Not A Regressor-Chapter 69: Mind, Body, Technique (2)

“W-What kind of nonsense is this?!” Riarc roared, scratching furiously at the floor, leaving deep claw marks.

“Get your paws off that, you jerk,” Kwon Oh-Jin said.

What the hell is he doing to the new house?

“This is cheating! It's not fair!” Riarc yelled. He glared at Kwon Oh-Jin, feeling greatly wronged. “You damn scammer!”

Although Kwon Oh-Jin was in fact a scammer, it was completely true that he could use Lightning Flames.

“You can literally see me do it," he said. "How is that a scam?”

He waved at Riarc while flickering blue flames burned brightly on his palm.

Though the output was smaller and dimmer than what Riarc had produced around his mouth, it was undeniably the same skill.

“Grrr.” Riarc brought his nose close to Kwon Oh-Jin’s hand and sniffed the flames.

Soon, Riarc sighed and shook his head in disbelief. “Even if you’re the Heaven-Defying Star, this is just...”

He trailed off, unable to comprehend the situation.

“Heaven-Defying Star?” Song Ha-Eun asked, cocking her head. "What’s that?"

Riarc flinched. “A-Ahem! It refers to a great being destined to become a hero!”

“... Oh-Jin is a great hero?” Song Ha-Eun cast a skeptical glance at Kwon Oh-Jin before pinching his cheek. “Ha! What part of this punk screams ‘great hero’ to you?”

“Ow, ow, ow!”

Kwon Oh-Jin was confused about why Song Ha-Eun and Vega treated his face like some kind of stress ball.

He asked, “Anyway... does this mean I won't get anything special even if my Thunderbolt reaches level 10?”

That would be kinda disappointing.

He knew he had to rigorously train this skill regardless since it was the cornerstone of the Stigma of Lyra, yet he couldn’t help feeling a little dejected.

“Hmm... I’m not too sure,” Riarc said, squinting. “You’re the only Awakener to ever receive the Stigma of Lyra. While I also received one from Lady Vega, you can’t really compare a Star Spirit like me to a human.”

His sharp gaze locked onto Kwon Oh-Jin. “Perhaps... once your Thunderbolt reaches level 10, you might receive an entirely different reward.”

“A different reward?”

“That’s right. Something novel and unprecedented. After all, humans are beings with infinite potential—more than any star possesses.”

Setting aside the abstract talk, the prospect of gaining something new piqued Kwon Oh-Jin’s interest.

“Well, I guess I’ll find out once I reach it,” he muttered.

Riarc lifted his head toward Kwon Oh-Jin, looking away from the floor he had been clawing at. Didn’t he say that when he regressed, he lost all memories of the skills related to the Stigma of Lyra?

Traces of them could still have lingered in his subconscious. After all, Kwon Oh-Jin was the Heaven-Defying Star, a hero who had travelled through time to rewrite the future.

But even so, where on earth did a monster like you come from? Riarc started to question why Kwon Oh-Jin couldn’t save the world in his previous life.

“Haa... Are you sure you’re not the Heavenly Demon instead?” Riarc muttered.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Kwon Oh-Jin shot back. Shit, how does he know?

“Hmph, I’m just saying, you know.” Riarc snorted and turned his head.

“Heavenly Demon? What’s that now?” Song Ha-Eun asked, taken aback.

“It’s nothing, lizard woman.”

“Hey, I told you to stop calling me that!”

“Hmph! Only Lady Vega can order me around!” Riarc growled and snorted again.

“You arrogant little jerk!” Song Ha-Eun's eyes flared as she lunged at Riarc.

“Grrr! W-What do you think you’re doing, lizard woman?!”

“Take this!” She climbed on top of him and started tickling his belly.

“Ahh! N-Not there!”

Song Ha-Eun laughed triumphantly as she rolled around with Riarc in a playful scuffle. “Haha! So this is your weak spot!”

Could he not resist because his powers were restricted, or were belly rubs truly his weakness? Whatever the case, he lied on his back helplessly as Song Ha-Eun tickled him.

Kwon Oh-Jin couldn’t help but smile bitterly as he watched them. “You two sure got close fast. Oh, right. Vega?”

“What is it?” Vega asked.

“Do you know what the Ancient Constellations are?” he asked, recalling the quest he had received.

Her eyes widened in surprise. “Where did you hear that term?”

He spoke softly so that Song Ha-Eun couldn’t overhear. “I heard it a long time ago from the Heavenly Demon. I’d forgotten about it until recently.”

“Hmm...” Vega crossed her arms and fell silent for a moment. “How much do you know about the Celestials?”

“The Celestials?”

Eight or nine years ago, when gates had suddenly appeared all over the world and unleashed monsters upon the masses, the Celestials had abruptly revealed themselves. These transcendent beings could bestow humans with a Stigma, transforming them into Awakeners. That was all Kwon Oh-Jin knew about them.

Is a Regressor supposed to know all about the Celestials?

It was a dangerous bet to feign expertise on Celestials, given his limited knowledge—especially when speaking with one firsthand. He decided to offer a vague explanation for now.

“I don’t know much. I was too busy fighting every day to look into that kind of stuff.”

“I see.”

Perhaps thanks to the solid trust he had built with her over time, she didn’t seem apprehensive.

“Celestials were created from the power of a giant star called the Titan,” she divulged.

“Titan?”

“A giant born from the beginning of time. Hmmm... you could simply think of it as the Creator.”

Huh? What's this about a Creator now?

He struggled to wrap his head around the rising scale of the lore. “So, you're saying this Creator made the Celestials?”

