I’M A Max-Level Regressor [EN]: Chapter 78

Chapter 78

Thud!

Squeak!

Unfortunately for the Leaf Squirrel, its leap ended when I reached out and grabbed it.

Of course, it wasn’t stupid, and immediately bared its sharp fangs.

Clang!

But it couldn’t pierce my skin, hardened with Steel Enhancement.

In that state, I squeezed my grip and pressed down on its neck with all my might.

Squeak!

The Leaf Squirrel died.

Its rank was around D-rank.

Considering this is an A-rank dungeon, it’s a weakling at the bottom of the ecosystem.

‘Certainly, this thing is repulsive the way it looks.’

Unlike its name, the Leaf Squirrel had a bizarre appearance.

Its fur was all black, and its face was deeply sunken inward as if it had been crushed.

Its appearance went beyond that of a typical squirrel, so it wasn’t endearing at all.

No wonder it took so long in my past life for an Awakened to drink the Leaf Squirrel’s blood.

Even then, it was considered useless because it had no synergy effect for ordinary Awakened [individuals with supernatural abilities].

“Byeol-ie.”

“Yes?”

“Go ahead and take care of the Leaf Squirrels. They’re weak, so they’ll die if a dagger even grazes them.”

“Okay.”

The strategy of targeting the Leaf Squirrel’s weaknesses was mentioned early in the briefing.

Thanks to that, Yoon Byeol-ie stepped forward without any particular questions.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

She skillfully slashed through the Leaf Squirrels.

Before her two daggers, worth 10 billion won [approximately $7.5 million USD] on the market, the Leaf Squirrels were like fallen leaves.

Just then.

“Father?”

I carefully called out to the priest. Then, the priest, who was drinking water to quench his thirst, came running.

“Yes, Shin-hwa.”

“Byeol-ie and I will go ahead and clear the path, so please follow us and drink as much of the Leaf Squirrel’s blood as possible.”

“……Pardon?”

“Leaf Squirrel blood is very effective for increasing magic power. I eat almost anything, but I hate blood.”

I nonchalantly set the stage.

I already knew, but I didn’t want to act like I knew the priest was a vampire until he told me himself.

Because it’s the dark side he wants to hide the most. I wanted to wait until he opened up.

“But if it’s good for increasing magic power, shouldn’t Shin-hwa drink it?”

“This is my dungeon, isn’t it? I can always get it. So, this time, I’ll prioritize the priest.”

I left those words so the priest wouldn’t add any unnecessary comments and ran forward.

From now on, we just need to systematically attack the dungeon up to the boss monster.

It’s the perfect dungeon for me, who prefers short battles, as it’s not a dungeon with monster legions or groups.

Since I have to keep ‘Over Powering,’ a quick attack is out of the question.

But if I exhaust all my magic power.

And then rest enough to recover the exhausted mana, repeating the pattern.

I should be able to attack the boss monster without any problems.

“Haa.”

Just then.

I didn’t turn around, but I heard the priest’s voice, panting and trying to suck blood.

If he continues to suck blood, there will be a dramatic change in his magic power reserves.

I was so nonchalant, continuing to provide for my future team member.

* * *

Fallen leaves. Wave-like offensive. Smooth sailing.

The three-person attack, well-suited to these three keywords, continued without a hitch.

Shin-hwa was certain.

With just himself, Choi Ji-hyeok, and Yoon Byeol-ie, an A-rank dungeon was as easy as pie.

Of course, it was impossible to attack non-stop from start to finish like a rampage.

That wasn’t because Shin-hwa’s skills were lacking.

It was because Shin-hwa’s concept, which was to use maximum firepower for every attack, consumed mana too quickly.

So, it was necessary to take short breaks in between, which caused natural delays.

‘Father Choi Ji-hyeok and Shin-hwa seem to have figured out how to maximize their efficiency by utilizing each other.’

Yoon Byeol-ie’s judgment, who participated directly in the battle and sometimes watched from a third-party perspective, was accurate.

Shin-hwa didn’t show it, but he considered it a great achievement that Choi Ji-hyeok had realized his ‘usage’.

‘It’s so comfortable. I can concentrate on the role I want and am confident in, so I feel lighter than usual.’

Yoon Byeol-ie was also really excited to be fighting throughout the dungeon attack.

Of course, she couldn’t deny that she was benefiting from Shin-hwa’s overwhelming firepower, but she was happy that she could do her part.

‘He reduced the variables. Shin-hwa is confident that he can cover everything as an all-rounder, so he’s making the others do perfect division of labor.’

Shin-hwa didn’t explain it in detail, but it seemed clear that he had a plan, judging from the way things were going.

It was also a method that was completely opposed to the ‘diversification of all agents’ that KSA [Korean Special Association] emphasized every time.

‘I like this method. Tanking or long-term battles are things I extremely dislike…….’

Nothing has been decided yet, but she felt very comfortable just knowing that she could follow Shin-hwa’s orders.

Shin-hwa didn’t demand more fighting spirit or damage dealing than necessary, and allowed her to focus on her strengths.

‘Should I…… join?’

Was that why?

Yoon Byeol-ie was becoming more and more tempted by Shin-hwa’s subtle suggestion to join the team.

* * *

Some time later.

Roar!

What greeted me in the final section was a Lycanthrope, that is, a boss monster in the form of a werewolf.

