The Regressor's Ice Is Golden - Chapter 8

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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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008.

Park Ji-ho found the situation rather peculiar.
For one, it had been ages since he’d seen Cha Jin-hee skate at all.
If he narrowed it down precisely to ‘Figure Skating,’ it was essentially the first time.
Music erupted from the speakers at the Ice Rink.
It was playing from Kim Ha-seol’s phone.
Immediately after, the Coach and Jin-hee each placed a hand on their respective shoulders.
That wrinkled instrument he’d seen on TV once—what was it called again?
In any case, its sound rode atop the sharp crack of wood being struck, driving forward with bright energy.
The two glided across the ice, following the rhythm that split with urgent fluidity.
Over it all, bright staccato piano notes threaded through.
Crack!
The Coach launching into a double jump; Cha Jin-hee executing a single.
And Kim Ha-seol tracking them both, watching with the keen eye of a hawk.
It was hypnotic—impossible to look away.
‘Wow.’
The music cut and restarted several times, each loop barely three minutes long.
Once their skating session ended, Cha Jin-hee and the Coach spoke together in low tones.
It felt strangely distant to him.
What was so amusing about whatever they were discussing?
He couldn’t hear what they were saying from where he stood.
Suddenly alone, boredom crept in.
Almost without thinking, Park Ji-ho borrowed a pair of skates.
Crash!
“Ugghhh……”
He hit the ice spectacularly, legs splayed in an ungainly sprawl.
“Whoa, you okay?”
Cha Jin-hee and Kim Ha-seol rushed over.
They were themselves again—no different from usual.
“Dude, that was wild. How do you even use these things? I’m amazed every time I try.”
Cha Jin-hee quickly hauled Park Ji-ho to his feet.
His grip on the railing trembled slightly.
A calm voice joined in.
“Don’t try to glide just yet. For now, just walk—like you’re stamping your feet.”
“Mm.”
“Oh, you’re getting it!”
Park Ji-ho began moving forward, his skates making soft padding sounds.

I’d brought Cha Jin-hee over to Park Ji-ho.
Watching the three of them trade comments back and forth, he seemed bored and left out.
Not that he could skate well anyway, yet he’d borrowed skates regardless.
Still, he didn’t seem incompetent, so it probably wouldn’t get in the way.
‘Right then. What I need to focus on now is.’
There was a little over three months left before the Junior Season began.
I pulled up my Status Window.

[Kim Ha-seol]
Age: 13 years old (Born February 27th)
Height: 162 cm
Weight: 46 kg
Secondary Sexual Development: 24%

Strength: B
Endurance: A-
Flexibility: B
Precision: B+
Artistry: C+

[Biological Metronome] (D/Active)

Finally, I’d managed a stat with an A-grade letter.
With so much focus on land training, my strength and flexibility had rounded out nicely.
And most crucially.

[Challenge Quest Completed (Grade 5 Figure Skating Advancement Test Cleared) — you have been granted +1 ‘Grade C Confirmed Special Ability Draw Ticket’.]

‘Finally!’
I’d successfully cleared the Grade 5 advancement test.
Which meant, quite simply, that I could now land the jump I desperately needed.
The Double Axel.
It’s the only jump taken facing forward, so mechanically, you have to complete an extra half rotation.
The rotational force a skater must withstand is nearly equivalent to a triple.
There’s a reason the Triple Axel is treated like a killing move.
In other words, if you can endure the rotational force of a Double Axel, you can land triple jumps.
So it was essential to master it if I wanted to compete as a Junior Season skater.
And if I wanted to chase medals, I’d need to recover my triple jumps before the season started anyway.
‘Good thing I’m not too late.’
Because another quest had just appeared.

[!New Challenge Quest has been issued!]
[2. Complete Triple Jump Combination]
[3. Pass Grade 7 Figure Skating Advancement Test]
[Challenge Quest 2 Reward: Confirmed Special Ability Selection (E~C) x1]
[Challenge Quest 3 Reward: Rewind Status Window Stats One Month x1]

Yeah, I knew this would pop up.
Because it’s necessary to compete in tournaments.
And what in the world is that third reward supposed to be for.
The Status Window answered me like this:

[It will become necessary when the time comes.]

