I’M A Max-Level Regressor [EN]: Chapter 165

165.

“Okay, take a look at this.”

The Priest led me to an open area and carefully extended his hand.

It was a preliminary action before using his debuff ability, but it was somewhat different from his usual demeanor.

‘Could it be……?’

A hopeful thought crossed my mind.

It was anticipation in a good way.

As expected.

The Priest showcased his new ability in front of me.

“This is the newly awakened ability!”

Gurrrumble.

Whoosh.

Soon, a small cloud filled with red energy appeared in the sky.

The cloud instantly poured down blood-red rain, which I knew very well.

‘Bloody Rain. Blood Rain.’

It’s an ability that creates artificial blood-colored clouds in certain areas to pour down rain.

The effect is that it greatly reduces the defense of those exposed to this rain. It’s a kind of ‘defense reduction’ debuff.

Moreover, one ‘specific’ target designated by the caster is completely unaffected by the debuff, even if exposed to the rain.

‘This is an ability the Priest awakened close to 2030 in my past life…… To think he’d realize it this quickly?’

Of course, I had expected the rapid growth of my companions for a long time.

Because I needed their skills, I had been constantly stimulating the growth of their ranks and abilities.

But the Priest’s growth was faster than I thought. No, it was really fast!

“It’s a debuff ability that reduces the opponent’s defense. I suddenly got inspired and awakened it a while ago!”

“The visual intimidation is considerable, and it’s the most suitable ability for you, Hyung [older brother or respected male figure]. It’s awesome.”

“There’s just one concern…….”

“You’re worried about friendly fire, right?”

Just because you suddenly awaken an ability doesn’t mean you automatically understand 100% of how to use it.

The system and Awakened structure are surprisingly unkind, so there were many parts where you learn the principles while using it.

However, since I know everything from my past experiences, I can give tips anytime.

And to prevent team kills, I must tell him the tip that one ally is excluded from the target.

“Yeah, do you know the method? No, wait. Shin Hwa, you’re going to say you already know, right?”

“Needless to say.”

I smiled and released the honey tip that only I knew to the Priest.

Some time later.

The Priest clearly grasped the designation method.

Since it wasn’t like designating in a computer game, it required mental focus, so it took some time to adapt.

But the Priest, who had improved his skills considerably, mastered it perfectly with fewer trials and errors than expected.

Now, as long as no more than two allies are positioned within the Bloody Rain range, there will be no problems.

‘From the start, all of the Priest’s abilities have too much synergy with me. If you add Overpower to a debuff…… you can’t help but go down in one hit.’

It was a very satisfying awakening of a companion’s ability.

I guess this is the butterfly effect.

The best change that could be made because I supported the Priest from an early point, unlike in my past life!

‘Nicholas, is this the fun of regression you were talking about?’

I remembered what Nicholas had said to me with a pleased expression in my past life.

‘Kang Shin Hwa, you were a pretty ‘pathetic’ guy with the number 35 in the Nine Lords, but you know you’re the companion who gives me the most sense of accomplishment, right?

It’s so much fun to nurture you.’

‘You bastard…… I miss those days, though.’

I remember him making such an arrogant expression and even patting my head like he was dealing with a child.

I also remember getting angry at him, saying, ‘Am I your puppy?’ and slapping his hand away.

Anyway, I was really happy to see the Priest’s growth with my own eyes.

On the one hand, I felt reassured because I felt like a future worker who would replace me had been born.

“It seems like the confirmation is over, so let’s all go in. Remember, this isn’t a monster-dense dungeon, so it’s absolutely advantageous for us.”

“Hyungnim [a respectful term for older brother or senior], don’t worry about healing. I, Han So Joon, will make sure you don’t have to worry for a single moment.”

“I’ll make sure to quickly check the smaller monsters one-on-one without being greedy.”

As soon as I changed the atmosphere, Han So Joon and Yoon Byeol clearly emphasized their respective roles.

Clearly, the dungeon’s rank and level itself were high, but the monster distribution density was low.

In other words, it was a place that suited our tendency to prefer individual combat rather than group battles.

Once we enter.

We need to prepare three large materials and eight small materials before facing the boss monster, Krud.

This is a prerequisite for Krud to create the Flower of Transcendence unconditionally.

Since the combination is so tricky, no Awakened has ever known this condition and taken the flower from him.

Since the eight small materials can be obtained quickly, we plan to go for a speedrun in the beginning.

“Okay, let’s go! Let’s quickly attack the south first on the first day. You all know why, right?”

“Okay!”

That’s how the attack began.

* * *

Boss monster Krud is at the northern end, but Shin Hwa and his party swept through the southern area as soon as they entered.

The companions were surprised and amazed by the scenery, which was quite different from the dungeons they had experienced, and moved forward.

In particular, Shin Hwa steadily collected fruits that looked like black apples from the ‘Tree of Transcendence,’ which resembled the World Tree [a mythological tree central to Norse cosmology].

‘Seriously, Shin Hwa is something else. I’m amazed every time I see him.’

Choi Ji Hyuk shook his head at the spectacular battles Shin Hwa showed throughout the attack and diligently assisted him.

The Tree of Transcendence was not just a towering giant tree.

It was a kind of tree ‘human.’

