How To Use Regressors

55 – The Black Mage, Bahun (Part 1)

“… This is it.”

After arriving at the entrance of the cave, Yoon Yeon remained silent for a moment before speaking.

“It certainly doesn’t look like a typical dungeon or even a rare-grade one. Your decision to decline the request among yourselves was a wise one. If you had entered as it is, you would have been in great danger.”

Yoon Yeon began to praise our group for not being blinded by the rewards and for considering ending the request.

“…. Thank you, Master of the Hwashin Clan.”

“Thanking me for what? We are about to enter, what about Seo Yooju?”

“I agree as well. In that case, I will enter.”

As soon as we entered the cave, an alarm sounded.

[Dungeon – You have entered the laboratory of the deranged Black Mage, Bahun.]

Voices of the members of the Myth Clan could be heard discussing.

“… Another Black Mage this time? Wasn’t our last dungeon also related to dark magic?”

“Black Mages are nearly always abnormal. In the Holy Empire, they even killed every Black Mage except for the trainees.”

“… No wonder the perception of Black Mages is so low, even starting from the indigenous ones, let alone outsiders, indulging in such activities.”

“Damn…”

Even in the training center, I was the only person who was a black mage.

“What the hell is Baheun doing?”

“He’s like the boss of this dungeon… Does that mean those bastards outside appear because of his experiments?”

“Anyway, be careful. The clan master said it’s at least a heroic-grade dungeon.”

Even from their perspective, they would be nervous. Heroic-grade dungeons are difficult for players in their first year to conquer.

Usually, it’s normal to take at least 2-3 years to conquer a heroic-grade dungeon.

As soon as we entered the dungeon, there was no monster ambush. Only the shabby decorations sticking to the cave walls caught our attention.

“Hold on.”

After advancing a bit, Yunyeon stopped us.

“What’s going on, Clan Master?”

“Look up, everyone.”

As Yunyeon said, we looked up and witnessed a horrifying sight.

“What the hell is this…?”

People’s faces were stuck to the ceiling as if they were fused with it.

Perhaps the cave’s darkness and the considerable distance from the ceiling had prevented anyone from noticing it until now.

“Mad…ness!”

“Arrrgh!”

While most reactions ended with curses, those of weaker constitution screamed and clutched their behinds, collapsing to the ground.

Even I nearly screamed, so there’s no need to elaborate on just how horrifying the sight was.

As for Yoo Hyun, he remained seated, stammering and unable to regain his composure in the face of this extraordinary spectacle.

“Uh…uhh…”

“Yoo Hyun…! Don’t look up! Huh?!”

“Sis…”

To a 15-year-old child, it was a gruesome sight.

One of the members of the Shinwa Clan turned to Yoon Yeon and spoke, “Clan Master… It seems like this thing is alive, doesn’t it?”

As the man pointed out, upon closer examination, although the face couldn’t speak, it contorted with various expressions.

“Ugh… Ugh…argh!”

Some of them appeared to be retching, and our party was no exception.

“Hey, Cha Hyunjin! Are you okay?”

“Uweaek…! Wait, wait… Uwuk… Noona…”

“Haeun, miss!”

“Ugh… Uwuk… I’m sorry…”

‘This doesn’t look good.’

Being weighed down by the atmosphere of the dungeon from the beginning was not ideal.

Yoon Yeon furrowed her brows and spoke.

“Ha… I don’t know what the hell this bastard called Bahun is up to, but he seems like a seriously crazy bastard.”

I agreed with her words. While most dark sorcerers are lunatics, this guy seemed to be on another level.

If it’s like this from the entrance of the dungeon, it’s likely to get worse inside.

As we moved a little further, a monster with a seemingly insane appearance started attacking us.

“… Is this a chimera?”

The size of the monster was larger than a person. A fleshy mass, roughly about 2 meters in height and width, with human faces scattered all over it.

– Save me! Save me! Please save me!

“Damn it!”

I involuntarily cursed. Because unlike the faces on the ceiling, the faces stuck to the flesh spoke.

It was only natural that a battle ensued. As Seo Yoo-ju pierced the monster’s torso with her spear, the faces began to scream.

“Ah, aaaaah! It hurts! Stop! Don’t do it!”

“What the hell is this?”

In the case of Kang Isuh, he spewed curses, seemingly unaware that such a monster would exist.

Crack!

As Yoon Yeon extended her fist several times, the bodies of the monsters burst open.

“Phew… Everyone, snap out of it and fight. The monsters are just creepy in appearance. They are not strong at all.”

“…..”

“Our clan members? Don’t disappoint me.”

“Uh, s-sorry…”

When the members of the Shinwa Clan failed to regain their composure, Yoon Yeon gave them a stern look.

“Get it together. It’s been a year since you’ve arrived here. Understand?”

“I-I apologize, Clan Master. We’re fine now!”

“…Good, that’s what I want to hear. Anyway, we’re moving further in. Everyone, follow me closely.”

The situation in the dungeon became more bizarre as we ventured further inside. Different monsters began to appear, but they too deviated from the norm in their appearance.

While earlier creatures had human faces embedded in fleshy masses, the monsters now emerging attacked us with the bodies of humans fused with bull heads, wielding weapons.

“Damn… these things look seriously messed up!”

“Sister… could the dark sorcerer here have conducted experiments on human anatomy?”

To Hyunjin’s inquiry, I responded, “They’re all chimeras.”

“Chimeras?”

“Yeah, it’s called chimera synthesis, whether mixing monsters with humans or blending different monsters to create these bizarre beings. The dark sorcerer here experimented with creating chimeras.”

