Chapter 4
Chapter 4
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: penny
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: The Leader's Full Inheritance
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"Is Joo-hyuk sticking with me?"
It felt like 'Inheritance' went beyond just passing down the Regressor's memories or gear—something more profound.
Park Hae-jin had become exactly like Nam Joo-hyuk, to the point where he could say Joo-hyuk had possessed him.
That raised a question.
"No way... even the levels got inherited?"
Truth be told, just inheriting the gear made Hae-jin certain he could reign as the strongest until the end of this world.
The final version of Joo-hyuk before regression had been the ultimate Player, after all.
But.
"This isn't enough."
Simply inheriting Joo-hyuk as-is offered no guarantee of victory.
In the final trial before regression, both Joo-hyuk and Hae-jin had failed even on their second attempt.
In any case, to check exactly how much data he'd inherited, Hae-jin opened his status window.
'Status Window.'
Name: Park Hae-jin
Nickname: Park Hae-jin
Titles: 324
Job: Lord of Chaos
Level: 14
Stats:
- Strength: 703,104 (18 + 666,666 + 36,420)
- Agility: 709,067 (21 + 666,666 + 42,380)
- Intelligence: 708,965 (19 + 666,666 + 42,280)
- Health: 705,073 (17 + 666,666 + 38,390)
- Charisma: 713,932 (16 + 666,666 + 47,250)
- Skills: 127
- Runes: 16
- Bonus Stats: 13
"Holy... shit!"
A curse slipped from Hae-jin's mouth.
It was unavoidable.
The stats displayed were utterly absurd.
Even if the Rune of Regression's regression ability had bottomed out, he'd inherited far too much in the process.
Job, titles, gear, skills, runes—everything without exception.
Hae-jin especially fixated on the ridiculous '666,666' in the middle of his gear stats.
'Even in this state, I'm getting Joo-hyuk's Demon God's Set applied right from the start?'
Demon God's Set.
It was the name of the divine-grade weapon and armor set worn by Leader Joo-hyuk.
Joo-hyuk had always acquired it relatively quickly thanks to regression, but normal Players didn't get divine-grade gear until after level 80.
Yet now, Hae-jin was equipped with the divine set Joo-hyuk used, starting from the first trial.
And from level 14, no less!
'No, low-level? I've lost touch with reality. At this point, level 14 is top-tier in itself.'
Killing other Players in the first trial granted their experience points too.
Hae-jin had massacred an overwhelming number, hitting this insane level 14.
Even the hardest-working normal Players only reached levels 6 or 7 after killing a few hundred within the time limit.
Hae-jin, already at 14 solo in the first trial, had achieved what ordinary Players might hit in the third or fourth.
Anyway, confirming that, Hae-jin glanced at his bonus stats.
Inheriting everything from Joo-hyuk, 13 bonus stats barely registered.
'With this setup, I can stop pumping Agility and go all-in on Intelligence.'
Hae-jin decided to dump all future bonus stats into Intelligence.
With the Demon God's Set, other stats were pointless.
In that moment, Hae-jin considered checking the rewards from taking first place in the first trial.
But then.
Bang bang bang!
A pounding came from his boarding house door.
At the noise, Hae-jin thought:
'Hmm, speak of the devil—that drunk's back.'
Hae-jin's place was a rundown goshiwon, and next door lived a guy who always picked fights when wasted on booze.
Every night around this time, he'd sync his night shifts, grab cheap soju from the convenience store out front, and stumble back.
Come to think of it, in the previous regression and the one before, this drunk always showed up right after returning from the first trial.
Hae-jin opened the door.
There stood a red-faced man reeking of soju.
"You little punk! What the hell you doin' up at this hour, kid?"
'Same old bullshit.'
Normally, Hae-jin would've reported him to the manager.
Right after a plain regression, he'd knock him out and dump him somewhere.
But this time, he had something to test.
'The abilities inherited from Joo-hyuk.'
Hae-jin activated one that came to mind.
Brain Control.
A spell that manipulated the brain to force the target to act as desired.
As Leader, Joo-hyuk had unlocked the hidden class Lord of Chaos, mastering skills and techniques from every job class through grueling effort and hidden pieces—one of which was this Brain Control.
