I’M A Max-Level Regressor [EN]: Chapter 85

We departed from Incheon Airport at 3 AM and finally arrived at our destination around 7:30 AM.

Guam.

I had been here quite often in my past life.

Because there were many high-quality dungeons here, I had many opportunities to raid them.

Han So-joon slept soundly the entire way.

Marina tried hard to talk to him and act affectionately, but he seemed annoyed and only wanted to sleep.

After passing through the arrival gate, we took a car that Marina had arranged in advance and headed towards Ipan Beach.

That’s where our accommodation and the dungeon we were going to raid were located.

“Wow!”

“It’s a bit different from Korea, right?”

“Very different.”

“…….”

While Marina and I were talking, Han So-joon kept his mouth shut and looked around with a curious expression.

Since this area only had dungeons owned by the WSA [World Supernatural Association], he probably never had a reason to come here as an Awakened.

I admired the fancy buildings lining both sides of the street and said,

“Wow, this is amazing. It couldn’t have been easy to build an entire island into such a luxurious facility.”

“Isn’t it well-known that VVIPs [Very Very Important People] are very generous with their money to the WSA? Even I think Guam has a lot of dungeons, so it’s worth investing in.”

“I guess so.”

“WSA-affiliated Awakeners must be happy. They have good benefits and receive generous base salaries.”

Marina was using a pseudonym and hiding her affiliation with the WSA because Han So-joon was with us.

It was something we had agreed upon in advance, so I also played along with her lie.

“I guess so. You can tell just by looking at the golden boats on the beach.”

Everything around us was a continuous display of luxury.

On what appeared to be the main street, large air conditioners were installed in a row, even though it was outdoors.

It was called the ‘Cool Zone.’

A zone created so that people who dislike Guam’s unique hot weather can easily enjoy a cool breeze even on the street. In short, it was a waste of money.

This place, where luxury and extravagance were commonplace, was similar to the ‘Myth Land’ I dreamed of after retirement.

Of course, I want more cost-effective overspending than such meaningless luxury and waste.

But just then.

Thud! Thud!

A group of Awakeners was moving towards the dungeon’s gate nearby.

Judging by the fact that they were all wearing badges with the ‘W’ mark, they were all affiliated with the WSA without a doubt.

“Is everyone ready?”

“Yes!”

The conversation between the Awakeners, which was conducted in English, was easy for me to understand since I had no language barrier.

In my past life, I was fluent in Nas Continent language, Mugang Continent language, English, Japanese, Chinese, French, and Russian.

If you include the scope of everyday conversation, I can even speak German.

“Everyone, drink all the enhancement potions without leaving any! As soon as we enter the dungeon, start the raid quickly!”

‘Hmm?’

What they took out all at once was the enhancement potion I sold to the WSA.

Even the packaging was the same as when it was sold, with the original composition.

Soon, the Awakeners who drank the enhancement potion exclaimed.

“Wow! This potion definitely enhances combat power instantly, just like the VVIP said!”

“To be able to enhance so immediately without discomfort… It’s true that it’s a potion sent by God.”

“The guy who made it is really amazing!”

“If I could, I’d catch that guy and make him make potions in the basement while only feeding him fried dumplings!”

Not knowing that the person in question was watching from behind, they all gave generous praise.

Marina shrugged her shoulders and gave me a look as if to ask if I felt good.

Of course, I felt good.

However, I thought they would test it themselves or take time to examine its effectiveness, but it seemed they supplied it to the field right away.

“Is everyone ready?”

“Yes! We’re perfect! Just give the order!”

“Let’s go! Let’s finish it quickly with the juice! Let’s smash it in 30 minutes!”

As soon as they consumed it, the group of Awakeners shouted and rushed into the dungeon.

I witnessed the scene of the potion I made quickly permeating into the lives of Awakeners around the world.

* * *

During the free time given until the raid scheduled for dawn the next day, we each took a break in our own way.

First of all, the prior briefing on the U-S93 dungeon was conducted under Marina’s leadership before the break.

Marina smoothly presented the information, saying that it was data she had received through the WSA’s connections and cooperation.

I listened to Marina’s words, cross-referencing them with my past life’s knowledge of the dungeon.

There were no lies, and there were no details hidden.

However, she did mention some monsters that should never be confronted—so-called avoidance targets.

But I insisted that I would definitely raid them.

I said that if team play was uncomfortable, I would raid them alone.

The reason was simple.

They are rare species that can only be seen here, so I can’t acquire the materials right away and alone.

Because it is one of the essential materials that must be available when I produce other products in the future.

Anyway, after finishing the detailed briefing, we each took a break.

Han So-joon locked himself in his accommodation early on.

Marina left, saying that she had a meeting with WSA officials in Guam.

So I was enjoying a walk along the beach, where the sun was shining under the clear sky.

At that time.

“……Huh?”

I saw a cat walking aimlessly along the white sand beach.

There are many stray cats who have lost their owners or been abandoned, so it’s not a particularly special sight.

But the cat’s appearance looked familiar.

‘Shami?’

It was certain.

Shami is a cat that came from the Nas Continent, not Earth.

To be exact, it was a case where a human became an animal due to the curse of the black magician Rechelo.

The reason I remember her is one.

Because in 2025, the Rechelo gang will cross dimensions as Earth is connected to the Nas Continent.

At that time, Rechelo detonates several ‘time bombs’ that he sent to Earth in advance.

