I’M A Max-Level Regressor [EN]: Chapter 158

158

[Ring of Gluttony]

[Judgment Grade: S]

[An exceptional ring with the ability to artificially absorb mana.

It actively aids the intermediate process, allowing the absorbed mana to be quickly absorbed into the wearer’s body.

The higher the mana density in the surroundings, the faster the wearer’s mana recovery speed, ranging from a minimum of 2x to a maximum of 4x.]

“Finally found its owner, huh?”

With a satisfied expression, I immediately slipped the Ring of Gluttony, taken from Mok Jin-woo, onto the middle finger of my right hand.

From the start, a ring that forcibly absorbs mana and aids recovery would be highly efficient no matter who wore it.

Mok Jin-woo’s active use of his space distortion talent, which heavily consumed mana, must have been thanks to this item.

However, I’m confident that no Awakened is as synergistic as I am.

Thanks to my altered organs, I can fully recover all depleted mana in 15 minutes.

Even with extreme training methods, other Awakened need at least 40-50 minutes to recover mana, making my recovery overwhelmingly faster!

If I add the synergy of the Ring of Gluttony on top of that?

The time required for recovery could be reduced from a base of 8 minutes to as little as 4 minutes!

Compared to other Awakened who specialize in recovery, I could create a gap of almost 10 times.

Mana is the foundation and raw material for utilizing an Awakened’s abilities, regardless of the reason.

Fast mana recovery is, in itself, an element that clearly distinguishes one’s level from the majority of Awakened.

“To possess two S-rank artifacts! As expected, successful Awakened are different. Ugh. Damn it.”

After enjoying the feeling for a while, the pain felt all over my body made me involuntarily frown.

I want to rest, but it’s not the time.

With Mok Jin-woo dead, the pillar of the Hongyeon Guild has collapsed.

But in other words, only Mok Jin-woo ‘alone’ has died so far. The forces of the Cheongyeon Guild, led by Shin Jeong-ah, remain intact.

And Hong Maelhwa, Mok Jin-woo’s ardent follower and confidant, is still alive and well in the Hongyeon Guild.

Moreover, as soon as I step out of the exit gate, Hyewha, the Hongyeon Guild members, and Kim Jae-rim will be in the middle of a battle.

“Kim Jae-rim will face repercussions from this incident.”

I could say with certainty.

Even though I warned him, he ultimately didn’t accept it.

In the end, he drove his subordinates into the abyss of death.

By now, the Hyewha Guild’s headquarters must be a sea of fire.

That’s where Shin Jeong-ah would have targeted as the top priority control tower.

It also houses an armory containing expensive artifacts.

Of course, she wouldn’t have gained anything.

As I had discussed in advance, Lee Ha-seong would have made all the arrangements, so she’s likely cornered instead.

“Anyway, the Hyewha Guild is finished with this incident. No Awakened will follow a guild master who’s as soft as cotton.”

Wiping the blood from my hands, I slowly headed towards the exit gate.

Mok Jin-woo’s corpse was stored in my subspace. Anything can be stored as long as it’s not a living organism.

The approximately 50 steps to the exit gate. This was the short break given to me.

From the moment I step outside, I have to clean up. The civil war has just begun.

“For the first time, I miss the Nine Lords.”

Suddenly, old memories came to mind.

Whenever there was a big problem like this, the nine of us, led by Nicholas, would always come together and divide the roles.

Now, I’m completely alone.

There’s no one to consult with about strategies and tactics, and no one who knows the future like I do.

“Seriously, this damn regression.”

The conclusion was always like this.

Why did I regress [time travel]?

I still couldn’t figure out why I, not Nicholas, returned to 32 years ago.

“Oh well, whatever.”

But what can I do?

The deed is done, and I’m just working hard to clean up the mess. I’ve decided to spend this year like that.

Next year, there’s no way!

From January 1, 2021, I won’t meddle in everything with unnecessary interference, regardless of the butterfly effect!

I’m truly going to swear it.

But who am I swearing to right now?

* * *

At the same time.

“Ugh, damn it……”

Kim Jae-rim wiped the blood-stained eyes with his hand and groaned in pain.

He was collapsed on the floor, barely supporting himself with trembling fingertips.

It was good that he had been saved by Shin-hwa’s help and came out of the gate.

However, he failed to properly stop the Hongyeon Guild members who were determined to attack after boosting their combat power with drugs.

Moreover, there was an additional special unit secretly deployed by Mok Jin-woo at the location where the exit gate would open.

Therefore, as soon as Kim Jae-rim came out of the gate, he faced the reality of being outnumbered and facing crazed enemies.

Of course, he fought bravely.

He sent quite a few Hongyeon Guild members to the afterlife, but in return, Kim Jae-rim also suffered severe injuries.

And as time passed, the remaining Hyewha Guild members were being wiped out.

The leader was incapacitated.

And the remaining number was seven.

The situation of having twenty mad drug addicts as enemies was a complete disadvantage.

Right then.

“Hoo!”

With a voice exhaling a sigh from the exit gate, someone came out.

“…Mr. Kang Shin-hwa?”

It was Shin-hwa.

Shin-hwa was covered in blood, but fortunately, he didn’t seem to be staggering or in mortal danger.

“The situation is as expected.”

“You escaped… and came out.”

Kim Jae-rim laid his body halfway down with a resigned expression.

Of course, there was no way Shin-hwa could have won against Mok Jin-woo.

He must have run away using the Thirty-Six Stratagems [ancient Chinese military strategies], and soon Mok Jin-woo would come out.

Then, he would kill not only himself, who was half a wreck, but also Shin-hwa and the remaining members.

No, Shin-hwa might use himself as bait and run away diligently.

But right then.

Swish.

“Huh?”

The gate closed.

