I’M A Max-Level Regressor [EN]: Chapter 91

Episode 91

Some time later.

‘What on earth is this…?’

Han So-joon was using the invisibility ring he received from Shin-hwa to hide his presence and safely cross the river.

He couldn’t conceal his energy completely, but the Icarites weren’t sensitive enough to detect Han So-joon’s identity.

Shin-hwa claimed to have a plan in his head but didn’t reveal it to either of them.

Thanks to this, Marina, who was waiting beside Shin-hwa, was constantly tilting her head in confusion.

In the meantime, they finished crossing the river.

This place was a location that the Icarites recognized as the boss’s territory and didn’t dare approach, so it was safe.

‘What’s his angle?’

Han So-joon carefully observed Shin-hwa’s figure across the river.

He wondered if Shin-hwa was planning to abandon him and run away in this state, as punishment for his past misdeeds.

But then, the invisibility ring he had just lent him was more valuable than he thought.

‘Well… if this is the alimony, I’m more than satisfied.’

Just then.

Shin-hwa began to cross the river with Marina.

And a little later.

Crashhhhh!

From the forest area around the river, a group of Icarites vigorously beat their chests and revealed themselves.

As expected of monsters with extreme stamina and strength, their entire bodies looked as if they were wearing huge armor.

They looked so tough that not a single drop of blood would come out even if stabbed with a sharp spear.

“……”

Han So-joon had no idea what Shin-hwa was aiming for, so he unknowingly sweated in his hands.

He was so nervous that he had to take off the gloves he was wearing, just from watching.

‘What’s with this suicide tactic? He’s not planning to kill us all here, is he?’

Han So-joon’s head was filled with question marks as he couldn’t figure out what was going on.

* * *

At the same time.

As soon as I started crossing the river, I smiled at the sight of the Icarite group that appeared as if they had been waiting.

There were quite a few of them.

Roughly estimated, there were well over 100. At this rate, it was a bonanza in terms of experience points.

In dungeons, you gain experience points even if you don’t ‘directly’ kill the monsters with your own power.

You just had to kill the monsters within a certain radius, and I was aiming for that situation.

“Marina.”

“Yes?”

“You said you can move quickly, right?”

“I can! But it’s impossible with this Kalakill.”

“He’s all tattered anyway, let’s send him off together.”

“What are you thinking?”

“It’s better to know when you’re facing it than to know in advance.”

“Even though it’s obvious that we’ll be surrounded and killed by the Icarites in the middle of the river if we go on like this?”

“We won’t die.”

“……It’s scarier when you say that with such a bright smile.”

Even while saying that, Marina was following me.

It was a situation that didn’t make sense logically, but I guess I had built up quite a bit of trust.

It felt like she was trusting and following my strategies and tactics. Of course, I was confident.

“When I signal later, block the Icarites approaching me for exactly 5 seconds.”

“5 seconds? You’re not planning to throw me away and run away in the meantime, are you?”

“If I was going to abandon you, I would have abandoned you in the Gray Haghid nest. What a great place to kill you outright.”

Marina looked horrified at my bright smile as I rattled off the possibilities.

I guess the joke was a bit too much.

‘My magic power is sufficient.’

Magic power in a fully charged state.

If necessary, I could use the auxiliary magic power stored in my heart, the ‘auxiliary battery’.

The preparation was complete.

Crasha! Crasha!

The Icarite group, sensing human presence and filled with murderous intent, approached, forming a siege.

There were no gaps in their formation.

Even if I were to leap 50 meters, they had formed a formation to ensure I would be within their attack range.

They were telling me that the answer wasn’t soaring into the sky unless I could sink into the ground.

Gulp-.

I heard Marina swallowing hard behind me.

Even if she was an S+ rank Awakened, she couldn’t be invincible against 100 or more A-rank monsters.

She was probably working hard to come up with her own escape route in her head.

I understand. As important as trust in teammates is, so is having a plan to save your own life.

Just then.

I narrowed my eyes as I looked at the enemy group that was keeping a moderate distance and not approaching any further.

‘This isn’t fun.’

To wipe out the group all at once and sweep up the experience points, they need to be within a 50m radius.

Right now, they were spread too widely across the river, making it unsuitable for playing tricks.

“In that case!”

“Shin-hwa!”

Ignoring Marina’s shout, I kicked off the ground and dashed forward.

Kasha!

Then, the Icarite group, discovering me running towards them without looking back, reacted.

At first, they seemed to be watching cautiously, but when a human approached alone, they seemed to underestimate me.

Whoong! Whooong!

The monsters’ arms, as long as their bodies, vigorously stirred the air.

It was definitely a powerful hand movement, but I wasn’t so sloppy as to be hit by it.

Thump! Pow! Thump!

I stirred through the group, using Wilson to provoke them.

I vigorously struck their faces, bellies, and groins, and they instantly seemed to get heated up.

Grrrsha! Grorosha!

Soon, the leader of the group, who appeared to be the boss, raised his right arm with all his might.

I don’t know what he was saying, but it seemed like he meant to quickly kill that human and tear his flesh apart.

‘Good.’

The monsters began to move.

