Chapter 69
Chapter 69
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 69
Chapter Title: Recorder I
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Shin Noah
1
Lately, it suddenly occurred to me that I'd been talking about Dang Seo-rin far too often.
Of course, I couldn't tell the story of my regression life without mentioning Dang Seo-rin. But even the Korean Peninsula's top producer, the great witch of railroads, and the idol of millions has a private life.
That's right. A private life.
I'm not the type to actively dig into someone else's secrets, nor do I meddle in their hobbies.
Even if that 'someone' happens to be a mentally shattered dual-personality malicious stutterer keyboard battler.
"A. G-Guild Leader... G-Good morning..."
Sim A-ryeon.
Nickname: One of SG Net's top aggro magnets, the villain known as Goryeo Jang.
But in the 50th cycle, she treated civilians for free and was praised as the [Angel of Healing]. She even volunteered at elementary schools as an art teacher, school nurse, and librarian all in one.
Fashion style: She favors brown tops. Especially a brown turtleneck with a white doctor's coat thrown over it. Why? Probably to show off that she's a high-value healer-type Awakener.
That alone paints quite the eccentric picture, but her Awakening skill takes it to another level of insanity.
Ability: Aka Resentment Orb. Or put differently, a bird that drinks aggro. The more insults she swallows, the stronger her healing powers get. Because of this ridiculous ability, Sim A-ryeon haunted SG Net, pulling every bit of aggro she could.
She could truly be called the Anubis of the Korean Peninsula... but when it came to her private life, she had surprisingly wholesome hobbies.
"Yeah, good morning. Heading out somewhere at this hour?"
"I-I was thinking of doing some painting after a long time. Hehe. Since you gave me that easel last time, Guild Leader..."
Sim A-ryeon smiled awkwardly, a canvas and easel tucked under her arm.
Hobby: Painting.
That's right. She was actually an art school student. Readers with good memories might recall that even when I raided the Goryeo Jang villain's home in the 50th cycle, Sim A-ryeon had been painting.
And... surprisingly enough, Sim A-ryeon was one of the most highly educated members of our guild.
Education: Ye-won School (Art Dept.) - Seoul Arts High School (Art Dept.) - Seoul National University (Design Dept.). The royal road.
Not only that, but from a young age, she swept school art exhibitions and racked up awards in various design contests.
Two Minister of Culture awards in elementary and middle school, one Presidential Award in high school. Art school hopefuls who were born in the same year and thus took entrance exams in the same year all hated Sim A-ryeon. Her talent for drinking aggro was overflowing even as a child.
Sounds fake, right? I thought so too, so I sneaked into the ruins of those schools and dug through the records. It was all real.
How the hell is this real...? Back then, I could only lament in the middle of an abandoned school, surrounded by exhibition materials.
With such a shining academic record and career, what did Sim A-ryeon mainly obsess over?
-Goryeo Jang: Hmm... Looks like you've never observed real people. Were you referencing your own joint structure or something? Seriously recommend switching from illustrator to lab rat guinea pig.
-Goryeo Jang: Whoa, pure honey. Draw like this at an academy and you could get a refund on tuition right away?
-Goryeo Jang: For real, I drew better than this at 8 years old lol.
Stuff like that.
Or she'd draw comics designed to piss people off and post them on SG Net.
Right now, she was beaming innocently in front of me like the picture of harmlessness, but just last night, she'd earned the triple crown of mom-insults, dad-insults, and ancestor-insults from SG Net members' finger-pointing.
"Going somewhere to paint?"
"Yeah, the Han River. I thought I'd try a landscape for once, just listening to the river... Oh, the weather's so nice today. Hmm. If I get bored, maybe take a lap around the neighborhood and check on any sick elderly folks for free..."
"Lord, why did you give a child like this the Resentment Orb of all abilities?"
"Y-Yes?"
"Nothing... Anyway, you're heading to the riverbank just up ahead? Give me your bag."
"Eek. N-No need for that... Ah. Th-Thank you, Guild Leader..."
Sim A-ryeon trailed behind me hesitantly, but once we reached the Han River and set up the easel, her fidgeting vanished completely.
Facing the canvas, she hummed "Hmm, eumm, hoom" to her own rhythm as she slathered on the paint.
"......"
It was one stroke mastery. They say fast painting is a virtue among artists, and Sim A-ryeon's hands were indeed insanely quick.
