Genius Regressor Makes Mythic Items

Chapter 152. Public Opinion (4)

“……”

The silence in the training hall was palpable. It was no wonder.

“My… Night’s Web…!”

Night’s Web.

A skill woven from the SS-Rank trait, Blessing of the Night, with threads as powerful as any sword aura.

For that kind of skill to be torn apart with a single punch?

Park Jinwook, watching the remnants of the shattered web with vacant eyes, let out a short sigh and shook his head slightly.

“Haaa. All this time, you’ve been dodging, so I was briefly mistaken.”

It was a kind of mistaken belief.

“This is a sparring match, after all, and it’s only right for Kim Shimun-nim to launch counterattacks.”

Since Kim Shimun had only been evading his first two attacks, he unconsciously fell into the misconception that he was the only one attacking while Kim Shimun was just dodging.

Perhaps it was because, ‘He evaded my ambush so effortlessly. Seemed like I was uncharacteristically driven by emotions.’

The shock of Kim Shimun easily evading his ambush, even as a top-rank Diamond assassin, must have played a part. Everyone calls it being driven by emotions, don’t they?

Indeed, his pride had taken a significant hit.

‘To think I got so agitated that I forgot it was a sparring match…’

That’s disqualifying for an assassin. As he muttered to himself and bowed his head deeply,

“Jinwook-ssi, well… since it’s just a sparring match anyway. How about one more round?”

Kim Shimun approached with an awkward smile.

“No, thank you.”

Park Jinwook shook his head firmly.

“You already gave me an extra round, didn’t you? I can’t keep you here when you’re so busy.”

He was likely referring to Kim Shimun’s involvement with the arena’s disease cure, ‘But, I’m not that busy anymore…’

Shimun had long handed over those responsibilities to the Philosopher’s Stone and Shiyeon. Unless he was creating a new production line for cure, he didn’t have much to worry about.

Even the control of the Mithril Golem was entirely managed by Shiyeon. Nonetheless, Shimun didn’t offer unnecessary comfort.

‘Jinwook-ssi didn’t go all out in the sparring, anyway.’

A top-rank Diamond player. Kim Shimun was well aware of their capabilities from his previous life. Especially since Park Jinwook, the Night Hunter, was a close confidant of his younger brother, Shihyuk.

He knew fully well.

‘If he even used aura, I’d have a hard time.’

Plus, the assassin class exhibits its greatest power when aiming to kill. If Park Jinwook had genuinely tried to kill him, even Kim Shimun wouldn’t have won so easily.

Just then.

-Hey, oppa? Is the sparring match over?

A cheerful voice resonated from his chest. It was the Philosopher’s Stone.

‘Yeah. It just finished. Why?’

-Um… it’s nothing major, but there are intruders in the penthouse.

“Intruders?!”

Kim Shimun exclaimed in shock. This was, after all, the most expensive building in South Korea, and simultaneously, the safest residence where top Rankers like Kim Shihyuk and Lee Yujeong lived.

Intruders?

“Kim Shimun-nim, did you just say intruders?”

“Hey, what’s this sudden talk about intruders?”

Park Jinwook and Go Malsuk quickly approached, their eyes wide with alarm, sharing Kim Shimun’s disbelief.

-Yes. I didn’t want to disturb you, so I tried to handle it myself, but… I missed one.

“You missed one? Where are they now?”

-They didn’t take the elevator, so they must be in the stairwell. Given the structure of the building…

The Philosopher’s Stone’s voice abruptly cut off. More accurately, it was drowned out.

Keeeeen.

The sharp ring from his left eye. Simultaneously.

Sasasak.

Four strands of afterimages flew towards his face.

Thump.

“Ugh!”

Kim Shimun kicked Go Malsuk aside and quickly bent backwards. Then,

Swoosh!

Just as Foresight had shown, four blue lines sliced through the air.

At the same time, “Who dares!”

An ominous roar was heard as a dark force slashed past Kim Shimun.

Scrrreeech!

A harsh scraping noise broke out. Taking advantage of the gap Park Jinwook created, Shimun backflipped to gain distance.

And then, “You are…”

His eyes widened at the sight of the ambusher. It was no wonder. The ambusher was none other than Kim Jongjun, the vice-guildmaster of Scorpio Guild, “Kim Jongjun?”