‘Did it really have to sound that ominous.’
Stay calm—the Status Window wouldn’t speak in riddles like that without good reason.
I crossed the rink in a long stride and looked ahead.
The moment I kicked my right foot into the air, gravity vanished and spin took hold of my entire body.
I heard the whistle of the wind rushing past.
Two and a half rotations counted, then landing.
“That’s it—I think you can kick even harder with your right foot. Just watch you don’t scrape too much with your left. You’re still short on rotation.”
“Yes.”
Coach nodded with satisfaction.
“Can we work on the combination jump today?”
“I hope so, if possible.”
“When you land, your arms can’t collapse. Try pulling your shoulders back before you retighten your right arm. Don’t hunch your upper body too much.”
“Yes.”
Feedback, jump, feedback again—this cycle repeated several times over.
Each individual jump was normalizing at a rapid pace.
‘But why does something still feel off.’
I wasn’t making any obvious mistakes, and everything was going well.
Now that I’d raised my stats considerably, I could feel my skill improving.
But I couldn’t shake the feeling that something was two percent short.
“Alright, let’s take a break.”
“Ugghhhhh.”
Cha Jin-hee came stumbling off the rink, looking thoroughly beaten.
Apparently she’d been moving continuously in the corner all along.
What was she doing, putting herself through that…….

***

“Would you like a snack?”
“Oh my, where did this come from?”
“My mom always says you shouldn’t visit friends empty-handed, so I thought I’d bring something for Cha Jin-hee too. You’ll keep an eye on her for us, won’t you?”
Park Ji-ho handed over a single chocolate bar with a playful grin.
The four of us sat on a bench, and as we ate our snacks, the conversation grew surprisingly lively.
Unsurprisingly, Park Ji-ho and Cha Jin-hee dominated most of it.
“But you see, I understand she choreographs routines, but I don’t actually know much about competition rules. They do seven jumps, right?”
“Oh, look at the promising figure skating fan emerging. You two must be close.”
“Close? I practically raised this one—ow!”
“Who raised whom, exactly?”
Despite taking a slap on the back from Cha Jin-hee, Park Ji-ho just laughed.
I glanced at the Coach, who was chuckling, then offered an explanation myself.
“Well, for the tango we’ll only do three jumps. It’s the Short Program, which is the first competition.”
“Right, Cha Jin-hee explained that. That’s the one you were practicing earlier, isn’t it?”
“Um… I suppose so.”
In figure skating, there are six types of jumps.
Ranked by point value: Axel (A), Lutz (Lz), Flip (F), Loop (Lo), Salchow (S), and finally Toe Loop (T).
If we set aside the Triple Axel, which few skaters attempt, there’s actually a separate technique that’s most powerful for competitors.
A combination jump—two triple jumps executed in sequence.
The 3Lz-3T, which pairs the Lutz—the highest base value jump aside from the Axel—as the first jump, was Lee Yu-na’s most formidable weapon during her competitive years.
Since her retirement, the Triple Jump Combination has become standard for any top-tier skater.
Once I recover this, at least there’ll be some ground to compete on against Cha Seo-hee.
Just then, Cha Jin-hee swallowed her chocolate bar.
“The Junior Season Short Program has strict rules, so there aren’t many options. What’s this year’s required element, Coach?”
“There’s a required element?”
“Mm-hmm. Listen up.”
Cha Jin-hee held up one finger.
“First rule: you have to do one solo jump that the International Skating Union specifies.”
And this year, that jump is the Flip.
The third most difficult jump.
“Second is a solo Axel jump. The Triple Axel isn’t allowed—Double Axel at most.”
“You know your stuff. And there’s one more rule.”
The Coach opened an Ion Drink for us.
“The composition of a two-jump combination can’t overlap with the solo jump.”
“Ah, I see.”
Park Ji-ho nodded, then his eyes went wide.
“So what can you actually do?”
“That’s why everyone’s lineup looks basically the same—just in different orders.”
I shrugged.
Once you follow all three of those regulations, the maximum realistic composition most skaters can put together looks like this:

