I’M A Max-Level Regressor [EN]: Chapter 22

Chapter 22

As Myth quietly annihilated the swarm of spider-people and moved on,

“Kee hee hee.”

Skeleton Archers, hidden in the darkness, sensed the intruder and emitted eerie laughter.

This was the route Awakened Ones entering the dungeon had to take to attack the boss monster.

The Skeleton Archers, nicknamed “Archers” due to their learning abilities, had set up a trap here.

They ambushed in places where light didn’t reach, filling the huge stone chamber with corpses. This chamber was a necessary passage to reach the boss.

The unique toxic gas emitted as the monsters’ corpses decayed turned the stone chamber into a deadly space.

The sharply increased carbon dioxide and rapidly decreased oxygen caused entering Awakened Ones to collapse.

It was a clever trap.

Consequently, there were quite a few corpses of Awakened Ones who had lost their lives scattered about.

The Archers’ morale was high.

The reason this dungeon hadn’t been cleared recently was because the Archers’ trap was so effective.

“Hmm…”

At that moment, an uninvited guest was seen standing at the entrance of the stone chamber with his arms crossed.

The Archer Captain gestured for silence, and everyone quietly stared at him.

Then, after placing a poisoned arrow on the bowstring, they prepared to fire at any moment.

Flame of Terror Bow.

This was the unique talent of the archers guarding this dungeon.

The moment the arrow hit the target, it triggered a type of bow magic that caused a huge flame to erupt.

Once it penetrated any part of the body, it would ignite a fire using the mana in the body as a medium.

Awakened Ones unfamiliar with this phenomenon sometimes called it the “Mana Burn.”

Step.

Creak.

As the uninvited guest took a step, the archers began to pull their bowstrings back even harder.

Soon, that uninvited guest would grab his neck and complain of pain, or experience dizziness.

It was an experience all Awakened Ones who had visited this place had gone through as a rite of passage.

Among them, Awakened Ones who were quick-witted or had good evasion skills ran away alive.

Awakened Ones who were slow to react became permanent residents, without exception.

The archers were greatly encouraged by the fact that they were killing intruders who recklessly entered their territory with 100% accuracy.

This time as well.

Moreover, unlike the past when they came in teams of at least four or five, today there was only one person.

If anything, there were fewer people to target, which the archers seemed to find disappointing.

Right then.

“Cough!”

“Heh heh heh.”

As expected, the uninvited guest who had stepped a couple of steps inside grabbed his neck and groaned.

The moment had come.

How could he be so foolish!

“Kuh!”

The Archer Captain, confident that the uninvited guest’s fate would be no different from the others, immediately gave the attack order.

Peeping! Ping! Ping!

Dozens of arrows flew towards him in parabolas from the darkness.

These were poisoned arrows containing various toxins, including corpse poison, so even a graze could cause paralysis.

Right then.

Flick!

The torch on the ceiling that faintly illuminated the inside of the stone chamber was extinguished by something.

However, the archers did not panic and silently continued to fire arrows continuously.

Teing! Teing! Ting!

“……?”

But something was strange.

Clearly, if they had hit their target, there should have been a sound of flesh being pierced. Something like “Thwack” or “Thwish.”

However, a clear sound, like metal striking metal, echoed in the stone chamber.

And that sound quickly moved from the entrance to the center, and from the center to the passage.

In other words, it was right in front of them!

“Why, were you feeling good?”

“Kehk!”

Standing confidently before them was none other than the uninvited guest from before!

The stone chamber, as well as the place where the archers were waiting, was a place with very little oxygen.

It didn’t matter to the archers, who weren’t affected by breathing, but it was different for the Awakened Ones.

He was supposed to be gasping for breath and complaining of pain here, but for some reason, this uninvited guest was smiling innocently.

“Your bone powder is very useful. Good. Looking at your bones, they seem lively, so it’ll be great for broth.”

“Heek!”

A lively declaration of war.

A natural enemy had appeared to the archers who had been proud of their undefeated record!

* * *

Teing! Teing! Teing!

The panicked archers shot arrows at me incessantly, but it was useless.

This was because I had activated the talent I had obtained using the Steel Flower from Magos, Steel Enhancement.

It was a talent that consumed a lot of mana to maintain, but I could easily maintain it for 30 minutes with my current mana.

The talent itself was a mana-hungry hippo, but it was definitely worth it.

“Should I become an actor later? I pretended to be suffocating because of the lack of oxygen, and you guys were completely fooled and shot arrows diligently?”

Teing! Teing!

Thwack! Pow! Crack!

I leisurely blocked the poisoned arrows they were shooting and broke their necks one by one.

Skeleton-type monsters do not have a separate heart.

So, the fastest way to deal with them was to smash their cervical vertebrae or spine to prevent the connection of the skeletal system.

“Steel Enhancement is really a scam. It’s the opposite of archer-type monsters, as well as Awakened Ones, right?”

With a proud expression, I crushed the archers who were backing away in fear.

They seemed to have been so confident of their overwhelming victory that they were flustered and dying.

In fact, if it was a C-rank skeleton monster, the bones themselves would have various enhancement buffs.

But maybe it’s because I can raise my instantaneous firepower to B+ rank or higher.

They scattered with a rustling sound, like a Jenga tower collapsing, from my powerful punches.