As Hae-jin cast the skill, black energy flowed from his hand.
The drunk flinched as the dark tendrils snaked toward him like snakes.
"W-What the...?!"
The panic was short-lived. The black energy invaded through every orifice on his face.
Then, the ranting drunk froze like a powered-down robot.
Hae-jin issued a command.
"Live quietly from now on."
"Yes, Master."
The drunk—who'd just called Hae-jin 'Master'—shuffled back to his room.
Hae-jin, having silenced him, muttered:
"Joo-hyuk's powers are something else."
He could've used Brain Control to torment the neighbor who'd harassed him, but Hae-jin saw no need.
'No point. I'm moving soon anyway.'
Moving right after regression.
Thanks to intel from Joo-hyuk.
With that, he could relocate there tomorrow...
"Huh? Wait. With Joo-hyuk's abilities, I don't even need a cab tomorrow."
Thinking that, Hae-jin tried one of Joo-hyuk's techniques.
Whoosh—!
Hae-jin's shadow surged up, enveloping him.
Shadow Blink.
A technique to teleport to a chosen target's shadow.
Since 'target' included non-living things, Joo-hyuk zipped anywhere he knew.
Hae-jin should manage the same.
The destination was a place he knew well from pre-regression memories, plus inheriting Joo-hyuk's made it seamless.
Whoosh—!
An ultra-luxury apartment penthouse, opulent beyond doubt.
In the center of its vast living room sat a mountain of 100,000-won bills, too massive to count.
Then, a man emerged from the shadow of the bill pile.
Hae-jin, who'd used Shadow Blink from his goshiwon.
Succeeding instantly, he smirked at the cash.
"Still blows my mind every time."
A home with hundreds of billions in bills stacked in the living room.
This was Joo-hyuk's go-to spot every regression.
Hundreds of billions in cash, plus a coin account of similar value—in a luxury penthouse.
It had once belonged to the boss of a massive fraud ring that rocked the world.
When Hae-jin learned Joo-hyuk was a Regressor, he'd asked:
『So, do you memorize lotto numbers or mooning coins each regression?』
Joo-hyuk had chuckled.
『Nah, no need. There's a way to start with nearly 100 billion right away. With future knowledge, use it as seed money—no money worries in reality. Even ways to dodge taxes.』
Hae-jin had figured lottos or coins made sense for a Regressor's edge, but Joo-hyuk said no need for seed money that way.
Reason: this fraud boss's hideout.
Per Joo-hyuk, the boss died in the first trial, so the house's secrets normally surfaced much later.
But Joo-hyuk explained:
『Means if we get in before it's exposed, we claim the dead boss's slush fund. Invest it, profit. Later, return crime proceeds to victims. If not us, it just goes to the treasury anyway.』
That was Joo-hyuk's playbook.
Now, it all fell to Hae-jin.
Joo-hyuk was dead—no more regressions.
Fresh from a shower in his new home.
Hae-jin's next steps were clear.
Normally, he'd kill Joo-hyuk and use a Rune Exchange Ticket for another regression chance.
But impossible now.
No more regressions.
Thus, no more meetings with Leader Joo-hyuk.
'Joo-hyuk, did you see this coming?'
Joo-hyuk had warned Hae-jin to prepare for the chance he couldn't join.
He'd drilled Leader duties into Hae-jin endlessly...
With memories inherited, Hae-jin knew most anyway.
In any case, Hae-jin began organizing his tasks.
"Party members first... who for the last spot?"
Leader Joo-hyuk—hero and Massacre—had named himself, the monster Hae-jin, and four others as top Players.
That made: these two, plus Saintess, Archmage, Divine Archer, Sage.
'Stick with Saintess, Archmage, Divine Archer, Sage—no changes.'
No need to deviate from Joo-hyuk's ultimate roster after countless regressions.
But Hae-jin had one decision.
Filling.
'Joo-hyuk's spot...'
The lineup lacked a tank.
Joo-hyuk tried one early, but late-game, the bizarre setup outgrew tanking needs.
So Leader Joo-hyuk or Hae-jin handled aggro via evasion mobility instead.
Thus, for his absence, Joo-hyuk suggested two replacements.
'Manager Kim... or that Joker creep...'