Chapter 14

I Am Not a Regressor Chapter 14

The Black Star's Relic (1)

[Oh!!]

An exclamation of excitement.

The beautiful golden eyes, which seemed to be made of molten gold, sparkled.

[Delicious! Truly an astonishing taste!]

Chomp chomp.

The silver-haired goddess, now reduced to about 30 centimeters in size, bit into the hamburger, which was as large as her upper body, and let out an exclamation.

Due to her size, it looked as if a hamster was gnawing on a sweet potato.

“...What can the thrones eat?”

Haeun let out a hollow laugh and asked.

Though she couldn't see, the sound was enough to understand the situation.

[There is no problem if they do not eat, but it is not that they cannot eat.]

Swoosh swoosh.

Bega tore a piece of paper and wiped her lips.

Even the simple act of wiping her lips was noble and elegant, but due to her small size, she seemed more cute than beautiful.

“Is this the first time you’re eating a hamburger?”

[It is the first time I am eating human food.]

Pitter-patter.

Bega, sprinkling some strange silver powder, flew over and perched on Haeun's shoulder.

[This is the first time I have accepted a disciple in this manner.]

She reached out with a small hand and tugged at Haeun's earlobe.

It tickled.

“...But no matter how I think about it, I can't understand.”

Haeun frowned and continued.

“Why did you choose Ojin? What’s so special about him?”

The title of the North Star's disciple.

No matter how she thought about it, it didn’t seem to fit Ojin.

[What is special? There is no one more special than this child in this world.]

“Huh? What do you mean by that?”

[Hehe. You cannot know.]

Bega straightened her back and crossed her arms.

[One day, you will know. No, the whole world will know.]

She continued with a voice full of certainty.

[This child will become a greater being than anyone else.]

“...What?”

Haeun opened her mouth wide in disbelief.

What could Ojin have done to hear such words from the North Star's throne?

“Lady Bega.”

[Hehe. I talked too much. I apologize.]

Bega shrugged and smiled elegantly.

[And...]

Her sparkling golden eyes turned to Haeun.

[You are special too, are you not?]

“...What do you mean by that?”

Haeun tilted her head, puzzled by the unexpected words.

Ojin also looked at Bega with a questioning gaze.

[Hmm. Were you unaware?]

“What do you mean by unaware?”

[No. Now... it is meaningless. I spoke in vain.]

Bega sighed and looked at Haeun's dull pupils.

[If I could help with my power, it would be good...]

She shook her head with a regretful look.

“Hmph. What help? I’m doing just fine without it, so don’t worry about it.”

[Hehe. I like your confident attitude.]

Bega stretched and turned her body.

[However, I must rest now. Even in this state, manifesting for too long has its constraints.]

“Then, can you move for about three hours a day?”

[If I push myself, it is possible. But there is no need to do so now, is there?]

“Well, that’s true.”

After all, there was nothing Bega could do right now even if she were awake.

[Then, my child, see you tomorrow.]

Bega floated up and gently stroked Haeun's head.

Whoosh!

Bega's body turned into silver powder and was sucked into the pendant.

“...”

Silence descended in the room.

It felt as if a storm had swept through, leaving a desolate atmosphere.

“...Sigh.”

Haeun let out a deep sigh.

“What happened to make things like this...”

“I didn’t expect this either.”

Haeun explained that she was Bega's only disciple, which was why Bega had manifested and followed her.

It was a rare and unheard-of situation for a throne to manifest and follow a disciple, so it was natural for her to be confused.

“...Hey, Ojin.”

“Huh?”

“Sit here.”

Tap tap.

She tapped the bed beside her and ordered him.

“What for all of a sudden?”

“Shut up and sit down.”

Ojin sat beside her on the bed, and Haeun promptly laid her head on his thigh.

“...What is it?”

“Just stay still.”

“What?”

“Tsk. Aren’t you going to listen to your sister?”

Lying on his thigh, Haeun curled up like a shrimp and closed her eyes tightly.

She awkwardly reached out and placed her hand on Ojin's thigh.

The warmth that traveled through her palm.

She smiled at the familiar warmth she had felt all her life.

“Hehe! As expected, lying on Ojin is the best. You like it too, right, you jerk?”

“You’re really heavy.”

“What, this brat?”

“Just kidding. You’re as light as if there’s nothing in your head.”

“...What? I feel even worse.”

Haeun frowned and pinched his thigh.

It hurt.

“Hmm, yeah. That’s our Ojin.”

Haeun giggled, not sure why she was so happy.

“I’m going to sleep now.”

“No.”

If you sleep like that, how am I supposed to sleep?

“If you’re annoyed, just pretend I’m two years older.”

“I feel so wronged.”

“Hehe.”

Haeun shrugged and burrowed deeper into his side.

Before long, only the steady breathing filled the room.

“Sigh.”

I won’t be able to sleep peacefully tonight.

* * *

Two days later.

Before heading to Mokdong, Ojin conducted a final check of his gear.

‘Two signal flares, two smoke bombs, emergency rations, and a rope. Finally, three intermediate potions.’

He had to invest a lot of money in the intermediate potions, but it was unavoidable.

