Chapter 22

I am not a Regressor Chapter 22

Release the Hounds (3)

“……”

No.

What the hell is this crazy situation?

‘Find Lee Shinhyuk?’

How am I supposed to find a guy who’s already been buried?

“…Mr. Oh Jin?”

Team Leader Han Junman tilted his head and looked at me.

“Is something wrong?”

“Haha, no, nothing’s wrong.”

I shook my head with an awkward smile.

‘Damn.’

It felt like I had been hit on the back of the head with a hammer.

‘So, the Guild Master of Valhalla Guild…’

I had a rough idea of who it was.

‘Lee Uhyuk.’

Lee Shinhyuk’s younger brother and the object of his deep-seated inferiority complex.

‘Right… that’s how it happened.’

If this was the world before Lee Shinhyuk regressed, he would be opening his eyes in a hospital room right about now, making pathetic excuses for not bringing the bread on time, like a failed bread shuttle.

‘But.’

Lee Shinhyuk’s death changed the future.

A future where Lee Uhyuk offered a huge reward to find his missing brother.

“How will you proceed? Should I contact Valhalla Guild and accept the commission?”

“Hold on.”

I leaned back against the sofa and organized my thoughts.

Lee Shinhyuk and Lee Uhyuk.

A disgraceful and mediocre older brother, and a younger brother who was so outstanding that he was considered a candidate for the Seven Stars.

A twisted fate and future.

And.

‘…Wait a minute.’

The Black Star Society.

“Ha.”

A short, hollow laugh escaped my lips.

It felt like a bolt of lightning had struck my brain.

A thrilling shiver ran down my spine.

‘Right, there’s that method.’

Grinning.

After a long moment of thought, the corners of Oh Jin’s mouth curled up into a bright smile.

‘I can use this.’

This crazy situation.

The future, which is gradually but surely changing.

I felt confident that I could manipulate it to my liking.

“─No.”

I pushed the documents on the table back to Han Junman.

Shaking my head firmly, I continued.

“I will not accept this commission.”

“You won’t accept it?”

Han Junman’s eyes widened, clearly surprised by my unexpected response.

Well, he probably didn’t think I would turn down such a good opportunity, given that 20 billion was on the line for a simple search mission.

“I’m not good at finding people.”

“Hmm.”

“Is there a problem?”

“No, not really, but…”

Han Junman scratched the back of his head with a troubled expression.

“Actually, Valhalla Guild has a close relationship with the Association. I thought it would be good for you to build some connections this time.”

He probably wanted to show off the Association’s Apostle of the North Star to the allied guild, considering the Association’s declining status.

“Haha, there will be another opportunity.”

Right.

There will be another chance to build connections with Valhalla Guild.

And it will come very soon.

“I understand that you won’t accept this commission.”

“Yeah.”

I nodded and stood up.

“Then I’ll be on my way.”

“Sure. The Association will also conduct a separate investigation into the Black Star Society.”

“That would be appreciated.”

I don’t really expect much from it.

After all, I’ll move first before the Association does.

“Oh, by the way.”

I turned to face Han Junman.

“Is it possible to get the contact information for Valhalla Guild?”

“Contact information?”

“Yes. Since they have a close relationship with the Association, I’ve become quite interested.”

Grinning, I continued.

“Even if it’s just a name, we’re both part of the same Association, right? If the opportunity arises, it would be good to maintain a good relationship with the allied guild.”

“Hahaha! Of course.”

Han Junman nodded with a pleased expression and wrote down Valhalla Guild’s contact information on a piece of paper.

“Here’s the contact information for Valhalla Guild. By the way, Valhalla Guild generally doesn’t disclose their information, so please don’t share this contact with anyone else.”

“Understood.”

I put the paper with the contact information in my pocket and left the office.

Whistling a tune, I walked out with a light step.

“Shall I start the fishing now?”

The bait is the energetic 27-year-old, Oh Jin.

* * *

In front of the new gate in Mokdong.

Awakeners were seen looking for parties to tackle the newly opened gate.

“Man, look at all these people.”

Oh Jin walked through the crowd of Awakeners, strolling around the area in front of the gate.

One hour, two hours.

He continued to circle the gate area with his face fully exposed.

“Haa.”

He yawned and wandered around the gate area for several hours.

The sun, which had been high in the sky, began to set behind the mountains, turning the sky red.

“Why aren’t these guys coming?”

Oh Jin frowned and complained.

‘Do I have to come back tomorrow?’

He thought one of them would bite soon, but there was no sign of it.

‘I want to finish this before Vega wakes up, if possible.’

Sighing, he walked down the street as the darkness began to descend.

Just as he was about to give up and head home,

─Zing.

A sharp, clear killing intent stabbed at his spine.

His heightened senses, due to the Hunter’s Constellation, accurately caught the direction from which the killing intent was emanating.

‘Finally!’

Oh Jin grinned and subtly turned his head in the direction of the killing intent.

Instead of a robe, he saw a middle-aged man wearing a black hat.

‘Looks like he’s been running around for a week.’

The dark circles under his eyes and the gaunt cheeks suggested he had been working hard to find him.

“Damn, I’ve been waiting for you, you bastard.”

He burst into a chuckle,

- Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!

He turned and sprinted at full speed.

“Wha, wha, what?”

The man, who was on a call, quickly chased after him.

“Stop!!”

The man chasing him shouted fiercely.

He extended his hand backward and flipped his middle finger.

“Uncle!! Why are you so slow? Is it because you’re losing your hair?”

“Grr!!”

The man’s face contorted in anger.

He couldn’t see his hair under the hat, but it seemed like he had hit a nerve.

“You son of a bitch!!”

Whoosh!

A few black feathers flew at him.

‘Is that the ability of the Owl’s Constellation?’

