I’M A Max-Level Regressor [EN]: Chapter 181

181.

Unidentified, unknown, mysterious, secret, wondrous.

These kinds of modifiers are among the words that excite me.

Perhaps it’s because, as a Regressor, most things fall within my realm of knowledge.

Of course, not knowing something implies uncertainty and anxiety.

However, it also provides a fresh thrill in a life where everything usually goes according to my plans.

The news Shami brought was just that kind of thing—news that sparks curiosity and interest!

Let’s head out.

Meow!

Chloe, the stray cat who had been waiting for Shami, greeted her happily.

Shami stroked Chloe’s head repeatedly, and the cat seemed to enjoy it.

I quietly followed the two.

The Dimensional Gate was farther from the house than I thought.

I had to go near a construction site where redevelopment was in full swing, about 1 km away from the house.

When Shami and Chloe arrived, they quickly went down the open manhole.

‘Is the Dimensional Gate in the sewer? But if it’s in an easily discoverable location, someone might report it,’ I wondered.

With some doubts, I continued to follow Shami.

How far did we go?

An old sewer appeared, seemingly at least 50 or 60 years old, not a modern one.

‘Ah, they didn’t bother to touch the old sewer when they built the new one, so they left it as it was.’

I’d heard that sewer construction is often done this way. The old sewer was well-built and sturdy, so there was no need to disturb it.

-Ugh, the smell! Cough! Cough!

Shami coughed several times because of the disgusting smell that was inevitable in the sewer.

Having spent my previous life rolling around in countless filth and piles of corpses, I wasn’t particularly fazed.

“Shami, Chloe, are you okay?”

-Yeah! It’s just a bit of a strong smell, but I’m okay! More than that, I want to take Shin-hwa there quickly!

“What does Chloe say?”

-If it’s a useful Dimensional Gate, she wants me to share some special Churu [a creamy cat treat] with her! The reward has to be big! she says!

Ah… I see.

Well, what could be a bigger reward for a stray cat than delicious food?

Thinking from her perspective, there couldn’t be a more perfect reward than special Churu.

We went deeper than I thought.

It was a location that you would never find unless you were very interested in the city’s underground world.

I was glad that I remembered all the maze-like forks we passed; otherwise, I wouldn’t have known how to get back.

-Shin-hwa! Here! It’s here!

“Where?”

-Here, to the left, you dummy! Where are you going?

I lost my way for a moment, and Shami even called me a dummy.

Strange. It seems like I used that modifier on Nicholas not too long ago.

Anyway, as Shami said, the moment I entered the left fork…

“Ah!”

I could see it.

A Dimensional Gate with a light green color, emitting its unique dimensional energy.

Without a doubt, this was a one-time-use dungeon, a dummy dungeon.

Even though a new Dimensional Gate had appeared, there was no outbreak, and the color was unique.

Besides, it looked similar to the dummy dungeon I had attacked in the Bukdaejeon Black Zone before.

-Right, this is it! A new Dimensional Gate! A wondrous place, right?

“Yeah, that’s right. How on earth did you come all the way here and find something like this?”

-Chloe is the boss of the underground! She knows the geography of the city’s sewers inside and out!

“You’ve really done a great job! You’re amazing, Chloe! Then, can I go into this Dimensional Gate?”

I politely asked for the consent of the first discoverer, or rather, the first discoverer cat.

Even though she’s a cat, she’s still the one who discovered this new world.

Meow! Woof!

Then Chloe began to rant, throwing punches into the air with her front paws.

My exclusive translator, Shami, immediately translated.

-She wants you to kill all the bad guys inside in a cool way! And she wants you to promise her special Churu!

“Okay. After the attack is over, promise her that as long as Shami stays here, I’ll give her a handful of Churu every day.”

Then Shami continued to whisper in Chloe’s ear in a sweet voice.

Meow!

-She likes it very much! She’s happy to accept the deal!

“Okay. Shami, Chloe, thank you so much for your hard work. It’s dangerous inside, so I’ll go in alone.”

-Shin-hwa, I hope I didn’t bring you useless information?

“Not at all. This kind of special dungeon is exactly what I wanted. Thank you for finding it.”

-I’m happy that Shin-hwa is happy!

“I’ll finish up quickly and get out. Wait for me at home or in the park. Okay?”

-Okay! Then we’ll go right away?

“Go quickly. Staying here any longer will only make your fur smell bad.”

-Shin-hwa, you have to come quickly!

“I told you not to worry. Go on.”

Shami and Chloe quickly walked away with triumphant expressions.

I was really grateful.

I never thought that awakening Shami would bring me such unexpected luck.

I plan to continue to think about and create ways to use Shami in the future.

In particular, I had recently ordered her to talk to all the wild animals in the area.

There might be another ‘scapegoat’ like her who was cursed by Lecheros and exiled from the Nas Continent.

I intend to be diligent in collecting clues in any form.

“What could be there?”

With curiosity rising and my lips smacking, I moved towards the Dimensional Gate.

You can’t know until you go inside.

However, dummy dungeons usually have more pleasant surprises than dangerous ones.

