Genius Regressor Makes Mythic Items

“It was the same during Mujin’s time. Even when that nasty guy was the head of the family, the Kim clan wasn’t this terrifying.”

It was as if he was familiar with the Kim family.

“It started with you. The Kim family became fearsome because of you.”

Song Ilchun brazenly mentioned the Kim family, breaking an unspoken rule before Kim Muyeol.

“That nasty guy at least had a good successor. He was blessed with children.”

In response.

“……”

There was a brief silence.

“He died at the hands of his child. Do you call that a blessing?”

Kim Muyeol’s voice was sharp enough to cut. It was so cold it was chilling.

“Haha, you really ask the strangest things.”

Song Ilchun replied without blinking an eye.

“No, isn’t it a death that proved his exceptional child surpassed him?”

He was as chilling as Kim Muyeol. The only difference was.

“Is there a more honorable death for an incapable head of the family? Even if he had lived longer…”

Unlike Kim Muyeol’s icy demeanor, Song Ilchun’s manner was rough, even ferocious.

“Wouldn’t he only have proved his incompetence and been forced to step down? You performed true filial duty.”

A child killing a parent. Song Ilchun audaciously referred to such a parricide as filial duty.

Just a few minutes ago, the old man, which had been talking seriously and kindly with Shimun, now seemed a different person altogether.

As if Kim Muyeol was used to this version of Song Ilchun, “Your temperament hasn’t changed one bit.”

Kim Muyeol responded dryly.

“Khahahaha!”

The old man burst into a wild laugh matching his demeanor.

“And to clarify,”

cutting through Song Ilchun’s laughter,

“That guy is not my son.”

Kim Muyeol spoke in a flat voice.

“What? Not your son?”

Song Ilchun’s eyes widened as he laughed heartily.

“At that age, having such broad insight and being unusually cold-hearted, he seemed just like you in your youth.”

After a moment of pursing his lips, Kim Muyeol replied.

“… He’s my nephew. You should know that.”

He answered in a slightly irritated voice.

“Nephew…”

Song Ilchun trailed off,

“If I misunderstood, I apologize, but my information on the Kim family is a decade old.”

His voice was anything but apologetic. It wasn’t surprising.

“With Mujin gone, further investigation would be a waste of resources, wouldn’t it?”

Kim Mujin, one of the greatest players of the first generation. After his death, the Kim family was no longer what it once was. Naturally, from the standpoint of the continent, there was no need to keep an eye on them anymore.

Other major factions would have considered the same.

“Still, it’s surprising.”

Song Ilchun’s wrinkled eyes gleamed with curiosity.

“I never thought Mujin’s son would be so cold-hearted.”

“The idea that children will always resemble their parents is an outdated notion.”

“Haha, telling such things to a man of the past, what meaning does it hold?”

Song Ilchun lightly clicked his tongue at Kim Muyeol’s retort.

Then.

“You must have noticed too? When we were discussing the power earlier.”

With his hands behind his back, “He could have considered eliminating this old man’s power and forming an alliance. Yet, he did not choose that path.”

He looked at the closed drawing room door.

“Instead of controlling me by releasing these shackles, he realized it was more advantageous to wield me bound like this.”

“You came to release the shackles, but the owner of the shackles changed. It suits him.”

At Kim Muyeol’s cold sarcasm, Song Ilchun let out a soft laugh.

“Haha! Exactly. He probably doesn’t trust me, thus he is extremely rational and pragmatic. Frighteningly so.”

“So I thought he was your son rather than Mujin’s. But he isn’t?”

“……”

“It’s not my place to say, but your family always manages to surprise me.”

Was he serious?

Shaking his head, Song Ilchun continued. Having remained silent for a while, Kim Muyeol finally spoke.

“… Indeed.”

His voice was tinged with an unknown emotion. And so, silence fell upon the drawing room. As they each fell deep into thought, a notification appeared before them.

『NO. 274 The Earth Regular Arena is starting.』

***

A notice about the Regular Arena.

Following that,

『As previously notified. The ‘Continental Representative Battle’ begins in preparation for future arenas.』

『The ‘Continental Representative Battle’ serves as a preliminary arena for the upcoming ‘Interdimensional Competition’.』

『From now on, Earth NO. 274 will be divided into five continents.』

『The Republic of Korea belongs to the ‘Asia’ continent among these five continents.』

The message announcing the beginning of the Continental qualifiers continues.

