I Regressed After Getting Tired of Their Obsession – Chapter 12

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Chaos
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Yoo Chung, who had excitedly called her mother, now wore a sullen expression.

“Just observe?”

“Yes. As soon as this matter is resolved, Mommy will go with you. Until then, just observe from afar.”

“But he’s just a human…”

A slight sigh came from the other end of the phone.

“The fact that he wasn’t visible to Dragon’s Eye means he’s likely someone from their side. So listen to Mommy, okay?”

“Fine… I’ll just watch from a distance for now.”

“Good. Mommy’s always sorry… and you know I love you, right?”

Despite her mother’s soothing words, Yoo Chung’s expression remained gloomy.

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On my way back to the dorm after teasing Yoo Chung and buying Ah-hyun a teddy bear…

I confessed to Choi Ah-hyun about the additional artifacts I’d bought.

And her reaction?

“Are you crazy?! Are you insane?! Do you know how much those cost?! Why would you do that?!”

She grabbed me by the collar and shook me, her face twisted in panic.

“Let’s go get a refund! It’s not too late!”

“I’m not getting a refund. And don’t worry, I didn’t use team funds.”

“That’s not the point!”

She clutched her head, clearly distressed.

“Haa…”

She let out a deep sigh and sat down on the floor, then patted the spot next to her.

“Sit here.”

Her expression was serious. I sat down next to her without a word.

“Seong-hyun-ah, imagine a girl shows up and says she likes you.”

“Okay.”

“And she keeps giving you expensive gifts. How would you feel?”

“I’d feel pressured, of course.”

“See! You know it yourself, so why are you doing this to me?!”

She pointed at me accusingly, and I was even more confused.

‘What’s gotten into her?’

She seemed to have gotten the wrong idea. I chuckled wryly.

“Do you think I like you or something?”

“N-no! I-it’s just… um…”

Her face flushed crimson, and she stammered, unable to form a coherent sentence.

Then she looked directly into my eyes and asked,

“Why did you buy me such expensive weapons? It’s like casting pearls before swine…”

“Hey, loyalty matters. I can’t just abandon someone, can I?”

“I guess… but still…”

Tired of explaining, I gave a vague answer, and Choi Ah-hyun sighed deeply.

She leaned against the wall, looking defeated.

“Your future wife is going to be so lucky. If you take such good care of your friends, I can only imagine how you’ll treat your wife.”

“If you’re so envious, why don’t you become my wife?”

“No thanks.”

We chuckled, the tension easing with our silly banter.

“Anyway, since I’ve already bought them, let’s work hard.”

“Ugh, fine.”

And so, the Choi Ah-hyun Equipment Project officially began.

I gave her the Bridge of Wind and Sky and the Periona’s Daggers.

At first, she didn’t understand why I’d given her chipped and worn-out daggers, but she soon found out.

“Wow… they’re beautiful…”

Having consumed the Bridge of Wind and Sky, Choi Ah-hyun’s affinity with wind had reached its peak.

The Periona’s Daggers reacted to her affinity and began to transform.

Sleek, sharp black blades and hilts as white as jade.

They looked like a pair of black and white swans spreading their wings.

“What do you think? Do you like them?”

“Yes! They’re so pretty! I have to post them on Instagram~”

“…”

Choi Ah-hyun was completely unconcerned with their performance.

She was so honest.

‘I should give her the Orb later.’

Choi Ah-hyun wasn’t ready for the Orb of the Wind God yet.

These two equipment were enough for her to handle E-rank monsters. I’d give the orb to her around the time of the D-rank test.

I grinned and pushed her even harder in our training.

After a week of hard work, Han Yuri returned from her family’s home.

She watched Choi Ah-hyun wielding her new daggers in the training room.

“Graaa!”

“Ha!”

Choi Ah-hyun was fighting evenly against a hologram of an E-rank Junior Wolf.

The synergy between her Unique Skill, “Faster Than Wind,” and the Periona’s Daggers was working well.

‘She said she could accelerate faster than any wind within a 1km radius, right?’

It was a shame she could only use it once a day, but… compared to before, when she could barely damage an F-rank boss, it was a huge improvement.

Han Yuri looked at Choi Ah-hyun with a mixture of disbelief and exasperation. I put on a confident face and said playfully,

“So, what do you think? She’s improved a lot, hasn’t she?”

“This is ridiculous…”

Choi Ah-hyun had gotten stronger. That was undeniable.

But…

“This isn’t real strength. It’s just boosting her attack power with equipment. This won’t last.”

“That’s true. But it should be enough to pass the test, right?”

“Yeah, she’ll pass the E-rank test. But what about D-rank? And what about C-rank after that? Do you know how difficult it is to trade team members once most of the first-years reach E-rank?”

“I know.”
“And you still made this decision? Spending your own hard-earned money? You could have used that money to rank up yourself.”

Han Yuri’s expression grew colder.

Her gaze was as frigid as the ice of an ice age, her eyes filled with a chill that sent a shiver down my spine.

She stared directly into my eyes.

“Do you like Choi Ah-hyun?”

