Chapter 2
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 2
Chapter Title: The Regressor Makes It All
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"This is your only warning. If there's any more disturbance, you'll be asked to leave. Be careful."
The exam proctor delivered the warning in a cold voice before departing, and the gazes that had briefly gathered around quickly scattered.
It was a crucial exam for admission to Babel Academy, after all. Whether someone else succeeded or failed, there was no need to pay attention to it.
On the contrary, the candidates saw it as one less competitor dropping out and redoubled their efforts on the armaments they were forging.
"……."
The candidate who had been warned, Lee Se-hun, stared blankly down at his hands.
'Back 31 years? Why? How?'
He wondered if it was a deathbed flashback, but the sensations from all his senses felt far too vivid for that.
He fiddled with the cheap hammer in his hand, trying to recall any memories he could, and soon a faint one surfaced.
The mental image of the armament '───' has manifested.
Mental Image Skill 'Return to Origin' is being forged.
'Right... mental image manifestation...'
A phenomenon where a powerful skill embeds itself into an armament created using a bond stone.
He had encountered it occasionally while forging countless armaments, so it was familiar in itself—but there was one peculiar detail.
'It's the first time it's manifested from my bond stone.'
Even after forging thousands, tens of thousands of armaments with his own bond stone, a mental image had never manifested.
So why had it happened then, sending him back to the past?
Unable to make sense of it despite racking his brain, Lee Se-hun pondered deeply and arrived at one conclusion.
'...Was it just chance?'
Thinking back, the first time the mental image activated wasn't it during that frantic forging when his workshop was raided?
So this time too, his mental image had manifested by pure chance, and he'd returned to the past by sheer luck.
At that flimsy conclusion, Lee Se-hun stared blankly for a moment before letting out a hollow chuckle.
'I'm going insane.'
Either his head was broken, or the world was. One or the other.
He couldn't comprehend it no matter how he thought about it, but regardless, he now stood in the past.
And at the very first moment among the countless regrets he'd reflected on at the end.
'What to do... no need to think about it.'
With his mind finally clearing, Lee Se-hun turned to check the remaining time.
'One hour.'
A quick glance around showed the other candidates nearly finished forging. As he eyed them, Lee Se-hun looked at the iron his past self had been shaping.
'Pathetic.'
Hammered haphazardly in a bid to make something flashy, the center of balance was a mess, and the shape uneven.
Not even fit for decoration—it was utter garbage. Stroking his chin, Lee Se-hun decided.
'Guess I'll refine it for now.'
The evaluation might suffer a bit, but passing the exam was all that mattered anyway.
With that thought, Lee Se-hun lightly picked up the hammer again.
"Dreadful."
Kim In-cheol, the middle-aged professor watching the candidates, muttered with a displeased expression.
He hadn't expected much from Group 3, filled only with makeup exam retakers, but their level was disappointingly low—enough to make the future seem bleak.
'Even if the Forging Department's prestige has fallen...'
Their skill with fire and hammer stance were basic fundamentals, yet they lacked even that, merely pouring mana and skills into pounding iron.
Could that even be called 'forging'?
'Recruiting more candidates won't solve it.'
As a sigh escaped him and he rubbed his eyes while lowering his head, a metallic clang echoed through the exam hall.
Kaang—
It pierced through the hammers of dozens of candidates, ringing deep into his mind. Kim In-cheol's eyes widened.
Kaang— Kaang—
Slow yet rhythmic, a clear tone without any impurities. At that extraordinary sound, Kim In-cheol snapped his head up to scan around.
'Who is it?'
The gloom he'd felt moments ago vanished without a trace. Searching for the source, he soon spotted someone.
Kaang—!
A young man swinging the hammer calmly, without a hint of tension.
At a glance, it seemed random, but the iron beneath was being forged more solidly than anything else here.
'...He's like a different person.'
The candidates' skills were pitiful, but he'd checked everyone's basic form for grading purposes.
In his memory, Lee Se-hun was mid-to-low tier—even among Group 3 retakers, far from Babel admission level.
'Come to think of it, he got scolded by In-seong earlier and just sat there dazed.'
It was rare, but sometimes skills awakened without warning, dramatically improving performance.
This candidate might be in that situation.
'Interesting.'
He'd assumed all would fail without question, but now he might get to do a proper evaluation.
As Kim In-cheol straightened up from his slouched position to watch Lee Se-hun—
Pakang—!
The finest workpiece in the exam hall shattered.
When he first started forging, Lee Se-hun had approached it lightly.
Babel's reputation wasn't low, but it was still just a training institution. Considering his past fame and skill, he was confident he could pass blindfolded.
