Chapter 6

I Am Not a Regressor Chapter 6

The Wound of Lyra (3)

"Two Whopper sets~ 15,800 won! Would you like it to be for takeaway?"

"Yes, takeaway."

On the way back home.

I stopped by a nearby burger place to order dinner.

'Damn, why are burgers so expensive.'

My hand trembled as I took out the bills from my wallet, like that of a severely alcoholic patient.

It felt like my stomach would spill out, paying more than three times the price for something that could be bought for 2,000 won each if frozen.

"Here are the two Whopper sets you ordered~!"

I moved my steps, leaving behind the bright smile of the staff.

I walked through a narrow alley filled with old, dilapidated houses.

The stench of mold and dampness assaulted my nose.

"Huh."

I looked up at the darkening sky and let out a short sigh.

'In the end, another lie, huh.'

Suddenly, an old memory surfaced in my mind.

A memory from over 15 years ago, when I was young.

The fragments of that memory, now feeling almost foreign, floated in my head.

-Lie? You called it a lie?

Around the age of 8 or 9.

I lied about a fire in the kitchen to tease the principal.

The bald principal, his face flushed red, was raging.

Ojin burst into laughter and flipped the principal off.

-You damn brat!!

The principal, his face contorted with red and blue, clenched his fists and approached.

He was an extremely ordinary middle-aged man, suffering from diabetes, hypertension, and baldness, but...

At least in terms of not causing any visible injuries, his skill in swinging his fists was so impressive that even a pro would be amazed.

Violence rained down on his crouched body like rain.

-Don't hit our Ojin, you bald bastard!!

A girl with chestnut hair, like flames, flew up.

Despite her doll-like appearance, her movements were agile and fierce like a beast.

But even so.

A girl barely 10 years old couldn't stop an adult's violence.

-These two!!

The bald principal swung his fists savagely.

Ojin and the girl clung to each other, enduring the principal's violent assault.

"You haven't changed a bit since you were a kid."

With a bitter smile, he walked through the desolate street, as if it had been attacked by monsters, and arrived home.

-Creak.

Opening the old door, the sight of a cramped home, not even 10 pyeong, came into view.

"Ugh."

Perhaps she woke up from the sound of the door opening.

A thin groan and the creaking of the old bed.

"I'm back."

He placed the burger on the floor and took off his shoes.

"..."

A woman lifted the blanket and sat up.

Chestnut hair, burning like a flame.

A woman who shone beautifully, like a ruby in a mud puddle, even in the moldy, old house.

She slowly turned her gaze towards Ojin, just waking up.

No.

The phrase 'turned her gaze' was not appropriate.

Because—

"...You're back?"

Her pale, faded eyes reflected nothing.

Fumbling.

She awkwardly pulled back the blanket.

The exposed white leg.

The leg that should have been two was now only one, the left one, left alone.

"Alright, I'm back."

He nodded with a smirk.

The woman with chestnut hair stared at Ojin.

"If you're back—quickly light a cigarette."

She smiled and extended two fingers.

Ojin chuckled at her leisurely gesture, as if commanding a servant.

"You're already causing trouble as soon as you get back."

"Hey, is that something to say to someone as great as me?"

"You're a damn brat."

"That's what they call it these days."

Is that so?

"Haen Yoonna…."

"Ugh, stop it. It makes me feel sick."

"But you told me to."

"Ha ha ha!! It's funny when I actually hear it, huh."

Seeing her like this, Ojin's lips curled up slightly.

'Seems like nothing's wrong.'

Song Haen.

The woman, two years older, who was the only support in his hellish orphanage life.

Their stubborn bond, formed since the orphanage days, continued even after they left.

Shaky and awkward, but vividly.

"Got it."

He rolled up the receipt from the burger and inserted it between her fingers.

Click.

He lit the lighter.

"Suck… cough! Cough! What is this?!"

"Cigarette."

"What's a cigarette, you bastard?!"

Haen shouted, throwing the burning receipt roughly.

She picked up the receipt that fell on the floor and extinguished the fire.

"Cut it out. If you keep this up, your body will get worse."

"Hmph. Even if I look like this, I'm much healthier than you."

Haen shrugged and smiled.

It wasn't just boasting.

In fact, she had a body several times healthier than his.

After all, she was an 'Awakened'.

'Even if she can't use the power of the Wound, she's still an Awakened.'

Still, compared to an ordinary person like himself, her physical abilities were far superior.

No, to be precise.

'They used to be.'

