Chapter 73

I Am Not a Regressor Chapter 73

Streaming of the Genius Awakened (2)

“Wow.”

The exclamation burst from Haeun’s lips.

Ojin, though not as much as her, also seemed quite surprised, turning his head around.

“The inside is incredibly beautiful.”

A massive underwater tunnel.

Despite being an underwater tunnel, the ceiling was made of a semi-transparent glass-like material, allowing the beautiful underwater scenery to be clearly visible.

Above the ceiling, fish that he had never seen before swam freely in the sea.

“It feels like we’ve entered an aquarium.”

As Haeun put it, it felt like an aquarium enlarged by hundreds or thousands of times.

“Sniff, sniff. There don’t seem to be any monsters around here.”

Riak brought his nose close to the ground and sniffed.

“There are many Awakened at the entrance.”

“Are we going inside?”

“Of course.”

The goal was to farm enough Holy Stones to complete the Black Heaven quest.

They weren’t here to leisurely tour the inside of the gate.

[Then let’s go inside.]

Snap.

Vega sat on Ojin’s head as if it were her designated seat.

She gripped Ojin’s curly hair as if it were a horse’s reins.

“I will serve you well, my lady.”

[Hehe. The ride feels really good.]

Vega playfully patted his forehead.

-Step, step.

Thus, they ventured deeper into the beautiful interior of the gate.

Perhaps because it was a gate with a high difficulty level, the further they went inside, the fewer people they encountered.

And then.

“Aaaaaah!!!”

A strange cry echoed, and the ground shook.

From the other end of the tunnel, a fish about two meters in size appeared.

Though it was called a fish, only its head was that of a fish; the rest of its body below the neck resembled a human.

“...Merfolk?”

“It’s a Neglish, a monster.”

“I’m glad it’s not called a mermaid.”

Haeun looked at the Neglish with a look of disgust.

The Neglish’s body was filled with violent muscles, like a bodybuilder who had overdosed on steroids.

With a fish head and such a muscular body, it looked bizarre.

-Sizzle!!

“Grilled, it would probably be rich in protein.”

Haeun smirked and created flames in her hands.

“Sis, wait.”

“Huh? Why?”

“I’ll handle it alone first.”

He was curious to see how long he could fight a 5-star monster.

‘The demon that appeared in Sokcho was exactly 5-star.’

How much had he grown since then?

The desire to check burned within him.

“Okay, got it.”

Haeun extinguished the flames and took a few steps back.

-Clank, clank!

He infused mana into the metal rod and held the silver spear, which had transformed into a scythe.

‘There are three of them.’

The one in the middle was the largest.

‘I’ll start with that one.’

Grip.

He tightly held the spear and slammed it into the ground.

Boom.

He leaped into the air using the spear like a pole.

“Aaaaaah!!!”

The Neglish quickly reacted, creating distance and moving away from the landing point.

As he landed, he seemed to be preparing to attack from three directions.

“No way.”

Clang!

He fired the wire shooter.

The wire shot out at a much faster speed than before from the improved wire shooter.

-Swoosh!

“Aaaaaah?”

The wire wrapped around the Neglish’s neck.

‘Explosive Thunder.’

Zzzz!

A powerful blue lightning surged through the wire, striking the Neglish’s head.

“Aaaaaah!!!”

Indeed.

Is this what a 5-star monster is like?

Though it writhed in pain, the lightning wasn’t enough to kill it.

But.

“That’s all.”

Sssss!

The motor roared, and the wire tightened.

-Slice!

The elongated silver spear split the Neglish’s body in half.

“Aaaaaah!”

“Aaaaaah!”

The other two rushed in, seemingly panicked.

Fast.

The force was so strong that it could be heard tearing through the air.

“This is a bit disappointing.”

Of course.

It wasn’t a threat to him.

-Hum, hum, hum, hum!!

He raised the spear above his head and spun it like a propeller.

Sizzle!

A fierce blue flame erupted from the tip of the spear.

“Huh!”