Into Shimun’s ear, “It’s just as Shimun-nim said.”

A deep voice was heard. A man with a stern appearance.

“This concept of Continental qualifiers… I’ve never heard of such a thing in my life.”

It was Night Hunter Park Jinwook. However, Shimun could not immediately respond.

『Player Kim Shimun has been selected as a participant in the ‘Continental Representative Battle’.』

『He is chosen as the Diamond Rank representative for the Republic of Korea.』

Because of the message that announced Shimun as a participant in the Continental Representative Battle. And it wasn’t just Shimun who saw this message.

“What?”

“Huh?”

“Really, I got selected as a ranker representative?”

“I-I got selected as the platinum representative!”

As Shimun had predicted, Kim Shihyuk and Go Malsuk, who were sitting on the living room sofa, were also designated as participants in the Continental Representative Battle.

They had heard Shimun’s prediction that their selection probability was high.

“Hyung! It’s just like you said!”

“Hey! Did you get some fortune-telling ability or something?”

The two approached with undisguised surprise. This included the three men and women gathered in the living room.

“Hey, Kim Shihyuk. You really got picked?”

“Malsuk, congratulations!”

“…This is surprising.”

Park Jinwook, Lee Yujeong, and the newly joined Olivia shared the sentiment.

Especially.

‘How on earth… did he know we would be designated as participant representatives?’

Having just joined the Shimdrasil guild, Olivia, who wasn’t yet accustomed to Kim Shimun, couldn’t hide her astonishment.

Olivia’s question was asked by Kim Shihyuk.

“But, hyung. How did you know Malsuk and I would be picked as representatives?”

Everyone, sharing the same curiosity, looked at Shimun questioningly.

“I gathered some information while doing arenas. Based on that, I roughly predicted it.”

Shimun answered nonchalantly. But none of the group believed him. Only.

“Well, the arenas you do are all high-difficulty ones.”

“You also participate in a lot of special arenas.”

“You even did the main arena recently.”

Whenever Shimun spoke like this, It meant he didn’t want to reveal the actual facts.

So, they just nodded.

Then.

“Hey. So, do you even know how the Continental Representative Battle will proceed?”

Go Malsuk, who had her arms crossed, asked.

Naturally, “Yeah.”

Shimun nodded.

“The procedure itself isn’t much different from the National Competition.”

“So, you mean it’s a best-two-out-of-three tournament format where you just fight and win?”

“Yes, from the preliminaries to the finals, the winner keeps advancing. The difference this time is that it’s 1-on-1. And…”

He trailed off for a moment,

“Considering there are only two nations unaffected by the recent assassinations, it’s fair to say the winning country is already decided.”

He said with a slightly bitter face. Nodding slowly, Go Malsuk agreed.

“We and the Continental, right?”

“Yes.”

Publicly, Korea is the only country that hasn’t suffered from the assassinations. But that’s just the Continental’s smokescreen.

“Even the Continental was affected by the assassinations, but those who died weren’t suitable to be selected as representatives.”

Take Gang Hwa-wi, for instance. Before being abandoned by Zhang Ryu-cho, the most outstanding aspiring talent of the Continental wasn’t him, but Seo Wiryong.

Thus, “The Asia battle in this Continental Representative Battle will be between Korea and China.”

In Asia, Among the countries participating in the current Continental Representative Battle, only Korea and China have remained with their full power intact.

Perhaps this realization ignited a fire?

“Alright!”

Go Malsuk suddenly stood up and clenched a fist.

“We’ve suffered a lot from those darn Continental bastards. Finally, we can pay them back!”

“I agree. I’m still annoyed by that dimensional isolation experience.”

Kim Shihyuk nodded in agreement.

“I’m annoyed too. And Kim Shihyuk, remember, you’re representing in my place, so don’t lose, alright?”

Lee Yujeong added.

Naturally.

“That’s funny. You got worse arena scores than me, so I got picked instead. What do you mean by ‘in your place’?”

Kim Shihyuk immediately shot back at Lee Yujeong’s comment. Fortunately, it didn’t escalate into their usual fierce fight.

