Not A Regressor-Chapter 41: Secluded Training (2)

Kwon Oh-Jin heard Han Jun-Man's awkward tone on the line.

—I won’t be able to reach you for a while?

“Yes. I plan to focus on personal training for the time being.”

—Um... and how long will your training last?

Han Jun-Man seemingly hadn’t expected Kwon Oh-Jin to be unavailable at such a critical time.

Well, I don't blame him. Things are probably hectic right now.

After news spread that an apostle of the North Star had appeared in South Korea, global attention was fixed on the country. Not only Korean guilds but even major international guilds had their eyes fixed on Kwon Oh-Jin and the Awakeners Association he belonged to.

“I’m planning on being away for three months for now.”

—Three months, huh... That is a little iffy considering the timing. There are already hundreds of meeting requests directed for you, Oh-Jin.

He was already aware that everyone was scrambling to establish a positive connection with himself, the apostle of the North Star. His sudden absence at such a time would surely be unsettling for the association.

But that’s exactly why I’m disappearing. It's to avoid all this chaos.

If everyone approaching him had purely good intentions, he wouldn’t need to avoid them, but he knew that wasn't possible. While they might frame it as networking, they were undoubtedly calculating how to use him for their benefit.

Honestly, it’ll be nice if they only plan to use me.

There were definitely others who'd take a more extreme approach, their jealousy driving them towards wanting to destroy him.

I need a little more time.

At the very least, he needed the power to protect himself from such people who approached him with ulterior motives. While his growth rate already far surpassed other Awakeners, he was still only a three-star.

“Anyhow, I plan to focus on my personal training, so please turn down all the meeting requests.”

—I understand. Now that I think about it, it probably is wise to play it safe.

I knew Jun-Man would understand. Nice.

“Oh, and one more thing.”

I almost forgot.

“Could you contact the Starlight Lake Guild for me?”

—The Starlight Lake Guild?

“Yes. Please let them know I was deeply insulted by an Awakener of theirs named Choi Jong-Cheol.”

Although Kwon Oh-Jin had promised to let it slide, he had no intention of truly letting it go, of course.

—How exactly did he insult you?

“He said I was acting out of place as nothing more than a dog of the association,” Kwon Oh-Jin said. He chose not to mention anything about Song Ha-Eun.

—...Did he really say that? Han Jun-Man asked, now irritated.

Anyone would find it upsetting to have their organization insulted in such a way.

—I’ll take care of that. The Starlight Lake Guild had also recently reached out for a meeting, so I’ll use this as an excuse to decline.

“Haha, thank you.”

Kwon Oh-Jin couldn’t help but smile. He could rely on Han Jun-Man to take care of things.

—And where do you plan on training?

“Oh.” Kwon Oh-Jin smirked. He had already chosen the ideal place, somewhere he could concentrate on secluded training even with all the growing attention towards him. “At the Sanctum.”

—Pardon?

He had chosen the land of the gods, home to hundreds of Celestials, as his training location.

***

Vega and Kwon Oh-Jin arrived at one of the three temples at the Sanctum’s highest grounds, where only the North Star Celestials could reside. The Weaver's massive temple was desolate as ever on the inside.

“Is this what you meant by wanting to be with me, twenty-four hours of the day?”

“What did you think I meant?” Kwon Oh-Jin playfully asked.

“Hmph! Shut up!”

Vega puffed her nose and crossed her arms as she turned her head away.

“Haha, sorry. I really couldn’t think of a better place for this.”

Vega could only be physically present on Earth for a few hours a day, which wasn’t enough for him to learn how to wield the power of the Stigma of Lyra.

But it's a different story within the Sanctum.

Here, the restrictions of the law that bound Celestials were greatly weakened, meaning Vega could remain present for as long as she wished.

“Will Ha-Eun be alright on her own?” Vega asked.

“She’s not a kid. She’ll be fine.”

Song Ha-Eun also needed to focus on her rehabilitation for a while.

She definitely didn’t look too happy, though.

He recalled her scowl when he mentioned being away for three months.

“Plus, it’s not like we won’t see each other at all for three whole months.”

Entry to Vega’s temple wasn’t restricted to just those with the Stigma of Lyra. Song Ha-Eun could come meet him anytime.

“So we’ll be able to stay together for a while, hehe,” Vega said with a satisfied smile.

“Haha! I’ll be in your care, Goddess.”

“Just leave it to me!”

Vega puffed out her chest and spun around as if dancing.

Woong!

Silver light emanated around her as her small fairy-like figure began to expand.

Kwon Oh-Jin witnessed her in her true form again for the first time in a while and remembered how breathtakingly beautiful she was.

“So, which technique would you like me to teach you first?” she asked, approaching him with sparkling eyes.

Kwon Oh-Jin shook his head slowly.

“An explanation alone doesn’t really help.”

Before coming to the Sanctum, he had already tried learning some of the Stigma's techniques from her.

I couldn't understand a thing she was saying.

Maybe she wasn’t the best at explaining, or maybe he wasn’t good at understanding it. Either way, he could never figure out what she was trying to convey.

Release my mana as if the stars in the Milky Way are flowing through the clouds? I need whatever she's on.

He had no clue how he was supposed to move his mana the way she was describing it.

“Mmm? How do you plan to learn these skills, then?”

“Vega, I want to spar with you.”

Looking back on his experiences, he had always grown the most through real combat. Rather than complex theory, he believed he could learn more by tapping into his instincts under pressure. Although this would be a spar and not a real battle, it would still be far more useful than mere principle.

Vega shook her head.

“That’s impossible,” she firmly responded.

“Why? Because of the restrictions?”

