Chapter 76: The Regressor Takes Care of Everything

The main office of Borsippa, adjacent to the central sector of Babel.

This is the place that oversees all activities in Borsippa, and given the scale of Babel, the size of the main office is no small matter. It is a massive ten-story building where hundreds of administrative staff work and thousands of people visit for various purposes. Because of this, the lower floors are filled with various daily noises, but the dean's office on the top floor is different.

Scribble, scribble

In the quiet room where the sound of a pen signing documents is clearly audible, Ryu Eun-ha was reviewing documents as usual when—

Bang!

The door was violently opened.

Mihail Barumut, a middle-aged man with a blonde all-back hairstyle, entered without knocking and looked at Ryu Eun-ha with a cold expression.

"Dean Ryu Eun-ha."

Despite his polite tone, his call was filled with raw anger. The anger was so overt that magical energy seeped into his words, causing the entire dean's office to tremble slightly, but Ryu Eun-ha did not take her eyes off the documents and replied.

"Speak."

"Do you know what you've done?"

"I'm not sure. Explain it to me."

Her indifferent attitude showed no willingness to engage in conversation. This made Mihail's eyebrows furrow, but he quickly regained his composure and continued.

"Because of the biased review video you posted, the Barumut family is suffering severe damage."

After Ryu Eun-ha's video was posted, the Barumut family received more refund requests than orders for the first time. This was because companies and guilds that had been uncertain about the performance of the new mass-produced weapons suddenly switched to the other side after seeing her video.

‘If only we could have handled it before the market was fully saturated... Just because of one video...!’

When the video started to spread, the Barumut family did notice and immediately responded.

[The current controversial material is not officially recognized, and we will take strong action against any defamation or dissemination of false information.]

First, they tried to block the mention and pressured the site where the video was posted to take it down.

However, this response was flawed from the start because the status of 'Ryu Eun-ha,' who posted the video, was too significant.

[anger231]: The Barumut family has made a statement. We should wait and see.

└[Hong Samint]: Wait and see? The person who posted it is Ryu Eun-ha, lol.

└[anger231]: Is Ryu Eun-ha above the official association? You're speaking strangely.

└[Hong Samint]: Even the 100 Great Craftsmen can't say a word about weapon evaluations in front of Ryu Eun-ha. The association's investigation will just end with an official certification.

[HG Beam]: 30% better performance and 20% cheaper? Is this a scam?

└[Neon Blue]: What's lacking for an S-rank hero to scam?

└[HG Beam]: He could scam. S-rank heroes are human, right?

└[Neon Blue]: Not everyone is like you.

[dd]: I've never seen Ryu Eun-ha smile. Is it just me?

└[Ryu Eun-ha's Biggest Fan]: It's the first time. I've seen all the videos online, but I've never seen her smile. It almost made my heart stop...

└[Light Left]: If she can smile after eating hero-grade weapons made by the Serafin guild, what are these mass-produced weapons?

Ryu Eun-ha, who became an S-rank hero at a young age and achieved significant accomplishments in various dangerous areas, monster hunts, and mine clearances, was known for her unique trait of consuming weapons and the related anecdotes that spread widely on the internet. This made the Barumut family's response counterproductive.

‘We've passed the point where we can handle this internally.’

The review itself was straightforward and factual, so there was a risk of backlash. Legally, Ryu Eun-ha was more of a monster than Ludwig, the principal, who could easily resolve any disputes.

Thus, the Barumut family had only one option left.

"I don't know what you want, but I'll do my best to accommodate you. First, take down the video and post a correction—"

"Vice Dean."

Ryu Eun-ha, who had been reviewing documents, cut Mihail off and signed the document calmly.

"If you have nothing else to say, please leave. You're disrupting my work."

"..."

Ryu Eun-ha's dismissal, indicating she had no intention of talking, left Mihail more bewildered than angry.

‘Is this really an attack, not a negotiation...?’

Ryu Eun-ha was not the type to seek such negotiations, which he had somewhat expected, but it still puzzled him.

What could drive someone who showed no interest in anything other than buying weapons to do this?

‘Could it be the Serafin guild? No, she seemed very surprised when she met them...’

If it wasn't the Serafin guild, who had long supported her, what could be the cause?

Feeling like a boulder had fallen from the sky, Mihail was at a loss.

