordinary wealth.
But that perception changed after both of them attacked Kaiser simultaneously.
In the past, they would have rejected the guild recruitment offer, thinking that serving under anyone went against their nature.
But the existence of Jin-woo had instilled caution in them.
A being who surged ahead overwhelmingly above all others.
Kaiser appeared just as they were feeling vague inferiority toward that existence.
He extended his hand first and invited them to join his guild.
They accepted at first because of the enormous sum he offered.
They had no genuine intention of staying long.
“But now it’s different.”
“Honestly, if we each started our own guilds?”
“It would be meaningless.”
If they couldn’t be the dragon’s head,
they’d rather be the dragon’s tail.
At first they’d considered becoming the leader of a pack, but they quickly dismissed the idea.
After witnessing Kaiser’s abilities, they no longer wanted that.
Instead, they’d become kingmakers and strike at Jin-woo together.
That was their thinking.
“We can’t just leave that damn Korean alone.”
“Our intentions align perfectly by coincidence.”
Valen and Raigan laughed bitterly before breaking into hearty laughter at the absurdity of it all.
In truth, there was no reason to worry about such things.
Kaiser would naturally defeat Jin-woo.
They understood this well enough.
Had they not already seen it in the footage?
Kaiser and Jin-woo possessed a qualitative gap of considerable magnitude.
The raw power of skills or the proficiency in wielding them?
Jin-woo certainly excelled in that regard.
But that was only possible because he monopolized them.
If we’re talking purely about control…. Well?
‘At minimum, he’s on par with us.’
‘Being generous, he’s perhaps half a step ahead.’
But Kaiser?
He had never faltered even against the two of them.
Despite their growth being comparable.
Yet he demonstrated an overwhelming dominance over them, did he not?
I believed the gap was at least two steps, perhaps even three.
But Jin-woo?
There were moments throughout the footage where his movements seemed considerably disrupted.
If he attempted to move but couldn’t—wasn’t that a sign of insufficient control ability?
Valen and Raigan were convinced of this.
‘Kaiser will take the championship.’
‘And after that, we’ll aim for the top positions.’
They would monopolize all the rankings from their guild.
With such determination, they laughed.
While they waited in anticipation.
Kaiser arrived at their location.
Valen and Raigan laughed at Kaiser’s unmistakable air of majesty—the bearing of a sovereign.
Yes, if they were to serve anyone, it should be a true king.
An overwhelmingly dominant Jin-woo?
Even he would surely be powerless before a united force.
“Let’s go.”
“Understood.”
“Good.”
At Kaiser’s command, Valen and Raigan followed him.
Finally, it was time to hunt.
Just as they were about to depart after forming their party.
Raigan asked Kaiser with evident curiosity.
After all, there was always that lingering doubt.
“Kaiser, what’s your take on this tournament?”
“…The tournament.”
Kaiser chuckled at his own words.
Then, with an expression brimming with certainty, he looked at the two of them and spoke.
“I’ll win the championship. Even if that guy shows up, he won’t be able to claim victory.”
He was already analyzing footage with expert analysts in tow.
No matter how much information that guy carelessly revealed, he might not have exposed his true capabilities.
But even so, patterns in unconscious movements inevitably exist.
If he analyzed all of them?
He would crush even the slimmest possibility.
He had long since grasped the pattern behind even the stumbling visible in the footage.
‘I will absolutely win the championship.’
With that conviction, Kaiser set out once more for party hunting.
Since the three of them would gather in the next region.
He was preparing to push forward swiftly.
Time was growing tight before the tournament.
Not only did he need to practice, but he also had to boost his stats.
Kaiser genuinely believed he had already won.
* * *
Small City Marganti.
The Han-sung Guild had already secured every position there.
“Miss Yuna, do you think it’ll be alright?”
“Hmm?”
“I mean Jin-woo. Since we can’t find him anywhere in Marganti, either he’s moved to another location or he’s not logged in, right?”
