I’M A Max-Level Regressor [EN]: Chapter 29

29.

‘Why would an Awakened person come here? There’s no dungeon, nothing.’

Shin-hwa, his face filled with doubt, started walking towards the source of the sound.

It was also because the entrance and exit were the same, and he didn’t want to cower and hide.

His business here was done.

He came because he needed a Magic Ball, and he got it, so he had achieved his purpose.

“This is one of our Black Cross hideouts. Which fly is buzzing around, leaving a dirty stench?”

‘Black Cross, huh.’

His memory quickly scanned and searched for all information about the Black Cross.

Judging by the voice, it wasn’t Joo Cheon-ho, the No. 1 of the Black Cross, known as the leader.

‘In the first place, executives wouldn’t come here. It’s either the guy who has a branch in Gangwon-do or the one who created the White Bones. That must be it.’

Shin-hwa walked step by step.

He didn’t hide his footsteps.

He made his presence known from the start.

To let them know there was someone there.

When Shin-hwa quietly walked without saying anything, the man in the dark asked again.

“Can’t you hear me?”

“I can hear you. Well, I just don’t feel like answering, but why do you keep insisting on an answer?”

At that moment, Shin-hwa’s annoyed reply came.

He was serious.

‘Those kinds of guys always say things that aren’t worth answering and then want a reaction. How annoying.’

It was such a common trait that it seemed like a trademark of villains.

Anyway, as the distance closed and the blind spot disappeared, the man’s appearance came into view.

At that moment.

Shin-hwa could immediately identify the man.

‘It was Jang Seong-young. That damn bastard.’

Curses came from within.

Jang Seong-young.

An Awakened known as No. 3 of the Black Cross, currently ranked A+.

With this level of skill, he was capable enough to easily take a top position in any guild, but.

He had followed Joo Cheon-ho as his brother since the Black Cross was first founded.

However, there was a problem.

Unlike the relatively rational leader Joo Cheon-ho, who often heard people call him a Robin Hood.

Jang Seong-young was a living piece of trash.

He was famous as a heartless killer, and he killed even his own subordinates without hesitation if they didn’t please him.

Most of the terrorist attacks targeting unspecified people on subways or trains were Jang Seong-young’s work.

‘That bastard is a vampire.’

Jang Seong-young’s characteristics were largely two.

First, he was a release-type Awakened who could amplify magic power and release it like a shockwave.

Second, he had a vampire-like trait of replenishing stamina loss with bloodsucking.

His ability to suck the blood of his opponents was so outstanding that even the most skilled Awakened often had their blood sucked to the point of near death once bitten.

‘Is it like an unavoidable fate that predetermines bad relationships?’

That’s what Shin-hwa thought.

Jang Seong-young would go on to kill many capable Awakened people.

He killed many talented individuals who, if they had lived, would have stood out in the 2030 Shindorim battle and other major and minor incidents.

In particular, Jang Seong-young’s jealousy or envy towards young and talented prospects was almost pathological.

That’s why it became customary to omit reporting even when signing contracts with super-elite prospects or rookies from 2022 onwards.

Because they would become his target.

‘I can’t overwhelm Jang Seong-young, but at least I have a way to make him half a cripple.’

Shin-hwa organized his thoughts on how to deal with Jang Seong-young.

There was no way to compromise with that guy anyway.

He was the type to act on his feelings, and since he already seemed upset, Shin-hwa thought there was almost no chance he would let him go nicely.

‘Justice isn’t my goal, but if he’s going to become even more trash anyway, it might be good to nip it in the bud.’

He decided to invest in the future.

If he handled Jang Seong-young well now, the lives that would be lost because of him in the future would be saved.

Then they would become even more outstanding talents and prevent incidents and accidents more easily than in his previous life.

Even if he retired, there would be more guardians to prepare for the Great Disaster with Nicholas.

A grand plan for eternal retirement!

Shin-hwa saw a virtuous cycle.

“Judging by the way you talk, you’re a guy who’s lost his mind. Who are you with? Namhae Group?”

Jang Seong-young, not knowing Shin-hwa’s identity, guessed as he thought.

Namhae Group.

If the Black Cross was a criminal organization operating in Seoul and the Gyeonggi area, Namhae Group was an organization operating in the Gyeongnam area, including Busan.

Since they were rivals, he wondered if he was an assassin sent from the other side.

“Black Cross or Namhae Group, aren’t you embarrassed to name yourselves like that?”

“I’m asking who you are!”

“I’m Kang Shin-hwa. Happy?”

“Kang Shin… what? Never heard of that name.”

It was 100% true, but it felt very unpleasant to have it confirmed by Jang Seong-young’s mouth.

Anyway, judging by the way Jang Seong-young was already loosening both hands, it didn’t seem like the conversation would end well.

Shin-hwa immediately raised his magic power circulation to the maximum and began to change the properties of his blood.

It was to prepare a trick to deal with Jang Seong-young.

‘Poisonous blood.’

In an instant, the characteristics of the blood circulating around Shin-hwa’s upper body changed from normal to toxic.

‘Come to think of it, I think Jang Seong-young had a bracelet that promotes the recovery of accumulated fatigue or overload in the body.’

He remembered.

If he had that bracelet, it would be of great help to him, who still had to modify many parts of his body in the future.

‘I’ll fight for a while, and then get the artifact as compensation. Nice.’

A plausible calculation was made.

