Regressor Instruction Manual
chapter-5

I carefully read his stats again and realized that I wasn’t seeing things.

[Checking Player Kim Hyun-Sung’s Status Window and Potential.]

[Name - Kim Hyun-Sung]

[Title - Regressor of Altanus, Swordsman that Starts the Second Round, One Who Couldn’t Overcome, One Who Sacrifices, The Awakened.]

[Age - 22]

[Nature - Kind-hearted Mediator]

[Job - Swordsman - Average rank]

[Stats]

[Strength - 19/Above legendary growth limit]

[Agility - 28/Above legendary growth limit]

[Stamina - 23/Above legendary growth limit]

[Intelligence - 18/Below epic growth limit]

[Endurance - 22/Below epic growth limit]

[Luck - 23/Above epic growth limit]

[Magic - 11/Above legendary growth limit]

[Talent - Sword Expert-Epic]

[Overall Review - Amazing. It’s understandable if you can’t believe it even after seeing it with your own eyes. It’s impossible to accurately measure Kim Hyun-Sung’s potential strength, agility, and stamina. The other stats have amazing potential as well. He has an enormous amount of potential to grow as a mage, but he has better potential as a close-range warrior. Even though he has an average-ranked job, he has more opportunities to grow. Compared to Lee Ki-Young…no, comparing you to him is an insult to Kim Hyun-Sung. Consider it an honor for being able to talk to him.]

‘No way…’

Even after rubbing my eyes, the Regressor title was still there.

‘He really went back in time?’

Of course, I couldn’t believe it. Although the monsters that had attacked us were very much real, I would still believe it if someone told me that they had pulled a hidden camera prank on me.

Swordsman that Starts the Second Round. I was so dumbfounded that I didn’t know what to say. Unless my talent, Mind’s Eye, was lying to me, it meant that the man in front of me had already experienced this situation once. When I thought about it, he didn’t look scared when we were at the starting point.

‘Damn it…’

I cursed. I knew that my world was somewhat unfair, but I didn’t expect to experience that same unfairness here. High stats, high potential ability, job, and legendary attributes.

‘Will I be able to read his attributes?’

The moment I thought about it, his information popped up.

[Attribute, Swordsmanship Expert]

[Additional points will be awarded for every action that uses a sword. Attack power will increase at a fixed rate in proportion to the time the sword is swinging.]

‘Good.’

I didn’t know the formula for calculating attack power, but I felt like obtaining definite results based on practice time was a really good attribute. I wasn’t sure what kind of attributes I would see in the future, but as a swordsman, it was useful for building one’s foundation.

I bit my lips because it seemed unfair, but if he really arrived here after going back in time, then I could understand how he had those legendary stats.

“You are?” Park Deok-Gu asked.

“My name is Kim Hyun-Sung,” he answered.

“I’m Park Deok-Gu.”

“And he’s?” Kim Hyun-Sung asked.

“That’s Ki-Young hyung-nim,” Park Deok-Gu answered.

“I guess…this isn’t your first time fighting,” Kim Hyun-Sung commented.

“Well, as you can see. Ki-Young made this leather armor and even though we haven’t fought a lot, we’ve gotten slightly used to hunting. He destroyed the head of a monster first using his spear and after seeing that, I gained a bit of confidence,” Park Deok-Gu explained.

“Despite that…you seem pretty experienced,” Kim Hyun-Sung said.

“Well, everything is thanks to hyung-nim here. You look more experienced than him though. Didn’t you kill that monster with one shot?” Park Deok-Gu asked.

“I was just lucky,” Kim Hyun-Sung answered. The man turned his attention to me after hearing what Park Deok-Gu said.

‘He’s talking nonsense…’

It wasn’t easy to act like nothing was wrong since I had all sorts of thoughts in my head. The moment our eyes met, it felt like he was looking through me. I felt like I was naked and I found it uncomfortable, but more than that, a strange feeling caused my body to tremble.

‘Bloodthirstiness? Magic?’

Since I didn’t know what it was, it didn’t matter either way, but I felt something strange.

