This Regressor Does it for Free – Chapter 11

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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Simzy
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The legendary archmage of the continent, a beautiful woman with flowing white hair, sniffled.

“Sob… sniff… sniff… You’re so mean…”

“…”

Even Kerry felt a pang of sympathy seeing her sulking with her back turned, sniffling. His voice was apologetic, almost involuntarily.

“You tried to rape me first.”

“…That doesn’t automatically justify your actions. You’re just as bad as me…”

“I know. I don’t think I did anything virtuous.”

“…”

The White Witch sniffled again.

She seemed surprisingly unconcerned about the sex itself.

But she still had plenty of grievances.

“You punched me.”

“That was self-defense.”

“Even so! What kind of man punches a woman in the head like that?”

“That’s a sexist remark. In my homeland, sexism is abhorred, so I’ve become an egalitarian who can strike both men and women without hesitation.”

The White Witch fell silent for a moment, dumbfounded.

A country that promoted equality by hitting women without hesitation?

“Well, that’s… a fucked-up country.”

“You tried to harm me, and I stopped you. That’s all there is to it. Am I wrong?”

“…”

The White Witch no longer seemed to have any will to resist.

A single punch had broken the archmage’s fighting spirit.

A punch that could subdue an archmage in one blow.

He wondered if he had a warrior’s talent hidden within him, rather than just magical aptitude.

But Kerry’s true aspiration was the path of a mage.

“I have a question. You’re a mage, so why can’t you use magic?”

“…You’re quick to ask. You don’t seem to know much about magic, so to put it simply… it’s because I’m using all my power to maintain this dimension.”

Just as he suspected.

Kerry silently watched the White Witch’s sulking figure.

He pondered.

The woman before him was a legendary archmage of the continent.

Could this be a tremendous opportunity?

“Hey.”

“Insolent! Show me some respect.”

The White Witch flinched as Kerry strode towards her.

“…I shall permit you to address me without formality.”

“I don’t care about your permission. Will you teach me magic?”

The sulking White Witch whipped her head around.

Her cold, red eyes glistened with tears, a sight that evoked a flicker of pity.

“Teach you my magic, the magic hailed as the best on the continent? Don’t be absurd. Even the Emperor of the Empire, with all his gold, treasures, and promises of honor, couldn’t obtain my magic. Ah, there is one exception. If you receive my Soul Mark and pledge your loyalty to me, I might consider teaching you. Will you do so?”

“No. The Soul Mark thing basically turns me into your puppet, right? I don’t want that. I’ll give you something better instead.”

“Something better? Is there anything better than gold, treasures, and honor?”

“Peace.”

“…Peace? I’ve been at peace here from the beginning! And who was it that disturbed that peace…?”

“Who do you think is the only person who can give you back that peace?”

Kerry clenched his fist, and the White Witch’s pupils dilated, trembling like leaves in a storm.

“So, you’ll teach me? And if you try to teach me some nonsense, you’ll get the beating of your life.”

“…”

“Then please take good care of me, Master!”

It was an auspicious day, the day he gained the greatest master on the continent.

He formally became her disciple and had many conversations with the White Witch.

She didn’t like being called Master, and when he asked for her name, she simply dismissed him, telling him to call her “Witch.”

“…Witch, let’s start the lesson.”

The White Witch trembled.

She seemed extremely reluctant to reveal her secrets.

But every time Kerry clenched his fist, her trembling stopped, and she regained her composure.

“…Have you studied magic before?”

“No. But I believe in you, Witch. As the greatest archmage on the continent, you can surely turn me into a proper mage in no time, right?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Magic relies 90% on innate talent…”

“Please take good care of your incompetent disciple, Witch!”

“…How old are you?”

“I’m 27. Why do you ask?”

“You’re too old to learn magic. You’d be better off learning something else…”

“It’s never too late to learn. I really want to learn magic. Don’t tell me I can’t. Or I might lose control and my inner egalitarian might awaken again.”

“…It usually takes ten years to learn magic.”

It was like a bolt from the blue.