Thanks to Shami and Chloe, I felt like I had discovered a treasure island and entered with a happy heart.

“Wow……”

What greeted me inside was an endless expanse of blue plants.

It wasn’t just useless plants like weeds fluttering around, but there were also quite a few meaningful plants.

On the other hand, there was no sign of monsters that would appear sensing the presence of an uninvited guest.

“A bloodless entry?”

Among the dummy dungeons, there was a low probability that there would be no monsters at all.

Or, the only monster residing inside the dungeon was the boss monster, an animal-type monster.

“Oh, Muscle Grass!”

The first thing I found nearby was Muscle Grass.

The official name was Artonas de Bellacavella… was it?

The name was so long that it was commonly called Muscle Grass in our country. It’s also an intuitive name.

“There’s more than I thought. With this amount, I could try muscle modification after eating it all.”

A good idea came to mind.

I had done various physical modifications.

Modification basically indirectly modifies the muscles of the corresponding area.

So I didn’t feel the need to specifically designate and modify only the muscles.

Above all, ‘Muscle Grass,’ the medium necessary for modification, was not easy to obtain.

It wasn’t sold on the market, so you couldn’t get it unless you attacked related dungeons directly.

“Most of my body is already strengthened by modification, but there are some muscles that are missing in detail.”

If I were to target all the muscles in my body, I couldn’t say that my current state was perfect.

Even if I estimate high, it’s about 50%.

In other words, if I perfect muscle modification…

Compared to the current state, I can definitely exert more than twice the strength. At least, that’s the minimum.

This is true overpower.

That’s because muscle modification hardly increases magic power, but it causes big changes in the body.

Looking at the rank alone, it will naturally remain the same, but the destructive power that the opponent will feel is definitely greater.

“Shami, you lucky charm!”

I couldn’t help but feel good.

I felt so grateful that she had found a stroke of luck that I couldn’t easily find.

Is it appropriate to call her a cat that brought good luck, like a swallow that brought a gourd seed [a Korean folktale reference]?

After joining me,

I was grateful that she didn’t grieve or be pessimistic about her situation and spent every day happily.

Crunch, crunch. Slurp, slurp.

I started pulling out the Muscle Grass at random and stuffing it into my mouth.

My modified stomach has plenty of digestive capacity, so even if I eat all the Muscle Grass here, it won’t even make a dent.

I can feel the unique spicy and pungent taste of Muscle Grass, but even that is child’s play compared to capsaicin [the active component of chili peppers].

I chewed and ate the Muscle Grass with the water I had prepared in advance, quickly turning the blue meadow into scorched earth(?).

After a while.

“Okay. The basics are definitely prepared. Shall we light the fire now?”

I started to attempt muscle modification, which had been delayed due to external factors.

Unlike other body modifications that are simple and quick,

Muscle modification is a safe but time-consuming task.

So I had to wait for my whole body to slowly change while infusing the magic power needed for modification.

Since I had to look around the dummy dungeon for exploration anyway, the wait wouldn’t be boring.

“Ugh……. It’s throbbing.”

As I moved, I shuddered as I felt each grain of muscle hardening.

I felt like strength was going into areas where it shouldn’t be going in the current situation.

The feeling of muscles changing steadily from the cellular level…

It was really good!

Because I could directly feel the feeling of getting stronger.

“Oh? This guy is here too?”

My gaze stopped at one place.

Herb Arkenes.

A herb that enhances concentration by at least 2 times while reducing pain by more than 50%.

It is a perfect natural herb that can simultaneously capture concentration enhancement and pain relief effects.

In fact, drugs with such effects are quite common on the market.

However, the problem is that all of these drugs are addictive and have very serious withdrawal symptoms.

In fact, there were many Awakened who suffered from withdrawal symptoms even after tasting the drug just once out of curiosity.

Arkenes is a natural and harmless herb, so it has no addictiveness at all.

Besides, if I make a mixed potion by mixing the plant Madonas and Gray Hagweed sap that I got in Guam before?

‘I can make a natural doping potion that includes the effects of awakening, concentration, and pain relief.’

A plausible calculation was made.

It seemed more suitable for team doping than for sale.

Since it is not addictive, there is no problem with the body even if you eat it indefinitely.

If I make and take a mixed potion, the combat power of our entire team will increase by at least 50%.

If you add the synergy of the enhancement potion… not only me but everyone can become overpowered.

And the biggest advantage is that there is no problem with the human body despite this doping.

“I won’t be able to finish digging this all day?”

Looking at the endless feast of rare plants, my heart was full and I felt majestic.

It was truly a bonanza!

I used my right arm, which I had transformed into the shape of a sickle, to cut down the plants diligently and started securing materials.

But right then.

-Who… is disturbing my eternal rest?

“Huh?”

Rumble!

The ground, which I had thought was a flat field until just now, suddenly began to shake.

And the guy I thought was just a towering tree…

Blink. Blink.

Started blinking his eyes.

“Damn it.”

I knew things were going too easily. It seemed like I had unknowingly touched the nose hair of a sleeping boss monster.