The Regressor Only Protects Me [EN]: Chapter 149

149. 5 Years of Change: In the Case of Kang Junho

Kang Si-On’s speech lasted a full eight hours.

Jin Jae-Hee stared blankly at Si-On, speechless.

Choi Hyun-Ji burst into laughter, saying there was no way that could be possible.

Choi Myung-Jun was thrilled, constantly exclaiming in admiration, saying he was indeed his brother.

Having said everything, Kang Si-On leaned back in his chair and gave a faint smile.

“…That’s how we’ll end this league. You don’t have to follow. But if you do, you must trust me and go all the way together.”

It was always like that.

A person who always made the impossible possible.

The group believed in Kang Si-On that way.

And the story he was telling now was also such a thing.

It was a plan that transcended even the things he had attempted so far.

So, no one raised objections to Kang Si-On’s plan.

Of course, everyone said they would follow Kang Si-On.

Even if their minds told them it was impossible, looking at his face seemed to make those worries disappear in an instant.

Jin Jae-Hee felt a change in her emotions as she looked at him again.

Perhaps it was because they had spent more time together than even family, but every day she spent with him still felt new.

Immediately after regressing [returning to an earlier state], she felt as if she was possessed by something, taking a train from Busan Station to Anyang.

Inside the peaceful train.

Inside, Jin Jae-Hee struggled with two choices.

Whether it was right to return to Busan and navigate this league with her friends, or whether it was right to go and meet him.

But at this moment.

Jin Jae-Hee realized that her choice was right.

Indeed, he was the only man who could end this damn league.

After finishing the conversation with Kang Si-On, as time passed.

It was around the time when the sun rose high in the sky.

The ghoul zombies began to melt, and the traces of the field boss witch completely disappeared.

The quest was cleared that way.

[Kill the Witch.]

[Field Boss: Witch of Radiance]

[Clear!]

[Reward Recipient: Kang Si-On (Player)]

[Reward: Legion of the Dead (S-Class Skill)]

The expedition escaped the tiresome forest and headed back to the outside world.

Finally, they were able to return to Mangyeong.

The twisted time was now corrected back to its original state.

When the expedition emerged from the forest, five years had passed.

It was now time to live in the present again.

Waiting for the great change that would soon come.

It was a truly great change.

* * *

“Uaaaaaaah!!! Kyaaaaaaak!!! Aaaah…! Aaaah…!!!!”

K screamed.

The show was successful, but all that remained for K was endless punishment.

There was no charge to speak of [no accusation or legal case to be made].

K poured out all the power he had, but he could not possess ‘Kang Si-On,’ who was just a human.

The price for failing to eliminate him was high.

It was to be deprived of eternal life by the Absolute.

That was an unbreakable promise.

K crawled towards the Absolute.

“Please save me…! Please save me! I beg you…! One more time… Give me one last chance…! Please…!”

Then, he prostrated himself on the floor like a ruined man, begging with tears streaming down his face.

However, the Absolute’s gaze towards K was ruthless.

To beg.

That means to tell someone the circumstances or reasons of something and ask for something.

That is what a weak being does.

A noble being never begs others.

A dignified being never bows or sheds tears to others.

K was now begging the Absolute for his life, showing a pathetic figure worse than a human.

The only judgment the Absolute could make while looking at such K was one.

Disposal.

It is wise to ruthlessly discard items that are no longer useful.

To the Absolute, K was just a toy, nothing more and nothing less.

“Ah… Aaaah… Pleaase…”

Gradually, starting from K’s ankles, he began to turn to dust and disappear.

His very existence was being deleted.

Just like a character in a computer game disappearing with a single click.

K burst into tears and screamed.

“Because of a mere human… I, who have lived for thousands of years… I… Ah… It’s unfair… I tell you it’s unfair… Aaaah…”

Thighs, stomach, chest.

Now with only his face and hands left, K looked up at the Absolute.

At that moment, the Absolute smirked.

K flinched because the Absolute, who never usually laughed out loud, was doing so.

“A mere human, you say…?”

Then, the Absolute took off his mask.

The face revealed from within that mask was none other than…

“…Ah!”

K exclaimed in surprise, even in the midst of being deleted.

