Chapter 1

Regressionist, Chapter 1

When I first awakened my mana, people experienced a phenomenon called 'mental image 心象'.

Some saw a night sky with countless falling stars, others smelled the aroma of all kinds of exquisite dishes, and some heard the sound of everything being sucked in.

Mental images appeared indiscriminately and without any pattern. I, too, experienced such a phenomenon.

Whoosh—

A wave sound that tickled my ears, as calm as the sea.

When I started to hear this sound upon awakening my mana, I had only one thought.

'Why the sound of waves?'

The occupation that was determined to suit me was blacksmith. If it were fire, I could understand, but there was no relation to waves, so I couldn't comprehend why I heard such a sound.

Moreover, unlike others, I heard the sound of waves periodically, and each time, my doubts only piled up.

And even as I forged weapons and heated the forge, those doubts remained unresolved.

Whoosh—

It was only now, as the world was on the brink of destruction, that I understood.

"Damn it..."

That damn sound of waves was the sound of the world's destruction.

Boom—

The vibration and roar from afar.

The vibration that seemed to blow away this area and the roar that seemed to burst my eardrums were now fading, as if they had lost their power.

It must mean that the battle with the God of Destruction, to which I and the other members of the resistance had thrown ourselves, was coming to an end.

"Huff..."

I wanted to see how it was going, but my neck was broken, and I couldn't turn my head.

My spine was shattered, and I had no sensation in my lower body. My internal organs were in bad shape, and blood kept surging up my throat.

I was lucky to have the strength to spit out the blood; otherwise, I would have drowned in the blood in my mouth.

"I should have just died earlier..."

If I had known I would be injured like this, I wouldn't have tried to stop it.

With such futile thoughts, I leaned against the greatsword that supported me. As I tried to steady my breathing to reduce the pain.

Boom!

A grotesquely distorted head fell in front of me.

The three horns were shattered, and the four glowing blue eyes were crushed as if they had been tortured.

The head, which was a mess, told me that the God of Destruction's end was not a peaceful one. I twisted my lips as I looked at it.

"Good for nothing. Bastard..."

He had boasted about being the strongest of the Six Great Demons and the harbinger of the world's end, but in the end, he lost his head to the humans he had underestimated.

I wanted to laugh heartily, but I feared I would die spitting out blood, so I suppressed my laughter and trembled.

"You're making a fuss."

The three who had killed the God of Destruction walked over late.

"Someone might think you killed him."

"Yeah. The kid who was pretending to be sick and lying down..."

"I told you. He was trying to take credit for the work on the legion side, right?"

The three mocked me, clearly displeased with my smugness. I twisted my lips in response to their familiar sight.

"If it weren't for my weapons, you would have died long ago."

"What did you say?"

"This kid..."

"Wow. I can't believe it."

The three glared at me with narrowed eyes.

From the moment we organized the resistance until now, their attitude hasn't changed a bit. I sighed and they sighed first.

"Enough. What are you doing to a dying man?"

"Yeah. This kid has always been like this."

"Sigh. I'll endure it."

The three sat down on the ground, looking exhausted.

They sat with their backs turned, not wanting to face each other. I asked calmly, looking at their consistent backs.

"Who can survive?"

"I'm done. My insides are crushed."

"Me too. The bleeding won't stop because of the curse."

"Damn. My heart is pierced, and I can't go on."

I sighed at the sight of the three calmly talking about their impending deaths.

"Is this how it ends?"

The God of Destruction.

He was the last of the Six Great Demons that threatened humanity, but 90% of the earth had already been swallowed by the Sea of Destruction he created.

The Hero's Tower, which maintained the earth, had already collapsed, so when the Sea of Destruction swept over the earth, the Swamp of Ten Thousand Demons would fill the void.

"Haa..."

We won, but we had already lost.

Even though I knew this from the beginning of organizing the resistance, the bitter result made me mutter without realizing it.

"Why didn't you help earlier?"

The three in front of me, the Three Dogs, were commonly known as gray seeds.

They didn't take sides with either humanity or the Swamp of Ten Thousand Demons, moving as they pleased and seeking only their own interests.

'If only they were here...'

There were stronger individuals than these three, but many things could only be done with the 'talents' they possessed.

If they had used their talents a little earlier, if other heroes hadn't died in vain, wouldn't we have had a better outcome?

The three, who had always harbored this regret, answered calmly.

