Everyone Else is a Regressor

Chapter 9

◈ Everyone Else is a Regressor (9)

In no time, the fairy from the tutorial piled up all the materials KiJun had requested on one side of the vacant lot.

If it was just the two of them, they could easily endure for at least ten years.

"Wow, Contractor! This is my favorite brown sugar...! Did you order it for me? Thank you!"

No, there were three of them.

KiJun smiled warmly as he watched Lucy, who was hugging a piece of unrefined brown sugar in her arms and starting to eat it.

"Of course. But don't eat too much; it's not good for your body."

"Okay! Nom nom..."

The adorable Lucy was fooled by KiJun.

The unrefined brown sugar was, of course, requested for cooking and baking.

Certainly, KiJun could have given it to Lucy as much as she liked if she enjoyed it.

However, as he cut a small piece of unrefined brown sugar to check its quality, KiJun realized one obvious fact.

"It's incredibly delicious, but... it's quite different from the brown sugar I used to eat on Earth."

"Of course, it is. It's from Kata Island, Leta's famous sugarcane production site, where slaves are rigorously managed during production!"

Slaves...?

The words that were hard to swallow, casually uttered by the fairy, made KiJun's expression grimace.

Seeing his bitter expression, the fairy, who accurately discerned his resentful feelings, chuckled and spoke.

"They grind the magical power of slaves and produce it strictly, so the quality is at least uncommon or higher! Ignorant people like you have never tasted it before. And do you know? Among the slaves working on Kata Island, there are heros like you!"

"Nabang, I'll deduct the points from my score, so go back now."

The Demon Lord said to the fairy, emitting a cold voice.

Upon hearing that, the fairy looked genuinely puzzled and turned to her with an inquisitive expression.

"Hero-nim, you surely don't have any affection for that bug, do you? I thought it was strange when you ordered such a large quantity and consumed your precious points. This is just..."

"Nabang."

"I was just speaking for the hero... Anyway, I understand."

The fairy, who felt unfairly accused, glanced at KiJun and then shrugged her shoulders while munching on unrefined brown sugar.

"If you're truly capable enough to soothe a rampaging spirit with your power and re-contract, well, it's not a bad idea to do it like this... Anyway, understood."

Even after looking at everything that happened between Lucy and KiJun, Nabang still seemed to doubt the truth of the matter.

She didn't like it when someone she looked down upon showed talent.

However, she couldn't take away the spirit that KiJun had contracted, and she simply turned away, ignoring him.

"I have something else to tell you. The hero management system acknowledged the system's responsibility for this trade, so only 50% of the hero's points will be deducted for this trade."

"Yeah, I appreciate that. Please take care of me in the future."

"Really... This is a clear loss, a waste of resources. Earth heroes should quickly clear the tutorial."

The fairy grumbled until the end and disappeared.

KiJun confirmed the fairy's disappearance and turned his head to the Demon Lord.

"Ma'am, earlier, the 'Leta' that Nabang mentioned, is it by any chance..."

"That's right. 'The Main Stage,' the world you'll head to after clearing the tutorial. It's the world where you'll compete with other civilizations for survival."

"...And you too?"

"My war is already over."

The Demon Lord, who said that in a slightly chilly tone, blinked in surprise the next moment, then looked flustered and waved both her hands in the air.

"I'm not talking about anything serious. Got it? Even that fairy bows down to me often. As you can see, I'm doing quite well. No need to worry at all."

"Heh, a senior is worrying about a junior. Please keep taking care of me."

Having read KiJun's thoughts, the Demon Lord laughed scornfully and changed the subject.

I guess she doesn't want to talk about this topic anymore.

KiJun couldn't help but be curious about the word 'slave' that Nabang had mentioned earlier.

He had to swallow his curiosity and suppress his desire to ask more questions.

"Once everything is stored in the inventory, we'll start the training immediately. We don't know when the heroes will finish the tutorial, so we need to hurry."

"Yeah, we should. ...I wonder how long it will take."

After the heroes were annihilated, the second round began, and KiJun, who was left alone, had been training with the Demon Lord for a week.

Especially today, when they were raising the rank of abilities, and Nabang visited, the density of time was particularly high.

