Genius Regressor Makes Mythic Items

Chapter 14

TL: xLordFifth
ED/PR: The reader

Galaxy Agora (2)

Sssk.

The distinct refreshing sound of carbonation filled the air.

“Please, have some.”

Lee Yujeong presented the can with a gesture.

Kim Shimun felt a profound sense of dissonance at this.

And naturally so.

After all, she was the only daughter of the prestigious Holy Trinity family.

It was somehow disconcerting to see someone who seemed completely out of place with a carbonated drink, offering one so casually.

Yet, what caused an even greater dissonance was,

‘These hands.’

Hands that perfectly fit the description of dainty and delicate.

Hands that could rival those of any celebrity without lacking in any aspect.

However, the last time Kim Shimun saw Yujeong’s hands, they weren’t holding a can of soda but were drenched in blood, clutching a hammer.

And with that hammer,

‘She smashed in the head of Chairman Lee Suncheol.’

It wasn’t just Lee Suncheol.

The heads of several high-ranking officials enjoying the banquet together had all been blown off.

It could be seen as the beginning of South Korea’s downfall.

What was even more shocking,

At that time, Yujeong was live streaming the entire scene through a personal broadcast.

The shock from then still vividly lingered in his mind.

‘Why did she do that?’

Yujeong, who brutally smashed the heads of high-ranking officials begging silently for their lives, her actions were entirely inconsistent with the Yujeong he knew.

Why, exactly…

“It’s strange.”

To Kim Shimun staring intensely at the can with a serious expression,

“You used to enjoy soda so much, orabeoni. Has your taste changed?”

Yujeong asks with a gentle smile, lightly shaking the can in her hand.

At that, Kim Shimun startles, hastily lifting his head.

“Ah! Sorry. I was lost in my thoughts for a moment…”

“Hehe, you’ve always been like this, orabeoni. Once you focus on something, you become oblivious to your surroundings.”

“Did I do that?”

“Yes. Thanks to you, I’ve learned about the charm of a man engrossed in his thoughts.”

Yujeong smiles serenely, to which Kim Shimun responds with a smile as well.

Of course,

“Yujeong, you haven’t changed either.”

There was a trace of bitterness in his smile, however.

“Hm? Are you imitating me?”

“Really.”

The once so pessimistic self from his past life.

Even after the decline of South Korea, he managed to let go of those pessimistic feelings and even mended the estranged relationship with his younger brother, Kim Shihyuk.

‘But Yujeong was not there at that place.’

The serene young woman before him, he couldn’t do the same with Yujeong, another junior of his.

“Again.”

Feeling a cold sensation on his cheek,

“Ah! Cold!”

Kim Shimun flinched, rapidly pulling his face back.

Without him noticing, Yujeong had pressed the soda can against his cheek.

“orabeoni, are you constantly going to be lost in thought when you’re with someone?”

“…Sorry.”

“Hehe. There’s no need to apologize.”

Yujeong beams a smile.

Then,

“Miss.”

A woman dressed in a white shirt and an H-line skirt approached Yujeong.

“Here are the deposit details.”

“Thank you.”

Yujeong frowns slightly as she receives the details on her player watch.

“Dayoung unnie? This seems a bit different from what I was expecting?”

“That’s correct, Miss.”

The woman asserts.

Yujeong looks at her silently for a moment, displeasure evident on her face, then closes her eyes,

“Alright. Thank you for your hard work.”

She quickly presents a hologram in front of Kim Shimun.

It displays [50,000,000 won].

“This is the settlement for the [Hobgoblin’s Battle Axe] you sold.”

“50 million? That seems a bit more than the original price?”

“One of our staff made a big mistake with your item, orabeoni. Consider this a sort of consolation… Ah, it’s too little, right? But they did say they tried their best.”

Not content with the situation,

Yujeong biting her lower lip, glanced towards the woman named Dayoung.

Kim Shimun senses it immediately.

‘She’s angry.’

Quite severely so.

Though it’s been over ten years, Yujeong in such a state was something not even her grandfather, Lee Suncheol, could handle.

Normally, her gentle demeanor matched her innocent looks, but once angry, she was known to be relentless.

“I would have liked to give you more… Is there a problem?”

“Yujeong. It’s okay.”

Kim Shimun hastily gestures with his hand.

“Even though you’re a direct inheritor of the Holy Trinity family, personal and business matters should be clearly distinguished.”

“…You really haven’t changed, orabeoni.”

Did he say something wrong?

The biting of her lip intensified.

Then,

“At least that’s a relief.”

The anger that even Lee Suncheol couldn’t dampen melted into a sorrowful smile.

“It’s because you haven’t changed, that I can even share a conversation with you, orabeoni.”

Yujeong looked at Kim Shimun with that sorrowful smile.