And a top-rank Diamond-ranked active player from the first generation, Kim Jongjun.

“Kim Jongjun! Have you gone mad?! What are you doing here?!”

Standing protectively in front of Kim Shimun, Park Jinwook surrounded the area with the dark energy of the night and shouted, but to no avail.

“Kim Shimun… this brat dared to humiliate me!”

Half-crazed, perhaps, Kim Jongjun, bloodstained with bloodshot eyes, fixated solely on Kim Shimun.

“I don’t know how you figured out our plan, but you’re dead today.”

“Hah! Looks like you’ve really lost it.”

Park Jinwook, standing by Kim Shimun, let out a dry laugh and took a step forward.

“Kim Jongjun, who do you think you can kill in front of me?”

Around him, like a snake coiled and ready to strike,

Ssss.

The dark energy of the night sharply reared its head.

“Right… Park Jinwook. I almost forgot you were here too.”

Like a madman, Kim Jongjun laughed to himself.

“A wretch kicked out of the guild. Already found a new master? Well, a dog’s nature never changes, does it?”

“Trying to get under my skin with those words won’t work. More importantly, who beat a Diamond like you to such a state?”

It seemed to be a trigger for him.

“That was—!!”

Laughing one moment, then straining his neck veins the next, Kim Jongjun clenched his teeth tightly and glared at Kim Shimun with murderous intent.

To this, “Ah, I see.”

Park Jinwook seemed to make a realization and let out a short exclamation.

“You must’ve snuck into Kim Shimun-nim’s penthouse. Judging by your state, you fell for the traps set there.”

Deservedly, the one who laid traps should have had something to say, but, “……”

Kim Jongjun remained silent.

“Foolish wretch. If an assassin falls for a trap, they should at least hide their shame. Who are you getting all worked up in front of?”

Park Jinwook jeered.

“Shut up! You guild outcast, who do you think you’re talking to?!”

Enraged, Kim Jongjun charged. And with that began an unending barrage of explosive clashes between two top-rank Diamond assassins.

Meanwhile, ‘Traps?’

Kim Shimun, quietly listening, tilted his head.

‘I don’t remember setting any traps.’

In his previous life, maybe, but in this peaceful era, and living in the Ranker’s Palace at that, why would he set traps?

Then, “Ah.”

A small sigh escaped Kim Shimun’s lips involuntarily. He realized why Kim Jongjun was targeting him in such a state.

‘Philosopher’s Stone, was Kim Jongjun the intruder you mentioned?’

-Yes, besides him, there were about 19 others.

Figures. Kim Shimun nodded, then flinched.

‘Nineteen others? So that’s 20 including Kim Jongjun?’

-Exactly. If they were a bunch of good-looking guys, I might have enjoyed it. Instead, they were all ugly brutes, which really annoyed me!

‘This isn’t the time for that! Never mind. How did you handle them?’

-Um, you see… I’m quite capable, you know? With the Mithril Golem and Shiyeon’s help, we dealt with them well!

It was a somewhat misleading answer if examined closely. After all, Kim Jongjun was a first-generation Diamond assassin, so it stood to reason that his companions were also highly skilled.

Unfortunately, Shimun didn’t have the luxury to question further. The reason was simple.

‘Shiyeon? Is Shiyeon okay?’

The child who called him Appa. Worry for that small, delicate child filled his mind.

Fortunately,

-Of course she’s fine. Shiyeon took care of them all by herself.

‘What?’

-Huh? Oh! I mean, since you handed over control of the Mithril Golem to Shiyeon, I just helped a bit. She handled it all on her own.

Though it felt like the Philosopher’s Stone was rambling,

‘Is that so? That’s a relief.’

Hearing that Shiyeon was safe, Shimun sighed in relief.

-But she’s quite upset.

‘What? Did she get hurt?’

-If you mean hurt, then yes, emotionally. Tsk, I told her to take it seriously.

The Philosopher’s Stone mumbled something unintelligible. But then,

-Anyway, Shiyeon is fine. Just take care of yourself.

‘Well… there’s nothing much to worry about for me.’

Kim Shimun shrugged at the Philosopher’s Stone’s words.

Boom!

Bursts of light and explosions erupted from the front. That deadly fight was between Kim Jongjun and Park Jinwook, not him.