He couldn't believe it himself, but it had only been a week.

It wasn't a bad time.

Training itself was extremely difficult and painful, but at least he no longer felt anxious about when he might die.

He enjoyed watching himself grow rapidly.

"Perhaps it'll be much faster in the second round than the first round, right? Five years... No, that's too much. I overestimated it. Since we need time for training, let's say ten years."

"...Ten years, huh."

There were times when he thought it would be good if he could continue like this.

To keep growing without forgetting the people he missed.

Thinking about the remaining time, he sighed and looked up at the Demon Lord.

As if understanding his heart completely, the Demon Lord smiled faintly. Suddenly, KiJun became uneasy and asked, "But ten years seem too uncertain. What if something goes wrong and I end up trapped here for a thousand years or something?"

"What nonsense are you talking about? Being alone with you for a thousand years? That's a horrifying thought," the Demon Lord scoffed.

"It's not just the two of us! I'm here too. I'll keep my eyes wide open and watch!" Lucy protested, making noise while munching on brown sugar.

The Demon Lord couldn't help but feel powerless in this situation. If only he had some influence, he would have given Lucy a taste of her own medicine.

"Let's have a duel. Instead of spirits, I'll use you," the Demon Lord suggested.

"Lucy is better at provoking than I am," KiJun responded.

And that night,

― "A flower that many people love looks even more beautiful on its own. Charisma has increased by 2, now at 62."

It was truly an inexplicable situation, but his Charisma was rapidly increasing.

* * *

With the addition of Lucy as a new roommate in the space occupied only by KiJun and the Demon Lord, the atmosphere became much livelier. Although KiJun's daily routine didn't change significantly, the addition of the cute spirit who protected him with fierce determination during their fierce battles against the Demon Lord made the atmosphere noticeably softer.

Her proactive attitude positively affected KiJun's growth in both his aura and Light Spirit Magic skills, which had recently bloomed.

Perhaps due to the low stats and skill levels, even though he wasn't solely focused on Light Spirit Magic, his level increased gradually, at least once every two days, if not every day. Considering both were of rare grade, it was truly remarkable progress.

[KiJun]

[Title – The Last Hero (Legendary)]

[Human Lv96]

[Strength – 96]

[Dexterity (Uncommon) – 29]

[Endurance (Uncommon) – 38]

[Mana Power – 87]

[Charisma – 88]

[Spirit Power (Rare) – 31]

[Skills/Spells]

[Common]

[Cooking Lv99, Butchery Lv85]

[Uncommon]

[Shield Mastery Lv42, Dual Wielding Lv90, Strong Provocation Lv99, Boomerang Throw Lv87]

[Rare]

[Metalization Lv99, Indomitable Will Lv91, Light Spirit Magic Lv35]

[Unique]

[Rapid Regeneration Lv8]

[Legendary]

[Unbreakable Internal Clock Lv――]

Around a month had passed since the time Lucy joined and KiJun had become proficient in utilizing her power. Although it was only enhancing his defense with light-infused weapons or creating shields out of light to block attacks, this alone significantly improved his tanking abilities, probably increasing them by more than 50%.

"Once skills and stats exceed level 50, there's a slowdown in growth after each milestone—75, then again after 90. Considering that, at this level, even with that taken into account..."

After the morning duel, the Demon Lord examined KiJun's stats and made a positive judgment about his Light Spirit Magic.

"Having both unique skills is not a problem. Becoming legendary isn't just about effort; it needs practical experience, which is child’s play."

"Where in the world can you find child's play that feels like being stabbed in the stomach and having your heart explode...?"

"Ugh, what do we do about our contractor...?"

With his abdomen tearing apart and arms breaking every day, Lucy shed tears daily, worrying about him. Although it was painful for Lucy, it somewhat comforted KiJun during his arduous training.

― If I can regain my strength a bit more, I can instantly eliminate the pain and remove the aftereffects. Then I can perform the treatment. Just endure until then, contractor...!

"Oh, Light Healing magic? You were quite persistent, little spirit. If that skill appears, KiJun can push himself even further, right? He can aim for legendary, can't he?"

― You demon!