The frozen river ice didn’t even have the slightest crack, even with the movement of over a hundred monsters.

They moved with confidence and quickly closed the distance with me.

The next moment.

I turned back the way I came and headed towards Marina, who was waiting for battle with Kalakill.

“What’s your next move!”

Marina shouted.

She seemed genuinely flustered when I didn’t say anything even after provoking the entire Icarite group.

“Wait a little longer!”

I shouted forcefully and checked the state of the approaching group.

Closing the siege and coming in, they were indeed worthy of being guardians protecting the final section of the dungeon.

Pow! Pow!

I constantly stimulated the monsters with magic power emissions aimed at an unspecified number of them.

Then, even the monsters who had been keeping their distance from the group were all drawn in by the provocation and approached me.

Now, Marina, Kalakill, and I were completely surrounded by the monsters.

Just then.

“Now!”

I shouted towards Marina.

Then, she threw Kalakill into the Icarite group and simultaneously spread numerous silver threads in all directions.

‘Threads of Decapitation [A technique that creates a barrier of nearly invisible silver threads].’

It was a technique that created a barrier of silver threads that stretched invisibly in all directions, though the duration was temporary.

The thin silver threads, barely visible to the eye, were stretched taut, so if you approached carelessly, you could have your head cut off.

Usually, monsters would lose their heads after approaching without knowing, so it was called the Threads of Decapitation.

‘Okay.’

The timing was good.

Perhaps because Marina responded with a very flustered look, the Icarite group’s expressions were full of confidence.

It was exactly the kind of expression that said, ‘Foolish humans are digging their own graves.’

“Hoo.”

After exhaling a hot breath.

I strengthened the bones of my entire body to the maximum and then raised Transcendental Acceleration to its limit.

Then.

I gathered and condensed magic power in both hands with all my might, and then began to strike the floor without hesitation.

Wham! Wham! Wham! Wham!

It was the beginning of the suicide tactic.

* * *

Marina was shocked.

The sight of Shin-hwa striking the frozen surface of the river right behind her was bizarre.

At first, she was shocked, considering it an absurdly reckless attempt, but as time passed, the meaning changed.

Crack! Crack!

Instantly, waves rippled across the entire surface centered on Shin-hwa, creating a large crack in the entire river.

At that moment.

The expressions of the Icarite group, who had been chuckling at Shin-hwa’s sudden and peculiar behavior, changed dramatically.

“This is ridiculous……”

There were various ways to attack this dungeon, but attacking by directly breaking the ice was a first.

In the first place, the surface had been frozen solid for a long time due to the cold wind and cold, so holes couldn’t be easily made.

But every time Shin-hwa’s red-hot fists struck the surface like heat rays, changes occurred.

It was a terrifying power.

Even Marina, who was standing quite far away, felt the shock wave as powerful as a large-scale earthquake.

Crack!

Eventually, a large crack occurred, powerfully dividing the center of the river.

A huge gap had formed in the ice that they thought would never break.

“Run to the other side!”

Then, she heard Shin-hwa’s voice shouting.

Only then did Marina realize.

Shin-hwa had deliberately not told her the plan so that she could play the role of a realistic ‘bait’.

“Ah, really……!”

Marina grabbed her burning face and sprinted.

Now that it had come to this, she felt ashamed of her suggestion to go around using the upstream.

Shin-hwa had a plan all along.

And.

“Haaaap!”

Along with Shin-hwa’s loud shout.

Kwaaaang!

A huge wave that she could fully feel even without looking back spread throughout the river.

The surge was so strong that Marina, caught in the shock wave, even stumbled.

Sarasha! Sasasarasha!

Hell unfolded.

The ice, which had lost its durability due to the cracks, cracked and swallowed the Icarites through the gaps.

The water on the frozen surface was close to freezing point, making it the worst condition.

Splash! Splash! Splash!

The monsters, who were already terrible at swimming, began to gulp down the ice water without even having a chance to escape.

The number of monsters, well over a hundred, accelerated the collapse of the already cracked surface.

Eventually.

Kkuluruk! Kkuluk! Kkuluk!

The monsters who didn’t know how to swim drank water here and there and died helplessly.

Massacre or disaster.

It was the annihilation of 100 A-rank monsters, and any modifier would not sound out of place.

“……”

“……”

Marina and Han So-joon were silent as they watched Shin-hwa gracefully leaping over the ice.

Was this all a picture he had been drawing in his head from the beginning?

It felt too reckless to say that, but on the other hand, it was too perfect and clean a finish.

“Now let’s quickly go catch the boss. There’s nothing to gain from those submerged guys except experience points.”

Shin-hwa patted the shoulders of the two people who couldn’t say anything and took the lead.

Even though something huge had happened, Shin-hwa seemed to regard it as just a minor happening.

Self-reproach.

It was the first emotion Marina had faced since becoming an Awakened.

Her contribution to the dungeon raid, which had been perfectly conducted according to Shin-hwa’s lead from start to finish, was not high.

“Cheer up.”

Tuk tuk.

Han So-joon’s touch, following Shin-hwa and seeming to encourage her, was… simply the final nail in the coffin.