Regressor Instruction Manual

‘You don’t look cool at all.’

I found it absurd how Woo Hyo-Yeol exploded in fury as soon as he stood up.

Perhaps he had yet to realize the fact that William had won the moment he gave the latter an opening, but I was sure he knew that fact as well. After all, he had enough experience under his belt.

In other words, he knew that Will could have killed him. He could have left deep holes in him instead of just wounding him, and he could have stabbed his heart instead of his shoulder and abdomen.

The only reason Woo Hyo-Yeol was still alive was the fact that he was a novice who had just cleared the tutorial dungeon.

That was the only reason…

‘But he’s acting out of line again.’

As if he was trying to show that there was nothing more disgraceful than being a sore loser, he kept acting like a pathetic fool. Spite and evil intent replaced his relaxed and cocky behavior. I could even feel a murderous intent coming from him.

“Please accept defeat,” William said.

“Defeat? Don’t make me laugh, damn it. You want me to admit defeat when I have just a few shallow holes in my body?” Woo Hyo-Yeol said.

“...”

“I’m not done yet, so grab your sword, you bastard,” Woo Hyo-Yeol continued.

“...”

I had to say something here.

“That’s rude.”

“What did you say?” Woo Hyo-Yeol questioned.

“You would’ve died if Mr. William hadn't shown you mercy. Do you still not understand that?” I asked.

“Haa… You too…” Woo Hyo-Yeol sighed.

“Moreover, if you did something wrong, you should apologize,” I added.

“...”

“You’re strong and even stronger than me. Of course… you’ll get stronger in the future. Take this defeat as a lesson… Actually… I think you should get your wounds treated first,” I suggested.

A sister-in-law trying to stop you from doing something was more hateful than a mother-in-law who would often beat the crap out of you, especially when the former had no printer, just fax. To add to that, he seemed like he wasn’t used to receiving pity.

I took out my special potion and walked up to Woo Hyo-Yeol, but he slapped my hand away and stood up. My special potion fell to the floor with a clank.

“Ah.”

I was sad. He had definitely come here for me, but he wasn’t even looking at me anymore. He was busy glaring at Will, who had humiliated him. Actually, he seemed obsessed about defeating Will.

‘His personal matter is none of my business.’

Usually…

‘There's usually a story behind something like this. Is it safe to assume that?’

It could be nothing, or he could simply be angry. No one liked losing, but in Woo Hyo-Yeol's eyes, losing could be something more than just losing.

I had no idea what example would be suitable, but it was like he was scared of getting eliminated. Actually, he seemed to be thinking that admitting defeat equaled death. It wasn’t something that an ordinary individual born and raised in an ordinary society would think. He was like a wild animal or someone living a life away from civilization.

‘He’s not some gladiator who lived in the Roman era and got eliminated.’

However, I assumed that he lived a similar life on Earth or in his past life.

It had to have been a life where victory meant survival.

Strangely, he had some similarities to Yul-Ha. I was thinking about his idea that if one were incompetent to be acknowledged, one would be abandoned.

Anyway, Woo Hyo-Yeol wasn’t smart enough to make his own decisions, but he wasn’t an idiot. He had a natural hunter’s instinct. The fact that he had William’s handicap of not using any magic spells and having one arm behind his back meant that Woo Hyo-Yeol had sacrificed his pride so that he wouldn't lose.

Despite giving up his pride, he was defeated, and he even received sympathy from the mysterious swordsman who messed him up in the tutorial dungeon.

“Damn it… damn it!” Woo Hyo-Yeol shouted.

“You might die,” William warned.

“Do it. Try killing me! You bastard!” Woo Hyo-Yeol provoked and charged at William while foaming at the mouth. The sight made me think that William’s rapier would pierce him soon, but…

‘He is a good fighter.’

Woo Hyo-Yeol’s anger drove him forward, and I saw him dodge William’s rapier.

William's rapier was moving so fast that I thought it was omnipresent in the room, but Woo Hyo-Yeol was dodging the attacks with amazing speed. He was moving in a way that ignored the fundamentals written in many swordsmanship textbooks.

He tilted his head to dodge a thrust and swept across the ground with his leg before counterattacking. An ordinary person couldn't do something like this.

Basically, Woo Hyo-Yeol was coded with the ability to swing his sword in any stance. I didn't see him changing his swing to a thrust. He was skillful enough to skip any unnecessary movement between the swing and the thrust.

As expected, William was surprised, but he wasn’t getting pushed back. He was so calm that I wondered if the word "surprised" was the right word to use to describe his reaction, but it didn’t take long for his expression to change.

‘You jerk! Damn it!’

Woo Hyo-Yeol bent backward to dodge and threw his sword into the air as a distraction. Then, he grabbed some dirt on the ground. William couldn't see it because he was distracted by the flying sword.

William stepped to the side to avoid the oncoming sword, but Woo Hyo-Yeol threw a handful of dirt at him. It was a dirty trick that was useless against the master adventurer, but William had no choice but to retreat upon getting hit by the dirt.

Woo Hyo-Yeol lashed out with a low kick, and it connected with William's thigh with a bam.

“Haha!” Woo Hyo-Yeol laughed.