The Absolute’s red lips twitched upwards.

“You remain ignorant until the end. You fool.”

“Ah…”

K disappeared like that.

The only feelings K had at the end were emptiness and despair.

As K completely disappeared, the Absolute put on his mask again.

And someone approached him.

“It’s going smoothly. The one who regressed to the past, and the being that regressor is risking his life to protect.”

“…”

The identity of that someone was the long-haired Kang Si-On who appeared in Kang Si-On’s dream.

“In fact, it was meaningless for him to regress himself. No matter how outstanding he is, it’s difficult for such a person to survive in the league even if they get a second chance.”

“…”

The Absolute turned to look at the long-haired Kang Si-On.

“By the way, how is the information gathering going? Is there any progress now?”

The long-haired Kang Si-On asked, and the Absolute answered.

“It’s going smoothly, but there’s still a long way to go. Why did you say he was the last puzzle?”

At the Absolute’s question, the long-haired Kang Si-On began to ponder a little.

“Well. It has to be. A little more. Um…”

The long-haired Kang Si-On clapped his hands as if he had finished thinking and smiled brightly.

“Because it’s fun! Hehehe…”

“Nonsense.”

“The number of puzzle pieces needed is almost infinite, and the number of ‘made’ puzzle pieces is only about 13 now.”

“It doesn’t matter how long it takes. I want to know.”

The Absolute turned his gaze away from the long-haired Kang Si-On and looked at the universe.

Beyond the stars shining densely, the end of the empty universe.

The Absolute wanted to see the end of that universe.

“Who is it. Who is it. I can’t know.”

The Absolute muttered, looking at the other side, which he thought was the end of the universe.

Humans are creatures that have evolved with curiosity as their driving force.

Science, literature, politics, history.

All of that stemmed from curiosity.

Curiosity is a mind that only humans can have.

And that curiosity is infinite, so each time it is resolved, one feels a deep pleasure and joy as if taking a step closer to the universe.

It was a higher dimension of pleasure than any pleasure associated with the five senses.

To recognize.

Who am I.

Who am I, and where did I come from.

Who am I, where did I come from, and where am I going now.

The Absolute wanted the pleasure of recognition, to find the answers to those questions.

The Absolute is such a being.

The Absolute was the only god in this world who existed for that purpose.

* * *

Suwon Hwaseong, the capital of the Gyeonggi Province’s number one power.

It was, without a doubt, the most developed of the forces within the Korean Peninsula.

The city, centered around Hwaseong, had a population of nearly 200,000.

This population was a combination of 80,000 humans and 120,000 other races.

The other races, with a population of nearly 120,000, significantly changed the atmosphere of the city.

Having been transferred to Earth from another dimension at some point, they lived in accordance with the order of Earth in their own way, and the original owners, the humans, naturally assimilated with them, creating a new culture.

The Suwon Hwaseong forces were greatly influenced by the dwarves, who were the most distributed other race in the city.

Due to its location close to the forest area, there were many wooden buildings on the outskirts of the city.

And due to the elves’ love for beautiful things, the city’s buildings began to be decorated with more splendid exteriors.

Beautiful fences woven with light purple branches and sculptures made of monster horns were erected in the city, and at night, dyes extracted from green and orange glowing insect monsters brightly illuminated the city.

Meanwhile.

In a villa village located in the city center, other race wanderers frequently came and went, making it busy from morning.

Lee Ju-Yeon, who was in her 30s, took a tray and went up to the 4th floor.

The sight of other races scattered haphazardly in the middle of the hallway was now a familiar sight.

Lee Ju-Yeon squeezed through them and approached the end room of the hallway.

Then, holding the tray with one hand, she knocked on the door with a careful gesture.

Knock knock-.

Groaning sounds were constantly heard from inside the room, but soon stopped with the sound of knocking.

Lee Ju-Yeon carefully grabbed the doorknob and waited.

Then, a man’s voice was heard from inside.

“Come in.”

Lee Ju-Yeon quietly entered the room.

A small room of about 7 pyeong [approximately 250 square feet].

On the bed, Chae Chae-Yeon was clutching the blanket and smoking a cigarette.

She greeted Lee Ju-Yeon with a sly expression.

“Sister, you woke up early.”