The Neglish charged, and Ojin, timing it perfectly, grabbed the end of the spear and swung it.

Swoosh!

In an instant, it felt as if the spear had lengthened,

-Slice!

“Aaaaaah!”

The upper and lower halves of the two Neglish separated.

Red blood and organs spilled out.

‘It took about five seconds.’

Ojin chuckled and shrugged.

He had expected it wouldn’t be difficult,

But to this extent.

“Wow... Is this even possible?”

Haeun approached, her mouth agape in disbelief.

“Are you really 5-star? No, how did you get this strong in just two months...”

The Ojin she saw during the Sokcho extermination and the Ojin now were worlds apart.

Back then, he was already considered strong for his rank, but this was beyond belief.

“At this level, you could probably beat a 6-star... no, a 7-star, right?”

“I told you. I beat a 7-star Awakened recently.”

“Oh, right.”

Haeun scratched the back of her head and pouted.

“No matter what, to almost catch up in just six months since awakening, it’s a bit...”

“Puhuhu! You’re still better, right? Your body is fully recovered, isn’t it?”

Haeun was a powerful Awakened, even among 7-stars.

With the new power of the Dragon’s Eye, a direct confrontation was uncertain.

“Hmph! Of course, one-on-one, I still win!”

It wasn’t just bravado.

To face her fully recovered, he would need to use the blessings of Exceed or Vega.

“And.”

Smirk.

Haeun’s lips curled up.

Click.

She reached behind her head and removed the eye patch covering her left eye.

“I wasn’t just sitting around, you know?”

Snap.

She flicked her finger.

Sizzle!

A chain of flames shot out, extending towards a corner of the tunnel.

Swoosh!

“Aaaaaah!!!”

“Aaaaah! Aaaaah!”

Two more Neglish, hidden in the corner, were dragged out, bound by the chain of flames.

They were smaller than the three Ojin had dealt with but had threatening spines all over their bodies.

“There are assassin types too.”

“Aaaaaah!!!”

Haeun slowly examined the two Neglish bound by the chain of flames.

The spines, like pufferfish, were sharp, and purple venom dripped from their tips.

Snap.

“Aaaaah...”

Sizzle!

She flicked her finger again, and the chain of flames turned the Neglish into ashes.

“...How did you know they were there?”

Ojin’s eyes widened in surprise.

He hadn’t expected there to be two more hiding.

“Well, you know.”

Haeun smirked and touched her left eye, where the eye patch had been.

Though it had a grotesque appearance,

She caressed it lovingly.

“Since it’s an eye someone gave me, it should see everything.”

“...”

What is this?

Why does my sister suddenly look so cute?

[Cough!]

Vega cleared her throat, looking uncomfortable.

[It’s clear that 5-star monsters are no longer a significant threat.]

“Yeah.”

Ojin nodded and collected the Holy Stones.

As rumored, each one yielded two Holy Stones.

‘It’s been a while since I’ve seen blue Holy Stones.’

Given the recent surge in demons, it was a welcome sight.

‘So, the Black Star’s power isn’t affecting this gate anomaly, then?’

Until now, the Black Star’s power had always been involved wherever demons appeared.

The appearance of blue Holy Stones suggested that these weren’t demons.

The anomaly in the gate was likely due to another cause.

‘I’ll look into it later.’

For now, it was time to enjoy this unexpected experience point event.

“Grr. A gate with such weaklings. It’s a letdown.”

Riak huffed, disappointed.

“You must be pretty strong even with your power restricted, right?”

“Of course! What do you take Riak for!”

Riak shouted loudly.

“Puhuhu! Then let’s use this opportunity to see how much power you two can use.”

He looked at Vega and Riak.

[Oh. You want to see how much help I can be?]

“Checking your full power is important.”

[Hehe. It’s quite impolite to want to test the power of a Seat, but...]

Purr.

Vega flew up.

[I’m curious to see how much power I can use in this state.]

“Alright.”

Ojin moved deeper into the underwater tunnel.

