I’M A Max-Level Regressor [EN]: Chapter 119

119

“Shinwha, their numbers are too great. It’s dangerous to go alone! This is too reckless!”

“I agree with the priest. I don’t think this is a problem that can be solved emotionally.”

Choi Ji-hyuk and Yoon-byeol tried to dissuade Shinwha after he finished his call with Lee Ha-sung.

It was an extremely logical, typical, and natural reaction.

However, Shinwha’s response was different.

“Don’t worry. I have a plan in my head for how to deal with them.”

“It’s not one-on-one, it’s one against ten. How can you possibly win against those who came here intending to harm you?”

Choi Ji-hyuk raised his voice.

He was usually a yes-man, always praising Shinwha and fully respecting his opinions.

But not this time.

Choi Ji-hyuk was afraid of losing Shinwha, as a wrong move could lead to that.

To him, Shinwha was the best partner who could drastically change his present and future.

He didn’t want to see such a person face even a small scratch, let alone a potentially fatal danger.

“They’re not the only ones who have been waiting for this. This wasn’t just a coincidence.”

Click.

Shinwha opened the cap of the Enhancement Potion. After drinking this, the effects would last for a good 30 minutes.

With the addition of Madonas, the awakening effect increased by 30%, so the perceived effect would be much greater than before.

“Shinwha, you don’t have to push yourself too hard, do you?”

Yoon-byeol added her concern to Choi Ji-hyuk’s worried words.

Of course, Shinwha had always proven himself beyond expectations, but this time, worry took precedence.

“Let me reassure you a bit more. If things get tough, I’m confident I can slip away and escape outside.”

“That’s not all there is to it.”

“If I don’t take care of them here, the same guys will keep coming back later. Like cockroaches.”

Shinwha said with certainty.

The death of Joo Young-saeng alone clearly wasn’t a sufficient warning.

However, it certainly stimulated the ‘higher-ups,’ as they sent their trusted aides from each of the three guilds this time.

He needed to thoroughly suppress them this time to reduce the chances of them pulling off such clumsy tricks again.

“Then I’ll assist you.”

Yoon-byeol stroked her sharply honed dagger. Shinwha immediately shook his head.

“You two stay here and explain the situation when the KSA [Korean Special Ability Association] agents or the Nami branch manager arrive. Or, if any of the guys inside try to escape, make sure to take them down.”

“Shinwha….”

“I’m saying all this because I’m worried about you both, so don’t misunderstand. Absolutely do not follow me.”

“Why?”

“Because I can’t guarantee your safety. And you two waiting here isn’t like cowardly standing by.”

“……”

“Knowing how to assess your own skills objectively is also a skill. And you two aren’t skilled enough to face something like this yet.”

Shinwha’s warning was clear.

He knew very well that it could sound quite unpleasant depending on how it was heard.

But he didn’t want to say something soft and agreeable in this situation.

Yoon-byeol and Choi Ji-hyuk were the best assistants Shinwha could ask for in a coordinated team play.

However, in a situation like this, where various variables were rampant, they were more likely to become a burden.

“I’ll be back.”

Shinwha patted them both on the shoulders and immediately started running towards the dimensional gate.

At the same time, he didn’t forget to chug down the Enhancement Potion.

Doping was essential in a battle where he had to face multiple opponents alone.

And.

Swish.

Shinwha’s figure disappeared into the dungeon, this time through an actual entrance, not a Blink Ring illusion.

* * *

5 minutes later.

“What the heck is going on?”

“Are they taking a shortcut?”

“No, something’s weird. I thought it was just the wind blowing in the dungeon, but there are no footprints.”

Lee Yeon, Kang Ja-hee, and Black Lion were tilting their heads, puzzled by the complete absence of any trace of Shinwha’s group.

They had anticipated that it would take some time to catch up since they had entered with a slight time difference.

However, even though they had increased their speed and followed the path, there was no sign of Shinwha’s group.

Moreover, there were no signs of engagement with monsters, which were usually common near the dungeon entrance.

Usually, there were low-level monsters near the entrance, so weak monsters often appeared.

“Everyone, find Kang Shinwha. It’s certain they entered the dungeon, so look for them at the forks in the road or something.”

Lee Yeon ordered the remaining seven assassins, excluding Kang Ja-hee and Black Lion.

There were a total of seven Awakened individuals participating in this job from the Dark Forest, a bounty request network.

They were all skilled Awakened individuals with an average rank of A or higher.

Since Shinwha’s officially known rank was B-, they believed the difference in skill was definite.

Of course, there had been news reports that Park Hyung-san and Jeil Geon had died at Shinwha’s hands before, but….

Among the people here, no one believed those reports at face value.

They all believed that Korea was creating an image for a new Awakened star.

The prime example was Mo Jin-yeon, a rising female prospect who had recently emerged like a comet in China and was increasing her stock price.

In her case, the Chinese media was said to be packaging everything from the day she was born, so the hype was tremendous.

They thought Shinwha was the same.

In reality, the KSA had demonstrated its skills and attributed the achievements to Shinwha by creating non-existent merits.

They believed they were trying to create a ‘hero’ in that way.

Papatt. Patt.

The assassins scattered in all directions.

Their movements were filled with a murderous intent to find Shinwha’s group and kill them all, no matter what.

But right then.

