The Regressor Plays the Game Too Well - Chapter 94

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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 94
Episode 94
Pressuring an opponent is typically straightforward.
Anticipate their movement and seal off that path.
Everyone knows this.
But few can actually execute it.
Barmon was one of those few.
Yet he didn’t merely execute it—he transcended mere execution.
He wielded skills and launched attacks with an efficiency that surpassed anyone else.
Right now, he’d sealed all four directions and waited, poised to deliver the finishing blow.
Jin-woo’s movements were predictable, after all.
‘He’ll retreat backward.’
Of course, if there’s no space to escape forward, retreating is both common sense and instinct.
Barmon had anticipated this, even pre-calculated the exact direction Jin-woo would move, and had already advanced to the threshold of unleashing his finishing strike.
Ready to activate the moment Jin-woo reacted.
But what was this?
Jin-woo’s movement was extraordinary.
I’d made certain there was no gap in the front.
The Fire Field—a semi-wide-area skill—unfurled in a fan pattern, steadily closing the distance forward, yet Jin-woo advanced straight ahead?
Was he in his right mind?
Such was Barmon’s thought, yet he found himself smiling instead.
‘Right, it’d be dull if he moved exactly as predicted from the start.’
After all, Jin-woo had proven himself among the elite players.
Anything less would be disappointing.
With that thought, Barmon unleashed a Mana Bullet toward Jin-woo, who leaped directly above the expanding Fire Field.
Suspended in mid-air, unable to dodge?
No, Barmon had accounted for this from the start.
Jin-woo would evade.
Certain of it. He could absolutely dodge.
Then I should aim for what comes next.
‘Next time, he absolutely won’t be able to escape.’
But what was happening?
The Mana Bullet closed in on Jin-woo, yet he showed no sign of dodging whatsoever.
In mid-air—how could he possibly evade?
With a charge skill or mobility skill, movement in the air would be entirely feasible.
He wasn’t dodging?
This far exceeded Barmon’s calculations.
Yet I maintained my composure as best I could.
What would Jin-woo do?
Barmon watched, contemplating that very question.
Watching Barmon, Jin-woo couldn’t help but wonder.
‘Is that really all there is?’
He still harbored doubts.
And rightfully so—it was Barmon, after all.
What other scheme might he be hiding?
But this was…
Far too underwhelming.
Still, I should prepare myself and stay mobile just in case.
There’s no telling what might come flying at me.
With that thought, Jin-woo swiftly activated Iron Block.
A fundamental skill from his second advancement.
While it boosted defense, there was one subtle difference about it.
‘It raises defense while allowing me to strike through skills.’
A submarine effect, as one might call it.
In any case, it possessed such a hidden property.
So Jin-woo used Iron Block and immediately stepped off Barmon’s skill, launching himself upward once more.
He predicted the precise trajectory of the mana projectile, twisted his body, and used the sole of his foot to minimize damage as he stepped off the mana projectile before launching skyward again.
A movement that bordered on the impossible—pure artistry.
Barmon’s eyes widened in shock so extreme they nearly split his face.
It was an absurd display, truly.
Hadn’t Jin-woo initially conceived this from Kaiser’s combo techniques?
Of course, Kaiser’s combo never included anything like “step on the skill and jump!”
He had simply explained that using Iron Block allowed him to strike through skills, and shown a video demonstrating how to minimize damage by deflecting it.
Jin-woo had merely adapted it to suit his own style.
‘It’s quite useful.’
It was far more than merely useful.
In fact, even knowing about it, how many could actually pull this off?
Even the formidable Barmon stood there with eyes wide in astonishment.
Though this could be a bluff, of course.
Jin-woo remained vigilant and launched himself through the air once more, streaking toward Barmon like an arrow.
Sword in hand, Jin-woo prepared to activate a skill.
Seeing this, Barmon moved to activate another skill.
This time, an ordinary skill wouldn’t suffice.
A considerably powerful fundamental skill he’d been saving as a finishing move.
‘Bomber Missile.’
He unleashed an explosive mana projectile.
A skill that detonates upon impact, knocking the opponent back.
With this, he could surely force Jin-woo away.
Barmon unleashed the skill with that conviction.
