I’M A Max-Level Regressor [EN]: Chapter 88

88

Poof!

I immediately charged into the Gray Hagweed colony.

“Kyaa-shii!”

As if sensing a human presence after a long time, the entire colony fluttered its petals and stalks, expressing a frenzied energy.

The ones with red stalks.

They are usually called the leaders.

This is because, unlike the non-toxic yellow stalks, being bitten by them can be fatal.

Waduk! Jjiek!

The yellow ones bit at me eagerly from all directions.

I tried to avoid them as much as possible using my Acceleration talent, but I couldn’t dodge all the teeth of the hundreds of them.

Shaaah. Shaaah.

I could feel Han So-joon moving busily at the entrance, precisely measuring the distance to deliver heals.

That’s his strength.

The ability to accurately predict the path, no matter how far away, and stably supply heals.

Most healers deploy highly accurate healing from a distance of about 1 meter to minimize variables.

But Han So-joon excelled in his calculation ability to accurately ‘deliver’ healing orbs even from 10m or 20m away.

That’s why I coveted him.

Originally, I was planning to meet him a little later, but I expedited the meeting because a healer was essential due to the nature of the dungeon.

Currently, with the team composition of the debuffer priest and the assassin Yoon Byeol, our positions don’t overlap, so he’s the best target for recruitment.

Whoong! Kwang! Whooong!

Meanwhile, the Kalarkill, controlled by Marina with her silver threads, quickly followed the route I had taken.

And it began to mercilessly crush the Gray Hagweeds that were focused on me.

Since it was a monster that had already become a corpse, its combat power didn’t decrease even if it was bitten or torn apart.

Right then.

Keushahah!

The leader appeared.

From both sides of the route I was moving on.

‘First, I’ll take the initial hit.’

I watched the guy who was moving his stalks intricately, plotting to bite my body accurately.

The guy, who was swaying his stalks left and right like a snake, saw that I was standing still without moving.

“Kyaa-shii!”

Thinking it was an opportunity, he stretched out his stalk in an instant and bared his angry teeth at me.

His height was 3m, but his body, which stretched like a rubber band in an instant, closed the distance of nearly 6m in one go.

‘Steel Enhancement.’

I immediately responded with Steel Enhancement.

As my whole body hardened, my mobility decreased, but it was an impregnable fortress that couldn’t be penetrated by clumsy teeth.

Kaching! Chiing!

The leader’s teeth, which spat out something that was either sap or saliva, futilely grazed the cold metal.

The next moment.

Hwaeack!

I immediately released Steel Enhancement and grabbed the petal of one of the leaders who was trying to return to his original position.

Since it was stretched due to elasticity, it was a natural scientific principle that it would return to its original position.

Keusishii!

However, the process was not smooth.

The other plants guarding the leader focused their attacks on me all at once.

‘Dark Iron Explosive Fist, Chapter 5: Jin Fist.’

I gathered my magic power and activated the Jin Fist, a thunderous strike, as it was.

And the moment I used the grabbed leader’s petal as the central axis and powerfully thrust out my fist.

Kwarreureung!

A thunderous sound exploded, and the shockwave of the Jin Fist spread in all directions.

A strike that greatly reduces the defense of everyone caught in the shockwave.

This is extremely fatal when in a dense formation, which is exactly what the Gray Hagweeds were in.

Kugugugu!

All the plants within the range of the Jin Fist swayed from side to side.

It wasn’t obvious on the outside, but if you looked closely, you could see that the tough stalks had become ‘tender’.

Swaeack!

Kihyaaaaaaa……!

I used my right arm, which I had transformed into a saw blade, to first cut off the leader’s flower.

Normally, the blade would have been half-embedded in the body.

But with the stalk’s defense reduced by more than 50% due to the Jin Fist, there was no way it could withstand it.

‘Now is the time.’

I immediately kicked off the ground and jumped into the middle of the colony.

The duration of the ‘defense reduction’ from the Jin Fist is not very long. So, a short-term victory was essential.

Kwack! Kwaack! Kwaack!

As I had entered the tiger’s den, it was only natural to be bitten by the tigers.

The yellow ones bit me hard from all directions. I felt pain, but it was bearable enough.

Besides, when I checked behind me, the healing orb that Han So-joon had accurately launched was flying towards me.

‘Then!’

I rotated my body at high speed in place.

By maximizing the rotation using the Acceleration ability, and since my right arm was transformed into a saw blade.

It was practically like becoming a living mixer.

Seogeok! Seogeok! Seogeok!

Every time I madly cut down the stalks while rotating at high speed, the Gray Hagweeds screamed and fell.

The upper part of their stalks was like the neck of a person, so if you cut it off in one go, there was no way to survive.

Toouk. Toouk.

Flowers that had lost their owners fell like rain from all directions, and the flowers that had revealed their greedy teeth withered in an instant.

Shihii!

In the meantime, there were some who cleverly stretched their stalks and aimed for my head and neck.

‘I see them.’

But most of their movement paths were predicted.

Of course, as much as it combined the Transcendence talent with brain modification, it wasn’t possible to perform very precise, large-scale multiple calculations.

Predicting the movements of about twelve was enough with the talent gained from the Flower of Transcendence.

And.

Shwaaaaaack!

I drew a line in the air with all my might.

At first glance, it may seem like I made a meaningless gesture in the empty air.

But in fact, I cut the predicted path.

Peuseuseut!

It was clean.

The stalks of all twelve Gray Hagweeds that aimed for my neck were cleanly cut in a single strike.

Kwajik! Kwajik!

