Chapter 123
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 123
Chapter Title: The Regressor Makes Everything
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After Erika finished showing off her power, the faculty members who had received the report rushed over in the blink of an eye.
Not only had she unleashed a powerful technique in the residential area, but she'd also wrecked the mountain near the dormitory—the park and training ground built especially for the cadets.
Even without any casualties, it was more than enough to earn her a hefty deduction of points.
"Hmm. With such a finicky armament, it's no wonder an accident like that could happen."
There were always exceptions, no matter where you went.
"Pardon? But by the rules, such actions are only permitted in designated training areas..."
"Ahem. Didn't you just hear? She only applied a simple reinforcement spell, but the moment the crow equipped it, the damn thing went berserk and caused all this."
"Ah... yes..."
"And in the middle of all that chaos, she swiftly contained it without a single casualty. Ignoring that effort would leave the cadet—Erika, I mean—feeling awfully wronged."
The professor from the Spellcraft Department had arrived posthaste, and his defense left the staffer dispatched from headquarters looking distinctly unimpressed.
"Understood. So, about the punishment..."
"With the expo keeping headquarters swamped, we'll handle the retraining ourselves to ensure nothing like this happens again."
The staffer pondered for a moment before nodding.
"Very well. We'll log it as internal disciplinary action."
"Heh heh. Much appreciated."
The staffer scratched his head awkwardly and departed. Only once he was out of sight did the professor turn to Erika.
"Then I'll be off. Do be more careful for a while."
"Yeah."
The professor left after a polite bow, and Lee Se-hun, who had watched the whole exchange, wore an intrigued expression.
'Power really is nice.'
A regular cadet without any backing would've been slapped with points deduction before the professor even showed up. But this? They let it slide just like that.
As Lee Se-hun stared in wonder, Erika shot him a puzzled look.
"What?"
"Just surprised you got off without any points deducted."
"'Cause I'm top of the department."
The answer differed slightly from what he'd expected, leaving Lee Se-hun puzzled.
"Not because of your family?"
"Family influence just skipped the minor investigation. Anyone else top of their department would've gotten the same."
Lee Se-hun's eyes lit up with interest at Erika's matter-of-fact reply.
'Being department head gets you that much leeway, huh.'
He'd known Babel blatantly favored talent and results, but he hadn't realized the gap was this wide.
'Meaning as long as the outcome's good, a rough process gets overlooked.'
A highly useful tip. Lee Se-hun grinned in satisfaction.
"Thanks. Could come in handy later."
"Sure."
Erika nodded and looked at him.
"So, how're we settling up?"
"Settling up? Oh, right."
Her question jogged his memory of the advance payments he'd already received.
'Got the request fee upfront with the Yin-Yang Ring, plus help from Pure Land Stone and Black Arms.'
Considering the value of the spirit bone gauntlets—which guided her abilities and direction—keeping a little extra felt fair, but pinpointing something specific to ask for was tricky.
After a moment's thought, Lee Se-hun made up his mind.
"Not cash. Pick whatever else you want."
"Whatever?"
"Materials, elixirs, or even a favor down the line. Whatever's easiest for you."
Usually, "whatever" meant "I don't know what I want, so you figure it out," but this time he genuinely didn't care.
'She'll bring something useful for her anyway.'
It felt like the pre-regression days when Ryu Eun-ha piled mountains of specialist books on him to get her desired gear made.
Lee Se-hun planned to use this final reward to pinpoint Erika's exact "goal."
"Hmm... Got it. I'll think it over."
"Cool. See ya."
"Yeah. Later."
After parting with Erika, Lee Se-hun headed down to the dormitory entrance and reviewed his to-do list.
'Backlogged requests done... Next up, Kim In-cheol.'
As he walked toward his next errand, he methodically sorted the intel in his head.
'Suspected defector from the Observer faction 'Tribute.' Owns the Fire Heaven Greatsword among the Five Elements Armaments, likely hunted by Flame Blade hunters as a result. High chance he died pre-regression.'
A blacksmith with a shady past. Lee Se-hun grimaced.
'Getting types like him to open up is such a pain.'
And from the position of a much younger cadet, it was even tougher.
'Ugh. Guess I'll play it by ear once I meet him.'
He had plenty to do there anyway. Decision made, he messaged Kim In-cheol.
[Can I swing by the workshop today?]
After confirming the send, he waited briefly until his phone buzzed with an incoming call.
"Yes, Professor?"
-When were you planning to come by the workshop?
"No classes today, so anytime works for you."
-Perfect timing. Just wrapping up here myself. Send your location; I'll pick you up.
Lee Se-hun headed to the road and shared his spot. Soon, a menacing red motorcycle pulled up.
"Hop on."
"Yes, sir."
The red bike roared across the road. Seated behind Kim In-cheol, Lee Se-hun stared at his back before springing a sudden question.
"Professor."
"Yes?"
"If there's a legendary-grade part among the Vermilion Bird's byproducts, could it repair the Shattered Flame's Origin...?"
Screeech!
The bike slammed to a halt before he could finish. Kim In-cheol whipped around, urgency cutting through his shock.
"Did the president give it to you?"
His reaction was far more intense than expected. Lee Se-hun blinked in mild surprise.
"N-No. I was just looking at the Namhwaou last time and thought it might fit..."
"I see..."
Kim In-cheol calmed down, looking sheepish.
"Sorry for startling you. I got a bit excited thinking you might actually fix it."
"No, my bad for the vague phrasing."
"Ahem. Let's get going."
The bike revved up again. Lee Se-hun smoothed his rattled expression and narrowed his eyes.
