Not A Regressor-Chapter 3: Scammer (2)

“Ha!”

Was it called a placebo effect?

As if he had received a real buff, Lee Shin-Hyuk swiftly charged at the monster.

“Grrr!”

From the bushes emerged an Anthorn, a one-star monster that looked like a mix between an ant and a wolf. It was the most common monster in low-level gates, and although it more closely resembled a wolf, its body was covered in a hard, crustacean-like shell instead of soft fur.

“Haa!”

He swung his spear like a stream of water, sharply piercing through the Anthorn’s hard shell.

Crack!

“Grrr!”

The Anthorn tried to chomp down on Lee Shin-Hyuk. However, as if he had anticipated it, he easily dodged the attack.

“Haha! I definitely feel a lot lighter!” exclaimed Lee Shin-Hyuk as he dealt with the Anthorn.

I’m glad you’re enjoying my fake buff.

Kwon Oh-Jin couldn’t help but laugh. As soon as he had seen Lee Shin-Hyuk, he knew he would be easy to exploit, but this was beyond his expectations.

This is great!

The thought of having caught an excellent pushover made him excited.

Crack!

“Grrr...!”

With a cry, the Anthron was decapitated.

“Phew.”

“Good work.”

“Haha, it’s all thanks to your buff, Jin-Oh.”

“No, you could’ve easily taken that monster down even without my buff.”

Kwon Oh-Jin wasn’t lying. After all, he didn’t actually cast a buff on him in the first place.

He’s not too bad.

Kwon Oh-Jin knew better than to jump to conclusions just because Lee Shin-Hyuk had made quick work of a weak one-star monster. Nevertheless, he fought better than most of the Awakeners Kwon Oh-Jin had encountered in the past.

Lee Shin-Hyuk was a skilled fighter—no, he was a skilled pushover.

Great.

It was rare to find someone of this caliber.

“Then what about the harvesting of the Starstone...”

“Oh, I’ll take care of it.”

“But—”

“I’m not much use in direct combat, so let me handle it. You should rest in the meantime, Shin-Hyuk.”

“Thank you.”

Lee Shin-Hyuk bowed and sat down.

Kwon Oh-Jin chuckled softly and rummaged through the corpse of the decapitated Anthorn. Not long after, he found a fingernail-sized piece emitting a blue light.

Starstone.

Starstones were stones said to hold the power of the stars. They could store a portion of the power of the Stigmas, making them highly valuable and a major source of income for Awakeners.

This one isn’t worth much, though.

Starstones from one-star monsters were small and of low quality, so they only fetched a low price.

This should earn us about twenty thousand won.

Split evenly, that was about ten thousand won each. Considering the battle didn’t even last a minute, it wasn’t a bad reward.

If I’m lucky, I can make around three hundred thousand won today.

The pay wasn’t enough, considering he had to risk his life every time he scammed someone, but it couldn’t be helped. In this messed-up world, an ordinary person with no power or connections earning this much in a day was remarkable.

“Remarkable, huh...”

Kwon Oh-Jin blankly stared at the Starstone in his hand.

That was right. The fact that someone like him, who was nothing but talk, could earn this much was indeed remarkable. However, to buy what he truly wanted and reach the goal he had in mind, he needed much more money.

“Jin-Oh?”

“Ah.”

Brought back to reality by Lee Shin-Hyuk’s voice, Kwon Oh-Jin turned to face him.

Lee Shin-Hyuk was looking at him with a puzzled expression.

“Is something wrong?”

Kwon Oh-Jin shook his head and walked over to him. “No, it’s nothing.”

“Then let’s move on.”

Having confirmed Lee Shin-Hyuk’s skills, it was time to head deeper into the forest.

***

“Grrr!”

“Grrrrr!”

“Graaaak!”

Three Anthorns surrounded Lee Shin-Hyuk. Among them was an Elder Anthorn—a two-star monster.

“Hmph!”

Lee Shin-Hyuk slid across the ground and cut through the group of Anthorns without hesitation. He quickly decapitated the two smaller Anthorns, then faced off against the much larger Elder Anthorn.

“Blessing of the Lake!”

As Lee Shin-Hyuk fiercely fought, Kwon Oh-Jin scattered powdered glass into the air from behind him. The blue dust rode the wind and reached Lee Shin-Hyuk.

Lee Shin-Hyuk let out a powerful shout and stomped on the ground. “Haaaa!”

Crack!

“Grrr! Khaa!”

