The Regressor Plays the Game Too Well - Chapter 96

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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 96
Episode 96
The final match of the Round of 16.
It was Jin-woo versus Raigan.
Needless to say, no one expected Raigan to win.
And that expectation led to the inevitable result.
[Winner – Jin-woo]
Raigan descended from the arena, reading the bitter message.
Defeat.
I’m not sure when losing became so familiar.
But one thing was certain.
I lost the battle, but I would win the war.
Though Raigan had lost, he had confirmed it.
“Kaiser, I’ve confirmed it.”
“Hmm, is it what the Analysis Team said?”
“The patterns unfolded exactly as predicted.”
The Analysis Team.
Since the tournament began, they had analyzed every single match Jin-woo participated in, from the preliminaries onward.
With Kaiser’s financial resources, it was nothing.
The result obtained by mobilizing the full power of the Guild.
Raigan had confirmed that result.
Kaiser nodded at those words and spoke to Raigan.
“Well done.”
“I’m counting on you for what comes next.”
“Now that it’s confirmed and certain, victory will be mine.”
“The analysis was certainly thorough. It felt like they were dissecting every aspect of a person.”
“Of course—that’s what I pay them for.”
At Kaiser’s words, Raigan chuckled.
The compensation they received was substantial, after all.
If they couldn’t deliver this much value, it would be a problem.
Raigan, thinking the same, turned to leave.
Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he spoke to Kaiser.
“But remember one thing.”
“That he uses his body completely?”
“Yes, as long as you understand.”
But would he not?
Kaiser nodded as if he obviously already knew.
Raigan turned away, thinking his concern was unnecessary.
Left alone, Kaiser closed his eyes.
Through the matches Jin-woo had fought, he had grasped all of Jin-woo’s patterns.
Both the Analysis Team and I had analyzed it.
Of course, that didn’t mean Jin-woo had become easy to defeat.
Rather, he seemed more enigmatic and troublesome than any other powerhouse.
He would be stronger than anyone else.
In fact, this semifinal would be harder than the finals.
‘Yuna isn’t even a worthy opponent for me.’
She operated with a style centered on control and systems similar to my own.
Han Yu-na had a slight advantage due to range.
But in terms of pure control, Kaiser had the edge.
The difference could emerge from this gap.
But I wasn’t worried.
The Analysis Team wasn’t hired just for Jin-woo.
After all, it was created for flawless victory.
Jin-woo himself had discovered weaknesses.
Yuna?
She was never even worth my attention.
‘I’ll tear her apart.’
Kaiser smiled wickedly at that thought.
He was looking forward to tomorrow’s match.
He’d grasped all of Jin-woo’s patterns from the matches that had continued until today.
Believing he’d understood everything, Kaiser chuckled softly.
As if victory was already within his grasp.
‘You’ve already lost.’
* * *
Meanwhile, after his match with Raigan ended, Jin-woo was groaning slightly, as if uncomfortable.
It wasn’t that anything hurt.
‘…Hmm.’
Just an uncomfortable, nagging sensation—like a thorn caught in his throat.
If there was a problem, it was with the match itself.
Even by Jin-woo’s assessment, the result had been overwhelming.
He’d defeated the future ranker Raigan so easily.
After defeating Barmon like that, he’d never expected to face any rivals besides Kaiser or Yuna.
Yet something felt odd.
When facing Raigan, it felt as though he knew everything about me.
Was that even possible?
Wait, hold on.
It was definitely possible.
‘That bastard’s a chaebol.’
Now that I thought about it, that made sense.
Earlier, I’d noticed Raigan was with Kaiser for some reason.
And Valen was no different.
Originally, it would have been Raigan who founded the Lightning Guild and Valen who founded the Vampire Guild.
But the fact that he’d gone under Kaiser meant the future had already changed.
Only now could Jin-woo truly grasp it.
They’d figured out my pattern.
‘It seems the Analysis Team or something attached itself to me and dissected everything.’
This was troublesome.
I’d beaten Raigan easily enough, but there was an undeniable unease to it.
But if it were Kaiser instead?
I could actually lose if I wasn’t careful.
Given this situation, I had no choice but to devise a countermeasure.
The question was how.
Normally in such cases, one would rely on personal experience or skill.
Did I possess such things?
Jin-woo paused in thought.
Something only I could do.
‘Wait—I’ve regressed, haven’t I?’
That meant I knew the combinations that would be used in the future.
Obviously, this was a significant advantage.
Having a build versus not having one.
The difference was as vast as heaven and earth.
Now that I thought about it, that was true.
I’d always found building tedious and skipped it.
Even before the regression.
With no time to clear content, why bother with builds?
Of course, I’d seen the builds Kaiser created and those from other rankers.
I just hadn’t tried to copy them outright.
‘The viewers are sensitive to that sort of thing.’
Even as a broadcaster, they’d flood the chat asking whose build I was copying.
It was a place where comparative remarks poured in endlessly.
So I’d only observed and rarely imitated.
But now things were different.
I’d have to borrow a little from them.
Besides.
‘It’s not really copying, is it?’
Now it’s information from the future.
If I use it now?
Wouldn’t it just become mine?
It does feel like thief mentality though.
Well, if you’re upset about it, go ahead and sue me!
I’d be arrested for time regression.
Chuckle, chuckle, chuckle.