The one-sided massacre ended in an instant. In the first place, Steel Enhancement, which I had, was a perfect counter to those who only believed in arrows.

Death was inevitable for those who had no way to overcome their weaknesses.

“As expected, the Mana Lungs and Heart are really the best at times like this. I don’t need a separate oxygen respirator.”

I stroked my chest contentedly.

The cardiopulmonary abilities enhanced by Modification help me breathe more, even in places where the air is thin.

Unless the place is completely filled with carbon dioxide, it wasn’t that difficult to endure for a few minutes.

A feeling of blocking your mouth and breathing through only one nostril?

It’s stuffy, but not to the point where I can’t stand it.

That’s the extent of the power of my cardiopulmonary abilities that I can exert even in these trap sections.

A place that is a place of death-like pain for someone becomes a space that is not very threatening.

Swish. Swish. Swish.

I carefully gathered the bone fragments of the dead Skeleton Archers in one place.

It was loot to be collected while returning after subduing Kale and obtaining the artifact.

Right then.

Kishishit. Kishishit.

The presence of a monster making a unique breathing sound was heard not far away.

‘Kale’s Watchman.’

I know who it is.

It was one of Kale’s subordinates, a scout he sent to the outskirts of the boss room where he was.

Because it meticulously scanned the intruder’s path, Kale often used it to set traps at or near the entrance.

It was smart, so it had its own appropriate countermeasures depending on the intruder’s movements.

‘Good. I have to look around several rooms to find Kale, but if he shows me the way, I’ll have fewer trials and errors.’

I quickly changed the saliva I had gathered in my mouth into the desired shape.

‘Tracking Needle.’

It was a needle with tracking ability.

There are four main forms that I can change saliva into.

Toxic Needle. Healing Needle.

Adhesive Needle. Tracking Needle.

What I was about to use this time was a Tracking Needle, a needle that could track the target’s trail.

The principle is simple.

The opponent with the needle on them continues to emit the unique mana emitted by the needle.

Since I can visually sense this, I can follow the trail by chasing after it.

To put it in perspective, it was similar to chasing after a wounded person who was bleeding and running away. Because traces remain.

Since I had already subdued the Skeleton Archers, I had nothing more to do here.

Whoosh!

With a powerful leap, I ran towards the watchman who was cautiously watching me from afar.

Kishishit!

The watchman’s response was also quite fast.

As soon as I moved, it immediately started running away.

But unfortunately, it was in such a hurry that it bumped into the wall once.

“Ptooey!”

Thwack!

The saliva I spat out with all my might stuck exactly to its butt.

The guy was startled and rubbed and shook off the saliva on his butt with his hands.

However, when there was nothing strange, he glared at me once, relieved, and disappeared somewhere like an arrow.

‘I can see it.’

Then, the guy’s movement path began to appear.

The modified eyes could follow the traces of my mana in the form of a faint emerald light.

And following the place where the watchman had passed, emerald traces remained clearly.

A color that would not be visible to ordinary Awakened Ones was only visible to me.

This was the fantastic synergy effect of the Tracking Needle and the modified eyes.

“Then, shall we get some comfortable guidance?”

I quietly started following the watchman who had run away in a hurry.

As expected, people have to use their brains.

* * *

There were constant battles, both large and small.

Whenever it was quiet, C-rank monsters that appeared from somewhere blocked the way.

‘Average C rank. If I increase the consumption of mana by more than 3 times, it’s B rank. Instantaneous high firepower is possible up to A rank firepower.’

This was the analysis I had made about the objective power of my strength, based on numerous monster sandbags.

In other words, I can easily subdue C-rank monsters if the consumption and recovery of mana are the same.

If I increase my firepower in a way that gradually reduces my mana, I can even deal with B-rank monsters.

And.

If I unleash explosive and powerful firepower and engage in short-term concentrated battles, I can cover up to A rank.

‘It’s no use. I still have a long way to go to S, SS, SSS, and EX. When I think about it, it’s even more ridiculous to talk about S rank on the 3rd day of regression.’

I looked at Old Man Hwang’s suit, which didn’t even have a scratch, and the artifact gauntlet, which was showing off its clean luster.

The overall condition was clean because the battle didn’t last long and ended in almost one-hit kills.

Usually, if you fight a difficult battle, not only the suit but also the artifacts are all mixed with the monster’s bodily fluids and blood, making them dirty.

“It took about an hour. Am I going to keep my word to Jin Bomi exactly?”

I looked at the electronic watch embedded in the wrist of the suit and made a satisfied expression.

I didn’t rush and only subdued the necessary guys, so it took an hour to get to the boss room.

“I’ll only get Kale’s Chaos [Presumably an item or skill] and then clean up my house at Byeongjeom Station. I should start buying Gorim Chemical stocks soon.”

There are so many things I want to do, things I have to do, and things to do, but it’s a shame that there’s only one body.

It would be nice to have a clone talent, but unfortunately, there was no way to get it now. I have to wait about 5 more years.

“Grrr…”

Soon, from the boss room located one floor down the spiral staircase, I heard the voice of a monster that seemed full of anger.

“Kale the Elusive.”

In the center of the underground great stone chamber.

There, he was waiting for me with poisonous eyes.