Regressor Instruction Manual

Chapter 1473. Continental War (53)

Even if he poured every bit of his focus into the fight, it still wouldn’t be enough. In a battle where one couldn’t predict even an inch ahead, I had no idea how his thoughts had wandered all the way over here, but Sung Ji-Hoon looked like he’d clearly realized that Jin Yoo suddenly disappeared.

He looked around so much that I got startled and quickly hid myself. Of all times, it was right when I was about to climb out of the tunnel that his little game of “find Jin Yoo” started. His constantly shaking eyes and the unease written all over his face told me that he was worried about the possibility that Jin Yoo had suddenly vanished.

We had already talked once, no, several times, about Jin Yoo’s possible end, so he had to be wondering whether that moment had come.

‘He didn’t even get to say goodbye.’

He hadn’t even had the chance to say farewell. Sure, he probably knew Jin Yoo still existed inside Yuriel, but even so, wasn't it only natural that many different thoughts were running through his head at the moment?

Like when exactly he disappeared, or if something had happened to him. Perhaps he had simply gotten lost somewhere on the battlefield. Honestly, part of me was impressed. The fact that he could even have those kinds of distracting thoughts while clashing swords with Ryu Han was kind of amazing.

To give a proper comparison, it was like he had taken his eyes off the road, even though he was driving a car at three hundred kilometers per hour. It wouldn’t be strange if his head were to go flying away, but he was still managing to hold out against Ryu Han.

“Hoo... hoo... haa... ngh!”

“...”

Naturally, the flow of the fight was different from before. From being the one pushing forward, he was now the one getting pushed back.

He collapsed so quickly it felt like the improved version of him had been a lie. His breathing was already a mess, and his wounds were piling up. I’d bet money that he’d get completely torn to shreds before the thirty-minute mark.

‘Should I just jump out and yell something like, Mr. Ji-Hoon! Hang in there!’

I’d only stopped by on the way to the 4-1 Front, but was it really the right call to just head straight to Kim Hyun-Sung like this?

‘Yeah, damn right it is.’

It wasn’t that Kim Hyun-Sung was more important than the Holy Sword Hero being in danger.

‘It’s about time he stood on his own anyway. How long am I supposed to keep cradling him and taking care of him?’

The time for him to leave the nest had passed a long time ago.

“...”

“...”

‘He has to get back up on his own here.’

This wasn’t just about this once. From here on out, the Holy Sword Hero would face countless trials and hardships, right up until the day when the Holy Sword would lose its light, which would lead to him going mad and dying.

Sure, the crisis in front of him right now probably felt overwhelming, and it could be the worst danger he’d ever faced so far, but considering the Brigade’s full-scale movements that had yet to come, and the Outer Gods War waiting ahead, he needed to push through this all by himself.

What he needed was real growth.

The reason Kim Hyun-Sung rated Sung Ji-Hoon so highly couldn’t just be some sense of solidarity between two different flavors of losers. A Holy Sword Hero with both strength and intelligence had to be forged here. Otherwise, he’d just keep...

‘...spinning his wheels in place and going nowhere.’

To put it bluntly, if he were to stop here, he'd be better off dying. It was a cold thing to say, but it'd probably be more helpful to crown Ryu Han as the Holy Sword Hero instead.

‘It’s about time he started handling things himself. How long am I supposed to keep cleaning up after him, damn it?’

Just then, a voice echoed behind me. “E-excuse me, sir!”

“Ah, you’re here.”

“A-are you hurt anywhere? Haa... haa... haa...” Alps asked.

“No, I’m fine, Miss Alps,” I answered.

I saw Alps breathing hard. Just as I’d expected, she had finished her fight with Valentin Cowardsandro and regrouped with me. Naturally, she was drenched in sweat. She even looked pale, and from that alone I could roughly guess what she was thinking.

“You’re really not injured anywhere, right?” she asked again.

“I’m fine,” I answered.

“H-how did you even get here? This whole area is still full of combatants...” she asked.

“I moved back and forth through the tunnels, so don’t worry. No one really uses the pits on this side,” I reassured her.

“Well... they’re all filled with corpses underneath, so I guess that makes sense... b-but still, you suddenly disappeared without saying anything, so I...” she trailed off.

‘Yeah, it makes sense she’d worry.’

“I was so scared that something bad had happened to you, sir...” she continued.

“Really, it was nothing. You don’t have to worry,” I reassured her.

“B-but... if something did happen to you... Th-this might be overstepping, but maybe you should be a little more... no... never mind... please forget I said anything. Anyway, I’m just glad you’re safe. Haa...” she said, sighing.

She looked like she was feeling tempted to just tie me up so I couldn’t wander off.

“What about Valentin Alexandro...” I asked.

“He’s probably incapacitated for now. I don’t know if the priests are treating him, but I doubt he’ll be able to move again before this battle ends. M-more importantly... should we join that fight now?” she asked.

“No, we’re heading to the 4-1 Front,” I answered.

“Huh?”

“Mr. Chang-Ryeol spotted Hyun-Sung,” I said.

“Ah! Mr. C-Chang-Ryeol...” she mumbled.

‘Come to think of it, she doesn't know that Chang-Ryeol is still alive, does she?’

Alps looked a bit distressed. Seeing that she was still carrying Chang-Ryeol’s arm in her bag, it seemed like she believed he was still alive somewhere, and upon hearing that he was safe, her emotions were finally catching up with her.

Honestly, Alps tended to be closer with the second-generation members of the Blue Guild than with the first generation. Sure, she spent time with Jo Hye-Jin pretty often, but aside from that, she was usually with Lee Chang-Ryeol, Yoo Ah-Young, Smith, or Belier.