Now it's different.

Because he has also become an Awakened.

"I brought some food."

"Oh, thanks. What's on the menu today?"

"Burger."

"Hee hee! That's great! You know what you're doing, bastard!"

Haen chuckled, seemingly satisfied.

She loved burgers.

Not because they were particularly delicious, but because they were easy to eat.

For her, who couldn't see, using utensils was not a simple task.

-Rustle.

He peeled off the burger's wrapper and handed it to her.

Mmm.

Her small mouth opened and chewed the burger.

"…Huh?"

Her eyes widened.

She bit into the burger a few more times, as if not believing it.

"What, what is this? Why is it so delicious?"

"Because I bought it from a store, not frozen."

"…What?"

Haen's mouth gaped open.

"Are you sick? Did a monster hit your head?"

Her voice trembled, as if she couldn't believe it.

For a moment, he thought it was strange to be so surprised by a burger set that costs less than 10,000 won, but then he recalled his usual behavior and understood her reaction.

"Because I got some money."

"…You didn't buy it because you didn't have money, right?"

Indeed, his extreme frugality in daily expenses wasn't because he lacked money.

While it was true that he didn't earn much for the life he risked, he had made tens of millions of won in a month before.

He could have eaten a burger set that cost 10,000 won whenever he wanted.

'But I never did.'

Still.

The reason he saved money so desperately was to accumulate as much as possible.

'Because there's something I have to buy.'

Ojin stared at Haen, who was munching on the burger.

"Sauce on your mouth."

"Really?"

Haen turned her head and extended her chin.

"Here, I'll give you the honor of touching my lips."

"Alright."

"Alright."

"Whatever."

He wiped her mouth with a tissue.

"Hee hee! Hey, what's the name of this?"

"Whopper set."

"Wow! Indeed, the king of burgers!"

Haen smiled.

"Then from now on, I'll buy this instead of frozen ones."

Ojin took a bite of his own burger.

'So damn delicious.'

It was on a different level from the frozen burgers he usually ate.

It was so good, he wanted to punch his mouth and cry.

"..."

A strange silence fell.

Haen's white eyes turned towards Ojin.

"You... something happened, didn't it?"

"Yeah."

Ojin nodded calmly.

"I became an Awakened."

"…!"

Thud.

Haen's cola spilled on the floor.

* * *

Late at night.

The soft moonlight seeped through the window.

"Huh. Finally have some time."

He had been caught by the shocked Haen and spent hours explaining everything.

'Well, it's natural for her to be so shocked.'

Suddenly becoming an Awakened, and even a 'Polaris' apostle, would shock anyone.

She bombarded him with questions for hours, filled with worry, anxiety, excitement, and anticipation.

Of course, he couldn't explain everything about the complicated situation right away.

'How do I explain that I'm pretending to be a regressed person to the constellation?'

As the situation settled, his head started to throb again.

"Let's try to organize this one by one."

Ojin went to a nearby playground and sat on a creaking swing, closing his eyes tightly.

'First, this Black Heaven.'

The unknown power that devoured the Wound of Lyra on Lee Shinhyuk's left chest.

'…This was something I've had from the beginning.'

He didn't know why such an unknown power resided within him.

But he was certain that this Black Heaven was something he had possessed from the beginning, unrelated to Lee Shinhyuk's regression.

After all, if he hadn't absorbed the Wound of Lyra with the power of Black Heaven, Vega wouldn't have mistaken him for a regressed person.

'And Vega believes that the one who possesses this Black Heaven will destroy the world in the future.'

That meant his future self would destroy the world.

No matter how many times he thought about it, he couldn't understand.

'What happened to me in the first cycle?'

He thought the world was messed up, but he never wanted it to be destroyed.

"This... I can't figure it out right now, so let's move on."

The problem was the fact that he possessed Black Heaven.

'This must be hidden at all costs.'

If it was discovered, it would reveal that he wasn't a regressed person but a third party who absorbed the regressed person's Wound.

'But, what exactly is this Black Heaven?'

The power to absorb Wounds and make them his own.

He had formed parties with many Awakened before, but he had never heard of such a power.

Ojin checked the system window, visible only to Awakened, and clicked on the part labeled 'Black Heaven'.

-Ding!

A blue message window appeared before his eyes.

[Innate Abilities List]

【Black Heaven (黑天)】

1. Status: One Star Transformation (一星改化)

2. Characteristics

① Wound Absorption (星痕 吸收): Absorbs the magic power of Wounds and stores it within Black Heaven.

