Regressor Instruction Manual

Chapter 1525. Chance Encounter, Fateful Meeting (3)

A brutal, all-out brawl that would make my blood boil was about to begin. It had been a long time since I’d felt this kind of tension. My heart felt like it was about to leap out of my throat. The only small comfort was knowing he was probably feeling the same way, but it didn’t make the tension go away.

Of course, neither he nor I was completely new to moving or fighting at close range, but to put it bluntly, this was our first true duel with our lives on the line.

I wondered if he had experienced something like this, but I was certain it had been a long time since he fought on the front lines. He was probably the type who only rolled the dice when he was sure he could win.

This kind of situation, where the odds of victory couldn’t be predicted at all, was likely a first for him, too. Just a few minutes ago, we had been doing some small talk, pretending to be relaxed, but at this moment, neither of us remained calm.

It would be difficult to suppress this tension through self-hypnosis. He knew just as well as I did that this tension would actually help in the fight to come.

“...”

“...”

“They move, my ass...” I commented.

“What? Want to test it?” First Life Ki-Young said.

‘If they could move, they would have already moved, damn it. The fact that he’s still probing like this practically screams that he can’t control all the dolls.’

I absentmindedly fiddled with the Dragon Breath Potion in my pocket. Since it was basically just a bomb with no other function, there wasn’t much to expect from it except forcing him to burn what little mana he had left.

As soon as I throw this out...

‘That’ll probably be the start.’

“Then try it, you idiot,” I provoked him.

“Don’t get scared, you moron,” he said.

“Who said I was scared?” I said.

“You. You look pretty tense,” he answered.

“That would be you,” I argued.

“...”

“...”

“Welcome to our inn!”

Booooooooooom!

‘Shit!’

Startled by the sudden line from the inn employee, I hurled the Dragon Breath Potion. The bottle shattered, and the inn was engulfed in flames as smoke filled the air.

Of course, I didn’t think First Life Ki-Young was caught in the explosion. I had clearly seen him throw his hand forward in that split second, and I could sense that he was still alive.

Rather than standing still, moving first was the priority. As soon as I sprang into motion, I saw one of the dolls breaking through the smoke and rushing toward me.

“Die, you bastard!” First Life Ki-Young yelled.

“You die, you piece of shit!” I shouted.

‘He’s way too worked up. Damn it. Combat experience, my ass. He’s got none! None at all!’

Even if he had pinpointed my position, what kind of idiot would announce his sneak attack? The sheer stupidity of practically advertising his position made the corners of my mouth curl up. I threw the remaining Dragon Breath Potion at him and moved away.

‘The Dragon Breath Potions are gone.’

BOOM!

However, he had to have burned through a significant amount of mana. No, to block that level of firepower, he had to have pushed himself harder than usual. Since there was no exact data on the destructive power of the Dragon Breath Potion, he had to have poured in more mana than necessary.

“Die, you bastard!” he shouted.

‘Shit.’

“Die, you bastard!”

‘That was a doll.’

“Die, you bastard!”

‘Did I get baited?’

I realized his voice had been echoing every ten seconds. For a moment, I wondered if I had just wasted both Dragon Breath Potions for nothing, but considering the blast was enough to engulf the entire inn, there was no way he hadn’t taken measures against it.

The scattered voices around me were likely part of his spell as well, which meant he was still spending mana. The reason he went through the trouble of doing something this annoying was obvious.

‘This bastard thinks he can win in close combat?’

He believed that I was some sheltered greenhouse flower. This bastard... The way he had thrown the surroundings into confusion made that clear. The voices ringing out from all directions and the dolls moving slightly all felt like an attempt to pressure me psychologically.

There was no need to shrink back. I still had enough mana left to use alchemy summoning, and more importantly, there was one thing he had overlooked.

‘He thinks I’m clueless in close combat.’

Hadn’t I watched countless swordsmen with my own eyes? There was a saying about how if one stuck around long enough, one would pick things up. Of course, I knew my talent was lacking, but his close combat skills couldn't possibly surpass mine to an unreachable degree.

“Idiot. It’s so obvious,” I commented.

“Die, you bastard!” he shouted.

“I can see exactly what you’re trying to do,” I said.

“Die, you bastard!” he repeated.

Just as I expected, the real voice was mixed in among the fake ones. When I turned toward the slightly more agitated voice compared to the others, I saw him raising his axe and bringing it down on me.

‘Blocking it head-on is a bad idea.’

I didn’t think his axe was strong enough to shatter my sword, but taking that attack directly wasn’t a good choice. Naturally, I stepped back several paces at once. My reach was longer, so I thought about mimicking Thronus' swordsmanship, but...

‘Damn it!’

In the chaos, my foot got caught on a chair, and I stumbled backward.

“Fuck!” I yelled out.

“Pfft! Idiot!” He laughed and lunged at me with the axe, but he overcommitted because the strike went wide, hitting nothing but the floor.

A loud noise echoed as expected, and while I scrambled back to my feet, he struggled to pull out the axe from the floor.

