Genius Regressor Makes Mythic Items

Dimension Azshita.

Unlike the many secrets hidden in its deep and dark waters, the surface of this dimension, reminiscent of the sky, was usually blue and calm.

But not this time.

Shhh.

From regions known for their turbulent waters to those with not a single ripple, the sea surface of Azshita began to stir with large and small waves, as if a ripe rice field was being brushed by the wind.

All the waves were converging towards one point.

And at the epicenter of this phenomenon,

Whoosh!

A massive vortex churned as if a hole had opened up in an entire zone. Those who witnessed it might think it was due to a giant rupture in the ocean floor or the reverberation from an underwater volcanic eruption.

That’s the typical cause of sea whirlpools. But in reality, it was entirely different.

“Ah! Aaaah!”

“Nooo!”

“Help!”

Just like a sudden heart attack, the vortex came without warning. Caught in this unexplained catastrophe, individuals of all races and strength levels were left screaming helplessly.

Of course, “We can’t hold on any longer! The divine energy is…”

“The shield is cracking!”

“Water magic isn’t working. Not even my trait!”

“Endiron! Do something!”

As this was a Diamond rank promotion match, remarkable individuals held on using their own means, but that was all.

They were barely ‘holding on’, unable to escape the clutches of this sudden disaster.

Most importantly, “The vortex is one thing, but what’s that light?”

A bright white sphere illuminating Azshita’s waters as if it were daytime.

Crackle.

Emitting frequent sparks, it glowed intensely at the center of the vortex.

“It’s obviously about to explode…”

“If it does, we’re all dead!”

“I’ve never heard of this map feature in Azshita!”

“Screw teaming, find an escape route now!!”

Players resisting the massive currents quickly regrouped.

Pooling their efforts, “Endiron! Over here!”

“Haaa!”

“Water, part!”

Focused their strength on creating a breach. Their effort wasn’t in vain.

Slish.

“It’s opened!”

“The vortex is splitting!”

“Move quickly!”

A gap formed in the giant, swirling vortex, and players, their faces lighting up with hope, raced towards it.

Thus, “Yes! No matter how powerful Azshita’s currents are, they’re nothing against my SS-Rank trait, Master of Water!”

The fish-headed player who played a key role in creating the breach emerged from the vortex, but, they had merely escaped the most dangerous center.

Whoosh!

The area was still engulfed in turbulent currents. However,

‘Great! At this level of water flow, swimming is no problem!’

For the fish-headed player with an SS-Rank water-related trait, it was no issue. Whether it’s due to his fish-like nature, the fish-headed player smoothly swam through the violent currents.

Soon, “Wait.”

The escaping fish-headed player came to a halt.

‘There’s no need to rush away.’

Blinking, he slowly turned around.

“Don’t push! I said don’t push!”

“Move or I’ll crack your head!”

“I should go first!”

He saw players struggling to squeeze through the narrow gap of the vortex. Seeing this, the fish-headed player thought, ‘This is actually an opportunity!’

His eyes gleamed as he spread his webbed hands.

‘In survival-type promotion matches, kill count is the priority. If I unleash attacks here recklessly…’

He could take out a number of high-ranked players who would be difficult to catch one-on-one.

Naturally, the kill count from such an action would be significant.

“Ha ha!”

The fish-headed player laughed maniacally.

Whirr.

A deep blue energy flowed from his webbed hands.

Responding to his call,

Whoosh.

The surrounding seawater rapidly gathered and formed various projectile shapes.

Not only that, “Water, tighten the gap!”

SS-Rank trait, Master of Water.

Living up to its name,

Groan.

The gap in the vortex, which they had just succeeded in widening, began to close.

Naturally,

“What—what’s happening?!”

“The gap is closing!”

“Damn it! Get out quickly!!”

The players, desperate to escape, became more frantic.

Above them,

Shwoosh.

Water-shaped projectiles rained down.

“Ha ha! I’ll gladly take those kills!”

Just as the fish-headed player smiled in anticipation of the upcoming kills,

Crackle.

“Huh?”

