The Heroine Stole My Regression-Chapter 6

This forest becomes increasingly dangerous as one progresses, with various magical beasts launching attacks.

Particularly goblins—though, of course, they aren’t real creatures. They’re more like magically powered robots or puppets.

Because of this, the instructors can easily adjust their output, making them even stronger than actual combat opponents.

At first glance, this task might seem relatively simple, but in reality, it’s far from easy.

‘Formation is the key here.’

The reason why all five members are necessary.

The ambushes always come from precisely six directions at once.

Even if five people manage to block them, one path will inevitably remain exposed.

Especially considering goblins’ traits—if they manage to close the distance, things get complicated. No matter how skilled the students at this elite academy are, once caught, they’ll have to struggle for an extended period.

From that point on, stamina and time start depleting rapidly.

And this is assuming all five members are present.

If the number decreases, the situation deteriorates at an alarming rate.

The number of attack routes remains the same, so the difficulty quickly shifts into an overwhelming battle.

“They’re coming.”

Five minutes into the forest, it was clear that the academy’s reputation as the best wasn’t a lie.

Each team member already knew their role.

Even Yoon Sanghyuk and Lee Sangbong, for all their arrogance, carried out their duties in combat.

But with only five members and six attack routes—

One person had to cover two spots.

That responsibility fell to me.

Yu Hana provided support in that area, making it somewhat manageable.

She moved in perfect sync with me, as if she were an extension of my own limbs, without the slightest error.

‘What’s going on?’

At times, it even felt like she was subtly crossing into my space, teasing in an almost playful manner.

It wasn’t particularly bothersome, so I simply observed.

The goblin assaults continued in waves.

Whenever we tried to catch a break, they would swarm in again, but when we stayed on high alert, everything would go eerily quiet. It was a deliberate strategy by the instructors—forcing us to burn stamina needlessly.

We had just finished dealing with yet another wave.

After striking down the last goblin, I was starting to get tired of this.

I lightly planted my spear into the ground to catch my breath when I heard Yoon Sanghyuk panting heavily.

“Hah, hah... When is this gonna end? I can’t even think straight.”

Glancing over, I saw Lee Sangbong slumped on the ground, rubbing the back of his neck.

I took a deep breath and scanned the surroundings. The faint whirring of broken goblin mechanisms still echoed in the air.

On the exposed metal frame of one of the shattered machines, the small inscription “Mark. 8” was visible.

‘The ambushes come in a total of nine waves.’

Mark 8—this was the eighth.

“We’re almost done.”

Half-turning my head, I responded to Yoon Sanghyuk.

His breath hitched as he asked, “Seriously?”

“Yeah.”

Relieved, he nodded and let out a long exhale.

It seemed safe to take a short break now.

One by one, the team members began sitting down or leaning against nearby walls to rest.

I propped my spear beside me and quietly examined the surroundings.

‘Any injuries...?’

I checked Yoon Sanghyuk, Lee Sangbong, and Kim Daehyun, making sure none of them had any serious wounds.

That’s when it happened.

A sudden surge of heat shot through my veins.

For no apparent reason, a chill crawled down my back, and the nape of my neck prickled.

Before I could react, the others urgently gestured toward me, their expressions filled with panic.

All except Yu Hana—she remained relaxed, smiling as if she had expected this all along.

—Shwiiing!

Without even turning my head, I tilted my spear at an angle and thrust it backward.

With a sharp clang, the arrow deflected, its momentum lost as it tumbled off the tree it struck.

In the same motion, I twisted my body, rotating from my waist down, and hurled my spear.

A seamless, flowing throw.

—Crunch!

The hidden goblin archer (robot) met its end instantly.

“Tch.”

My lower back ached from the sudden, forceful movement. This was exactly why I didn’t like throwing my spear.

As I turned back, I saw the team staring at me with their mouths agape.

“Whoa... How did you do that?”

It was Kim Daehyun.

“Like this, dodge like that, and then throw it,” I replied, mimicking the motions halfheartedly.

He flailed his arms awkwardly, trying to copy me, clearly fascinated.

Yoon Sanghyuk and Lee Sangbong shared the same curious expression.

“...Isn’t that just pure instinct...?”

Yoon Sanghyuk had a rough idea of what it was. He hadn’t made it into the academy’s upper ranks for nothing.

‘Instinct’—it’s the ability to sense situations with one’s entire body. When honed to an extreme, it allows someone to perceive threats in their blind spots, or even predict danger before it happens. But that final level is something only an elite few ever achieve.

It’s essentially a form of heightened perception.

“Something like that.”

My thoughts shifted.

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I just wanted to get out of this forest as soon as possible.

“How about we take our break after we get out of here?”

As soon as I suggested it, Yoon Sanghyuk, Lee Sangbong, and Kim Daehyun exchanged glances before immediately nodding.

Yu Hana, still wearing that serene smile, wordlessly accepted my decision.

I retrieved my spear from the goblin’s corpse.

