Regressor Instruction Manual

Chapter 1338. First Life Ha-Yan (21)

‘It’s possible.’

It was definitely possible. I[1] still felt that it wasn’t enough, but for now, the pieces of the puzzle had come together.

The puzzles I had expected to see here and the ones I hadn’t expected to see here.

‘All right.’

“Uh... why is Father Lee Ki-Young—”

“Be quiet, Marian,” Lee Joo-Hyuk scolded her.

The sharp-eyed hunting dog gestured at Marian, signaling that this wasn't the issue right now. They looked a bit older, and their appearance proved that they struggled to survive in this brand-new environment.

I wasn’t really interested in how they ended up here, but the fact that they were with Kim Ah-Young told me that they had either joined her guild or were working with her as mercenaries.

‘At least they’re useful.’

Even on the continent, their party would be considered among the top ten mercenary parties. Of course, that was when Rafael was still with them, but of course, they hadn't stayed idle here. Like the proud beard of the now middle-aged hunting dog, their skills and experience had improved drastically as well.

‘Kim Ah-Young is at a decent level, too...’

Most importantly, Jung Ha-Yan was here.

Even Seraphim looked startled.

“Ah... this is bad...” Seraphim mumbled.

Naturally, I had no choice but to say, “I’ll take command.”

“Okay. We’ll leave it to you,” Lee Joo-Hyuk agreed.

“What? Hunting Dog, are you insane? That kid—”

“Stop it, Kim Ah-Young. For now, follow his lead. Otherwise, they’ll be hard to deal with,” he interrupted her.

“Wait... do... you... you know that apprentice mage? And seriously... what are you even saying? Marian, explain. Who are you guys? Did you all go insane at once?” Kim Ah-Young complained.

“He’s coming,” Marian warned.

Kim Ah-Young wanted someone to explain this situation to her, but unfortunately, there was no time for explanations. Seraphim spread his wings again, prompting Marian to cast a holy spell.

“I can’t hold on much longer, Joo-Hyuk!” Marian shouted.

Lee Joo-Hyuk gripped a sword and charged at Seraphim.

‘This guy... he has become useful.’

I always knew he had potential. I remembered thinking a few years ago that if he trained a little more, he would become worth using at least once. At this crucial moment, he made his way here with some upgrades, and I couldn’t help but smirk at that fact.

Kim Ah-Young stared at Lee Joo-Hyuk’s movements with a surprised look. He had to have been hiding his true abilities until now.

Back then, he was far too weak to call himself Rafael’s rival, but I could say without hesitation that he was now more than capable of standing beside Rafael. He had to have pushed his ordinary human body and ordinary talents to their absolute limits.

I widened my view with a Telescope, preparing a stage for him.

The hunting dog seemed to have understood my goal, and he nodded slightly.

‘I’m giving you a stage, damn it. You know I usually don’t bother with kids like you, right?’

The flustered Seraphim waved his hand, and arrows of light rained down. Miracle Priest Marian and the old mage from Rafael’s party cast barriers to block them.

"Move."

The hunting dog followed the path I showed him, dodging every arrow.

As for the ones he couldn’t dodge, he took the shot with his fleshly body. True to his nickname, the hunting dog charged forward with the goal of tearing Seraphim apart. With a face full of malice, he advanced step by step.

The vanguard had to crouch to protect the rearguard, but he chose to push Seraphim back.

‘I’m the one who chose him.’

It suited him. Attack was the best defense, and given Seraphim's tendencies, it was the most optimal move.

As if to prove that my choice wasn’t wrong, he moved freely across the battlefield.

Normally, a strong party needed Rafael to stabilize the party, but right now, that gray pigeon didn’t even come to my mind. Lee Joo-Hyuk was impressive, but the growth of the other party members was impressive as well.

In the end...

‘This is Jung Ha-Yan’s territory.’

It was great that she was given enough time to cast her spell.

“This... this can’t be... this... is insane... this is just...”

Kim Ah-Young stared at Lee Joo-Hyuk in shock.

‘She’s like a primitive seeing modern technology for the first time.’

Rafael’s party was unleashing a display of skill that was on an entirely different level compared to what a typical first-life party could display. Actually, it was fair to say it exceeded even that.

Wherever the hunting dog went, appropriate buffs would land, and the whole party moved organically just for his sake.

From Kim Ah-Young's perspective, it was an insane sight. The party was moving like a well-scripted play, and the fact that the center of it all was the apprentice mage in front of her made her reaction entirely understandable.

‘If she knew what I was doing right now, she’d flip.’

It wasn’t just Rafael’s party that needed help.

Hee-Ra noona was out of the question, as she had already lost her sanity, but Kim Kim Hyun-Sung crossing swords with Thronus, and the adventurers of Lindel busy reorganizing their formation were different.

They needed my support, and they could receive my support.

The adventurers of Lindel began to assume formation based on the quests I sent over to them.

They had no idea what exactly they were doing, but in my eyes, the adventurers were slowly making way. At first, the adventurers themselves had no idea what they were doing, but they eventually understood what the quests appearing in the sky truly meant.

‘Brawling will put us at a disadvantage.’

