The Regressor Can Make Them All

Chapter 46

[I accept the challenge.]

By the time Gerwin accepted the challenge, the incident from half a year ago had already spread so widely that no one was unaware of it. Back then, everyone had treated it as just another incident, but looking back on it now, there were numerous suspicious aspects to it.

“Was it a coincidence that it overlapped with the selection period for the sponsorship?”

“If it hadn’t been for that incident, wouldn’t Luize have received it? Not to mention the fact that the person who forged her wand was Vier Barmauth, who is well-known for his cooperative relationship with the Kruger family...”

“When it comes to the Krugers or Barmauths... you never know, at least based on the rumors.”

What started as a small suspicion had grown larger and larger as it passed from person to person, and it eventually overflowed, reaching ears beyond the academy.

—Tsk. Pathetic.

And that included the UD Group which was owned by Gerwin’s family.

—You can’t even handle one insignificant person properly? How did you let such gossip spread around?! There’s a limit to how much you can tarnish the family name.

The irritated voice of Daniel Kruger, the third son, resounded clearly through the phone. Hearing Daniel’s words, Gerwin bit his lip hard.

“I’m sorry... Brother.”

—We’d only make things worse if we get involved, so handle it by yourself. Got it?

“...Understood.”

—You fool...

Click-

The call was hung up coldly and Gerwin’s hand, the one holding the phone, began clenching tightly.

Crack!

The phone was crushed in his hand. His anger still fuming, he muttered in a low voice with his head bowed down, “Damn old man...”

Daniel Kruger, the third son of Wurgen, was seventy-three years old this year. It wouldn’t be strange to consider their relationship as grandfather and grandson, but their actual relationship was far from such a harmonious-sounding one.

In the Kruger family, the sons continually competed over the numerous subsidiaries of the UD Group regardless of age. As such, to Daniel, this incident was a perfect opportunity to oust Gerwin.

If only Father would help, this could be taken care of instantly...

As the UD Group’s CEO and one of the few Perfect Ones in the world, if Wurgen Kruger took action himself, such a trivial matter would easily be resolved, but that was all the more reason for him not to intervene.

Rather, upon hearing that one of his sons couldn’t even solve a problem of this level on their own, his assessment of them would be lowered and he would take away a corresponding amount of their inheritance and authority.

“Damn it...”

How did the situation that should have already been resolved end up like this? Annoyed, Gerwin began swearing and clenching his fist. At that moment, a young man, with neatly combed-back blonde hair and a robust impression, entered his room without knocking.

“Gerwin.”

Seeing the young man who carried an unusual pressure, Gerwin twisted his expression.

“Well, well, well, look who it is. If it isn’t my dear friend, Vier Barmuth!?”

“...”

“So? What brings you here all of a sudden? Did you come to prove to everyone that we did, in fact, try to get rid of that scum half a year ago? Huh?”

Hearing his sarcasm, Vier simply stared back without a word.

Seeing this, Gerwin’s smile twisted, and he soon glared at Vier with blazing eyes.

“Say something, you idiot. It was you who changed the plan that could have cleanly ended with her getting expelled and thrown in jail. Or do you want me to say that it was actually Professor Charles’s fault?”

Originally, Gerwin intended to cleanly eliminate Luize from the academy without leaving a single trace. However, Vier had gone against the plan and withdrew the countersuit after receiving a proposal from Professor Charles. And, because of that, the situation had now twisted to this point.

At the time, he had accepted, thinking it would also be beneficial for him, but now that things had turned out this way, it had become a different story.

Facing Gerwin’s sharp gaze, Vier sighed.

“I have nothing to say about this matter. It was my mistake.”

“No, I don’t want to hear your apology,” Gerwin said, walking up to Vier. His eyes flickered with dark mana, glaring intensely.

“Come up with a solution right now unless you want to be dragged out of the line of succession as well.”

The struggle for succession within the Barmuth family was no less fierce than that of the Kruger family. Hearing Gerwin’s words, Vier looked at him silently for a moment before slowly opening his mouth.

“There will be a simple inspection of the power room for the Hall of Martial Arts on the day of the duel. It won’t be much of a difference, but if something happens during the duel, the barriers will react slower.”

“...”

“And since that could be dangerous if something happens ‘by chance’ during the duel, it’d be wise to caution the staff to prevent any accidents.”

Hearing Vier’s suggestion, Gerwin was skeptical.

“Is that all? If so, I’m disappointed.”

“...There’s also something that can sabotage her condition on the date of the duel. If things go well, she’ll probably collapse, but even if she doesn’t, she won’t be able to fight properly.”

“Hmm. Fine. At least that sounds usable.”