“Let’s go.”

***

“This is the last one!”

Kim Daehyun shouted at the top of his lungs.

He adjusted his stance, ready to throw his spear at the final goblin—

But at that moment, Yu Hana surged forward like a gust of wind. A single, razor-sharp slash cut through the goblin in an instant, slicing it clean in half.

‘...She’s fast.’

It made sense. Yu Hana was supposed to be strong—she was ranked within the top ten, after all.

Well, strength was always a good thing.

As soon as the last goblin was eliminated, the space before us blurred, revealing the safe zone.

In the blink of an eye, we had broken through the forest’s edge.

“That was rough.”

I hadn’t expected it to be easy. After all, this was Gaon.

At that moment, the instructor standing in the center of the safe zone gestured toward us.

Then, in a loud voice, he announced our ranking.

“Second place!”

The rest of my teammates—Yoon Sanghyuk, Lee Sangbong, and Kim Daehyun—were already sprawled across the ground.

“Nice...”

Lying flat on the dirt, Yoon Sanghyuk and Lee Sangbong weakly raised their thumbs at me.

If they had been uncooperative throughout the fight, I would have either split the unit apart or ignored them entirely. But in the end, they pulled their weight in battle, so I wasn’t left with a bad impression of them.

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

Kim Daehyun also did well in that regard. His straightforward personality and solid performance as a tank made him a reliable ally.

Yu Hana, on the other hand, stood there completely unscathed.

She hadn’t even broken a sweat, and her breathing remained perfectly steady.

“You did well.”

I approached her and offered a light greeting.

“Thanks to your help, things went smoothly.”

She smiled softly and replied with a teasing question.

“But could you have done it without me?”

“Hmm... No way.”

She hit the nail on the head.

Honestly, whether it was covering two directions, three, or even all six, it wouldn’t have been a problem.

But there was no denying that her support had made things significantly easier.

“Pfft, you really don’t do empty flattery, huh?”

Yu Hana let out a small giggle, covering her mouth with her hand.

“Sorry, that’s just how I am.”

She lightly brushed her hair back and casually dropped an unexpected remark.

“But I like that about you.”

Her gaze met mine directly, a seriousness lingering in her eyes.

For some reason, the air around us seemed to heat up slightly. The atmosphere shifted.

“...Oh, I see.”

I replied briefly.

Yu Hana didn’t seem to expect a response anyway. She simply smiled and shrugged.

Taking advantage of the moment, I turned my head, scanning for the other teams.

The instructor had said we placed second. That meant one team had arrived before us.

A short distance away, I spotted a small group standing together.

Among them, one figure was noticeably tall, and another exuded an almost sacred aura.

‘Yeah, I can see how they placed first.’

It wasn’t Sung Siwoo’s team. He wasn’t that strong yet.

The first-place team belonged to Hero Johan and Cheon Yeoul.

Sung Siwoo wasn’t the Hero. In this game, the protagonist and the Hero were entirely separate entities.

“Wow, with a Hero and a Saint candidate on the same team, it’s no wonder they took first.”

Yoon Sanghyuk, who had somehow gotten back on his feet, muttered in admiration.

I turned to him and asked casually, “Do you know the Hero personally?”

Yoon Sanghyuk’s expression soured slightly.

“I do. But...”

He hesitated for a moment, scratching his head.

“...Never mind. It’s not my place to talk about it.”

What the hell is this guy’s problem?

There are two ways to piss someone off: One is to start saying something and then stop midway.

I stared at him, unimpressed. Sensing my irritation, he flinched and quickly added,

“...I just heard that the Hero and the Saint aren’t getting along these days.”

Ah.

That [N O V E L I G H T] was something mentioned in the game’s story.

However, this conflict was originally supposed to happen much later—around the time Sung Siwoo started developing feelings for Cheon Yeoul.

It seemed like the timeline had shifted forward.

Setting the thought aside, I turned my attention back to the first-place team.

In the middle of the group, Cheon Yeoul and I locked eyes.

With a radiant smile, she raised one hand and waved at me, her movements graceful and composed.

Even from a distance, it was an unmistakable gesture.

“...What the hell?”

Yoon Sanghyuk traced the path of Cheon Yeoul’s gaze with his finger—only to realize it landed squarely on me.

“...Huh?”

Feeling the weight of the attention on me, I quickly raised a hand in response to acknowledge her greeting.

But I could already sense the growing stares around us. If this kept up, everyone would be watching.

And then—

A sharp, intense gaze locked onto me from the front.

I subtly shifted my head, following the sensation.

Standing beside Cheon Yeoul, Johan was staring me down as if he wanted to burn a hole through me.

His face was rigid, his expression unreadable. But his eyes—those were unmistakably fixated on me.

In the game’s storyline, Johan had an obsessive attachment to Cheon Yeoul.

As time went on, that obsession only grew, manifesting in increasingly unsettling ways.

So, it wasn’t surprising that he looked hostile.

But...

‘Why the hell is his target me?’