Genius Regressor Makes Mythic Items

Flash.

With the summoning light, two men appeared in the vacant space.

“It’s been a while.”

And one of them, the middle-aged man with a cold demeanor, Zhang Liqiu spoke in a flat tone, initiated the greeting.

“Yes, it has been a while.”

The refreshing young man, Kim Shihyuk, nodded slightly in response.

“Even before the preliminary arena, we weren’t a match…”

Zhang Liqiu continued in the same flat voice. However, his cold demeanor had shifted slightly. Specifically, his typically emotionless eyes and mouth now held a slight curve.

Already having clashed with Zhang Liqiu several times before the regular arena, Kim Shihyuk picked up on what Zhang Liqiu was hinting at.

“Yes, indeed. Well, it couldn’t be helped. The Galaxy Arena is quite impartial, isn’t it?”

Maintaining his trademark refreshing smile, “It’s only natural that we’re no longer evenly matched.”

He pretended not to notice while subtly jabbing back.

However, “True.”

Zhang Liqiu had also dealt with Kim Shihyuk enough times.

“There was already a gap before the preliminary arena. The number of special arenas you were part of made a difference.”

He countered Kim Shihyuk’s attack but stopped there.

“Yes. Moreover, the gap widened with the growth buffs from then till now, hasn’t it? Oh, right.”

Kim Shihyuk mentioned the notorious growth buffs from the World Tree.

“Continental only had Seo Wiryong who used the growth buffs, didn’t they? My mistake.”

Referring to the issue that had led to frequent clashes with the Continental, he grinned, his trademark refreshing smile adorned his face.

“Apologies. I’ve been busy fighting arenas with other species.”

The effect seemed quite significant.

“…….”

Zhang Liqiu remained silent, but a slight twitch in his eyes was noticeable.

『The second match of the finals is starting.』

『The location is ‘The Proving Battleground’.』

A message appeared between them as the vacant space transformed.

A colossal circular arena akin to a grand park.

At its center, “Let’s see how much that growth buff matters. I’m very curious.”

Zhang Liqiu muttered in a slightly lowered voice.

Taking this as a signal, a sound like a gunshot rang out.

Bang!

With the blink of an eye, Zhang Liqiu had produced a unique spear and launched an attack.

Or rather, he had shot it.

Swish!

The yellow energy burst through the air, Kim Shihyuk naturally drew his sword from his waist.

Sshaak.

The speed at which he unsheathed his sword was slow enough for a child to see.

But somehow, the rippling yellow energy seemed to move sluggishly, like a stone skipping on water.

Oooo…

Then, Like the wind brushing past, Kim Shihyuk’s sword gently sliced through the yellow energy.

Sshhk.

Remarkably,

Shrrk.

As if it had always been two, the yellow energy split evenly in two, missing Kim Shihyuk.

Immediately, a powerful explosion resounded behind him.

Bang!

Yet, this seemed to be the expected outcome.

Neither Kim Shihyuk, who had cut through it, nor Zhang Liqiu, who had shot it, showed any reaction.

As the explosion subsided, “Well, I didn’t expect a different result.”

Zhang Liqiu spoke with a slight curve at the corners of his lips.

Kim Shihyuk shrugged.

“It wasn’t much, honestly. I thought you’d bring something more intimidating today.”

His tone carried light sarcasm.

“We’re just getting started.”

Zhang Liqiu replied, as his spear gleamed with intense energy once more.

“Perfect. Let’s make this interesting, shall we?”

Kim Shihyuk assumed his battle stance, his eyes locked onto Zhang Liqiu. The stage was set for their fierce confrontation.

“Damn.”

Kim Shihyuk let out a chuckle as he sheathed his sword.

“Starting off with the Golden Dragon Cannon. Your patterns have changed quite a bit.”

Mentioning the Golden Dragon Cannon (黃龍砲), one of Zhang Liqiu’s main techniques.

“You’ve improved. The range of that damned domain has expanded.”

Zhang Liqiu also mentioned the aspect that had slowed down his Golden Dragon Cannon earlier.

“Ha! Really?”

Kim Shihyuk laughed cheerfully.

“In any case, it’s good you’re not sticking to that foolish idea of defeating me with just basic skills like last time.”

With a stronger smile, he gripped his sword tighter.

Even such open provocation, didn’t seem to shake Zhang Liqiu.

“Ha. You’re just a person, too. I can’t keep facing you at the same level forever.”

Instead, he lifted his previously still mouth slightly.

“Aha? I hope that applies to you as well.”

At the end of Kim Shihyuk’s words, his figure blurred while holding his sword.

Swish.

