The Regressor Only Protects Me [EN]: Chapter 65

＃65. Each of Their Stars (1)

From all sorts of system notifications.

[Open Message.]

[You have 81 unread emails.]

[Selected as this week’s item: ‘Ogre Mastery’.]

[Acquire additional points.]

[Selected as this week’s item: ‘Ogre Mastery’.]

[Ranked #1 in the Trade Market for 6 consecutive weeks: ‘Ogre Mastery’.]

And emails from other lords belonging to South Korea.

[Anonymous Lord: How did you make the boiler? I will pay 100,000G for information sharing.]

[Anonymous Lord: Please help with boiler production. There are many elderly and children here. I will pay 150,000G.]

[Anonymous Lord: How on earth did you tame the ogre? Please let me know. Please. The bridge has collapsed, making the road impassable. If we use monsters like ogres…….]

[Anonymous Lord: I am a lord in the Seoul area. If you let me know the Ogre Mastery, I can provide full support for gold. We will provide all support for the transaction. Additionally, the gold payment amount is…….]

There were as many as 81 personal messages like the ones above.

Here, lords could exchange items as if it were a game.

Items that can be exchanged in the market are not general resources, weapons, or manpower, but things belonging to the lord’s inventory.

Additionally, there were two things that surprised me.

First, Seo Jang uploaded the achievements I had made to the trading market as if they were his own.

And the reaction was explosive.

Second, as Round 2 began, more people than I thought had already adapted to this system and were diligently participating in the league.

The lords had been starting the game in earnest from the moment I came out of the shopping mall.

“Actually, the reason Seo Jang was so friendly to you, and didn’t kick you out of the manager position even while being suspicious, was all because of this. He didn’t want to lose a talent like you. But guess what? He got backstabbed right away, and now he’s been beheaded? Heh. Sion, you should remember this when you become a lord. If the citizens’ backlash lasts for a long time, unexpected situations like this can happen.”

“Be quiet.”

I glared at K, who was muttering all day long.

I was already overwhelmed with so much information in front of me, and I didn’t have the luxury to listen to K’s words.

K scratched the back of her head and replied.

“Ahaha. Ah, then wait a moment. How about this? Silence.”

Whoosh-.

At that moment, all the people, scenery, and objects in this area turned black and white and stopped.

Only K and I had color.

Even if the surrounding scenery changed rapidly, I didn’t care.

Understanding the given system was the priority right now.

“Is this okay now?”

K smiled at me, but I didn’t react to her words anymore.

In the end, the position of lord was for those who were granted the divine ability to control a large number of citizens.

Moreover, the ability to communicate in real-time with thousands of lords residing in the Korean Peninsula, now that the invention of communication, was a great power.

And now, the information written on each weapon was all stored in the system, even if it was not recorded separately.

‘There is also a community for sharing information about Round 2.’

The lords were forming groups or sharing information to resist the cold.

But there was one strange thing.

The victory condition in Round 2 was to survive the winter.

But for some reason, the reaction to the ogre was more explosive than the boiler in my production methods.

For example, the boiler’s market ranking was up to 13th, while the ogre was still maintaining 1st place.

‘Anyway, having the #1 item in the market is a huge advantage.’

I don’t know yet where this currency called gold, which is traded in the market, is used or how to earn it.

But what is clear is that the lords were using this gold, and it would become a key resource.

Round 1 is a building game.

Round 2 is a severe cold.

Then what will Round 3 be?

The environment changed rapidly each time a round progressed.

I was curious.

I finally looked at K.

She was already squatting near me, looking up at me.

“Are you finally interested in me? Do you have any questions? I’ll tell you what I can.”

“……When does Round 2 end?”

“Hmm…… I can’t tell you that.”

“How many rounds are there in total? 5? 10?”

“Can’t tell you~”

I frowned.

“Who are you?”

“……Hehe. Can’t tell you that either.”

K smiled brightly.

I lost interest and looked at the status window again.

