The Regressor Plays the Game Too Well - Chapter 93

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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 93
Episode 93
Fireworks announced the start of the tournament.
Predictable, sure, but there was no dramatic opening after that.
The preliminaries had to start first—what kind of dramatic moment could there be?
But Jin-woo was different.
He stepped out of the Tournament Arena with an urgent expression, exhaling a heavy sigh.
“Phew.”
I’d participated wearing a decent mask and easily secured first place in my group. That was it.
It was a predictable and obvious result.
There weren’t even any prominent rankers in my group, so I’d coasted through—yet I still took first place, which was somewhat unexpected.
Anyway, I finished as group champion.
Of course, this wasn’t the end.
I had to go through three more preliminary rounds to advance to the main tournament.
Two more rounds remained.
Rather, Jin-woo shook his head, cold sweat dripping down as if he’d had a close call.
I never imagined the second round would take this long.
‘Man, I really struggled taking down that level 30 boss and then one more.’
But I cleared it quickly and made it to the tournament anyway.
No point complaining—all’s well that ends well.
Above all, I survived thanks to Kaiser’s combo techniques, which I relied on when my stats fell short.
It was a genuinely excellent combo.
Though it was slightly lacking, so I reworked it in my own style at the end.
Thinking this over, Jin-woo looked around.
As expected, I suppose.
The faces of rankers I’d only seen in videos before my regression were now visible.
This tournament was much larger in scale than I’d thought.
Well, wasn’t it the world’s largest tournament?
Millions of participants alone.
Normally, preliminaries would take several days.
But this was virtual reality.
‘They said all preliminaries would finish in a single day.’
Even accounting for different time zones across nations and using Korea Standard Time—where Pantheon Headquarters was located—millions had expressed their intention to participate.
So they’d surely made sure there were no time issues for anyone.
Thinking this, Jin-woo checked the bracket, hoping to face a decent ranker during the preliminaries.
Just in case there was one.
But.
‘There really isn’t one.’
Should I call this luck?
Or misfortune, because it’s boring?
To be honest, I’m confident I can beat almost anyone except Kaiser, Han Yu-na, or Barmon.
I’m certain of it now.
When it comes to control, there’s no one besides those three who can defeat me.
But I’m not sure if I can beat those three even in my current state.
‘Well, you won’t know until you try, right?’
Jin-woo thought this to himself and chuckled as he moved on.
Since the second preliminary round would start soon, he decided he should head to that arena and wait.
“Let’s go~.”
* * *
Meanwhile, while Jin-woo was breezing through the preliminaries, Barmon watched the location where Jin-woo was with interest.
First place in the preliminary group matches.
Of course, there were quite a few first-place finishers in the first preliminaries, but this was quite impressive.
‘That must be him.’
With control that was clearly exceptional, Barmon could be certain.
That this was none other than Jin-woo from Jinu TV.
But he could only watch and feel regret.
It would have been nice to meet him in the preliminaries.
I would have liked to dampen his spirits a bit, but since that didn’t happen, there was a lingering sense of disappointment.
But well, it’ll happen soon enough.
You could tell just by watching how many formidable players were gathering around him, all expecting him to be Jin-woo.
‘Many people are targeting him, but who knows?’
Jin-woo’s control as it appeared now.
Honestly, I’m not sure if that’s his full power, but he seemed more skilled than what I saw in the videos.
Though even that felt somewhat tedious.
This might unfold in a direction different from expectations.
Just as Barmon thought this, he saw Kaiser grinding his teeth nearby and turning away.
‘Hmm, like that won’t help.’
Seeing that display, Barmon shook his head.
Harboring such inferiority wouldn’t accomplish anything.
Thinking he’d witnessed an amusing spectacle, Barmon soon headed toward the arena where his own preliminaries would take place.
It’s only a day at most.
By tomorrow, anyone can see it.
And the world will know.
‘My debut with Barmon is perfect for this.’
* * *
Unaware that he was drawing the attention of many rankers, Jin-woo returned refreshed after completing all his preliminary matches.
