I’M A Max-Level Regressor [EN]: Chapter 52

52

“To meet separately?”

“No. I heard that Kang Shin-hwa’s guild will soon hold an information session about top-grade magic potions.”

“You mean that dream potion that restores 100% of magic power.”

“Not a single bottle has been released to the market yet. Everyone is saying it’s nonsense, but would a place like Yanghwa Guild seriously announce a joke as news?”

“You came for business as well.”

“Yes, Grandpa.”

“By the way, the energy I feel from you has become quite strong since I last saw you.”

“As expected, Grandpa Hwang is sharp! That’s right. I became an S+ rank last month. I broke through the devil’s *gugan* [hurdle/section].”

“Congratulations!”

“By the way, Grandpa Hwang, why don’t you tell anyone your rank? You definitely have talent since you awakened… I heard you haven’t even gotten your Awakener license?”

“Huhu, I don’t want to get caught up in worldly affairs. It’s comfortable living like this, making suits.”

“Grandpa Kintetsu said that Grandpa Hwang is definitely at least an SS rank or higher!”

“Well, if you only count the amount of alcohol I drink, I’m definitely SS rank! I drink four or five bottles a day as a matter of course.”

“Hoh ho ho.”

“Ha ha ha.”

The conversation continued in a friendly atmosphere.

“Marina, are you planning to meet Kang Shin-hwa after the briefing?”

“Yes. I’m curious. I didn’t come on behalf of ‘Team Osaka.’ I came with interest from another side.”

Team Osaka.

It was the name of the guild she belonged to, one of the leading guilds that always maintained the Top 3 in Japan.

“If not Team Osaka… then it must be WSA.”

“Well, you could say that?”

Marina nodded.

Like Shin-hwa, she had a mercenary-like contract, so she had freedom of action.

Domestic activities were done under Team Osaka.

Overseas activities were done as a member of the World Awakener Association, WSA’s Asian region.

She had two business cards.

“If KSA knows that WSA is interested, they won’t like it?”

“Originally, there are no borders when it comes to recruiting talent. Isn’t it all about money in the end? If you don’t have money, you don’t deserve to have talent.”

Marina answered with a smile.

But right then.

Ttagak. Ttagak. Ttagak.

The sound of someone walking up the rather steep stone steps could be heard.

“It’s not that I don’t do night business, but I don’t usually get customers this late at night.”

“Maybe they need a suit urgently? I’ll have a cup of coffee while I wait. Is that okay?”

“Relax in the reception room. You don’t have to worry about the guest.”

No sooner had he finished speaking than Marina went into the reception room, and soon the door opened and the guest entered.

“Ah…?”

Hwang Seok-cheol’s eyes widened when he saw the guest’s face.

It was Shin-hwa, the subject of their conversation until just a moment ago, who had appeared before his eyes.

“Hello?”

“Ah, Mr. Kang Shin-hwa?”

“I’ve only been here once, but you remember my name. As rumored, your memory is amazing!”

Shin-hwa greeted Hwang Seok-cheol politely with a happy expression.

It was an expression of respect for the craftsman from the bottom of his heart.

Shin-hwa had attempted many productions in his past life, but he couldn’t match Hwang Seok-cheol’s skills when it came to suits.

The golden tower of production he had built was too high and superior to follow with just fighting spirit and passion.

‘Kang Shin-hwa…?’

Speak of the devil.

It seemed that Hwang Seok-cheol had called out Shin-hwa’s name loudly enough for her to hear.

Marina, who was making coffee in the reception room, came out in a hurry at the unexpected appearance of a precious guest.

“Wow! I can’t believe I’m meeting a super rookie whose stock is soaring through the roof here?”

At that moment.

“Hara Marina…?”

“…You know my name?”

Shin-hwa, who immediately recognized her identity, blurted out her name without realizing it.

Hara Marina.

She, who was a member of the Nine Lords [elite group of Awakeners], was in Korea on February 2, 2020, now!

* * *

‘Marina, why are you here?’

That was the only thought I had when I saw her.

Based on my memories of my past life, the point at which I meet Marina is seven years later than now.

When I met her through Nicholas’ introduction, Marina was a huge mountain that I couldn’t overcome.

At that time, I was a rookie who had just begun to study and develop my talent from the bottom up.

She was good at what she did and six years older than me, so she treated me like a younger brother.

It was like she became my older sister and took care of me in many ways.

Like taking care of a snot-nosed little brother who couldn’t do anything without her.

“Ah, I used to be interested in the Japanese Awakener community. I happened to see your name.”

“Really? That’s a little strange. Most Awakeners don’t even know what organization they belong to, but you know their names.”

Marina’s Korean was fluent.

Sometimes the pronunciation of words with *batchim* [Korean final consonant sounds] was a little awkward, but it was still close to native speaker level.

Anyway, I understood what she meant.

Marina uses the alias Ayase Yuzuha. In short, she is a person with many secrets.

When she uses the name Marina, it is usually only when she is doing personal business or performing secret missions.

Therefore, knowing her real name meant that you knew deep information about her.

“I have a lot of reporter connections here and there. I’m sorry. I should have pretended not to know.”

“It’s not a big deal for paparazzi… Well, whose fault is it for knowing? It’s the fault of the person who couldn’t hide it.”

Fortunately, Marina didn’t seem to care much.

