I Regressed After Getting Tired of Their Obsession – Chapter 18

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Chaos
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“Professor, you absolutely have to choose a disciple this time!”

“A disciple? At my level…”

“Oh, come on… Professor, please…”

A disciple.

In simpler terms, a protégé.

Professors could choose a student they favored and personally mentor them.

It was the elite path, the dream of every student.

But the competition was fierce.

Only students with exceptional talent, like Lee Seol or Han Yuri, stood a chance.

‘Irena’s disciple…’

As far as I could remember, she hadn’t chosen one during my entire time at the Academy in the previous timeline.

“It’s been four years since the incident. That child wouldn’t want you to continue living like this. So please…”

“I’m sorry.”

“Even the principal can only do so much to prevent your unilateral decisions. So please, choose either Lee Seol or Han Yuri…”

“They can become strong without my help. I want to nurture students who need it.”

“Haa…”

A stalemate.

Typical of Irena’s stubbornness.

I shook my head and moved on.

It had nothing to do with me.

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Two weeks had passed since I’d acquired Lightning God.

After countless assignments and training sessions, we were finally on the verge of the rank-up test.

We were currently facing the boss of the final assignment.

[Night Tiger]

A monster ranked between F and E.

We could have chosen an easier assignment just to meet the quota, but we’d opted for a difficult one specifically to prepare for the rank-up test.

Normally, you wouldn’t know which monster would appear in the test, but I knew.

‘I remember the first rank-up test for first-years.’

It was like having a sneak peek at the exam.

“Grrrr!”

Like a matador facing a bull, I drew the tiger’s attention.

Once its aggro was firmly locked on me, I received a signal from Choi Ah-hyun.

“Seong-hyun-ah, I’m going in!”

I lowered my stance, ready to attack.

The wind blew.

In the blink of an eye, Choi Ah-hyun appeared next to the tiger and swung her daggers.

-Thwack!

“Raaawr!”

The daggers sank deep into the tiger’s neck.

“Eek! What do I do? They’re stuck!”

“Don’t worry about it! Just get back!”

“Okay!”

She still seemed unfamiliar with the Periona’s Daggers.

But the damage was done.

As the tiger turned its attention to Choi Ah-hyun, I swung my sword.

A sword imbued with Lightning God.

-Clang!

The Night Tiger’s hardened skin blocked the attack.

The tiger was unharmed, but thanks to Lightning God and Aggro, I’d successfully redirected its attention back to me.

“Lee Seong-hyun!”

Our delaying tactic had worked.

Now it was time for the bombardment.

Dozens of meteor-sized rocks floated in the air above us.

“Meteor!”

-Crash! Boom! Bang!

As I retreated, the rocks rained down.

“Grrr…”

Unable to withstand the relentless assault that bypassed its hardened defenses, the tiger finally succumbed.

“Haa… It’s over.”

“Yuri, great job!”

“You too.”

The two of them exchanged compliments, I joined them and said,

“Ah-hyun has improved a lot. Her acceleration skill is much faster now.”

Acceleration skill. Short for “Faster Than Wind.”

“Heh. Flattery will get you nowhere.”

“I’m serious.”

“Hehe.”

Choi Ah-hyun beamed at my genuine praise. She was so easy to please.

Han Yuri watched us with her arms crossed, then sighed.

“It would be nice if she could just reduce her mistakes.”

“Oops…”

“You did well. Keep up the good work.”

“Okay!”

A passing grade. And coming from Han Yuri, it meant a lot.

Choi Ah-hyun practically danced with joy.

Then, Han Yuri turned to me.

“So, when are we going to see Pikachu’s Thunderbolt?”

“…I’m working on it. Don’t rush me.”

“Ha! You said you’d create a dragon out of lightning. It’s been two weeks, and you can’t even produce a single spark? You might as well carry a taser.”

“…”

‘Damn. I didn’t realize Lightning God would be this difficult to control.’

Whenever I tried to generate a proper lightning bolt, a searing pain shot through my brain, preventing me from activating the skill properly.

It seemed my weak body couldn’t handle the power yet.

The dragon had used it so effortlessly…

Seeing something and doing it were two different things.

“Let’s head back. We can discuss the rest after we apply for the test.”

“See? He changes the subject when it’s inconvenient for him.”

“Hey, Yuri. Seong-hyun’s probably stressed out, so let’s drop it. Okay?”

‘Nice one, Choi Ah-hyun.’

Now wasn’t the time for arguing.

The first, first-years to rank up received national support.

Special dorms, financial aid, and material support.

And most importantly…

‘The Rank Exemption Ticket.’

It allowed you to challenge assignments one rank higher than your own and enter dungeons outside the academy under certain conditions.

This meant I could access future opportunities ahead of schedule.

I’d almost given up on this, considering Han Yuri’s tendency to go solo.

But surprisingly, she’d agreed to cooperate.

‘I can’t miss this opportunity.’

I was determined to secure that support.

And to do that, we had to apply for the test before Lee Seol’s team.

‘We have a two-assignment lead, so we should be fine.’

They’d been at 18 assignments before we’d cleared ours.

“Let’s go back.”

“Okay.”

As we finished the assignment, a white light enveloped us, and then we were greeted by a cacophony of noise.

‘What’s going on?’