“Enough! Yujeong, help me with sparring. Use recovery magic immediately if I get hurt.”

It seemed his competitive spirit was burning high. Go Malsuk, determined to intervene before Lee Yujeong could retort, stepped in.

While Yujeong bared her teeth slightly at Kim Shihyuk, that was the extent of it.

“Alright. Shall we go now?”

She left with Go Malsuk.

“Senior.”

“Yeah. Need my help too?”

Kim Shihyuk called out to Park Jinwook.

“… Sigh. No. Your help won’t be of much use.”

He sighed immediately. At that, “What the heck?! I’m Park Jinwook! The Night Hunter!”

Park Jinwook erupted in frustration.

Amidst the two men’s bickering, “If it’s not too much trouble, may I assist as well?”

A composed voice interjected. It was Olivia.

“Even though I’m in the Diamond rank, being a mage, I can be a decent practice partner if paired with Jinwook.”

“I’d be grateful, Olivia. With you joining, even this weak senior might be of use.”

“You brat! You, come to the training ground right now!”

Thus, Kim Shihyuk, Jinwook, and Olivia left the room as well.

A serene silence settled over the spacious living room.

“Alright!”

Stretching, Shimun stood up.

“Then, I should make some preparations too.”

He headed to his research lab.

*

『The ‘Asia Division’ of the Continental Representative Battle is starting.』

A notice appeared in the air.

With it,

『Ah! The Continental Representative Battle finally begins! Dear viewers!』

『Oh! I couldn’t sleep at all after seeing yesterday’s notice.』

『Haha! Same here. I’m sure the viewers have been eagerly waiting too!』

The ‘National Representative Arena,’ the largest arena broadcast in Korea.

Choi Kangyup, the main MC, and the commentator Song Jaekyung started their banter.

No wonder.

『Continental Representative Battle! Just hearing it makes my heart race, doesn’t it?』

『That’s right! It’s a place where nations represent their respective continents.』

Unlike the National Competition, it was a place to select the number one country in Asia.

『That’s exactly right. Look at these chat messages.』

-Finally, it’s starting!

-Waited so long, I thought I’d suffocate.

-I couldn’t sleep either. Analyzing opponent strategies lol

-What for? Like you’re participating. Haha.

-Doesn’t matter! Order some chicken!

The live chat was bustling.

『Although the Interdimensional Competition is coming, the immediate focus is on this Continental Representative Battle.』

『True. It’s essentially about determining the best country in Asia!』

Even for the two commentators, the broadcast position and script aside, they couldn’t help but feel elevated emotions.

At that moment,

『Unfortunately, some unfortunate events occurred recently.』

-Gasp!

-Why bring that up suddenly?

-That incident, wow…

-As expected from Song Jaekyung!

-Random bomb drop lol

Commentator Song Jaekyung mentioned the recent assassinations of Asian promising stars.

『Yes! Nevertheless, it’s been resolved! Oh! As we speak!』

MC Choi Kangyup quickly amped up the tension, cutting off Song Jaekyung’s remark.

『The players are being summoned to the arena! They’re facing Japan in the preliminaries, right?』

He skillfully redirected the flow.

-Wow! As expected from Choi Kangyup

-National MC Class remains unshaken.

-Ultimate dodge maneuver! lol

-Choi Kangyup wins!

Fortunately, the redirection worked well.

『That’s right. In a way, it’s like a Korea-Japan match.』

『Korea-Japan matches have a long history! We hope our representatives will win!』

Both the presenters’ and viewers’ attention focused on the preliminary match.

『The preliminary match participants are Korea and Japan.』

『The order is random.』

With the notice announcing the start of the preliminaries, A roulette sound reminiscent of spinning a random box was heard.

Roll.

Soon,

『The first match is a ‘Diamond Rank’ match.』

『The diamond rank representatives from each country will be summoned.』

Flash!

Two summoning lights glowed in the void.

“As expected….”

A handsome young boy in a neat school uniform appeared from the summoning light.

“I knew you would represent your country.”

Yuto greeted with a smile.

“Likewise, Yuto.”

Shimun, also summoned, responded with a smile.

『The preliminary match is starting.』

『The venue is ‘Greyrock Arena’.』

With the message appearing between them,

Swoosh!

The void transformed.