◈ Everyone Else is a Regressor (20)

Chapter 5. Caught on His Own (1)

—You have emerged victorious against a boss-level monster overwhelmingly stronger than yourself! The rare-grade title [Transcender of Limits] has evolved into a unique grade! With this title, you will receive 'significantly' positive adjustments when facing higher-ranked enemies. It will be 'even more' convenient to surpass all kinds of limits.

—The legendary-grade title 'Discoverer of the Hidden Dungeon' is now fully activated! Due to the title effect, all stats and skill effects increase by 20% in any dungeon or ruins environment. It becomes easier to discover dungeons and ruins, and you can now gain prior internal information.

—During the intense battle, the levels of Light Spirit Magic (U), Rapid Regeneration (U), Steelization (U), and No Rest for the Wicked (U) increased by one each.

—You have reached level 99, hitting the limit. Strength (R), Light Magic (R), and Spirit Power (U) have increased by 1.

The notifications were simply the result of him defeating the demon.

I had speculated about the growth of the Transcender of Limits, and it really did evolve.

Ironically, the most desired effect, which he had hoped for before challenging the demon, was amplified, but it was an effect that he would continually benefit from in the future, so there was no need to be too disappointed.

The Discoverer of the Hidden Dungeon was also fully activated, a title that instantly made clear why it was of legendary grade.

The fact that all stats and skills increased by 20% in every dungeon and ruins was already tremendous, but the additional effects were unbelievably powerful.

His level had also grown definitively, reaching the limit.

"If it's not meant to be, then so be it. After all, it was an undiminished unique-grade."

I'm unsure of the demon's occupation.

But no matter how I think about it, his prowess was not as impressive as one would boast of being a Weapon Master.

While he was pondering these foolish thoughts, the tally continued.

The first thing that came up was a skill growth notification that he hadn't expected.

—Through countless battles against superior enemies, you have partly reached the true essence of Butchery. The uncommon-grade skill [Butchery] transcends its limits and evolves into the rare-grade skill [Slaughter]. You receive a positive adjustment for actions involving killing any life for your benefit and harvesting by-products.

"...That's brutal."

Perhaps the last moment, ripping the horn from the living demon's forehead, influenced the skill's evolution.

Until now, KiJun had thought that Butchery was only used for extracting by-products from dead bodies, but in fact, both Slaughter and Butchery encompassed the process of killing a creature and harvesting its by-products.

Not realizing this simple fact might be why Butchery was stuck at an uncommon grade.

The growth of the Slaughter skill, which gives an adjustment for all acts of killing, was surprising, but that wasn't the main reward.

—The rare-grade skill [Double Turtle Fangs] is influenced by Light Spirit Magic and evolves into the unique-grade skill [Moonlight Fangs]. Your two shields will resemble the moon, being round and solid like a full moon, sharp like a crescent moon, and sometimes invisible like a new moon, but always present.

"It’s finally done."

KiJun mumbled these words and knelt down.

What's done? Even he didn't understand it until he remembered what the Demon Lord said when they first met and began training four years ago. She had said, "Let's at least make the Dual Wielding Skill unique."

He had to achieve a unique grade in weapon skills.

The sense of relief that he hadn't wasted her expectations, the time, and effort she invested in him naturally welled up.

Looking back, after that, there were many things like Spirit Magic, but his obsession with her single statement now seemed silly.

—Contractor, are you alright?

"Yeah, I'm fine. My level has also increased."

"Ah, hey! Hero!"

At that moment, the door opened, and the Demon Lord, with a worried expression, burst in.

Seeing KiJun on his knees, the Demon Lord was horrified, but soon, realizing he was unscathed, she sighed in relief.

"What the heck, really. Making me worry..."

"Sorry, maybe it's just a sense of accomplishment..."

"It's okay, I understand. You've worked hard."

The Demon Lord didn't check if his skills had grown.

It wasn't that she lacked expectations, but she simply believed he had achieved it.

That faith had sometimes been a burden, but now that he had achieved it splendidly, it was nothing but pride and joy.

The last notification message appeared then.

