Regressor Instruction Manual

[We deeply apologize for the delays, we’ll get a new separate proofreader to work on this as it has been over half a year since we’ve completed the main storyline. We just couldn’t free up enough time due to budgeting constraints.]

Chapter 874: The End of the Scenario (7)

It wasn’t that I’d gotten emotional. My thoughts were jumbled up, so I didn’t know what emotion I was feeling right then.

It wouldn’t simply be because I’d lost Kim Hyunsung. This would be a more complex emotion than that. Maybe it was because I had failed.

“Failure...”

Lee Kiyoung had failed. I’d just realized that. Maybe that was why. Because everyone got angry about failures.

As Jihye had said, I might have been feeling overly stressed about getting out of the situation I was thinking of.

It might have been more appropriate to call it annoyance at having blown away my regressor card.

Literally, Kim Hyunsung had been the best hand I had.

He had been convenient to use, and he didn’t cause any problems other than money.

He’d been a perfect fit for me and was the easiest puppet to control. The process had been quite annoying, but he’d grown into one of my most trusted and cherished players in the end.

Considering what I had invested in him, it wasn’t unreasonable for me to feel that way.

I didn’t know where it had gone wrong, but there must have been a problem with the process.

There were many factors of anxiety. I just couldn’t remember. I was just ignoring it.

“Fuck...”

I kept thinking of him.

‘Kiyoung.’

“Stupid bastard...”

‘I’m an ordinary person, unlike you. But I can understand how valuable it is to sacrifice myself for something. I can’t sacrifice for the continent, but I think I can sacrifice for you, who gave me many gifts. It is probably similar to how you look at this place and these people. It’s less sublime but more valuable to me than anything else.’

“You stupid bastard... Who do you think you are...?”

‘Goodbye...’

It was stupid that I hadn’t thought this stupid bastard was sacrificing for me.

Because he’d been a coward. Right. Kim Hyunsung had been overly cowardly, and he’d had a knack for making people angry with even the smallest choices.

Perhaps the biggest problem was that I hadn’t assumed that he’d made such a choice.

Everything I’d done to get inside Kim Hyunsung caught my ankle.

“Who the hell do you think you are to act like that? Know your place...”

It wasn’t too sad if I thought about it. The guy had possessed too many flaws.

There had been so many flaws that I couldn’t understand why I chose him.

Right. Think about it. He’d just been a big guy. He’d given me a lot of work, and I’d had to watch everything.

From the middle, it had been almost impossible to tell who was dragging whom.

He was the guy who’d chosen to live his life in his dreams, so what more did I need to say? I still got annoyed just thinking about it.

So I didn’t have to be sad. I didn’t have to think about failure, and I didn’t have to stress about it.

‘Humans are very strange.’

Right. You were right, Kim Hyunsung.

‘It’s all ruined ruins... but it does look a little pretty. It looks mysterious too. The red sunset...’

No.

He was also needlessly sentimental.

To be precise, it was annoying. Because I’d been walking around with him for almost a day.

I didn’t know why he liked the ruins enough to be there, but he was far from the ideal hero image.

I slowly turned my head and saw the red sunset. It was neither mysterious nor pretty.

Everything was bullshit.

‘I only thought that the landscape I was looking at was the sunset. Of course, there was no such thing as the sun there. But... I kept thinking so.’

In my eyes, it looked like it was setting now.

Even then, you must have misunderstood something. It was all a sight I made. You were looking at the wrong thing.

Either way, it looked like the light was going out. The red sunset that had continued to illuminate that side was no longer visible.

‘Kiyoung.’

I remembered it had always been like that.

He was negative, easily suspicious, and eventually out of control.

It was just my personal judgment that he’d been an obedient puppet. Come to think of it, Kim Hyunsung had never listened to me. Things were always the way he wanted.

‘It’s a gift.’

He’d always bought things I told him not to.

‘I’m sorry.’

He’d also made me stressed by repeating the things he’d been told not to do every time.

About Raphael too. In the end, he’s been a bastard who did things his way.

He’d been so stubborn even when he couldn’t take responsibility... In fact, he’d been very flawed.

‘If I lose it, I can find it again.’

There were still many useful cards around me. In fact, it might not have made sense to increase it anymore.

I might not even need a regressor. The value of his use might actually have been over...

Now the first round meant nothing. The first and second rounds were completely different, and if I needed force, there were plenty of substitutes.

Kim Hyunsung didn’t know what the future held, and even if it happened, he had no ability to deal with it.

Not only after that but also during the process. If given the opportunity to start the second round again, I might not do shit with Kim Hyunsung. The role he could play was limited anyway.

There was a high probability that no accidents would happen in the future.

Of course, I had to do what I had to do. I was going to have to give a good stab to the back of the damn bastard who had screwed me.

Would there be a way? There had to be, for sure. Maybe I could go directly to the first round...

It was best to keep all possibilities open. It would be easy to find someone to replace Kim Hyunsung.