‘With a new gate, you never know what level of monster might appear.’

If he tried to save money here, he might end up in a bad situation.

“Damn. They’re really damn expensive.”

He shivered, holding the intermediate potion that cost several million won each.

No matter how much he thought of it as an investment for the future, the absurd price made his stomach churn.

‘Crazy drug dealers.’

How could they be so ridiculously expensive when they were just roughly made with holy stone powder and the power of a holy mark?

‘I’ll definitely get the Aquarius holy mark later.’

With the Aquarius holy mark, he could make and sell potions and make a lot of money.

[Are you ready?]

“Yes.”

Ojin slung the heavy backpack over his shoulder and opened the door.

The cool morning breeze tickled his nose.

‘Relics.’

While relics vary greatly in ability and are divided by rank, they have one common point.

‘They’re damn expensive.’

A 1-star relic costs over 10 million won.

A 3-star relic costs over 100 million won, and a 5-star relic costs over 1 billion won.

‘If it’s a 6-star relic...’

From a minimum of several hundred million to a maximum of 1 billion won.

It’s no wonder the guild is so eager to find relics.

“Huhuhu!”

Ojin shrugged and licked his lips.

His steps became lighter as he headed in the opposite direction.

━An hour later.

Ojin, who had taken the first bus, arrived in Mokdong and headed to a place with tall buildings.

“I’m an Awakened of the Association, Kwon Ojin. I’m sorry for the early morning, but could you open the roof door for me?”

“Ah, yes. But what for?”

“I need to investigate this building.”

“Hmm... I understand.”

The guard, who had initially looked at him with suspicion, opened the roof door without any further questions upon hearing he was from the Association.

Whoosh.

As he stepped onto the roof, the view of Mokdong spread out before him, and a cool breeze brushed his cheeks.

‘Being part of the Association is definitely convenient in situations like this.’

Ojin leaned against the roof railing and took a bite of the calorie bar he had brought.

[Are you waiting for the rift to open here?]

“Yes. I know it will open today, but I don’t know when or where.”

Just because he was a regressive, it didn’t mean he knew everything about the future, so it was fine not to know this much.

[Hmm. Then I must manifest and go in.]

“I’ll let you know when the gate opens.”

[Understood.]

Bega turned back into silver powder and entered the pendant.

“Sigh.”

He sighed and shook his head.

‘Being with her is really inconvenient.’

He had to be careful with every word, which was tiring.

‘But.’

It wasn’t all bad.

‘In an emergency, I can rely on her power.’

This was why he could challenge the new gate without much worry, not knowing what kind of powerful monster might appear.

‘If things get out of hand, I’ll get her blessing and run.’

He knew firsthand how incredible Bega’s blessing was.

Even if unexpected variables arose, with her blessing, he could at least escape.

“Come on, come out quickly.”

He leaned against the railing and muttered, looking down at Mokdong.

After about three hours of waiting.

-Woosh!!!

He saw a blue light beam shoot up from a distance.

‘Here it comes.’

The prelude to the appearance of a new gate.

Ojin confirmed the location where the blue light beam shot up and quickly went down the building.

“Screams!!”

“G, Gate!! It’s a Gate!!”

“Hurry, contact the Association!!”

“What’s the point of the Association nowadays!! Contact the guild!!”

When he reached the place where the blue light beam shot up, he saw people running away in panic.

‘It’s a mess.’

Eight years ago.

It felt like he had returned to the time when the first gate opened on Earth.

Back then, he was one of the people running away with a terrified expression.

‘But now, it’s different.’

Ojin smiled and took a step forward.

-Woosh!!

He threw himself into the newly created gate.

His vision twisted, and a wave of nausea swept over him.

“Phew!”

As his vision returned to normal, the scene inside the gate unfolded before him.

A vast cave, wide enough to make his mouth drop.

Stalactites, sharp like animal teeth, jutted out, and gray streams flowed between them.

Although it was dark inside, the orange light from somewhere made it not completely dark.

“Lady Bega. We’ve arrived.”

He tapped the silver pendant, and a bright light beam appeared, followed by the silver-haired goddess.

[Oh. So this is the inside of the rift you spoke of.]

Bega floated around, looking interested.

She looked around with sparkling eyes but didn’t seem particularly surprised that the gate had really opened.

‘She must have trusted me that much.’

Since he was a ‘regressor,’ she probably thought it was natural for the gate to open on this day.

‘...Should I be happy or not?’

It meant she already trusted him completely, which was good, but it also made him feel a bit hollow.

His plan to eliminate any possible doubts with this mission had become meaningless.

‘Well, whatever. Good is good.’

He had a Plan B, so there was no need to complain that Plan A worked.

‘And I can’t relax here yet.’

Trust is hard to build but easy to lose.

Even if she believed he was a regressive, her trust would erode with each suspicious point that arose.

“Let’s go further in.”

[Understood.]

Ojin moved deeper into the cave before other Awakened could follow.

As he followed the faint orange light, a sticky sound echoed in his ear.

“Squish.”

Ojin’s face stiffened as he looked in the direction of the sound.