I’M A Max-Level Regressor [EN]: Chapter 151

151

Shami originally couldn’t communicate with animals in the way she now could.

Before, she merely exchanged basic meanings through their respective sounds or body language. As a human turned into a cat due to a curse, Shami would have perceived human speech as just a series of “meows,” “grrrs,” and “purrs.”

But now, upon awakening, she had gained a genuine communication ability she never possessed before.

To put it simply, it was like someone who didn’t know any English suddenly becoming fluent.

“He seems to be the boss of this alleyway, guarding this path! Look, his fur is black and his eyes are yellow, isn’t he scary?”

“Meow! Meow!”

A black cat, whose back Shami patted, cried out fiercely towards me.

Of course, I couldn’t understand what it meant, so I tilted my head, and Shami immediately began to translate.

“His name is Khan, and he says his butler should kneel?”

“Tell him I want to punch him.”

Shami made a meowing sound that sounded the same to my ears and muttered diligently. Then Khan raised his tail sharply and quickly stepped back.

It seemed he was indeed only the boss of the alleyway.

“Shami, send your friends back for now. This is a street, and there are cars, so it’s dangerous.”

“Okay, I understand! Wow, this is really amazing! How did I get this ability?”

Shami was constantly beaming.

While she was dismissing her gathered companions, I pondered the talent Shami had unlocked.

‘It will be helpful for gathering information. There must be others who have been cursed and exiled from the Nas Continent like Shami.’

Although the odds are slim.

Anyway, just as I happened to meet Shami in Guam, I thought there was always a possibility of encountering another coincidence.

The current Nas Continent is an unknown place that I cannot visit directly.

I only wonder how Rechelo succeeded in researching dimensional travel [interdimensional travel].

So, isn’t that why he sent guys like Elijah and Belic to Earth one after another?

‘First, I need to allow Shami to expand her activities a bit. Using a special device, she can enter and exit the house on her own…….’

If she wears a necklace with a separate chip embedded, the door can be opened without fingerprint or password recognition.

Since Shami’s legs wouldn’t reach the doorknob with her cat body, it would automatically open and close that way.

However, since she could be exposed to danger if she went out alone, I should also attach a tracking device.

With these arrangements, she should be able to go outside on her own even when I’m not around.

Then, if she really happens to meet someone else exiled by a curse?

Then I would be able to unlock more secrets about Rechelo and the Nas Continent.

“You seem to be having a lot of fun.”

I smiled as I watched Shami waving her front paws at the scattering cats with a regretful expression.

She had no friends at all except for me, and I was also happy that she seemed to have found good companions to talk to.

‘If this matter is resolved well, I should start to concretize a plan to lift the curse.’

A plan to eliminate the dark energy full of curses in Shami’s body.

For this, artifacts are needed, as well as monster blood or organs related to divine power.

I roughly know the necessary components.

The problem is that I have to do some legwork, but it’s just annoying, not difficult.

“Shin Hwa! Shin Hwaaaa!”

“Huh?”

Then, Shami, who had turned away after seeing off her friends, was seen flying in an arc from afar.

Amazing leaping ability!

It certainly seemed that some of her physical abilities had also increased.

Swoosh!

Shami, who was nestled in the middle of my broad chest, rubbed her head diligently and showed off her cuteness.

She is definitely a human…… but somehow, she seems to be resembling a cat more and more.

“Thank you so much! I’ve been lonely lately……. With this ability, I don’t think I’ll be bored in the future!”

“Do you like it?”

“Of course! I like Shin Hwa, but I also like talking to my friends!”

“Then I’ll get you a device soon so you can easily go in and out of the house, so go out whenever you’re bored from now on. Ah, of course…”

“Of course?”

“Be careful of people who come near you. Don’t trust anyone but me.”

“Hehe, of course!”

“That’s a relief. The recipe worked.”

I stroked Shami’s head, who was very happy, and smiled happily as well.

Being able to give someone a precious and special experience.

There is nothing more rewarding than that.

For example, March 15, 2020.

Like seeing Jin Bo-mi’s precious today, who would have lost her life to illness in her past life…….

As soon as we returned home after a short walk, Shami fell asleep on the bed.

Click. Fssss.

I was lost in thought for a moment, enjoying the leisure of canned beer on the terrace as always.

“Of the four cases that I decided to intervene in on behalf of Nicholas, the first one is coming soon.”

My eyebrows furrowed involuntarily.

Not thinking about resting, playing, or what kind of facilities to build on Krivia Island.

I always hated these complicated thoughts. But I believe in the virtuous cycle effect that this intervention will bring.

If valuable people who shouldn’t die are saved, the future to prepare for the great disaster will be brighter.

Then, as I always thought, even if Nicholas regresses, he won’t think of me as important anymore.

That was enough.

Isn’t it an arrangement for my comfortable future to get rid of the guy who might stalk me for the rest of my life, saying he needs talent to become a hero!

Just thinking about it makes me feel good. I don’t feel annoyed at all!

“Parasite. All-out war between the American and European Awakened Associations. Russian Cataclysm. It’s a mountain after mountain.”

None of them are light cases, but since I know the future history, there is enough room to respond.

Gulp- Gulp-.

I shook off the complicated thoughts in my head with the refreshing feeling of beer going down my throat.

It can be done.

There is nothing that cannot be done with effort.

