Genius Regressor Makes Mythic Items

Chapter 4. Tutorial (2)

TL: xLordFifth
ED/PR: The reader

With a choked breath, the man in armor collapses without even being able to scream properly.

“Hehe. As expected, easy kills are sweet~.”

The small-statured man, Kim Minhyung, snickered as he pulled the arrow out of the corpse’s neck.

“No wonder they are a major corporation. Even their disposable items are of different quality.”

Despite having just pierced the neck of a player, the tip of the arrow was still shimmeringly sharp. At a glance, it was clearly of a quality made by a player of at least gold rank in the life skills category.

And it wasn’t just the arrow. From the short bow he held to the twin swords at his waist, and the leather armor encasing his body, none of it seemed fitting for someone who had just been invited to start the tutorial at level 1.

“The guild only asked me to come back alive but…”

Kim Minhyung had no intentions of sticking to that. Holy Trinity, one of the prestigious guilds in the country, had scouted him thanks to his B-class trait, ‘Agile Movements’. He was very familiar with the workings of the Holy Trinity guild. And not just them. Most major guilds shared common traits.
Namely, a strict meritocracy. The better you were, the more unreasonable the support you’d receive seemed. A prime example was the promising player system. If you ranked within the top ten in the tutorial, you’d be designated as a promising player by the guild. The support you’d receive then was nothing short of exceptional. Of course, surviving this high MMR tutorial would likely garner support from Holy Trinity, but…

“That won’t be enough for me.”

Kim Minhyung gritted his teeth. “How could I get expelled from that damned academy? There’s no way I’m settling for just being an ordinary guild member.”
As long as your skills backed you up, Holy Trinity guild was willing to overlook just about anything. Hadn’t they managed to bury that recent assault incident by one of its members?

Kim Minhyung was determined not to let go of that influence.
“I’ll make them regret losing a talent like me!”

With eyes ablaze, Kim Minhyung collected his arrows and stood up.

“There wouldn’t be many wild animals around here. I should set up an ambush over there.”

Anyone belonging to a renowned guild would have their own strategies for navigating the tutorial. The so-called cheat sheet. Remembering this, Kim Minhyung was about to move to the next spot.

But then, before a fool dressed in jeans and a grey hoodie could appear…

“Aha~ An equipment-less participant in this matchmaking? What a sweet deal!”

Kim Minhyung gleamed as he swiftly nocked an arrow to his bowstring.

If the opponent had at least been holding an old sword, he might have been cautious, thinking at least an A-grade trait holder.

“A guy without any gear, even if he has a decent trait, it wouldn’t matter much.”

Jeans and a hoodie, and no weapon? That was crossing the line by a long shot. And with a surprise arrow shot too?

“Thanks for the easy kill.”

***

“I’m sure it was around here.”

Staying hyper-alert, Shimun advanced through the underbrush. It didn’t take long before…

“I’ve found it.”

He discovered a gently flowing stream. Then…

There was the sound of a bowstring releasing, followed by…

Shimun, as if waiting for it, flicked his fingers, creating a surge of energy.

The water at his feet soared, quickly forming sharp cutting edges as it swept across in front of Shimun.

Whatever was incoming was neatly bisected, falling to the ground.

“Expected.”

Realizing it was an arrow, Shimun flicked his fingers toward the direction it came from.

Boom.

A minor explosion. But it was enough to knock down a person.

“Damn it! Was it a mage!”

From the large tree where the explosion occurred, a small-statured man cursed as he fell.

“Take this!”

The man, smooth in his movements, pulled out his twin swords from his waist as he aimed and pulled his bow again.

But…

With another flick of Shimun’s fingers.

Boom.

“Aaagh!”

The small-statured man, Kim Minhyung, tumbled to the ground.

“His movements are exceptional?”

Shimun was genuinely impressed. The spatial explosion was aimed at the head. Perhaps it was because his finger flicking skills weren’t finely tuned yet but, this player wasn’t just about the gear; his basic skills seemed to be exceptional as well.

“Indeed. To be taken down someone of your caliber does bring some satisfaction.”

“What are you babbling about!”

Swoosh.

Kim Minhyung charged, having drawn his twin swords in an instant.

Shimun observed his swift movements and quickly discerned his opponent’s trait.

“B-class trait, Agile Movements.”

“What? How do you…”

Kim Minhyung’s eyes widened in shock. It was their first meeting after all. And in that brief moment of vulnerability…

“Still, getting flustered like that, a level 1 is a level 1.”

Snap.

A sound akin to a death sentence rang through the air as Shimun made his move.

“Ugh. “Suddenly, a sharp spike of earth erupted from the ground, piercing through Kim Minhyung’s abdomen.

Was the shock too great?

Trembling, Kim Minhyung, with blood-shot eyes, vomited blood and continued speaking.

“Cough! You… academy…”

“Hm? Ah! Are you asking if I’m from the Awakeners Academy?”

Interpreting his words, Kim Shimun gave a bitter smile and reached out his hand.

“Like they’d ever take me in.”

Snap.

