I’M A Max-Level Regressor [EN]: Chapter 73

Chapter 73

‘As expected, Shin-hwa is amazing.’

Throughout the training, Choi Ji-hyuk was deeply impressed by Shin-hwa’s movements.

Although he was only a D-rank Awakened [a person with superhuman abilities], his eye for detail wasn’t lacking.

He had watched countless combat videos of Awakened individuals, even earning a scolding from his colleague Kim Hwan-duk for studying them through videos.

Clearly, the battles of high-ranking Awakened were flashy and diverse, but from a third-person perspective, they had many flaws.

However, their exceptional power easily overshadowed those shortcomings.

But Shin-hwa, compared to the high-ranking Awakened in those videos, moved with such simplicity that it was overwhelmingly free of unnecessary actions.

Simply put, there wasn’t a single wasted movement.

His experience in battle was extraordinary for his young age, and each attack was devastating.

‘Why is someone like him interested in me? Does he really think my ability will shine someday, like Father Pedro said?’

“Father, focus!”

“Ah, yes! Understood!”

Just as Choi Ji-hyuk’s unique ‘low self-esteem’ sensor was activating, Shin-hwa brought him back to attention.

Without even turning around, he pinpointed the break in the flow of the debuff [a weakening effect], which seemed to be caused by a momentary lapse in concentration.

‘Aside from the rough application of debuffs due to lack of experience, Father definitely has the basics. This is also a natural talent.’

Meanwhile, Shin-hwa was pleased with Choi Ji-hyuk’s continuous support.

The Swamp of Despair, which drastically reduces defense.

The Curse of the Dead, which continuously slows the target’s movements.

Even the Chaos Sight, which constantly causes visual distortion and erratic interference.

All these combinations were executed so quickly that Shin-hwa could follow more than 90% of them, if not 100%.

He could clearly feel the time he had spent practicing alone. Shin-hwa knew it well.

‘But this is not enough. The variables in a dungeon are not just one.’

Just then.

Shin-hwa, who was positioning himself to face a newly appearing virtual monster, quickly dodged to the side.

He was checking Choi Ji-hyuk’s reaction.

“Hoo-cha……!”

‘So, he wasn’t just watching me. Father, you were really concentrating with all your might?’

Choi Ji-hyuk was seen throwing himself to the side with all his strength to avoid the attack.

The characteristic of support-type ranged dealers like debuffers, healers, and shamans is that they only look at the target they are supporting.

Because their dependency is strong, they often suffer sudden deaths when variables occur.

That’s why Shin-hwa was watching his reaction speed, and Choi Ji-hyuk’s response was faster than he had imagined.

“I’m sorry, Shin-hwa! The debuff was interrupted during the evasion!”

“It’s okay. You dodged well.”

“I was momentarily flustered, and my concentration on the debuff broke! Ugh……. How embarrassing.”

“You could have died, Father! It would be weirder if you were still concentrating in that situation!”

“Ah……. Is that so? Ha, haha.”

Shin-hwa burst into laughter as he watched Choi Ji-hyuk scratch the back of his head sheepishly and smile brightly.

“Okay, let’s go again! Focus! Focus!”

Shin-hwa spurred Choi Ji-hyuk on.

There was still plenty of training time left, a lot.

* * *

Some time later.

‘The two of them have good chemistry. It’s like they know how to use each other. The Giganos that appeared according to the settings was definitely SS+ rank, but they managed to land a solid hit.’

Based on the recorded content, Jung-hoon was quite surprised by the teamwork between Shin-hwa and Choi Ji-hyuk.

First of all, his statement that Shin-hwa was a ‘disciple’ was not wrong.

He really was someone from whom there was much to learn. His defense and evasion were even more outstanding than his attacks.

Defense and evasion, which Awakened individuals consider several times more difficult than attacking.

However, Shin-hwa seemed to find these two things much easier.

Moreover, Choi Ji-hyuk, whom Shin-hwa brought as a training partner today, was also skilled.

At first, he thought a clergyman had arrived because he kept calling him Father, but he was an Awakened with a debuff talent that contrasted with his kind-looking image.

Currently, debuffers are not well-regarded in the Awakened world.

This is because the duration of the debuff talent itself is not long, and their self-preservation ability is significantly low.

And if they cannot handle their abilities precisely, they can create the worst-case scenario of debuffing their allies.

For that reason, Jin Bo-mi, who uses debuff-type magic in the Yanghwa Guild, also had a hard time in the past.

The current her was a culmination of Jin Sung-tae’s unwavering investment and renowned teachers.

But this Father, who seemed like an outsider no matter how you looked at him, was skillfully assisting Shin-hwa.

In other words.

It seemed like Shin-hwa knew 100% how to utilize this Father.

Just then.

‘Is he preparing to stand on his own?’

Jung-hoon suddenly had that thought and jumped up from his seat.

The intensity of the training was high, and the level of the rented facility was also high, which was more than just training with an acquaintance.

And if it was training because he needed to improve his skills, he would have called a Yanghwa Guild executive, not Choi Ji-hyuk.

‘Team…….’

The word that suddenly came to mind was that. Was Shin-hwa trying to form his own team?

If that were the case, the Yanghwa Guild would lose Shin-hwa, the guild’s best ‘issue maker’ and talent.

‘I need to meet the Master.’

Jung-hoon carefully called Seo Ye-hee from a corner of the observation room.

