Not A Regressor-Chapter 298: Sky Mountains (4)

Spica flapped her lips like a goldfish and kept repeating, “Oh my,” over and over again, at a loss for words.

“Oh my, oh my, oh my! I didn’t take him for that kind of guy! His heart is pitch black!” Spica trembled as if having a fit.

She thought Kwon Oh-Jin was a psycho when she first saw him in the proxy battle against Deneb. Her impression of him began to change after he became one of the Seven Stars and received the name Alkaid. There was something heroic about him.

On top of that, when she learned that he was the Heaven-Defying Star, even his wild behavior during the proxy battle seemed to stem from deep conviction and resolve. After everything that happened, the image of Kwon Oh-Jin in her head was that of a monk, untouched by the secular world. He walked a harsh path with solemn belief in his heart.

Now, she suddenly heard that he had not one but two lovers? Far from being detached from the world, he was a fallen monk fully immersed in it.

“Pitch black, you say? What do you even know about him to say such a thing?” Vega sharply asked, her tone laced with a murderous aura.

She recalled Kwon Oh-Jin swinging his spear in the night, pushing his body to its limits. He trained relentlessly, injuring himself just to protect those dear to him. How could anyone say someone like that had a pitch black heart?

“Ah... sorry, sorry. Calm down, unnie. I was wrong.”

Man, this unnie is really deep in it.

Spica awkwardly smiled.

“As long as you understand...”

“Anyway, first things first. Let’s assess the situation. What do you plan to do about them?”

“Them?”

“You know, his two lovers. If you want to win him over, you’ve got to do something about them first.”

Do something about them? Was Spica suggesting that she forcibly take Song Ha-Eun and Isabella away from him?

“I won’t do that.” Vega had seen with her own eyes how much Kwon Oh-Jin had sacrificed to protect his loved ones.

He stood back up in agony even after vomiting.

“Hmm... then I guess you’ll have to make him fall for you naturally.”

“That won’t be necessary.” Vega smiled faintly and shook her head. Her golden eyes held a touch of bitterness. “Didn’t I tell you already? I have no desire to be with him.”

“There you go again. A Celestial and a human can be together—”

Vega gently shook her head. “That’s not why.”

“Then what is?”

She knew full well that a Celestial and a human could be together. Yes, their roles and powers were different, but they were all creations of the Titans. Just as Kwon Oh-Jin had accepted Isabella, maybe she could be in a relationship with him too if she tried. She could fall into the bliss of love and rest in his arms. However, she couldn’t.

“I don’t want to burden him any more than I already have.”

Hadn’t she seen it herself? How brutally he pushed himself, and how much he sacrificed to keep moving forward. How could she dare to weigh him down even more?

“That child means the world to me.”

That’s why...

“I just want him to be happy.”

Even if the one standing by his side wasn’t her, she still wanted him to be happy.

“Unnie...” Spica fell silent, overwhelmed by the depth of emotion in Vega’s voice.

She wanted to argue back about so many things like, “What about your feelings then? Maybe he would be happier with you in his life.”

However, she could tell from the look in Vega’s eyes, filled with unwavering resolve, that nothing would change Vega’s mind.

Vega lowered her head in sadness. “If only I could do something for him...”

Spica’s eyes sparkled. “But there are lots of things you can do for him!”

“Hmm? But there’s no way for me to strengthen an Awakener’s Stigma.”

“Come on, that’s not the only thing you can do for him, right?”

“Oh? And what exactly do you suggest?”

Spica treasured Vega, who rarely even spoke with the other Celestials. She even casually called Vega, “unnie.” So, she didn’t want Vega to keep burying her feelings deep inside and wasting away like this.

Who else will help unnie if I don’t?

Convincing her through direct, honest methods would never work. Vega would just stare coldly and reject it outright. Only one possible method existed. Spica needed to come up with a tiny excuse that even Vega’s stubborn thinking could accept.

“What you need to give him is your heartfelt support! Comfort! Encouragement! That’s what you should do!”

Vega pouted in disappointment. “That’s what you meant?”

She had secretly expected something more. Of course, those things were important, but they weren’t exactly practical either.

“You don’t get it, unnie! If you do it the way I tell you, even just support and encouragement can double, no, triple an Awakener’s strength!”

“There’s a way to do that?”

“Of course, of course! Especially if the Awakener is male. It’ll work even better!”

Spica’s confidence as she nodded made it seem like whatever she had in mind would definitely work.

