I’M A Max-Level Regressor [EN]: Chapter 116

116

“I have plenty of time.”

I smiled and accepted his glass.

“Wow, Elijah seems really interested in Shinwha?”

“I tried to talk to him earlier, but he just gave me a light greeting and passed by.”

“Hey, you and Shinwha are on different levels, different levels.”

Everyone seemed surprised that Elijah had spoken to me first.

Even though we are both Awakened, Elijah’s reputation and fame are almost like that of a ‘celebrity’.

It was perhaps natural for them to send envious glances my way, as a famous person who was too distant to approach spoke to me directly.

“How is your official Awakened life in the Yanghwa Guild?”

Elijah started, naturally moving towards the outskirts of the banquet hall.

Jin Bomi, who had been watching from a distance, then hurried after us.

She seemed worried that I might be flustered or make a mistake in my conversation with Elijah.

However, as Jin Bomi approached, Elijah preemptively held out his hand and shook his head.

“It’s alright. I have something I want to discuss with Kang Shinwha alone. I appreciate your kindness, but I’ll just take it to heart.”

“Ah… I’m sorry.”

Jin Bomi stepped back with an ambiguous expression.

I signaled to her with a look that it was okay.

Sometimes, when I see Jin Bomi, I get the feeling that she treats me like a ‘younger brother’ that she has to take care of.

Like a mother, you might say?

Of course, I don’t dislike that kind of attention, but sometimes it’s just absurd.

Buzz- Buzz-.

The ring kept reacting.

Perhaps because the person in question was right next to me, my finger was now numb.

“It must be hard to adapt, right?”

Elijah cautiously probed my inner thoughts. I nodded.

“Isn’t it always a continuous cycle of fierce competition and effort?”

“It is truly a complex world.”

“But that’s what makes the world of Awakened so much more interesting.”

“Oh… In that respect, we certainly have a common ground.”

It wasn’t a blind date, but hearing him talk about common ground made me want to throw up inside.

You cowardly bastard.

If you came to Earth as Leccero’s henchman, how great would it be if you just revealed your identity from the start?

Your actions are just like your master, insidious, sinister, and gloomy.

As far as I know, one of the main modifiers attached to Elijah is the God of Fire.

He is famous for being good at handling fire, but it is not simply because he uses talents such as flame magic.

In cases where the difference in level as an Awakened is severe.

You can incinerate the target to death by natural combustion just by concentrating your mind a little. It ignites the fire using the magic power in the body as a medium.

Therefore, F or E-rank Awakened in front of him have no choice but to be treated like flies.

‘There’s a lot more I don’t know about him than I do.’

This was the biggest problem.

I couldn’t make a proper calculation because I didn’t know his identity.

If Elijah was just a ‘strong’ person like Lee Ha-sung, I wouldn’t have cared.

Because it won’t affect my retirement plan at all.

But Elijah is a different story. He is definitely related to Leccero, and he is also a hidden figure I don’t know about.

In my past life, Nicholas didn’t know his identity well either… He is a variable.

‘Why didn’t Nicholas notice this connection? Was there not a single clue in the history leading up to his regression?’

I suddenly had that thought.

In any case, Elijah has been expanding his influence around the world for a long time.

The reason why our Nine Lords requested Elijah’s help quite a bit in our past life was also because of his powerful influence.

I thought that we could stop the Great Disaster much more easily just by receiving help from the forces he led.

Of course, they didn’t help.

‘Another Leccero may have been crouching right next to us. That guy who died in the Nas Continent is just the beginning.’

This was the problem.

Of course, it is still closer to my speculation without any definite material evidence.

If this is true, Elijah is a serious obstacle to my retirement plan just by his existence.

What if he is a bigger mastermind than Leccero?

Retirement becomes meaningless.

What good is retiring in a world destined for inevitable destruction, except that the place you return to will be a ‘grave site’?

‘My desire to live well on my own remains unchanged, but I don’t want to live leisurely in a world that is going to ruin.’

I need to understand his essence.

For myself, and for Nicholas who will regress later.

At that time, Elijah changed the subject.

“Shall we get some fresh air?”

“Sure.”

He led me to a terrace on one side of the banquet hall where there were no people.

I could fully guess his intentions as he wanted to talk in a place isolated from others.

‘It would be better to pretend to be on the same side as him and dig up information. There won’t be just one or two guys like him anyway, and there will be a rule that they tacitly keep secrets from each other.’

That’s what I thought.

There was a movie I was impressed with a few years ago that had this kind of content.

A police officer goes undercover into a criminal organization and serves one of the men in the organization’s faction as his older brother…….

He lives and works with him, expands his influence within the organization, and investigates sensitive internal information.

Elijah was a cautious person at first glance. You won’t be able to easily find out the secret unless you do a high degree of disguise.

Creak. Clunk.

Soon, with the closed door behind us.

Elijah and I walked along the outer path of the wide terrace.

How many steps did we take in such thorough silence?

Elijah spoke again.

But.

“Is Leccero doing well?”

His tone completely changed.

Not only that, but the words he said to me also completely changed from English to the Nas Continent language.