—Sometimes flamboyant, sometimes pitiful. A truly beautiful flower shows each seeker what they desire, captivating them as its prisoner. The Charisma (R) stat transcends its limits and evolves into the Unique (U) grade! Charisma (U) is now 1.

What the…

There must be a reason for this.

If it really rose in rank just because Lucy admired it a bit and the Demon Lord worried a bit, then the Charisma stat might be less significant than KiJun thought.

...Or maybe the Demon Lord and Lucy are far more extraordinary than he imagined.

"How about looking at the the dungeon' reward?"

"Oh, right."

As KiJun focused intently on the status window, he soon came to his senses and surveyed the remaining space in the dungeon. Shockingly, there was no treasure chest prepared separately.

Usually, the reward is directly carried by the boss of the dungeon, and if that's the case, there was something he suspected.

It didn't seem like an inherent ability of the demon, but there was something that bothered KiJun every time a certain weapon was wielded.

"This scimitar."

"It seems enchanted. When that thing was holding it, it was huge."

"Ah, right. This is it. Is it unique-grade?"

The Demon Lord nodded affirmatively, shattering KiJun's hopeful imagination.

It was a disappointing result.

Of course, the ability to create wind around or shoot wind blades was quite impressive, but the main subject being a scimitar!

"I'd rather take my rare-grade shield to the main game than this."

"Don't be silly and try it on."

Was his joke about preferring rare over unique too much?

But then, as a slightly disheartened KiJun picked it up, amazingly, the scimitar transformed into the shape of a pristine white shield.

"What...?"

"It's an adaptable armament. It seems to transform into whatever the owner desires most. Can it split into two? Oh, that doesn't work."

"Uh uh..."

Now this changes things.

KiJun blinked in disbelief, unable to grasp that he had really acquired a unique-grade shield, and opened its info window.

[King of the Well (Unique)]

[Durability – 2,325/2,500]

[Attack Power (U)/Defense (U) – 50]

[Option 1 – Increase Strength, Mana Power by 5]

[Option 2 – Contains the power of the wind, which can be dispersed in all directions or wielded as sharp trajectories. Casting consumes mana power, and the potency is proportional to the product of Strength and Mana Power. Requires a cooldown period after casting.]

[Equip Restriction – 'Discoverer of the Hidden Dungeon' title holder]

[Congratulations. You are the most remarkable frog in this narrow well!]

And he grimaced.

"Damn it!"

The performance was indeed excellent.

In fact, it was even more remarkable than any unique item he had seen, considering it met both his offensive and defensive needs in a shield.

But all its value was being undercut by the item's name and description.

Nothing could illustrate more vividly that all his struggles until now were nothing more than a tutorial!

"The name is... huh, a bit funny."

As usual, the Demon Lord couldn't help but chuckle and tapped the hero's shoulder.

"Still, it's a really amazing piece of armament. It boosts both Strength and Mana Power by 5... For someone like you, who performs both attack and defense with a shield, it's perfect. Holding this, I bet you'll become more than twice as strong."

"I know, I know, but still, the name..."

His attempt to look cool and his challenge to the demon seemed to have all turned into bubbles.

Gently stroking KiJun's shoulder, the Demon Lord comforted him with a soft voice.

"It's okay. I know how great your battle was. You've always fought with full power, never minding if it's just a tutorial. So it's okay. You should be proud."

—Right, contractor, you were really, really cool earlier! I'm so proud I was the only one who saw it!

"This spirit, really."

Secretly wishing she had witnessed KiJun's struggle, the Demon Lord was caught off guard by Lucy's teasing and glared.

In the meantime, KiJun, who had regained his spirits, strapped the now permanently shield-shaped [King of the Well] to his back along with a rare-grade shield.

This alone successfully added a bonus of 5 to both his Strength and, slightly to his worry, his Light Magic.

"Good, that settles it."

He changed his mood with this positive thought and turned around.

"Let's head up to the surface now."

"Yeah, once we're up, it's party time!"

"Ah, right. A party! ...Contractor, there's still that!"

"Huh? ...Oh!"