Gripping his spear with both hands, Lee Shin-Hyuk leaped high into the air. He then crashed down like a meteor and impaled his spear into the Elder Anthorn’s head. The monster shrieked one last time as it slumped.

Panting heavily, Lee Shin-Hyuk collapsed to the ground. “Huff, huff.”

It had been four hours of intense hunting. Even though Awakeners had monstrous stamina, these two had been at it long enough to wear anyone out.

Kwon Oh-Jin, also visibly exhausted, let out a heavy breath. “Phew... Are you alright?”

Having only watched from the sidelines, he wasn’t actually tired. However, he needed to act worn out to avoid suspicion.

Lee Shin-Hyuk nodded as he caught his breath. “I’m fine.”

Time to wrap this up.

Upon finding the right moment, Kwon Oh-Jin slowly approached him.

“Shall we call it a day?” he asked as he lifted the now noticeably heavier pouch of Starstones.

This should be worth about five hundred thousand to six hundred thousand won.

Split evenly, that would be around three thousand won each, hitting today’s goal.

“We need to split the Starstones, so we should get going,” said Kwon Oh-Jin.

Lee Shin-Hyuk stood up. “Alright.”

“Are you free tomorrow as well?” asked Kwon Oh-Jin.

“Of course!”

“Haha. Then let’s meet again tomorrow.”

“For sure! With you by my side, Jin-Oh, I have nothing to be afraid of!” Lee Shin-Hyuk shouted energetically.

Kwon Oh-Jin smiled slyly.

I’ve got myself a real pushover.

The thought of using Lee Shin-Hyuk and milking him for money naturally brought a smile to his face.

Just then, the rustle of bushes tickled his ears. He turned his head toward it.

“Hmm.”

Lee Shin-Hyuk gripped his spear and lowered his stance.“It seems like more Anthorns are coming.”

Kwon Oh-Jin nodded and hid behind Lee Shin-Hyuk.

Rustle, rustle, rustle.

Brushes against bushes echoed from several directions at once.

“It’s not just one,” Lee Shin-Hyuk said with a slightly nervous expression.

Anthorns didn’t typically move in groups, but three or four would occasionally appear together. An Elder Anthorn would always be accompanying them, so extra caution was required.

Rustle, rustle, rustle, rustle, rustle!

Kwon Oh-Jin’s face stiffened. “Huh?”

As the rustles grew louder, a foreboding feeling crawled down his spine and spread to the rest of his body.

Something is off...

Rustle, rustle, rustle, rustle, rustle, rustle, rustle, rustle, rustle, rustle, rustle, rustle!

There weren't just three or four. At least twenty—no, more than thirty monsters were on the move.

“Fuck,” Kwon Oh-Jin quietly cursed.

Something was seriously wrong.

Trembling uncontrollably, Lee Shin-Hyuk turned to his companion.

“J-Jin-Oh, th-this is...” he stammered like a broken machine. “W-Why are there s-so many Anthorns...?”

Smack!

Kwon Oh-Jin smacked the back of Lee Shin-Hyuk’s pale and trembling head.

“Snap out of it, you idiot!” he shouted, the dire situation making him resort to harsh remarks. “Run!”

Lee Shin-Hyuk looked up at him in shock and confusion. The sudden cursing had stunned him.

“I said run, you stupid shit!” Kwon Oh-Jin cursed again as he pulled Lee Shin-Hyuk by the shoulder. Watching Lee Shin-Hyuk cluelessly fumble around frustrated him.

Lee Shin-Hyuk stopped frantically looking around and finally nodded. It seemed he was finally starting to understand what was happening.

“A-Alright! This way, Jin-Oh!”

As expected from someone with the Stigma of Pyxis, he instinctively picked the direction where the Anthorns hadn’t fully encircled them yet and took off running.

“Huff, huff!”

Kwon Oh-Jin desperately chased after him. Thanks to his regular physical training, he somewhat managed to keep up with Lee Shin-Hyuk, but...

Damn it!

Cursing under his breath, Kwon Oh-Jin glanced over his shoulder.

“Grrr!”

“Kraaa!”

Dozens of Anthorns were crashing through the thick bushes and chasing after him. Five of them were Elder Anthorns.

What the hell is going on?!

In all his years dealing with low-level gates, he had never seen this many Anthorns moving in a pack.

“Jin-Oh, run faster!”

“I’m trying!”

He felt as if his lungs were on fire. His heart pounded so hard it felt like it was going to burst out of his chest.

“Grrr!”

The Anthorns were starting to surround them.

“Damn it!”