It was 11 a.m., peak hour.

But the commotion was two or three times louder than usual.

“Wow, as expected of Lee Seol. How did she clear two assignments in less than an hour?”

“That’s why she’s called a monster. Damn, the talent gap is infuriating.”

Everyone’s attention was focused in one direction.

I turned to see Lee Seol sending off her teammates.

A sudden sense of foreboding made me check the leaderboard.

‘Haa…’

Exactly one hour.

That’s how long it had taken us to clear our assignment.

I’d heard that Lee Seol’s team was attending a theory lecture this morning.

That’s why we’d rushed to finish ours…

-Grit.

If two teams reached 20 assignments simultaneously, the priority for the test went to the team that reached it first.

Extrasensory Perception.

That broken Unique Skill had led Lee Seol here.

As I gritted my teeth, Lee Seol approached me.

The crowd buzzed with excitement.

“What’s this? It feels like a showdown.”

“Ooh, the rivalry is finally heating up. Someone get the popcorn!”

Lee Seol waved her hand.

“Hyeon-ah, hi! It’s been two weeks since the closing ceremony, hasn’t it?”

“Hyeon…?”

Han Yuri frowned at Lee Seol’s familiar tone. I decided to focus on Lee Seol for now.

“Yeah, we’ve been busy with training and assignments.”

“Ah, assignments…”

Lee Seol glanced at the leaderboard, then put on an apologetic expression.

“Were you… trying to get the top student support?”

“…”

I nodded silently.

Lee Seol thought for a moment, then smiled.

“I’ll give you the test slot.”

“What…? Really?”

“Yes. But…”

She leaned closer and whispered,

“I have a favor to ask in return.”

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We moved to a less crowded area to discuss her request.

I told Han Yuri and Choi Ah-hyun that I would handle it…

‘What’s her problem now?’

Choi Ah-hyun seemed to accept it, but Han Yuri’s expression remained sour.

Whatever. I needed to focus here for now.

“So, what’s the favor?”

“Hmm…”

Lee Seol put her hands behind her back and looked up at the sky, then pulled something out of her pocket.

“Your phone?”

“Yes. My favor is for you to give me your number.”

“Seriously…?”

I’d been bracing myself for something serious. This was it?

“You’re already in the group chat, and we have the emergency contact list…”

“That’s true, but it’s different from getting it directly from you, isn’t it?”

Lee Seol smiled brightly and tilted her head.

“Are you going to refuse?”

“No, fine. Here.”

The top student support and my phone number.

The choice was obvious.

As I gave her my number, Lee Seol giggled with delight.

“Remember the first day?”

“First day?”

“The day we first met.”

“Ah, at the orientation…”

“It’s quite similar to now, isn’t it? Back then, you drew a line and refused to give me your number.”

“I didn’t exactly draw a line…”

“Liar.”

While I was entering my number, Lee Seol had moved right in front of me.

I could feel her breath on my face.

Her eyes pierced through me.

Dark, black eyes.

Yet, they were clearer than anyone else’s.

That clarity made the blackness even more chilling.

“Can you swear on your heart that you’re telling the truth?”

“…”

Extrasensory Perception.

Any lie I told would be exposed.

I remained silent. Lee Seol smiled knowingly and stepped back.

“Okay, I’ll believe you. You wouldn’t lie to me.”

She waved and turned to leave.

“I have a theory lecture to attend. See you later, Hyeon-ah.”

“…Yeah, take care.”

Relief washed over me as she left.

‘Phew, I managed to get rid of her.’

The cold sweat on my back told me how close that had been.

But I’d achieved my goal, so I should let it go.

It was better for my mental health.

With the test slot secured, I walked towards the faculty building with a light heart.

‘The test is practically in the bag.’

I’d boosted Choi Ah-hyun’s abilities with equipment, and we’d practiced our strategy against tiger-type monsters.

This was a game we couldn’t lose.

I whistled cheerfully, anticipating my promotion to E-rank tomorrow.

Before I knew it, I’d reached the faculty building.

I walked through the lobby and down the hallway, stopping in front of the door at the very end.

[Class 1-A Professor: Irena]

*Knock, knock.*

-Come in.

I opened the door and entered. Irena was sitting at her desk.

She glanced at me, then returned her attention to the monitor.

“What is it?”

“I’m here to apply for the Rank Up Test for Team 2.”

Her eyebrow twitched, and her fingers froze on the keyboard.

But then, she resumed typing.

“Team 2 is ineligible for the test.”

“What?”

That was completely unexpected. I’d never heard of a team being denied the test.

I forced myself to speak calmly.

“I’d like to know why we’re ineligible.”

“Insufficient combat power. You are not qualified to advance to E-rank.”

“That’s absurd! Han Yuri is more than qualified, and Choi Ah-hyun…”

My protest died in my throat.

Wait a minute.

‘Did she figure it out?’

If she’d realized I was using equipment to boost Choi Ah-hyun’s rank, her reaction made sense.

‘Damn it!’

As I cursed inwardly, Irena slowly stood up and walked towards me and crossed her arms.

“You seem to be under a misapprehension.”

“Excuse me?”

“The reason Team 2 is ineligible for the test…”

She pointed at me.

“…Is entirely your fault.”

‘What?’

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