The Regressor Can Make Them All

Chapter 38

What started as part of an effort to increase their bond levels had, over time, become the catalyst that allowed the Three Dogs to open up and share the emotions they harbored, one by one.

Naturally, as their bond level gradually increased, so did the depth of their stories.

Fwoosh!

They even ended up teaching Se-Hoon their techniques, something they had never passed on to anyone else.

Clang!!!

Jake’s blue fist, which was aiming for the blade of the spear, was struck down in an instant, and Se-Hoon immediately followed up with a counterattack using the other spear.

Reacting in the blink of an eye, Jake quickly countered the incoming black spear with his fist.

Clang!!

Once again, his fist had been deflected upon collision, but this time, he quickly retracted it for another strike. And it seemed Se-Hoon had done the same.

Clatter!!!

The blue fists, wrapped in compressed mana, and the spear blades, engulfed in flames, were swung at each other relentlessly. Like a choreographed dance, their attacks clashed again and again.

Anyone watching this scene might think that Jake, an honor student of Aqar Quf, was deliberately restraining himself against Se-Hoon; however, in reality, that was far from the case.

This doesn’t make any sense at all...!

When Se-Hoon created the flame ring, Jake was merely slightly surprised because he had heard through his friends that Se-Hoon and Sung-Ha had been in the Flavium together on Monday, walking and talking.

Though he wasn’t exactly sure what their relationship was, it wasn’t too strange that Se-Hoon would know about the Inferno Ring, given their close association.

Whoosh!

However, knowing was one thing; the Inferno Ring that Se-Hoon was using was entirely another thing.

Normally, the Inferno Ring was a single spear technique focused on using firepower to dominate the surrounding space to pressure the opponent. Thus, if the opponent also specialized in firepower, it usually led to a showdown of strength.

Here it comes again...

Clang!

However, the Inferno Ring that Se-Hoon used utilized two short spears and occupied significantly less space with rings of much higher mana density.

Now unable to destroy the rings easily, Jake’s plan to destroy the spear through a test of strength went entirely awry, and he was continuously dragged along, unable to recover the initiative he had lost at the start.

“Hmph!”

Whoosh!

The spear grazed just below Jake’s chin.

Thinking he had narrowly avoided it, Jake was immediately surprised to see Se-Hoon twisting his wrist half a turn and then pulling the spear inward.

“Ugh?!”

Clang!

The blade of the Black Cross Spear grazed his nape.

While it was rather simple to perform a spear technique using the cross-shaped spear, executing it with such lethality was another story. Se-Hoon’s strike just now could have been a fatal one in a real battle, one where it wouldn’t have been blocked by a protective barrier.

The fact caused Jake’s body to stiffen for a brief moment, and Se-Hoon, not missing it, poured down attacks even more relentlessly.

Whoosh! Clang! Boom!

The blades and shafts of the spears, along with the residual flames that lit the air ablaze, relentlessly pressured him. But even though he was being pushed back helplessly, Jake’s eyes continued to shine brightly as he fortified his defense even further.

I still have a chance...!

Jake had noticed that the physical prowess Se-Hoon was demonstrating was merely temporary, likely a result of his skill. And he became certain after noticing that the flames at the tips of his hair were gradually dying down.

If he could exploit the moment Se-Hoon’s skill wore off and his physical abilities decreased, then he was certain he could completely turn the tide of the battle.

Waiting for that moment, Jake calmed down and strengthened his defense. Seeing that, Se-Hoon inwardly clicked his tongue.

Tsk. He caught on.

It seemed that Jake had figured out that Iron Desire had a duration to it. After all, Jake had stopped counterattacking, and his posture became more stable and calm.

He didn’t become Aqar Quf’s honor student for nothing, I guess.

If the battle continued, Se-Hoon would lose the moment the effect of Iron Desire wore off. Accepting the change in situation, Se-Hoon checked his physical condition.

My body’s moving as well as I expected.

Despite learning the Inferno Ring from the Mad Dog directly before regression, Se-Hoon wasn’t able to mimic it properly and was scolded mercilessly because of it. Now, however, he could somewhat reproduce it thanks to the power of the absorbed Harmonite, which adjusted his body accordingly.

I should just...

He decided it was time for him to go beyond just basic techniques.

Propelling himself backward by kicking off Jake, the distance between them widened again. Deciding not to pursue him this time, Jake just adjusted his stance and watched Se-Hoon.

