◈ Everyone Else is a Regressor (22)

Chapter 5. Caught on His Own (3)

[KiJun]

[Titles – Discoverer of the Hidden Dungeon (Legendary) +7]

[Light Man (R), Dancer of Light (R) Lv1]

[Strength (R) – 92]

[Dexterity (R) – 97]

[Endurance (R) – 93]

[Light Magic (U) – 11]

[Charisma (U) – 74]

[Spirit Power (U) – 80]

'It’s really good, excellent… except for the class and race names.'

After his race grade advancement, KiJun was checking his stats and feeling an indescribable sense of achievement when the Demon Lord’s voice interrupted his thoughts.

"Hero, it seems you're now ready."

"Ready for what?"

Ready to fight the Demon Lord?

That was still an impractical joke for now.

Back in the tutorial, he could confidently say he could beat the Demon Lord a hundred times out of a hundred, given her limited powers then.

However, the words that came out of the Demon Lord were unexpectedly different.

"Ready to learn Mana Circuit."

"Mana Circuit. … What?"

KiJun felt his mind spin at those words.

Mana Circuit, also known as Mana Circulation Method or Mana Operation Method, is a skill that enables quick, stable gathering and movement of mana.

It's a must-have skill for mages, affecting the speed of mana recovery, the shortening of magical chants, and the enhancement of magical power.

During the first round, they had all tried to secure a good Mana Circuit for their party’s mage, JiHye. But it was too late, and JiHye, with her extraordinary talent, couldn't fully utilize her abilities.

Recalling this, KiJun hoped that in the second round, she had obtained what she desired, as it would be very challenging in the main game without it.

"But that’s a skill only mages learn, right?"

"Who said that?"

"The skill effects and usage methods…"

KiJun knew.

Even if one doesn’t wield magic, if Mana Circuit influences permanent mana growth and recovery, it’s worth noting.

The problem was using the skill.

Mana Circuit is, as the name suggests, a skill involving circulating mana in a predefined pattern. This was incompatible with vocations that involve vigorous physical activity during combat.

It could interfere with the use of other mana-using skills or, in the worst case, cause a mana surge. Because of these reasons, Mana Circuit was considered only suitable for mages and, to some extent, snipers who don’t move much in battle.

"So, what rank did those people reach?"

"Common… But, Demon Lord!"

It was unfair to argue with rank!

Just as KiJun was about to argue, the Demon Lord tapped his shoulder and spoke.

"Hero, raise your left hand―."

"Okay."

"Emit mana―."

"Okay."

Perhaps because his Light Magic had reached a unique grade and he had evolved into a rare-grade Light Man, he could emit mana from his fingertips without any delay.

His mana, naturally imbued with light, gave off a warm, comforting glow like a mix of dazzling gold and white clouds.

Seeing this, the Demon Lord smiled softly, then snapped back to her usual sharp demeanor.

"What you’re doing right now is mana operation."

"Eh? But this is..."

"Were you able to do this before?"

KiJun shook his head immediately.

Emit mana instantaneously from the fingertips? Such an idea had only been conceivable after the tutorial, living with the Demon Lord, and encountering Lucy.

Previously, for him, mana was just a raw material for skill use, nothing more, nothing less.

"That's right. Earthlings were just too weak, and their mana understanding too poor to properly operate mana. Even at a rare grade, everyone seeks a good Mana Circuit regardless of their vocation. It's also one of the major causes of conflict in Leta."

"Thank you for enlightening me with such a miserable reality, ma’am…"

KiJun mourned for Earth's heroes, who were probably earnestly progressing through the second round tutorial by now.

Hopefully, some incredibly smart person realized that Mana Circuit is a necessary skill not only for mages but for all heroes!

"Do you see now how important Mana Circuit is? It's not about being dragged by the skill, but about properly using it. Anyone who uses their mana properly desires a unique Mana Circuit that speeds up mana circulation, enables quicker manifestation, and enhances mana strength."

"So that's what you meant by me being ready..."

"Eh? No, if it were just a common warrior's Mana Circuit, you would have been fine a long time ago."

Common…

Warrior's?

"Perhaps in the tutorial realm, most of the Mana Circuits scattered were strictly for rearward magic use, making warriors misunderstand.

Think about it, wouldn’t a mage's and a warrior's mana operation be different?"

"Right. But, then what Mana Circuit are you going to teach me? And how?"

How, indeed.

For KiJun, Mana Circuit was something bestowed through a complex facility in dungeons or obtained through a difficult book filled with magical scripts, offering a unique mana of its own.

Due to the rarity of Mana Circuits, the sample size was not large, but in any case, they were all transmitted through special facilities, magic, or items.

"Ah."

Realizing this, KiJun looked up and met the Demon Lord’s mocking gaze.

"No need to explain, I already got it."

"There is that, Hero."

"I said I got it."

"Only weak Earthlings were capable of handling the Mana Circuits spread in the tutorial realm."

"Damn…"

Realizing this, even the simplest of Mana Circuits had been misunderstood by so many.

The Demon Lord fluently explained, disregarding KiJun’s dismay.

"Mana Circuit is typically transmitted through priestly teachings. It's fundamental to gain enlightenment through rigorous teaching and complete one’s own Mana Circuit."

"Hmm, so you're going to teach me your Mana Circuit?"

"..."

When KiJun hit the nail on the head, the Demon Lord briefly lost her words, looked into the void, then shrugged casually.

"A Mana Circuit as strict as mine wouldn’t be accessible unless your mana was at least unique grade. What about Leta? There are even greater Mana Circuits than mine."

"Thank you."

"...Just don’t blame me later. Once you learn a Mana Circuit, it’s harder than death to switch to another."