With that thought, I climbed out of the capsule and opened my notebook.
Now that I thought about it, there were quite a few builds I could recall.
Of course, I’d have to limit myself to combos using basic skills.
But if I mixed in advanced techniques?
The possibilities were endless.
After all, I’d been playing for nine years.
It would be stranger if I had fewer builds to remember.
‘Oh! That’s right. Kaiser uploaded something like this? Ah! Yuna posted this too! And Barmon taught me so much about skill timing and submarine effects. Ah, I remember now.’
How many times had I watched videos from those once called gods?
While entertaining, they were essentially textbooks that every broadcaster should have studied.
I organized my notebook, drawing from these memories.
The monster’s body that originally moved only through control
was finally beginning to develop a mind.
The ability to think and move deliberately.
I was constructing builds layer by layer.
Builds from those who would one day be called gods in the future.
Reinterpreting them in my own way, boldly discarding parts that seemed unnecessary.
How long had I been at this?
“Ugh!”
My back was killing me from sitting too long.
Yet I couldn’t help but smile.
My own build.
I’d finally developed it.
In less than five hours, no less.
If Kaiser had known, he might have conceded in tears—it was that much of an achievement.
But unaware of this, I chuckled to myself and muttered.
“I can’t wait to test it!”
I wished tomorrow would come faster.
My body was practically trembling with anticipation to try this out.
The quarterfinal matches starting tomorrow.
Mine was scheduled last, which was frustrating.
Well, the end was in sight now anyway.
* * *
The day after I finished developing my build.
As expected for the quarterfinals, only truly formidable competitors remained.
But Yuna, Kaiser, and I naturally overwhelmed our opponents with ease and claimed victory.
We all displayed overwhelming dominance.
Yet Kaiser tilted his head slightly as he contemplated the semifinals that would soon begin.
‘Hmm.’
Something felt different.
Jin-woo’s pattern, to be precise.
The time was far too short to incorporate the results the Analysis Team had provided.
What used to take 30 seconds.
This time, he’d finished it in a mere 20 seconds.
He was faster than before, certainly.
But had he truly grown?
Or had he simply revealed a hidden card?
Kaiser believed it was neither.
Pure luck.
‘It happens sometimes.’
When fortune smiles and everything flows perfectly, breaking records in the process.
That’s the state Kaiser judged Jin-woo to be in right now.
Besides, there was already precedent—Jin-woo had entered the tournament while hiding his true strength in the footage.
He’d already revealed enough to prove his capabilities.
Control even better than that?
Impossible.
They were both human, after all.
No matter how refined Jin-woo’s control was, it couldn’t be that exceptional.
Kaiser dismissed the notion that Jin-woo had grown or concealed his true strength based on this reasoning.
The analysis was flawless.
Victory was already his.
Nothing would change that.
‘That trash could never be my equal.’
And once he won, he had a plan.
He intended to recruit Jin-woo after claiming victory.
Naturally, with the industry’s finest treatment.
If he triumphed in control, wouldn’t Jin-woo bow to him?
Kaiser smiled at the thought, his lips curving upward.
And then.
[The first semifinal match between Kaiser and Jin-woo is about to begin.]
[Kaiser player, please prepare yourself.]
At the familiar message, Kaiser rose from his seat.
Kaiser and Jin-woo, who had been in reverse order until now, would face each other in the first match.
The semifinals had finally arrived.
The crowd roared with excitement.
It was inevitable.
This was the confrontation everyone had been waiting for.
Kaiser and Jin-woo.
At last, the end of that controversy could be witnessed.
Kaiser, standing in the Tournament Arena, could see Jin-woo approaching him.
Though he wore a mask, there was no sense of tension about him.
That composure was something only the strong could possess.
Kaiser understood this well.
‘But that composure will shatter soon enough.’
With a twisted smile, Kaiser moved toward the center of the Tournament Arena.
And from a distance where his voice could be heard, he regarded Jin-woo.
Simply starting the match would be boring.
Kaiser, observing Jin-woo, spoke plainly.
“Listen, how about making a wager with me?”
“…A wager?”
The proposal was so sudden.
Jin-woo looked at Kaiser with a somewhat bewildered expression.
He seemed willing to listen.
That composure irritated Kaiser’s sensibilities.
But he restrained himself.
Soon enough, he would witness this man lose his composure.
Kaiser spoke to Jin-woo.
“How about the victor’s wish being granted?”
“Hmm.”
“For instance, if I win, you join our Guild. Of course, I’ll match you with the best terms possible. What do you say?”
This was Kaiser’s final concession.
If he refused, Kaiser would hunt him down after victory and eliminate him mercilessly.
After all, he’d irritated Kaiser considerably, but there was no denying he was more valuable than any other user.
To Kaiser’s proposal, Jin-woo seemed to think for a moment.
Then he smiled brightly.
“I don’t usually take bets I’ll lose, but this should be interesting.”
How could every single word be so infuriating?
Kaiser thought this as he asked Jin-woo.
“…What do you mean by that?”
“The wager is on.”
“Good.”
“Don’t backpedal later.”
Jin-woo spoke thus with an excited expression.
Kaiser likewise smiled.
“Who would?”
And so.
[Match Start]
The match had begun.
Mere seconds passed.
Kaiser could sense it.
‘Something… something is wrong.’

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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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