“It seems like you’re planning to end it with your next move,” remarked Jake.

“That’s the plan.”

“I could just dodge it, you know?”

Previously, Jake had rushed in to end the battle quickly. However, now that he knew he would gain the advantage as the battle prolonged, there was no need to engage directly head-on.

Jake seriously considered running away until the skill’s effect wore off.

“Well, if you’re just a coward, there’s nothing I can do,” Se-Hoon calmly responded.

“...What did you say?”

“I mean, it would be somewhat awkward if the honor student of Aqar Quf loses to the honor student of Borsippa twice, wouldn’t it? I get you, so you can do as you please. I won’t call you a coward.”

Adjusting his stance, Se-Hoon slightly curled the corners of his lips.

Se-Hoon’s slight smirk along with his words caused Jake’s eyes to widen. His face flushed with heat, but then it was quickly drained of color as Jake felt his entire body cool down.

Crack-

He had never felt such calmness despite his boiling anger before.

All this time he had been swinging his fists to fulfill his sister’s request and gain another chance to undergo a succession ceremony.

But now, the reason behind his fists had changed.

I will... absolutely not lose a second time...!

The competitive spirit that had arisen on the day he first lost to Se-Hoon reared its head once again. He had never felt such an emotion against an opponent of a similar age.

The feeling caused his eyes to shine even brighter. He lowered his posture, raised his fists to his waist, bent his back forward, pointed his head at the ground, and then pointed his elbows toward the sky.

Although he looked too unguarded and unprepared to face an opponent, the sight caused Se-Hoon to lick his dry lips.

I’ll be smashed to pieces if I’m unprepared.

Though it wasn’t apparent outwardly, the intensity of the mana compressed inside Jake’s fist was extraordinary. Astonished, Se-Hoon quickly adjusted his stance.

Right. Let’s end this now.

He slightly lowered his spears, crossed them, and gathered all his mana.

The blood heated by Iron Desire and Scarlet Lotus, his fire mana, raced through his entire body using the pathway constructed by Soul Honing with a fearsome momentum.

Although it was enough to knock down most freshmen of Aqar Quf, his opponent was both a top-ranking student and an honor student of Aqar Quf. Deciding not to cut any corners, Se-Hoon released all of the mana stored in the Inkstone Bracelets on his right arm and right ankle.

Adrenaline

Sssst-

Unlike usual, it was darkness mana that was quietly absorbed into his body.

The Nightshade Soul left in the bracelets by Sung-Ha during his practice brought pain to his entire body. Se-Hoon grimaced.

“Agh...”

Taking in elemental mana that one did not possess into the body was a strictly forbidden act. Its inefficiency aside, a body not equipped with the proper mana circuit could react adversely, leading to the mana running wild.

Therefore, to others, what Se-Hoon was doing right now was basically a suicidal act.

A temporary pathway... it’s been a while since I’ve used one...!

Of course, there was still a way to take it in.

Metallic sounds echoed inside his body.

Se-Hoon forced the Nightshade Soul, which was being eroded by the Scarlet Lotus, into the pathway that he had just hastily created throughout his body.

“Hmphh...!”

Creating a pathway with Soul Honing was like dissecting a live body and then dividing it into dozens of pieces.

To those hearing about it for the first time, the danger made it seem like a mad endeavor, and indeed, Se-Hoon had struggled tremendously just to create a single path before the regression.

But thanks to that experience, he now had a perfect understanding of how his body could be divided.

Fwoosh!

This meant that there was no elemental mana that Se-Hoon could not handle.

Flames and darkness converged at the intersection of the tips of the crossed spears. Having perfectly harnessed the two types of elemental mana, he took a deep breath with all his might and then steeled his gaze.

The hum of mana quietly spread as they both halted their breaths. They were waiting for the moment when the muscles and mana throughout their bodies perfectly aligned and all their power converged.

Boom!

At that exact moment, they both kicked off the ground, rushing toward each other.

The distance closed in the blink of an eye. Just moments before the collision, with less than a second to go, Jake suddenly stomped down on the ground.

Thud!

He forced open his clenched fists and clapped his palms together as if he were praying.

“Grunt...!”

Compressed to the extreme, the mana in each hand clashed. Feeling as if his palms were about to burst, Jake slightly parted the tips of his joined fingers under the intense pressure to create an outlet.

Myers Style Pseudo Sword Aura Technique: Azure Compression Light Thread

A strand of blue light slashed toward Se-Hoon, splitting the floor it crossed in two.