It wasn't just speed. Having lived as a regressor and encountered all sorts of art, I prided myself on having a trained eye, and even to me, Sim A-ryeon's paintings were on a considerable level.
"Heh... Y-Yeah. I'm a genius after all..."
Her occasional self-mutterings were, well, pretty cringy, honestly.
'Well. Still way healthier than pulling aggro on the community.'
I shrugged.
At least at that point, I had zero intention of interfering with Sim A-ryeon's hobbies.
The change started in the 95th cycle.
2
Let me briefly describe the historical flow around us. The first time Meteor Shower was subjugated was in the 42nd cycle.
Unfortunately, we Awakeners got wiped out by the action-reaction principle when it happened.
But a regressor's time defies the laws of physics. In the 43rd, 44th, 45th cycles and beyond, the strategy for Meteor Shower grew ever more refined.
By the 95th cycle, it was no exaggeration to say the strategy was complete.
"Dang Seo-rin. When Meteor Shower appears, lay down a magic net underneath it beforehand."
"Huh? A net? Why?"
"Think meteor. Destroying the meteor is a problem, but the fragments afterward are a problem too, right?"
"...Ah."
Hearing my advice, Dang Seo-rin dove into magic development. She completed the net magic 'Heavenly Snare' solely for Meteor Shower. That sealed its final desperate ultimate move easily.
And that was just the beginning.
The lists of constellation quests tempting the Peninsula's Awakeners evolved day by day.
The AAA game I planned and the Saintess serviced, 'Awakening on the Korean Peninsula,' was an open-world sandbox ultra-realistic MMORPG. It didn't just provide info on countless Voids—it even offered 'personalized growth' automatically.
"Whoa. My Awakening ability was actually purification, not turning filth into spring water?"
"Clearing a dungeon popped up a build-up guide for leveling my ability most efficiently!"
"Kyaa. Shitty world, but at least growing feels good."
"Quests are OP, constellations are gods!"
"Chant it! Meteor Shower is just... stars."
Of course, all those rewards came from me rolling as a regressor.
There was reward in running the Academy and raising as many Awakeners as possible. I'd developed their potentials, optimal builds, and more.
"Huh? The reward is... Equivalent Exchange grimoire? What's this?"
Even Dang Seo-rin alone was on another level from 4th-cycle Dang Seo-rin to 95th-cycle Dang Seo-rin.
Spells she'd barely scraped together over years in previous cycles were now handed out nearly for free.
"...Heavens! A ridiculous spell like this existed?"
The effects were tremendous.
Not just S-ranks like Dang Seo-rin—most Awakeners shot up like early 2020s Bitcoin.
As a result, while not quite Ten Tribes level, Meteor Shower was starting to enter the pathetic water-rocket monster lineup.
Udumbara? That one's been in there ages ago.
-Kyuwoo?
-Huuungryy?
-Spaarkle sparklee?
Ah, sadly, the three Korean monster brothers that plunged my early regressor life into despair were now out of service――.
Anyway, every upside has its downside.
The stronger the Saintess's power grew to its limit, the higher the odds of the fallen version 'Executor' appearing. Others were much the same.
Awakeners got powerful, but that much more dangerous. You could say 'acceleration' was kicking in.
If this were a gacha mobile character collector game, no issue. Quite the opposite.
'10th-cycle Dang Seo-rin is 2-star, 50th is 3-star, 100th is 4-star! Wow! Multiple Dang Seo-rins!'
'Make dupes with costume swaps and sell 'em two, three, four times?'
'Limited pickup rerun! Saintess alt version-Executor appears! Clairvoyance, Telepathy, Time Stop, massive buffs to existing abilities!'
'Jealous...? Then pull.'
You could've tested people's wallets and patience from all angles.
But as you know, this is reality. As a regressor, I had to worry about side effects.
"Um... Guild Leader...?"
That's why, if someone spouted lines like that in reality, you had to be extra cautious.
"Yeah? What's up, A-ryeon?"
"I-I'm not sure if I should say this. No, I really shouldn't, but... maybe it's okay since it's you, Guild Leader..."
"Hm? What is it? Speak freely."
"Th-Then... ear over here."
Sim A-ryeon whispered in my ear.
"Um... Guild Leader. About Meteor Shower. Could you maybe... subdue it a tiny bit slower? Just a little?"
?
"Why?"
"Because I want to paint it..."
?
"Why?"
"W-Well... it's just so awesome. Starlight summoning doom from the sky. Raising pitch-black waves. Even sirens with lullabies... Honestly, this needs to be preserved in paint for posterity forever..."