Knock knock

"Excuse me."

A mocking voice rang out with the knock. Mihail turned to see a young man, Lee Se-hoon, leaning against the door, a voice that made him bristle with annoyance.

"I thought you were done, but you're still here?"

Lee Se-hoon, who was talking casually, unlike other students who couldn't even meet his eyes, made Mihail's eyes narrow in anger.

"How dare you... in this place..."

"Ah, you're here."

Ryu Eun-ha's voice from behind. Mihail turned and his eyes widened. Ryu Eun-ha, who had ignored him, was now looking at Lee Se-hoon with a soft expression.

‘Could this all be for him...?’

Unbelievable, but given Ryu Eun-ha's reaction, it seemed to be the only explanation.

Ryu Eun-ha and Lee Se-hoon's collaboration. This realization made Mihail recall another question he had.

‘Who made the new weapons this time?’

According to their intelligence, the workshops involved did not have the capability to produce such weapons.

Thus, they assumed another force was involved, but Mihail suddenly realized a new possibility.

‘No way...’

A scenario he couldn't accept even as he considered it.

Feeling the situation was serious, Mihail turned to Lee Se-hoon, who was leaning against the door.

"What are you doing? Get out of here quickly."

Unlike other students who couldn't meet his eyes, Lee Se-hoon was talking casually. Sensing the ease and mockery in his tone, Mihail finally understood.

"...It's you."

Unbelievable, but the new weapons were made by Lee Se-hoon right in front of him.

Impressed by his talent, which was not just surprising but terrifying, Mihail looked at Lee Se-hoon with a cold expression.

"Don't get too cocky."

Mihail left the room, and Lee Se-hoon, watching him go, smiled.

‘He's really angry.’

If there were no one around, he might have tried to kill him on the spot. Satisfied with the smooth progress, Lee Se-hoon was about to relax when—

Vibrate

Ryu Eun-ha's phone on the desk vibrated. She glanced at the screen and immediately rejected the call.

Curious about her decisive reaction, Lee Se-hoon asked.

"Who was it that you rejected so quickly?"

"People are starting to make various offers now that the video is up. You don't need to worry about it."

S-rank heroes usually join guilds or sign contracts with companies, but Ryu Eun-ha had little interest in such things and only signed contracts she needed, so she naturally didn't receive many offers.

‘Did this video reset that?’

To someone who didn't know her, it might seem like Ryu Eun-ha had changed her mind, and even if not, the impact was significant enough to warrant persistent offers.

‘This is going to be really annoying... I feel bad about it.’

Seeing Ryu Eun-ha's phone start ringing again, Lee Se-hoon felt awkward.

"Because of me, you're getting a lot of trouble."

"Don't worry about it. They'll disappear if you ignore them."

"No, we need to be clear about our deal."

Despite her seemingly indifferent attitude, Ryu Eun-ha was very clear about making and breaking deals. If he ignored her saying it was fine, he might face a significant setback later.

"If you ever need help or have any difficulties, feel free to let me know. I'll help you."

While he couldn't help with anything that would cause Ryu Eun-ha trouble, sincerity and effort were important.

Moved by Lee Se-hoon's genuine words, Ryu Eun-ha looked at him for a moment and nodded.

"I'll keep that in mind."

Satisfied that she had no complaints, Lee Se-hoon changed the topic.

"Professor Kim In-cheol said that other workshops will join, so there shouldn't be any issues with logistics. You can post the remaining videos sequentially."

The video posted yesterday was just a taste. From now on, the 76 mass-produced weapons that the Barumut family mainly sells will be thoroughly compared with the weapons prepared by Yang Sang-hyun.

Thinking for a moment, Ryu Eun-ha asked.

"Will the workshops be safe? It might be difficult to protect them all with the security personnel."

"It's fine."

Ryu Eun-ha's valid concern made Lee Se-hoon smile.

"I've assigned reliable people to them."

* * *

In the dark city.

In a dark alley where the streetlights were off, a small voice echoed.

"Right wall. 38-year-old woman. 12-year-old boy. 9-year-old girl. Eliminate and process at a nearby house."

A shadow detached and climbed the wall, and another shadow rippled and moved to a corner of a distant apartment building.

"1802. 68-year-old woman. Eliminate and process similarly."

Another shadow detached and climbed the stairs, and the remaining shadow rippled and appeared elsewhere.