Kwon Oh-Jin spun around and pulled out a handgun from his waistband.

A Colt 1911. It was a weapon he carried for minimal self-defense.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

“Grrr.”

“Shit!”

He frantically shot the approaching Anthorns. However, the bullets merely bounced off their armor-like skin.

Without the power of a Stigma, regular weapons couldn’t do much damage to monsters in the first place. At best, all it could do was slow them down slightly.

Damn it!

Throwing the now useless gun aside, he sprinted in panic as if his life depended on it.

What the hell is Shin-Hyuk doing? Why isn’t he helping?

He glared at Lee Shin-Hyuk, who was running ahead of him.

“Ugh... at this rate...”

Frowning, Lee Shin-Hyuk turned back toward Kwon Oh-Jin. Fear was evident in his gaze.

No way, this bastard is about to...

An ominous feeling passed through his mind.

“I-I’m sorry, Jin-Oh!”

Why did bad feelings always turn out to be right?

Lee Shin-Hyuk shoved him toward the approaching Anthorns.

“Argh!”

Kwon Oh-Jin tumbled across the ground.

Like a broken record, Lee Shin-Hyuk repeatedly apologized. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m sorry!”

You bastard!

Kwon Oh-Jin’s calm face twisted in rage.

“Don’t you dare!”

Using every ounce of his strength, Kwon Oh-Jin slid forward and grabbed Lee Shin-Hyuk’s leg, causing the latter to turn pale.

“J-Jin-Oh?!”

“I saved your sorry ass, and now you’re pulling this crap?!”

“I-If we stay like this, we’re both going to die!”

“Then we’ll die together, you coward!”

There was no way Kwon Oh-Jin would let himself die like this.

“Ugh! Let go! Damn it!”

Lee Shin-Hyuk kicked as hard as he could.

“Argh!”

Kwon Oh-Jin tried to hold on, but there was no way he could withstand the strength of an Awakener. The kick violently broke his grip and threw him back.

“Agh! D-Damn it!”

Rustle, rustle, rustle.

The Anthorns were getting closer.

Kwon Oh-Jin paled.

This is it. I’m going to...

Ptzzzzz!

Out of nowhere, blue sparks crackled violently, and Lee Shin-Hyuk started convulsing as if he were having a seizure.

***

That’s how I got here.

After recalling the events earlier, Kwon Oh-Jin squinted and looked at the woman standing before him.

No.

He instinctively realized the term “woman” didn’t quite fit. She was a being who bestowed Stigmas to humans, creating superhumans known as Awakeners.

She was a Celestial. The woman who suddenly appeared was undoubtedly a god born from the stars.

What is a Celestial doing here?

Kwon Oh-Jin had turned into a tangled mess of confusion.

Wait a minute.

Coming to a realization, he touched the Stigma engraved on his left chest with his fingertips.

She said I possess a Stigma that she has never given to anyone, right?

If the silver-haired goddess was right, then the unfamiliar Stigma now engraved on his chest...

This is... Lee Shin-Hyuk’s Stigma.

He didn’t know how, but he had absorbed Lee Shin-Hyuk’s Stigma using Black Heaven. Not the Stigma of Pyxis, but the Stigma of Lyra.

Hold the fuck up.

A shiver ran down his spine and spread through his entire body. The back of his neck started to burn as his eyes widened in realization.

Lee Shin-Hyuk was a Regressor?

No, that couldn’t be.

That idiot, a Regressor...? No way.

Then, the image of Lee Shin-Hyuk convulsing and burning to death just moments ago flashed through his mind. As if his Stigma’s power had gone wild, a bolt of blue lightning surged and burned him from the inside out.

No way.

What if that was the moment future Lee Shin-Hyuk tried to merge with his past body? If that sudden change caused his death, it could explain why he had the Stigma of Lyra instead of Pyxis.

He tried to change Stigmas, but it ended up killing him.

It felt as though the misplaced puzzle pieces were finally falling into place.

Kwon Oh-Jin trembled slightly as he raised his head.

“Hmm? Are you not a Regressor?”

The goddess emotionlessly looked down at him with her cold golden eyes.

“I’m sure I sensed the Heaven-Defying Star here—”

“That’s me,” he interjected with a nod.

Kwon Oh-Jin didn’t understand what was happening. He couldn’t even begin to guess what had caused these events, what the Black Heaven was, what the Heaven-Defying Star referred to, or even the name of the goddess standing before him. He had no way of knowing any of it.

However, he was sure of one thing. In order to survive, he had to become a Regressor.

“I am a Regressor.”