I’M A Max-Level Regressor [EN]: Chapter 155

155

‘Oseong Drug.’

It was a drug famously produced by the Oseong Association. Of course, it was illegal and had significant side effects.

“……”

I narrowed my eyes and observed their movements.

“Mr. Kang Shin-hwa, you should head out, right?”

In the meantime, a member of the Hongyeon Guild casually sidled up next to me.

It seemed this guy was assigned to watch me.

“Alright, let’s go now!”

Kim Jae-rim shouted, looking cheerful.

The dungeon’s boss monster raid had gone smoothly, and the loot distribution seemed quite satisfactory.

How could someone be so good-natured? Or perhaps, so naive?

Even after my warning, he should have been at least a bit suspicious of Mok Jin-woo…….

Kim Jae-rim was leisurely stretching as he headed towards the exit portal.

The exit portal was a one-way passage; once you left, you couldn’t re-enter through the same gate.

To get back here, you’d have to go through the entrance portal and fight your way back.

In other words, Mok Jin-woo wouldn’t just let Kim Jae-rim leave.

“Master, it seems you’ve dropped this. There’s a dimension stone here,” Mok Jin-woo said, grabbing Kim Jae-rim at just the right moment.

“Alright! Everyone, let’s head out!”

At the same time, another Hongyeon Guild member urged the others, pushing the Hyehwa Guild members towards the portal.

With zero caution, they proudly examined the loot they had worked hard for as they headed out.

“Let’s go, Mr. Kang Shin-hwa. Even if you want to rest, you should do it outside,” the Awakened next to me said, adding to the encouragement.

Their plan seemed to be to put me and Kim Jae-rim in front and then launch a surprise attack.

The next moment.

“Well, shall we head out?”

Mok Jin-woo approached Kim Jae-rim, who was about to step outside with a delighted expression.

At the same time, a whooshing breath came from behind. It was the rough breathing created by the drug rapidly circulating mana within the body.

‘Ignore the guy behind me, and only focus on Mok Jin-woo.’

Not yet.

Mok Jin-woo had approached, but he hadn’t drawn his sword.

Attacking after he targets Kim Jae-rim would ensure a more decisive blow.

Then.

Swoosh!

Very secretly and quietly.

Mok Jin-woo finally drew his weapon artifact, the ‘Full Moon Sword.’

He seemed intent on using the artifact known as the sword that cuts the full moon in the night sky and drinks the flowing madness.

‘Now!’

At that moment, I unreservedly maximized Transcendental Acceleration and began to charge towards Mok Jin-woo.

The die was cast.

* * *

‘Die……!’

Mok Jin-woo’s surprise attack on Kim Jae-rim was launched at the best timing he had been steadily aiming for.

The moment Kim Jae-rim, standing right in front of the portal, was adjusting the bag full of loot he had taken instead of hiring a porter.

He aimed to snipe him right in the back, targeting that moment of complete vulnerability.

Full Moon Sword.

With enough mana infused into this strike, it would be perfect for killing Kim Jae-rim, whose suit’s durability was already at its limit.

And the moment the sword tip extended to within a hand’s breadth of its target.

Mok Jin-woo was certain of his success.

After killing Kim Jae-rim, he planned to eliminate Shin-hwa in conjunction with his subordinate.

The rest of the Hyehwa Guild members had already left through the exit portal as planned.

But right then.

Whooooong!

“……?”

A roar came from behind.

To be precise, at the same time as the roar, something heavy struck Mok Jin-woo’s back and passed through.

At first, he thought it was just a simple collision, but looking to the side, he saw blood spurting from his back.

“Kuh-erk!”

“……Huh?”

Because of that, Mok Jin-woo’s strike aimed at Kim Jae-rim narrowly missed.

It was a setback.

The attack wasn’t hidden, and the action was executed, but he failed to properly stab his target, Kim Jae-rim.

Thud! Bang! Thud!

“Keuh-heok!”

Mok Jin-woo, struck by Shin-hwa’s surprise attack, tumbled across the ground in an unsightly manner.

Because it was a muddy area, reddish-brown mud was smeared all over his face.

“Were you trying to attack me just now……?”

Kim Jae-rim looked at Mok Jin-woo with a bewildered expression.

The Awakened of the Hongyeon Guild, seeing their master suddenly attacked, turned ashen.

“I’ll take care of the inside, so you handle the outside, Master. That’s the price you’ll pay for your misjudgment.”

“But……. Ugh!”

Shin-hwa pushed Kim Jae-rim out of the portal before he could finish his sentence.

Whether Kim Jae-rim lived or died against the Hongyeon Guild members outside was of no concern to Shin-hwa.

Now, the only remaining issue was how to deal with Mok Jin-woo and his lackey inside the dungeon.

“Damn it, cough. Cough.”

Mok Jin-woo coughed up dark red blood and stood up.

It was just a single attack, but.

It was the most powerful blow Mok Jin-woo had ever allowed someone to inflict on him since becoming an Awakened.

Reaching back to touch his back, he found a deeply cut wound gushing blood.

He had been cut by Shin-hwa’s blade. Even though he was wearing an expensive, reinforced suit.

“Damn it all!”

Mok Jin-woo’s subordinate, realizing that the situation was going wrong, charged at Shin-hwa.

A B-rank Awakened.

One rank below Shin-hwa, but a skilled close-combat type Awakened nonetheless.

Mok Jin-woo gripped his sword again.

From the start, he didn’t care about his subordinate’s life. He only intended to use him as a shield to exploit Shin-hwa’s openings.

However.

Splatter!

“…….”

Mok Jin-woo’s plan fell apart.

Before he could even take his first step, Shin-hwa, moving with lightning speed, blew his subordinate’s head off.

