I Regressed as a Legendary Bloodline Genius Chapter 16
Whether in the past, present, or future, opinions in academia were always divided on ∅∅-grade gates.
Some insisted they ranked above A-grade gates.
Others called them gateways to the Millennium Gate.
Amid all the varied voices, one consensus emerged.
Every gate scholar agreed: ∅∅-grade gates were acts of God—uncontrollable by force alone.
To put it simply, no amount of hunter violence could close an act-of-God gate.
There were rules inside the gate.
And you had to follow them strictly for it to close...
They were jokingly called Napoli gates.
I couldn't laugh in my suit.
Ha.
Difficulty ranged from E-grade to A-grade depending on the rules and quests.
So what about this one?
Fuck.
The golden goblin was off-spec.
Let's borrow an interview from a hunter who survived it.
To help understanding: that hunter was B-grade.
She went completely mad and became a vegetable. Even when reporters hounded her relentlessly, she stayed silent. In the end, she took her own life to keep that silence.
I'm losing it.
I stood apart, deeply troubled.
The hunters tensed their shoulders and strode toward the golden goblin.
"I'll take it!"
"Why you?!"
"I spotted it first! Draw numbers or something!"
"Tch."
The axe-wielding hunter spat on his palms, then stepped into the golden goblin's range.
"Oh, brave intelligent being, welcome. My name is Shylock, the moneylender who will appraise your worth!"
The hunter's eyes blazed with fury.
"What the hell are you babbling, you kobold freak."
Shylock denied it.
"How rude! Comparing me to those barbaric primitives. However, as fellow intelligent beings, I shall show magnanimity."
….
"But. Only. Twice."
The hunter raised his axe high.
"Acting all high and mighty!"
He swung it down.
Shylock pinched his brow.
"Such uncivilized behavior in the temple of intellect..."
Snap.
He flicked his unnaturally long finger.
"Guh, urk!"
In the next instant, the hunter froze mid-swing. Golden chains from Shylock's gesture bound him tight.
"A mere beast like you."
Han Biyeol drew his curved sword.
He was the strongest hunter here.
"Halt!"
"...Hup!"
Even he choked out a strangled gasp at Shylock's word. Like the axe hunter, golden chains suddenly bound him too.
"Your worth comes next!"
Shylock extended his arm.
"Let us appraise your achievements!"
A book from the shelves fluttered like a seagull into his hand.
Shylock adjusted his monocle and scrutinized the book.
"Your achievement index since arriving here... regrettably, is zero! Zilch! You have accumulated no achievements in this place!"
'Since arriving here.'
'Achievements.'
'No achievements accumulated.'
'Damn.'
I etched each word into my brain folds.
'I need to interpret that.'
The answer hid in that sentence.
Thud!
Shylock closed the book. A golden scale materialized in the air.
The quivering scale soon tipped limply to one side.
"No comparison target either! A pity—you're disqualified!"
"What kind of bullshit is this...!"
"You lacking in achievements!"
"Wh-what?"
Something bizarre happened.
The hunter began pressing the axe to his own throat. The sharp blade pressed against his carotid.
"F-fuck! D-do something...!"
"Adieu!!"
Splat.
A head rolling across the floor.
Blood spurting from the neck stump.
….
….
….
The room fell deathly silent.
Everyone realized it.
This wasn't a D-grade gate.
Jeong Hamin wiped cold sweat and said to me,
"Seo Hunter, you figured it out too, huh? This is a ∅∅-grade gate."
"...More or less."
"Then you know. Can't clear it without figuring out the rules."
"I know."
"Easiest way to grasp the rules?"
"Sacrifice fodder."
I nearly jumped.
When did this guy sneak up?
Han Biyeol kept his distance from me as he continued,
"Figure out the rules one by one, no holds barred. That's the key to clearing ∅∅-grade Abyss gates, no matter the cost."
"No matter... what?"
Han Biyeol nodded.
'As long as it's not themselves.'
These two were rotten to the core.
'Don't buy it, Wonseok.'
That was self-justification.
Hasty self-justification!
I lowered my eyes. I didn't want eye contact with these lunatics...
Huh? Wait.
Two red threads.
One linked to Han Biyeol.
The other stretched far away...
No way.'
A hypothesis.
A hypothesis based on on-site evidence formed.
'If I'm right...'
I'd clear this COEX Gate perfectly, the opposite of these mad hunters.
Some groundwork was needed, though.
'Red Slime.'
I issued a mental command to the red slime. It slithered up my leg.
Good.
Now, to convince these crazies.
"Seo Hunter?"
Jeong Hamin tilted his head.
"...Alright then."
I stared straight at the two hunters.
"So, I can take that to mean it's okay to use you two as that fodder?"
"...? Why so surprised?"
"...Ah."
Jeong Hamin sighed deeply.
Tension made sweat pour from his brow. Why was this guy—who'd just been plotting to use other hunters as meat shields—acting like this?
'Han Biyeol's even worse?'
Has he lost it?
Color drained from his face. My words must've been too radical. Maybe he thought this scrub was threatening him and was pissed?
Puzzled, I pressed on.
"It was an extreme example, but think from their perspective. You two said ∅∅-grade gates can only be cleared by following the rules."
"...Yeah. We've got some experience."