Naturally, Kim Shimun thought,

‘What’s with her all of a sudden. ’I couldn’t help but be surprised. Although it had been over a decade since we last met, we had grown up together like childhood friends. So, I thought I knew Yujeong pretty well.

‘But then again, quite a bit of time has passed since then, so maybe it’s not so strange?’ Just as the girl I knew had grown into a mature woman, it was only natural that the Yujeong he remembered would be different. Perhaps sensing Kim Shimun’s bewilderment, Yujeong’s once melancholy smile brightened again.

“Oh dear, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make such a spectacle of myself.”

“No, it wasn’t anything over the top.” Seizing the opportunity, Kim Shimun quickly changed the subject.

“By the way, you still call me. ‘orabeoni’?”

“Huh? Did I say that?” Yujeong tilted her head in response to Kim Shimun’s question. Then she grinned broadly, as usual.

“I must have gotten used to it, seeing as we’ve used it since we were little. Hmm… I first called you. ‘orabeoni’ when I was 7, right?”

“Was it that young?”

“Yes. You were 11 then. Remember? We played house at our villa with Kim Shihyuk. Don’t you remember?”

“Ah, right.”

Kim Shimun nodded slowly. Back when he was a child, belonging to the Kim family household. He often played with his younger siblings, Kim Shihyuk and Yujeong. They frequently engaged in playing house, a game Yujeong particularly enjoyed, which involved quite realistic toys and props.

“You were peculiarly averse to playing the mother role, always throwing a tantrum about it.”

“When did I ever throw a tantrum? I just preferred being a younger sister… it seemed younger, that’s all.”

“Well, thanks to that, Kim Shihyuk, who was playing the father, was quite pleased. He said it meant he didn’t have to be married to you.”

“…orabeoni.”

“Haha!” Kim Shimun laughed heartily. Yujeong widened her eyes at his laughter, then turned her head slightly.

“Oh, speaking of which.”

Kim Shimun, who had been drinking a soda and not seeing Yujeong’s face, asked, “How is auntie… is she well?”

“Ah… yes.” Yujeong, her gaze meeting Kim Shimun’s, replied with a small smile. That smile had a tinge of bitterness, similar to Kim Shimun’s expression just moments ago.

“She’s not conscious, but she’s okay. I make sure to take care of her regularly.”

“That must be tough on you.”

“Honestly, it’s been hard. Being a senior in my fourth year, things have been busier, you know.”

“Not just because you’re always running to the arena?”

“Hehe! Actually, I’ve been using visits to the hospital as an excuse to go to the arena. I even brought a dedicated device to mom’s hospital room.”

Yujeong scratched her cheek sheepishly under Kim Shimun’s keen observation.

“But orabeoni.”

Then she asked with a cautious look on her face, “This item, you said you got it in the arena, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“So, your body… has it fully recovered?”

Yujeong hesitated to finish her sentence. Wondering if it was a misconception to feel that her reaction resembled the time after Korea’s destruction when he first reunited with Kim Shihyuk? Kim Shimun smiled bitterly for a moment before nodding.

“Yes. My magical disability is completely cured.”

“Really?” Joy returned to Yujeong’s face.

“Yes. I was lucky to recover before being summoned for the tutorial.”

“That’s a relief!”

Then, “Oh. I’m sorry! Was I too dramatic just now?”

Yujeong laughed brightly but then slightly shrank and fiddled with her dress, thinking her voice had been too loud.

Then, “I… I don’t know if I have the right to ask this, but may I know how you recovered?”

Yujeong cautiously continued her question. Kim Shimun fell silent for a moment.

Not because he didn’t want to answer, but because, ‘Saying I recovered because I returned to the past! would sound utterly absurd.’

Even Yujeong, who trusted his words implicitly, would think him a madman upon hearing such a thing. Kim Shimun’s silence was brief.

“It was just good luck. At some point, I began to feel magical power again. Eventually, it led to my complete recovery.”

“I see. That’s really good to hear.”

Yujeong sighed deeply, fixing her gaze on the ground before slowly continuing, “It may sound funny coming from me, but I was genuinely very worried. No matter how much I searched for a cure, magical disability seemed absolutely….”

“Yujeong.”

Kim Shimun shook his head, cutting her off.

“Your concern was enough. So don’t blame yourself.”

He repeated the same words he had once said to Kim Shihyuk in his previous life.

“orabeoni.”

“That incident was an accident, and what I did was only natural.”

“But!”

“Enough.”

Stopping her rebuttal with a firm tone, as if refusing any further discussion, Kim Shimun left Yujeong speechless.

“Let me say this again, that was my choice at the time. Even if I could go back, I wouldn’t change my decision.”

Despite his words, deep down, Kim Shimun mocked himself for his hypocrisy. If he truly had no regrets about that incident, why had he since refrained from responding to the two siblings’ contacts?