Although the Barmuths were a bit sloppy last time, there really was nobody else who handled matters as thoroughly as the Barmuths. If Vier was making such a firm statement, Luize would likely be taken care of by them this time.

“You may leave now.”

“...Good luck.”

Wham-

Slamming the door shut, Vier exited the room. Seeing his behavior, Gerwin smirked.

He still doesn't know his place...

It seemed Vier had become a bit too proud recently thanks to his growing influence, but ultimately, Gerwin was holding his leash.

Recalling Vier’s stiff expression, Gerwin looked at the void pocket on his desk.

I should be able to easily beat her now, but...

It wouldn’t hurt to be prepared for any possible event. With that thought, Gerwin opened the void pocket and took out his weapon.

Swoosh-

A black mist instantly filled the room and his eyes began sparkling with a dark light upon feeling his whole body surge with power.

***

Finally finishing his examination, Se-Hoon withdrew his hand, finally putting an end to the glaring contest Erika and Luize had been having out of the corners of their eyes.

“That should do it.”

“My jaw is killing me.... So, is it over with this?”

Nodding in response to Luize’s question, Se-Hoon added, “But, I need to prepare one more material. Both of you, please step outside for a moment.”

“Okay.”

“You should have prepared such things in advance...”

Erika nodded and stepped out first, with Luize trailing behind, grumbling as she followed.

Taking the chance, Se-Hoon, pretending to hurry her along with a gentle push, naturally extracted Luize’s bond.

[Extracting bond from subject ‘Luize Valente’]

[The bond with the host is Lv. 1.]

Her bond seeped into his hand, and upon seeing the amount, he became slightly surprised.

This is way more than I thought.

He had expected there to be some accumulation since he had helped her treat her mana impairment and taught her Incantation Magic, but it seemed she thought more highly of him than he expected.

“Don’t push me.”

“Then hurry out.”

Sending Luize out of the room, he looked at the two standing side by side before closing the door.

“Don’t fight and behave yourselves.”

“...”

“...”

While he had expected that Luize would avoid eye contact, he didn’t think that even Erika, who had always been prompt with her replies, would avoid answering. Seeing the sight of them already acting like enemies, he couldn’t help but sigh.

“Just duke it out then.”

It was better to settle it with a fight than to leave them in this awkward tension. Turning his back, he ignored the sounds from outside and closed the door. He took a deep breath.

Luize’s Fatestone...

Having already raised their bond to level five pre-regression, he could have easily manifested it, but he had decided to carefully build it up from the beginning.

She has a strong will that doesn’t break under any circumstances. But rather than being stubborn, she always tries to use her emotions to appeal strongly to others. She’s someone who’s always true to her emotions.

While some might call her things such as emotional, hot-tempered, or rude, to him, she was just foolish. She naively believed that if she was sincere, others would respond in kind. That foolish belief was the very foundation of the person known as Luize Valente.

But the Blast Dog didn’t believe in such foolishness later on.

The difference between the Blast Dog and Luize was whether she held onto such a foolish belief or not. And that difference would be apparent in the Fatestone that had just manifested.

Examining the Fatestone, its shape resembled a transparent balloon filled with water. Its texture felt close to rubber, and it wobbled with even a slight shake, making it seem more like a slime than an ore.

This is... way too different.

He couldn’t help but look at the squishy Fatestone with surprise.

Originally, Luize’s Fatestone looked terrifying with its pitch-black color, which looked like ink had been dissolved into it, and thorns that sprouted immediately upon contact, trying to corrode any mana.

Yet now, the Fatestone in front of him was essentially the complete opposite in everything but texture. That contrast intrigued him.

Its effect might have changed significantly too, then.

Thinking that the equipment he was going to forge would also have to change, he immediately checked the information message of the Fatestone.

[Fatestone - Enchanted Aquamarine]

[Tier: Advanced] [Quality: Perfect]

[A transparent mineral like water.

It reflects the characteristics of the mana infused into the mineral to specialize its own properties.

*Also reflects the characteristics of the materials used to specialize its own properties]

Its specialization effect seems the same, but the method has changed.

Before the regression, its information message had stated that it specialized its properties by dominating everything else’s, but now it stated that it specialized its properties by itself by reflecting everything else’s.

Trying to examine the difference, Se-Hoon carefully picked up the Enchanted Aquamarine.

Gloop-

It’s so squishy. Then, the durability must be...

After examining the Enchanted Aquamarine, he slightly pulled it apart with some force.

Twang-

The stone lightly bounced and then split into two pieces. The quality of each was the same as before, and when brought back together, they naturally merged as if they had never been separated.

Its durability has decreased, but its restoration power has improved.

Now done fully examining its properties, he infused his mana into it.