These two were R&Y Guild hunters. Credit where due—their field experience was vast, separate from their loathsome personalities. That explained their relative calm amid the panic.
The rules set by this gate's lord, the golden goblin Shylock, remained unclear.
'I definitely need these two's help right now.'
I hated it.
'Separate personal and professional, Wonseok.'
My revenge motto wasn't overheating. It had to be cold.
Sharing their mindset...
'What difference from the scum I need to eliminate?'
The opposite way from these bastards.
Max gains with minimal sacrifice.
'Not sure why, but I've seized control of the situation.'
Now to maintain it.
I had a way.
Seasoned hunters?
I was a mongrel who'd rolled as a porter in Abyss gates.
No ∅∅-grade experience, but breaking desperate situations?
I knew more than them.
"If you're using hunters as fodder, none can survive."
I relaxed my jaw and barely spoke.
Both flinched at my words.
"...Pardon?"
"Think about it. If even one survives, what happens to your image?"
"That's our concern."
Han Biyeol mustered courage to retort.
Polite speech?
Oddly deferential.
'Just the other day he looked ready to kill me.'
Because of big bro Seo Boseok's halo?
Whatever. Not important now.
I brushed off the unease and countered immediately.
"Why's it just your problem?"
"...?"
"...??"
"If you go in with R&Y guildmates and only you two come out alive, what'll the media say?"
"Ah!"
I nailed it so they'd never dream of it again.
"As you know, ∅∅-grade gates enforce rules absolutely. If you use violence outside Shylock's system..."
"...From our experience..."
Jeong Hamin added,
"We'd probably get executed."
I nodded silently, secretly suppressing chills.
'Executed?'
I didn't know.
This gate's insane.
Jeong Hamin slyly glanced at Han Biyeol.
"...Hyung Han, looks like Seo Hunter's right this time...?"
They'd been demoted here for a failed mission. More guild disgrace...
'They're the ones who tried to kill hyung.'
These tumors would go on the chopping block too.
"... ."
He got the implication.
Even as Jeong Hamin prodded, Han Biyeol clamped his mouth shut. As the blade-man, he knew best.
"But."
Finally, his lips moved.
"Sitting idle means we never figure out the rules. Fail that, and it's total wipe."
"I know."
"Don't just say you know—give a plan."
His true colors emerging.
I lowered my voice.
"Don't worry."
"You think we can relax?"
"Even without you stepping up..."
I turned my head to cut off the rest.
"...It's about time they stepped up."
Han Biyeol and Jeong Hamin looked the same way.
Commotion stirred among the frozen hunters.
Some exchanged subtle glances, aligning opinions.
Trembling in fear meant dog death, so they'd try something.
'Suspicious eyes.'
Not average hunters.
Dark red intent swirled in their pupils.
"They'll crash into the game rules with their bodies and tell us what they are."
Jeong Hamin asked,
"...Who are those guys?"
"Scammers who rip people off."
Like you two.
Just a bit more vicious.
Jeong Hamin demanded more with his eyes, but I ignored it.
Instead, I dropped my gaze.
A thin pair of lines crawled at my feet.
I carefully manipulated the red slime to avoid their notice.
More precisely, my blood.
The red slime's effect was coating body parts.
The invisible red threads were part of my body too. Woven from my skin.
This let me control the red slime like a living thing. Perfect for a ∅∅-grade gate where raw power failed. No lethality meant its true value shone here.
Might couldn't defy Shylock. Good that it wasn't a normal gate.
Whew.
'Glad I stored blood in the red slime.'
Saved the hassle of drawing more. With contingencies ahead, anemia would've been fatal...
Ugh.
Don't even think.
Anyway, I directed one slime-coated thread toward Shylock.
The other toward outside the library.
Please.
'Please notice.'
….
Then inspiration flashed.
I discreetly pulled out the Blood Mirror hyung gave me. A unique hollow-centered design.
Like a giant needle.
'This'll do!'
"Any idea what's going on, Seo Hunter?"
Porter Choi Kangshik.
"Beats me. No twin gate experience."
He and Seo Boseok traveled together.
For some reason, just the two detached from the group.
Sharing the Seo Wonseok connection, they exchanged awkward talk.
"This is a dead ringer for inside COEX, Seo Hunter."
"Yeah, looks like it. Came here a few times with my daughter... identical."
They wandered aimlessly.
No goal or destination.
Only option: roam and uncover the gate's truth.
They prowled the labyrinthine Abyss gate.
Choi Kangshik trembled his lower lip anxiously.
"Never heard of a gate like this... Whoa! Seo Hunter, over there!!"
"Magic beasts."
Seo Boseok spoke casually, like spotting a convenience store on a stroll.
As Choi Kangshik gaped, light flashed before them.
Whoosh.
He lowered his raised arm.
Bloody flesh chunks scattered everywhere.
Seo Boseok turned from afar.
'Killed them all in one leap?!'
Witnessing Seo Boseok Hunter's strength firsthand.
...Not really witnessing, but chills raced down his spine.
"Eek!"
No time for that.
Choi Kangshik hurried to fulfill porter duty, diligently collecting mana stones.
Then.
"Huh?"
A dagger lay there.
Unusual design. Hollow center in the blade.
A red thread was threaded through the gap.