It checked all uninvited guests who approached and had the incredible power to twist and strike with numerous branches and stems.

To what extent was its power? It struck a house-sized rock with the end of its stem and split it in half.

If you apply the rock to a person, it’s very easy to predict the result.

From the start, the Tree of Transcendence, which had buffs all over it, was not a target that could be attacked.

So Shin Hwa avoided a head-on battle and dodged the attacks here and there.

Even though dozens of branches, estimated to be dozens, were entangled and flew haphazardly.

Shin Hwa dodged them all with amazing dynamic visual acuity and acceleration of movement.

‘Where did he get such talent? I feel a sense of awe every time I see Shin Hwa…….’

Choi Ji Hyuk sincerely admired and admired, even mentioning the ‘awe’ that was going around, using slang.

Meanwhile, at the same time.

‘For sure, my senses have improved a lot since I’ve been fighting steadily. If I quickly get two Flowers of Transcendence and finish the brain remodeling for sure…….’

Shin Hwa was making his own estimates while avoiding the barrage of attacks from the Tree of Transcendence.

In fact, it wasn’t easy for even ordinary Awakened to think about other things during battle.

However, it wasn’t that difficult to do his own multitasking when he was sure he could avoid the opponent’s attacks.

The higher the top-level dungeon with overwhelmingly high rewards, the more important it is to perform ‘multiple calculations’ like now.

Of course, ordinary Awakened don’t bother to worry about responding to these multiple attacks.

That’s because they can just increase the number of attackers from the start.

Right now, there’s only one person, so all the stems of the Tree of Transcendence are only targeting Shin Hwa.

If there are 30 people, the attack is likely to be dispersed into 30 branches.

Or some people miss it, creating a gap.

But this is a completely incompatible method for Shin Hwa, who is aiming to maximize profits and growth with a small elite group like now.

Moreover, quantity over quality was also a poor strategy that greatly hindered the qualitative growth of individual Awakened.

‘One way or another, I need to get the Flower of Transcendence quickly.’

Shin Hwa made sure to motivate himself again.

Unlike other body remodeling, brain remodeling didn’t have a high success rate just because the body condition was at its best.

If possible, I needed a safety device that could aim for 100% guaranteed remodeling success.

If I aimed for a shortcut and failed the brain remodeling, it wouldn’t be a simple failure, but I would become an idiot.

‘Is this the last one?’

A black fruit came into Shin Hwa’s eyes. It was the eighth material.

Once I get this, I’m done securing the eight small materials I thought of earlier.

After that, all that’s left are the three large materials, that is, the materials obtained from the three types of intermediate boss monsters.

“Guaaaa!”

The Tree of Transcendence screamed as if it would never let the fruit be taken away and shook its body here and there.

Slice!

Shin Hwa easily separated the fruit from the branch using his right arm, which he had transformed into a sword blade.

The branch was so thick that it couldn’t be easily cut, but it wasn’t that difficult for Shin Hwa.

“The rear is the problem.”

The companions were struggling because of the swarm of toothed mantises that kept gathering near the Tree of Transcendence.

Of course, the three people, who had recently been working hard and had their skills at their peak, were maneuvering and checking without much damage, but there were so many mantises.

I was reminded of the old days.

I had to deal with toothed mantises even in the early days of my regression.

At that time, I still needed to punch at least once to kill one, but.

“It’s different now!”

Whoosh!

Shin Hwa kicked off the Tree of Transcendence and floated into the air.

Wilson, summoned from subspace and already heated up, was in his left hand.

Swoosh.

Looking through the identification glasses he had put on in the meantime, the toothed mantis swarm was a bonanza of dimension stones.

A total of 100.

Their bodies were firmly filled with dimension stone cores.

It’s true that earning hundreds of millions has become a daily routine, but that doesn’t mean I’ve forgotten the value of money.

If you earn it, you’ll have a place to use it.

“Haaap!”

Paang!

With a shout, Shin Hwa threw Wilson forcefully to the ground.

A left-handed fireballer from hell!

It was a precisely aimed strike towards the toothed mantis swarm with 100% control, containing all the skills of his prime.

Kwaaa!

“…….”

The companions who confirmed Shin Hwa’s Wilson flying with a roar took a leaping stance.

All of this was a movement promised through training.

“Kiek?”

“Kisit?”

The toothed mantis swarm did not understand the reaction of the three people who suddenly flew their bodies to the outside.

But that was only for a moment.

The moment they saw Wilson colliding with the ground, their thoughts changed 180 degrees.

Koo-oong!

As soon as Wilson, containing a huge amount of magic power, collided, a shock wave from the explosion spread out in a circle.

Until they received the shock wave spreading in the shape of a donut with their bodies, they tilted their heads, wondering what that was.

Swaak! Swish!

“Kieeeet!”

The expression of the toothed mantis, who witnessed its close relatives exploding like firecrackers in order, changed rapidly.

It wasn’t just a simple shock wave!

It was a shock wave of death that would burst ‘them’ like balloons as soon as it touched them.

But unfortunately, the judgment was made in a state where the body had already passed the situation where it could react.

Boom! Boom! Paaang!

Eventually.

The colorful fireworks of a hundred toothed mantises exploding here and there surrounded Shin Hwa and his party.