Not A Regressor-Chapter 7: Hyenas (1)
Chapter 7: Hyenas (1)
Chapter 7: Hyenas (1)
Six Anthorns burst out from the bushes at once. Two of them were the notably larger Elder Anthorns.
“Khaaaa!”
Kwon Oh-Jin tightened his grip on his spear. He then took a short breath as he concentrated on his left pec.
“Hmph.”
Woong!
His Stigma began to emit a blue light, and power surged through him.
“Grrr!”
An Elder Anthorn lunged at him from the left. He moved instinctively, making use of Lee Shin-Hyuk's spear techniques.
Crack!
“Grrrr!”
He thrust the spear into the Elder Anthorn’s open mouth. In response, its jaws clamped down on the weapon and attempted to snap it in half.
“Not so fast!”
Crush!
Kwon Oh-Jin twisted the spear and stomped on the Anthorn's head. Its hard outer shell, impenetrable even to bullets, shattered under a simple kick from him.
Nice.
He felt as light as a feather, and his muscles felt as if they were living, breathing beings.
“Grrr!”
Another Anthorn attacked from behind, but he easily ducked under its strike. As it passed overhead, he quickly grabbed its hind leg. The Anthorn flailed in panic.
“Kaa?!”
“Hmph!”
With a grunt, he threw the captured Anthorn back toward its pack.
“Khaaaa!”
The Anthorn crashed into the others like a cannonball, sending them tumbling to the ground.
As expected, my physical stats are on a completely different level compared to the average one-star Awakener.
The average Anthorn weighed around eighty kilograms. Unless one was a Taurus Awakener, they wouldn't be able to lift something so heavy and catapult it with one hand, especially not a one-star Awakener.
My physical stats aren’t even the best part.
He channeled his mana through the Stigma of Lyra, revealing its true power. A burst of radiant light emanated from his chest, and blue lightning flickered across him.
Crackle, crackle!
“I can’t do it like last time just yet?”
Back when Vega had blessed him, blue lightning raged like a storm around him. Now, he only managed to unleash tiny, flickering sparks of electricity around him. It looked more like the Thunderbolt move of a malnourished Gigachu.
“Tsk.”
Rome wasn't built in a day. He had come here to grow this lightning to the level he had experienced yesterday in the first place.
The Anthorns rolled around on the ground until they got back up. They then let out a furious roar and charged at Kwon Oh-Jin.
“Grrr!”
“Graaa!”
That’s enough useless pondering. I have to focus.
He fiercely thrust his spear forward.
***
The dense, humid forest now reeked of burnt wood. Charred Anthorn corpses littered all over it. Kwon Oh-Jin rummaged through the carcasses, tossing their Starstones into his bag.
“Damn, how much is all this worth?”
His palm-sized bag felt so satisfyingly heavy that a smile formed on his face without him even realizing it.
This should be nearly a million won.
He had earned this much after just three hours of hunting, that too without a party he had to split the rewards with. Considering he used to put his life on the line doing shitty acts just to barely make two to three hundred thousand won a day, he couldn’t help but find this situation almost surreal.
“No wonder everyone’s so desperate to become an Awakener.”
He recalled the news about people gathering at gates that led to Sanctums, praying daily for Celestials to choose them.
The mortality rate for Awakeners is far from appealing, but who cares? Money has always been more important than life.
“Anyway, there really is nothing like real combat to train your Stigma.”
Kwon Oh-Jin confidently conjured up small bolts of lightning at his fingertips. Merely three hours in, he had gotten the hang of summoning lightning through his Stigma.
Crackle, crackle!
Am I a quick learner, or is this normal? I can’t even tell.
Since he was the only Awakener who had the Stigma of Lyra, Kwon Oh-Jin didn’t have anyone to compare himself to.
Twirling a small orb of lightning around his hand, he turned to leave.
Well, I’ll figure it out later.
Unbeknownst to Kwon Oh-Jin, anyone who teamed up with him would have ended up completely wide-eyed in absolute shock.
Normally, the higher the rank of a Stigma, the more powerful it was but also the harder to master. Even the apostles of the twelve Zodiacs took several days to become proficient with their Stigmas. Yet here he was, an apostle of the North Star, becoming adept at controlling his Stigma in just a few hours.