As the stone absorbed his mana, it began to be dyed a murky color. And when the inside was completely dyed, the stone changed with a small vibration, the once murky tangled colors now organizing themselves in order of brightness.

With that test, he now clearly understood how the effects of the Fatestone had changed.

Hm. It became more cooperative.

Before the regression, it forcefully adapted other materials to itself by dominating them, but now it was adapting itself to other materials. Simply put, the stone, once selfish before the regression, had become more generous.

This is not bad at all.

With the new effect, it seemed possible to forge an even better piece of equipment for Luize than initially planned. He immediately modified the design of the planned piece of equipment, and then he retrieved the mana he had infused into the Enchanted Aquamarine.

His mana now gone, the Enchanted Aquamarine returned to its original transparent color, just like when it was first manifested. He double-checked to make sure that there were no changes to the material and then called the two people he had sent out back in.

“...”

“...”

Immediately, he noticed that Erika and Luize were no longer glaring at each other. He didn’t know what they had talked about nor why it seemed as if their relationship had worsened, but he decided not to worry about it too much.

Fighting is also a form of communication.

He himself had also fought fiercely with the Three Dogs, but in the end, they were able to cooperate in battle. After all, when it came to a situation where they had to cooperate, they would end up working together regardless of how bad their relationship was.

“We’ll start now. Erika, you can watch from over there. Luize, come here and sit down.”

“Me?”

“Yes, come here quickly.”

After she sat down, he placed the Enchanted Aquamarine in her cupped hands which he had told her to make.

“Pour your mana into it until it doesn’t change color anymore. You don’t need to worry about refining the mana; just let it flow.”

“Ah, got it.”

“You don’t have to be so nervous. Just think of it like registering a fingerprint.”

Nodding, Luize carefully began to channel her mana into the Enchanted Aquamarine, and it began to slowly turn into a cloudy single color.

The reaction of the Fatestone was completely different from when Se-Hoon had poured his mana into it, showing numerous colors mixed messily. But that was natural, since it was her own Fatestone, after all.

“Good. Keep going like that.”

While Luize was infusing the Fatestone with her mana, Se-Hoon, sitting in front of her, grabbed the projection alloy placed on the desk.

Unlike the Blast Dog, her teeth are almost undamaged and her magic circuit is still intact.

Before the regression, the equipment he forged for her was focused on correction due to her poor body condition, but this time, since both her body condition and the materials were good, it would be better if the equipment focused on drawing out her power.

As Se-Hoon’s mana seeped into the projection alloy, the core’s flame caused the shape to melt inward and change like freshly smelted metal.

According to his will, the projection alloy began stretching out into a square shape, becoming progressively thinner as it increased in size. The sight drew an interested look from Erika, who was watching from the side.

He’s thinning it out while maintaining a uniform thickness.

Since projection alloy reflected the blacksmith’s subconscious, when forging, it was often affected by even the slightest of stray thoughts. As such a blacksmith had to maintain an intense unwavering concentration throughout the entire session.

And here Se-Hoon was, his concentration intently focused on finishing the thin metal plate.

But... how does he plan to process it?

Projection alloy was unlike other metals, in that reprocessing it typically resulted in a significant drop in durability. As such, blacksmiths usually tried to perfectly craft it in one try.

Yet, Se-Hoon was forming a metal plate first, which required further processing.

I can’t understand him at all.

Meanwhile, Se-Hoon had stopped stretching the projection alloy, and soon, a change occurred.

Creak-

The entire metal plate instantly became covered with intricately engraved magic circuits, ones so complex that they were hard to grasp at a glance.

Erika’s eyes widened in astonishment.

How can he perfectly comprehend such complex magic circuits...?

He wasn’t simply recalling some knowledge bit by bit; he had complete awareness of every circuit from start to finish. It was like the difference between doing a puzzle by searching for each piece one by one and immediately fitting pieces together without hesitation as one grabbed them.

Such a thing required not just the skill of a blacksmith but also born talent.

I might have to revise my evaluation of him, Erika thought, her eyes deepening at the unexpected sight.

Now that the magic circuits were fully engraved, Se-Hoon spoke up.

“Luize. Are you done?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah. I think so.”

Seeing that the Enchanted Aquamarine had been completely dyed silver, Se-Hoon placed the metal plate under her hands.

“Carefully place it on top of this.”

“Got it.”

Gloop-

When Luize opened her hands to carefully place the Enchanted Aquamarine on the metal plate, it slowly began to fill the magic circuits.

“Wow...”

“...”

They both watched the stone’s lifelike movements in amazement. Then, Se-Hoon began casting Incantation Magic with the circulating mana in his mouth.

