Chapter 1
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: The Regressor Makes Everything
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When people first awakened their mana, they experienced a phenomenon called a Mental Image.
Some saw a night sky filled with shooting stars, others caught the aroma of lavish feasts, and some heard a sound like everything being sucked away.
These Mental Images appeared without rhyme or reason. I went through it too.
Shwaaa—
A quiet wave crashing gently against my ears.
That was the only impression I had from the sound that began when I awakened my mana.
Why the hell is it waves?
The aptitude that emerged for me was Blacksmith.
Fire, I could understand—but waves had nothing to do with it. I couldn't fathom why I'd hear something like that.
Unlike others, the sound came periodically for me, piling up more questions each time.
And even as I hammered away, stoked the forge, and crafted countless weapons and armors, those questions remained unanswered.
Shwaaa—
Only now, as the world hurtled toward destruction, did it all make sense.
"Fuck..."
That goddamn wave sound was the noise of the world coming to an end.
Rumble—
Vibrations and thunderous roars echoed from the distance.
The quakes that once seemed ready to obliterate the area, the deafening booms that could burst eardrums—they were fading now, losing their power.
It meant the battle of the suicide squad, who had charged alongside me at the Demon God of Annihilation, was drawing to a close.
"Hoo..."
I wanted to see how it was going, but my neck was snapped—I couldn't turn my head.
My spine was shattered, leaving my lower body numb. My organs were a mess too; blood kept surging up whenever I had a moment.
Lucky I had the strength to spit out the phlegm, or I'd have drowned in my own blood pooling in my mouth.
"Should've just died back there..."
If I'd known I'd end up half-dead like this, I wouldn't have bothered blocking.
Lost in such idle thoughts, I leaned against the greatsword propping up my back. As I steadied my breathing to dull the pain—
Thud!
A grotesquely mangled head dropped in front of me.
Its three horns were shattered clean off, and the four glowing blue eyes were pulverized like they'd been tortured.
The wrecked head spoke volumes of its unpleasant end. I twisted my lips at the sight of the Demon God of Annihilation.
"Look at you now, you bastard..."
He'd bragged about being the strongest of the Six Great Demon Gods, the end of the world itself—every boast in the book. And in the end, his head got lopped off by the humans he'd dismissed as easy prey.
I wanted to laugh my ass off, but that'd probably make me cough up blood and die. So I just shook silently instead.
"What a load of bullshit."
The three who slew the Demon God of Annihilation strolled up late.
"Anyone'd think you killed him."
"Right? This punk playing dead like he's faking sick..."
"I told you, bro. He handed off the legion to you just to slack off."
They were smirking, clearly annoyed by my laugh. That familiar scene made me twist my lips in response.
"Without my gear, you'd have been dead ages ago, you show-offs..."
"What'd you say?"
"This fucker..."
"Wow. Unbelievable."
They glared daggers.
As I smirked bitterly at their unchanged attitude—from the squad's formation to now—a collective sigh escaped them first.
"Whatever. What's the point picking on a dying man."
"Yeah. It's not like this is his first rodeo."
"Sigh. I'll hold it in."
Exhausted, they plopped down on the ground.
Not wanting to face each other, they sat back-to-back. At that unchanging sight, I asked calmly.
"Anyone gonna make it?"
"I'm done. Organs are all mush."
"Me too. This curse won't let the bleeding stop."
"Tch. Heart's pierced. No good."
I sighed at how nonchalantly they stated their own deaths.
"So it ends like this after all."
The Demon God of Annihilation.
He was the last of the Six Great Demon Gods threatening humanity, but nine-tenths of the surface was already swallowed by the sea of annihilation he'd unleashed.
The Hero's Tower that sustained Earth had crumbled entirely. Once the annihilation seas swept the rest, the Myriad Demons' Mire would fill the void.
"Haa..."
We won, but we'd already lost.
I'd known it before even forming the squad, yet the bitterness was overwhelming. I muttered unwittingly.
"Why didn't you help sooner?"
The three before me—the Three Dogs—were what folks called gray neutrals.
Neither fully with humanity nor the Myriad Demons' Mire, they chased personal gain on whims.
If only we'd had these guys...
There were stronger folks, but only these three had certain talents that made impossible things possible.
If they'd shown it even a bit earlier, if other heroes hadn't died so pointlessly—could we have had a better outcome?
They answered flatly to the lament I'd harbored since the squad's formation.
"Be grateful we helped at the end..."
Mad Dog Yeom Seong-ha.
"If it pisses you off, you should've been stronger, punk."
Violent Dog Louise Valente.
"Eat shit, bro."
Ice Dog Amir Singh.
A hollow laugh escaped at these stubborn bastards, unyielding to the last.
"Fucking exhausting pricks."
