The Regressor Only Protects Me [EN]: Chapter 39

#39. Artifact

Whether it was from a deep sleep induced by prolonged fatigue, a refreshing feeling washed over me before the cold fully registered as I opened my eyes.

But the refreshing feeling was fleeting, quickly replaced by the creeping chill.

I slowly sat up.

I was wearing so many layers of clothing that movement felt restricted.

When I woke up, the first thing I saw through my blurry vision was Jin Jaehee holding a sword.

The sight startled me initially, but I quickly realized she was preparing for training. I rubbed my head and said,

“You scared me.”

“I really have to get to it. I slept for thirteen hours.”

“Thirteen hours? What about roll call?”

“Starting today, we’re both excused. Lucky us. One less annoying thing to worry about.”

I gently rotated my neck as I listened.

The cracking sound with each turn was oddly satisfying.

Jin Jaehee handed me a bottle of water.

I took it, took a sip, and sat on the edge of the bed.

I checked the artifact that should have unlocked yesterday.

Inventory.

A space where you can’t store ordinary items, only those designated by the League.

The artifact was in the first slot.

The unopened artifact.

I casually tapped the artifact box to open it.

Jin Jaehee, who was watching, said with a hint of surprise,

“You’re opening it right away? Don’t people usually wait before opening something like this?”

“Waiting won’t make it any better.”

Whoosh-! Thump, thump, thump.

The small rectangular box began to glow, shaking from side to side before bursting open in a flash of light.

Watching it, I felt a strange sense of anticlimactic emptiness.

‘Are you kidding me?’

In a world where people are dying every minute, the interface the administrators set up was surprisingly extravagant.

Inside the box was a sphere of light.

When I reached out and touched it, the light naturally dissipated.

[Artifact is being opened.]

[The player’s artifact is ‘Sphere’.]

-Artifact Details

-Name: Sphere

-Active Skill: Movement

-Rank: F

A simple status window appeared.

Jin Jaehee, who was looking over my shoulder, said,

“To materialize the artifact, you have to say ‘Open’ out loud. That’s the system default.”

“Open.”

I immediately followed her instruction.

As the light vanished, a small sphere floated above my palm.

It didn’t glow brightly, nor was it transparent or vividly colored.

It was a dark gray metallic ball.

“A ball?”

I looked at Jin Jaehee, questioning what this was.

Jin Jaehee softened her slightly surprised expression and replied,

“So, the Sphere appeared. It’s not a bad ability. Not overwhelming, though.”

“What kind of ability is it?”

“Think of it as an energy ball. A clone that moves as you think. I don’t know the specifics of the modified skills. In my past life, you thoroughly concealed your abilities.”

I listened, studying the dark gray sphere floating above my palm.

She sat on the opposite bed and began to explain slowly.

“It’s probably a growth type, so all you can do now is move it. It might even be too much to move it right now…”

Imagining the sphere’s movement, I commanded it to fly forward with a flick of my finger.

Whoosh-, Swish.

The sphere shot out in a straight line and floated into the open space to the left.

“Can’t the shape of the sphere be changed?”

I looked at Jin Jaehee, my gaze fixed on the sphere floating in the air.

Her eyes were wide, and her mouth was slightly agape.

I tilted my head slightly, waiting for her to speak.

Jin Jaehee said in a slightly trembling voice,

“Amazing. No, honestly, I’m surprised.”

“What is it?”

“Isn’t this the first time you’ve seen this today?”

“So?”

Whoosh- Swish.

I brought the sphere back to the space between Jin Jaehee and me.

Jin Jaehee was muttering something while staring at the sphere.

“No. Or maybe it’s natural… because you’re Kang Si-On. Because you’re Kang Si-On. Kang Si-On… no, so if that’s the case.”

“Stop mumbling and explain it clearly.”

“Oh, yeah. Sorry.”

Jin Jaehee, having calmed down, took a breath and began to explain.

“Handling artifacts is quite difficult. Even I didn’t know how to use mine properly for a year after I first got it.”

“Why am I able to do this?”

Swish, swish-.

Now I was spinning the sphere in the air.

Jin Jaehee’s eyes followed the sphere, her gaze darting around.

