The Regressor Plays the Game Too Well - Chapter 95

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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 95
Episode 95
I won.
To be honest, I still felt dazed.
Even after seeing the victory message, it didn’t feel real.
I defeated Barmon?
My mind was filled with nothing but that thought.
Of course it was.
Wasn’t he the greatest Mage player who once reached 3rd place in the world rankings?
The pinnacle of all Mages!
That was Barmon.
Yet I defeated such a Barmon in less than a minute.
No, it didn’t even take 30 seconds?
I laughed in disbelief.
I laughed as if I couldn’t believe it.
To be honest, when facing Barmon, I had already resigned myself to defeat on some level.
But when the match started, something felt off.
And yet I won.
Did my opponent let his guard down?
That couldn’t be it.
Barmon wasn’t the type to be careless.
No, absolutely not.
Even if he had been careless at first, the skill he displayed afterward showed no significant difference from before the regression—at least not in the control I observed.
Exquisite control that crushed the opponent’s spirit.
Barmon as he would be in the future.
Though there were still some rough edges.
Perhaps because he was still younger compared to his future self.
In some ways, his control was actually sharper now.
Yet I defeated such a Barmon.
I’m actually quite strong.
Only now could I truly understand it.
That my strength wasn’t merely from luck in regressing and monopolizing everything.
Confirming my control gave me confidence.
Could I defeat Kaiser and Kong Yuna as well?
The past 1st and 2nd ranked players.
Could I truly beat them?
My anticipation grew considerably.
Though I shouldn’t think this way.
The greater the expectations, the greater the disappointment.
I had tried not to expect too much.
How could I not have expectations here?
I smiled contentedly at the thought.
Even if I lose, I should give it my all.
I shouldn’t hold back or second-guess myself.
With that mindset, even the slight tension I’d been feeling vanished completely.
‘This feels good.’
With my mind at ease, I felt my body relax from its rigid state and grow even lighter.
Such a comfortable mindset.
Ironically, that very ease made me perform even better.
* * *
When I defeated Barmon in just 30 seconds and emerged from the arena.
Naturally, several top-ranked players were greatly shaken.
Was my control really at that level?
No, it absolutely wasn’t.
And soon, everyone could understand.
They’d been deceived.
They’d fallen for my scheme.
I’d shown in the video that my control was somewhat lacking, intending to overwhelm them during the actual tournament.
But everyone judged that it was already too late to realize this.
Kaiser especially frowned upon seeing it.
“….”
He said nothing, but anger was bubbling up inside him.
No one should have approached Kaiser in such a state.
Yet Valen and Raigan approached him and spoke.
“It was more impressive than expected.”
“Will you be alright?”
Each offering a single comment.
Kaiser could oddly regain his composure at those words.
He realized that getting upset now wouldn’t improve anything.
With that thought, Kaiser observed the situation coldly and rationally.
Could he execute the control I’d just displayed right now?
He focused only on that question, but there was only one conclusion.
Our fighting styles were far too different.
It was something he’d sensed to some degree even while watching the video.
Kaiser’s control system was quite formulaic.
To be precise, it was highly calculated.
One might say he was the type heavily focused on theory.
Because he’d learned that way, his system was solid and well-structured.
But I was the complete opposite.
‘I can’t gauge it.’
A pursuit of freedom and unconventional tactics.
Considering such factors, Kaiser should logically emerge victorious.
The difference between a professional gamer and a skilled amateur reveals itself precisely in such systematic frameworks.
This is why even naturally talented amateurs inevitably struggle for months after turning professional.
They must systematize what they once performed freely.
Because of this, Kaiser believed himself to hold the advantage.
Without a system, the moment one makes a decision, lag inevitably emerges.
A system eliminates that lag, enabling faster decision-making.
Kaiser’s control was perfectly optimized for exactly this.
He had mastered professional systems and possessed superior control over anyone else.
But could he truly be certain of defeating Jin-woo?
‘I’m not entirely sure.’
When thinking objectively, that was the case.
Barmon was also someone with a firmly established system.
Considering such points, it would be correct to assume he would lose.
Barmon, who already possessed excellent control and a solid system, had already fallen.
But why?
Kaiser didn’t feel he would lose.
After all, when freedom and system collide, light freedom inevitably crumbles.
‘No matter how he defeated Barmon, it won’t work against me.’
Now he was almost certain.
Jin-woo—that man has no system.
Therefore, he with his solid system would claim victory.
The reason?
Of course there is one.
‘My system is more solid than Barmon’s.’
The very foundation of their systems differed.
Barmon’s system was like a towering fortress.
Magnificent and tall though it was, it couldn’t withstand the free wind and ultimately crumbled.
But Kaiser’s system was, by comparison, a fortress.
A sturdy fortress that no mere wind could ever overcome.
Because of this, he was certain.
Jin-woo could never defeat him.
‘That settles it.’
After concluding his analysis coldly, Kaiser turned away.
Anticipating he would face that man in the semifinals.
Valen and Raigan nodded as they watched Kaiser.
Yes, that’s how their boss should think.
With such thoughts, they too observed their other opponents.
Among them, one person stood out most prominently.
Watching Yuna, both of them came to the same conclusion.
Regardless of anything else, they had to capture that woman.
“I’ll take her first.”
“Then should I just capture you instead?”
Valen and Raigan exchanged quips and chuckled softly at each other.
But Raigan spoke seriously to Valen.
“Let me face that bastard Jin-woo first and gather some analysis on him.”
“…Alright.”
A practical admission of defeat from Raigan, who was always competing and bickering with him.