Then K got up from her seat and approached me.

“But I’ll tell you one thing. It’s a big help to you. It’s a special prize just for you.”

“…….”

I didn’t care.

I judged that it was more valuable to find out for myself than to expect information from K.

K slowly approached me and soon put her face next to mine.

She whispered.

“This is a secret~ Should I tell you specially?”

And my pupils shook at her words.

* * *

A total of four S-class players.

The rarest and most powerful players among the players.

Sion’s forces had an S-class player named Jin Jae-hee.

The power of an S-class player was comparable to that of an entire force.

And they were now beginning to bring about major changes in the league.

Seoul, Lotte Tower top floor in Jamsil.

A man was sitting there.

The man had been sitting here for a week, just staring at the ruined city.

He didn’t eat, sleep, or rest.

He was just sitting on the roof of the tallest building in Korea, looking at the snow-covered scenery of Seoul.

“Hoo-.”

The man had a cigarette in his hand.

In fact, he wasn’t smoking it, he was just holding it.

The black-haired, disheveled man took a puff only when the cigarette was half-rolled.

A boy was flying in front of him.

The boy was A, the faithful manager of the system.

A asked the man.

“Hey. Hey. Why aren’t you leaving the building? With your power, occupying Seoul is a piece of cake, right?”

“…….”

The man had a pale face, but his lips were red.

It was because blood was flowing back from his esophagus.

The man wiped his mouth every time blood came out.

Thanks to that, both hands were also red.

“In my opinion, you are the closest person to winning this league. Your power is the most overwhelming in the world. Look! At the results you’ve achieved.”

“…….”

Even when A muttered, the man remained silent.

Round 1, Lotte Tower.

The moment the largest building in Korea was selected as the location for Round 1, it became the largest battlefield.

A total of 31,235 citizens were trapped here and played Round 1.

But after 3 months, only one person remained here.

It was because the man had eaten them all.

The man, who had stubbornly remained silent, finally looked at A and said.

“……You. How long are you going to be here?”

“Hmm…… Until you die?”

“……Is that so?”

The man, looking at A’s unpleasant smile, got up from his seat.

Now he was standing on top of Lotte Tower.

Below him was a 554m high cliff.

“If I die. Will you get lost now?”

“Puhuhu……! Yes, yes. I’ll get lost.”

The man slowly tilted his body.

His body leaned forward and soon fell from the roof.

It didn’t take long for the man to crash to the ground.

Whoooooooo- Squish-!!!

The man’s body was completely crushed, flattened like a pancake.

A, who came down from the top of the tower, burst into laughter and approached the man.

“Puhuhuhu……! Puhahahaha!!! Jonghyun! I told you that wouldn’t work! Keukeukeuk……!”

A burst out laughing at the man who had become a pancake.

And soon, the man’s pancake-like body began to twitch.

At first, the bones began to twitch and gather, and then the muscles and skin.

The man’s body was regenerated.

The man, covered in blood again, looked up at A powerlessly.

“Official player ranking #1. Artifact Devourer. The player chosen by this body. Kwon Jonghyun. You can’t die. You have 31,000 lives left. Wouldn’t that be more boring? Puhuhu……!”

“…….”

Jonghyun looked up at A and then looked around.

This place was…… full of blood clots that he had created by attempting suicide countless times.

A reached out to Jonghyun.

“Come on, Jonghyun. Let’s win the league together. Then, you will become a god in this world. Puhuhu……! Puhahahaha!”

A’s cunning laughter echoed for a while in the street full of corpses.

* * *

The second S-class.

In Gangwon-do, there was a pseudo-religious group organized by a woman since the past.

Also known as the Maria Church.

The woman claimed to be the reincarnation of Maria, and that the child in her womb was the savior who would save the world.

And the started ‘League’ became an opportunity for more believers to flock to the Maria Church.

Tens of thousands of new believers flocked to the mountains of Gangwon-do.