Kwon Oh-Jin had heard that the restrictions were only lessened in the Sanctum, not entirely gone.

“No, not because of that,” she replied with a short sigh.

“Then why?”

“Because you would die.”

“Oh...”

With the vast gap in power between them, Kwon Oh-Jin would be like a mere ant for her in a spar.

“What if you controlled your strength?”

“Even at the lowest level I can control it to, it would still be impossible.”

Are we that far apart? Maybe I got too full of myself.

He realized he might have gotten overly confident at how he had grown much faster than any other Awakener over the past few months. He felt a bit ashamed for having dared to imagine sparring with a Celestial.

I guess it is absurd to consider.

She was a transcendent being on a fundamentally different level from humans. In fact, she was on another level even among other transcendent beings.

I really was being arrogant.

He'd gotten too used to being around her casually; to her, he was someone she could crush with a flick of her finger.

“Oh well. I guess we’ll have to go with the usual method, then.”

It was less efficient, but he didn’t want to disregard Vega’s warning and insist on a spar.

“Hmmm, wait a moment,” Vega cut in. She fell into thought for a moment before snapping her fingers. “I won’t be able to do it, but it might be possible for my Star Spirit.

A Star Spirit? Is that the Celestial’s incarnation?

Celestials were bound by restrictions that prevented them from directly intervening in earthly matters. Vega, however, could exert some influence in line with her North Star title, when other Celestials couldn’t even leave the Sanctum. A Star Spirit, on the other hand, was a conscious being infused with a fragment of a Celestial’s soul.

Star Spirits aren’t completely free from those restrictions either, but they're much less constrained than a Celestial acting directly on Earth.

Vega’s Star Spirit though, huh? That's one more person I’ll need to put up an act for.

Vega raised her hand and called, “Come forth, my servant, Riarc.”

Woong!

Silver light flared up as a rift opened in the air. From it, a wolf with beautiful silver fur stepped out.

“You summoned me, Lady Vega?” Riarc asked in a refined, unnatural voice as he bowed. Riarc took in his surroundings until his eyes landed on Kwon Oh-Jin. “Hmm?”

Riarc's fur suddenly stood on edge.

“A human? Why is a human here...?”

His eyes were filled with suspicion and caution.

Kwon Oh-Jin put on a friendly smile and waved toward Riarc. He called out, “It’s been a while, Riarc.”

The silver wolf narrowed his eyes and cocked his head.

“Who the hell are you?”

“Haha! It’s been a while since you spoke so informally to me, Riarc. Hearing it again feels quite new.”

“...?”

Riarc looked toward Vega, utterly bewildered. Vega smiled softly and placed her hand on Kwon Oh-Jin’s shoulder.

“Do not be alarmed, Riarc.”

“What...?”

“This child is a Regressor, one who has returned from the future.”

“A-A Heaven-Defying Star!” Riarc exclaimed. His jaw dropped to the floor.

Even among Celestials, the Heaven-Defying Star was a legend as an existence that could turn back the fate of a world marked for ruin.

“H-How is a Heaven-Defying Star—Wait, that means...!”

The appearance of a Heaven-Defying Star implied that the future world had already been destroyed once.

“So in the end, just like the prophecy, Lady Vega will...” Riarc trailed off.

In other words, the existence of a Regressor implied that Riarc's master had been swallowed by the darkness of the Black Heaven.

Thud!

Riarc stomped his front paw in frustration. Although this was still in the future, a wave of guilt surged over him for having failed to protect his master.

“Don’t blame yourself, Riarc,” Vega said. She walked over and petted him affectionately. “My child has come here to prevent that future from ever unfolding.”

“...”

Riarc wordlessly glanced at Kwon Oh-Jin, whose presence was far too weak.

“Is he truly the Heaven-Defying Star?”

“Haha, you will see for yourself in time,” Vega confidently replied.

“Vega,” Kwon Oh-Jin called out, urging her to get to the point.

“Alright, then. So...” She began explaining to Riarc why Kwon Oh-Jin was here now.

“You’d like me to spar? With him?”

“That’s right.”

“Grrr.”

Riarc narrowed his eyes, scanning Kwon Oh-Jin from head to toe. He didn’t look reliable in any way.

“Since it’s Lady Vega’s command, I shall oblige.”

Crack!

Riarc swelled up and transformed into a towering werewolf nearly two meters tall. Blue lightning sparked between his silver fur.

Crackle!

Kwon Oh-Jin stared up at Riarc and nervously gulped.

What the hell?

The aura radiating from Riarc's werewolf form was so overwhelming that Kwon Oh-Jin felt suffocated. Frankly, he seemed even stronger than Vega.

Though, that’s probably because Vega hasn’t shown her true power yet.

Regardless, he could tell that Riarc was incredibly strong. It was laughable to even compare the beast to himself.

“Let’s begin, then.”

Riarc took his stance, and Kwon Oh-Jin nodded as he raised his spear.

There’s no way I can win, but... if I can at least hold out for—

Boom!

“...!”

Kwon Oh-Jin couldn’t see it with his naked eye, but he lifted his spear purely out of instinct.

Thud!

“Kugh!”

The spear was violently knocked out of his hand, and his palm split open, splattering blood.

“Agh!”

He quickly crouched to try and roll out of the way.

“Too slow,” Riarc asserted.

Wham!

The werewolf kicked Kwon Oh-Jin straight in the stomach, treating him like a soccer ball.

“Guh! Gah! Cough!”

Kwon Oh-Jin's legs gave out, and he collapsed onto the ground.

Holy shit.

His first sparring session with Riarc had lasted a mere three seconds.