The body’s warm-up was also complete.

“Kang Shin-hwa or whatever. Hey you, do you know who I am?”

“It’s a precious name given by my parents. Don’t mess with it.”

“Oh, really? Are you angry?”

“Can’t you fix that whiny voice? Oh, right, do you know that Awakened people call you a mosquito? You suck blood well, and your voice is just like a mosquito.”

“What?”

Shin-hwa gently provoked him.

Seeing that Jang Seong-young, who was quite famous, came here alone, it seemed that there was definitely something he was trying to do secretly.

Hoping for the best, he glanced over his shoulder, and blood was dripping from the trunk of the car he had brought.

It seemed that murder, or something similar, had already happened.

“Save me!”

Fortunately, a man’s voice calling for help was heard as the trunk shook.

“You’re complete trash, aren’t you.”

Shin-hwa pointed at Jang Seong-young and poured out criticism.

It was an intentional provocation.

“How dare you point your finger at Jang Seong-young, you fearless madman? Today, I will chew your bones and flesh meticulously, joint by joint!”

“Why is your tongue so long, you mosquito bastard!”

Koo-oong!

As soon as he finished speaking, a circular shockwave spread out from the entrance of the abandoned mine.

It was the result of Jang Seong-young, who released a mass of magic power in the blink of an eye, and Shin-hwa, who blocked it.

Cheeee.

Shin-hwa checked his position, which had been pushed back for a while, and smiled.

‘Yeah, it takes this much power for me to feel a little nervous.’

Fighting against C-rank or D-rank, fighting against an A+ rank really felt like the level of combat had risen.

He succeeded in blocking the mass of magic power without damage with Steel Enhancement, but the power was enormous.

It was because he was able to block it to this extent, but if he were an ordinary D-rank Awakened, he would have bled on the spot.

It was such a strong force that the steel frame of the abandoned cart next to him was completely crushed.

“Oh?”

Jang Seong-young tilted his head.

He released a considerable amount of magic power, thinking of crushing him in one blow rather than playing around.

But Shin-hwa received his magic power completely without any damage, let alone injury.

It was a rare occurrence.

Even after recalling numerous experiences, there had been no cases of Awakened below B-rank blocking his attack without damage.

“Why, is something not working out?”

“You have some tricks up your sleeve, Kang Shin-hwa.”

“I know, right? Let’s show off some tricks. What are you doing? I’m D-rank. I’m too embarrassed if you just keep admiring me with that dumbfounded look on your face?”

“You son of a bitch!”

Skill and reason should be directly proportional, but unfortunately, Jang Seong-young was not.

Jang Seong-young, who had fallen for Shin-hwa’s provocation, glared at Shin-hwa with his eyes wide open and began to rush towards him quickly.

It was the beginning of a brawl.

* * *

In a fleeting moment, numerous concentrated attacks were exchanged.

Jang Seong-young continued to fire shockwaves of magic power at Shin-hwa, regardless of his left or right hand.

Without the slightest hesitation.

It was a fierce attack with the intention of blowing up and tearing apart everything about Shin-hwa.

Certainly, A+ rank was different in many ways.

Shin-hwa was able to clearly see Jang Seong-young’s movements from beginning to end.

He had fought him in his previous life, and his modified eyes were catching his movements in minute detail.

But the problem was his body.

He had hurriedly raised his body condition to the maximum immediately after his regression, but there were still objective limitations.

It was as if only the CPU was the latest model, and the other software or hardware was outdated, so his hands and feet didn’t match.

‘At least I won’t die.’

However, Shin-hwa quickly regained his senses from his previous life while fighting, and he was able to be sure of one thing.

That A+ rank Jang Seong-young was worth fighting against.

The position of A+ rank was not just reached, so the attack power itself was high, but defense was sufficiently possible.

Meanwhile.

‘I thought he was a clueless young guy, but his reaction is sharp like a veteran Awakened who has received advanced training.’

Jang Seong-young admired Shin-hwa’s skills, who skillfully received his attacks and occasionally attempted counterattacks.

The gap felt in his body was too great to be considered the skill of a D-rank Awakened.

At this level, it seemed to be the skill of a top-level executive who had been hardened in an organization like KSA [Korean Special Abilities Association].

What greatly surprised Jang Seong-young was Shin-hwa’s ability to change his right hand at will.

Shin-hwa’s right arm became a long spear, then a sharp sword, and then a mace in an instant.

In a word, it was unpredictable.

Awakened people with transformation talents usually require a certain amount of time in the process of attempting transformation with magic power.

It was common for the desired change and the actual physical change not to occur immediately.

But Shin-hwa was not like that.

The work of transforming into various forms such as spears, swords, maces, staffs, scythes, etc. was done in an instant. It really happened in the blink of an eye.

‘Who the hell is he?’

That was the question.

If he were an ordinary Awakened, he would usually run away at the sight of him or beg for his life.

Shin-hwa was not at all intimidated by him, but rather confronted him aggressively. He didn’t even back down easily!

As the battle time lengthened, it was naturally Jang Seong-young who felt his pride being damaged.

“Interesting. But the games end here.”

Jang Seong-young did not want to invest a long time in a D-rank Awakened who was quite skilled but unknown.

Saaah.

Jang Seong-young revealed his true colors.

Sharply trimmed fangs.

The preparation for his unique talent, ‘Bloodsucking,’ was complete.

At that moment.