The Regressor is too Powerful in Martial Arts – Chapter 2

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: JayM
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Seeing the corpse maintaining the barrier, I could roughly guess what had happened here.

That woman who created the barrier must have expended her own life to erect a dome-shaped barrier where everyone could live safely.

The problem was that the people who came to live inside the barrier were not all good people.

‘They must have killed each other over the limited food.’

The barrier erected here was not, in itself, a complex structure.

For that reason, anyone with even minimal knowledge of barriers would have been able to come and go freely.

However, the survivors, who lacked the confidence to go outside and procure food, chose to remain inside this dome. As a result, the food must have run out, leading them to fight one another.

The final victor must have gotten so severely injured that they couldn’t last long, or if not, they must have starved to death.

“……”

I looked at the corpse of the woman who had sacrificed herself for humans like these.

A woman who was maintained in such a pristine state that it was hard to believe that she was dead.

I knew her.

“Serenity.”

The first dual-ability user, who was called the Hope of Humanity, with a name that meant peace.

Although she was called the Hope of Humanity, that was only within Korea.

In any case, having awakened both magic and aura abilities at the same time, she was famous for being a so-called magic swordsman.

Though she was also famous for being clumsy for someone who had awakened an aura ability, what was important was that she was a celebrity who showed a self-sacrificing side.

“…You should have set a limit to your sacrifice.”

If she hadn’t laid down her life to erect the barrier, but had instead put up a moderately sized one and become a spiritual anchor for everyone… wouldn’t the people here have lived longer?

Though this was all just a ‘what if’ story.

I stood before her with such thoughts.

And I conjured a fire in my hand.

This wasn’t magic.

‘Samadhi True Fire’

Samādhi is the ability to see through to the essence of things.

Therefore, the Samadhi True Fire, which saw through and burned the essence, burned away Serenity’s essence.

It burned away the duty she had taken on by sacrificing herself to erect this barrier.

In the sense that she should no longer be bound by duty and should depart for heaven.

I was performing a kind of funeral.

…Although it was a bit strange to perform a Buddhist or Taoist style funeral while telling her to depart for heaven, what did it matter?

‘It’s not like I can build a coffin for you, nor can I offer you flowers.’

Serenity’s corpse, which burned in the Samadhi True Fire I had created, vanished without leaving even a speck of ash.

However, I did not withdraw the fire after that.

Instead, I decided to burn the numerous corpses piled up around the magic circle.

Although they were people who killed each other to save themselves, they too should at least have the right to be judged in the afterlife.

I thought that while I observed the burning corpses in a moment of silence, then I sat down in a suitable spot.

“…Haaa….”

In truth, this place had been my last hope.

A barrier that had been caught by my senses, which had recently expanded as my realm advanced.

A trace of survivors.

For that reason, I had thought that I would be able to meet survivors here.

But what was the result?

What I faced was only the trace left behind by those who were already dead.

“…The reach of my senses covers all of South Korea… North Korea, and parts of China and Japan….”

Within my senses, I could no longer feel any survivors.

I could only feel the presence of the numerous monsters that had destroyed the world.

I could only feel the energy of the black fog that had given birth to those monsters.

“……”

There might be survivors in places my senses couldn’t reach, but to find them, I would have to cross the sea.

But to go that far… I was too tired to do it.

“Hoo….”

Even so, I couldn’t give up.

Therefore, I decided to sit cross-legged and meditate.

As a living person, I could not give up on finding someone who might, just maybe, still be alive.

In that process, I might have to go beyond just going to other countries and I might even have to go to entirely different continents, and even then I might not achieve my goal, but still, I couldn’t give up.

Therefore, I decided to right my weary mind by meditating.

“Alright….”

Just as I finished my meditation, the movements of monsters were captured by my senses.

‘…A radius of about 10km….’

I could feel that all the monsters within it had begun to move in unison.

Their destination was…

‘Here, I see.’

Confirming that, I raised my head and looked at the sky.

The dome-shaped barrier that had been protecting this place until just a moment ago was already gone.

Since the corpse of Serenity, which had been the core of the barrier, had disappeared, it was a matter of course.

The monsters must have realized that the barrier was gone and were flocking here to attack the people who they thought were inside.

People who had not only already become corpses, but whose corpses had all been burned by me.

“…This is perfect, actually.”

My mood was already foul anyway, so shouldn’t I at least loosen up my body?

If I slaughter these goddamn monsters, I’ll feel at least a little better.

Thinking that, I took out the sword I had put in my bag earlier.

It was an old sword, but, having absorbed the blood of countless monsters, it was in a state close to a demonic sword, and it vibrated lightly.

The demonic sword had also sensed the monsters’ presence and had gotten excited.

“Hoo….”

Holding the sword like that, I took a stance.

And I swung it horizontally.

It was a light horizontal slash.

KWAAAAA…!

But what happened as a result of that horizontal slash was by no means light.

Because the monsters that were in a place far away from my position were all slashed in unison.

Wooooong….

My sword protested to me.

Begging me to let it feast on the monsters’ blood.

I ignored the sword’s protest and thought to myself.

‘…They’re not getting scared.’

With that one attack, monsters numbering in the thousands had instantly become corpses, but the other monsters were trampling over those corpses and charging forward still.