It didn’t make any logical sense, but he accomplished the impossible without even realizing that he was fundamentally built different.
“Now then,” he muttered, squinting as he scanned the area. He held his spear instead of strapping it to his back.
The Anthorns are definitely behaving strangely.
Normally, Anthorns formed packs centered around just one Elder, but the pack he had encountered today had more than two. This meant that a higher species was commanding the Elders.
“The problem is I have no idea where it's hiding.”
He considered searching for it but decided to use another method instead.
Kwon Oh-Jin unzipped his sling bag and pulled out a square blood pack, a type of business tool that he had often used in scams to feign injury.
“I’m glad I brought this with me.”
The fact that it was actually pig's blood didn’t matter; Anthorns couldn't differentiate between human and animal blood while feeding.
Splash!
He tore open the blood pack and poured it all onto the ground. Afterward, he quickly hid atop a nearby tree.
Rustle, rustle, rustle!
After a brief wait, he noticed a group of around twenty Anthorns swarming in.
That's it. Found you.
At the center of the reddish beasts was a black Anthorn that was as big as a tiger. It was definitely a mutant, just as the association had predicted.
I’ll wrap this up quickly.
No matter how powerful the Stigma of Lyra was, taking on such a large group was bound to be a long, challenging fight. He had to get the job done quickly and eliminate the mutant within three minutes at most.
Standing on top of a tree branch, he took a short breath.
“Haaa.”
Thump.
His heart pulsed, sending a thrilling shiver down his spine. The Stigma on his chest emitted a bright glow, and blue lightning sparked and flared up.
Crackle!
As if a blanket of dark clouds suddenly swallowed the sky, Kwon Oh-Jin's vision dimmed until only the mutated Anthorn was in sight.
What the hell? Has it always been this dark here?
Although he couldn't comprehend what was going on, he still instinctively kicked off from the tree and launched himself into the air.
Thud!
Aiming his spear downward, he then plunged with his entire weight.
Crackle!
Blue lightning formed at the tip of his spear. Unlike before, however, streaks of shadows now flickered along with it.
[Lightning Strike Lv1 has been activated.]
Boom!
The thunderous spear shot down like a meteor, piercing through the mutated Anthorn’s back and drilling into the ground. The stench of burning flesh filled the air.
“Huh? What the hell?”
Did I really just one-shot it?
Even though he had snuck up on it, he hadn’t expected the mutated Anthron to die instantly. It went down so easily that he couldn’t help but be genuinely surprised.
“Kheeeee!”
“Kraaaa!”
With the mutant dead, the remaining Anthorns panicked. Spinning in circles, they turned tail and fled.
“Hey, wait! Hold on!”
Unfortunately, Kwon Oh-Jin was too stunned by the pack's quick collapse to immediately chase after them.
“If you’re gonna run, at least give me your Starstones first, you bastards!”
The Starstone from a single Anthorn was worth around twenty thousand won, which was enough money to buy three whole Whoopper meals.
“Damn it!”
He tried to pull his spear out of the ground to chase after them, but it was lodged in too deep. freeweɓnovel.cøm
“Ugh.”
Kwon Oh-Jin sighed, deciding not to chase after them.
It’s a shame. I got to kill a mutant, at least.
Mutants didn't appear often. A Starstone from one would easily fetch at least a million won. The thought alone made him giggle. He turned to harvest the Starstone.
Crackle!
As he did, a sharp sensation shot through his left pec. He quickly glanced down, finding his Stigma glowing brightly.
“Ugh!”
Wait, is this...?
Shhhzzz!
A new line had formed beside his Stigma.
Ring!
[The Stigma of Lyra has been promoted to two stars!]
“Huh.”
Kwon Oh-Jin couldn’t believe it. Did he just reach two stars in a single day?
Is this even possible?
He had expected to advance quickly since his Stigma was overflowing with mana, but this was at least a week earlier than he had anticipated.
“Am I going to hit three stars in a week at this rate?”
If that were the case, then he no longer had to scheme and overthink. Only a "true Regressor" could reach three stars in just a week. Even reaching two stars in one day was absurd.
