I’M A Max-Level Regressor [EN]: Chapter 163

It was Marina from WSA [World Superhuman Association].

Of course, she was here today as a member of Team Osaka.

She was also using the alias Ayase Yuzuha.

Next to her stood someone I was meeting for the first time in this life, but whom I remembered from my past life.

‘I’m meeting Hara Toshio this early.’

Toshio.

Hara Marina’s older brother.

He is the leader of Team Osaka, an SSS-rank Awakened with the Ice Talent.

Regarding the Ice Talent, he is an authoritative figure, known as one of the top-class in the world in this field.

‘Nicholas said in my past life that if Toshio hadn’t stopped growing at SSS+, he would have entered the Nine Lords instead of me.’

Toshio had essentially reached his maximum growth now.

I don’t know why he hit his limit, but anyway, he didn’t reach EX-rank even as time passed.

Marina, who came out wearing a khaki trench coat in the chilly weather, greeted Shin-hwa.

“You’ve had a long trip! Welcome to your companions too!”

“Hmm? You’re a Japanese Awakened, but you speak Korean fluently?”

Choi Ji-hyuk was surprised by Marina’s Korean skills, which were close to native level, and asked.

Except for very subtle pronunciation issues, Marina’s Korean skills were truly top-notch.

“Oh, I’ve liked Korean since I was little. You must be Choi Ji-hyuk, right? A handsome priest!”

“Haha, I’m just one squid [ugly person] next to Shin-hwa.”

“Yoon-byeol, Han So-joon, nice to meet you too. Now, say hello! This is Toshio, the leader of our Team Osaka.”

Marina introduced Toshio to the four.

Toshio’s impression was as affable as Marina, who had a smile all over her face.

“Nice to meet you. It’s an honor to meet the members of Team Mystic.”

“Thank you for arranging such a great opportunity, Toshio-nim [Mr. Toshio].”

Shin-hwa expressed his gratitude.

Whatever the reason, it was a clear consideration to allow them to attack their own dungeon.

Of course, it was also because of his younger sister Marina’s influence and the intention to show Shin-hwa ‘favor’ in advance.

“If you four are okay with it, we’d like to escort each of you in a car we’ve prepared. Would that be alright?”

“Let’s do that. We were thinking of getting around on our own, but we didn’t expect you to take care of this part too.”

“Haha, if we’re going to host, we should do it properly, right? Okay, everyone, this way.”

Toshio began to guide the four, including Shin-hwa, out of the airport gate.

Sure enough, there were already four luxurious limousines prepared in front.

“I would like Kang Shin-hwa-nim [Mr. Kang Shin-hwa] to travel with me.”

‘Looks like he has something to say privately.’

Since private conversations usually take place in places isolated from the outside, there was nothing strange about it.

Shin-hwa nodded.

“Alright. Let’s do that. Everyone, let’s take the limousines and meet at the destination. How about it?”

“Okay!”

Choi Ji-hyuk, Han So-joon, and Yoon-byeol, who were excited by Team Osaka’s hospitality, headed to the limousines with light steps.

First, they were scheduled to stay at a hotel near the J-811 dungeon today.

And tomorrow morning, the attack on the reset J-811 dungeon would begin.

The dungeon was being initialized due to the previous attack, so it was impossible to enter even if they went now.

That was because the entrance gate was not activated.

‘It’s never bad to have a good relationship with Team Osaka, and of course, Toshio. They are also close to the side of good.’

Toshio’s Team Osaka is a guild that judges everything thoroughly based on skill.

There was a clear difference from other places that often incorporate political issues into the guild for strategic reasons.

* * *

Booooooong.

The four limousines that departed from Kansai Airport began to head to their destination.

I smiled and said to Marina, who was behind the wheel.

“Did you decide to play the role of a driver today?”

“I wanted to escort you comfortably myself. I’ll block out the noise; it’s better than having a driver eavesdropping.”

“Is there something important to talk about?”

When I asked Toshio, he nodded quietly.

“I’m going to be faithful to my role as a driver for now, so you two, have a pleasant conversation!”

Tuk.

When she pressed the button installed in front of the limousine, the soundproof partition inside the limousine was activated.

Playing classical music softly was an appropriate arrangement.

Sitting at a suitable distance from each other in the spacious limousine, we awkwardly looked at each other for a moment.

Clearly, Toshio was ahead of me in terms of rank and experience, but he was maintaining a very humble posture.

Before he opened his mouth, I said something to make him comfortable.

“You can speak in Japanese.”

“Ah, is that alright?”

“I’ve studied several foreign languages, though I’m not perfect.”

“Good. Kang Shin-hwa-ssi [Mr. Kang Shin-hwa]. I saw your recent activities. Implementing justice! It was really cool.”

“I just did what I had to do.”

“Yuzuha said before……”

“You can call her Marina. I know Yuzuha-ssi’s [Ms. Yuzuha’s] real name.”

“I see. Anyway, I’ve been very interested in Shin-hwa-ssi [Mr. Kang Shin-hwa] since I heard about you from Marina.”

“Thank you.”

“Seeing you in person, I definitely feel an aura that is different from others. I also have some conviction.”

“Are you perhaps…… trying to make some unofficial proposal?”

With a series of compliments and acknowledgments that seemed to be laying the groundwork, I noticed the reason hidden in his words.

