I’M A Max-Level Regressor [EN]: Chapter 93

93.

I threw myself forward with all my might.

The most dangerous situation in an attack is when both feet leave the ground.

When you’re in the air, it’s not easy to adjust your position, and it’s hard to intentionally fall or do anything else.

As expected.

As soon as I launched myself, Katabella focused all six of her sharp legs on me.

‘It takes skill to trust your teammates’ abilities.’

But I knew from the start that this battle wasn’t one I was leading alone.

Behind me is a reliable healer, and behind Katabella is a manipulator, right?

I’m setting the stage, but that doesn’t mean I’m treating them like they don’t exist.

Clang!

‘Nice, Marina!’

As expected, Marina provided perfect support.

In an instant, she manipulated the silver threads binding Katabella’s two legs, causing a fountain of blood to gush out as deep gashes appeared.

-Kkyaaaa!

With an unpleasant scream, Katabella’s legs, which were trying to attack me, froze. It was a fleeting opening.

‘I used to be a black belt back in the day!’

I stretched out my right foot with all my might while airborne, adopting a posture similar to a jump kick.

Thwack!

-Kuheok!

The kick accurately struck the bottom of Katabella’s chin.

It wasn’t a normal kick.

It was a kick empowered by the Talent of Transcendental Acceleration, applied to my right foot, which had been reliably modified, including bones and muscles.

In an instant, Katabella’s head was bent back at an almost impossible angle.

Flail! Flail! Flail!

Soon, Katabella began to wave her limbs in the air, losing her balance and falling backward in an unsightly manner.

Most living things have ways to protect their heads, such as the skull or cranium.

The problem is that damage to the head, which serves as the command center for controlling the whole body, is more fatal than damage to other parts of the body.

Flash!

So, I climbed onto Katabella’s chest as she fell and immediately prepared to attack, ready to slam down.

I had more than 30% of my mana left, and I also had the mana stored in my heart that I could immediately access and use if necessary.

‘That’s why auxiliary mana batteries are so good.’

With a murderous smile, I targeted the center of Katabella’s face with my fist.

And.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

Accelerating rapidly, I unleashed dozens of consecutive attacks on her face in an instant.

All attacks from Explosion Fist Chapters 1 to 6 were linked seamlessly in this series of blows.

An attack of explosive firepower!

It was powerful enough to make Katabella’s body and legs twitch with each strike.

I didn’t show any mercy just because she was female. There is no gender distinction in evil.

Stab! Slash!

Of course, Katabella didn’t just lie down and take the beating like a fool.

Even while groaning from the concentrated attacks on her head, she managed to lash out with her legs, attacking me.

Katabella’s six legs tore through my flesh, targeting my sides, shoulders, and thighs.

The ends were like sharp hooks, and blood splattered with each tear and pull.

“……”

But I silently endured and held my ground. I channeled the pain into anger and unleashed even more violent attacks.

Damage dealing pushed to the limit, without retreating even a little!

It was an attack made possible because I fully trusted Han So-joon, who was supporting me from the rear.

Swish. Swish.

‘Perfect.’

As expected, Han So-joon’s healing sphere accurately touched the injured areas with impeccable timing.

How could he be so precise!

It was a flawless ‘delivery’ of healing. He was like the guy who was called ‘Heal Delivery’ in his previous life.

“Waaaa!”

Letting out a shout full of fighting spirit and passion, I drew upon the mana carefully stored inside my heart.

The mana stored in the heart has a much higher concentration than the mana circulating in the body.

Of course, it takes quite a while to replenish it once it’s used.

However, it was an excellent resource for a powerful strike when needed.

“It’s over, Katabella!”

While linking up to Explosion Fist Chapter 6, I checked the status of Chapter 5, which had already been initiated.

Fist of Lightning, True Fist.

Thanks to this, Katabella’s face was as soft as freshly made soft tofu.

Buzz!

Soon, a red seal formed at the end of my right fist, which had been transformed into a fist shape.

Mukcheol Explosion Fist Chapter 1, Explosion Fist.

It was the signature technique I used to deal with Park Do-won as soon as I returned, a technique full of memories.

At that time, it was a decent technique that I used with my pathetic F-rank body and mana.

Now, it was a kind of ultimate move that I unleashed with a B-rank body that had a good balance.

-I’m…! I won’t die…!

Katabella’s cry was drowned out.

Kwaaaang!

I slammed down the Explosion Fist without the slightest hesitation.

It was a precisely aimed strike that shook everything it touched, an ultimate move that exhausted all my mana.

Kuuuuung!

A circular aftershock rippled out, centered on Katabella’s head, which had broken through the solid ground.

Not only that.

Katabella’s head, with her neck bones broken in one blow, was more than 80% buried in the ground.

“Hoo.”

Only then could I let out a sigh that had been held back.

It felt like all the events of the battle had passed in an instant, as if in fast forward.

Again, the fact that I could concentrate on the battle without paying any attention to stamina and injuries was crucial.

And the fact that there was a means of assistance – Marina – that could extremely limit the target’s movement.

It allowed me to focus solely on extreme attacks.

After returning, it seemed to be the most comfortable collaboration, allowing me to go all-in on attacks, among the battles I had experienced so far.

“Is she dead…?”

Marina carefully examined Katabella’s motionless form with a dazed expression.

I transformed my right arm into a sword using the slightly recovered mana to reassure her.

And.

Stab!

I stabbed it into Katabella’s cold heart, which was no longer pulsating.

The outer skin of her chest, which had seemed so hard when she was alive, was just a shell after death.