Her voice was trembling.

“I-it’s a natural talent. Actually, your ability is more suited for the late-game than the early-game. All growth types are like that. The rank of the artifact will gradually increase as it grows… but aren’t you dizzy? Right now?”

“No, I’m fine. But is the artifact given to everyone?”

“No. As K said, it’s an ability that only special players can have. Once you’ve been given an artifact, it means the system has chosen you.”

I clenched my fist.

The sphere that was spinning stopped in the air.

Only then did Jin Jaehee’s eyes stop moving.

I retrieved the sphere and held it in my hand.

The surface was smooth.

It really felt like a metal ball.

Since I was manipulating this metal ball so freely, it felt like I had become a psychic.

“So? How do you train with the artifact?”

Jin Jaehee, who should have answered my question immediately, hesitated and couldn’t speak easily.

After waiting for a moment, I frowned, one eyebrow raised in frustration.

I placed the sphere on my index finger and spun it around like a basketball, asking,

“What’s wrong?”

And suddenly, curious about the sphere’s destructive power, I threw it towards the left wall.

Whoosh- Thud.

The sphere vibrated upon contact with the wall.

There were no cracks, no other reaction.

‘The destructive power is almost non-existent, huh.’

Swish-.

I threw the sphere towards Jin Jaehee’s head again.

Honestly, I thought she would avoid it.

She always sensed and avoided my attacks in advance.

Even during practice the day before yesterday and yesterday, she told me to feel free to surprise her and land a hit.

But my expectations were wrong.

Thud.

The sphere touched her cheek, slightly pushing out her cheek fat.

Again, there seemed to be no destructive power.

“I already… did… it…”

“What?”

I couldn’t hear her well because Jin Jaehee was speaking in a barely audible voice.

I asked again,

“What’s the training about?”

“I already… did it…”

She answered, pushing the sphere that touched her cheek with her finger.

I returned the sphere to my hand and placed it on my finger.

The sphere started spinning on my finger again.

“What do you mean you already did it?”

“You’ve already mastered a year’s worth of training for others. So… I think you just need to learn growth quests or other crafting skills. Yeah. Or acquire rewards in hidden dungeons.”

I looked at her, who was hesitating, and then at the sphere spinning on my finger.

A year’s worth of training for others.

I had mastered the artifact in just one minute after opening it.

* * *

‘No way.’

Jin Jaehee thought, watching the sphere spinning like a basketball on Si-On’s finger.

‘…Is it because he’s a player chosen by the administrator? No, even so, this growth is too fast. No. Can you even call it growth? It’s complete from the beginning.’

Even among those chosen to receive S-class artifacts, no one grew this fast.

Jin Jaehee herself possessed an S-class artifact.

S-class, Sword Saint.

Sword Saint was the ability that allowed her to forgo carrying a real sword.

Because she could summon the sword within the system whenever and wherever she wanted.

But even Jin Jaehee couldn’t perfectly materialize the artifact yet.

There is no complete definition of materializing an artifact.

Since the world has been destroyed and there are no scholars studying the phenomenon, there are no related papers or articles.

But most players thought that the abilities of artifacts were largely divided into two categories.

The first is imagination.

The imagination to use the artifact as a weapon.

This imagination was not simply thinking with the head but an ability that required mobilizing all the senses.

If the sword that Jin Jaehee was trying to materialize differed from the real sword, the ability would not activate.

The second is intelligence.

Players named this intelligence [referring to the mental capacity to control the artifact].

Intelligence may sound similar to mental strength, but it is a completely different concept.

Intelligence is another power that the human brain can use in addition to imagination and thought.

The more you use the artifact, the dizzier your head becomes, and the moment you reach the limit, you lose consciousness.

The role of intelligence is how much you can maintain the recovery and destructive power of the skill.

This also required innate talent and a sense honed through countless practices.

The reason why Jin Jaehee, a returner, couldn’t materialize the skill was also because of this.

Because she didn’t come back with all her abilities intact, she knew the artifact training method that could grow quickly, but she wasn’t complete from the beginning.

Perhaps Si-On is the only one in the League with such innate talent.