Just as their gazes and attention were scattered and dispersed into their respective search ranges.

Kwaaaang!

“……?”

Lee Yeon was startled by the sonic boom that came from the distant forest area and turned her head.

It was such a powerful sound that it momentarily made her ears ring.

“Keuheok!”

A scream followed.

The sonic boom and the scream were heard as if they were a set.

By the time Lee Yeon’s gaze turned, one of the assassins was already staggering backward, waving his hands in the air.

His mouth and nose were completely shattered, and a fountain of blood was pouring out.

That wasn’t all.

Another assassin, who had been completely caught off guard by Shinwha, staggered after being struck in the waist.

In that state, the assassin’s head was forcibly turned by Shinwha’s brutal touch.

Then, Shinwha’s sharply honed sword tip pierced through the center of the assassin’s mouth, which had widened in surprise.

It was such a powerful blow that the back of his neck bulged momentarily, and the blade pierced through fiercely.

The situation didn’t end there.

“Waaaaah……!”

Shinwha, who had taken down two people in an instant, charged towards the assassin who was rushing towards him.

The assassin’s daggers, clenched in both hands, slashed through the air with the momentum to inflict a fatal wound on Shinwha’s weak spot.

‘Too late.’

Lee Yeon could see it.

Shinwha’s reaction was one or two steps ahead of the assassin.

“……?”

A swift attack.

It was an attack that cut through space faster than anyone else.

Swoosh.

Shinwha dodged the attack so easily.

And the price for easily wasting the attack was truly great.

Thwack! Thwack!

The assassin’s face was turned to mush by the consecutive attacks of Jinkwon [fist technique focusing on speed and precision] followed by Jintang’s [fist technique focusing on explosive power] fist strike and Pokkwon [fist technique focusing on penetrating force].

It was a blow that crushed every bone. At first glance, it seemed like Shinwha was tapping lightly, but in fact, he was using mana with all his might.

Long-term distribution? Mana control?

He hadn’t thought about it from the start.

A situation that began with a perfect disadvantage of one against ten.

It was a foolish idea to plan for the ‘future’ here.

Shinwha had set his first goal to reduce the number of ten people to five and started the war.

And three had already been taken down.

They weren’t dead, but they were in a state of complete combat disability, so it was no different from leaving the front lines.

“What, what happened?”

“Kang Shinwha appeared from behind.”

By the time Kang Ja-hee and Black Lion arrived at the scene, surprised and rushing over, three had already been taken down.

Lee Yeon frowned, feeling that something didn’t add up.

Shinwha had clearly appeared from behind.

There was no separate route to detour and return to the rear.

‘I knew he had a Blink Ring, but then he noticed our presence from the beginning and pretended to enter the dungeon to deceive us?’

The thought that all of this was Shinwha’s design suddenly sent a chill down her spine.

The objective fact that she was S-rank and Shinwha was B-rank was not considered very important.

She was simply surprised by the fact that Shinwha had predicted the situation first and intentionally created it.

Besides, it was perfect.

Lee Yeon had clearly confirmed that he was being sucked into the dimensional gate.

But the fact that this deception worked meant that he wasn’t doing it for the first time.

‘Moreover, he’s alone.’

That bothered her even more.

She couldn’t dismiss it as the reckless audacity of a guy who had lost his nerve, and the combat scene she had just seen was strongly etched in her mind.

“The guy we need to kill has appeared on the scene, so we just need to kill him! What does the process matter?”

No sooner had she finished speaking than Kang Ja-hee kicked off the ground and began to charge towards Shinwha.

Even though the situation was flowing strangely, the numerical superiority on their side remained unchanged.

She was confident of victory.

* * *

‘Choice and focus.’

From the moment I started the battle, I had no interest in Lee Yeon, Kang Ja-hee, or Black Lion.

It wasn’t because I wasn’t confident in defeating them or because I was reluctant to face them.

In a one-versus-many battle, the correct answer was to eliminate the weakest enemy first.

The reason was simple.

Those who use vicious tactics like those guys have ambiguous distinctions between friend and foe.

In other words, during the chaotic battle, they would sacrifice even their own allies to exploit the opponent’s weaknesses.

So, the more assassins there were, the more it restricted my movements and created variables, which was disadvantageous to me.

Even while watching Kang Ja-hee rushing towards me from the front, I ignored her.

The whip with thorns embedded all over it felt very threatening.

But I wouldn’t die even if I got hit by that whip a few times.

Besides, as long as I didn’t easily expose my face and neck, which were the weak points of the suit, I could endure it to some extent.

That’s why I intentionally ignored Kang Ja-hee and ran towards the Awakened person nearby.

The guy seemed to be preparing his own ‘linkage’ with Kang Ja-hee’s appearance, but it was a wrong idea from the start.

“You’re next.”

“Hmph……!”

The guy seemed to believe that Kang Ja-hee’s whip could adequately protect him.

It was a normal judgment.

Because if I were to evade Kang Ja-hee’s attack, I could never continue my offensive against him.

‘I’ve become immune to getting beaten up quite a bit. A few whippings are nothing.’

Whiririk!

Soon, I smiled as I watched Kang Ja-hee’s whip flying towards me, cutting through the space as I charged.

A person who had been beaten and making up for it with their body was a daily occurrence.

For me, that kind of whipping was just one of the mundane pains that I could accept with pleasure.