He releases the restraints on the mediums that contain the source of the curse deep within their bodies and bones.

As a result, all the Awakeners and people within a radius of several kilometers are corrupted and become Rechelo’s minions.

Or, as an abnormal surge of dimensional energy occurs, outbreaks occur in various places.

It was literally a living hell.

Shami was a medium of curse that Rechelo sent with the guise of a friendly animal in such a way.

Of course, the person in question may not even know that such a curse is implanted in her body.

“…….”

I carefully walked towards Shami. But the moment my eyes met hers as I approached.

Whoosh!

She started running away.

She was so fast that she was more like a cheetah or a leopard than a cat.

But now I have modified legs that can increase instantaneous speed to over 200 km/h [kilometers per hour].

Swish!

I immediately followed behind Shami.

The sound of air violently spreading in all directions was a bonus.

“Wow……?”

“Pe…… Person?”

People who were walking on the beach pointed at me and looked surprised, but I didn’t care.

‘I have to catch Shami.’

Even if it’s not now, she will become a seed of death in the future due to Rechelo, regardless of her will.

I was very frustrated during the investigation process because I didn’t know her initial whereabouts at the time.

In this era of my past life, she lived as a stray cat in Guam, so it seemed that no one could recognize her identity.

“Stop! Shami, I know you!”

I desperately shouted in the Nas Continent language towards Shami, who was running away.

I can say with certainty that no one on Earth would be able to understand this language unless they were monsters related to the Nas Continent.

At that moment, Shami stopped.

It would be a welcome voice for her, who had not been able to communicate properly with anyone until now.

-You…… know me? Who are you? There shouldn’t be anyone who can use Nas language in this cursed world.

What Shami sent to me was not a voice, but a kind of telepathy that was heard in my head.

In order to respond to telepathy, you must maximize the brain’s ability to utilize it.

It is natural that not only ordinary people but also Awakeners cannot communicate, and only those who have eaten the Flower of Transcendence like me can communicate.

-I can do it.

-How can you? Are you from the Nas Continent?

-No, that’s not it…… Shami, I know for sure who you are.

-So I’m asking how you know that. Did Rechelo send you to kill me?

-Wait! Stop! Okay, I’ll hold my hands up like this. So don’t be too wary.

-Don’t come near me.

-Okay. I’ll stay here.

Shami’s existence was important.

Even if I don’t prepare separately.

Later, when Nicholas regresses, it was necessary to hand over Shami.

Because she is the starting point of the ‘Hell Gate’ that opens as the Nas Continent and Earth are connected in 2025.

To prepare for future disasters, she must be with us as a research or surveillance target. Definitely.

Shami stared at me for a while and then asked in a slightly softened voice.

-How do you know me?

-The only royal family and princess of the Gradia Kingdom, which was annihilated by Rechelo. After being captured by the black magician Rechelo, she was cursed and became a cat, and was forcibly abandoned beyond dimensions!

-No way……. You look like an Earth person no matter how I look at you.

-I can see your future! And your past and present!

A conversation that seemed like it would run parallel for a long time.

In the end, I made a bet.

* * *

From then on, a marathon conversation continued.

I revealed everything I knew about her, and thanks to that, I was able to gain some trust.

Only then was I able to finally take Shami back to the accommodation.

Throughout the conversation, I didn’t reveal the fact that I was a regressor, and I talked as if I had talents such as future vision or past vision.

The nuance is a little different, but in the end, the meaning is similar, so I didn’t think it was a particularly wrong story.

-Apart from the fact that I became a cat, Rechelo implanted a curse in me?

-That’s right.

-So that curse will manifest later as I connect with the Nas Continent, regardless of my will?

-You understood correctly.

-Haa…….

Shami sighed deeply as if the ground was sinking.

-There is someone who can definitely help you. Let’s stay with me until that person comes.

-What are you going to do to me?

-What am I going to do? I’m going to provide a safe place to eat and live. What am I going to do to a cat?

-…….

-If you don’t like it, you can live on this island forever, rummaging through garbage, or licking up the leftovers of abandoned canned tuna.

If I didn’t know, I wouldn’t have cared, but I couldn’t just pass by the ‘disaster’ that appeared in front of me as if to show off.

For me, the only option is to volunteer to become a cat butler, even temporarily.

‘Anyway, what is this damn situation where work is piling up even if I stay still…….’

Looking at Shami, who was glaring at me with an expression that she couldn’t trust me, my head also became complicated.

A cat butler who is not in my destiny.

The door to hardship has been opened wide.

* * *

Early the next morning, after feeding Shami plenty of cat food and snacks that I got locally, Shin-hwa, who had secured the doors and windows, headed straight to the dungeon.

What to do with the cat Shami in the future was something I was going to seriously think about after returning home.

I caught her for now, but I didn’t have a next plan in my head.

What was fortunate was that, perhaps because she was too tired of living as a stray cat who had been starving and hungry, Shami was simply happy that she had a haven rather than suspecting him.

‘Let’s forget about Shami for a while! I’m going to make a fortune here. I have to work hard to make it and sell it again.’

Seeing the crimson gate flickering in front of me, Shin-hwa’s motivation was naturally springing up.

If the raid is successful, the minimum expected value is over 100 billion won [approximately $85 million USD].

The calculation is over.

All that remains is to quickly, accurately, and powerfully raid this dungeon in one fell swoop.