Although the technique was a bit rough, its compression rate was high enough that the resulting mana blade could be considered a type of Sword Aura.

Facing the strike that made Jake seem worthy of the title of honor student, Se-Hoon lowered his stance further, gripping the shafts of his spears tightly in both hands.

A bit lower.

Though Jake’s technique might appear perfectly executed, it was essentially no different from recklessly released compressed mana. Quickly finding a flaw in the strand of light, he rotated his wrists and pointed both of his spears at once.

Inferno Ring—Modified: Darklight Crescent.

A red crescent chasing the darkness slashed through the blue strand of light.

Booom!!!

A terrifying shock wave immediately erupted from the collision, shattering more than half of the protective barrier spells that were spread across the training ground in an instant. The emergency systems immediately activated and wrapped the two in a much thicker barrier.

“...”

“...”

Se-Hoon’s spear blades were gleaming dangerously on both sides of Jake’s neck, one crossed over the other, while Jake’s hands were barely a handspan away from Se-Hoon’s solar plexus. If the barriers had not been there, it could have been a deadly outcome for both.

At the ambiguous end of the duel, the two just looked at each other calmly.

Then, Jake withdrew his hand and sighed deeply. “...I lost.”

[A bond has been successfully established with the subject ‘Jake Myers’.]

A bond had been established the moment Jake admitted his defeat.

But, despite establishing a bond and officially earning Jake’s recognition, Se-Hoon just looked at Jake full of perplexion.

“Isn’t it a draw?”

Considering the stakes of the duel, which involved Hero-tier equipment and the request from Aria, Jake’s readiness to accept defeat was surprising.

At his question, Jake awkwardly answered, “Well, I could argue it was a draw if I wanted to...”

He made a bitter smile as he looked at the slightly dulled blades of the two spears as they were lowered from his neck.

“But it just doesn’t seem right to call it a draw when only my weapon broke.”

Jake’s weapon, Light Thread, had been devastatingly destroyed in the battle, while Se-Hoon’s two short spears remained intact.

So Jake readily accepted his defeat.

I should accept my defeat anyway since the fight ended in a draw when I even used Light Thread...

Light Thread was a killer move among the techniques he could fully utilize. It was something he had never even properly used against his peers of Aqar Quf. Having lost even after going all out, he couldn’t help but feel defeated.

“...”

His frustration surged intensely as his fighting spirit was dragged deep down by a sense of vain. Though Jake had admitted defeat, his mind was not at ease.

If only I had a sword...

With a sword, he wouldn’t have given up the advantageous distance between them, and his weapon wouldn’t have easily broken.

Though some might call it unsightly, his lingering regret did not fade. Jake dejectedly looked down at his hands.

“I’ve been wondering about something lately,” began Se-Hoon. “Are you unable to wield a sword?”

The peculiar sense of incongruity that Se-Hoon had felt during their previous duel became evident just now. Initially, he thought he was just being too sensitive, but the recent duel confirmed the source of that strange feeling.

He’s executing swordsmanship with his bare hands.

Those unfamiliar with the Myers family’s swordsmanship might not notice, but since Se-Hoon had analyzed it before the regression, he found it very weird.

Someone skilled in swordsmanship wouldn’t deliberately avoid using a sword without a reason.

There had to be a special circumstance that he didn’t know about.

Jake hesitated briefly before nodding with a sour expression.

“I have my own reasons.”

“Is someone forcibly preventing you from using one...?”

“It’s not that. Should I say that I’m just unskilled...”

Jake made a bitter smile while rubbing his swollen hands. Seeing that, Se-Hoon was able to roughly understand the situation.

It’s because of his grip strength.

Jake had an abnormally strong grip strength that even surpassed his physical abilities. It was likely the main reason Jake insisted on using those inefficient combat methods.

“Anyway, since I lost, here’s the hammer...”

“Hey, Jake.”

“Yeah?”

“Do you want me to forge you a sword?”

“...What?”

He slightly lifted the corners of his mouth upon seeing Jake’s baffled expression.

“I mean a sword that you won’t break and can actually use.”

Se-Hoon smiled confidently, thinking that by doing so he could quickly raise Jake’s bond level to level two.

[A bond has been successfully established with the subject ‘Ma Kwang-Soo’.]

“...Hm?”

Se-Hoon belatedly noticed Ma Kwang-Soo standing dazedly at the entrance to the classroom.