It normally takes about six months to reach two stars.
Most people lacked mana in their Stigma, but even taking that into account, Kwon Oh-Jin was still making incredible progress.
“A two-star now, huh.”
He lightly gripped his spear and swung it.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Even a simple swing split the air with a tearing sound. He had clearly become quicker and stronger.
Good. This is more than enough for today.
“Let’s harvest this quickly and head back.”
Kwon Oh-Jin hummed as he approached the mutant’s body. He thought about ordering a Guinness Whoopper instead of the usual Whoopper today.
Rustle.
Just then, he heard the bushes move.
What is it now?
There was no way the Anthorns that had fled earlier were crazy enough to come back. He gripped his spear tightly as his gaze sharpened.
Two rather menacing men soon emerged from the bushes. He could make out their bulging muscles through their worn-out armor.
“Oh, what’s this? It's got a black exoskeleton?” one said.
The other whistled. “Damn, bro! Did you just take down a mutant?”
“Did you kill it by yourself? Even if it’s just an Anthorn, you’ve got some serious skills, bro!”
“We’re three-star apostles of the Canes Venatici. Nice to meet ya.”
Contradicting their intimidating appearances, the men approached Kwon Oh-Jin with friendly smiles.
Kwon Oh-Jin squinted.
These bastards...
They clearly didn’t have good intentions. Perhaps it was prejudice, but the two looked like they’d been dragged across asphalt. It would be a crime in itself if they weren’t robbers.
There’s no reason for three-star apostles to come to such a low-level gate. Are they after mutants?
If so, these people wouldn't just let him walk away after seeing him destroy the mutant. After all, Awakeners could turn into thieves as quickly as flipping a coin.
“Hmm...”
One of the men bent slightly and sniffed the air, much like a hunting dog tracking its prey. He whistled again.
“He must have used a lot of mana to take down that mutant,” he quietly whispered to the other.
“Hehe, that must’ve worn him out.”
“Right? It’s not like a four or five-star Awakener would show up here.”
Kwon Oh-Jin clicked his tongue.
I know what you're talking about even if I can’t hear you, you idiots.
“Come to think of it, doesn’t something seem off? We wiped out a pack of Anthorns over there earlier, right? Maybe this guy picked up what was left of the ones that got away.”
“Oh, is that how it is? Well, that’s no good then, is it?”
They unsheathed their swords as their lips twisted into sinister grins.
So they really are robbers. Looks like I'm left with no other choice.
Kwon Oh-Jin sighed and quickly knelt down.
“I-I’m sorry! I didn’t know any better!”
“Huh?”
“What are you talking about?”
The two men were rather taken aback. Their prey didn’t just fall to his knees without hesitation. Now, he was also bowing low to the ground and clasping his hands together in a pleading gesture.
“I-I’ll give it to you!”
“Hahaha! Now this is a young man who knows what’s good for him!” Laughing heartily, one of the men walked past Kwon Oh-Jin and approached the mutant on the ground.
“Oh, I wasn’t talking about that,” Kwon Oh-Jin coldly said. He then brutally thrust his spear into the man’s back, shattering his armor.
“Kuh! Kugh!”
“Say hi to your dead mom for me.”
“Damn it!”
The other man rushed forward, swinging his sword in a panic. Kwon Oh-Jin twisted his spear and used the impaled man as his shield to block the oncoming strike. The human kebab screamed in agony.
“H-Huh?”
Thud!
Unable to stop the momentum of his sword, the other man split his teammate’s head in two.
“What the hell did you just do?!” Kwon Oh-Jin shouted in shock, eyes wide. “How could you kill your own colleague?”
“D-Damn it!”
“If your dead mom saw this, what would she think?!”
“Shut up! My mom’s still alive and well, you psycho!”
“Don’t lie! I saw your mom die with my own two eyes!” Kwon Oh-Jin shouted ferociously.
“What the hell are you talking about?! She’s still fucking alive!”
“Accept the truth!”
“What truth, you lunatic?!”
“Your mom’s dead! She’s no longer in this world!”
This wasn’t a lie!