As Jung-hoon’s intuition had almost always been correct, it was an instinct he could not ignore.

* * *

Afterward, Shin-hwa and Choi Ji-hyuk completed a full six hours of training.

Shin-hwa leisurely engaged in combat, carefully checking his alteration abilities while pacing his stamina.

The problem was Choi Ji-hyuk.

The moment the notification sound rang, signaling the end.

“Kuh-heok……!”

Choi Ji-hyuk made a gasping sound and collapsed in the center of the training room, limbs outstretched.

His rapid breathing mingled with the cold air of the training room, creating a hazy breath.

“It’s really amazing. Father’s basic stamina is higher than I imagined. Impressive.”

Shin-hwa offered sincere praise.

Even though Choi Ji-hyuk’s talent as a ‘debuffer’ may have been ignored.

It was clear that he had been doing basic stamina training as an Awakened to an unparalleled extent.

Especially his endurance and agility.

Although it was rough, it was clear that he had been training steadily in his own way.

“Haa, haa……. Honestly, I’m very happy right now. No Awakened has ever utilized me like this before. Haa.”

“You were a great support, Father.”

“I saw everything. Even when my technique missed, I saw you adjusting the monster’s position to compensate.”

“It just happened that way.”

“No. I’m not so oblivious that I wouldn’t notice. Haha.”

Choi Ji-hyuk’s smile was filled with admiration and respect for Shin-hwa.

It had been a long time since Choi Ji-hyuk had tensed up and sweated so much in training, just like in a real battle.

Also, Shin-hwa actively utilized him to nearly 100%, which greatly boosted his self-esteem.

It felt like he had met a soulmate. He could confidently say that there was no Awakened who could utilize him as well as Shin-hwa.

‘He has outstanding abilities as an Awakened, a righteous personality, and even a caring heart for others. He’s someone I really want to work with. It would be an honor to work with him!’

Choi Ji-hyuk was completely smitten with Shin-hwa.

It was like seeing a ray of bright light in his lonely and frustrating Awakened life over the past 10 years.

Meanwhile.

Shin-hwa printed out the results from the control center and handed them to Choi Ji-hyuk, who was lying down.

“Looking at the entire training session, it shows that Father would have died three times in a real battle.”

“Th-Three times? Not just once or twice! I’m really sorry. How embarrassing.”

Choi Ji-hyuk couldn’t understand the contents because the results were written in such detail.

But Shin-hwa, who knew how to interpret the data, skillfully continued.

“It seems that the maximum firepower I can produce on my own is S+. But in the records…”

“Yes. Please tell me.”

“Although the duration was extremely short, there were some instances where you produced firepower close to SS+ rank.”

“Does that mean my support was somewhat helpful?”

“That’s right. When you combine my physical abilities with Father’s debuffs, the synergy goes that far.”

“SS+ rank!”

Of course, there were also SSS rank and EX rank above that.

But for Choi Ji-hyuk, who was D-rank, it was a world he couldn’t even dream of, and a strange mention of alphabets.

“Shall I tell you something even more amazing? What do you think the average rank of the monsters we trained against was?”

“Well, my impression was that it was around C-rank, except for some of the high-ranking monsters that occasionally popped up.”

“Wrong. It’s A-rank! The average of the monsters we fought was A-rank.”

“Huh? I’m only D-rank, but I fought in a dungeon with an A-rank average? That’s impossible……”

“Why would I lie here? At this level, it’s not wrong that Father died three times, but that you did so well.”

“……”

“Also, if I hadn’t deliberately let the monsters through to put Father in danger, you wouldn’t have received a death penalty in the first place.”

“Really?”

“The alphabet written in red at the very bottom is the average of the overall statistics.”

Indeed, the alphabet A was written at the bottom of the results that Shin-hwa pointed to.

It was deeply moving.

Of course, it was mostly thanks to Shin-hwa, but it felt like the confidence that had always been lacking in actual combat was being filled.

“Thank you. Shin-hwa, thank you! I want to become stronger than I am now and be of help to you. I really mean it!”

“The training participants can record the training video and then discard it. I’ll also get you today’s training video.”

“Oh! Really?”

“It’s not for nothing that Yehwa Training Room is the best facility in the country. Then, how about a real battle with me soon?”

“I’ll go anywhere Shin-hwa calls me! Please, just call me!”

Choi Ji-hyuk’s motivation, with his greatly increased confidence, seemed to pierce the sky, and Shin-hwa gave him a warm smile.

He was a person full of positive energy 10 years later, and it was no different 10 years ago.

Thus, the short but intense training of the two ended.

It was a time of certainty where they experienced each other’s explosive synergy with their own eyes and bodies.

Three days passed quickly.

February 13th, dawn.

Based on the license issued during the sparring at the KSA [Korea Superhuman Association], Shin-hwa completed a solo run of the K-9183 dungeon.

It was a move to absorb the magic storage ability into his stomach by consuming the meat of the boss monster he had been aiming for.

Everything from start to finish was perfect. However, the problem was.

“Wow……. When am I going to eat all this?”

It was the size of the Black Hook Boar, which seemed much larger than the combined size of three adult men.

He had to eat all of this to lay the foundation for absorbing the ability.

It was time for a full-fledged mukbang [an online audiovisual broadcast in which a host eats large amounts of food while interacting with their audience]!