Lee Ju-Yeon nodded slightly to Chae Chae-Yeon as a greeting, then looked towards the bathroom.

A man in front of a half-broken mirror.

The man, with his hair tied back and ruggedly split back muscles, was spitting into the sink.

He was naked, so his buttocks were clearly visible.

The man looked at Lee Ju-Yeon through the mirror.

Lee Ju-Yeon was silent for a while, then said, holding the tray.

“It’s breakfast, Jun-Ho. Should I have brought two servings if I knew Chae-Yeon was here too?”

“…”

Kang Si-On’s younger brother, Kang Jun-Ho.

He was now a complete young man.

Unlike his brother, Jun-Ho was nearly 185cm tall [approximately 6’1″], and his whole body was covered with sturdy muscles.

It was thanks to the fact that he had eaten and grown up without any shortages since he was young, unlike his brother Kang Si-On.

Anyway.

Kang Jun-Ho stared at Lee Ju-Yeon in the mirror for a moment, then put on the pants hanging on the hanger and walked out.

He passed Lee Ju-Yeon and sat on the edge of the bed.

Chae Chae-Yeon handed the cigarette she was holding to Kang Jun-Ho.

“Where’s Bang Dae-Han?”

Kang Jun-Ho’s voice, after puberty, was low and rough.

Phew-.

The cigarette smoke he exhaled filled the room.

Lee Ju-Yeon put the tray on a small table nearby and answered.

“On an errand for the King of Suwon. Maybe… he’s out of the city by now.”

Sss- Phew.

Kang Jun-Ho kept smoking.

Lee Ju-Yeon sat on a small plastic chair at the table and looked at him.

Over the past five years.

The young boy named Kang Jun-Ho.

Had turned into a ferocious wild beast.

His body was covered with clear scars, including knife marks, but his face was sharp and so handsome that it was truly admirable.

However, there was a sense of sadness in that appearance.

His childhood wish to ‘go and meet his brother’ was still a hope.

But now the situation was different.

Chik- Chijijijijiji.

Kang Jun-Ho rubbed the cigarette on the table and turned it off, then looked out the window.

Outside, wanderers who had finished preparing to leave were packing their bags and leaving the accommodation one by one.

However, unlike them, Kang Jun-Ho’s appearance looking out the window was relaxed.

Lee Ju-Yeon carefully asked Kang Jun-Ho.

“You’re not… looking for your brother anymore?”

The question of whether he was not looking for him anymore.

That question was truly cruel.

The personal force centered on Kang Jun-Ho had top-level combat power in the league.

As such, they were veterans who had traveled through many cities.

When they realized that they could not pass through the dense forest again, they went from Busan, where the only ‘sea route’ was open, to Incheon and back to Mangyeong.

This was because it was faster to go down to Busan and come down from Incheon than to go around Sokcho, Gangwon-do, where the road was cut off due to the dense forest.

In fact, the sea route was completely blocked immediately after the league started.

The sea was a dangerous space even for Kang Jun-Ho.

Crossing the current sea in a ship made by humans was like a crazy act.

Nevertheless, the reason why they could travel between Busan and Incheon was none other than the other races.

The other race ‘Naga’ was the answer.

Anyway, Kang Jun-Ho had traveled all over the country for the past five years, experiencing all sorts of adventures.

However, the conclusion that could be obtained at the end of that difficult expedition was that his brother was dead.

Mangyeong.

It was a fairly developed city, and the queen there tended to accept anyone kindly.

And the information that could be obtained there was none other than ‘Kang Si-On’s death’.

According to sources, he had set out one day to go to Suwon, and had not returned since.

Wanderer community, people’s inquiries.

No matter what method was used, he could not find his brother.

Kang Jun-Ho accepted it.

The world without his brother.

“Is there any other way? Now I have to pioneer this league.”

Kang Jun-Ho had sad eyes and was still looking at the street.

It was a fact that was hard to accept to death, but it was a fact that had to be accepted.

Kang Jun-Ho now had a different dream.

He took his eyes off the window and looked at Lee Ju-Yeon.

“I have to clear the 4th round. Now.”

A strong determination could be felt in his eyes.

“And I will revive my brother.”

(To be continued in the next episode)