I’M A Max-Level Regressor [EN]: Chapter 76

Chapter 76

10 minutes later.

“Yo! Shin-hwa! I’m here! You’re here earlier than me again today! There are still 20 minutes left until midnight!”

The Priest arrived.

Yoon-byeol, who had been stretching, turned to me and straightened her clothes, seemingly nervous about the arrival of a third party.

Since both she and I were wearing reinforced suits, there was no need to change clothes separately.

“The three of us will be doing the dungeon raid today. It’s an A-rank dungeon, so everyone should be on their toes.”

“Why do you keep calling an E-rank dungeon an A-rank dungeon? No matter how I look at it, there are no changes…”

Yoon-byeol tilted her head, seemingly unable to understand, as she examined the dungeon information on her tablet PC.

On the other hand, the Priest nodded at my words without any particular suspicion, simply accepting it.

“Before we get into the detailed briefing, how about you two introduce yourselves briefly? I’ll be assigning roles, so don’t worry about that.”

“Hello! I’m Choi Ji-hyuk. I’m thirty-four years old this year. I have a bit of talent in debuffs, and my rank is D-!”

“I’m Yoon-byeol. I’m twenty-five years old. My rank is C-. I have talents specialized in absolute stealth and swift assassination.”

“Wow, C-! That’s a rank that’s further than my wildest dreams.”

“I’m a little cautious about whether I’ve become an uninvited guest.”

“Not at all. I’m the one who’s always freeloading, so I’m the uninvited guest! Hahaha!”

Unlike the Priest, who always maintained high energy, Yoon-byeol had a rather cold expression.

Judging from the fact that her expression hardened even more when the Priest mentioned his rank and talent classification.

It seemed clear that she also had a prejudice against general debuffers.

Prejudice stems from common sense.

It’s not a good thing, but it’s not a bad thing if you can break it.

Because when you experience something you haven’t experienced before, prejudice crumbles like a sandcastle in an instant.

“Nice to meet you, Yoon-byeol.”

“Nice to meet you, Choi Ji-hyuk.”

“Haha, it’s been a long time since my name has been called in full. Thank you. Thank you for remembering and calling my precious name.”

“Ah, yes…”

Yoon-byeol seemed quite awkward with the Priest’s overly friendly reaction.

The three of us gathered here all had completely different personalities.

The Priest was a yes-man full of positive energy, and Yoon-byeol was a cautious, calm, and rational woman in everything she did.

As for me… I’m a cunning and sly fox, and a ruthless returner who knows the future, I guess? [A ‘returner’ is someone who has returned from the future or past.]

Since I’m tenaciously achieving what I want and what I want to achieve, I’m definitely ruthless.

To put it nicely, I’m clever.

Yoon-byeol asked.

“Are we going in now?”

“No. We’ll go in exactly at 00:00:00. That’s when it will become an A-rank dungeon with magic.”

“…Porter?”

“Ah, come to think of it, you two wouldn’t know. There’s a subspace to replace the porter, so you don’t have to worry.” [A ‘porter’ is someone who carries loot out of a dungeon.]

I quickly completed the demonstration of the subspace, just like I had shown the executives of the Yanghwa Guild in the past.

As others had done, the two of them were also taken aback when the subspace suddenly appeared.

“The inside is spacious. You can perfectly separate and store the loot allocated to each of you, so just remember what you put in.”

“Wow! Shin-hwa, you’re amazing. I’ve always envied you, but the subspace artifact is really enviable…”

“That’s an artifact that can’t even be priced…”

Yoon-byeol’s words following the Priest’s were the correct answer.

Subspace artifacts are unique, so price calculation itself is meaningless. Of course, I have no intention of selling it.

“Haaah.”

Right then.

The Priest stretched to his full height, yawning with tears in his eyes.

He seemed very tired, stretching his body here and there as if he were stiff.

“Didn’t you get enough sleep?”

“Ah! Did I sleep about 2 hours yesterday? I couldn’t sleep because I was watching the videos of the training in the Yehwa training room for the rest of the time. No, I didn’t sleep.”

The Priest is the same now as he was 10 years from now.

A practice bug, a study bug, a review bug. [A ‘bug’ in this context means someone who is obsessed with something.]

So much so that I gave the Priest the nickname ‘3 Bug Set’ in my past life.

“Looking at it, I messed up the positioning in the twenty-fifth offensive. So Shin-hwa deliberately twisted the battlefield, right?”

“Um… That’s right.”

How much did he watch the video!

He was accurately pointing out even the rounds in which he had made mistakes out of the 60 or so virtual ‘offensives’ that had taken place throughout the training.

I naturally remember it thanks to the Flower of Transcendence, but the Priest’s level of enthusiasm in reviewing the training with me was evident.

“At that time, I was distracted by mana management. In fact, I should have died there.”

“To put it coldly, that’s right.”

“That’s right. Thank you for telling me honestly. I will never repeat the same mistake next time…!”

The Priest clenched his fists and burned with enthusiasm.

Yoon-byeol was tilting her head at my unreserved criticism of the Priest’s ‘self-blame’.

It was the feeling of saying that since we are colleagues, we should cheer each other on.

“Okay, then let’s get right to the briefing. The internal pattern is really simple. So the role assignment is easy.”

I started the briefing using the time still left until midnight.

First of all, there was a lot to gain inside.

In my case, I can get the Flower of Rebirth.

Since it is a flower that only comes out three times in the world in the next 10 years, its value is beyond words.

In addition, dungeons where dungeon breaks occur have a rapid influx of dimensional energy, so the amount of dimensional stones acquired is large.