It was only a brief moment, but Zhang Liqiu, who seemed to foresee the next moment, unswervingly thrust his spear.

Clang!

Then, a ringing noise echoed painfully in the ears.

Kim Shihyuk’s sword met Zhang Liqiu’s spearhead right in front of him.

Just like the blink spell, a high-level spatial magic, it was the extreme movement technique used by rankers, shifting Position (移形換位).

However, “Hmph. Predictable.”

Even against such a high-level technique, Zhang Liqiu merely scoffed.

“Predictable, huh?”

Kim Shihyuk gave a mysterious smile and nodded his chin.

At that, “What…”

Zhang Liqiu tilted his head, only to feel a warm liquid trickling from his cheek.

“……”

His face froze silently.

“Did you forget what kind of aura my sword possesses after all this time? You’ve been hit enough times to remember… shouldn’t you?”

Kim Shihyuk’s voice, though very gentle, held naked mockery, which wasn’t lost on Zhang Liqiu.

“Damn it!”

Finally, Zhang Liqiu roared.

With that, A powerful energy wave erupted.

Boom!

Kim Shihyuk stepped back lightly, his footwork deft.

“Dare you!”

And before him, Zhang Liqiu appeared in a flash, closing the distance with Shifting Position, just like Kim Shihyuk earlier.

“Scarlet Blood Spear Barrage!”

Unleashing consecutive strikes with his spear enveloped in yellow energy. The speed at which he thrust was like a machine gun, and the rapid strikes rained down.

Thud-thud-thud-thud!

However, “Too hasty~.”

Clang-clang-clang!

Despite his casual tone, Kim Shihyuk parried every strike with the same unimaginable speed, leaving no afterimages.

Whack!

Of course, with spear and sword, the inherent length difference of the weapons meant, Zhang Liqiu slightly pushed Kim Shihyuk back with his initial advantage.

But that’s all there was to it.

Though Kim Shihyuk was being driven back, It was Zhang Liqiu, who was pressing the attack, whose face darkened more.

‘Damn brat!’

The reason was simple.

‘While Scarlet Blood Spear Barrage doesn’t belong to my advanced techniques, he defends without any special skills?’

Scarlet Blood Spear Barrage.

A formidable series of thrusts intended to maul the opponent. While it wasn’t an advanced technique in Zhang Liqiu’s spear art, it was still powerful enough to be a mainstay among other rankers.

Yet the young brat in front of him, unlike the last time they clashed, was defending without using any special techniques?

This meant, ‘Has he truly surpassed my specifications?’

Kim Shihyuk’s growth had surpassed his own.

Then.

A thought crossed his mind. Even when dealing with the previous old monster, it hadn’t been this difficult. But recently, there was one particular situation that had been troubling him.

‘The growth buffs… it must be because of that damned thing.’

The Shimdrasil guild’s growth buffs. The only difference between him and Kim Shihyuk, who had been evenly matched up until recently, was that cursed and monstrous growth buff.

The irritation was involuntarily rising, but, Zhang Liqiu quickly regained control of his emotions.

‘Hmph. It doesn’t matter.’

The reason was simple.

‘I haven’t revealed all my cards either.’

Just as Kim Shihyuk wasn’t using any special techniques, he too had refrained from using his advanced skills and the ‘new power’ he had recently acquired.

‘I wanted to test how much you’ve grown, but no more.’

That this young brat had surpassed him in raw stats was clear. However, ‘At this level, specs aren’t determined just by mere levels.’

For rankers, what mattered was not just high levels and stats but, ‘the kind of power’ one wielded.

And he had such a power, didn’t he?

While continuing his assault, ‘I offer appropriate sacrifices to the divine general of the celestial realm…’

Zhang Liqiu poured his aura into the bracelet made of scale fragments on his left wrist.

Then, “Appear. Bestow upon me your spear.”

With his murmured words, Something unseen drove itself into the space between them.

Krrrrk!

“What the…!”

Before Kim Shihyuk could comprehend it, “Kim Shihyuk, I will show you the true gap between us.”

As Zhang Liqiu grasped the descending object, the entire area erupted into flames.

Fwooooosh!

*

『Aah! The surroundings are in flames! You can’t see an inch ahead!』

『The heat is immense! I’ve seen countless matches, but I’ve never witnessed a flame attack like this!』

The KNA’s two commentators, Choi Kangyup and Song Jaekyung, exclaimed in shock.

They weren’t the only ones.

-Wow… what the hell just happened?

-Isn’t he a pure fighter? Is that some kind of magic?

-At that level, even basic attacks look like magic.

-Even so, this looks like actual magic.

