Chapter 85: The Regressor Completes It

After the new rules were announced, the students scattered by the Black Lotus flood were divided into three major groups.

"Ultimately, it will come down to who defeats the Area Boss."

"That guy is tough, but he's slow. That makes him my prey."

The top-tier students or those confident in their firepower headed to the Lotus Graveyard where the Area Boss would appear.

"Since the top-tier is out of reach, let's loot an empty house."

"There are many monsters inside, but if we do well, we might still aim for the upper ranks."

Students who found it difficult to excel against the Area Boss went to the Fog Forest to destroy the Lotus Trees.

"It would be more regrettable to fail by overextending ourselves."

"Let's just do what we usually do."

Students who felt the burden of the unexpected situation continued to patrol and eliminate monsters as they had before.

Each student set their own goals based on their abilities and inclinations, which naturally intensified the competition. The most intense competition was in the Fog Forest.

"Find the Lotus Trees first!"

"Wait! We got here first!"

"What are you going to do? Run!"

The reward in the Fog Forest was solely based on destroying the Lotus Trees.

Some chose a strategy of ignoring the monsters and running, and other students followed suit when they saw this.

"Huh? Where is this... Ah!"

"A cliff! Stop...!"

However, the harsh environment of the flood, combined with the sensory-blocking fog, made it difficult to see more than 3 meters ahead. The visuals were also distorted, making it hard to avoid obstacles, causing students to tumble and fall.

"Monsters!"

"These guys are sniping from the fog!"

With the monsters using the fog to their advantage, students who entered thinking it would be easy experienced a living hell.

Exiting the Fog Forest was as difficult as entering it. As students wandered the maze, cursing, Jake carried Isuhun and dashed through the fog.

He accurately stepped on the uneven tree roots, leaped over fallen trees, and sprinted up the edge of a cliff, skillfully running on the densely grown trees.

His movements seemed to pierce through the fog perfectly. If others saw this, they would be amazed, but the one running felt differently.

"Over there."

"Ugh?!"

The moment Isuhun, who was on Jake's back, tapped his shoulder, Jake's body sharply turned to the right.

Whoosh!

A monster's thorn narrowly grazed his cheek. It could have hit his eye, but Jake had no time to be surprised.

Thud! Thud!

With each tap from Isuhun's fingers, Jake's body moved to narrowly avoid obstacles, causing his muscles and bones to scream in pain.

"Ugh... Ah...!"

Isuhun might as well have asked to be carried just to torture him. As the pain continued, Jake lost his composure, and Isuhun looked at him sternly.

"What are you doing? Focus!"

"It hurts... too much..."

"You're using your muscles inefficiently. Focus on your blood flow."

"..."

Isuhun's casual advice made Jake feel like cursing.

'If it were that easy, who would go through this suffering...!'

He consciously controlled the many blood vessels in his body to move the muscles needed for running.

The distribution of mana, the regulation of blood pressure, and the sequence of muscle movements—all these processes had to be perfectly executed in an instant.

Thump!

His heart rate, already fast from the previous battle and blood magic, continued to accelerate.

Honestly, just running like this was a miracle.

"Come on. We still have a long way to go."

Thud, thud, thud

"Aah!!"

Jake, running while screaming, and Isuhun, tapping his shoulder indifferently.

On the surface, it might look like Jake was being overworked, but Isuhun wasn't just idling.

The forest, now in grayscale, and the fog-filled scenery.

Using the Insight technique, Isuhun could see through the fog to roughly determine the terrain and the positions of the hidden monsters.

'That way won't work... oh.'

Just as he decided which direction to go, Isuhun quickly tapped the black spirit threads on his shoulder when he saw Jake fail to recognize an obstacle.

Whirr

At that moment, mana spread through the black spirit threads connected to Jake's body, and his blood flow, already highly sensitive, reacted reflexively.

Thud!

"Aah!!"

Jake narrowly avoided the obstacle right in front of him. Isuhun sighed inwardly at the sight.

'For a top student, he's surprisingly clumsy.'

The natural barrier of a C-grade danger zone, with the simple effect of sensory blocking, should have been manageable with a bit more focus.

But Jake struggled to adapt to the fog, partly because he was busy with blood magic and partly because his senses were dull compared to his skills.

'Probably because he's been physically gifted since childhood and hasn't faced many dangers. The environment around him has also been good. Maybe I should train him a bit.'

Senses become sharper the more one faces dangerous situations. Originally guiding Jake on a safer path, Isuhun decided to take a 'slightly' more dangerous but faster route.

"What's this...?"

"Another one. Dodge!"

Crack

"Aah!"

Unlike the students wandering the outskirts, the two quickly broke through the center of the Fog Forest. As Jake's screams gradually faded away,

Thump!

They completely emerged from the fog.

"Huff... huff..."

Jake, looking exhausted, caught his breath and looked at the open clearing in front of him.

A giant tree, about 30 meters tall, stood in the center.

At the top, a huge lotus flower was in full bloom, and fog was spreading from its center.

"Is that... the Lotus Tree...?"

"Seems so."

Isuhun, who had climbed down from Jake's back, looked around the fog surrounding the clearing.

'No monsters...?'

The Lotus Tree was the core maintaining the Fog Forest. Intelligent flood monsters should be guarding this area, but none were in sight.

'Maybe too many students entered simultaneously.'

As Isuhun pondered this strange situation, Jake, who had caught his breath, asked.

"So, how are we going to deal with it?"

"You need to cut it. It's a good way to check your skills."

While it was possible to cut it like an axe, it would be too exhausting. Using a strong student was the easiest way.

Isuhun's answer made Jake slightly surprised.

"You don't mean... you came to the Fog Forest just for this?"

"...Yeah."

He brought Jake to wake the sacred tree and use him, but there was no need to ruin the mood by saying that.

Jake, who had been looking displeased, drew his Radiant Sword with determination.

"Alright. Leave it to me."

Jake approached the Lotus Tree and examined the tree he needed to cut.

A thick lotus tree, about 30 meters tall and 40 meters in circumference.

Given its durability, it was unclear how much he could cut with an incomplete Radiant Sword.

"Don't hold back. Use full power."

"Got it."

Jake nodded, took a deep breath, and lowered his hands holding the Radiant Sword to the right.

The basic stance for a diagonal cut. As Jake regulated his breathing, Isuhun advised from the side.

"Speed up your heartbeat and calm your mind."

Jake, who instinctively restrained his power like pulling away from a hot object, needed to bring this unconscious action to the surface.

"Control all your reactions, not just your muscles, to suppress unconscious reactions."

While focusing on his blood flow, Jake began to accelerate his movements.

Thump, thump

His already fast heartbeat accelerated to the point of bursting, and the flow of blood from his heart to his fingertips was vividly felt.

And the moment a large amount of blood rushed into his hands holding the Radiant Sword,

Crack

A blue flash split the air in front of Jake.

Crack!

The blue sword blade shattered into pieces as he swung his arm.

Jake, confirming that nothing was left in the air, looked at the lotus tree he had just cut.

Thud

The base of the tree was about 70% cut. The cut started thin but became rough and wide at the end, likely due to the incomplete sword.

"Ugh..."

Jake clenched his fist at the sight.

At first, the power was properly gathered, but it quickly dispersed throughout his body.

'Why...?'

What was he afraid of that made him lose his power? As Jake looked frustrated, Isuhun patted his shoulder.

"Up to that point, it wasn't bad. With more practice...?"

While comforting Jake, Isuhun noticed something in the gap of the lotus tree.

A puppet, carved like it was made from the tree. An item that shouldn't be there, made Isuhun's eyes widen.

"Ah