Chapter 16

Regressionist 16

Early morning.

The freshmen of the Refining Department gathered in the lecture hall for their major class, glancing at one side.

Iseun, with his head buried on the desk, remained motionless. His body was so limp that the students began to whisper, wondering if he had died.

“Did he fail to make it properly?”

“He’s probably just tired. He made a rare-grade weapon, so it’s not like he couldn’t do it, right?”

“But it’s hero-grade material, you know.”

This was the first intermediate refining attempt for the freshmen, and since it was being attempted by the top student of the department, everyone was naturally curious.

Therefore, everyone was curious about the finished product, but no one dared to approach and ask.

His expression when he entered the lecture hall was so intimidating, and his unique aura made him seem much older than his peers, making it difficult to approach him.

‘If I touch him now, he’ll definitely explode.’

‘But he is the top student of the department, so I have to be careful.’

While they were only speculating in their heads, Iseun, with his head buried on the desk, muttered to himself.

‘I’m about to die…’

He thought that since he was young, he would be fine after a good night’s sleep, but it seemed he had overestimated his body.

With no part of his body feeling well, Iseun couldn’t even muster the strength to sit up straight.

‘But it was worth it to push myself this far.’

[Iseun]

Strength - E (68) Endurance - E (63)

Magic Power - F (47) Agility - E (52)

Unique Skill: 'Fated Weapon'

Attribute Magic: Crimson Flame (F)

Skills: Master of Flames (C), Black Spirit Summon (D)

Even without starting any special training, his stats had increased by an average of more than 5.

Of course, compared to the path ahead, it was like a drop in the bucket, but compared to his past self, it was a very rapid growth rate.

‘And this is just the beginning…’

The heavy weight of the prayer beads on his wrists and ankles and the magic power being sucked into them.

Even though he felt his strength draining further, Iseun smiled. The more intense the pain, the faster his physical growth would be.

‘I’ll definitely make my body usable before the end of the first year.’

While Iseun was slumped over, a sound of the door opening echoed through the lecture hall.

‘The professor has arrived.’

The class he was about to attend was ‘Understanding Tools,’ one of the basic major courses.

It was said to be a class that taught the characteristics of various tools, and the fact that they were told to wear gym uniforms suggested that it would involve some physical activity.

‘This is perfect for testing the performance of the prayer beads.’

Iseun lifted his head and looked down at the podium, where a man who appeared to be the professor stood.

A man with muscles so bulky that it was questionable if he could scratch his own back. His body looked more like a weapon than a blacksmith, and Iseun had a puzzled look on his face.

‘Why is someone like him in the Refining Department?’

Not only were his visible muscles impressive, but there were traces of a warrior rather than a blacksmith all over his body.

Moreover, his skills seemed quite formidable; he could have been a professor at Akalup without any issue.

Iseun, curious about why such a man was here, watched as the professor on the podium began to speak.

“Hello, I’m Ricaros Miles, and I’ll be teaching the ‘Understanding Tools’ class from today. I’m also a new professor this year, so please take care of me.”

Clap, clap, clap.

The students clapped lightly, and Professor Ricaros continued with a bright smile.

“Now, let’s move to the training center for the class. Everyone, please stand up.”

“What?”

“Isn’t this supposed to be a theory class?”

Wearing gym uniforms and the situation being different from what they heard from seniors, the students were puzzled as they stood up.

“The last one to arrive will run 20 laps around the track.”

Ricaros’ eyes gleamed with a sadistic glint.

“Go!”

Iseun, who had sensed something was off and prepared himself, dashed out of the lecture hall. The other students, realizing what was happening, quickly followed.

“What’s going on all of a sudden!”

“I don’t know. Just run!”

The distance from the main building of the Refining Department to the training center was about 2 km. Despite being technical students, they all had basic physical fitness and ran quickly, but one person was different.

“Huff… huff…!”

Iseun, who reacted first, quickly fell to the back.

It looked as if he was deliberately slowing down, but of course, that wasn’t the case.

Rumble—

A ominous sound came from his limbs.