The Demon Lord initially didn’t teach KiJun an appropriate Mana Circuit because the first Mana Circuit one learns is critically important.

If his achievements had been slower than the Demon Lord’s expectations, and he hadn’t received Mana Circuit transmission within the tutorial period...

The chilling thought made KiJun shiver.

“The Mana Circuit I'm going to teach you is a bit special,” the Demon Lord said, with a note of caution. “High-grade Mana Circuits are mostly secret, and their transmission is confidential. So, don’t go around bragging about learning this Mana Circuit.”

“Of course, I wouldn’t lack such discretion.”

“Good. Let’s begin then.”

The name of the Mana Circuit was Libertas. In Latin, it means freedom, and it's also the name of the goddess of liberty in Roman mythology.

Why the Mana Circuit was named ‘Libertas’ became clear to KiJun during the transmission process.

“Aaargh!”

—Contractor, are you okay?!

“I'm fine, I can handle it. I've been trained for this.”

“Grrrrr!”

The pain was intense enough to make him wish for eternal freedom from this agonizing life!

“Mana should be completely free from all restraints. But soon you’ll realize. The seemingly unrestrained movement of mana is actually following the most truthful path!”

“Before I realize that, I feel like I’m going to die!”

—Contractorrrr!

Honestly, lately, his Rapid Regeneration, Steelization, and No Rest for the Wicked skills had been growing slower due to repetitive sparring with the Demon Lord.

Repeatedly getting hurt in the same way had ceased the ‘growth’ of his defensive and recovery-related skills.

But now, look at this.

His body was in a mess due to this insane training method of liberating internal mana to the point of rampage, not external attacks.

—Rapid Regeneration (U) skill level has reached 72.

—A unique insight related to Dteelization has been gained. Steelization (U) skill level has reached 70.

—Without sleep or rest, you are proving perfect mentality through your own struggle. No Rest for the Wicked (U) skill level has reached 74.

The defensive skills, which were growing at a snail's pace, were rapidly advancing again!

"You’re doing well, better than I imagined. Light Magic seems to be a good match."

“Does that mean you weren't sure... Aaargh!”

"What does it matter? You're training your skills and stats, too. You can do it, our hero!"

—Demon!

As Lucy exclaimed for KiJun, he focused intensely on the rampaging Light Magic within him, seeking the truest path guided by his own mana.

* * *

“I’ve discovered a shocking fact.”

It’s been seven years since the second round began.

The party members, progressing in various events and dungeons worldwide and steadily increasing their statuses, gathered in one place.

JiHye, who had convened them, seemed different – her eyes emitted a more profound aura of intensity.

“It seems JiHye has grown stronger!”

“Congratulations, Hye-ya.”

TL/N: -a or -ya (Hangul: 아, 야) is a casual title used at the end of names. It is not gender exclusive. If a name ends in a consonant -a is used (e.g. Jinyoung-a 진영아), while -ya is used if the name ends in a vowel (e.g. Yeji-ya 예지야).

“Thank you, noona.”

“Ah... Thanks, everyone. And YeMin, don’t call me Hyeya.”

JiHye, bowing her head slightly, first explained her growth.

While her mana power was still barely at rare grade, she had impressively advanced her Mana Circuit to legendary grade.

“Wow…”

“That’s even possible?”

“Hehe.”

As YeMin and Uncle Soo applauded in amazement, EunShin smiled in relief. The party had another member with a legendary grade skill, YeMin.

She quickly secured a unique-grade offensive skill in the first round, which KiJun had given her, refusing to give it to someone else. She had diligently developed it into a legendary grade.

Unbeknownst to them, YeMin probably had a high-grade innate skill, and now with an additional legendary skill...

EunShin, having just achieved legendary grade in his Stealth skill, hesitated to share his progress, fearing JiHye might feel hurt. Now that she seemed to have overcome much, he thought it might be okay to tell her the truth later.

"Mana Circuit isn’t just for mages."

However, his thoughts were blown away by the bomb JiHye dropped.

“What did you say?”

“Here comes another overwhelming story…”

“Noona… please explain.”

JiHye nodded at the members' stunned reactions and explained.

In the process of elevating her Mana Circuit to legendary grade, she realized that warriors and other vocations could also circulate mana in a way that aids their movements and skill execution.

Once this realization hit, a series of revelations followed, including the fact that several high-level bosses – notably the Demon Lord – were utilizing Mana Circuits.

“I can analyze others' mana flow to some extent now. Back then, I didn’t realize it, but now it’s clear. Even the high-difficulty dungeon bosses that use both magic and melee combat are a testament to this.”

“Ah… So, that means…”

“We could still defeat the Demon Lord without learning Mana Circuits. But I think… if we can increase our chances, we should do so.”

The room fell silent after JiHye finished speaking.

After some thought, YeMin nodded and declared, “Let’s learn Mana Circuits. Let’s use every method available to us…”

“If we’re doing this, it might be better to analyze high-ranking bosses that have already mastered close-combat Mana Circuits. If everyone leaves it to me… I’ll try to create one.”

“Our party’s brain, as reliable as ever.”

“Thank you so much, noona.”

JiHye’s face turned slightly red at the simultaneous compliments from Uncle Soo and EunShin.

But at the same time, another thought crossed her mind.

“But if we share this with others, the already delayed Demon Lord subjugation will be postponed again.”

“Let’s master it first, and once we’re sure, we can spread the information. Primarily to those with potential.”

“Right, like people similar to KiJun.”

YeMin remained silent.

It had been seven years since she parted from KiJun. Knowing her tendency to react violently to any negative mention of KiJun, JiHye chose not to say more.

Join our discord at https://discord.com/yT4GsFAYRf