Moving through the city, the shadow-casting entity, the A-rank mine 'Shadow Stalker,' recalled the request.

'Targeting the families instead of the workshops. A far-sighted move.'

Attacking the workshops with security would likely fail and raise unnecessary suspicion.

Thus, the Barumut family, the client, used a different method, instructing the elimination of the families of those involved in this incident.

'Nothing is more effective than instilling fear.'

Today, the eliminations were straightforward assassinations, but in the future, he would disguise them as accidents, killing a few at a time.

Others would see them as coincidences, but the targets would recognize the warning and withdraw from all activities out of fear.

‘It would be great if they all withdraw out of fear before the ten years are up.’

While he wanted to kill all the targets, doing so would lead to a manhunt and loss of credibility in the pleasure district, so restraint was necessary.

Feeling annoyed, Shadow Stalker was about to send another subordinate when—

Thud

A blue arrow pierced his heart.

"Ugh...!"

The shadow convulsed, and a man's body emerged, impaled by the arrow and dead instantly. Realizing the arrow's curse had taken his subordinate's life in his place, Shadow Stalker quickly made a decision.

'Minimum S-rank. I need to run!'

If someone could spot and shoot him in the city without him noticing, there was no point in fighting.

Deciding to flee, Shadow Stalker immediately activated his skill, 'Shadow Tribute.'

Splat!

Ten subordinates inside the shadow turned into black blood, forming a magic circle, and twenty more were used as fuel to activate the skill instantly.

Whoosh!

The scenery changed in the blink of an eye.

Moving to a forest dozens of kilometers away, Shadow Stalker continued using the skill without relaxing.

'No idea what abilities he has, so I need to escape for sure.'

While it would be difficult to gather new subordinates, facing an S-rank hero could lead to instant death.

Activating Shadow Tribute again, the connected subordinates turned into black blood, covering his body.

Rumble!

Soul Concealment, Magic Neutralization, and Natural Assimilation, among other powerful concealment spells, overlapped, and he moved hundreds of kilometers through the shadows.

Using the lives of his subordinates, a technique he had used to escape S-rank heroes before, gave him confidence, but a strange unease lingered.

'Is this enough?'

The precision of the shot, which he didn't notice until it hit, and the chilling sensation when the arrow pierced his heart made him doubt.

Tearing the scroll he had been saving, he activated it in the shadows.

Sssss

Purple magic energy from the scroll covered his body, blurring his outline and melting him.

Just as his body was about to disintegrate and disappear—

Boom!

Shadow Stalker's body emerged from the purple magic energy and fell into an abandoned building.

"Haa... Haa..."

Exhausted, Shadow Stalker lay on the ground, gasping for breath. Other mines gathered, hearing the sound.

"What is it? A shadow kid?"

"Looks bad. Did you get beaten by an S-rank hero?"

The mines, known for their notorious assassination skills, gathered in this 'Hall of Illusions.'

'This should be enough...'

This was a hideout created by one of the Ten Evils, the owner of the pleasure district, the Illusion Mine.

No matter who the S-rank hero was, he was confident they couldn't track him here.

"I was shot and immediately fled. Used all my subordinates... No profit this time. Damn."

"Shot? Who shot you?"

The mines looked puzzled.

Shadow Stalker was the best at stealth among the gathered mines.

"Don't know. Got shot and fled without seeing the face."

"...Shot?"

A sense of foreboding made the mines' expressions stiffen.

Boom

A mine's head exploded without a trace.

"..."

"..."

The room was deathly silent.

Normally, they would have immediately prepared for the next attack, but the mines were too shocked to move, staring at the weapon that had pierced their comrade.

Sssss

A blue arrow firmly planted in the ground, made of magic, crumbled at the tip.

'Archer. Invisible shot. Eyes that can see through the Hall of Illusions. Magic arrow.'

The situation pieced together in the mines' minds, and a single entity came to mind.

A monster who hunted monsters in the polluted African continent from the highest mountain, killing all the mines he 'saw' for entertainment.

"Long-range Archer..."

Realizing they had been seen by Hae Baek-yeon, the mines turned pale and then looked resigned.

"Damn..."

Boom boom boom!

A rain of arrows pierced the heads and hearts of all the mines in the Hall of Illusions, ending their lives.