A week passed after the demonic beast subjugation mission.
The emergence of a demonic beast capable of turning people into monsters rightly caused a nationwide uproar, even raising awareness on a global level. And, of course, there was intense interest in the hero who had prevented a catastrophe from unfolding—the Thunder Wolf, Kwon Oh-Jin.
The story of how he was the first to detect the threat and later single-handedly defeated the demonic beast spread like wildfire, making headlines everywhere.
And because of that, I can’t even take a walk outside anymore.
He was isolated at home, under the pretext of recovering from his injuries, and had been unconscious for three days due to the aftereffects of the Exceed skill. Having finally woken up, he picked up his phone and opened an online community forum.
The trending posts were all expectedly discussing the Thunder Wolf, so he opened one.
[WolfWolfKim: The Thunder Wolf is insane, right?!]
┗JerryM: He’s only been awakened for half a year, can you believe that? Apostle of the North Star moment.
┗ButterflyValley: Sex.
┗WolfWolfKim: At this point, isn’t he as OP as the Seven Stars?
┗HaeeKwangNoona: Bullshit, he’s not on their level.
┗DoggyKim: I mean, maybe not yet, but don’t you think he’ll join their ranks eventually?
┗ButterflyValley: Sex
┗JerryM: Wouldn’t the Black Lion become one of those elites first?
┗HaeeKwangNoona: No. Do you think the title of Seven Stars is just for show? Even if a truckload of the Black Lion and the Thunder Wolf were to show up, they’d be wiped out in a second by the Seven Stars.
┗WolfWolfKim: Come on, that’s a bit much. Sure, they’d lose, but it wouldn’t be in a second.
┗ButterflyValley: Sex.
┗WolfWolfKim: It’s always the inbred retards that do this lmao.
┗ButterflyValley: Poopface.
The comments were chaotic, to say the least.
At least they’re evaluating me highly.
For someone who had awakened less than a year ago, being mentioned in the same breath as the Seven Stars was unbelievable.
Though, most of them think I'm nowhere near that level.
Naturally, there was still a long way to go before he could match up to the Seven Stars.
“Well, I’ll get there soon,” he muttered. But matching them wasn't his end goal; he was certain he could surpass them entirely.
That's the bare minimum if I want to keep my title as Regressor.
Even with just the Black Heaven and the Stigma of Lyra, he was confident he could reach the level of the Seven Stars. It was just a matter of how long it would take.
“As long as I’ve got the chance, I have to do it right.”
He planned to go above and beyond, surpassing even the transcendent Celestials.
I must reach a realm even my goddess wouldn’t dare to tread.
Kwon Oh-Ji smirked. If he could make that happen, he wouldn’t need to scam his way through life anymore.
But there's still time for that.
He had something more immediate to focus on now—
“The Black Star Society.”
With all the buzz surrounding the recent incident, Choi Jong-Cheol's name had spread widely as the primary culprit. Naturally, the Pandinus Guild was dragged into the spotlight as well.
“Not affiliated with the Pandinus Guild, huh?”
According to their official statement, Choi Jong-Cheol had never been a member and had no connection to the guild whatsoever.
That’s probably a lie though.
Choi Jong-Cheol’s name wasn’t on the official publicized guild roster.
Which means they intended to use and discard him right from the start.
It was a blatant attempt to cut ties, but since there was no concrete evidence linking the Pandinus Guild to Choi Jong-Cheol, it was hard to counter their claim.
They even pointed fingers at his former guild, Starlight Lake, accusing them of orchestrating the incident. They even backed it up with compelling evidence of Choi Jong-Cheol meeting with people from Starlight Lake even after his termination.
Starlight Lake fell right into Pandinus's trap.
The Starlight Lake Guild argued that they had only met with Choi Jong-Cheol occasionally to confiscate his assets, claiming they had nothing to do with the recent incident. However, public opinion wasn’t on their side.
And now, the other top guilds are getting dragged into this mess too.
Starlight Lake was renowned as the top guild for healer-type Awakeners. Naturally, its members rarely entered gates alone and frequently collaborated with some of the most prominent guilds in the country. Because of this, the blame spilled over to all of them.
Skimming through a few news articles, Kwon Oh-Jin clicked his tongue.
“Was this their plan all along?”
Rather than focusing on the Pandinus Guild, the media was flooded with conspiracy theories on the Starlight Lake Guild’s alleged involvement.
“Those sons of bitches actually used their heads for this.”
He smirked, finding it ridiculous.
“Oh-Jin, didn’t you say you were gonna head to the Sanctum earlier?” Song Ha-Eun called out from the other room.
“Ah, right. I should get going now.”
Kwoh Oh-Jin locked his phone and got up. Now that he'd somewhat pieced it all together, he had to report to Vega.
“I’ll be back soon, Ha-Eun,” he announced.
“Okay,” she replied, waving him off as he left.
Knowing how worried my goddess tends to get, I better hurry.
The moment Kwon Oh-Jin arrived at Vega’s temple, the goddess frantically rushed out.
“My child!” Vega cried out. Due to the aftereffects of the Celestial restrictions, she remained in a miniature form, barely thirty centimeters tall, even within the Sanctum.
A storm of questions erupted from her. “Are you hurt anywhere? Are you feeling alright? Did you eat well? What happened to that wicked demonic beast?”
“Calm down, I’m fine. Can’t you tell just from seeing me?”