* * *

Resting on a rock, Kim Shimun looked at Kim Minhyung’s sprawled corpse with a somber look.

‘If this had been a regular arena, he would’ve died just like that.’

In regular arenas, failing meant death.

Not being. ‘logged out’ to reality as it is now, but actually facing death in reality too.

Moreover, the end of regular arenas wasn’t just about the demise of the losers.

‘If the arena isn’t cleared, an outbreak occurs in the country the arena is associated with.’

If it were a dungeon or raid, any monsters not dealt with would be unleashed upon the Earth.

For this reason, after the regular arenas, the number of rankers a country had directly correlated with its national power.

Regrettably, South Korea, after. ‘that incident,’ had failed to prevent an outbreak and faced ruin, much like the minor countries that disappeared before.

“Sigh, that hasn’t happened yet. Let’s just focus on the now.”

Dusting off his clothes, Kim Shimun inspected the equipment of Kim Minhyung, which was now disintegrating into particles.

At a glance, they were at least C-class equipment.

‘Rich in equipment, huh? Must be a newbie from some famous guild.’

After all, who else would be in an MMR range that turns tutorial into a conquest battle unless they were of significant caliber?

Furthermore, as a new recruit from a famous guild, he would’ve had access to high-performance connection devices.

The shock from the battle must have been minimal in reality.

“And to think, I joined without any connection device.”

The current Galaxy Arena was akin to a kind of virtual reality game.

Certainly, functions like sensory synchronization rate adjustments were essential, but Kim Shimun was more interested in other features.

Namely, the broadcasting function.

‘Shihyuk and Malsuk said so. Earning achievement points through broadcasting is surprisingly profitable.’

Both were types who shunned public attention.

Yet, they continued broadcasting until such media ceased to exist, purely for the achievement points.

‘That explains why other high rankers also broadcasted for so long.’

At one point, he wondered why all high rankers seemed desperate for attention.

That question naturally resolved itself.

With a vigorous stretch, Kim Shimun got up.

“Alright! My mana has fully recovered, so let’s get moving.”

Whether it was the effect of the Philosopher’s Stone, or an innate ability of his stat called mana,

The recovery speed of his mana was extraordinarily fast.

‘It’s really convenient not having to meditate for mana recovery.’

And the ability to cast spells without preparation just with a snap of his fingers.

Right now, he was practically devoid of the usual downsides associated with magecraft.

‘Let’s check up on the current situation.’

Kim Shimun opened the arena board.

1st – Kang Hoyoung 2 kills. [Conquest points 4%]

2nd – Lee Seyoon 1 kill. [Conquest points 4%]

3rd – Kim Shimun 1 kill.

4th – Park Hochul 1 kill.

5th – Kim Jaewon 0 kills.

……

“Huh?”

Surprised at the board, Kim Shimun’s eyes widened.

“Why are there so few kills?”

Some time had passed since the tutorial began.

Though he had encountered a well-equipped and skilled player like Kim Minhyung and scored a kill,

To only have 1 kill above him in ranking.

And below fourth place, an abundance of zeroes?

It didn’t make sense.

“Ah, that’s right.”

Soon enough, Kim Shimun nodded in realization.

“Is everyone laying low because it’s the beginning?”

It wasn’t hard to understand.

Even if it was just a tutorial, they were placed in a gold-class conquest MMR.

People matched here – with their traits, stats, and equipment, all above level 1 standards – would naturally play it safe.

‘The more you have, the scarier it is to lose.’

Likely, most had been scouted by significant forces.

Most would be thinking, ‘Let’s at least survive half-way,’ with that mindset.

Kim Shimun’s gaze lingered on the second-place Lee Seyoon, specifically the conquest points next to their kill count.

‘Someone’s already entered a conquest area. If their points are at 4%, they haven’t been there long.’

Conquest points increase the longer one remains in a conquest area.

That both first and second places had the same conquest points meant a fierce battle was taking place in that area.

‘Given the nature of this event, to win, conquest points take precedence over kills…’

Despite his thoughts,

Kim Shimun’s gaze turned not to the blue-outlined conquest area but to the opposite jungle.

‘Let’s get some more kills first.’

Even if you accumulate a lot of conquest points, dying would put you at a disadvantage compared to those who’ve been laying low at 0 kills.

Hence, the conquest area was unending chaos, especially with hyenas – those hoping for an easy opportunity.

Before entering the conquest zone, thinning the numbers was safer.

Of course, that was a secondary reason.

‘Mainly, I need to get more familiar with this casting technique.’

The primary reason was to get used to his new casting method.

Even though he had overwhelmingly won against a skilled player like Kim Minhyung,

‘I used my mana too inefficiently.’

In his previous life, surviving as a level 1 in regular arenas, it wasn’t a completely satisfying victory.

‘As Malsuk said, only real combat can improve proficiency.’

Taking high ranker Malsuk’s insight that true combat is the only way to improve proficiency,

“Let’s sweep up those who are laying low first.”

Kim Shimun moved towards the area around the conquest zone.

* * *

“Huff! Huff!”