“Hey. You okay?”

Go Malsuk approached, her face somewhat gloomy. Kim Shimun remembered kicking her earlier.

“Malsuk, I’m sorry about earlier. It was an emergency, and I kicked you without thinking.”

“No. If you hadn’t kicked me, my head would have been split in half. I understand. It’s just…”

But there was another reason for her dark expression.

“… Damn it! Why am I always like this!”

Watching the battle between Kim Jongjun and Park Jinwook, Go Malsuk clenched her fists and bit her lip.

“Malsuk, why are you…”

As Kim Shimun was about to speak,

Kiiiiing.

An afterimage pierced through both his and Go Malsuk’s necks. There was no need to ponder why.

Wooong.

With his right hand clad in Supreme Emperor’s Demolition Strike, Shimun punched towards the afterimage.

Clang!

A sharp resonance burst forth with enough force to scatter his hair. Kim Jongjun, in the midst of his battle with Park Jinwook, had thrown a concealed weapon in ambush.

“You bastard, Kim Jongjun!”

Park Jinwook, seeing this, cursed with eyes blazing. The intensity of the dark energy and dagger assaults increased further. Kim Shimun quickly checked on Go Malsuk.

“Malsuk, are you okay?”

“…Yeah.”

Her face showed anything but assurance. As Go Malsuk bowed her head, looking even more dispirited, Shimun’s eyes turned cold.

‘I wasn’t planning to step in, considering Jinwook-ssi’s pride.’

Night Hunter Park Jinwook, a top-rank Diamond assassin, ranked higher than Kim Jongjun. And Kim Jongjun was already injured. From the moment the fight started, he was already being outmatched by Park Jinwook.

Thus, with time, Kim Jongjun’s defeat was inevitable. That’s why Kim Shimun hadn’t intervened.

‘But targeting Malsuk is something I can’t tolerate.’

The initial target of the concealed weapon was clearly Kim Shimun. But a player of Kim Jongjun’s caliber certainly calculated the trajectory, knowing it would pierce through.

The foresight’s afterimage had clearly shown Go Malsuk’s neck being pierced. Kim Jongjun had thrown the weapon intending to take out Go Malsuk, who had nothing to do with the fight.

However, this wasn’t the only reason for Kim Shimun’s anger.

‘Not twice… I can’t let it happen twice.’

In his past life, the image of Malsuk’s head rolling at his feet, yet with a face filled with a hearty smile, overlapped with the present.

“Kim Jongjun…!”

Emotions surged within him. And Kim Shimun didn’t hold them back.

Haap!

Kim Shimun sprang off the ground.

Crunch.

In an instant, his fists were enveloped in dark energy, the result of his dragon transformation.

As if waiting for this, Kim Jongjun, who had been facing off against Park Jinwook, suddenly exuded a dark red aura.

“Got you!”

Swoosh!

A massive arc of the same dark red aura was unleashed.

“You bastard! Where did this sudden power come from!”

Screech.

Park Jinwook was pushed back by the sudden surge of power. Kim Jongjun seized the opportunity.

“Kim Shimun!”

Eyes blazing, he charged at Kim Shimun.

And then, ‘What is that?’

Kim Shimun’s eyes widened at the dark red energy coating Kim Jongjun’s claws.

Then, “Hah… So here too, they’re involved?”

Letting out a bitter laugh, Shimun locked eyes with Kim Jongjun, a top-rank Diamond assassin, who was already upon him.

“Die!!”

As Kim Jongjun’s claws lunged for Kim Shimun’s throat, “Kneel.”

Kim Shimun murmured in a low voice.

***

“Mmph! Mmph!”

A muffled sound came from the thin, middle-aged man who had a gag in his mouth and was thrashing about.

“Stay still, you bastard!”

Ssssss.

The dark energy binding his entire body writhed.

“Mmph!”

The middle-aged man, his face turning red from the strain, shuddered in pain. Park Jinwook, displeased with the sight, turned his head to the opposite side.

“Kim Shimun-nim, considering the CCTV footage will record everything, why didn’t you just kill him?”

Kim Shimun and Go Malsuk were setting up a camera for broadcasting. Aligning the camera’s lens towards the bound Kim Jongjun, Shimun smiled.