“Aaaaaah!!!”

“This time, there are four.”

“No assassin types.”

He glanced at Vega and Riak.

“Grr! Just watch from there, human!”

[I’ll show you my power.]

Riak and Vega charged at the Neglish.

-Slice! Slice! Slice!!!

“Aaaaaah!!!”

The silver wolf leaped off the tunnel walls, moving between the Neglish.

-Zzzz!

[How dare you misbehave in front of me?]

A blue lightning bolt, like a snake, moved along the ground, wrapping around the Neglish.

In an instant, the blue lightning surged through the Neglish’s body, entering the gills on their necks.

“Aaaaaah!!!”

The Neglish, struck by the lightning, fell to the ground, trembling.

“Wow.”

Ojin’s eyes sparkled at the impressive control.

But it was short-lived.

Ojin, observing the battle calmly, clicked his tongue in disappointment.

‘The output is too low.’

With her power restricted, the lightning Vega used was at best 2-3 star level.

Though she controlled the Neglish with her incredible skill, the output was far from enough to deliver a decisive blow.

‘The same goes for Riak.’

Riak also seemed to be barely covering his weakened strength and speed with his overwhelming technique.

‘This is like a bus that can’t be boarded, isn’t it?’

It didn’t matter.

He never intended to rely on their power to grow.

“Grr! This is frustrating!”

Riak shouted, frustrated.

Indeed.

It must be frustrating to have to move around and fight at full power against monsters that would turn to ashes with just a burst of lightning if there were no restrictions.

“Hmph! You made a big fuss, but you’re not much, are you?”

“What, what do you mean?”

“Huhu. I’ll have to help you, no matter what.”

“I don’t need it!”

Haeun chuckled and joined the battle.

[Sigh. You’re already tired.]

Vega sighed deeply and landed on Ojin’s shoulder.

“Good job, Vega.”

[With this level of power, I can’t provide much help to you.]

Vega bowed her head, disappointed.

“On the contrary, it’s better.”

[Hmm? Better?]

“Relying solely on Vega’s power would make me complacent. This is just right.”

He comforted the dejected Vega.

[Hehe. Are you comforting me?]

She smiled faintly and stroked his forehead.

[What a commendable child. I understand why my past self became so... close to you.]

She smiled and whispered the last part softly, so Haeun couldn’t hear.

She pulled on Ojin’s ear, perhaps embarrassed by what she had said.

“Eh, um.”

Though in his past life, he and Vega weren’t actually that close.

“I told you.”

He smiled and turned to look at her, sitting on his shoulder.

“It’s fine if you don’t remember. It’s fine if you don’t reminisce.”

Just as closing your eyes doesn’t make the world disappear,

“If you forget, I’ll remember. All the happy and sad memories.”

[My child...]

Vega’s eyes wavered.

‘This is enough.’

It was time to wrap it up.

“Puhuhu! Let’s go. Sis is listening.”

[...I see.]

When he approached Haeun, the battle was already over.

“Let’s collect the Holy Stones and go deeper.”

“Grr! This time, I’ll fight alone!”

As they ventured deeper into the gate,

“Hmm?”

He saw three Neglish, riddled with holes, lying on the ground.

“Phew. As expected, fighting three at once is a bit tough!”

Next to them, the young man with orange hair, whom he had seen at the entrance, was drinking a potion and resting.

A round orb floated around him.

“Hmm? You are...”

The young man’s gaze turned towards them.

What was he thinking in that short moment?

His expression changed, and his lips slowly curled up.

“Nerang! It’s Nerang, right?”

“Yes.”

Though it wasn’t a nickname he particularly liked,

He had become somewhat used to it after being called Nerang so often.

“Hahaha! Wow! Meeting Nerang here! I’m a fan, a fan!”

The young man extended his hand.

“Well... If this is fate, then it’s fate.”

He pointed to the floating orb with his thumb and smiled.

“Would you like to be a guest on my stream?”

“Huh?”

A stream?