Obviously, it wasn’t effective. The kick was too weak to break William's leg or make him fall to the ground, but it was enough to say that Woo Hyo-Yeol had the upper hand right now.

‘Ha.’

Woo Hyo-Yeol swung his sword as if he were going to crush Will’s head.

William raised his rapier and blocked the attack, but Woo Hyo-Yeol let go of his sword and pulled William in with his bare hand.

William reached out for Woo Hyo-Yeol's hand holding the sword, and I saw Woo Hyo-Yeol grabbing William's wrist in response so that the latter couldn’t swing his rapier.

Then, Woo Hyo-Yeol let go of William and ripped his tattered clothes before quickly tying their hands together. It seemed like his goal was to handcuff himself with William. I was surprised by how fast he performed such a complex movement.

“What are you going to do now? Huh?!” Woo Hyo-Yeol provoked him.

Woo Hyo-Yeol punched Will’s head.

‘Damn it… damn it…’

William's movement was limited, as he could only move his head. Fist after fist landed on William's face, but there wasn't anything he could do about it.

‘One arm.’

It was all because he had promised to use only one arm, and he couldn’t even push him away using magic, as he had promised not to use any magic spells as well.

‘What the hell?’

Bam! Bam! Bam!

“What are you going to do now? Huh?!” Woo Hyo-Yeol asked.

Bam! Boom! Bam! Bam!

Woo Hyo-Yeol attacked relentlessly.

William swung his hand holding the rapier to shake him off, but Woo Hyo-Yeol moved closer to the rapier to ensure that William wouldn't be able to shake him off. He swung his fist as if he had seen through Will's actions.

William was taking more and more damage from Woo Hyo-Yeol's fist.

“Hahaha! Hahahaha! Hahaha!”

‘He’s not laughing with him.’

Will’s pretty face revealed a frown, and it was all because his Endurance wasn’t that high. Woo Hyo-Yeol's punches weren't that strong, but they were strengthened by magic, so they drew blood from Will.

He was talking so many attacks to the point that I was getting worried that he would end up dying, but…

‘He’s a model adventurer.’

William was still not using his other arm, and he wasn’t using his magic spells as well.

‘It’s cool, but it’s stupid. Damn it. So there's a reason why Woo Hyo-Yeol was chosen to become the regressor.’

Of course, he was strong, but it was only natural due to the fact that he had the regressor buff. What was more important was his attitude toward life. Although he was an arrogant scum, his will to achieve his goal was stronger than anyone else. He couldn't care less, even if he looked disgraceful or mean.

He was capable of shrugging off any criticism toward him.

All he cared about was achieving his goal. His first goal was probably meeting me, and his second goal was probably defeating William. In the end, he achieved both. It’d be annoying if he became an enemy, and I liked him as well.

“What did you say? Fix my attitude? Say it again. Who’s fixing whose attitude?” Woo Hyo-Yeol questioned.

“...”

“You annoying bastard! Does it hurt? It hurts, right?” Woo Hyo-Yeol continued.

It kind of bothered me that he was rude, but…

‘This jerk…’

“...”

‘I want to train him.’

If I used him in the right situation, he could become a trustworthy person. If I could just put a collar on him, what if I gave him goals instead of letting him decide his own goals?

‘And what about the Regressor Instruction Manual?’

How could I use him? Of course, there were conditions.

‘I need to fix that attitude of his first.’

William was correct.

Woo Hyo-Yeol's attitude needed correction, so I sent a message to William.

[From now on, I want you to move as I say.]

“???”

[Step back. Move left and right like you did earlier. That’s it. Don’t be alarmed if he follows you. Wait. Stop! You’re doing great. Do the same routine again. He’s going to stop soon, so I think you can just kick him—Ah!

[It’s okay if your attack doesn’t land because shaking off his hand is a top priority here. That’s right. You’re doing great. Why have you been letting him hit you all this while?]

“...”

“What? What can you do now?” Woo Hyo-Yeol questioned.

“...”

“Do you really think that things will change by shaking off my hand?” Woo Hyo-Yeol added.

[It’s a lot of damage, and it’ll be funny if you lose, right? Your swordsmanship…]

‘It’s nice, but it’s like he can't do anything else other than sword thrusts…’

The best thing to do here was to develop William's strengths, but Woo Hyo-Yeol was learning about William’s swordsmanship in real time. Having been forced to eat some knuckle sandwiches, Woo Hyo-Yeol dared not put his guard down.

However, he had to be taught a lesson.

‘Thronus… is similar to him. I think…’

Thronus was the best at sword thrusts out of every swordsman I was familiar with. It went without saying that he was capable of following up with just about any attack after just one thrust.

[Would you like to learn something new?]

“...”

And then…

“...”

“I-Impossible…” William mumbled as he looked down at his hand.

“H-How did I… How… What I did… just now…” William said.

‘Yeah, you did do it.’

“This swordsmanship… how in the world…”

‘Made in Thronus.’

Woo Hyo-Yeol was sprawled out below him with injuries all over his body. He was unconscious, of course.

“...”

“...”

“Mr. William, would it be okay… to move him to the infirmary?” I asked.

It was an obvious result.

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