As his body relaxed from the effort of running, the suppressed prayer beads began to rapidly absorb magic power!

The prayer beads, now as heavy as water-soaked cotton, absorbed magic power and became heavier, making it difficult for Iseun to even walk, let alone run.

‘The performance is… really impressive…!’

To be able to push his body to this extent during a simple run was exactly what he wanted, but if this continued, he would collapse before the class ended.

So, Iseun used another function of the prayer beads.

‘Explosion.’

Whirr!

The magic power stored in the prayer beads was released and seeped into his body, giving a bit of vitality to his nearly collapsing body.

On the brink of collapse, his body was pushed to its limits, and the magic power seeping into it promoted growth.

‘Very good…’

While Iseun was smirking, performing a training method that would shock anyone who heard about it, Ricaros, who saw this from behind, had a puzzled look on his face.

‘…I didn’t expect it to be this bad.’

He had heard from Professor Kim Incheol that Iseun’s physical abilities were on the lower side, but he didn’t expect the top student of the department to be this bad.

Ricaros, who didn’t know about the prayer beads, looked at Iseun with a bewildered expression as they finally arrived at the training center.

“Huff… huff….”

Iseun, who arrived 5 minutes after the other students.

If the others hadn’t slowed down because he was already last, he would have been at least 10 minutes late.

‘I’m about to die…’

The performance of the prayer beads was too good.

While Iseun was panting heavily, pushed to his limits, a thick hand grabbed his shoulder.

“20 laps.”

“…Yes. I’ll go.”

Iseun, who quickly caught his breath, started running the track again, and some of the students watching him chuckled.

“His stamina is really at rock bottom.”

“Yeah. He’s probably no good in combat.”

Seeing Iseun, who had shown a significant presence as the top student of the department, in such a state made him seem a bit more approachable, and some found it amusing.

After all, he was just another student like them. This fact resurfaced in their minds.

“Alright, everyone, pay attention.”

Ricaros, who clapped lightly to gather the students’ attention, started the class in a loud voice that Iseun could hear.

“Originally, the ‘Understanding Tools’ class focused on the structure of weapons, but due to the recent ‘Flame Sword Hunts,’ there has been a suggestion to change the teaching method.”

When Ricaros mentioned the ‘Flame Sword Hunts,’ the students murmured. It was a series of incidents where blacksmiths who created hero-grade or higher fire-attribute weapons were attacked and their weapons stolen.

Although there were no fatalities, it was a highly controversial issue because the blacksmiths lost not only their weapons but also their ‘hands.’

“Even blacksmiths need basic combat skills. While these can be covered in a minor, there were opposing opinions. However, due to incidents like the Flame Sword Hunts, it was decided that there should be no exceptions.”

Ricaros looked at the students with a serious expression.

“No matter what precautions you take, ultimately, the one who protects your body is yourself. So, through this class, improve your understanding of tools and find techniques suitable for protecting your body. Understand?”

“Yes!”

“Good. Today, we’ll start with swords. There are training swords over there….”

Ricaros started the class, and Iseun, who was running the track, had a peculiar expression.

‘Flame Sword Hunts… Now that I think about it, there was such a thing.’

Although it was an old incident, it was relatively fresh in his memory compared to other things.

After all, before the regression, the Flame Sword Hunts ended as an unsolved case without the culprit’s identity being revealed.

‘The last one stolen was the Illusionary Crimson Sword, I think.’

He couldn’t remember who made it, but he remembered it was a legendary-grade weapon with high craftsmanship.

Thinking about the Flame Sword Hunts, Iseun’s awareness of his own body resurfaced.

‘I need to be more careful this time.’

As the top student of Babel, even if his current skills were lacking, he was seen as a future master and given a high position.

Since he could be involved in any accident at any time, it would be good to prepare for such situations. While thinking about this, Iseun looked at the ongoing class.

“Now, you can also deflect attacks like this.”

Clang!

Ricaros easily deflected the sword swung by a student. Iseun watched his smooth movements closely.

‘He’s good with swords, but it doesn’t seem to be his specialty… What is it?’