“B-But still...!” Vega teared up as she anxiously stomped her tiny feet.
She's seriously so cute.
“Why are you so late, human?!" Riarch yelled, approaching them with a frown. "Do you know how much worry you’ve caused Lady Vega?”
“I know,” Kwon Oh-Jin replied.
“Every five minutes, she tore at my fur while bawling her eyes out!”
“Th-That’s not true!” Vega refuted the claim.
“She even engraved your face on the Sanctum walls and spent days praying for your safety!”
Kwon Oh-Jin turned to see that his face had indeed been carved into the walls.
“Th-That’s not true either! I never did such a thing!”
“She even secretly kissed the engraving on the wall with your safety in mind! And yet you still took your sweet time—”
A bolt of blue lightning crashed down on Riarc, sending him flying and tumbling across the ground.
Sprawled on the ground, he twitched as wisps of smoke wafted from him.
He’s not dead, is he?
“Ahem!” Vega cleared her throat, smoothing out her disheveled hair. “Riarc seems to have been hallucinating.”
It was awfully detailed for a hallucination.
Hiding her flushed cheeks, she continued. “A-Anyway! What was the aftermath...?”
“I’ll explain everything slowly.”
Kwon Oh-Jin detailedly recounted everything after she had disappeared, unable to withstand the Celestial restrictions. Of course, he omitted the part about absorbing the Astral Relic’s power and the Stigma of Aquarius using the Black Heaven.
“W-Wait, Exceed? Did you say you used Exceed?” she asked, taken aback.
He thought it was just a skill he had improvised on the spot, but Vega seemed to have recognized it.
“H-How absurd,” she remarked as her jaw dropped in shock. She rubbed her forehead and mumbled, “Sigh... Even though this isn't the first time you've done something , it’s still...”
“Is it really that big of a deal?”
He had experienced how extraordinary Exceed was, but he wasn’t sure why it would be so shocking for a Regressor to use it at this stage.
“Of course it’s a big deal!" she cried. "Exceed is a skill that requires you to be at least a seven-star... no, an eight-star Awakener!”
While they couldn't compare to nine-star Awakeners—the high-tier elites of the world—eight-star Awakeners were still among the very best. Either way, Exceed wasn’t something a mere four-star Awakener was capable of utilizing.
Okay, yeah. It makes sense why she was so surprised.
Beating a tough, complex game once didn’t suddenly make it easier. Maybe after hundreds of playthroughs, but a single run wouldn’t magically lower the difficulty.
From Vega’s perspective, I’m like a noob clearing high-level bosses just because I’ve done it once.
However, there was something she didn’t know.
... I’ve never cleared this game before.
How did a normal four-star like him master a skill that required an eight-star's proficiency?
“You must have been born with an innate talent for controlling your Stigma’s mana.”
Talent, huh? I guess that's really the only explanation for it.
“Well, I must be good at it because I’ve done it before,” he lied.
Vega shook her head and said, "No, that's not enough to explain it. It’s as if you were born to dominate every Stigma out there.”
His face tensed for a moment.
“... That’s a bit of a stretch. Besides, isn’t it good that I mastered it so quickly?”
“Not in this case,” she firmly responded.
Vega’s gaze sharpened as she continued. “Exceed puts an immense strain on the body. You need to be at least a six-star just to barely endure it.”
After using it against Choi Jong-Cheol, he had gone into a state of overload and passed out for three whole days.
“Please, refrain from using Exceed in the future,” Vega said, floating over and landing on his head.
“Okay, I’ll be careful,” he affirmed. There was no point in using a skill that damaged him unless he was in a dire situation.
“No! I’m not telling you to be careful! I’m saying don’t use it at all!” Vega shouted, tugging on his hair in frustration.
“Ow! Alright, alright! Haha.”
“Sigh. I wish I could monitor you closely at times .”
“When do you think you’ll be able to materialize again?” he asked.
“I’ll have to stay in the Sanctum for another three weeks.”
That’s around a whole month. She did really exert herself back then.
“If I could, I’d tie you up here in the Sanctum with me for the entire duration,” she said.
You’re scaring me, Mama Vega.
“... But it seems the situation won't allow for that. Those wretched apostles of Scorpio appear to have allied with the Black Star Society,” she continued, squinting.
They might have denied it, but Kwon Oh-Jin was certain the Pandinus Guild and the Black Star Society were connected.
“Those evil beings! How dare they commit such heinous acts and try to pin the blame on others?!” Vega shouted angrily as she recalled Choi Jong-Cheol. “It’s infuriating that there’s no way to stop their wicked schemes.”
“There’s no way to stop them? What are you talking about?” Kwon Oh-Jin asked.
Vega’s eyes widened in surprise.
“Didn’t you just say there’s no evidence to prove their connection?”
There certainly wasn’t any solid proof to shift the blame away from the Starlight Lake Guild right now. But as always, if something didn't exist... he could simply create it.
A sly grin spread across his face as he said, “Leave this to me.”
“Don’t worry, I’ve got it covered.”
There was no need for drawn-out schemes or heavy brainstorming.
After all, this is a game I’m bound to win.
His grin stretched wider as he licked his lips.
Time to return to my main trade.
If it had been anything else, he might have let it slide—but trying to scam him?
That was their biggest mistake.
Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freew𝒆bnov𝒆l.c(o)m