He was a special being.

‘…Is it because I slept well?’

But Kang Si-On had mastered the above two abilities at once.

Rather, Jin Jaehee herself had to learn his artifact abilities.

All that was left for him was to collect magic stones to level up the ‘Sphere’ that was dropped from special quests or specific monsters.

But that was difficult to do right now.

Because all of that was only possible after passing the beginning stages of the League.

Of course, things might be different if he found a hidden dungeon.

“Really?”

Si-On, who heard Jaehee’s words, didn’t take it seriously.

When he stopped focusing, the materialized artifact also disappeared.

Si-On asked Jaehee.

“So, what’s your ability?”

Jin Jaehee was preoccupied with Si-On’s ability and couldn’t answer right away.

Then Si-On asked again.

“Jin Jaehee.”

“Huh? Yeah. My ability.”

Jin Jaehee swallowed hard and reached out her hand.

Sword Saint.

The first task was the embodiment of the sword.

Swish……

A bright streak of light began to coalesce in her hand.

Si-On’s pupils dilated slightly as he watched the scene.

It was an amazing flash and form.

The light soon began to take the form of a sword.

“Ugh……!”

At that moment, Jin Jaehee almost lost her focus, but she desperately fought to maintain it.

She had promised him to start training today, and it would be embarrassing if she couldn’t even materialize the artifact here.

The light flickered more intensely.

Si-On focused on Jin Jaehee’s hand.

The blade, the guard, and the handle materialized and began to shine in turn.

It seemed like she could succeed in materializing the sword if she pushed just a little harder.

But it was still not enough.

“Phew……!”

Jin Jaehee breathed out as if she had been diving for a long time and finally surfaced.

Her forehead was covered in cold sweat.

Even though the room was as cold as a refrigerator.

“Haa…… Haa…… Haa…….”

Jin Jaehee couldn’t catch her breath easily.

She hadn’t exerted this much power even in her past life.

The reason she was pushing herself so hard now was because she didn’t want to disappoint Si-On.

‘Haa…… in the end.’

But she failed.

It hadn’t been an hour since Jin Jaehee opened the artifact.

With this level of materialization ability, she was good enough, no, very good.

Of course, it was nothing compared to Kang Si-On.

“Sorry.”

“What for?”

“No. Just.”

Jin Jaehee couldn’t understand why she apologized to him.

The thought that she had disappointed Si-On made her say sorry first.

Si-On said to Jaehee nonchalantly,

“There’s nothing to be sorry about. It’s even better for me if there’s nothing to train.”

At those words, Jin Jaehee raised her head, which she had lowered, and looked at him.

Si-On was looking at his hand.

He examined the back of his hand after turning it over.

“Honestly, I couldn’t spend a lot of time training with the artifact anyway. I’m the manager of this force from today. In other words, I’m getting busy.”

“Ah, yeah.”

Jin Jaehee was like a gentle sheep in front of Kang Si-On.

He looked really young.

But his voice was dignified, low, and principled, even compared to other lords.

“The lord’s decree must have been conveyed to the citizens, so people already know about me. What I have to do is find and solve the problems inside the police station. If possible, gain their trust and increase approval ratings. It would be even better if I could do quests at the same time.”

Si-On got up from the bed.

He zipped up the padded jacket he was wearing all the way to the top.

“I’m going to look around the police station. I’m going to go to the underground passage. Now I have the authority to do so.”

“I.”

Jin Jaehee was about to say something, but Si-On cut her off as he grabbed the doorknob.

“Don’t just follow me around like a puppy. I know you’re a returner and you want to protect me, but at least find something to do yourself in a place like this. Artifact training would be good.”

“Ah, that’s.”

Squeak-

Jin Jaehee was about to say something again.

Thump-!

But Si-On had already left the room.

Her lonely hand remained outstretched in the air.

Jin Jaehee, who was left alone in the room, retracted her hand and rubbed the cheek fat that had been pressed earlier.

It didn’t hurt, but it tingled.

To some extent, she could also see the potential for his ability to grow.

Jin Jaehee continued to rub her cheek fat as if she were massaging an egg and recited,

“Open.”

Whoosh-!