???
If someone saw Cthulhu emerge from the sea and went, 'Whoa, gotta paint that photorealistic and show as many civilians as possible!', they'd be called insane. My face right then looked exactly like I'd spotted such a lunatic.
"A-ryeon. The Guild Leader's confused right now, but Meteor Shower's a special-grade monster."
"Yes? Oh, y-yes... Continental-grade by Library Society standards. More dangerous than any observed on the Peninsula so far. Of course I know that...?"
"And you still wanna leisurely paint it? For real? What if the combat team sent to subjugate it dies?"
"Uh... You'd just work a bit harder to prevent that tragedy...?"
"......"
"A-And honestly, sacrifices for art are inevitable. Like last time with Ten Tribes. Hic. Losing that Ten Tribes painting is humanity's eternal loss. Such a shame..."
"......"
For reference, the Library Society's official ID for Ten Tribes is 'Crawling Baby Cthulhu.' In other words, Sim A-ryeon really meant to paint Cthulhu.
And she did.
I was so baffled I set up a 'draw it if you can' challenge during the next Ten Tribes subjugation.
"Wh-What is this tentacle! No terrestrial lifeform—no, no deep-sea creature has ever evolved anything this bizarre...! It exists for real! No way! Hweeeek. Gonna paint it, paint it, paint it all...!"
"......"
I regretted it a little.
But amazingly... the monster paintings Sim A-ryeon uploaded to SG Net became massive hits.
-Anonymous: Doodle) Casually drew Ten Tribes today and posting... ^^
(Image file)
-It's the monster Ten Tribes from the recent subjugation! So lucky to join the subjugation team and get a chance to draw it! But the team fought so well I didn't have enough time to sketch... ㅠㅠ
-Not great, but hoping Awakeners who couldn't join can reference what it looked like... so here it is...!
-P.S.: SG Net always degrades image quality on uploads, such a shameㅠㅠ Operators, step it up...!
Hm.
Yeah. I get what you're all thinking. Sadly, this really was written by Sim A-ryeon (aka Goryeo Jang villain).
She just posted anonymously, not under her official ID.
Naturally, the comments were the complete opposite of the aggro-spewing Goryeo Jang villain's usual fare.
-[Baekhwa]High School 6th Year: Waaah! So pretty!! >_<)!!
-Anonymous: Isn't it a bit too realistic...?
-Anonymous: Joined the Ten Tribes subjugation team? Means top-tier Awakener, right? Kyaa. Awesome.
-[Three Thousand]Witch Judge: Looks just like real Ten Tribes.
└Anonymous: Looks tribe-like?
-dolLHoUse: Gross.
-Son Lover: Aigoo, golden hand, please join as full member. Hard to search for your artㅠㅠ.
-Anonymous: Really well drawn.
-Anonymous: I was on the subjugation team too, and yeah, that's exactly what Ten Tribes looked like. Captures the feel perfectly.
└Lit Girl: How do you even catch something like this?
└Anonymous: 'Undertaker' 'Great Witch' done.
└Anonymous: Just GOAT.
-Anonymous: But why does this artist's wording feel so annoying every time?
└Anonymous: Where's it annoying??
└Anonymous: Don't slander golden hand
-[Satisfaction]Cooking Queen: Amazing painting. Feels more abstract than photoreal, but gives the vibe of seeing real Ten Tribes. You have innate talent for expressing monsters!
Hm.
I nodded at Go Yo-ri's comment.
Plenty of SG Net users had joined the Ten Tribes subjugation. Even they unanimously testified 'looks just like the real thing.' Sim A-ryeon definitely had some gift.
Brushstrokes that made it feel real to strangers and authentically monstrous to those who knew. A vivid intensity that seemed ready to leap from the screen. Talent. The aesthetic of monsters.
"Ehehehe... So many praises for drawing well..."
"......"
Then, an idea flashed through my mind like lightning.
The kind of stroke of genius that visits me often as a regressor.
"A-ryeon."
"Ehehe... Yes? Guild Leader?"
"You like drawing monsters, right?"
"Wh-What about it? Y-You're making me nervous. Why so sudden...?"
Chin.
I grabbed Sim A-ryeon's shoulder.
I grinned wide at her, head tilted in confusion.
"Ever thought about becoming a constellation yourself?"
"......?"
무한 회귀자인데 썰 푼다