“What…” I didn’t finish my sentence.

‘Did he catch on to the fact that…I was reading this status window?’

I posed as if I was reading something and I obviously looked out of place.

On Kim Hyun-Sung’s status window, kind-hearted was what was shown under nature, but it didn’t mean that he was just a good-natured person.

He returned to the past for a reason and even though it was only a slight possibility, if he believed that we were enemies, he might swing his sword at us without hesitation. No, I must not be suspicious in his eyes. I couldn’t let anything untoward happen.

Just then, Park Deok-Gu spoke while quietly chuckling. “Hyung-nim, can you stop looking at your status window? Did you get a job or something?” Park Deok-Gu asked.

‘Nice, Park Deok-Gu.’

“It’s similar to that but I’ll tell you later,” I told him.

I felt like I haven’t calmed down yet. Rather than talking to Kim Hyun-Sung first, I decided to walk towards the woman named Park Ha-Yan.

She must’ve been surprised because while catching her breath, she eventually looked up at me and then spoke, “Thank you.”

“It’s nothing. We were in the middle of finding survivors anyways,” I explained to her.

“I see…” she said quietly.

“I’ll help you stand up,” I offered to her.

“Oh, it’s okay. I don’t want to cause any more trouble…” Park Ha-Yan didn’t finish her sentence.

She was already at her limit. When I quietly offered her my hand, she grabbed it as if she had no choice.

Because Kim Hyun-Sung was looking towards us, I felt like I was walking on eggshells. I spoke quietly towards him. “Thank you for your help and my name is Lee Ki-Young by the way. This was our first time handling three of them at the same time…we would’ve been in trouble if it wasn’t for your help,” I said, thanking Kim Hyun-Sung.

“My name is Kim Hyun-Sung. Now that I think about it, I think I’ve seen you before,” he said.

“I remember you helping me back at the starting point. Thank you very much for helping me,” I said, thanking him again.

“Oh…right…” he said, not finishing his sentence.

“Yes. Things were so chaotic that I ended up running away…” I explained to him.

He didn’t really remember. Thinking about the situation back then, it was understandable that he couldn’t remember every detail. For some reason, I recalled the moment where the woman I couldn’t save was getting eaten by the monsters.

After shaking my head, I continued talking. “Are you by yourself? It must be hard…”

“For now…I’m currently gathering survivors. There are people traveling together,” he explained.

“Excuse me?” I asked.

“I’m gathering survivors. I heard a scream while passing by…let’s stick together for now. I’ve prepared a base at an appropriate location,” Kim Hyun-Sung suggested.

I saw Park Deok-Gu quietly looking at me. The look on his face seemed to ask me as to what I was going to do.

Kim Hyun-Sung must’ve realized that he was being a bit rude because he asked Park Deok-Gu. “Oh, my apologies. Would you like to come with me?”

That was when Deok-Gu nodded his head. However, there was a need to think about it.

“How many survivors are there?” I asked.

“About 30 people,” Kim Hyun-Sung answered.

“And how many people can fight?” I asked again.

“There aren’t that many. If you and Deok-Gu join us, we’ll be in a better situation than before. It would be great if you two could join us,” he explained.

‘I’m worried…’

It was just as I expected. I wasn’t sure how accurate his nature was on the status window, but his nature, kind-hearted mediator, seemed to be the truth.

‘A pushover.’

Calling him an angel was putting it nicely and calling him a pushover was putting it badly. If screaming was the only thing that the majority of the people at his survival base could do, then the situation would only get worse. I was sure the people there weren’t eating properly and were living in constant fear.

Having a lot of people wasn’t necessarily advantageous. If five people gathered, there was at least one idiot in the group. Based on that, if 30 people gathered, I believed that the situation would only get worse.

I’m sure people were going to start talking. The group might be strong enough to deal with emergencies, but if there were too many things they had to protect, then it would make things more chaotic.

However, the reality was that I had no choice but to nod since I had a lot of questions. I wanted to know what exactly was a regressor. How he got a job, and how he was able to start in a different way from others. I also wanted to know how to use magic. Most importantly, I wanted to know the secret behind this tutorial.