Even if I take the minimum, I should be able to get about 40 top-grade dimensional stones.

‘And… Leaf Squirrel.’

A guy named Leaf Squirrel because he likes leaves more than acorns.

This guy’s blood will be a considerable stimulant to promote the growth of the Priest who is with me now.

Leaf Squirrel blood has no synergy effect for general awakeners, but it is an exception for vampire-type awakeners.

If he diligently absorbs the blood of every squirrel he sees, there is a high possibility that he will rise from D- to D rank in this raid alone.

“Priest, please move around me as you did in the training room, and Byeol-i…”.

That’s how the tutoring briefing started.

* * *

Midnight, strategic control room on the 10th floor of Yanghwa Building.

“Huh?”

“The dungeon waveform has changed?”

“What about the numbers, the numerical changes?”

“It’s from E to A. I think this is a dungeon break?”

“Isn’t it an outbreak?”

“The numbers of the linked DS [Dimensional Stone] detection device are unchanged at 0.9! It’s very stable!”

As always, the air in the strategic control room, which was carefully monitoring the dungeons owned by the Yanghwa Guild, changed rapidly.

This is because a change occurred in the K-2027 dungeon, which is not directly owned by the Yanghwa Guild, but was being monitored together at Shin-hwa’s request.

“Dungeon breaks don’t happen often, do they?”

“Even if I check the waveform again, it’s the same. It’s a dungeon break.”

“Isn’t that person Kang Shin-hwa? He seems to be trying to enter the raid with people who appear to be his colleagues?”

“Ah, it looks like they just entered!”

“This is a big deal. Report to the chairman quickly! He instructed us to report everything related to Kang Shin-hwa, even what he had for breakfast!”

“Yes, I understand!”

* * *

Same time.

“Hmm. Delicious. Bo-mi, here, eat this. The wings and legs. I like the breast meat, so I’ll eat this.”

“Father! Why do you always pick out this dry breast meat and give me the delicious parts!”

“This father is happy just to see you eating deliciously, Bo-mi. I don’t care what I eat. Hmm! It’s really delicious. Chicken is the best after all.”

Munch munch. Yum yum.

Despite the titles of the head of a large corporation and his youngest daughter, Jin Seong-tae and Jin Bo-mi were happily tearing apart chicken in the office.

The time just past midnight.

The taste of chicken shared by father and daughter with a glass of draft beer as a late-night snack was truly superb.

People would say that this scene is very awkward, but it was everyday life for the two.

Just because you are the owner of a large corporation and his children does not mean that you only eat luxurious delicacies every time.

In fact, the two were far from such luxury.

At best, they only bought two luxury cars and suits because they could not overcome the pressure from their aides to show at least a minimum of ‘dignity’ to the outside world.

Right then.

Knock knock! Knock knock!

A sound of urgent knocking on the door was heard.

Jeong-hoon was the only one who could approach the office without notice like this.

“What’s going on? Come in!”

“Chairman! A huge thing just happened.”

“What’s going on? An outbreak? Or did an accident happen in the guild?”

“It’s not that, do you know about the dungeon that Kang Shin-hwa received from this guild?”

“I know. K-2027. The E-rank dungeon near Ansan Station, right?”

“That dungeon… has been transformed into an A-rank due to a dungeon break.”

“What? Is that true?”

Jin Seong-tae, who had a mouthful of flesh in his mouth, spat it out without realizing it and jumped up from his seat.

It wasn’t because he had a stomach ache because the dungeon he had transferred to Shin-hwa had become A-rank.

A dungeon break is a change that no one can predict, but it felt like Shin-hwa had ‘aimed’ for it.

Jin Bo-mi, who was next to him, asked.

“Is anyone in that dungeon right now?”

“As soon as it passed midnight, Kang Shin-hwa and two others entered.”

“Who are the two people?”

“The awakener named Choi Ji-hyuk who went to the Yehwa training room before, and the other person is…”

“The other person?”

“It’s Yoon Byeol-i.”

“Sister Byeol-i? Why suddenly with Kang Shin-hwa? I heard she took a leave of absence and was resting…”

The reason Jin Bo-mi knew Yoon-byeol was because she was the younger sister of Yoon Tae-ho, the vice master of the Yanghwa Guild.

Even if they weren’t very close.

They were close enough to exchange friendly greetings when they met.

Jeong-hoon shook his head and replied.

“I don’t know about that either.”

“Are you sure the dungeon has changed to A-rank?”

“We cross-validated using three detection devices. It’s certain.”

“A simple… coincidence?”

Jin Seong-tae tilted his head.

But even if it was a coincidence, it was strange that they entered the raid right after the dungeon changed.

It was also strange that they chose today to go on the raid out of all those days.

“Father, even if it’s a coincidence, the current team composition is strange. If it’s an E-rank dungeon, Shin-hwa can clear it alone. It’s a waste of manpower to go with three people for practice.”

“Are you saying that there is no need to accompany D- and C-rank awakeners?”

“That’s right. Since he knew from the beginning that it would change to A-rank level, he organized additional personnel to match that level. With Shin-hwa’s talent, he can fully lead the two people even in an A-rank dungeon.”

“Are you saying…”

“I don’t know why, but I think Shin-hwa knew from the beginning. The fact that a dungeon break would occur.”

“It’s not like he received a divine revelation.”

Is it a prophetic ability to foresee the future, or is it a coincidence?

Jin Seong-tae, Jin Bo-mi, and Jeong-hoon were all flustered by the current situation that they could not grasp.

It was clearly an emotion close to ‘fear’ for an unknown reason.