Like a student receiving a highly satisfactory report card, he examined his match schedule.
[Preliminary 1 – Group 1st Place]
[Preliminary 2 – Group 1st Place]
[Preliminary 3 – Group 1st Place]
First place in the preliminaries.
Kyaa! There’s no way this doesn’t feel amazing.
To be honest, among the famous rankers from before the regression that Jin-woo would know, there weren’t any in the preliminary matches he faced.
Still, it’s quite an impressive result, isn’t it?
Especially since this wasn’t a tournament where incompetent players gathered.
The preliminaries filtered out those with insufficient control in the first stage before starting.
That’s why it only reached several million participants.
If that hadn’t been the case, tens of millions, or perhaps hundreds of millions might have participated.
The system filtered out control below a certain threshold, they said.
To be honest, it wasn’t easy… no, actually it was easy.
‘They were all just small-timers, really.’
Anyway, I managed to advance to the main tournament this way.
Most importantly, since Jin-woo had just completed his final preliminary match.
The bracket was already completely drawn up.
Looking at the Round of 128, thinking the main tournament starts tomorrow.
Selecting 128 players from millions is impressive in itself.
But it was also surprising how quickly the bracket came out.
It appeared immediately after Jin-woo’s final preliminary match ended.
Anyway, Jin-woo looked at the bracket and found where he was positioned.
His name was at the very end, probably because it was the last preliminary.
And his opponent was?
“Huh?”
Jin-woo blinked at that name and checked it once more.
As if questioning whether what he saw was real.
What is this?
Is that really it?
Could it actually be?
[Round of 128, Match 64: Jin-woo VS Barmon]
“The actual Demon Barmon?”
As Jin-woo stood there thinking that, someone approached him.
A blonde mage with refined features wearing a long robe.
Jin-woo found himself thinking upon seeing him.
‘Barmon?’
Did he recognize me?
Ah, well, I’ve already uploaded several videos, so it makes sense he’d recognize me.
I thought it was possible.
Sure enough, Barmon approached Jin-woo and spoke with a slight smile.
“I’ve been watching your videos.”
“Ah, yes. Well, that’s possible.”
“To be honest, they were quite impressive videos.”
I appreciated the praise, but it did leave me somewhat uneasy.
After all, he was my next opponent.
The matchup felt rather uncomfortable.
Wasn’t I facing an overwhelmingly strong opponent right from the start?
Even I couldn’t help but swallow hard, my nerves taut with tension.
To be honest, Barmon was one of the three great demons known as the Divine Trio.
Could I possibly defeat someone like that?
Barmon, who had ranked third before my regression?
‘Sigh.’
Barely making it to the main tournament, and already facing elimination.
Life truly isn’t easy, is it?
I thought to myself.
There’s no reason to be intimidated.
He’s simply one of the mountains I must eventually climb.
No matter how formidable Barmon might be, he wouldn’t easily overcome me—not when I possessed memories from before my regression.
In fact, I could catch him off guard.
The builds from the future and the past are bound to differ.
I would leverage that experience.
If I seized that moment of his confusion?
Victory was entirely within reach.
With that thought, I smiled at Barmon in kind.
It was a smile hidden behind my mask, barely visible.
Yet Barmon could sense it.
“I look forward to our match.”
“The pleasure is mine.”
Barmon shook my hand and turned to leave, when
he suddenly tilted his head in confusion.
Had he introduced himself?
No, he hadn’t.
Yet Jin-woo had immediately recognized him as Barmon.
‘He must have seen me in the preliminaries.’
That’s why he seemed nervous.
Did he sense the difference in our abilities?
Finding it rather amusing, Barmon felt confident that everything would proceed according to plan.
His debut would be as spectacular as he’d envisioned.
Meanwhile, I watched Barmon depart and found myself nodding unconsciously.
That composure—yes, this was definitely the real Barmon.
Though I’d regained some confidence, the fact that Barmon was a formidable opponent remained unchanged.
‘I’ll need to give my absolute best from the very beginning.’