He knew learning magic wouldn’t be easy, but ten years was ridiculous.

“As you age, impurities that obstruct the flow of mana accumulate in your body, and the innate sense for mana diminishes. That’s why it’s difficult to learn magic unless you become accustomed to mana from a very young age.”

Damn this world! So only talented, privileged people could learn magic?

He was already aware of the injustices of this world, but this made him tremble with rage.

Just when he thought his dream was within reach!

“D-don’t be so angry! It’s not my fault! Unclench your fist! What are you going to do to me?!”

Kerry’s rising anger made the White Witch flinch and recoil in fear.

He was truly furious.

But not at the White Witch. His anger was directed at the absurd injustices of this damned world.

‘Even Hell Joseon was better than this.’

“Seven years! With my abilities, seven years is possible! Really! Believe me! Any less is impossible!”

‘Even seven years is too long. This is infuriating.’

“…Five years! Five years is enough! I’ll use all my talent and teach you with all my might… So please, calm down. I beg you!”

Five years, down from ten. He wondered if he could push it further, but seeing the White Witch’s near-tearful, pleading expression, he knew this was her limit.

“Alright. I’m prepared to invest five years.”

“G-good. I’ll definitely teach you to use magic within five years!”

“Then could you tell me what we’ll be learning first, Witch? Your disciple will listen attentively.”

“Before that… there’s something we need to do. The five years I mentioned is assuming you can learn magic, isn’t it?”

“…Are you saying I might not have any talent at all and be unable to learn magic?”

“Didn’t I say magic is 90% talent?”

It was somewhat disheartening news. But Kerry had a reason to be hopeful.

He remembered Lina, the regressor, praising his talent.

A strange sense of anticipation welled up inside him as the White Witch prepared the talent test.

“I’m ready, so let’s begin. First, watch what I do.”

The White Witch held out an orb. It reminded him of the magic orb she had created, but this one was different. It looked like a completely transparent glass orb.

The White Witch placed both hands on the orb. When she removed them, the glass orb was filled with a blue light.

“This is an orb I created. The more talented a person is, the more blue light they can fill the orb with. Try it.”

“Try it? Without any explanation of how you did it?”

“Sensing mana is a feeling, something I can’t explain. Just like I can’t explain how you move your arms and legs. It’s an innate sense. If I had to give you an analogy, imagine searching for a foreign energy within you and pushing it into the orb.”

Kerry nodded. He vaguely remembered Lina saying something similar last time.

This was his second time. Perhaps he could do a little better than the first.

‘Find the mana… and imagine pushing it into the orb!’

He felt a tiny spark of energy within him, small as a grain of sand.

He focused on it and moved it. He didn’t know how he moved it.

Just as he moved his arms and legs without knowing how, the mana moved naturally according to his will.

When the tiny mana swirling within him entered the glass orb, it filled with a blue light, smaller than the White Witch’s, but bright nonetheless.

“!”

“…”

The blue light was smaller than the White Witch’s, so did that mean his talent was inferior?

No, that wasn’t it. Kerry’s body had spent 27 years without any magical training. That much time was enough to dim even the brightest talent.

This was the result of his dimmed talent. His innate aptitude might be comparable to the White Witch’s.

‘Talent comparable to mine? Impossible. I’ve never met anyone like that in my entire life. Even that old geezer at the Magic Tower wasn’t my equal…’

“…Is it broken? Do you want me to try again?”

Kerry repeated the process without a word, and the orb glowed brightly as before.

“…”

“So, is this considered talented?”

Kerry asked, unaware of the implications.

The White Witch didn’t bother to inflate his ego. After all, Kerry was still an intruder to her.

“Yes. You’re talented.”

But even that small praise made Kerry overjoyed.

He, who thought he was a talentless nobody, actually possessed aptitude.

“Then we should begin with the theoretical study of magic.”

The White Witch moved to the bookshelf and retrieved one of the countless volumes.

She had no need for beginner textbooks now, but she had held onto one for sentimental reasons.

“This is a beginner’s textbook. Study this first.”