Vega nodded. “That’s right. The Titan created Celestials to oversee multiple worlds. Even the restrictions were designed by the Creator to prevent us from exerting reckless influence over all the worlds.”

If this were a game, the Titan would be the developer and the Celestials the administators.

“However... in the distant past, there was a time when all the Celestials were driven to extinction,” she added.

“The Celestials went extinct?”

“Yes.”

What could possibly annihilate the very administrators of the world crafted by a Creator...? he thought. Wait a minute. No way.

Vega smiled faintly. “It seems you’ve started to piece it together. The darkness born from the beginning of time—the Black Heaven—devoured all the stars in the universe.”

In other words, the world had already been destroyed by the Black Heaven once before.

“The Ancient Constellations were those Celestials consumed by the Black Heaven back then,” she added.

... I see, so that’s what it was. That’s why the quest reward is an Ancient Constellation. Kwon Oh-Jin realized he could inherit the powers of a Celestial that the Black Heaven had consumed in the past.

“Then what about the Celestials now?” he asked.

“The current Celestials are entirely new stars born afterward.”

Kwon Oh-Jin rubbed his temples as a dull ache throbbed behind his eyes. So that’s why Vega said the Black Heaven has the power to destroy the world. Damn it.

Even if he claimed he had no intention of ending the world, merely possessing the Black Heaven would brand him a criminal.

And in the first timeline, I actually did destroy the world.

He had no memory of it, but every sign indicated that the Heavenly Demon was none other than himself.

“Do you now understand what the Ancient Constellations were?”

“Yeah, I do. Thanks.”

He smiled casually, despite the storm of thoughts raging inside his head.

For now, he told himself, I’ll just focus on what I can do and what I have to do.

There was no point in agonizing over a future that had already started to shift. The moment Lee Shin-Hyuk died and Kwon Oh-Jin became a "Regressor," the future ceased being the same as the first timeline. What mattered now was how he would act in this new future.

And that’s already decided.

His eyes gleamed sharply as he turned to look around—at his new home, Song Ha-Eun laughing, Vega perched on his shoulder, and Riarc sprawled on the floor, panting.

A gentle warmth seeped into his skin.

I won’t let go of this feeling, even if it means deceiving the entire world.

“Alright then," he said, trying to get up. "I should go and stretch—”

Song Ha-Eun and Vega pushed his shoulders back down.

“Absolutely not.”

“You can’t. Do you not realize the state your body is in?”

“You’ve been unconscious for four days," Song Ha-Eun said, "and now you want to go train? Are you insane?”

“Well, uh...” Kwon Oh-Jin turned to Riarc with a look, asking for help against the overwhelmingly intense women.

Riarc sighed as he approached with narrowed eyes. “I do think Lady Vega and the lizard woman are being overprotective, but you should stay put this time.”

“Ugh.”

Kwon Oh-Jin couldn't express his frustration. I have so much to do.

He didn’t have the luxury to just lie in bed if he wanted to grow stronger even just a little faster.

Riarc clicked his tongue again as he looked up at Kwon Oh-Jin.

“Tsk, tsk. Have you ever heard of 'mind, body, technique'?”

“Well, yeah.” He had seen the phrase a lot in martial arts novels.

“In your case, the balance between those three is completely broken.”

“My balance is broken?”

Riarc nodded. “First, your mind...”

He shook his head in disappointment. “Honestly, even calling you insane would be an understatement. In all my long years, I’ve never seen anyone as twisted as you.”

What the hell? Kwon Oh-Jin thought. Is he trying to pick a fight?

“At least when it comes to the mind, there’s probably no one in this world who can match up to you. Not even the Celestials or the monsters at the Demonic District.”

“Oh. Um...”

Is it really to that extent? Kwon Oh-Jin wondered.

“Second is your technique. Honestly, there’s not much to say for this one... You’re a monster.”

“Is that a compliment or an insult?”

“It’s both.” Riarc snorted. "The problem is your body. Compared to your mind and technique, your physique is utterly pathetic. And that's me being generous with the wording.”

“Huh? Is it that bad?” Kwon Oh-Jin asked, glancing down at himself. “I mean, I’ve been training pretty hard.”

Even prior to awakening, he had never neglected basic physical training. After becoming an Awakener, he had pushed himself even further.

“... Are you seriously asking because you don’t know?”

“Yup. I really don’t know.”

Riarc let out a long sigh, then turned to Song Ha-Eun. “Lizard woman.”

“Huh?”

“Strip him.”

Her eyes widened. “What? Y-You want me to take off Oh-Jin's clothes?”

“It’s necessary. Just do it.”

Song Ha-Eun swallowed hard.

Gulp.

Slowly, a mischievous grin spread across her face.

“H-Ha-Eun, wait!”

“I'm only doing this because he told me to,” she retorted before jumping on Kwon Oh-Jin.

For some reason, Vega decided to join in. “Hmph! I shall assist as well!”

“Ahh! W-Wait! The fuck are you doing?!” Kwon Oh-Jin yelled, squirming in desperation. However, his internal injuries left him helpless.

“Come on! Take it off, bitch!” Song Ha-Eun burst into laughter as she started ripping off his clothes.

“Ahhhh!” he screamed.

“There’s no need to remove his pants...” Riarc mumbled.

“Kyahahaha! Let me see your back!” Song Ha-Eun shouted gleefully.

“There’s no need to take off his underwear, either.”

“Oh! What a warrior’s physique!” Vega remarked.

“Umm...” Riarc trailed off, no longer reaching through to the two women.

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