But Jin-woo paid it no mind and charged forward regardless.
The Iron Hammer had already been activated.
Seeing this, Barmon calculated his next move.
‘No matter how I reposition my skills, I cannot escape the explosion.’
Even if I use my charge skill simultaneously with a dodge, I cannot avoid the damage and knockback.
Then I’ll make him bleed dry with the barrage of skills that follows.
That was Barmon’s reasoning.
But Jin-woo simply smirked at Barmon’s confidence.
Let me reiterate: the Iron Hammer is a skill that allows you to strike other skills.
In other words, having already struck a skill with the Iron Hammer meant I could now touch it—interact with it directly.
Far more effectively than a normal attack.
The moment the Bomber Missile came flying, I twisted my body.
My frame coiled tight as a spring.
And the Bomber Missile struck my left shoulder directly.
Thwack!
In that instant, my body spun with ferocious intensity.
And the moment the missile made contact, it was about to detonate.
I activated my charge skill immediately.
Two of them, in fact.
As my body whirled violently toward Barmon.
Two charge skills erupted forth.
And the Bomber Missile detonated precisely behind me.
Barmon, Jin-woo, and the Bomber Missile exploding in my wake.
As I mentioned before, the Bomber Missile’s effects are detonation and knockback.
Boom!
My violently spinning body rotated even faster, becoming like a whirlwind, and that velocity exceeded what two movement skills could achieve.
Impossibly fast.
Barmon’s pupils trembled as he registered the speed.
He had to evade somehow.
But.
‘How… how do I?’
Barmon had loaded every skill slot with offensive abilities.
To pressure his opponent by any means necessary.
In other words, he had no movement skills.
His only option was to roll.
Just as he attempted to roll away.
I spun like a whirlwind, unleashing my basic skills—Anticipation and Slash.
My blade extended with the rotation.
In that moment.
Slice!
My blade, damage amplified to its maximum through all my skills.
I sliced through Barmon’s neck.
“Wh—what?”
That was the end.
After severing Barmon’s neck, my spinning body slid across the Tournament Arena floor, leaving a long streak in its wake as I landed.
It was a landing so perfect it bordered on beautiful.
Then I planted my sword into the ground.
Thud, roll.
Barmon’s head fell to the floor, and the match was over.
In the aftermath of such an anticlimactic victory, I found myself thinking.
‘Damn, my control is pretty insane.’
Only now was I realizing it.
* * *
The match between Barmon and Jin-woo.
It had captivated everyone’s attention.
Why wouldn’t it?
Wasn’t it obvious?
It was Jin-woo’s match—of course it would draw interest.
But his opponent was someone named Barmon, a name no one had heard before.
Still, he’d made it to the Round of 128.
So people assumed he must be fairly skilled.
But what was this?
Barely thirty seconds?
No, it felt even shorter than that.
When the match ended.
There were no cheers or passionate roars.
Not even applause—just a silent Tournament Arena.
“What—what?”
“Is it over?”
“Already?”
“What?”
Everyone stared at the Tournament Arena in bewilderment.
Other matches lasted at least five minutes, no matter how quick.
Well, that was only natural.
Even with a massive skill gap, both fighters started with identical stats and the same five basic skills.
So how could anyone end it so overwhelmingly?
Five minutes was already an absurdly fast pace.
But less than a minute?
No, less than a minute—it really didn’t even seem like thirty seconds had passed.
The situation was so nonsensical that everyone was too stunned to even process what had happened.
And Pan, who was broadcasting the match, had also been left speechless.
“H-how is this even possible?”
-Wow! Even Hong Jung-ho, the greatest analyst under heaven, is speechless.
-What’s the difference between him and us!
-No, but that’s just too much.
-For real;;
-No, what the hell is that?
The chat streams of the Pan-tubers’ broadcasts froze for a moment before gradually coming back to life with reactions.
Could this even be real?
I stood there in disbelief, dazed.
Then Jin-woo’s victory message appeared.
The system itself had been slow to react to such speed.
Only then could people truly comprehend what they’d witnessed.
“Aaaaaaaaaaaa!”
“Insane! How is this even possible!”
“What kind of match was that!”
“Uuuuuh!”
“Crazy! Absolutely crazy!”