“Then…”

“…they probably mixed living people with monsters.”

Everyone listening to my answer wore expressions as if they were about to vomit. It’s subjective, but in a way, the monsters we had been killing so far might have also been human.

‘… The question is, where did they get the people if they’re using them as ingredients?’

As far as I knew, no one had gone missing in this territory. Just the occasional appearance of ghouls.

If so many people had gone missing or been abducted within the territory, things would have escalated to a more critical state. Surely, the situation should have become more severe.

‘Or… did they bring people when setting up the lab?’

Anyway, if there is one thing I have realized, it is that the people used for Barhoon’s experiment are not from this city or its surroundings, at least.

And the observation I made as the battles continued was that these creatures may have peculiar appearances, but they are not particularly strong in terms of combat abilities.

As the battle eventually settled into a state of subjugation, Yun Yeon looked at our party and exclaimed,

“…. Impressive. Has it only been less than three months since you came out of the training center? Certainly, there must be some rumors about you.”

“Hmm… The monsters… aren’t that strong.”

“What nonsense. If anyone sees Seo Yooju fighting, no one would say that the monsters appear weak.”

“…. Thank you. It would be fine to use informal speech too.”

“…. Is that so?”

“It doesn’t matter. You’re my senior. Well, it’s more that I thought you might find it frustrating to use formal speech…”

“…. I like your straightforward personality.”

“In the first place, you use informal speech with Yoon Sung too…”

Kururung ㅡ !

While Seo Yooju was speaking to Yun Yeon, the cave wall collapsed, and a gigantic monster began to appear.

“…. Did they mix it with an ogre?”

Yun Yeon’s words reminded me of the appearance of the monster called an ogre in the monster book.

“It’s definitely the same as the one I saw in the book. However…”

The newly appeared monster looked exactly like the ogre I saw in the book, but there was a difference.

“Why does it have a tail? And four arms?”

It had a tail attached and a distinct difference of four arms.

One thing for sure, it seemed much stronger than any of the monsters our party had encountered so far.

“J-Je…Jegiral… Hyungnim, are we capable of taking this down?”

In the moment when Hyunjin was overwhelmed by the monster’s presence, Seyuju shouted to all the party members.

“Stay calm. Let’s refrain from approaching hastily. Focus on long-range attacks, and those in close combat, be careful when engaging in battle.”

Yunyeon responded to Seyuju’s instruction.

“That’s a good judgment. However… I’ll take the lead this time. This guy seems a bit challenging for the chicks to deal with.”

After finishing his words, Yunyeon immediately approached the guy who appeared as the ogre.

Perhaps perceiving this monster as a threat to everyone, when she kicked the guy’s leg, one of the ogre’s legs exploded and flew away.

“Crazy… This is on a different level.”

“Grrroooar! My leg! My leg!”

“Does it know how to speak?”

Yun Yeon seemed momentarily stunned when the guy started speaking.

Based on Yun Yeon’s reaction, it seemed that the original ogre monster couldn’t speak.

As the guy with one leg missing sat down, everyone immediately began launching long-range attacks.

“Shoot everyone! The wizards, cast your spells!”

“Krowaaaaah! It hurts! Buraka! It hurts!”

“…Sigh!”

Puhook –

“Krowaaaaah! Who is it! My eye! Who, who, who is itttt!”

As an arrow shot by Kang Iseo hit one of his eyes, the guy went berserk.

“Huh?”

Unluckily, a member of the Shinwa Clan, who happened to be near the ogre, was about to be hit by its swinging tail.

“Protection of the Guardian!”

Yoo Hyun immediately deployed a protective shield.

Crash!

Quang!

“Ugh…!”

The man’s protective barrier shattered instantly, and he was sent flying by the tail. It seemed that the impact was greater than the absorption capacity of the barrier.

“You… you idiot…!”

Before the man could crash into the wall, Yun Yeon rushed forward and caught him.

“Groan… ack… Clan… Master…”

“… You fool. I told you to approach carefully. I said you’re not capable of capturing someone at your level.”

“G-gack… I’m sorry…”

“Never mind, these things happen in life. Priest, heal him! His life won’t be in danger.”

“Yes, yes… M-Myungsoo!”

The woman who appeared to be a priest approached the man and started to administer treatment.

“Don’t worry, he won’t die. Your lover is safe. Thanks to that little brat, the impact was somewhat cushioned by the barrier, so his life isn’t in danger.”

Fortunately, due to Yoo Hyun activating the barrier in time, the man’s injuries didn’t seem severe.

“Kuwoooo! I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you!”

The ogre was crawling towards the direction where the river was.

“Damn it…! This bastard must be pissed at me!”

“Of course, he’s a fool, now that he’s lost one leg.”

However, the guy with one missing leg was in a helpless state. Immediately, members of the Myth Clan’s close combat professions approached and finished him off.

“Sigh…”

Our party members seemed mentally exhausted, probably due to our first battle with a high-level monster.

“…It’s incredible. As soon as I saw the monster, I lost my will to fight… It was because of the fear…”

“It’s okay, Hyunjin. You don’t need to blame yourself. The creature’s level was just too high for us to handle.”

“…Brother, thank you.”

“Thanks? I was actually scared and didn’t know what to do either. Don’t worry, everyone felt the same way.”

“Yes, brother.”

After everyone calmed down, Yoon Yeon spoke up.

“…Let’s continue with the strategy. Everyone…”

Seo Yooju interrupted Yoon Yeon’s words.

“Wait a moment.”

“…What’s going on?”

“There might be items in the area where the ogre came from. How about we search for them?”