After planning her religious group with tens of thousands of believers centered on the mountains of Gangwon-do and playing Round 1, the cult entered Round 2.

“God! Maria!”

“God! Maria!”

“God! Maria!”

The believers praised Shin Maria.

They thought that the child in Shin Maria’s womb was the savior who would save them.

Shin Maria’s forces were building a kingdom of their own in the mountains, surrounded by wooden fences.

Even in the kingdom full of snowfields, Shin Maria’s majestic figure stood out even more.

Every Monday was designated as the day to meet their god, and on that day, people gathered one by one.

It was to meet Shin Maria.

“God! Maria!”

“God! Maria!”

“God! Maria!!!”

And a woman with full breasts and belly, attended by male believers, slowly appeared in front of thousands of believers.

Park Mi-sun, 41 years old.

Pseudo-religious leader.

Official ranking 2nd S-class player and lord of the Maria Church forces.

She was the lord of the largest force with the most citizens and forces at the present time.

She was also the unrivaled lord of the Gangwon area.

“Start. Quickly.”

When Park Mi-sun spoke, the believers hurriedly began to prepare sacrifices.

The human who was dragged in was already dead.

It didn’t seem like he had been dead for long.

This was a sacred ritual unique to the Maria Church.

In front of the sacred ritual of offering sacrifices to God, all believers knelt and worshiped.

Park Mi-sun shouted in front of the believers.

“It’s the time of the Second Coming! We are welcoming him! He is the only god who will save us! Bow down! Worship!”

The believers raised their heads and began to bow with both hands raised high.

* * *

Third S-class.

8-lane road in Hogye-dong, Dongan-gu, Anyang-si, Gyeonggi-do, towards Uiwang.

Tick, tick.

Sparks flew and were embedded in the white snow.

There, a warrior group was constantly throwing corpses into a burning fire.

The power structure of the 1st force in Dongan-gu was simple.

The Queen’s closest aides.

The Queen’s warriors.

And the Queen’s slaves.

The slaves were in charge of all kinds of chores.

They were in charge of obtaining food, digging snow, disposing of corpses, or being drafted as combat troops during battles.

But most of them were busy handling chores.

Lee Joo-yeon, who played Round 1 with Kang Sion in the shopping mall, was also a slave of the Queen.

She had been doing this work in Dongan-gu for months.

“…….”

Lee Joo-yeon slowly carried the chopped corpse and threw it into the fire with other slaves.

It was a job that continued from when the sun began to rise until it set.

Despite the freezing weather, her body was already covered in sweat.

She felt dizzy.

All there was to eat were canned goods or hardened sweet potato roots.

Even then, it was questionable whether it could be called food.

“Rest! Rest!”

At that time, the manager who was managing the slaves shouted.

Then, the slaves who were carrying the corpses straightened their backs one by one and moved to the designated place.

Lee Joo-yeon also followed them.

What the 1st force in Dongan was making was one large wall.

They tightly clumped the snow with water to make it as hard as a brick.

Like an igloo.

And they said that they were building it between buildings to confront the ‘Uiwang Force’.

That was all Lee Joo-yeon knew about the rumors.

“It’s meal time. Everyone, hold out your hands.”

The warriors holding blunt weapons slowly approached with baskets.

As the warriors approached, the slaves sat down and held out their hands.

Thud.

The warriors took out food from the basket and placed it in the hands of the slaves one by one.

Soon, food was in Lee Joo-yeon’s hands.

It was a convenience store triangle kimbap [a Korean rice ball wrapped in seaweed] that was as hard as a brick.

The expiration date had long passed, but even this was appreciated.

The only reason the triangle kimbap was edible was because the rice grains crumbled when rubbed.

Lee Joo-yeon peeled off the plastic and bit into the stone-hard triangle kimbap.

And Joo-yeon turned to the side when she felt someone approaching.

Crunch. Crunch.

It was a young boy.

The boy was gnawing on a frozen potato in his hand with his front teeth.

It wasn’t something a young child could eat.