I wanted to curse them out good, but what was the point? They wouldn't hear it.
I gazed at their backs as they sat turned away, then looked up at the pitch-black sky.
Where did it all go wrong?
Because I couldn't recruit these three sooner? Because the Summit Climbers, humanity's strongest, never united properly?
Or maybe because, long ago when I awakened my mana, I never figured out what that wave sound meant?
As decades of life flashed by like a montage, the answer came quick.
It was me.
If I'd hammered for others just a little sooner,
if I'd realized my power earlier—could I have changed everything?
A bitter smile at that lingering regret.
"I'm the crazy one..."
What a pathetic display over something long gone.
I'd sworn never to regret, no matter what. Shaking off the thoughts filling my head, I reached for my waist.
Grip—
The hammer I'd swung ceaselessly for decades.
Practically an extension of my body now. Clutching it, I slowly pushed off the greatsword.
Cough!
The greatsword's healing cut off, and blood erupted like it'd been waiting.
Sitting still might let me die painlessly, but it felt too meaningless.
"My life's masterpieces... can't leave 'em looking like that..."
Squeezing every last drop from my failing body, I gathered the scattered gear nearby.
Then, atop the barren ruins, I swung the hammer in my hand.
Clang! Clang!
Sparks flew, the hammer glowing redder.
Not as good as in a proper forge, but with this Ember Hammer from my master, refining them was no issue.
The mangled weapons sharpened anew. Each repair done, I slammed them into the ground beside the three.
"Hoo..."
Pointless in a place soon to be swept by annihilation seas—but so what? I gazed at the makeshift tombstones for the three, then slowly turned my head.
Shwaaa—
The annihilation seas closing in.
Realizing the end was near, I looked down at the hammer in my hand.
Last one?
If it was truly the end soon, better to finish it myself than get swept by those cursed black waves.
The sudden thought made me clutch my chest slowly.
Bond Extraction.
[Extracting bond from target 'Lee Se-hun.']
[Bond with creator 'Lee Se-hun' is Lv.—.]
A transparent crystal emerged in my hand amid brilliant light. I gazed at the ever-colorless ore.
Boring as always.
My unique skill, Blacksmith of Bonds, extracted special ores from those I'd bonded with.
The ore's effects varied by bond type and target's potential—but on myself, it yielded worse than plain iron.
If only I'd awakened this sooner...
Regret surged with memories. I sighed at the clinging what-ifs, staring at the empty bond stone.
If nothing filled it...
Then take this tormenting regret with you.
Squeezing out my final strength, I gripped the hammer and struck the colorless crystal.
Shwaaa—
Waves drowned out the hammer strikes.
The annihilation seas approaching? Or the usual hallucination? Indistinguishable now. Amid the ceaseless waves, I swung relentlessly, a smile creeping unbidden.
Whenever this sound rang in my ears, the results always exceeded expectations.
Ha. I'm a mad bastard too.
Thrilled at good results amid the world's end sounds.
In that absurd situation, I hammered silently until my grip failed, stopping naturally.
"Haa... haa..."
A plainly forged colorless dagger.
Well-made, but nothing special. Just my bond stone, no other materials—no unique power.
Shwaaa—
Annihilation seas at arm's reach.
Their corpses gone too. I gripped the dagger reverse, slowly.
What to say now? Curse the world? Nah. I chuckled softly and muttered.
"Life... fuck it..."
That'd do.
Stab!
The blade pierced my heart smoothly, like stabbing air.
Whoever made it, the sharpness was god-tier. Satisfied, I smiled.
[Mental Image of armament '───' has manifested.]
[Mental Image skill Return to Origin is being forged.]
Shwaaa—
A faint wave sound.
The noise I'd heard my whole life, one I was sick of—my face twisted instinctively.
Still not dead?
Did I hone the dagger too sharp? Didn't feel the heart stab? If the seas got me like this, I'd try again—
Thud.
A dull thump on my chest.
So different from expected, I slowly opened my eyes. The scene was nothing like I'd imagined.
Acrid smoke, forge heat on my face. Clothes smeared with soot, a crude hammer against my chest.
A familiar yet distant scene, too hazy to place. Staring blankly—
"Hey."
"..."
"Cadet. You with us?"
"...?"
"Lee Se-hun, cadet!!"
Realizing it was me being called, I looked up to see an irritated man with a scowl.
And teens like me, standing before portable forges.
"What the hell is this during the exam? If you're not serious, pack up and leave."
"Exam..."
Memories surfaced slowly from the proctor's words.
Babel Academy, training climbers for the Hero's Tower. I'd applied to the Forging Department... and failed miserably.
Bitter memory on its own, but the problem was:
It happened 31 years ago.
"Exam?"
I'd returned to the past.