Everyone Else is a Regressor - Chapter 56

◈ Everyone Else is a Regressor (56)

Chapter 12. I’ll Carry This (1)

“It all started when I deciphered a very old letter hidden inside an old rocket sold by peddlers. It was a miraculous discovery, indeed…….”

At the break of dawn, a party of five members gathered to embark on an expedition.

The lively voice of Treasure Hunter Herbert heated up the morning air.

“At first, I never thought it would be near Turris. As you may know, Turris is so full of mana flow that new dungeons appear frequently. Amidst this, to think that a relic, probably centuries old, was lying dormant… it’s almost beyond imagination, isn’t it?”

“Hey, Lora. Want to try this? It’s chocolate I made myself, really good.”

“Uh? Sorry, I don’t really like sweets…….”

While Herbert was bragging about his discovery, mixing truth and self-praise, Armillca was busy trying to woo Lora, who responded with a lukewarm expression, looking for an excuse to get away, then brightened up upon seeing Kijun and approached him.

“The armor really suits you, Mr. Jun! How dashing……!”

Kijun’s lips slightly curled up, pleased with his secretly craved compliment.

Who could have dreamed of wearing matching black plate armor during the Tutorial?

Back then, the party members, especially those in the Tank role, wore whatever had the highest grade and defense, looking like ragged golems.

But now? Although the Unique grade breastplate part stood out too much, the black gloss of the other parts matched well, and even Kijun had to admit he looked pretty cool.

Incidentally, his helmet was off since it wasn’t a battle situation.

“Thanks. The priest robes suit you too.”

“Do you think so……?”

Lora bashfully lowered her head upon receiving the compliment, looking a bit deflated.

Then, she subtly moved closer to Kijun.

Armillca, who was glaring at Kijun while clenching the chocolate intended for Lora with a crackling sound, looked quite intimidating. Kijun hoped she would leave soon.

“Actually… this is my first time officially participating in a party as a priest. I lack confidence.”

“There’s a first time for everyone.”

“But, being a priest is such an important role…… Ah, not that other roles aren’t important! If I make a mistake, others could be in danger! If something happened to Mr. Jun because of me, I would, uh uh uh…….”

Eventually, Lora, with a disheartened look, muttered, “Maybe it’d be better to find another priest…….” Kijun inwardly clicked his tongue.

He possessed the Legendary grade skill Adamant, including regeneration abilities, and Lucy’s Light Healing Magic was available, so a few mistakes from Lora wouldn’t be fatal.

Kijun thought while feeling a sense of unwarranted guilt for her burden.

“I never fall until I give up on myself.”

“What?”

So, he decided to subtly hint at his sturdiness without revealing too much about his skill.

Looking at Lora, who was staring at him with wide eyes, Kijun emphasized again.

“Don’t worry about making mistakes. Even if healing is a bit late, I can wait.”

“Ah…….”

Finally, Lora’s tension seemed to ease, and a hint of vitality returned to her pale complexion.

“Are you comforting me……?”

“It’s not comfort, just the truth. So don’t feel burdened. Even if it’s late―― just make sure to follow through.”

“……Yes!”

Reinvigorated, Lora clenched her fists in front of her chest, brimming with resolve.

“Mr. Jun says so, and I can’t keep throwing tantrums forever……! I’ll really work hard! I’ll take perfect care of Mr. Jun!”

“That’s what I said, you don’t need to feel burdened…….”

“It’s not a burden, it’s a responsibility! A responsibility I must shoulder!”

It seemed Lora’s respect for Kijun had grown even more.

“Kuh, our cute Lo――ra is being monopolized by the leader alone……!”

This, in turn, seemed to have heightened Armillca’s competitive spirit towards Kijun.

“It’s good to see party members bonding like this.”

Herbert, having finished his self-praise, smirked and joined in, whispering to Kijun so that only he could hear.

“I thought she was a beautiful and pure lady―― if Jun wants to get along with her, I’ll gracefully step back.”

“That’s a misunderstanding. But stepping back is a wise decision. I’ve never seen a love triangle in a party end well.”

Kijun mumbled with a sour expression, recalling past party love troubles during the Tutorial.

Catching that, Herbert blinked in surprise and said.

“Seems like you have quite the party experience.”

“You’re the one who seems experienced.”

Herbert shrugged at Kijun’s gaze.

“Of course, I’ve had my share. But many of them were hardly worthy of being called a party. If you’re in the same party, you should cooperate towards a common goal, right?”

“So you’re looking for a stable party.”

“Exactly. So far, the mood seems pretty good.”

“We’ve just started on our journey.”

“We’re almost there.”

With a grin, Herbert suddenly shouted loudly.

“We’re taking off now!”

It was the prearranged signal.

Immediately sprinting, Herbert was closely followed by Kijun, who looked back to see Armillca carrying Lora and the taciturn In desperately trying to keep up.

Despite carrying Lora, Armillca was running much faster than In, impressing Kijun with his strength. Glancing further back―― he saw a group that had been tailing them from a distance, now openly chasing after them.

Kijun felt conflicted as Herbert’s words about shaking off the hyenas came true, something he hadn’t really expected to happen.

“A fight would only end when one side is completely wiped out, so avoiding them like this is the best option.”

Herbert said, running swiftly without even a hint of disarray in his breathing.