It was Shin-hwa’s incredibly fast movement that even Mok Jin-woo’s dynamic vision couldn’t properly track.

“Damn……. Was this a setup? Could it be that he was aiming for this moment from the very beginning?”

Mok Jin-woo muttered with a displeased expression as he watched his subordinate’s head flying in an arc.

Only then did Shin-hwa turn his gaze to Mok Jin-woo, smirking as he continued to speak.

“The easiest person to deceive is someone who thinks they’re smart. Once they’re convinced, they never doubt their plans.”

“Kang Shin-hwa, are you challenging me right now? You must know what you’ve done.”

“I know. I know very well! Mok Jin-woo, when I warned you the first time, did you think it was a joke?”

“Kang Shin-hwa, if this plan could be ruined by you alone, I wouldn’t have prepared it in the first place.”

“Who said I’m acting alone?”

“Could it be?”

An uneasy premonition flashed through Mok Jin-woo’s mind.

Could the KSA [Korean Special Ability association] also know?

But everything was normal until he entered the dungeon.

He had received reports from informants near the headquarters and the Seoul branch that nothing was amiss.

“Mok Jin-woo, if this plan could be ruined by me alone, I wouldn’t have even shown up here. Don’t you think so?”

“You rat-like bastard!”

“Thank you. I appreciate the compliment. Now, it’s time to put an end to your ruined plan.”

“A B-rank like you dares…… I’ll make sure to end your life for good.”

Mok Jin-woo restored the flow of mana that had been temporarily disrupted by Shin-hwa’s surprise attack.

He felt severe pain in his back, but it wasn’t enough to hinder his combat.

However, the fact that he had allowed an attack for the first time in ten years since becoming an Awakened.

It had greatly wounded his pride. It brought an unbearable sense of humiliation.

“Come on. Aren’t you over thirty this year? Since you’re getting old and your lower body is failing, I’ll give you special treatment as an elder.”

Shin-hwa gestured with his left palm forward, beckoning Mok Jin-woo. It was a clear provocation.

“You damned bastard!”

Mok Jin-woo, completely enraged, began to sprint towards Shin-hwa.

Shin-hwa bit his lip tightly.

It was time for a life-or-death battle to begin.

* * *

I focused all my attention on every single one of Mok Jin-woo’s movements.

Fighting an SS+ rank Awakened is on a completely different level than fighting the B-rank Awakened whose head I just blew off.

The battle unfolds in extremely short periods of time, splitting seconds into fractions.

Mok Jin-woo’s talent is the swordsmanship of spatial distortion, known to have been obtained by eating the ‘Flower of Distortion.’

The visible sword path and the actual striking sword path are completely different. It was a very tricky and threatening attack.

Of course, Mok Jin-woo also had weaknesses.

As I had consistently repeated, Mok Jin-woo is a slow starter.

The warm-up period to fully unleash his talent took longer than expected.

Moreover, if the flow of battle was interrupted and there was a break, it took time to regain his condition.

Of course, Mok Jin-woo’s attack had excellent ‘variable creation ability’ to offset this weakness.

Even if it looks like he’s extending his sword in front of you, the sword strike can suddenly come from above your head or behind your back.

The lower your variable response, the less likely you are to last long.

In other words, it’s hard to last long unless you’ve meticulously studied Mok Jin-woo’s attack patterns.

So, before the disadvantage of being a slow starter becomes apparent, the opponent often loses their life.

That’s why he’s so confident in me.

From his perspective, I’m quite skilled, but after all, I’m just a ‘mere’ B+ rank fledgling.

‘Since we’re both fully doped up, it’s worth a try.’

I’ve already drunk the enhancement potion that was packaged like bottled water.

The awakening effect will last for 30 minutes, so I can fight in an overpowered state.

Whirly!

Mok Jin-woo’s sword path extended towards me, honestly aiming for my left heart.

Humans are animals that rely heavily on sight.

Just as we unconsciously dodge when a ball flies towards us on the screen, the same is true for sword strikes.

How can you not respond when he’s aiming for your heart, where you could lose your life if you allow the attack?

Crunch.

I responded with Steel Enhancement.

Mok Jin-woo’s scary thing is that sometimes he doesn’t distort and really aims honestly.

It’s another trick to reverse the opponent’s trick of thinking once and twisting it.

Clang!

“Keuh!”

He twisted it after all.

He didn’t use distortion and aimed straight ahead, pushing my left chest.

Just receiving the sword strike with my steel-hardened body.

Screech!

My feet dragged along the ground, and I was pushed back for a long time.

Even though I blocked it, the impact is this strong, so it’s obvious what state my body would be in if I were actually stabbed.

“Not bad.”

“It’s nothing.”

A sharp word passed quickly between Mok Jin-woo and me.

“Kang Shin-hwa, I’ll make you one last offer. If you cooperate with me now, you can save your life.”

“What nonsense are you talking about? The one whose plan went wrong isn’t me, it’s you.”

“The setup to target me was good, but that’s all.”

“I can’t get through to you at all, as if your ears are full of earwax.”

I clicked my tongue and shook my head.

This is the fatal weakness of dungeons.

Unless someone conveys it, you can never know the situation because contact with the outside world is cut off.

Information cutoff.

In fact, that was the picture I wanted.

Because now I can focus solely on the battle to target each other.

‘I hope everyone is doing well.’

I offered a short prayer, thinking of the many scenes where all-out war might have broken out by now.

And.

“Come on, Mok-ttol [Mok the idiot].”

I provoked Mok Jin-woo by flicking my middle finger back and forth.

It was time to seriously fight him.

There was no next time.

At this moment.

One of us must die or fall to leave the dungeon.