There is only one case where the exit gate closes.

Only when the dungeon boss monster has been defeated and all survivors have come out.

“……?”

When Shin-hwa tilted his head at Kim Jae-rim’s reaction, he asked back with a surprised expression.

“Did Mok Jin-woo come out first?”

“What comes out first? He’s dead.”

Thud!

What Shin-hwa flicked his finger and took out of the subspace was Mok Jin-woo’s corpse, covered in blood and with his eyes closed.

“Ah!”

Kim Jae-rim involuntarily exclaimed.

What was summoned right in front of his eyes was Mok Jin-woo’s coldly frozen corpse.

He wasn’t seeing things.

Since one of the two survivors who had been inside the dungeon until just now had died, it closed as Shin-hwa came out.

Mok Jin-woo’s corpse was definitive evidence beyond any doubt.

A situation where a B+ rank Awakened had executed an SS+ rank Awakened.

The pleasure of Shin-hwa having judged Mok Jin-woo, who had tried to kill him, was also a pleasure.

But more than that, Shin-hwa, who was examining the situation with an indifferent expression, felt even more amazing to Kim Jae-rim.

Despite having accomplished something tremendous, Shin-hwa didn’t seem excited or gleeful.

And without even giving Kim Jae-rim a glance, Shin-hwa shouted at the Hongyeon Guild members who were engaged in a brawl.

“You guys! Look closely! Your leader died by my hand. Are you still going to fight without coming to your senses?”

At that moment, everyone stopped.

Because Shin-hwa threw Mok Jin-woo’s corpse into the middle of the battlefield.

“M, Master……?”

Even though he was covered in blood, Mok Jin-woo’s face wasn’t damaged, so everyone recognized Mok Jin-woo’s face.

It was true.

Mok Jin-woo, with a thick line drawn on his neck, was growing cold with a bloodless face.

“The Master is dead……?”

“By whom?”

“Did he die at the hands of Kang Shin-hwa?”

Here and there, the expressions of the Hongyeon Guild members began to darken.

Taking advantage of their hesitation, the Hyewha Guild members, who had been cornered, barely managed to escape.

If Shin-hwa hadn’t drawn their attention at the right time, they wouldn’t have lasted long with their severe injuries.

Everyone had an expression that they couldn’t believe even though they clearly saw the corpse in front of them was Mok Jin-woo.

To them, Mok Jin-woo was an eternal idol and an impregnable role model who would never fall.

There were even predictions that Mok Jin-woo would unconditionally prevail even against Lee Ha-seong.

Mok Jin-woo’s death, who was the pillar, heart, and reason for existence of the Hongyeon Guild, had great implications.

What Shin-hwa aimed for was exactly this.

He shattered the symbolism of Mok Jin-woo, who was clearly ‘their own hero’ in their world, even though he was a villain.

At that time.

Shin-hwa continued with a haughty expression, crossing his arms.

“There are two options. Either fight and die by my hand, or disarm and surrender. If you choose the latter, you can at least save your lives.”

“Screw you, you bastard……!”

There were two who declared the breakdown of negotiations. The rest were watching.

Shin-hwa didn’t move.

And the remaining Hongyeon Guild members watched the fate of their two colleagues who were running towards him.

A-rank and B-rank respectively.

They were strong enough to be in the upper ranks not only in the guild but also in the pyramid of the Awakened world.

In other words, they were the two strongest among the twenty Hongyeon Guild members here right now.

“…….”

Shin-hwa remained silent.

Two guild members fiercely rushing towards him.

Everyone’s attention, regardless of Hongyeon or Hyewha Guild members, was focused on the center of the battlefield.

And.

Flash!

In an instant, Shin-hwa’s figure disappeared from everyone’s sight.

Shin-hwa’s figure, who had entered maximum Transcendental Acceleration, easily surpassed the limits that could be visually tracked.

The next moment.

Thwack!

“Ugh!”

Shin-hwa’s right arm, formed in the shape of a heavy iron ball, directly struck one of the guild members in the face.

It wasn’t just a simple blow.

It was a destructive attack created by acceleration.

The power of the iron ball, carrying truly formidable kinetic energy, was like colliding head-on with a speeding vehicle.

And it was wishful thinking to hope that the body of the Awakened, who had to receive it directly with only their face and neck bones, would be intact, no matter how good their suit and enhanced physical abilities as an Awakened were.

“Ahhh!”

“He’s dead……”

The situation ended with one blow.

The A-rank Awakened, whose neck was stretched like taffy, died before he could even realize that he was dead.

Shin-hwa’s attack didn’t end there.

In the brief moment of hesitation caused by the sudden tragic death of their comrade.

Whack!

Shin-hwa, who had approached the B-rank Awakened, used his altered leg to strike upwards under his chin.

Everyone thought of it as just a single blow, a valid strike with moderate damage.

But that was a judgment that underestimated Shin-hwa’s talent by far.

It was true that the Transcendental Acceleration talent was a talent that consumed mana like crazy as the level of acceleration increased.

But conversely, if there was enough mana, it meant that it was possible to have an overpowered ability that surpassed common sense or more.

It seemed like a light blow that would have caused a decent injury under the chin to someone.

But not to Shin-hwa.

It was a deadly kick containing 100% of his mana in one go, capable of splitting mountains and dividing space.

The next moment.

Crack!

“…….”

Everyone who was watching couldn’t even think of closing their gaping mouths.

They prepared to throw down their weapons with trembling hands.

The two Awakened who had rushed towards Shin-hwa with great momentum.

The head of the remaining Awakened, who was still alive among them, was bent backwards by 180 degrees.

The body was facing forward, but the bent face was hanging upside down, looking back.

It was truly shocking.

It was a shocking sight that made them feel the overwhelming difference in power that existed between Shin-hwa and them.