External pressures were not absent, of course. Being a child born to an outsider woman, and having become disabled as a player, the Kim family probably wished he would disappear for good this time.

Nonetheless, severing contact with the two siblings he had grown up with was undeniably Kim Shimun’s own choice. Indeed. Even after leaving their family behind, those two consistently kept in touch. Even on the very day of his regression, weren’t Kim Shihyuk and Lee Yujeong’s messages flooding his phone? Despite his lack of responses, they steadfastly continued their attempts to reach out.

“Looking back, it’s quite embarrassing.”

If he had to justify it, it was hard for him at the time to accept the reality of his magical incapacity. It was inevitable.

Who wouldn’t struggle to come to terms with losing a promising future of a magical energystat of 10 in a single accident? At a time when he was expelled from his family and struggling to pull himself together, he had isolated himself from the world, both physically and mentally. Because taking care of himself was hard enough.

“Maybe deep down, I resented them.”

Had it not been for them, would his life have turned out differently? He had been consumed by such thoughts. But now, it was different. He had long since shaken off such foolish thoughts. Even if the same events were to repeat, he knew he would make the same choices. Therefore, he always regretted his attitude at that time, especially towards Yujeong.

Just like the old times when he used to comfort Yujeong, always getting scolded by her parents and tearful.

“If only I had stayed by Yujeong’s side…”

Perhaps she wouldn’t have had to end her life branded as one of the three infamous madwomen, the villainess of betrayal. What really happened to Yujeong?

“No, whatever happened to Yujeong, whatever she did, it doesn’t matter now.”

Lifting his gaze, Kim Shimun locked eyes with the increasingly teary Yujeong.

“We can change it.”

After locking eyes for a while, the one to break the silence was Yujeong.

“I never dreamed that orabeoni would say such things…”

“Yes, orabeoni is someone who would make the same choice even if he went back in time.”

She wiped her misty eyes and said, “But that doesn’t erase what happened. If only we had the strength to defend ourselves then, those things wouldn’t have happened.”

“Yujeong.”

“But if orabeoni is okay, then that’s enough for me.”

Not really, but… Yujeong bit back the rest of her words and stood up from the bench.

“By the way, you haven’t been in the Arena for long, right?”

“Huh? Ah! Yeah, it’s not been long. I haven’t even finished my placement test.”

“Is that so?”

Yujeong’s eyebrows raised slightly. She pointed to the Player Watch that indicated a transfer was complete.

“But you received all that in cash. Have you joined a guild?” “No, I haven’t.” “Then you must need a lot of AP, right?”

For a newbie just entering the Arena, gearing up is the most troubling part. Initial equipment might not be expensive, but without guild membership or personal expenses to afford even basic weapons since the placement tests don’t provide AP.

Of course, “I’m okay with AP. I’m not in a rush for equipment.”

The story doesn’t apply to Kim Shimun, who uses mythic-grade equipment he crafts himself.

“You’re not in a hurry for equipment? Aren’t you a magic user?” “Right. My profession is an alchemist.”

“An alchemist! That makes sense.”

Yujeong nodded in understanding. Being a magic user but closer to a producer, alchemists don’t require as much AP initially since the ingredients they need can be bought cheaply with cash.

“So, are you going to buy alchemy ingredients with that money?”

“Yeah. I was lucky to get a few recipes.”

The repeated mention of ‘luck’.

Although it might raise suspicion, “That’s great!”

Yujeong showed no doubt.

“I needed some ingredients myself.”

“Ingredients?”

Kim Shimun was puzzled.

“You’re a combat class. What do you need ingredients for?”

“Hey, do combat classes only blindly swing weapons? We make our own potions to help with training.”

“Is that so?”

It still seemed to him more efficient to request such items from an alchemist or other production classes, especially since Yujeong was the powerful only daughter of the Sung family and a non-ranked elite.

If she wished, she could have all sorts of the potions at her disposal.

Then, “Oh dear!”

Kim Shimun’s train of thought abruptly stopped. Yujeong clung to his left arm.

“I don’t have much time. I have to visit my mom in the hospital soon.”

Before her simple-minded orabeoni could continue his train of thought, Yujeong took proactive measures.

“Yujeong! First, let this go…”

Overwhelmed by the indescribable sensation from his left arm, “So let’s hurry.”

“Okay, okay! But first, let go of my arm!”

“You’re slow because you’re a magic user! It’s faster if I drag you.”

Kim Shimun stiffened and was dragged along by Yujeong. And, “Sigh.” A woman in an H-line skirt silently observed the entire situation.

‘Playing coy and tail-chasing? Our Yujeong is showing many new sides.’

Or perhaps this was her lady’s true nature all along? Kang Dayoung shook her head in disbelief, following behind the two.