Anyone could see it was a test.

If you are not an existence from the Nas Continent, you will never be able to speak the Nas Continent language.

I’m sorry, but I have a perfect score in the language area of the Nas Continent!

I answered in Nas language, which I remember clearly. In particular, I added some dialect to add to the reality.

“He is constantly engrossed in research today as well.”

“Of course he would. He is a person who has never wasted a single day.”

I almost felt a surge of emotion at Elijah’s appearance, talking about his memories with Leccero so casually.

‘Was he really Leccero’s advance team?’

I was disgusted by the fact that Leccero’s evil hands had reached out much earlier than Nicholas and I had thought.

I was even more angry that I didn’t know this fact until the point of stopping the Great Disaster.

However, if I can’t control my emotions here, Elijah will never reveal his true colors.

Anyway, I had knowledge gained from investigating Leccero after killing him in my past life.

I don’t know all the information in detail, but at least I can pretend to know.

“Which unit are you in?”

As expected, Elijah’s question to test me immediately followed.

“I belong to the Klizard Combat Unit.”

“Klizard Combat Unit… You must have been favored by Leccero.”

“I received excessive love.”

Klizard is one of the close aides who stayed by Leccero’s side until the end and died in the future.

Leccero had created several combat units named after his close aides, and the Klizard Combat Unit was one of them.

“I’ve heard a lot about you. If you think of an Awakened in Korea recently, there is no one who doesn’t know your name.”

“I’m just showing off some petty tricks.”

But this bastard, why do you keep talking to me informally since a while ago?

Of course, my official age is thirty-four, which is ten years older than me.

Considering what he said in the official position until just now, he could have been polite enough, but he didn’t.

The fact that he naturally treats me condescendingly may also mean that he is a person closer to Leccero.

Of course, he would have to be in a position where he could only think of me as an ‘inferior’.

“It’s a wonderful growth. You lived a life disguised as an F-rank porter, but suddenly blossomed your talent and grew.”

“It took some time.”

“Well… There are many cases where flowering does not happen as planned. There is still no news from some guys.”

“That’s right. It doesn’t work if you rush it. I didn’t feel impatient.”

“As expected, that’s a strong idea worthy of belonging to the Klizard Combat Unit. Those clumsy Kazella Combat Unit guys are always causing trouble.”

“……”

Flowering.

Based on Elijah’s words, I could infer.

There is some way for the guys who came over from the Nas Continent to ‘bloom’ their talents as Awakened.

So, there are individual differences between people, and it seemed like they were sure that they would become Awakened.

Just as Leccero was able to plant the ‘seed of curse’ in Shami.

It wouldn’t have been impossible to plant a kind of ‘seed of awakening’ in those dispatched as advance teams.

To be honest, I had a lot of things I wanted to ask Elijah in detail.

Who are the colleagues he currently knows, how many are there, and what is the level of each person’s social position.

However, I knew very well that everything would be ruined at that moment, so I didn’t even open my mouth.

A person like Elijah is never a fool.

He is a smart guy who is far from the simple-celled villains in novels or movies.

He is a guy who perfectly hid his identity and became the head of America’s largest guild, the Elijah Group.

Of course, he won’t be easily fooled, and I’ll be the one who gets hurt if I underestimate him.

“I always respect you, Elijah.”

“No, rather, I respect you, Kang Shinwha. Because you even have the face of an Asian that is difficult to imitate for the sake of the great cause.”

It seemed like they were appropriately fixing their faces before coming over from the Nas Continent.

That’s why I can understand why the three black magicians had Elijah’s montage in advance last time.

“I have many shortcomings.”

“Make sure you dominate the Asian region. At the current rate of growth, it will be more than possible. There are no people who can catch up with our overwhelming growth blessed by Leccero.”

Elijah was triumphant.

Perhaps because I answered calmly without panicking, he seemed to have opened his heart to me a little.

This is an opportunity.

Using this to maintain a good relationship with him as much as possible, I plan to strategically use him.

If I take advantage of Elijah’s misunderstanding, I will be able to get useful dungeons or privileges from him.

Blood is thicker than water.

“I heard that you are going to create a separate team after the monthly contract with the Yanghwa Guild ends. Is that right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“As expected, you are bright. Appropriate solidarity, appropriate independence, and strategically using the surroundings… It is an arrangement that we absolutely need.”

“I still have many shortcomings. Please tell me a lot.”

“Well, I don’t think I need to worry about you. Above all, I envy the talent you have, Kang Shinwha. I only have simple talents…”

Elijah smiled with a satisfied expression and freely moved the flames he created over his hands.

Fierce flames were burning in his hands, but his hands and clothes were fine.

Looking at Elijah’s talent for fire that he showed me as if boasting, I thought to myself.

I will use him as a solid stepping stone to grow faster and actively sweep away more money.

That way, I can see the effect of killing two birds with one stone, blocking not only the retirement plan but also future variables.

And.

“If you need my help, feel free to talk to me anytime. Aren’t we brothers of the cult connected by the covenant of the ring?”

Elijah took a refreshing gulp of air. My own design was beginning like that.