Joo-yeon, unable to watch, broke her triangle kimbap with force.

She finely crushed it and handed it to the boy.

The boy stared up at Joo-yeon.

“Eat it quickly. It’s okay.”

At the kind voice, the boy put the crushed triangle kimbap in his mouth and chewed.

Joo-yeon was also hungry, but she was more worried about the boy’s teeth.

Joo-yeon stared at the boy who was eating the triangle kimbap.

He strangely resembled someone.

Joo-yeon asked the boy.

“What’s your name?”

“…….”

The boy was eating the triangle kimbap while being wary of his surroundings.

He was looking around while eating, wondering if anyone would take his food.

Joo-yeon stroked the boy’s head to reassure him.

“It’s okay. Chew it slowly.”

“…….”

The boy looked at Joo-yeon again.

Joo-yeon was showing a warm smile.

It was the first smile from an adult she had seen since coming here.

The boy silently chewed on the hard rice grains and quietly muttered.

“……Kang Junho.”

“Junho? Is that your name?”

Junho nodded.

Joo-yeon asked Junho again.

“How did you end up here alone, Junho?”

“……While looking for my brother.”

“Brother? Where did your brother go?”

“……My brother is at the construction site.”

Joo-yeon stared at Junho and then turned to the front.

Seeing Junho reminded her of her younger sibling.

Joo-yeon became a little disturbed.

“……Sister.”

“…….”

Junho handed the triangle kimbap to Joo-yeon.

Joo-yeon carefully picked it up.

“You’re hungry too, sister.”

“…….”

The part Junho handed to Joo-yeon was the central part of the triangle kimbap, where the mixed seasoning was.

Joo-yeon smiled at Junho.

She was impressed.

“It’s okay. You eat a lot. I secretly ate a lot earlier.”

“Is it okay?”

“Yeah. It’s okay.”

Joo-yeon wiped Junho’s runny nose.

And she realized then that Junho was trembling.

Flapping-.

Joo-yeon took off her field jacket and covered it with Junho.

Junho was startled at first, but soon regained his composure.

Crunch, crunch.

Junho, who was chewing on the rice grains, stared blankly ahead and quietly muttered.

“Sister.”

“Yeah.”

Joo-yeon replied weakly.

She was hungry, but in fact, she had no strength.

And Junho quietly continued.

“Sister…… you seem to be really lucky.”

“Huh?”

Junho’s voice dropped.

It wasn’t a child’s voice.

Joo-yeon was startled and looked at Junho.

And she couldn’t help but be surprised.

It was because Junho’s eyes were faintly flickering.

There was light spinning.

Junho said.

“……Tonight. I was going to kill everyone here and go to Uiwang. Slaves or warriors. Everyone.”

“What do you mean……?”

“Didn’t you feel it too, sister? The wall is disappearing. The boundary is being lifted. I can feel it.”

Only then did Joo-yeon look at Junho.

She felt a faint power.

No, it was a powerful force.

It was an artifact.

Joo-yeon was also aware of the system.

And the power felt from the boy in front of her was by no means ordinary.

“I’m going to meet my brother.”

She doesn’t know what the boy’s ability is.

But what was certain was that the boy’s words, ‘kill everyone here’, did not seem like a lie or bluff.

The golden light flickered little by little.

What was the golden light?

Joo-yeon remembered K’s words.

What K said after coming out of the shopping mall.

And the golden light clearly…… meant the power of an S-class artifact.

“I have to protect my brother. My brother is precious. More precious than the Earth. So I’m going to kill everyone who gets in the way.”

She felt a strong murderous intent.

The boy in front of her had such a powerful force that he could never be called a ‘child’.

Yes, just like Sion, whom she met at the shopping mall.

Joo-yeon trembled a little.

And Junho asked Joo-yeon.

“Do you want to come with me, sister?”

Sion’s younger brother, Kang Junho.

The boy was the official ranking 3rd S-class player.

(Continued in the next episode)