"Be grateful that we helped at the end..."

Raging Dog Yan Seong-ha.

"If you're upset, you should have been stronger than us. Kid..."

Furious Dog Louise Valente.

"Have a taste, sir..."

Ice Dog Amir Singh.

The sight of these bastards, who wouldn't bend their opinions even at the end, made me laugh hollowly.

"Annoying bastards."

I wanted to curse them to my heart's content, but what was the point if they couldn't hear me?

I looked at the backs of the three, who were sitting with their backs turned, and then looked up at the dark sky.

'Where did it all go wrong?'

Was it because I couldn't bring in these three earlier? Was it because the strongest of humanity, the Perfect Ascendants, didn't unite properly?

Or was it because I didn't realize what the sound of waves I heard when I awakened my mana meant, all those years ago?

As my life flashed before my eyes, I quickly found the cause.

'It was me.'

If I had started to hammer for others a little earlier,

If I had realized the ability given to me a little earlier, could I have changed everything?

I smiled bitterly at this lingering regret.

"I was crazy..."

What was the point of this behavior for something that had already passed?

I had decided not to regret anything, no matter what, so I forced myself to shake off the thoughts that filled my mind and reached for my waist.

Clang—

The hammer I had swung tirelessly for decades.

Now, it was almost a part of my body. I gripped it and slowly straightened my back, which had been leaning against the greatsword.

Cough!

As the healing power from the greatsword was cut off, blood gushed out as if it had been waiting.

I could die comfortably and painlessly if I just sat still, but I didn't want to end it so meaninglessly.

"These are my greatest masterpieces... I can't leave them like this..."

I squeezed out the last of my strength and picked up the weapons scattered around the three.

And on the ruins, I swung the hammer in my hand.

Clang! Clang!

Sparks flew, and the hammer gradually turned red.

It wouldn't be as good as forging in a workshop, but with this 'Hammer of Residual Flame' I received from my master, I could at least refine them.

The weapons, which had been worn down to the teeth, were polished again, and I forcefully placed them next to the three as I finished each one.

"Huff..."

It seemed like a futile act in a place that would soon be swallowed by the Sea of Destruction, but what did it matter? I slowly turned my head, looking at the makeshift tombstones of the three.

Whoosh—

The Sea of Destruction, which had already approached.

Realizing that there was little time left, I looked down at the hammer in my hand.

'Is this the end?'

If it really was about to end, I wanted to finish it myself rather than be swept away by those damn black waves.

The thought that suddenly came to mind made me slowly clench my chest.

'Extract Affinity.'

[Affinity is being extracted from the target 'Lee Se-hoon'.]

[The affinity with the creator 'Lee Se-hoon' is at level ─.]

A transparent crystal appeared in my hand with a bright light. I looked down at the colorless crystal, which was always the same.

'Still plain as ever.'

The unique skill 'Blacksmith of Affinity' allowed me to extract a special crystal from a target with whom I had formed an affinity.

The effect of the crystal varied depending on the type of affinity and the target's potential, but when used on myself, it produced a crystal worse than ordinary iron ore.

'If only I had awakened this skill earlier...'

The regret that came back as I recalled the past. I tried to shake it off, but the lingering disappointment made me sigh as I looked at the empty affinity crystal in my hand.

'If nothing is contained within it...'

Take this regret that torments me.

I squeezed out the last of my strength, gripped the hammer, and struck the colorless crystal.

Whoosh—

The sound of waves filled my ears, replacing the sound of the hammer.

Was it the sound of the Sea of Destruction approaching, or the hallucination I always heard? In the indistinguishable sound of waves, I swung the hammer tirelessly and smiled without realizing it.

Because whenever this sound filled my ears, I always produced something better than I imagined.

'Ha. I'm a crazy bastard.'

To be happy that something good might come out while hearing the sound of the world's destruction.

In that absurd situation, I silently hammered away, and when my hands lost their strength, I naturally stopped.

"Haa... Haa..."

A plain, colorless dagger.

It was well-made, but that was all. Using only my affinity crystal and no other materials, it had no special power.

Whoosh—

The Sea of Destruction, which had approached.

Looking at the bodies of the three, which had disappeared, I slowly reversed the grip on the dagger in my hand.

What should I say in a situation like this? I thought about cursing the world, but that didn't seem right, so I smiled and muttered.

"Life... Damn it..."

That was enough.

Pierce