He had never seen it before because he killed the previous one in a surprise attack.

‘Now that I know the ability…’

It was time to stop provoking him.

-Squeak!

He came to an abrupt stop in an empty lot.

Whirl.

He turned his body and thrust his spear.

“Huh!”

Clang!!

The man chasing him quickly crossed his arms to block the spear.

The spear blade bounced off the black feathers that sprouted from his forearms.

“Wow, that’s tougher than I thought.”

The spear blade bouncing off the feathers.

“Your roar…!”

“Haha! Why are you looking at me with such fiery eyes on our first meeting?”

It’s embarrassing.

“Your arrogance ends here!”

“Is that so?”

He shrugged and adjusted his grip on the spear.

Activating the Hunter’s Constellation, he scanned the surroundings.

He didn’t sense any other Black Star Society members.

“But, can you handle this alone, Uncle?”

“Hmph, you’re alone too, aren’t you?”

The man, with his forearms covered in black feathers, laughed mockingly and took a stance.

“No, I’m not alone.”

“…What?”

“Now!! Attack!!!”

He shouted loudly.

“Gah! Damn!!”

The man turned around in shock.

What he saw was,

“Huh?”

─An empty lot.

“What?”

“It’s a bluff.”

Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!

Blue lightning crackled.

‘Spear Lightning.’

The lightning at the tip of the spear spread in a fan shape, sweeping across the front.

“Aaaaaaah!!!”

The man’s scream of terror echoed as the black feathers on his arms couldn’t block the lightning.

Wobbling.

He staggered backward, his stance collapsing.

“Haah!!”

He thrust the spear through the gap in the man’s arms.

“Gah, aaaaah!!”

The man, determined not to go down easily, quickly regained his stance and grabbed the spear blade with his feather-covered hand.

“Where did you learn such a cheap trick…!!”

Blue lightning crackled at the tip of the spear, but the man ignored it and pulled the spear blade.

Trying to twist the spear shaft to pull it out, but the spear didn’t budge easily in the man’s grip.

‘He’s stronger than me.’

It didn’t matter.

Strength alone didn’t guarantee victory.

“Not bad for a cheap trick, huh?”

He chuckled and ‘released’ his grip on the spear shaft.

“Huh?”

Suddenly letting go of the spear shaft, the man’s body lurched backward.

-Thud!

He kicked off the ground and jumped.

He slammed his clenched fist into the man’s head.

‘Thunder Strike.’

Crack! Crack!

He slammed the man’s head with all his might, like a hammer.

“Gah! Gah!”

The man fell backward, writhing on the ground.

He quickly picked up the spear that had fallen and pointed it at the man’s neck.

“Gah!”

The man, with the spear pointed at his throat, gritted his teeth in frustration.

“Don’t think you’ve won just because of this.”

“But I have.”

Despite the unexpected resistance, he had still won.

“Ha! Do you really think you can escape the Black Star Society just by killing me?”

The man snorted derisively.

“If you thought you could get away with touching Mr. Yoojin, you’re in for a big surprise!”

Ha ha ha!

The man suddenly burst into laughter.

“You… will never defeat him.”

“Yeah, I know.”

He didn’t know how strong Yoojin was, but he knew he wasn’t an opponent he could defeat right now.

But it didn’t matter.

“You’ll all be dead soon anyway.”

“…What gives you that confidence?”

The man asked, his eyes full of doubt.

He shrugged and replied.

“I’m going to release the hounds.”

“…Hounds?”

“Yeah, there’s such a thing, you bastard.”

Talking too much was a waste of time.

It was time to wrap this up.

-Thud!

He stabbed the man’s neck deeply, and blood spurted out like a fountain.

“Well then.”

Oh Jin searched the man’s pockets and pulled out a smartphone.

The iris recognition lock was on, so he opened the man’s eyelids to unlock it.

‘I want to absorb the constellation, but…’

He needed to clean up here first, in case someone else came.

“Hiss.”

He picked up the body and carried it out of the lot.

Using the Black Curtain to completely hide his presence, he found a nearby mountain and climbed it.

When he was sure no one was around,

“Let’s see… here should be good.”

-Click.

He leaned the blood-stained spear against a tree and took a photo.

“This will be the last time I use this spear.”

He didn’t feel too bad about it since he planned to replace it soon.

“Ahem! Ah, ah, ah.”

He tilted his chin up and adjusted his voice.

He was quite good at imitating other people’s voices, so it wasn’t difficult to change it.

-Dial tone.

He called the number he had received from Team Leader Han Junman.

[This is Kim Se-yeong from Valhalla Guild.]

A woman’s voice, tired and weary, echoed in his memory.

‘That woman with glasses, I think.’

He recalled the memories inherited from Lee Shinhyuk.

“Can I speak to the Guild Master?”

[The Guild Master is currently unable to…]

“I found Lee Shinhyuk.”

[…Eh?]

A brief silence.

[Wait, wait a moment!!]

Bang!

Noisy sounds echoed.

And then.

[…You found my brother?]

A cold, deep voice.

The first time he was hearing Lee Uhyuk’s voice in reality, not through Lee Shinhyuk’s memories.

‘Alright, then.’

Let’s release the hounds.

“To be precise, we have him.”

[…What?]

“Hahaha. Don’t you understand?”

The vicious, violent hounds.

“Lee Shinhyuk is in our custody.”

[What nonsense.]

“Nonsense? Hmm. I guess I’ll have to send you a photo as proof.”

[…This photo.]

“Isn’t that a familiar spear?”

To do the job for me.

To tear the enemy’s throat and kill them.

[─Who are you?]

“Hahaha!! Now you believe me, don’t you!”

[Who the hell are you, you bastard!!!!]

The hound’s name is… right.

Simply.

“My name is… Yoojin.”