② Black Curtain (黑幕): Completely hides the aura of Black Heaven. This characteristic can also be used on possessed Wounds.

③ Inheritance (傳承): Reads the records contained within Wounds. The effectiveness of this characteristic is influenced by the transformation stage of Black Heaven.

3. Currently Possessed Wounds

① Wound of Lyra *Designated as the main Wound.

"Ugh."

Ojin let out a low groan after reading the message window.

'This doesn't tell me much.'

This was just a summary of Black Heaven's functions.

It didn't explain what Black Heaven was or why it resided within him.

"Let's move on from this for now."

He decided to put aside the question of why this happened to him.

After all, sitting here and pondering wouldn't reveal what he didn't know.

'Then.'

What he needed to think about now was how to proceed.

"Being a regressed person…"

The most important thing now was how to appear more 'regressed' in the upcoming meeting with Vega in a week.

'Just talking won't be enough.'

If his skills and abilities weren't recognized, no matter how hard he tried to talk, suspicions would arise.

'To gain Vega's recognition…'

He needed to increase the 'Star' of the Wound of Lyra as quickly as possible.

'At least to two stars by next week.'

Awakened need two things to advance to the next level.

'The amount of magic power in the Wound and the skill in handling it.'

The former didn't need much thought.

'I have an abundance of magic power.'

Currently, he had received Wounds from both the first and second cycles of Vega.

The magic power was so abundant that it could be a problem.

"…Then."

If he could improve his skill in handling the Wound, he could advance much faster than other Awakened.

"I need to go to the gate again tomorrow."

Two or three years ago.

An Awakened he had formed a party with said that the best way to improve Wound handling skills in a short time was through actual combat.

Indeed, the upper-level Awakened who achieved explosive growth often frequented the gates.

'Let's go to bed then.'

Creak.

He stood up from the swing and left the eerie playground.

"Hmm?"

While walking home, a news article caught his eye on his smartphone.

[A strange phenomenon has occurred at a one-star risk gate in Incheon Sinheung-dong, where over 20 Ant Horns are moving in a group... causing numerous victims.]

This was the gate he had visited today.

[The association has advised to refrain from entering the gate for the time being, as there is a possibility of the appearance of 'variants'.]

"…Variants."

Ojin narrowed his eyes.

'I didn't see any variants then.'

Maybe he missed them.

After all, he wasn't in a situation to pay attention to variants.

'…Can I catch them?'

The variants of monsters, which appear with extremely low probability.

While they can be weaker than the original in some cases, generally, variant individuals are much stronger than the original.

A monster that a newly awakened one-star Awakened couldn't possibly challenge.

'But.'

He wasn't an ordinary one-star Awakened.

Even the apostles of the 12 signs of the zodiac were several times more powerful than other apostles from the moment they reached one star, and he was an apostle of the 'Polaris', which even the 12 signs couldn't match.

He had just returned from slaughtering dozens of Ant Horns alone.

Of course, he had received help from Vega in the middle, but—

'Even before receiving the blessing, I could handle them.'

He thought it was too easy, even when he only had the Wound from the first cycle of Vega.

Now that he has the Wound from the second cycle of Vega, it would be even easier.

"Alright."

After a moment of contemplation, Ojin nodded calmly.

His destination for tomorrow was decided.

* * *

The next day.

He headed to the place where he first met Lee Shinhyuk.

"I am a two-star Awakened of the Fire Sign! Is anyone interested in forming a party?!"

"I am a two-star Awakened of the Big Dog Sign! I'm going to hunt variants!"

Upon arriving at the gate, the noisy shouts reached his ears.

'There are quite a few people.'

Despite the association's advice to refrain from entering, more Awakened were gathered at the gate than usual.

'Variants' Star Stones are said to be much more valuable, right?'

It seemed they had gathered for the same purpose as him, to hunt variants.

"Hmm…"

Ojin paused and fell into thought.

'Should I form a party?'

Now that he was a real Awakened, he didn't need to put on a show like before.

'…No.'

After a moment of contemplation, Ojin shook his head.

He was confident he could handle the variants alone.

If he formed a party, he would have to share the profits, and it would be difficult to experience proper 'actual combat'.

"Then, let's go."

He entered the gate and headed to the place where he encountered the Ant Horns yesterday.

A dim forest path.

The sticky humidity was unpleasant.

-Rustle.

The sound of rustling bushes.

'They're coming.'

He gripped the spear on his back and crouched down.