Vega’s eyes sparkled with curiosity. “So, what is this method?”

I got you good, hehe.

Spica grinned to herself and sauntered closer to Vega. “Unnie, didn’t you say you visited the beastkin kingdom recently?”

A sly smile crept onto the lips of the goddess of purity and love.

***

“Ugh, I feel like dying.” Kwon Oh-Jin sounded like an exhausted office worker dragging themselves to work the morning after a Thursday night company dinner.

“Haha. Is that all you’ve got?” Kalike asked.

Kwon Oh-Jin dispelled the illusion he had cast on himself. The mocking image of Kalike vanished before his eyes as overwhelming fatigue weighed down on him.

Looks like I don’t even need to make illusions anymore.

In the past, he had to create a full illusion of his opponent with various preparations like mimicking their voice using the Stigma of Capricorn just to hypnotize himself. Now, through sheer repetition, he could create a nearly perfect enemy with just his imagination.

Thanks to that, I can focus more on the actual fighting.

Kwon Oh-Jin no longer needed to divide his concentration on creating illusions and manipulating his senses. He could engage in combat more effectively like a real fight. Though that also meant he received more injuries during training.

“I should’ve skipped dinner if I knew this would happen.” Kwon Oh-Jin clicked his tongue as he looked down at his vomit on the ground.

He had lost all five fights against the imagined Kalike. It was a sobering reminder of how much of a difference Vega’s blessing made.

Well, it makes sense. Even with the blessing, I couldn’t exactly overwhelm him.

He had pressured Kalike to an extent, but had never truly dominated him. If he had, Kalike wouldn’t have had the mental capacity to be so fixated on Horus during their fight.

“I’ve got a long way to go.” Kwon Oh-Jin sighed and pulled himself to his feet.

Time had flown by as he trained.

I’d better head back before Ha-Eun finds out.

He would get an earful if Song Ha-Eun discovered that he had snuck out in the middle of the night to train.

Dragging his exhausted body back, he made his way to the tent.

Are they asleep?

As he listened closely, he could hear them softly breathing in their tent.

Kwon Oh-Jin entered his own tent, stripped off his sweaty clothes, and piled them in a corner. He also took off Vega’s pendant and stepped outside with a change of clothes.

Though the nearby creek was small and barely deep enough to reach his knees compared to the stream in the Silver Mane Tribe’s village, it was still enough to wash up.

“Ahh... I feel so much better.”

As he stepped into the water, his Water Affinity activated and healed his injuries.

Training against illusions produced undeniable results, but it also placed immense strain on his body. If it weren’t for expensive potions and the Stigma of Aquarius, he wouldn’t have survived five rounds against Kalike.

“Still, I have to do it.”

No matter how agonizing or painful it was, he had to push himself this much to break through the thick darkness ahead. He didn’t fully understand the extent of the Heavenly Demon’s power yet, but one thing was certain. His current level wouldn’t be enough to deal with it.

“Phew.”

Now clean and somewhat recovered, Kwon Oh-Jin changed into the clothes he had brought.

“Ugh... I’m so sleepy.”

His Water Affinity could only heal external wounds. It couldn’t heal internal injuries caused by the overuse of mana or sheer fatigue.

“Let’s see... If I sleep now, I can get about three hours in.”

That was far from enough to recover, but what choice did he have? He couldn’t risk ruining the group’s travel schedule toward the Sky Mountains just to rest.

At least I’ve got Boppy. I can catch some sleep while we’re moving.

As he approached his tent with that thought in mind, he could feel someone inside.

What the hell?

Holding on to Dantalian, which he had brought with him even to wash up, Kwon Oh-Jin cautiously opened the tent. He fully prepared himself for anything that would jump out.

“W-W-Welcome back!” Vega, dressed in a bunny girl outfit, stuttered.

She was wearing high heels, black stockings, and a skin-tight leotard. The outfit boldly exposed her pale shoulders. It was something one only expected to see at Halloween parties or cosplay shops back on Earth. And yet, he was witnessing a bunny girl costume in the middle of the Demonic District.

“F-For I am your b-b-bunny!” The goddess, wearing a headband with bunny ears, bounced toward him.

Since she took on her full divine form and not her smaller form, a certain part of her moved quite dramatically with each hop.

Kwon Oh-Jin rubbed his eyes and walked over to his sleeping bag.

“I must be really tired today.”

He hadn’t expected to start hallucinating.