Kim Hyun-Sung knew the strategy for this place and not only that, he had information about the Continent. Regardless of what happened, following him was the right thing to do.

“We’ll go with you,” I told him.

“Thank you for agreeing. Let’s head out soon since more of those monsters will be coming here,” Kim Hyun-Sung suggested.

“Okay,” I agreed.

“Oh, you are…” Kim Hyun-Sung turned his attention towards Jung Ha-Yan.

“My name is Jung Ha-Yan. And I…”

“Oh, nice to meet you, Ms. Jung Ha-Yan. My name is Kim Hyun-Sung,” he said, interrupting her.

They exchanged quick introductions.

While supporting Jung Ha-Yan, I slowly started looking at Kim Hyun-Sung’s face. He looked a bit different from when he was looking at me or Park Deok-Gu. It was because he was staring at Jung Ha-Yan for a long time.

He seemed a bit surprised. A strange sense of accomplishment appeared on his face. I wasn’t sure if this was the correct comparison, but it was as if he had found an oasis in a desert or he met his family that he got separated from.

Jung Ha-Yan also must’ve noticed the fact that Kim Hyun-Sung was staring at her because she looked at him warily. Anyone would become wary if someone stared at them for that long.

It was to the point that I asked myself, ‘Was he looking for her?’ No, it was highly probable that she was the person that he was looking for.

“Are you okay?” Kim Hyun-Sung asked her.

“Yes, I’m fine,” she answered.

“If you feel uncomfortable, please let me know anytime,” he told her.

“I-I’m really okay,” she said, stuttering.

Ignoring their conversation for a moment, I was deep into my thoughts.

‘Let’s assume.’

It was a bit funny, but let’s assume.

Let’s assume that I regressed.

I didn’t know how Kim Hyun-Sung’s life ended, but it could’ve been either sad or happy. Unless he intentionally started this life over, it was possible that he had regrets in his past life.

‘One Who Couldn’t Overcome.’

This was one of his titles. Even if he didn’t acquire this title intentionally, the fact that it belonged to him remained the same.

Humans were animals that often regret. Even if it was just me, I thought about what would’ve happened if I saved the woman I saw at the starting point. If I had power, then I would have had the option to save the woman and run away with Park Deok-Gu.

What if I knew everything that was going to happen in the future and knew all the talented people who were going to play an important role?

In my case, I would try to change the things that I regretted, but of course, that wasn’t the only thing. I would strive to acquire everything so that I would have the advantage from the start, such as talented people, treasures, jobs, as well as goods.

I would also eliminate any threats and enemies that we would encounter in the future.

‘Although it’s funny to think about…’

In that sense, seeing as how Kim Hyun-Sung didn’t really show any reaction towards me and Park Deok-Gu, it was safe to assume that we weren’t going to block Kim Hyun-Sung’s path in the future or become villains that would shift the balance of the world. As a result, it meant that we weren’t characters with important roles. I’m certain we were one of those people that could simply be considered as passers-by.

“Will it be okay if I call you Ha-Yan?” Kim Hyun-Sung asked.

“Oh…yes. Thank you. Y-You can call me whatever name you’re comfortable with,” Jung Ha-Yan answered, stuttering.

But this woman that was blushing at Kim Hyun-Sung was different.

Jung Ha-Yan.

She had enormous potential as a mage or a priestess. Corroborating the information that I saw through my Mind’s Eyes, I immediately understood.

‘She’s valuable.’

Of course, this was just an assumption. However, if I put together all the small information and use deductive reasoning, I could obtain a reasonable result. This woman was going to change the world in the future. I wasn’t sure what she was going to do, but she would be in a very important position.

However, it could also be a simple delusion of my own. Jung Ha-Yan could’ve been Kim Hyun-Sung’s lifesaver and was a comrade that he regretted not saving. She could also be like me or Park Deok-Gu who would die before doing anything.

But it was worth trying…

‘This woman.’

She was no longer a burden, but a precious treasure that had fallen into our hands.