'So he has considered repair methods before.'
Vermilion Bird byproducts offered a high chance to fix the Shattered Flame's Origin.
Lee Se-hun filed that away from the reaction, but one question lingered.
'Then why seek other ways?'
Lack of certainty? Hard-to-get materials? Promise to Ludwig?
Possibilities swirled, deepening his thoughts. After weighing them all, he reached a crisp conclusion.
'No clue.'
Too little info to pin it down.
Instead of pointless speculation, he stuck to certainties.
'Kim In-cheol's obsessed with legendary Vermilion Bird parts.'
That opened the possibility Black Arms targeted Ludwig—and by extension, him.
By the time he'd sorted his thoughts, the bike pulled up to Kim In-cheol's workshop.
"Come on in."
"Yes, sir."
Inside the workshop next to the house, Lee Se-hun immediately eyed the five furnaces lining the wall.
"By the way, how'd those sacred woods I gave you turn out?"
"Ah, hold on."
Kim In-cheol grabbed tongs from nearby and opened the second furnace.
Whoosh!
Heat blasted out the moment the lid lifted. He thrust the tongs in and pulled out a 30cm jet-black rod.
"Hmm. This should do..."
He examined it closely, then tapped a wall panel. A tank of blue liquid rose from the floor.
'Mana stone liquid coolant, huh.'
Lee Se-hun watched with interest—pricey stuff. Kim In-cheol plunged the rod in.
Fwoosh!
Fierce flames erupted on the coolant's surface.
The mana inside reacted to the rod, igniting. Strangely, despite the intense heat, the coolant didn't boil.
Bubble bubble!
As the flames died, it finally boiled over. Kim In-cheol withdrew the rod.
Sizzle...
The black rod steamed faintly, now glossier and tougher-looking—no trace of the sacred wood remained.
"This'll work. Take a look."
He set it on the workbench. Lee Se-hun stepped up and checked the info window.
'Yep, made it burn mana first.'
Like steam shielding a wet hand from molten metal, he'd replicated the effect with mana.
'This way, as long as it supplies mana, even scorching flames won't touch the wearer—and it can withstand the Shattered Flame's heat.'
Bonus: absorbed mana boosted the flames, helping sustain the Shattered Flame's output.
Not perfect, but a solid approach. As Lee Se-hun nodded in approval, Kim In-cheol asked cautiously.
"What do you think?"
"Looks good. Shame about exposure to heat pre-equip and no control method yet, but it's a strong foundation."
He'd grasped every intent from a quick glance—no explanation needed. Kim In-cheol beamed unconsciously.
"Thought I'd start by protecting the wearer first, then layer on control step by step."
"Makes sense. Next up, the sheath? How about trying the Ink-Heavy Darkness?"
"Considering it. But upkeep's an issue; been mulling options."
"Ah, I've got a technique I picked up recently that might help..."
Lee Se-hun suggested directions; Kim In-cheol pondered and refined them.
Through their long discussion, one fact emerged naturally.
'Kim In-cheol knows the Shattered Flame—Fire Heaven Greatsword's prototype—inside out.'
An outsider would've fixated on the leaking core heat. But he also eyed specific functions—like designating burn targets via flames.
'Something specific he wants to burn, huh.'
What was he after? Still murky. As Lee Se-hun pondered...
"...Thank you."
Kim In-cheol spoke plainly from across the bench.
"Thanks to you, I feel like I've broken free from years of stagnation."
"I just supplied materials. All your hard work, Professor."
"No. Without them, I wouldn't have tried this."
He shook his head and gripped Lee Se-hun's hand.
"Truly, thank you."
Sincere gratitude. Lee Se-hun realized Kim In-cheol meant it—and a new bond stone had formed.
But his expression turned subtly odd.
'Hmm. Not enough for a bond level-up, though.'
This reaction suggested major help, yet the response felt lukewarm.
'Maybe he's keeping distance on purpose.'
Insufficient info on the man himself. Frustration bubbled up.
'Just confront him outright?'
Mix a little white lie into Observer defection and Fire Heaven Greatsword intel, and he could pry without suspicion.
But he held back—risk of souring relations, and more importantly, he actually liked the guy.
'Tch. If he were shady, I'd have introduced him to my hammer by now.'
No cleaner, subtler way?
One regret surfaced.
'If I could view it with Dream Tusk like my memories, it'd be easy...'
It showed past memories faithfully until his body moved on its own. Would've worked on Kim In-cheol too.
His thoughts paused there.
'...Wait. Why not?'
Dream Tusk peered into bond stone interiors—extracting mind-image-linked memories and shoving them into his body.
Didn't matter if they were his memories or someone else's.
Squeeze.
"Hm?"
Sudden pressure on his hand. Kim In-cheol looked down quizzically—Lee Se-hun's grip had tightened fiercely.
'What's this about?'
Offended by the handshake? He tried pulling away, but Lee Se-hun held fast.
"Uh... what's going on all of a sudden?"
Kim In-cheol stared in bewilderment. Lee Se-hun, who'd been gazing at their hands, looked up.
"Thank you, Professor."
A bright smile lit his face as he met Kim In-cheol's eyes.
"Hm?"
"Thank you so much! I'll head out now!"
Vroom vroom!
After a vigorous shake, Lee Se-hun bolted from the workshop without proper goodbyes. Kim In-cheol gawked at his retreating figure before chuckling.
"Guess I'm not totally over the hill yet..."
Able to inspire the young ones. He grinned sheepishly.
'Just a peek!'
Lee Se-hun raced full-tilt back to his dorm to glimpse Kim In-cheol's past.