Labored breaths were heard incessantly.

Clank.

Despite wearing a fairly well-forged plate armor. The man ran as fast as a wild animal, his face drained of all color.

“Cr, crazy! Really crazy…”

His voice trembled as fast as his speed, mumbling incessantly. Then,

Snap.

“Ah!”

The moment he heard the snap of fingers, he threw his body to the side with all his might, knowing all too well the terrifying outcome that simple sound could produce. However,

“This way?!”

As if his movement was fully anticipated,

Crack.

A sharp spike of earth surged from the ground where he had thrown himself, piercing his throat straight through. Instant death.

The man’s body slumped lifelessly without even a chance to scream. From behind, a figure in casual attire and a hood emerged.

“Even in plate armor, he’s incredibly fast. This person must have had a speed-related trait,” Kim Shimun observed the limp body in plate armor and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

“If he hadn’t attacked first, I might have missed him.”

After securing a kill by dealing with Kim Minhyung, Kim Shimun turned his attention to eliminating the players who were just waiting it out, not engaging in the battle for control.

That plate-armored man was like a hyena, drawn by the sound of battle between Kim Shimun and those waiters, hoping to gain an easy advantage.

Of course,

He chose to flee instantly upon witnessing Kim Shimun’s unilateral slaughter.

[Your alchemy energy increases by 1 through repeated usage.]

[The level of your Philosopher’s Stone has increased.]

“Huh?”

The sudden pop-up message made Kim Shimun’s eyes sparkle as he checked his status.

“It really increased, didn’t it?”

His alchemy energy, previously at 10, was now 11.

The Philosopher’s Stone, previously at. ‘Level: 1,’ was now. ‘Level: 2.’

‘While a stat increase at low levels isn’t unusual, I didn’t expect the Philosopher’s Stone to level up.’

Kim Shimun touched the center of his chest with a pleased expression and lifted his head.

“Alright. Having dealt with this much, there shouldn’t be any backstabbing now, right?”

The reason Kim Shimun had been targeting the waiters was simple.

The conquest grounds in the battlefield were the most fiercely contested locations.

Dealing with frontal enemies was hard enough, let alone having to worry about being ambushed.

After a brief rest, Kim Shimun looked towards a blue outline not too far off.

“The conquest ground is close by. Should I head in?”

So far, a total of 10 kills.

Including the last player, that made 11 kills in total, so there shouldn’t be any surprise attacks from behind, he reasoned.

Kim Shimun got up and walked towards the conquest ground. However, he couldn’t walk for long. Why?

‘What’s this?’

The area was littered with corpses.

‘Why are so many dead outside the control area?’

It was as if a line had been drawn, with bodies lying along it. Watching this, Kim Shimun naturally concealed himself behind a tree.

‘What exactly happened here?’

He immediately opened the arena board.

1st – Kang Hoyoung 7 kills. [Conquest Points 60%]

2nd – Lee Seyoon 5 kills. [Conquest Points 60%]

3rd – Park Hochul 5 kills. [Conquest Points 59%]

4th – Kim Jaewon 3 kills. [Conquest Points 59%]

5th – Kim Shimun 11 kills.

……

‘This is…’

His eyes widened at the displayed scores.

Not because he, with 11 kills, was only in 5th place. Having achieved a dominant number of kills didn’t matter in a control match.

Without conquest grounds, one’s ranking was limited.

The problem was,

‘The top four have almost the same conquest grounds.’

The control area was normally the battleground of the strongest and those hyenas lurking for an opportunity.

Unless one was a likely candidate for a ranker, entering here from the start of the tutorial was unthinkable.

To survive until now with conquest grounds nearing 60%?

And amiably four of them at that?

It was an implausible situation by any standard.

Moreover,

‘From 1st to 4th, these people have all been top-ranked since the beginning of the tutorial.’

That meant,

“Teaming, huh?”

Despite being an individual competition, covertly forming teams and collaborating was a clear violation of the rules.

Perhaps because it wasn’t an official arena yet, the Galaxy Arena during this time didn’t heavily penalize teaming.

‘Ha! As much as everyone wants to be in the ranking, teaming during a tutorial?’

No.

Perhaps that was precisely because it was the tutorial.

Since getting off to a good start was crucial, they must have all wanted to secure their place as a promising new addition to their respective guilds.

Peeking slightly, Kim Shimun checked the situation in the control area. As expected,

‘They’ve settled right inside the control area.’

One tanker with a shield, an archer, two warriors wielding swords.

Excluding the valuable magic class, this four-member party’s composition was perfect.

‘With a tank in front and an archer in the back, and warriors on both sides, even hyenas would find it difficult to make a move.’

Even hyenas, being lone individuals, could hardly challenge a well-formed team of four.

However,

“Tsk.”

In human affairs, there were always exceptions.

“I wanted to save it since the mission rewards would be halved, but…”

Kim Shimun’s face cooled as he looked towards the control area.

“If you’re going to play it this way.”

Then I too must become a villain.

As Kim Shimun twitched his right hand,

Fzzt!

A small spark flew.