The gap in stats between ordinary adventurers and those creatures was too great; only the named adventurers could face them. Rather than letting individuals or small parties fight those creatures, it was crucial to create an environment where groups could clash against other groups.

‘Get rid of the useless buildings.’

“...”

‘Leave some cover for our side.’

For now, the first priority was to build the map.

"Wh-What is this... What the hell is going on..."

"I don’t know. Maybe one of the gods watching this decided to lend us a hand."

"Just push them back! Damn pigeons... Who do they think they are, coming here of all places!"

Having been bound together as one group without even knowing why, the Lindel adventurers eventually understood what they had to do without any advice from me.

They gathered the mages to one side to cast anti-air spells, lined the vanguard up front, and divided their forces into smaller units. Building a defensive line, crouching down, and waiting for the right moment—even these monkeys could manage that much.

‘Still, I’d better adjust some things...’

Kim Ah-Young, who hadn’t even shown the will to join the fight, was staring down from beneath the Magic Tower, watching as scattered dots connected into lines and lines turned into shapes. ‘Seriously, damn it, can’t she at least think about fighting?’

“You... who the hell... are you...” Kim Ah-Young asked.

“Focus on the enemy in front of you,” I ordered.

“You... this quest... Could you be... the God of the Continent? Or... or perhaps a dr-dragon? O Great One...” Kim Ah-Young muttered.

“Don’t throw out lines from some old novel. Just focus on the pigeon in front of you, noona,” I instructed her.

“Ah... O-okay!”

Finally coming to her senses, Kim Ah-Young grabbed her sword and charged forward.

‘It’s still only phase one.’

Jung Ha-Yan’s spells couldn’t be used solely for him. Her firepower was better distributed across the fights happening all throughout Lindel. As the spells cast from the Magic Tower spread like a net across the sky, the pigeons that had been soaring as if the air were their playground were forced down to the ground.

"Attack! Attack!"

"They’re falling! It’s Miss Jung Ha-Yan!"

The only real problem was...

‘I think she’s showing too much.’

The guy who was watching this battle from somewhere was being shown far too much.

Since it was almost certain that I’d end up fighting him, I ought to be hiding my cards. Of course, this wasn’t even a fraction of what I could really do, but still—habits, tactical choices, the kind of movements I favored—there was a high chance he was already deducing them.

‘Damn it, but what can I do? I have to do this if I want those guys to survive.’

The fight with Seraphim was ongoing. Although it looked like we were the ones pushing him back, I knew better than anyone that victory was not guaranteed. If Seraphim were a dungeon boss, we would soon enter phase two.

He was weak in close combat and was feeling burdened by the hunting dog trying to bite him, yet he was still managing to drive the hunting dog away without much trouble.

He wasn’t like Thronus or the Cherubim, but the fact that he was keeping an eye out for Jung Ha-Yan’s spells showed me that he wasn’t completely useless.

I felt like he was following orders from First Ki-Young.

In fact, he kept dodging or blocking Jung Ha-Yan's spells. Of course, those spells were harassment at best.

‘He has to be killed in one strike.’

Before he could do anything reckless.

“Miss Jung Ha-Yan!” I called out to her.

And the spell she had prepared shot out from her hand...

‘Nice.’

The way she cast Second Ha-Yan’s spell without any trouble was astonishing. A dark crimson sphere that looked ominous even at a glance shot toward Seraphim, seemingly looking to devour everything.

Seraphim panicked as the sphere silently compressed everything it touched.

‘Die, you crazy pigeon bastard.’

He spread his wings to escape, but there was nowhere to run. Every spell that Jung Ha-Yan had fired and every meaningless exchange had all been for this one attack.

When the sphere finally touched him, a scream rang out.

“Ah... aaaaahhh!”

I thought there was no way he could survive, but...

“...”

“...”

‘Shit.’

I had no choice but to say that my plan had failed.

And it was all because I saw someone holding Seraphim with an outstretched hand.

‘Dominions.’

Among the angels, she specialized in magic and utility, and her figure appeared before my eyes. Of course, Seraphim wasn’t intact. His wings were broken, and he looked as if he had been painted in red.

“I-it hurts! It hurts! Heuk... it hurts, Dominions!” Seraphim shouted.

‘Damn it.’

“Why were you so late... Dominions?! It hurts... it hurts so much... heuk... I told you I didn’t want this. I...” Seraphim complained.

“Don’t disgrace yourself, Seraphim,” Dominions said.

“But... it hurts so much, Dominions... kgh...” Seraphim said.

“You must realize that you’re one of us. You are far too fragile, Seraphim,” Dominions told him.

“B-but, Dominions...”

“I will not help you. Not this time,” Dominions interrupted him.

That was what she said, but... I saw her stroking his head and back as if she wanted to comfort him. To make matters worse, Seraphim began healing at Dominions' touch. Not completely, but he recovered enough for him to start moving again.

‘This ruins everything.’

“...”

“...”

‘Running is the right call.’

And of course...

“Judgement...”

“Divine... Punishment.”

Countless golden swords manifested all over the sky.

“Focus,” I ordered.

My eyelids unknowingly trembled.

1. Lee Ki-Young’s POV ☜