* * *

March 17, dawn.

“Haa, haa, haa.”

“Ugh! I don’t even have the strength to stand on my feet. Wow, I digested this hellish training?”

“Haa…….”

The three members of Team Mystic, who had finished their intense training and came out of the training room, collapsed on the floor as if they had agreed to it. Only Shin Hwa, who was full of energy, was standing still.

The other three were covered in sweat and on the verge of exhaustion due to depleted stamina.

“Thanks to you, hyung [older brother/male friend], I was able to do intense training in a luxurious training room. Thank you, hyung.”

“What thanks! Thanks to you pointing out my strengths and weaknesses throughout the training, I got a lot of good feedback.”

“Add one vote here.”

“Me too.”

Han So-joon and Yoon Byeol-i added their opinions in turn to Choi Ji-hyuk’s words.

Choi Ji-hyuk was in charge of applying for the training ground and preparing the schedule today.

After raiding the K-10004 dungeon in LA, everyone’s enthusiasm was so full that it soared into the sky.

So, Choi Ji-hyuk took the lead even before Shin Hwa set the training schedule.

He even paid for the training ground rental out of his own pocket. He was that motivated.

“Hyungnim [term of respect for an older brother/male friend], thank you so much. Every time I receive close guidance like this, I feel like I’m opening my eyes.”

Han So-joon raised his thumb towards Shin Hwa.

Han So-joon, who is A-rank, has always been confident that he is a ‘perfect’ healer.

But it was an exception in front of Shin Hwa’s sharp eyes.

Shin Hwa gave strong feedback to Han So-joon, not just with simple ‘nitpicking’ but with clear grounds.

It was literally a sharp and insightful feedback that Han So-joon himself had no choice but to nod his head.

It was very suggestive to him as it pointed out problems that he had not even recognized.

A stepping stone to compensate for major weaknesses and move towards a more complete form.

That was the tremendous meaning of Shin Hwa’s systematic feedback that continued throughout the training.

“I’ll give a general review.”

As Shin Hwa started to speak.

The surroundings became so quiet that even the heavy breathing stopped. That’s how important they think of Shin Hwa’s words.

“So-joon should refrain from unnecessarily exaggerated footwork.”

“I understand. I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Hyung needs to be careful about actions that interfere with the dealer’s movement due to being too eager. There is only a fine line between eagerness and nuisance.”

“Good point, thanks.”

“And Nuna [term of respect for an older sister/female friend] is too careful with her finishes. It’s okay to be clumsy, so just cut off their breath indifferently. If my fingertips tremble, the lifeline of the guy who needs to be cut off won’t be cut off.”

“That’s an accurate point as if you read my mind. I’ll keep that in mind. I was being careful.”

“Nuna’s attack is much more powerful than you think. Don’t think, ‘Will I die?’ Just shout, ‘Die!’ and go for it.”

“Okay. I understand.”

“There are things to improve, but I’m very satisfied with today’s training. The teamwork is much better than when we went to LA last time. There were fewer orders too.”

“Actually, the three of us have been training hard lately. Because I wanted to be more helpful to you.”

“To be honest, I was surprised. Everyone’s skills have improved dramatically.”

Shin Hwa had a proud expression on his face.

Is this the joy of a leader who has colleagues who trust and follow him entirely?

I seemed to understand Nicholas’s heart a little, who had an outstanding colleague named Nine Lord in his previous life.

Choi Ji-hyuk said.

“I’m thinking of going on a dungeon raid on the 19th. The three of us are going, is that okay?”

“Of course. There’s no need for the four of us to always move together. Rather, I want to encourage you to be active in various fields.”

“Still…… you know? Shin Hwa, you are always our top priority. That feeling will never change.”

“We will be going on a dungeon expedition to Japan soon. It will be a very difficult raid, so be prepared for hard training.”

“Very good, hard training! The thrilling pleasure of overcoming extreme situations! I really like it!”

Everyone was smiling brightly even though their bodies were tired.

The three were more satisfied with their recent actions than with their lives as Awakened ones.

Of course, the person who was the center and medium of all these changes was Shin Hwa.

Shin Hwa made all these changes, and the three were always sending infinite gratitude to Shin Hwa.

Even if they didn’t say it to Shin Hwa one by one.

“Let’s disband today. Everyone go back and get some rest. Rest is really important too.”

“Okay. We’re going in my car, but Shin Hwa, you’re going that way, right?”

Choi Ji-hyuk smiled and pointed to a location that was not a road but on top of a building.

He was talking about Shin Hwa’s hobby of enjoying a frenzy of ‘leaping’ in the city center.

“Correct. See you later. If there’s nothing special, always come to the office.”

“Okay! Let’s all go!”

“Hyungnim, I’m going!”

“Shin Hwa, you worked hard. I’ll organize the additional report in Excel and send it by email.”

“Okay.”

In an instant, the group disbanded on the spot.

Everyone seemed desperate for sleep as they were tired from the high-intensity training promoted by Shin Hwa.

In the meantime.

Click. Gulp. Gulp.

Shin Hwa, who took out a canned coffee from his bag, drank the contents.

And in a fleeting moment.

In the darkness of dawn, which he casually glanced at.

Shin Hwa was able to clearly confirm one fact.

‘I’m being followed.’

It was the presence of an uninvited guest.