It’s not like I’ve had these kinds of conversations for a day or two, and now I can tell just by looking at the situation.

“I can’t tell you the location, but our guild has a dungeon that we haven’t disclosed to the outside.”

“……?”

My eyes, which had been listening to Toshio’s words without much change in expression, widened slightly.

‘This is information that didn’t exist in my past life either.’

Team Osaka was a guild that had collected a lot of information in my past life as well, ranking in the world guild rankings.

In the first place, if there was a guild with meaningful dungeon information, Nicholas would never have just passed it by.

But there is dungeon information that Nicholas missed?

Then, it meant that it was information that they had hidden and never disclosed, not only now but also in the future.

Toshio smiled as if he had read the curiosity revealed in my eyes and continued to speak.

“Let me tell you why I brought it up first. While watching Shin-hwa-ssi’s [Mr. Shin-hwa’s] combat video this time, I calculated that Shin-hwa-ssi [Mr. Shin-hwa] would be able to enter the dungeon.”

“Are the entry conditions for the dungeon very strict?”

“To be exact, it’s a matter of what you encounter from the entrance.”

“If it’s not a trap…… it seems like there are dangerous elements such as being hit by crossfire from all directions at the same time as entering.”

“That’s right. It’s to the point where you can’t withstand it even if you wear a decent suit.”

I was intrigued.

It’s good to have everything within the scope of prediction, but sometimes having variables helps prevent mannerism.

“Would you like to continue?”

“Anyway, I want to attack this dungeon with Kang Shin-hwa-ssi [Mr. Kang Shin-hwa], but I will definitely give you a briefing based on the information we have secured.”

“What are the conditions?”

I pointed out the most important part. This part must be clarified to prevent noise later.

“First of all, Kang Shin-hwa-ssi [Mr. Kang Shin-hwa] must keep all secrets about the dungeon. Even the fact that you went together.”

“That’s easy. I’m not the type to blab in the first place, and I have no intention of making things difficult for myself.”

“Then, assuming that we succeed in advancing beyond what the guild has identified, and that the internal attack is definitely achieved.”

“Assuming?”

“I will unconditionally give up the flower if it comes out. Of course, in return, we will take all the dimension stones and other materials. Ah, of course, the opposite is also possible.”

It was a tempting offer.

I didn’t need accessories such as dimension stones or other materials.

I could get as much as I wanted from other dungeons.

But flowers are an exception.

In particular, I was filled with curiosity and anticipation at the same time, as I didn’t know what kind of flower was here.

“Good. Of course, it’s a story after we properly enter…… I’ll participate after promising the flower.”

“I will give you a detailed briefing myself after this dungeon attack is over.”

“Understood.”

That’s how the secret proposal ended.

A place that I don’t remember.

In other words, a place that was thoroughly veiled until I regressed from my past life.

I wanted to set foot in that place that even Nicholas didn’t know about.

This is separate from retirement.

As a regressor living a second life, it was a variable that I definitely wanted to challenge!

* * *

Thanks to Toshio’s great consideration, we were able to stay at a 5-star hotel near the J-811 dungeon.

In the first place, the area around the dungeon was a resort with many attractions and things to do, so there were many tourists.

Of course, the location of the dungeon was in a nearby mountain, a little away from the crowded area.

As soon as we unpacked our luggage, the three of them, except for me, rented a training room owned by Team Osaka.

It was the result of the three’s strong desire to match their skills once again before attacking the dungeon.

Recently, the three of them had been putting a lot of effort into working together.

The fun of team play and the thrill of organic coordination seemed exhilarating.

I had a dinner appointment with Marina, so I didn’t participate in the training.

In fact, if I tried to participate in the training, I could have gone somehow, but there were also parts that I didn’t go on purpose.

If I participated, I would have to increase the difficulty of the virtual training that much, but it didn’t match the level of the team members.

In other words, adjusting the difficulty to suit me would rather have a negative impact on the team members.

I came out to the meeting place in advance and turned on Facegram [social media platform] for a while while waiting for Marina.

I hardly ever look at SNS [social networking service], but these days I’ve been checking it more often.

It’s because I’m curious about Nicholas’s recent situation.

“What is this bastard doing……? He was at the Great Wall of China until recently, but why is he in front of the Taj Mahal now?”

Travel craze.

I thought he had returned to the United States because the uploads had been infrequent, but that wasn’t the case.

He had just postponed the upload for a while.

A lot of photos were uploaded today.

There were also traces of enjoying travel not only in China, but also in Macau and Thailand in between.

“……Lucky bastard.”

What on earth is going to happen in the future?

What kind of shitty thing is going to happen that I regress first!

Is the guy who should have regressed actually spending his time leisurely traveling around the world like this?

“……Nicholas, you bastard, didn’t you really just send me? Are you trying to suck all the honey yourself?”

As I spread my imagination, all sorts of thoughts came to my mind.

Of course, it’s not Nicholas’s fault in the current photo.

If there’s a fault, it’s the ‘that Nicholas’ bastard who must have regressed me.

Just then.

“Shin-hwa-ssi [Mr. Shin-hwa]?”

Someone called me from behind, who hadn’t felt the presence because I was focused on SNS.

It was Marina.

“Why are you dressed like that?”