I’M A Max-Level Regressor [EN]: Chapter 42

Chapter 42

‘I already have the Steel Enhancement talent, so there’s not much use for it.’

Even though I gained a new ability by eating the chopsticks, its utility was very low. That’s because I have a better ability to replace it.

Anyway, the key point is that the modified tongue and stomach can now create special linked effects.

The principle is simple.

When you eat something, the tongue analyzes the primary information about what you’ve eaten.

Then, when it enters the stomach and is digested, it uses the analyzed information to determine the degree to which it can be embodied.

Suitability was an indicator that confirms whether you can absorb abilities from what you’ve ingested.

‘One more thing.’

I decided to do a more thorough check while I was at it.

It was difficult to obtain useful abilities from stainless steel chopsticks in the first place.

I cut off a small piece of the baby Madillo’s calf muscle, summoning it only slightly through the subspace entrance.

Most Awakened people find it disgusting and don’t eat Madillo meat, but in fact, there’s no delicacy quite like this guy.

Of course, there might be concerns about parasites or bacteria, but if cooked well, there’s absolutely no problem.

Sizzle. Sizzle.

I placed the Madillo meat, cut to about half the size of my palm, on the frying pan.

Then, I lightly seasoned it with seasoned salt and spices.

The flesh quickly cooked in the heat, and in just a few minutes, it was at the perfect level to eat.

Munch munch. Smack smack.

I threw the meat into my mouth in one bite and started chewing diligently.

The tongue moved the meat around, coating it with saliva for digestion, diligently performing its task.

[Baby Madillo Meat]

[Information analysis complete.]

Through the brief status window.

I could tell that the primary information analysis was complete on the tongue.

Then, passing through the esophagus, the meat that entered the stomach began to be rapidly digested by gastric juices.

[Intake: Baby Madillo Meat]

[Suitability: 92%]

[You can use mana to increase the skin’s defense power by 10%. This change is valid for 30 seconds. Cool time: 10 minutes]

‘Suitability 92%, that’s decent.’

At this level, it could be said that embodiment is possible in most cases.

Suitability generally increases for the same target as the rank goes up.

In other words, the higher you raise the rank.

You can absorb the abilities of more difficult and unique monsters with a higher probability.

I immediately started embodiment.

Without any special procedure, all you have to do is infuse a little mana and think about embodying the ability.

Shaaaaa.

Soon, as a little mana was consumed, the Madillo’s defense enhancement ability began to be absorbed.

Pop!

I could feel a cool grain exploding in my head, so it was definitely a success.

[Tough Skin]

[Ability Medium: Baby Madillo]

New information was created.

The name of the skin strengthening ability obtained from the baby Madillo was named ‘Tough Skin.’

I immediately used mana to start manifesting Tough Skin.

Then, the next moment!

Crackle.

Scales resembling the Madillo sprouted from all over my body, and soon I felt them becoming tough and hard.

It wasn’t a very dramatic effect.

It was only useful as a lower-level alternative when there was no mana to utilize the Steel Enhancement talent.

It wasn’t a panacea, as it only increased defense power by about 10% as the numerical value indicated.

‘Still, the more crisis response options, the better.’

There’s no harm in having many abilities.

You can pick and choose and apply them as needed.

Anyway, this confirmed that the modified stomach was definitely performing its function.

Now, I need to clearly identify the target to absorb abilities from and target them.

More than anything, mana is important to me. However, I couldn’t try to modify it forcibly again.

Instead of modification, it was necessary to target a monster with excellent and special mana storage capabilities.

‘Was it the K-9183 dungeon in Cheorwon, Gangwon Province? The Black Hook Boar, which is the boss monster there, has considerable mana storage capacity.’

A suitable candidate came to mind.

The dungeon’s rank was A-rank, so it was worth challenging, and I was sure I had grasped the Black Hook Boar’s patterns.

That guy was such a reckless charging monster that I used him as a sandbag for various training in my past life.

But the problem is.

“This is owned by KSA?”

When I searched for information, the owner’s name was clearly displayed as the Korea Awakened Association, KSA.

I knew it wasn’t Yanghwa Guild’s dungeon, and I hoped it would be owned by another guild if possible.

Then I could pay a reasonable dungeon usage fee and run a raid once.

But as it is now, I have to request a license directly from KSA and get approval.

In normal cases, you can just apply and get approval.

‘It’ll be tiring if they play games, trying to bargain with me over my scout offer.’

KSA is more cunning than I thought.

There is a high possibility that they will deliberately delay approval and try to get me to come to KSA comfortably to do the raid.

This dungeon in Cheorwon will continue to be owned by KSA. There will be no other variables.

‘At times like this, it wouldn’t be bad to see Yanghwa Guild’s skills. I wonder how well they handle things with tact.’

I called right away.

The recipient was Jin Bo-mi.

She is my manager and claims to be my attendant, Slave No. 1. No. 2 is Jeong-hoon, who is in charge of the driver’s role.

-Oh! Mr. Shin-hwa!

“Ms. Bo-mi, let’s ask you for a favor.”

-A favor? I’d love to! Other people don’t matter, but Mr. Shin-hwa’s request is my top priority!

Jin Bo-mi’s lively voice was heard.

She was so energetic that I couldn’t believe she had been dying just a while ago.

“I’d like to ask you to secure a dungeon license, but there’s one condition.”

-Tell me, anything!

