I’M A Max-Level Regressor [EN]: Chapter 174

174

Outside the J-811 Dungeon.

“…….”

Everyone was sprawled out on a wide rock, gazing at the blue sky.

I was the only one sitting, watching the leaves flutter down with the wind.

‘Yeah, this is it.’

The number of fallen leaves wasn’t small.

Estimating roughly, there were about 30 to 40 leaves, a considerable amount.

But as I focused on observing, the detailed paths of their descent began to come into view.

It felt like becoming a computer.

This was the change that occurred in me after eating the Flower of Transcendence obtained from Krud.

Now, I’ve consumed two out of three.

The moment I eat the last remaining Flower of Transcendence, the brain alteration will be 100% stable.

Closing my eyes, everything that happened in the J-811 Dungeon and the memories of the scene vividly resurfaced.

I could remember even the trivial movements, expressions, and fleeting mutterings of my companions.

Rustle. Rustle.

The speed and path of a squirrel running through the distant forest were quickly predicted.

The squirrel moved exactly as I had anticipated and calculated, and its path didn’t change.

“Ugh.”

However, a headache came as I tried to process calculations beyond the capacity my brain could handle at once.

The pain, like needles piercing my brain, was unpleasant enough that I couldn’t just ignore it.

‘Even if it’s only available for short-term use, it’s still useful.’

I wore a satisfied expression.

Since I have more battles against multiple opponents than one-on-one fights, multiple predictions are important to me.

Moreover, in a one-on-one situation, my concentration increases, and the transcendent talent of the Flower of Transcendence demonstrates its power.

It’s because I can grasp the opponent’s movements by linking it to all senses, including sight, hearing, and smell.

‘I’m excited. I want to eat the remaining Flower of Transcendence quickly! I think I need to butter up that Elijah guy…….’

A situation where I have to approach Elijah, the owner of the dungeon, first.

Therefore, I need the sense to flatter and suck up to him appropriately to make a good impression.

Eat and run.

It didn’t seem likely that Elijah and I could maintain a close relationship for long.

He’s just mistaken that I’m a business partner. I had no intention of associating with him forever.

‘I’ll prepare a substantial gift soon and pay you a visit, Elijah.’

I immediately set the next plan as a short-term goal to pursue in the near future.

Acquiring the last Flower of Transcendence.

Once I finish this, the brain alteration that I’ve been craving since my regression will be complete.

Right then.

“Hyung-nim!”

“Huh?”

Han Soojun, who was next to me, spoke to me.

As expected, he unusually spread several layers of mats on the rock.

He said it was too dirty to just lie down.

He’s very generous about potions or dirt, dust, and blood staining his clothes during battle.

But he makes a fuss like this in normal times. Thinking maybe, I saw that he was also wearing sanitary gloves and sleeves.

“Didn’t everyone’s rank go up thanks to catching Krud today?”

“That’s right. Hyung-nim is now C. You are A+. Nuna is B-, right?”

“That’s right! Then, can’t we just ask for permission and go through this dungeon again? It’s an amazing perk, isn’t it?”

“Soojun-ah.”

“Yes?”

“If you could suck honey like that, Team Osaka would have brought Awakened people and made them run around in circles. Don’t you think?”

“Ah…….”

“This is only possible when you first attack Krud, who acquired spiritual energy through a special recipe. Even if you do the same method after the dungeon resets, it won’t work.”

“You mean it’s a one-time opportunity given as the first chance……?”

“That’s right.”

“There are times when I think you know too much to the point that I wonder if you’re from the future, Hyung-nim.”

“I agree with that.”

“I think so too. But if it were possible to come from the future, countless people from the future would have already come.”

“You said it was future sight, right?”

“That’s what I mean. But I don’t think the talent of future sight just feels like looking into the future!”

Han Soojun sharply hit the nail on the head. I know too much in detail to just pass it off as future sight.

However, everyone was surprised by my broad knowledge, but they didn’t seem to suspect that I had regressed.

It wouldn’t be a problem if they found out that I had regressed. I didn’t want to hide it. Of course, there was no reason to blab about it either.

“Anyway, I’m glad everyone is growing so fast. That’s great! Now I can exploit you even more!”

“Honestly, if I received this much help from you, it wouldn’t be enough to just stay by your side all day and take care of you. Thank you.”

The priest bowed his head.

“Thank you, Hyung-nim.”

“Thank you so much for creating another turning point for me, Shin-hwa.”

From inside the dungeon earlier, the three of them kept thanking me.

That would be the case.

Because some Awakened people experience rank increases in a short period of time that they can’t achieve even after waiting for decades.

In particular, the priest, who was stuck in E-rank when I first met him, was already C-rank in just two months.

It was only hidden because I had grown so rapidly, but the priest’s growth was so steep that it was truly dazzling.

So much so that his fellow priest, Kim Hwan-deok, asked him several times if he had eaten something wrong.

He now stands shoulder to shoulder with Priest Kim Hwan-deok, who was C-rank. They have become equal.

I am always grateful to my colleagues who always trust and follow me.

Also, they are always respectful and praise me. These are truly pure people.

“Let’s all go back to the hotel and have a fancy dinner tonight! I’ll treat you to a full course!”

I even made an effort to be in a good mood.

But at best, it’s just the value of a few low-grade dimension stones.

“Let’s go!”

“Let’s go……!”

That’s how the eventful J-811 Dungeon ended.