Valen could only nod in agreement to those words.
Judging by Jin-woo’s control, there seemed to be no margin for them to win.
If that was the case, it was only right to uncover his weaknesses and be of some help.
When Raigan spoke thus, Valen quietly closed his eyes.
By the time he met Yuna, Jin-woo and Raigan would be facing off.
The tournament was unfolding far more entertainingly than expected.
* * *
The matches continued.
The Round of 128, which he’d anticipated would take longer than expected, ended swiftly, and the Round of 64 and Round of 32 progressed with remarkable speed.
Naturally, everyone clicked their tongues and shook their heads in amazement.
This truly was a battle of the heavens.
Everyone marveled.
“This is absolutely insane. Every single person here is incredible.”
“Every match is legendary!”
“Well, of course—only the best from around the world remain, so it’s only natural… but it really is amazing.”
“Still, those people are the most incredible, though.”
“That’s true.”
By the time the tournament reached the Round of 32.
Naturally, certain players became the talk of the event.
One of them was obvious.
“Jin-woo, that user was really unexpected.”
“I mean, I’ve never heard anyone call Hong Jung-ho a monster before.”
“It’s absolutely incredible.”
“A monster, truly. None of his matches have gone over a minute.”
“That’s right.”
“But Kaiser is amazing too, isn’t he?”
“Of course!”
Kaiser’s name came up frequently, much like Jin-woo’s.
Kaiser displayed a completely opposite approach from Jin-woo.
He’d fought every opponent for at least over ten minutes.
It was a stark contrast to Jin-woo’s path of ending matches in the shortest time possible.
But.
“No, it’s because you’re toying with your opponent, blocking every single attack.”
“The opponents have every reason to surrender.”
“You really feel the overwhelming gap in power.”
“You haven’t taken a single hit so far and made everyone surrender, right?”
“That’s right.”
I block every attack from my opponent while never attacking myself.
That’s why every match went over ten minutes.
But precisely because of that, I couldn’t help but feel an even more overwhelming presence.
When my opponent grew frustrated and gave up, everyone felt a chill run down their spine.
And then there was one user who could be compared to those two.
“Hey, but isn’t Yuna absolutely insane too?”
“Right! Her style is a bit closer to Kaiser’s than Jin-woo’s, but her face is just too pretty!”
“Heh! Even if Yuna’s matches aren’t fun, you have to watch!”
“Her control is excellent and her beauty is outstanding!”
“Now that I think about it, Yuna didn’t allow a single hit either!”
“These are truly remarkable people.”
Everyone spoke in unison to praise the three.
And there was no mention of Barmon anywhere.
Originally, Barmon should have been among them.
But he was eliminated far too early because of Jin-woo, so it couldn’t be helped.
Just as everyone was anticipating the moment.
The match between Yuna and Valen was about to begin.
It was a big match right from the first round of the Round of 16.
“Heh! Valen is pretty incredible too.”
“Even though he allowed some hits, he won overwhelmingly most of the time.”
“Valen is really strong.”
Everyone praised Valen, but.
Really?
Could he beat Yuna?
If someone asked that, everyone would speak in unison.
There’s no way.
While I wanted to cheer for Yuna, objectively speaking, it was the same.
Valen felt this atmosphere and frowned.
‘Damn atmosphere.’
Then he flashed a grin.
Actually, this was good.
It was better when jeers erupted rather than cheers.
All I had to do was focus and tear my opponent apart.
After me, the last Round of 16 match would be between Raigan and Jin-woo.
Yuna was certainly exceptional as well.
But in Valen’s eyes, Yuna was no match for Kaiser.
So there was no need for analysis.
What Valen wanted was only one thing.
Victory.
With that thought, Valen slipped on his knuckles.
Unlike Yuna, who relied on her bow, he was far more agile—he could win.
The moment the match began, Valen with his knuckles equipped charged straight at Yuna.
But why?
…
No arrows came flying.
The answer was simple.
Yuna wasn’t even looking at Valen.
Well, not literally.
It was more figurative.
To be precise.
She didn’t consider him a worthy opponent.
I’ll kill him.
Grinding his teeth, Valen closed the distance at an even faster pace, reaching right in front of Yuna’s face. He extended his right fist, wrapped in knuckles, to strike.
But what was this?
The moment Valen threw his punch, an arrow was released.
Its target was naturally his fist.
Ching! Bang!
The arrow struck his knuckles head-on, deflecting his fist.
Feeling the impact reverberate all the way to his shoulder, Valen used the recoil to spin rapidly and unleash a spinning kick.
A back kick flowing seamlessly from the rotation.
It would have been a devastating strike if it connected, but Yuna simply used a back step to retreat, narrowly evading the attack before nocking another arrow.
And then.
Twang.
An arrow released without hesitation.
Desperate to deflect it, Valen threw a punch with his left hand from an awkward stance.
Boom!
He barely managed to deflect the arrow.
But he’d used both hands and one leg.
And now he hung suspended in mid-air.
Seeing this, Yuna spoke her final words to Valen.
“Your body is wide open.”
Whoosh, whoosh.
Two arrows released in an instant.
Watching the two arrows embed themselves directly into his head and heart, Valen could feel it.
That I had been defeated.
The disparity in power was utterly overwhelming.
As if I had faced Kaiser himself.
Valen fell without accomplishing anything.
Raigan, who had been watching the match from a distance, hardened his expression and exhaled a quiet sigh.
If he waited a bit longer, his turn would come.
And that moment arrived far sooner than he had anticipated.
[Round of 16, Match 8 – Raigan VS Jin-woo]

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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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