“It’s absurd, isn’t it? Even if they succeeded in killing us and entered the relic instead, those ragtag fools wouldn’t even get past the entrance and would end up frustrated.”

Kijun didn’t respond to Herbert’s cynical remark, and just kept running silently. Armillca, carrying Lora, overtook them and teased Kijun.

“Ha―― I thought having Turris’s hero with us would prevent such situations, but it seems your reputation isn’t as big as I thought, leader――!”

“Those people probably followed me from another city.”

“Is that so? You’ve got a tail, Herbert.”

“I wouldn’t say it myself, but my reputation is indeed significant.”

Armillca and Herbert exchanged sharp-witted banter, their interaction strangely fitting.

In, lagging behind, grunted and joined in.

“Isn’t it done now, Shadow Stalker?”

“Indeed. Got it!”

Herbert nodded and immediately threw something behind him.

The objects, splitting into several pieces in mid-air, exploded, creating an enormous cloud of mist which a strong wind conveniently spread, shrouding the area.

“Outrageous.”

“Quite expensive, but perfect for shaking off pursuers. I always keep it handy.”

With a sly wink, Herbert led the group through the mist and soon stopped in a rocky wasteland, indistinguishable from the surroundings.

He pointed at the disorderly scattered stones, announcing bingo and briefly explained.

“If you look here, you can see the stones form a full moon pattern embedded in the ground.”

“No, I can’t see it.”

“Haha, hard to find without the eye of a pursuer.”

Herbert began preparing to open the relic, pulling out various tools.

Although Kijun couldn’t see the full moon pattern, he sensed something else.

―Legendary grade title [Discoverer of the Hidden Dungeon]’s effect has detected the presence of the relic!

Thanks to the utterly overpowered title effect.

―Preliminary information on the relic is available for preview.

[Fragments of Pabula – Lupus 17 (Unique)]

[A relic where werewolves from the powerful dark civilization ‘Bricolakas (βρυκόλακας)’, forced into their ranks, fled and found refuge. Within the relic, factions among the werewolves formed, including those wanting to return to human form, those seeking revenge on Bricolakas, those aspiring to evolve their species, and those who lost their sanity over the ages, becoming mere beasts.]

[The relic is strengthened by special minerals inside that contain the moon’s energy. These can be destroyed or hidden to weaken it. Numerous Unique grade enemies and a Legendary grade enemy exist within.]

[Bricolakas, meaning ‘werewolf’ in Slavic, are hostile towards all vampires, especially the ‘Kudlak’ civilization.]

It was a strange coincidence that the relic Kijun found while preparing against vampires was a werewolf relic.

―There’s a Legendary grade enemy? It’s been a while since I’ve felt this excited.

‘I’m always counting on you, Lucy.’

―Kihi?

‘You too, Ur.’

Though Unique grade enemies were manageable, a Legendary grade enemy was at least two ranks higher than Kijun’s current racial grade.

But Kijun, having intensively trained under Bice and developed several Legendary grade skills, wouldn’t be easily defeated.

Especially considering the titles ‘The Last Hero’, ‘Discoverer of the Hidden Dungeon’, and ‘Transcender of Limits’ would all activate in this ‘relic’ against ‘Legendary’ grade ‘werewolves’.

“Ready! Jun? Why are you just standing there?”

“Ah.”

Had Herbert finished his work while Kijun was lost in thought? A splendid altar had appeared where there had been only a pile of rocks.

“Let’s enter before the mist clears! Everyone, come up!”

Herbert called everyone onto the circular altar and spoke seriously.

“Before we enter, understand this: we’re offering ourselves as sacrifices to enter a pocket dimension. We can’t return until we die as sacrifices or destroy the core of the relic. Is everyone prepared?”

“Of course.”

“Heh, let’s see who ends up being the sacrifice. This will be fun.”

“I’m…ready!”

“Let’s go.”

With In’s grave voice, the altar lit up.

Kijun thought it resembled a teleport gate, and indeed, it was.

―Entering the Fragment of Pabula (U).

―Upon entering the relic, the [Discoverer of the Hidden Dungeon (L)] title effect activates. All stats and skill effects increase by 20%.

In the blink of an eye, they found themselves on a hill under a bright moon.

“This is… even larger than I expected. The exploration will be quite lengthy.”

“It’s almost like a whole country, not just a relic!”

“Not a country, but it could be a city.”

Even the typically stoic In looked around surprised, indicating such relics were rare.

Amidst this, Kijun noticed his armor clinking and turned to see Lora, seemingly anxious upon entering the relic, instinctively grasping his armor.

Right, this girl had no real combat experience…

“Don’t worry. You won’t die.”

“Mr. Jun mustn’t die either……!”

Lora seemed even more frightened by Kijun’s attempt at reassurance.

This is why calming kids down is so hard.

―Should’ve avoided that strange tone from the start.

‘I regret it too. Should’ve just been a kind, neighborly Flame Human…’

―Speaking of a kind neighbor… The Contractor still doesn’t understand the essence of the problem, huh.

‘What’s with you too, Lucy? Want some brown sugar?’

―I’m still upset, not telling!

For some reason, even Lucy was sulking.

Sighing, Kijun pondered how to resolve the situation.

As always, there was only one answer.

“Listen.”

Kijun addressed his tense party members who had just entered the relic.

“Let’s start with a meal.”