“There’s a better way than killing him.”

“A better way? You’re not thinking of getting a confession, are you?”

“Exactly.”

Kim Shimun nodded. Park Jinwook’s jaw dropped in surprise.

“Kim Shimun-ssi, I’ve known Kim Jongjun for many years. This man will never open his mouth.”

“I’m aware. Even if we tortured him, he wouldn’t spill anything easily. Plus, if we obtained a confession through torture, that would create its own set of problems.”

This wasn’t the Middle Ages. In the 21st century, in South Korea, no less, conducting torture? And then broadcasting that footage to the media?

‘That’s an instant “Oh shit” moment.’

Even though Kim Jongjun attempted to assassinate him, it wouldn’t be justifiable. Public opinion, which currently favored Kim Shimun, would quickly turn against him.

Park Jinwook, well aware of this, asked, “So how do you plan on getting a confession?”

His face showed his inability to understand the plan.

“Yeah, you’ve got CCTV footage. It must have captured him breaking into your place. Can’t you just kill him and release that footage?”

Go Malsuk, assisting with the setup, nodded and added,

“And if it’s because of the murder charge, you don’t need to worry. Since Kim Jongjun used his abilities with lethal intent, any response from you would be considered self-defense.”

Awakeners were far more powerful than ordinary people. Hence, laws specifically for dealing with them had been established. These were globally enacted laws proposed by the Awakener Federation, applicable in any country.

So killing Kim Jongjun right here would cause no problems.

“If you’re hesitant to get your hands dirty, I’ll kill him myself.”

Park Jinwook offered to handle it personally.

“No, that would only cut off the tail. I want to uproot the problem entirely so that this never happens again.”

Kim Shimun shook his head with a smile.

“So you’re looking at the forest, not just the trees?”

“If you put it that way, yes. If we get a confession, scorpio Guild won’t be able to easily cut ties with Kim Jongjun.”

As the vice-guildmaster, Kim Jongjun’s position would undoubtedly put Scorpio Guild in a tough spot, but that was all.

He wasn’t the guildmaster, the head of the guild. If they claimed that Kim Jongjun acted independently, scorpio Guild could maintain its existence, which was not what Kim Shimun wanted.

‘Given that Kim Jongjun possesses the power of the dragon, there won’t be a better opportunity than this.’

With the acknowledgement from the vice-guildmaster, opportunities where he could secure both justification and practical benefits like now were rare.

‘I need to eliminate Scorpio Guild entirely with this chance.’

Aside from the trolling acts they committed, before the formal Arena, which risked lives, began in earnest, scorpio Guild had to be eradicated.

This would reduce the casualties that would occur in a formal Arena.

Additionally, ‘This will also allow me to deal with other guilds involved in this matter.’

If Kim Jongjun, who attempted an assassination, confessed, he could also sweep away the other guilds that played a part in the media manipulation against him.

Kim Shimun approached Kim Jongjun and removed the gag from his mouth.

“You lunatic! You think I’ll just spill my guts because you want me to?”

Despite his restraints, Kim Jongjun’s voice burst out, laced with venom and rough curses.

Rather, “Forget about a confession and answer my questions instead!”

Contrary to Park Jinwook’s worries, Kim Jongjun shouted boldly, “How the hell did you restrict my movements? What sneaky trick did you pull?”

It was clear that no amount of torture would make him budge.

“This bastard! Even now, you still—!”

As Park Jinwook moved to tighten the Night’s Web binding him,

“Ugh!”

Kim Jongjun’s head was suddenly yanked back. There was no other reason than,

“Kim Jongjun-ssi, don’t be so impatient.”

Kim Shimun, who had approached unnoticed, grabbed Kim Jongjun’s hair and twisted it roughly.

And then, “You’ll know soon enough how I subdued you, whether you want to or not.”

Snap.

With a deepened smile, Shimun snapped his fingers.

Wooong.

A mysterious aura emanated from Kim Shimun’s hand.

And as if inhaling a drug, “Ssssss.”

Kim Shimun drew it in. When he opened his eyes again,

Kiiiiing.

“Now, Kim Jongjun-ssi? Start barking.”

With a sharp resonance, “Who is involved and to what extent. Tell me everything.”

An irresistible command pierced into Kim Jongjun’s eyes.