‘That’s how much they must covet the mana that was inside the barrier… That is, Serenity’s mana.’

Just how much did they want to defile her mana that they could overcome the fear of death…?

Thinking that, I took my stance.

With the intention of killing them all.

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“Hoo….”

Having cut down all the monsters that had swarmed in, I looked at my blood-spattered body.

Of course, it wasn’t my blood.

It was all monster blood.

‘It’s overflowing with blood.’

As the number of monsters cut down by my sword was immense, the blood that flowed from them was not a small amount.

No, it was beyond not being a small amount. Rather, it was enough to form a river.

Having no choice, I decided to use the internal energy in my Middle Dantian to use magic.

“Purification, Cleanliness.”

Word-Command magic.

A magic I had implemented in a form called True Words or Mantras.

Of course, actual mages don’t use magic this way. I merely modified existing magic into a form suitable for me, who was a martial artist and not a mage.

As a result, it was altered to the point that it should be called a spell rather than magic, but what did it matter?

If I met someone in this state, I might be cursed at for using evil arts or shunned for being a heretic, but what did it matter?

If it’s convenient, that’s all that matters.

Like that, I turned all the monster blood on me into clean water.

Burning it with Samadhi True Fire would have been more thorough since it would also get rid of the corpses, but I didn’t do that because it felt unpleasant to use the Samadhi True Fire I had just used for a funeral to burn filthy monsters.

In any case, because the monster blood on my body had turned into water, my body was now wet.

Naturally, I was about to open my mouth to dry this water and….

“Dr…”

Right before the word for ‘Dry’ was completed, I urgently ducked my head.

Swish…!

As I ducked my head, something sharp swept through the space where it had been.

I immediately swung my sword, which was heavily soaked in blood, and turned my body.

Clang!

My sword was lightly blocked by something, and I was able to identify what had blocked it.

“…A human?”

“Grrrr….”

Because it walked on two legs and held something shaped like a sword in its hand, I had judged it to be a human, but it wasn’t.

It was just a monster that walked on two legs and knew how to use tools.

The problem was…

BANG!

“Keok?!”

The tool that the monster was holding and the power that monster possessed were no ordinary things.

The sword that the monster held was sturdy enough to block the sword I had swung to cut my opponents up until now, even if I didn’t swing at full power, and the monster itself was strong enough to not only withstand my physical strength, but also to actually send me flying with its own power.

After regaining my posture in mid-air, I collided with a wall as if landing on it and silently observed the monster.

“Grrrr….”

“What is that?….”

A new species?

Why would a new species suddenly appea—

The moment I thought that far…

BOOM!

“?!”

I was able to perceive that the creature’s body had shot straight towards me.

However, I could truly only perceive it.

I urgently tried to raise my sword and bring it to the creature’s body, but the creature, as if it could completely control its speed, lightly dodged and threw a punch at my face.

KWAAAAA…!

“?!”

I was sent flying without even being able to scream.

The martial art I was creating was one that included external arts, so I was able to withstand its punch, but if that hadn’t been the case, my head would have bid farewell to my body.

Thinking that, I opened my eyes wide.

I observed the creature’s movements closely.

“…Ha.”

The creature wasn’t just strong.

As they say, you see as much as you know, and the creature’s movements were nothing but truly efficient movements.

And they were more efficient than what even I could do.

This meant that a monster with low intelligence possessed skills superior to mine.

At the same time as I realized this.

Click.

I felt as if the gears that made up the human being that was me had grind to a halt.

Then, I felt the gears that made me up begin to shatter, and new gears fell into place, filling me.

“…Hahahahahahaha…!”

Feeling that, I felt both elation and despair at the same time.

The elation of the martial art I had been creating all this time finally being completed thanks to a fight with a strong opponent.

And the despair that even if my martial art was completed like this, I would not be able to defeat this thing.

‘What… What on earth have I been living for all this time?’

The creature that flew towards me as I was flying through the air tore off both of my arms.

‘Have I been living all this time just to die so futilely?’

Next, the creature tore off both my legs so that I could do nothing.

‘Is this… Is this how everything ends?’

Finally, the creature that had subdued me pierced my heart with its sword to finish me off completely.

At the same time, my martial art was completed, and it felt as if my vision was growing dark.

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“…Waaaaah…!”

After my heart was pierced by the unidentifiable monster and my martial art was completed… a series of system messages of unknown meaning passed by.

Right after that, for some reason, I was crying.

“Congratulations. It’s a healthy son.”

“Thank… you… Thank… you.”

My consciousness sank into darkness as I heard those voices.

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T/N – There we go! So that’s how he completes his martial arts and regresses. To be fair, if even he couldn’t beat that monster, and if there were multiple of them, then I can see why the world got fucked over.

Also, I find it funny that we only get the MC’s name after two chapters in, and at the end of the 2nd chapter at that.

If you find any mistakes, feel free to point them out in the comments.

*환골탈태 (Hwangoltatae) and 반로환동 (Banrohwandong) are key tropes often seen in martial arts novels. Hwangoltatae is the process of the body being fundamentally remade and purified into a perfect vessel for martial arts while Banrohwandong is the result of reversing the aging process to regain a youthful body. I translated them to “Complete Body Reconstruction” and “Return to Youth” respectively, but do let me know if you want me to use the original terms instead.