In the finals to choose Asia’s representative,

viewers were also left speechless by the flames engulfing the Proving Battleground.

As the flames filling the screen began to subside,

『Aah!』

『This… this is!』

Cries of dismay escaped Choi Kangyup and Song Jaekyung.

It was understandable.

Through the shimmering heat waves,

“Cough, cough!”

Kim Shihyuk was seen with a flaming spear piercing his chest, and Zhang Liqiu smiled with satisfaction.

“Understand now?”

“This is the gap between you and me.”

“Constellation…”

Kim Shihyuk uttered with difficulty.

But Zhang Liqiu understood perfectly.

“A Constellation’s power is also a skill. A ranker like you should know best.”

He smirked, “A player isn’t defined solely by level. Remember that.”

With those words, Kim Shihyuk’s entire body, impaled by the spear, was engulfed in flames.

Fwoosh!

Above the two men,

『The ranker match of the finals has ended.』

『The winner is China.』

The message announcing the end of the match appeared.

Naturally,

『Ah… the second match ends this way!』

『In this long-standing rivalry, Zhang Liqiu takes the victory!』

The disappointment in the voices of the two commentators was evident.

-What!? Kim Shihyuk lost?!

-Does this even make sense?

-Why wouldn’t it? They’ve always been rivals.

-Kim Shihyuk had the growth buffs and improved a lot.

-Yeah, there hasn’t been a ranker showing such performance since the preliminary arena.

-Even other species were impressed by his strength…

The chat was in an uproar.

-It’s still the weapon’s advantage. Kim Shihyuk was dominating before.

-True, he blocked all the Blood Chain Barrage without any technique.

-But the Blood Chain Barrage isn’t even a primary technique in the Spear King’s arsenal.

-Weapon skills are also skills. Why can’t you guys acknowledge that?

-Are you two trolling, or do you genuinely believe that?

-They’re just pretending. Can’t you tell?

The defeat sparked chaos in the chatroom.

Perhaps influenced by the chat,

『However, the match isn’t over yet, is it?』

『Exactly! With Korea winning the first match, the score is 1 to 1, which means it’s tied!』

『This makes the next match incredibly important!』

『Let’s hope we win…』

Choi Kangyup and Song Jaekyung, speaking in higher and faster tones, tried to shift the focus to the next match.

Though the broadcast discussed him constantly,

“……”

Shimun watched the screen with a somewhat dark expression.

The reason wasn’t anything but, ‘The Flaming Spear of Nezha…’

Zhang Liqiu’s flame lance, which turned the tide in an instant, was none other than the mythic weapon of the heavenly Constellation Nezha.

‘That wasn’t the weapon Zhang Liqiu used in his past life. How?’

It wasn’t the mythic weapon Zhang Liqiu wielded in his past life. Shimun’s eyes deepened as he stared at the screen.

“It seems like that bracelet was the cause…”

Just before the tide turned against his brother Kim Shihyuk, a subtle aura had appeared around Zhang Liqiu’s wrist.

Then the Flaming Spear of Nezha had descended from the sky.

And, ‘It was definitely Dragon Force.’

Though he had only seen it on the screen, Shimun was certain that the aura around the bracelet was Dragon Force.

Given it was so fleeting, only ranker-level individuals or those sensitive to Dragon Force like himself could have noticed.

‘Typically, to wield a mythic weapon, one must have a deep connection with the corresponding Constellation…’

Or offer an equivalent sacrifice.

Considering this, ‘Zhang Liqiu didn’t have a Constellation but used the bracelet containing Dragon Force to summon the Flaming Spear.’

It was clearly the latter case with Zhang Liqiu.

The reason was simple.

‘Someone like Zhang Liqiu wouldn’t settle for Nezha.’

Although Nezha is a high-ranked Constellation with notable power in the celestial realm, considering Zhang Liqiu’s personality and his previous life’s affiliation, he would never be satisfied with Nezha.

Feeling his thoughts getting tangled, “Hoo. Well, I can’t discern everything just by looking at the screen.”

Taking a deep breath to clear his mind, Shimun’s eyes, upon reopening, were as serene as usual.

“Whoever my opponent is, they won’t come unprepared. I’ll find out by facing them myself.”

His eyes were calm, as always, with a hint of mischief.

“And maybe after it’s all over, I’ll tease Shihyuk a bit.”

Before him,

『The final match is ‘Diamond Rank’.』

『The representatives for each country will be summoned.』

A series of messages appeared.

With that, The summoning light enveloped Shimun.

Flash.

TL’s Corner:
Well Shihyuk lost, some of you might have anticipated it already. But it still sucks.
Let the final match, begin!!!