Excluding the 'King of the Well', all artifacts wielded by the demon seemed to age rapidly and crumble away, along with the demon's body, which also turned to ash and scattered in the wind. However, one item remained intact on the ground – the horn that KiJun had ripped out with his shield.

"Wow, did you actually manage to pull that off?" exclaimed the Demon Lord, visibly elated.

"Good, all those Lesser Demon hearts I've collected won't go to waste," she continued.

"If it was going to be a waste, you should have told me earlier, ma’am," retorted KiJun, slightly alarmed.

"Well, even without that horn, I could have purified them. Anyway, keep that horn. I’ll make something decent out of it before you head to Leta."

"What will it become?" asked KiJun, intrigued.

"A permanent battery. They’re incredibly valuable. Demons are, after all, a rare species," mused the Demon Lord, clearly pleased.

KiJun was astonished, recalling the thousands of Lesser Demon hearts he had harvested over the years, now to be used for making batteries.

"Why are you looking at me like that, 'King of the Well'?"

"Nothing, you just said I should be proud of myself!" KiJun retorted.

"But just because you’re great doesn’t mean the name of your item has to be great too."

"What did you say, demon?"

"I said, let's hurry up and get to the surface."

The four-year-long exploration of the dungeon thus came to a close. They chattered and reminisced about their deepened bond as they ascended to the surface.

Suddenly, new class notifications appeared:

—You have qualified for the job ‘Guardian of Light’, a rare-grade job. Would you like to change classes?

and

—You have qualified for the job ‘Dancer of Light’, a rare-grade job. Would you like to change classes?

But KiJun decided to cancel them.

"Senior! Wait a minute!"

"What now?"

* * *

"My name is Choi Kang. I am the strongest man in South Korea, no, in the world."

"The exit is that way."

"Wait, just listen to me!"

Six years had passed since the start of the second round in another world. Several events had unfolded, but they could be briefly summarized into three points:

1. KiJun was nowhere to be found.

2. YeMin's party had grown stronger, far surpassing their power from the first round.

3. Yet, they still hadn't challenged the Demon Lord.

"I am the strongest person in Korea, no, in the world. So there must be a place for me there. There has to be!"

"I don't know where you heard that from, but..."

Additionally, there were numerous lunatics, incessantly making noise in front of the party house, demanding to be admitted into the party. This man was particularly gangster-like among them...

JiHye, the party's mage, sighed and responded, "We're not recruiting party members. If you understand, please leave. Don’t make a racket in front of our house."

"But isn’t there one spot available in your party?"

"If you know that, how do you not know this?"

JiHye's palm glowed with a perfect red orb, containing enough power to incinerate a man like him.

"Our party's vacancy is a taboo subject."

"Wait, don't be hasty. If you knew my strength, you'd change your mind, surely."

"Sorry, but I’m not interested."

"My strength!"

As the orb ominously hovered before his face, the man exclaimed, "My strength is uncommon. It's been that way since I was summoned here. And now, it’s almost at rare."

JiHye chuckled.

"If you're so special, you would have been known during the first round."

"I died early."

"Uncommon strength and still died? That's pathetic."

The man urgently added, "There was a person killed by a fairy during the first round as an example!"

"You mean you?"

"Yes!"

"And your uncommon strength?"

"Yes! Wasn’t that unfair?"

It might have been unfair, but probably his death was due to his attempts to show off his 'specialness'...

Concluding her thoughts, JiHye declared, "Sad, but there’s still no place for you in our party."

"You fool! No, you won’t understand. Party leader, let me talk to that damn... girl."

He might have been about to say something else, but JiHye wasn't interested.

With a flick of her hand, the man trying to force the door open was violently flung out, rolling on the ground.

As he got up, he was greeted by an even larger sphere of fire magic.

"My magic is rare-grade," JiHye stated, looking down at the man fixated on the orb.

"Got it? Now leave."

The door closed.

JiHye sighed and climbed the stairs, pondering, "Maybe I was harsh. He could have worked hard after dying in the first round, raising his strength to nearly rare."

She left unspoken the obvious – that it was a pathetic achievement.