“Mana Amplification.”

Zzzzt-

With a buzz, the Incantation Magic spell was bestowed upon the magic circuits filled by Enchanted Aquamarine.

But, Se-Hoon didn’t stop there. He continued to use incantations, bestowing suitable spells onto each magic circuit. It was as if he was soldering many parts onto the metal plate.

“Spell Correction, Voice Amplification, Pain Relief...”

With his newly acquired skill, Incantation Attribute, he was able to easily use incantations to bestow simple spells with desired effects, unlike enchantments that require precise formulas.

In exchange, however, the effects of the spells were weaker and less durable, making them unsuitable for permanent use. But, that was only if he didn’t have Luize’s Fatestone.

Sssss-

The effect of Enchanted Aquamarine, reflecting any characteristics bestowed upon itself, enhanced and prolonged the effects which compensated for the drawbacks.

Se-Hoon licked his dry lips, looking over the entire metal plate, which had been bestowed seventy-three different spells via incantations.

Like a painting, the completed metal plate showcased an exquisite interplay of colors.

“...It’s beautiful,” Luize said, staring at it with a dazed expression.

On full display, the phenomenon that arose due to the ability of the Enchanted Aquamarine, which added color with each incantation, was shown beautifully.

The sight, which would have been impossible with Luize’s Fatestone before the regression, also made Se-Hoon crack a smile.

“It is, indeed.”

With that, the preparation for Luize’s new piece of equipment had been finished. Now, Se-Hoon could begin assembling it slowly, following the seams he had pre-defined in advance. It was like folding a piece of paper with a blueprint drawn on it.

Creeeak- Screeech!

With each fold, the metal plate began to bend and fix into place on its own, interlocking with itself.

Click-

And with that last part, the piece of equipment that had been uniquely designed for Luize was completed.

[Equipment ‘Vargr’ has been completed!

A great blacksmith transcends conventional wisdom to create equipment that exceeds expectations! The blacksmith’s imagination, which fully leverages the potential of the materials to create a new type of equipment, surpasses even first-rate craftsmanship.

The tier evaluation for ‘Vargr’ is ‘Rare’.]

“Phew...”

Seeing the achievement message in front of him, he let out a sigh of relief.

He was worried that the tier might drop due to the relatively modest materials used, but fortunately, he managed to achieve Rare.

I remember how Luize’s weapon, especially, consumed a lot of money to forge.

The cost of the materials he wasted during trial and error could probably have bought a small city.

Let’s see what its effects are...

[Vargr]

[Tier: Rare] [Quality: Excellent]

[A special piece of equipment made specifically for the subject ‘Luize Valenete’.

The finely engraved spells via incantations and magic circuits transform this equipment into one that draws out the user’s limitless potential. It strengthens the will contained in the infused mana, allowing more powerful incantations.

*The seventy-three incantations used to bestow spells apply in a complex manner depending on the situation

*Enables the use of the skill ‘Transformation’]

Hm. It turned out decently.

If the materials had been slightly better, it might have barely reached the Hero tier. He was satisfied with how it had turned out.

“...This is my equipment?”

But, understandably to Se-Hoon, Luize was looking at the completed piece of equipment with a dubious expression since at first glance, it didn’t look like a piece of equipment.

“Um... can I try using it?” Luize asked with half-doubtful eyes.

Smiling, Se-Hoon handed the Vargr over to her.

“Sure, but try to use the weakest spell possible.”

“Why?”

“Because you might not be able to control it.”

Seeing how confident he was in his assertion, she looked at Vargr with a puzzled expression. A weak breeze should be okay, right?

***

“Sigh...”

Professor An Jeong-Wan walked down the hospital corridor with a deep sigh.

“Just when I thought they’d stay quiet, they pull something like this...”

The fact that the student causing a stir in Babel Academy was his patient weighed heavily on him. Recalling the flood of calls from last night, he felt a headache coming on.

I didn’t expect that fellow, Lee Se-Hoon, to... tch.

When he heard that Luize was doing some kind of strange training with Se-Hoon, he decided not to interfere. The training didn’t seem particularly dangerous, and more importantly, Luize had become more lively and less insistent on pushing herself during rehabilitation experiments.

I never expected that they would spout nonsense about overcoming her mana impairment.

It didn’t matter if they were just getting along, but if it could lead to health issues, then it was another matter entirely.

Worried about potential complications, he quickened his pace towards Luize’s room. And the moment he arrived—

Boooooom-!!!

A tremendous explosion sounded from inside the room. Startled, Professor An Jeong-Wan quickly opened the door.

“...This thing is nuts.”

And he found Luize muttering dazedly in the center of the room, which looked as if a typhoon had swept by.