“Wait! That person’s control is supposedly lacking?”
“But, but the video said that!?”
The crowd erupted in cheers and thunderous applause.
Naturally, all hell broke loose.
The Pan-tubers’ broadcasts were in chaos too, of course.
Hong Jung-ho’s broadcast was no different.
“Wow, what is this really? Who the hell is that player?”
Haha! Hyung, snap out of it.
-Hyung! What are you doing! You’re supposed to be broadcasting!
-You’re a professional broadcaster!
-But the stammering is still there!
Haha, that’s absolutely impossible to fix!
Hey, but I’m stuttering too. Hahaha.
I can’t translate this as it appears to be random Korean consonants without vowels or meaningful content. Could you provide the actual Korean text you’d like translated?
-Huh? You too? Hey! Me too!
At Hong Jung-ho’s stammering, the viewers naturally flooded the chat with bewildered messages.
No matter the situation, Hong Jung-ho always tried to analyze first—he wasn’t the type to react like this on broadcast.
As a former pro gamer, he always maintained at least a professional mindset in his commentary.
In over a decade, Hong Jung-ho had never broken that composure.
But he just did.
Naturally, the viewers were shocked by it too.
But they all seemed to accept it.
-But this one’s understandable.
—I can’t even speak.
—Seriously, I’ve been broadcasting for nearly twenty years and this is the first time I’ve seen him like this.
—He’s genuinely shocked.
—But he’s a legendary player himself, so if he’s shocked… wow;;;
—Even a former pro gamer would say this doesn’t make sense;;;
—Ah, lol, that’s because he’s matched against a weakling.
Some viewers claimed Barmon was simply too incompetent.
Hong Jung-ho, however, regained his composure upon reading the chat.
This wasn’t the time for that.
Hong Jung-ho pulled himself together and brought up the replay of the match just moments before, displaying it for his viewers.
Then he explained.
“Those saying Barmon is weak—listen. Even if a thousand of you came together, you couldn’t beat Barmon.”
—????
—?
—Hook collector, huh?
—Wait, what nonsense is this? Looks like it’d be decided between two people?
“No, seriously, look at this. Right from the start, he uses Fire Field in a fan pattern. That alone shows insane judgment. He used the spread skill quickly to force a retreat—that was the intention.”
Hong Jung-ho explained it all slowly and methodically.
He enlarged the replay footage and showed Barmon’s expression exactly as it was.
“And in that moment, the Jin-woo user—or rather, Hwang Kyung-ma-jeol—leaps forward and attempts to close the distance. Up to this point, Barmon is smiling as if it’s beneath him. In other words, it’s within his expectations. Then he uses Mana Bullet to attack the airborne Hwang Kyung-ma-jeol.”
As Hong Jung-ho explained, he laid bare Barmon’s intentions.
It was remarkably accurate.
He even identified the exact moment Jin-woo would evade the Mana Bullet and the follow-up motion for the finishing blow, enlarging it for all to see.
Naturally, the viewers could only gasp in admiration.
—Wow, to catch that in a split second, that’s insane;;;;
—Don’t disrespect our hyung!
—But still, Barmon pulling that off is pretty incredible too.
—Yeah;;;
“The skill Hwang Kyung-ma-jeol used here is Iron Block. Iron Block is a skill that increases defense, but I didn’t know it had the effect of intercepting skills like that. Look closely—he’s stepping on the Mana Bullet and leaping, which means Iron Block has the effect of striking skills. Here, Hwang Kyung-ma-jeol threw down his trump card.”
The scene that followed unfolded exactly as Hong Jung-ho described.
“Barmon threw his trump card too. He tried to knock Jin-woo back using knockback, then unleash a barrage of attack skills. But Jin-woo used that knockback to move even faster instead, activated two charge skills to maximize speed and damage output, and—just like that!”
Barmon’s defeat, right there on screen.
Hong Jung-ho showed it and spoke of Barmon.
“At minimum, Barmon possesses control skills on par with Yuna or Kaiser. Even if he falls short, the gap would be at most half a tier. For Jin-woo to defeat such a Barmon…”
—So Hwang Kyung-ma-jeol beat him in thirty seconds?
—How is that even possible?
“He’s a monster. A complete monster.”

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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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