She was just trying to hide her identity appropriately, not trying to bury her name in the dark altogether.

The mistake of calling her familiar real name in my excitement was thus concluded as a minor incident.

“Are you making suits now?”

I immediately changed the subject.

I mustn’t forget the purpose of being here.

Then the old man Hwang asked back.

“Should I make it like the last suit?”

“Yes, please make it the same.”

“By the way, Mr. Kang Shin-hwa, about the crafting methods you told me before. Micro-stitching and dimensional stone crafting.”

“Yes.”

“As you said, I applied them all to the subsequent productions, and the customers’ reactions were all favorable. The performance actually improved as well.”

“Really? I’m glad.”

“I sincerely thank you. As someone who considers suit making my vocation, it is a very touching thing to develop one step further.”

“No. I didn’t say that with that in mind.”

“If Mr. Kang Shin-hwa is okay with it, I would like to give you a reward in the name of consulting fee…”

“It’s okay. I didn’t say that with that in mind.”

“Then I will make this suit for free.”

“I said it’s okay.”

“Please allow me to repay you.”

“Mr. Kang Shin-hwa, Grandpa Hwang is more stubborn than you think. If you keep refusing, he will keep talking until you are persuaded.”

“…Then I will gratefully accept it.”

I saved money unexpectedly.

Of course, the old man Hwang was not a person who made suits to make money.

He has been working as a suit-making artisan for the past 10 years, and he has accumulated a lot of money.

In the end, it’s a matter of heart.

I was grateful for the old man Hwang’s heart to somehow express his gratitude.

“It will take some time to make it, so please relax. Marina was waiting for a guest.”

“Me? How did you know I was coming here?”

“Coincidence made today’s meeting inevitable. Hahaha.”

The old man Hwang headed to the workshop with a smile that was hard to understand.

Thus, Marina and I were left facing each other in the lobby of the workshop, in an awkward atmosphere.

‘Her eyes are really burdensome, now and then.’

Marina’s gaze, scanning me with interested eyes, was very seductive.

If Jin Bo-mi is a lively tomboy.

If Yoon Byeol-i is a cold city woman style.

Marina was closer to a bewitching and voluptuous type.

Her age is thirty this year.

Considering her social position and age, her style and appearance, where ease and experience coexist, could be seen as natural.

“Mr. Kang Shin-hwa, I am planning to attend the briefing hosted by Mr. Kang Shin-hwa’s guild tomorrow.”

“Ah, you must have come because of the top-grade magic potion sales.”

It was a meeting where coincidences overlapped, but if what she said was true, it seemed that we were destined to meet tomorrow anyway.

“That’s right. That’s the official reason, and there’s a separate personal reason. I was originally going to ask for a separate meeting after the briefing tomorrow, but the time has been shortened?”

The wink she sent was unusual.

Smoky style makeup.

And her coordination, unified with a leather jacket and leather skinny jeans, was full of her own personality.

“Personal reason, let’s hear it.”

I nodded.

Now, if you say one thing, I know ten.

I felt like I knew the purpose right away.

I also felt like I knew why she came to Korea.

Perhaps Hwang Seok-cheol had contacted his Japanese connections. Because he is a person with wide connections in various countries.
Hara Kintetsu, who is an ordinary person like Jin Seong-tae but runs the Team Osaka guild as the owner of a company.

It was not difficult to guess the connection between these three people.

Because I have a clear memory.

This must be a small perk of being a regressor. It is possible to quickly infer causal relationships through information.

“How about WSA?”

‘She throws a straight ball coolly.’

She threw away things like euphemisms or exploratory battles early on and went straight to the point.

Marina works for both Team Osaka and WSA.

And she also has access licenses to high-end, rare dungeons owned by WSA.

License code SS.

In other words, all dungeons below SS rank can apply for conquest without any restrictions.

‘If it’s a dungeon owned by WSA, the choice of flowers that I can directly target becomes much wider.’

It’s not for nothing that it’s the World Awakener Association. It is a higher organization than the Awakener Associations of each country, so its influence is also strong.

Marina, the manager of the Asian region, taking an interest in me was something that should never be overlooked.

But WSA is a more complicated organization than I thought.

It is a transnational organization, but at the same time, there are also internal factions, and the biggest problem is.

‘There is a traitor.’

Like the Black Cross Society in Korea, or the three major corrupt forces in China, it is connected to criminal organizations in each country.

It is a gathering of talented people, but the inside was as dirty as a mud puddle.

“If you have done a prior investigation about me, you would know that I hate being affiliated.”

“That’s right. I know. I’m the same way. I have an affiliation, but paradoxically, I don’t.”

“Then what exactly do you want from me?”

“Mr. Kang Shin-hwa, I didn’t just come to you for the potion. The battle at Sinchon Station, the appearance that wasn’t intimidated by Mok Jin-woo, and even the K-1004 dungeon conquest.”

“……”

It’s surprising, but it’s not a new information gathering ability. WSA’s information power is beyond imagination.

In the case of the K-1004 dungeon, they would have checked that I had finished the conquest through the external screen.

Since I, an official D+ rank, conquered an A+ rank dungeon with my colleagues, there must have been a singularity.

“I will give you WSA’s Guest status. How about trying to work as a taster without any burden?”

I want to make money, I want to grow quickly, and I want to covet more dungeons to do that.

The devil’s temptation that strongly grabs my heart has begun.