I just had to find someone suitable. Would I be going a bit far if I took Raphael? How about Thronus? Both were swordsman types and their loyalty...

‘Thank you for your trust.’

“Fuck... shut up. Bastard... you idiot bastard.”

‘Kiyoung. Thank you for always believing... thank you very much. Actually, I...’

“Piss off, you useless bastard! Don’t make me mad and just disappear... I’ll be busy from now on. Do you understand me? I don’t have time to think about you.”

‘I am...’

“Shit...”

Still, I kept remembering him. I thought that I had already taken him out, but without realizing it, I had fallen to the ground. I kept covering my face and pulling out my hair.

I wondered if there really was another way or other possibilities.

I wasn’t the type to repeat my past mistakes, but I kept reminding myself of my mistakes and whether there was really no way to undo them.

This couldn’t be the end. Right.

It really couldn’t end like this. I’d have insurance too.

“Where is Jihye?”

“...”

“Where is Lee Jihye?”

“...”

“And Yuno Kasugano... what are you doing? Did you know things would turn out like this? What did you want? If the one you called master is Lee Kiyoung from the first round, I won’t forgive you either.”

It wasn’t that there was no possibility. There were a lot of things that were a little strange too...

Right.

Maybe magic could bring things back.

“Hayan... Jung Hayan.”

“...”

If it were Cha Heera, wouldn’t she find a way?

“Heera.”

Why couldn’t I hear their voices? Why couldn’t I see their faces? How much time had passed?

I felt someone grabbing my body. It felt like an attempt to calm me down, but it didn’t work.

I tried to shake off the hands that grabbed me from all directions. I didn’t even know how I’d gotten that strength. Maybe they let go of me first.

Was Lucifer looking at this now? Why was there no feedback? Did she think I had violated the prerequisites of the bet? Was this because the contract had already been broken?

It really couldn’t end like this. There had to be something. Definitely... I must have had many situations in mind...

I kept tapping my thigh. Maybe I looked like a crazy person. But nothing was coming to mind.

‘It’s a landscape I want to see again.’

“Stop talking about the scenery. Really. It’s making me nuts.”

‘Someday...’

“I said stop talking. You’re making me nuts.”

Neither Benignore nor Belial could be contacted. No, I didn’t even know if they were being contacted. Of course, I couldn’t feel Lucifer either.

I couldn’t figure out what to do or even what I could do. I just screamed.

“Wake up...”

I knew it was useless, and I knew it was meaningless.

I knew it was going to look stupid, and I knew it was nonsense. But I had to keep opening my mouth.

“Get up. Regressor of Altanus... Damn... Wake up.”

No, it wasn’t useless. That was logical enough.

“You survived last time. Of course, you weren’t completely dead then, but you definitely got up.”

“It will be possible this time too. You will appear again this time as if nothing happened.”

“Arise, Regressor of Altanus. Then I will give you the future.”

Of course, nothing happened. I was doing something wrong.

How had I done it back then? How had I gotten him to stand up?

“This won’t work. Fuck... This won’t work...”

‘I always...’

“Rise up, Altanus’s... regressor... sniff. Then I will give you the future.”

Had I talked a little louder? Were you listening to my voice? You were listening, right?

“Wake up! Wake up! Shit! Regressor of Altanus! Kim Hyunsung! Shit! Then I will give you a future...”

But nothing happened.

“Fuck! Wake up, Kim Hyunsung, you bastard! Regressor of Altanus. You scum! Then I will present you with a future.”

[A system error has occurred.]

What?

[Checking the error for the mythic-grade item, Altanus’ Legacy, user Kim Hyunsung, the God of Sunset.]

“Wake up! Son of a bitch! “

[Checking the list of quests registered to Kim Hyunsung, the user of the mythic-grade item Altanus’ Legacy.]

“Wake up...”

[Checking the quests that are not permitted by Kim Hyunsung, the user of the mythic-grade item Altanus’ Legacy. Organizing quest rewards.]

“Please...”

[The future (0/1)]

Please...

[The future (0/2)]

“Please!”

[...]

[The future (0/5)]

[...]

[The future (0/25)]

[...]

[The future (0/381)]

[...]

[...]

[The future (0/2,124)]

[Compensation for a total of 2,124 forced quests has not been settled.]

[The reward for the forced quest given to the God of Sunset has not been settled.]

[Administrator of the continent, please check the error. The effects of quest rewards and Legacy of Altanus are conflicting. The Son of Light did not reward the God of Sunset.]

[Checking the activation condition of the item and the grade of the forced quest...]

“Wake up, you bastard! Then I will present you the future.”

[Creating a mythic-grade forced quest.]

[I forgive your sins. Arise, Regressor of Altanus. Then I will gift you the future. (0/1)]

[Quest Clearing Reward: The future (0/2,125)]

[The future (0/2,125)]

Once again, a gigantic light fell from the sky.

“I will... present the future.”

Right.

The future...