At those words, Yuna let out a soft laugh.
Certainly.
She thought he wasn’t there.
Despite having scoured Marganti thoroughly, she had never once spotted Jin-woo.
Yuna didn’t think Jin-woo had simply logged out.
It was far more likely that he had moved to a different region.
After all, Jin-woo, who should have been in Nen Village, had come to Falcon Village instead.
And that was after being in Felsia.
There’s still no known information on whether this is even possible.
“Rather than worrying about Jin-woo, we should be worrying about ourselves.”
“Ah, of course, but there’s still quite a lot to discuss, isn’t there?”
“Hmm, you mean the tournament that’s decided by control?”
Yuna did feel a bit concerned about that aspect as well.
Jin-woo’s control skill was certainly excellent.
But when compared to her own, there were moments where he fell slightly short.
When using magic, he possessed superior calculation ability than her.
But in other areas, there were times when he lagged behind.
However, Yuna chuckled softly and shook her head.
That couldn’t possibly be true.
“The champion will definitely be Jin-woo.”
“Pardon?”
“I’m not sure why, but based on what we’ve seen and the footage, I believe he was holding back his power.”
“Holding back his control?”
“Yes. For instance, he wasn’t using his full strength.”
Pandel tilted his head at those words.
Did that even make sense?
No matter how I thought about it, it seemed like a stretch.
But when Yuna spoke next, I found myself nodding involuntarily.
“He told us he was holding back his power too, so wouldn’t he do the same against the world?”
“Ah!”
“He might be hiding it in the footage too, to reveal his true abilities later.”
“That’s true.”
Jin-woo did have those eccentric tendencies, didn’t he?
It was certainly plausible.
Beyond that, he was skilled in combat, and his magic wasn’t lacking either.
Thinking about it, his control did seem oddly inferior compared to Yuna’s, which felt suspicious.
Pandel nodded and spoke after considering this far.
“Now that I think about it that way, rewatching the footage and recalling those moments, it could very well be true.”
“Yes. I’m certain that’s the case.”
“Then what about those moments where his movements stuttered or hesitated?”
“Wasn’t he restraining himself just as his true power was about to emerge?”
“There were definitely moments like that, and now that you mention it, that makes perfect sense.”
They were making quite the spectacular misunderstanding.
Though it did seem plausible on the surface.
And who could have known?
That such a remarkable player was gaming with an outdated model.
Wasn’t it basic knowledge for any gamer?
That newer models far surpassed older ones in movement and control.
Yet they were thinking—surely no player, especially not among the rankers, would use an inferior old model.
Especially not among the top rankers.
In any case, Jin-woo had accomplished what no one else had thought of.
While everyone was dreaming of victory with Jin-woo in their thoughts like this.
The tournament was now just around the corner.
Merely four days away.
Soon the moment would arrive to determine who truly held the number one control in the world.
Meanwhile, what was Jin-woo—the one commanding the attention of every ranker across the globe—doing right now?
He was engaged in something rather important, actually.
The hidden city, Eltura.
I finally arrived at this place using the Demon Sword.
“Kyahya! I’m finally here!”
Jin-woo opened his Quest window.
[God of Battle, Second Step (1)]
*Description: The God of Battle, it is said, never ceased combat at any moment.
Naturally, those who served this god were no different.
However, because they constantly reveled in battle, they belonged nowhere and now remained holed up in quite a harsh terrain, engaging in endless combat amongst themselves.
Find those who serve you and reach the Temple.
*Mission: Find the Temple of the God of Battle in the Damp Mountainous Region, Eltura.
*Reward: God of Battle, Second Step (2)
*This is a Quest that only those who possess a Demon Sword can obtain.
A Quest obtainable only by those who possessed a Demon Sword.
Second advancement.
I had finally come here to break through it.
“Well then, shall I attempt a second advancement?”

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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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