Something beyond Han Yuri pierced through me.

My instincts, which hadn’t even reacted to the Dragon’s Eye, were screaming at me to be careful.

I glanced to the side.

I hadn’t been slacking off this past week. I’d been steadily accumulating pain points, just in case.

I deliberately smirked.

“What if I do?”

Han Yuri’s lips curled into a chilling smile.

“I’ll gouge out your eyes. If you have such terrible judgment at 20, I can’t imagine what your future holds.”

“…”

“My patience isn’t limitless. I’m already tolerating having a teammate who’s so blinded by a woman that he’s acting like a complete idiot.”

One step. Two steps.

Han Yuri walked towards me, until we were close enough to feel each other’s breath.

The faint scent of her perfume and her natural fragrance filled my nostrils.

Without breaking eye contact, she said,

“Explain yourself.”

“I have a plan. So don’t get so worked up.”

“Elaborate.”

“It’s a long story. Can’t you just trust me?”

“So you want me to shut up and follow you blindly?”

“Exactly.”

“Ha…”

She scowled, clearly exasperated. Then, chewing on her lip, she looked at Choi Ah-hyun, who was practicing her swordsmanship.

“I don’t understand. Why do you care so much about Choi Ah-hyun? Why are you so confident in her?”

“…”

“Anyone can see she’s slow. Anyone can see she’s defective. And yet you keep trying to drag her along? What…”

What do you see in her?

Her voice was laced with frustration.

But I didn’t answer.

Han Yuri sighed and rubbed her face.

“Fine… I’ll let it slide this once. I suppose this is also part of evaluating you.”

“See? That’s what I’m talking about. Let’s just keep things friendly.”

“Fuck… I swear…”

Han Yuri gritted her teeth at my playful response.

“Go down there and say hello. It’s been a week since you’ve seen her.”

“I was going to do that anyway.”

Her expression was complex. She walked towards the training room, her steps were heavy.

What was she thinking? What was she feeling?

I’d been tormented by those crazy bitches in the previous timeline, and yet I still couldn’t understand them.

‘Anyway, I’ve overcome the biggest hurdle.’

Having appeased Han Yuri, we were practically halfway to E-rank.

Now we could just take our time clearing assignments and wait for Choi Ah-hyun to grow stronger, but…

‘There’s something I need to do first.’

*Ding.*

A message arrived just as I picked up my phone.

It was finally here.

The jackpot of opportunities.

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That evening, after our training session…

I showed them the message I’d received. Choi Ah-hyun’s eyes widened.

“Huh? Grade evaluation? I thought that was optional.”

“It is, but I thought it would be a good experience.”

Han Yuri’s face fell.

“Experience, my ass. You’re just trying to increase your contribution and get the rewards.”

“The rewards are secondary. What we need now is combat experience, don’t you agree?”

“You’re so good with words.”

“So, what do you two think?”

They both closed their eyes in thought. But their contemplation was brief.

“I’m okay with it. I wanted to see how other students hunt.”

“I agree. There are some things I want to confirm.”

She glanced at Choi Ah-hyun as she said this.

Although she’d agreed to let Choi Ah-hyun participate, she still seemed uneasy.

“Okay. I’ll go sign us up.”

Their quick agreement made me smile.

The rewards for the grade evaluation were distributed based on the number of monsters each team killed.

So who would get the most rewards?

‘Lee Seol.’

In the previous timeline, she’d swept up everything, down to the last crumb. That’s how she became an even bigger monster.

‘I won’t let that happen this time.’

Stopping Lee Seol’s growth was as important as getting stronger myself.

‘The first-place reward was the Wishing Stone, wasn’t it?’

A broken item that lets you obtain any skill you desire. I couldn’t miss this.

Excited, I submitted the application to the first-year head professor and returned to the dorm.

Han Yuri was sitting on a bench outside.

As if waiting for me. She stood up as I approached.

“What? Were you waiting for me?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I just came out for some fresh air.”

She turned and started walking towards the mountain behind the dorm.

I just stood there and watched her.

She stopped, turned her head slightly, and looked at me.

Then she continued walking. And stopped again, looking back at me.

She repeated this several times.

‘What the hell is she doing?’

As I stared at her in disbelief, she reluctantly took out her phone.

*Ring ring.*

She called me.

“What?”

“I need a pack mule. Follow me.”

“You need a pack mule to go up the mountain?”

“…”

Silence.

She just stared at me.

‘Tsk.’

Normally, I would have refused outright. But because of the Choi Ah-hyun situation…

I sighed and walked towards Han Yuri. As if she hadn’t just called me, she started walking towards the mountain again.

‘That crazy bitch.’

Her thought process was beyond human comprehension.

After following her for a while, I reached a pavilion halfway up the mountain.

Han Yuri was already sitting there.

I sat down opposite her.

The cool night air swirled around us. We sat in silence for five minutes, looking out at the nightscape.

Then, Han Yuri broke the silence.

“Hey.”

“Yeah?”

“Show me your status window.”

“…Huh?”

“Didn’t you hear me? Open your status window.”

Shit.

I was fucked.

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