Usually, if someone had focused on a specific skill, some of it would show even when using a different weapon.

However, Ricaros’ movements only showed ‘swordsmanship,’ and the level didn’t match his physical strength, giving a rather strange feeling.

‘Hmm, this is a familiar characteristic…’

Iseun, narrowing his eyes, carefully observed Ricaros’ sword movements while running.

Noticing his gaze, Ricaros shouted.

“Stop running and come here!”

Iseun immediately changed direction and headed forward.

Iseun, drenched in sweat, looked like he had been through a lot, but Ricaros, examining his condition, had a surprised look.

‘Still, his condition isn’t that bad.’

Even while panting, his body’s center of gravity remained stable. Despite his poor stamina, he seemed to have a good understanding of how to use his body.

Ricaros, finding this interesting, handed Iseun a training sword he had prepared.

“Did you hear the purpose of the class I mentioned earlier?”

“Yes.”

“I’ll see if swordsmanship is suitable for you. Try swinging it once.”

Iseun, holding the training sword, instinctively checked his condition.

‘It’s crude.’

It wasn’t the worst, but it wasn’t something he could say was good. Since it was a training sword, it couldn’t be helped, but he didn’t like it much.

‘Let’s see. With this balance…’

Iseun slightly adjusted his grip to match the sword, and Ricaros’ eyes narrowed.

‘That just now…’

The other students didn’t notice anything unusual due to the natural movement, but Ricaros immediately recognized the change in grip.

Iseun’s previously sloppy stance suddenly became perfect, as if he had transformed into a different person.

‘He doesn’t seem to have learned swordsmanship separately… Could it be talent?’

Ricaros, seeing the dramatic change, had a peculiar expression. Iseun, checking his stance, thought:

‘With the prayer beads, it’ll be hard to move properly.’

Swinging the sword recklessly would only make him angry due to the slow movements.

‘Hmm, let’s try this then.’

It wasn’t a great skill, but it would be decent for the first attempt.

Iseun, having decided how to move, swung the sword forward, and Ricaros’ eyes lit up.

‘His stance isn’t bad.’

However, due to the recent running, his strength was severely depleted. Ricaros could have easily countered, but since the purpose was to assess potential, he matched Iseun’s speed.

Clang!

The two swords clashed slowly, and the students watching murmured.

“He’s really slow. Did he get that tired from running?”

“But the form is somewhat decent.”

“I could do that if I swung that slowly.”

Ricaros, adjusting to Iseun’s poor condition, was helping him. However, the person actually engaging in the duel had a different thought.

‘Excellent.’

Unlike the other students who swung their swords wildly, Iseun’s sword followed a fixed path without any waver.

To swing a sword like this, one needed either expertise in swordsmanship or an excellent sense of body control.

‘Indeed, there’s a reason he’s the top student of the department.’

Although his current physical abilities were low, with time and training, he could become a completely different person.

Ricaros, now interested, was earnestly engaging in the duel. Suddenly, the atmosphere changed.

‘Oh no…’

Unlike the previous good defense, a clear opening appeared.

It was due to a mistake in footwork, a bad habit Iseun had shown earlier, now exacerbated by his physical limits.

‘I need to address this.’

In a real fight, such a mistake could cost him his head in an instant.

Ricaros decided to end the duel with this attack and aimed for the opening.

“…?”

He inadvertently met Iseun’s eyes.

They were so calm that it was impossible to think they belonged to someone who had just been hit. Ricaros’ thoughts accelerated, and his gaze shifted to Iseun’s sword tip.

The trajectory of the sword tip made Ricaros’ eyes widen in shock.

Clang!

A sharp metallic sound echoed as a sword flew into the air.

“…”

“…”

A strange silence filled the air among the students.

In the midst of it, Ricaros looked down at his hand and saw the sword he still held.

Recalling what he had just done, he had an incredulous look.

‘I… I didn’t trust myself?’

To think that he, a mere student, not even from Akalup but from Borsipa’s technical department, could have disarmed him with a single strike.

Ricaros stood there, shocked.

‘…What just happened?’

Iseun, also shocked, looked down at his hand.