“You idiot!” I yelled out.

A perfect opening. I hurled the dagger at him, but it didn’t land the way I wanted. I had underestimated how hard it was to make it spin blade-first. He flinched and curled up as it flew at him, but the dagger's handle struck him and bounced away.

Still, it wasn’t completely useless.

‘Got him in the shoulder.’

For someone fighting with an axe, that was a bad place to take a hit. The adrenaline dulled the pain for now, but one's body would not lie. That damage would eat away at him over time. No point dwelling on it. I rushed him with the longsword in hand.

“Graaaaaaaah!”

A bloody doll staggered toward me.

‘Yeah, I knew you’d save a few tricks for later, idiot.’

I hadn’t been standing still, either. One of the nearby dolls jerked upright and slammed into one of First Life Ki-Young’s dolls.

“Ever heard of parasites that move corpses, you bastard?!” I shouted.

A variation of alchemy summoning. While we had been trading pointless words, I had already slipped a catalyst into one of the dolls, and it paid off in spades. He had to have considered a bunch of possibilities, but not this—not me turning one of his dolls into mine.

The way his eyes widened said that he was probably thinking about his demise.

‘He’s too obsessed with that axe. The second it got stuck, he should’ve backed off.’

“Aaaaah!”

Right then, the axe finally tore free from the floor. For a split second, I wondered if I ought to pull back, but no, this was it. He had burned through his stamina just to wrench it loose. His shoulder had taken a hit, and in the process, he had thrown his balance completely off.

If I were to avoid charging in, every swordsman I’d ever watched would call me an idiot.

“Die! You fake piece of shit!” I yelled out.

“You die!” First Life Ki-Young shouted.

Clang!

“You blocked that?!”

Clang!

“Idiot!”

Clang!

“You’re not as soft as I thought. Figured you were some weakling. Hah... hah... who taught you that swordsmanship?” First Life Ki-Young asked.

Clang!

“Why the hell... hah... would I tell you?!” I shouted.

Clang! Clang!

‘This bastard... he’s decent.’

Clang! Clang! Clang!

“Damn it! Hah! Hah!”

Clang! Clang! Clang!

“Hah! Hah... huh... hah... hah... whoo...”

Clang!

“Die! Just die already!”

Clang!

‘He’s stronger than I expected.’

Even after losing his balance, he recovered almost instantly. His control was better than I had thought, and the fact that he could keep swinging that axe for this long without completely burning out was even more surprising. It drove home the point that the stamina he used to hack Song Jung-Wook to death hadn’t gone anywhere.

Of course, it wasn’t like I was getting pushed back either. Sure enough, a flicker of surprise crossed his face. After seeing my swordsmanship, he couldn’t just throw his axe around carelessly anymore.

Clang!

Even to myself, I was handling his axe strikes pretty calmly, and I was deflecting them rather than taking them head-on. I spun the sword over my head and turned in one smooth motion. For beginners, thrusts were more dangerous than slashes. The thought of Will crossed my mind as I unleashed a barrage of relentless thrusts, and he struggled to keep up with me.

If I had a spear, he would have already been skewered. I had once seriously considered becoming a spearman, after all.

Even so, he managed to knock aside the strikes aimed at his vitals with sheer reflex, but there was no denying that I had the upper hand.

There was just one problem...

“Hah... hah... hah... hah...”

“Whoo... damn it... whoo...”

My stamina was running out, and...

‘My hand... feels like it’s about to tear apart.’

My hands were trembling uncontrollably. Whether it was my hand giving out or not, just holding the sword made me feel like I was at my limits. I couldn’t even raise it above my shoulder anymore. My breath was so ragged that I felt dizzy. I felt like I could pass out at any moment.

It wasn’t just me. The idiot who had chosen an axe as his weapon had been burning through his stamina faster than I was, and he was already halfway to dropping it on the floor. Perhaps the earlier hit to his shoulder was doing its job, as he kept glancing at his left side like it was bothering him. It could be a trap, as it seemed like he was deliberately leaving his left side open, but honestly, I couldn’t think that far anymore.

At this point, we were both just swinging on instinct and momentum. I was certain he didn’t have the mental space for anything else, either. From here on out, it was a battle of grit. I tightened my grip on the sword and took another step forward.

“Huff... huff...”

Just like every swordsman I had watched before, I gripped the sword and pushed forward again, swinging it once more. He didn’t look like he had any intention of backing off, either. If anything, he raised his axe even more aggressively.

I felt like this was going to be our final exchange.

CLANG!

A louder sound echoed. I saw the axe slip from his hand.

‘I won...’

At the same time, I realized that I had dropped my sword, too. It was just a moment of carelessness, but First Life Ki-Young took advantage of that opportunity to lunge at me like a predator going for its prey.

‘This bastard! He grabbed my hair! Damn it!’

“Aaaagh! Don’t bite me, you asshole!” I shouted.

I had no choice but to bite down on his arm in return.