“Can it be approved under a borrowed name?”

The business and request were simple and clear.

* * *

Past midnight.

Shin-hwa turned off all the lights in the house and prepared to go to bed.

Jin Bo-mi usually gives an immediate answer, but this time she said she needed some time.

Anyway, Shin-hwa wasn’t planning to attack the dungeon right away, so he decided to wait patiently.

Borrowing a name itself is not illegal.

However, receiving a license is like a kind of ‘guarantee’, so you need to be careful.

What if Jin Bo-mi’s name was issued a license, and a problem occurred in the dungeon because it was not attacked in time?

Jin Bo-mi, the license issuer, would take all the responsibility.

Furthermore, depending on the case, she could have her Awakened license revoked and be imprisoned.

-Can I know the reason?

When Jin Bo-mi asked the reason, Shin-hwa told her honestly.

He said that he didn’t want to make contact with KSA. It also meant that he didn’t want to owe them any favors.

Anyway, after finishing the story like that.

Shin-hwa fell into a deep sleep.

In his past life, he had constantly researched ‘how not to sleep’, but unfortunately, he never found out this method.

How many seconds have passed?

“Whew.”

Shin-hwa, who had fallen into a deep sleep, was snoring and flew away to dreamland.

* * *

“…….”

I opened my eyes not because it was dawn, not because my smartphone was vibrating, and not because my dream was ominous.

‘There’s an uninvited guest.’

It was because there was a ripple in the magical power that I had spread out in a radius of 50m around the bed.

It was my old habit and a method that I had trained for a long time in my past life.

Usually, Awakened people install various safety facilities to ensure the safety of their residence.

From sensors that detect body temperature to systems that sound an alarm even with the slightest vibration.

In that way, they sought self-help measures to protect themselves from assassins or hostile forces who were trying to take their lives in various forms.

The problem is that, as the battle between shield and spear does not end, the means of intruders are also becoming more sophisticated.

Assassins pass through body temperature detection sensors by cooling their entire body, and they even buy out companies related to alarm systems.

There are always guys who fly above the running guys, and there are many Awakened people who are backstabbed and die screaming because they believe they are safe.

So, I chose to constantly scatter magical power widely in all directions while sleeping.

Although it is invisible, even the slightest sign of an intruder, breath, or even a small release of magical power.

That balance is broken, so I built my own system that allows me to immediately detect and wake up.

Of course, development was not easy.

It is very important to make it a habit because you must be able to constantly release magical power unconsciously even while sleeping.

So, even in my past life, I was finally able to put a stop to it when I reached the age of fifty.

‘The fact that there were so many guys who tried to kill me in my past life will help me this time too.’

I quietly got up.

This assassination attempt was nothing new, so I wasn’t embarrassed.

I’m just curious about who is trying to break into my house without permission.

‘It’s probably the Black Cross Society.’

It’s obvious without looking.

I quickly got out of bed.

In a fleeting moment, I saw a few special devices attached to the north balcony.

It was a device that neutralized the security detection system. A device that blocks problem signals and makes it recognize as if nothing happened.

‘It’s going to be annoying in many ways, including the problem of people coming to visit because of the scout, because I only have one house.’

As soon as I sort out this situation, I decided to ask Jin Seong-tae to find several usable houses.

Since Yanghwa Group is a group with expertise in Awakened security facilities, it will be easier to prepare as a package.

“…….”

First, I held my breath.

And soon, I looked for a way to lure the intruder who was expected to enter the house silently.

One good method came to mind among the various options. It was a method that I had fun with in my past life.

‘Empty-Empty-Solid-Solid.’

The final choice was confirmed.

* * *

At the same time.

‘Did he notice in the meantime?’

The assassin who secretly broke into Shin-hwa’s house, Park Sang-hyun, frowned.

There was no record of going out.

From the time the lights in Shin-hwa’s bedroom went out, he had been waiting for an opportunity without any sign for quite some time.

It was already 3 a.m.

It was a darker day than ever, as the dark clouds that had gathered since midnight were pouring rain.

Park Sang-hyun took a step.

Despite his heavy steps, there was no sound at all.

He was an Awakened person specialized in assassination, with the talent of ‘Silence’ that knew how to hide his presence and sound.

‘Is he a rookie? He doesn’t even have a decent detection system at home. Maybe he’s a guy who lives with his own ego?’

Park Sang-hyun took out a dagger.

It was a cruel weapon with a jagged blade that, when stabbed into the peritoneum [abdominal cavity], would cause the organs to be dragged out along the irregular blade.

Just then.

Park Sang-hyun turned his gaze to the magical power that was explosively felt in a small room in the corner of the penthouse.

It was a living, glowing flow of magical power that no one could hide that he was an Awakened person.

‘Is he aiming for a surprise attack from a blind spot? The attempt was good, but the method was wrong. He’s still a rookie.’

A smile appeared on Park Sang-hyun’s lips.

Among the many requests he had received, today seemed to be the perfect opportunity to make money most easily.

His level is A-rank.

Unless the opponent’s level is higher than his own, it was not a big deal for a professional assassin like himself to take the opponent’s life.

‘Everyone imagines a plausible counterattack. Until my dagger draws a red line on his neck…….’

Park Sang-hyun licked the side of the dagger with the tip of his tongue and secretly began the work of taking Shin-hwa’s life.

The target was in too obvious a place, clumsily hiding while revealing his presence.