JiHye had two reasons for not tolerating the man's presence.

First, his selfishness in pushing his position despite being clearly told that the vacancy in the party was a taboo topic.

Second, his inborn uncommon-grade stats filled her with unbearable jealousy.

Some had given up on all other stat possibilities and barely achieved rare-grade in magic through sheer dedication.

"But then, what about YeMin? Ah, it's so frustrating."

Arriving at YeMin's door, JiHye gently knocked. Upon hearing a soft response, she opened the door to find YeMin, who looked like she had just woken up, her beautiful hair tousled but still attractive, blinking her clear, deep eyes at JiHye.

It was like seeing a princess straight out of a fairy tale. Even as a woman, JiHye's heart skipped a beat at the stunning sight. Ever since YeMin’s charisma had grown, this had been the effect on her.

"Yeah, Hyee-Ji..."

"Don't call me Hyee-Ji."

"It's just a habit. Oh, my coffee."

"Here."

JiHye poured the coffee she had stored in her inventory into a cup. YeMin smiled gently as she took it.

"Thanks. Love you..."

"You're still half asleep."

Shaking her head at YeMin’s drowsiness, JiHye watched as she downed the hot coffee, regaining her clarity.

"Yeah... So, what brings you here this morning?"

"It's afternoon."

"Well, my mornings start whenever I wake up. That's the rule."

"KiJun always had a consistent wake-up time."

"Yeah... True, maybe we're soulmates."

How did she get the 'soulmates' part from that conversation? JiHye was genuinely baffled but didn't want to get into it. Instead, she asked about something else.

"Did you search for him again yesterday?"

"Yeah. Where could our oppa be? Nabang is still alive, so he must be somewhere in this world."

"But don’t overdo it, okay? You know KiJun wouldn’t be happy if you neglected your duties as a hero just to find him."

"I know. I’m only searching in my free time after finishing my duties."

YeMin pouted and held out her empty cup, which JiHye refilled with a light sigh.

"So, what did you want to ask?"

"There was someone wanting to join our party."

"You turned them away?"

"Yes, but..."

"But?"

JiHye felt relieved by YeMin’s unquestioning acceptance of her decision.

"His strength is uncommon. He said he was born with it in this world. Died early in the first round."

"Oh... I thought so. Where’s he from?"

"South Korea."

"Really?"

Surprised, YeMin then shrugged.

"Anyway, it's fine."

"He's definitely a good asset."

"We don’t need him. Uncle Soo and EunShin are strong enough."

YeMin shrugged again and added.

"That guy must have thought he had high-value information. It’s been a while since we subtly spread the word to the top parties."

"People have been speculating about it. But it also delayed the Demon Lord’s conquest."

Not just YeMin's party, but others had grown stronger, surpassing the first round's power. Top parties of the second round were overwhelmingly strong compared to the first, thanks to efficient growth, training, and transparent information for fair competition.

"Everyone's scared," she sighed.

"Yeah..."

YeMin finished her coffee and tossed the cup into her inventory, her voice determined.

"We'll have to train to defeat the Demon Lord ourselves if necessary. Four years should be enough. Everyone should reach rare in their primary stats and racial grade advancement. Then, we'll defeat the Demon Lord."

"Count me out."

"Right, your magic is already unique."

YeMin joked and sighed.

"I wonder if KiJun is doing well. I hope he received the information we spread..."

"He must have. Are you worried he might fall behind?"

"If he knows the information, KiJun will never fall behind anyone. Absolutely not."

Seriously, YeMin then squinted her eyes.

"I feel like it won’t end with the Demon Lord. A moment will come when KiJun needs to step in. Everyone’s being complacent... This world isn't so kind to us."

"YeMin unnie."

"Yeah?"

"I'm glad you're our party leader. Sorry."

"Uh, what?"

JiHye quickly left the room, leaving a stunned YeMin behind. JiHye might have been feeling guilty about envying her friend but preferred that over jealousy.

Embracing her shame and gratitude for her precious friend, JiHye headed out. It was time to see Uncle Soo and EunShin training in the backyard.

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