The book the White Witch handed him was as thick as an encyclopedia. A beginner’s textbook?

“You were so eager to learn magic… why are you just staring blankly?”

“What are all these complicated symbols? Can’t you just tell me how to do it so I can use magic?”

“…That’s absurd. Why do you think magic takes so long to learn? While mastering the sensation is important, studying the theory is just as crucial. To alter the laws of nature, you must first study those laws.”

“…Is this all I need to read?”

“No. At least… Let’s see. Yes. You need to read half the books on that bookshelf to be considered a barely competent mage.”

The bookshelf the White Witch pointed to was too large to be called simply a bookshelf. How long would it take to study all those books?

“…Since your talent is greater than I expected, perhaps you can manage it within five years.”

The White Witch tried to appease him, fearing another outburst, but it was ineffective.

“I don’t wanna…”

“Wh-what are you talking about? Even with stubbornness, five years is the limit. No matter how talented you are, it takes time to absorb and process that vast amount of knowledge… even I! Even I took five years to freely use magic! Don’t be angry!”

“I don’t wanna study! When am I supposed to find the time to read all that? I can barely make ends meet as it is!”

A man blessed with such talent, yet unwilling to study. Mages who toiled day and night, pushing themselves to the limit despite lacking talent, would be outraged if they saw this.

“Teach me how to use magic without studying! If you don’t, I’ll walk the path of a warrior from today onwards, and you’ll be my training dummy!”

He wanted to use magic. He had to.

Magic was one of his few romantic aspirations in this world.

A world without magic was just a barbaric and unjust medieval era.

“Such… such nonsense! How can you alter the laws without understanding them? Your words are preposterous!”

Kerry fumed, pressing the White Witch for a solution.

To the White Witch, still traumatized by his punch to the head, he looked like a demon.

‘His eyes… his eyes are completely insane! At this rate, I really might become his punching bag for life!’

“It’s not that there’s no other way. But… it’s a shortcut…”

“Then you should have told me that from the beginning. Are you trying to pick a fight with me? Did you not like that I punched you in the head? Is that it?”

“That’s not it! The path of a mage is one of truth and accomplishment. If you take shortcuts, you can achieve neither truth nor accomplishment.”

“I don’t want to be some great mage, I just want to be able to earn a living. I don’t need truth or accomplishment. Just teach me the shortcut.”

“Do you know about Magic Storage Orbs… they’re precious items I created. You can use magic with them. But I don’t have any here, so…”

“Are you talking about this?”

“Yes, an orb just like that. Wait, why do you have that?”

“I found it on the ground.”

“…You are incredibly lucky.”

With the White Witch’s help, Kerry was able to leave that space.

He also confirmed he could return.

He had spent so much time inside the orb that he felt he needed to rejoin his companions.

When he stepped outside, Lina greeted him with overwhelming enthusiasm.

For some reason, she looked exhausted, as if she had been through a lot.

She told him Natasha had awakened and rushed him to her room.

“Natasha, you’re awake.”

“…”

“What’s wrong? Are you still not feeling well?”

“I’m sorry… husband… sob!”

Natasha burst into tears, apologizing profusely. She seemed incredibly distraught that he had almost died because of her.

But to Kerry, who had obtained a Legendary item and found his path to becoming a mage, it was a minor inconvenience.

“Sniffle… Do you… do you really forgive me?”

“I told you it’s fine, Natasha. Lina protected me, so I wasn’t even in any real danger.”

He spent a long time comforting Natasha.

She said she hadn’t eaten anything while he was gone, afraid that he would hate her.

Lina watched him comfort Natasha for a while, then gave a small nod, her gaze filled with a strange admiration.

What had happened while she was gone?

He was enjoying a leisurely conversation with his companions when a commotion erupted outside the inn.

He looked out the window and saw priests dressed in white gathered in front of the inn.

Lina spoke, her eyes on the priests.

“What are the priests of the Goddess Elena doing here…?”

It seemed the not-so-bright goddess was looking for them. She must have realized that he had met the regressor.

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