The sword pierced through, leaving a deep wound in the center of Katabella’s heart.

It was Katabella’s perfect death, which I didn’t need to confirm again.

* * *

Some time later.

Marina, who was helping Shin-hwa and Han So-joon distribute the spoils, said.

“I’ve never seen an Awakened [person with supernatural abilities] who tanked [absorbed damage] and dealt damage to a boss monster with just grit and tenacity without looking back.”

“If you trust your colleagues, you don’t need to look back. I trusted them, so I just focused on attacking.”

“I know you caught the weakness well, but anyway, Shin-hwa caught the SS-rank boss monster.”

“There was also a definite boost from the potions [doping], and there was also perfect movement restriction using your silver threads. It’s an achievement we achieved together.”

“If you give us the credit like that, you know it feels like killing us twice, right? I’m embarrassed enough.”

Marina blushed.

It wasn’t just grumbling; it was sincere.

This time, Han So-joon said.

“To be honest, I liked this dungeon raid from beginning to end. Actually, I thought the media was hyping you up so much, so I came along to see your skills and criticize you, but…”

“Hahaha.”

Shin-hwa burst into laughter at Han So-joon’s unreserved expression of emotion. He was like that in his previous life, and he was still like Han So-joon.

“Kang Shin-hwa seems to be a born fighter. I liked it throughout the battle. Honestly, you’re the best.”

Han So-joon’s thumb, which he raised with a snap, represented everything he felt.

Han So-joon added.

“I’ll just take a souvenir.”

Tak!

All Han So-joon picked up were a few strands of hair that had fallen from the dead Katabella.

In other words, he gave up everything else.

As an Awakened, he had been looking for someone he admired, and it was an expression of infinite joy at meeting such a person.

* * *

As soon as they came out through the exit gate, Shin-hwa and his party all disbanded.

Despite having rested sufficiently the day before, fatigue had accumulated throughout the raid from Area A to Area C.

Thanks to Han So-joon’s concession, Shin-hwa was able to take all of Katabella’s corpses and stored them in his subspace [personal storage dimension].

As soon as he returned to his accommodation, he was planning to cook and eat the eyeballs, heart, lungs, and spleen separately.

It was a diet that ordinary Awakeners could not even imagine, but it was a necessary meal to absorb unique abilities.

‘Thanks to being able to monopolize it without distribution, I can calculate the dimensional stone income alone to be close to 9 billion won [approximately $6.7 million USD]. You need strong power to make money.’

Throughout the way back to his accommodation, Shin-hwa examined the dimensional stones he had obtained this time with a satisfied expression.

The rich get richer and the poor get poorer was a logic that also applied in the world of Awakeners.

An F-rank Awakened can work hard as a porter for the rest of their life and still have difficulty earning hundreds of millions of won.

However, a higher-ranked Awakened can earn billions of won just by raiding a dungeon well once.

Even if ten Awakeners raided this dungeon, the distribution value per person would be 900 million won.

Compared to the life of an F-rank Awakened, the comparison itself is meaningless.

‘If this continues, I can definitely collect 300 billion won [approximately $225 million USD] before March! Is this finally the start of the first stage of my retirement plan?’

His heart began to pound.

Of course, buying an island wasn’t the end. It was just the beginning.

Because I want to retire to my own world, fully equipped with the dazzling conveniences and amenities of civilization.

If I only needed a space to be alone, I would have immediately gone to a deserted island and become a natural person as soon as I returned.

Shin-hwa was greatly stimulated while looking around Guam this time.

The ultimate in recreation, relaxation, and leisure, with everything but the things that are missing. This island held Shin-hwa’s future.

‘Build a lighthouse like in the movies, and build a villa with a clear view of the blue waves! Seawater purification facilities, personal farms, even flower gardens…! There’s really only a lot to fill in, right?’

Just imagining it was fun.

A life of becoming one with nature, enjoying the iridescent beauty without being bound by anyone in the world!

That was the ultimate paradise on earth that Shin-hwa, who failed to achieve it in his previous life and was ‘forced’ to return, was dreaming of in his current life.

Swaaaaa.

What greeted Shin-hwa, who returned to his accommodation and opened the window, was a downpour that suddenly began to pour down all over Guam.

Shami was fast asleep.

I woke her up thinking of getting her some food, but she bared her teeth fiercely at Shin-hwa and went back to sleep.

However, she seemed to be suffering from a nightmare, making groaning noises and shivering throughout her sleep.

‘Let’s not rush.’

As the saying goes, go back when you’re in a hurry, right?

Rather than trying to force things with Shami, I decided to focus on building rapport with each other.

Shin-hwa knows Shami from his previous life, but Shami, on the other hand, doesn’t know him at all.

If I just approached her without thinking about this gap, it seemed clear that it would backfire.

‘Now it’s meal time.’

Meanwhile, on the plate on the table were the ‘traces’ of Katabella, which had been seasoned with plenty of spices.

‘If I can get stronger than I am now, what can’t I eat?’

After taking a deep breath.

Crunch. Munch.

Shin-hwa began a meal to absorb Katabella’s abilities.

Rumble! Quack! Bang! Flash! Flash!

Coupled with the dark night sky, the pouring rain, and the eerie thunder and lightning.

A lonely meal in the eerie night began.

And some time later.

[Ability Name: Instant Death Strike]

[Ability Medium: Katabella]

Shin-hwa finally obtained the ability that was the reason and purpose for choosing Guam without any regrets.

It was the moment he gained another sure-fire ultimate move.