Not to mention my companions.

It was the best raid where I also quietly experienced explosive growth.

‘Now it’s S.’

The time has come to steadily attach ‘S’ to the alphabet of the rank. There’s not much left!

* * *

30 minutes later.

Marina and Toshio were in the ‘Team Osaka Sky Tower,’ which is also called the symbol of Team Osaka.

The two, who had been talking about ordinary daily life as a family until just now.

The moment they heard new news from the manager in charge of the J-811 Dungeon, the atmosphere in the office changed.

Top floor of the Sky Tower.

Toshio stood in front of the window overlooking Osaka and muttered with his arms crossed.

“Marina, as you said, it’s truly impressive. How did they attack the dungeon with that number of people? Is it really Kang Shin-hwa?”

“Oppa, I told you. Kang Shin-hwa is different from the start. He’s a person who rejects common sense.”

“Honestly, even while approving the dungeon raid, I expected an intermediate dropout or a request for additional support.”

“Don’t tell me you even set up an emergency support team?”

“Of course. I couldn’t just ambiguously end the dungeon raid, so I was thinking of dispatching additional personnel if requested.”

“Oppa didn’t believe in Kang Shin-hwa’s skills too much!”

“I guess so. The strategic analysis team calculated the success rate of Team Mystic’s raid as 0.1%.”

“Oppa……. Common sense doesn’t work for Kang Shin-hwa, does it?”

“I definitely realized that now, Marina. Anyway, it’s really amazing. I can’t help but admit it.”

“The landscape of the Awakened order in Korea has changed because of Kang Shin-hwa alone. That says it all.”

“I think he’s a skilled person who is good enough to attack the ‘Secret’ Dungeon together.”

Toshio nodded.

The Secret Dungeon was a term referring to the unidentified dungeon Shin-hwa had mentioned before.

A dungeon shrouded in mystery, where the reason for its creation and the existence hidden inside are completely unknown.

But there was one variable.

“But suddenly the exit closed? I heard that the dimensional gate turned black and pushes you away if you try to enter?”

“That’s right. I was wondering if we could go in since we had a precious guest……. I guess we’ll have to postpone it until it opens next time.”

Toshio sighed deeply.

The Secret Dungeon was not a place where you could attempt to attack simply because you had a high rank.

An Awakened person with versatile adaptability and responsiveness like Shin-hwa was absolutely necessary.

So, I thought I had finished the preliminary verification with the J-811 Dungeon raid.

Unfortunately, the dungeon entrance was forcibly postponed due to an unknown reason.

“By the way, Oppa, what on earth is going on with Kang Shin-hwa at Golden Sky? It didn’t seem like simple curiosity.”

Marina brought up the topic.

Golden Sky.

A leading guild that has never been demoted from the top spot in the Australian guild rankings since the Great Cataclysm [a major disaster event].

The person who came to meet Shin-hwa here was Isla Blanchett, the team leader of Golden Sky, who has the authority to contact Korea and Japan.

She was also the woman I had encountered at Shin-hwa’s magic potion public auction before.

Team Osaka and Golden Sky have a very close relationship because they have a long-standing strategic cooperative relationship.

“Well, is it a guild scout? But if what you said is true, it would be a completely meaningless offer to Kang Shin-hwa.”

“That’s right. Thinking that he attracted the attention of the prickly Isla Blanchett…… I’m curious.”

The two, not knowing the reason, could only tilt their heads.

That’s how Golden Sky’s ‘big shot’ was about to meet Shin-hwa.

* * *

That night.

“This is completely unexpected.”

After finishing a luxurious dinner with my colleagues that was comparable to the Last Supper [a reference to the final meal Jesus shared with his apostles], we returned to our respective rooms and were taking a comfortable rest.

I was also enjoying the scent of bath salts in the tub, relieving the fatigue of the bloody battle.

But I received an urgent call through Yoon Byeol.

A woman who had a meeting with Team Osaka executives for business purposes asked to meet me.

Her name is Isla Blanchett.

It was the name of a colleague who had been a member of Nine Road in my previous life, whom I could never forget even if I wanted to.

The reason why I felt uneasy rather than happy after hearing her name was one.

‘Then is that person in Australia also one of the Apostles [referring to a betrayer]?’

‘That’s right. That person belongs to the Golden Sky Guild, the No. 1 guild in Australia. Another one of our colleagues.’

It was because of the clue that Belic of the Elijah Group had left like a riddle before.

He said that he could not reveal the identity of the Apostle, but that he was in the Golden Sky Guild.

Of course, the possibility is much higher that it is Jacob Woodwards, the guild master of SSS rank.

“Hmm.”

I stood in front of the mirror and put on the ring.

This ring will determine whether she is an Apostle, a follower like Belic, or an unrelated person.

It is because it can be judged by the intensity of the dark energy that resonates with each other.

I wasn’t going to use Akero’s Eye.

If Isla is an Apostle.

It’s because she would already be familiar with Elijah or Belic. Disguise was meaningless.

‘It won’t be, it won’t be.’

I hoped that even a shred of possibility would disappear with this meeting. But if the possibility becomes a reality…….

‘Traitor.’

The nine heroes who saved the world in their previous life!

That means there was a traitor inside Nine Road.

But right then.

Is it just my imagination?

Or is it because of the small earthquakes that often occur in Japan?

Fss. Fss.

The ring made an unpleasant noise on the table and slightly…….

It was shaking.