"……."
This forging was merely a check on his 31-years-ago body's condition.
Matching his peak as a blacksmith was impossible; compromising was the wise choice.
Kwaaak.
But staring at the sword—no, the elongated scrap—forming in his hands, his rationality crumbled.
His body wasn't properly trained, so even basic hammering was off, and his scant mana was useless for tempering, barely enough for forging.
Udeuk—
No helping it. This was the best in his current state.
His mind understood, yet his whole body itched like hives, blood rushing to his head, face twisting ferociously.
A true artisan who wouldn't compromise on even 0.01mm—nay, microscopic errors invisible to the eye—and had smashed armaments by the billions without hesitation.
"Hup!!!"
The one dubbed the 'Debt-Ridden Blacksmith' could not tolerate it.
Pakang—!
The blade slammed onto the anvil snapped cleanly in two, and the proctor and all candidates' eyes bulged.
Candidates sometimes despaired and broke their work, but never smashed it like this.
'That bastard dares...!'
The proctor who'd first warned Lee Se-hun, assistant instructor Han In-seong, scowled fiercely.
Not just anyone, but acting like that in front of Forging Department head professor Kim In-cheol!
Vowing to eject him this time, Han In-seong stomped toward Lee Se-hun.
"Proctor... sir."
Lee Se-hun's menacing glare froze him solid.
This youth, young enough to be his nephew, was a worthless mid-to-low tier candidate even in Group 3.
"……."
Yet standing before him, words wouldn't come.
It felt like facing a senior from his Babel days who prowled for any excuse to bitch—it was the pressure emanating from Lee Se-hun!
"I have... something to say."
Lee Se-hun bit back a near-slip into informal speech. Han In-seong swallowed hard.
"Wh-what is it?"
"I want to remake... my assignment. Could you provide... more materials?"
Was it a request or a threat? Han In-seong's eyes twitched.
Normally he'd crush such insolence, but his mouth wouldn't move.
Reason said refuse, instinct said stop. As he hesitated, faced with Lee Se-hun who looked ready to kill him on the spot—
"Hmm."
Kim In-cheol, who had approached unnoticed, picked up a broken sword fragment.
Examining it curiously from all angles. Nearby candidates whispered, glancing over.
Unlike assistant Han In-seong, Kim In-cheol was the Forging Department's leader—a heavyweight ranked among the world's top 100 artisans.
"You."
Placing the fragment on the anvil, Kim In-cheol looked at Lee Se-hun.
"Do you think breaking this was the right call?"
A loaded question open to interpretation.
Any other candidate might panic, wondering if they'd erred.
"Yes."
But for Lee Se-hun, no hesitation.
"I wouldn't submit something like that."
"...I see."
At Lee Se-hun's resolute answer, Kim In-cheol pondered briefly before turning to the dazed Han In-seong.
"Assistant Han. Any materials left?"
"Pardon? Ah, yes. There are."
"Bring them. It's within the rules anyway."
"B-but..."
Han In-seong hesitated, thinking this was too much—
"Should I fetch them myself?"
"No!"
At the curt words, Han In-seong bolted to the materials room and returned panting with a large box.
"Huff... huff... brought all the iron ingots and ignition stones too."
"Good work."
Patting Han In-seong's shoulder, Kim In-cheol checked the time and eyed Lee Se-hun.
"Only about 40 minutes left. Think you can do it with these?"
"Plenty... of time."
Impossible normally, but he had a way to make it work. Kim In-cheol smirked at Lee Se-hun's gleaming eyes.
"I'll be expecting great things."
The proctors returned to their seats, and Lee Se-hun surveyed the materials before him.
The iron ingots were uniformly excellent—no need for close inspection—and the ignition stones were high-quality varieties for an exam, prepared meticulously.
Done to leave no excuses for poor preparation. Satisfied, Lee Se-hun nodded.
'This'll do.'
It might be rough, but creating anything worthwhile came with its pains.
Pulling out a new ingot and several ignition stones, Lee Se-hun stood before the cooling forge.
He concentrated his meager mana into his right hand, then clashed the stones together inside his palm.
Tadak! Tak!
Sparks flew like striking flint, with flames flickering in his hand like a stuttering lamp.
The eerie sight drew every eye in the exam hall.
'Ignition stones get scorching hot with mana...'
'Smell something burning...'
Something was happening. Everyone sensed it then—
Ttaak—
A resonant chime, utterly different from before, as all the stones hummed in unison.
At the sound, Lee Se-hun's eyes flashed wide as he hurled the stones into the forge.
───Kwaaaaang!!!
Five-colored flames erupted from the forge's mouth.