His name is Libanis.

In my past life, when I learned how to hunt werewolf-type monsters, he was always used as a good teaching material.

“If I catch him, I’ll eat the Flower of Rebirth, give the blood to the priest, and give Yoon Byeol-ie the gallstone.”

It was wishful thinking, but I had already finished distributing the spoils in my head.

The blood and gallstone were spoils that were of no use to me, so even if I gave them to the two of them, I wouldn’t lose anything.

Rather, I could gain trust and faith from them, so it would be a profit, wouldn’t it?

Libanis’s rank is S.

With the priest’s support, he’s a worthy opponent in either a short-term or long-term battle.

“Byeol-ie, please take care of the mobs that appear on the outskirts of the area as briefed.”

“What about the boss monster raid?”

“You’re excluded. A legitimate exclusion.”

I smiled and made an X mark with my index fingers towards Yoon Byeol-ie.

Being from the KSA [Korean Special Association], she seemed to have an ‘obsession’ that she had to be involved in every situation.

This is probably due to the KSA’s policy of requiring various performance capabilities from all agents.

This is also Chief Lee Ha-sung’s unwavering stubbornness that will never change in the future. Well, it’s not my place to worry about that.

“Let’s go!”

I started sprinting towards Libanis, who was already rushing in from the front.

Libanis is a typical tanking monster with high endurance.

In other words, his ability to withstand attacks is excellent, and he is the type to kill awakeners by dragging them into a long-term battle.

He has many advantages in terms of stamina and strength, but even so, he is no match for high-powered attacks.

“Come on, you son of a bitch!”

Roar!

Libanis roared and stretched out his fist towards me with all his might.

The flower of brute force is indeed a punch!

He must have reigned as the king of this dungeon with the nickname ‘Nuclear Punch,’ so it’s only natural to take out his main weapon.

“If that’s the case, then I’m all in too!”

Without any hesitation, I also confronted his punch in the same way.

Clench.

I strengthened all the connecting parts of my right hand, wrist, elbow, and shoulder with modification.

And then I finished modifying my teeth early on. I’m going to taste what werewolf meat tastes like for the first time in a while.

The next moment.

Pow!

Exactly, fist met fist!

The intersection of power created by me and Libanis was completed. Everything was put into the fist.

Ugh……!

The one who groaned immediately was not me, but Libanis, who had rushed in even more aggressively than me.

He was too focused on me, and so he overlooked it.

He overlooked the fact that the priest had already set up a ‘Swamp of Despair’ at the point where he would arrive.

The stupid guy was so engrossed in me that he coolly stepped on the black mat created by the Swamp of Despair.

At this point, he can be treated as an extremely unintelligent guy.

A guy who makes the werewolf label feel embarrassing. You can just call him a wolf.

Thump!

Whoa!

Libanis gripped his limp right arm against his will and made a painful expression.

Flash!

I, who had already leaped in advance, had already arrived behind Libanis.

And without hesitation, I bit down hard on the back of his neck.

If you evaluate it based on the simple strength of the outer skin, it has durability comparable to steel.

Unfortunately, my teeth are weapons that chew, tear, taste, and enjoy even hard steel bars.

Crunch! Crunch crunch!

Keheok!

Libanis screamed.

No wonder, half of the back of his neck was suddenly torn off, so it would be even stranger if there was no reaction.

“Wow… Libanis. Don’t you wash? Why does it taste so salty just by touching the outer skin with my tongue?”

Thwack!

I immediately spat out the flesh because of the unpleasant taste that I couldn’t even hold in my mouth.

Then, I clung to Libanis’s neck again, where blood was flowing profusely.

This time, I was going to inject ‘Poisonous Saliva’ and ‘Tracking Saliva’ into him at the same time.

This was to prepare for when Libanis uses his unique talent, ‘Stealth,’ when his life is threatened.

If I apply tracking saliva, his appearance will be visible as if a fluorescent substance is glowing, even if he uses stealth.

Since I can continue to track him with my eyes, it’s like he’s doing useless things.

Trickle.

Soon, as saliva flowed into the deep wound, Libanis trembled.

Poisonous saliva immediately induces paralysis and causes irregular blindness at the same time.

From the victim’s point of view, it’s the worst situation where they can’t even move their body, and what they see is not very good.

Right then.

Puff! Puff!

Libanis twisted his body as if struggling and repeatedly spewed out breaths of dark red light through his mouth and nose.

‘It’s suffocating smoke.’

It was his obvious repertoire.

It’s smoke that penetrates deep into the lungs when inhaled and neutralizes the activity of the lungs to nearly 0%.

So, many awakeners who face Libanis inhale this smoke and die screaming.

Gurgle……?

Libanis had a question mark on his face at my appearance, which didn’t even flinch even though I had inhaled the smoke.

Is it because of the cognitive dissonance created by the situation where he should be overwhelming, but he is being overwhelmed instead?

Libanis couldn’t even think of controlling his increasingly paralyzed body.

“This isn’t the time to be impressed, is it?”

Shhh!

I immediately transformed my right arm into the form of a long sword emitting energy.

Time is short, and there are countless things to take care of.

I didn’t want to waste time playing house with him.

Flower of Rebirth!

The acquisition of a reward more rare than winning the lottery was right in front of me.