3Lz-3T, 3F, 2A

Triple Lutz – Triple Toe Loop.
Then a Triple Flip and a Double Axel.
At least in the Short Program, most competitors end up competing with the same set of jumps.
Once Park Ji-ho seemed to understand, he unwrapped another chocolate bar for me.
“That’s pretty brutal. You’ll need a lot of practice.”
“Can’t be helped. That’s what being a professional athlete means. Realistically, it’s the strongest composition possible.”
“I see.”
……?
In that moment, Park Ji-ho’s eyes met mine, and we both understood something.
The realistic composition.
Which meant there had to be stronger compositions—unrealistic ones.
“Is there something stronger than this?”
“Well, yes, there is.”
I quickly took the chocolate bar he offered.
“Usually, in a combination jump, you can only attach jumps that take off from the right foot. Among the jumps, it’s the Loop—not the Toe Loop—that launches from the right foot, but…….”
As I explained, I suddenly understood something.
“Coach, let me give this a try!”
“Hm?”
“There’s something I want to check!”
I finished the Chocolate Bar and headed back onto the ice.
Coach followed me up without thinking.
When the rotation count is the same, a Loop scores higher than a Toe Loop.
But it’s so difficult that realistically, you’d be lucky to see one or two male skaters attempting that combination.
‘But isn’t my situation itself absurd enough already?’
It doesn’t make sense, but what if?
By the way, during my competitive days, the Loop Jump was my signature move.
I built up speed, turned, and glided backward.
I placed my left leg over my right foot as it raced on the outer edge.
The moment I tilted my right blade deeper, timing it with the curve of my trajectory, I scraped the ice and—
A sharp whistle of sound, and my body lifted off.
There was no need to force the rotation.
I simply drew my limbs inward, making my entire body into a single spinning axis.
‘If I can land a Double Axel.’
Then I should be able to land a Triple Jump with that same rotational force.
The sound of landing the solo Triple Loop was crisp and clean.
Both the rotation and the height were sufficient.
The moment I glided back to the rink’s edge, I sought out Coach.
“Coach, what if we tried attaching a Loop instead of the Toe Loop?”
“What?”
“Huh?”
Three of us made the exact same expression at once.
Park Ji-ho was the first to react with surprise.
“Hey, didn’t you say that was the strongest combination? Can you do it?”
“Well, I mean, it’s a jump I’m good at.”
Connecting a Loop was another matter, but if we’re talking about solo jumps, that’s where I’m most confident.
Actually, according to my training records, my recent success rate is twenty-one out of twenty-four!
When everyone’s building similar routines, securing more points right off the bat is a real advantage.
If I land it successfully in the competition run-through, it’ll be intimidating to the other skaters.
And conveniently, I even have the Status Window to help me compensate for proficiency.
But Coach’s reaction was subtle.
“Do you really want to attach a Loop? You jump your Lutz well, so adding a Toe Loop would be easier to recover from and more stable overall, I’d think.”
“You know I’m good at Loops. We’re still in the Junior Season, and I think it’s worth taking the challenge.”
When there’s a natural disaster like the Triple Axel waiting, I should at least bring this much to the table.
It was all or nothing—failure meant catastrophe, but success meant jackpot.
Coach paused to think, then shrugged.
“Right now, you’re in your growth period.”
“Yes, I know…”
“And how tall are you right now?”
“…162 centimeters.”
“I see.”
Coach began walking slowly along the edge of the Ice Rink.
He looked lost in thought.
So I followed along beside him.
“It’s actually fortunate you’re having fewer growth pains. But it could be risky while your bones are still developing—a Loop puts a lot of strain on the hip joint.”
“I understand…”
“We’ll work on getting it so you can do it. But you’re not going to do Figure Skating for your whole life, are you?”
At those words, I came to a sudden stop.
Coach cut sharply, stopping in his tracks.
White ice chips scattered and flew.
“Can’t we find a way for you to keep going more sustainably?”
Returnee’s Ice Rink: Chapter 8 Part 4
E-book Release Date | 2026.06.05

Author | Korcarolli
Publisher | Heo Heung-beom, Park Geon-won
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© Korcaroli 2026

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This e-book is published by agreement with the author, and unauthorized reproduction, copying, distribution, or sharing in any form without written consent of both parties is prohibited.

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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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