Due to the rising effect of the spirit protecting him and the Demon Lord defeating him, he was steadily growing. It would be nice if Lucy could accept the fact that the Demon Lord didn't hate him and stop provoking Lucy all the time. Their relationship had been tense since the beginning due to her unfavorable first impression, but it remained somewhat antagonistic.

"But right now, I’m more concerned about Metalization than Light Spirit Magic."

"Why didn't you mention that earlier, ma’am?"

Currently, KiJun had three skills blocked at level 99.

One was the common-grade skill Cooking, another was the uncommon-grade skill Strong Provocation, and the last one was the rare-grade skill Metalization.

"This is something I know how to do. There are many similar abilities out there."

"But doesn't that mean you have to use the skill and get hit brutally again?"

"Hero, are you really that ignorant?"

The betrayed hero stared blankly at the Demon Lord.

Where did the Demon Lord, who used to practice by hitting regardless of the skill, go?

Avoiding his gaze, which implied the question, the Demon Lord explained the growth method of Metalization.

"I know more specialized methods are needed to increase the grade, rather than just simple training."

"Please, go on, ma’am."

"Metalization is a skill that transforms the body to gain attack power or defense. There are countless variations like Waterization, Dragonization, Petrification, Elementalization, Brainification, and others... the list goes on."

"I see."

Listening, it seemed more plausible than he thought. After all, the Demon Lord had survived in this world for much longer, so she must have seen many skills. Moreover, just hearing the names of the skills she mentioned, they all seemed incomparably powerful compared to Metalization, except for Petrification. Wasn't that just a debuff?

"No, I consider your Metalization to be top tier. It has room for improvement... and it's relatively safe."

"Safe?"

"Well, then, let me explain how to level up transformation skills for you."

The Demon Lord extended her left arm into the air as if to cut off his question. 

For a very brief moment, only her left hand turned into something black and sticky and then returned to a human hand.

Could it be that the Demon Lord also had transformation-type skills?

Wait, the word "danger" means...

However, that thought was cleanly swept away when he heard her next words.

"To level up transformation skills, you need to focus on partial transformations. It involves guiding the flow of mana that occurs when the skill is activated, inducing dramatic changes in specific parts. If you make a certain part stronger, wouldn't it be easier for the skill itself to overcome its limits?"

"I see."

His head nodded instinctively at the term 'Partial Transformation.' 

He had thought of something similar once before, back when he first acquired Metalization. He pondered whether, if he didn't have enough mana to control it, he could selectively transform only the necessary parts when needed. But he couldn't find the answer on his own.

As he was struggling with it alone, he asked for advice from the mage, the most skilled member in the party when it came to mana manipulation. But the most irritating response he got was, 'Control the skill? Just move the mana like this and do that. Why can't you do it, Oppa? Just do it like this.'

In the end, he gave up on partial transformations and settled for a method where he transformed only his shield and activated Metalization on his body only at the moment of impact, once his mana had increased a bit...

"What a shame."

When he told her that story, the Demon Lord made an obviously disappointed expression and lowered her head.

Seeing the standard grimacing in pain unexpectedly and staggering from an unexpected complication, the Demon Lord laughed and offered him a solution.

"Well, it's good that we covered the basics of mana manipulation. Even if you're a tank or a spirit user, if you can't handle mana properly, you won't be able to survive in the Main Stage... especially in Leta."

"So, in the future, I'll be practicing mana manipulation?"

"Of course, but we also need to continue training in combat. Combat, mana manipulation, spirit magic. Let's divide the day into thirds for these."

However, there was a trap in the Demon Lord's words. Since mana manipulation training and spirit magic training were eventually integrated into combat, the time spent suffering did not decrease.

As he constantly pondered and made efforts based on the senior Demon Lord's words, his lowest stat, mana, began to grow rapidly.

Unlike when he increased the level of his Persistent (now Rapid) Regeneration skill, it took a considerable amount of time to raise his mana control to the level where he could control Metalization's partial transformation.

"No, it's going up."

But thanks to the advice of the senior Demon Lord, his mana, which was his lowest stat, started to grow rapidly.

Eventually, he succeeded in partial control of Metalization and evolved the skill into a Unique-grade 'Steelization' around the same time his mana evolved to Uncommon-grade, two months after he started practicing mana manipulation.

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