Those living by the blade knew that relationships could be ephemeral, but this rookie had yet to lose someone, so how could she stay calm in the face of someone’s life being in danger?

‘Seriously, I’m going to have to tighten the discipline on these rookies one of these days. The continent’s been way too peaceful lately.’

She probably knew that crying like this would make her look pathetic. Sure enough, she forced the tears back and awkwardly changed the subject.

“Should we head out right away?” Alps asked.

“Yes. First of all, we’re going to the 4-1 Front to meet up with Mr. Chang-Ryeol. Avoid combat as much as possible,” I answered.

“Yes, sir! I’ll carry you for now. Hold on tight,” she offered.

Alps wasn’t that big, so it felt like a kid carrying another kid, but her speed was on a completely different level from when I ran by myself. The scenery whipped past in a blur.

‘At this rate, we’ll be there in no time.’

Passing this quickly through a battlefield where blades were still flying around was never easy, especially not for someone like her with low Endurance. She knocked away stray arrows and spells and even took spears and swords that came straight at her.

Whenever her foot struck the ground, a fierce gust of wind would slam into me. She even rolled along the ground while holding me, yet strangely enough, I didn’t take any real damage.

Now that I thought about it, the one who had personally delivered that quest to Kim Hyun-Sung during the second Outer Gods War was...

‘Wasn't it Alps?’

It had to have been really difficult. Back then, she had help from the Red Mercenary Guild and others nearby, but the mission itself was too much for a rookie. Upon recalling that, I realized that she wasn’t just some rookie anymore. She was a bit soft and clumsy at times, but she was the type who would complete whatever mission or operation she was given, no matter what.

“Haa... haa... haa... you’re not feeling uncomfortable, right?” Alps asked.

“No,” I answered.

‘If only the Holy Sword Hero’s mind were even half as steady as Alps’.’

We had long since left the battlefield where Sung Ji-Hoon and Ryu Han were clashing.

‘No... Sung Ji-Hoon’s seen and learned plenty. Even just watching Alps fight up close... must've helped him.’

It was just for a short time, but Jin Yoo wasn’t the only reason that pushed him to step onto that battlefield of his own will.

There were others, too.

Alps, the swordswoman who, unfortunately, had once been listed as a heroine candidate but successfully shifted her position into that of a dependable comrade.

The nameless hyung who gave his life to save him. The memorial stones of the young ladies who had resolved to protect the marginalized, and Lady Brush, who stood at the center of the new Black Rose Salon.

Oksana and the Keepers of the Moonlight, who joined in with the will to stop the war.

There were more than enough teaching materials, and it was to the point that it was overflowing. They lacked his talent and were weaker than him, but every one of them had something worth learning from.

After all, they were people who would never hesitate to stake their lives for the sake of their own convictions; they would refuse to bend no matter what adversity or hardship stood in their way.

“Alps, have you ever had a personal conversation with Mr. Ji-Hoon?” I asked.

“Pardon? Ah... n-no. I mean... he’s obviously a good person, but he’s not really my type... I prefer someone a little more... how should I put it... calmer... and kind... Someone who pats your head when you do well and someone you can lean on... Someone like that...” Alps answered.

‘Why are you being so specific? Do you have someone you like or something?’

“No, that’s not what I meant. I meant just in general...” I clarified.

“Ah! Ah! Yes. We did talk fairly often, actually. After sparring with Mr. Chang-Ryeol... separately... I mean, he’s a little hard to talk to, but he didn’t seem like a bad person,” she answered.

‘Yeah. He’s nice. That’s the problem. He’s only nice.’

“More than anything, you could really tell that he wanted to change. He was so honest he almost seemed naive,” she added.

“...”

“It’s rare to see someone openly talk about their own weaknesses, right? Usually, it’s embarrassing, like you’re exposing yourself, but he was different. I don’t know if it’s because he has no pride or because he has let his pride go,” she continued.

“...”

“So... he said he was scared of hurting people,” she said.

“...”

“He said he hated that he was weak,” she added.

“I see.”

“He said he was anxious that everything might end without him being able to do anything. At the same time, he wanted to run away, and he didn’t want to lose anyone else. He seemed really shaken. Honestly... you could tell just by looking at his eyes that he was about to break down. I thought he’d give up soon...” she confessed.

“...”

“But he just kept swinging his sword, over and over and over,” she said.

“...”

“I haven’t met as many people like you, sir, and I don’t know if I have any insights or anything to offer, but... people like him...” she trailed off.

“...”

“...always seem to overcome everything and stand back up in the end, no matter what happens,” she continued.

“...”

“That’s why you’re just watching him, right?” she asked.

“...”

‘She’s not wrong.’

I glanced back again and saw Sung Ji-Hoon crying his eyes and nose out.

- Heuk... heuuung... heuuuk...

Of course, it was a pathetic sight. As always, he had tears and snot running down his face, and he was bawling like some lost little kid, but he wasn’t looking around anymore.

His gaze was fixed squarely on Ryu Han. With trembling hands, he raised his sword. Even though tears were still streaming down his face, something indescribable had settled in his eyes.

It was hard to put into words, but at least to me, there wasn’t any hesitation left in them.

I couldn’t help but admit that Alps was right, at least to some extent.

"Heuuuung... heuuuk..."

“...”

“...”

‘Kim Hyun-Sung was like that, too.’

He gnashed his teeth, wiped away his tears, raised his sword, and steadied his stance.

Drawing in a deep breath, Sung Ji-Hoon charged straight at Ryu Han.

"Yaaaaaaa!"

For just a moment, I could see Kim Hyun-Sung in him.

“...”

It was ridiculous, but he actually looked pretty cool.

‘Looks like I really do have a thing for these loser types.’