A thick bolt of lightning grazed the fish-headed player.

Signaling,

Flash-Bang!!

A blindingly white explosion erupted from the vortex’s center.

Or could it even be called an explosion?

Shhhh.

Everything touched by the white light turned to ash. Whether from blindness or the world itself turning white from obliteration, in the white world where everything had disappeared,

‘Am I… still alive?’

The fish-headed player blinked in a daze. And then,

“So, it’s you.”

A cold, emotionless voice—a voice so decadent it sent shivers down his spine—woke him up. Only after seeing the owner of this overwhelming voice did the fish-headed player realize.

“I was in the middle of gathering kills, and you dared to interfere.”

He was still alive. The blinding light hadn’t blinded him nor had his body turned to ash because of…

The sole attention given by that platinum figure. As he grasped the situation, ‘Wait a minute… are you saying that vortex wasn’t a natural phenomenon?!’

A profound shock struck his mind.

‘Did he create that vortex himself?’

Being a species related to water and possessing an SS-Rank water trait, Master of Water, he knew better than anyone. That cataclysmic vortex was a force he couldn’t even dream of creating.

Moreover, ‘It’s not just me! Even the rankers of my species couldn’t create such a vortex!’

A power his fellow rankers couldn’t even attempt.

Of course, ‘That might be different for the rankers of top-rank species like the Naga or Jotunn…’

Rankers of the top-rank species might be able to, but the massive vortex was just the beginning. Considering the sphere that created this white world, it was utterly absurd.

‘There’s no way such a being could be in Platinum!’

An existence like that shouldn’t be in a Diamond promotion match. Whether the fish-headed player knew it or not, “Tsk. I planned to gather more, but…”

The platinum figure clicked his tongue, tapping his elegant chin. As if observing something, he casually scanned the empty air.

“Well, with an additional 468 kills, it’s impossible for anyone to catch up now.”

He stated something so bold it could blow away the shock of the circumstances.

“W-What are you saying…”

But before the fish-headed player could finish his question,

Sssss.

He turned to ash and scattered.

***

The white world gradually dissipated. The first sound to be heard was,

Crackling!

The intense thunder. As if lamenting the disappearance of the lightning world,

Crackle.

Bright flashes of lightning flickered through the gradually darkening waters.

Whoosh.

The strongly swirling currents also seemed to miss the massive vortex, continuing to swirl around, savoring the lingering aftermath.

Of course, this was limited to the thunder and the sea.

= ….

= ….

= ….

The other species who witnessed the phenomenon couldn’t utter a word. To this,

– Wow, look at the quiet chat.

– The aliens have gone silent?

– Queries rose in Earth’s chat, but that was all.

– That’s… probably the same for us.

– Yep, the chat speed has dropped to a quarter, lol.

– It’s understandable. Over half of the viewers are new, and even for those who have seen many spells, this was overwhelming.

– True, haha. I’ve been watching since the early broadcasts, and this one was intense.

– For real, I’m an early viewer too, but this wasn’t easy.

– As expected of Shimun, he’s indeed a monster.

The battle scene was difficult to take in even for longtime viewers, so Earth’s chat wasn’t much different.

Before Shimun, the cause of all this,

『You have slain over 300 players in a single strike.』

『You have acquired the achievement ‘Straight to the Constellations’ has been unlocked.』

『You have received 5,000 achievement points.』

The latest high-kill achievement appeared.

Following that,

『Constellation Zeus and Poseidon clap their hands together, very pleased.』

『Constellation Ra glares at the two constellations with displeased eyes.』

『Constellations Zeus and Poseidon sponsor you with 5,000 achievement points.』

Satisfaction from two constellations added another 5,000 achievement points.

‘So, 10,000 points in total… it’s a profit.’

Transmuting Astrape and Triaina to their maximum and fusing them with Ars Magna had cost 5,000 points.

Earning a total of 10,000 achievement points from it made it well worth the effort.

Additionally,

『The Philosopher’s Stone maximizes the refund.』

『Based on the grade and level of the Philosopher’s Stone, 300 achievement points have been refunded.』

A refund from the Philosopher’s Stone.