I thought this while feeling grateful that the second round had at least given me the chance to practice my control.
If that hadn’t been the case, I wouldn’t have even thought of Kaiser’s combo.
Whoever my opponent is, I’ll give it my all.
With that thought, I closed my eyes and sighed, as if anticipating the main tournament the next day.
A formidable opponent right from the start.
But why?
‘I don’t feel like I’ll lose.’
I have Kaiser’s combo.
And I’ve even modified it in my own way.
So I shouldn’t worry too much.
And then I logged out.
Deciding not to think about anything else today.
* * *
Finally, the tournament main event begins!
And as expected, an incredible array of skilled players made their appearance.
Among them, several stood out distinctly.
Naturally, the audience was thrilled.
Hong Jung-ho’s broadcast was in an uproar as well.
Even Hong Jung-ho, known as the King of Analysis, watched in admiration.
“Wow! That’s truly impressive! Kaiser certainly lives up to his reputation! It’s absolutely no exaggeration to call him a world-class player!”
-Kaiser really is incredible.
-He was incredible in the videos too.
– Hahaha, it’s not like they monopolize TV like Jinu, but if they pull out videos like that, it’s amazing!
The viewers were all excited as they watched the tournament.
Several outstanding players.
“I said either Yuna or Kaiser would win, but honestly, I really can’t tell now. There are so many formidable players showing up that I genuinely have no idea.”
As Hong Jung-ho provided his commentary.
The final match of the Round of 128 was about to begin.
The matchup was none other than Jin-woo versus Barmon.
Naturally, Hong Jung-ho recognized Jin-woo immediately.
“Ah, this time it’s Jin-woo from Jinu TV. And his opponent is… I haven’t heard the name before, but checking the information, this player took first place in all three preliminary rounds. Definitely not an opponent to take lightly.”
Everyone agreed with Hong Jung-ho’s assessment.
Honestly, this was no easy opponent.
-First place in all preliminaries?
-Isn’t that pretty rare?
-Yeah, there aren’t even ten of them.
-LOL One of them is paired with Jinu TV?
Haha, Jinu TV is one of them too.
Haha, I’m looking forward to it.
-A big match right from the start!
Notably, the other preliminary round first-place finishers hadn’t faced each other.
Only Barmon and Jin-woo were like that.
In truth, simply making it into the top 128 out of millions of players
was already an impressive achievement, wasn’t it?
A match between such a player and Jin-woo, who had drawn considerable discussion and debate.
It seemed as though all of the world’s attention converged at once.
Naturally, Barmon felt it too.
‘Everyone is watching our match.’
Barmon had not yet made his broadcast debut.
But now things were different.
Making my debut on such a grand stage?
I could draw more attention than anyone else.
And my opponent is the famous Hwang Kyung-ma-jeol.
Would there ever be another opportunity in my life better than this?
Barmon shook his head.
‘Look at him, clearly so tense.’
I would definitely win.
With that thought, Barmon reviewed his skills before the match began.
The Mage’s basic skills.
And hadn’t I personally selected ten of them?
With this combination, there would be no one who could defeat me.
While Barmon was thinking such thoughts.
Jin-woo opened his eyes sharply, preparing from the start for Barmon’s attack.
‘Barmon’s characteristic is pressuring his opponent by using skills as quickly as possible.’
A style Jin-woo knew well.
No matter how good the control, it wouldn’t be easy to evade.
So I had to prepare in advance.
If I use a charge skill early and traverse quickly, it would definitely land.
So I need to settle this as early as possible.
While Jin-woo was thinking this way.
A message appeared in the empty air.
[Match Start]
That bland message appeared, and the match finally began.
Just as Jin-woo predicted, Barmon used skills from the start to apply pressure.
He arranged his skills with precision and finesse, making it impossible to approach him easily before attacking.
But why was it?
Jin-woo found himself staring blankly at it.
Why?
‘Why does it look so easy?’
Compared to the bosses I’ve defeated, the speed was far too slow.
Feeling that, Jin-woo could finally understand.
‘Ah, I really am strong, aren’t I?’

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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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