As I created a mess, Kalarkill, Marina’s ‘puppet,’ also unleashed tremendous brute force.

The synergy was good.

The guy who entered following the path I had cleared grabbed and tore the stalks roughly, following Marina’s touch.

Kyasha!

At that time, another leader plant spat out thick saliva and bared its teeth, aiming for me.

Kkaang!

The teeth of the guy, who didn’t have the ability to ignore even steel, were once again blocked by my Steel Enhancement talent.

A path was opening up on this route, which I couldn’t even dare to challenge unless there was an Awakened [a person with supernatural abilities] with Fire talent.

* * *

At the same time.

‘He’s not just stupid and ignorant, he’s very strategic. He’s ignoring the small wounds he can somehow handle and only avoiding the big ones.’

Han So-joon was constantly surprised.

At first, he thought that Shin-hwa was just pushing through recklessly, but when he looked closely, that wasn’t the case.

From the beginning, Shin-hwa was using a strategy of ‘giving up flesh and taking bones’ [accepting minor losses to achieve a greater victory].

This was something that inevitably happens in battle, but it was only possible if you were prepared to endure the pain that is difficult to get used to.

In other words, it was a matter of mental strength.

Because there is a world of difference between screaming in pain and having your concentration scattered, and enduring and concentrating.

Shin-hwa was the latter.

Numerous drops of blood splattered all over his body, but he didn’t even let out a single groan.

Thanks to that, Han So-joon was also able to concentrate solely on Shin-hwa’s healing without being shaken by external factors.

‘Interesting, interesting.’

A smile was constantly on Han So-joon’s face without him even realizing it.

He felt the reward of healing someone for the first time in a long time.

It wasn’t just meaningless consumption of stamina and receiving healing after being injured.

It was because healing was needed as a result of strategic judgment.

Qualification and value to receive healing.

Han So-joon thought that Shin-hwa perfectly met his picky standards that he had been thinking about.

‘Every drop of blood he sheds, every particle of magic power I use for healing, every movement that gives meaning to everything.’

He was proud.

Shin-hwa didn’t presumptuously ask what Han So-joon’s healing should be like or how to adjust it.

He just trusted him completely.

It was also an attitude that could never be shown unless he trusted himself from the beginning.

Even at this moment, Shin-hwa was moving busily.

He perfectly minimized his movements, stopped at locations where a wide range of strikes were needed, and swept away the surroundings in an instant.

Restraint and destruction.

It was a battle where two concepts that are difficult to coexist were together.

At that moment.

“…….”

Shin-hwa and his eyes met.

Shin-hwa nonchalantly wiped away the blood flowing down his shoulder and raised his thumb towards him.

‘Kang Shin-hwa, I think you are qualified enough to receive my healing. Please continue to prove it in the future. I hope you continue to stimulate me.’

Han So-joon shook his gloved right hand from side to side with all his might, showing a reaction to Shin-hwa.

As Awakened versus Awakened after a long time.

Han So-joon was happier than anyone else because he was having an experience that made his heart flutter.

* * *

20 minutes later.

The route at the center of the colony was cleared.

I focused solely on the leader guys from beginning to end and completely ignored the rest.

The strategy was successful.

I entrusted the loss of stamina and injuries entirely to Han So-joon.

The division of labor, where I left the yellow guys, whose aggro [short for “aggression,” referring to drawing the enemy’s attention] was completely on me, to Marina, was also effective.

“It’s like a tractor has plowed a road through the middle of a vast cornfield.”

When I looked around carefully with satisfaction, there was indeed a wide road spread out.

A road about 8m wide was straight.

Just 30 minutes ago, this place was densely filled with Gray Hagweeds.

Now, all of them had their stalks cut off, and their flowers and petals were shriveled and scattered on the floor.

“This team play is really to my liking.”

Everything was clean because of the combination of Han So-joon’s almost infinite healing power and Marina’s follow-up processing.

In particular, it was a great advantage for me that I could concentrate solely on the battle without worrying about stamina and injuries at all.

Self-centered battle.

It was the best condition for me, who likes battles where everything revolves around me.

Jooook! Jook!

I sucked the sap from the stalks of the Gray Hagweeds, which had become cold corpses.

And I put it in a special container that I had brought in subspace in advance.

If I have the sap of these guys, a 50% Awakening effect will be added to the highest-grade magic power potion in the future.

It’s not as effective as an Enhancement Potion, but it’s like recovering magic power and acquiring an Awakened state at the same time.

“Honestly, I never expected that a road would be opened up like this here.”

“Amazing, really.”

Marina and Han So-joon, who had followed me behind, looked around the area that had become a field and said.

“A road that is made is not the only road. Sometimes you have to know how to pioneer it yourself.”

“But the risk is great.”

“From the beginning, I thought that the composition of the three of us was enough. Well, as you can see, it went as planned.”

“This has shortened the travel route by at least a day. Besides, two of the hell sections in Zone B are free passes. Then… in fact, we’ve gained about three days!”

Marina pointed out the ‘profit’ we had made in a timely manner.

If we hadn’t chosen this path, we would have had no choice but to choose a detour.

Besides, we would have had to advance like slowpokes while dealing with ‘garbage monsters’ that never give spoils.

“Good. Let’s go straight in. Let’s go all out to the entrance of Zone C by today. Ah, before we leave, let’s collect the sap of those guys without leaving any behind.”

I diligently put sap into the container, and then put more.

Even though this all seems like useless liquid, if you convert it into money, it’s the contents that are worth billions of won per bottle.

Many a little makes a mickle [a large amount can be accumulated from small contributions]!

There was really nothing to throw away in this dungeon.