Of course, ‘It seems the refund isn’t based on the original exchange value of 500 points each. Well, I did push it beyond the maximum.’

Instead of the 1,000 points used individually on each weapon, it refunded 150 points each, totaling 300 points.

‘Which isn’t a trivial amount.’

300 points are enough to alchemize a standard piece of equipment like one of Hermes’s artifacts.

Shimun nodded in satisfaction.

‘Still, it seems Ra has many complaints.’

He once again noted Ra’s continued dissatisfaction whenever he used constellations-related equipment.

‘Well, I can guess why.’

Having a fair understanding of Ra’s grievances,

‘I should use Ra’s abilities when the opportunity arises.’

Chuckling to himself, Shimun turned his body towards the now darkened deep sea.

*

The deep sea of Azshita.

What should have been pitch-black, devoid of any visibility, was now dimly illuminated by a red, ominous glow seeping up from the seabed like blood.

Therein,

– Here it is.

The robed Naga, leading the way, finally came to a stop. Their arrival was announced by a chillingly beautiful sound,

“Hey, isn’t this a problem?”

But the giant woman following behind couldn’t focus on their destination. For a good reason.

“You saw it too. The entire sea lit up!”

A flash of white light. While it wasn’t particularly long, it wasn’t short either, illuminating even the deep sea of Azshita.

“Well, it did help us find our way… but the magnitude was absurd. It was like divine energy!”

The giant woman’s shoulders trembled slightly, despite her imposing appearance.

Yet, the robed Naga merely stared at her without a word.

“Seriously. How are all the high-ranked people the same? Doesn’t it bother you that your kind might be dead?”

Unappeased, she huffed and touched the air here and there.

Then, “C-crazy!!”

Her eyes widened in shock. The reason was simple.

On her arena board,

1st – Kim Shimun 500 kills.

2nd – ?? 39 kills.

3rd – ??? 14 kills.

4th …….

Even as a promising talent of the Giants, it was a score she had never seen before.

‘So that white light was from that human?!’

Her large eyes quivered. Considering the nature of the competition. In this promotion match, player names and other information were revealed only upon direct encounter.

Since joining with the Nagas, the only player she met, apart from Shirane, was one.

‘Then… Shirane is… dead?’

Even if she was a top-rank mage class player of the Diamond rank and a Naga in an aquatic environment, no matter how much she was weakened by rank-down, few could match her in this promotion match.

Suddenly,

Splash.

Something caught her senses amidst the shock.

“Who’s there!”

The giant woman immediately became defensive, quickly turning to face whoever it was. But only to realize, “It’s you…”

Her wariness disappeared swiftly.

Her supposed-dead ally, “Sh-Shirane?!”

Shirane had returned. Though her four arms and long lower body had two gaping holes, she was still alive.

With significant blood loss, her pale complexion showed limited blood remaining from her wounds.

However, “Cough, cough!”

Even as she coughed up the little blood left, her eyes glowed with life. As if she had found hope in the face of death.

“Danger… barely…”

Shirane struggled to utter words.

“Please…”

She stretched her weakly trembling hand towards the robed Naga. Yet, both Shirane, who trusted she would be saved, and the giant woman were baffled.

– I do not understand, Shirane. Why are you still alive?

The content of the voice was starkly opposite to its enchanting sound. But their shock was only beginning.

“So the map is named after this place. Now it makes sense.”

An astonishingly decadent voice. Kim Shimun had appeared, casually scanning the surroundings.

“Long time no see, Ashaz.”

He waved cheerfully at the robed Naga.

And then,

– Ah, I understand now. It was you who spared her intentionally? Ever astute. I suppose it’s time I greeted you properly.

The robed Naga,

– It is genuinely a pleasure to see you again, my king.

Ashaz bowed to him in respect.

“This is… what’s going on!”

“…..”

The giant woman and Shirane’s jaws dropped in astonishment. In this promotion match, player names and other information were revealed only upon direct encounter.